Prince Gong's death - Prince Gong's death

A member of the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty, China. The sixth son of the eighth emperor, Daoguang. The younger brother of the ninth emperor, Xianfeng. When Emperor Xianfeng fled to Jehol in 1860 during the Arrow War, he negotiated diplomacy with the British and French allied forces that had invaded Beijing. When Emperor Xianfeng died in Jehol, he teamed up with Empress Dowager Cixi and others to stage a coup, seized real power, and was appointed as the Councillor. After that, he assisted the young Emperor Tongzhi, and tried to maintain control over the Qing dynasty, which was shaken by internal wars such as the Taiping Rebellion and the Arrow War, as well as external pressure. He used Zeng Guofan and others to effectively restore the traditional system, and was called the Tongzhi Restoration. Eventually, he was pushed back by the power of Empress Dowager Cixi and retired from the forefront of politics after the Sino-French War (1884). However, he continued to be a key figure within the imperial family, and was even appointed Minister of Military Affairs during the Sino-Japanese War (1894).

[Kurahashi Masanao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)の皇族。第8代皇帝道光(どうこう)帝の第6子。第9代の咸豊(かんぽう)帝の弟。アロー戦争で1860年咸豊帝が熱河(ねっか)に避難すると、北京(ペキン)に侵入したイギリス・フランス連合軍と外交折衝にあたった。咸豊帝が熱河で死ぬと、西太后(せいたいこう)らと結んでクーデターを行い、実権を握り、議政王に任ぜられた。以後、幼い同治(どうち)帝を補佐し、太平天国の乱やアロー戦争などの内乱と外圧で動揺する清朝支配の維持に努め、曽国藩(そうこくはん)らを用いて、伝統的体制回復に効果をあげ、同治中興といわれた。やがて西太后の勢力に押されて、清仏(しんふつ)戦争（1884）ののち政界の第一線から退いた。しかし、その後も皇族中の重鎮であることは変わらず、日清戦争（1894）のときには軍機処(ぐんきしょ)大臣に任ぜられたりした。

［倉橋正直］

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