Prince Shen


Prince Shen of the Second Rank, or simply Prince Shen, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. It was renamed to "Prince Zhi of the Second Rank" in 1772 and upgraded to Prince Zhi of the First Rank in 1789.
Since the peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank vis-à-vis that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than a feng'en fuguo gong except under special circumstances.
The first bearer of the title was Yunxi, the 21st son of the Kangxi Emperor. In 1735, Yunxi was granted the title "Prince Shen of the Second Rank" by his nephew, the Qianlong Emperor. As his two sons died early, Yunxi adopted the Qianlong Emperor's sixth son, Yongrong, as his grandson. Yongrong inherited the peerage in 1772 as "Prince Zhi of the Second Rank" and was promoted to a qinwang in 1789. The title was passed down over eight generations and held by eight persons.

Members of the Prince Shen peerage

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