Sengge Rinchen (1811 – 18 May 1865) or Senggelinqin () was a

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

nobleman and general who served under the

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 ...

during the reigns of the Daoguang, Xianfeng and Tongzhi emperors. He is best known for his role at the Battle of Taku Forts and at the Battle of Baliqiao during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

and his contributions in helping the Qing Empire suppress the Taiping and

Nian A ''nian'' beast () is a beast in Chinese mythology. According to Chinese mythology, the ''nian'' lives under the sea or in the mountains. The Chinese character ''nian'' more usually means "year" or "new year". The earliest written sources that re ...

rebellions.

Background

Sengge Rinchen was from the Horqin Left Back Banner in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

and was a member of the

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

clan. He was a 26th generation descendant of

Qasar Khasar (; , ), was one of the three full brothers of the legendary Genghis Khan. According to the '' Jami' al-Tawarikh'', his given name was ''Jochi'' and he got the nickname ''Khasar'' after his distinguished bravery. He was also called Khabht ...

, a brother of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

. His name is made up of two Tibetan words, "Sengge" (Tibetan: ) and "Rinchen" (Tibetan: ), which mean "lion" and "treasure" respectively. When he was a child, he was adopted by Sodnamdorji (Содномдорж, 索特納木多布濟), a

jasagh A jasagh (; ; ) was the head of a Mongol Banner (Inner Mongolia), banner or khoshun during the Qing dynasty and the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, Bogd Khanate. The position was held by hereditary succession by certain Mongol princes, most of whom wer ...

of the Horqin Left Back Banner and '' junwang'' (郡王; Prince of the Second Rank) under the

Qing Empire 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 inherited his adoptive father's position and princely title in 1825 during the reign of the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

Military career

In 1853, during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor, Sengge Rinchen led Qing forces to attack the Taiping rebels of the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

in the southern suburbs of

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

and defeated them. In 1855, in recognition of his achievements, the Qing imperial court granted him the hereditary title "Prince Bodlogotoi" (Бодлоготой чин ван, 博多勒噶台親王). In the same year, he repelled an attack on Fengguan Garrison (馮官屯; northeast of present-day Chiping County,

Liaocheng Liaocheng ( zh, s=, p=Liáochéng), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan t ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

) by the Taiping rebel general Li Kaifang (李開芳) and captured him alive. In 1857, after the

broke out, Sengge Rinchen was appointed as an Imperial Commissioner to take charge of defence arrangements in Tianjin. Two years later, after defeating the British and French at the Second Battle of the Dagu Forts, he and Li Chaoyi (李朝儀) oversaw the construction of artillery batteries in Ninghe, Yingcheng (營城) and the Dagu Forts to resist an invasion. In 1860, after the British and French defeated Qing forces at the Third Battle of the Dagu Forts and occupied Tianjin, Sengge Rinchen and his army retreated to Tongzhou. When an Anglo-French delegation led by

Harry Smith Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

and Henry Loch showed up in Tongzhou for peace negotiations with Prince Yi and other Qing representatives, Sengge Rinchen ordered the delegation to be arrested and sent to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where most of them (excluding Parkes and Loch) died of disease or torture. During the Battle of Baliqiao, he led his elite Mongol cavalry to attack the Anglo-French forces but was utterly defeated and his cavalry was almost completely wiped out. After entering Beijing, Lord Elgin (the British High Commissioner to China) ordered the British and French troops to burn down the

Old Summer Palace The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. I ...

in retaliation for the torture and deaths of the delegation. Sengge Rinchen was stripped of his nobility title for his failure to drive back the invaders, but retained his appointment as Imperial Commissioner.

Death

When the Qing imperial court received news of the

Nian Rebellion The Nian Rebellion () was an insurrection against the Qing dynasty in northern China from 1851 to 1868, contemporaneously with the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) in southern China. The rebellion was suppressed, but the population and economic ...

, Sengge Rinchen was ordered to lead troops to

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 ...

and

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

to suppress the rebellion. In 1865, during the Battle of Gaolou Fort, he was ambushed in a tavern near Gaolou Fort in

Heze Heze (), formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, bordering Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively.The total area is 12238.62 square kilo ...

, Shandong by Nian rebels led by Lai Wenguang and Song Jingshi. He attempted to escape with some of his horsemen and take shelter in the woods but was killed by a minor rebel leader, Zhang Pigeng.

Legacy

The Qing imperial court sent couriers to retrieve and transport Sengge Rinchen's remains back to Beijing, in addition to not holding any court sessions for three days as a mark of mourning. The

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, w ...

, accompanied by the empress dowagers Ci'an and Cixi, personally attended the funeral and ordered a shrine to be erected to commemorate Sengge Rinchen. The shrine, called "Xianzhongci" (顯忠祠; "Shrine of Displaying Loyalty"), used to stand at the current location of Kuanjie Primary School (寬街小學) in Beijing's Dongcheng District. Sengge Rinchen's loyalty to the Qing Empire is interpreted in official histories of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as an expression of Chinese patriotism. In 1995, the local government in

Tongliao Tongliao; ''Tüŋliyou qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Тонляо хот is a prefecture-level city in eastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. The area is and as of the 2020 census, its population was 2,873,168 (3,139,153 in 2010). Ho ...

opened a Sengge Rinchen Memorial Museum. Sengge Rinchen was well known among foreigners in China: British soldiers nicknamed him "Sam Collinson" by mispronouncing his name in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Family

Sengge Rinchen was survived by his son, Buyannemekü (Буяннэмэх, 伯彥訥謨祜; 1836–91), who inherited his princely title. Buyannemekü's eldest son, Nersu (Нарс, 那爾蘇; 1855–90), held the title of a '' beile'' and married the eldest daughter of Yixuan, Prince Chun. Nersu was, in turn, succeeded by his son, Amurlingkui (Амарлингуй, 阿穆爾靈圭; 1886–1930). Buyannemekü had five other sons, three of whom became

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

s. His sixth son, Bodisu (Бодис, 博迪蘇; 1871–1914), was briefly a senator in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

at the beginning of the Republican era.

References

Sources

External links

On Sengge Rinchen's memorial shrine (in Chinese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengge Rinchen 1811 births 1865 deaths Borjigin Qing dynasty generals Military personnel of the Second Opium War Qing military personnel killed in action Mongolian military personnel People from Tongliao Generals from Inner Mongolia Chinese people of Mongolian descent