Yinxiang (16 November 1686 – 18 June 1730), formally known as Prince Yi, was a

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 ...

prince 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 ...

. The thirteenth son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yinxiang was a major ally of his brother Yinzhen (that is, the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

) during the latter's struggle for the succession of the throne. He was made a ''qinwang'' (first-grade prince) during Yongzheng's reign and became one of his closest advisors. He died eight years into the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor and was memorialized with top honours by the emperor. When he died, his title was granted "iron-cap" status and became perpetually inheritable, one of the only twelve such princes in Qing dynasty history.

Early life

Yinxiang was born in the

Aisin-Gioro clan 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 ...

as the 13th son of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

. The emperor had some 55 recorded consorts. Yinxiang's mother, Imperial Noble Consort Jingmin, was the daughter of the military commander Haikuan (海寬) from the Bordered White Banner. By the same birth mother, Yinxiang had two sisters, both of whom were younger than him. Yinxiang's mother died when he was 14, so he was raised by Consort De, the biological mother of Yinzhen (the future Yongzheng Emperor). This meant that he had an especially close relationship to Yinzhen from a young age. Yinxiang was schooled in the arts and classics by Fahai, the second son of Tong Guogang, the maternal uncle of the Kangxi Emperor. Fahai was also the imperial tutor to Yinti, the 14th prince who was born to the same mother as Yinzhen. Both of Yinxiang's sisters died young shortly after being named ''hesuo princess'' and wedded respectively to Mongol princes. Yinxiang was a favorite of Kangxi from a young age. He accompanied his father on four inspection tours to the south. However, in 1709 when Kangxi bestowed noble titles to his various sons, Yinxiang was not among the recipients; his younger brother Yinti, however, was named a ''beizi''. There is no explanation given in primary sources as to why Yinxiang was not granted a title in spite of seemingly being a favourite of his father. During the succession battle among Kangxi's sons, Yinxiang was imprisoned by the Kangxi Emperor for 10 years. The historical record makes nearly no mention of Yinxiang between 1712 and 1722. It seems like during these years he did not achieve anything remarkable, but did nonetheless conceive several children.

Yongzheng era

When the Kangxi Emperor died in 1722, Yinzhen succeeded to the throne as the

. In the same year, Yinxiang was granted the title " Prince Yi of the First Rank" (怡親王); this Prince Yi peerage was one of the Qing dynasty's 12 "iron-cap" princely peerages. His personal name was also changed to "Yunxiang" (允祥) to avoid

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

because the Chinese character for "Yin" (胤) in "Yinxiang" is the same as the one in the Yongzheng Emperor's personal name "Yinzhen" (胤禛). Yunxiang was a staunch supporter of the Yongzheng Emperor, and he worked tirelessly to assist the emperor in administering state affairs despite suffering from poor health. Soon after Yongzheng ascended the throne, Yinxiang was named overseer of the three vaults of the Ministry of Revenue. In 1725, Yunxiang was sent to oversee the water issues in

Zhili Province Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

, including flood control and transport. He was still constantly affected by ill health when he returned 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 ...

later. Yunxiang died in June 1730 and was granted the posthumous name of "Zhongjing Chengzhi Qinshen Lianming Xian" (忠敬誠直勤慎廉明賢), so his full posthumous title became Prince Yi Zhongjing Chengzhi Qinshen Lianming Xian of the First Rank (和碩怡忠敬誠直勤慎廉明賢親王). The Yongzheng Emperor praised Yunxiang in his eulogy edict and declared a mourning period of three days, during which imperial court sessions were not held. In the edict, the Yongzheng Emperor also granted an exception by allowing Yunxiang's name to be reverted to "Yinxiang".(越日，復諭舉怡親王功德，命復其名上一字為「胤」，配享太廟，諡曰賢，並以「忠敬誠直勤慎廉明」八字加於諡上。) ''Qing Shi Gao'' vol. 220.

Succession of Prince Yi

Prince Yi was elevated to an "iron-cap prince" level peerage, that is, the title was to be perpetually inheritable by his successors. Yinxiang's sixth generation descendant Zaiyuan was a regent during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor and was ousted in a coup.

Family

Primary Consort * Primary consort, of the Joogiya clan (嫡福晋兆佳氏) ** Princess of the Third Rank (郡主; 20 April 1707 – 4 April 1726), 2nd daughter *** Married Fusengge (富僧額) of the Manchu Irgen-Gioro clan in February/March 1723 ** Hongdun, Prince of the Third Rank (貝勒弘暾; 29 January 1711 – 24 August 1728), 3rd son **

Hongjiao Hongjiao (; 17 June 1713 – 9 September 1764) was Qing dynasty imperial prince as the fourth son of Yinxiang, Prince Yi, Yinxiang, Prince Yixian of the First Rank and Kangxi Emperor's grandson. In 1730, he was granted a title of Prince Ning of t ...

, Prince Ningliang of the Second Rank (寧良郡王弘晈; 17 June 1713 – 9 September 1764), 4th son ** Princess Hehui of the Second Rank (和碩和惠公主; 16 November 1714 – 2 November 1731), 4th daughter *** Married Dorji Septeng (多爾濟塞布騰; d. 1735) of the Mongol

Khalkha The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In cont ...

Borjigin clan on 6 December 1729 ** Hongkuang (弘㫛; 30 January 1716 – 20 February 1722), 5th son ** Hongxiao, Prince Yixi of the First Rank (怡僖親王弘曉; 23 May 1722 – 11 May 1778), 7th son ** Shou'en (綬恩; 12 October 1725 – 27 August 1727), 8th son Secondary Consort * Secondary consort, of the Gūwalgiya clan (側福晉瓜爾佳氏) ** Princess of the Third Rank (郡主; 22 August 1703 – 23 February 1776), 1st daughter *** Married Sakexin (薩克信) of the Jinjili clan (津濟里) in May/June 1721 ** Hongchang, Prince of the Third Rank (貝勒弘昌; 14 December 1706 – 3 June 1771), 1st son * Secondary consort, of the

Fuca clan Fuca (Manchu: ; ) was a clan of Manchu nobility. After the demise of the dynasty, some of its descendants sinicized their clan name to the Chinese surnames '' Fu'' (富/傅) or '' Li'' (李). Notable figures Males * Arantai (; d. 1699), serve ...

(側福晉富察氏) ** ''Third daughter'' (14 December 1710 – December 1711/January 1712) * Secondary consort, of the Usun clan (側福晉烏蘇氏) ** Hongqin, Prince of the Third Rank (貝勒弘昑; 24 September 1716 – 28 February 1729), 6th son Concubine * Mistress, of the Šigiya clan (石佳氏) ** ''Second son'' (12 November 1708 – 30 March 1709) * Mistress, of the

Nara clan The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

(那拉氏) ** Amuhulang (阿穆瑚瑯; 6 May 1726 – 5 May 1727), 9th son

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Zhou Haodong in '' Legend of YungChing'' (1997) * Portrayed by Wang Hui in ''

Yongzheng Dynasty ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on tele ...

'' (1999), '' Li Wei the Magistrate'' (2001) and '' Li Wei the Magistrate II'' (2004) * Portrayed by Tian Zhenwei in ''

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'' (2011) * Portrayed by Yuan Hong in ''

Scarlet Heart ''Scarlet Heart'' (, lit. ''Startling by Each Step'') is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel '' Bu Bu Jing Xin'' by Tong Hua. It premiered in China on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) on 10 September 2011. The series tells the s ...

'' (2011) * Portrayed by Chen Xiao in ''

The Palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV (TV network), ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of t ...

'' (2013) *portrayed by Wang An Yu in '' Dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty (2019 series)'' (2019)

References

* *

External links

Yinxiang: How did he become involved in the fight for the throne?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yinxiang, Prince Yi 1686 births 1730 deaths Kangxi Emperor's sons Manchu politicians Grand Councillors of the Qing dynasty Prince Yi (created 1722)