Marquis of Extended Grace

Marquis of Zhu
延恩侯
Creation date1725
Created byQing dynasty
Empire of China
Republic of China
PeerageChinese nobility
First holderZhu Zhilian
Last holderZhu Yuxun
Extinction date1929 (Title abolished)
Marquis of Extended Grace
Chinese延恩侯
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYán'ēn Hóu
Wade–GilesYen-en Hou
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationYìhnyān Hàuh
Jyutpingjin4 jan1 hau4

The Marquis of Extended Grace was a title held by a descendant of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) during the subsequent Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Holders of this title were also called the Marquis of Zhu from the surname of the Ming imperial family.[1] The marquis presided at memorial ceremonies held twice a year at the Ming tombs near Beijing.[2]

The Ming dynasty was Han Chinese while the Qing dynasty was dominated by the Manchus, a people from the northeast. Many people remained loyal to the Ming dynasty long after it collapsed. From 1644 to 1662, there were several loyalist armies based in southern China.

Several Ming princes accompanied Koxinga to Taiwan in 1662, including Zhu Shugui and Zhu Honghuan, son of Zhu Yihai, where they lived in the Kingdom of Tungning. Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing dynasty in 1683 and was rewarded by the Kangxi Emperor with the title "Duke of Hanjun" (漢軍公).[3][4][5] The Qing then sent the 17 Ming princes still living on Taiwan back to mainland China where they spent the rest of their lives in exile, since their lives were spared and they were not executed.[6] Zhu Honghuan was among them.

The Qing government finally made peace with the Ming loyalists in 1725 when the Yongzheng Emperor bestowed the title of marquis on Zhu Zhilian (Chu Chih lien[7]), a senior descendant of the Ming imperial family.[8] He was posthumously promoted to Marquis of Extended Grace in 1750.[9] The title suggests that the Qing emperors were extending their grace to a representative of a defunct dynasty.[2] Zhu Zhilian was also inducted into the Han Chinese Plain White Banner of the Eight Banners, which was one of the Three Upper Banners.

It was a Chinese custom for the emperors of a new dynasty to enfeoff a member of the previous dynasty they overthrew with a noble title and give them land or a stipend to offer sacrifices at their ancestor's graves, practiced since the Shang dynasty when the Zhou dynasty granted the fief of Song to a descendant of the Shang royal family. This practice was referred to as èrwáng-sānkè  [simple; zh] (二王三恪) or "the two crownings and the three respects". Regardless, the marquis was not granted the privilege to practice Ming customs and rituals. In contrast to the practices of previous dynasties, the marquis served the Qing monarchy as subjects, instead of honoured guests with independent fiefdoms. Moreover, the marquis' branch is one of minority in the House of Zhu. It can thus be argued that the Qing monarchs discontinued such custom with the installation of "Marquis of the Extended Grace".

During the Xinhai Revolution which led to the abdication of the Qing emperor, some advocated that a Han Chinese be installed as emperor, either the descendant of Confucius, who was the Duke Yansheng,[10][11][12] or the Ming imperial family descendant, the Marquis of Extended Grace.[13][14]

The last marquis was Zhu Yuxun. In September 1924, Zhu met Reginald Johnston, the British tutor of Puyi, the last Qing emperor. Although China had been a republic since 1912, Puyi was still holding his imperial court in the Forbidden City at this time. Even though Zhu was living in a hovel and had only rags to wear, Johnston described him as "still a true Chinese gentleman."[15] The business card Zhu gave Johnston said he was a descendant of the Ming imperial family and lived in Yangguan Alley, a hutong near Dongzhimen.[16] After Puyi was evicted from the Forbidden City in the Beijing Coup in October, Zhu visited him at the Japanese concession in Tianjin.[2] Zhu later followed Puyi to the northeast. Puyi reigned as emperor of Manchukuo (Manchuria) from 1934 to 1945.

In 1929, Zhu Yuxun petitioned the National Government of the Republic of China for help since he was living in destitution and said he could no longer carry out his duties. The government abolished his title as marquis and paid him a stipend instead. In 1933, the government totally terminated all of his duties in carrying out ceremonies at the Ming tombs and totally ended his position. After that, nothing is known about what happened to Zhu Yuxun.

  1. ^ H.S. Brunnert; V.V. Hagelstrom (15 April 2013). Present Day Political Organization of China. Routledge. pp. 494–. ISBN 978-1-135-79795-9.
    http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Present_Day_Political_Organization_of_China_1000115601/509
    https://archive.org/stream/presentdaypoliti00brun#page/494/mode/2up
  2. ^ a b c Johnston, Reginald F. (1934), Twilight in the Forbidden City, Cambridge University Press, pp. 349–351, ISBN 1108029655
  3. ^ Herbert Baxter Adams (1925). Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science: Extra volumes. p. 57.
  4. ^ Pao Chao Hsieh (23 October 2013). Government of China 1644- Cb: Govt of China. Routledge. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-1-136-90274-1.
  5. ^ Pao C. Hsieh (May 1967). The Government of China, 1644-1911. Psychology Press. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-0-7146-1026-9.
  6. ^ Jonathan Manthorpe (15 December 2008). Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan. St. Martin's Press. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-0-230-61424-6.
  7. ^ Library of Congress. Orientalia Division (1943). 清代名人傳略: 1644-1912. 經文書局. p. 192.
  8. ^ Piero Corradini (2005). Cina. Popoli e società in cinque millenni di storia. Giunti Editore. pp. 314–. ISBN 978-88-09-04166-0.
    Central Asiatic Journal. O. Harrassowitz. 2002. p. 119.
  9. ^ Evelyn S. Rawski (15 November 1998). The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions. University of California Press. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-0-520-92679-0. Zhu Zhida.
  10. ^ Eiko Woodhouse (2 August 2004). The Chinese Hsinhai Revolution: G. E. Morrison and Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1897-1920. Routledge. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-1-134-35242-5.
  11. ^ Jonathan D. Spence (28 October 1982). The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-1-101-17372-5.
  12. ^ Shêng Hu; Danian Liu (1983). The 1911 Revolution: A Retrospective After 70 Years. New World Press. p. 55.
    The National Review, China. 1913. p. 200.
    Monumenta Serica. H. Vetch. 1967. p. 67.
  13. ^ Percy Horace Braund Kent (1912). The Passing of the Manchus. E. Arnold. pp. 382–.
  14. ^ M.A. Aldrich (1 March 2008). The Search for a Vanishing Beijing: A Guide to China's Capital Through the Ages. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 176–. ISBN 978-962-209-777-3.
  15. ^ Great Britain and the East, vol. 57, 1941, p. 356
  16. ^ Reginald F. Johnston (30 June 2011). Twilight in the Forbidden City. Cambridge University Press. pp. 351–. ISBN 978-1-108-02965-0.