Yinzhi was born of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the third son of the Kangxi Emperor.

French Jesuit Joachim Bouvet once mentioned in a letter to King Louis XIV that the Kangxi Emperor personally taught Yinzhi geometry.

When the Kangxi Emperor opened a school in Changchun Gardens (暢春園), he placed Yinzhi in charge of compiling a book titled Lü Li Yuan Yuan (律歷淵源), which included the shi-er-lü, calendrical calculations, and mathematics.

After his ascension to the throne, the Yongzheng Emperor ordered Yunzhi to remain at the Jingling Mausoleum to watch over their father's tomb on an excuse that "Yinzhi was closely affiliated to the crown prince (Yinreng)".

When Yinxiang, one of Yongzheng's closest half brothers, died in 1730, Yunzhi expressed little grief and sorrow.