During the Yuan dynasty, many imperial princes were accorded the title of Prince by the emperor. This phenomenon was most conspicuous in the years following a new emperor's ascent to the throne, although two phases can be discerned. The first phase, in the early Yuan period, covers the rule of Qubilai(世祖), the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty. In this period, the single-character princely title was awarded only to Qubilai's. direct descendants In the early period of his rule, the title was awarded to the sons born of his first wife, included was Jingim(真金), who was Qubilai's son and heir, and Manggala(忙哥刺), one of Jingim's brothers In the late period, only descendants of Jingim's eldest son, Qamala(甘麻刺), were eligible for the title Each prince thus named was commanded to crusade and to govern a city The second phase, which is the main concern of this paper can be seen in the latter half of the Yuan dynasty Bestowals were concentrated in the early years of each emperor's regime Qaisan(武宗) in 1307-08, Yasun-Tamur(泰定帝) in 1324, and Tog-Tomur(文宗) in 1329-30 The context of the bestowals, however, was considerably altered. A major difference involves the fierce power struggles for the throne which took place before the bestowals were made It was thus natural fo a new emperor to award the princely titles to those who were not necessarily direct descendants in order to secure and strengthen his vulnerable position. Apparently, in this phase the single-character titles were awarded not only to the heir, but even to the Fou-ma(〓馬) or imperial son-in-law. So it can be said that the bestowals in this phase were different in terms of both extent and function
|
