Prince Gong
Imperial Prince; Regent; Foreign Minister
"We must learn from the barbarians in order to overcome the barbarians."
Biography
Prince Gong (Yixin), the sixth son of Emperor Daoguang, was the most pragmatic and modern-minded Qing statesman of the 19th century. When Emperor Xianfeng fled Beijing in September 1860, he left his younger brother Gong behind to negotiate the surrender. Gong signed the Convention of Peking — ceding Kowloon, legalizing the opium trade, opening more treaty ports — but he did so with clear eyes and immediately set about using the resulting peace to modernize China. He founded the Zongli Yamen (China's first foreign ministry), championed the Self-Strengthening Movement that sought to acquire Western military technology while preserving Confucian governance, and built the infrastructure of diplomatic relations with Western powers. He was a brilliant and flexible statesman working within a system that could not fully modernize — repeatedly sidelined by court conservatives and the Empress Dowager Cixi, he never had the authority to push China's transformation far enough.
Did you know?
Prince Gong met with Lord Elgin to negotiate the Convention of Peking in a room where, just days earlier, British forces had been marching through Beijing's streets. He did so knowing the Summer Palace — where he had grown up — was being burned as they spoke.
Key Battles
Third Battle of the Taku Forts
Britain & France victoryAugust 21, 1860 · 2,100 total casualties
The fall of the Taku Forts for the second time broke all remaining Qing military capacity to defend North China and made the advance on Beijing inevitable. Emperor Xianfeng began preparing to flee the capital.
Battle of Palikao
Britain & France victorySeptember 21, 1860 · 5,200 total casualties
The destruction of the Qing's final defending army and Emperor Xianfeng's flight left Beijing — and the entire empire — undefended. The subsequent burning of the Summer Palace and the Convention of Peking ended the war on the most humiliating terms China had ever accepted.
Life Journey
Timeline
January 11, 1833
🌅 Birth
Born in the Forbidden City as sixth son of Emperor Daoguang
~1847
📚 Education
Educated in imperial tradition; trained in Chinese classics and Manchu arts
October 1860
⚔️ Battle
Left behind by Emperor Xianfeng to negotiate Beijing's surrender; signed Convention of Peking with Lord Elgin
1861
🕊️ Postwar
Founded Zongli Yamen (China's first foreign ministry); championed Self-Strengthening Movement
1884
🕊️ Postwar
Dismissed from power by Empress Dowager Cixi after French defeat in Sino-French War; recalled in 1894
May 29, 1898
✝️ Death
Died in Beijing; missed by days the Hundred Days' Reform that embodied everything he had worked for