Prince Gong

Prince Gong, Yixin, was a Qing imperial prince and statesman who negotiated with the Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War. He helped establish the Zongli Yamen and supported the Self-Strengthening Movement, becoming a leading advocate of selective diplomatic and military adaptation.

Pearl S. Buck’s Imperial Woman places Prince Gong within a narrative shaped by court politics and dynastic power, empire, conquest and resistance, and family, marriage and personal loyalty.