Biography
Hooge was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the eldest son of Hong Taiji, son of the Qing Dynasty's founder Nurhaci. His mother was Hong Taiji's consort Lady Ulanara.
Hooge participated in military campaigns against the Mongols, Koreans, and the Ming Dynasty. After Hong Taiji's death in 1643, Hooge and his uncle Dorgon fought over the succession to the throne. The situation was to Hooge's advantage because three of the Eight Banners previously under Hong Taiji's control had been passed on to him. On the other hand, Dorgon had the support of his brothers and two White banners. This meant that the remaining two Red banners controlled by Daišan and his son, as well as the Bordered Blue Banner under Chiurhala, were crucial to ensuring that Hooge could win the succession. After much dispute, Daišan started favouring Hooge, who ostensibly refused to take the throne. Hooge was actually waiting for others to urge him to take the throne, so that he could sit on it without projecting a power-hungry image of himself. Unfortunately for Hooge, Dorgon and his brothers gave way, so the conflict continued without a solution. The power struggle concluded with a compromise in order to avoid internal strife. Dorgon nominated Fulin, another son of Hong Taiji born to Consort Zhuang, to be the new ruler, so Fulin ascended to the throne as the Shunzhi Emperor.
Even after the Shunzhi Emperor came to power, there was still much friction between Hooge and Dorgon. According to popular belief, Hooge had conceived a scheme to seize the throne from Shunzhi, but he leaked out his plan to Dorgon's brother Dodo, who informed Dorgon about it. Dorgon then used this as an excuse to have Hooge arrested and thrown into prison. However historical records state that Hooge was imprisoned after the Qing government launched military campaigns against remnant rebel forces in western China, and he died during his incarceration. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1650, two years after his death.
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