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Emperor Shoutian Xingyun Fuhua Suiyou Chongwen Jingwu Guangyu Xiaogong Qinjian Duanmin Yingzhe Rui<br>
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9 February , 1796
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2 September , 1820
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Qing (清)<br>Cing
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Yongyan (永琰), later Yongyan (顒琰)¹<br>Yong Yan
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Renzong (Benevolent Ancestor)(仁宗)<br><small>(Manchu name to be added)
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Jiaqing (嘉慶 Chia-ch'ing)<br>Saicungga Fengšen
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The (
November 13 ,
1760 –
September 2 ,
1820 ) was the sixth
Emperor of the
Manchu Qing Dynasty , and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over
China , from
1796 to
1820 .
Son of the famous
Qianlong Emperor , he is remembered for his prosecution of
Heshen (和珅), the infamously corrupt favorite of Qianlong Emperor (Gaozong), as well as for attempts to restore the state and curb the smuggling of
Opium inside China.
He was born at the who thought it not proper to have a whole generation of people changing their names on his son's accession to the throne.
He was the fifteenth son of the Qianlong Emperor. His mother was a
Han Chinese Concubine , Concubine of the second rank Ling (令貴妃), who became a favorite of Qianlong. She was posthumously made Empress Xiaoyi Chun (孝儀純皇后) when her son became emperor. She was the daughter of Wei Qingtai (魏清泰), an official in the Qing administration whose
Han Chinese family had long been integrated in the Manchu elites. In
1818 Emperor Jiaqing made his mother's family officially Manchu, and changed their Chinese family name Wei into the Manchu clan name Weigiya.
After the first two original choices for heir to the throne succumbed early to disease, in December
1773 Yongyan was secretly chosen by Qianlong to be the next emperor. In
1789 he was made Prince of the 1st rank Jia (嘉親王).
At the end of his reign, Gaozong became infatuated with a
Manchu government minister called
Heshen . Prince Jia hated the notoriously corrupt Heshen for his abuse of power, and vowed to punish the minister once he became an emperor.
In October
1795 , in the 60th year of his reign, Emperor Qianlong announced his intention to abdicate in favor of Prince Jia, because he did not think it proper to rule longer than his grandfather, the late
Kangxi Emperor . Prince Jia acceded to the throne and proclaimed the
Era Name of in February
1796 . For the next three years however, Jiaqing ruled as Emperor in name only. Decisions were made by his father, the
Grand Emperor Qianlong.
At the death of Qianlong at the beginning of February
1799 , Jiaqing took control of the government and prosecuted Heshen. Heshen was charged with corruption and abuse of power. He was stripped of his titles and properties, and he was ordered to commit suicide. Heshen's son and daughter-in-law was a sister of the new emperor and she was spared from the punishment. She was given a few properties from Heshen's estates.
At the time the empire was facing internal disorders, including a large scale rebellion
White Lotus Rebellion (
1796 -
1804 ) and an empty treasury. Emperor Jiaqing engaged in the pacification of the empire and the quelling of rebellions, and he tried to bring the country back to its 18th-century prosperity and power. But, due to large outflows of
Silver out of the country as payment for the opium smuggled into China from
British India , the economy was in decline.
- Principal wife - Lady Hitara of the Hitara (Manchu) clan, who became Empress when Emperor Jiaqing ascended the throne in 1796. She was the mother of Emperor Daoguang (2nd son of Emperor Jiaqing) She is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoshu Rui (孝淑睿皇后).
- Empress Xiaohe Rui , of the Niuhuru clan (孝和睿皇后) (1776 - 1849).
- Gongsun Huang Kuai Fei , of the Niuhuru clan (恭順皇貴妃) (1787 - 1860).
- Helu Huang Kuai Fei (? - 1833).
- Hua Fei (? - 1808).
- Sons - 2nd: Prince Mianning (綿寧) succeeded his father as Emperor Daoguang in 1820
On
September 2 ,
1820 , the Jiaqing Emperor died at the Rehe Traveling Palace (熱河行宫), 230 km (140 mi) northeast of
Beijing , where the imperial court was in summer quarters. Allegedly he died after being struck by lightning, but not all sources agree on that. He was succeeded by his second son,
Emperor Daoguang .
Renzong was interred amidst the
Western Qing Tombs , 120 km (75 mi) southwest of
Beijing , in the Changling (昌陵 - meaning "Splendid tomb") mausoleum complex.
