Young Emperor

Author: Ling Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This is a long historical novel depicting the reign of the Qing Dynasty's young emperor, Shunzhi. It won the Third Mao Dun Literature Prize. Facing the severe situation at the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shunzhi worked diligently to govern and sought reforms, but he constantly encountered obstruction from conservative forces in the court. Political storms arose one after another. Shunzhi was skilled in calligraphy and painting, sentimental, and deeply pursued love and marriage that aligned with his desires. However, the emperor's love and marriage were entangled in struggles for court power, and his actions in this regard also brought sharp conflicts between love and hatred, life and death. Throughout his life of twenty-three or twenty-four years, Shunzhi's failures in politics and love reflected a profound personal tragedy and a historical tragedy. The novel has a rigorous structure, a solemn style, fluent and exquisite language, and integrates various techniques, marking a new achievement in the author's aesthetic pursuit. The Young Emperor depicts a series of political reforms implemented by Shunzhi after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, as well as his love story with the Imperial Consort Wuyunzhu. It also portrays the series of conflicts and struggles surrounding the Hanization reforms. After the death of Hong Taiji, the six-year-old Shunzhi ascended the throne to become the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty to enter the Central Plains. Shunzhi was an idealistic and ambitious emperor. To escape the backward productive level of the Manchu nomadic ethnicity and improve the people's quality, he devoted himself to studying Han culture to enrich himself and consolidate the Qing Dynasty. However, the newly arrived Manchus could not completely break free from some of the savage habits of their original ethnicity, which clashed with Shunzhi's reforms, ultimately leading to a coup attempt by Prince Jidu. The coup failed, and Shunzhi later fell ill with smallpox and passed away. Empress Dowager Zhuang supported Xuan Ye to ascend the throne, making him the future Emperor Kangxi, and laid a solid foundation for the prosperity and stability of the Qing Dynasty.
When Shunzhi entered the Central Plains, his mother, Empress Dowager Zhuang, was slightly unwell due to years of exhaustion. His younger sister-in-law, the wife of Prince Xiang, entered the palace to attend to her. Shunzhi fell deeply in love with her at first sight, both impressed by each other's literary talent and demeanor. However, this feeling had to remain hidden in their hearts. Wuyunzhu was beautiful, dignified, gentle, and sensible, and she was favored by Empress Dowager Zhuang, who adopted her as her foster daughter. To celebrate Empress Dowager Zhuang's birthday in the palace, Shunzhi longed for Wuyunzhu and hoped to get close to her during the birthday banquet. After the banquet, he had a long, probing conversation with Wuyunzhu. Empress Dowager Zhuang fully understood her son's intentions and did not stop him. However, after Shunzhi and Wuyunzhu finally broke free from constraints and privately eloped, Empress Dowager Zhuang, as the Empress Dowager, wanted to maintain unity within the Manchu elite; as a mother, she did not want her son to bear the stigma of moral failing and ultimately prevented their contact, causing Shunzhi to fall seriously ill. In the end, Empress Dowager Zhuang defied public opinion to fulfill the love between Wuyunzhu and Shunzhi.
After Prince Xiang passed away, Shunzhi immediately enfeoffed Wuyunzhu as a Noble Consort and later promoted her to Imperial Consort, allowing her to reside in the Chengqian Palace. After Shunzhi achieved success in love, he faced a series of political conflicts and sought to implement reforms. That year, the examiner of the Shuntian provincial examination accepted bribes, leading to the arrest and execution of some Han officials. The net of justice widened. New examinees who were supposed to take the re-examination were detained like prisoners by local authorities, causing panic among Han officials and scholars. This examination-related crisis was unknown to end. To consolidate the Qing Dynasty and improve the cultural literacy of the Manchus, Shunzhi appeased Han officials and scholars. He was magnanimous, not involving Han officials in the court, and instead gifted a painting he personally drew to the Wang family, calming the situation.
To ensure the peace of the people, Shunzhi abolished the land enclosure policy, allowing displaced Han people to return to their homes. After Wuyunzhu entered the palace, she faced great pressure from the Empress, Consort Kang, Lady Jin, and Consort Shuhui, who all had grievances against her. Reasons included her mother being a Han from the south and her father being Manchu, as well as her deep favor with the emperor and her gentleness and sense of propriety, which were also loved by Empress Dowager Zhuang. The emperor, in disguise, killed Lady Jin's niece, causing Lady Jin to take her anger out on Imperial Consort Wuyunzhu. Shunzhi had previously abolished one empress and favored Wuyunzhu for her literary talent and breadth of vision, intending to enfeoff her as empress. Wuyunzhu, prioritizing propriety, firmly refused, slightly easing the conflicts in the inner court. Consort Kang's son, the third prince, Xuan Ye, contracted smallpox. Lady Jin and Consort Kang feared that Wuyunzhu's son, the fourth prince, would become the heir apparent, so Lady Jin secretly gave the third prince's bellyband to the fourth prince, causing him to contract smallpox and die young. Wuyunzhu endured immense grief and accompanied the empress through her illness, eventually moving her to her side. The empress was deeply moved and called her "sister."
After recovering, Lady Jin was exposed and executed. Due to daily exposure to the Manchu-Han conflicts, Shunzhi bore great psychological pressure and harbored a desire for liberation. After meeting with monks, this feeling intensified, as each encounter left him feeling lighter, strengthening his wish to become a monk. Shunzhi sought to appoint many talented Han officials, imitating the Ming system to establish six ministries, significantly reducing the power of Manchu officials. This caused a stir in the court, with Manchu nobles and ministers daily urging the emperor not to follow the Ming system. Shunzhi, however, decisively implemented this measure to consolidate the Qing Dynasty.
After entering the Central Plains, the Qing Dynasty did not enjoy peace on all fronts. Zheng Chenggong raised an uprising in the south, capturing over thirty counties and prefectures, while Han officials in the court also stirred. Shunzhi's other side—his irritability and explosiveness—became apparent. Terrified, he ran to Empress Dowager Zhuang, wanting to return to the northern frontier. Empress Dowager Zhuang scolded him, forcing Shunzhi to lead an expedition personally. Consort Shuhui, jealous of Wuyunzhu and unwilling to be ignored, falsely accused Wuyunzhu's palace eunuchs and maids of secret misconduct. Enraged, Shunzhi imprisoned Wuyunzhu in the cold palace. Empress Dowager Zhuang, upon learning this, lectured her son, explaining that Wuyunzhu had a kind nature and would not complain. Shunzhi regretted his actions but, out of dignity, could not order her return. Eventually, with Empress Dowager Zhuang's persuasion, he brought Wuyunzhu back to the palace.
Wuyunzhu finally fell ill, and Shunzhi was heartbroken. She was not only his political confidante but also his companion in life and a fellow in cultural pursuits. He could not lose her but had no power to save her. Wuyunzhu, exhausted, left him, and Shunzhi was so grief-stricken he considered suicide. To fulfill his wishes, he wanted Wuyunzhu to be buried with the honors of an empress. After Wuyunzhu's death, Shunzhi's only wish was to become a monk.
Shunzhi's series of political reforms angered the Manchu nobles and ministers, who believed he was ruining the legacy of his ancestors and sought to depose him. Led by Prince Jian, they planned to depose him during a hunt. Upon learning of this, the coup failed, though it did not succeed, Shunzhi had already lost hope. He no longer had the will to govern the country, and with a slight cold, his desire to become a monk intensified. He finally shaved his head and became an emperor without a crown. The Qing Dynasty's foundation was now largely secure, and Zheng Chenggong had failed. Shunzhi, like a bow fully strung, suddenly felt his tension ease as he contracted smallpox and fell seriously ill. Empress Dowager Zhuang gazed at her ailing son with grief, aging rapidly overnight, as a ordinary mother helplessly watched his departure. Shunzhi finally left them to seek the love of Wuyunzhu.
To preserve the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Zhuang revised Shunzhi's will and supported Xuan Ye to ascend the throne, ensuring the dynasty's prosperous and stable development. Xuan Ye became the future Emperor Kangxi.