First-rank court official Xu Yingkui (, 1830–1903), courtesy names Jun'an (筠庵) and Changde (昌德), was a 19th-century

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

politician who served as

Viceroy of Min-Zhe The Viceroy of Min-Zhe, fully in Chinese as the Governor-General of Min-Zhe Provinces and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages and Governor Affairs, was one of eight Viceroys during the Qing dynasty. The Viceroy of M ...

, Governor of

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

and General of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

from 1898 to 1903. He was one of the two Chinese representatives who signed the

Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory The Convention between the United Kingdom and China, Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory, commonly known as the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory or the Second Convention of Peking, was a lease and unequal treaty si ...

, the other being

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

. During

Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor sparked confli ...

Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emp ...

, Xu opposed the reform and personally filed a complaint against Kang's conduct and political orientations.

Family

Xu was born in a prestigious gentry family from

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

province, historically Panyu county of Guangzhou prefecture. His grandfather Xu Baiting was a salt trader who acquired the status of

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

with the grace of the

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was ...

. His uncle Xu Xiangguang supported and financed Hong Kong's military resistance against the British empire as well as the construction of

Kowloon Walled City Kowloon Walled City () was an extremely densely populated and largely lawless enclave of China within the boundaries of Kowloon City of former British Hong Kong. Built as an imperial Chinese Fortification, military fort, the walled city beca ...

Viceroy of Min-Zhe

During the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

, Xu was the viceroy of Minzhe. Xu, along with Li Hongzhang, viceroy of Liangguang, Liu Kunyi, viceroy of Liangjiang,

Zhang Zhidong Zhang Zhidong ( zh, t=張之洞) (2 September 18374 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous offici ...

, viceroy of Huguang,

Sheng Xuanhuai Sheng Xuanhuai (; November 4, 1844 – April 27, 1916) was a Qing dynasty Chinese tycoon, politician, and educator. He founded several major banks and universities and served as Minister of Transportation of the Qing Empire. He was also known as ...

, director of the

Court of Judicature and Revision ''Dalisi'' (大理寺; variously interpreted as the Court of Judicature and Revision, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Office of Justice) was the central government's judicial body in ancient China responsible for handling criminal cases. It ...

, and

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

, governor of

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

, signed the

Mutual Protection of Southeast China The Mutual Defense Pact of the Southeastern Provinces () was an agreement reached in the summer of 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion by Qing dynasty governors of the provinces in southern, eastern and central China when the Eight-Nation Alliance inv ...

agreement, openly defying the proclamation of war declared by the imperial court in Beijing against Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia, with the aim of preserving peace in their provinces. As a viceroy, Xu Yingkui was aware of the weaknesses of China when it faces the outer world. He accepted the suggestion of an American diplomat and established the

Gulangyu Gulangyu, Gulang or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage, UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8 ...

International Settlement. Under the circumstances of a potential Japanese occupation of the island of Gulangyu, Xu started negotiations with the British who were interested in the military value of Gulangyu. To counterbalance the Japanese, Xu was willing to yield the island as an international public settlement. The British government wanted complete separation of the island from Chinese administration, whereas China hoped to maintain nominal sovereignty of the island. The disagreement was eventually taken to the viceroy. Xu waived the sovereignty conditionally, obliging every country which partook in the settlement to provide military protection for the city of

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

. The Qing imperial court reviewed his proposal and deleted the article concerning Xiamen, fearing it would open the gates of Xiamen to the foreign powers. On 10 January 1902, the constitution of Gulangyu International Settlement was signed by China, Japan, Britain, the U.S., Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. After his retirement, Xu intended to construct a large and luxurious private garden in Guangzhou but died before the plan was carried out.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Yingkui 1830 births 1903 deaths Politicians from Guangzhou Ministers of Zongli Yamen