Viceroy of Shaan-Gan

TheViceroy of Shaan-Gan, fully in Chinese as theGovernor-General of Shaanxi, Gansu and Other Local Areas, in Charge of Military Affairs, Food and Wages, Tea and Horses and Governor Affairs, was one of eight regionalViceroysduring theQing dynasty. The Viceroy of Shaan-Gan had jurisdiction of military, civil, and political affairs over then Shaanxi Province and then Gansu Province.
The name Shaan-Gan is derived by taking the first characters of the province names Shaanxi and Gansu.
The office of Viceroy of Shaan-Gan originated in the earlyMing dynastywith the garrisoning of military forces in three towns along the northern border ofShaanxi Province. The three garrisons were called "XunfuofYansui" (延綏巡撫), "XunfuofNingxia" (寧夏巡撫) and "XunfuofGansu" (甘肅巡撫), respectively.
In 1497, when the Mongols of theNorthern Yuan dynastymade intrusions across the border, theHongzhi EmperorputWang Yue(王越) in charge of coordinating military actions in Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia and Gansu.
In the early reign of theZhengde Emperor(r. 1505–1521), the Mongols invadedGuyuan. The generalCao Xiong(曹雄) rejected external help from reinforcements.Yang Yiqing(楊一清) led lightly armed cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the Mongols and succeeded in driving them back. After this incident, Yang Yiqing realized that military operations in Yansui, Ningxia and Gansu had to be better coordinated, hence he urged the imperial court to appoint a viceroy to oversee the three areas.Liu Daxia(劉大夏) nominated Yang Yiqing for that position.
The office of the viceroy was created in 1525, during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, under the name "tiduof military affairs" (提督軍務). The office was renamed to "zongzhi" (總制) in 1528, and to "zongdu" (總督) in 1540. The headquarters were located at Huamachi (花馬池; present-dayYanchi County,Ningxia).
The office was recreated in 1645, during the reign of theShunzhi Emperor, as "Viceroy of the Three Borders in Shaanxi" (陝西三邊總督), with the headquarters atGuyuan. In 1653, the Viceroy's jurisdiction expanded to includeSichuan Province, hence the office was renamed "Viceroy of (Si)Chuan and the Three Borders in Shaanxi" (川陝三邊總督). In 1656, the office was renamed "Viceroy of (Si)Chuan-Shaan(xi)" (川陝總督) and its headquarters were relocated toHanzhong. In 1661, the office changed its name to "Viceroy of Shaanxi" (陝西總督) after Sichuan was removed from its jurisdiction.
In 1666, during the reign of theKangxi Emperor, the Viceroy's jurisdiction expanded to includeShanxi Province, hence it was renamed "Viceroy of Shan(xi)-Shaan(xi)" (山陝總督), with its headquarters inXi'an. Shanxi was removed in 1672, and Sichuan was added again in 1680.
In 1723, theYongzheng Emperorordered that all Viceroys who also held the position ofSecretary of War(兵部尚書) would concurrently be appointed as Right Censor-in-Chief (右都御史) of the Detection Branch (都察院) in theCensorate. Those Viceroys who did not hold the position of Secretary of War would be concurrently appointed as Right Vice Secretary of War (兵部右侍郎) and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief (右副都御史). In 1725,Yue Zhongqi(岳鍾琪) became the firstHan Chineseoutside of theHan Military Eight Bannersto become a Viceroy when he was appointed as Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan. In 1731, the office was renamed "Viceroy of Shaanxi" (陝西總督) and its jurisdiction covered Shaanxi andGansu; a separateViceroy of Sichuanwas created for Sichuan.
In 1736, theQianlong Emperorabolished the Viceroy of Sichuan and recreated the office of Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan. In 1748, he split the Viceroy of Chuan-Shaan into Viceroy of Sichuan and Viceroy of Shaan-Gan, but reversed the changes again in 1759 and established a separate Viceroy of Gansu, with its headquarters in Suzhou (肅州; present-daySuzhou District,Jiuquan, Gansu). In 1760, the Qianlong Emperor abolished the Viceroy of Gansu and restored the two offices of Viceroy of Sichuan and Viceroy of Shaan-Gan. The Viceroy of Shaan-Gan was headquartered inLanzhouand concurrently held the appointment of aProvincial Governor.
In 1882, during the reign of theGuangxu Emperor, the newly establishedXinjiang Provincewas included under the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Shaan-Gan.