Qishan[a] (Manchu: ᡴᡳᡧᠠᠨ, Möllendorff: Kišan, Abkai: Kixan; 18 January 1786 – 3 August 1854), courtesy name Jing'an, was a Mongol nobleman and official of the late Qing dynasty. He was of Khalkha Mongol and Borjigit descent, and his family was under the Plain Yellow Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners. He is best known for negotiating the Convention of Chuanbi on behalf of the Qing government with the British during the First Opium War of 1839–42.[3]

Qishan
Assistant Grand Secretary
In office
1848–1851
In office
1836–1838
Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library
In office
1838–1841
Viceroy of Sichuan
In office
1846–1849
Preceded byBaoxing
Succeeded byYucheng (acting)
In office
1829–1831
Preceded byDai Sanxi
Succeeded byOšan
Imperial Resident in Tibet
In office
1843–1847
Preceded byMengbao
Succeeded byRuiyuan
Viceroy of Liangguang (acting)
In office
1840–1841
Preceded byLin Zexu
Succeeded byQi Gong
Viceroy of Zhili
In office
1837–1840
Preceded byMujangga
Succeeded byNergingge
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office
1825–1827
Preceded byWei Yuanyu
Succeeded byJiang Youxian
Viceroy of Shaan-Gan
In office
1849–1851
Preceded byBuyantai
Succeeded byYutai
Personal details
Born(1786-01-18)18 January 1786
Beijing
Died3 August 1854(1854-08-03) (aged 68)
Yangzhou
RelationsChengde (father)
Posthumous nameWenqin (文勤)
Known forNegotiating the Convention of Chuanbi
Qishan
Chinese琦善
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQíshàn
Wade–GilesChi-shan
Jing'an
Traditional Chinese靜庵
Simplified Chinese静庵
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJìng'ān

Life

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Qishan was a Khalkha Mongol by birth and was from the Borjigit clan. His 7th generator ancestor Enggeder had led his followers to submit to the Qing Empire and received a hereditary first class marquis peerage in return. Qishan inherited the peerage from his ancestor. His father, Chengde (成德), served as a general in Hangzhou and dutong (都統; a military commander) in Rehe Province.

In 1806, Qishan obtained the position of a yinsheng (蔭生; or shengyuan 生員) in the entry-level imperial examination and was recruited into the civil service as a yuanwailang (員外郎; assistant director) in the Ministry of Justice. In 1819, he was promoted to xunfu (provincial governor) of Henan Province but was later demoted to zhushi (主事) and put in charge of river works. Since then, he served in a number of appointments, including Viceroy of Liangjiang (1825–1827), Sichuan (1829–1831) and Zhili (1831–1840), and Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Cabinet (文淵閣大學士).

 
Encampment where Qishan met British Plenipotentiary Charles Elliot

In 1840, during the First Opium War, the Daoguang Emperor ordered Qishan to replace Lin Zexu as the acting Viceroy of Liangguang (covering Guangdong and Guangxi provinces). Qishan was also tasked with negotiating peace with the British. Upon witnessing British naval power, he ordered his troops to evacuate from the artillery batteries and sent Bao Peng (鮑鵬) to meet the British at Chuanbi (穿鼻; present-day Humen, Guangdong Province) and call for a peace settlement.

On 20 January 1841, without seeking approval from the Qing imperial court, Qishan agreed to the Convention of Chuanbi with the British. Among other things, the convention required the Qing Empire to pay the British an indemnity of six million silver coins and cede Hong Kong Island. The Daoguang Emperor was furious when he found out later that Qishan had agreed to the convention without his permission. He ordered Qishan to be arrested and escorted as a criminal to Beijing for trial. Qishan had his properties and assets confiscated and was sentenced to military service.

Qishan was pardoned later and reinstated as an official in 1842. He was subsequently appointed as Imperial Resident in Tibet (1843–1847), a second term as Viceroy of Sichuan (1846–1849), and Viceroy of Shaan-Gan (1849–1851).

In 1852, during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, Qishan was appointed as an Imperial Commissioner to oversee Qing imperial forces in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion. He set up the "Jiangbei Camp" (江北大營) on the northern bank of the Yangtze River at Yangzhou, with 18,000 troops stationed there. He died in the autumn of 1854 in camp. The Qing government granted him the posthumous name "Wenqin" (文勤).

Notes

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Footnotes
  1. ^ The British referred to him as "Keshen". Later usage was "Ch'i Shan" and the pinyin is "Qíshàn".[1][2]
Citations
  1. ^ Hoe, Susanna; Roebuck, Derek (1999). The Taking of Hong Kong: Charles and Clara Elliot in China Waters. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press. p. xviii. ISBN 0-7007-1145-7.
  2. ^ Tsang, Steve (2007). A Modern History of Hong Kong. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-84511-419-0.
  3. ^ Mao, Haijian. The Qing Empire and the Opium War. p. 1.

References

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Government offices
Preceded by Viceroy of Liangjiang
1825-1827
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viceroy of Sichuan (first term)
1829-1831
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viceroy of Zhili
1837-1840
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viceroy of Liangguang (acting)
1840-1841
Succeeded by
Preceded by Imperial Resident in Tibet
1843-1847
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viceroy of Sichuan (second term)
1846-1849
Succeeded by
Preceded by Viceroy of Shaan-Gan
1849-1851
Succeeded by