Heseri

Clan Heseri (Chinese: 赫舍里; Pinyin: Hesheli), is a Manchu clan which came from Jianzhou Jurchens. It was once the most important and powerful family in the early Qing Dynasty in China, second only to the royal House of Aisin Gioro, to whom they were closely related by marriage. The power of the family reached its peak in the period of Marquess Heseri Sonin and his second son Duke Heseri Songgotu and then declined after the death of Songgotu. However, power remained in other branches to the clan until the fall of Qing Dynasty.

Contents

History

Origins

Heseri clan can trace its origin back to the Jurchen people of Tang Dynasty ( AD 618-907) in China. The name, Heseri, was first recorded in the Thirty Common Surnames of Jurchen in late Tang dynasty, and it is said to be from a name of a river (seri loosely means a water-spring in Manchu language). Though someones think it was from a name of an ancient tribe.

In the early 1900s, after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, people from this clan changed their surname to He (Chinese: 赫/何) for short. In Hong Kong and some other Cantonese-speaking regions, He is commonly spelled as "Ho". There were also a few people from this clan who changed their surname to Kang 康) or Zhang 张).

Notable people

In Jin Dynasty

In the 119-year history of Jin Dynasty，at least 52[1] people from this clan were powerful enough to affect the government's decisions. Their names were recorded in the History of Jin Dynasty

In Qing Dynasty

[2]

[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ 《金史·列传》
  2. ^ 清史稿
  3. ^ http://baike.baidu.com/view/1289096.html
  4. ^ http://manchusky.blog.sohu.com/22823959.html