Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty
1612 CE
to 1650 CE
Dorgon (Manchu: literally "badger"; November 17, 1612 – December 31, 1650), formally known as Prince Rui, is a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty.
Born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the fourteenth son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Qing dynasty), Dorgon starts his career in military campaigns against the Ming dynasty, Mongols and Koreans during the reign of his eighth brother, Huangtaiji, who succeeds their father.
After Huangtaiji's death in 1643, Dorgon is involved in a power struggle against Huangtaiji's eldest son, Hooge, over the succession to the throne.
Both of them eventually come to a compromise by backing out and letting Huangtaiji's ninth son, Fulin, become the emperor; Fulin is installed on the throne as the Shunzhi Emperor.
Dorgon serves as Prince-Regent from 1643–1650, throughout the Shunzhi Emperor's early reign.
In 1645, he is given the honorary title "Emperor's Uncle and Prince-Regent"; the title is changed to "Emperor's Father and Prince-Regent" in 1649.
Under Dorgon's regency, Qing forces occupy Beijing, the capital of the fallen Ming dynasty, and gradually conquer the rest of China in a series of battles against Ming loyalists and other opposing forces around China.
Dorgon also introduces the policy of forcing all Han Chinese men to shave the front of the heads and wear their hair in queues just like the Manchus.
He dies in 1650 during a hunting trip and is posthumously honored as an emperor even though he was never an emperor during his lifetime.
A year after Dorgon's death, however, the Shunzhi Emperor accuses Dorgon of several crimes, strips him of his titles, and orders his remains to be exhumed and flogged in public.
Dorgon is posthumously rehabilitated and restored of his honorary titles by the Qianlong Emperor in 1778.
