Sahaliyan, alternatively rendered as Sahalin (; 19 June 1604 – 11 June 1636), was an imperial prince 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-spea ...

of China. He was the third son of Prince Lilie of the First Rank

Daišan Daišan (Manchu: ; 19 August 1583 – 25 November 1648) was an influential Manchu prince and statesman of the Qing dynasty. Family background Daišan was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Nurhaci, the founder of ...

and a grandson of

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 ...

. Sahaliyan was posthumously honoured as Prince Ying of the First Rank for the merits during Qing conquest of the Central Plain. The peerage was found extinct after his son, Adali, was executed for treason.

Life

Sahaliyan was born as a son of Second Primary Princess Consort Lilie of the First Rank, lady Yehe Nara on 19 June 1604 in

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

. Sahaliyan enjoyed Hong Taiji's favour since young, which resulted in his loyalty to Hong Taiji. He was considered to be among the most well-educated Manchu nobles of the early Qing period, being highly literate in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, Manchu, and Mongolian.

Military and political career

Sahalian's military career started as early as in Tianming era, when he raided Chahar and Khorchin in 1625 with army consisting of 5 thousand soldiers. In 1626, he conquered Khalkha tribes together with his father,

.That same year, he was granted a title of prince of the third rank together with Yoto and other imperial princes. Sahaliyan was reluctant to accept the title as he claimed incompetence and declared his loyalty to Khan. Nevertheless, it was Sahaliyan who laid a groundwork to election of Hong Taiji as a Khan.

Infliction in Manggultai's accident

Actually, when

Manggūltai Manggūltai (; ; 1587 – 11 January 1633) was a Manchu noble and an important military and political leader in the early years of the Qing dynasty. He helped Hong Taiji consolidate his power by handing over his Plain Blue Banner to Taiji's. ...

was deposed in 1633, it was Sahaliyan who arrested princess Mangguji, Nurhaci's third daughter. The reasons were Mangguji's request to Degelei to murder her second prince consort and the cold relationship between her and Hong Taiji. Hong Taiji saw Mangguji and her brother, Degelei, as enemies and therefore wanted to murder them. In 1635, Mangguji was murdered with her second daughter, whom Hong Taiji's son Hooge had rejected as a wife.

Death and legacy

Sahaliyan died of illness on 11 June 1636 at the age of 32 (in sui). His death deeply saddened Hong Taiji whi generously treated his family members and posthumously honoured him as Prince Ying of the First Rank. Hong Taiji cancelled court sessions for 3 days, the mourning period exceptionally reserved for meritorious imperial princes. Sahalin was succeeded by his eldest son, Adali, while his second son, Lekdehun, was granted a title of Prince Shuncheng of the Second Rank. In 1672, Kangxi Emperor added a character "yi" (毅) to Sahalian's title, so the full posthumous title was: Prince Yingyi of the First Rank (和硕颖毅亲王, meaning "talented and full of determination"). In 1755, Qianlong Emperor ordered to place Sahalin's memorial tablet in the Temple of Worthies so as to commemorate his role in the conquest of the Ming dynasty.

Interesting facts

Ghost in the Mukden forbidden city

The optical illusion of Sahalian was first visible after his death according to the legends. In 6 months after Sahalin's death, Hong Taiji slept in the Fenghuang building of the

Mukden Palace The Mukden Palace (), or Shenyang Imperial Palace (), was the former palace of the Later Jin dynasty and the early Qing dynasty. It was built in 1625, and the first three Qing emperors lived there from 1625 to 1644. Since the collapse of imper ...

. Hong Taiji dreamt of himself leaving inner court of Mukden palace together with

Empress Xiaoduanwen Jerjer (; translated as "lady"/"beauty"; 31 May 1599 – 28 May 1649), of the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan, was the consort of Hong Taiji. She was seven years his junior. Jerjer was Empress consort of Qing from 1636 until her husband's death i ...

onto the eastern wall of the city. After the short walk, Hong Taiji was disrupted by an enormous palace, where he saw Daishan and Sahaliyan awaiting him. Hong Taiji gave them clothes, let them in and sat on the throne. After an hour of bantering, Hong Taizi felt puzzled how Sahalin could be alive. Hong Taiji ordered to return to Mukden palace. While Hong Taiji was leaving the hall, Sahalian stopped him and requested for one calf. The dream was described by great secretary Hife (of the

Hešeri Hešeri ( Chinese: 赫舍里; Pinyin: Hesheli; Manchu: ''Hešeri''), is a clan of Manchu nobility with Jianzhou Jurchens roots, originally hailing from the area which is now the modern Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning. It was once one of ...

clan), Ganglin and other present at the court session other day. The story was continued by "Chronicle of Great Ming" before the accomplishment of "Great Code of Qing". However, the "Chronicle of Great Ming" gives the story a shade of authenticity by mentioning that Hong Taiji rewarded Lekdehun and made him one of the iron-cap princes under the title "Prince Shuncheng of the Second Rank".

Family

Sahaliyan was married to Ulanara Jihai (乌拉那拉氏·济海), daughter of

Bujantai Bujantai (Manchu: ; ) (died 1618) was a Jurchen ''beile'' (chieftain) of the Ula tribal confederation. Bujantai was descended from Nacibulu (納奇卜祿), the ancestor of the Nara lineages of Ula and Hada. Tradition spoke of Nacibulu as havin ...

. His primary consort was executed for treason together with Adali. ----Consorts and issue: * Primary consort, of the

Ulanara 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 (嫡福晋乌拉那拉氏, d. 30 September 1643), personal name Jihai ** Adali (阿达礼, 28 October 1624 - 30 September 1643),first son ** Princess of the Fourth Rank (县主, 1620-1667), first daughter *** Married He'erben (和尔本) of the Donggiya clan in 1633 ** Prince Shuncheng Gonghui of the Second Rank Lekdehun (多罗顺承恭惠郡王勒克德浑, 25 June 1629 - 4 May 1652), second son ** Princess of the Fourth Rank (县主, 1625-1700), second daughter *** Married Prince of the Second Rank Tenggis (腾吉斯) of the Sunid Borjigin clan in 1640 and had issue (one daughter, Princess Consort Duanzhongding of the First Rank) ** Grace Defender duke Dulan (奉恩镇国公杜兰, 11 September 1633 - 9 June 1675), third son