Family and early life

Yizhu was born in 1831 at the Old Summer Palace, eight kilometres northwest of Beijing. He was from the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, and was the fourth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was the Noble Consort Quan, of the Manchu Niohuru clan, who was made Empress in 1834, and is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoquancheng. Yizhu was reputed to have an ability in literature and administration which surpassed most of his brothers, which impressed his father, who therefore decided to make him his successor.

Early reign

Yizhu succeeded the throne in 1850, at age 19, and was a relatively young emperor. He inherited a dynasty that faced not only internal but also foreign challenges. Yizhu's reign title, Xianfeng, which means "Universal Prosperity", did not reflect the situation. In 1850, the first of a series of popular rebellions began that would nearly destroy the Qing dynasty. The Taiping Rebellion began in December 1850, when Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka leader of a syncretic Christian sect, defeated local forces sent to disperse his followers. Hong then proclaimed the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the rebellion spread to several provinces with amazing speed. The following year, the Nian Rebellion started in North China. Unlike the Christian-influenced Taiping rebels, the Nian movement lacked a clear political program, but they became a serious threat to the Qing capital, Beijing, with the mobility of their cavalry-based armies. The Qing imperial forces suffered repeated defeats at the hands of both rebel movements.

Rebellions and wars

In 1853, the Taiping rebels captured Nanjing and for a while it seemed that Beijing would fall next; but the Taiping northern expedition was defeated and the situation stabilized. The Xianfeng Emperor dispatched several prominent mandarins, such as Zeng Guofan and the Mongol general Sengge Rinchen, to crush the rebellions, but they only obtained limited success. The biggest revolt of the Miao people against Chinese rule in history started in 1854, and ravaged the region until finally put down in 1873. In 1856, an attempt to regain Nanjing was defeated and the Panthay Rebellion broke out in Yunnan.

Meanwhile, an initially minor incident on the coasts triggered the Second Opium War. Anglo-French forces, after inciting a few battles (not all victories for them) on the coast near Tianjin, attempted "negotiation" with the Qing government. The Xianfeng Emperor believed in Chinese superiority and would not agree to any colonial demands. He delegated Prince Gong for several negotiations but relations broke down completely when a British diplomat, Sir Harry Parkes, was arrested during negotiations on 18 September.

The Anglo-French invasion clashed with Sengge Rinchen's Mongol cavalry on 18 September near Zhangjiawan before proceeding toward the outskirts of Beijing for a decisive battle in Tongzhou District, Beijing. On 21 September, at the Battle of Palikao, Sengge Rinchen's 10,000 troops, including his elite Mongol cavalry, were completely annihilated after several doomed frontal charges against the concentrated firepower of the Anglo-French forces, which entered Beijing on 6 October.

On 18 October 1860, the British and French forces went on to loot and burn the Old Summer Palace and Summer Palace. Upon learning about this news, the Xianfeng Emperor's health quickly deteriorated.

During the Xianfeng Emperor's reign, China lost part of Manchuria to the Russian Empire. In 1858, according to the Treaty of Aigun, the territory between Stanovoy Mountains and Amur River was ceded to Russia, and in 1860, according to the Treaty of Beijing, the same thing happened also to the area east of Ussuri River. After that treaty, the Russians founded the city of Vladivostok in the area they had annexed.

While negotiations with the European powers were being held, the Xianfeng Emperor and his imperial entourage fled to Jehol province in the name of conducting the annual imperial hunting expedition. As his health worsened, the emperor's ability to govern also deteriorated, and competing ideologies in court led to the formation of two distinct factions — one led by the senior official Sushun and the princes Zaiyuan and Duanhua, and the other led by Noble Consort Yi, who was supported by the general Ronglu and the Bannermen of the Yehe Nara clan.

Death

The Xianfeng Emperor died on 22 August 1861, from a short life of overindulgence, at the Chengde Mountain Resort, 230 kilometres northeast of Beijing. His successor was his surviving six-year-old son, Zaichun. A day before his death, the Xianfeng Emperor had summoned Sushun and his supporters to his bedside and gave them an imperial edict that dictated the power structure during his son's minority. The edict appointed eight men – Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jingshou, Sushun, Muyin, Kuangyuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying – as an eight-member regency council to aid Zaichun, who was later enthroned as the Tongzhi Emperor. Xianfeng gave the eight men the power of regency, but their edicts would have to be endorsed by Noble Consort Yi and Empress Consort Zhen. By tradition, after the death of an emperor, the emperor's body was to be accompanied to the capital by the regents. Noble Consort Yi and Empress Consort Zhen, who were now known as Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an travelled ahead to Beijing and planned a coup with Prince Gong that ousted the eight regents. Empress Dowager Cixi then effectively ruled China over the subsequent 47 years as a regent.

The Xianfeng Emperor was interred in the Eastern Qing Tombs, 125 kilometres/75 miles east of Beijing, in the Ding (定; lit. "Quietude") mausoleum complex.

Legacy

The Qing dynasty continued to decline during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor. Rebellions in the country, which began the first year of his reign, would not be quelled until well into the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor and resulted in millions of deaths. The Xianfeng Emperor also had to deal with the British and French and their ever-growing appetite to expand trade further into China. The Xianfeng Emperor, like his father, the Daoguang Emperor, understood very little about Europeans and their mindset. He viewed non-Chinese as inferior and regarded the repeated requests by the Europeans for the establishment of diplomatic relations as an offence. When the Europeans introduced the long-held concept of an exchanged consular relationship, the Xianfeng Emperor quickly rebuffed the idea. At the time of his death, he had not met with any foreign dignitary.

Despite his tumultuous decade of reign, the Xianfeng Emperor was commonly seen as the last Qing emperor to have held paramount authority, ruling in his own right. The reigns of his son and subsequent successors were overseen by regents, a trend present until the fall of the Qing dynasty.

Family

Parents

Father- Mianning, the Daoguang Emperor (道光帝) of the Aisin Gioro clan (愛新覺羅)

Mother- Empress Xiaoquancheng (孝全成皇后) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿)

Consorts and Issue

Empress

• Empress Xiaodexian (孝德顯皇后) of the Sakda clan (薩克達)

• Empress Xiaozhenxian (孝貞顯皇后) of the Niohuru clan ( 鈕祜祿氏)

• Empress Xiaoqinxian (孝欽顯皇后) of the Yehe Nara clan (葉赫那拉), Personal name: Xingzhen (杏貞) ; commonly known as Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧皇太后)

　• Zaichun, the Tongzhi Emperor (穆宗 載淳; 27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), first son

Imperial Noble Consort

• Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangjing (莊靜皇貴妃) of the Tatara clan (他他拉)

　• Princess Rong'an of the First Rank (榮安固倫公主; 20 June 1855 – 5 February 1875), first daughter.

　　• Married Fuzhen (d. 1909) of the Manchu Gūwalgiya clan in September/October 1873

• Imperial Noble Consort Duanke (端恪皇貴妃) of the Tunggiya clan (佟佳氏)

Noble Consort

• Noble Consort Mei (玫貴妃) of the Xu clan (徐氏)

　• Prince Min of the Second Rank (憫郡王; 19 March 1858), second son

• Noble Consort Wan (婉貴妃) of the Socoro clan (索綽絡氏)

Consort

• Consort Lu (璷妃) of the Yehe Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏), Personal Name: Mudanchun (牡丹春)

• Consort Ji (吉妃) of the Wang clan (王氏), Personal Name: Xinghuachun (杏花春)

　• Miscarriage (male; 1859 or 1860)

• Consort Xi (禧妃) of the Cahala clan (察哈喇氏), Personal Name: Haitangchun (海棠春)

• Consort Qing (慶妃) of the Zhang clan (張氏), Personal Name: Wulingchun (武陵春)

Concubine

• Concubine Yun (雲嬪) of the Wugiya clan (雲嬪), Personal Name: Qiyun (绮云)

• Concubine Rong (容嬪,) of the Irgen Gioro clan (伊爾根覺羅氏)

• Concubine Shu (璹嬪) of the Yehe Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏)

• Concubine Yu (玉嬪) of the Yehe Nara clan (葉赫那拉氏)

First Class Female Attendant

• First Class Female Attendant Chun (瑃常在) of the Ming'an clan (暝谙)

• First Class Female Attendant Xin (鑫常在) of the Daigiya clan (戴佳)

• First Class Female Attendant Ping (玶常在) of the Irgen Gioro clan (伊尔根觉罗氏)

Ancestry

生平

1831年7月17日（道光十一年六月初九日），咸豐帝生于北京圓明園之澄靜齋。時道光帝前三個兒子都已去世，咸豐帝出生後即為在世的皇長子。二十六年，按照秘密立儲制度，被道光帝立為儲君。三十年正月丁未，道光帝駕崩前，宣召大臣開啟鐍匣，立為皇太子。

咸豐帝即位後便勤於政事，廣開言路、明詔求賢，先後將有損國家利益的穆彰阿和耆英革職，大手筆地對朝政頗有改革。但此時的大清帝國內憂外患不斷，先後爆發太平天國運動以及第二次鴉片戰爭。早年也被恭親王與康慈皇貴太妃逼迫尊封皇太后之事所困擾，因康慈太妃對正妻名分非常渴求，導致咸豐帝心神疲憊，不能專心處理政事。

在第二次鴉片戰爭中，俄國西伯利亞總督穆拉維約夫迫使黑龍江將軍奕山簽訂《璦琿條約》，割去黑龍江以北、外興安嶺以南原屬清朝的領土約60萬平方公里，咸豐帝拒絕承認該條約。隨後英法聯軍進攻北京，咸豐帝下詔對英國法國宣戰：「兵家勝敗何常，該國兵遠來即有數萬，未可當我中國人民千百之一，其能經幾戰乎？」最後圓明園、清漪園等被焚掠，以簽定一系列不平等條約收場。

咸豐十一年（1861年）七月十七日，咸豐帝崩于行在避暑山莊煙波致爽殿。皇長子同治帝繼位。同時依遺詔，由肅順、載垣、端華、景壽、穆蔭、匡源、杜翰、焦祐瀛為顧命八大臣，肅順為首，輔導皇帝施政。同時將「御賞」、「同道堂」兩方小璽分別賜給皇后紐祜祿氏和載淳，並規定凡以後下發諭旨必須鈐用此二璽為憑。據《熱河密札》記載：「兩璽均大行所賜，母后用『御賞』璽，上用『同道堂』璽，凡應硃筆處用此代之，述旨亦均用之，以杜弊端。」在咸豐靈柩啟程返京期間，東太后慈安、西太后慈禧、恭親王奕訢、醇親王奕譞四人聯合發動辛酉政變，醇親王奕譞親自抓捕肅順，隨之八大臣非死即貶。同時，政府隨即由慈安、慈禧兩宮聽政，咸豐帝生前的輔政遺命宣告廢止。

根據內務府檔案的記載，如意館畫士沈振麟曾在同治年間繪製了兩幅先帝咸豐帝聖容，這兩幅聖容均先畫稿，呈覽後再進一步繪製。和碩恭親王奕訢向兩宮皇太后和同治帝呈覽的兩幅墨稿分別為便衣墨稿一件及道裝配山洞景致墨稿一件。

評價

• 清朝皇帝的評價中，咸豐帝的爭議最大。咸豐愛看戲，愛唱戲，即使到熱河行在唱戲，「著昇平署三拔至熱河」，也表現得樂不思蜀。咸豐一朝，財政十分困難，要鎮壓太平天國，對付英法聯軍，財源枯竭，「戶部因軍興財匱，行鈔，置寶鈔處，行大錢，置官錢總局，分領其事」，鈔票大量發行，造成通貨膨脹，「官民交累，徒滋弊竇」。

• 咸豐帝「任賢擢才，洞觀肆應」，在面對太平天國運動與「三千年未有之政局」的內憂外患中，咸豐指揮若定，重用漢族大臣曾國藩人等組織團練來對付太平天國，咸豐帝頗思除弊求治，提拔行事果斷的肅順，並支持肅順等人在朝政上推行的改革。為後來的同光中興打下良好基礎。但也因為採納肅順對英法兩國強硬的做法，導致引發英法聯軍之役。

• 咸豐帝臨終前對朝政事宜不合理的安排和權力制衡，使朝臣和後宮在有關朝政和國事方面展開逐鹿，間接導致慈安太后、慈禧太后、恭親王奕訢、醇親王奕譞聯手，打倒了顧命八大臣，最後慈禧掌權近半個世紀，從而也被有些史家流派認為咸豐帝沒有安排好善後事宜，致使後宮幹政半個世紀的局面。

• 英、法等國要求清廷能讓英法兩國在北京設置駐京公使，新任公使到任時能覲見皇帝，但咸豐帝不接受。英國也要求清廷開放中國貿易，咸豐帝也拒絕，雖然天津條約簽訂後，咸豐帝默許了英、法等國的要求，但又對英、法等國的公使刁難（主因是採納肅順對英法兩國強硬的做法）。咸豐帝本人的守舊，間接導致英法聯軍之役清朝的慘敗，使清朝失去首都北京，圓明園也遭聯軍焚毀。

• 太平天國運動與英法聯軍之役，使咸豐帝遭受打擊，逃往熱河行宮後就病逝了，太平天國運動與英法聯軍之役的善後工作，直到慈安、慈禧兩宮聽政時期才結束。

大事年表

• 道光十一年六月初九日，奕詝出生。後受教于杜受田。

• 道光三十年正月，宣宗去世，奕詝繼位。是年太平天國起事。

• 咸豐三年二月，太平軍攻佔江寧，定都在此，改名天京。九月，太平天國北伐軍逼近天津。是年曾國藩建湘軍。

• 咸豐五年四月，李開芳被俘，太平天國北伐軍覆沒。

• 咸豐六年八月，天京事變發生。九月，「亞羅號事件」發生。

• 咸豐八年四月，與俄國簽訂《璦琿條約》。五月，先後與俄、美、英、法四國簽訂《中俄天津條約》、《中美天津條約》、《中英天津條約》及《中法天津條約》。十月，太平軍取得三河大捷。

• 咸豐九年五月，清大沽守軍擊退英、法艦隊。

• 咸豐十年七月，英法聯軍攻佔天津和大沽一帶。八月，八里橋和大沽口相繼被攻佔，咸豐帝逃往承德，亦不足兩個月，英法聯軍火燒圓明園，進佔北京。十月，《中英北京條約》及《中法北京條約》立。十一月，《中俄北京條約》立。十二月總理各國事務衙門成立。

• 咸豐十一年七月十七日，咸豐皇帝駕崩於承德避暑山莊煙波致爽殿，年三十。其子載淳年僅六歲，繼承大統，是為同治帝。咸豐委派載垣、端華、景壽、肅順、穆蔭、匡源、杜翰、焦祐瀛為輔政八大臣，輔助小皇帝。

家族

后妃子女

皇后

• 孝德顯皇后，薩克達氏，咸豐即位前即去世。

• 孝貞顯皇后（1837年8月12日－1881年4月8日），皇后鈕祜祿氏，滿洲鑲黃旗人，廣西右江道三等承恩公穆楊阿之女。1852年（咸豐二年二月）選秀入宮，四月二十七進內，冊封為貞嬪，五月晉升為貞貴妃，十月即正式立為皇后。文宗死後，稱為「母后皇太后」（慈安太后、東太后）與慈禧太后（西太后）垂簾聽政。光緒七年崩，年四十四，相傳為西太后所害，曰孝貞慈安裕慶和敬誠靖儀天祚聖顯皇后。

• 孝欽顯皇后，孝欽顯皇后葉赫那拉氏，滿洲鑲藍旗人，安徽徽寧池太廣道道員惠徵之女。1852年（咸豐二年二月）選秀入宮，五月初九進內，冊封為懿貴人，咸豐四年二月乙未晉封為懿嬪，1856年（咸豐六年三月庚辰），懿嬪生下皇長子載淳，當日就晉封懿妃。咸豐七年（1857）正月乙卯晉封貴妃。文宗死後，稱為「聖母皇太后」（慈禧太后、西太后）與東太后垂簾聽政，光緒三十四年崩，年七十二。生一子載淳，即同治帝。

妃嬪

• 莊靜皇貴妃，他他拉氏，主事慶海女，道光十七年二月二十七生，咸豐元年入宮，二年五月初九，封為麗貴人，四年十二月二十四，封為麗嬪，五年五月初七，晉為麗妃，穆宗登極後，尊封麗皇貴妃，同治十三年十一月十六，光緒帝尊封為麗皇貴太妃，光緒十六年十一月薨，年五十四，生一女，榮安固倫公主。

• 端恪皇貴妃，佟佳氏。

• 玫貴妃，徐佳氏，皇二子生母。

• 婉貴妃，索綽絡氏，咸豐帝時為婉嬪，同治帝晉尊為皇考婉妃，再詔晉尊為婉貴妃。

• 璷妃，葉赫那拉氏。咸豐五年二月初十日，封璷貴人，二月二十四日，璷貴人如嬪位的內庭宮各退。同治帝尊其為皇考璷嬪。光緒帝再尊其為璷妃，所享的內庭宮分同貴妃之位。

• 禧妃，察哈拉氏，名海棠春。

• 吉妃，王氏。咸豐八年五月十五日，封為吉貴人。同治帝尊其為皇考吉嬪，後光緒帝再尊其為吉妃。

• 慶妃，張氏。

• 雲嬪，武佳氏，咸豐帝為皇子時，入侍為「格格」。

• 容嬪，伊爾根覺羅氏，咸豐三年十月二十日已為容常在，咸豐五年十月初一日已晉為容貴人，咸豐十一年尊封容嬪。尊封伊爾根覺羅氏為容嬪的尊封事宜，於同治八年仍未辦理，因伊爾根覺羅氏突然去世而停止。

• 璹嬪（1840年—1874年），葉赫那拉氏，正白旗滿洲員外郎桂祥之女。道光二十年二月二十日子時出生。咸豐五年二月初十日，經外八旗選秀入宮，封為𤩇貴人，所享的內庭宮分同嬪位。咸豐七年十一月至咸豐八年二月，那拉氏的待遇因故如常在之位。咸豐九年十一月初十日，改號為璹貴人。咸豐十一年尊封璹嬪。與莊靜皇貴妃同居永和宮。尊封葉赫那拉氏為璹嬪的尊封事宜，於同治十三年仍未辦理，因葉赫那拉氏突然去世而停止。同治十三年三月二十四去世，葬在清定陵妃園寢。

• 玉嬪（1843年—1863年），葉赫那拉氏，正白旗滿洲員外郎桂祥之女，有一姐璹嬪，同為咸豐帝妃嬪。咸豐八年三月二十五日，由本家送入圓明園，為玉貴人。咸豐十一年同治帝繼位，奉兩宮皇太后懿旨晉封為玉嬪。同治元年十一月十六日（1863年1月5日）去世。同治四年九月二十五日奉安妃園寢。

• 玶常在，伊爾根覺羅氏，初號英貴人，咸豐二年封英嬪，咸豐三年降為伊貴人，咸豐五年降為伊常在，再降為伊答應，六年升回玶常在。

• 瑃常在

• 錱常在（？—1859年），《內務府譜牒》記載為戴氏，戴吉祿原配之女。包衣管領下辛者庫人。咸豐九年（1859年）五月初六日去世。

皇子

咸豐共生有2子1女，是中國最後一位有生育子女的皇帝。

• 皇長子載淳，即同治帝，母懿嬪葉赫那拉氏；

• 皇二子憫郡王，出生後未及命名即逝世，母玫貴人徐佳氏；

皇女

• 皇長女榮安固倫公主，母麗嬪他他拉氏；

養子

• 養子載湉，醇親王奕譞之次子。

養女

• 養長女榮壽固倫公主，恭親王奕訢之女。

影視形象

注釋