Songgotu (

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 ...

; ; 1636 – 1703) was a minister 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 ...

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 ...

. He was an uncle of the emperor's primary spouse,

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 1 ...

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 t ...

clan, who died during childbirth. He was also the son of Sonin, 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. Backgrou ...

appointed to assist the young Kangxi Emperor during his minority. As Empress Xiaochengren's paternal uncle, he was also therefore, the grand-uncle of

Yinreng 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 ...

, who was crown prince throughout most of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Songgotu did not inherit the noble title First-class Duke or First-class Earl from his father Sonin because his mother was not the primary consort, therefore, he had the lowest status of his brothers. His sixth brother and fifth brother inherited the noble titles First-class Duke and First-class Count. His oldest brother, Gabula, was

's father, and he also had the noble title First-class Duke. Songgotu helped the young Kangxi Emperor depose

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 Guwalgi ...

, a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the reign of the young emperor. Gradually, Songgotu gained more power and became one of the most prominent officials under Kangxi. He was involved in a long power struggle with

Mingju Mingju (Manchu:, Mölendroff: ''mingju''; , November 19, 1635 – June 3, 1708), of the Manchu Nara clan, was an official of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. He was thrown in prison for corruption. Second cousin to the ...

, another official at Kangxi's court. He also acted as a diplomat and signed 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 ...

with Russia. During Kangxi's expedition against Dzungar khan

Galdan Erdeniin Galdan (1644–1697, mn, Галдан Бошигт хаан, , ), known as Galdan Boshugtu Khan (in Mongolian script: ) was a Choros Dzungar- Oirat Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. As fourth son of Erdeni Batur, founder of the Dzungar Kha ...

, Songgotu advocated for a withdrawal, but was reprimanded by the emperor for suggesting such a strategy. Songgotu was later implicated in the heir-apparent crisis, and he was imprisoned until death. Kangxi rescinded recognition for all of Songgotu's achievements during the latter's life, with the sole exception of the Treaty with Russia.

In fiction

* ''

The Deer and the Cauldron ''The Deer and the Cauldron'', also known as ''The Duke of Mount Deer'', is a comic historical novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha), the longest of his novels and the last to be published but chronologically it is the eighth novel. It was initially pub ...

'' (), a ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

'' novel by

Louis Cha Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), pronounced "Gum Yoong" in Cantonese, was a Chinese wuxia ("martial arts and chivalry") novelist and essayist who co-founded the Hong Kong dail ...

. In the story, Songgotu was an aristocrat who befriended the protagonist

Wei Xiaobao The following is a list of characters from the novel ''The Deer and the Cauldron'' by Jin Yong. Some of these characters previously appeared in another novel ''Sword Stained with Royal Blood'', which is also written by Jin Yong. Some of these char ...

References

* * Spence, Jonathan. ''Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-hsi''.

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

(1974) {{ISBN, 0-224-00940-0. Qing dynasty diplomats Deliberative Princes and Ministers 1636 births 1703 deaths Politicians from Shenyang Qing dynasty politicians from Liaoning Grand Secretaries of the Qing dynasty Manchu Plain Yellow Bannermen Hešeri clan