Soni (1601–1667), also known as Sonin, and rarely Sony ( mnc, ; ), was a

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

noble of the Hešeri clan who served as one of the

Four Regents The Four Regents of the Kangxi Emperor were nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government of the Qing dynasty during the early reign of the Kangxi Emperor before he came of age. The four were Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha, and Oboi. Backgr ...

of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

(r. 1661–1722) during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1912). His clan belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner.

Early life

Soni's father Šose (Chinese: Shuose 硕色) and uncle Hife (Xifu 希福), who were both 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

, served as high officials under Manchu patriarch

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gi ...

(1559–1626). Like them, Soni was valued for his linguistic abilities. In 1628, under Nurhaci's successor

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 ...

(1592–1643), Soni led a successful diplomatic mission to convince the recently surrendered Khorchin Mongols to honor their pledge to help the Manchus militarily. In 1629 he was named to the newly created "Literary Office" (Chinese: ''wenguan'' 文館), an institution that kept a detailed record of Manchu history and translated Chinese books about statecraft and Chinese and Korean state documents into Manchu. In 1630 Soni was ordered to remain in recently conquered Chinese cities to supervise surrendered Chinese leaders and commanders. By 1643, Soni had become "grand minister of the imperial bodyguard," and when Hong Taiji died in September of that year, Soni used his allies in the guards unit and the yellow banners to ensure that only a son of Hong Taiji would succeed to the Qing throne. Soon after

Dorgon Dorgon (17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650) was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, which was the predecessor of the Qi ...

(1612–1650) was chosen as Prince Regent for Hong Taiji's son Fulin—who reigned as the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizu of Qing, personal name Fulin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China pro ...

from 1643 to his death in 1661—the Manchu victory at the

Battle of Shanhai Pass The Battle of Shanhai Pass, fought on May 27, 1644 at Shanhai Pass at the eastern end of the Great Wall of China, Great Wall, was a decisive battle leading to the beginning of the Qing dynasty rule in China proper. There, the Qing prince-rege ...

in late May 1644 allowed the Qing to take control of north China and to move their capital from

Mukden Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a p ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Despite repeated military successes in the south, in 1645 factional struggles started around Dorgon. Deeply involved in many of the factional struggles of the second half of the 1640s, Soni was in turn favored, sentenced to death, pardoned, dismissed from office, reinstated, and dismissed again in 1648, the last time for good.

As regent

Before the

died, Soni was appointed as one of the four regents to support the young

, along with

Suksaha Suksaha (Manchu: ; ; died 1667) was a Manchu official of the early Qing dynasty from the Nara clan. A military officer who participated in the Manchu conquest of China, Suksaha became one of the Four Regents during the early reign of the Kangxi ...

Ebilun Ebilun (Manchu:, Möllendorff: ebilun; ; died 1673) was a Manchu noble and warrior of the Niohuru clan, most famous for being one of the Four Regents assisting the young Kangxi Emperor from 1661 to 1667, during the early Qing dynasty (1644– ...

and

Oboi Oboi (Manchu: , Mölendorff: Oboi; ) (c. 1610–1669) was a prominent Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive emperors of the early Qing dynasty. Born to the Guwalg ...

. Soni was the top of these four regents and ably helped the young emperor defend against Oboi, who wanted to increase his own power over the emperor. During the first years of Kangxi's reign, a power struggle ensued among the regents. Soni was too old to exert his leadership. His son Songgotu helped the young emperor to get rid of

. On 16 October 1665, the eleven-year-old

took Soni's grand daughter, Lady Hešeri (1653–1674), who was a few months older than him, as his Empress.. Because Soni's powerful family would now presumably support the emperor, this marriage split the regency..

Death

Sonin died on 12 August 1667. His death provoked a series of changes in the regency: just as the other regents, led by Oboi, tried to consolidate their power, the emperor vied to assert his own power.

References

Notes

Works cited

*. *. *. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonin 1601 births 1667 deaths 17th-century Chinese people 17th-century regents Deliberative Princes and Ministers Manchu Plain Yellow Bannermen Hešeri clan Qing dynasty regents