Hešeri ( Chinese: 赫舍里;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: 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) an ...

: ''Hešeri''), is a clan of

nobility with

Jianzhou Jurchens The Jianzhou Jurchens () were one of the three major groups of Jurchens as identified by the Ming dynasty. Although the geographic location of the Jianzhou Jurchens changed throughout history, during the 14th century they were located south of ...

roots, originally hailing from the area which is now the modern Chinese provinces of

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

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 northernmo ...

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

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, 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 ch ...

, 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

in early 1912.

History

Origins

The name Hešeri was first recorded in the ''Thirty Common Surnames of Jurchen'' during the later

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(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 Manchu (Manchu:, ) is a critically endangered East Asian Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchus, it was one of the official languages of the Qi ...

). Alternatively, some have suggested that the name may stem from that of an ancient

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

. During the

, the Hešeri lived on the northern outskirts of the empire, co-existing to some degree with the then extant Khitan and the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

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

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 The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of ...

of 1911 and the resulting 1912 collapse of the

, 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 Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and several other

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

-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, Mongolian and

. Awarded the honorific Baksi ("Knowledgeable Man", Chinese: 巴克什 ''Bākèshí'') by the Qing dynasty's founding father,

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

. ** 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 the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succe ...

. 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 The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

. *** Songgotu (Chinese: ; ?-1703), third son of Sonin, Grand Councillor (Chinese: ), Baohe Scholar (Chinese: ) Chief Minister of the

, main signatory of the

Treaty of Nerchinsk The Treaty of Nerchinsk () of 1689 was the first treaty between the Tsardom of Russia and the Qing dynasty of China. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as far as the Stanovoy Range and kept the area between the Argun River ...

. ***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 A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

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

(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 The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

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 himsel ...

. *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 Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...

. *Fuzhina (Chinese: ; ?-1810),

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

(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 Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

(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 The Plain Red Banner () was one of the Eight Banners (lower five Banners) of Manchu military and society organization during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. Famous members included: * Daišan * Wenxiang * Heshen, Clan Niohuru, considere ...

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 The Plain Blue Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. Members * Li Yongfang * Abatai * Agui * Zhao Erfeng (Han) * Keying (official) * Imperial Noble Consort Gong ...

, Minister of River Transport (Chinese: ), Governor of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

(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 Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and rena ...

(Chinese: ). *Chunqing (Chinese: ; ?-1847), Viceroy of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

and

(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-leve ...

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 Tibe ...

(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 Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

and

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

(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 Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

(Chinese: ) and military commander. *Encang (Chinese: ), a military commander. *Rushan (Chinese: ), Magistrate of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

(Chinese: ). *Sebjengge (Chinese: ; ?-1907), General of

Ningxia Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

(Chinese: ) ; Prince Consort

Females

Imperial Consort * Empress **

Empress Xiaochengren Empress Xiaochengren (3 February 1654 – 6 June 1674), of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner Hešeri clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and first empress consort of Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 16 ...

(1654–1674), the

's first empress, the mother of Chenghu (1670–1672) and

Yunreng Yunreng (6 June 1674 – 27 January 1725), born Yinreng, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the second among the Kangxi Emperor's sons to survive into adulthood and was designated as Crown Prince for two terms between 1675 and ...

(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 The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1861 to 1875, which effectively lasted ...

's consort * Consort ** Consort Ping (d. 1696), the

's consort, the mother of Yinji (1691) **

Consort Chang Consort Chang (31 December 1808 – 10 May 1860), of the Manchu Hešeri clan belonging to the Bordered Blue Banner, was a consort of the Daoguang Emperor. Life Family background Consort Chang's personal name wasn't recorded in history. She w ...

(1808–1860), the Daoguang Emperor's noble lady * Imperial Concubine ** Imperial Concubine Xi (d. 1702), the

'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 Aisin Gioro Mianyu ( 綿愉; 8 March 1814 – 9 January 1866) was Qing dynasty imperial prince as the fifth son of the Jiaqing Emperor and the first holder of the Prince Hui of the first rank title. As Prince Hui of the First Rank peerage was not ...

's secondary consort (d. 1860) ** Yicong's secondary consort, the mother of Zailian (1854–1917),

Zaiyi Zaiyi (; Manchu: ; ''dzai-i''; 26 August 1856 – 10 January 1923),Edward J.M. Rhoads, ''Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928'', University of Washington Press, 2001 better ...

(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 ''Ta Kung Pao'' (; formerly ''L'Impartial'') is the oldest active Chinese language newspaper in China. Founded in Tianjin in 1902, the paper is state-owned, controlled by the Liaison Office of the Central Government after the Chinese Civil War ...

'', 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