衝冠一怒為紅顏: are women nothing but troubles?
In order to avoid boring my readership to 400 million pieces, I'm taking a more folkish approach to the Manchu history.
The tale of Chen Yuan-yuan (陳圓圓): a mere courtesan who unwittingly tempted so many ambitious men into gross missdeeds that costed a nation its sovereignty, & hundreds of thousands of lives.
Born in 1624 CE to a poor peasant family, Chen was sold to a brothel in the city of Yangzhou at the tender age of 13. Due to her beauty & musical talent, she soon rose to prominence as one of the 8 famous courtesans of the South. It wasn't long before imperial talent scouts recruited her as potential concubine for the Ming emperor Chongzhen.
At that time, Ming dynasty was on its death throb: Japanese pirates ate into maritime trade revenue majorly. Rebels like Li Zi-cheng (李自成) was turning the empire upside down from within, & the Manchu uprising threatened the northern frontiers. Emperor Chongzen was too worried about his own hide to think about having more concubines. The emperor gave Chen away to his father in law, who kept her as a "PR manager" to "entertain" guests in high places.
One of the guests happened to be general Wu San-gui (吳三桂), the commander of the northeast frontier, responsible in keeping the Manchus in check. Mesmerized by Chen's beauty, Wu soon fell for her. He requested to have Chen as his concubine. Empeor's father in law, who was only too eager to please this powerful military leader, granted his wish.
Despite the arranged marriage, Wu has shown nothing but TLC to Chen, something Chen has never experienced before. It wasn't long before she started to reciprocate the affection to Wu, falling head over heel in love with him.
At the same time, the Manchus, under the leadership of Prince Regent Dorgon (
, literally "Wolf" in Manchurian), have grown from a mere nuisance to a serious threat. Despite seemingly impossible odds (Chinese out-numbered Manchus 200:1), Dorgon has since his youth plotted taking over China, whereas his predecessors were content in asserting Manchu sovereignty. After consolidating his power in Manchuria, Dorgon launched an all-out offensive against Ming forces at Shanhaiguan (Mountain & Sea Pass, the first fort of the Great Wall).
Wu was called to the frontline, leaving his family & beloved concubine Chen in his residency in Beijing.
But an even greater threat to the survival of Ming empire was the peasant rebel Li Zi-cheng, with his million men army, bearing down on Beijing. Li proved unstoppable, & soon emperor Chongzhen recalled Wu back from the northern frontier to save his ass from the rebels. But before Wu could respond, Li has already overrun Beijing, forcing the emperor to committ suicide.
At first, Wu considered surrendering to Li. Then news came in, that Li misstreated Wu's father & other surrendered officials. Cearly, surrender does not guarantee safety, not to mention a filial son should seek to avenge injury to his father.
But even more outrageous was the fact Li has kidnapped Wu's concubine Chen. In a fit of rage, Wu surrendered to the Manchus, opened up the gate of Shanhaiguan, & let the Manchu Banner army in to avenge the humiliation & reclaim his woman. Wu figured that the Manchus would be content with plundering the city, then go back to the frigid hellhole where they came from.
Not this time. After chasing Li out of Beijing, Dorgon enthroned his child nephew Fulin as emperor Shunzhi of Qing dynasty, declaring the Mandate of Heaven.
Wu reunited with his beloved concubine & the two lived happily ever after... NOT!
To gain the trust of the Manchus, Wu went as far as to hunt down the last Ming heir to the throne. For his loyalty & contribution, Qing court awarded Wu the title "West Pacifying King", a hereditary title usually reserved for members of imperial families. He's forever viewed by Chinese nativists as a Manchu lapdog.
In reality, Wu had ulterior motives since before the fall of Ming dynasty. He let Li overthrow Ming imperial household, then have the Manchus deal with Li's battle-weary rebels. But as the Manchus decided to stay for good, Wu had to change his plans. He brownnosed the Manchus to a ridiculous extent, trying to garner as much power as possible from the Manchus.
He figured that with enough power, & with the last Ming heir eliminated, he could overthrow the Manchus (who he mistakenly believed lacked native Chinese support) & claim the throne.
Chen warned him not to proceed with his plan, that he's now viewed as a traitor by nativists, & that the Manchus is enjoying widespread support due to their incorruptible images. Chen's words fell to deaf ears, for not only was Wu blinded by his ambition, he now has two new concubines to keep him entertained.
Disillusioned, Chen walked out on Wu, hoping this would stop Wu from his foolishness: didn't work. Wu along with two other warlords rebelled against Qing. But the Manchus were at the height of their popularity, & the three warlords were throroughly defeated. Manchu emperor Kangxi, as lenient as he was, could not tolerate such open rebellion. He ordered Wu to be executed.
Upon hearing her husband's death, Chen committed suicide. During the last few years of her life, she wondered if her beauty was a good thing. Through no fault of her own, she's branded as a "unpatriotic temptress". Why is she blamed along with men who can't control their gonads?
The tale of Chen Yuan-yuan (陳圓圓): a mere courtesan who unwittingly tempted so many ambitious men into gross missdeeds that costed a nation its sovereignty, & hundreds of thousands of lives.
Born in 1624 CE to a poor peasant family, Chen was sold to a brothel in the city of Yangzhou at the tender age of 13. Due to her beauty & musical talent, she soon rose to prominence as one of the 8 famous courtesans of the South. It wasn't long before imperial talent scouts recruited her as potential concubine for the Ming emperor Chongzhen.
At that time, Ming dynasty was on its death throb: Japanese pirates ate into maritime trade revenue majorly. Rebels like Li Zi-cheng (李自成) was turning the empire upside down from within, & the Manchu uprising threatened the northern frontiers. Emperor Chongzen was too worried about his own hide to think about having more concubines. The emperor gave Chen away to his father in law, who kept her as a "PR manager" to "entertain" guests in high places.
One of the guests happened to be general Wu San-gui (吳三桂), the commander of the northeast frontier, responsible in keeping the Manchus in check. Mesmerized by Chen's beauty, Wu soon fell for her. He requested to have Chen as his concubine. Empeor's father in law, who was only too eager to please this powerful military leader, granted his wish.
Despite the arranged marriage, Wu has shown nothing but TLC to Chen, something Chen has never experienced before. It wasn't long before she started to reciprocate the affection to Wu, falling head over heel in love with him.
At the same time, the Manchus, under the leadership of Prince Regent Dorgon (
, literally "Wolf" in Manchurian), have grown from a mere nuisance to a serious threat. Despite seemingly impossible odds (Chinese out-numbered Manchus 200:1), Dorgon has since his youth plotted taking over China, whereas his predecessors were content in asserting Manchu sovereignty. After consolidating his power in Manchuria, Dorgon launched an all-out offensive against Ming forces at Shanhaiguan (Mountain & Sea Pass, the first fort of the Great Wall).
Wu was called to the frontline, leaving his family & beloved concubine Chen in his residency in Beijing.
But an even greater threat to the survival of Ming empire was the peasant rebel Li Zi-cheng, with his million men army, bearing down on Beijing. Li proved unstoppable, & soon emperor Chongzhen recalled Wu back from the northern frontier to save his ass from the rebels. But before Wu could respond, Li has already overrun Beijing, forcing the emperor to committ suicide.
At first, Wu considered surrendering to Li. Then news came in, that Li misstreated Wu's father & other surrendered officials. Cearly, surrender does not guarantee safety, not to mention a filial son should seek to avenge injury to his father.
But even more outrageous was the fact Li has kidnapped Wu's concubine Chen. In a fit of rage, Wu surrendered to the Manchus, opened up the gate of Shanhaiguan, & let the Manchu Banner army in to avenge the humiliation & reclaim his woman. Wu figured that the Manchus would be content with plundering the city, then go back to the frigid hellhole where they came from.
Not this time. After chasing Li out of Beijing, Dorgon enthroned his child nephew Fulin as emperor Shunzhi of Qing dynasty, declaring the Mandate of Heaven.
Wu reunited with his beloved concubine & the two lived happily ever after... NOT!
To gain the trust of the Manchus, Wu went as far as to hunt down the last Ming heir to the throne. For his loyalty & contribution, Qing court awarded Wu the title "West Pacifying King", a hereditary title usually reserved for members of imperial families. He's forever viewed by Chinese nativists as a Manchu lapdog.
In reality, Wu had ulterior motives since before the fall of Ming dynasty. He let Li overthrow Ming imperial household, then have the Manchus deal with Li's battle-weary rebels. But as the Manchus decided to stay for good, Wu had to change his plans. He brownnosed the Manchus to a ridiculous extent, trying to garner as much power as possible from the Manchus.
He figured that with enough power, & with the last Ming heir eliminated, he could overthrow the Manchus (who he mistakenly believed lacked native Chinese support) & claim the throne.
Chen warned him not to proceed with his plan, that he's now viewed as a traitor by nativists, & that the Manchus is enjoying widespread support due to their incorruptible images. Chen's words fell to deaf ears, for not only was Wu blinded by his ambition, he now has two new concubines to keep him entertained.
Disillusioned, Chen walked out on Wu, hoping this would stop Wu from his foolishness: didn't work. Wu along with two other warlords rebelled against Qing. But the Manchus were at the height of their popularity, & the three warlords were throroughly defeated. Manchu emperor Kangxi, as lenient as he was, could not tolerate such open rebellion. He ordered Wu to be executed.
Upon hearing her husband's death, Chen committed suicide. During the last few years of her life, she wondered if her beauty was a good thing. Through no fault of her own, she's branded as a "unpatriotic temptress". Why is she blamed along with men who can't control their gonads?