Sun Shiyi (, Vietnamese: Tôn Sĩ Nghị; 1720 – 1796),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China China, officially the People's R ...

Zhizhi (),

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Bushan (), was an official of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

who served as the

Viceroy of Liangguang The Viceroy of Liangguang or Viceroy of the Two Guangs, was one of eight regional Viceroys during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The two ''Guang'' referred to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. The areas under the Viceroy's jurisdiction included pr ...

and of Liangjiang during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

. A native of Renhe (present-day

Yuhang District Yuhang is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Its 2013 population was estimated at 1.17 million. Its inhabitants speak both Mandarin and a variety of Hangzhounese, a ...

, Zhejiang), as a youth, Sun was devoted to study and was said to have prevented drowsiness by knocking his head against a wall. Awarded a ''jinshi'' degree in the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to 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 ...

in 1761, he was secretary to Fuheng during his Burmese expedition, and in 1770 had risen to be Treasurer of Guangxi, when he was cashiered for want of energy, and orders were given to confiscate his property. Struck with the fact that nothing was found to confiscate, the Qianlong Emperor re-employed him. In 1788, as Viceroy of Liangguang, he invaded Annam and reinstalled the emperor Lê Chiêu Thống, who had fled in fear of the rebel Nguyễn Huệ. His forces were beaten by the Tây Sơn armies, and it was ultimately decided to leave Annam alone. He was sent to

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

to see the supplies of the army fighting in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, into which country he advanced over terrible mountains as far as Chamdo. In 1792, on the conclusion of the war with

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, the suppression of the

White Lotus The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found sol ...

Rebellion occupied his last days. His physical powers were marvellous, and he required hardly any sleep. He was a great collector of ancient inscriptions. He was ennobled as Duke Mouyong of the First Class ().Herbert Allen Giles, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 694. (1898).

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