Baoshou

Heshuo Yu Dauqinwang Bao Shou, also known as Bao Shou, was born in 1684 and died in 1706. He was Manchu of the Mongolian Plain White Banner, the fifth son of Prince Yuxianfuhuiquan, with his mother being Gūwalgiya, the secondary consort of Fuhuiquan. He was the same generation as Gonjou Prince Regent Bao Tai.

Emperor Kangxi named his descendants and nephews, initially giving his sons the names Bao Qing (Yun Zhi) and Bao Cheng (Yin Reng), and subsequently granting the names Bao Tai, Bao Shou, Bao An, and Bao Yong. After Fuhuiquan’s death, Kangxi, according to the vow made in his brother’s epitaph, promised: “The descendants of the prince will be protected and nurtured by me.”

Bao Shou was weak and frequently ill from a young age. Kangxi paid close attention to his condition. Whenever Kangxi left Beijing, he would send letters inquiring about Bao Shou’s health and arrange for princes who stayed in Beijing to consult doctors and care for him. He also instructed Yun Zhi and Yun Reng to visit often and to seek medical treatment from doctors. During Kangxi’s forty-fifth year (1706), on a tour, Bao Shou accompanied six princes. During the journey, Bao Shou’s condition worsened. Kangxi sent imperial physicians and Mongolian lamas to treat him, but despite repeated efforts, there was no improvement. Bao Shou passed away en route back to Beijing at the age of 23.

After his death, Kangxi issued a handwritten imperial edict among the princes in Beijing, stating that Bao Shou’s body had been transported to the capital, and on the day of arrival, all princes were to come to greet him, with notification to Bao Shou’s widow, Fu-Shun, and reporting to the Empress Dowager. Upon returning to Beijing, Kangxi decreed that Bao Shou be granted the rank of Duke of Support the Nation (Fuguo Gong) and organized funeral arrangements. An edict from Changchun Garden stated: “I bestow upon the late Bao Shou, Duke of Support the Nation, the rank of Second Class Duke of Support the Nation, and his tomb and monument shall be constructed.”

In the second year of the Yongzheng reign, his second son, Guangning, succeeded as Yuhou Prince. In the third year of Yongzheng, Bao Shou was posthumously promoted to Heshuo Dauqinwang and was buried in the Western Qing Mausoleum.

References: Yang Zhen and others, 《The Family of Emperor Kangxi》, and 《The Qing Dynasty Succession System》.