Zaitao

Zaitao
Beile

Zaitao
Beile (of the Prince Zhong lineage)
Reign 1900–1945
Predecessor Zaiying
Successor none
Born (1887-06-23)23 June 1887
Beijing, China
Died 2 September 1970(1970-09-02) (aged 83)
Beijing, China
Burial Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, Beijing, China
Spouse Jiang Wanzhen
Zhou Mengyun
Jin Xiaolan
Wang Naiwen
Issue Eldest daughter
Eldest son
Yunhui
Pujia
Pu'an
Pushen
Puxi
Pushi
Full name
Aisin-Gioro Zaitao
(愛新覺羅·載濤)
Father Yixuan
Mother Lady Lingiya
Zaitao
Traditional Chinese 載濤
Simplified Chinese 载涛
Shuyuan
Chinese 叔源
Yeyun
art name
Traditional Chinese 野雲
Simplified Chinese 野云

Zaitao (23 June 1887 - 2 September 1970), courtesy name Shuyuan, art name Yeyun, was a Manchu prince of the Qing dynasty. He was a half-brother of the Guangxu Emperor and an uncle of Puyi, the Last Emperor of China.

Life

Zaitao was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the seventh son of Yixuan (Prince Chun of the First Rank). His family was under the Plain Red Banner of the Eight Banners. He was adopted by Yihe (奕詥), Prince Zhong of the Second Rank, because Yihe had no male heir to succeed him.

In 1890, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, Zaitao was conferred the title of a second-class zhenguo jiangjun (General Who Guards the State). He was promoted to a fuguo gong (Duke Who Assists the State) not long later. In 1902, he was awarded the status of a beile (Prince of the Third Rank).

In December 1908, Zaitao was made an acting junwang (Prince of the Second Rank), even though nominally he still remained as a beile. In the same year, he and Tieliang (鐵良) were appointed as zongsi jicha (總司稽察; a type of inspector-official). A year later, during the reign of the Xuantong Emperor, Zaitao was put in charge of the Military Consultancy (軍諮處). In 1910, he visited eight countries - Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Russia - to observe and learn from their more advanced armed forces. In May of that year, he was sent to Britain as an ambassador to represent the Qing Empire at the funeral of King Edward VII.[1]

In 1911, Zaitao was appointed as the Minister of the Military Consultancy (軍諮大臣) and placed in charge of the Imperial Guard (禁衛軍). He was also designated as the commander of the Mongol Bordered Yellow Banner. In January 1912, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, Zaitao, along with Zaixun and others from the imperial clan, founded the zongshe dang (宗社黨) to preserve their ancestral temple, but this organisation was disbanded in March. In 1917, when the warlord Zhang Xun briefly restored Puyi to the throne, Zaitao was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Imperial Guard.

In 1931, Zaitao was recruited by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China to join the National Crisis Conference (國難會議). After the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Zaitao served as a member of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Zaitao fancied horses. In his early years, he studied cavalry warfare in the Saumur Cavalry School in France. After 1949, he served as a consultant on horses in the artillery formation of the People's Liberation Army.

Zaitao was also interested in Beijing opera. He was trained in both long and short range types of performing martial arts, and specialised in playing monkey roles in opera. He was tutored by Yang Xiaolou (楊小樓) and Zhang Qilin (張淇林). Opera actor Li Wanchun (李萬春) trained under Zaitao for three years.

Zaitao died in Beijing in 1970 at the age of 82.

Family

Ancestry

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zaitao.

Gallery

Zaitao in the United States
 
 

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Times, May 21, 1910
  2. ↑ 阿拉善亲王：达理札雅 — Prince of Alashan: Darijaya, Alashan League Government, 2008-07-03, retrieved 2011-08-04
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