Yixuan, Prince Chun
Yixuan, Prince Chun of the First Rank (16 October 1840 – 1 January 1891) was a Qing dynasty prince and statesman. He was the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor and the younger half-brother of the Xianfeng Emperor. His mother was Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun. In 1860 he married Wanzhen of the Yehe Nara clan, the sister of Empress Dowager Cixi, which tied him closely to Cixi.
In 1861, during the Tongzhi era, Yixuan helped Prince Gong and the Dowager Empresses Ci’an and Cixi seize the regency from Sushun in the Xinyou Coup. He then held high military and civil posts. In 1872 he was raised to Prince Chun of the First Rank. He briefly fell from favor in 1874 but was reinstated thanks to the Dowager Empresses’ intervention. He was granted the “iron-cap” privilege, meaning his title could be passed to his descendants without downgrading each generation.
When the Tongzhi Emperor died in 1875, Empress Dowager Cixi chose Yixuan’s son Zaitian to be the emperor, who became the Guangxu Emperor. Yixuan resigned from most official duties and focused on educating the young emperor, while remaining an influential adviser. After Empress Dowager Ci’an’s death in 1881, he was one of the most powerful figures at court. In 1885 Cixi appointed him Controller of the Admiralty to oversee naval development. He died on 1 January 1891.
His children included the Guangxu Emperor (Zaitian), Zaixun, Zaitao, and his fifth son Zaifeng, who would become Prince Chun of the First Rank and father the last emperor, Puyi. Yixuan was posthumously named Prince Chunxian of the First Rank. He is buried at the Seventh Prince’s Grave, about 35 kilometers northwest of Beijing. His former residence, the Prince Chun Mansion, is near Shichahai in Beijing.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:21 (CET).