Prince Rui (瑞)

Zaiyi (1856–1922), the third in the Prince Rui line

Zaixun (1885–1949), the fourth in the Prince Rui line

Prince Rui of the First Rank (Manchu: ᡥᠣᡧᠣᡳ
ᠰᠠᠪᡳᠩᡤᠠ
ᠴᡳᠨ ᠸᠠᠩ; hošoi sabingga cin wang), or simply Prince Rui, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Rui 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 Mianxin (綿忻; 1805–1828), the Jiaqing Emperor's fourth son, who was made "Prince Rui of the First Rank" in 1819. It was briefly renamed to Prince Duan of the Second Rank (Prince Duan) between 1894 and 1900 when Zaiyi inherited the title. The title was passed down over three generations and held by four persons.

Members of the Prince Rui peerage

• Mianxin (綿忻; 1805–1828), the Jiaqing Emperor's fourth son, held the title Prince Rui of the First Rank from 1819 to 1828, posthumously honoured as Prince Ruihuai of the First Rank (瑞懷親王)
  • Yizhi (奕誌; 1827–1850), Mianxin's eldest son, held the title Prince Rui of the Second Rank from 1828 to 1850, posthumously honoured as Prince Ruimin of the Second Rank (瑞敏郡王)
    • Zaiyi (1856–1922), Yicong's second son and Yizhi's adopted son, held the title of a beile from 1861 to 1894, made an acting junwang in 1889, succeeded Yizhi under the title "Prince Duan of the Second Rank" in 1894, stripped of his title in 1900
    • Zaixun (1885–1949), Yixuan's sixth son and Yizhi's adopted son, initially a buru bafen fuguo gong from 1887 to 1889, promoted to feng'en fuguo gong in 1889 and feng'en zhenguo gong in 1890, made a beile in 1902 and an acting junwang in 1908

Family tree

•   - Title bearers
•   - Emperors

		adoption
																Jiaqing Emperor
								2																4
								Daoguang Emperor																Mianxin 綿忻 1 1805 – 1828 Prince Ruihuai of the First Rank 瑞懷親王 1819 – 1828
								5								7								1
								Yicong 奕誴 Prince Dunqin of the First Rank 惇勤親王								Yixuan 奕譞 Prince Chunxian of the First Rank 醇賢親王								Yizhi 奕誌 2 1827 – 1850 Prince Ruimin of the Second Rank 瑞敏郡王 1828 – 1850
								2								6
								Zaiyi 載漪 3 1856 – 1922 Prince Duan of the Second Rank 端郡王 1894 – 1900								Zaixun 載洵 4 1885 – 1949 Beile acting Junwang 郡王銜貝勒 1908 – 1949
1								2
Puzhuan 溥僎 1875 – 1920 First Class Defender General 一等鎮國將軍 1894 – 1920								Pujun 溥儁 1885 – 1942 Lesser Bulwark Duke 不入八分輔國公 1901 – 1942								Pugong 溥侊 1904 – c. 1960s

See also

• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

References

• Zhao, Erxun (1928). Draft History of Qing (Qing Shi Gao). Volume 221. China.