Dorgon: Conquering the Qing with Iron Hooves and Golden Spears

He was the fourteenth son of Nurhaci, Khan of Later Jin. As a boy, he witnessed the smoke of the Battle of Sarhu and his father's ambition to unite the Jurchens. He was Mergen Daicing under Hong Taiji, sweeping across the Mongolian Chahar with the Eight Banners cavalry and capturing Lüshun in Liaodong, where his military talent first shone. He was the regent during the Shunzhi reign, turning the tide amid the whirlpool of power and securing the Central Plains through the Battle of Shanhai Pass, laying the foundations for the Qing to enter China proper. He was Aisin Gioro Dorgon, a battle-hardened statesman driven by fate to the pinnacle of power, only to be wronged after death amid political strife.

From his first cries in Hetu Ala to his stoic silence when his mother, Lady Abahai, was forced to join the dead in burial; from his high-spirited days commanding the Plain White Banner to his careful strategies at the Battle of Songjin; from his compromise in the struggle for the throne after Hong Taiji's death to the astonishing feat of leading Qing forces through the pass and welcoming the Shunzhi Emperor to establish the capital in Beijing, Dorgon's life was inseparably bound to the founding of the Qing. He was a military genius who shattered the standoff between the Ming and Mongols, a pioneer who trampled resistance in the Central Plains beneath his cavalry, and also a player in the game of imperial power. He used his authority to propel the dynasty forward, yet the controversy surrounding his rise to power led to his titles being stripped and his estate confiscated after his death. Only a century later did the Qianlong Emperor clear his name and restore his rightful place in history.

This book recounts Dorgon's extraordinary life and examines his struggles and choices in the contest for the throne, his regency, and his policies toward different ethnic groups. It ultimately reveals the fate of those who serve under imperial rule: power is both the key to their success and the source of their downfall. Against the sweeping history of the late Ming and early Qing, readers will come to understand the real, multifaceted Dorgon.