Yuyan

For other uses, see Yuyan (disambiguation).

Yuyan
Pretender
Born	1918 Beijing, China
Died	1997 (aged 78–79) Beijing, China
Throne(s) claimed	China
Pretend from	October 17, 1967 – 1997
Monarchy abolished	1912
Last monarch	Xuantong Emperor
Connection with	Cousin
Royal House	House of Aisin Gioro
Father	Pucheng
Mother	Jinggui
Spouse	Magiya Jinglan Zhang Yunfang
Children	Hengzhen Hengkai Hengjun
Predecessor	Xuantong Emperor

Yuyan
Chinese	毓嵒
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yùyán

Yuyan (1918–1997), courtesy name Yanrui (simplified Chinese: 岩瑞; traditional Chinese: 巖瑞; pinyin: Yánruì), nickname Xiaoruizi (Chinese: 小瑞子; pinyin: Xiǎoruìzǐ), was a Chinese calligrapher and a member of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, the imperial clan of the Qing Dynasty. He claimed that he was appointed heir by Puyi, the Last Emperor of China. His claim is the subject of the travel adventure book The Empty Throne by British journalist Tony Scotland.

Biography

Early life

Born in Wangfujing, Beijing, Yuyan was the second son of Pucheng (溥偁) and Jinggui (敬貴), a lady of the Manchu Fuca (富察) clan. His grandfather was Zailian (載濂; 1854 - 1917), son of Yicong (1831 - 1889), the fifth son of the Daoguang Emperor. He was a distant cousin of the Xuantong Emperor (Puyi), the Last Emperor of China.

In 1936 Yuyan was summoned by Puyi, who had been enthroned as ruler of the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1934 by the Empire of Japan, to join his imperial court in Changchun, Jilin. Yuyan was very close to Puyi and was known as Xiaoruizi (小瑞子; or "Little Rui").

Life in the People's Republic of China

After the fall of Manchukuo, Yuyan was arrested by the Russians and imprisoned from 1945 to 1950 near Khabarovsk in the Soviet Union's Far East Region along with Puyi. He was later sent back to China, where he was incarcerated in the Fushun War Criminals Management Centre in Liaoning from 1950 to 1957.

Yuyan was a pretender to the Chinese throne. He claimed that Puyi appointed him as heir when they were both imprisoned in Russia in 1950. In his autobiography, Puyi wrote only that he considered selecting Yuyan as his heir, but there were no official documents to support Yuyan's claim. Under a succession law adopted in 1937, Puyi's younger brother Pujie became next in line in succession to the throne.

Following his release from Fushun, Yuyan worked as a Chinese language teacher, and later in a haberdashery factory. He was arrested in 1959 and sent for hard labour at a public security detention centre near Beijing. Yuyan was arrested again in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution and sent to do hard labour in Shanxi. He was only released in 1979 and allowed to return to Beijing, where he became a road sweeper.

After release from prison

Yuyan was a calligrapher and poet. In 1987 he was appointed as a state consultant on the restoration of the Prince Gong Mansion in Beijing.

Yuyan is the main character in the book The Empty Throne: The Quest for an Imperial Heir in the People's Republic of China (1933) by the British journalist Tony Scotland. Scotland was searching for an heir to the imperial throne of China.

Family

• Elder sister: Yujuying (毓菊英), married Chen Yingsan (陳英三), son of Chen Zengshou (陳曾壽).

• Spouses:
  • Magiya Jinglan (馬佳靜蘭), a Manchu, married Yuyan in 1943.
  • Zhang Yunfang (張雲訪), married Yuyan after Magiya Jinglan died in 1948 in Tianjin.

• Children:
  • Hengzhen (恆鎮; b. 1944), eldest son, born to Magiya Jinglan, married Tu Yanling (塗艷玲).
  • Hengkai (恆鎧; b. 1945), second son, born to Magiya Jinglan, married Liu Xiujuan (劉秀娟).
  • Hengjun (恆鈞; b. 1966), third son, born to Zhang Yunfang, married Fan Qin (范秦; b. 1971).

• Grandchildren:
  • Hengxing (恆星; b. 1977), name also spelled as Hengxing (恆鍟), Hengzhen and Tu Yanling's son.
  • Jin Yinghui (金英輝; b. 1980), also named Qiqi (啟琪), Hengkai and Liu Xiujuan's son.
  • Jin Qitong (金啟桐; b. 29 October 1996), Hengjun and Fan Qin's daughter.

Ancestry

Family of Yuyan
Daoguang Emperor               Yicong                       Consort Xiang               Zailian                             Pucheng                                   Yuyan                                         Fuca Jinggui

See also

• Qing Dynasty nobility
• Ranks of Imperial Consorts in China#Qing

Succession

Yuyan Qing Dynasty (Aisin Gioro) Born: 1918 Died: 1997
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Xuantong Emperor (Puyi)	— TITULAR — Emperor of China October 17, 1967–1997 Reason for succession failure: Qing Dynasty abolished in 1912	Succeeded by Hengzhen