In 1647 he was removed from this post by Dorgon on the charge of having usurped imperial privileges, and in the following year was degraded for a month (on various charges) one degree in rank to a Chün-wang 郡王. Having received a commission as generalissimo to put down the rebellion in the southwest, he proceeded against the forces of the Ming Prince of Kuei (see under Chu Yu-lang) at Changsha, defeated them in a number of engagements, killed the general, Ho T'êng-chiao [q. v.], and returned in triumph at the beginning of 1650. After the death of Dorgon, Jirgalang and other princes took steps to discredit Dorgon's faction and transfer full control to Emperor Shih-tsung. He also attempted to have the emperor withdraw the princely titles with which Wu San-kuei [q. v.], Kêng Chung-ming and others had been invested, but was unsuccessful. After presenting his last memorial on the subject in 1655 he fell ill and died on the 11th of June. 1n 1671 he was given the posthumous name, Hsien 獻, and in 1778 was granted a place in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His princedom was inherited by his second son, Jidu [q. v.], but the designation was altered to Chien (see under Jidu). In 1778 the original designation, Ch'êng, was restored to the princedom which continued to the close of the dynasty, except for a few years after 1861 (see under Su-shun).
[1/221/7a; 2/2/25b; 4/1/11b; 34/124/1a; Hauer, E., "Prinz Jirgalang" in Ostasiatische Zeitschrift, 1925, pp. 273–282; T'oung Pao, 1927–28, p. 279.]
JUAN Ta-ch'êng 阮大鋮 (T. 集之, H. 圓海, 石巢, 百子山樵), ca. 1587–1646, Ming-Ch'ing politician, dramatist and poet, came from a family of influence, but of corrupt and unsavory reputation. His great-grandfather, Juan Ê 阮鶚 (T. 應薦, H. 函峯居士, chin-shih of 1544), governor of Fukien during the Chia-ching reign-period (1522–67), belonged to the clique of Yen Sung 嚴嵩 (T. 惟中, chin-shih of 1505, d. ca. 1565, aged about 87 sui) and Chao Wên-hua 趙文華 (chin-shih of 1529, d. ca. 1557). His grand-uncle, Juan Tzŭ-hua 阮自華 (T. 堅之, chin-shih of 1598), was a poet who left a collection, entitled 霧靈集 Wu-ling chi. His great-grandfather took up residence in T'ung-ch'êng, Anhwei, but it seems that Juan Ta-ch'êng was brought up in Huai-ning in the same province. Becoming a chin-shih in 1616, he was appointed to a post in Peking, but retired in 1621 to go into mourning. He returned to office in 1624, and finding Yang Lien [q. v.] and Wei Ta-chung (see under Yang Lien) blocking his way to a coveted post, he allied himself with the powerful eunuch, Wei Chung-hsien [q. v.], secured Wei Ta-chung's dismissal and obtained the post for himself. Fear of revenge from the Tung-lin 東林 members, however, induced him to resign. When Wei Chung-hsien was condemned in 1627, Juan wrote memorials excoriating both the Tung-lin group who despised him and the eunuchs who had helped him. In the following year (1628) he was made a director of the Banqueting Court but when the case of Wei Chung-hsien was finally settled he was charged with supporting the eunuch and was deprived of all official titles.
While living in retirement from 1629 to 1644, first in his home district and later at Nanking, Juan composed poems and wrote several dramas, one of which was entitled 十錯認 Shih-ts'o-jên, or "Comedy of Ten Errors," also known as 春燈謎 Ch'un-têng-mi. It was supposed to be an apologia for his former alliance with the eunuchs. However, he was still persecuted by several young Tung-lin members, among whom were Hou Fang-yü and Ch'ên Chên-hui [qq. v.] who posted in Nanking a denunciation of him, known as the Liu-tu fang-luan kung-chieh (see under Chang P'u), signed by 140 prominent men. Juan was humiliated and turned to his intimate friend, Ma Shih-ying [q. v.], for help. When the Prince of Fu (see under Chu Yu-sung) set up his Court in Nanking (1644) Ma became the most powerful man in the government and secured Juan's pardon and reinstatement. He soon rose to the rank of president of the Board of War and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and made use of his power to revenge himself against the Tung-lin and Fu-shê (see under Chang P'u) by writing scorching diatribes and having many of their members imprisoned. His bribery, avarice, and political intrigue became notorious but all attempts to remove him failed. When the Ming emperor fled in 1645 Juan escaped to Chin-hua, Chekiang, where the gentry refused to receive him. Later he surrendered to the Manchus and punished the hapless city by leading Ch'ing troops to destroy it. He died in 1646 while following the Ch'ing army into Fukien.
As a dramatist Juan Ta-ch'êng belonged to the school of T'ang Hsien-tsu [q. v.]. Of his nine plays the texts of only three, besides the one already mentioned, are extant: 燕子箋
398
