Qi Ying (齊映) (748 – August 15, 795''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

''
vol. 13
.), formally Baron Zhong of Hejian (河間忠男), was a Chinese politician, serving as a

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

during the reign of Emperor Dezong.

Background

Qi Ying was born in 748, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from Ying Prefecture (瀛州, in modern

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

) and claimed ancestry from the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

state Qi's ruling Jiang house. His father Qi Pi (齊圮) might have served as an acting official in the imperial government, but there is no historical record as to his grandfather or more distant ancestors. He had at least two older brothers, Qi Zhāo (齊昭) and Qi Wen (齊汶), and two younger brothers, Qi Hao (齊皞) and Qi Zhao (齊照, note different tone than the other brother), who served as officials, and one younger brother, Qi Xi (齊煦), who did not.

Early career

Qi Ying passed the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

s with the highest score, and he further passed two special imperial examinations on depth of knowledge and magnificent style, and thereafter was made an officer at Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the region of the eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

). Thereafter, the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

'') of Yongping Circuit (永平, headquartered in modern

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

), Linghu Zhang (令狐彰) invited Qi to serve as his scribe.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 136. In 773, Linghu grew gravely ill. Qi, whom Linghu asked to draft his will and final petition to Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong, suggested, and Linghu agreed, that he should not ask that his son Linghu Jian (令狐建) be allowed to succeed him, that he should suggest replacement for himself (Linghu ultimately recommended either Liu Yan or Li Mian, and Emperor Daizong chose Li), and that he should send Linghu Jian and the other sons back to his mansion at Luoyang. Linghu Zhang also gave a daughter to Qi in marriage. After Linghu died that year, there was a disturbance in the Yongping Army, and Qi left Yongping and went to Luoyang. Thereafter,

Ma Sui Ma Sui () (726 – September 4, 795), courtesy name Xunmei (), formally Prince Zhuangwu of Beiping (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was known mostly for his battles against the rebel generals L ...

the commander of the army at Heyang (河陽, in modern Luoyang) invited Qi to serve as his secretary.

During Emperor Dezong's reign

Early in the ''Jianzhong'' era (780–783) of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong, the

Lu Qi recommended Qi Ying, and Qi was made ''Xingbu Yuanwailang'' (刑部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of justice (刑部, ''Xingbu''). Subsequently, when the chancellor Zhang Yi was made the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

) in 783, Qi was made his secretary. As Qi was good at speaking and often made suggestions in military matters, Zhang favored him and soon recommended him to be a military commander (行軍司馬, ''Xingjun Sima''). In fall 783, soldiers from Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang,

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

), at the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

to await deployment to the east against warlords, mutinied when they did not receive rewards they felt they deserved. Emperor Dezong fled to Fengtian (奉天, in modern

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

), but as Fengtian was a small city, considered further heading to Fengxiang. The soldiers supported the general Zhu Ci, who had formerly served as the military governor of Fengxiang but who had been replaced with Zhang due to the rebellion of his brother

Zhu Tao Zhu Tao (朱滔) (died 785), formally the Prince of Tongyi (通義王), was a Chinese military general, monarch, rebel and politician during the Tang dynasty. He served as a general who initially served imperial causes during the reigns of Emperor ...

, as their leader, and Zhu Ci initially postured that he would calm the people of Chang'an and then welcome Emperor Dezong back to Chang'an. Meanwhile, Zhang, hearing of the mutiny and of Emperor Dezong's considering visiting Fengxiang, began undertaking preparations for the emperor's arrival. Qi Ying and fellow staff member Qi Kang pointed out that one of the military officers, Li Chulin (李楚琳), was previously a subordinate of Zhu Ci's and would be difficult to control. Zhang thus issued an order that Li Chulin report to Long Prefecture (隴州, in modern Baoji). Li Chulin, giving excuses, did not report immediately, and Zhang, concentrating on welcoming the emperor, never followed up on whether Li Chulin left for Long Prefecture. The night of November 8, Li Chulin and his associates mutinied and attacked Zhang's headquarters. Zhang was killed, but as Qi Ying was well respected by the army, he was not killed. Both he and Qi Kang fled to Fengtian, and Emperor Dezong made him the deputy chief imperial censor (御史中丞, ''Yushi Zhongcheng''). In 784, when another rebellion, led by the general Li Huaiguang, forced Emperor Dezong to further flee to Liang Prefecture (梁州, in modern

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

), Qi Ying attended to the emperor and held the bridle for Emperor Dezong's horse whenever there was uneven ground. The imperial horse was not easily handled and often leaped. Emperor Dezong, fearful that Qi would be injured, told him not to hold the bridle any more, but Qi declined, stating, "If the horse leaped, it would only injure me. If I let the bridle go, it might harm Your Imperial Majesty. Even if I die 10,000 deaths, how can I be excused from that?" Emperor Dezong praised him, and when they arrived at Liang Prefecture, he made Qi an imperial attendant (給事中, ''Jishizhong''). As Qi had a fair appearance, was tall, and spoke loudly, later, after Emperor Dezong was able to return to Chang'an later in 784, he often had Qi attend to him or ride the horse in front of him, and whichever town the emperor went through, Qi would personally proclaim the imperial edicts. He became especially trusted by Emperor Dezong thereafter, and that winter became a ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''). In 786, Qi was given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a

''de facto'', along with Liu Zi and Cui Zao. Qi was also created the Baron of Hejian.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 150. It was said that Emperor Dezong gave Cui the responsibilities because Cui was daring to speak and act, and that Liu and Qi were both thus yielding much of the responsibilities to Cui. Emperor Dezong also put the chancellors in direct command over the six ministries of the executive bureau (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''), and Qi was given the responsibilities over the ministry of defense (兵部, ''Bingbu''). When a Tufan incursion threatened Chang'an, it was rumored that Emperor Dezong planned to flee Chang'an. Qi tearfully pointed out that it would not be easy for Emperor Dezong to be able to return to Chang'an again if he fled it, and advised against it; Emperor Dezong ultimately stayed in Chang'an.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 232. Qi began to have more control over important matters later that year after Cui fell ill. When the imperial attendant Yuan Gao (袁高) offended Emperor Dezong by his bluntness, Qi, apparently approving Yuan's bluntness, recommended Yuan to be a secretary general of the executive bureau and also chief imperial censor. Meanwhile, Zhang Yanshang, who was the mayor of Henan when Qi was an officer there, was favored by Emperor Dezong but not chancellor at that time. As Zhang had treated Qi kindly while Qi served under him, he often made suggestions and recommendations of his associates to Qi, but Qi did not heed Zhang's requests. As of 787, when Zhang was chancellor as well, he therefore stated to Emperor Dezong that Qi did not have enough talent to be a chancellor. With Emperor Dezong also displeased with Qi's bluntness, Emperor Dezong demoted Qi to be the prefect of Kui Prefecture (夔州, in modern

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

). He was later made the prefect of Heng Prefecture (modern

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, of whom 1,290,71 ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

). In 791, he was made the governor (觀察使, ''Guanchashi'') of Gui District (桂管, headquartered in modern

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

), and in 792 was made the governor of Jiangxi Circuit (江西, headquartered in modern

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

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). Qi believed that, because he was demoted without major faults, he had a chance to be recalled to be chancellor again. He therefore gathered wealth from the people to pay tributes to Emperor Dezong, including gold and silver vessels. It was often the case at the time that governors would offer silver vases five '' chi'' tall, and on the emperor's birthday, Qi offered a silver vase eight ''chi'' tall. Nevertheless, he was not recalled, and he died in 795 and was given posthumous honors.

Notes and references

* ''

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vol. 136
* ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

''
vol. 150
* ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vols. 224, 228, 232. {{DEFAULTSORT:Qi, Ying 748 births 795 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Dezong of Tang