Yunhuan

Jin Zhijian (September 11, 1921 – August 9, 2004), of Manchu ethnicity, originally from the Aisin Gioro clan. His birth name was Yunhuan, with childhood nickname Jige, courtesy name Ruilin, and pseudonym Biyue. She was the younger sister of Emperor Puyi of the late Qing Dynasty, colloquially called “Qigege” during the Republic of China period. She was born in the North Residence of the Prince Chun’s Mansion. Her father was Zaifeng, a son of Prince Chun, and her mother was a concubine from the Dengjia clan. She grew up within the prince’s residence, residing with her family and completing the courtesies and rituals of the royal household in her early years.

During the Republic of China era, Yunhuan lived in the prince’s residence with her siblings and mentors. In 1925 (the 14th year of the Republic), the male members of her paternal family and those associated with the prince’s mansion passed away successively. Yunhuan and her family experienced multiple relocations and changes of residence. In 1939 (the 28th year of the Republic), the entire family returned to Prince Chun’s residence. Liu Junsheng, a teacher, entered the mansion’s garden and began instructing Yunhuan and her siblings in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. In 1943 (the 32nd year of the Republic), her sixth sister married Wang Ailan. In 1947 (the 36th year), she left the garden to help her fourth brother at a vocational school. In 1948 (the 37th year), she co-founded a women’s vocational school called “Jianzhi Women’s Vocational School” with her friend Li Shufeng.

In 1949, Yunhuan met Qiao Hongzhi, who was two years older than her. The following year, after the liberation of Beijing in 1950, she was formally accepted as a primary school teacher under the name Jin Zhijian, becoming the first member of her family to work with the Chinese Communist Party. On February 12th, she married Qiao Hongzhi in a collective wedding attended by three couples, being the only family member to marry a common Han civilian. Her father Zaifeng passed away in 1951.

In 1955, she was invited to participate in the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Chongwen District, Beijing. In 1957, she began serving as the director of teaching at Jingzhong Street Primary School. In 1960, under arrangements by Premier Zhou Enlai, she reunited with her eldest brother Puyi and other siblings, first referring to her elder brother by his familial title. In April of the same year, her husband Qiao Hongzhi passed away. In 1967, her eldest brother Puyi died in Beijing; Yunhuan then went to the Bai Penjiao commune of Huangtugang Brigade in Fengtai District to participate in wheat harvest labor. In 1975, she served as deputy head of teaching at Beijing No. 227 Middle School and retired from the school in 1979.

In her later years, she lived in Beijing. She passed away in early summer 2004 in Beijing due to illness. Her children include her eldest daughter Qiao Ying, her first son Qiao Min, and her second son Qiao Dai, all of whom lived and worked with her. Details of Qiao Ying’s marriage, her children, and related information are recorded separately.