Zaiyi

Zaiyi (; Manchu: ; dzai-i; 26 August 1856 – 10 January 1923), better known by his title Prince Duan (or Prince Tuan, ), was a Manchu prince and statesman of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known as one of the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901. Early life and career Zaiyi was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Yicong (Prince Dun), the fifth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His family was under the Bordered White Banner of the Eight Banners. He was adopted by his father's cousin, Yizhi (奕誌; 1827–1850), who had no son to inherit his Prince Rui peerage. In 1861, Zaiyi was made a beile, before succeeding Yizhi as a junwang (second-rank prince) under the title "Prince Duan of the Second Rank" (端郡王) in 1894. Prince Duan sided with Empress Dowager Cixi and opposed the Hundred Days' Reform movement initiated by the Guangxu Emperor and his allies. After the reformist movement was crushed, in 1899, Empress Dowager Cixi designated Prince Duan's son, Pujun as First Prince (大阿哥) in her plan to depose the Guangxu Emperor and replace him with Puzhuan. However, since the ambassadors of other countries did not recognise Puzhuan's legitimacy, the empress dowager was forced to abandon her plan. Role in the Boxer Rebellion A leading conservative and strongly anti-foreign politician, Prince Duan was one of the main supporters of the Righteous Harmony Society (義和團; "Boxers") during the Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901. He arranged a meeting between Empress Dowager Cixi and Boxer leader Cao Futian. In 1899, Prince Duan set up his own private armed forces, the Tiger and Divine Corps, which was among the several modernised Manchu banner forces. During the crisis in June 1900, he headed the Zongli Yamen (foreign affairs ministry) and commanded the Boxers who besieged the Beitang cathedral. He was also in command of the Beijing Field Force against the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance. Prince Duan's younger brother, Zailan (載瀾), was also one of the leaders of the Boxer Rebellion.