Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/392

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the conditions upon which the peace of 1860 was based. Nor could he bring himself to grant such an audience, particularly as the terms of both the peace of 1858 and that of 1860 relieved the Western envoys of the necessity of performing the ceremony of the kotow (see under Yung-yen) to the emperor—a loss of prestige difficult for I-chu to face. He thus remained at Jehol and gave himself to excesses, probably with a view to self-destruction. He died on August 22, 1861. On his death-bed he was too ill to write the edict naming his son, Tsai-ch'un [q. v.], then a child of six sui, as heir-apparent. Su-shun and seven other ministers composed and proclaimed the edict of succession which led to long disputes concerning the regency, and to the coup-d'état of Empress Hsiao-ch'in [q. v.]. I-chu was canonized as Hsien Huang-ti 顯皇帝 with the temple name, Wên Tsung 文宗. He was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum east of Peking, his tomb being known as Ting-ling 定陵.

I-chu left a literary collection, entitled 履信書屋集 Li-hsin-shu-wu chi, which was later edited and printed under the title, Wên-tsung shih wên chi (詩文集), 10 chüan. His edicts were edited under the title, Wên-tsung Hsien Huang-ti shêng-hsün (聖訓), 110 chüan, completed in 1866; and the "veritable records" of his reign, entitled Wên-tsung Hsien Huang-ti shih-lu (實錄), 356 + 4 chüan, were completed in 1867.

I-chu had two sons and one daughter. The elder son, Tsai-ch'un, succeeded him; the younger died in infancy. The daughter, Princess Jung-an 榮安公主 (1855–1875), the child of a concubine, married (1873) Fu-chên 符珍 (original name 瑞煜 d. 1910), who was a descendant of Tulai (see under Fiongdon) and was the tenth Duke Hsiung-yung.


[1/20/1a; Tung-hua lu, Hsien-fêng period; 清帝后外紀 Ch'ing ti hou wai-chi; Ch'ing Huang-shih ssŭ-p'u (see under Fu-lung-an); Ch'ou-pan i-wu shih-mo (see under I-hsin), Hsien-fêng period; Hsüeh-ch'iao shih-hua (see under Shêng-yü), 12/43a; see also bibl. under Kuei-liang, I-hsin and Su-shun.]

Fang Chao-ying


I-hsin 奕訢 (T. 鑑園主人, 樂道主人), Jan. 11, 1833–1898, May 29, the first Prince Kung (恭親王), was the sixth son of Emperor Hsüan-tsung (see under Min-ning). His mother, Empress Hsiao-ching 孝靜成皇后, née Borjigit, 1812–1855), a concubine, was kind by nature and cared for the emperor's fourth son, I-chu [q. v.] after the latter's own mother had died (1840). Thus I-chu and I-hsin were brought up together and became very friendly. After Emperor Hsüan-tsung died (1850), I-chu (Emperor Wên-tsung) succeeded to the throne, and conferred on I-hsin's mother the rank of Empress Dowager.

By his father's will, I-hsin was made in 1850 a prince of the first degree with the designation, Kung. In 1852 he was given a palace of his own (see under Yung-lin). When the Taiping expedition to the north threatened Peking in 1853 I-hsin was one of the princes in charge of patrolling the Metropolitan area. Later in the same year (1853) he was made a Grand Councilor and in 1854 was given the concurrent posts of lieutenant-general of a Banner and presiding controller of the Imperial Clan Court. In August 1855, when his mother died, he was severely reprimanded by Emperor Wên-tsung for negligence in the observance of the mourning ceremonies. Whatever may have been the real cause of the dispute between them, I-hsin was deprived of all his posts and was ordered to study once more in the Palace School for Princes. In 1857 he was reappointed lieutenant-general of a Banner and two years later was named a senior chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard.

At this time the forces of the Western powers who were invading China were approaching Peking. In 1858 the British and French troops reached Tientsin where they obtained virtually everything they demanded. The treaties of Tientsin were signed by I-hsin's father-in-law, Kuei-liang [q. v.]. During this crisis I-hsin pointed out in a memorial that of all the demands of the Allies the most harmful to China was the opening of the Yangtze River to foreigners. He proposed retaliation against the British interpreter, H. N. Lay (see under Ch'i-ying), and also preparation for war. Later he headed the commission which conducted the trial of Ch'i-ying [q. v.]. The commissioners asked lenient treatment for the aged diplomat, but the request was denied.

In August 1860 the allied forces reappeared at Tientsin to avenge the defeat of the previous year (see under Sêng-ko-lin-ch'in). Kuei-liang was again sent to negotiate with them, but he could not prevent their marching on to Tungchow. From September 8 to 21 the task of making peace with the invaders was entrusted to Tsai-yüan (see under Yin-hsiang and Su-shun). But on September 18 Tsai-yüan and Sêng-ko-lin-ch'in,

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