Jiaqing Emperor

Emperor Jiaqing

## Family

* Brother: Yongxing
* Sons:Mianning, Miankai

> *This article is about Aisin Gioro Yongyan, the Emperor of the Qing dynasty reigned from 1796 to 1820.*
>
>

The **Jiaqing Emperor** was the ruler of China in 1806, when the Chinese Embassy to England brought back Temeraire with William Laurence and his crew of aviators. The emperor's companion dragon was Temeraire's uncle, Lung Tien Chu.

("Jiaqing" was the Emperor's regnal title, not his personal name; for more information, see the #Historical Context section below.)

## Biography

The imperial succession required finding a suitable match between a Celestial dragon and a potential heir. The Emperor's oldest son, Prince Yongxing, lost his own eligibility for the throne by accepting the albino Lung Tien Lien for a companion, due to her inauspicious "mourning colors".

As a result, Yongyan a younger brother, was named as the successor to their father.

## 1805 - 1806

from *Throne of Jade*
Prince Mianning, the younger of the Jiaqing Emperor's three sons the middle one, was approximately twenty years old. He was widely known as the Crown Prince and the heir apparent to the throne. His Celestial companion, Lung Tien Chuan, was Temeraire's twin brother.

The youngest son, Prince Miankai, was about ten years old and had no dragon companion. Prince Yongxing's planned coup was partially based on convincing Temeraire to abandon Laurence and accept Prince Miankai, in whose name Yongxing hoped to rule as imperial regent after placing the boy on the throne.

## 1811

from *Blood of Tyrants*

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## Jiaqing Emperor

### Facts

* Born: Aisin Gioro Yongyan 13 November 1760 at Old Summer Palace
* Died: 2 September 1820 (aged 59) @ Chengde Mountain Resort
* Burial: Chang Mausoleum, Western Qing tombs
* Empress: Xiaoshurui of the Hitara clan (m. 1774; died 1797)
* Empress: Xiaoherui of the Niohuru clan (m. 1790⁠–⁠1820)
* Issue:
	+ Daoguang Emperor
	+ Miankai, Prince Dunke of the First Rank
	+ Mianxin, Prince Ruihuai of the First Rank
	+ Mianyu, Prince Huiduan of the First Rank
	+ Princess Zhuangjing of the Second Rank
	+ Princess Zhuangjing of the First Rank
* Era dates: Jiaqing (9 February 1796 – 2 February 1821)

### Biography

In October 1795, the 60th year of his reign, the Qianlong Emperor announced his intention to abdicate in favour of Prince Jia. He made this decision because he felt that it was disrespectful for him to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who was on the throne for 61 years. Prince Jia ascended the throne and adopted the era name "Jiaqing" in February 1796, hence he is historically known as the Jiaqing Emperor. For the next three years however, the Jiaqing Emperor was emperor in name only because decisions were still made by his father, who became a Taishang Huang (emperor emeritus) after his abdication.

There is no mention that he actually had a brother named Yongxing.

### Historical context

The Jiaqing Emperor's personal name was Yongyan (永琰). Before ascending to the throne, he had the title Prince Jia. He was the fifteenth son of his predecessor, the Qianlong Emperor (born 1711, reigned 1735-1795, died 1799).

Historically, the imperial succession was not determined by birth order; Yongxing (Prince Cheng) was the Qianlong Emperor's eleventh son. Emperors usually chose their own successors and announced them by imperial decree.

On his accession, Yongyan chose "Jiaqing" as the era name for his reign, thus the title "Jiaqing Emperor". He also altered the written form of his personal name by changing the first syllable 永 (the generational indicator for his family) to the homonym 顒, setting it apart from all of his brothers' names which remained unchanged.

The Jiaqing era began in 1795, when the Qianlong Emperor abdicated to respectfully avoid lengthening his reign past that of his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor. However, despite the nominal accession of the Jiaqing Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor retained ultimate authority until dying in 1799.

Mianning (1782-1850) was the Jiaqing Emperor's second-born but eldest surviving son. The first-born son, Mianmu, died in infancy. Both of these sons and at least one daughter were born to the Jiaqing Emperor's first wife, Lady Hitara (Empress Shu Rui; born 1747, married 1774, died 1797).

The Jiaqing Emperor's second empress was Lady Niuhuru (Empress He Rui; born 1776, declared Empress 1801, died 1850). She gave birth to Miankai (Prince Dun; 1794-1839), Mianxin (Prince Rui; 1804-1828), and at least one daughter. Prince Mianxin was probably the unnamed third son referred to in *Throne of Jade*, and would have been an infant at the time.

The Jiaqing Emperor's last son was Mianyu (Prince Hui; 1814-1865), whose mother may have held the rank of Imperial Noble Consort instead of being elevated to Empress.

## Deviations from history

By 1806, the Jiaqing Emperor had made no public declaration of his heir. He died in 1820 without leaving a succession decree. Empress He Rui used her authority as Dowager Empress to declare her eldest stepson Mianning as her late husband's successor (now known as the Daoguang Emperor), bypassing her own two sons.

## Trivia

* "Jiaqing" is in fact the 20th-century Pinyin spelling of the Emperor's regnal name; the romanization standard used in 1806 would have been Wade-Giles, which would have rendered the name "Chia-ch'ing".

for more historical information,
visit wikipedia:Jiaqing Emperor