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

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 ...

-led

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 ...

(1644–1912). As the Prince Lü 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 Yuntao (1686–1763), the 12th 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 ...

. In 1722, Yuntao was made a ''junwang'' (second-rank prince) by his father for his military achievements. However, a year later, he was demoted two grades to ''beizi'', but was restored as a ''junwang'' in 1730. In 1735, he was promoted to ''qinwang'' (first-rank prince) under the title "Prince Lü of the First Rank". The peerage was passed down over eight generations and held by eight persons.

Members of the Prince Lü peerage

* Yuntao (允祹; 1686 – 1763) (1st), the

's 12th son, initially a ''beizi'', promoted to second-rank prince in 1722, demoted to ''beizi'' in 1723, further demoted to grace defender duke in 1724, restored as a second-rank prince in 1730, promoted to first-rank prince as Prince Lü of the First Rank in 1735, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü Yi of the First Rank (履懿親王) ** (N/A) *** Yongcheng (永珹; 1739 – 1777) (2nd), the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

's fourth son and Yuntao's adoptive grandson, held the title Prince Lü of the Second Rank from 1763 to 1777, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü Duan of the First Rank (履端親王) in 1799 **** Mianhui (綿惠; 1764 – 1796) (3rd), Yongcheng's eldest son, held the title of a ''beile'' from 1777 to 1796, posthumously honoured as Prince Lü of the Second Rank ***** Yilun (奕綸; 1790 – 1836) (4th), Mianqin's son and Mianhui's adoptive son (from line of Prince Cheng's peerage), held the title of a ''beizi'' from 1796 to 1809, promoted to ''beile'' in 1809, demoted to ''beizi'' in 1835, posthumously honoured as a ''beile'' in 1836 ****** Zaigang (載鋼; 1823 – 1882), Yilun's ninth son, held the title of a ''feng'en zhenguo gong'' from 1865 to 1882 ******* Pumao (溥楙; 1850–1882) (6th), Zaigang's third son and Zaifen's adoptive son, held the title of a grace bulwark duke from 1854 to 1882 ******** Yuchang (毓昌; 1878 – 1885) (7th), Pumao's eldest son, held the title of a grace defender duke from 1882 to 1885, had no male heir ****** Zaifen (載鈖; 1825 – 1853) (5th), Yilun's tenth son, held the title of a ''beizi'' from 1836 to 1853, had no male heir ****** Zaihe (載鶴; 1833 – 1884), Yilun's 12th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1884 ******* Puzhi (溥植; 1882 – 1936) (8th), Zaihe's eldest son, held the title of a grace defender duke from 1885 to 1936 ******** Yujun (毓鈞; b. 1902), Puzhi's son ********* Hengpei (恆培; b. 1928), Yujun's son

Cadet line

Yuntao's cadet line

* Hongkun (弘昆; 1739 – 1750), Yuntao's fifth son, posthumously honoured as the hereditary prince of Prince Lü of the First Rank in 1750

Yilun's cadet line

* Zaiwu (載鋙), Yilun's sixth son, held the title of a first class bulwark general from 1838 to 1847 ** Pusen (溥森), Zaiwu's eldest son, held the title of a supporter general from 1847 to 1881 *** Yucun (毓存), Pusen's fourth son, held the title of a grace general in 1881, had no male heir * Zaigang (載鋼; 1823 – 1882), Yilun's ninth son, held the title of a ''feng'en zhenguo gong'' from 1865 to 1882 * Zaihe (載鶴; 1833 – 1884), Yilun's 12th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1884 * Zai'ai (載藹), Yilun's 13th son, held the title of a grace general from 1856 to 1901 ** Puquan (溥泉), Zai'ai's eldest son, held the title of a grace general from 1902

Family tree

References