Zhenjin ( , ; July 8, 1243 – 1285 or January 5, 1286), also rendered as Jingim, Chinkim, or Chingkim, was a

crown 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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

of China. He was a son of

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

and grandson of

Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...

Life

He was born as the second son to

and first to Chabi Khatun. The Chinese

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhist monk Haiyun gave him the name Zhenjin ("True Gold") when he was born in 1243. He was created

Prince of Yan Prince or King of Yan () was a Chinese feudal title referring to the ancient Chinese State of Yan and to its fiefs including the capital Yanjing (located within modern Beijing). Typically, the title is translated as "King of Yan" for rulers pr ...

(燕王), became the head of the Central Secretariat (''Zhongshu Sheng'') by his father in 1262, and was designated as the

Crown 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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

(皇太子) of the

by Kublai Khan in 1273. He was known as a strong supporter of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

, having been tutored by Han scholars such as

Yao Shu Yao Shu (姚璹) (632 – 705), courtesy name Lingzhang (令璋), formally Count Cheng of Wuxing (吳興成伯), was a Chinese politician of the Tang and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, and served twice as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign. He is not ...

(1203–1280), Dou Mo (1196–1280),

Liu Bingzhong Liu Bingzhong (; 1216–1274), or Liu Kan () was a Yuan dynasty court adviser and architect. He was born in Ruizhou (Rui prefecture), during the Jin dynasty. In 1233, he entered the Jin's bureaucracy. He still was an officer after the Mongol Emp ...

(1216–1274) and Wang Xun. Among others, he was noted to have studied ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'' and ''

Classic of Filial Piety The ''Classic of Filial Piety'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Xiaojing'', is a Confucian classic treatise giving advice on filial piety: that is, how to behave towards a senior such as a father, an elder brother, or a ruler. The ...

''. After the death of Zhenjin's rival

Ahmad Fanakati Ahmad Fanākatī, alternatively rendered as Ahmad Banākatī (; ; before 1242 — 10 April 1282) was a Persian Muslim from the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) who served as chancellor and finance minister of the Yuan dynasty during Kublai's ...

(according to Rashid al-Din, as a result of a plot by Zhenjin), a Confucian-trained official in the South even proposed Kublai abdicate in favor of Zhenjin in 1285, as a result Kublai was furious. He was also known to be a friend of Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, who wrote the famous treatise "Explanation of the knowable" for Zhenjin. According to the ''

History of Yuan The ''History of Yuan'' (), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political tradition, t ...

'', he died of

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

on 5 January 1286, eight years before his father Kublai Khan. However, it may not have been as simple as merely drinking too much. It is also stated that shortly before his death, some ministers of the court wanted to propose that Kublai Khan abdicate his throne to Prince Zhenjin on account of old age and because Zhenjin was highly respected throughout the empire. However, Zhenjin tried to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, Kublai Khan found out anyway and was furious, which terrified Zhenjin and may have led him to overdrink. Distressed by his death, Kublai Khan made Zhenjin's son Temür the new Crown Prince. He was posthumously renamed as Taizi Mingxiao by Kublai on 25 February 1293. Temür gave him

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

Emperor Wenhui Mingxiao (文惠明孝皇帝) and

temple name Temple names are posthumous titles accorded to monarchs of the Sinosphere for the purpose of ancestor worship. The practice of honoring monarchs with temple names began during the Shang dynasty in China and had since been adopted by other dynas ...

Yuzong () on 3 June 1294.

Family

He had a senior wife and a concubine: # Kökejin — from

Khongirad The Khongirad (; ; ; ) was one of the major divisions of the Mongol tribes. Their homeland was located in the vicinity of Hulun Lake, Lake Hulun in Inner Mongolia and Khalkha River in Mongolia,M. Sanjdorj, History of the Mongolian People's Repub ...

tribe #* Gammala (1263–1302) #* Darmabala (1264–1292) #*

Temür Khan Öljeyitü Khan ( Mongolian: Өлзийт; Mongolian script: '; zh, t=完澤篤汗), born Temür ( ; zh , t = 鐵穆耳 ; 15 October 1265 – 10 February 1307), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzong of Yuan ( zh , c = 元成� ...

(1265–1307) # Concubine Anchinmishi # Unknown concubine #* Senior Princess of Qi, Qutadmish — married to Körgüz from Öngüds, son of Ay Buqa, Prince of Zhao (趙王) and Yuelie ( older sister of Zhenjin) #* Grand Princess of Lu, Nangabula — married to Manzitai from

clan, Prince of Lu #* Princess Budagan — married to Zangpo Pal

Ancestry

In popular culture

* "Prince Chinkin" is a central character in the 1982 American-Italian

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

'', where he was portrayed by actor Junichi Ishida. In this film, he is depicted as suffering from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. * "Prince Jingim" is also a main character of the 2014

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

original series ''Marco Polo'', where he is portrayed by Remy Hii.

References

Citations

Sources

; Works cited * {{refend 1243 births 1286 deaths Yuan dynasty people Sons of Kublai Khan Borjigin 13th-century Mongols Chinese crown princes who never acceded