House House of Aisin-Gioro | Name Yunti, Xun Siblings Yongzheng Emperor | |
 | ||
Issue Sons:HongchunHongmingHongyingHongkaiDaughters:Eldest daughterSecond daughterThird daughterFourth daughterFifth daughterSixth daughterSeventh daughter Children Hongkai, Hongying, Sons:, Hongming, Hongchun, Daughters: Parents Kangxi Emperor, Empress Xiaogongren Similar People Yongzheng Emperor, Kangxi Emperor, Yunsi, Yinxiang, Yuntang | ||
Yunti (16 January 1688 – 13 January 1756), born Yinzhen and also known as Yinti, was a Manchu prince and military general of the Qing Dynasty.
Contents
Biography
Yunti was born Yinzhen (simplified Chinese: 胤祯; traditional Chinese: 胤禎; pinyin: Yinzhen) of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the 14th son of the Kangxi Emperor. His mother was Empress Xiaogongren, who also bore the Yongzheng Emperor. As Yunti's birth name "Yinzhen" was similar to the Yongzheng Emperor's personal name Yinzhen (胤禛), it was changed to Yinti. When the Yongzheng Emperor came to the throne, Yinti's name was changed to "Yunti" to avoid naming taboo, because the Chinese character for "Yin" (胤) in "Yinti" was similar to the one in the emperor's personal name "Yinzhen". Yunti's other names, Yinzhen and Yinti, were used interchangeably during his life, with family records containing references to both names.
In 1709 Yunti was granted the title of a beizi (貝子). In 1718 after the defeat of a Qing army along the Salween River in Tibet by the Dzungar general Tsering Dondub, Yunti was appointed by the Kangxi Emperor as "Great General Who Pacifies the Frontier" (撫遠大將軍) to lead an army of 300,000 into Tibet and defeat the Dzungars. Many believe that this was a sign that the Kangxi Emperor took into consideration making Yunti an heir to his throne. In February 1720, generals Galbi and Yanxin, under Yunti's command, set out from Xining to take Lhasa while Yunti himself remained in Xining to build up support with their Khotshot Mongol allies and then escort the Dalai Lama to Lhasa. On 24 September 1720 Yunti's army captured Lhasa and returned the Dalai Lama back to the Potala Palace.
Yunti was planning a conquest of Dzungaria when on 21 December 1722 he was informed of his father's death and was summoned immediately back to the capital. Yunti's older brother Yinzhen had succeeded to the throne as the Yongzheng Emperor. Yongzheng saw Yunti as a potential threat and placed him under house arrest. Yunti was released after Yongzheng Emperor's death in 1735. In 1722 he held the title of a "Prince of the Second Rank" (多羅郡王), but was demoted two grades to beizi (貝子) in 1724. In 1725 he was stripped off his titles.
Yunti was restored as "Prince Xun of the Second Rank" (恂郡王) in 1734, and he was referred to by this title for the rest of his life. After his death he was granted a posthumous name qin (勤), so his full posthumous title was extended to "Prince Xunqin of the Second Rank" (恂勤郡王).