# Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Chao-hui

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​CHAO-hui 兆惠 ( 和甫) 1708–1764, Dec. 10, general and Grand Secretary, was a member of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner. As a grand-nephew of Empress Hsiao-kung [q. v.], he was a second cousin of Emperor Kao-tsung. He entered official life as a clerk (筆帖式), and in 1731 began to work in the Grand Secretariat as a secretary. Later he was appointed to a sub-chancellorship in the same office and, after serving two years (1742–44) in Mukden as vice-president of the Board of War, was recalled to Peking. There he was made junior vice-president of the Board of Punishments, a post he held until 1750, serving concurrently as deputy lieutenant-general of his banner (1745) and captain-general of the Bordered Red Banner in the Guards (1746). In 1748 he was sent to Szechwan as quartermaster in the army which was then fighting the Chin-ch'uan aborigines (see under Fu-hêng), and returned to Peking with the victorious army in the following year. In 1750 he served concurrently as captain-general of his own banner in the Guards and later in the year was promoted to the senior vice-presidency of the Board of Revenue. In 1753 he was sent to Tibet to inspect the defenses against a possible invasion by the Eleuths. There he found the small Chinese garrison well prepared, the native troops trained, and the lamas loyal. When the Eleuth general, Amursana [q. v.], surrendered in 1754 he persuaded Emperor Kao-tsung to take advantage of unrest among the Eleuths to ​conquer them. Preparations for the expedition were at once undertaken and Chao-hui was sent as quartermaster-general to Uliasutai, headquarters of the Northern Route Army. The expedition, commanded by Bandi [q. v.], with Amursana as his assistant, advanced in 1755 and in a few months pacified the Eleuths. But after the armies had withdrawn Amursana rebelled and turned most of the Eleuths against the invaders. The expeditionary forces were sent back, and under the command of Duke Tsereng 策楞 (d. 1757), great-grandson of Ebilun [q. v.], again stabilized the Eleuths, causing Amursana to flee.
By this time Chao-hui had been transferred from Uliasutai to Barkul, the base of the expeditionary forces. Volunteering to go to the front, he was appointed a councilor, and early in 1756 was sent with a small detachment to Ili where he was appointed assistant commander of the expeditionary forces (定邊右副將軍). Meanwhile the rebellion of the Inner Mongolians (see under A-kuei), and the inefficiency of the commanders of the expedition, caused renewed resistance on the part of the Eleuths. Amursana returned to Ili to direct the insurgents who almost annihilated the expeditionary forces. Chao-hui alone succeeded in retreating with 500 soldiers, bravely fighting against an overwhelming number of enemies. On February 22, 1757, five days after the Chinese New Year, he entered the fort of Urumchi which was surrounded by the Eleuths for twelve days. On retreating farther east he was forced to encamp when an enemy detachment was found to have cut across his path. However, he finally joined the troops sent to his rescue and returned safely to headquarters at Barkul (April 11). On hearing the report of his predicament the emperor made him Earl Wu-i 武毅伯 of the first class with right of "perpetual inheritance" (世世罔替); and, in addition to other favors, promoted him to the presidency of the Board of Revenue. Late in April he and the commander-in-chief, Cenggūn Jabu (see under Tsereng), each led an army to stabilize the rebels in Ili and soon routed them completely. Amursana fled to Russian Siberia, and the Eleuths who had followed him in the rebellion were ruthlessly slaughtered. Some of the survivors were moved to Heilungkiang, leaving a few scattered tribes in the rich valley of the Irtish. This region, called Ili, was patrolled by garrison troops and became a colony where emigrants and exiles were sent. After the Eleuths were subdued, the Kazaks and the Buruts to the west of Ili recognized the suzerainty of China, and began to pay tribute until the Tung-chih period (see under Tsêng Chi-tsê).
While Chao-hui was pursuing Amursana a representative and his escort, who were dispatched to the Mohammedans in Eastern Turkestan, were murdered by Khozi Khan 霍集占, the so-called Little Hodja 小和卓木 whose capital was at Yarkand. Khozi Khan and his elder brother, Burhan-al-Din 布拉尼敦, known as the Big (大) Hodja, whose capital was at Kashgar, had both been captives of the Eleuths and were released only in 1755 when Bandi's army entered Ili. Hence the rebellion of the Mohammedans was much resented and Chao-hui was instructed to suppress it. But for a time in 1758 Chao-hui was kept busy annihilating the remnants of the hostile Eleuths, while the impatient emperor put another general in command of the forces against the Mohammedans. Soon this general was found incompetent and Chao-hui was called upon to take over the command. Late in October he reached the city of Aksu which surrendered. With three thousand men he marched across the deserts, reaching Yarkand in November. Finding the city well defended he sought to take the enemies' supplies on a nearby mountain. But before long the Mohammedans outflanked him and surrounded his barracks. The siege, lasting three months, is said to have so reduced Chao-hui's supplies that his men were driven to cannibalism. When the emperor heard of this brave defense he raised Chao-hui to duke of the first class with the designation Wu-i mou-yung 武毅謀勇, and conferred on him other honors. At last Fu-tê [q. v.] and A-kuei came to his rescue and the siege was raised in February 1759. Chao-hui returned to Aksu and in July succeeded in taking the cities of Yarkand and Kashgar. The Hodjas fled to Badakshan, west of Kashgar, but were executed by the sultan of that place who sent their heads to Fu-tê to be forwarded to Peking. This completed the conquest of the whole region of Chinese Turkestan which came to be known as Sinkiang, or "New Dominion". Large garrisons were left there and, from 1762 onward, administration of the territory was entrusted to a military-governor at Ili and a military lieutenant-governor at Urumchi, until the area was incorporated into a province in 1882–84.
On his return to Peking at the head of the victorious army Chao-hui was greeted by the ​emperor personally outside of Peking, made an adjutant-general of the emperor's Bodyguard, and was honored with several banquets before the throne. His portrait was painted for the Hall of Military Merits, known as Tzŭ-kuang ko (see below). It is difficult to affirm categorically that Chao-hui was gifted in military matters, but he may with justice be designated a fu-chiang 福將, or "lucky general", in view of the fact that he successfully escaped from two sieges, once from an overwhelming force of hostile nomads, and later from enraged Mohammedans.
After his return to Peking Chao-hui served as president of the Board of Revenue, and in 1761 was made an assistant Grand Secretary. Thereafter he was several times sent with Liu T'ung-hsün [q. v.] and others to inspect and report on river conservancy. When he died, late in 1764, the emperor went personally to his house to offer sacrifices, and since Chao-hui's son, Jalantai 札蘭泰 (d. 1788), was still young, two officials were appointed to settle the family estate. The son was promised the hand of a princess, and the father was given the posthumous name, Wên-hsiang 文襄. Jalantai succeeded in 1765 to the hereditary rank, and seven years later married the emperor's ninth daughter, Princess Ho-k'o 和恪公主 (1758–1780). In 1796 the names of Chao-hui, Fu-hêng, Ho-lin, and Fu-k'ang-an [qq. v.], were placed in the Imperial Ancestral Hall.
There is a story connected with Chao-hui's conquest of Yarkand, about a concubine of Khozi Khan who was captured and taken posthaste with other spoils to Peking. This Mohammedan beauty came to be known as Hsiang-fei 香妃, the "Perfumed Consort", because she is said to have had a natural gift of emanating perfume. According to current legends, she never yielded to the emperor's advances, although he was, so anxious to win her favor that he built a Mohammedan quarter southwest of the Winter Palace (南海 Nan-hai) and a tower inside the palace grounds from which the disconsolate Hsiang-fei could view her passing co-religionists in the nearby mosque and bazaars. It is also said that the emperor built for her a Turkish bath which came to be known as Yü-tê t'ang 浴德堂. Legend has it that she always carried with her a sharp weapon with which to resist the imperial approaches. Finally, the emperor's mother, fearing we are told for the safety of her son, called Hsiang-fei into her presence while the emperor was away on ceremonial duties; Hsiang-fei was ordered to commit suicide and died by self-strangulation before the emperor returned. The Palace Museum in Peking has two portraits of a lady in military garb, which are said to be likenesses of Hsiang-fei, painted by P. Joseph Castiglione 郎世寧 (T. 若瑟, 1688–1766). While there is little doubt that such a person actually lived, many of the stories about her are probably legendary.
It is well to mention, in connection with the conquest of Ili and Chinese Turkestan, the hall commemorating military exploits, known as Tzŭ-kuang ko 紫光閣. It is situated on the west shore of the Central Lake (中海, Chung-hai), Peking, in an old structure rebuilt in 1760 to accomodate the portraits of one hundred generals and statesmen who took part in the campaign. At the head of these celebrities were: Fu-hêng who helped the emperor to direct the campaign, and Chao-hui the commander-in-chief. On the walls of the hall were painted sixteen scenes depicting important battles and memorable events of the war. These paintings, known as 平定伊犁(or 準部)囘部戰圖 P'ing-ting I-li (or Chun-pu) Hui-pu chan-t'u, were completed in 1766. Four Catholic priests, then in Peking, were selected to make reproductions of the scenes for engraving—the priests being Castiglione, Ignace Sichelbart 艾啟蒙 (T. 醒菴, 1708–1780), Jean-Denis Attiret 王致誠 (or 巴德尼, 1702–1768) and Jean-Damascène Salusti 安德義 (d. 1781). The engravings, done in Paris, were completed in 1774. A set comprises 34 sheets with 16 paintings, 16 poems, a preface and a postscript. One hundred sets were sent to China of which only a few are extant. A complete one is preserved in the Library of Congress.
[皇輿西域圖志 Huang-yü Hsi-yü t'u-chih; Ishida Mikinosuke 石田幹之肋, ぺり開雕乾隆年間準囘兩部平定得勝圖に就て in 東洋學報 vol. IX, no. 3 (Sept. 1919), pp. 396–448; Pelliot, Paul, Les "Conquêtes de l'Empereur de la Chine", in T'oung Pao, 1921, pp. 183–274; Cordier, Henri, Les Conquêtes de l'Empereur de la Chine, in Mémoires concernant l'Asie Orientale, vol. I, 1913, pp. 1–18; Haenisch, E., Der chinesische Feldzug in Ili im Jahre 1755, in Ostasiat. Zeitschrift, Apr.–Sept., 1918, pp. 57–86; 1/319/1a; 3/24/1a; 7/13/12; Fu-hêng [q. v.], P'ing-ting Chun-ko-êr fang-üeh; Ch'i Yün-shih [q. v.], Huang-ch'ao fan-pu yao-lüeh, chüan 12, 13, 15, 16; 清稗類鈔 Ch'ing pai lei-ch'ao, 異稟/34, 宮苑/14; Hedin, Sven, Jehol, City of Emperors (1933) pp. 215–35; Howorth, H. H., History of the Mongols ​(1876) pt. I, pp. 650–64; Yano Niichi 矢野仁一 , 近代支那史 Kindai Shina-shi, pp. 88–91, 105–07.]
Fang Chao-ying