Jirhangga (

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

: ;

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 吉爾杭阿; also known as Koer-hanger in English; died June 1, 1856) was an eminent Manchu official in the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. He served as the

Governor of Jiangsu The governor of Jiangsu, officially the Governor of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, is the head of Jiangsu, Jiangsu Province and leader of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. The governor is elected by the Jiangsu Provincial Pe ...

, which belonged to

Bordered Yellow Banner The Bordered Yellow Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of Manchu people, Manchu military and society during the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of three "upper" banner armies u ...

, and was appointed to that post by Imperial Commissioner

Xiang Rong Xiang Rong (; 18019August 1856) was a Chinese military general and politician. He was born in Wuxi County, Chongqing, and was promoted from the rank of a foot soldier during the later years of the Qing dynasty (16441912). He was involved in ear ...

(). He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

by rebels during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

Actions against Small Swords Society

Recovery of Shanghai county

Before the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

of 1856, Jirhangga and the Mayor of Nanjing led 15,000 troops into

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. This was followed by street fighting, the recovery of the

Shanghai county Shanghai County () was a Chinese county in modern-day Shanghai Municipality. Shanghai County was first established in 1292 and finally abolished in 1992. Shanghai County was for most of its existence a part of Songjiang Prefecture, in Jiangsu ...

, and the arrest of thousands of

Small Swords Society Small Swords Society or Small Sword Society was a political and military organisation active in Shanghai, China, and neighbouring areas amid the Taiping Rebellion, between about 1840 and 1855. Members of the society, rebelling against the Qing dy ...

members.

Organizing the Corps at Mount Jiuhua

In March 1856, Jirhangga and

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

's Mayor led 40,000 troops stationed in

Mount Jiuhua Mount Jiuhua () located in Chizhou, Anhui Province in China is an important Buddhist site and natural scenic spot. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, one of the first batch of 5A level scenic spots in China, one of the ...

. The army was intended to capture the capital of the

in Nanjing.

Death

In 1856, when the Taiping General

Qin Rigang Qin Rigang (秦日綱, 1821 – 1856), né Qin Richang (秦日昌), was a Hakka military leader of the Taiping Rebellion, known during his military tenure as the King of Yen (燕王). He served under Hong Xiuquan's Taiping Administration and led ...

brought forces to strengthen the offensive against Beijing in the North, Jirhangga immediately attacked, despite having only a fraction of the troops, and against the advice of his staff. After five days of fighting, Jirhangga was killed by artillery shells as he was standing on the city wall of the

Dantu District Dantu District () is one of three District of China, districts of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China. A development called Dantu New City was constructed in the district and was underoccupied since around 2005 and criticized as a Underoccupied deve ...

city, waving the Qing's

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

Aftermath

Under orders from Xiang Rong,

Zhang Guoliang Zhang Guoliang (; 1810 – April 1860), born in Guangdong, was a Field Marshal for the Qing dynasty. He was born in Gaoyao, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, although Qing stated that he was from Meixian, Guangdong. He was originally a bandit in Guangxi but ...

brought reinforcements from

Jiangnan DaYing Jiangnan Daying () or the Jiangnan Battalion; (first battalion: 1853–1856; second battalion: 1857–1860) was an army group assembled by the Qing dynasty. The army group consist of mostly Green Standard Army, and their goal was to quell the Taipi ...

to save Jirhangga, but arrived too late, as Jirhangga had been killed a week earlier.

still recovered the vital city of

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

from the Taiping, who had occupied it for five years. Jirhangga's death and the five-day combat changed the Taiping rebels' former offensive toward the north.

References