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China: Prince Gong (1833-1898), 6th son of the Qing Dynasty Daoguang Emperor

China: Prince Gong (1833-1898), 6th son of the Qing Dynasty Daoguang Emperor

The 1st Prince Gong (Gōng Qīnwáng; Wade-Giles: Prince Kung, 11 January 1833-29 May 1898), commonly known in his days as the Sixth Prince), was born Yixin of the Aisin-Gioro clan (the Manchu imperial clan of the ruling Qing Dynasty). He was in charge of governing China in the 1860s and 1870s. He is remembered for being an advocate of maintaining strong ties with Westerners and his attempts to modernise China.

He was popularly nicknamed 'devil number six' in Chinese, in reference to his frequent contacts with Westerners (the 'foreign devils'). He was posthumously granted the character of Zhong (meaning 'loyal') so his official title became Loyal Prince Gong or Gōng Zhōng Qīnwáng.