Oboi

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Guwalgiya.

Guwalgiya Oboi 瓜尔佳·鳌拜
Oboi portrait. Qing Dynasty.
Regent of the Qing Dynasty
In office 1661–1669 Serving with Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha
Monarch	Kangxi Emperor
Personal details
Born	c. 1610
Died	1669
Cabinet	The Four Regents of Emperor Kangxi
Posthumous name	Zhaowu 超武
Military service
Years of service	1637-1646
Battles/wars	Defeated Zhang Xianzhong

Oboi (Manchu: ; simplified Chinese: 鰲拜; traditional Chinese: 鼇拜; pinyin: Áobài) (c. 1610?^[1]-1669) was a highly decorated Manchu military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive Emperors of the early Qing Dynasty. He was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the Kangxi Emperor's minority. Eventually deposed and imprisoned by the new emperor for having amassed too much power, he was posthumously rehabilitated. He was also called the First Warrior of Manchuria.

Early Life & Military Career

Oboi was born to a distinguished military family of the extensive Manchu Guwalgiya clan (Ch:瓜尔佳氏). Under the Manchu Banner organization created by Nurhachi, Oboi's branch of the family was registered under the Bordered Yellow division which came under the command of Nurhachi's son and future Emperor Hung Taiji. Oboi's father Uici (Ch: 瓜尔佳·卫齐) (? - 1634) was a senior military officer who was once garrison commander of the Manchu capital city Mukden while his paternal uncle Fiongdon (Ch: 瓜尔佳·费英东) was one of Nurhachi's most trusted generals. Oboi's childhood and early years are relatively obscure. Being his father's third son, he was not destined to inherit the family's hereditary seat in the Banner hierarchy. Oboi was first mentioned in official Qing history in the Chronicles of Hung Taiji (Ch: 《清太宗实录》) in 1632, documenting his triumphant return from a minor raid into Ming territories in which he was allowed to keep his spoils as reward.

Oboi officially started his military career in 1634 during the reign of Hung Taiji as a junior officer in the Banner's cavalry guard unit^[2] in which capacity he distinguished himself many times in battle against Ming forces and was renowned for his personal bravery. For this, he was granted an hereditary commission as captain of a company (niru i janggin). In 1637 during the Manchus' second Korean campaign, Oboi volunteered and succeeded in capturing a small but strategically important "Pi" island^[3] (Ch: 皮岛) south of the Yalu River after a difficult amphibious landing followed by desperate hand-to-hand battle ending in the complete annihilation of the Ming garrison. For this achievement he was promoted to the rank of a hereditary colonel third-class and bestowed the rare honorific title of "Baturu" (Ch: 巴图鲁) meaning "(brave) warrior."^[4] In 1641 Oboi again distinguished himself in battle scoring five victories in as many encounters against Ming forces in the campaign for Songshan (Ch: 松山)). He was promoted to full Colonel rank and given command of the Bayarai guards of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Oboi's raise in the Banner hierarchy continued apace with the Manchus' war with the Ming Dynasty, in 1645 he was promoted to the rank of General. It was recorded in official Qing history that in 1646 during the campaign to pacify Sichuan, Oboi was personally responsible for slaying the rebel chief Zhang Xianzhong in battle.^[5]

Persecution and Rehabilitation

As a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner, Oboi's loyalty to his Banner master was crucial to his rapid advancement during the years when Hung Taiji commanded the Banner. However after Hung Taiji's death, Oboi's loyalty to his new Banner master Hooge became a political liability. When Dorgon who commanded the White and Bordered White Banners became regent to the young Emperor Shunzhi, he sought to weaken the influence of the other Banners at court by purging the ranks of their senior commanders. Just as Hooge was arrested and eventually died in prison, in 1648 Oboi was stripped of his rank and titles under a charge of claiming false victories in battle. Later he was found guilty of a more serious crime of conspiracy to elect Hooge as Emperor during the succession dispute after Hung Taiji's death. This later charge carried with it the death penalty, however the sentence was commuted while he continued to command troops against Ming loyalists. The charges against Oboi were most likely politically motivated and were rehabilitated in 1651 after Dorgon's death. Oboi for his unswerving loyalty to his Banner and services to the Qing government was appointed a cabinet minister by Emperor Shunzhi, who also bestowed on him the title of Marquis of the first rank.

The extent of Emperor Shunzhi's trust in Oboi's loyalty can be gauged by the honours the Emperor showered on him. In 1652 after Emperor Shunzhi successfully purged the court of the more powerful elements in Dorgon's faction, Oboi was elevated to a hereditary Duke of the second rank and more importantly appointed the commander of the imperial bodyguard (Ch: 领侍卫内大臣), a job which doubled as the de facto police chief in the capital. In this capacity Oboi acted as Emperor Shunzhi's much feared enforcer against Dorgon's old cohorts and helped to consolidate power to the throne and the Emperor's own "Upper Three Banners". During the period of Emperor Shunzhi's personal rule Oboi was responsible for the arrest and execution of a number of noblemen found guilty of one crime or another. Although there is no doubt that these executions were carried out with the approval of Emperor Shunzhi, it is not surprising that after the Emperor's death Oboi, given his ruthless character and position in court, when left uncontrolled by a higher authority should eventually come to dominate court politics creating unto himself a "state within a state".

Regency

Emperor Shunzhi died from smallpox on February 5, 1661, at the age of twenty-four. On his deathbed he appointed four Manchu "Executive Ministers" (Ch: 辅政大臣, Pinyin: Fǔzhéngdàchén) commonly referred to as regents^[6] to "assist" his eight years old son Xuan-Ye to govern the country until the young Emperor reached the age of maturity at sixteen. The four ministers in their order of seniority^[7] were Sonin of the Yellow Banner, who apart from being chief minister of the imperial secretariate (Zh: 内务府大臣) was also nominated by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang to head the regency. The second minister on the list was Suksaha of the White Banner. Originally a trusted deputy of Dorgon, Suksaha was politically astute enough to switch sides immediately after the former regent's death when the court was still dominated by Dorgon's associates. By the time of Shunzhi's death he was one of the Emperor's most trusted courtiers. Then came Ebilun and Oboi, both members of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Emperor Shunzhi's succession plan set a precedence for Qing Dynasty of nominating courtiers who owed their loyalty to the crown to "assist" a young Emperor during the years of minority in running the state. This reflected the lesson learned from Dorgon's regency, when the regent grew almost too powerful for the Emperor to control. Unfortunately, this system of appointing ministers to oversee the government during an Emperor's minority proved not to be a very stable political device after all.^[8]

Three of the four ministers, Sonin, Ebilun and Oboi were members of the "Two Yellow Banners" (i.e. Yellow Banner and Bordered Yellow Banner) previously under the command of Emperor Shunzhi's elder brother Hooge. Because of the personal and political rivalries between Hooge and Dorgon all three men were persecuted at one time or another during Dorgon's regency for their Banner affiliation. However their loyalty thus proven was also key to their rapid advancement after Dorgon's death. It was a major factor in Emperor Shunzhi's choice of personnel to oversee his son's regency. However Emperor Shunzhi's arrangement heightened the already sensitive relationship between the three members of the Yellow Banners and Suksaha who belonged to the White Banner. Suksaha was a much despised figure at this point not only because he was a member of the White Banner in an imperial court dominated by the two Yellow Banners, but also because he gained Emperor Shunzhi's trust by denouncing his former master Dorgon, an action seen by his colleagues including members of the White Banner as disloyal.

In the first years of regency, the tension between the two Yellow Banners faction and Suksaha was kept in check by an even handed Sonin and the four ministers managed to maintain a relatively peaceful and efficient working relationship. But the dynamics of the regency began to shift as Sonin's health deteriorated due to old age. As Sonin gradually took more time off on sabbatical, Oboi monopolized decision making by dominating the indecisive Ebilun and worked to sideline Suksaha during policy discussions especially on issues concerning welfare of the Manchu Banners. By 1667 when Sonin realized he hadn't long to live, attempted to restore some balance to the regency and also to neutralize Oboi's rapidly expanding power clique petitioned a request that the fourteen year old Emperor Kangxi assume personal rule ahead of schedule. Thus Emperor Kangxi formerly took over the reins of power in a ceremony on August 25, a month after Sonin's death. This was followed by an official decree technically downgrading the three remaining ministers to the status of "advisers" (Ch: 佐政大臣) while still remaining on their posts. However even with the formal authority of office, the young Emperor found it difficult to curb the growing power of Oboi.

Conflict with Kangxi

Oboi forced the young emperor to execute Suksaha and his family. He controlled Ebilun completely and then finally established a system of near absolute rule under himself.

The Kangxi Emperor took power earlier than expected at age fourteen in 1669. The Emperor suddenly arrested Oboi pronouncing thirty crimes on him. He was sentenced to death but it was reduced to imprisonment in consideration of his achievements. Some sources say that he displayed the many wounds on his body that had been received in the defense of Kangxi's great-grandfather Nurhaci, this act had apparently moved Kangxi Emperor to excuse Oboi at last.

Oboi was posthumously rehabilitated. The Kangxi Emperor forgave the crime in 1713. The Yongzheng Emperor gave the rank of the first-class duke and the posthumous title Chaowu (超武 "exceedingly martial") but the Qianlong Emperor demoted him to the first-class baron after reviewing his merits and demerits.

Popular culture

• The Deer and the Cauldron (鹿鼎記): a wuxia novel by Louis Cha. In the story, Oboi was a cruel and power-hungry aristocrat. Oboi was removed from power by the protagonist, Wei Xiaobao and the young Kangxi Emperor and imprisoned. He is later killed by Wei Xiaobao.

• Oboi was played by Du Yu Lu in the TV series The Secret History of Kangxi.

Notes

1. ^ Oboi's birthday is historically undocumented, but based on circumstantial evidence historians generally estimate his birth year to be within a few years after 1610.
2. ^ Official Qing Court History, Chronicles Volume 36 - The Chronicles of Oboi (Ch: 《清史稿.列传三十六.鳌拜列传》). Oboi's initial post was a lieutenant (Man:juwan-i da, Ch: 壮达) in the Banner guard unit (Man:Bayarai, Ch: 巴牙喇). The Bayarais were hand-picked elite cavalry units within a Manchu Banner army that served both as camp guard and tactical reserve. In battle they were usually tasked with difficult missions independent of the main battle formation.
3. ^ Ka-Do in present day North Korea.
4. ^ The Manchu term "Baturu" was derived from the Mongolian "Bahadur" which translates to mean a warrior, knight or a great hero.
5. ^ Qing History, Chronicles of Shunzhi Vol.1 (Ch: 《清史稿.本紀四.世祖本紀一》) "順治三年十一月己巳,豪格師至南部,時張獻忠列寨西充,鰲拜等兼程進擊,大破之,斬獻忠於陣,復分兵擊餘賊,破一百三十餘營,四川平。") "In the eleventh month of the third year of Shunzhi's reign, Hooge's armies reached the southern parts (of China), Zhang Xianzhong was then encamped to the West, Oboi etc. advanced to attack, routed (the rebels), slain Xianzhong upon the battlefield, (they) then divided up their forces to attack remaining rebels, destroyed in excess of hundred and thirty (enemy) camps, pacified Szechuan."
6. ^ The English term "regent" translates to the Chinese "She-Zheng" (Ch: 摄政) as in the case of Dorgon whereas the four ministers' brief as stated in "Qing Court history, the Chronicles of Emperor Shunzhi" (Ch: 《清太祖实录》) was merely to "assist (the Emperor) in governance" i.e. "Fu-Zheng" (Ch: 辅政)
7. ^ According to the order listed in Emperor Shunzhi's edict.
8. ^ Emperor Xianfeng (Zh: 咸丰) tried the same system again nominating eight ministers to oversee the regency of his son Tongzhi Emperor (Zh: 同治), but they were out-maneuvered by Empress Dowager Cixi (Ch: 慈禧) who took control through a palace coup.

Related Pages

• Qing Dynasty
• Kangxi Emperor

External links

• Portrait of Oboi at the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

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