Prince Su’s Mansion

Prince Su’s Mansion

Prince Su’s Mansion is located at No. 9 Xinhua Street in the new urban area of Lushun. It is a two-story brick-and-stone Russian-style building, covering an area of over 2,700 square meters within the compound walls, with a built-up area of 470 square meters. The building was originally a Russian villa and came into Japanese possession after the Russo-Japanese War. In February 1912, Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty fled to Lushun from Beijing after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, which had ruled China for nearly 300 years. The Japanese military designated the building as Prince Su’s Mansion.

Prince Su, whose given name was Shanqi, was the tenth-generation direct descendant of Haoge, the eldest son of Emperor Taizong (Hong Taiji) of the Qing Dynasty. He held key positions in the Qing government, including Minister of Civil Affairs, Commander-in-Chief of the Han Banners of the Eight Banners’ Bordered Red Banner, and Military Advisor. In February 1912, Colonel Takashi Sagawa of Japan and the Japanese ronin Kawashima Naniwa conspired with Prince Su to establish the “Mongol-Manchurian Kingdom,” and with the support of Japan’s Black Dragon Society, they organized the Royalist Party. Prince Su’s restoration efforts were funded by Japanese zaibatsu.

In 1941, in order to gain further trust and support from Japanese militarism and realize his dream of restoring the Qing Dynasty, Prince Su gave his 14th daughter, Aisin-Gioro Xianyu, to Kawashima Naniwa—who had previously served as an interpreter for General Nogi Maresuke—as an adopted daughter. She was then renamed Kawashima Yoshiko.

In 1922, Prince Su Shanqi passed away. His life and “achievements” in the effort to restore the Qing Dynasty are recorded on a stele erected in the courtyard of the mansion, along with a half-length bronze statue of the prince himself. After the liberation, the stele was smashed and toppled, and the statue’s whereabouts became unknown. Later, the lower half of the broken stele was discovered and is now housed at the Lushun Prison Site Preservation Office.

Prince Su’s Mansion in Lushun is currently part of a military garrison. The exterior of the building has been renovated, altering its original appearance, but the interior remains largely unchanged. It is now a district-level cultural heritage site.