Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/141

 local government; and in the forty years prior to 1855 they had several times rebelled (1818–19, 1826–28, 1834–40), but after each failure their lot became less endurable. In this year adherents of that religion, aided by miners at Shih-yang-ch'ang 石羊廠 in Ch'u-hsiung, began an armed conflict which soon spread throughout the province, giving the Moslems predominant power, particularly in the western part. Ts'ên led his militia to the capital at Kunming and his offer to help suppress the revolt was promptly accepted.

At this time (1856) the Mohammedans had two leaders in Yunnan. One was Ma Tê-hsin 馬德新 (also known as Ma Fu-ch'u 馬復初, d. 1874), an old Imam of Tali, who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca and had gained the con fidence of his co-religionists. He lived in or near Kunming, helping the rebels, and at the same time accepting official ranks from the government. Apparently his dominant motive was to increase his own influence. The other leader was Tu Wên-hsiu 杜文秀 who was the political head of the rebel government. Known as Sultan Suleiman, he called his kingdom P'ing-nan Kuo 平南國, and made his capital at Tali. At the height of his power he ruled the western half of Yunnan and had adherents in Szechwan and Kansu. His kingdom lasted more than sixteen years (1856–72), roughly corresponding to the other Moslem uprisings in Shensi, Kansu, and Turkestan (see under ).

Early in 1857 Ts'ên Yü-ying assisted the government forces in a vain attempt to recover Tali, but by the middle of that year these armies were withdrawn because Kunming was besieged by Mohammedan forces under Ma Ju-lung 馬如龍, a general who collaborated with Ma Tê-hsin. Ts'ên returned to Kwangsi, raised recruits and, early in 1859, led them to Kunming to reinforce the defense of the capital. Soon after his arrival the siege was raised; then he was sent to recover nearby cities. Later in the year he took I-liang and was named its acting magistrate. The following year he advanced to Lu-an and was made concurrently acting magistrate of that department. Early in 1861 he was promoted to be acting prefect of Ch'êng-chiang-fu. In 1861, when the Moslems again attacked Kunming, Ts'ên was sent by Governor Hsü Chih-ming 徐之銘 to the rebel camp to negotiate a truce. He succeeded in persuading the commanding general, the above-mentioned Ma Ju-lung, to render allegiance to the government. Ma was made a brigade-general, and Ts'ên was rewarded with promotion to acting lieutenant-governor of Yunnan.

Early in 1863 the Mohammedan soldiers who had surrendered with Ma Ju-lung were incited by Ma Tê-hsin to rebel once more. They took control of Kunming and murdered the governor-general, P'an To 潘鐸. Ts'ên, in co-operation with Ma Ju-lung, put down the revolt, thus leaving only the forces of Tu Wên-hsiu to be dealt with. Ma Ju-lung was left in charge at Kunming, and Ts'ên led an army against the Moslems of Tali. He took several cities, but in March 1864 his forces were defeated near Tali. Presently the Moslems at Ch'ü-ching, northeast of Kunming, rose in arms. This gave Ts'ên a pretext for withdrawing from Tali in order to suppress the rebels in the east. He recovered Ch'ü-ching late in 1864 and finally stabilized eastern Yunnan. Thereafter he made Ch'ü-ching his headquarters, and gave to the farmers and merchants of eastern Yunnan a sense of security, such as they had not known for years. At the same time he nursed his army until it became the strongest force in the province. Kunming would have been his natural headquarters, but he was unable to establish himself there, owing, it is said, to a misunderstanding with Ma Ju-lung.

After a year's respite Ts'ên was appointed intendant of eastern Yunnan and was ordered by Governor-general Lao Ch'ung-kuang (see under ) to suppress rebel bands in the region where Yunnan, Szechwan and Kweichow meet. These bands were especially numerous in Kweichow; some were followers of secret religious sects, some were Mohammedans, but most of them were Miao tribesmen. The trouble in Kweichow began about 1854 and lasted for almost twenty years. By 1865 the rebels in the northwestern part of that province became very active, and Ts'ên was sent to suppress them. In the following year be recovered Chên-hsiung and other cities in northeastern Yunnan which they had seized. In 1867 he took the strongholds of the Miao tribesmen on the Yunnan-Kweichow border. The rebellion elsewhere in Kweichow was not put down until 1873, by the forces of Hsi Pao-t'ien (see under ) and those of Governor Tstêng Pi-kuang 曾璧光. 743