Keying (official)

Manchu statesman

In this Manchu name, the given name is  Keying. In accordance with Manchu custom, it should be used alone or with titles but not with the clan name Aisin Gioro.

Keying

Portrait of Keying, 1844

Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library
In office
1848–1850
Assistant Grand Secretary
In office
1845–1847
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office
1842–1844
Preceded by| Niu Jian (acting)
Succeeded by| Bichang (acting)
Viceroy of Liangguang
In office
1844–1848
Preceded by| Qi Gong
Succeeded by| Xu Guangjin
Minister of Personnel
In office
30 August 1836 – 7 November 1836

Serving with Tang Jinzhao

Preceded by| Mujangga
Succeeded by| Yijing
Minister of Revenue
In office
25 December 1834 – 30 August 1836

Serving with Wang Ding

Preceded by| Mujangga
Succeeded by| Yihao
Minister of Works
In office
17 August 1834 – 25 December 1834

Serving with Wang Shouhe (until 1834), Shi Zhiyan (1834), Wang Yinzhi (1834)

Preceded by| Boqitu
Succeeded by| Jingzheng
Minister of Rites
In office
15 October 1829 – 17 August 1834

Serving with Tang Jinzhao (until 1830), Wang Yinzhi (1830–1832), Wang Shouhe (since 1832)

Preceded by| Fuqitu
Succeeded by| Shengyin
Personal details
Born| 21 March 1787
Beijing, China
Died| 29 June 1858(1858-06-29) (aged 71)
Beijing, China
Profession| Diplomat, governor

Keying

Chinese| 耆英
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Qíyīng
Wade–Giles| Ch'i-ying
Manchu name
Romanization| Kiyeng

Keying (21 March 1787 – 29 June 1858), also known by his romanized Mandarin Chinese name Qiying or Ch'i-ying (Wade–Giles) and his Manchu name Kiyeng, was a Manchu statesman during the Qing dynasty of China. An imperial clansman of the house of Aisin Gioro, he began his career in the Imperial Clan Court. He conducted several peace treaties with Western powers, beginning with the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War with Britain in 1842.[1] Keying was sent to negotiate again in 1858 to settle the Arrow War with Britain and France, but the settlement was repudiated by the Xianfeng Emperor and he was forced to commit suicide.[2]

## Early career

[edit]

Keying was born on 21 March 1787.[3] A descendant of Nurhaci's ninth son Babutai (Duke Kexi of the First Rank), Keying was a member of the imperial house of Aisin Gioro, and belonged to the Manchu Plain Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. He held several prominent posts in the Qing government and was demoted several times because of corruption in office, but managed to regain his position as a leading official in the Qing court.

## Opium Wars

[edit]

Formal reception of Keying in Hong Kong, November 1845

In 1842, the Daoguang Emperor entrusted Keying to conclude a peace treaty with Britain following the First Opium War, and he was chiefly responsible for negotiating and signing the Treaty of Nanking. The following year, he signed the Treaty of the Bogue to supplement the Treaty of Nanking. He also concluded the Treaty of Wanghia (1844) with the United States, the Treaty of Whampoa (1844) with France, and the Treaty of Canton (1847) with Sweden-Norway. This is the first group of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties. In November 1845, Keying was well received in Hong Kong.[4]

In 1858, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Keying to negotiate a peace treaty with Britain and France to conclude the Second Opium War. During the negotiations, the British interpreters Horatio Nelson Lay and Thomas Francis Wade sought to expose Keying's duplicity by producing documents the British had captured in Guangzhou, in which Keying expressed his contempt for the British.[5] Humiliated, Keying promptly left the negotiations in Tianjin for Beijing and he was later arrested for having left his post in contravention of imperial order. He was sentenced to death by the Imperial Clan Court, but was allowed to commit suicide instead.[6]

## Namesakes

[edit]

* Keying, trading junk and the first Chinese ship to sail to Britain and America.
* Keying and Marine House c. 1845, became part of the Hong Kong Hotel in 1866.[7] It was demolished in 1858 and now site of Central Building at Pedder Street and Queen's Road Central.[8]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Koon, Yeewan (2012). "The Face of Diplomacy in 19th-Century China: Qiying's Portrait Gifts". In Johnson, Kendall (ed.). Narratives of Free Trade The Commercial Cultures of Early US-China Relations. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 131–148.
2. ^ Fang, Chao-ying (1943). "Ch'i-ying" . In Hummel, Arthur W. Sr. (ed.). Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. Vol. 1\. United States Government Printing Office.
3. ^ Gao Zhonghua (2005). Sushun yu Xianfeng zhengju. Jinan: Qilu shushe. p. 165, n. 1.
4. ^ Curiosities of Modern Travel: A Year-book of Adventure. London: David Bogue. 1847. p. 69.
5. ^ Hsu, Immanuel (1960). China's Entrance into the Family of Nations: The Diplomatic Phase, 1858–1880. Harvard East Asian Studies. pp. 40–41.
6. ^ Hsu, Immanuel (1960). China's Entrance into the Family of Nations: The Diplomatic Phase, 1858–1880. Harvard East Asian Studies. p. 43.
7. ^ "Our History". The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited. 2012-02-22.
8. ^ "Rustomjee & Co. / Keying House / The Parsee's residence [1845-1868] | Gwulo". gwulo.com. Retrieved 2023-11-22.

## References

[edit]

* Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). "Ch'i-ying" . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
* Fairbank, John King (1953). Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast; the Opening of the Treaty Ports, 1842-1854. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
* The Indian mail, Issue 1. 1843.

Government offices

Preceded by

Niu Jian

|  Viceroy of Liangjiang
1842–1844  | Succeeded by

Bichang

Preceded by

Qi Gong

|  Viceroy of Liangguang
1844–1848  | Succeeded by

Xu Guangjin

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