Yongqi (23 March 1741 – 16 April 1766),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Junting,

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

Tengqin Jushi, formally known as Prince Rong, 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 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 the fifth son of 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 ...

. Arguably the most outstanding among the Qianlong Emperor's sons, he was, at one point, considered by his father as a potential heir to the throne. However, he died prematurely at the age of 25.

Life

Yongqi was born 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 fifth son of the

. His mother was Noble Consort Yu (愉貴妃), who was from the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

Keliyete (珂里葉特) clan. Yongqi was studious and diligent from a young age. Every day, of all the princes, he was the earliest to reach the palace study to attend classes. He had a close relationship with his younger brother, Yongyan. Yongqi was talented - he was fluent in the

and

languages, he was versed in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

calendrical calculation A calendrical calculation is a calculation concerning calendar dates. Calendrical calculations can be considered an area of applied mathematics. Some examples of calendrical calculations: * Converting a Julian or Gregorian calendar date to its Ju ...

. One of his works was the ''Jiaotong Tenggao'' (蕉桐幐稿). Yongqi was versed in

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, and

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. He was also skilled in horse-riding and mounted archery. His talents earned him the favour of his father, the Qianlong Emperor. In 1763, a fire broke out in 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 ...

, and Yongqi carried his father on his back and brought him to safety. Two years later, the Qianlong Emperor conferred Yongqi the title " Prince Rong of the First Rank", making Yongqi the first of the Qianlong Emperor's sons to officially receive a princely title. Besides the Chinese character "Rong" (榮) in the title literally means "glory" or "honour", which showed that the Qianlong Emperor had high hopes for Yongqi. Yongqi died in 1766 after suffering from bone

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

for several months. He was already ill when he was made "Prince Rong". He was granted the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

"Chun" (純; "pure"), so his full posthumous title was extended to "Prince Rongchun of the First Rank" (榮純親王).

Tomb

Yongqi was buried with the Qianlong Emperor's eldest son, Yonghuang (永璜; 1728–1750), who also died in his 20s. The tomb, sometimes referred to as the "Crown Prince Tomb" (太子陵), is located in northern part of eastern

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 ...

near Bulaotun Town (不老屯鎮). In 1958 the tomb was demolished to make way for the construction of the Miyun Reservoir (密雲水庫). Its contents were carefully excavated and transferred to the Capital Museum.

Former residence

Yongqi and his descendants were merged under the Bordered Red Banner 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 househol ...

. Yongqi's house later became the residence of Prince Chun in the later part of the

. A Prince Rong Residence is located in the southwest of present-day

at Xuanwu Gate on the west side of Taiping Lake.

Appraisal

Yongqi's mother was not one of the highly ranked consorts of the

, but yet Yongqi was instated as a Prince of the First Rank, and there were signs that the emperor had considered designating Yongqi as his heir. Another two princes, Yonglian and Yongcong, became first-rank princes because they were born to

Empress Xiaoxianchun Empress Xiaoxianchun (28 March 1712 – 8 April 1748) of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Fuca clan was an imperial consort of the Qing dynasty. She was the first wife of the Qianlong Emperor. Life Family background Empress Xiaoxianchun's p ...

. As such it was believed that the Qianlong Emperor truly favoured and loved Yongqi. Yongqi was the most outstanding of the Qianlong Emperor's sons and the best choice to succeed his father, but it was unfortunate that he died at a young age of 25. In 1793, when the Qianlong Emperor met British envoy George Macartney he told the latter that he regarded Yongqi highly because of his many talents, and that it was a pity that he died early.

Family

Primary Consort * Imperial Princess Consort Rongchun, of the

Sirin Gioro Sirin Gioro ( mnc, ᠰᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡤᡳᠣᡵᠣ, ) was a clan of the Manchu nobility, one of the prominent Gioro family. The other clans of Gioro Hala were Aisin Gioro, the ruling clan from 1616 to 1912, Irgen Gioro and Šušu Gioro. The clan ...

clan (榮純亲王妃西林覺羅氏) ** ''Sixth son'' (9 November 1765 – 29 November 1765) Secondary Consort * Secondary consort, of the Socoro clan (側福晉索綽羅氏) ** ''First son'' (4 July 1759 – 7 July 1759) ** ''Third son'' (12 January 1762 – 19 August 1763) ** ''Fourth son'' (10 September 1764 – 4 November 1764) ** Mianyi, Prince Rongke of the Second Rank (榮恪郡王綿億; 10 September 1764 – 14 April 1815), fifth son Concubine * Mistress, of the Hu clan (胡氏) ** ''Second son'' (3 March 1760) ** Lady of the Second Rank (縣君; 16 June 1762 – 9 December 1780), first daughter *** Married Wangqinbanba'er (旺親班巴爾; 1755–1804) of the Alxa Borjigit clan in January/February 1780 ** ''Second daughter'' (3 February 1764 – 14 January 1765) * Mistress Ru (d. 1766)

In fiction and popular culture

* Portrayed by Alec Su in ''

My Fair Princess ''My Fair Princess'', also known as ''Return of the Pearl Princess'' or ''Princess Returning Pearl'' (), is a Chinese-language period drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) of Taiwan and Hunan Economic Televisio ...

'' (1998) * Portrayed by

Leo Ku Leo Ku Kui-kei (born ), founder of ChillGOOD TV, is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was nam ...

in '' My Fair Princess III'' (2003) * Portrayed by Zhang Rui in '' New My Fair Princess'' (2011) * Portrayed by Chen Youwei in ''

Story of Yanxi Palace ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. It was created by Yu Zheng, with original screenplay written by Zhou Mo, and later developed into a ...

'' (2018) * Portrayed by Qu Chuxiao in ''

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace ''Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series based on the novel ''Inner Palace: The Legend of Ruyi'' by Liu Lianzi. Starring Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo, it chronicles the marital relationship between the Qianlong Emp ...

'' (2018)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yongqi Qianlong Emperor's sons Manchu Bordered Red Bannermen Manchu politicians 1741 births 1766 deaths Qing dynasty government officials Qing dynasty calligraphers Qing dynasty poets Qing dynasty painters Painters from Beijing Poets from Beijing 18th-century Chinese writers Qing dynasty imperial princes Prince Rong