Wenxiang (, ; born October 16, 1818, in

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of F ...

, died May 26, 1876) was an ethnic Manchu statesman of 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-spea ...

of China. Wenxiang hailed from the Gūwalgiya clan and belonged to the Plain Red Banner in the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the ...

in Mukden. In 1845, he obtained the highest degree (''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referr ...

'') in the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

and four years later he was appointed to the Board of Works. He advanced through the ranks and in 1858, he was appointed vice president to the

Board of Rites The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China. It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Along with religious rituals and cour ...

and also became a member of the Grand Council, the highest policy-making organ in the Empire. He subsequently held a number of prominent posts in the central government and became a key player in court politics. As foreign troops invaded Beijing during the Second Opium War and the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

fled to

Chengde Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by ...

, Wenxiang remained in the capital and took part in negotiating with the British and French. Following the peace settlement, he became one of the founders of the new Qing foreign office, the

Zongli Yamen The ''Zongli Yamen'' (), short for Office for the General Management of Affairs Concerning the Various Countries (), also known as Prime Minister's Office, Office of General Management, was the government body in charge of foreign policy in imp ...

. He was one of the architects behind the

Self-strengthening movement The Self-Strengthening Movement, also known as the Westernization or Western Affairs Movement (–1895), was a period of radical institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following the military disasters of the Opium ...

and was instrumental in devising the Qing government's cooperative policy towards the Western powers in the period between 1861 and 1876.

References

* * Crossley, Pamela Kyle, ''Orphan Warriors' (1990), 141–146.. 1818 births 1876 deaths Manchu Plain Red Bannermen Manchu politicians Grand Councillors of the Qing dynasty Politicians from Liaoyang Qing dynasty politicians from Liaoning Grand Secretaries of the Qing dynasty Assistant Grand Secretaries Ministers of Zongli Yamen {{China-politician-stub