Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/325

 were not molested, except Maci who was suspected by the Emperor of being the prime mover.

Early in 1709 Yin-jêng was reinstated as Heir Apparent, only to be degraded again in 1712. Yin-ssă, probably finding his claims of no avail, transferred his support to a younger brother, [禵 q. v.]; never ceasing, however, to press his own claims as opportunity offered. One of the scholars accused of undue friendliness with Yin-ssŭ was whose daughter seems to have been adopted into the prince's household. For having permitted his relations with the prince to go so far, Ho was for a time imprisoned in 1715. Meanwhile Yin-t'i was appointed commander-in-chief of the armies in the northwest and was regarded by many as the Emperor's real choice for the throne.

Emperor Shêng-tsu died late in 1722. Yin-t'i was then absent from Peking, and it was who ascended the throne. As the latter was supported by, commander of the gendarmerie in Peking, the adherents of Yin-ssŭ had no way to assert their claims. The new Emperor was sagacious enough to make Yin-ssů a prince of the first degree with the designation Lien (廉親王). He also appointed him Supervisor of State Affairs and president of the Board of Colonial Affairs. Yin-ssŭ was aware that these distinctions were heaped upon him to allay popular suspicion and that there could be no hope of a lasting reconciliation between himself and the Emperor. He is said to have appeared stunned when his brother ascended the throne and to have been dazed and deep in thought when the Emperor ordered him to take charge of the funeral of their father. His wife, when congratulated on the prince's new honors, is said to have remarked that she was more concerned over when they would both be beheaded. The Emperor was angered by the attitude of the prince and the princess, but refrained from action until his power was consolidated and the opposition was weakened. For more than three years Yin-ssŭ was frequently reprimanded and humiliated, and his supporters,, , and others, were either arrested or banished.

Early in 1726 Yin-ssŭ was interrogated about his relations with his brother, Yin-t'ang. When he swore, by the lives of the imperial family, that he had not corresponded with Yin-t'ang, he was nevertheless cut off from the imperial clan' because the Emperor, who believed him guilty, did not wish the curse to fall on the entire family. This, of course, was only a pretext for tormenting Yin-ssŭ, who before long was placed in confinement on various charges and forced to alter his personal name to Acina ('cur' in Manchu). On July 2, 1726 he was accused by courtiers of forty "crimes", including neglect of duty, formation of a coalition, planning assassinations, heaping blame on the Emperor, etc. His chief supporter, Yin-t'ang, was condemned on twenty-eight counts and imprisoned in Paoting. The Emperor evidently approved of the accusations, but was unwilling to incur the blame of publicly sentencing his brothers. He gained his ends, however, by keeping them in confinement. Yin-ssŭ died on September 30 in the prison of the Court of the Imperial Clan, and Yin-t'ang, eight days earlier at Paoting (see under ). The cause of Yin-ssŭ's death was given officially as "vomiting". The Emperor merely issued a statement that both had been "called to justice by the nether world".

It is recorded that during his confinement Yin-ssŭ declared at every meal that he did not expect to die a natural death. Courtiers suggested that his body should be dismembered, but the Emperor declined to order it so. In 1778 Emperor Kao-tsung decreed that Yin-ssŭ and Yin-t'ang be posthumously restored to the imperial clan and that the same rights be accorded their descendants. He asserted that although these two uncles had coveted the throne, there was no proof that they had engaged in treasonous activities. He admitted that his father (Emperor Shih-tsung) had in his later days expressed regret at the severity of the treatment they had received.

[1/226/7b; Ch'ing Huang-shih ssŭ-p'u (see under ) 3/13b; Tung-hua lu, K'ang-hsi 47:9, 10, Yung-chêng 4:1–9; Yün-ssŭ Yün-t'ang an (The Case of Yin-ssŭ and Yin-t'ang) in Wên-hsien ts'ung-pien (see bibl. under ) no. 3, pp. 26–34.]

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 YIN-t'ang 胤禟, Oct. 17, 1683–1726, Sept. 22, was the ninth son of Emperor Shêng-tsu. During the struggle among his brothers for the throne (see under and ), he took the side of  (禵) and  and opposed another aspirant,. In 1709 he was made a prince of the fourth degree (貝子). Like his half brothers, he had his own retainers and supporters. One of his proponents 927