The circuit intendant of Shanghai or the daotai of Shanghai, also formerly

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as taotai or tao tai, was an

imperial Chinese The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

official who oversaw the circuit of

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 flow ...

, then part of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Province, in the

Qing Empire 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 ...

. He oversaw the area's courts, law enforcement, civic defense, canals, and customs collection. As well as areas within modern Shanghai, his remit also included Qidong in present-day Jiangsu. The position was only compensated at the () but, in addition to other sources of income, it was seen as a springboard to higher office within the empire.

History

The original seat of the circuit was at

Taicang Taicang is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The city located in the south of the Yangtze River estuary opposite Nantong, being bordered by Shanghai proper to the south, while the river also delineates ...

. It was moved to Shanghai in the 18th century. The first foreign settlement in Shanghai, the British Concession, was established by the Land Regulations () undertaken on the initiative of the intendant Gong Mujiu. His was the one who signed it on behalf of the

Qing government 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-speaki ...

on 29 November 1845. Lin Gui approved the British consul

Rutherford Alcock Sir John Rutherford Alcock, KCB (25 May 1809''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812''2 November 1897) was the first British diplomatic representative to live in Japan. Early life Alcock was born in St J ...

's proposal to extend the British boundary west from Barrier Road (, today's Henan Rd.) to

Thibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

Road (, now Xizang Rd.) on 27 November 1848. On 6 April 1849, he signed the agreement with

Charles de Montigny Louis Charles de Montigny (1805–1868) was a French diplomat who was active in Asia during the 19th century. Biography He was the first French consul in Shanghai from 23 January 1848 to 10 June 1853. He founded the Shanghai French Concession ...

formalizing and delineating the city's

French Concession The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

. An intendant was also involved with the establishment of the

Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction ...

upon the merging of the British and American settlements in 1863. The intendant was forced to flee the

Small Sword 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 ...

in 1853 amid the chaos surrounding 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 lasted fr ...

.. The intendants of the 1870s and '80s resisted French plans to expand their concession southwest, particularly the construction of a road through Shanghai's Ningbo Cemetery to connect the French Concession with

Xujiahui Xujiahui (, , romanized as: Zikawei, Ziccawei, or Siccawei) is a locality in Shanghai. It is a historic area of commerce and culture administratively within Xuhui District, which is named after the locality. The area is a well-known precinct for ...

(then "Siccawei"). One of the intendants in the 1890s finally yielded upon an agreement by the French to pay the duly assessed value of the land condemned, but the demolition of the cemetery walls in July 1898 prompted riots which killed twelve and the landing of French troops to protect the construction workers.

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* {{citation , last=French , first=Paul , title=The Old Shanghai A–Z , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-8TGS600gQC , publisher=Hong Kong University Press , location=Hong Kong , date=2010 , isbn=978-988-8028-89-4 . History of Qing dynasty by region Politics of Shanghai History of Jiangsu

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