Zaiyi (;

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

: ; ''dzai-i''; 26 August 1856 – 10 January 1923),Edward J.M. Rhoads, ''Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928'', University of Washington Press, 2001 better known by his title Prince Duan (or Prince Tuan, ), was a

prince and statesman of the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. He is best known as one of the leaders of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

of 1899–1901.

Early life and career

Zaiyi was born in the

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro is a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chie ...

clan as the second son of Yicong ( Prince Dun), the fifth son of the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

. His family was under the Bordered White Banner of the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu language, Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', , ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu people, Manchu househol ...

. He was adopted by his father's cousin, Yizhi (奕誌; 1827–1850), who had no son to inherit his Prince Rui peerage. In 1861, Zaiyi was made a ''beile'', before succeeding Yizhi as a ''junwang'' (second-rank prince) under the title "Prince Duan of the Second Rank" (端郡王) in 1894. Prince Duan sided with

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

and opposed the

Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emp ...

movement initiated by the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

and his allies. After the reformist movement was crushed, in 1899, Empress Dowager Cixi designated Prince Duan's son, Pujun as First Prince (大阿哥) in her plan to depose the Guangxu Emperor and replace him with Puzhuan. However, since the ambassadors of other countries did not recognise Puzhuan's legitimacy, the empress dowager was forced to abandon her plan.

Role in the Boxer Rebellion

A leading conservative and strongly anti-foreign politician, Prince Duan was one of the main supporters of the Righteous Harmony Society (義和團; " Boxers") during the

of 1899–1901. He arranged a meeting between

and Boxer leader Cao Futian. In 1899, Prince Duan set up his own private armed forces, the Tiger and Divine Corps, which was among the several modernised Manchu banner forces. During the crisis in June 1900, he headed the

Zongli Yamen The ''Zongli Yamen'' (), short for Office for the General Management of Affairs Concerning the Various Countries (), also known as Prime Minister's Office, Office of General Management, was the government body in charge of foreign policy in imp ...

(foreign affairs ministry) and commanded the Boxers who besieged the Beitang cathedral. He was also in command of the Beijing Field Force against the forces of the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

. Prince Duan's younger brother, Zailan (載瀾), was also one of the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion. Prince Duan fell out of favour with the imperials after the Boxers were defeated, and the Qing government was forced to side with the Eight-Nation Alliance against the Boxers. The victorious Eight-Nation Alliance named Prince Duan as one of the masterminds behind the rebellion. In 1902, the Qing government issued an imperial decree condemning Prince Duan for his involvement in the Boxer Rebellion. Prince Duan and his family were exiled to

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

. According to Empress Dowager Cixi's lady-in-waiting Yu Deling, the empress dowager blamed Prince Duan for the Boxer crisis and for issuing an imperial decree ordering the killing of all foreigners without her authorisation and knowledge. Rumours circulated during the Boxer rebellion about Dong Fuxiang and Prince Duan seizing control of Gansu and rebelling, which were false. Another rumour reported that Dong Fuxiang retired.

Life in exile and brief return to Beijing

Prince Duan did not end up in Xinjiang during his exile. Instead, he went to Alashan, west of

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

, and lived in the residence of a Mongol prince. Around 1911, he moved to Ningxia during the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

when the Muslims took control of Ningxia. After that, he moved to Xinjiang with Sheng Yun. Prince Duan lived in exile until 1917, when the general

Zhang Xun Zhang Xun (; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (), art name Songshou Laoren (), nickname Bianshuai (, ), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manch ...

briefly restored

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

, the Last Emperor who abdicated in 1912, to the Qing imperial throne. He was regarded as a national hero by the ruling elite because of his aggressive anti-foreign stance. The

Beiyang government The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name. B ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

invited him back to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and cooperated with him. Prince Duan's hatred for things regarded as foreign to China, however, never changed. He refused to eat when a military officer threw a party for him in Western style. He also became angry when he heard about his grandchildren riding in trains because he believed that trains were objects alien to China. Foreigners were furious when they learnt that Prince Duan had returned to Beijing, and started protesting to the Beiyang government. As a result, Prince Duan moved back to

and lived the rest of his life there. The Beiyang government increased his stipend by 50%. He died in 1923.

Martial arts

Prince Duan left his name in the history of

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

Yang Luchan Yang Luchan ( zh, c=杨露禅, w=Yang Lu-ch'an, p=Yáng Lùchán), also known as Yang Fukui (1799–1872), was an influential Chinese practitioner and teacher of the internal style tai chi martial art. He is known as the founder of Yang-styl ...

, the founder of Yang-style taijiquan, and other famous martial artists were patronized by Prince Duan. It was in the prince's residence that copies were made of a seminal classic forty chapter text of taijiquan principles for Luchan's son Yang Banhou as well as Wu Quanyou, the first teacher of Wu-style taijiquan.

Family

Prince Duan was a cousin of the

because the emperor's biological father, Prince Chun, was the seventh brother of Prince Dun, Prince Duan's biological father. Prince Duan also had an additional layer of familial ties with the Guangxu Emperor: His wife, Jingfang of the Yehenara clan, was the third daughter of Guixiang (桂祥),

's younger brother. Guixiang's second daughter, Jingfen, was the Empress Consort of the Guangxu Emperor. However, the ''

Genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

of the Aisin Gioro Family'' (愛新覺羅宗譜) does not confirm that Prince Duan's wife was Jingfang, Empress Dowager Cixi's niece. Prince Duan's primary spouse was the daughter of Shaochang (紹昌) from the Irgen-Gioro clan (伊爾根覺羅氏). She bore Prince Duan's eldest son, Puzhuan (溥僎). Prince Duan's secondary spouse was the daughter of Gongsangzhu'ermote (貢桑朱爾默特), a ''

jasagh A jasagh (; ; ) was the head of a Mongol Banner (Inner Mongolia), banner or khoshun during the Qing dynasty and the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, Bogd Khanate. The position was held by hereditary succession by certain Mongol princes, most of whom wer ...

''-prince from the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

clan. She gave birth to Pujun (溥儁), Prince Duan's second son.

Portrayals in media

Prince Duan is portrayed by Australian actor Robert Helpmann in the 1963 American historical film '' 55 Days at Peking''.

Literature

* ''Portrait of Prince Tuan, leader of the Boxer-Party in China'', in: Deutscher Hausschatz, XXVI, 1899/1900, No. 46, p. 861-864 (Portrait: p. 862).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaiyi Manchu politicians 1856 births 1923 deaths Chinese people of the Boxer Rebellion Qing dynasty imperial princes Prince Rui (created 1636) Grand Councillors of the Qing dynasty Manchu Bordered White Bannermen Ministers of Zongli Yamen