Aisin Gioro

Royal house
surname =Aisin Gioro Clan
estate =China
coat of arms =
country =China, Manchukuo
parent house =—
titles =Emperor of China
founder =Emperor Nurhaci
final ruler =Xuantong Emperor (Puyi)
current head =Hengzhen
founding year =1644
deposition =1912: Monarchy dissolved
nationality =Manchu
cadet branches =

Aisin Gioro was the clan name of the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty (as well as the later short-lived regime in Manchukuo). The word "aisin" means "gold" in the Manchu language, and "gioro" means clan in the Manchu language.

It is notable that the Jin dynasty ("jin" means gold in Chinese) of the Jurchens, ancestors of the Manchus, was known as "aisin gurun", and that the Qing dynasty was initially named ( (金友之) and his children in turn are surnamed Jin. Clan members of the direct imperial succession line were able to change their surname to "Long" (龍) meaning "dragon" in Chinese, (the dragon was the official crest of the Emperor.)

Family naming code

Before founding the Qing Dynasty, naming of children in the Aisin Gioro clan was done quite randomly. After taking control of China, however, the family gradually incorporated Han Chinese ways of naming. During the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, all of Kangxi's sons were to be named with a generation prefix preceding the given name. There were three characters chosen, Cheng (承), Bao (保), and Chang (长), before finally deciding on Yin (胤) in Kangxi-20. The Yongzheng Emperor's sons switched from Fu (福) to Hong (弘). Following Yongzheng, the Qianlong Emperor decided that all subsequent male offspring will have a generation code placed in their name according to a Generation Poem, of which Qianlong composed the first four characters, 永綿奕載. Moreover, the names of brothers(born to the same father) will often contain a similar Radical or meaning. Sometimes, an emperor ("only the Yongzheng Emperor did this") will change the generation code of his brothers as a way of keeping his own unique (such practice apparently ceased to exist after the Daoguang-era).

Subsequent: Qi 启, Dao 焘, Kai 闿, Zeng 增, Qi 祺

Foundation myth

The "Veritable Records" and other documents contain the foundation myth of the Aisin Gioro clan:

:There was a lake called Bulhūri at the foot of Bukūri Mountain, located to the east of the Changbai Mountains (Korean Paektu Mountains). When three angels bathed in that lake, a magpie left a fruit on the youngest angel Fekulen's clothes. She ate the fruit and became pregnant. She mothered Bukūri Yongšon, the founder of Aisin Gioro. He was later welcomed by the people as the Beile. He settled at Odoli Castle on the Omohoi Plain and became the founder of the Manchu State.

This myth has interested many historians. Similar stories can be found in other northern people's mythology. Yongšon seems to have come from Chinese yingxiong (英雄; hero) and Odoli would be modern-day Hoeryong (hangul: 회령, hanja: 會寧) in North Hamgyong Province (Hangul: 함경 북도, Hanja: 咸鏡北道), North Korea. A recent study found that a 1635 article of "Jiu Manzhou Dang" (old Manchu archives), which was omitted from later documents, says that a man from the Hūrha tribe on the Upper Amur River told the exactly same myth. In fact, Kangxi period maps shows Bukūri Mountain and Bulhūri Lake near Heilongjiang. It is considered that the Manchu imperial family incorporated Hūrha's legend into their own foundation myth.

Although the Changbai/Paekdu Mountains (golmin šanggiyan alin in Manchu) are regarded as the birthplace of the Aisin Gioro clan, their relationship with this legend is questionable. As explained above, the mythical arena was near Heilongjiang, not the Changbai Mountains. In addition, a careful analysis on early Manchu records proved that the description of the Changbai Mountains at the beginning of this legend had been inserted for the first time in the Shunzhi-era version of the "Veritable Records for Nurhaci".

From Fanca to Ningguta Beise

Suffering from tyranny, the people raided Odoli and killed all Bukūri Yongšon's descendants but Fanca. A magpie saved Fanca's life. Fanca's descendant Mengtemu went eastward to execute his ancestors' revenge in Hetu Ala and settled there. Mengtemu's sons were Cungšan and Cuyan. Cungšan's sons were Tolo, Toimo and Sibeoci Fiyanggū Sibeoci Fiyanggū's son was Fuman and Fuman's six sons were called Ningguta Beise (Six Kings; or ningguta i mafa), who lived around Hetu Ala.

Mengtemu is identified as Möngke Temür (猛哥帖木儿), who left Odoli at the invitation of the Ming Dynasty and was appointed as leader of the Jianzhou Left Guard. On the other hand, the founder of the Jianzhou Right Guard was Möngke Temür's half-brother Fanca. It is unclear whether he may not the same person as Mentemu's ancestor, or it was just a mistake by the Manchus. The Jianzhou Left Guard fell into chaos in the early 16th century. In addition, Sibeoci Fiyanggū and Fuman seem to have been fictional because they did not appear in Chinese or Korean records. Maybe they were fabricated by the imperial family to claim its linkage to Möngke Temür.

¹ Although Aisin Gioro is usually pronounced "Aixin Jueluo" in Mandarin, some argue that it should be "Aixin Jiaoluo" since the only pronunciation of the character 覺 corresponding to Manchu "gio" is "jiao"Fact|date=August 2007.

Famous Aisin-Gioros

The Emperors

*Nurhaci, Tianming Khan, postumous Emperor
*Hung Taiji, Tiancong Khan, Chongde Emperor
*Fulin, the Shunzhi Emperor
*Xuanye, the Kangxi Emperor
*Yinzhen, the Yongzheng Emperor
*Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor
*Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor
*Minning, the Daoguang Emperor
*Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor
*Zaichun, the Tongzhi Emperor
*Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor
*Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor

Iron-cap princes & their descendants

By Qing tradition, the sons of Princes do not automatically inherit their father's title, but rather will inherit a title one level lower. However, there were 12 princes during the Qing Dynasty who were named "iron-cap princes", meaning that their princely titles will be "passed on forever" through each succeeding generation.

*Daišan, 1st Prince Li, second son of Nurhaci, seniormost Beile
**Yuetuo, Prince Kejin, Daišan's eldest son
**Lokodhui, Prince Shuncheng, Daišan's grandson
**Shiduo, descendant of Daišan, active during reign of Empress Dowager Cixi
*Jirhalang, 1st Prince Zheng, 6th son of Nurhaci's brother Surhaci, regent during Shunzhi's reign.
**Duanhua, 7th Prince Zheng, regent to Tongzhi Emperor, ousted by Empress Dowager Cixi
**Sushun, 7th-generation descendant, brother of Duanhua, executed by Empress Dowager Cixi
**Jin Shaoxun, last Prince Zheng
*Laimbu, Prince Fu, 13th son of Nurhaci, ruler during Shunzhi's reign
*Dorgon, Prince Rui, 14th son of Nurhaci, regent, "de facto" ruler during Shunzhi's reign
*Dodo, Prince Yu, 15th son of Nurhaci
*Hooge, Prince Su, eldest son of Hung Taiji
**Shanqi, 10th Prince Su, prominent during Puyi restoration of 1919
*Shuosai, Prince Chengze, 5th son of Hung Taiji
**Yinlu, 16th son of the Kangxi Emperor, inherited the princely title and changed it to "Prince Zhuang"
*Yinxiang, Prince Yi, 13th son of the Kangxi Emperor
**Zaiyuan, 6th Prince Yi, regent to Tongzhi Emperor, ousted by Empress Dowager Cixi
*Yixin, Prince Gong, 6th son of the Daoguang Emperor
**Puwei, grandson of Yixin, supported Zhang Xun's restoration
*Yixuan, Prince Chun, 7th son of the Daoguang Emperor
**Zaifeng, 2nd Prince Chun, son of Yixuan, last regent (therefore ruler) of Imperial China during the reign of his son Puyi
*Yikuang, Prince Qing, grandson of Qianlong Emperor's 17th son Yonglin
**Zaizhen, 2nd Prince Qing, early republican entrepreneur, infamous for corruption

Prominent political figures

*Ajige, Prince Ying, 12th son to Nurhaci
*Yinsi, 8th son to Kangxi, expelled form clan.
*Yinti, 14th son to Kangxi, general in Xinjiang, rumoured successor to the throne
*Hongzhou, Prince He, 5th son to Yongzheng Emperor
*Yonghuang, eldest son of the Qianlong Emperor
*Miankai, 3rd son of the Jiaqing Emperor
*Mianyu, 5th son of the Jiaqing Emperor
*Yicong, 5th son of the Daoguang Emperor
*Zaixun, 6th son of Yixuan, Minister of the Navy in Yikuang's cabinet
*Zaize, Mianyu's grandson, Chinese envoy to the United States and Europe, Minister of Finance in Yikuang's cabinet
*Pulun, grandson of Yiwei, Daoguang's eldest son, Minister of Industry and Agriculture in Yikuang's cabinet

Others

*Pujie, Zaifeng's 2nd son, later member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
*Jin Youzhi (Puren), Zaifeng's 4th son
*Pu Xuezhai, guqin player and Chinese painting artist

Present-day

*Bryna Aisin Gioro, socialite
*Hengzhen, son of Yuyan
*Yuyan, friend of Puyi and pretender to the throne of Imperial China
*Qigong, ninth generation descendant of the Yongzheng Emperor, eminent Chinese calligraphy artist.
*Jin Youzhi, Half-brother of Puyi and pretender to the throne of Manchukuo
*Jin Yuzhang, deputy Governor of Chaoyang District in Beijing.
*Yuhao, Chair of the Laos Economic Bureau.
*Zhao Junzhe, Chinese football player [http://www.laty.gov.cn/ShowArticle.asp?ArticleID=24693] .