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General of Ili

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Former Residence of Ili General

The General of Ili (Chinese: 伊犁將軍; pinyin: Yīlí Jiāngjūn Officially 總統伊犁等處將軍), also known in western sources as the Kuldya Military Governor, was a position created during the reign of the Qing Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1799) to "pacify" Dzungaria (now part of Xinjiang) and suppress uprisings by the Khoja "Rebels". The General of Ili governed the entire Xinjiang during Qing rule until it was turned into a province.

History

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Based in Huiyuan City (惠远城; 惠遠城; now Huiyuan Town, Huocheng County),[1] in the Qing delineated greater Xinjiang region in the northwest of China, the general was the senior military commander in the area.[2] In 1759, Qing general Zhao Hui [zh] (Manchu: Zhaohuui) suppressed the Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas and reestablished Qing control over the western part of Xinjiang. As a result, in 1762 the Qing court established the position of General of Ili with Ming Rui as the first incumbent.[2]

At the same time, the offices of Military Attache or Dūtǒng (都統) and Imperial Resident (駐紮大臣) were created under the general to manage military affairs north and south of the Tian Shan range of mountains. The northern circuit (天山北路) or Tarim Basin was administered by the Ili Ministerial Attache (伊犁參贊大臣), five Ministerial Leaders (領隊大臣), a Tarbagatai Ministerial Attache (塔尔巴哈台参赞大臣; 塔爾巴哈臺參贊大臣)[A] and a Minister of Affairs (辦事兼領隊大臣). In the south (天山南路) or Altishahr there was a General Minister for Altashahr Affairs (總理回疆事務參贊大臣) responsible for Kashgar, Ye 'erqiang (葉爾羌; now Yarkant County), Yingjisha'er (英吉沙尔; now Yengisar County), Uqturpan County, Aksu, Kuqa County, Hetian (和闐; now Hotan) and Kalash'er (喀喇沙爾 now Karasahr) amongst others. In the western circuit (東路 the Urumqi Military Command (烏魯木齊都統) was responsible for Gucheng (Chinese: 古城; now Qitai County), Barköl Kazakh Autonomous County, Hamiting [zh] (now Hami City) and Kur Qara Usu [zh] (now Wusu) among other locations.

In 1763, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the construction of the new city of Huiyuan on the north bank of the Ili River as a base for the General of Ili. Thereafter, Huiyuan became the capital of the Qing Xinjiang Region. A further eight fortified cities were then constructed across the Ili or Dzungarian Basin: Ningyuan City (寧遠城; now Yining City), Huining City (惠寧城; now Bayandai Township [巴彥岱鎮) 10–18 kilometres (6.2–11.2 mi) west of Yining), Taleqi City (塔勒奇城; now part of Huocheng County), Zhande City (瞻德城; now part of Qingshuihe County), Guangren City (廣仁城; now Lucaogou Town (蘆草溝鎮 in Huocheng County), Gongchen City (拱宸城; now Khorgas City), Xichun City (熙春城; now part of Yining City) and Suiding City (綏定城; now Shuiding Town).

The headquarters of the Manchu bannermen was in Huiyuan and Huining while the Green Standard Army was distributed across the remaining towns with their commander in Suiding. Uyghur merchants (including the Taranchi) resided in Ningyuan. Their affairs were managed by the General of Ili through the East Yamen (东衙门; 東衙門; Dōng Yámén).

In 1864, during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor, the Xinjiang Hui Rebellion [zh] broke out concurrent with the Dungan Revolt of 1862-77 further east. On 8 March 1866, a large force of Hui Muslims captured the General of Ili Mingsioi's Yamen. He committed suicide by blowing himself up but his predecessor Cangcing (Chinese: 常清; pinyin: Cháng Qīng) was captured and paraded through the streets.[3]

After Tzarist Russia invaded the Ili Basin in 1865 they demolished Huiyuan then in 1876 Qing General Zuo Zongtang, at the head of a large army, ended Yaqub Beg's occupation of the southern part of Xinjiang. In 1881 the Qing army recaptured the Ili Basin and two years later rebuilt Huiyaun 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) north of its former site. This new settlement was known historically as "New Huiyuan" (新惠遠.

Xinjiang officially became a province in 1883 with its capital at Dihua Fu (迪化府 modern day Urumqi) and Huiyuan gradually lost its political status as the centre of the region. The General of Yili retained responsibility for defence in the north of the new province until the position was abolished following the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which marked the end of Imperial China.

Officeholders

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Name Appointed End date Banner
Mingrui October 1762 March 1767 Bordered Yellow Banner
Agui March 1767 April 1768 Bordered Blue Banner
Iletu [zh] July 1768 October 1769 Plain White Banner
Yonggui [zh] October 1769 October 1770 Plain White Banner   
Zenghai [zh] October 1770 December 1770 Bordered Blue Banner Imperial Clan
Iletu December 1770 July 1772 Plain White Banner
Šuhede [zh] October 1772 July 1774 Plain White Banner   
Iletu July 1774 June 1784 Plain White Banner 
Mingliang [zh] June 1784 July 1784 Plain Yellow Banner
Hailu (海祿 July 1784 August 1784 Plain Blue Banner
Iletu August 1784 July 1793 Plain White Banner
Kui Lin [zh] July 1793 September 1795 Bordered Yellow Banner
Yongduo (永鐸) September 1795 November 1795 Bordered Blue Banner
Booning 1795 1798 Plain White Banner
Mingliang 1798 1799 Bordered Yellow Banner
Booning 1799 1801 Plain White Banner
Songyun 1801 1801 Plain Blue Banner
Booning 1801 1803 Plain White Banner
Songyun 1803 1810 Plain Blue Banner
Jinchang 1810 1814 Plain Blue Banner
Songyun 1814 1818 Plain Blue Banner
Changling 1818 1820 Plain White Banner
Gao Qi 1820 Bordered Yellow Banner
Qingxiang 1820 1825 Plain White Banner
Deying'a 1825 Bordered Yellow Banner
Changling 1825 1827 Plain White Banner
Deying'a 1828 Bordered Blue Banner
Yulin 1828 1831 Plain Yellow Banner
Teyishunbao 1831 1837 Plain White Banner
Yishan 1837 1839 Bordered Blue Banner
Guanfu 1839 1840 Bordered White Banner
Buyantai 1840 1845 Plain Yellow Banner
Šuhingga 1845 Plain Blue Banner
Saying'a 1845 1850 Bordered Yellow Banner
Yishan 1854 Bordered Blue Banner
Zhalafentai 1854 1856 Plain Yellow Banner
Changqing 1856 1857 Bordered Blue Banner
Zhalafentai 1857 1860 Plain Yellow Banner
Changqing 1860 1864 Bordered Blue Banner
Mingxu 1864 1866 Bordered Red Banner
Li Yunlin 1866
Rongquan 1866 1877 Plain Yellow Banner
Jinshun 1877 1886 Bordered Blue Banner
Xilun 1886 1887 Plain Blue Banner
Selengge 1887 1891 Plain White Banner
Fuleminge 1891 Bordered White Banner
Changgeng 1891 1902 Plain Yellow Banner
Ma Liang 1902 1906 Plain Yellow Banner
Guangfu 1906 1907 Plain Blue Banner
Changgeng 1907 1909 Plain Yellow Banner
Guangfu 1909 1911 Plain Blue Banner
Zhirui 1911 Plain Red Banner
Elehun 1911

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^
    Responsible for the area around modern-day Tacheng

References

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  1. ^ Millward, James A. (1998). Beyond the pass: economy, ethnicity, and empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864. Stanford University Press. pp. 77–79, 277. ISBN 0-8047-2933-6.
  2. ^ a b James Z. Gao (2009). Historical Dictionary of Modern China (1800-1949). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6308-8.
  3. ^ Hodong Kim (2004). Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864-1877. Stanford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-8047-6723-1.