Emperor Jiaqing

The seventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty of China (reigned 1796-1820). The 15th son of Emperor Qianlong. His name was Yongyan, his posthumous name was Emperor Rui, and his temple name was Renzong. He rejected religious superstition and made seeking truth into his motto. He was an upright and loyal emperor, but he was tormented by the previous emperor's bad governance and the resulting rebellions, and died of illness at his summer resort in Chengde (northern Hebei Province). The White Lotus Sect rebellion broke out in the year he ascended to the throne. His father continued to rule for three years after his accession, but he was already severely senile, and real power was in the hands of his favorite minister, Heshen. After the death of his father, Emperor Qianlong began to rule on his own. First, he ordered Hesheng, who had been the source of all evil since the latter half of the Qianlong reign, to commit suicide, purged discipline in the government and military, and promoted a policy of isolating the White Lotus Sect army. These measures were effective, and the rebellion finally ended in 1805. However, from the end of that year, there were successive soldier rebellions in both Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces for two years, and eventually in 1813, the Tenrikyo Rebellion in North China and the Mu Rebellion in Qishan County, Shaanxi Province occurred. During this time, piracy was rampant in the Fujian and Guangdong areas (the Boat Thieves Rebellion), and he was busy dealing with the rebellions. Meanwhile, as a punishment for Hesheng's neglect of river construction work, the Yellow River flooded frequently, and flood control costs also increased. In the end, he was an unfortunate emperor who was caught up in a turning point that led to the decline of the Qing Dynasty.

[Shozo Yasuno]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)朝第7代の皇帝（在位1796～1820）。乾隆(けんりゅう)帝の第15子。名は顒琰(ぎょうえん)、諡(おくりな)は睿(えい)皇帝、廟号(びょうごう)は仁宗(じんそう)。宗教迷信を退け、実事求是をモットーとした。廉潔で職務に忠実な部類に属する皇帝であったが、前代の悪政とそれに起因する諸反乱に翻弄(ほんろう)され、承徳（河北省北部）の避暑山荘で病没した。即位の年に白蓮教(びゃくれんきょう)の大乱が起こった。即位後3年間は父帝の執政が続いたが、すでに耄碌(もうろく)がひどく、実権は寵臣(ちょうしん)和珅(わしん)の手に握られていた。父帝の死後、親政が始まると、まず乾隆後半期からの諸悪の根源であった和珅に自殺を命じ、官・軍の綱紀を粛正し、白蓮教軍の孤立化政策を推進した。これらの処置が効を奏し、1805年に大乱はようやく終結した。しかし、同年末から2年間は四川(しせん)、陝西(せんせい)両省で兵士の反乱が相次ぎ、やがて1813年に華北の天理教の乱、陝西省岐山(きざん)県の木(もくしょう)の乱が起こった。またこの間、福建、広東(カントン)方面では海賊が横行し（艇盗(ていとう)の乱）、反乱対策に忙殺された。一方、和珅が河川工事を怠った報いもあって、黄河がしきりに氾濫(はんらん)し、治水費も膨張した。結局、清朝衰亡の転換点にたたされた悲運の皇帝であった。

［安野省三］

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