Jirhangga ( Manchu: ;

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 吉爾杭阿; also known as Koer-hanger in English; died June 1, 1856) was an eminent Manchu official in the late

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-spea ...

. He served as the Governor of Jiangsu, which belonged to

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu military and society during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies under the direct command of the emperor ...

, and was appointed to that post by Imperial Commissioner

Xiang Rong Xiang Rong (; 18019August 1856) was a Chinese military general and politician. He was born in Wuxi County, Chongqing, and was promoted from the rank of a foot soldier during the later years of the Qing dynasty (16361912). He was involved in early ...

(). He was killed in action by rebels during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It laste ...

Actions against Small Swords Society

Recovery of Shanghai county

Before the Chinese New Year of 1856, Jirhangga and the Mayor of Nanjing led 15,000 troops into

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. This was followed by street fighting, the recovery of the Shanghai county, and the arrest of thousands of

Small Swords Society Small Swords Society or Small Knife Society was a political and military organisation active in Shanghai, China, and neighbouring areas amid the Taiping Rebellion, between about 1840 and 1855. Members of the society, rebelling against the Qing dy ...

members.

Organizing the Corps at Mount Jiuhua

In March 1856, Jirhangga and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

's Mayor led 40,000 troops stationed in

Mount Jiuhua Mount Jiuhua () located in Chizhou, Anhui Province in China is an important Buddhist site and natural scenic spot. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, one of the first batch of 5A level scenic spots in China, one of the fi ...

. The army was intended to capture the capital of the

in Nanjing.

Death

In 1865, when the Taiping General

Qin Rigang Qin Rigang (秦日綱, 1821 – 1856), né Qin Richang (秦日昌), was a Hakka military leader of the Taiping Rebellion, known during his military tenure as the King of Yen (燕王). He served under Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Administration and led ...

brought forces to strengthen the offensive against Beijing in the North, Jirhangga immediately attacked, despite having only a fraction of the troops, and against the advice of his staff. After five days of fighting, Jirhangga was killed by artillery shells as he was standing on the city wall of the

Dantu District Dantu District () is one of three districts of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China. A development called Dantu New City was constructed in the district and was underoccupied since around 2005 and criticized as a ghost city by international media. H ...

city, waving the Qing's

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

Aftermath

Under orders from Xiang Rong,

Zhang Guoliang Zhang Guoliang (; 1810 – April 1860), born in Guangdong, was a Field Marshal for the Qing dynasty. He was born in Gaoyao, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China, although Qing state that he is from Meixian, Guangdong. He was originally a bandit in Guangxi ...

brought reinforcements from Jiangnan DaYing to save Jirhangga, but arrived too late, as Jirhangga had been killed a week earlier.

still recovered the vital city of

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

from the Taiping, who had occupied it for five years. Jirhangga's death and the five-day combat changed the Taiping rebels' former offensive toward the north.

References