The Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of feudal society, lasted more than 200 years from the entry of the Qing army into the customs to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and experienced twelve emperors. However, there have been many disputes over the throne of Emperor Taiji in history.
So, is Huang Taiji the rightful successor? Or is it a concubine?
In fact, this problem is not difficult, as long as you look at huang taiji's birth mother, everything is solved.
In the Qing Shilu, Emperor Taiji's biological mother, Yehenara, was called Empress Menggu Zhezhe. She was the first empress of the Qing Dynasty (Posthumous) and the first empress of the Yehenara clan. However, the revision of this history book was during the reign of Emperor Taiji. Just as the so-called mother relies on her son, after the Emperor Taiji ascended the throne, it is also a matter of course to honor her mother as an empress.
So, can this be evidence?
In the "Biography of Celebrities in the Qing Dynasty", it is recorded that after Emperor Taiji became emperor, according to the Han system, he honored his original concubine's birth mother as Empress Xiaocigao. However, the birth of Huang Taiji was a concubine related to the government, because Huang Taiji was a "Khan" produced by the public deduction system. If this sentence is true, it means that in the Manchu patriarchy, there is no difference between concubines and concubines, and everyone has the opportunity to inherit the Khan's throne.
Therefore, some people think that the Emperor Taiji has robbed Dolgun of his position, and Dolgun is the concubine. If, this statement is true, since the Emperor Taiji is a Concubine, then he is "taking the Concubine with the Concubine".
Is this really the case?
Huang Taiji's father was Nurhaci, who, as the leader of the tribe, had numerous wives. The marriages of chiefs are mostly political marriages. According to the Records of Emperor Wu of the Qing Dynasty, there were four people in the main room, among them, there was Emperor Taiji's biological mother Meng Guzhezhe, who called her "Empress zhonggong", and Menggu Zhezhe had only one son, that is, Huang Taiji.
However, this record was also revised after Emperor Taiji ascended the throne, so whether its claim is true or not needs to be examined. However, one thing is certain that Menggu Zhezhe came to Nurhaci's side between the arrival of the stepfather Fucha and the grand concubine Abahai, and the person, time, and reason can all be seated.
In 1596, the Fucha clan seemed to have faded from people's vision, and in 1620, "the concubine offended and died", which showed that the Fucha clan had fallen out of favor, and even the title of concubine was not guaranteed. In the "Manchu Old Files", there is a story: Huang Taiji once recalled that when he was a child, he often gave his food and clothing items to Mang Guertai, who was the son of fucha.
If Fucha was still a concubine, how could her son be disgraced? As for the outcome of the Fucha clan, there are also different historical accounts: one theory is that Gurtai drew his sword in front of the emperor, which provoked the anger of the emperor Taiji, saying that he "killed his mother and invited favor"; the other is that according to the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", she was "convicted" and given to death.
After the abolition of the Fucha clan, the next main chamber should be Meng GuZhezhe, so Huang Taiji received direct "upbringing" from his father.
Living in abundant conditions, he had surplus supplies to help his brother Mang Gultai. The story of Joe Tobele's childhood can also confirm this. Huang Taiji was deeply loved by Nurhaci and was raised in the palace. Living in the same room, it was his birth mother who took care of the Emperor Taiji, which shows that Meng Guzhezhe was also "living in the same room".
Moreover, Meng Guzhezhe can sit in the position of the main room, which is inseparable from her background and her own posture.
In 1582, in the fifth year of nurhaci's wedding, he passed by the mother-in-law of Menggu Zhezhe, the Hexi Jurchen Yehebu, one of the four major tribes of the Haixi Jurchens. At the sight of Meng guzhezhe's father, he betrothed his eight-year-old daughter Xu to Nurhaci, and many horses and stomachs as dowry. Six years later, Meng guzhezhe officially married Nurhaci.
Judging from the background of Meng Guzhezhe, she is definitely not a concubine, and from the perspective of time, the Menggu Zhezhe at that time could not be a concubine, so the most likely thing is that meng guzhezhe at that time was a side concubine. According to the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Menggu Zhezhe "had a good temperament, a meek personality, did not interfere in the affairs of the dynasty, and single-mindedly took care of Taizu." ”
These words are a bit exaggerated, but it is certain that Menggu Zhezhe not only has a good birth, but also has a good appearance, so he is deeply loved by Nurhaci.
In addition, at the time of Menggu Zhezhe's death, Nurhaci had four slaves martyred for him, killed hundreds of cattle and horses to sacrifice, and fasted for several months. And that's not all, Nurhaci buried Menggu Zhezhe in the courtyard where he lived for three years, and later, he was buried in Shiniamangang. Later, the capital was moved to Liaoyang, and the remains of Meng Guzhezhe were also moved to the Tokyo Mausoleum.
In the royal family, the criteria for dividing wives and concubines are, in fact, quite simple:
First, the nobility of the door, the more powerful the matriarch, the woman who marries out will have a status in the husband's family, because this kind of marriage is more of an alliance;
Second, the degree of favor of the husband, in all the dynasties, the emperor has a large number of wives and concubines, and it is very common to compete for favors;
The third is the "first-come, first-served order", this standard is the easiest to overturn, and those women who are slightly worse off and are not favored by their husbands are easily eliminated.
It can be seen that the advantages of Meng Guzhezhe are still very strong.
From here, it can also be inferred that the Fucha clan was expelled from the main chamber, and Meng Guzhe just naturally became the main chamber, which is really a normal thing. Therefore, the saying "Empress of the Middle Palace" is the true identity of Menggu Zhezhe in the Nurhaci period. That Emperor Taiji was a son and a mother, so he could be crowned as the "Great Belle" with Daishan, Amin, and Mang Gurtai in status second only to "Khan".
From this point of view, the reason why Huang Taiji was elected as a "Khan" was entirely as a concubine. The Manchu patriarchal law also attaches great importance to concubines and strictly distinguishes between concubines and concubines, so the saying of "using concubines to seize concubines" is self-defeating. After inheriting the throne, every emperor will do something to beautify himself, but everything has traces, and in some corner of history, someone will eventually tell the story behind it.
And the story of the emperor is a historical book worth pondering in the world.
Resources:
[Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", "Qing Shilu", "Biography of Famous People in the Qing Dynasty", "Manchu Old File"]