The Qing Dynasty collapsed, what surname did 20,000 royal descendants change to to integrate into the new era?

As times change, one dynasty is replaced by another, the most insecure is not the common people, but the royal family.

To stabilize the ruling position, make the people no longer remember the previous dynasty or take advantage of this to create rebellion and restore the country, the Emperor of the new dynasty must completely destroy the royal family of the previous dynasty, so that they will forever disappear from this world.

However, the royal family had many members, 'small fish will escape the vast net of heaven', many royal relatives risked their lives to escape, changed their names to avoid the pursuit of the current court, lived incognito, and completely abandoned the prosperity and noble family name of the past.

On February 12, 1912, the 276-year-old Qing Dynasty in China officially ended with the abdication decree of Empress Dowager Longyu. With the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the royal family changed their surnames one after another to avoid being persecuted . Not only the royal family, the Manchu Banner nobles also had to change their surnames to avoid unpredictable dangers.

After the Qing Dynasty fell, many descendants of Aisin Gioro changed their surname to 'Kim'. (Illustration photo).

Aisin Gioro was the royal family name of the Qing Dynasty. Originally, "Aisin" was a clan name, and "Gioluo" was a family name. Before the founding of the Later Jin Dynasty, Aisin Gioro was a small clan consisting of only Nurhaci and 22 sons. However, after the founding of the Later Jin Dynasty, in order to show his lineage and noble status, Nurhaci designated Aisin Gioro as the exclusive family name of his lineage.

When Aisin Gioro became the royal family name, descendants began to multiply and develop rapidly. According to records, during the reign of Emperor Huang Taiji, there were about 100 royal family members; by the reign of Emperor Kangxi, this number had increased to about 490; after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20,000 descendants of the Qing royal family.

According to many historical documents, after the Qing Dynasty fell, many descendants of Aisin Gioro changed their surname to 'Kim', because 'Aisin Gioro' is originally a Manchu script, when translated into Chinese it can be understood as 'gold' (kim).

However, it is known that not all descendants of the Manchu royal family were allowed to change their surname to Kim, only the royal family closest to the most noble Emperor had this privilege. Some families of Aisin Gioro descendants from other distant branches changed their surname to 'Bac', 'Duc', 'Kai'.

The Manchu Eight Banners nobles also changed their names to adapt to the new era. For example, the He She Li clan changed to 'Hach' or 'Ha' , the Niu Hulu clan changed to 'Lang' or 'Niu', the Dong Jia clan changed to 'Dong'. This change helped them avoid gossip and live peacefully under their new identities.

Many people may wonder that the Chinese place great importance on their ancestors' surnames, so in modern times, do descendants of the Qing Dynasty royal family and nobles take back their original surnames?

The answer is: Extremely rare.

Just like the story of Pu Yi after becoming a common citizen. When going out or visiting the Forbidden City, when people learned that he was Aisin Gioro Pu Yi - the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, many people talked about him, both maliciously and curiously. Although he was proud of his name, Pu Yi felt somewhat sad and bitter.

The descendants of the old dynasty were already used to living under the latter's identity. If they suddenly used their ancestors' surname again, it would cause a lot of trouble. Therefore, let it be buried in history, and let them know and remember it.