Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/252

 to be near his aged mother who was then living with him. In 1857 he was promoted to the post of junior director of the Court of the Imperial Stud and was sent to Jehol to represent the Emperor in offering sacrifices to a deceased Mongol prince of the Barin 巴林 tribe. Early in 1858 he was named chief supervisor of Imperial Instruction and in the same year was promoted to be junior vice-president of the Board of Ceremonies, and concurrently a Grand Councilor. In 1859 he became a vice-president, first in the Board of Civil Office, then in the Board of Works, and finally in the Board of Revenue. In 1860, when the British and French Allies occupied Tientsin (see under ), he repeatedly urged Emperor Wên-tsung to stay in Peking, but before long the Emperor fled to Jehol, entrusting the peace negotiations to, Kuei-liang and Wên-hsiang. For about a month Wenhsiang was concurrently in charge of maintaining order in Peking, as commandant both of the Gendarmerie and of the guards of the Yüanming Yüan; but in order that he might devote his time to peace negotiations, he was relieved, early in October, of his concurrent duties which were then given to Jui-ch'ang (see under ), Pao-yün 寶鋆, and others.

After the Allied troops had left, Wên-hsiang, I-hsin and Kuei-liang submitted a joint memorial in which they recommended the establishment of the Tsungli Yamen for the conduct of foreign affairs, and the T'ung-wên Kuan (see under and ) for the study of foreign languages. Early in 1861 the Tsungli Yamen was created, with I-hsin at the head and Kueiliang and Wên-hsiang as his assistants. Later. in 1861 Wên-hsiang recommended the training of a corps of Bannermen in the use of modern firearms. This suggestion was also approved, and the army thus created was given the name, Shên-chi ying 神機營, Wên-hsiang being named one of the supervisors.

Early in 1862 Wên-hsiang was made president of the Censorate and, later in the same year, was transferred to the Board of War. When Nanking was recovered in 1864 he was given the title, Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In 1865, when bandits from Manchuria were nearing Peking, he was ordered to command the newly-trained riflemen to cope with the situation. He and his men pursued the bandits beyond the Great Wall. While on this assignment his wife died in Mukden, leaving his aged mother there alone. Late in 1865, after repeated requests, he was given short leave to go to Mukden to bring his mother back to Peking, but as banditry on the western borders of Manchuria had grown to large proportions—beyond the power of local officials to handle—he was empowered to lead the Shên-chi ying troops to that area. He chose only about 2, 500 men, among them 1, 000 riflemen and 300 cavalry. Being informed, after he had set out, that the bandits numbered thirty thousand, he requested a reinforcement of 500 foot soldiers and 1, 000 riflemen, trained in Tientsin under the direction of. Finally, with 4, 000 men, he reached Mukden and saved that city from threatened looting. Under his direction, these men succeeded in defeating the bandits in a number of engagements. In mid-year 1866, after the bandits were nearly subdued, he returned to Peking with his mother, and assumed the new post of president of the Board of Civil Office. In 1867 he was made concurrently chancellor of the Hanlin Academy, and in that year, on his fiftieth birthday, he was honored with special presents from the Dowager Empresses (see under ) who were then joint regents. In 1869 his mother died and he retired for the mourning period. When he resumed his offices in the following year, he was stricken with apoplexy. He was given a brief leave and was released from several concurrent posts. Nevertheless, in 1871, he was made concurrently an Associate Grand Secretary, and in 1872 was promoted to be a Grand Secretary. But he never entirely recovered from his illness and died four years later. He was posthumously given the title, Grand Tutor, and the name, Wên-chung 文忠. His memory was celebrated in the Temple of Eminent Statesmen and he was further awarded the minor hereditary rank of Ch'i-tu-yü 騎都尉.

As an assistant to I-hsin in conducting foreign affairs from 1860 to 1876, Wên-hsiang won the respect of foreign diplomats by his straight-forwardness and honesty. Among his admirers were Sir Frederick Bruce (see under ) and George F. Seward 西華, 1840–1910). He took an active part in 1871 in negotiating the first treaty with Japan, and in 1874 in settling the dispute relating to the murder of Loochoo Islanders in Formosa (see under ). He was one of the enlightened officials of the time: he at least believed in trying out measures for the modernization of China. One of the firct students in the T'ung-wên Kuan reports that when he and others arrived in Peking Wên-hsiang received them personally and showed them about 854