奕譞 Yìxuān
Biography
醇賢親王奕譞
醇賢親王奕譞，宣宗第七子。文宗即位，封為醇郡王。咸豐九年三月，分府，命仍在內廷行走。穆宗即位，諭免宴見叩拜、奏事書名。迭授都統、御前大臣、領侍神機營。同治三年，加親王銜。四年，兩太后命弘德殿行走，稽察課程。十一年，進封醇親王。十二年，穆宗親政，罷弘德殿行走。
德宗即位，王奏兩太后，言：「臣侍從大行皇帝十有三年，昊天不弔，龍馭上賓。仰瞻遺容，五內崩裂。忽蒙懿旨下降，擇定嗣皇帝，倉猝昏迷，罔知所措。獨犯舊有肝疾，委頓成廢。惟有哀懇矜全，許乞骸骨，為天地容一虛糜爵位之人，為宣宗成皇帝留一庸鈍無才之子。」兩太后下其奏王大臣集議，以王奏誠懇請罷一切職任，但令照料菩陀峪陵工，從之。命王爵世襲，王疏辭，不許。光緒二年，上在毓慶宮入學，命王照料。五年，賜食親王雙俸。
十年，恭親王奕訢罷軍機大臣，以禮親王世鐸代之，太后命遇有重要事件，與王商辦。時法蘭西侵越南，方定約罷兵，王議建海軍。十一年九月，設海軍衙門，命王總理，節制沿海水師，以慶郡王奕劻、大學士總督李鴻章、都統善慶、侍郎曾紀澤為佐。定議練海軍自北洋始，責鴻章專司其事。十二年三月，賜王與福晉杏黃轎，王疏辭，不許。鴻章經畫海防，於旅順開船塢，築砲台，為海軍收泊地。北洋有大小戰艦凡五，輔以蚊船、雷艇，复購艦英、德，漸次成軍。五月，太后命王巡閱北洋，善慶從焉，會鴻章自大沽出海至旅順，歷威海、煙台，集戰艦合操，遍視礮台、船塢及新設水師學堂，十餘日畢事。王還京，奏獎諸將吏及所聘客將，請太后御書榜懸大沽海神廟。
Yixuan, Prince Chunxian of the First Rank
Yixuan, Prince Chunxian of the First Rank, was the seventh son of Xuanzong. When Wenzong came to the throne, he enfeoffed him as Prince Chun of the Second Rank. In the third month of the ninth year of Xianfeng he set up his own residence, and was ordered to continue to attend in the inner court. When Muzong came to the throne, an edict excused him from kowtowing at banquet audiences and from writing his name when presenting memorials. He was appointed in succession Lieutenant-General, Minister in Attendance, and commander of the Firearms Division. In the third year of Tongzhi he was given the rank of a Prince of the First Rank. In the fourth year the two empress dowagers ordered him to attend in the Hall of Nurturing Virtue and supervise the lessons. In the eleventh year he was advanced to Prince Chun of the First Rank. In the twelfth year, when Muzong took up government in person, he was relieved of attendance in the Hall of Nurturing Virtue. Edit
When Dezong came to the throne, the prince addressed the two empress dowagers, saying: "Your servant attended the late emperor for thirteen years. Vast Heaven showed no pity, and the dragon carriage ascended to be a guest on high. Looking up at his remains, my five inward organs burst apart. Suddenly I received the Empress Dowagers' decree coming down, choosing the heir emperor; in the haste I was dazed and knew not what to do. And I am afflicted again with an old ailment of the liver, so weak that I have become useless. I can only beg piteously for compassion and preservation, and that I be allowed to ask leave to retire in my old age, so that Heaven and earth may make room for one man who wastes a title in vain, and so that Xuanzong, the Emperor Cheng, may leave one dull and talentless son." The two empress dowagers referred his memorial to the princes and ministers for joint deliberation; because the prince's memorial was sincere, they approved his request to be relieved of all posts, ordering him only to look after the work on the Putuoyu mausoleum, and followed it. His rank as prince was ordered hereditary; the prince submitted a memorial declining it, and it was not allowed. In the second year of Guangxu, when the emperor entered school in the Palace of Nurturing Felicity, the prince was ordered to look after him. In the fifth year he was granted the double stipend of a prince of the first rank. Edit
In the tenth year, Yixin, Prince Gong, was relieved of the Grand Council, and Shiduo, Prince Li of the First Rank, replaced him; the Empress Dowager ordered that whenever important matters arose, they were to be handled in consultation with the prince. At that time France invaded Vietnam, and a treaty had just been fixed and hostilities ended; the prince proposed building a navy. In the ninth month of the eleventh year a Navy Yamen was established, and the prince was ordered to take overall charge of it and to command the coastal naval forces, with Yikuang, Prince Qing of the Second Rank, the Grand Secretary and Governor-General Li Hongzhang, the Lieutenant-General Shanqing and the Vice Minister Zeng Jize as his assistants. It was decided that the training of the navy would begin with the Beiyang fleet, and Hongzhang was charged with taking sole responsibility for it. In the third month of the twelfth year, the prince and his consort were granted an apricot-yellow sedan chair; the prince submitted a memorial declining it, and it was not allowed. Hongzhang planned the coastal defense, opened a dock at Lushun, and built gun emplacements, as an anchorage for the navy. The Beiyang fleet had five warships of all sizes in all, supported by gunboats and torpedo boats, and further ships were bought from Britain and Germany, so that gradually a fleet was formed. In the fifth month, the Empress Dowager ordered the prince to inspect the Beiyang fleet, and Shanqing went with him; together with Hongzhang he went out to sea from Dagu to Lushun, passing Weihai and Yantai, assembled the warships for a joint drill, and inspected all the gun emplacements, the docks and the newly established naval academy; the business was finished in a little over ten days. When the prince returned to the capital, he memorialized to commend the generals and officials and the foreign officers who had been engaged, and asked the Empress Dowager to write a plaque in her own hand to hang in the Sea God Temple at Dagu. Edit
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太后命於明年歸政，王疏言：「皇帝甫逾志學，諸王大臣籥懇訓政，乞體念時艱，俯允所請，俟及二旬，親理庶務。至列聖宮廷規制，遠邁前代。將來大婚後，一切典禮，咸賴訓教。臣愚以為諸事當先請懿旨，再於皇帝前奏聞，俾皇帝專心大政，承聖母之歡顏，免宮闈之劇務。此則非如臣生深宮者不敢知，亦不敢言也。」太后命毋庸議。十三年正月，上親政。四月，太后諭預備皇帝大婚，當力行節儉，命王稽察。十四年九月，王奏：「太平湖賜第為皇帝發祥地。世宗以潛邸升為宮殿，高宗諭子孫有自籓邸紹承大統者，應用其例。」太后從之，别賜第，發帑十萬葺治。十五年正月，大婚禮成，賜金桃皮鞘威服刀，增護治邸第未竟，復發帑六萬。並進封諸子：載灃鎮國公，載洵輔國公，載濤賜頭品頂帶、孔雀翎。
二月，河道總督吳大澂密奏，引高宗御批通鑑輯覽，略謂：「宋英宗崇奉濮王，明世宗崇奉興王，其時議者欲改稱伯叔，實人情所不安，當定本生名號，加以徽稱」；且言：「在臣子出為人後，例得以本身封典貤封本生父母，況貴為天子，天子所生之父母，必有尊崇之典，請飭廷臣議醇親王稱號禮節。」特旨宣示。上即位逾年，王密奏：「臣見歷代繼承大統之君，推崇本生父母者，備載史書。其中有適得至當者焉，宋孝宗不改子偁秀王之封是也。有大亂之道焉，宋英宗之濮議、明世宗之議禮是也。張璁、桂萼之儔，無足論矣。忠如韓琦，乃與司馬光議論牴牾，其故何歟？蓋非常之事出，立論者勢必紛沓擾攘，乃心王室，不無其人；而以此為梯榮之具，迫其主以不得不視為莊論者，正復不少。皇清受天之命，列聖相承，十朝一脈，詎穆宗毅皇帝春秋正盛，遽棄臣民。皇太后以宗廟社稷為重，特命皇帝入承大統，复推恩及臣，以親王世襲罔替。渥叨異數，感懼難名。原不須更生過慮，惟思此時垂簾聽政，簡用賢良，廷議既屬執中，邪說自必潛匿。倘將來親政後，或有草茅新進，趨六年拜相捷徑，以危言故事聳動宸聰，不幸稍一夷猶，則朝廷滋多事矣。仰懇皇太后將臣此摺，留之宮中。俟皇帝親政，宣示廷臣世賞之由及臣寅畏本意，千秋萬載，勿再更張。如有以治平、嘉靖之說進者，務目之為奸邪小人，立加屏斥。果蒙慈命嚴切，皇帝敢不欽遵，不但臣名節得以保全，而關乎君子小人消長之機者，實為至大且要。」太后如王言，留疏宮中。大澂疏入，諭曰：「皇帝入承大統，醇親王奕枻謙卑謹慎，翼翼小心，十餘年來，殫竭心力，恪恭盡職。每優加異數，皆涕泣懇辭，前賜杏黃轎，至今不敢乘坐。其秉心忠赤，嚴畏殊常，非徒深宮知之最深，實天下臣民所共諒。光緒元年正月初八日，王即有豫杜妄論一奏，請俟親政宣示，俾千秋萬載，勿再更張。自古純臣居心，何以過此？當歸政伊始，吳大澂果有此奏，特明白曉諭，並將王原奏發鈔，俾中外咸知賢王心事，從此可以共白。闞名希寵之徒，更何所容其覬覦乎？」
十六年正月，以上二十萬壽，增護軍十五、藍白甲五十，授載濤二等鎮國將軍。十一月，王疾作，上親詣視疾。丁亥，王薨，年五十一。太后臨奠，上詣邸成服。定稱號曰皇帝本生考，稱本生考，遵高宗御批；仍原封，從王志也。諡曰賢，配享太廟。下廷臣議：上持服期年，縞素、輟朝十一日；初祭、大祭，奉移前一日，親詣行禮，禦青長袍褂，摘纓；期年內禦便殿，用素服；葬以王，祭以天子，立廟班諱。十八年，葬京師西山妙高峰。宣統皇帝即位，定稱號曰皇帝本生祖考。
子七：德宗，其第二子也；載洸，初封不入八分輔國公，進鎮國公；載灃，襲醇親王，宣統皇帝即位，命為監國攝政王；載洵，出為瑞郡王奕志後；載濤，出為鍾郡王奕硉後。宣統間，載洵為海軍部大臣，載濤為軍諮府大臣，主軍政。三年十月，並罷。十二月，遜位。
The Empress Dowager ordered that she would return the government the following year, and the prince submitted a memorial saying: "The emperor has only just passed the age of setting his mind on learning, and the princes and ministers earnestly entreat the Empress Dowager to continue to guide the government. I beg that, mindful of the hardship of the times, she graciously grant their request, and that when he reaches twenty he take up the affairs of government himself. As for the rules of the palace of the successive sages, they far surpass those of former dynasties. In the future, after the imperial wedding, all the ceremonies will depend on her teaching and instruction. In my foolishness I think that every matter should first be submitted for the Empress Dowager's decree and then reported to the emperor, so that the emperor can devote himself to the great affairs of government, enjoy the pleasant countenance of his sacred mother, and be spared the heavy business of the inner palace. This is something that no one except one born in the deep palace like me would dare to know, and would also not dare to say." The Empress Dowager ordered that there was no need to discuss it. In the first month of the thirteenth year the emperor took up government in person. In the fourth month the Empress Dowager issued an edict on preparing for the imperial wedding, saying that strict economy should be practiced, and ordered the prince to inspect. In the ninth month of the fourteenth year the prince memorialized: "The residence at Taiping Lake that was bestowed is the place where the emperor's fortunes began. Shizong raised his former princely residence to be a palace, and Gaozong declared that for any descendant who inherits the great succession from a princely residence, this precedent should be followed." The Empress Dowager agreed, bestowed another residence, and issued 100,000 taels to repair it. In the first month of the fifteenth year, when the imperial wedding ceremony was completed, he was granted a ceremonial sword with a gold peach-bark sheath; his guards were increased, and since the repair of the residence was not yet finished, a further 60,000 taels were issued. His sons were also advanced in rank: Zaifeng became Duke Who Guards the State, Zaixun Duke Who Assists the State, and Zaitao was granted the cap button of the first rank and the peacock feather. Edit
In the second month, Wu Dacheng, Director-General of River Conservancy, memorialized in secret, citing Gaozong's imperial comments in the Tongjian jilan, which said in outline: "Emperor Yingzong of Song honored Prince Pu, and Emperor Shizong of Ming honored Prince Xing. At the time those who discussed it wished to call them uncles, which was truly something human feeling could not rest easy with; the title of the natural father should be fixed and an honorific added." He also said: "When a subject goes out to become the heir of another, by precedent he may transfer his own enfeoffment to his natural parents; how much more so for one as exalted as the Son of Heaven. The parents who bore the Son of Heaven must have ceremonies of honor. I ask that the court officials be ordered to deliberate the title and ceremonial of Prince Chun." A special decree proclaimed it. More than a year after the emperor came to the throne, the prince secretly memorialized: "I see that the histories record in full the cases of rulers who inherited the great succession and honored their natural parents. Among them there are cases that were exactly right: that Emperor Xiaozong of Song did not change the enfeoffment of Zicheng as Prince Xiu is one. There are those that were a way to great disorder: the Pu controversy of Emperor Yingzong of Song and the controversy over rites of Emperor Shizong of Ming are examples. Men of the stamp of Zhang Cong and Gui'e are not worth discussing. But Han Qi, loyal as he was, came into conflict in argument with Sima Guang; what was the reason? It is because when an extraordinary matter arises, those who put forward views are bound to be tumultuous and disorderly; there are men whose hearts are with the royal house, but there are not a few who use the matter as a ladder to glory and force their sovereign to treat it as a solemn argument whether he will or not. The great Qing received the mandate of Heaven; the sage rulers have followed one another, ten reigns in a single line; who would have thought that Muzong, the Emperor Yi, in the prime of his years, would suddenly abandon his ministers and people. The Empress Dowager, giving weight to the ancestral temple and the altars of state, specially ordered the emperor to enter and inherit the great succession, and further extended her favor to your servant, granting me the rank of Prince of the First Rank to be inherited without reduction. I have received this extraordinary honor beyond measure, and my gratitude and fear cannot be named. There is no need for me to worry excessively further; but I think that at present, while she governs from behind the screen and chooses and employs the worthy, the discussions at court are moderate and just, and wrong doctrines will naturally lie hidden. If in the future, after the emperor has taken up government in person, there should be some newly risen man from the grass-roots who, following the shortcut of becoming chief minister in six years, startles the imperial hearing with alarming words and old precedents, and if, unfortunately, he should hesitate even slightly, then much trouble will arise for the court. I humbly beg the Empress Dowager to keep this memorial of mine in the palace. When the emperor takes up government in person, let it be shown to the court officials, to make known the reason for the hereditary reward and my own reverent fear, so that for a thousand autumns and ten thousand years it will not be changed again. If anyone should come forward with the arguments of the Zhiping and Jiajing eras, be sure to regard him as a wicked and petty man and drive him away at once. If I receive the Empress Dowager's stern command, how would the emperor dare not obey respectfully? Not only will my name and honor be preserved, but the matter bears on the waxing and waning of gentlemen and petty men, and is truly of the greatest importance." The Empress Dowager did as the prince said and kept the memorial in the palace. When Dacheng's memorial came in, an edict said: "Since the emperor entered to inherit the great succession, Yixuan, Prince Chun, has been humble and cautious, careful and attentive; for more than ten years he has exhausted his mind and strength and carried out his duties with reverence. Each time he has been given an extraordinary favor, he has wept and earnestly declined; the apricot-yellow sedan chair bestowed on him earlier he still does not dare to ride in. His heart is loyal and sincere, and his reverent caution is out of the ordinary; not only does the deep palace know it best of all, but it is truly what all the officials and people of the empire appreciate in common. On the eighth day of the first month of the first year of Guangxu, the prince already submitted a memorial guarding in advance against wild talk, asking that it be shown when the emperor took up government in person, so that for a thousand autumns and ten thousand years it would not be changed again. From ancient times, how could the heart of a purely loyal minister have gone beyond this? At the very start of the return of government, Wu Dacheng has indeed submitted such a memorial; We make this clearly known by special edict, and have the prince's original memorial issued for copying, so that all inside and outside the court may know the worthy prince's heart, and from now on all may understand it. As for those who covet fame and hope for favor, what place is there left for them to cherish their ambitions?" Edit
In the first month of the sixteenth year, because of the emperor's twentieth birthday, fifteen guards and fifty blue-and-white armored soldiers were added to the prince's escort, and Zaitao was appointed General Who Guards the State, second class. In the eleventh month the prince fell ill, and the emperor went in person to see him in his illness. On dinghai, the prince died, at the age of fifty-one. The Empress Dowager came to the offering in person, and the emperor went to the prince's residence to put on mourning. His title was fixed as "natural father of the emperor," and he was called the natural father, in accordance with Gaozong's imperial comments; his original enfeoffment was kept, following the prince's own wish. He was given the posthumous name Xian and sacrificed to alongside the imperial ancestors in the Ancestral Temple. The matter was referred to the court officials for deliberation: the emperor would wear mourning for a full year, in plain white, and suspend court for eleven days; at the first offering and the great offering, and on the day before the coffin was moved, he would go in person to perform the rites, wearing a dark blue long robe and jacket with the hat tassel removed; within the year he would sit in the side hall and wear plain clothes; the burial would be as for a prince, the sacrifices as for the Son of Heaven, a temple would be established, and the name would be tabooed in the ranks. In the eighteenth year he was buried at Miaogao Peak in the Western Hills of the capital. When the Xuantong Emperor came to the throne, the prince's title was fixed as "natural grandfather of the emperor." Edit
He had seven sons. Dezong was his second son. Zaiguang was first enfeoffed as Duke Who Assists the State, without the Eight Privileges, and advanced to Duke Who Guards the State. Zaifeng inherited the rank of Prince Chun of the First Rank, and when the Xuantong Emperor came to the throne he was ordered to be Prince Regent. Zaixun went out as heir of Yizhi, Prince Rui of the Second Rank. Zaitao went out as heir of Yilu, Prince Zhong of the Second Rank. In the Xuantong years, Zaixun was Minister of the Navy and Zaitao Minister of the Military Advisory Office, in charge of military administration. In the tenth month of the third year, both were dismissed. In the twelfth month, the emperor abdicated. Edit
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Source: 清史稿 卷二百二十一 列传八 诸王七 (Draft History of Qing, juan 221, Biographies 8: Princes 7)
Wikipedia: Yixuan, Prince Chun · Chinese Wikipedia: 奕譞 · Baidu Baike: 奕𫍽 (an article of the same name, not checked to be him)
Source
From the historical record: the notes below say where · qing-zongshi-01003
Notes (2)
- [Source] 清史稿 卷一百六十五 表五 皇子世表五 Draft History of Qing, juan 165, Table 5: Genealogical Table of the Emperors' Sons 5
- [Collation note] 表云：「宣宗第七子。道光三十年封醇郡王，同治三年加親王銜，十一年晉醇親王，光緒十六年薨，尊爲皇帝本生考，諡曰賢」 The table: “Seventh son of Xuanzong. In Daoguang 30 (1850), made Prince Chun of the Second Rank. In Tongzhi 3 (1864), given the rank of a Prince of the First Rank. In Tongzhi 11 (1872), promoted to Prince Chun of the First Rank. In Guangxu 16 (1890), died, honoured as the emperor’s father by birth, given the posthumous name Xian.”