Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Šurhaci
ŠURHACI 舒爾哈齊, 1564–1611, Sept. 25, member of the Imperial Family, was a younger brother of Nurhaci [q. v.], the founder of the Ch'ing Dynasty. Under the Ming government he held the title of local chieftain (tu-chih-hui 都指揮) in the Chien-chou district, and maintained relations with the Chinese authorities up to the beginning of 1607. In that year he joined Nurhaci in the campaign against the Ula tribe (see under Bujantai), receiving the title of darhan baturu. But he was unable to agree with his brother, and four years later was put to death at the latter's order. Although his own career is unimportant, he was the ancestor of a number of men of distinction. In 1653 he was posthumously given the rank of Ch'in-wang and the name Chuang 莊.
His second son, Amin, and the sixth, Jirgalang [qq. v.], were the most distinguished. Among his grandsons, those who rose to distinction were the following: Jidu [q. v.]; Shang-shan (see under Jangtai); Fulata (see under Tê-p'ei); Tunci 屯齊 (1614–1663), a veteran of many wars during the years 1636 to 1659, and successor to Nikan as commander of the expeditionary force in Hunan (1652–54); and Loto 洛託 (1616–1665) who, as commander-in-chief of the Manchu forces, co-operated in 1657–59 with Hung Ch'êng-ch'ou [q. v.] in conquering Hunan and Kweichow. Among Šurhaci's other descendants were Wasan, Tê-p'ei and Su-shun [qq. v.].
[1/167/14b; 1/221/4b; 2/2/25b passim; 3 shou 6/1a; 4/1/11b; 34/124/1a; Man-chou lao-tang pi-lu (see under Nurhaci) 上/2b; Ch'ing Huang-shih ssŭ-p'u (see Fu-lung-an) 3/2b; Oshibuchi Hajime 鴛淵一, "The Death of Šurhaci" (in Japanese) Shirin, vol. XVII, no. 3 (1932).]
George A. Kennedy