Prince Duanzhong of the First Rank, or simply Prince Duanzhong, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the

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 ...

-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1912). As the Prince Duanzhong peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank ''vis-à-vis'' that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than a ''feng'en fuguo gong'' except under special circumstances. The first bearer of the title was Bolo (1613–1652), the third son of

Abatai Abatai (Manchu: ; 27 July 1589 – 10 May 1646) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. Although an inconsistent and dissolute malcontent, he nevertheless showed considerable ability as a military leader and a ...

and a grandson of

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

, the founder of the Qing dynasty. In 1649, Bolo was granted the title "Prince Duanzhong of the First Rank" by the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...

. However, after his death, in 1659, he was posthumously stripped of his title. The peerage was passed down over only two generations and was held by only Bolo and his eighth son, Qikexin.

Members of the Prince Duanzhong peerage

* Bolo (1613–1652),

's third son, initially a ''beizi'', made a ''beile'' in 1644, promoted to ''junwang'' in 1647 and then to ''qinwang'' in 1649 under the title "Prince Duanzhong of the First Rank". He was demoted to ''junwang'' in 1650 but was restored as a ''qinwang'' in 1651. He was honoured with the posthumous title "Prince Duanzhongding of the First Rank" (端重定親王) after his death in 1652, but was posthumously stripped of his title in 1659. ** Qikexin (齊克新), Bolo's eighth son, inherited his father's peerage in 1652 as "Prince Duanzhong of the First Rank" but was demoted to ''beile'' in 1659, and posthumously honoured as "Huaisi Beile" (懷思貝勒) after death. He had no male heir to succeed him, so the Prince Duanzhong peerage ended with his death.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duanzhong, Prince Qing dynasty princely peerages Extinct Qing dynasty princely peerages

Members of the Prince Duanzhong peerage

See also

References