Yongji (prince)
| Yongji | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beile 貝勒 | |||||
| Born | 7 June 1752 Beijing, China | ||||
| Died | 17 March 1776 (aged 23) Beijing, China | ||||
| Burial | Zhuahuashan, Eastern Qing tombs | ||||
| Consort | Lady Borjigit | ||||
| |||||
| House | Aisin Gioro | ||||
| Father | Qianlong Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Empress Nara | ||||
Yongji (Chinese: 永璂; 7 June 1752–17 March 1776) was a Qing dynasty imperial prince and poet. He was the twelfth son of the Qianlong Emperor and the son of the Step Empress, Lady Nara. Despite being a legitimate son of the emperor and empress, his life changed dramatically after his mother's sudden fall from favor. As a result, he became politically marginalized and never received a noble title during his lifetime.
Early life and background
Aisin-Gioro Yongji was born on 7 June 1752 in the Forbidden City. At the time of his birth, his mother, the Step Empress of the Ula-Nara clan, was in favor with the Qianlong Emperor. The emperor reportedly had high expectations for his son and personally chose the name "Yongji" (永璂). The character Ji (璂) refers to a jade ornament associated with a ruler's ceremonial crown.[1]
Yongji received a traditional education as an imperial prince. The scholar and historian Qian Daxin (钱大昕) was later appointed as one of his tutors and praised the prince's character and abilities, describing him as having "a pure nature and exceptional qualities" (天资淳粹，至性过人).
Mother's disgrace and loss of favor
During the Qianlong Emperor's fourth southern inspection tour in 1765, the Step Empress suddenly cut her hair, an act considered a serious taboo in Manchu culture. The emperor reacted strongly, placing her under house arrest and removing her imperial authority. She died the following year, when Yongji was fourteen years old.[2][3]
Following his mother's fall from favor, Yongji's position at court declined significantly. Unlike several of his brothers, he was never granted a princely title and spent his life as an untitled member of the imperial clan (闲散宗室). In 1770, at the age of nineteen, Yongji married his primary consort, a woman of the Borjigit clan from the Abaga Right Banner.[4]
Literary works
Although Yongji did not play a major political role, he took part in scholarly activities. The Qianlong Emperor assigned him to help compile the general index of the Yuzhi Manmeng Wenjian (御制满蒙文鉴总纲), a Manchu–Mongolian dictionary. When the work was submitted in 1775, the emperor pointed out several errors but still acknowledged Yongji's contribution. Yongji was also interested in poetry. He left a collection of poems called Rike Shigao (日课诗稿), which includes his poems and literary notes.[5]
Death and legacy
Yongji died of illness on 17 March 1776 at the age of 23. Because of his mother's fall from favor, his funeral was held according to the standards of an imperial duke rather than a prince. He was buried at the Zhuahuashan (朱华山) princely garden tombs outside the Eastern Qing Tombs.[6]
Because Yongji died without producing an heir, the Qianlong Emperor ordered that Miansi (绵偲), the biological fourth son of Yongji's older half-brother Prince Yongcheng, be adopted into Yongji's lineage to continue his family line.[7]
After the death of the Qianlong Emperor, Yongji's status was partly restored. In 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor posthumously granted him the rank of Doroi beile (多罗贝勒) and revised his spirit tablet to reflect the honor.[4][8]
Scholarly interpretations
Scholars note that Yongji's alienation from the throne may have begun earlier than his mother's disgrace in 1765. Palace Museum researcher Wang Zhiwei notes that despite the Qianlong Emperor's strong desire to pass the throne to a legitimate son born of an empress (立嫡情结), the emperor showed no inclination to favor Yongji even in 1763, instead focusing his attention on other princes such as Yongyan.[9]
Historian Bai Xinliang argues that Yongji was a prime example of Qianlong's strict implementation of guilt by association within the imperial family. Despite committing no personal political offenses, Yongji was implicitly disqualified from the succession and "silently forced out of the competition" entirely because of his mother's loss of imperial favor.[10]
Scholar Wang Miansen notes that Yongji's lack of a noble title and his lower-ranking funeral were the result of his reduced status after his mother's fall from favor. According to Wang, this also reduced the standing of his branch of the Aisin-Gioro clan.[11]
In popular culture
- Portrayed by Shao Cong in the 1999 television series My Fair Princess II.
- Portrayed by Wu Tiezheng in the 2011 television series New My Fair Princess.
- Portrayed by Sun Ao in the 2018 television series Story of Yanxi Palace.
- Portrayed by Xu Lingchen in the 2018 television series Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace.
- Portrayed by Kang Naixing in the 2022 television series Lord Jiaqing's Tour of Taiwan (嘉慶君遊台灣).
References
- ↑ 赵尔巽 (Zhao Erxun) (1928). "列传八：诸王七 (Biographies 8: Princes 7)". 清史稿 (Draft History of Qing) (in Chinese). Vol. 221.
- ↑ 王冕森 (Wang Miansen) (2022). 清代后妃杂识 (Miscellaneous Records of Qing Dynasty Empresses and Consorts) (in Chinese). 上海社会科学院出版社 (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press). p. 16. ISBN 9787552038200.
- ↑ "如懿斷髮害慘兒！永璂遭乾隆狠心厭棄 23歲離世下場悲涼 | 娛樂星聞". SET News (in Traditional Chinese). 2 December 2020.
- 1 2 "乾隆帝生命中的三个女人：一个真有福，一个真凄惨，一个升级不打怪". Shanghai Observer (in Chinese). 解放日报社. 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ 大清高宗纯皇帝实录 (Veritable Records of the Qianlong Emperor) (in Chinese). Vol. 982. 中华书局 (Zhonghua Book Company). 1986.
- ↑ 徐广源 (1997). 清东陵史话 [History of the Eastern Qing Tombs] (in Chinese). 紫禁城出版社. p. 57.
- ↑ 赵尔巽 (Zhao Erxun) (1928). "列传八：诸王七 (Biographies 8: Princes 7)". 清史稿 (Draft History of Qing) (in Chinese). Vol. 221.
乾隆四十一年，卒。嘉庆四年三月，追封贝勒。以成亲王子绵偲为后。
- ↑ "十二阿哥永璂：乾隆嫡子为何一生未获封爵？". 快资讯 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ 王志伟 (Wang Zhiwei). "故宫博物院藏长春园思永斋御容画像辨析 (Analysis of the Imperial Portraits in Siyongzhai of the Changchun Garden Collected by the Palace Museum)" (in Chinese). Palace Museum.
乾隆帝有着强烈的立嫡情结... 乾隆二十八年，第二任皇后那拉氏和其子皇十二子永璂尚在，但乾隆帝并没有表现出对这位继起嫡子的青睐。 (Emperor Qianlong had a strong complex about establishing a legitimate heir... In the 28th year of Qianlong, the second empress Nara and her son, the 12th prince Yongji, were still alive, but Emperor Qianlong showed no favor toward this succeeding legitimate son.)
- ↑ 白新良 (Bai Xinliang) (2025-02-14). "没有太子的王朝，乾隆如何选接班人？ (A Dynasty Without a Crown Prince: How Did Qianlong Choose a Successor?)". 澎湃新闻 (The Paper) (in zh)).
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ 王冕森 (Wang Miansen) (2022). 清代后妃杂识 (Miscellaneous Records of Qing Dynasty Empresses and Consorts) (in Chinese). 上海社会科学院出版社 (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press). ISBN 9787552038200.