Aixinjueluo Yonglian (August 9, 1730 - November 23, 1738), the second son of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, was born in the eighth year of Yongzheng (1730) and died in Qianlong Three years (1738).

On June 26, the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign (1730), the Fucha family gave birth to Hongli's second son. Emperor Yongzheng personally named him Yonglian. The word "Lian" meant something to Hongli. With the intention of inheriting the throne in the future. On July 2, the first year of Qianlong's reign, Hongli designated Yonglian as the crown prince.

At this time, the emperor was only 26 years old. The reason why he established a heir so early was obviously because he loved a certain son so much. Unexpectedly, just over two years later, Yonglian fell ill due to "an occasional cold". He died on October 12, the third year of Qianlong's reign (1738), at the age of 9. The premature death of his favorite son was a huge blow to Emperor Qianlong's body and mind.

For this reason, the usually diligent young emperor did not come to court for five consecutive days. And the secret edict was announced to the public, saying: "Yonglian is the queen's son, my legitimate son, smart, noble, and extraordinary. The emperor's name implies the meaning of inheriting the ancestral vessel. I am the queen and abide by the formal style. , personally wrote a secret edict, summoning the ministers to hide behind the "upright and bright" list in the Qianqing Palace. Although he was not registered, he was appointed as the crown prince.

Now that he has passed away, all ceremonies will be marked with the crown prince ceremony. OK." The scroll was given to the crown prince, with the posthumous title Duan Hui, and later the imperial edict suppressed the word "Lian" in his name. According to the ceremony of the crown prince, a grand funeral was held for Yonglian, and Hongli came to pay homage in person many times.

Extended information:

Qianlong had 17 sons in his life, and Emperor Yongyan of Jiaqing ranked fifteenth. According to the Qing Dynasty's throne inheritance principle of "establishing the eldest son and establishing the direct descendant", Yongyan, who is ranked lower and is a concubine, has almost no possibility of inheriting the throne. Qianlong indeed did not include him in his consideration at first.

But God always seemed to deliberately make things difficult for Qianlong. His second son Yonglian and his seventh son Yongcong died young one after another, and most of the other princes also died young. By the time Yong Yan was born, 8 of his 14 brothers had died. Even the fifth emperor Yong Qi, who was deeply favored by Qianlong, died early a few years later. Qianlong's choice among the princes had become Very small.

For this reason, Emperor Qianlong had to put aside his ancestral system and choose another prince from among the remaining young and concubine princes. Yongxuan, the eleventh son of the emperor, and Yongyan, the fifteenth son of the emperor, became the outstanding ones among the few sons of Emperor Qianlong. Later, Qianlong passed the throne to Yongyan.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Aixinjueluo·Yonglian