Lianyuan (; , 1838–August 11, 1900),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Xianheng (仙蘅), was a

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 ...

official from the

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 ...

Cuigiya clan and the

Bordered Red Banner The Bordered Red Banner () was one of the Eight Banners of the Manchu military and society among the lower five banners during the Later Jin and Qing dynasty of China.General annals of the Eight Banners.vol 30 Members * Lianyuan * Consort Jin ...

of the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu language, Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', , ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu people, Manchu househol ...

. He was best known for his role during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

and his execution afterward for his views about how to pacify the internal and external chaos caused by the rebellion.

Career

Lianyuan obtained his

Jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

title by passing the

imperial exams The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early i ...

in 1868. He was then elected a

Shujishi Shujishi (; Manchu: ''geren giltusi'') which means "All good men of virtue" is a scholastic title during the Ming and Qing dynasty of China. It can be used to denote a group of people who hold this title as well as individuals who possess the ti ...

, a temporary position held by elites among the Jinshi rank. His first official appointment as an officer was in the

Anqing Anqing ( zh, s=, t=安慶, p=Ānqìng, l=, also Yicheng, Nganking and formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province of China, province, China, People's Republic of China. Its popu ...

Fu. He mainly administered the internal affairs of Anhui Province before being summoned to the capital in 1899. Lianyuan was appointed as a supernumerary official of

Zongli Yamen The ''Zongli Yamen'' (), short for Office for the General Management of Affairs Concerning the Various Countries (), also known as Prime Minister's Office, Office of General Management, was the government body in charge of foreign policy in imp ...

, the "de facto" foreign ministry of China during the late Qing dynasty. Soon after, he was promoted to the Secretary of Cabinet (內閣學士). After the

's outbreak, xenophobic rebels attacked the embassies of many European countries. At that point in time, some Chinese government officials could not resist the temptation to expel westerners by the means of this very rebellion. The rebellion was largely against the European powers and consequently drew the sympathy of numerous government officials. During an imperial conference,

Xu Tong Xu Tong (, 1819–1900) was a Qing dynasty official from the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner. Xu Tong was a son of Xu Zechun (徐澤醇), whom had been made the Minister of Rites. He obtained the highest degree ('' jinshi'') in the imperial exami ...

and Chongqi, both sympathetic to the Boxer rebels, claimed, "The sentiment of the people can be used." This claim was met by opposition from Lianyuan. He insisted that "The sentiment of the people can be used, but the sentiment of criminals cannot be used." In 1900, the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

captured

Taku Forts The Taku Forts or Dagukou Forts (大沽口炮台), also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban ...

. The siege of Beijing and its fall marked the failure of the sympathizing policy about the Boxer rebellion. However, ultraconservative members among the Chinese officials tried to initiate a total resistance by moving the capital to the western city of

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

. Prince Zaiyi firmly held his aggression against the invading European alliance. Lianyuan found the prince's idea to be quite dangerous, and he retorted that China could not possibly win the war against the eight-country alliance, seeing that China already lost the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

to Japan, a single modernized power. The prince denounced his ominous words. The

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

was angered and decided to execute Lianyuan. On August 11, 1900. He was executed at the Caishikou Execution Grounds along with Lishan and Xu Yongyi, who shared similar opinions. On September 7, 1901, the

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

was signed between China and the

. China agreed to put the rebellion to rest and compensate the invading forces for their losses. Among the protocols, five Chinese officials, Xu Yongyi, Lishan, Xu Jingcheng, Lianyuan and Yuan Chang, were mentioned for their consistent opposition to the violent solution. The protocol demanded that they be rewarded. Accordingly, Lianyuan was then posthumously rehabilitated and given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

Wenzhi (文直). {{Authority control 1838 births 1900 deaths Manchu politicians Manchu Bordered Red Bannermen Chinese people of the Boxer Rebellion Ministers of Zongli Yamen People executed by the Qing dynasty by decapitation