Yuntang, born Yintang, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was the ninth son of the Kangxi Emperor and an ally of his eighth brother Yunsi, who was the main rival to their fourth brother Yinzhen in the power struggle over the succession. In 1722, Yinzhen succeeded their father and became historically known as the Yongzheng Emperor, after which he started purging his former rivals. In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor stripped Yuntang off his beizi title, banished him from the Aisin Gioro clan, and imprisoned him in Baoding. Yuntang died under mysterious circumstances later. In 1778, the Qianlong Emperor, who succeeded the Yongzheng Emperor, posthumously rehabilitated Yuntang and restored him to the Aisin Gioro clan.
Life
Yintang was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the ninth son of the Kangxi Emperor. His mother was Consort Yi from the Gorolo clan. He was not one of the Kangxi Emperor's favourite sons, but nonetheless managed to gain substantial wealth and influence among his brothers. The Kangxi Emperor had designated his second oldest surviving son, Yinreng, as Crown Prince, but had also stripped Yinreng from his position twice due to Yinreng's arrogance and violent behaviour. During that two periods of time when the position of Crown Prince was vacant, Yintang supported his eighth brother, Yinsi, in his bid to secure that position, but Yunsi did not succeed both times. The Kangxi Emperor eventually decided to secretly designate an heir apparent, whose identity would only be revealed after his death. In 1722, after the Kangxi Emperor died, his fourth son, Yinzhen, was revealed to be his chosen successor. Yinzhen ascended the throne and became historically known as the Yongzheng Emperor. Yintang and all his brothers had to change the character Yin in their names to Yun to avoid naming taboo, because the reigning emperor's name also contained the character Yin. In the same year, Yuntang was sent to the military garrison at Xining and placed under the supervision of the general Nian Gengyao. Three years later, in 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor stripped Yuntang off his beizi title, banished him from the Aisin Gioro clan, and forced him to change his name to "Seshe". His eight sons were forced to change their name to Fusihūn, Facuhūn, Ubiyada, Eimede, Hairakan, Dungki, Dusihiyen and Eihun respectively. Yuntang reportedly pleaded with the emperor to send him to a Buddhist monastery and allow him to spend the rest of his life as a monk, but the emperor refused. Yuntang was later imprisoned in Baoding. He died from an unspecified "abdominal illness". However, there are speculations that Yuntang died from poisoning. In 1778, Yuntang was posthumously rehabilitated by the Qianlong Emperor, who had succeeded the Yongzheng Emperor in 1735. Yuntang was restored to the Aisin Gioro clan and had his name changed back from "Seshe" to "Yuntang".
Meaning of "Seshe"
"Sàisīhēi" is a Chinese transliterating words of a Manchu term which has traditionally been translated as "dog" in Chinese. However it is a false rumour. According to Hei tu dang, a Manchu script document now kept in Liaoning Provincial Museum, the original term is "Seshe". There is some dispute as to whether that is an accurate translation. Some scholars suggest "Seshe" actually means "to tremble", or "annoying person".
Legacy
Yuntang has been viewed as a pioneer in the romanisation of the Manchu language. He was known to have had ties with the Portuguese missionary Joannes Mourão. Mourão allegedly introduced Yuntang to literature written in the Latin alphabet, which allowed Yuntang to establish a basic Manchu romanisation system around 1723, supposedly as a secret code for communication between himself and other supporters of Yunsi. While Paul Georg von Möllendorff's Möllendorff system is often seen as the first Manchu transliteration system, Yuntang's system predates Möllendorff's by over 150 years.
