Prince Rui’s Mansion

Prince Rui’s Mansion

There are two sites associated with Prince Rui’s Mansion: one is located in the area around Pudu Temple south of Donghuamen Street, and the other is on Waijiaojie Street. The former was the residence of Prince Rui after he entered Beijing, while the latter was a new mansion built after the restoration of the Prince Rui title during the Qianlong era. Prince Rui refers to Dorgon, the regent of the early Qing dynasty and the fourteenth son of Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing dynasty, as well as the younger brother of Hong Taiji, the Taizong Emperor. In the first year of the Chongde era (1636) during the reign of Hong Taiji, Dorgon was granted the title of Prince Rui, making him one of the great iron-cap princes who helped establish the Qing dynasty. After entering Beijing, he chose the former Ming dynasty’s Southern Palace as his mansion site, with ruins located on the southern side of Donghuamen Street. In the eighth year of the Shunzhi era (1651), after Dorgon’s death, his title was stripped and the mansion was abolished. His son, Dorgo, was granted the title of Beile (prince) in the fourteenth year of the Shunzhi era (1657) and established a Beile mansion on Shirenjie Hutong (now Waijiaojie Street). In the forty-third year of the Qianlong era (1778), the Prince Rui title was restored, and his descendants inherited the title, converting the former Beile mansion into the new Prince Rui Mansion. The original mansion had over 500 rooms, but only a section of tiled-roof courtyard walls and two damaged stone lions remain today.

Aisin-Gioro Dorgon (November 17, 1612 – December 31, 1650), son of Nurhaci, also known as the Imperial Uncle Regent or the Imperial Father Regent, was granted the title of Prince Rui of the First Rank. In his youth, Dorgon campaigned with Hong Taiji and in 1635 accepted the surrender of Ejei, son of the Mongolian Ligdan Khan, obtaining the imperial seal. He later led campaigns in southern Mongolia and the Joseon Dynasty, commanded the Qing army’s entry into the Central Plains, and unified the nation. After Shunzhi entered the capital, Dorgon was elevated to Imperial Uncle Regent, and in the fifth year of Shunzhi’s reign became the Imperial Father Regent. In 1650, Dorgon fell from his horse while hunting outside Gubeikou...  More details about Aisin-Gioro Dorgon++

Emperor Qianlong, Aisin-Gioro Hongli (September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799), was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty. He reigned for sixty years and effectively ruled for sixty-three years and four months, making him the longest-living emperor in Chinese history and the one with the longest actual period of rule. Along with his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, and his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, Qianlong ushered in the “Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong.” During his reign, he consolidated and developed a unified multi-ethnic state, suppressed the Dzungar and Junggar uprisings, brought Tibet under control, quelled the Jinchuan Rebellions, reformed the bureaucracy, promoted agriculture, developed water conservancy projects, and advanced Sinology...  More details about Aisin-Gioro Hongli++