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{{Short description|Regent of China from 1661 to 1667}}
{{family name hatnote|Ebilun|[[Niohuru]]|lang=Manchu}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Standard non-imperial titles|First Class Duke]] 
| honorific-suffix = 
| name                = Ebilun

| image               = Ebilun.jpg
| office              = Regent of the Qing Dynasty
| monarch             = [[Kangxi Emperor]]
| term_start          = 1661
| term_end            = 1667
| alongside           = [[Sonin (regent)|Sonin]], [[Suksaha]], [[Oboi]]
| death_date          = 1673
| blank1              = [[Manchu name|Clan name]]
| data1               = [[Niohuru]]
| blank2              = [[Posthumous name]]
| data2               = Kexi (恪僖)
| children            = 6 daughter and 7 sons
| parents             = [[Eidu]] (father)<br>Princess Mukushen (mother)
| relatives           = [[Nurhaci]] (maternal grandfather)<br>[[Empress Xiaozhaoren]] (daughter)<br>[[Noble Consort Wenxi]] (daughter)<br>[[Alingga]] (son)
| spouse              = Ladi Aisin Gioro<br>Lady Aisin Gioro<br>Lady Bayara<br>Lady Susu Gioro

| allegiance          = [[Qing dynasty]]
| branch              = [[Bordered Yellow Banner|Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner]]
| serviceyears        = 
| rank                = 
| commands            = 
| battles             = 
| laterwork           =
}}
'''Ebilun''' ([[Manchu language|Manchu]]:{{ManchuSibeUnicode|ᡝᠪᡳᠯᡠᠨ}}, [[Transliterations of Manchu|Möllendorff]]: ebilun; {{zh|c=遏必隆|p=Èbìlóng}}; died 1673) was a [[Manchu people|Manchu]] noble and warrior of the [[Niohuru]] clan, most famous for being one of the [[Four Regents]] assisting the young [[Kangxi Emperor]] from 1661 to 1667, during the early [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1912). A largely passive figure during the regency, Ebilun was disgraced following the ouster of the far more powerful regent [[Oboi]] and considered a political supporter of the latter. He was stripped of his positions by the emperor but later regained his noble rank. Many of his descendants became influential figures in the Qing imperial government.

==Biography==
Ebilun was from the [[Niohuru]] clan, which lived north of the [[Joseon|Korean]] border and belonged to the [[Eight Banners|Bordered Yellow Banner]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kennedy|1943a|ref=Kennedy1943a|p=219}} (Niohuru clan, Bordered Yellow Banner); {{harvnb|Kennedy|1943b|ref=Kennedy1943b|p=221}} (Niohuru clan "settled just north of the Korean border").</ref><ref name=george>{{cite ECCP|title=Ebilun}}</ref> He was the youngest of the sixteen sons of [[Eidu]] (1562–1621), who had been a close associate of Manchu patriarch [[Nurhaci]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kennedy|1943a|ref=Kennedy1943a|p=219}} (sixteenth son); {{harvnb|Kennedy|1943b|ref=Kennedy1943b|p=221}} (Eidu had sixteen sons; close to Nurhaci).</ref> Ebilun's mother was herself a sister (or according to some sources, a cousin) of Nurhaci.<ref>{{harvnb|Rawski|1998|pp=64–65}}.</ref>

In 1634, the second Qing emperor [[Hong Taiji]] (r. 1626–1643) gave Eidu a posthumous rank of viscount, which Ebilun immediately inherited but lost in 1637 after he tried to interfere in a trial involving his niece.<ref name="Kennedy 219">{{harvnb|Kennedy|1943a|ref=Kennedy1943a|p=219}}.</ref> In 1643 Ebilun followed Nurhaci's seventh son [[Abatai]] in forays inside North China and was credited with the capture of several towns.<ref>{{harvnb|Oxnam|1975|p=28}}.</ref> In 1645 and 1646, after the Qing had defeated the [[Ming dynasty]] and made [[Beijing]] their capital, Ebilun served under Lekedehun in campaigns to dislodge Ming loyalist [[He Tengjiao]] from [[Hubei]] and was rewarded with a minor hereditary rank.<ref>{{harvnb|Kennedy|1943a|ref=Kennedy1943a|p=219}} ("minor hereditary rank"); {{harvnb|Fang|1943|p=443}} (Hubei campaigns were against He Tengjiao).</ref> Yet his position was not assured. Because he belonged to the Yellow Banners, Ebilun was treated with suspicion by [[Dorgon]] (the Prince Regent of the young [[Shunzhi Emperor]]), whose power base was in the White Banners.<ref name="Kennedy 219"/>

In 1648, during the persecution of [[Hooge (prince)|Hooge]], Dorgon's main rival, Ebilun's nephew accused Ebilun of having opposed Dorgon during the 1643 succession.<ref name="Kennedy 219"/> Ebilun was sentenced to death, but his penalty was commuted.<ref>{{harvnb|Oxnam|1975|p=45}}.</ref> Half of his property was nonetheless confiscated and his minor nobility title was revoked.<ref name="Kennedy 219"/>

The Shunzhi emperor restored Ebilun's titles after Dorgon's death, and eventually entrusted Ebilun with three others to assist the rule of his son (the [[Kangxi Emperor]]), who ascended the throne in 1661 at the age of seven.  Of the four regents, Ebilun was ranked third, after [[Hešeri Sonin|Sonin]] and [[Suksaha]], and before [[Oboi]]. In practice Ebilun acquiesced to Oboi on nearly all decisions, as the latter gained increasing power. Ebilun also played a role in the ouster of [[Suksaha]], which, after the infirm Sonin died, left Oboi the unchallenged top political figure at court. In 1667, after the Kangxi Emperor assumed personal rule, Ebilun was given the title of a first-class duke. In 1669, Manchu noble [[Giyesu]] memorialized the Kangxi Emperor listing 21 crimes supposedly committed by Ebilun shortly after the emperor had moved against Oboi. Ebilun was then sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted, and Ebilun retained his title, which could be inherited by his descendants.{{fact|date=March 2022}}

==Family and descendants==
Ebilun belonged to the [[Eidu]] line of Niohuru clan nobles, many of whom would go on to serve with distinction in the imperial service. He had five sons. The eldest, Faka, inherited Ebilun's title of duke in 1667, only to lose it several years later.<ref name=george/> 

Ebilun's sixth son, Yende, served as an official under the [[Yongzheng Emperor]] (r. 1722–1735), and in turn Yende's own son, Tsereng, served as [[Viceroy of Huguang]]; Yende's second son, Necin, served on the [[Grand Council (Qing dynasty)|Grand Council]] of the [[Qianlong Emperor]] (r. 1735–1796).<ref name=george/> Three of Ebilun's daughters became imperial consorts of the [[Kangxi Emperor]], one becoming his empress consort.

Ebilun's seventh son, [[Alingga]], was a main figure in the succession battle among the sons of the Kangxi Emperor.<ref name=george/>

'''Parents'''
*Father: [[Eidu]] (額亦都; 1562 – 1621) close associate of [[Nurhaci]]
*Mother: Princess of the Second Rank (和碩公主; 1595 – June/July 1659), personal name Mukushen (穆庫什), [[Nurhaci]]'s fourth daughter

'''Consort and Issue:'''

*Wife, of the [[House of Aisin-Gioro|Aisin-Gioro clan]] (嫡妻愛新覺羅氏)<ref>eldest daughter of [[Ajige]], Prince Ying</ref>
*Second Wife, of the [[House of Aisin-Gioro|Aisin-Gioro clan]] (繼妻愛新覺羅氏)
*Third Wife, of the Bayara clan (三繼妻巴雅拉氏)
**Lady Niohuru, ''Duchess of the Fourth Rank'' (钮祜禄氏; d.1725), 4th daughter
***Married Yunsheng, Duke of the Fourth Rank (雲升輔國公), of the [[House of Aisin-Gioro|Aisin-Gioro clan]]; son of Gose (高塞), Duke Quehou of the First Rank (鎮國愨厚公)
**[[Alingga]], First Class Duke (阿靈阿一等公;1670–1716), 7th son
***Arsungga
****[[Concubine Cheng (Qianlong)|Lady Niohoru, ''Concubine Cheng'']] (誠嬪; died 29 May 1784)
*****Married [[Qianlong Emperor|Emperor Qianlong of Qing]] 
*Secondary Wife, of the [[Šušu Gioro|Šušu-Gioro clan]] (側室舒舒覺羅氏)
**[[Empress Xiaozhaoren|Lady Niohuru, ''Empress Xiaozhaoren'']] ''(''钮祜禄氏 孝昭仁皇后; 1653 – 18 March 1678), 2nd daughter
***Married [[Kangxi Emperor|Emperor Kangxi of Qing]] 
**[[Noble Consort Wenxi|Lady Niohuru, ''Noble Consort Wenxi'']] (钮祜禄氏溫僖貴妃; d. 19 December 1694), 3rd daughter
***Married [[Kangxi Emperor|Emperor Kangxi of Qing]] and had issues ( 1 son and 1 daughter)
**Faka, First Class Duke (一等公法喀; 17 May 1664 – 9 February 1713), 3rd son
**Yanzhu, First Class Imperial guard (一等侍衛顔珠; d. 1665),  4th son
**Fubao, Second Class Imperial guard (二等侍衛富保; d. 1678), 5th son
**Yende, First Class Duke (一等公尹德), 6th son
***Aibida
****[[Noble Lady Shun|Lady Niohoru, ''Noble Lady Shun'']] (順貴人; 3 January 1748 – 9 September 1790)

*Unknown
**Lady Niohuru, ''Princess Consort'' (钮祜禄氏), 1st daughter
***Married Zhashi (札什), of the Mongol Barin clan (巴林氏)
**Sailin, Third Class Imperial Guard (塞林三等侍衛), 1st son
**Second son
**Lady Niohuru, ''First Class Viscountess'' (钮祜禄氏), 5th daughter
***Married Ayushi, First Class Viscount (一等子阿玉什)
**Lady Niohuru, ''Mistress'' (钮祜禄氏), 6th daughter
***Married [[Kangxi Emperor]] and had issues (1 daughter)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite ECCP|last=Fang|first=Chao-ying|title=Lekedehun|pages=443–444}}
*{{cite ECCP|last=Kennedy|first=George A.|authorlink=George A. Kennedy (sinologist) |title=Ebilun|pages=219–21|ref=Kennedy1943a|link=no}}
*{{cite ECCP|last=Kennedy|first=George A.|title=Eidu|pages=221–22|ref=Kennedy1943b|link=no}}
*{{citation|last=Oxnam|first=Robert B.|author-link=Robert Oxnam|year=1975|title=Ruling from Horseback: Manchu Politics in the Oboi Regency, 1661–1669|place=Chicago and London|publisher=University of Chicago Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O-ERAAAACAAJ}}.
*{{citation|last=Rawski|first=Evelyn S.|year=1998|title=The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions|place=Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520926790|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5iN5J9G76h0C}}.

==See also==
*[http://www.stevesdinner.plus.com/swd30.htm Breaking the Chains]
*[http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/imperial3.html#qing University of Southern California: Chinese History]

{{Qing regents}}

[[Category:1673 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Chinese military personnel]]
[[Category:17th-century regents]]
[[Category:Manchu politicians]]
[[Category:Manchu Bordered Yellow Bannermen]]
[[Category:Qing dynasty regents]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Niohuru clan]]