Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Tsai-ch'üan
TSAI-ch'üan 載銓 (T. 筠鄰主人), d. Nov. 6, 1854, the fifth Prince Ting (定郡王), was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Kao-tsung. His great-grandfather, Yung-huang 永璜 (1728–1750), the eldest son of Kao-tsung, was posthumously made a prince of the first degree with the designation Ting (定親王), and was canonized as An 安. Yung-huang had two sons, Mien-tê 綿德 (d. 1786) and Mien-ên 綿恩 (d. 1822). At first Mien-tê inherited the rank of Prince Ting but was deprived of it in 1776 for carrying on illegal relationships with certain officials. The rank then passed to Mien-ên who was canonized as Kung 恭. In 1822 the latter's son, I-shao 奕紹 (1776–1836), inherited the rank as the fourth Prince Ting, and was canonized as Tuan 端. When I-shao died the rank passed on to his eldest son, Tsai-ch'üan.
Tsai-ch'üan was educated in the palace school for princes, and in 1808 began to study under T'ang Chin-chao [q. v.]. In 1816, presumably after an examination held for Imperial Clansmen, he was appointed a nobleman of the tenth rank. Later he was successively raised to a nobleman of the ninth rank (1823), to a prince of the eighth degree (1831), and finally to a prince of the sixth degree (1835). In the meantime he served as an adjutant and as president of the Board of Ceremonies (December 1834–35) and of the Board of Works (August 1835–36). He also held several concurrent posts, including that of general commandant of the Light Division stationed at Hsiang-shan, west of Peking. When his father died, late in December 1836, Tsai-ch'üan was relieved from service as president of the Board of Works. As heir to the family estate, he became the fifth Prince Ting, inheriting a princedom of the second degree. In the last decade of Emperor Hsüan-tsung's reign Tsai-ch'üan held the post of presiding controller of the Imperial Clan Court. Emperor Wên-tsung who succeeded to the throne in 1850 was friendly to him, and listened to his suggestions.
Tsai-ch'üan used his influence to intimidate courtiers, some of whom rallied to his side as "disciples" (門生). In August 1852 a censor, Yüan Chia-san [q. v.], brought against him a charge of usurping power; he was accused, as commandant of the Peking Gendarmerie, of irregularity in the conduct of civil cases. His encouragement of "disciples" was also brought to the attention of the Emperor and, on investigation, it was discovered that many high officials had close relations with him. He was punished by being fined two years' stipend and by dismissal from his posts. But he continued in the Emperor's favor, and in a few months was again made commandant of the Gendarmerie.
When Tsai-ch'üan was ill in 1854, he adopted as his heir P'u-hsü 溥煦 (d. 1907, posthumous name Shen 愼), a great-grandson of Mien-tê. In November 1854 he died and was canonized as Min 敏. His princedom was posthumously raised to the first degree. Thus P'u-hsü inherited a pricedom of the second degree. A son of P'u-hsü, named Yü-lang 毓朗 (T. 餘癡生), who inherited in 1907 a princedom of the third degree, was a Grand Councilor (1910–11).
Tsai-ch'üan left a collection of verse, entitled 行有恆堂初集 Hsing-yu-hêng t'ang ch'u-chi, 2 chüan, printed in 1848. A collection of poems by Yü-lang is entitled 餘癡生初稿 Yü-ch'ih-shêng ch'u-kao.
[Ch'ing Huang-shih ssŭ-p'u (see under Fu-lung-an); 2/227/1a; Wan-ch'ing-i shih-hui (see bibl. under Huang T'i-fang) 8/16a; 道咸同光四朝詩史 Tao, Hsien, T'ung, Kuang, Ssŭ-ch'ao shih-shih (chia-chi, shou, p. 20); Yüan Chia-san [q. v.], Tuan-min kung chi, 奏議2/1a–12b.]