Green Phoenix

by Poon, Alice;

  Harjol was four years older than Bumbutai and was the more beautiful of the two. She was also the favorite of their father, who gave her the name of Harjol, which meant “white jade”. When she had insisted against Manggusi’s wishes on marrying Zhuolin, a Mongolian warrior who had been her childhood playmate, Jaisang had quietly given her a mare and a coffer of silver bars so she could elope. Manggusi, who had been planning for Harjol to be given to Hong Taiji as a concubine, had been infuriated by her brazen act and had been on the verge of disowning her.

  In their childhood days, Bumbutai had been close to Harjol. She had always envied Harjol’s dreamy crescent-moon eyes which always looked like they were smiling. The features of her heart-shaped face were well proportioned, as was her willowy figure. Bumbutai, being herself a nimble dancer, had always adored Harjol’s effortless dancing grace, which no girl in the whole Borjigit clan could match. Whenever Harjol performed a dance, the entire audience, especially the men, would be intoxicated.

  When Bumbutai informed Hong Taiji about Harjol’s imminent visit, he appeared delighted. A thought immediately dawned on Bumbutai, that Harjol could become a welcome distraction for Hong Taiji and could even share her burden of child-bearing. If Harjol could produce a son, it would secure Hong Taiji’s royal lineage, in which the Mongolian Borjigit clan would share an equal part. She felt sure that her grandfather was thinking the same thought too.

  On the day of her arrival, both Hong Taiji and Bumbutai went to the Mukden inner town gate to welcome her. She brought with her two horse-drawn carts filled with sable, beaver and mink furs, together with five stallions from the Borjigit clan’s ranches. At twenty-five, she had flawless milky skin and bewitching facial features, apart from a lithe figure. She was wearing a dark green fur-lined pashmina wool cape with a violet brocaded robe underneath. Alighting with an air of regal charm from her carriage, she walked towards the host and hostess in a naturally seductive gait.

  As soon as Hong Taiji set eyes on Harjol, he was struck by her stunning beauty to the point where words failed him. Bumbutai came to his rescue by exchanging warm greetings with her elder sister. The royal couple invited Harjol to ride in their own carriage and led the guest’s entourage back to the Palaces. On the way, Bumbutai and Harjol twittered like little girls, ignoring Hong Taiji’s presence. When he had a chance to interrupt, he only managed to ask the meaning of the name Harjol in Mongolian. When he was told that it meant “white jade”, he appeared happy with the answer and fell into silence again. The two sisters were glad to continue their chat undisturbed. Bumbutai couldn’t help noticing that Hong Taiji was stealing furtive glances at Harjol.

  A temporary bed chamber had been made for Harjol in the study lounge of the Library Hall, off from Bumbutai’s antechamber. Harjol was surprised not to find Bumbutai’s daughters around. Bumbutai explained to her that it was the rules of the Inner Palaces that royal newborn infants would be taken from the birth mothers as soon as delivered and nursed in a Residence reserved for royal infants. When the infants became toddlers, they were cared for by other concubines who would act as foster mothers. Bumbutai’s two older daughters, one four-year-old and the other one-year-old, were living with an older concubine, while her newborn baby daughter was still in the care of a wet nurse in the infant nursery.

  “What strange rules! Can you visit your daughters any time you want?”

  “Only for a short time each day. I’ll take you to visit them tomorrow, after you’ve paid a visit to Aunt Jere. But you must be dead tired now. I’ll ask Siu Fa to prepare your bath. After you’ve taken your bath, we could have a light dinner and then you can go straight to bed.”

  “Bumbutai, are you happy here?”

  “As happy as I could expect to be. Hong Taiji is kind to me and I get to study and learn like a scholar. What about you? How was your life with Zhuolin when he was alive?”

  Bumbutai did not want to reveal her innermost secret about Dorgon, not even to Harjol.

  “I had a blissful life with Zhuolin,” her sister replied. “After his death, I dreaded going to bed alone for nearly three months. I thought I would wallow in grief forever, but the healing started soon after I took up Buddhism a couple of months ago. My mind is finally at peace now.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that, Harjol. Hong Taiji is a fervent believer in Buddhism. You two may have something in common to talk about. You know, I’ve always envied you for the love you and Zhuolin shared. And the way you stood up to Grandpa! I wish I had that kind of courage.”

  “If I were to do it all over again, I would still follow my heart and do the same thing.”

  “But sometimes life forces your hand… What about duty to your family and state?”

  “I only know that if I didn’t follow my heart, I’d end up being utterly miserable. For me, being loved by a man is everything… Buddhism teaches love too, but of course that’s a more noble kind of love. I’m still striving to understand it.”

  Siu Fa came in at this moment to tell her mistress that the guest’s bath was ready.

  “We’ll have all the time to talk during your stay here. I’m so happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you too, little sister. Funny to see how little we’ve changed. You are still your old serious-minded self, all this talk about duty. No wonder people think that you’re the older sister!”

  The next evening, on Hong Taiji’s invitation, Harjol showed up with Bumbutai at a grand feast held in her honor. The sisters surprised the Khan by offering to dance a Chinese ribbon duo dance, which they had rehearsed in the afternoon. At the end of the performance, Hong Taiji applauded heartily.

  In order to let Harjol have time alone with Hong Taiji, Bumbutai made an excuse to retire early towards the end of the feast.

  There was a little awkwardness at first, but once they started talking about Buddhism, a natural kinship sparked between them. Harjol happened to be just as interested and well versed in Jurchen history as Bumbutai, and knowingly led Hong Taiji into a field of knowledge that was close to his heart.

  “We Mongolians have always admired the Jurchens for being the valiant warriors they are, dating way back in history.” She knew that to please a man, boosting his ego was the surest way. “Your brave ancestors ruled over northern China under the Great Jin Dynasty long before our Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty. But even the founders of the Great Jin pale in comparison with your Aisin Gioro clan in the ability to unite, lead and rule. The Great Jin Dynasty Founders were cruel and shortsighted and just did not understand the importance of benevolent rule. Their fledgling dynasty was thus soon crushed along with Southern Song of China when our ancestors rose to power. But the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty in the end fared no better, for much the same reason.”

  “You have good insight there,” Hong Taiji replied. “The Yuan Dynasty had a short span of life because the Mongolian rulers failed to win the hearts of the Hans.”

  He was amazed that a woman as delicate as Harjol could talk with such virtuosity on such a complex historical subject.

  “Grandpa told me long ago that he is confident of your becoming the eventual great ruler of all of Mongolia, China and Manchuria, because you have all the qualities of a visionary leader.”

  “Your grandpa was kind to say that, Harjol. As a matter of fact, there is much in common between Mongolians and Jurchens in terms of warfare ability. Both races are unparalleled horse riders and archers. But neither race in the past had the necessary cultural understanding of the conquered race that was needed to sustain its rule. My one and only idol has always been Genghis Khan. No one from either race has yet surpassed him in vision, bravery and intelligence. Even my father, brilliant as he was, tended to treat the conquered in a tyrannical way. I don’t deny that my cherished dream is to be that perfect ruler, but I’m not so arrogant as to claim I’m entirely worthy of your grandfather’s praise.”

  Hong Taiji had never
previously uttered the secret thought about his father to anyone, not even to Bumbutai.

  “You are far too modest, Venerable Khan. If you are not worthy, then I don’t know who is. Uniting the three races under one single state will be for the greater good. Mongolia has long been in need of a capable leader, as has China. Besides, any person who believes in Buddha is one with a kind heart. I will ask Buddha to help you reach your goals.”

  Though tired of people around him behaving in an obsequious manner, he had come to regard that as normal. Even Bumbutai would not always be forthright with him. But the humane side of him never stopped pining for true companionship. In speaking from the heart with unbridled candor, Harjol was like a splash of sweet rain on parched land. He knew he had just found a roost for his solitary soul.

  “Harjol, your words are the sweetest I’ve heard. Ahh, ‘Harjol’, what a beautiful name! White jade! It is a most fitting name for you.”

  “You are the first man who has said that to me. It’s very kind of you, Venerable Khan,” she blushed into a deep pink as she lowered her crescent eyes in shyness. The Khan saw it as a sign of the seduction to come.

  He rose from his eat and stepped over to Harjol. “I’ve never seen a woman more beautiful than you, or sweeter,” he whispered in her ear. “Buddha is merciful and has sent you to mend my poor wounded heart.”

  “Venerable Khan, I am sure I don’t deserve such high praise… It’s getting late and I should retire.” She thought the best strategy was to exit now.

  The next afternoon, when Hong Taiji had finished attending to Court matters, he took Harjol on a private tour of the new Inner Palaces at the Palatial Complex.

  Harjol was so impressed by the meticulously landscaped gardens and the ornate Palace interiors, that she exclaimed aloud her awe at every discovery. Her childish rapture and natural laughter caught Hong Taiji like a fever and made him feel twenty years younger. He asked her to pick the Palace that she liked best. She pointed to the one that had sky-blue glazed-tile rooftops and pale gold exterior walls, with an ornamental dark blue ceramic marquee. This Palace happened to be closest to the Emperor’s Residence. He was pleased that she made that choice.

  For the remaining days of her sojourn, Hong Taiji could not keep himself away and found time to be with her every afternoon. She seemed equally excited to see him each time.

  Bumbutai was quietly watching the pair and could foresee the outcome. Two days before Harjol’s intended departure, Bumbutai wrote to her grandfather and mother and told them all that was happening between the Khan and her sister, bidding them to get Harjol’s dowry ready well ahead of time.

  On the day Harjol was to leave, Hong Taiji came to her bed chamber and gave her as a token of admiration a precious bracelet of eighteen white jade beads with a pendant of two large pink pearls. It was a Buddhist prayer bracelet that had been kept in the Court’s national treasure chest. Then he took her in his royal carriage which rolled at a slow trot to the town gate. There he bade her farewell as she mounted her own carriage. He stood there till her carriage entirely disappeared into the winding folds of the carriage track.

  The following spring, Harjol’s bridal procession followed the same route as Bumbutai’s nine years before, and was also led by Wukeshan. Manggusi had been so pleased with this event that he had given special orders for an extra generous dowry to accompany Harjol. The wedding at Mukden was the grandest that Hong Taiji had ever held for any of his brides. The jewelry that Harjol received from her new husband included a pair of white jade tasseled hair pins, three pairs of white jade and pink pearl earrings and two bracelets of white jade beads.

  The new royal couple thereafter led a life of bliss. Following the wedding, no other Consort was ever summoned to the Khan’s bed chambers. Hong Taiji reserved all his love for this Mongolian gem of a bride. Harjol’s showering of tender love on her husband rejuvenated him, turning him into a young lion at heart. Bumbutai secretly rejoiced that Hong Taiji now had a woman to satisfy his emotional and physical needs. She prayed that Harjol would soon conceive and bear a son.

  Hong Taiji did not let his new found love occupy all his time and energy. Shortly after the wedding ceremony, he led his troops in an assault on China’s Shanxi Province. In the following year, he concentrated his military power on the unfriendly tribes of Inner Mongolia and attained victory after victory. By the end of the ninth year of his reign, the whole of the Mongolian steppe south of the Gobi had come under Jurchen control. He took as his trophy Consorts the two widows of the Chakhar Mongol leader, Ligden Khan. Ligden Khan’s successor offered Hong Taiji the Yuan Dynasty’s Heavenly Jade Seal as a gesture of submission and loyalty. Hong Taiji thought it an opportune time to officially change the tribal name from “Jurchen” to “Manchu”, so as to distinguish his reign from his father’s.

  Eight

  The following year was an important milestone in Hong Taiji’s reign. In the spring, he ordered a grand ceremony to be held in the new Dazheng Hall to mark the Empire’s official dynastic name change from “Later Jin” to “Qing”. The reason for the name change was that the word “Jin” in “Later Jin” would remind the Hans of the previous much-resented Jurchen rule in the 12th century of northern China. Another reason was that the character “Jin” (meaning gold) had a metal element which was blamed by the soothsayers for persistent strife among the royal brothers, whereas the character “Qing” (meaning clear) carried a water element and was expected to usher in more harmony for the royal family. Hong Taiji also designated “Aisin Gioro” as the official Imperial clan of the Manchus.

  The ceremony was attended by all Aisin Gioro male clan members as well as Court officials and Bannermen of the Manchu Eight Banners and the Mongolian Eight Banners. Before entering the Hall, Hong Taiji, crowned with a gold-rimmed crimson velvet hat and dressed in a golden yellow silk Imperial robe embroidered with a pair of dragons in front and one at the back and girthed with a gold-trimmed sash, offered incense to the Heavens and ancestors at an altar which had been set up on the wide marble stair landing. The landing was atop an expansive flight of marble steps overlooking the grand pathway, where cavalrymen and foot soldiers carrying banners lined up on both sides. He then went inside the Hall and stepped up onto the throne dais. Turning around to face the gathered audience, he seated himself on the golden Throne Seat placed in the middle.

  In making obeisance to the new Emperor, all the attendees in the Hall kneeled three times and bowed their heads nine times in front of the marble steps leading up the dais, while chanting “Long live our Emperor”. With a sweeping stroke of his hand, he signaled for them to rise. The Director of Protocol had planned this ceremony based on the Ming Imperial Court’s ceremonial rites to the minutest detail. He now proceeded to read out a statute which bestowed the temple name of “Taizong” on the new Emperor. Under Han customs, this name was normally used for the first emperor of an Imperial lineage.

  Daisan put on a congenial smile throughout the rites while Jirgalang wore a nonchalant expression. Manggultai had not been invited because of his recent demotion to the post of an ordinary cavalryman. Dorgon, Ajige and Dodo had come with great reluctance, their impassive faces masking visceral hatred. Bumbutai had begged Dorgon to persuade his brothers to attend without fail. No one understood Hong Taiji better than she. He would take an overt snub as a sign of challenge and perfidy.

  Underneath the apparent calmness, the struggle for absolute power had never ceased. Daisan and Manggultai had long been unhappy about Hong Taiji’s efforts to cut their entitlements and privileges. They had previously had the discretionary power to horde war loot as they pleased, but Hong Taiji had recently issued an edict banning all their discretionary powers, and commanding that all war loot must first be brought back to the Court. His Private Council was authorized to propose on the method of distribution, on which he alone had the final say.

  Manggultai had a quick temper and did not bother to
hide his contempt, unaware that by doing so he was playing right into Hong Taiji’s hands. The Emperor banned him first from his Private Council and then further demoted him to the rank of an ordinary cavalryman. Jirgalang’s brother Amin disobeyed the new order and was imprisoned. Daisan and Jirgalang appeared docile on the surface and submitted to Hong Taiji’s autocratic rule. Still, that didn’t stop the Emperor from eventually stripping all the Eight Manchu Banner Chiefs of decision-making power. His Private Council now included Scholar Fan and a handful of newly-recruited Han officials, who gave enthusiastic support to his centralization of power.

  With the inaugural use of Dazheng Hall, the other parts of the Imperial Complex were also opened. He hadn’t forgetten Harjol’s wish and promptly assigned to her the Palace of her choice, which was the largest and most lavishly decorated of all the Inner Palaces. This Palace was on the east side of the Emperor’s Residence, while the Empress’s Palace was located on the west.

  That summer, Hong Taiji issued an edict for the establishment of a Code of Etiquette for the Inner Court based loosely on the Ming Chinese Code. In honor of the Khorchin Mongols, he granted Jere the most prestigious title of Empress, giving her the Qingning Palace (Palace of Celestial Peace) and putting her in charge of the affairs of the Inner Palaces. The title of Consort was bestowed on four of his Concubines. Harjol got the title of Consort Chen of the Guansui Palace (Palace of the Swans) and the two Mongolian widows of Ligden Khan from the Chakhar tribe were titled Consorts of Lingzhi Palace and Yanqing Palace respectively. Bumbutai became Consort Zhuang of Yongfu Palace (Palace of Eternal Comfort).The order of the title grants conspicuously showed Harjol’s name right after Empress Jere’s and heading all the other Consorts. Bumbutai ranked last.