Prince Guo

Prince Guo of the First Rank (Manchu: ᡩᠣᡵᠣᠨᠠᠮᠪᠠᠯᡳᠴᡳᠨ ᠸᠠᠩ; hošoi kengse cin wang), or simply Prince Guo, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince Guo 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 Yunli (1697–1738), the 17th son of the Kangxi Emperor. In 1723, he was awarded the status of a junwang (prince of the second rank) by his fourth brother, the Yongzheng Emperor, who succeeded their father. Yunli was known as "Prince Guo of the Second Rank". In 1728, he was promoted to a qinwang (prince of the first rank), hence he was known as "Prince Guo of the First Rank". The title was passed down over eight generations and was held by ten persons.