Prince Guo

Prince Guo of the First Rank (Manchu: ᡩᠣᡵᠣᠨ
ᠠᠮᠪᠠᠯᡳ
ᠴᡳᠨ ᠸᠠᠩ; hošoi kengse cin wang), or simply Prince Guo, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Guo peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank vis-à-vis that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than a feng'en fuguo gong except under special circumstances.

The first bearer of the title was Yunli (1697–1738), the 17th son of the Kangxi Emperor. In 1723, he was awarded the status of a junwang (prince of the second rank) by his fourth brother, the Yongzheng Emperor, who succeeded their father. Yunli was known as "Prince Guo of the Second Rank". In 1728, he was promoted to a qinwang (prince of the first rank), hence he was known as "Prince Guo of the First Rank". The title was passed down over eight generations and was held by ten persons.

Members of the Prince Guo peerage

Yunli (1697–1738), the first Prince Guo

• Yunli (1697–1738), the Kangxi Emperor's 17th son, was a junwang from 1723 to 1728, promoted to qinwang in 1728, posthumously honoured as Prince Guoyi of the First Rank (果毅親王)
  • Hongyan (弘曕; 1733–1765), the Yongzheng Emperor's sixth son, adopted by Yunli as his heir, initially a qinwang from 1738 to 1763, demoted to a beile in 1763 but promoted to a junwang in 1765, posthumously honoured as Prince Guogong of the Second Rank (果恭郡王)
    • Yongtu (永瑹; 1752–1789), Hongyan's eldest son, held a junwang title from 1765 to 1789, posthumously honoured as Prince Guojian of the Second Rank (果簡郡王)
      • Miancong (綿從; 1772–1791), Yongtu's eldest son, held the status of a beile from 1790 to 1791
    • Yongcan (永璨; 1753–1810), Hongyan's second son, held the title of a first class zhenguo jiangjun from 1775 to 1800
      • Mianlü (綿律; 1774–1832), Yongcan's eldest son and Yongtu's adoptive son, held a beile title from 1791 to 1806, stripped of his title in 1806
      • Miantong (綿㣚; 1783–1833), Yongcan's third son, held a beizi title from 1806 to 1833
        • Yixiang (奕湘; 1796–1881), Mianlü's eldest son and Miancong's adoptive son, held the title of a feng'en zhenguo gong from 1833 to 1872, awarded beizi status but not a beizi title in 1872, posthumously honoured as Duke Keshen Who Receives Grace and Guards the State (奉恩鎮國恪慎公)
          • Zaikun (載坤; 1834–1890), Yixiang's eldest son, held the title of a fuguo jiangjun from 1857 to 1876, stripped of his title in 1876
          • Zaizhuo (載卓; 1849–1907), Yixiang's third son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1881 to 1907
            • Puyan (溥閻; 1884–1918), Zaizhuo's eldest son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1907 to 1918
              • Yuting (毓鋌; b. 1919), Puzhen's son and Puyan's adoptive son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1918 to 1945
        • Yiwen (奕雯), Miantong's eldest son, held the title of a second class zhenguo jiangjun from 1833 to 1862
          • Zaipin (載品), Yiwen's eldest son, held the title of a third class zhenguo jiangjun from 1862 to 1904
            • Putang (溥棠), Zaipin's eldest son, held the title of a fengguo jiangjun from 1905 to 1945

Family tree

See also

• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

References

• Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao). Volume 220. China.