Prince An of the First Rank, or simply Prince An, was the title of a princely peerage used in China during the Manchu-led Qing dynasty (1644–1912). As the Prince A peerage was not awarded "iron-cap" status, this meant that each successive bearer of the title would normally start off with a title downgraded by one rank vis-à-vis that held by his predecessor. However, the title would generally not be downgraded to any lower than a feng'en fuguo gong except under special circumstances.
The first bearer of the title was Abatai (1589–1646), the seventh son of Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing dynasty. In 1644, he was awarded the status of a junwang (prince of the second rank) by his nephew, the Shunzhi Emperor, under the title "Prince Raoyu of the Second Rank" ( doroi bayan giyūn wang) or simply "Prince Raoyu". The title was renamed to "Prince An of the Second Rank" in 1651 when it was passed down to Abatai's fourth son, Yolo (1625–1689). In 1723, the Yongzheng Emperor abolished the Prince An peerage on the grounds that Yolo had "sowed discord among key ministers and disrespected the Emperor". However, in 1778, the Qianlong Emperor considered Abatai and Yolo's past contributions to the Qing Empire, and decided to restore the Prince An peerage as a feng'en fuguo gong title – the lowest possible grade for a princely peerage. Qikun, a great-great-grandson of Yolo, was selected to inherit the title. The title was passed down over a total of ten generations and was held by ten persons.
Members of the Prince An / Prince Raoyu peerage
Abatai (1589–1646), Nurhaci's seventh son, initially a beile from 1626 to 1644, awarded the title "Raoyu" in 1636, promoted to junwang (second-rank prince) in 1644, posthumously honoured as Prince Raoyumin of the First Rank (饒餘敏親王) in 1662 Yolo (岳樂; 1625–1689), Abatai's fourth son, held the title Prince An of the Second Rank from 1651 to 1654, promoted to qinwang (first-rank prince) in 1654, posthumously honoured as Prince Anhe of the First Rank (安和郡王), posthumously demoted to a junwang in 1700 and stripped of his posthumous title Ma'erhun (瑪爾渾; 1663–1709), Yolo's 15th son, held the title Prince An of the Second Rank from 1689 to 1709, posthumously honoured as Prince Anyi of the Second Rank (安懿郡王) Huayi (華圯; 1685–1718), Ma'erhun's second son, held the title Prince An of the Second Rank from 1709 to 1718, posthumously honoured as Prince Anjie of the Second Rank (安節郡王) Huabin (華彬; 1686–1735), Ma'erhun's third son, held a feng'en jiangjun title from 1705 to 1733, stripped of his title in 1733 Xigui (錫貴; 1707–1772), Huabin's second son, posthumously honoured as a feng'en fuguo gong Daiying (岱英; 1730–1780), Xigui's eldest son, posthumously honoured as a feng'en fuguo gong Qikun (奇崑; 1739–1783), Xigui's second son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1778 to 1783 Chongji (崇積; 1780–1821), Qikun's third son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1783 to 1804, stripped of his title in 1804 Bulantai (布蘭泰; 1751–1821), Daiying's second son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1805 to 1821 Hengming (亨明; 1799–1860), Bulantai's fourth son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1821 to 1860 Yushan (裕善), Hengming's eldest son, held a fengguo jiangjun title from 1844 to 1854 Huipu (惠普), Yushan's eldest son, held a feng'en jiangjun title from 1854–? Yu'an (裕安), Hengming's second son, held a fengguo jiangjun title from 1850 to 1875, had no male heir Yuke (裕恪; 1843–1873), Hengming's third son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1861 to 1873 Yipu (意普; 1868–?), Yuke's second son, held the title of a feng'en fuguo gong from 1873–?
Šanggiyan's line
Abatai
Šanggiyan (尚建; 1606–1630), Abatai's eldest son, held a beizi title, posthumously honoured as Xianque Beizi (賢慤貝子) Subutu (蘇布圖; 1625–1648), Šanggiyan's eldest son, initially a feng'en fuguo gong, promoted to beizi in 1646, posthumously honoured as Daomin Beizi (悼愍貝子) Qiangdu (強度; 1630–1651), Šanggiyan's second son, held a beizi title from 1649 to 1651, posthumously honoured as Jiejie Beizi (介潔貝子) Yanling (顏齡; 1648–1701), Subutu's eldest son, held a feng'en zhenguo gong title from 1652 to 1701, had no male heir