 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
| Yixin, Prince Gong | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Issue | |
| Zaicheng (載澂) Zaiying (載瀅) |
|
| Full name | |
| Aisin-Gioro Yixin 愛新覺羅·奕訢 | |
| Posthumous name | |
| Loyal Prince Gong (恭忠親王) |
|
| Father | Daoguang Emperor |
| Mother | Empress Xiao-Jing |
| Born | 11 January 1833 Beijing |
| Died | 29 May 1898 (aged 65) Beijing |
The 1st Prince Gong (simplified Chinese: 恭亲王; traditional Chinese: 恭親王; pinyin: Gōng Qīnwáng; Wade-Giles: Prince Kung) (11 January 1833-29 May 1898), commonly known in his days as the Sixth Prince (六王爺), was born Yixin (simplified Chinese: 奕欣; traditional Chinese: 奕訢; pinyin: Yìxīn; Wade-Giles: I-hsin, Manchu: Isin), of the Aisin-Gioro clan (the Manchu imperial clan of the ruling Qing Dynasty). He was in charge of governing China in the 1860s and 1870s. He is remembered for being an advocate of maintaining strong ties with Westerners and his attempts to modernise China.[verification needed]
He was popularly nicknamed "devil number six" (Chinese: 鬼子六) in Chinese, in reference to his frequent contacts with Westerners (the "foreign devils").[verification needed] He was posthumously granted the character of Zhong (忠 - meaning "loyal") so his official title became Loyal Prince Gong (simplified Chinese: 恭忠亲王; traditional Chinese: 恭忠親王; pinyin: Gōng Zhōng Qīnwáng).
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Prince Gong was the sixth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was the Imperial Consort Jing, the daughter of a Mongolian court official from the Borjigid clan.
In February 1850, the Daoguang Emperor revealed his secret edict of succession to the throne before his death.[verification needed] Yixin was granted the title of Prince Gong of the First Order while his older half-brother Yizhu was proclaimed as the heir to the throne. Yizhu ascended to the throne as the Xianfeng Emperor the next month. Prince Gong did not play any major role in politics during Xianfeng's reign. Prince Gong's mother was granted the title of Dowager Concubine instead of Empress Dowager.[verification needed]
During the Xianfeng Emperor's reign
In 1860, during the Second Opium War, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Prince Gong to remain in the capital city of Beijing to negotiate with the British and French armies while he moved with the Imperial Court to the Rehe Traveling Palace northeast of Beijing.
Prince Gong successfully negotiated in the Convention of Peking[verification needed] with the Western powers and obtained an influential position for his achievement and control over the military forces of Beijing. On 22 August 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor died in Rehe. The 5-year-old son of the Noble Consort Yi ascended to the throne as the Tongzhi Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor appointed six senior court officials and two princes with Sushun as their leader to act as the ruling regents for the new emperor before his death.
As Prince-Regent
In November 1861, Prince Gong had a secret meeting with the Noble Consort Yi. He was the key figure in masterminding the Xinyou Coup to remove Sushun and the regents from power. The regents escorting the Xianfeng Emperor's coffin back to the Forbidden City were intercepted upon arrival and arrested by palace guards. Sushun was executed, the two princes were ordered to commit suicide and the other five regents were stripped of their power.[verification needed]
The Noble Consort Yi became the co-regent of the government and changed her title to Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager Ci'an was also appointed as a co-regent. Prince Gong was appointed as Prince-Regent and placed in charge of important state affairs, including control over the Grand Council.
In 1861, Prince Gong established the Zongli Yamen, which functioned as the Qing Empire's de facto foreign ministry. As the long-term leader of the organisation, Prince Gong was responsible for spearheading the various reforms during the early Self-Strengthening Movement. He founded the Tongwen Guan in 1862 for Chinese scholars to study foreign languages and technology.
Fall from power
Prince Gong remained as the central figure of power in Qing China until the 1880s when he was demoted after he was accused of behaving rudely in the presence of the two empress dowagers.[verification needed] His demotion was said to be actually the consequence of his deteriorating relations with Empress Dowager Cixi. Besides, Prince Gong had aspired to be a sole-regent of the government while Cixi was unwilling to give up her power.
Prince Gong lost considerable prestige and his title of Prince-Regent after being chastised twice by Cixi and his discredit from the Qing defeat in the Sino-French War of 1884-1885. He was also overshadowed by his younger half-brother 1st Prince Chun, who maintained closer relations with Cixi.
Evaluation
|
|
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) |
In the 20th century, Prince Gong was vilified by the Chinese for a long time as the man responsible for "selling" the country to the Western powers through his various reforms and talks with the powers.[verification needed] In recent years, perceptions of him have changed and he is recognised as an exemplary statesman of equal calibre as Li Hongzhang.
Some historians claim that Prince Gong took a more active role in the Xinyou Coup in 1861. Sterling Seagrave claimed in Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China that Chinese historical records showed that the Xianfeng Emperor had appointed the two empress dowagers (Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an) as the Tongzhi Emperor's regents in accordance with imperial tradition. The eight regents led by Sushun had self-appointed themselves as co-regents for the emperor and handed only one imperial seal to Ci'an and kept the other for themselves.
Prince Gong was aware that the xenophobic attitudes of the eight regents would lead to China's doom by adversely affecting China's relations with the Western powers. Thus, he enlisted the assistance of the two empress dowagers to remove the eight regents from power.
Prince Gong's Mansion
A former residence of Prince Gong is now a museum (恭王府) open to the public.
Modern references
Prince Gong's biography is adapted for a TV series entitled Sigh of His Highness in 2006, starring Chen Baoguo as Prince Gong.[citation needed]
|
Yixin, 1st Prince Gong
Born: 11 January 1833 Died: 29 May 1898 |
||
| Preceded by Title created |
Prince Gong 1850-1898 |
Succeeded by Puwei |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
