Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Ulgungga
ULGUNGGA 烏爾恭阿 (H. 石琴主人), d. 1846, age about 70 (sui), prince and poet, was a descendant in the seventh generation of Jirgalang [q. v.]. The latter was the first Prince Chêng (鄭親王), but when his second son, Jidu [q. v.], inherited the princedom, the designation Chêng was altered to Chien 簡. In 1748 the princedom was taken from Jidu's branch of the family and given to Tê-p'ei [q. v.], a great-grandson of Jirgalang's brother. As Tê-p'ei had no heir the rank was given to Citungga 奇通阿 (d. 1763), a grandnephew of Jidu. In 1778 when Citungga's grandson, Jihana 積哈那 (H. 清修道人, 1758–1784), held the title, Emperor Kao-tsung, remembering the services of Jirgalang in founding the empire, decreed that the designation, Chêng, should be restored. Jihana had a bent for literature and possessed some skill as a painter. Ulgungga, eldest son of Jihana, became the third Prince Chêng in 1794 and the twelfth inheritor of Jirgalang's princedom. His long life as a prince was uneventful, but he performed well the duties belonging to his station. He accompanied Emperors Jên-tsung and Hsüan-tsung on some of their tours but, except for journeys to Mukden and Jehol, never went beyond the metropolitan area of Chihli. He spent his life collecting paintings and antiques, cultivating plants, and composing poems. A small collection of his verse, entitled 石琴室稿 Shih-ch'in-shih kao, was printed about the year 1845. The poems were written, for the most part, during his later years.
Two of Ulgungga's sons, Su-shun [q. v.] and Tuan-hua (see under Su-shun), were politically active at the close of the Hsien-fêng period and precipitated the coup d'état of Empress Hsiao-ch'in and I-hsin [qq. v.] in 1861.
[1/167/23b–42a; 1/221/11a; 2/2/34b; 京師坊巷志 Ching-shih fang-hsiang chih 5/5a.]
Fang Chao-ying