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Dorgon
Manchu prince and regent for the young Shunzhi emperor who led the Qing army through Shanhai Pass in 1644 and moved the court to Beijing
Mural of the event “Qing Army Enters the Pass”, which this person took part in.
After Li Zicheng broke Beijing, the Shanhaiguan defender Wu Sangui faced the threat of the peasant army. Meanwhile the Manchu Eight Banners outside the pass had long been gathering momentum, seeking the ultimate geopolitical opportunity to enter and master the Central Plains.
Also known as Qing Chengzong · Shezheng Wang · Ruiqin Wang
Dorgon was the fourteenth son of Nurhaci. A campaign against the Chahar in 1628 earned him the title Mergen Daicing; later he obtained the Yuan imperial seal from Ligdan Khan's son, and in 1636 he became Prince Rui. After Hong Taiji died in 1643 he and Jirgalang installed the child Fulin as emperor and governed as regents. In 1644 Dorgon led the army to Shanhai Pass, accepted Wu Sangui's submission, defeated Li Zicheng's forces, entered Beijing in the fifth month and moved the Shunzhi emperor's court there. As regent he enforced the head-shaving order, land enclosures for bannermen and the law on runaway bondservants, and from 1648 was styled Imperial Father Regent. He died at Karacheng at the end of 1650 and was named Emperor Yi with the temple name Chengzong, but within months he was accused of treason and stripped of all honours. In 1778 the Qianlong emperor restored his rank, named him Zhong and placed his tablet in the imperial ancestral temple.
Life and times
- 1612 CEBorn
Ming
Qing - 1644Qing Army Enters the Pass
Took partage 32Dorgon led Eight Banner forces through Shanhai Pass, joined Wu Sangui against Li Zicheng, and occupied Beijing as the Qing conquest began.- Wu Sangui Opens Shanhai Pass GateIn 1644 Wu Sangui sought Qing aid at Shanhai Pass and defeated the Shun forces; making Chen Yuanyuan the sole motive is a later popular explanation.
- Qing Army Crosses Yangtze, Takes Nanjing1645age 33In 1645 Qing troops crossed the Yangtze, the Hongguang Emperor fled, Nanjing's officials surrendered and the first Southern Ming court fell.
- Wu Sangui Opens Shanhai Pass Gate
- 1650 CEDied
Works
Literature · Sayings3- Reviving Fallen States and Restoring Broken LinesQingIdiom from Dorgon's letter to Shi Kefa: the Qing claim to restore a fallen dynasty
- Enough Whips to Dam the RiverQingIdiom from the Book of Jin: Fu Jian's boast before his rout at the Fei River
- The Fisherman's Gain from the Snipe and the ClamQingIdiom from the snipe-and-clam fable: while two quarrel, a third takes the prize
- Literature · Prose1
- Letter to Shi KefaQingLetter of 1644 in Dorgon's name urging the Southern Ming commander Shi Kefa to submit
Family tree
- Direct kin
DorgonNephew
