Yongzheng Emperor

Also known as Yongzheng Di · Qing Shizong · Ai Xin Jue Luo · Yin Zhen

Yinzhen, fourth son of the Kangxi Emperor, was made Prince Yong in 1709 and emerged from the contest among the princes to take the throne in 1722, reigning from the next year as the Yongzheng Emperor. He introduced secret designation of the heir, whose name was sealed behind the plaque reading Upright and Bright in the Qianqing Palace. He merged the poll tax into the land tax, brought the meltage surcharge into the public accounts and paid officials an anti-corruption allowance from it, and backed Ortai in replacing hereditary native chieftains in the southwest with regular appointed officials. Around 1729, during war with the Dzungars, he set up the office that became the Grand Council. He also published the edicts and confessions from the Zeng Jing case as Records of Awakening from Delusion through Great Righteousness (Dayi juemi lu). He died at the Yuanmingyuan in 1735, received the temple name Shizong and was buried at Tailing. His successor, the Qianlong Emperor, promptly recalled and banned the book.