Prince Shen

Prince Shen of the Second Rank, or simply Prince Shen, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). It was renamed to "Prince Zhi of the Second Rank" in 1772 and upgraded to Prince Zhi of the First Rank (or simply Prince Zhi) in 1789.

Since the 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 Yunxi (允禧; 1711–1758), the 21st son of the Kangxi Emperor. In 1735, Yunxi was granted the title "Prince Shen of the Second Rank" by his nephew, the Qianlong Emperor. As his two sons died early, Yunxi adopted the Qianlong Emperor's sixth son, Yongrong (1744–1790), as his grandson. Yongrong inherited the peerage in 1772 as "Prince Zhi of the Second Rank" and was promoted to a qinwang (first-rank prince) in 1789. The title was passed down over eight generations and held by eight persons.

Members of the Prince Shen peerage

• Yunxi (允禧; 1711–1758), the Kangxi Emperor's 21st son, initially a beizi, promoted to beile, held the title Prince Shen of the Second Rank between 1735 and 1758, posthumously honoured as Prince Shenjing of the Second Rank (慎靖郡王)
  • Hong'ang (弘昴; 1728–1742), Yunxi's first son
  • Hongxun (弘旬; 1731–1749), Yunxi's second son
    • Yongrong (1744–1790), the Qianlong Emperor's sixth son and Yunxi's adopted grandson, initially a beile, promoted to junwang in 1772, held the title Prince Zhi of the First Rank from 1789 to 1790, posthumously honoured as Prince Zhizhuang of the First Rank (質莊親王)
      • Mianqing (綿慶; 1779–1804), Yongrong's fifth son, held the title Prince Zhi of the Second Rank from 1790 to 1804, posthumously honoured as Prince Zhike of the Second Rank (質恪郡王)
        • Yiqi (奕綺; 1802–1842), Mianqing's eldest son, held the title of a beile from 1809 to 1839, stripped of his title in 1839, posthumously restored of his title in 1842
          • Zaihua (載華; 1829–1888), Yilun's 11th son and Yiqi's adopted son, held the title of a beizi from 1845 to 1865, stripped of his title in 1865
            • Putai (溥泰; 1848–?), Zaigang's eldest son and Zaihua's successor, initially a first class fuguo jiangjun from 1868 to 1882, promoted to feng'en zhenguo gong in 1882, stripped of his title in 1883
            • Puling (溥齡; 1849–1897), Zaigang's second son and Putai's successor, initially a first class fuguo jiangjun from 1872 to 1883, promoted to feng'en zhenguo gong in 1883
            • Pulin (溥霖; 1852–1884), Zaigang's fourth son, held the title of a first class fuguo jiangjun from 1872 to 1884, had no male heir
            • Puliang (溥量; 1866–?), Zaigang's seventh son, held the title of a fuguo jiangjun from 1887
              • Yuheng (毓亨; 1875–?), Puling's eldest son, held the title of a feng'en zhenguo gong from 1897

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.