Tongzhi Emperor

Tongzhi Emperor 同治帝
Emperor of the Qing dynasty
Reign	11 November 1861 – 12 January 1875
Predecessor	Xianfeng Emperor
Successor	Guangxu Emperor
Regent	Jingshou (1861) Muyin (1861) Kuang Yuan (1861) Du Han (1861) Jiao Youying (1861) Zaiyuan (1861) Duanhua (1861) Sushun (1861) Empress Dowager Ci'an (1861–1875) Empress Dowager Cixi (1861–1875)
Born	(1856-04-27)27 April 1856 (咸豐六年 三月 二十三日) Chuxiu Palace, Forbidden City, Beijing
Died	12 January 1875(1875-01-12) (aged 18) (同治十三年 十二月 五日) Yangxin Hall, Forbidden City, Beijing
Burial	Hui Mausoleum, Eastern Qing tombs
Consort	Empress Xiaozheyi ​ (m. 1872)​
Names Aisin-Gioro Zaichun (愛新覺羅·載淳) Manchu: Dzai šun (ᡯᠠᡳ ᡧᡠᠨ) Era dates Tongzhi (同治): 30 January 1862 – 5 February 1875) Manchu: Yooningga dasan (ᠶᠣᠣᠨᡳᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠠᠰᠠᠨ) Mongolian: Бүрэн засагч (ᠪᠦᠷᠢᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠭᠴᠢ) Posthumous name Emperor Jitian Kaiyun Shouzhong Juzheng Baoda Dinggong Shengzhi Chengxiao Xinmin Gongkuan Mingsu Yi (繼天開運受中居正保大定功聖智誠孝信敏恭寬明肅毅皇帝) Manchu: Filingga hūwangdi (ᡶᡳᠯᡳᠩᡤᠠ ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡩᡳ) Temple name Muzong (穆宗) Manchu: Mudzung (ᠮᡠᡯ᠊ᡠ᠊ᠩ)
House	Aisin-Gioro
Dynasty	Qing
Father	Xianfeng Emperor
Mother	Empress Xiaoqinxian

The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875),^[1] also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun,^[2] was the tenth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over state affairs, the events of his reign gave rise to what historians call the "Tongzhi Restoration", an unsuccessful modernization program.

The only surviving son of the Xianfeng Emperor, he ascended the throne at the age of five under a regency headed by his biological mother Empress Dowager Cixi and his legal mother Empress Dowager Ci'an. The Self-Strengthening Movement, in which Qing officials pursued radical institutional reforms following the disasters of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, began during his reign. The Tongzhi Emperor assumed personal rule over the Qing government in 1873, but he had no interest in affairs of state and immediately came into conflict with his ministers. He was outmaneuvered by the dowager empresses.

He died of smallpox at the age of 18 in 1875, following unsuccessful medical treatments; his death without a male heir created a succession crisis. In contravention to Qing's dynastic custom, his double first cousin assumed the throne as the Guangxu Emperor.