Zaixun, Prince Rui

Zaixun
Zaixun
Traditional Chinese	載洵
Simplified Chinese	载洵
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zàixún
Zhongquan; (courtesy name)
Chinese	仲泉
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhòngquán
Chiyun; (art name)
Traditional Chinese	癡雲
Simplified Chinese	痴云
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Chīyún

Names
	Aisin Gioro Zaixun; (愛新覺羅載洵)

Zaixun
Zaixun
Junwang-ranked beile; 郡王銜貝勒
	Zaixun
Head of the House of Prince Rui peerage
Tenure	1902–1945
Predecessor	Zaiyi
Successor	peerage abolished
Minister of Navy
In office	4 December 1909 – 16 November 1911
Predecessor	position created
Successor	Sa Zhenbing
Prime Minister	Yikuang, Prince Qing
Born	20 May 1885; Beijing, China
Died	30 March 1949 (aged 63); Tianjin, China
Consorts	Lady Biru
Issue	Pugong
Names
Names
	Aisin Gioro Zaixun; (愛新覺羅載洵)
House	Aisin Gioro
Father	Yixuan, Prince Chunxian of the First Rank
Mother	Cuiyan
Military career
Allegiance	Qing Dynasty
Service / branch	Imperial Chinese Navy

Zaixun (20 May 1885 – 30 March 1949), courtesy name Zhongquan, art name Chiyun, also known as Tsai Hsun in early references, was a Manchu noble of the late Qing dynasty. He also served as a Navy Minister in the Imperial Cabinet of Prince Qing. He was the sixth son of Prince Chun, a paternal uncle of the Xuantong Emperor, a half first cousin of the Tongzhi Emperor, and a paternal half-brother of the Guangxu Emperor.

Life

Zaixun was adopted into the lineage of his relative, Yizhi (奕誌; 1827–1850), because Yizhi had no son to succeed him. In 1887, he was made a buru bafen fuguo gong, and was subsequently promoted to feng'en fuguo gong in 1889 and feng'en zhenguo gong in 1890. In 1900, Zaixun's predecessor, Zaiyi, who succeeded Yizhi as "Prince Rui of the Second Rank" (later renamed to "Prince Duan of the Second Rank"), was stripped of his title of nobility and exiled to Xinjiang for his role in the Boxer Rebellion. Two years later, Zaixun succeeded Zaiyi as a beile of the Prince Rui peerage. In 1908, he was made an acting junwang (Prince of the Second Rank) but remained nominally a beile.

In 1909, Zaixun was appointed as an acting Navy Minister (海軍大臣) in the Imperial Cabinet headed by Prince Qing. Later, he was sent to Europe and the United States to study the navies of the Western powers. After returning to China, in 1911, he became a full Navy Minister. After the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty, he lived the rest of his life in retirement in Beijing and Tianjin. He died in Tianjin in 1949.

Family

Wife, of the Biru clan (必祿氏)
- Pugong (溥侊; b. 19 March 1904), first son
- First daughter (b. 28 January 1905)
- Second daughter (b. 2 February 1906)
- Third daughter (b. 3 February 1907)
  - Married Bai Fengming (白鳳鳴; 1909–1980)