Zaixun, Prince Rui

Zaixun (1885–1949), courtesy name Zhongquan, art name Chiyun, was a Manchu noble of the late Qing dynasty. He also served as a Navy Minister in the Imperial Cabinet of Prince Qing. He was the sixth son of Prince Chun, and a brother of the Guangxu Emperor.

Zaixun was adopted into the lineage of his relative, Yizhi (奕誌; 1827–1850), because Yizhi had no son to succeed him. In 1887, he was made a buru bafen fuguo gong, and was subsequently promoted to feng'en fuguo gong in 1889 and feng'en zhenguo gong in 1890. In 1900, Zaixun's predecessor, Zaiyi, who succeeded Yizhi as "Prince Rui of the Second Rank" (later renamed to "Prince Duan of the Second Rank"), was stripped off his title of nobility and exiled to Xinjiang for his role in the Boxer Rebellion. Two years later, Zaixun succeeded Zaiyi as a beile of the Prince Rui peerage. In 1908, he was made an acting junwang (Prince of the Second Rank) but remained nominally a beile.

In 1909, Zaixun was appointed as an acting Navy Minister (海軍大臣) in the Imperial Cabinet headed by Prince Qing. Later, he was sent to Europe and the United States to study the navies of the Western powers. After returning to China, in 1911, he became a full Navy Minister. After the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty, he lived the rest of his life in retirement in Beijing and Tianjin. He died in Tianjin in 1949.

Zaixun married Lady Bilu (必祿氏), the daughter of Shanquan (善佺). Their son, Pugong, was born in 1904. Zaixun and Lady Bilu also had three daughters. The first two daughters' names were not recorded in history. Their third daughter Jin Ruichan (金蕊蟬) married Bai Fengming (白鳳鳴), a jingyun dagu (京韻大鼓) actor.

Pugong married Lady Chahala (察哈拉氏), the daughter of Zengchong (增崇). After divorcing Pugong in 1934, Lady Chahala renamed herself "Huang Yongni" (黃詠霓) and adopted the stage name "Xueyanqin" (雪艷琴). Their son, Huang Shixiang, is a Beijing opera actor.