Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/110

 1854 the Great Camp of Kiangpei, in co-operation with the Great Camp of Kiangnan (see under ), attacked many insurgent barracks at Pukow on the Yangtze opposite Nanking. In 1855 the Taipings in Kua-chou were encircled by a long trench. Nevertheless, on April 5, 1856, Yangchow was again taken by combined Taiping forces which sallied out from Kua-chou, Chinkiang, and Nanking. In punishment for his failure to hold the city, T'o-ming-a was deprived of his ranks and he went home on the plea of ill-health. Though other battalions of imperialists at Yangchow were defeated and scattered, Tê-hsing-a's unit continued to fight in good spirit. Consequently he was made lieutenant-general, Imperial Commissioner, and commander-in-chief of the Great Camp of Kiangpei. With the help of Hsiang Jung, Yangchow was recovered by Tê-hsing-a on April 17, 1856, after having been occupied by the Taipings for only twelve days. Thereupon he proceeded to attack Kua-chou. After prolonged fighting, that city was finally taken (December 27, 1857), five years after it had been seized by the Taipings. In reward for his merit, Te-hsing-a was granted the double-eyed peacock feather and the hereditary title of Ch'i-tu-yü. In September 1858, however, his army sustained great reverses at Pukow at the hands of and. Yangchow was for a third time taken by the Taipings (October 9) and the city of Liu-ho was also captured (October 24). After his failure at Pukow, Tê-hsing-a was deprived of his rank, and after the fall of Yangchow his hereditary title was cancelled. He was urged to recover Liu-ho, but owing to the collapse of the morale of his troops he could not make headway. Impeached (1858) by a censor and by a general, Ho-ch'un (see under ), as incompetent in military tactics, he was dismissed and recalled to Peking. Thereafter no commander-in-chief was appointed to the Great Camp of Kiangpei and it became subsidiary to the Great Camp of Kiangnan. Soon after his recall Tê-hsing-a was granted the button of the sixth rank and was assigned to work under the command of. In 1861 he was raised to the third rank and in 1866 was made councilor of military affairs of the Tarbagatai region in Sinkiang, and concurrently deputy lieutenant-general of the Chinese Plain Red Banner. He died in 1867 and was canonized as Wei-k'o 威恪.

[1/409/4b, 6b; 2/50/19a, 44b; Yangchow fu-chih (1874); 江都縣志 Chiang-tu hsien-chih (1875); Hsiang-chün chi (see bibliography of ).]

2em

 TÊ-lêng-t'ai 德楞泰, Dec. 2, 1745–1809, Apr. 23, general, Duke Chi-yung (繼勇公), was a Mongol of the Plain Blue Banner. His family came from the Umit 伍彌特 Clan of Chahar. He was born in Peking. In 1749, when he was five sui, his family was chosen to join the newly-created Light Division (健銳營) and therefore moved to the division barracks near Hsiang-shan 香山, northwest of Peking. He began to study Manchu and Chinese when he was seven sui. In 1770, as a private, he was appointed a teacher in the division school. In 1773, after the campaign against the Chin-ch'uan rebels had a severe setback at Mu-kuo-mu (see under ), two thousand soldiers were sent from Peking to Szechwan as reinforcements—among them Tê-lêng-t'ai. For his bravery he was raised to a lieutenant (1774) and was given several certificates of distinguished service. After the victory in 1776 he escorted the commander-in-chief,, back to Peking. Later he took part in the suppression of the Muslim uprising in Kansu (1784), and of the insurrection in Taiwan (1787–88). For his exploits in Taiwan he obtained the title, Chi-yung Baturu 繼勇巴圖魯, and promotion to a colonel. In 1791, as commander of the left wing of the Light Division, he went under to Tibet to fight the Gurkas (see under ), and fought bravely across the Himalaya Mountains until the Gurkas were subdued in 1792. For his special bravery he was appointed deputy lieutenant-general of a Banner, and his portrait was placed in the Tzŭ-kuang-ko (see under ). Upon his return to Peking in 1793, he was made commander of the Light Division.

In 1795 Tê-lêng-t'ai was sent to Hunan to assist in suppressing the rebellion of Miao tribesmen of Hunan and Kweichow. He and, who had been together in most of the campaigns after 1773, fought bravely side by side. When the commanders, Fu-k'ang-an and, both died in quick succession in the summer and early fall of 1796, the two generals ably carried on the campaign until the new commander, , arrived in November of that year. After the leader of the Miao rebels was captured, early in 1797, Tê-lêng-t'ai was given the hereditary rank of a viscount.

By March 1797 the Miao rebellion was sup- 712