Shanqi was born on 5 October 1866 in Beijing. He was the tenth-generation Prince Su and a descendant of Hooge. Hooge was the eldest son of Hong Taiji, and was supported by the Yellow Banners in his bid to become emperor after his death. However, after a decision by an assembly of Manchu nobles and authorities, Fulin, the ninth brother, was chosen as emperor, when plans to assassinate the regent, Zaifeng, by Wang Zhaoming were revealed, Shanqi was questioned by Zaifeng. In 1908, Shanqi joined a group supervising the Admiralty. He was an acquaintance of the Manchu Jinliang. He served terms at the Ministry of the Interior, when he developed the gendarmerie, and the Ministry of Dependencies. These terms overlapped. He held the position of Bujun tongling. In early 1909, Shanqi, as the head of civilian affairs, drew up a plan to cut down administrative spending and focus more on police personnel as a way to reduce police spending as a whole. This led to the removal and replacement of the positions of Guichang and Qiyuan within the police force. After the Xinhai Revolution, Shanqi formed the backbone of the Royalist Party, proclaiming his "official duty to the lord". Shanqi refused to accept the abdication of Xuantong and was smuggled to the Japanese concession of Port Arthur in the Kwantung Leased Territory. In 1912, Shanqi gained Japanese support to create an independent Manchu state under Puyi along with his 14th daughter, Jin Bihui, whom he had allowed to be adopted by Kawashima Naniwa. However, this plan failed when the Japanese withdrew their support in favor of working with Yuan Shikai. Before and after the Manchu Restoration by Zhang Xun in 1917, two Manchu-Mongol independence movements were launched, both of which ended in failure. Shanqi was involved in the first one. The 1916 Manchu-Mongol Independence Movement, supported by businessman Okura Kihachiro, involved a one million yen investment to the Royalist Party, who held an army in Manchuria, composed of restorationists and Mongolian bandits. These funds were used to buy and transport arms. General Tanaka Giichi was to assist him in capturing Mukden and setting up a Manchurian state North of the Great Wall, eventually striking Beijing. This uprising was to be started on 15 April 1916, and timed to be at the same time as the National Protection War. However, as Tanaka was unable to receive arms in time, he suspended the operations on 4 April. After Yuan Shikai's death, the Japanese decided that if the new President of China, Li Yuanhong, was responsive to the Japanese, Japan would give their support to the Chinese government. The Japanese Foreign Ministry, who wanted to dismantle the Manchu-Mongol Independence Movement, reached an agreement with Kawashima Naniwa. Shanqi's men were to be disbanded in 16 days from the agreement. The loans given to him were to be continued, but the 215,000 yen used by Kawashima would be deducted. On 7 September, the movement was officially disbanded. In 1922, Shanqi died in Lüshun. His body was transported to the Prince Su Cemetery in Beijing. During his lifetime, Shanqi never reconciled with the Republic of China. Due to his loyalty to Puyi, he was posthumously named Prince Su Zhong.
