The Gathering Storm: China’s Most Dangerous Rebellion

The year was 1673 when the 19-year-old Kangxi Emperor faced the greatest threat to Qing rule since the Manchu conquest. What began as Wu Sangui’s defiant rebellion in Yunnan soon escalated into the catastrophic Revolt of the Three Feudatories, engulfing nearly half of China in warfare. By 1674, the situation had become dire:

– Wu Sangui’s forces controlled a vast swath of southern China from Yunnan to Hunan
– Rebel general Geng Jingzhong launched three-pronged attacks into Zhejiang and Jiangxi
– Wang Fuchen’s cavalry dominated the northwest from Ningxia to Sichuan
– Even Taiwan-based Zheng Jing invaded Guangdong’s coastal cities

Of the three major feudatories, only Shang Kexi remained loyal, desperately defending Guangdong against overwhelming odds. Contemporary accounts describe the aging general preparing a funeral pyre in his mansion courtyard, determined to commit ritual suicide rather than surrender Guangzhou.

Kangxi’s Calculated Counterstrike

Facing potential dynastic collapse, the young emperor nearly repeated his father’s mistake – considering a rash personal campaign against Wu Sangui. Court advisors persuaded him to adopt a more strategic approach. His first move targeted the rebellion’s psychological weak point: Wu Sangui’s son, Wu Yingxiong.

Arrested at the rebellion’s outbreak, Wu Yingxiong became the subject of fierce court debate. Moderates advocated keeping him alive as a bargaining chip, while hardliners demanded execution to demonstrate resolve. Kangxi’s decisive verdict came on April 13, 1674:

“To chill the old traitor’s courage, to sever the hopes of conspirators, and to strengthen our army’s morale.”

The simultaneous execution of Wu Yingxiong and his eldest son Wu Shilin achieved its intended effect. Historical records describe Wu Sangui receiving the news with “shock that stole his breath,” his subsequent strategic blunders and physical decline hastening the rebellion’s eventual collapse.

Princess Jianning: Royal Pawn in a Political Game

Behind this political execution lay a personal tragedy – that of Princess Jianning, born Aisin Gioro Ajige. Contrary to popular literary portrayals , the historical princess was neither Kangxi’s sister nor a whimsical character, but rather:

– Youngest daughter of Emperor Huang Taiji
– Aunt to Kangxi
– The only Qing princess married to a Han Chinese official’s son

Her 1648 marriage to 12-year-old Wu Yingxiong marked a radical departure from Qing tradition, where princesses typically wed Mongol princes or Manchu nobles. Initially, the union appeared successful – the couple received lavish imperial favors, produced three sons, and even earned the unprecedented privilege of visiting Wu Sangui in Yunnan in 1671.

The Agony of Political Calculation

When crisis struck, Princess Jianning’s royal status proved meaningless. Eyewitness accounts describe her prostrate before Kangxi, tearfully begging mercy for her husband and sons. The emperor’s consolation edict – stating she suffered “by association with rebels” – rang hollow as her world crumbled:

– 1674: Execution of Wu Yingxiong and eldest son
– 1681: Post-rebellion execution of her two surviving sons
– 1704: Death after 30 years of solitary confinement

The princess’s former residence in Beijing became infamous for paranormal sightings, later documented by scholar Ji Xiaolan. Her 63-year lifespan, unusually long for the period, became not a blessing but an extended sentence of grief.

Legacy of the Forgotten Princess

Today, the physical remnants of this tragedy linger near Beijing’s Hanguang Department Store, where fragments of the princess’s mansion still stand. More enduring is the historical lesson her story embodies – how dynastic politics crushed individual lives, and how women, even of royal blood, remained powerless in imperial China’s patriarchal system.

The Revolt of the Three Feudatories ultimately strengthened Kangxi’s reign, but its human cost, exemplified by Princess Jianning’s silent suffering, reminds us that history’s grand narratives often conceal profound personal tragedies. Her story endures as a poignant counterpoint to triumphant accounts of imperial consolidation – a reminder that behind every political calculation lie real human consequences.