Yixin (11January 1833– 29May 1898), better known in English as PrinceGong. or Kung, was an imperial prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and an important statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was a regent of the empire from 1861 to 1865 and wielded great influence at other times as well. He was one of the twelve iron cap princes of the Qing Dynasty.
Yixin was a man of great talent, excelling in both literature and martial skills, and was among the most capable members of the imperial family. However, he was never favored by his father, the Daoguang Emperor, to succeed to the throne, which meant he spent his life in the role of a political aide rather than a ruler. In 1860, during the Second Opium War, when the British and French forces invaded Beijing, Yixin was entrusted with negotiating peace and signed the Treaty of Beijing on behalf of the Qing court. In 1861, after the death of his elder brother, the Xianfeng Emperor, Yixin, in collaboration with Empress Dowager Cixi, launched the Xinyou Coup, seizing power from the eight regents appointed in the late emperor's will. He and Empress Dowager Cixi jointly took charge of the state affairs. In 1881, after the death of his supporter, Empress Dowager Ci'an, Yixin's position began to weaken. In 1884, Cixi removed him from all his positions, forcing him into political retirement. In 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Yixin was called back into service, and he died four years later in 1898.
Yixin was an important figure and leader of the Self-Strengthening Movement during the late Qing period. He supported figures like Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang, and Zeng Guofan in their efforts to modernize military industries, procure advanced weaponry, and promote the development of modern military infrastructure. He also helped establish the Zongli Yamen, which was responsible for foreign affairs, and set up Chinese embassies abroad. His diplomatic and modernization efforts gained the recognition of foreign powers. Yixin played a significant role in resolving the crises of the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion, and he actively promoted modernization, which led to a brief period of political stability and revitalization for the Qing government. However, his considerable influence and abilities often made him a target of the ruling elites and conservatives, leading to repeated conflicts with Emperor Xianfeng, Emperor Tongzhi, and Empress Dowager Cixi. As a result, his political career was marked by a series of ups and downs, ultimately ending with his complete dismissal.
Yixin's tomb is located in Changping District, Beijing. After his death, the title of Prince Gong was passed on to his eldest grandson, Puwei.
Names
Yixin is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of his Manchu name I-hin. He shared his surname Aisin Gioro with the other members of the Qing imperial family. His courtesy or art name was "Master of the Yuedao Hall" or "Hall of the Way of Music".
Kung is the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin pronunciation of the same Chinese character , now spelt Gōng in pinyin. It is not really a name but a part of a descriptive title — "The Respectful Prince of the Blood" — previously borne by Changning, the fifth son of the Shunzhi Emperor. The Chinese title translates literally as "king" but is usually understood as a "prince" in terms of the imperial Chinese nobility. Because Changning's rank had not been given "iron-cap" status, each generation of his descendants were reduced in rank unless they somehow proved themselves anew and earned a new title of their own. Yixin, however, was given "iron-cap" status and his direct heirs inherited his full title as well. In English, however, it is usually misunderstood as a name: PrinceKung in older sources and PrinceGong in newer ones. He was also sometimes known as the "Sixth Prince" or, less flatteringly, "Devil #6". He was posthumously known as "the Respectful and Loyal Prince of the Blood": Prince Kung-chung or Gongzhong.
Life Early life Yixin was born in the Aisin Gioro clan, the imperial clan of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, as the sixth son of the Daoguang Emperor.(恭忠親王奕訢，宣宗第六子。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221. He was the third son of his mother, Imperial Noble Consort Jing, who was from the Khorchin Mongol Borjigit clan.(孝靜成皇后，博爾濟吉特氏，刑部員外郎花良阿女。後事宣宗為靜貴人。累進靜皇貴妃。 ... 文宗即位，尊為皇考康慈皇貴太妃，居壽康宮。咸豐五年七月，太妃病篤，尊為康慈皇太后。越九日庚午，崩，年四十四。上謚，曰孝靜康慈弼天撫聖皇后，不系宣宗謚，不祔廟。葬慕陵東，曰慕東陵。 ... 子三：奕綱、奕繼、奕訢。女一，下嫁景壽。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 214. He studied in the imperial library and practised martial arts with his fourth brother, Yizhu. He created 28 qiang (spear) movements and 18 dao (sword) movements, which were respectively named "Lihua Xieli" (棣華協力) and "Bao'e Xuanwei" (寶鍔宣威) by his father. His father also gave him a White Rainbow Sword (白虹刀) as a gift.(與文宗同在書房，肄武事，共制槍法二十八勢、刀法十八勢，宣宗賜以名，槍曰「棣華協力」，刀曰「寶鍔宣威」，並以白虹刀賜奕訢。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
Yixin was mentored by Zhuo Bingtian (卓秉恬) and Jia Zhen (賈楨), two eminent scholar-officials who obtained the position of jinshi (進士; successful candidate) in the imperial examination in 1802 and 1826 respectively.Qing Shi Liezhuan vol. 40.(賈楨，字筠堂，山東黃縣人。 ... 十六年，入直上書房，授皇六子讀。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 390.
In 1850, when the Daoguang Emperor became critically ill, he summoned Zaiquan (載銓), Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sengge Rinchen, Mujangga, He Rulin (何汝霖), Chen Fu'en (陳孚恩) and Ji Zhichang (季芝昌) to Shende Hall (慎德堂) in the Old Summer Palace, where he revealed to them a secret edict he wrote previously. According to the edict, the Fourth Prince, Yizhu, would become the new emperor while Yixin, the Sixth Prince, would be made a qinwang (first-rank prince). He died on the same day.(丙午，上不豫。丁未，上疾大漸。召宗人府宗令載銓，御前大臣載垣、端華、僧格林沁，軍機大臣穆彰阿、賽尚阿、何汝霖、陳孚恩、季芝昌，總管內務府大臣文慶公啟鐍匣，宣示御書「皇四子立為皇太子」。是日，上崩於圓明園慎德堂苫次。硃諭「封皇六子奕訢為親王」。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 19. However, it is rumored that Yixin was the real successor emperor, and the secret decree have been tampered with.
Under the Xianfeng Emperor Yizhu ascended the throne in 1850 after the death of the Daoguang Emperor and adopted the regnal title "Xianfeng"; he is thus historically known as the Xianfeng Emperor. In accordance with their father's secret edict, the newly enthroned Xianfeng Emperor granted Yixin the title "Prince Gong of the First Rank" (恭親王) in the same year. In 1851, the Xianfeng Emperor established an office for Prince Gong, gave him permission to enter the inner imperial court, assigned him to be in charge of patrol and defence matters, and ordered him to continue carrying the White Rainbow Sword given to him by their father.(文宗即位，封為恭親王。咸豐二年四月，分府，命仍在內廷行走。內大臣辦理巡防，命仍佩白虹刀。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
In October 1853, as the Taiping rebels closed in on Jinan (畿南; the area south of the Hai River), Prince Gong was appointed to the Grand Council, which was in charge of military affairs. The following year, he received three additional appointments: dutong (都統; Banner Commander), you zongzheng (右宗正; Right Director of the Imperial Clan Court) and zongling (宗令; Head of the Imperial Clan Court). He was publicly praised in May 1855 after the Taiping rebels were driven out of Jinan.(三年九月，洪秀全兵逼畿南，以王署領侍命在軍機大臣上行走。四年，迭授都統、右宗正、宗令。五年四月，以畿輔肅清，予優叙。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
When Prince Gong's mother died in August 1855, the Xianfeng Emperor reprimanded Prince Gong for failing to observe court protocol and removed him from the Grand Council and his zongling and dutong appointments. However, Prince Gong was still permitted to enter the inner imperial court and the imperial library. He was restored to his position as a dutong in June 1856, and further appointed as an Interior Minister (內大臣) in May 1859.(七月，孝靜成皇后崩，上責王禮儀疏略，罷軍機大臣、宗令、都統，仍在內廷行走，上書房讀書。七年五月，復授都統。九年四月，授內大臣。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
Second Opium War
In September 1860, during the Second Opium War, as British and French forces closed in on the capital Beijing, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Zaiyuan and Muyin (穆廕) to negotiate for peace at Tongzhou with British and French officials. An Anglo-French delegation sent to negotiate with Chinese officials, which included Harry Smith Parkes and Henry Loch, was taken prisoner by soldiers led by Mongol general Sengge Rinchen during the negotiations. Rinchen then led mounted Mongol troops to attack a Franco-British force at the Battle of Palikao but was defeated. The Xianfeng Emperor recalled Zaiyuan and Muyin from Tongzhou, fled from Beijing with most members of his imperial court to Rehe Province, and appointed Prince Gong as an Imperial Commissioner with Discretion and Full Authority (欽差便宜行事全權大臣).(十年八月，英吉利、法蘭西兵逼京師，上命怡親王載垣、尚書穆廕與議和，誘執英使巴夏禮，與戰，師不利。文宗幸熱河，召回載垣、穆廕，授王欽差便宜行事全權大臣。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
Prince Gong moved to Changxindian (長辛店; in present-day Fengtai District, Beijing) and called for an assembly of the troops stationed there to enforce greater discipline and raise their morale. On one hand, Qinghui (慶惠) suggested to the Xianfeng Emperor to release Parkes and let Prince Gong continue negotiating. On the other hand, Yidao (義道) urged the emperor to surrender Beijing to the British and French. In the meantime, Anglo-French expeditionary forces captured the Old Summer Palace in the northwest of Beijing, which they proceeded to sack and burn.(王出駐長辛店，奏請飭統兵大臣激勵兵心，以維大局。克勤郡王慶惠等奏釋巴夏禮，趣王入城議和。英、法兵焚圓明園。豫親王義道等奏啟城，許英、法兵入。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
On 24 October 1860, Prince Gong concluded the negotiations with British, French and Russian officials, signing the Convention of Peking on behalf of the Qing dynasty. He subsequently wrote a memorial to the Xianfeng Emperor, requesting to be punished for signing an unequal treaty. The emperor replied, "The responsibility assigned to Prince Gong to carry on peace negotiations is not an easy one to shoulder. I deeply understand the difficult situation he was put into. There is no need to punish him." Prince Gong settled the diplomatic affairs in Beijing by the end of 1860.(王入城與議和，定約，悉從英、法人所請，奏請降旨宣示，並自請議處。上諭曰：「恭親王辦理撫局，本屬不易。朕深諒苦衷，毋庸議處。」十二月，奏通商善後諸事。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
In 1861, Prince Gong set up the Zongli Yamen, which functioned as the Qing government's de facto foreign affairs ministry, and placed Guiliang (桂良) and Wenxiang in charge of it. He wrote a memorial to the Xianfeng Emperor, proposing to enhance the training of Banner Troops in Beijing and let Qing troops stationed in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces train with the Imperial Russian Army and stockpile military supplies. The generals Shengbao (勝保), Jingchun (景淳) and others were ordered to oversee training of Qing troops stationed in Beijing and northeast China.(初設總理各國事務衙門，命王與大學士桂良、侍郎文祥領其事。王疏請訓練京師旗兵，並以吉林、黑龍江與俄羅斯相議練兵籌餉。上命都統勝保議練京兵，將軍景淳等議練東三省兵。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
Under the Tongzhi Emperor
Xinyou Coup Before the Xianfeng Emperor died in August 1861 in the Chengde Mountain Resort, he appointed a group of eight regents – led by Zaiyuan, Duanhua and Sushun – to assist his underage son and successor, Zaichun. Yixin's flexible attitude towards dealing with the Western powers had put him at odds with the eight regents, who were politically conservative and opposed to Western influence. Upon request, Prince Gong was granted permission to travel to Chengde to attend the funeral. In Chengde, he met the Empress Dowagers Ci'an and Cixi and told them about how the eight regents monopolised state power. When the Xianfeng Emperor's coffin arrived back in Beijing in November 1861, Prince Gong and the two empress dowagers launched a coup – historically known as the Xinyou Coup (辛酉政變) – to oust the eight regents from power. The regents were arrested and removed from their positions of power.(十一年七月，文宗崩，王請奔赴，兩太后召見，諭以贊襄政務王大臣載垣、端華、肅順等擅政狀。) Qing Shi Gao vol. 221.
As Prince-Regent