Yongzheng Emperor

The Yongzheng Emperor (born Yinzhen 胤禛) (December 13, 1678 - October 8, 1735) was the fourth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1722 to 1735.

Disputed Succession to the throne

Please refer to the article on the Kangxi Emperor for details.

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In 1712 the Kangxi Emperor removed his second son, Yinreng, as successor to the throne and did not designate another one. This led to division in Court, which was split among supporters of Yinzhi, Yinzhen, Yinsi, and Yinti, the 3rd, 4th, 8th and 14th Imperial Princes, respectively. By the time of the old Emperor's death in December 1722, the field of contenders had been reduced down to three Princes after Yinsi pledged his support to Yinti, Yinzhi, Yinti, and Yinzhen.

Related Topics:
Yinreng - Yinzhi - Yinsi - Yinti - 1722

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At the time of the Kangxi Emperor's death, Yinti, as Border Pacification General-in-chief (撫遠大將軍), was away on the warfront in the northwest. Some historians say this was to train the next Emperor in military affairs; others maintain that it was to ensure a peaceful succession for Yinzhen. The official record states that on December 20 1722, the ailing Kangxi Emperor called to his bedside seven of his sons and the General Commandant of the Peking Gendarmerie, Longkodo, who read out the will and declared that Yinzhen succeed him on the imperial throne. Some evidence have suggested that Yinzhen had made contact with Longkodo months before the will was read in preparation for succession by military means. Folklore has is that Yinzhen changed Kangxi's will by adding strokes and modifying characters. The most famous one said Yinzhen changed fourteen (??) to "to four" (??), others say it was fourteen to fourth (??). Whilst this folklore had been widely circulated, there was little evidence to support the view, especially considering that the character "?" wasn't widely used during the Qing Dynasty, i.e. on official documents, "?" is used. Secondly, Qing tradition insists that the will be done in both Manchu and Chinese, and Manchu writing is much harder, and in this case impossible to modify. Much doubt, however, still arises when the Manchu version of the will was lost somewhere along the way, and the existing will in Chinese that is preserved in the Chinese Historical Museum was only issued two days after Kangxi' death. Some historians gave the theory that Yinzhen did not change the will, but rather forged a new one.

Related Topics:
December 20 - 1722 - Longkodo

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As the first official act as Emperor, Yinzhen released his long-time ally, Yinxiang, from prison. An able military leader, some sources indicate that Yinxiang assembled a group of special task Beijing soldiers from Fengtai to seize immediate control of the Forbidden City and surrounding areas, to prevent any disruption of the succsesion. Yinzhen's personal account stated that he was emotionally unstable and deeply saddened over his father's death, and knew it would be a burden "much too heavy" for himself if he were to succeed the throne. In addition, after the will was read, Yinzhen wrote that the officials and Yinzhi, the Prince Cheng, led the other Princes in the ceremonial Three-kneels and Nine-Salutes to the Emperor. On the next day, Yinzhen gave out an edict summoning Yinti back from Qinghai. Subsequently, he gave his mother the title of Holy Mother Empress Dowager.

Related Topics:
Yinxiang - Fengtai - Forbidden City - Yinzhi - Qinghai - Empress Dowager

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In the first major comprehensive biography of the Yongzheng Emperor by Feng Erkang, the author put the Yongzheng succession in perspective. Feng wrote that there were some suspicious signs from the lost wills and the dates released, but the majority of evidence points to Yinzhen succeeding the throne legitimately, albeit with some political and military manoeuvering deemed necessary by the situation. Furthermore, Feng suggested "although we are not yet altogether certain on what happened with the succession, and which side is correct, it is reasonable to think that Yinzhen's political enemies manipulated all suspicion behind the will in an attempt to put a dark image on Yonzheng; Imperial Chinese tradition had led certain schools of thought in believing that Yongzheng's whole reign can be discredited simply because his succession of the throne did not come as a will of his father, the Emperor and ultimate decision maker in China." He further suggested that Kangxi had made a grave mistake by letting his sons become major players in politics, especially under the condition that the position of Crown Prince was empty, and that a bloody battle of succession, including a possible usurpation, is the inevitable result of the Imperial Chinese institution and history. Therefore it would be an even bigger mistake to judge a ruler solely on the way he came to power.

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