Life

The prince was named by his grandfather, Emperor Yongzheng. The character lian (璉) in his name means vessel for holding grain offerings in an ancestral hall, which suggests that he would eventually inherit the imperial throne.

Yonglian was intelligent, noble and was the only direct son of Qianlong at that time. His father secretly appointed him as his heir. On 8 August 1736, Qianlong issued a secret decree to establish Yonglian as the crown prince. The decree was hidden behind a plaque in the Qianqing Palace.

He suffered from smallpox and died on 23 November 1738, while he was staying in Ningshou Palace (宁寿宫). Emperor Qianlong and Empress Fuca were devastated. Qianlong didn't go to court for five days, and he made public the secret appointment of Yonglian as crown prince. Emperor Qianlong ordered Yonglian's funeral to be treated as that of a crown prince. Yonglian was given the posthumous name Duanhui (端慧) and his father built a garden for his dead son to be buried. The garden is known as Crown Prince Duanhui's Garden.

In popular culture

• Portrayed by Yu Yao in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)

Ancestry

生平

永璉於雍正八年六月二十六日（1730年8月9日）申時出生，是乾隆帝嫡長子，母親是乾隆帝的元配孝賢純皇后。永璉為其祖父雍正帝親自命名，因「璉」字代表宗廟之器，寓意將來要繼承皇位之意。

乾隆元年七月初二日（1736年8月8日），由乾隆帝親書密旨立為皇太子，藏於乾清宮正大光明匾之後。

乾隆三年（1738年）十月十二日，在寧壽宮患寒疾，不久夭折，年僅八歲。乾隆帝極為傷感，於同年十一月諭曰：「永璉乃皇后所生，朕之嫡子，聰明貴重，氣宇不凡。皇考命名，隱示承宗器之意。朕御極後，恪守成式，親書密旨，召諸大臣藏於乾清宮「正大光明」榜後，是雖未冊立，已命為皇太子矣。今既薨逝，一切典禮用皇太子儀注行。」旋冊贈皇太子，諡端慧。

乾隆帝命永璉的喪禮以皇太子儀注行，並為永璉修建端慧皇太子園寢，避諱其名「璉」字，於乾隆八年十二月十一日（1744年1月25日）入葬。因為是皇太子園寢，所以祭祀的等級僅次於帝、后陵，每年的清明、中元、冬至、歲暮祭日，都由皇帝從京師派王公前往祭祀。皇帝親謁東陵時，有時也親往奠釃。

清東陵陵園外圍的陪葬墓中，只有端慧皇太子園寢駐有八旗兵，並非像其他陪葬墓般由綠營派兵保護。值班的八旗官兵平日駐扎在陵園外的營房內。除保衛陵寢安全之外，陵寢祭祀之日，值班的八旗士兵都會配合禮部，抬撤桌張、支領金銀器皿等。