Zaitao (23 June 1887 – 2 September 1970),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Shuyuan,

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

Yeyun, was a

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 ...

prince of the

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 ...

. He was a half-brother of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

and an uncle of

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, the last Emperor of China.

Biography

Zaitao was born in the

Aisin Gioro The House of Aisin-Gioro was 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 c ...

clan as the seventh son of Yixuan (Prince Chun). His family was under the

Plain Red Banner The Plain Red Banner () was one of the Eight Banners (lower five Banners) of Manchu military and society organization during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. Famous members included: * Daišan * Wenxiang * Heshen, Clan Niohuru, consider ...

of the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu language, Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu people, Manchu households ...

. He was adopted by an older male relative, Yimo (奕謨; 1850–1905), who had no son to succeed him. In 1890, during the reign of the

, Zaitao was granted the title of a second class . He was promoted to a in 1894. In 1898, Zaitao was transferred from Yimo's lineage to the lineage of Yihe (奕詥; 1844–1868), Prince Zhong of the Second Rank, as Yihe's adopted son because Yihe had no son to succeed him. He was made an acting in the same year. In 1902, he was promoted to . In December 1908, Zaitao was made an acting (second-rank prince), even though nominally he still remained as a . In the same year, he and Tieliang (鐵良) were appointed as (總司稽察; a type of inspector-official). A year later, during the reign of the

Xuantong Emperor Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, Zaitao was put in charge of the Military Consultancy (軍諮處). In 1910, he visited eight countries – Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Russia – to observe and learn from their more advanced armed forces. In May 1910, he was sent to Britain as an ambassador to represent the Qing Empire at the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

. In 1911, Zaitao was appointed as the Minister of the Military Consultancy (軍諮大臣) and placed in charge of the Imperial Guard (禁衛軍), as well as being appointed as chief of general staff. Esherick (2013), p. 190 He was also designated as the commander of the Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner. In January 1912, after the fall of the Qing Empire, Zaitao, along with Zaixun and others from the imperial clan, founded the

Royalist Party The Royalist Party, officially the Society for Monarchical Constitutionalism, was a monarchist political party and militant organization active in China during the early Republican Era. Supported by the Empire of Japan, its members sought to re ...

(宗社黨) to preserve their ancestral temple. In 1917, when the warlord

Zhang Xun Zhang Xun (; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (), art name Songshoulaoren (), nickname Bianshuai (, ), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manchu ...

briefly restored

to the throne, Zaitao was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Imperial Guards. In 1931, Zaitao was recruited by the Nationalist Government of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

to join the National Crisis Conference (國難會議). After the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

was established in 1949, Zaitao served as a member of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2, ...

and

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. Zaitao fancied horses. In his early years, he studied cavalry warfare in the Saumur Cavalry School in France. After 1949, he served as a consultant on horses in the artillery formation of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he went to

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

to choose horses for the People’s Volunteer Army. Zaitao was also interested in

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

. He was trained in both long and short range types of performing martial arts, and specialised in playing monkey roles in opera. He was tutored by Yang Xiaolou (楊小樓) and Zhang Qilin (張淇林). Opera actor Li Wanchun (李萬春) trained under Zaitao for three years. Zaitao died in Beijing in 1970 at the age of 83.

Family

Wife * Wife, of the Jiang clan (; 1885–1949), personal name Wanzhen () ** ''First son'' (1905) ** ''First daughter'' (b. 6 March 1906) ** Second daughter (24 December 1906 – 1969), personal name Yunhui () *** Married

Darijaya Darijaya (1904–1968) was an Inner Mongolian nobleman of Alxa League and a politician under the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and People's Republic of China governments. Names Darijaya's Mongolian name was transcribed into C ...

(1904–1968) of the Alxa Borjigit clan in 1925, and had issue (one son, six daughters) ** Pujia (; 1908–1979), second son ** Pu'an (; 1911–1944), third son ** Pushen (; 1915–1928), fourth son Concubine * Concubine, of the Zhou clan (; b. 1894), personal name Mengyun () ** Puxi (; 1924–1983), fifth son * Concubine, of the Jin clan (; 1906–1967), personal name Xiaolan () ** Pushi (; b. 1940), sixth son * Concubine, of the Wang clan (; 1917–2003), personal name Naiwen ()

Biography

Family

Ancestry

Gallery

See also

Sources

References

Further reading