Yizhi

Yizhi (奕誌), born on 30 October 1827 and deceased on 27 June 1850, was an imperial prince of the Qing dynasty and the first son of Mianxin, who was a son of the Jiaqing Emperor. His personal name was originally Yiyue (奕约), but in 1828, it was changed to Yizhi with the character 記 (zhi), which shares the Kangxi radical for "speech" (語). This change was made to align his name stylistically with the names of the sons of the Daoguang Emperor.

Yizhi was born to Lady Xu, known as secondary princess consort Ruihuai. Following the death of his parents in 1828, when he was approximately one year old, several princes, including Prince Ding of the First Rank Yishao, were appointed as guardians, or curators, until he reached maturity. These arrangements aimed to oversee his well-being during childhood.

In terms of personality and abilities, descriptions from elder servants indicate that Yizhi was considered to be beautiful and shy, traits that led to limited interaction within aristocratic circles. Additionally, accounts suggest that his mental capabilities were somewhat limited.

Yizhi's involvement in martial and religious practices included performing sacrifices at the Chang mausoleum of the Western Qing tombs in 1848. His life was relatively short; he died on 27 June 1850 at the age of 22. Posthumously, he was honored with the title of Prince Ruimin of the Second Rank (多罗瑞敏郡王), which can be interpreted as “propitious and clever.” His funeral arrangements were managed by Yixin, Prince Gong, a prominent Qing dynasty statesman.

As Yizhi had only one son, who died prematurely, and his daughters either married or also died young, the imperial peerage associated with him was continued through posthumous adoptions. In 1861, Zaiyi, a son of Yicong, Prince Dun of the First Rank, was adopted as Yizhi’s son and was later titled Prince Duan of the Second Rank in 1894. After Zaiyi’s removal from his title due to his role in the Boxer Rebellion, another adopted heir, Zaixun, a son of Yixuan, Prince Chun of the First Rank, was given the title of Prince of the Second Rank, with the title subsequently considered to have expired.

Yizhi was married in 1840 to Lady Feimo, a daughter of Wenwei, a fourth-rank literary official. At that time, Lady Feimo was approximately 15 years old. She died on the same day as Lady Zhang, Yizhi’s mistress.

His primary consort was of the Feimo clan (嫡福晋费莫氏), born in 1825 and died on 8 March 1877. She bore Yizhi a son in 1845 and a daughter known as Zairong, Princess of the Fourth Rank (县主载容), who married Xixian in 1869. Yizhi also had a mistress from the Zhang clan (庶福晋张氏), who died on 8 March 1877; she bore several children, including a daughter born in June 1847 who died in September of the same year, another daughter married to Liankui of the Bolod clan in 1863, and a seventh daughter who married Narsu of the Khorchin Borjigin clan in 1872.

Covered in historical records including Arthur W. Hummel’s "Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing Period," Yizhi’s life is documented as that of a Qing dynasty prince with familial and posthumous significance, but without direct male heirs to continue his specific peerage.