Mingju (

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 ...

:, Mölendroff: ''mingju''; , November 19, 1635 – June 3, 1708), of 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 i ...

clan, was an official of the

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 ...

during the reign 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 1 ...

. He was thrown in prison for corruption. Second

cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

to 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 ...

, Mingzhu came from an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

line that belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner of the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu language, Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu people, Manchu households ...

. His grandfather,

Gintaisi Gintaisi (Manchu: ; died September 29, 1619), known as Jintaishi () or Jintaiji () in Chinese, was a Jurchen beile (chieftain) of the Yehe tribal confederation. He was the younger brother of Narimbulu, and became one of the two beile of the Yeh ...

, was the last prince of the

Yehe Nara Nara ( Manchu: , Wade-Giles: nara hala, Chinese: , or ) is a clan name shared by a number of royal Manchu clans. The four tribes of the Hūlun confederation () – Hada (), Ula (), Hoifa () and Yehe () – were all ruled by clans bearing th ...

clan. In 1677, Mingju was named the

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

, one of the top-ranking positions, and became involved in a long power struggle with

Songgotu Songgotu (Manchu: ; ; 1636 – 1703) was a minister during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty. He was an uncle of the emperor's primary spouse, Empress Xiaochengren of the Hešeri clan, who died during childbirth. He was also ...

throughout the middle years of Kangxi's reign. He was related to Consort Hui, one of the Kangxi Emperor's concubines who bore the emperor his first surviving son, Yinzhi. Consequently, he supported Yinzhi during the struggles for succession. He was sent to prison for corruption and various other charges in his final years. He married

Ajige Ajige (Manchu:, Mölendroff: ajige; 28 August 1605 – 28 November 1651) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. He was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the 12th son of Nurhaci, the khan of the Later Jin dynasty (th ...

's fifth daughter and had at least three sons. His oldest son,

Nara Singde Nalan Xingde (; January 19, 1655 – July 1, 1685), Manchu name Nara Singde, courtesy name Rongruo (), was a Qing dynasty Chinese poet, famous for his ci poetry. He was born Nalan Chengde (納蘭成德), but had to change his name when the Kan ...

, grew up to be a famous

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

References

Grand Secretaries of the Qing dynasty Manchu politicians Manchu Plain Yellow Bannermen Qing dynasty politicians 1708 deaths 1635 births {{china-politician-stub