Yinxiang, 1st Prince Yi

Yinxiang, the Prince Yi ( _zh. 怡親王胤祥; Pinyin: Yìnxiáng; Wade-Giles: Y'in-hsiang; Posthumous name: Xián 賢) (1686 — April 1730) of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro clan was a noble of the Qing Dynasty born as the 13th surviving son to the Kangxi Emperor. His mother was Kangxi's concubine, Min-Fei of the Janggiya clan.

Being the 13th surviving son of the Kangxi Emperor, he was given the title of the Thirteenth Imperial Prince at birth, and later received the title of peerage the Prince Yi of the Blood (怡親王) with the additional honour of Peerage Succession through his male descendants. His mother, Min-Fei, gave birth to three children of the Emperor within four years. He was the eldest, and 13th son of Kangxi to enter the Family records. His mother died young, when he was 14, and he was brought up by De-fei, the mother of Yinzhen, the future Emperor. He was a staunch supporter of the Yinzhen, who later became Yongzheng Emperor of China. Yinxiang was affected by bad health, but worked with Yongzheng tirelessly in matters of state.

In 1725, Yinxiang was sent to oversee the water issues of Zhili (present-day Hebei), including flood control and transportation. Returning to Beijing, Yinxiang was constantly affected by ill health.

Yinxiang died in April 1730, and was given the posthumous name Xian (賢), with an additional eight characters (忠敬诚直勤慎廉明) added. He received great praise from the Emperor, who ordered a three-day mourning period in which no administrative affairs were conducted in court. In addition, his title was added to eight previous Prince titles to become "iron-cap" titles, to be inherited by his descendants. His fifth generation descendant, Zaiyuan, was also prominent in Qing politics.

External links

* [http://www.oldbeijing.net/Article/200606/20060627174955.shtml Yinxiang: How did he become involved in the fight for the throne?]