Zaixun (24 January 1853 – 21 February 1901), formally known as Prince Zhuang, 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 is best known for his involvement in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

Life

Zaixun 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 second son of Yiren (奕仁; 1824–1874), the ninth successor to the Prince Zhuang peerage, one of the 12 " iron-cap" princely peerages of the Qing dynasty. Born during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, Zaixun initially held the title of a ''fuguo gong''. In 1875, during the reign of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

, he was promoted to ''qinwang'' (first-rank prince), and inherited the title "Prince Zhuang of the First Rank" (莊親王) from his father. In 1900, Zaixun strongly advocated making use of the Righteous and Harmonious Society (or "Boxers") to counter foreign aggression. The following year, after

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

issued the Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers, war broke out between the Qing Empire and

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

, leading to the

. Zaixun and Gangyi were placed in command of Boxer groups to fight the foreigners. Zaixun had an altar set up in his residence, while he personally donned garments similar to those of the Boxers. Not long afterwards he was appointed as the Nine Gates Infantry Commander, and he gave out rewards for the capture and killing of foreigners. All the Boxers throughout China first gathered in Zaixun's residence after arriving in

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 receive their respective missions. When Beijing fell to the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

in western China. She was accompanied by Zaixun, who took on the post of Camp Inspecting Minister (查營大臣). 1,700 Boxers in Zaixun's residence were killed by foreign soldiers. During the negotiations for the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

, Zaixun was accused of being one of the masterminds of the Boxer Rebellion by the foreign powers. In 1901, he was impeached and stripped of his titles, and on February 21 he committed suicide by hanging himself in Puzhou (present-day Yongji,

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

).http://www.bjxch.gov.cn/pub/xch_wenziban/B/xcly/xcly_4/200812/t20081209_1131407.html 平安里的诞生日就是辉煌了十三代的庄王府覆灭时 Zaixun's residence previously belonged to

Liu Jin Liu Jin (1451–1510) was a Chinese eunuch who held significant power in the government of the Zhengde Emperor of the Ming dynasty from 1506 to 1510. He was part of a group of eunuchs known as the " Eight Tigers" who had served the Zhengde Emperor ...

, a court eunuch of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. The house was destroyed when the armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing. During the early Republican era, it was purchased by the warlord Li Chun (李純) and shifted to

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, where a Li Family Shrine (now the Nankai Cultural Palace 南開文化宮) was built.

Family

Consorts and issue: * Primary consort, of the Wuliyahan clan, daughter of prince of the second rank Seboke Dorji * Step consort, of the Magiya clan, daughter of Shaoqi * Secondary consort, of the Huanggiya clan, daughter of Qiming * Mistress, of the Huang clan, daughter of Huang Sheng * Mistress, of the Song clan, daughter of Changming Issue: # Pugang (溥纲), lesser bulwark duke # Puqi (溥绮) # Pushen (溥绅) # Puji (溥继) # Pujian (溥缄), a sixth rank literary official (笔贴式, pinyin:bitieshi) # Pujing (溥经), a sixth rank literary official (笔贴式) # Pushao (溥绍), a sixth rank literary official (笔贴式)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaixun Qing dynasty imperial princes Chinese people of the Boxer Rebellion 1853 births 1901 deaths Suicides by hanging in China Suicides in the Qing dynasty Forced suicides of Chinese people Prince Zhuang

Life

Family

See also

References