Bolo (

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 ...

: ''Bolo''; 1613 – 23 April 1652), formally known as

Prince Duanzhong Prince Duanzhong of the First Rank, or simply Prince Duanzhong, was the title of a Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty, princely peerage used in China during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Duanzhong pe ...

, was a

prince of 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 ...

. He was born in the

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro is 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 chie ...

clan, the imperial clan of the Qing dynasty, as the third son of

Abatai Abatai (Manchu: ; 27 July 1589 – 10 May 1646) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. Although an inconsistent and dissolute malcontent, he nevertheless showed considerable ability as a military leader and a ...

Life

Bolo was conferred the title of a ''beizi'' (fourth-rank prince) in 1636 and took part in the campaigns against the Mongols, Chinese, and Koreans. In 1644, Bolo followed

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 ...

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 ...

. He accompanied

Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...

in pursuit of

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by his nickname, the Thunder King, was a Chinese Late Ming peasant rebellions, peasant rebel leader who helped overthrow the Ming dynasty in April 1644 and ruled over northe ...

, and was promoted to the status of a ''beile'' (third-rank prince) for his achievement. In 1645, he followed Dodo to

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

where he was given command of half the army to pacify nearby cities. He succeeded in taking

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

, and

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

, but returned to Beijing late the same year. In 1646, he was again sent to

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, this time as commander-in-chief of the Qing troops with the title "Great General Who Pacifies the South" (平南大將軍). His aim was to conquer Zhejiang and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

and this he accomplished in 1646. From Fujian he sent a detachment south, which took

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

from remaining

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known in historiography as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the ...

forces early in 1647. On his triumphal return to Beijing, Bolo was promoted to a ''junwang'' (second-rank prince) and given the title " Prince Duanzhong of the Second Rank". In 1648, he and

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 ...

were commissioned to inquire into the situation in Mongolia, however a rebellion broke out simultaneously in

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, and both laid siege to the city to quell the rebellion. When Dorgon personally conducted the siege of Datong in 1649 he promoted Bolo to the status of a ''qinwang'' (first-rank prince), and placed him in command of an expedition to suppress another uprising in Shanxi. After those who were rebelling were subdued late in 1649, Bolo returned to Beijing. The following year he was entrusted with the supervision of the Six Boards of the central government but was soon demoted to the status of a ''junwang'' for failing to inform against the president of a Board, who had disobeyed orders. Early in 1651, he was reinstated as a ''qinwang''. He and the princes Nikan and Mandahai were trusted by Dorgon and were left in power after the latter died. Before long, however, Bolo aligned himself with the princes who had opposed Dorgon. Later he was once more demoted to ''junwang'', this time for failure to report that Ajige, then in prison, was in possession of weapons. Eventually, his rank of a ''qinwang'' was restored to him. After Dorgon's death in 1650, Bolo married one of his consorts, the Korean princess Yi Ae-suk.Veritable Records of Hyeongjong, volume 5, day 18, month 5, year 3 of Hyeongjong's reign. After his death in 1652, he was granted the posthumous name ''Ding'' (定), and his title was passed on to one of his sons. But when it was disclosed that Bolo while living had appropriated for his own use property which had belonged to Dorgon, he was posthumously deprived of all honours, and his descendants were also deprived of their ranks in 1659. A small work written in 1673, entitled ''Guoxu Zhi'' (過墟志), tells the story of a Manchu prince who engaged in the conquest of south China, and married a Chinese widow surnamed Liu (劉). This work did not disclosed the name of the prince in question, but according to internal evidence, some historians believe Bolo is the prince described in the work.

Life

See also

References

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