Yicong


Yicong, formally known as Prince Dun, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty.

Life

Yicong was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the fifth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was Consort Xiang from the Niohuru clan. He was adopted by his uncle Miankai, the third son of the Jiaqing Emperor, because Miankai had no surviving sons to succeed him. Upon Miankai's death in 1838, Yicong inherited his adoptive father's peerage and became known as "Prince Dun of the First Rank".
Following the death of the Daoguang Emperor in 1850, Yicong's fourth brother Yizhu succeeded their father and became historically known as the Xianfeng Emperor. When the Xianfeng Emperor died in 1861, Yicong and his seventh brother, Yixuan, were both in Rehe Province with the emperor, while their sixth brother, Yixin, was in the imperial capital, Beijing. Yicong supported Yixin in the Xinyou Coup of 1861 and helped him seize power from a group of eight regents appointed by the Xianfeng Emperor on his deathbed to assist his son, the Tongzhi Emperor. In 1865, Yicong was appointed as the head of the Imperial Clan Court.
Yicong died in 1889 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor. His great-grandson, Yuyan, was a self-proclaimed successor to Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty. Yicong's former residence is at Qinghua Gardens, the present-day location of Tsinghua University.

Family

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