During his short reign, the Shunzhi emperor encouraged the
Han Chinese to participate in government activities. He was a scholar and employed Han Chinese to teach his children. He was also an open minded emperor and relied on the advice of
Johann Adam Schall von Bell 湯若望, a Jesuit from
Germany, for guidance ranging from
astronomy, technologies, to tips for governing an empire. Shunzhi also elevated Schall to his personal mentor and was given free access to the palace.
The emperor married his mother's niece, but demoted the empress several years later. In 1661, Shunzhi's favourite concubine Donggo suddenly died as a result of grief over the loss of a child. Overwhelmed with grief himself, Shunzhi contracted
smallpox and died shortly thereafter. He was only 24. Before he died, he appointed four regents govern for his child son,
Xuanye -
Oboi, Sonin, Suksaha, and
Ebilun.
According to official sources, the Shunzhi Emperor died in
1661 of
smallpox. It was also believed by some that the young emperor did not pass away but left the palace to become a monk. He was interred in the
Eastern Qing Tombs (清東陵), 125 kilometers/75 miles east of Beijing, in the Xiaoling (孝陵) mausoleum complex (known in
Manchu as the Hiyoošungga Munggan).
Huang Taiji had changed the name of the dynasty from Later Jin to
Qing in 1636 because of the fraternal struggles and skirmishes between brothers and half brothers for the throne. According to Taoist philosophy,
the name Jin has the meaning of metal and fire in its constituent,
thereby igniting the tempers of the brothers of the Manchu Royal household into open conflicts and wars.
Huangtaiji therefore adopted the new name of Qing 清, the Chinese character of which has the water symbol [ 3 strokes ] on its left hand side. The name, which means clear and transparent, with its water symbol was hoped to put out the feud among the brothers of the Manchu Royal household.
Because of power issues in the Qing's ancestors' way, Shunzi ultimately took another step to consolidate the power of the emperor. According to the old way, the 8 Banners were passed with succession much like how Nurhaci decided to give his Yellow Banners to Dorgun, but could potentially be controlled by someone like Huang Taji who switched the Banners. To solve this problem, Shunzi ordered the Upper 3 Banners- Plain Yellow, Striped Yellow, and Plain White to be under the control of the emperor. This would be maintained until Yongzheng and Qianlong's reign when they took the last step and controlled all 8 Banners.
It's also noteworthy that the empire was generally clean from corrupt officials as Shunzi despised corrupt officials.
