Nalan Xingde

Who was Nalan Xingde?

Nalan Xingde was a Chinese poet active during the Qing Dynasty, famous for his ci poetry. He was actually born Nalan Chengde, but had to change his name when the Kangxi Emperor named Yinreng, whose birth name also had the character cheng, the crown prince. Xingde also adopted the courtesy name Rongruo.

Born in Beijing in the January of 1665, Nalan Xingde came from a powerful Manchu family that not only belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners, but was also related to royalty. His father Nalan Mingzhu, who became Grand Secretary in 1677, was second cousin to the Shunzhi Emperor, and his mother was a daughter of Ajige, Prince Ying of the First Rank, and thus first cousin to the Shunzhi Emperor. Xingde's genealogical origins could have been Mongolian, however, since his clan was originally a tribe of the Mongolian Yehe who defeated the Manchu Nara tribe and adopted their name.

He was reportedly a bright child with a talent in writing poetry and essays. Like all Manchu boys, however, he was also taught riding and archery, and was said to be quite proficient in both.