Yunti (10 February 1688 – 16 February 1755), born Yinzhen and also known as Yinti before 1722, formally known as Prince Xun, was a

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 ...

prince and military general of the

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 ...

. He was trusted by his father, the emperor

Kangxi 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 ye ...

, to lead the imperial forces against the dynasty's greatest threat of the time, the

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...

. He proved a successful and popular military leader. He was later imprisoned by the new emperor, who was his full-blood brother – Yongzheng. Yongzheng suppressed the evidences of Yinti's accomplishments and also possible evidences of his right to the throne.

Life

Kangxi era

Yunti was born "Yinzhen" () in the

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro is a Manchu clan that ruled the Later Jin dynasty (1616–1636), the Qing dynasty (1636–1912), and Manchukuo (1932–1945) in the history of China. Under the Ming dynasty, members of the Aisin Gioro clan served as chie ...

clan as the 14th 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 ...

. His mother was Empress Xiaogongren, who also bore the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, personal name Yinzhen, was the fourth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing em ...

. As Yunti's birth name "Yinzhen" was similar to that of his fourth brother, Yinzhen (胤禛), it was changed to "Yinti" (胤禵). In 1709, Yinti was granted the title of a ''beizi''. In 1718, after Dzungar forces defeated a Qing army along the

Salween River The Salween is a Southeast Asian river, about long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea. The Salween flows primarily within southwest China and eastern Myanmar, with a short section forming the border of Myanmar and Tha ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, the Kangxi Emperor appointed Yinti as "Great General Who Pacifies the Frontier" (撫遠大將軍) to lead an army of 300,000 into Tibet to attack the Dzungars and their leader,

Tsewang Rabtan Tsewang Rabtan (from ''Tsewang Rapten''; ; Mongolian: ; 1643–1727) was a Choros prince and the Khong Tayiji of the Dzungar Khanate from 1697 (following the death of his uncle and rival Galdan Boshugtu Khan) until his death in 1727. He w ...

. It was believed that this was a sign that the Kangxi Emperor was considering Yinti as a potential heir to his throne. In February 1720, Yinti ordered his deputies Galbi and Yanxin to set out from

Xining Xining is the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 l ...

to take

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

, while he remained in Xining to build up support with their Mongol allies and then escort the Seventh Dalai Lama to Lhasa. On 24 September 1720, Yinti's army captured Lhasa and returned the Dalai Lama to the

Potala Palace Potala Palace ( Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ་ཕོ་བྲང Chinese: 布达拉宫) is the name of a museum in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, built in the ''dzong''-style. It was previously a palace of t ...

Yongzheng era

On 21 December 1722, just as Yinti was planning for a conquest of the

, according to official accounts, he received news of the Kangxi Emperor's death and was immediately summoned back to the capital,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, to attend his father's funeral. His fourth brother, Yinzhen, succeeded their father and became historically known as the

. It is now known, through Yongzheng's correspondence, that he was called back either by his own father (presumably to arrange for Yinti's succession to the throne), or his brother Yongzheng (under the name of Kangxi and with a forged edict that only mentioned the inheritance matter and not Kangxi's death) who wanted to deceive him into renouncing his military powers. Yinti was only informed of his father's death when he reached Shanxi. He initially had the idea of returning to his headquarters, but was persuaded not to do so. He then accepted that the throne was lost and decided to return to the capital, fully expecting to be executed by his brother. Yinti and his brothers had to change the character ''Yin'' (胤) in their names to ''Yun'' (允) to avoid

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

, because the reigning emperor's personal name contained the character ''Yin''. In 1723, Yunti was promoted from ''beizi'' to ''junwang'' (second-rank prince). However, in the following year, he was demoted back to ''beizi''. The Yongzheng Emperor perceived Yunti as a potential threat to his throne, so he stripped Yunti of his ''beizi'' title in 1725 and placed him under house arrest at Shouhuang Palace, in the present-day

Jingshan Park Jingshan Park is an imperial park covering immediately north of the Forbidden City in the Imperial City area of Beijing, China. The focal point is the artificial hill Jingshan (, ). Formerly a private imperial garden attached to the grounds of ...

. He seemed to have been moved many times. In 1734, he had a daughter with a maid servant somewhere near the Yuanyou Pagoda in the . By the time Yongzheng died in 1735, it was reported by the Korean emissaries that he was kept at the back garden of the

Old Summer Palace The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. I ...

(where his brother usually lived). They also reported that shortly before his brother died, the security around the prisoner, who was guarded by one thousand armored soldiers, was only increased, even though otherwise his brother, who seemed to fear him the most, treated him well. At one point, Yongzheng seemed to have offered Yinti freedom in exchange for service but he refused. He angrily retorted that , the man who was sent to persuade him, should be killed before he accepted to serve Yongzheng in any capability (Maersai played an important role in suppressing Yinti during Yongzheng's succession or usurption of the throne and after the case of Cai Huaixi, who sent a letter to Yinti to invite him to reclaim the throne).

Qianlong era

In 1735, the Yongzheng Emperor died and was succeeded by his fourth son Hongli, who became historically known as 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 ...

. The Qianlong Emperor released Yunti in the same year after his coronation. In 1737, Yunti was restored to the ranks of nobility as a ''fuguo gong'' (a lesser duke). Ten years later, in 1747, he was promoted to ''beile''. In 1748, he was further promoted back to ''junwang'' and granted the title " Prince Xun of the Second Rank" (恂郡王). Yunti died on 16 February 1755 and was posthumously honoured as Prince Xunqin of the Second Rank (恂勤郡王). The Prince Xun peerage was inherited by his second son, Hongming (弘明; 1705–1767), who became a ''beile'' in 1735.

Family

Primary Consort * Princess Consort Xunqin, of the

Wanyan The Wanyan (; Manchu: ''Wanggiyan''; Jurchen script: ), alternatively rendered as Wanggiya, was a clan of the Heishui Mohe tribe living in the drainage region of the Heilong River during the time of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. Of the Heis ...

clan (恂勤郡王福晋完顏氏)
Titles: Primary Consort of the Fourteenth Prince (第十四王子福晋) → Princess Consort of the Fourth Rank (贝子夫人) → Princess Consort of the Second Rank (郡王福晋) → Princess Consort of the Fourth Rank (贝子夫人) → Primary Consort of the Fourteenth Son of the Kangxi Emperor (第十四儿子福晋) → Duchess of the Second Rank (不入八分国公夫人)→ Princess Consort of the Third Rank (贝勒夫人) → Princess Consort Xun of the Second Rank (恂郡王福晋) → ''Princess Consort Xunqin of the Second Rank'' (恂勤郡王福晋) ** Hongming, Prince Gongqin of the Third Rank (恭勤贝勒弘明; 25 April 1705 – 4 February 1767), 2nd son ** Hongkai (弘暟; 31 December 1707 – 28 January 1759), 4th son Secondary Consort * Secondary consort, of the

Šušu Gioro Šušu Gioro (，pinyin: Shushu Jueluo) was a clan of Manchu nobility belonging to the Gioro Hala . The other families belonging to the Gioro family were: Aisin Gioro, the ruling clan from 1644 to 1912, Irgen Gioro and Sirin Gioro. The clan des ...

clan (側福晉舒舒覺羅氏)
Titles: Secondary Consort of the Fourteenth Prince (第十四皇子侧妃) → Side Consort of a Beizi (貝子侧妃) → Secondary Consort of a Junwang (郡王侧福晋) → Side Consort of the Fourteenth Son of the Kangxi Emperor (第十四儿子侧妃) → Side Consort of a Duke (不入八分国公侧妃) → Side Consort of a Beile (贝勒侧妃) → Secondary Consort of Xun Junwang (恂郡王侧福晋) → ''Secondary Consort Xunqin of the Second Rank'' (恂勤郡王侧福晋) ** Hongchun, Prince Tai of the Second Rank (泰郡王弘春; 11 October 1703 – 3 March 1739), 1st son ** Princess of the Third Rank (郡主; 5 December 1705 – 1 March 1729), 2nd daughter *** Married Chenggunjab (成衮扎布) of the Harqin league on 10 February 1719 ** Lady of the Second Rank (縣君; 22 June 1706 – 10 June 1761), 3rd daughter *** Married Halu of the Namdulu clan in December 1727 ** Princess of the Third Rank (郡主; 8 August 1707 – 4 October 1776), 5th daughter * Secondary consort, of the

Irgen Gioro Irgen Gioro (; ) is a Manchu clan and family name, which was officially categorized as a "notable clan", and member of the eight great houses of the Manchu nobility in Qing dynasty. Sibe and Nanai people also has Irgen Gioro as their family n ...

clan (側福晉伊爾根覺羅氏)
Titles: Secondary Consort of the Fourteenth Prince (第十四皇子侧妃) → Side Consort of a Beizi (貝子侧妃) → Secondary Consort of a Junwang (郡王侧福晋) → Side Consort of the Fourteenth Son of the Kangxi Emperor (第十四儿子侧妃) → Side Consort of a Duke (不入八分国公侧妃) → Side Consort of a Beile (贝勒侧妃) → Secondary Consort of Xun Junwang (恂郡王侧福晋) → ''Secondary Consort Xunqin of the Second Rank'' (恂勤郡王侧福晋) ** ''First daughter'' (20 February 1705 – March/April 1706) ** Princess of the Second Rank (縣君; 17 November 1706 – 16 February 1773), 4th daughter *** Married Deshou (德绶) of the Aohan

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

clan ** Hongying (弘映; 12 December 1707 – 29 August 1771), 3rd son Concubine * Mistress, of the Wu clan (吳氏)
Titles: Mistress of a Duke (不入八分国公格格) → Concubine of a Beile (贝勒庶妃)→ Concubine of Xun Junwang (恂郡王庶妃) → ''Concubine of Prince Xunqin of the Second Rank'' (恂勤郡王庶妃) ** ''Sixth daughter'' (22 February 1737 – 21 September 1741) * Mistress, of the

clan (伊爾根覺羅氏)
Titles: Concubine of Xun Junwang (恂郡王庶妃) → ''Concubine of Prince Xunqin of the Second Rank'' (恂勤郡王庶妃) ** Princess of the Fourth Rank (縣主; 30 October 1753 – 10 April 1776), 7th daughter *** Married Erdengge of the

Niohuru The Niohuru (Manchu: ; in Manchu) were a prominent Manchu clan during the Qing dynasty. The clan had inhabited the Changbai Mountains since as early as the Liao dynasty. The clan was well known during the Qing dynasty for producing a variety ...

clan in December 1767

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Cheung Wai in ''

The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty ''The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty'' ( Chinese: 滿清十三皇朝) is a long-running four part television series about the history of the Qing dynasty. The series was produced by Hong Kong's ATV and was aired on ATV Home from September 1987 to ...

'' (1988) * Portrayed by Huang Yinxun in '' Legend of YungChing'' (1997) * Portrayed by Xu Zuming in ''

Yongzheng Dynasty ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on tele ...

'' (1999) * Portrayed by

Derek Kwok Derek Kwok Chi-kin (, born 10 October 1976) is a Hong Kong film director and screenwriter. He won the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards for Best New Director with his film ''The Moss''. Filmography Director *2007 ''The Pye-Dog'' *2008 ''The Moss'' ...

in '' The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow'' (2003) * Portrayed by

Chen Zhihui Chen Zhihui is a Chinese actor best known for playing supporting roles in various films and television series since the 1980s. Some of his more notable roles in film include: Master Chin in '' Jet Li's Fearless'' (2006); Zhang Fei in '' Three Kin ...

in '' Huang Taizi Mishi'' (2004) * Portrayed by Mao Zijun in ''

Palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'' (2011) * Portrayed by

Lin Gengxin Lin Gengxin (, born on February 13, 1988), also known as Kenny Lin, is a Chinese actor. Lin rose to fame for his role in ''Scarlet Heart'' (2011), and has starred in movies such as '' Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon'' (2013), '' My Old ...

in ''

Scarlet Heart ''Scarlet Heart'' (, lit. ''Startling by Each Step'') is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel '' Bu Bu Jing Xin'' by Tong Hua. It premiered in China on Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) on 10 September 2011. The series tells the s ...

'' (2011) * Portrayed by Wei Qianxiang in '' Palace II'' (2012) * Portrayed by Owen Cheung in '' Gilded Chopsticks'' (2014) *Portrayed by Xin Yun Lai in ''Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty'' (2019)

References

* *

External links

*
The Yongzheng Emperor's mystery succession and Yinti's involvement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yunti 1688 births 1755 deaths Kangxi Emperor's sons Manchu politicians Manchu Bordered Blue Bannermen Qing dynasty generals Generals from Beijing Prince Xun (恂)