Traditional Chinese 和碩履親王 Hanyu Pinyin | Simplified Chinese 和硕履亲王 Wade–Giles ho-shuo lü ch'in-wang | |
Prince Lü of the First Rank, or simply Prince Lü, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Lü 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 Yuntao (1686–1763), the 12th son of the Kangxi Emperor. In 1722, Yuntao was made a junwang (second-rank prince) by his father for his military achievements. However, a year later, he was demoted two grades to beizi, but was restored as a junwang in 1730. In 1735, he was promoted to qinwang (first-rank prince) under the title "Prince Lü of the First Rank". The peerage was passed down over eight generations and held by eight persons.