Heshen (; ; 1 July 1750 – 22 February 1799) of the Manchu Niohuru clan, was an official of the Qing dynasty favored by the Qianlong Emperor and called the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After the death of Qianlong, the Jiaqing Emperor confiscated Heshen's wealth and forced him to commit suicide. As an official, he acquired an estimated at 1.1 billion taels of silver, equal to roughly US$270 billion. Heshen is remembered as one of the richest men in history.

Born Shanbao (Shan-pao; ), his name was later changed to Heshen. His courtesy name was Zhizhai (Chih-chai; ). He was a member of the Plain Red Banner.

Ascendance
Heshen was the son of a Manchu military officer and studied at a school for Manchu aristocratic boys. He lost his mother when he was young and it was said he and his younger brother had a hard life under his stepmother. However, Heshen was an excellent student, knowing  Middle Mandarin, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan. In 1772, he began work in the Imperial Palace, assigned as an imperial bodyguard stationed at the gates to the Forbidden City.

Within a year of his initial employment, Heshen was promoted to vice-president of the Ministry of Revenue, and two months later was made a Grand Councilor. Within three months, he was promoted even further to the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, a post usually filled with the most meritorious officials. In 1777, at the age of 27, Heshen was given the privilege of riding a horse within the Forbidden City, a prestigious privilege given only to high-ranking officials of elderly age. It was not long before Heshen was given control of both the Ministry of Revenue and the Civil Council, allowing him to control the revenue of the entire empire, and appoint his own henchmen to important posts within the officials.

The Salar Jahriyya Sufi revolt was put down by Fuk'anggan along with Agui and Li Shiyao Gansu in 1784, but Heshen was recalled for his failure during the revolt.

Heshen's hold on the Qianlong Emperor was further strengthened when in 1790, his own son was married to the emperor's tenth and favorite daughter, Hexiao. Once secure of the Qianlong Emperor's favor and approbation, Heshen enjoyed great freedom of action. He became openly corrupt and practiced extortion on a grand scale. His supporters within the imperial system followed his lead, and his military associates prolonged campaigns in order to continue the benefits of additional funds. He abrogated powers and official posts, including that of Grand Councilor, and regularly stole public funds and tax revenue. Taxes were raised again and again, and this led to the suffering of the people. Unfortunately, their suffering was compounded by severe floods of the Yellow River - an indirect result of the corruption where officials pocketed funds that were meant for the upkeep of canals and dams. Rising prices of rice led to many that simply starved to death. This widespread corruption and nepotism was the start of a century that led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty.

In 1793, Heshen was responsible for hosting the Macartney Embassy to the imperial court.

Fall

After the Qianlong Emperor abdicated in February 1796, the range and damage of Heshen's corruption was now clear. However, Qianlong continued to rule China behind the scenes under the grand title of Taishang Huang (Retired Emperor). It was not until Qianlong's death on 7February 1799 that his successor, the Jiaqing Emperor, was able to prosecute Heshen. Just five days later, Heshen was arrested along with Minister Du Daozhao. Declared guilty by an imperial edict, he was condemned to slow slicing. The Jiaqing Emperor spared Heshen this dishonorable death out of respect for his daughter-in-law Gurun Princess Hexiao, and instead ordered him to commit suicide by hanging. He carried out the sentence with a rope of golden silk in his home on 22 February.

In the 24 years that Heshen enjoyed the Emperor's attention and favor he amassed a fortune. In the Jiaqing Emperor's confiscation of Heshen's property, his estate included:

2,790 rooms in his estates and mansions,  of land, 10 bank branches, 10 pawnbroker branches, 58,000 taels of pure gold, 100 large ingots of pure gold, (1,000 taels each), 56,600 medium silver ingots, (100 taels each), 5,830,000 small silver ingots, (10 taels each), 58,000  foreign silver dollars, 1,500,000 copper coins, 300 kilograms of top-quality Jilin ginseng, 1,200 jade charms, 230 pearl bracelets, 10 large pearls, 10 large rubies, and dozens of place settings in solid gold or silver. He also had 14,300 bolts of fine silk, 20,000 sheets of fine sheep-fur wool, 550 fox hides, 850 raccoon dog hides, 56,000 sheep and cattle hides of varying thickness, 7,000 sets of fine clothing (for all four seasons), 361,000 bronze and tin vases and vessels, 100,000 porcelain vessels made by famous masters, 24 highly decorative solid-gold beds (each with eight different types of inlaid gemstones), and 460 high quality European clocks.

His total property was ultimately estimated at 1,100 million taels of silver, reputed to be equivalent to the imperial revenue of the Qing government for 15 years. Treasures discovered in his chief butler Liu Quan's quarter included 240,000 silver taels. The Jiaqing Emperor charged Heshen with 20 crimes, including various abuses of power, disrespecting imperial prerogatives, and hoarding wealth.

Heshen exemplified the widespread corruption of the civil bureaucracy and military under the Qing dynasty, inherited from the preceding Ming dynasty. Bannermen developed habits that made them useless as a military force. The Chinese Green Standard Army was beset with irregular practice and had lost much of its fighting spirit shown in the early Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor's Ten Great Campaigns were completed at the cost of 120 million taels against an annual revenue of some 40 million taels, depressed by embezzling from officials such as Heshen. These massive government spendings contributed to financial instability during the later part of the Qing dynasty.

In popular culture
For more than two hundred years Heshen has been a stock villain role, and continues to appear in theatrical, film and television productions. Chinese actors Wang Gang and Chen Rui have portrayed Heshen on screen: the former gave the character of Heshen a comical touch with his plump figure; the latter, who played Heshen in the 2003 television series Qianlong Dynasty, was said to resemble the historical Heshen more closely as compared to Wang Gang.

Hong Kong actor Ruco Chan played Heshen in the 2018 TVB series Succession War, a fictional depiction of the final 28 days of his life.

Alternative views

It could be argued that Heshen's wealth was largely from gifts of the Qianlong Emperor, not from corrupt actions. The view of Heshen as a corrupt official originated after his death and from documents in Qing dynasty historical archives. Only the emperor had the authority to determine what content was to be kept in those archives, which raises the possibility of bias against Heshen. Heshen, as a powerful official, threatened the authority of the Jiaqing Emperor. Officials during the Qianlong Emperor's reign may have feared or been jealous of his power. The Jiaqing Emperor could have used legal pretexts to legitimize these feelings and condemn Heshen to a death sentence.

Former residence

Several decades after Heshen's death, his former residence was given to Prince Gong as his official residence. The estate, known as the Prince Gong Mansion, is now preserved as a museum and a tourist attraction. It is located at 17 Qianhai Road West in Beijing.

Family
Maternal great-grandfather
A La Na (阿喇納),  Deputy General, Count of the Third Rank (副將軍三等伯)
Maternal grandfather
Wumi Tai (伍彌泰) (1713–1786), a Mongol of the Plain Yellow Banner
Maternal grandmother
Lady Liugiya (劉佳氏)
Father
Changbao (常保), Banner vice-commander of Fujian (福建副都統)
Mother
Lady Wumi (伍彌氏)
Younger brother
Helin (和琳) (26 August 1753 – 28 September 1796), father of Fengshen Yimian and two daughters
Younger sister-in-law
Lady Tatara (他他拉氏), daughter of Sulinga (蘇凌阿), mother of Fengshen Yimian
Nephew
Fengshen Yimian (豐紳宜綿) (1775–1813)
Nieces
Two daughters of Helin
Wife
Feng Jiwen (馮霽雯), granddaughter of Feng Yinglian (馮英廉); mother of Fengšeninde, Heshen's second son, and Heshen's three daughters
Concubine
Lady Chang (長氏)
Sons
Fengšeninde (豐紳殷德) (18 February 1775 – May 1810), married Gurun Princess Hexiao (固倫和孝公主)
second son (1794–?)
Daughters
Three daughters, including Primary consort of Yongyun (Prince Chun (淳) peerage)

Genealogic tree

References

External links
The Qing Dynasty at All Empires

1750 births
1799 deaths
Forced suicides of Chinese people
Grand Councillors of the Qing dynasty
Grand Secretaries of the Qing dynasty
Assistant Grand Secretaries
Manchu Plain Red Bannermen
Manchu politicians
Niohuru clan
니오후루 허션(鈕祜祿 和珅(뉴호록 화신), , 1750년 7월 1일 ~ 1799년 2월 22일)은 청나라 정치인인데 청 제국 건륭 ~ 가경 연간 대신으로 원명은 선보(善保), 자는 치재(致齋)이다. 1799년 2월 7일 상황 건륭제 붕어 직후 가경제의 대리청정을 지냈으나 불과 대리청정 하루 만인 1799년 2월 8일을 기하여 대리청정에서 전격 축출되었다.

그는 원래 정홍기 사람이다. 건륭제의 크나큰 총애를 받아 권세를 누렸고 심지어 그러한 권세를 바탕으로 엄청난 양의 돈을 축적하는 등 부정부패의 원상이 되었다.

생애 
만주 정홍기(正紅旗) 출신으로 머리가 뛰어나 어릴 때부터 만주어, 중국어, 몽골어, 티베트어등 4개 언어에 능통하였다. 그러나 어릴 때 가세가 기울어져 형편이 어려워지자 직례총독(直隸總督, )인 풍영렴(馮英廉, )에게 가서 의탁하였고 18살에 그 손녀와 혼인하였다. 그 후 금군의 삼등시위(三等侍衛)가 되어 건륭제를 호위하다가 점차 그 능력됨이 눈에 띄어 도통(都統)으로 승진하였다. 27세인 1776년 나라의 국고를 책임지는 호부의 부책임자 호부시랑이 되었고 32세인 1781년에는 2품관인 호부상서로 젊은 나이에 초고속으로 승진하였다. 이러한 과정에서 화신은 자신의 능력과 건륭제의 총애를 믿고 오만해져 각지의 지방 관리들에게 뇌물을 요구하였다. 뇌물을 받은 화신은 죄를 진 지방 관리들에게 일정의 금액을 지불하면 면벌을 해주겠다는 식으로 자신의 재산을 늘렸고 각지의 지방 관리들은 호부상서이자 건륭제의 큰 총애를 받던 화신에게 꼼짝하지 못한 채 화신에게 거액을 바쳐 부정부패가 생겨났다. 그러나 화신의 정치 능력은 수준급이어서 4개 국어의 국서를 능수능란하게 썼으며 적당한 정책을 내놓아 맡은 바 임무를 기대 이상으로 끝마무리지어 두각을 나타내었다.

건륭제는 라마교를 믿었는데 화신 역시 라마교를 믿었다. 그렇기에 건륭제는 교우(敎友)로서 화신을 더욱 신뢰하였으며 건륭제가 봉헌을 드리러 가는 날엔 화신 역시 빠지지 않고 건륭제를 수행하였다. 이러한 건륭제의 신임과 뛰어난 정치 능력을 바탕으로 다시 승진을 거듭하게 되었는데 이부상서, 병부상서, 형부상서 등 6부의 상서를 모두 지내고 국자감 교장 등을 거치며 황실에 관련된 사무를 총괄하는 내무부총관, 그리고 30대 후반의 나이에 사실상의 재상인 문화전대학사(文和殿大學士) 겸 군기대신에까지 이르렀다. 그 후 40대 때에는 정홍기 출신으로 드물게 정황기의 영시위내대신(領侍衛內大臣), 군기대신의 수장이자 사실상의 수상인 수석군기대신(首席軍機大臣)에 이르며 조정의 영수로서 막강한 영향력을 지녔다. 더불어 1789년 자신의 아들인 풍신은덕이 건륭제의 막내딸 고륜화효공주와 혼인함에 따라 건륭제의 사돈이 되어 무소불위의 권력을 휘둘렀다. 화신은 자신의 정책에 반대를 하는 상소가 올라오면 일부러 빼돌려 건륭제에게 보여주지 않았고 조정의 모든 대신들을 자신의 파당에 속하게 하여 자신을 함부로 탄핵하지 못하게 하였다.

1795년 건륭제가 물러나고 가경제가 즉위하였으나 화신은 여전히 권력을 가졌다. 부정부패의 원상인 화신을 혐오하던 가경제는 여러 번 화신을 파직하려 하였으나 건륭제의 비호로 실패하였다.

최후 
자신의 능력과 태상황제인 건륭제의 비호로 계속 권력의 정점에 있던 화신은 1799년 건륭제가 죽자 쇠락의 길로 접어들었다. 화신의 큰 버팀목인 건륭제가 죽자 가경제는 노골적으로 화신을 고립시키기 시작하였는데 먼저 건륭제의 국상을 책임지는 장의도감으로 삼았다가 곧 파직하고 20개의 죄목을 발표하였다. 여기에는 가경제가 황자일 때 화신이 달려와 가경제가 후계자라고 누설한 죄, 무엄하게 가마를 타고 궁에 들어온 죄, 건륭제가 병환에 있을 때 아무렇지도 않게 행동한 죄, 부정부패를 야기한 죄 등이 포함되어 있었다. 가경제는 화신의 가족을 모두 잡아들이고 화신의 재산을 몰수하여 국고로 환수한 뒤 1799년 2월 22일, 즉 건륭제가 죽고 보름 뒤에 자진하도록 하였다. 본래 가경제는 능지형을 내리려 하였으나 화신의 며느리인 고륜화효공주가 간곡히 청하여서 형량을 낮추었다. 화신은 하얀 비단으로 목을 매 자진하니 그때 나이 50세였다. 가경제는 뒤이어 화신이 처벌되었으니 나머지는 죄를 묻지 않는다는 대사령을 발표하고 매듭지었다. 당시 가경제가 몰수한 화신의 재산은 9억 냥으로 국가 총예산의 12년 치를 훨씬 뛰어넘는 금액이었으며 가경제가 바로 가져가 내탕금으로 쓰자 민간에서는 “화신이 죽으니 가경이 배불리 먹었다”(和珅跌倒，嘉慶吃飽)며 이를 비꼬았다.

가족 

 적처 : 풍제문(馮霽雯)
 장남 : 풍신은덕(豊紳殷德)
 자부 : 고륜화효공주(固倫和孝公主)
 차남 : ?
 첩 : 장이고(長二姑)
 장녀 : 순친왕 영균(永鋆)에게 하가
 차녀 : 귀경(貴慶)에게 하가 
 첩 : 오경련(吳卿憐)
 첩 : 흑매괴(黑玫瑰)
 첩 : 두구(豆蔻)
 첩 : 납란(納蘭)
 첩 : 소앵(小鶯)
 첩 : 자언(紫嫣)
 첩 : 마리(瑪麗)

각주

외부 링크 

 

1750년 출생
1799년 사망
청나라의 재상
청나라의 섭정
만주 정홍기인
니오후루 할라
청나라의 1등 공작