Mujangga (Manchu: ᠮᡠᠵᠠᠩᡤᠠ, Möllendorff: mujangga; Chinese: 穆彰阿; pinyin: Mùzhāng'ā; Wade–Giles: Mu-chang-a; Jyutping: Muk6jeong1aa3; 1782–1856) was a Manchu statesman of the late Qing dynasty, belonging to the Gogiya (郭佳) clan. He belonged under the Bordered Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. In 1805, he was awarded the jinshi degree, the highest level in the imperial examination and quickly rose in the ranks of the Qing government. He became a member of the Grand Council in 1828 and gradually grew to exercise a decisive influence on the Daoguang Emperor's policies. Following the demise of Cao Zhenyong, Mujangga became the chief Grand Councillor in 1837. As tensions in Sino-British relations rose in 1839, he became one of the chief advocates of a conciliatory policy towards the British and following the outbreak of the First Opium War, he moved to dismiss Lin Zexu from his position as imperial commissioner in September 1840. Around 1845 he was President of the Hanlin Academy.[1] Mujangga's conciliatory policies created tensions with the allegedly more xenophobic heir apparent, and following his accession to the throne as the Xianfeng Emperor, Mujangga was dismissed from all his positions in 1851.
Mujangga | |
|---|---|
| Chief Grand Councillor | |
| In office 1836–1850 | |
| Preceded by | Pan Shi'en |
| Succeeded by | Qi Junzao |
| Grand Councillor | |
| In office 1827 – 1850 (as the Chief Grand Councillor since 1836) | |
| Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall | |
| In office 1838–1850 | |
| Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall | |
| In office 1836–1838 | |
| Assistant Grand Secretary | |
| In office 1834–1836 | |
| Minister of Personnel | |
| In office 25 December 1834 – 30 August 1836 Serving with Tang Jinzhao | |
| Preceded by | Wenfu |
| Succeeded by | Keying |
| Minister of Revenue | |
| In office 14 July 1833 – 25 December 1834 Serving with Wang Ding | |
| Preceded by | Xi'en |
| Succeeded by | Keying |
| Minister of Works | |
| In office 9 January 1832 – 14 July 1833 Serving with Zhu Shiyan | |
| Preceded by | Fujun |
| Succeeded by | Boqitu |
| In office 8 January 1827 – 21 September 1831 Serving with Pan Shi'en | |
| Preceded by | Xi'en |
| Succeeded by | Fujun |
| Minister of War | |
| In office 21 September 1830 – 9 January 1831 Serving with Shi Yizhi | |
| Preceded by | Songyun |
| Succeeded by | Naqing'an |
| Minister of Lifan Yuan | |
| In office 3 March 1824 – 8 January 1827 | |
| Preceded by | Fujun |
| Succeeded by | Yinghe |
| Viceroy of the Canal Transport | |
| In office 1826 – 1826 (acting) | |
| Preceded by | Chen Zhongfu |
| Succeeded by | Nergingge |
| In office 1825 – 1825 (acting) | |
| Preceded by | Wei Yuanyu |
| Succeeded by | Chen Zhongfu |
| Viceroy of Zhili | |
| In office 14 April 1837 – 25 July 1837 (acting) | |
| Preceded by | Keshen |
| Succeeded by | Keshen (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1782 |
| Died | 1856 (aged 73–74) |
Mujangga was the teacher of Zeng Guofan — a young Chinese statesman, Confucian scholar, and future general of the Xiang Army during the Taiping Rebellion who later became a mentor to Li Hongzhang, a future diplomat of the Qing Dynasty and trade minister of the Beiyang Navy.
Further reading edit
- Crossley, Pamela Kyle. Orphan Warriors: Three Manchu Generations and the End of the Qing World, page 256. Princeton University Press, 1990.
- Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
References edit
- ^ The Chinese Repository, Volume 14, edited by Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Samuel Wells Willaims