Jin Youzhi
Head of the House of Aisin-Gioro
Period28 February 1994 – 10 April 2015
PredecessorPujie
SuccessorJin Yuzhang
BornAisin-Gioro Puren
(愛新覺羅 溥任)
(1918-09-21)21 September 1918
Shichahai, Beijing, China
Died10 April 2015(2015-04-10) (aged 96)
Beijing, China
ConsortsZhang Maoying
IssueYuzhang
Yuquan
Yulan
Yukun
Yucheng
Names
Jin Youzhi
(金友之)
HouseAisin-Gioro
FatherZaifeng, Prince Chun of the First Rank
MotherLady Denggiya
Jin Youzhi
Chinese金友之
Puren
Chinese溥任

Jin Youzhi (Chinese: 金友之, 21 September 1918 – 10 April 2015), born Aisin-Gioro Puren, was a Chinese politician, teacher and historian. He was the head of the House of Aisin-Gioro, the ruling clan of the Qing dynasty, from 1994 until his death in 2015. He was the fourth and youngest son of Prince Chun, and a younger half-brother of Puyi, the last emperor of China. Instead of using his Manchu clan name "Aisin-Gioro" as his family name, Puren adopted "Jin" as his new family name. "Jin" means "gold" in Mandarin, as does "Aisin" in the Manchu language. His courtesy name was "Youzhi." He is best known as "Jin Youzhi." The Chinese media referred to him as "the last emperor's younger brother" or "the last imperial younger brother."[1]

Life

Jin was born in the Prince Chun Mansion in Shichahai, Beijing. After receiving an early education in Chinese classics and traditional art, he established a public primary school in the Prince Chun Mansion in 1947 with support from his father. He was the principal of the school while his sister was a teacher there. The school was later donated to the Chinese government, after which Jin continued working as a teacher until retiring in 1988. In his retirement, Jin wrote books on the history of the Qing dynasty and literature. He served three terms as a delegate to the Municipal Political Consultative Conference of Beijing, and was also a researcher in Chinese history at the Beijing Research Institute.[2]

Jin was the heir to the Manchu throne under a 1937 succession law issued by Puyi as emperor of Manchukuo.[3]

Family

Ancestry

Jiaqing Emperor (1760–1820)
Daoguang Emperor (1782–1850)
Empress Xiaoshurui (1760–1797)
Yixuan (1840–1891)
Lingshou (1788–1824)
Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun (1822–1866)
Lady Weng
Zaifeng (1883–1951)
Deqing
Cuiyan (1866–1925)
Youzhi (1918–2015)
Lady Denggiya (1896–1942)

See also

References

  1. ^ 满清皇室后裔百态人生：和普通人一样生活 Archived 2012-07-22 at archive.today, 2005-03-24. "Attitudes of the descendants of the Manchu royalty: Their lives as ordinary people"
  2. ^ "Jin Youzhi, Sibling of China’s Last Emperor, Dies at 96," New York Times, April 14, 2015.
  3. ^ The Manchoukuo Year Book 1941, "Law Governing Succession to the Imperial Throne", March 1, 1937, p. 905, Tōa Keizai Chōsakyoku (Japan).
    • "In the absence of sons or descendants, the brothers of the reigning emperor, borne of the same mother, and their male-line descendants succeed according to age" (Article 5).
    • "Among the Imperial brothers and the remoter Imperial relations, precedence shall be given, in the same degree, to the descendants of full blood over those of half blood" (Article 8).
Jin Youzhi Qing DynastyBorn: 21 September 1918 Died: 10 April 2015 Titles in pretence Preceded byPujie — TITULAR — Head of the House of Aisin-Gioro, 1994-2015 Reason for succession failure:Empire abolished in 1945 Succeeded byJin Yuzhang
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