Zhenjin

Prince of Yan

Zhenjin

Prince of Yan
Born| 8 July 1243[1]
Died| 5 January 1286 (aged 42)
Issue| Gammala, father of Taiding
Darmabala
Chengzong
| Posthumous name

Emperor Wenhui Mingxiao (文惠明孝皇帝)
Temple name
Yuzong (裕宗)
House| Borjigin
Dynasty| Yuan dynasty
Father| Kublai Khan
Mother| Chabi
Religion| Tibetan Buddhism

Zhenjin (Mongolian: Чингим ᠴᠢᠩᠭᠢᠮ, Chinese: 真金; pinyin: Zhēnjīn; July 8, 1243[1] – 1285[2] or January 5, 1286), also rendered as Jingim, Chinkim, or Chingkim, was a crown prince of the Yuan dynasty of China. He was a son of Kublai Khan and grandson of Tolui.

## Life

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He was born as the second son to Kublai Khan and first to Chabi Khatun. The Chinese Zen Buddhist monk Haiyun gave him the name Zhenjin ("True Gold") when he was born in 1243.[3] He was created Prince of Yan (燕王), became the head of the Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) by his father in 1262,[3] and was designated as the Crown Prince (皇太子) of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1273.[4]

He was known as a strong supporter of Confucianism, having been tutored by Han scholars such as Yao Shu (1203–1280), Dou Mo (1196–1280), Liu Bingzhong (1216–1274) and Wang Xun. Among others, he was noted to have studied Classic of Poetry and Classic of Filial Piety.[5] After the death of Zhenjin's rival Ahmad Fanakati (according to Rashid al-Din, as a result of a plot by Zhenjin),[6] a Confucian-trained official in the South even proposed Kublai abdicate in favor of Zhenjin in 1285, as a result Kublai was furious. He was also known to be a friend of Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, who wrote the famous treatise "Explanation of the knowable" for Zhenjin.[7]

According to the History of Yuan, he died of alcoholism on 5 January 1286, eight years before his father Kublai Khan. However, it may not have been as simple as merely drinking too much. It is also stated that shortly before his death, some ministers of the court wanted to propose that Kublai Khan abdicate his throne to Prince Zhenjin on account of old age and because Zhenjin was highly respected throughout the empire. However, Zhenjin tried to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, Kublai Khan found out anyway and was furious, which terrified Zhenjin and may have led him to overdrink.[8][3] Distressed by his death, Kublai Khan made Zhenjin's son Temür the new Crown Prince. He was posthumously renamed as Taizi Mingxiao by Kublai on 25 February 1293. Temür gave him posthumous name Emperor Wenhui Mingxiao (文惠明孝皇帝) and temple name Yuzong (Chinese: 裕宗; lit. 'Affluent Ancestor') on 3 June 1294.

## Family

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He had a senior wife and a concubine:

1. Kökejin — from Khongirad tribe
* Gammala (1263–1302)
* Darmabala (1264–1292)
* Temür Khan (1265–1307)
2. Concubine Anchinmishi
3. Unknown concubine
* Senior Princess of Qi, Qutadmish — married to Körgüz from Öngüds, son of Ay Buqa, Prince of Zhao (趙王) and Yuelie ( older sister of Zhenjin)[9]
* Grand Princess of Lu, Nangabula — married to Manzitai from Khongirad clan, Prince of Lu
* Princess Budagan — married to Zangpo Pal[10]

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Zhenjin[11]

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Genghis Khan, Mongol Emperor

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Tolui|

|  |  |
| 9\. Börte

| 2\. Kublai Khan, Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Jakha Gambu of the Keraites[12]

| 5\. Sorghaghtani Beki|

|  |  |

| 1\. Zhenjin, Crown Prince of the Yuan Dynasty|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |

| 6\. Anchen Noyan|

|  |  |

| 3\. Chabi Khatun|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## In popular culture

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* "Prince Chinkin" is a central character in the 1982 American-Italian miniseries Marco Polo, where he was portrayed by actor Junichi Ishida.[13] In this film, he is depicted as suffering from epilepsy.
* "Prince Jingim" is also a main character of the 2014 Netflix original series Marco Polo, where he is portrayed by Remy Hii.[14]

## References

[edit]

### Citations

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1. ^ a b 洪金富 (March 2008). "〈元《析津志•原廟•行香》篇疏證〉" (PDF). 《中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊》. 79 (1). Republic of China: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica: 1－40. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-02-04. "15.裕宗皇帝，愍忌，白塔寺，大小官，〔六月〕二十日。"
2. ^ Morris., Rossabi (2012). The Mongols : a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. xxi. ISBN 9780199841455. OCLC 808367351.
3. ^ a b c Atwood, Christopher Pratt (2004). Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol empire. New York, NY: Facts On File. p. 278\. ISBN 0-8160-4671-9. OCLC 52901464.
4. ^ Roberts, J. A. G. (1999). A Concise History of China. Harvard University Press. p. 107\. ISBN 978-0-674-00075-9.
5. ^ Franke, Herbert (1952). Could the Mongol Emperors Read and Write Chinese?. p. 31.
6. ^ Hamadani, Rashid al-Din. The Successors of Genghis Khan. Translated by Boyle, John Andrew. p. 293.
7. ^ Kara, György (2016). "Reading the Middle Mongol Translation of 'Phags-pa's Shes-bya rab-gsal in the St. Petersburg Manuscript and in a Print Fragment from Qaraqota". Central Asiatic Journal. 59 (1–2): 43–60\. doi:10.13173/centasiaj.59.1-2.0043. ISSN 0008-9192. JSTOR 10.13173/centasiaj.59.1-2.0043.1–2&rft.pages=43-60&rft.date=2016&rft.issn=0008-9192&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/centasiaj.59.1-2.0043#id-name=JSTOR&rft_id=info:doi/10.13173/centasiaj.59.1-2.0043&rft.aulast=Kara&rft.aufirst=György&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13173/centasiaj.59.1-2.0043&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Zhenjin" class="Z3988">
8. ^ Song Lian, Wang Yi, et al. 宋濂 王禕 等撰. "Yuan Shi" 元史 [History of Yuan]. Taiwan shangwu yinshuguan 臺灣商務印書館 "The Commercial Press, Ltd.", 2010.
9. ^ Zhao 2008, p. 157.
10. ^ "Zangpo Pel". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
11. ^ Anne F. Broadbridge, Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire (2018), p. 118, 239
12. ^ Denis C. Twitchett, Herbert Franke, John King Fairbank, The Cambridge History of China: Volume VI (1994), p. 206
13. ^ Marco Polo at IMDb
14. ^ "Netflix's 'Marco Polo' Sets Its Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.

### Sources

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Works cited

* Zhao, George Qingzhi (2008), Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty, Peter Lang, ISBN 978-1433102752

*[lit.]: Literal translation