Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/361

 in the hands of the deposed minister's son. The garden is now part of the site of the Yenching University campus.

After serving six months on the Board of Revenue, Yung-hsing was released from his duties; and after another three months, was discharged from the Grand Council. His dismissal was not due to incompetency, but to a practice of the dynasty not to entrust a prince with undue authority. It seems that Yung-hsing was perhaps unintentionally involved in the case of who had addressed to him a letter criticizing the government. Though Yung-hsing at once passed the letter on to the Emperor—and thus effected the banishment of Hung—he could not himself escape a measure of suspicion.

After relinquishing all his important posts in the government Yung-hsing devoted himself once more to calligraphy and poetry. He and his brother, Yung-jung (see under ), were also known as great painters in their day. In 1814 he was ordered by Emperor Jên-tsung to select the best specimens of his handwriting, to be inscribed on stone and reproduced in the form of rubbings. The Emperor gave the collection of rubbings the title, 詒晉齋法帖 I-chin chai fa-t'ieh, after the name of the studio where Yung-hsing stored a large collection of books and objects of art. In 1819, owing to an error he made in offering sacrifices at the Temple of Earth, Yung-hsing was deprived of all his posts and was made to pay a fine. He died four years later.

The literary works of Yung-hsing bear the title, I-chin chai chi (集), 8 + 1 chüan. There is also a supplement of miscellaneous notes entitled I-chin chai sui-pi (隨筆) in 1 chüan. This collection was originally printed during his lifetime and was twice reprinted. One reprinting was made in 1846 by his great-grandson, Tsai-jui 載銳 (d. 1859, posthumous name 恭), who succeeded in 1823 to the reduced rank of a prince of the second degree (郡王) and became the second Prince Ch'êng. Tsai-jui's father and grandfather died earlier than Yung-hsing. Among Yung-hsing's grandsons the most illustrious was.

The residence of Yung-hsing in Peking, which was situated on the bank of the pond known as Shih-ch'a hai 十剎海, was originally the palace of.

[71/13b; 1/227/4a; 19 ting hsia 8a; 29 shou 2b; Ch'ing Huang-shih ssŭ-p'u (see under ); Hung, William, Ho-shên and Shu-ch'un-yüan; Ching-shih fang-hsiang chih (see bibl. under ), 6/7a; L.T.C.L.H.M.]

2em

 YUNG-hsüan 永璇, Aug. 31, 1746–1832, Sept. 1, the first Prince I (儀親王), was the eighth son of Emperor Kao-tsung. His mother (see under ), a younger sister of, gave birth to four of Emperor Kao-tsung's sons, namely: , Yung-hsüan, , and one who died in infancy. From childhood Yung-hsüan studied under Palace tutors, in particular,. In 1779 he was made a prince of the second degree with the designation I (儀郡王). In the same year he and Yung-hsing were appointed directors general for the compilation of the Imperial Manuscript Library, Ssŭ-k'u ch'üan-shu (see under ), and served on that Commission until the project was completed.

It seems that Yung-hsüan was never assigned to any very responsible task during his father's lifetime. In 1799, however, after Emperor Kao-tsung died, the succeeding Emperor Jentsung immediately raised the ranks of his halfbrothers and nephews. Yung-hsüan's princedom was elevated to the first degree and several of his sons were given minor princedoms. When the unscrupulous was imprisoned, Emperor Jên-tsung appointed Yung-hsüan to supervise the Board of Civil Appointments, and Yung-hsing, the Board of Revenue. But later the Emperor relieved Yung-hsüan of his post as supervisor, on the ground that it was not wise to concentrate too much power in the hands of a prince, and because Yung-hsüan was already over-burdened with responsibilities. This was evidently the case, for Yung-hsüan was at this time holding the following posts: presiding controller of the Imperial Clan Court, chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard, lieutenant-general of the Manchu Plain Red Banner, curator of the Imperial Library, director-general of the Board of Music, and superintendent of the affairs of two palaces. As curator of the Imperial Library, Yung-hsüan was in charge of the printing office, Wu-ying-tien (see under ). In 1809 his eldest son, Mien-chih 綿志 (d. 1834, posthumous name 順), was made a prince of the third degree and in 1813, for bravely resisting an uprising in Peking (see under ), was given the title of a prince of the second degree.

In 1819 Yung-hsüan and his son were accused of spying in the Palace to learn in advance the 963