Author: Kobo-Daishi
Date: 12-19-01 23:21
Dear readers,
According to the book ¡§The Search For Modern China¡¨, by Jonathan D. Spence, Shun Zhi ¶¶ªv (Mand: shun4 zhi4, Cant: seon6 zi6) was not a ¡§puppet¡¨ the last half of his reign.
From the time Shunzhi ascended the throne, at about 7 years of age, the imperial court was more or less controlled by Shunzhi¡¦s uncle, the regent Dorgon. But after Dorgon¡¦s death Shunzhi was very much his own man.
The following passage from the book states what happened after the regent Dorgon died:
¡§By clever maneuvering, however, the young emperor Shunzhi, now aged thirteen, was able to consolidate his hold on the throne. Though raised as a Manchu in a Manchu court, Shunzhi seems to have been far more adaptable to Chinese ways than most of the senior Manchus around him. Astute enough to avoid being dominated by the magnates who succeeded Dorgon, and militarily shrewd enough to push the attacks on the last Ming supporters through to a successful conclusion, he also studied the Chinese language carefully, became a lover of Chinese novels and plays, and was deeply influenced by a number of devout Chinese Buddhist monks with whom he studied at court. For the last year of his life, Shunzhi grew passionately enamoured of one of his junior consorts and completely neglected the reigning empress.¡¨
Spence goes on to say that Shunzhi returned some of the powers that were taken from the palace eunuchs by Dorgon because ¡§possibly Shunzhi wanted to make the inner court more privately his own, without Manchu bodyguards and bondservants to report his movements back to the nobles of his entourage.¡¨
As to Shunzhi¡¦s friendship with the Jesuit missionary, Father Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Spence believes this was another way for Shunzhi to express his independence, ¡§or even to rediscover the father that he had lost so young.¡¨
Father Schall von Bell also had a high level of scientific skill that Shunzhi utilized by appointing Schall von Bell to head the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy. The imperial court was expected to make the calendar for the country and Shunzhi wanted as accurate a calendar as possible to reinforce his mandate to rule.
Shunzhi died in 1661, shortly after the death of his beloved consort; not the empress as Erwin states in his post.
Incidentally, Shunzhi¡¦s son Kangxi ±dº³ (Mand: kang1 xi1, Cant: hong1 hei1) who also came into his own at the age of 13 went on to become China¡¦s longest ruling emperor.
Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.
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