Yikuang (Manchu: ᡳ ᡴᡠᠸᠠᠩ I-kuwang; 16 November 1838 – 28 January 1917), formally known as Prince Qing (or Prince Ch'ing), was a Manchu noble and politician of the Qing dynasty. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, an office created in May 1911 to replace the Grand Council.
Yikuang | |||||
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Prince Qing of the First Rank | |||||
Prince Qing of the First Rank | |||||
Tenure | 1850 – 1917 | ||||
Predecessor | Mianti (Prince of the Fourth Rank) | ||||
Successor | Zaizhen | ||||
1st Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet | |||||
Tenure | 8 May 1911 – 1 November 1911 | ||||
Predecessor | Position established | ||||
Successor | Yuan Shikai | ||||
Emperor | Xuantong Emperor | ||||
Chief Councillor | |||||
Tenure | 1903 – 1911 | ||||
Predecessor | Ronglu | ||||
Successor | Position abolished | ||||
Emperor | Guangxu Emperor Xuantong Emperor | ||||
Born | Beijing, Qing Empire | 16 November 1838||||
Died | 28 January 1917 Beijing, Republic of China | (aged 78)||||
Spouse | Lady Hegiya Lady Liugiya another four consorts | ||||
Issue | Zaizhen Zaibo Zailun three other sons 12 daughters | ||||
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House | Aisin Gioro | ||||
Father | Mianxing |
Yikuang | |||||||||
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Chinese | 奕劻 | ||||||||
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Prince Qing | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 庆亲 | ||||||||
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Early life and career
editYikuang was born in the Aisin-Gioro clan as the eldest son of Mianxing (
Yikuang inherited the title of a fuguo jiangjun in 1850 and was promoted to beizi in 1852. In January 1860, the Xianfeng Emperor further elevated Yikuang to the status of a beile. In October 1872, after the Tongzhi Emperor married Empress Xiaozheyi, he promoted Yikuang to a junwang (second-rank prince) and appointed him as a yuqian dachen (
Service under the Guangxu Emperor
editIn March 1884, during the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Yikuang was put in charge of the Zongli Yamen (the de facto foreign affairs ministry) and given the title "Prince Qing of the Second Rank" (
Around October 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Yikuang was appointed to the positions of high commissioner of the admiralty, head of the Zongli Yamen, and head of war operations, with the latter becoming a quasi-general headquarters.[1]
Yikuang was involved in the "sale" of official positions, in which a person could obtain an official post through the prince's recommendation by paying him a certain sum of money. He became a "go-to person" for backroom deals in politics.
During the Boxer Rebellion from 1899 to 1901, Yikuang was more sympathetic towards the foreigners whereas Zaiyi (Prince Duan) sided with the Boxers against the foreigners. Two factions were formed in the Qing imperial court: a "moderate" pro-foreign group, led by Yikuang, and a xenophobic group headed by Zaiyi.[2] Yikuang was discredited for his pro-foreign stance in June 1900, when a multi-national military force (the Seymour Expedition) marched from Tianjin towards Beijing. He was immediately replaced by the "reactionary" Zaiyi as head of the Zongli Yamen.[3][4] Qing imperial forces and Boxers, acting under Zaiyi's command, defeated Seymour's first expedition.[5] Yikuang even wrote letters to foreigners, inviting them to take shelter in the Zongli Yamen's offices during the Siege of the International Legations by Zaiyi's men. Another pro-foreign general, Ronglu, offered to provide escorts to the foreigners when his soldiers were supposed to be killing foreigners. Yikuang and Zaiyi's forces clashed several times.[6] Yikuang ordered his own Bannermen to attack the Boxers and the Kansu Braves.[7]
Yikuang was then sent by Empress Dowager Cixi, along with Li Hongzhang, to negotiate for peace with the Eight-Nation Alliance after they invaded Beijing in 1901. Yikuang and Li Hongzhang signed the Boxer Protocol on 7 September 1901. During the conference, Yikuang was seen as a representative while the actual negotiations were done by Li Hongzhang. Returning to Beijing as a senior member of the imperial court, Yikuang persisted in his old ways, and was despised not only by reformers, but also by moderate court officials.[citation needed]
In June 1901, the Zongli Yamen was converted to the Waiwubu (
After the Guangxu Emperor died on 14 November 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi chose Zaifeng (Prince Chun)'s two-year-old son, Puyi, to be the new emperor. Puyi was "adopted" into the emperor's lineage, hence he was nominally no longer Zaifeng's son. Empress Dowager Cixi died on the following day.
Service under the Xuantong Emperor
editPuyi ascended the throne as the Xuantong Emperor, with his biological father, Zaifeng (Prince Chun), serving as regent. In 1911, Zaifeng abolished the Grand Council and replaced it with an "Imperial Cabinet", after which he appointed Yikuang as the Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet (內閣
When the Wuchang Uprising broke out in October 1911, Yikuang stepped down as Prime Minister, offering his position to Yuan Shikai instead, and appointed himself as the Chief Executive of the Bideyuan (弼德
Life after the fall of the Qing dynasty
editAfter the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China, Yikuang and his eldest son, Zaizhen, amassed a fortune and moved from Beijing to the British concession in Tianjin. They later moved back to the Prince Qing Residence (
Yikuang died of illness in 1917 in his residence. Puyi awarded him the posthumous title "Prince Qingmi of the First Rank" (
Family
editConsort and issue:
- Primary Consort, of the Bolod clan (嫡福
晉 博 羅 特 氏 )- Zaiyu (
郡 主 載 揄;b. 21 February 1863)[citation needed], Princess of the Third Rank, first daughter- Married Nayantu (纳彦图) of the Khalka Borjigin clan in 1885
- Zaiyu (
- Secondary Consort, of the Hegiya clan (
大 側 福 晉 合 佳 氏 )- Zairong (
郡 君 載 搈;b.2 December 1875)[citation needed], Lady of the First Rank, second daughter- Married Shiliang (
世 梁 ) of the Wumit clan (伍 弥 特 氏 ) in 1898
- Married Shiliang (
- Zaizhen (
慶 密 親王 载振; 31 March 1876 – 31 December 1947), Prince Qingmi of the First Rank, first son - Zaishu (熙九
太 太 載 抒; b.19 December 1878)[citation needed], Madam Xijiu, fourth daughter- Married Xijun (熙俊) of the Hitara clan in 1900
- Zairong (
- Secondary Consort, of the Jingiya clan (
側 福 晋 金 佳 氏 )- Zaihuan (
載 換 ;b.7 December 1876)[citation needed], third daughter- Married Deheng [10](
德 恒 ) of the Yehe Nara clan in 1896
- Married Deheng [10](
- Zaikui (
郡 君 载揆), Lady of the First Rank, sixth daughter- Married Liangkui (
良 葵 ) of the Guwalgiya clan in 1906
- Married Liangkui (
- Zaihuan (
- Secondary Consort, of the Liugiya clan (
側 福 晉 劉 佳 氏 )- Fifth Daughter (25 July 1882)[citation needed]
- Seventh Daughter (18 March 1886)[citation needed]
- Zaibo (鎮國
將軍 載 搏; 1887 – 1935), General of the First Rank, second son - Zailun (
載 掄;d.1950),[11] fifth son - Tenth Daughter (21 December 1892 – 1899)[citation needed]
- Secondary Consort, of the Ligiya clan (
側 福 晉 李 佳 氏 )- Eighth Daughter (b.1890)[citation needed]
- Married Shijie (
世 杰) of the Magiya clan 1911
- Married Shijie (
- Ninth Daughter
- Zaikui (载揆; b.1897)[citation needed], Courtesy name Zi Zhiqing (
字 芝 卿 ), eleventh daughter- Married Hanluozhabu (汉罗扎布) of the Kharchin Ulanghaijilmot clan (乌亮
海吉 勒莫特 氏 ) in 1921
- Married Hanluozhabu (汉罗扎布) of the Kharchin Ulanghaijilmot clan (乌亮
- Twelfth Daughter (1898)[citation needed]
- Eighth Daughter (b.1890)[citation needed]
- Unknown
- Zaishou (载授), third son
- Fourth son
- Zaipu (
載 镨), sixth son
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ S. C. M. Paine (2003). The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 0-521-81714-5.
- ^ Peter Harrington (2001). Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. Osprey Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-84176-181-8.
- ^ Diana Preston (2000). The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic Story of China's War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1900. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 70. ISBN 0-8027-1361-0.
- ^ Larry Clinton Thompson (2009). William Scott Ament and the Boxer Rebellion: Heroism, Hubris and the "Ideal Missionary". McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-7864-4008-5.
- ^ Paul A. Cohen (1997). History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth. Columbia University Press. p. 49. ISBN 0-231-10650-5.
- ^ Frank Moore Colby; Harry Thurston Peck; Edward Lathrop Engle (1901). The International Year Book: A Compendium of the World's Progress During the Years 1898-1902. Dodd, Mead & company. p. 207.
- ^ Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year ..., Volume 5. D. Appleton & Co. 1901. p. 112.
- ^ Ian Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War (Longman, 1985; ISBN 0582491142), p. 140.
- ^ Evelyn Rawski (1998) The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Institutions University of California Press, pg. 125
- ^ Nephew of Empress Dowager Cixi
- ^ He married Sun Baoqi's daughter, while his own daughter married the son of Empress Dowager Cixi's younger brother, Guixiang (
桂 祥 ).
This article incorporates text from The Century, Volume 70, a publication from 1905, now in the public domain in the United States.