Hešeri ( Chinese: 赫舍里; Pinyin: Hesheli;

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

: ''Hešeri''), is a clan of

nobility with Jianzhou Jurchens roots, originally hailing from the area which is now the modern Chinese provinces of Jilin and

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

. It was once one of the most important and powerful noble families in the early Qing dynasty in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, second only to the royal House of

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro was a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as c ...

, to whom they were closely related by marriage. The power of the Hešeri family reached its zenith in the period of Duke Hešeri Sonin and his third son Lord Hešeri Songgotu (from approximately 1650 to 1705). Although its influence declined following Songgotu's death, the Hešeri clan continued to be the hereditary nobility and play a role in Chinese politics until the demise of the Qing dynasty in early 1912.

History

Origins

The name Hešeri was first recorded in the ''Thirty Common Surnames of Jurchen'' during the later Tang dynasty (c. 800-850), and is said to be derived from the name of an ancestral river (''šeri'' loosely translating to water-spring in the Manchu language). Alternatively, some have suggested that the name may stem from that of an ancient tribe. During the Tang dynasty, the Hešeri lived on the northern outskirts of the empire, co-existing to some degree with the then extant Khitan and the Liao dynasty they founded (which dynasty the Jurchen ultimately conquered and destroyed in 1125Michal Biran (2005). The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World. Cambridge University Press. pp. 29-30. ); while the bulk of the clan maintained their ancestral residencies, the (second) ascendancy of the Jurchen (renamed by this time to Manchu) during the Qing dynasty and the administrative and military appointments clan Hešeri enjoyed as a result saw moderate diffusion of Hešeri throughout the more interior northern and central provinces. After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and the resulting 1912 collapse of the Qing dynasty, the vast majority of Hešeri saw fit to distance themselves from their

origins. To accomplish this, the more Han-sounding diminutive ''He'' (Chinese: 赫 / 何) was adopted as a replacement surname (commonly spelled ''Ho'' in Hong Kong and several other Cantonese-speaking regions); a few Hešeri went further and changed their surnames completely to ''Gao'' (高), ''Kang'' (康), ''Zhang'' (张), ''Lu'' (芦), ''He'' (贺), ''Suo'' (索), ''Ying'' (英), ''Hao'' (郝), ''Hei'' (黑), ''Pu'' (普), ''Li'' (李), or ''Man'' (满).

Notable figures

Jin dynasty

In the 119-year history of the Jin dynasty, at least 52 people from this clan were powerful enough to affect the government's decisions. Their names were recorded in the '' History of Jin''. *Lihua, Empress Qinxian () *Zhining, Prince Jinyuan of the Second Rank (). *Liangbi, Prince Jinyuan of the Second Rank (). *Ziren (). *Cupei (). *Machan (), Cupei's brother. *Zhizhong (, ?-1213). *Yawuta (; ?-1231), a general.

Qing dynasty

Males

* Šose (Chinese: ), Sonin's father. Fluent in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, Mongolian and

. Awarded the honorific Baksi ("Knowledgeable Man", Chinese: 巴克什 ''Bākèshí'') by the Qing dynasty's founding father, Nurhaci. ** Sonin (Chinese: ; ?-1667), Duke of the First Rank (Chinese: ), Chief minister, Grand Councillor (Chinese: ) of the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...

. Senior among the Four Regents of the Kangxi Emperor; *** Gabula (Chinese: ; ?-1681), first son of Sonin, Duke of the First Rank (Chinese: ). Father in law and Chief Minister (Chinese: ) of the Kangxi Emperor. *** Songgotu (Chinese: ; ?-1703), third son of Sonin, Grand Councillor (Chinese: ), Baohe Scholar (Chinese: ) Chief Minister of the Kangxi Emperor, main signatory of the Treaty of Nerchinsk. ***Xinyu (Chinese: 心裕), fifth son of Sonin, Earl of the First Rank (Chinese: ). ***Fabao (Chinese: 法保), sixth son of Sonin, inherited the Duke of the First Rank from his father. *Hife (Chinese: ; ?-1662), Šose's brother. Viscount of the Third Rank (Chinese: ). He had the same language skill as his elder brother. Also awarded the honorific Baksi and honored as one of only three companions to the then-emperor with the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

" newhose merit aided our Way." **Suwayamboo (Chinese: ; 1641–1684), son of Hife, Sonin's cousin. Viscount of the Third Rank (Chinese: ) . Minister of River Transport for the Kangxi Emperor (Chinese: ). ***Sungseo (Chinese: ; ?-1755), grandson of Suwayamboo (), Viscount of the First Rank (Chinese: ), Co-minister of Rites (). *Erdeni (Chinese: , not to be confused with Panchen Erdeni), originally from the Nara clan, one of the two inventors of the Manchu script. He was inducted into the clan and given the surname Hešeri by the Qing ruler

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

as a reward for his contributions. *Dingshou (Chinese: ; ?-1731), the General of Light Chariot of the Third Rank (Chinese: ) one of the greatest military generals of the early Qing dynasty. Ultimately served as Vice Governor of the Mongolian

Plain Yellow Banner The Plain Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Plain Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies under the direct command of the emperor himself, ...

. *Songzhu (Chinese: ; 1657–1735), Grand Councillor (Chinese: ), Minister of Rites(Chinese: ), Wenhua Scholar (Chinese: ), Royal Tutor (Chinese: ) *Giyamo (Chinese: ; 1711-1777), Minister of River Transport (Chinese: ), Minister of Home Office (Chinese: ). *Guangliang (Chinese: ; ?-1800), General of Heilongjiang. *Fuzhina (Chinese: ; ?-1810), Viceroy (or more precisely

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

) of Guizhou (Chinese: ). *Saicungga (Chinese: ; ?-1826), Baron of the Second Rank (Chinese: ), Governor of the Mongolian

. Served also as the Governor of the Manchu Plain Red Banner and the Mongolian Bordered Blue Banner prior to this appointment. Awarded the posthumous title 'Taizitaishi (Chinese: )'. *Jirun (Chinese: ; ?-1826), Governor of the Manchu Plain Blue Banner, Minister of River Transport (Chinese: ), Governor of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

(Chinese: ), Co-Minister of Works (Chinese: ). *Fulehungga (Chinese: ; ?-1829), Baron of the First Rank (Chinese: ),内阁学士, Co-Minister of Wars (Chinese: ), Co-Minister of Foreign Affairs (Chinese: ) *Nadanju (Chinese: ; ?-1832), Minister of Rites (Chinese: ), Co-Minister of Wars (Chinese: ). *Shutong'a (Chinese: ; 1776–1836), Vice Military Conmmander of Zhili (Chinese: ). *Chunqing (Chinese: ; ?-1847), Viceroy of Yunnan and Guizhou (Chinese: ). *Mutengge (Chinese: ; 1780–1852), General of Jiangnin (Chinese: ). *Šuhingga (Chinese: ; ?-1858), Viceroy of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

(Chinese: ), Co-Minister of Wars (Chinese: ), 軍機大臣, dead as 雲南巡撫. *Shuyuan (Chinese: ; ?-1859), Supreme Court Shaoqing (Chinese: ), 盛京戶部侍郎兼奉天府府尹, 戶部右侍郎兼管錢法堂事務. *Hebao (Chinese: ), 兵部员外郎, 通政司参议. *Yinggui (Chinese: ; ?-1879), Viceroy of Fujian and Zhejiang (Chinese: ), General of the Army (Chinese: ). Gained title 太子太保 after his death. *Warda (Chinese: ), a general. *Tundali (Chinese:), an important military commander. *Hechun (Chinese: ; ?-1860), Viceroy and Imperial Admiral of Jiangnan (Chinese: ) and military commander. *Encang (Chinese: ), a military commander. *Rushan (Chinese: ), Magistrate of Sichuan (Chinese: ). *Sebjengge (Chinese: ; ?-1907), General of Ningxia (Chinese: ) ; Prince Consort

Females

Imperial Consort * Empress ** Empress Xiaochengren (1654–1674), the Kangxi Emperor's first empress, the mother of Chenghu (1670–1672) and Yunreng (1674–1725) * Imperial Noble Consort **

Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe (2 July 1856 – 3 February 1932), of the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner Hešeri clan, was a consort of the Tongzhi Emperor. Life Family background Imperial Noble Consort Xianzhe's personal name was not recorded in ...

(1856–1932), the Tongzhi Emperor's consort * Consort ** Consort Ping (d. 1696), the Kangxi Emperor's consort, the mother of Yinji (1691) ** Consort Chang (1808–1860), the Daoguang Emperor's noble lady * Imperial Concubine ** Imperial Concubine Xi (d. 1702), the Kangxi Emperor's imperial concubine * Second Class Female Attendant ** Second Class Female Attendant Mu (d. 1832), the Daoguang Emperor's second class female attendant Princess Consort * Primary Consort ** Yun'e's second primary consort * Secondary Consort ** Mianyu's secondary consort (d. 1860) ** Yicong's secondary consort, the mother of Zailian (1854–1917), Zaiyi (1856–1923), fifth daughter (b. 1857), Zaiying (1859–1930) and Zaisheng (1860–1864)

Modern Era

Ying Lianzhi Ying Lianzhi (; November 23, 1867 – January 10, 1926), also known as Ying Hua (), was a Manchu Bannerman, a prominent Catholic layman who agitated for church reform, founder of the prominent newspaper ''Ta Kung Pao'', and instrumental in foundi ...

(Chinese:英斂之; 1867–1926), also known as Ying Hua (英华), founder of the prominent newspaper '' Ta Kung Pao'', and founding member of The Catholic University of Peking.

Gallery

File:ConsortsDaoguang4.jpg, Consort Chang in daily dress ("Imperial Court in 1844" by He Shikui) File:孝诚仁皇后朝服像.jpg, Empress Xiaochengren

References

External links

THE CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF CHINA The Qing Empire To 1800
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heseri Manchuria Jurchens Qing dynasty people Manchu clans Plain Yellow Banner