Qing Tombs

Daoguang Emperor - Ruled from 1820 to 1850
Lived September 16, 1782 - February 25, 1850

He was born in the Forbidden City, Beijing, and was given the name Mianning, changed into Minning when he became emperor: the first character of his private name was changed from Mian to Min so that his brothers and cousins of the same generation would not have to change the first character of their names (a character identical for all relatives of the same generation), which they should normally have done given that the private name of an emperor is taboo and cannot be written or pronounced. This novelty was introduced by his grandfather the Qianlong Emperor who thought it not proper to have a whole generation of people in the imperial family changing their names on an emperor's accession to the throne.

He was the second son of Yongyan, who became the Jiaqing Emperor in 1796. His mother, the principal wife of Yongyan, was Lady Hitara of the (Manchu) Hitara clan, who became empress when Jiaqing ascended the throne in 1796. She is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoshu Rui.

Mianning was well liked by his grandfather the Qianlong Emperor and would frequently accompanied the elderly emperor on hunting trips. One such trip at the age of nine yielded a successful hunt of a deer which greatly amused Qianlong. In 1813, while a prince, Mianning also played a vital role in repelling and killing White Lotus invaders that stormed the Forbidden City which earned Mianning important merits in securing his claim for the throne.