Prince Lü of the First Rank, or simply Prince Lü, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

(1636–1912). As the Prince Lü peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank ''vis-à-vis'' that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than a ''feng'en fuguo gong'' except under special circumstances. The first bearer of the title was

Yuntao Aisin Gioro Yuntao (; 18 January 1686 - 1 September 1763) was a Qing dynasty imperial prince and the 12th son of the Kangxi Emperor. Yuntao was rather a crony of the Yongzheng Emperor and his adoptive brother, which helped him persist in the succ ...

(1686–1763), the 12th son of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

. In 1722, Yuntao was made a ''junwang'' (second-rank prince) by his father for his military achievements. However, a year later, he was demoted two grades to ''beizi'', but was restored as a ''junwang'' in 1730. In 1735, he was promoted to ''qinwang'' (first-rank prince) under the title "Prince Lü of the First Rank". The peerage was passed down over eight generations and held by eight persons.

Members of the Prince Lü peerage

(允祹; 1686 – 1763) (1st), the

's 12th son, initially a ''beizi'', promoted to second-rank prince in 1722, demoted to ''beizi'' in 1723, further demoted to grace defender duke in 1724, restored as a second-rank prince in 1730, promoted to first-rank prince as Prince Lü of the First Rank in 1735, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü Yi of the First Rank (履懿親王) ** (N/A) *** Yongcheng (永珹; 1739 – 1777) (2nd), the Qianlong Emperor's fourth son and Yuntao's adoptive grandson, held the title Prince Lü of the Second Rank from 1763 to 1777, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü Duan of the First Rank (履端親王) in 1799 **** Mianhui (綿惠; 1764 – 1796) (3rd), Yongcheng's eldest son, held the title of a ''beile'' from 1777 to 1796, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü of the Second Rank ***** Yilun (奕綸; 1790 – 1836) (4th), Mianqin's son and Mianhui's adoptive son (from line of Prince Cheng's peerage), held the title of a ''beizi'' from 1796 to 1809, promoted to ''beile'' in 1809, demoted to ''beizi'' in 1835, posthumously honoured as a ''beile'' in 1836 ****** Zaigang (載鋼; 1823 – 1882), Yilun's ninth son, held the title of a ''feng'en zhenguo gong'' from 1865 to 1882 ******* Pumao (溥楙; 1850–1882) (6th), Zaigang's third son and Zaifen's adoptive son, held the title of a grace bulwark duke from 1854 to 1882 ******** Yuchang (毓昌; 1878 – 1885) (7th), Pumao's eldest son, held the title of a grace defender duke from 1882 to 1885, had no male heir ****** Zaifen (載鈖; 1825 – 1853) (5th), Yilun's tenth son, held the title of a ''beizi'' from 1836 to 1853, had no male heir ****** Zaihe (載鶴; 1833 – 1884), Yilun's 12th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1884 ******* Puzhi (溥植; 1882 – 1936) (8th), Zaihe's eldest son, held the title of a grace defender duke from 1885 to 1936 ******** Yujun (毓鈞; b. 1902), Puzhi's son ********* Hengpei (恆培; b. 1928), Yujun's son

Cadet line

Yuntao's cadet line

* Hongkun (弘昆; 1739 – 1750), Yuntao's fifth son, posthumously honoured as the

hereditary prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

of Prince Lü of the First Rank in 1750

Yilun's cadet line

* Zaiwu (載鋙), Yilun's sixth son, held the title of a first class bulwark general from 1838 to 1847 ** Pusen (溥森), Zaiwu's eldest son, held the title of a supporter general from 1847 to 1881 *** Yucun (毓存), Pusen's fourth son, held the title of a grace general in 1881, had no male heir * Zaigang (載鋼; 1823 – 1882), Yilun's ninth son, held the title of a ''feng'en zhenguo gong'' from 1865 to 1882 * Zaihe (載鶴; 1833 – 1884), Yilun's 12th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1884 * Zai'ai (載藹), Yilun's 13th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1901 ** Puquan (溥泉), Zai'ai's eldest son, held the title of a grace general from 1902

Family tree

References