Jin Youzhi (, 21 September 1918 – 10 April 2015), born Aisin-Gioro Puren, was a Chinese politician, teacher and historian. He was the head of the

House of 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 ...

, the ruling clan of the

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 ...

, from 1994 until his death in 2015. He was the fourth and youngest son of Prince Chun, and a younger half-brother of

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 of China. Instead of using his Manchu clan name "Aisin-Gioro" as his family name, Puren adopted " Jin" as his new family name. "Jin" means "gold" in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, as does "Aisin" in the

Manchu language Manchu ( ) is a critically endangered language, endangered Tungusic language native to the historical region of Manchuria in Northeast China. As the traditional native language of the Manchu people, Manchus, it was one of the official language ...

. His

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

was "Youzhi." He is best known as "Jin Youzhi." The Chinese media referred to him as "the last emperor's younger brother" or "the last imperial younger brother."

Life

Jin was born in the

Prince Chun Mansion Prince Chun's Mansion (), also known as the Northern Mansion (北府; ''Běifǔ''), is a large residence in the ''siheyuan'' style with lavish private garden located near the Shichahai neighborhood in central Beijing. The grounds had been part of ...

Shichahai Shichahai () is a historic scenic area consisting of three lakes in the north of central Beijing. They are located directly northwest of the Forbidden City and north of the Beihai Lake. Shichahai consists of the following three lakes: Qianhai () ...

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 ...

. After receiving an early education in Chinese classics and traditional art, he established a public primary school in the Prince Chun Mansion in 1947 with support from his father. He was the principal of the school while his sister was a teacher there. The school was later donated to the Chinese government, after which Jin continued working as a teacher until retiring in 1988. In his retirement, Jin wrote books on the history of the Qing dynasty and literature. He served three terms as a delegate to the Municipal Political Consultative Conference of Beijing, and was also a researcher in Chinese history at the Beijing Research Institute. Jin was the heir to the Manchu throne under a 1937 succession law issued by Puyi as emperor of Manchukuo.The Manchoukuo Year Book 1941, "Law Governing Succession to the Imperial Throne", March 1, 1937, p. 905, Tōa Keizai Chōsakyoku (Japan).
• "In the absence of sons or descendants, the brothers of the reigning emperor, borne of the same mother, and their male-line descendants succeed according to age" (Article 5).
• "Among the Imperial brothers and the remoter Imperial relations, precedence shall be given, in the same degree, to the descendants of full blood over those of half blood" (Article 8).

Family

* First wife, of the Jin clan (; d. 1971), personal name Yuting () ** Yuzhang (; b. May 1942), first son ** Jin Yuquan (; b. 1946), second son ** First daughter, personal name Yukun () *** Married Mr. Du (), and had issue (one son) ** Second daughter, personal name Yucheng () *** Married Mr. Qiao (), and had issue (one son) ** Jin Yulan (; b. December 1948), third son * Second wife, of the Zhang clan (), personal name Maoying ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jin, Youzhi 1918 births 2015 deaths Aisin Gioro Manchu politicians People's Republic of China politicians from Beijing Qing dynasty imperial princes Prince Chun (醇) Educators from Beijing 20th-century Chinese historians Historians from Beijing Yaohua High School alumni Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery

Life

Family

See also

References