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27-542: Construction of the hall began in 1885 and was overseen by Yixuan, Prince Chun . In 1888 the hall became the daily workplace of Dowager Empress Cixi the then de facto ruler of China, replacing the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the nearby Forbidden City . After the Boxer rebellion, Huairentang became the headquarters of occupying Eight Nation Alliance's commander Alfred von Waldersee . In 1902 Empress Cixi rebuilt Huairentang at

54-459: A posthumous name xian (賢), so his full posthumous title became "Prince Chunxian of the First Rank" (醇賢親王). Yixuan was interred in a tomb of princely status, now popularly known as the "Seventh Prince's Grave" (七王墳), 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

81-576: A cost of five million taels of silver and in 1908 she died there. After the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, President Yuan Shikai used the building to meet with foreign guests and to accept New Year's day greetings. After Yuan's death, it was the site of his funeral. When Cao Kun became president, he used Huairentang as his residence. After the end of the Beiyang Government Huairentang had no permanent use and

108-492: 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" (醇親王). 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

135-532: 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

162-623: 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

189-557: 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

216-533: The Uya (烏雅氏) clan. Four months after his birth, Lady Uya, a who was recently promoted to "Noble Lady Lin" (琳貴人), was further elevated to the status of "Imperial Concubine Lin" (琳嬪), 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" (琳貴妃) in 1842 and 1847 respectively. The Tongzhi Emperor granted her the posthumous title "Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun" (莊順皇貴妃). In February 1850, after

243-585: The Yehe Nara clan , who was the younger sister of Empress Dowager Cixi , who at that time was one of the Xianfeng Emperor's consorts. The marriage forged a close bond between Yixuan and Empress Dowager Cixi. 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

270-617: 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

297-452: 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

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324-459: 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

351-593: The construction of Jingxi Hotel in 1964. Huairen Hall is on the west bank of Zhongnanhai's Middle Lake. It has staggered roofs with glazed green tile that fall in curved lines to upturned corners. It has a grey brick façade with red wooden pillars, windows, and doors. The structure includes numerous smaller meeting rooms in addition to its large auditorium. 39°54′55″N 116°22′40″E  /  39.9153°N 116.3777°E  / 39.9153; 116.3777 Yixuan, Prince Chun Yixuan (16 October 1840 – 1 January 1891), formally known as Prince Chun ,

378-660: 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

405-596: The home and training grounds of the legendary Shaolin monk Pai Mei. A former residence of Yixuan, now known as the Prince Chun Mansion , is located near Shichahai , Beijing . Primary Consort Secondary Consort Prince Chun (%E9%86%87) Prince Chun of the First Rank , or simply Prince Chun , was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu -led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). It

432-536: 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

459-632: 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,

486-464: 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

513-492: The others, thanks to the intervention of the dowager empresses. 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

540-413: 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

567-519: 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 to 1875, he had

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594-552: Was also one of the 12 "iron-cap" princely peerages in the Qing dynasty, which meant that the title could be passed down without being downgraded. The first bearer of the title was Yixuan (1840–1891), the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor . He was awarded the title by his fourth brother, the Xianfeng Emperor , who succeeded their father. The title was passed down over two generations and held by only two persons – Yixuan and his fifth son, Zaifeng (1883–1951) – who were

621-579: Was an imperial prince of the House of Aisin-Gioro and a statesman of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty in China. He was the father of the Guangxu Emperor (his second son), and the paternal grandfather of Puyi (the Last Emperor) through his fifth son Zaifeng . Yixuan was born in the Aisin-Gioro clan as the seventh son of the Daoguang Emperor . His mother was Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun of

648-686: Was given to the Beijing City Government. After the founding of the People's Republic of China , Premier Zhou Enlai began plans to hold the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at Huairen Hall in September of 1949. In order for the building to serve as a sufficiently sized audience hall, an iron sheet roof was erected over one of the building's original courtyards. This reconstruction

675-509: Was only temporary and as part of the "Huairen Hall Expansion Project" a more permanent two-story auditorium was built on the site which has largely remained unchanged to this day. The new meeting hall was then used for first session of the National People's Congress in 1954. Huairen Hall became the auditorium of the central government, often hosting various art shows and political meetings, including CCP Central Committee plenums before

702-413: 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", 親王). A ginkgo (白) growing on the tomb of Yixuan (王) was interpreted as a sign that a new emperor (皇) would emerge in

729-488: 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

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