The Xianfeng Emperor (Wade-Giles: Hsien-feng Emperor; Chinese: 咸豐帝), born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.

Family and early life

Yizhu was born in 1831 at the Imperial Summer Palace Complex, 8 kilometers northwest of the walls of Beijing, and was the fourth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was the Imperial Consort Quan (全貴妃), of the (Manchu) Niuhuru clan, who was made Empress in 1834, and is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoquancheng (孝全成皇后). Yizhu was reputed to have an ability in literature and administration which surpassed most of his brothers, which impressed his father Daoguang Emperor 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 (咸丰/咸豐), 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 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 next year the Nien Rebellion started in North China. Unlike the Christian Taipings', the Nien movement lacked a clear political program, but they became a serious threat to Beijing with the mobility of their cavalry-based armies. Fixed between two powerful forces the Qing suffered repeated defeats.