Zaixun, Prince Zhuang
| Zaixun | |
|---|---|
| Prince Zhuang of the First Rank (莊親王) | |
 | |
| Photograph of Zaixun | |
| | |
| 1875 - 1901 | |
| Predecessor | Yiren |
| Successor | Zaigong |
| Full name | |
| Aisin-Gioro Zaixun (愛新覺羅·載勛) | |
| House | House of Aisin-Gioro |
| Father | Yiren |
| Born | 24 January 1853 |
| Died | 21 February 1901 (aged 48) |
| Zaixun, Prince Zhuang | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 载勋 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 載勛 | ||||||
| |||||||
Zaixun (24 January 1853 - 21 February 1901) was a Manchu prince of the Qing Dynasty.
Biography
Zaixun (aka Prince Zhuang) was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Yiren (奕仁), who was the ninth successor to the Prince Zhuang line (one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely lines of the Qing Dynasty). Born during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, Zaixun was initially granted the title of "Duke Who Assists the Nation" (輔國公) before inheriting the title of "Prince Zhuang of the First Rank" (莊親王) in 1875 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor.
In 1900 Zaixun strongly advocated making use of the Righteous and Harmonious Society (or "Boxers") to counter foreign aggression. The following year, after Empress Dowager Cixi issued the Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers, war broke out between China and the Eight-Nation Alliance, leading to the Boxer Rebellion. Zaixun and Gangyi (剛毅) were placed in command of Boxer groups to fight the foreigners. Zaixun had an altar set up in his residence, while he personally donned garments similar to those of the Boxers. Not long afterwards he was appointed as Nine Gates Infantry Commander, and he gave out rewards for the capture and killing of foreigners. All the Boxers throughout China first gathered in Zaixun's residence after arriving in Beijing to receive their respective missions.
When Beijing fell to the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an in western China. She was accompanied by Zaixun, who took on the post of Camp Inspecting Minister (查營大臣). 1,700 Boxers in Zaixun's residence were killed by foreign soldiers. During the negotiations for the Boxer Protocol, Zaixun was accused of being one of the masterminds of the Boxer Rebellion by the foreign powers. In 1901 he was impeached and stripped of his titles, and on February 21 he committed suicide by hanging himself in Puzhou (present-day Yongji, Shanxi).[1][2]
Zaixun's residence previously belonged to Liu Jin, a court eunuch of the Ming Dynasty. The house was destroyed when the armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing. During the early Republican era, it was purchased by the warlord Li Chun (李純) and shifted to Tianjin, where a Li Family Shrine (now the Nankai Cultural Palace 南開文化宮) was built.
Family
- Ancestor: Yunlu (允祿; 28 July 1695 - 20 March 1767), Prince Zhuangke of the First Rank.
- Grandfather: Mianshen (綿深), Prince Zhuangzhi of the First Rank.
- Father: Yiren (奕仁), Prince Zhuanghou of the First Rank.
See also
- Qing Dynasty nobility
- Ranks of Imperial Consorts in China#Qing
References
- ↑ http://www.qingchao.net/lishi/yihetuan/ 封建蒙昧主义与义和团运动
- ↑ http://www.bjxch.gov.cn/pub/xch_wenziban/B/xcly/xcly_4/200812/t20081209_1131407.html 平安里的诞生日就是辉煌了十三代的庄王府覆灭时