道光、咸丰时期

1840年出生，是道光皇帝的第七子。1850年2月咸丰登基时，十岁的奕按例封为「多罗醇郡王」。1860年，奕奉旨与懿贵妃叶赫那拉氏的妹妹成婚，依例先行分府出宫，他受赐的府邸坐落在宣武门内的太平湖东岸，即现在的中央音乐学院所在的地方，今称南府。分府后，仍留任内廷行走。咸丰年间，奕在政治上并不出色，但咸丰帝死后，奕积极配合慈安、慈禧太后发动辛酉政变，亲自捉拿了顾命八大臣之首肃顺，再加上娶了慈禧太后之妹为嫡福晋，所以慈禧太后开始重用奕。

同治、光绪时期

辛酉政变之后，二十一岁的奕开始担任正黄旗汉军统帅、正黄旗领侍卫内大臣、御前大臣、后扈大臣、管理善扑营事务、署理奉宸苑事务、管理正黄旗新旧营房事务、管理火枪营事务和神机营事务。1864年慈禧太后为奕「加亲王衔」，任正红旗满洲都统，次年任正黄旗满洲都统、总理善扑勇射大臣、弘德殿行走、稽查弘德殿皇帝读书事务。1869年主驱逐洋人，激励绅民打毁天主教堂，盛传天津教案为他所主使。事后因惩凶赔款，愤请辞职。当年又因支持慈安太后对慈禧的亲信太监安得海处斩，为慈禧太后所恨。1872年晋封和硕醇亲王，是为第一代醇亲王。1873年，同治皇帝亲政，被免去弘德殿行走之职。

载湉是奕的二子。同治没有孩子，1874年他去世后，慈禧挑选载湉继承大统。在场的奕听到这一消息，当场晕厥过去。亲历其事的翁同和在日记中描述当时的情景道：「维时醇郡王惊遽敬唯，碰头痛哭，昏迷伏地，掖之不能起。」又一说是因为慈禧太后为报复奕杀安德海的仇，因此挑选奕譞的儿子载湉当皇帝，让奕譞尝痛失儿子的痛苦。

光绪即位后，奕譞为了自保，辞去了所有官职，只负责照料毓庆宫皇帝读书事务。在百般推辞之后，才在1887年接受了王爵「世袭罔替」的恩典，意为子孙世代可以承袭王爵，不必按例降级。按照清朝制度，原来的醇亲王府成为「潜龙邸」，奕譞应搬出。于是慈禧拨款十六万两银子，修缮什刹后海的一座贝子府赏给奕。1888年，奕全家搬到这座「北府」。是年，光绪皇帝大婚。按道理皇帝结婚即算成年，慈禧应归政，然而慈禧并不愿意，于是就由奕带头，请求太后继续「训政」。二月戊寅，慈禧太后颁懿旨，公开斥责官员吴大澄要求尊崇奕譞的请求，称奕譞对「深宫派办事宜。靡不殚竭心力。恪恭尽职。每遇优加异数。皆再四涕泣恳辞。前赏杏黄轿。至今不敢乘坐。其秉心忠赤。严畏殊常。非徒深宫知之最深。」，并出示奕譞在光绪元年所上，提前反对官员可能在光绪帝亲政后鼓励推崇皇帝亲生父母的奏摺，以示「自古纯臣居心。何以过此」。

光绪十年到光绪十六年，监理军机，总理海军衙门事务，光绪五年，受赐御书「懋德嘉绩」匾额、赐食亲王双俸，光绪十二年赐乘杏黄轿，光绪十三年王爵世袭罔替，光绪十五年受赐金桃皮鞘戎服刀、增护卫给帑修第，光绪十六年死后配享太庙，光绪十八年寝庙制祀典用天子之礼。为清朝十二个铁帽子王的其中一位。

奕十分了解慈禧太后，因而一生小心侍奉慈禧太后，故不同于六兄奕䜣而官途一帆风顺。他经历了同治帝之死、慈安太后暴卒后，更加谨小慎微，兢兢业业，把取信讨好慈禧视成唯一的本份。他负责建设海军的时候（李鸿章是会办大臣），为了让慈禧太后有安享天年之地，动用以北洋水师名义筹措的经费修建颐和园。在颐和园工程最紧张的阶段，正值直隶省和京师遭受特大水灾，御史吴兆泰因为怕激起灾民闹事，建议暂时停工，因此夺官，「交部议处」。而醇亲王却一言不发，鞠躬尽瘁地完成了修建任务。亦有人认为他一心取悦慈禧太后，无非是为了其子光绪皇帝能稳固皇权，不再受慈禧摆布，但若此说成立，奕此计实亦是无功，在他死后，其子光绪帝于1898年因戊戌政变被慈禧太后软禁，直至驾崩。1891年颐和园完工，他也与世长辞了。

逸事

奕不同于最后被封铁帽子王的庆亲王奕劻，表现是醇亲王不爱财，从其过世前留给儿孙辈的一首打油诗可看得出来：

财也大，产也大，后来子孙祸也大，若问此理是若何，子孙钱多胆也大，天样大事都不怕，不丧身家不肯罢；

财也小，产也小，后来子孙祸也小，若问此理是若何，子孙钱少胆也小，些微产业知自保，俭使俭用也过了。

家族

妻妾

• 嫡福晋叶赫那拉氏，名婉贞 (1841年-1896年)，道员承恩公惠徵之女，慈禧太后之妹，光绪帝生母。光绪二十二年五月初八日辰刻病死。

• 大侧福晋叶赫颜扎氏，来福之女。慈禧太后在光绪五年内务府选秀时将其赐予醇亲王为官女子，光绪七年病故后被追封为侧福晋。

• 二侧福晋刘佳氏，名翠妍（1866年–1925年），五品典卫德庆之女。宣统帝之祖母。翠妍本是奕府的镶白旗包衣，后来因为翠妍被收房，家族遂从包衣抬入满军旗，姓氏从刘氏改为刘佳氏。光绪九年正月生醇贤亲王第五子载沣，同年十月奕譞请求册封侧室刘佳氏为侧福晋。

• 三侧福晋李佳氏，内务府正白旗二甲锡恒管领下清茶房承应掌德纯之女。光绪十年二月二十日，正白旗拜唐阿德纯之女长春宫下官女子大妞赏予醇亲王为官女子。光绪十三年十月生醇贤亲王第三女郡君，郡君生下十五日后，奕譞请求册封其为侧福晋。光绪二十二年正月，醇亲王门上为查明醇贤亲王庶福晋李佳氏出身之事上奏。

• 官女子某氏，名大妞，镶黄旗英俊佐领下苏拉长清之女。光绪十二年二月，被赏给醇亲王。

儿女

儿子

• 第一子：载瀚，嫡福晋那拉氏所生，同治四年乙丑正月初六日辰时生，五年丙寅十一月初三日未时卒，年两岁。

• 第二子：载湉，嫡福晋那拉氏所生，即光绪帝。

• 第三子：未命名，嫡福晋那拉氏所生，光绪元年乙亥正月初八日子时生，初九日午时卒。

• 第四子：载洸，嫡福晋那拉氏所生，光绪六年庚辰十月二十六日酉时生，十年甲申四月二十四日申时卒，年五岁。

• 第五子：载沣（字「伯涵」、号「静云」），侧福晋刘佳氏所生。宣统帝之父，摄政王，袭醇亲王。

• 第六子：载洵（字「仲泉」、号「痴云」），侧福晋刘佳氏所生，过继给瑞郡王奕志为嗣。清末海军大臣。

• 第七子：载涛（字「叔源」、号「野云」），侧福晋刘佳氏所生，一开始过继给贝子奕谟为嗣，后改继给锺郡王奕詥为嗣。清末军谘府大臣。1949年后任中央人民政府马政局顾问、中国人民解放军总后勤部马政部顾问、第一、二、三届全国人大代表。

女儿

• 第一女：嫡福晋那拉氏所生（名义上），第一侧福晋颜扎氏所生（实际上）。咸丰十一年辛酉三月初二日申时生，同治五年十月十八日辰时卒，年六岁。●附注：前面妻妾栏显示，颜扎氏是慈禧太后在光绪五年（1879年）内务府选秀时将其赐予醇亲王为官女子，光绪七年（1881年）病故后被追封为侧福晋。何以会在咸丰十一年（1861年）辛酉三月初二日申时就能生育奕譞的第一女呢？

• 第二女：侧福晋刘佳氏所生，三岁殇。

• 第三女：侧福晋李佳氏所生，光绪十三年十月初九生，嫁一等忠勇公松椿为妻，于民国三年(1914年)去世，年二十八岁。

电视剧

• 《少女慈禧》：1983年，亚洲电视电视剧集，由陈亮饰演

• 《满清十三皇朝之皇城争霸》：1992年，亚洲电视电视剧集，由关伟伦饰演

• 《戏说慈禧》：1993年，中视电视剧集，由黄文豪饰演

• 《走向共和》：2003年，中国中央电视台电视剧集，由钱学格饰演

• 《台湾1895》：2008年，中国中央电视台电视剧集，由李琪饰演

• 《大太监》：2012年，无綫电视翡翠台电视剧集，由欧瑞伟饰演

Family background

Yixuan was born in the Aisin-Gioro clan as the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was Noble Consort Lin of the Uya (乌雅氏) clan. Four months after his birth, Lady Uya, a concubine of the Daoguang Emperor who was recently promoted to "Noble Lady Lin" (琳贵人), was further elevated to the status of "Imperial Concubine Lin" (琳嫔), a rare distinction. Lady Uya's rapid rise through the ranks continued, and she was promoted to "Consort Lin" (琳妃) and "Noble Consort Lin" (琳贵妃) in 1842 and 1847 respectively. The Tongzhi Emperor granted her the posthumous title "Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun" (庄顺皇贵妃), making her second only to the Empress.

During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi emperors reigns

In February 1850, after the Daoguang Emperor's death, Yixuan's fourth brother, Yizhu, ascended the throne and became historically known as the Xianfeng Emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor made Yixuan a junwang (second-rank prince) under the title "Prince Chun of the Second Rank" (醇郡王). Yixuan kept a low profile in politics throughout the Xianfeng Emperor's 11-year reign.

In 1860, by the Xianfeng Emperor's decree, Yixuan married Wanzhen of the Yehe Nara clan, who was a younger sister of Noble Consort Yi, one of the Xianfeng Emperor's consorts. The marriage forged a close bond between Yixuan and Noble Consort Yi. The Xianfeng Emperor died in August 1861, leaving the throne to his five-year-old son, Zaichun, who would reign as the Tongzhi Emperor. On the Xianfeng Emperor's death, a power struggle emerged over the regency for the emperor, with one faction led by Sushun, and princes Duanhua and Zaiyuan, and another faction led by Yixuan's sixth brother, Prince Gong, as well as the Xianfeng Emperor's empress, honoured with the title of Empress Dowager Ci'an, and Noble Consort Yi, the mother of the new emperor, honored with the title of Empress Dowager Cixi. In November 1861, Yixuan sided with Prince Gong and the two dowager empresses and launched the Xinyou Coup to seize the regency from Sushun and his faction. Yixuan personally led imperial forces to arrest Sushun and bring him back to Beijing, where he was executed.

As a consequence of the Xinyou Coup, Yixuan found himself elevated to the highest ranks in the imperial court. In the 14-year reign of the Tongzhi Emperor from 1861–1875, he had a dual career in the military and civil services. In 1872, he was promoted from junwang (second-rank prince) to a qinwang (first-rank prince), hence he became known as "Prince Chun of the First Rank" (醇亲王). In 1874, he was dismissed from office by the Tongzhi Emperor, along with Prince Gong, and several others, due to his involvement in a reprimand of the emperor for his poor conduct, only to be reinstated, along with the others, thanks to the intervention of the dowager empresses.

During the Guangxu Emperors reign

In January 1875, the Tongzhi Emperor died without an heir, so Empress Dowager Cixi chose Yixuan's second son, Zaitian, to be the new emperor. Zaitian was adopted into the Xianfeng Emperor's lineage; this meant that he was nominally no longer Yixuan's son. As the Xianfeng Emperor's "son", Zaitian was installed on the throne and became historically known as the Guangxu Emperor. This choice brought advantages to Cixi: Zaitian was her nephew (Zaitian's mother, Wanzhen, was Cixi's younger sister); Zaitian's father, Yixuan, had been a loyal supporter of Cixi; Zaitian was still young so Cixi could continue ruling as regent. As for Yixuan himself, however, Cixi's choice was a catastrophe for him. When he heard that his son had been chosen to be the new emperor, he reportedly hit himself and wept bitterly before sinking into unconsciousness.

In the last centuries of imperial China, it was very unusual for an emperor's father to be still alive while the emperor was reigning. The only prior example in the Qing dynasty was that of the situation between 1796 and 1799, when the Qianlong Emperor abdicated in favour of his 15th son, the Jiaqing Emperor, and became a taishang huang (retired emperor). Since filial piety is a highly revered value in Chinese culture, it meant that Yixuan, the biological father of the reigning emperor, would be endowed with the highest honours and privileges. However, Yixuan perceived himself to be in an extremely dangerous and uncomfortable position, given the prickly nature of Empress Dowager Cixi and her obsessional paranoia of any potential threat to her status.

The first decision that Yixuan made, after his son became the emperor, was to resign from all his official positions. He tried to keep a low profile but could not avoid being showered with honours and privileges, which he tried to decline as much as possible. Soon after his son became the emperor, Yixuan was awarded the "iron-cap" privilege, which meant that he could pass on his Prince Chun title to his descendants without the title being downgraded one grade per generation.

In 1876, Yixuan wrote a memorial to the Guangxu Emperor, condemning in advance anyone who would propose to grant him a special position in the hierarchy on the grounds that he was the emperor's biological father. Following resignation from his military and civil posts, he was entrusted with the education of the young emperor, to which he consented. In the following years, with the disgrace of his sixth brother Yixin (Prince Gong), Yixuan unwillingly became the second most powerful figure in the imperial court after Empress Dowager Cixi. The empress dowager even ordered all court officials to discuss matters with Yixuan before making decisions.

Empress Dowager Cixi's co-regent, Empress Dowager Ci'an, died suddenly in 1881 and was rumoured to have been poisoned by Cixi. This made Yixuan even more cautious and eager to please Cixi in all possible ways. When the Guangxu Emperor reached adulthood in early 1887 and was ready to take over the reins of power from Empress Dowager Cixi, Yixuan formally requested Cixi to prolong her regency.

In 1885, Empress Dowager Cixi appointed Yixuan as "Controller of the Admiralty", putting him in charge of supervising the building of a new imperial navy. Yixuan was sent on an inspection tour to the naval shipyards on the coast of China.

Before her adopted son, Emperor Guangxu, took over the throne in 1889, Cixi wrote out explicit orders that the navy should continue to develop and expand gradually. However, after Cixi went into retirement, all naval and military development came to a drastic halt. Japan』s victories over China has often been falsely rumored to be the fault of Cixi. Many believed that Cixi was the cause of the navy』s defeat by embezzling funds from the navy in order to build the Summer Palace in Beijing. However, extensive research by Chinese historians revealed that Cixi was not the cause of the Chinese navy』s decline. In actuality, China』s defeat was caused by Emperor Guangxu』s lack of interest in developing and maintaining the military. His close adviser, Grand Tutor Weng Tonghe, advised Guangxu to cut all funding to the navy and army, because he did not see Japan as a true threat, and there were several natural disasters during the early 1890s which the emperor thought to be more pressing to expend funds on.

Yixuan died on 1 January 1891, shortly before the enlargement works on the Summer Palace were completed. His fifth son, Zaifeng, inherited his title "Prince Chun of the First Rank". Yixuan was granted a posthumous name xian (贤), so his full posthumous title became "Prince Chunxian of the First Rank" (醇贤亲王).

Names and titles

• Names:

　• Clan name / family name: Aisin-Gioro (爱新觉罗 Àixīn Juéluó)

　• Personal name: Yixuan (奕譞 Yìxuān|w=I-hsüan)

　• Courtesy name: Pu'an (朴菴 Pǔ ān)

　• Pseudonym: Master of the Jiusi Hall (九思堂主人 Jǐusītáng Zhǔrén) or Withdrawn Master (退潜主人 Tuìqiǎn Zhǔrén)

• Titles:

　• Prince Chun of the Second Rank (醇郡王 Chún Jùnwáng). Yixuan held this title from 1850 to 1872.

　• Prince Chun of the First Rank (醇亲王 Chún Qīnwáng), simplified to Prince Chun (or Prince Ch'un in Wade–Giles). Yixuan held this title from 1872 until his death in 1891.

　• Posthumous title (in full): Prince Chunxian of the First Rank (醇贤亲王 Chúnxián Qīnwáng)

• Other references:

　• Seventh Prince (七王爷 Qī Wángyé)

Prince Chun Tomb

Tomb of Prince Chun

Yixuan was interred in a tomb of princely status, now popularly known as the "Seventh Prince's Grave" (七王坟), located 35 km/22 miles northwest of Beijing. According to Puyi's autobiography, a ginkgo tree grew on the tomb of Yixuan, and became very tall and imposing. This fact was reported to Empress Dowager Cixi and greatly alarmed her. In the Chinese language, the first character of the word "ginkgo tree" is bai (白), while the first character of the word "emperor" is huang (皇), which combines the character bai with the character wang (王 – meaning "prince", 亲王). A ginkgo (白) growing on the tomb of Yixuan (王) was interpreted as a sign that a new emperor (皇) would emerge in the house of Yixuan. This was unacceptable for the very superstitious Cixi, as obsessed as ever with thwarting any challenge to her power, and so she promptly had the tree felled. The tomb of Yixuan was restored by the People's Republic of China after 1949 and is now one of the tourist attractions around Beijing.

The tomb and surrounding area appears in Quentin Tarantino's 2004 film Kill Bill: Volume 2 as the home and training grounds of the legendary Shaolin monk Pai Mei.

Prince Chun Mansion

A former residence of Yixuan, now known as the Prince Chun Mansion, is located near Shichahai, Beijing.

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Yehenara Wanzhen, primary consort (嫡福晋 叶赫那拉氏; 13 September 1841 – 17 June 1896).

　• Zaihan (载瀚; 4 February 1865 – 9 December 1866), first son

　• Zaitian, the Guangxu Emperor (德宗 载湉; 14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), second son

　• Third son (13 February 1875 – 14 February 1875)

　• Zaiguang (载洸; 27 November 1880 – 18 May 1884), fourth son

• Secondary consort, of the Yanzha clan (侧福晋 颜扎氏), personal name Yujuan (玉娟)

　• First daughter (11 April 1861 – 24 November 1866)

• Secondary consort, of the Liugiya clan (侧福晋 刘佳氏; 1866–1925), personal name Cuiyan (翠妍)

　• Zaifeng, Prince Chun of the First Rank (醇亲王 载沣; 12 February 1883 – 3 February 1951), fifth son

　• Zaixun, Prince of the Third Rank (贝勒 载洵; 20 May 1885 – 1949), sixth son

　• Zaitao, Prince of the Third Rank (贝勒 载涛; 23 June 1887 – 2 September 1970), seventh son

　• Second daughter

• Secondary consort, of the Ligiya clan (侧福晋 李佳氏; 1869–1928), personal name Daniu (大妞)

　• Third daughter (23 November 1887 – 1914)

　　• Married Songchun (松椿; d. 1927) of the Manchu Fuca clan in 1905

Ancestry