Aisin-Gioro Yinian (1916–1987),

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

Rushiguan Ge (如是觀閣) was a

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

nobleman, author and the last heir of the principality of Rui before the extinction of his line. He was also known by his Han Chinese name Jin Jishui ().

Life

The peerage of Prince Rui was created in 1636 in honor of

Dorgon Dorgon (, ; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, predecessor of the Qing dynasty ...

's merits. Although Dorgon had no male heir, his nephew Dorbo was adopted by him and succeeded his title. Yinian was a descendant of Dorbo. Yinian was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. In his early years, he was surrounded by the servants in his family residence and enjoyed a prestigious life. After the death of his uncle Zhongquan in 1939, who had no offspring, Yinian was designated as his uncles successor.

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, the head of the house of Aisin-Gioro who had abdicated from the throne of China by then, was set up as a puppet by the

Japanese empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

during the second world war. Puyi attempted contacting Yinian and invited him to succeed his uncle's peerage. Yinian was enraged by Puyi's offer since he deeply despised Puyi for the latter's cooperation with the Japanese. As a result, he refused his title and peerage and even compared Puyi with

Shi Jingtang Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name Gaozu (), was the founding emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Jin during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

who cooperated with the

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

.Yinian's living condition had worsened throughout years due to his uncle's squandering of family properties. By the time of his uncle's death, he had to pawn off valuable belongings he possessed. Despite not being able to make a living, he rejected the invitations that offered him a job in the administration system of Japanese occupation. After the wars, Yinian worked in Beijing library as a transcriber. He published several novels in the 40s. In the 1950s, he started a magazine with another Manchu writer Jin Shoushen from

Wanyan The Wanyan (; Manchu: ''Wanggiyan''; Jurchen script: ) clan was among the clans of the Heishui Mohe tribe living in the drainage region of the Heilong River during the time of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. Of the Heishui Mohe, the clan was count ...

clan. During the cultural revolution, he was able to make through the political turbulence without being harmed since he was not into the politics. In 1974, he was invited by a government run publishing house to participate in the revision of the

Compendium of Materia Medica The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...

. Yinian died in the year of 1987 unmarried and childless. Yinian's memoir “Life in the imperial mansion” was a faithful recall of the aristocratic life of Qing dynasty nobles. His poetry also received a certain degree of recognition among the Chinese literati.

References

{{Reflist 1916 births 1987 deaths Aisin Gioro Manchu literature Qing dynasty imperial princes Prince Rui (睿)