Jiaqing Emperor
Contents
Character Profile
| Name: | Yongyan (regnal title: Jiaqing Emperor) |
| Date of Birth: | 13 November 1760 |
| Service: | |
| Rank: | Emperor |
| Nationality: | Chinese |
| Billets: |
Biography
Yongyan, the 15th son of the Qialong Emperor, was the reigning Emperor in 1806, when the Chinese Embassy to England brought back Temeraire with William Laurence and his crew of aviators.
On his accession to the throne, he had chosen "Jiaqing" as the era name for his reign, thus the title "Jiaqing Emperor". He was companion to a male Celestial dragon (possibly Lung Tien Ming or Lung Tien Zhi).
The imperial succession and Celestial dragons
The imperial succession appeared to be significantly based on finding a suitable match between a Celestial dragon and a potential heir.
The Emperor's brother, Prince Yongxing, lost his own chance for the throne by accepting the albino Lung Tien Lien for a companion, due to her inauspicious "mourning colors".
Prince Mianning, the eldest of the Jiaqing Emperor's three sons, was approximately twenty years old. He was widely known as the Crown Prince and the heir apparent to the throne. His Celestial companion, Lung Tien Chuan, was Temeraire's twin brother.
One of the younger sons, Prince Miankai, was about ten years old and had no dragon companion. Prince Yongxing's planned coup was partially based on convincing Temeraire to abandon Laurence and accept Prince Miankai, in whose name Yongxing hoped to rule as imperial regent during the boy's minority.
Nothing was said of the third son beyond his mere existence, nor anything of the Emperor's consorts or possible daughters.
To satisfy the tradition that members of the Imperial family were the only worthy companions for Celestial dragons, the Emperor technically adopted William Laurence as a fourth son. Since Laurence soon left China, this had no effect on the internal succession and little effect outside its borders until 1810, when Laurence's nominal status became very useful at the Chinese/Larrakia trading post on the northern coast of Australia.
Deviations from history
Historically, the imperial succession was not strictly determined by birth order. Each Emperor usually left a decree to be opened upon his death, naming his successor. By 1806, the Jiaqing Emperor had made no public declaration of his heir; in fact, he died in 1820 without leaving a succession decree.
Prince Mianning was his second-born but eldest surviving son; the first-born son, Prince Mianmu, had died in infancy. Both of these sons and at least one daughter had been born to the Jiaqing Emperor's first wife, Hitara (Empress Shu Rui).
The Jiaqing Emperor's second wife, Niuhuru (Empress He Rui), gave birth to Prince Miankai, the youngest son Prince Mianxin, and at least one daughter. (Prince Mianxin was probably the unnamed third son referred to in Throne of Jade, and would have been an infant at the time.) She used her authority as Dowager Empress to name her stepson as her late husband's successor (now known as the Daoguang Emperor), bypassing her own two sons.
