Yunying (1913–1992), better known as Jin Yunying, was a Chinese princess 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 ...

.Puyi (Swedish): ''Jag var kejsare av Kina'' (I was the emperor of China) (1988)

Names

Yunying's original family name was

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 ...

; she is referred to as "Yunying" because Manchus were usually referred to by their given names only. Like other members of the Aisin Gioro family (e.g. her brother Puren (Jin Youzhi)), she changed her family name to Jin, which means "gold" in the Chinese language just like "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 ...

. Yunying's

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 ...

, Ruixiu, was given to her by her father,

Zaifeng Zaifeng (12 February 1883 – 3 February 1951), also known as Tsai Feng, Prince of Ch'ün, formally known by his title Prince Chun, was a Manchu prince and regent of the late Qing dynasty. He was a son of Yixuan, the seventh son of the Da ...

. Her

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

, Binghao, was given to her by her brother

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 ...

. She is also sometimes referred to as Jin Ruixiu.

Reginald Johnston Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston ( zh, s=庄士敦爵士, t=莊士敦爵士, p=Zhuāngshìdūn juéshì, l=Sir Johnston; 13 October 1874 – 6 March 1938) was a Scottish diplomat and colonial official who served as the tutor and advisor to Puyi, ...

, the Scottish academic and diplomat who tutored Puyi, gave Yunying an English name, Lily.

Life

Early life

Yunying was born in the

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 ...

clan in 1913 as the third daughter of Prince Chun and Princess Consort Youlan. She was also a full sister of

(the Xuantong Emperor) the last

Emperor of China Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandat ...

. She had three other full siblings ( one brother and two sisters) and six half siblings (two brothers and four sisters). By the time of her birth, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty had already been overthrown by 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 ...

and Puyi, who was still a child then, had been forced to abdicate. However, the former imperial family were still allowed to live in the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...

, where she was born. She was referred to as "Third Princess" (三格格) in her childhood and was Puyi's favourite sister. In November 1924, the warlord

Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a Chinese warlord and later general in the National Revolutionary Army. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. A ...

took control of

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 forced the former imperialy family out of the Forbidden City. They moved to

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

's Heping District. In Tianjin, Yunying and her siblings learned the Japanese language and played tennis.

Life in Manchuria

When Yunying turned 19, Puyi arranged for her to be married to

Runqi Gobulo Runqi ( zh, 郭布羅潤麒; July 8, 1912 – June 6, 2007) was a member by right of birth of the Gobulo clan, part of the prestigious Plain White Banner group of the Qing dynasty and brother of Wanrong, the last empress consort of China. ...

of the Gobulo (郭布羅) clan. Runqi was the younger brother of

Wanrong Wanrong ( zh, link=no, t=婉容; 13 November 1906 – 20 June 1946), of the Manchu Plain White Banner Gobulo clan, was the wife and empress consort of Puyi, the last emperor of China. She is sometimes anachronistically called the Xuantong E ...

, Puyi's empress. In 1931, Puyi was installed as emperor of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

, a puppet state established by the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

in northeastern China. Yunying and Runqi were married in Xinjing (present-day

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

), the capital of Manchukuo. About a month after the wedding, Puyi sent Runqi,

Pujie Pujie (; 16 April 1907 – 28 February 1994) was a Qing dynasty imperial prince of the Aisin-Gioro. Pujie was the younger brother of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. After the fall of the Qing dynasty, Pujie went to Japan, where he was educated ...

and Yunying to Japan for studies. When Yunying arrived there, she was immediately approached by members of the Japanese imperial family, who wanted her to serve as the honorary president of the women's association. One of the Shōwa Emperor's sisters-in-law also specially invited her to their residence to teach them the Chinese language. Yunying felt lonely during her stay in Japan, so she often wrote to Puyi. He had their letters compiled into a book. In 1933, she returned to Xinjing to visit her family and decided to remain in China. Runqi accompanied her and served in Manchukuo as an instructor in a military school. In his memoirs, Puyi described Yunying as spoiled, idle, and interested in pointless matters during the Manchukuo period, foremost to be in his favour. When he gave a gift to another member of their family, she wished to be given the same. According to Puyi, Yunying later said about this period in her life: "What was I before, but an ornament?"

Later life

At the end of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

in 1945, Soviet forces invaded and occupied northeastern China. Yunying and her family were evacuated by train from Xinjing to Dalizigou (in present-day

Linjiang Linjiang (; listed as Linkiang on old maps) is a county-level city in Baishan, Jilin, China. It is located to the east of Tonghua, and borders North Korea along the Yalu River. Culture During 1953–76, there was a total of twenty-one Chinese ...

); her husband, their three children Zongyan (宗弇), Zongguang (宗光) and Manruo (曼若), her sister, her brothers, the family's physician and a servant took a plane to Mukden (present-day

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

), where Puyi was arrested and taken to a prison camp in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Runqi was also taken prisoner and was not released until 1957. Yunying, left with only a few sets of clothing, brought her three children with her to

Tonghua Tonghua ( zh, s=通化 , p=Tōnghuà) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It borders North Korea's Chagang Province to the south and southeast, Baishan to the east, Jilin City to the north, ...

. She supported herself and her children by collecting and selling used clothes at a tobacco stand on the streets, where she was taken captive and publicly interrogated about her life. She was released later and allowed to return to Tonghua. In 1949, after Chinese Communist forces occupied

, Yunying and her children were allowed to return to Beijing to reunite and live with the rest of her family. In 1951, after her father's death, she inherited part of his properties and managed to make a living through collecting rental fees. Since then, she had been actively involved in

subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, Ind ...

affairs in her neighbourhood, and was later nominated by the residents to be the subdistrict representative. As a politician, she often spoke for the

new marriage law The New Marriage Law (also First Marriage Law, ) was a civil marriage law passed in the People's Republic of China on May 1, 1950. It was a radical change from existing patriarchal Chinese marriage customs, and needed constant support from propag ...

. Since then, she was described as a beautiful, good-hearted woman with sound political aspirations. In 1954,

Zhang Shizhao Zhang Shizhao (; March 20, 1881 – July 1, 1973), courtesy name Xingyan, pen name Huangzhonghuang, Qingtong or Qiutong, was a Chinese journalist, educator, politician of the early 20th century known for his advocacy first of revolutionary cultu ...

, the president of the

Central Research Institute of Culture and History Central Research Institute of Culture and History ( Chinese: 中央文史研究馆) is a think tank founded by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government. The Premier of the State Council appoints its presidents, vice presidents, and ...

, chanced upon the book containing the letters exchanged between Yunying and Puyi. With help from their uncle,

Zaitao Zaitao (23 June 1887 – 2 September 1970), courtesy name Shuyuan, art name Yeyun, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was a half-brother of the Guangxu Emperor and an uncle of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. Biography Zaitao was bor ...

, Zhang Shizhao contacted Yunying and asked her to write an autobiography, which he then presented to

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

. After reading her autobiography, Mao Zedong commented, "A person who enters society becomes someone with aspirations." He then sent the autobiography to

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

for him to read too and appointed her as a delegate representing Beijing's Dongcheng District in the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

. In 1956, with permission from Mao Zedong, she and Zaitao travelled to the

Fushun War Criminals Management Centre Fushun War Criminals Management Centre ( zh, s= , t=撫順戰犯管理所 , p=Fǔshùn Zhànfàn Guǎnlǐ Suǒ , first=t), also known as Liaodong No. 3 Prison or Liaoning No. 3 Prison, was the site of the re-education of Manchukuo, Kuomintang a ...

to visit Puyi, who was detained there as a war criminal. Yunying died in China, in 1992. She was survived by all her children. Her husband, who had become the owner of a small clinic that treated gynecological diseases and nervous disorders, was interviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 2000 and died in 2007.

Gallery

File:韫颖2.jpg, Yunying and her son, Zongyan File:韫颖3.jpg, Yunying and her husband, Runqi File:Gobulo Runqi and his wife and Aisin-Gioro Pujie.jpg, Yunying with her husband, Runqi (seated), and her brother

(standing)

Notes

References

* Puyi (Swedish): ''Jag var kejsare av Kina'' (I was the emperor of China) (1988) * https://web.archive.org/web/20110927064301/http://www.lijiazhang.com/downloads/files/life_after_the_last_emperor.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20100831103347/http://fineartimports.com/imperial.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Jin, Yunying 1913 births 1992 deaths Qing dynasty princesses People's Republic of China politicians from Beijing