Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/589

 tion sent by  demanded the submission of this division of the Weji tribe. Together with, he joined Nurhaci's army, and his tribesmen were formed into two niru (companies of about 300 men) under the command of his sons, Hahana 哈哈納 and Cohono 綽和諾.

Hahana was given a maiden of Nurhaci's own clan for wife. In the campaign against the Ula tribe in 1612 and 1613 (see ) he acquitted himself with distinction and was rewarded by Nurhaci with rich presents. With his brother, Cohono, he was incorporated in the Bordered Red Banner which in 1619 encountered and defeated the Chinese army under Ma Lin (see ) at Sanggiyan Hada. In 1626, successor to Nurhaci, appointed the two brothers assistants to the commander of their Banner. Cohono was killed in the battle of Ta-ling-ho in 1631. As he left no sons, the inheritance of his titles passed to an elder brother, Unggeni 翁格尼, and the post of captain of company 14 of the 5th division of the Bordered Red Banner became hereditary in that family. One of the sons of Unggeni was Fukacan 富喀禪 (1607–1669) who served as Tartar General at Sian for twenty-two years (1646–68). Hahana was prominent in the campaigns of 1634 and 1636, but was forced to retire in the latter year because of severe wounds and accompanying illness. He died not long afterwards, leaving to his descendants the hereditary post of captain of company 4 in the 2nd division of the Bordered Red Banner.

[1/233/6a; 3/263/12a; 11/16/15b; 34/171/4a, 18b.]

2em

MINGJU 明珠, 1635–1708, official, was a grandson of of the Nara clan. Gintaisi was one of the two rulers of the Yehe nation which was conquered by in 1619. Mingju was nine years old when his family, serving under the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, moved to Peking in 1644 as nobles of the new dynasty. At first an officer of the Imperial Bodyguard, he rose by degrees to be a sub-chancellor of the Hung-wên yüan 弘文院 in 1666. In 1668 he became president of the Board of Punishments; a year later president of the Censorate; and in 1671 president of the Board of War.

When, in 1673, pretended to Emperor Shêng-tsu that he was willing for the three frontier garrisons or San-fan of South China (of which the one at Yunnan was under his command) to be transferred to Liaotung, most officials in Peking advised the Emperor not to carry out the program for fear that it would lead to civil war. Mingju and, however, insisted on accepting the challenge and even resorting to arms if Wu failed to comply. The young Emperor approved the suggestion, thus precipitating the San-fan Rebellion which covered ten provinces and lasted eight years. During the war the Emperor relied much on Mingju, appointing him president of the Civil Office in 1675 and a Grand Secretary in 1677.

Mingju was friendly to Chinese scholars and saw to it that his sons were well-versed in Chinese literature. But in politics he followed the example of and  in permitting the formation of a political group which stooped to bribery and corruption. By appointing his followers to key positions, he became in the sixteen-eighties the most powerful official in the empire. However, early in 1688,, then a censor, memorialized the throne on eight instances of corruption practiced by this group and designated Mingju as the leader. Having been long aware of the situation, the Emperor acted at once and punished all who were involved. Mingju was deprived of his titles and offices, but in the same year was made a senior assistant chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard, a post he held until his death twenty years later. During the wars against he served as commissioner of grain transport for the expeditionary forces.

A skillful business executive, he spent most of his later years in commercial enterprises (see under ) and thus accumulated a vast fortune which remained in the family till the close of the eighteenth century when one of his descendants, Ch'êng-an 成安, was falsely accused by, and the family property was confiscated.

The family of Mingju was closely related by marriage to the Ch'ing imperial house. His great-aunt was the mother of, and he himself married a daughter of. The youngest of his three sons, K'uei-fang 揆芬, married a woman of the imperial clan. His eldest son,, was a well known poet and the second son, , also a poet, was one of the powerful political figures in the later K'ang-hsi period.

[1/275/2b; 3/9/19a; 34/151/4b; Pa-ch'i Man-chou shih-tsu t'ung-p'u (see under ), 22/2a; Tung-hua-lu, Ch'ien-lung 37: 10;, 577