Prince Chun

Prince Chun
Traditional Chinese	和碩醇親王
Simplified Chinese	和硕醇亲王
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin héshuò chún qīnwáng Wade–Giles ho-shuo ch'un ch'in-wang

Prince Chun of the First Rank (Manchu: ᡩᠣᡵᠣᠨ
ᡥᠠᡨᠠᠨ
ᠴᡳᠨ ᠸᠠᠩ; hošoi hatan cin wang), or simply Prince Chun, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). It was also one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely family lines in the Qing dynasty, which meant that the title could be passed down without being downgraded.

The first bearer of the title was Yixuan (1840–1891), the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor. He was awarded the title by his fourth brother, the Xianfeng Emperor, who succeeded their father. The title was passed down over two generations and held by only two persons – Yixuan and his fifth son, Zaifeng (1883–1951) – who were the biological fathers of the penultimate and last emperors of the Qing dynasty respectively.

Members of the Prince Chun peerage

• Yixuan (1840–1891), the Daoguang Emperor's seventh son, initially a junwang (second-rank prince) from 1850 to 1864, accorded qinwang (first-rank prince) status in 1864 and given a qinwang title in 1872. In 1874, his title, Prince Chun of the First Rank, was made hereditary. He was posthumously honoured as Prince Chunxian of the First Rank (醇賢親王).
  • Zaiguang (載洸), Yixuan's fourth son, had no male heir
  • Zaifeng (1883–1951), Yixuan's fifth son, initially a buru bafen zhenguo gong from 1884 to 1891, held the title Prince Chun of the First Rank from 1891 to 1949
  • Zaixun (1885–1949), Yixuan's sixth son, held a buru bafen fuguo gong title from 1887 to 1889 and a feng'en fuguo gong title from 1889 to 1902, adopted as Yizhi (Prince Rui)'s son
  • Zaitao (1887–1970), Yixuan's seventh son, held a second class zhenguo jiangjun title from 1890 to 1893, adopted as Yihe (Prince Zhong)'s son

See also

• Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty