Yunsi

Yunsi (29 March 1680 – 5 October 1726), born as Yinsi, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty in China. The eighth son of the Kangxi Emperor, Yunsi was a pivotal figure in the power struggle over the succession to his father's throne. Yunsi was believed to be favoured by most officials in the imperial court to be the next emperor but ultimately lost the struggle to his fourth brother Yinzhen, who became the Yongzheng Emperor. After the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne in 1723, Yunsi was named a top advisor to the new emperor and imperial chancellor, the head of the Lifan Yuan, in addition to being awarded the title "Prince Lian of the First Rank". He was removed from office four years later, his titles stripped, then he was banished from the imperial clan. He was charged with a litany of crimes and sent to prison, where he died in disgrace. He was posthumously rehabilitated during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. Early life Yunsi was born to the Kangxi Emperor and Consort Liang (née Wei Shuangjie), a Manchu woman of the Plain Yellow Banner, and raised by the Consort Hui, mother of Yinzhi, the first son of the Kangxi Emperor. Consort Liang was seen by some historians as coming from a disadvantaged background, because she was a member of the "Sin Jeku" slave caste before she became the Kangxi Emperor's consort. While the low status of her mother's family affected Yinsi's prestige within the ranks of the princes, it also gave Yinsi the impetus to overcome the odds through hard work and cultivating moral character. Over time, Yinsi became one of the Kangxi Emperor's favourite sons. He was popular with officials at court, and his uncle Fuquan would often praise him in front of his father, the Kangxi Emperor. At the age of only 18, Yinsi was granted the rank of doroi beile, the third highest rank of nobility. Succession struggle The Kangxi Emperor had initially chosen Yinreng, his second son to survive into adulthood, as crown prince. However, towards the later years of the emperor's reign, Yinreng engaged in increasingly licentious activities and also established a strong political base revolving around his own authority, causing him to rapidly lose favour. In 1708, during a hunting trip to Rehe, the Kangxi Emperor grew suspicious that the crown prince was conspiring to oust him in a coup. Yinreng was stripped of his position as crown prince and then placed under house arrest.