14 Facts About Yikuang

Yikuang served as the first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, an office created in May 1911 to replace the Grand Council.

Yikuang was born in the Aisin-Gioro clan as the eldest son of Mianxing, a lesser noble who held the title of a buru bafen fuguo gong.

Yikuang was adopted by his uncle, Mianti, who held the title of a third class zhenguo jiangjun.

Yikuang's grandfather was Yonglin, the 17th son of the Qianlong Emperor and the first in line in the Prince Qing peerage, one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely peerages of the Qing dynasty.

Yikuang inherited the title of a fuguo jiangjun in 1850 and was promoted to beizi in 1852.

In March 1884, during the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Yikuang was put in charge of the Zongli Yamen and given the title "Prince Qing of the Second Rank".

Around October 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Yikuang was appointed to the positions of high commissioner of the admiralty, head of the Zongli Yamen, and head of war operations, with the latter becoming a quasi-general headquarters.

Yikuang was involved in the "sale" of official positions, in which a person could obtain an official post through the prince's recommendation by paying him a certain sum of money.

Yikuang became a "go-to person" for backroom deals in politics.

Yikuang was discredited for his pro-foreign stance in June 1900, when a multi-national military force marched from Tianjin towards Beijing.

Yikuang was immediately replaced by the "reactionary" Zaiyi as head of the Zongli Yamen.

Yikuang even wrote letters to foreigners, inviting them to take shelter in the Zongli Yamen's offices during the Siege of the International Legations by Zaiyi's men.

Yikuang ordered his own Bannermen to attack the Boxers and the Kansu Braves.

Yikuang was then sent by Empress Dowager Cixi, along with Li Hongzhang, to negotiate for peace with the Eight-Nation Alliance after they invaded Beijing in 1901.