The Viceroy of Sichuan, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of Sichuan Province and the Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs and Food Production, Director of Civil Affairs, was one of eight regional

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

s in

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...

during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. As its name suggests, the Viceroy of Sichuan had control over Sichuan (Szechuan) Province, as well as modern

Chongqing Municipality Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

, which was split off in 1997.

History

The origins of the Viceroy of Sichuan trace back to 1644, during the reign of the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A Deliberative Council of Prince ...

, with the creation of the office of the

Provincial Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

of Sichuan (四川巡撫). Its headquarters were in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. In 1645, the Qing government created the Viceroy of Huguang-Sichuan with Luo Xiujin (羅繡錦) as the first Viceroy overseeing both Huguang (present-day

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) and Sichuan provinces. In 1653, Sichuan was placed under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of the Three Borders in Shaanxi, which was subsequently renamed "Viceroy of Chuan and the Three Borders in Shaanxi" (川陝三邊總督) with

Meng Qiaofang Meng may refer to: * Meng (surname) (孟), a Chinese surname * Master of Engineering (MEng or M.Eng.), an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering * , "M with hook", letter used in the International Phonetic Alphabet * ...

(孟喬芳) as the officeholder. In 1656, the office was divided into two separate Viceroys for Shaanxi and Sichuan. The Viceroy of Sichuan was based in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

. In 1661, the Viceroy of Sichuan relocated its headquarters to

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...

. In 1668, during the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

, the Viceroy of Huguang was abolished and merged into the Viceroy of Sichuan, which was then renamed "Viceroy of Chuan-Hu" (川湖總督) and based in

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

. In 1670, the Viceroy of Chuan-Hu relocated to Chongqing. Four years later, perhaps coinciding with the

Revolt of the Three Feudatories The Revolt of the Three Feudatories, () also known as the Rebellion of Wu Sangui, was a rebellion in China lasting from 1673 to 1681, during the early reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). The revolt was ...

, the Viceroy of Chuan-Hu reverted to pre-1668, separating into the Viceroy of Huguang and Viceroy of Sichuan. In 1680, the Kangxi Emperor merged the Viceroy of Sichuan with the Viceroy of Shaanxi under the "Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan" (川陝總督), with its headquarters in

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

. In 1718, a separate Viceroy was created for Sichuan, so the Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan stopped managing Sichuan. However, these changes were reversed in 1721. In 1731, the

Yongzheng Emperor , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

split the Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan into the Viceroy of Sichuan and Viceroy of Shaan-Gan, with the latter headquartered in Chengdu. In 1736, the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

abolished the Viceroy of Sichuan and recreated the office of Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan. In 1748, during the campaign against the Jinchuan hill peoples in Sichuan, the Qianlong Emperor split the Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan into the Viceroy of Sichuan and Viceroy of Shaan-Gan. He merged the two Viceroys in 1759 but reversed the changes in the following year. The system had remained as such until the end of the Qing dynasty.

List of Viceroys of Sichuan

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viceroy Of Sichuan History of Sichuan