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Oboi (Manchu language: , Mölendorff: Oboi; ) (c. 1610Oboi's birthday is historically undocumented, but based on circumstantial evidence historians generally estimate his birth year to be within a few years after 1610.–1669) was a prominent Manchu people military commander and courtier who served in various military and administrative posts under three successive emperors of the early Qing dynasty. Born to the Guwalgiya clan, Oboi was one of four regents nominated by the Shunzhi Emperor to oversee the government during the minority of the Kangxi Emperor. Oboi reversed the benevolent policies of the Shunzhi Emperor, and vigorously pushed for clear reassertion of Manchu power over the Han Chinese. Eventually deposed and imprisoned by the new emperor for having amassed too much power, he was posthumously rehabilitated.
Oboi's childhood and early years are relatively obscure. Being his father's third son, he was not destined to inherit the family's hereditary position in the Banner hierarchy. Oboi was first mentioned in official Qing history in the Veritable Records of Qing Taizong Hong (清太宗實錄) in 1632, documenting his triumphant return from a minor raid into Ming dynasty territories in which he was allowed to keep his spoils as reward.
Oboi officially started his military career in 1634 during the reign of Hong Taiji as a junior officer in the Banner's cavalry guard unit Draft Qing History, Biographies, Volume 36, "Biography of Oboi" (清史稿·列傳三十六·鰲拜列傳). Oboi's initial post was a lieutenant (Manchu: juwan-i da; Chinese: 壯達) in the Banner guard unit (Manchu: Bayarai; Chinese: 巴牙喇). The Bayarais were hand-picked elite cavalry units within a Manchu Banner army that served both as camp guard and tactical reserve. In battle they were usually tasked with difficult missions independent of the main battle formation. in which capacity he distinguished himself many times in battle against Ming forces and was renowned for his personal bravery. For this, he was granted a hereditary commission as captain of a company ( niru i janggin). In 1633 and 1634 he took part in campaigns against the Chahars, whose leader Ligdan Khan submitted to the Manchus in 1635.
In 1637 during the Manchu's second campaign against Korea, Oboi volunteered and succeeded in capturing the small but strategically important Ka Island (then known as "Pidao" in Chinese) south of the Yalu River, from which the Ming army had led operations against the Liaodong peninsula, the main focus of armed conflict between the Manchus and the Ming. After a difficult amphibious landing followed by desperate hand-to-hand combat the defending Ming garrison was annihilated. For this achievement he was promoted to the rank of a hereditary colonel third-class and bestowed the rare honorific title of "Baturu" (巴圖魯), which means "(brave) warrior" in Manchu.The Manchu term "Baturu" was derived from the Mongol term "Bahadur" which translates to mean a warrior, knight or a great hero. In 1641, Oboi again distinguished himself in battle scoring five victories in as many encounters in the consecutive sieges of Jinzhou and Songshan, two of the last Ming strongholds in Liaodong. He was promoted to full colonel and given command of the Bayarai guards of the Bordered Yellow Banner.
After the death of Hong Taiji in 1643, Oboi supported the late ruler's eldest son Hooge over Dorgon during the ensuing succession crisis. Despite Hooge's faction losing out to Dorgon's proposed compromised candidate, Hong Taiji's youngest son Shunzhi Emperor, Oboi continued to participate in military campaigns through the Qing dynasty's successful invasion of China in 1644. His rise in the Bordered Yellow Banner hierarchy continued apace with the Qing conquest of the Ming. In 1645 he was promoted to the rank of general. From 1644 to 1648 Oboi was part of the armies that fought bandit and self declared emperor Li Zicheng (nemesis of the last Ming emperor), bandit king Zhang Xianzhong, and the remnants of Zhang's armies after Zhang was killed in 1647. Draft History of Qing claims that in early 1647 during the campaign to pacify Sichuan, Oboi was responsible for slaying Zhang in battle.Draft History of Qing, Volume 4, "Annals of Shunzhi 1": "On the jisi day of the eleventh month of the third year of Shunzhi 2, Hooge's army reached the southern regions of. At that time, Zhang Xianzhong held a line of fortifications in Xichong County. Oboi and others advanced together to attack and they routed the, beheading Zhang Xianzhong on the battlefield. They then divided their forces to attack the remaining bandits, overrunning more than 130 enemy camps/battalions. Sichuan was thus pacified." (清史稿·本紀四·世祖本紀一) "順治三年十一月己巳，豪格師至南部，時張獻忠列寨西充，鰲拜等兼程進擊，大破之，斬獻忠於陣，復分兵擊餘賊，破一百三十餘營，四川平。 However other Qing records show an entirely different account, one where one of Zhang's commanders, Liu Jinzhong defected to the Qing after fearing being the next victim of Zhang's ongoing purge and execution of his own commanders and soldiers, leading the Qing soldiers and Haoge directly to Zhang Xianzhong's camp where Zhang was alerted to their presence and decided to confront them with only 8 to 10 men. Zhang was shot and killed by an anonymous archer from the Qing army after Liu identified Zhang to the Qing troops. Oboi is nowhere mentioned in this other account as being responsible for Zhang Xianzhong's death nor was Zhang beheaded in this account.
In 1648, when Hooge was imprisoned and convicted by Dorgon, Oboi was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to loss of rank. Despite his demotion, in 1648 and 1649 he took part in a campaign to extirpate Ming turncoat Jiang Xiang (姜瓖; d. 1649)––who had now turned against the Qing––from his base in Datong (Shaanxi, north China).
The extent of the Shunzhi Emperor's trust in Oboi's loyalty can be gauged by the honours the emperor showered on him. In 1652 after Shunzhi successfully purged the court of the more powerful elements in Dorgon's faction, Oboi was elevated to a hereditary Duke of the Second Rank and more importantly appointed the commander of the imperial bodyguard (領侍衛內大臣), a job which doubled as the de facto police chief in the capital. In this capacity Oboi acted as Shunzhi's much feared enforcer against Dorgon's old cohorts and helped to consolidate power to the throne and the Emperor's own "Upper Three Banners". During the period of Shunzhi's personal rule, Oboi was responsible for the arrest and execution of a number of noblemen found guilty of one crime or another. Although there is no doubt that these executions were carried out with the approval of Shunzhi, it is not surprising that after the emperor's death, Oboi, given his ruthless character and position in court, when left uncontrolled by a higher authority would eventually come to dominate court politics creating a deep state centered on himself.
Three of the four ministers, Sonin, Ebilun and Oboi were members of the "Two Yellow Banners" ( i.e. Yellow Banner and Bordered Yellow Banner) previously under the command of the Shunzhi Emperor's elder brother Hooge. Because of the personal and political rivalries between Hooge and Dorgon, all three men were persecuted at one time or another during Dorgon's regency for their Banner affiliation. However their loyalty thus proven was also key to their rapid advancement after Dorgon's death. It was a major factor in Shunzhi's choice of personnel to oversee his son's regency. However Shunzhi's arrangement heightened the already sensitive relationship between the three members of the Yellow Banners and Suksaha who belonged to the White Banner. Suksaha was a much despised figure at this point not only because he was a member of the White Banner in an imperial court dominated by the two Yellow Banners, but also because he gained the Shunzhi Emperor's trust by denouncing his former master Dorgon, an action seen by his colleagues including members of the White Banner as disloyal.
In the first years of the regency, the tension between the Yellow Banners faction and Suksaha was kept in check by the even handed Sonin and thus the four ministers maintained a relatively peaceful and efficient working relationship. But the dynamics of the regency began to change as Sonin's health deteriorated due to old age. As Sonin gradually took more time off, Oboi monopolized decision making by dominating the indecisive Ebilun and worked to sideline Suksaha during policy discussions especially on issues concerning welfare of the Manchu Eight Banners. By 1667 when Sonin realized he did not have long to live, he tried a last-ditch effort to restore balance to the regency and neutralize Oboi's rapidly expanding power clique by petitioning the then 14-year-old Kangxi Emperor to assume personal rule ahead of schedule. Thus Kangxi formerly took over the reins of power in an ascension ceremony on August 25, 1667, a month after Sonin's death. This was followed by an official decree technically downgrading the three remaining ministers to the status of "advisers" (佐政大臣) while still remaining at their posts. However even with the formal authority of office, the young Kangxi Emperor found it difficult to curb the growing power of Oboi.
The Kangxi Emperor took power earlier than expected at the age of 15 in 1669. The emperor suddenly had Oboi arrested on 30 charges. Oboi was sentenced to death but it was reduced to imprisonment in consideration of his achievements. Some sources say that he displayed the many wounds on his body that had been received in the defense of Kangxi's great-grandfather Nurhaci, this act had apparently moved the Kangxi Emperor to pardon Oboi.
Oboi was posthumously rehabilitated. The Kangxi Emperor issued a pardon in 1713, while his successor, the Yongzheng Emperor, granted Oboi the rank of a First Class Duke and the posthumous title Chaowu (超武 "exceedingly martial") but Yongzheng's successor, the Qianlong Emperor, gave Oboi the lower title of First Class Baron after reviewing his merits and demerits.
In the 2017 Chinese TV series Legend of Dragon Pearl Oboi is portrayed by Xiao Rongsheng. Oboi is shown to be an oppressive roadblock for the Kangxi Emperor in his mission regain his full political power and reaffirm his sovereignty.
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