Qing Dynasty Thirteen Courts' Secret History

Author: Sun He
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The white mountains and black waters of Northeast China have passionately nurtured an outstanding nation—the Manchu. For nearly seven hundred years, the Manchu became the second ethnic minority to rule the Central Plains after the Mongols. The Great Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains in 1644 and ruled for 268 years. During the reigns of, , and , the dynasty reached the peak of the feudal society. Whether it was the Qing imperial court or Manchu historical records, they all traced the ancestors of the Great Qing Dynasty to the same beautiful legend about the fairy Fuguolun. Nuerhachi, who survived the blood sea, dominated Liaodong and northern Mongolia. Hong Taiji, a man of great talent and strategy, seized the throne and established the title of the Great Qing Dynasty, as well as the imperial system. The lustful Dorgon had long coveted his young and beautiful sister-in-law. While Hong Taiji was alive, Dorgon suppressed his desires. After Hong Taiji's sudden death, the flames of passion finally burst out uncontrollably.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, the mother of Emperor Shunzhi, was one of the concubines of Emperor Taizong. She was as beautiful as a flower and deeply loved by Hong Taiji. She once used her beauty to employ the "beauty strategy" to win over Hong Chengchou. After Taizong Hong Taiji's sudden death, she again used her charm to entice Dorgon, who willingly supported her son Fulin as emperor, and she was honored as Empress Dowager. Later, the "marriage of the Empress Dowager" escalated into an unprecedented mystery, still shrouded in secrecy today.
In the Great Qing Dynasty, only Emperor Shunzhi was cremated and placed in a coffin—a custom of the Manchu outside the Great Wall. However, it also left behind many legends. As everyone knows, Emperor Kangxi was extremely filial to his grandmother (Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang). Yet, a year after her death, Kangxi only transported her coffin to Changrui Mountain, near the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Shizu, and built a palace there to place her remains without a proper burial. This was left untouched for thirty-seven years. Such contradictory behavior remains a puzzle—what hidden circumstances were involved?
This book presents the mysterious and secretive history of the nearly three hundred years of the Qing Dynasty's imperial court, covering topics such as autocratic rule, imperial secrets, palace anecdotes, and the private affairs of empresses and concubines. The history of the thirteen Qing dynasties' palace secrets has told a dramatic story of changing tides for later generations.