Prince Rui’s Mansion

　　The Prince Rui’s Mansion has two sites: one is in the area around Putuo 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 the new mansion established after his hereditary title was restored during the Qianlong reign. Prince Rui refers to Dorgon, the Prince Regent of the early Qing Dynasty and the 14th son of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the younger brother of Hong Taiji, the Taizong Emperor. In 1636, during the first year of the Chongde era under Hong Taiji, he was granted the title of Prince Rui, becoming one of the great Iron-Capped Princes who founded the Qing Dynasty. After entering Beijing, he chose the former Ming Dynasty’s Southern Palace as his mansion, with the ruins located on the southern side of Donghuamen Street. In 1651, the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign, after Dorgon’s death, his title was stripped and the mansion was abolished. His son, Dodo, was granted the title of Beile (Prince) in 1657, the 14th year of the Shunzhi reign, and established a Beile Mansion on Shidaren Hutong (now Waijiaojie Street). In 1778, the 43rd year of the Qianlong reign, the title of Prince Rui was restored, and his descendants inherited the title, with the former Beile Mansion becoming the new Prince Rui’s Mansion. Originally having over 500 rooms, only a section of tiled-roof courtyard walls and two damaged stone lions remain today.

　　Aisin-Gioro Dorgon (1612–1650)　　Aisin-Gioro Dorgon (November 17, 1612 – December 31, 1650), the son of Nurhaci, also known as the Imperial Uncle Regent or the Imperial Father Regent, held the noble title of Prince Rui of the First Rank. In his youth, Dorgon campaigned with Hong Taiji and in 1635, he accepted the surrender of Ligdan Khan’s son Ejei and obtained the Imperial Seal. He later led military campaigns in Southern Mongolia and the Joseon Dynasty, commanded the Manchu forces in their entry into the Central Plains, and unified the country. After Shunzhi entered the capital, Dorgon was promoted to Imperial Uncle Regent, and by the fifth year of the Shunzhi reign, he became the Imperial Father Regent. In 1650, while hunting outside Gubeikou, Dorgon fell from his horse and was injured, later dying in Kharahotun outside Gubeikou at the age of 39...   More+

　　Aisin-Gioro Hongli (1711–1799)　　Emperor Qianlong, Aisin-Gioro Hongli (September 25, 1711 – February 7, 1799), was the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He reigned for 60 years and effectively ruled for 63 years and four months, making him the longest-living emperor in Chinese history and the one with the longest actual reign in power. Along with his father Yongzheng and grandfather Kangxi, Qianlong ushered in the “Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong.” During his rule, he consolidated and developed a unified multi-ethnic state, suppressed the Dzungar and Jungar rebellions, eliminated the Dzungar Khanate, stabilized Tibet, and quelled the Jinchuan Rebellions. He reformed the bureaucracy, emphasized agriculture, developed water conservancy, promoted Confucian studies, established the Ili General to govern Xinjiang, and more. However, in the later part of his reign...   More+