Oboi
| Oboi | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Portrait of Oboi | ||
| Regent of the Qing Dynasty | ||
| In office 1661–1669 Serving with Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha | ||
| Monarch | Kangxi Emperor | |
| Personal details | ||
| Born | c. 1610 | |
| Died | 1669 | |
| Parents | Guwalgiya Uici (father) | |
| Cabinet | Four Regents of the Kangxi Emperor | |
| Posthumous name | Chaowu (超武) | |
| Military service | ||
| Years of service | 1637-1646 | |
| Battles/wars | Defeated Zhang Xianzhong | |
Gūwalgiya Oboi (Manchu: ᡤᡡᠸᠠᠯᡤᡳᠶᠠ ᠣᠪᠣᡳ; simplified Chinese: 瓜尔佳 鰲拜; traditional Chinese: 瓜爾佳 鼇拜; pinyin: Guāěrjiā Áobài) (c. 1610[1]–1669) was a highly decorated Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive emperors of the early Qing Dynasty. He was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the Kangxi Emperor's minority. Eventually deposed and imprisoned by the new emperor for having amassed too much power, he was posthumously rehabilitated.
Early life and military career
Oboi was born to a distinguished military family of the Manchu Guwalgiya clan. Under the Manchu Banner organization created by Nurhachi, Oboi's branch of the family was registered under the Bordered Yellow division which came under the command of Nurhachi's son Hong Taiji. Oboi's father Uici (衛齊) (d. 1634) was a senior military officer who was once garrison commander of the Manchu capital city Mukden while his paternal uncle Fiongdon (费英東) was one of Nurhachi's most trusted generals. Oboi's childhood and early years are relatively obscure. Being his father's third son, he was not destined to inherit the family's hereditary seat in the Banner hierarchy. Oboi was first mentioned in official Qing history in the Chronicles of Hong Taiji (清太宗实录) in 1632, documenting his triumphant return from a minor raid into Ming territories in which he was allowed to keep his spoils as reward.
Oboi officially started his military career in 1634 during the reign of Hong Taiji as a junior officer in the Banner's cavalry guard unit[2] in which capacity he distinguished himself many times in battle against Ming forces and was renowned for his personal bravery. For this, he was granted an hereditary commission as captain of a company (niru i janggin). In 1637 during the Manchus' second campaign against Korea, Oboi volunteered and succeeded in capturing a small but strategically important Pi Island[3] (皮岛) south of the Yalu River after a difficult amphibious landing followed by desperate hand-to-hand battle ending in the complete annihilation of the Ming garrison. For this achievement he was promoted to the rank of a hereditary colonel third-class and bestowed the rare honorific title of "Baturu" (巴图鲁), which means "(brave) warrior" in Manchu.[4] In 1641 Oboi again distinguished himself in battle scoring five victories in as many encounters against Ming forces in the campaign for Songshan (松山). He was promoted to full Colonel and given command of the Bayarai guards of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Oboi's rise in the Banner hierarchy continued apace with the Manchus' war with the Ming Dynasty. In 1645 he was promoted to the rank of General. It was recorded in official Qing history that in 1646 during the campaign to pacify Sichuan, Oboi was personally responsible for slaying the rebel chief Zhang Xianzhong in battle.[5]
Persecution and rehabilitation
As a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner, Oboi's loyalty to his Banner master was crucial to his rapid advancement during the years when Hong Taiji commanded the Banner. However after Hong Taiji's death, Oboi's loyalty to his new Banner master Hooge became a political liability. When Dorgon who commanded the White and Bordered White Banners became regent to the young Shunzhi Emperor, he sought to weaken the influence of the other Banners at court by purging the ranks of their senior commanders. Just as Hooge was arrested and eventually died in prison, in 1648 Oboi was stripped of his rank and titles under a charge of claiming false victories in battle. Later he was found guilty of a more serious crime of conspiracy to elect Hooge as emperor during the succession dispute after Hong Taiji's death. This later charge carried with it the death penalty, however the sentence was commuted while he continued to command troops against Ming loyalists. The charges against Oboi were most likely politically motivated and were rehabilitated in 1651 after Dorgon's death. Oboi for his unswerving loyalty to his Banner and services to the Qing government was appointed a cabinet minister by Shunzhi Emperor, who also bestowed on him the title of Marquis of the First Rank.
The extent of the Shunzhi Emperor's trust in Oboi's loyalty can be gauged by the honours the emperor showered on him. In 1652 after Shunzhi successfully purged the court of the more powerful elements in Dorgon's faction, Oboi was elevated to a hereditary Duke of the Second Rank and more importantly appointed the commander of the imperial bodyguard (领侍卫内大臣), a job which doubled as the de facto police chief in the capital. In this capacity Oboi acted as Shunzhi's much feared enforcer against Dorgon's old cohorts and helped to consolidate power to the throne and the Emperor's own "Upper Three Banners". During the period of Shunzhi's personal rule, Oboi was responsible for the arrest and execution of a number of noblemen found guilty of one crime or another. Although there is no doubt that these executions were carried out with the approval of Shunzhi, it is not surprising that after the emperor's death, Oboi, given his ruthless character and position in court, when left uncontrolled by a higher authority should eventually come to dominate court politics creating unto himself a "state within a state".
Regency
The Shunzhi Emperor died from smallpox on February 5, 1661, at the age of 24. On his deathbed he appointed four "Executive Ministers" (辅政大臣) commonly referred to as regents[6] to "assist" his eight-year-old son Xuanye to govern the country until the young emperor reached the age of maturity at 16. The four ministers in their order of seniority[7] were Sonin of the Yellow Banner, who apart from being chief minister of the Imperial Household Department (內務府大臣) was also nominated by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang to head the regency. The second minister on the list was Suksaha of the White Banner. Originally a trusted deputy of Dorgon, Suksaha was politically astute enough to switch sides immediately after the former regent's death when the court was still dominated by Dorgon's associates. By the time of the Shunzhi Emperor's death he was one of the emperor's most trusted courtiers. Then came Ebilun and Oboi, both members of the Bordered Yellow Banner. The Shunzhi Emperor's succession plan set a precedence for the Qing Dynasty of nominating courtiers who owed their loyalty to the crown to "assist" a young emperor during the years of minority in running the state. This reflected the lesson learned from Dorgon's regency, when the regent grew almost too powerful for the emperor to control. Unfortunately, this system of appointing ministers to oversee the government during an emperor's minority proved not to be a very stable political device after all.[8]
Three of the four ministers, Sonin, Ebilun and Oboi were members of the "Two Yellow Banners" (i.e. Yellow Banner and Bordered Yellow Banner) previously under the command of the Shunzhi Emperor's elder brother Hooge. Because of the personal and political rivalries between Hooge and Dorgon, all three men were persecuted at one time or another during Dorgon's regency for their Banner affiliation. However their loyalty thus proven was also key to their rapid advancement after Dorgon's death. It was a major factor in Shunzhi's choice of personnel to oversee his son's regency. However Shunzhi's arrangement heightened the already sensitive relationship between the three members of the Yellow Banners and Suksaha who belonged to the White Banner. Suksaha was a much despised figure at this point not only because he was a member of the White Banner in an imperial court dominated by the two Yellow Banners, but also because he gained the Shunzhi Emperor's trust by denouncing his former master Dorgon, an action seen by his colleagues including members of the White Banner as disloyal.
In the first years of the regency, the tension between the Yellow Banners faction and Suksaha was kept in check by the even handed Sonin and thus the four ministers maintained a relatively peaceful and efficient working relationship. But the dynamics of the regency began to change as Sonin's health deteriorated due to old age. As Sonin gradually took more time off on sabbatical, Oboi monopolized decision making by dominating the indecisive Ebilun and worked to sideline Suksaha during policy discussions especially on issues concerning welfare of the Manchu Eight Banners. By 1667 when Sonin realized he did not have long to live, he tried a last-ditch effort to restore balance to the regency and neutralize Oboi's rapidly expanding power clique by petitioning the then 14-year-old Kangxi Emperor to assume personal rule ahead of schedule. Thus Kangxi formerly took over the reins of power in an ascension ceremony on August 25, 1667, a month after Sonin's death. This was followed by an official decree technically downgrading the three remaining ministers to the status of "advisers" (佐政大臣) while still remaining at their posts. However even with the formal authority of office, the young Kangxi Emperor found it difficult to curb the growing power of Oboi.
Conflict with the Kangxi Emperor
Oboi forced the young Kangxi Emperor to execute Suksaha and his family. He controlled Ebilun completely and then finally established a system of near absolute rule under himself.
The Kangxi Emperor took power earlier than expected at the age of 14 in 1669. The emperor suddenly had Oboi arrested on 30 charges. Oboi was sentenced to death but it was reduced to imprisonment in consideration of his achievements. Some sources say that he displayed the many wounds on his body that had been received in the defense of Kangxi's great-grandfather Nurhaci, this act had apparently moved the Kangxi Emperor to pardon Oboi.
Oboi was posthumously rehabilitated. The Kangxi Emperor issued a pardon in 1713, while his successor, the Yongzheng Emperor, granted Oboi the rank of a First Class Duke and the posthumous title Chaowu (超武 "exceedingly martial") but Yongzheng's successor, the Qianlong Emperor, gave Oboi the lower title of First Class Baron after reviewing his merits and demerits.
Popular culture
- The Deer and the Cauldron (鹿鼎記), a wuxia novel by Jin Yong. In the story, Oboi is a cruel and power-hungry aristocrat who plots to usurp the Kangxi Emperor's throne. He is removed from power by the protagonist Wei Xiaobao and the young Kangxi Emperor and is imprisoned. He is later killed by Wei Xiaobao.
References
- ↑ Oboi's birthday is historically undocumented, but based on circumstantial evidence historians generally estimate his birth year to be within a few years after 1610.
- ↑ Official Qing Court History, Chronicles Volume 36 - The Chronicles of Oboi (清史稿.列传三十六.鳌拜列传). Oboi's initial post was a lieutenant (Manchu: juwan-i da; Chinese: 壯達) in the Banner guard unit (Manchu: Bayarai; Chinese: 巴牙喇). The Bayarais were hand-picked elite cavalry units within a Manchu Banner army that served both as camp guard and tactical reserve. In battle they were usually tasked with difficult missions independent of the main battle formation.
- ↑ Ka-Do in present day North Korea.
- ↑ The Manchu term "Baturu" was derived from the Mongol term "Bahadur" which translates to mean a warrior, knight or a great hero.
- ↑ Qing History, Chronicles of Shunzhi Vol.1 (清史稿.本紀四.世祖本紀一) "順治三年十一月己巳,豪格師至南部,時張獻忠列寨西充,鰲拜等兼程進擊,大破之,斬獻忠於陣,復分兵擊餘賊,破一百三十餘營,四川平。") "In the eleventh month of the third year of Shunzhi's reign, Hooge's divisions reached the southern regions (of China), when Zhang Xianzhong was encamped to the west, Oboi etc. advanced to attack, routed (the rebels), slain Xianzhong upon the battlefield, (they) then divided up forces to eradicate the remaining rebels, overran in excess of 130 (enemy) camps, Sichuan was thus pacified."
- ↑ The English term "regent" translates to the Chinese "shezheng" (摄政) as in the case of Dorgon whereas the four ministers' brief as stated in "Qing Court history, the Chronicles of the Shunzhi Emperor" (清太祖实录) was merely to "assist (the Emperor) in governance" i.e. "fuzheng" (辅政)
- ↑ According to the order listed in the Shunzhi Emperor's edict.
- ↑ The Xianfeng Emperor tried the same system again nominating eight ministers to oversee the regency of his son, the Tongzhi Emperor, but they were outmaneuvered by Empress Dowager Cixi, who took control through a palace coup.
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