A warrior emperor and five phoenixes

He is notorious for his cold calculation, credited with forcing his stepmother to commit sacrificial suicide upon the death of his father to rid himself of a potential political foe. He was also a man of great ambition and amorous passion, his renown owing as much to his achievements on horseback as to the fabled members of his harem.

This is Huang Taiji, founder of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and today there is no other place where his colorful life is more powerfully evoked than in Shenyang Palace.

In the late 16th century, Nurhaci (1559-1626), a chieftain from Northeast China, united all the feuding tribes of his Manchu roots, before launching attacks on the already rickety Ming Empire. He soon conquered what is now Liaoning and used it as a base for much more daring military moves. Around 1625 (the exact year is a matter of conjecture), Nurhaci ordered the construction of his royal palace in Shenyang.

Above: The main structure of the Shenyang Palace was built in 1625. Below from left: Huang Taiji Aisin-gioro; Jerjer Borjigit; Bumbutai Borjigit; Harjol Borjigit. Photos By Zhao Xu / China Daily and Images Provided to China Daily

 

However, Nurhaci, who died a year later, in 1626, never spent a day in the residence he envisioned for himself as an emperor. It was Huang Taiji - Huang is not his surname as the surname for the Manchu royal blood is Aisin-gioro - Nurhaci's fourth son and successor, who later became the master of Shenyang Palace.

Enter the palace from Daqing Gate, the main entrance, and you find yourself facing a yellow-roofed expanse, the Chongzheng Hall, where the emperor pored over mountains of documents or discussed state matters with his generals and court officials. Chongzheng means to fulfill royal duty and be a diligent ruler. Many of the plans that guided the Manchu troops from one military triumph to another must have been hatched here.

The day I visited in early June, the Chongzheng Hall was shrouded in scaffolding because long overdue conservation work was being carried out.

Next on the palace's central axis is its tallest building, Phoenix Tower, which was Shenyang's tallest building when it was completed. Five "phoenixes" resided right behind this tower, each with their own separate abode. They are Huang Taiji's empress and his four highest-ranking concubines. (The emperor had 10 other low-level concubines.)

Each deserves a book of her own. Two were former wives of the last ruler of the mighty Mongol Empire, which at one stage seemed utterly invincible. Both women were obviously consummate political pragmatists. When their husband, Ligdan Khan, suffered a humiliating military defeat at the hand of Huang Taiji and died in 1634, they knew that the best way of protecting their own people was to side with the Manchu ruler - or, better still, marry him. They did so in 1634 and 1635. (Another three of Ligdan Khan's eight wives married the Manchu emperor's brothers and son after their surrender.)

Huang Taiji's three other wives, including his empress, all bore the same surname, Borjigit, and are believed to have come from the same clan as that of the great conqueror Genghis Khan.

In 1614, Jerjer Borjigit, 16, was married by her father, a Mongol royal of the Khorchin tribe, to Huang Taiji, 22, in a union of political expedience rather than love. For three centuries, forming an alliance with the Mongols became national policy, one that all Qing emperors pursued and implemented with vigor.

Eleven years later, to further cement the relationship between this Mongol tribe and the rising Manchu power, Jerjer's 13-year-old niece, Bumbutai, was married to Huang Taiji. One year later, Huang Taiji, now 34, ascended to the throne, making Jerjer his empress.

Then, in 1634, Bumbutai's blood sister, Harjol, 26, was married, again to HuangTaiji. Harjol, four years older than Bumbutai, would become the love of the emperor's life. (At a time when teenage marriage was the norm, especially for women, 26 was not regarded as particularly young, and many historians have postulated that Harjol was married previously, although there is no firm evidence of this.)

So fast had Harjol insinuated herself into the heart of the Manchu ruler that when Huang Taiji officially conferred titles on all his consorts in 1636, she was made head of all concubines, second only to Empress Jerjer.

This enviable position was reflected by the exact location of Harjol's palace in the harem quarters, right behind the Phoenix Tower in Shenyang Palace. Directly behind the back of the tower is Empress Jerjer's abode, flanked by two palaces on the right and two on the left. Harjol's Guanju Palace, first on the left-hand side, sat in the east. (Ancient Chinese considered east a more noble position than west.)

Here, those who have been to the Forbidden City in Beijing need to lower their expectations: the so-called palaces are much more humble versions of their Beijing counterparts. But still, back then they were the height of luxury for those who had spent their days on horseback or in tents.

Take Harjol's, for example: The interior of the palace is composed essentially of an outer section and an inner section. The outer section features a table and cushions, a Buddhist shrine and two big closets, all placed on a bench that surrounds the entire room. Here prayers were said and guests received. According to my guide, the top layers of the closets were always kept empty, to symbolize there was room for more.

Also in this section are two pots, set into the bench. They were not used for cooking but for boiling water to increase humidity in Shenyang's cold, dry winters.

The interior of the palace was the resting area, with a bed (for Harjol and Huang Taiji) and a cradle (for Harjol's son). Today the cradle, most probably a replica, still dangles from the ceiling as it did nearly 400 years ago. And it serves as a reminder not only of a long-lost Manchu tradition, but also of a love story that ended in tears.

In 1637, one year after Harjol moved into her new palace, she had a son. However, the baby lived for a mere seven months, breaking the heart of his mother, Harjol, who died three years later.

According to the official record of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji was away fighting Ming troops when Harjol fell seriously ill in her palace. Between battlefield glory and the woman he loved, the emperor chose the latter. However, it took a galloping horse five days to race from the front line, about 250 kilometers away, to Shenyang, and by the time Huang Taiji charged through the door, 33-year-old Harjol had passed away.

The emperor was devastated and grieved over his loss for two years before dying at age 52.

However, the end of one legend gave rise to another: Bumbutai, long overshadowed by her older sister, now made a grand entrance onto the historical stage.

Upon Huang Taiji's death, Bumbutai's son Fulin, born in Shenyang Palace, became the new emperor. In 1644, Fulin, 6, moved to Beijing after his mighty troops crushed all resistance. The new empire was named Qing, a decision that Huang Taiji had made in 1636.

Bumbutai, the empress dowager, was to spend the next 44 years in the Forbidden City in Beijing until her death in 1688. Having experienced heartbreak of her own - Fulin died in 1661 at the age of 23 - she went on to bring up her grandson, who later became the much-venerated Emperor Kangxi, the longest-reigning emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

In the intervening years, Bumbutai also witnessed the death of her aunt, Empress Jerjer, in 1649, as well as those of Huang Taiji's other two most prominent concubines, who were the former wives of Ligdan Khan.

Back in Shenyang, Bumbutai's palace, Yongfu Palace, is second on the right-hand side of Empress Jerjer's residence, indicating her ranking to be the lowest among the five. Yet she survived and triumphed. Age had not only withered her heart but had given her wisdom. (No serious Qing history writer has ever suggested there was apolitical struggle between the three Borjigit women, but at the very least the arrangement must have put all of them under heavy pressure.)

During his life, Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) returned to Shenyang three times, in 1671, 1682 and 1698. Whether Bumbutai, also known as Empress Xiaozhuang, followed her grandson during one of those trips remains unknown. However, before her death at the age of 75, she made it clear that she wanted to be buried in Beijing rather than with her husband in Shenyang, a wish her grandson granted.

This also means that in death she is forever separated from her sister and aunt. The latter is often described as a determined woman and an able harem manager who earned more respect than love from her husband.

But in Shenyang, behind the Phoenix Tower, the empty palaces still stand together facing one another. They are reminders of the proud "phoenixes" who once lived there. Most of them never got a chance to fly.

zhaoxu@chinadaily.com.cn