21 Facts About Yuan Chonghuan

Yuan Chonghuan, courtesy name Yuansu, art name Ziru, was a Chinese politician, military general and writer who served under the Ming dynasty.

Later on, Yuan Chonghuan defeated Nurhaci's son and successor, Hong Taiji, and his 200,000-strong army composed of mostly ethnic Mongol soldiers at the second Battle of Ningyuan.

Yuan Chonghuan met his end when he was arrested and executed by lingchi on the order of the Chongzhen Emperor under false charges of treason, which were believed to have been planted against him by the enemy court.

Yuan Chonghuan passed the imperial examination in 1619 and was appointed as the magistrate of Shaowu county, Fujian.

Yuan Chonghuan cooperated with the commander-in-chief Sun Chengzong in pushing the frontiers steadily northward, fortifying Ningyuan in 1623.

Yuan Chonghuan was said to have studied every aspect of the cannon for it to fire accurately at the position he wanted, and this is given as the reason why Nurhaci, although well-protected by his elite guards in a safe position, was wounded by cannon fire.

However, Yuan Chonghuan took into account how Mao conducted his battles: Mao's tactics usually involved using civilian settlements as a shield for his troops, and during the occupation the civilians suffered tremendously.

Consequently, by executing Mao, Yuan Chonghuan made enemies with some of the most influential people in China.

Yuan Chonghuan was criticised by the partisans of Wei Zhongxian, who stated that he took too long to fight off the Jurchens.

In 1628, under the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor, Yuan Chonghuan was reinstated as the field marshal of all the Ming forces in the northeast.

Yuan Chonghuan embarked on an ambitious five-year plan for the complete recovery of Liaodong.

In 1629, Yuan Chonghuan was granted the title of "Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent".

Yuan Chonghuan rushed back with a selected veteran force from Ningyuan to defend the capital.

Yuan Chonghuan was mourned throughout most of the country outside Beijing and even in the kingdom of Joseon.

Yuan Chonghuan was left there after the torture, shouting for half a day before stopping.

Yuan Chonghuan's tomb was recently renovated and renamed the Yuan Chonghuan Memorial, located at Longtan Park.

Yuan Chonghuan's name was cleared nearly a century later by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty, after conclusive evidence was found in old archives of the Qing imperial court supporting his innocence.

Yuan Chonghuan's son defected from the Ming to the Qing and in 1642 was placed in the Han Chinese Plain White Banner.

Yuan Chonghuan could speak some Russian, had visited Blagoveshchensk and was an Amur native.

One of his family members, Yuan Chonghuan Ruizhang who was a northern route barracks officer died in battle against the Tsarist Russian forces in Heihe.

Yuan Chonghuan Chengzhi was saved by his father's subordinates after his father was executed and taken to the Mount Hua School, where he learnt martial arts.