Keying (official)

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Manchu statesman

title: "Keying (official)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1787-births", "1858-deaths", "forced-suicides-of-chinese-people", "manchu-politicians", "political-office-holders-in-guangdong", "political-office-holders-in-jiangsu", "qing-dynasty-diplomats", "grand-secretaries-of-the-qing-dynasty", "assistant-grand-secretaries", "viceroys-of-liangjiang", "viceroys-of-liangguang", "manchu-plain-blue-bannermen"] description: "Manchu statesman" topic_path: "people/1780s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keying_(official)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Manchu statesman ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Keying
image	Portrait of Keying.jpeg
imagesize	250px
caption	Portrait of Keying, 1844
office	Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library
term_start	1848
term_end	1850
office1	Assistant Grand Secretary
term_start1	1845
term_end1	1847
office2	Viceroy of Liangjiang
term_start2	1842
term_end2	1844
predecessor2	Niu Jian (acting)
successor2	Bichang (acting)
office3	Viceroy of Liangguang
term_start3	1844
term_end3	1848
predecessor3	Qi Gong
successor3	Xu Guangjin
office4	Minister of Personnel
term_start4	30 August 1836
term_end4	7 November 1836
alongside4	Tang Jinzhao
predecessor4	Mujangga
successor4	Yijing
office5	Minister of Revenue
term_start5	25 December 1834
term_end5	30 August 1836
alongside5	Wang Ding
predecessor5	Mujangga
successor5	Yihao
office6	Minister of Works
term_start6	17 August 1834
term_end6	25 December 1834
alongside6	Wang Shouhe (until 1834), Shi Zhiyan (1834), Wang Yinzhi (1834)
predecessor6	Boqitu
successor6	Jingzheng
office7	Minister of Rites
term_start7	15 October 1829
term_end7	17 August 1834
alongside7	Tang Jinzhao (until 1830), Wang Yinzhi (1830–1832), Wang Shouhe (since 1832)
predecessor7	Fuqitu
successor7	Shengyin
birth_date	21 March 1787
birth_place	Beijing, China
death_date
death_place	Beijing, China
profession	Diplomat, governor
::

Keying (21 March 1787 – 29 June 1858), also known by his romanized Mandarin Chinese name Qiying or Ch'i-ying (Wade–Giles) and his Manchu name Kiyeng, was a Manchu statesman during the Qing dynasty of China. An imperial clansman of the house of Aisin Gioro, he began his career in the Imperial Clan Court. He conducted several peace treaties with Western powers, beginning with the Treaty of Nanking, which ended the First Opium War with Britain in 1842. Keying was sent to negotiate again in 1858 to settle the Arrow War with Britain and France, but the settlement was repudiated by the Xianfeng Emperor and he was forced to commit suicide.

Early career

Keying was born on 21 March 1787. A descendant of Nurhaci's ninth son Babutai (Duke Kexi of the First Rank), Keying was a member of the imperial house of Aisin Gioro, and belonged to the Manchu Plain Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. He held several prominent posts in the Qing government and was demoted several times because of corruption in office, but managed to regain his position as a leading official in the Qing court.

Opium Wars

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Formal_Reception_of_Keying.jpg" caption="Formal reception of Keying in Hong Kong, November 1845"] ::

In 1842, the Daoguang Emperor entrusted Keying to conclude a peace treaty with Britain following the First Opium War, and he was chiefly responsible for negotiating and signing the Treaty of Nanking. The following year, he signed the Treaty of the Bogue to supplement the Treaty of Nanking. He also concluded the Treaty of Wanghia (1844) with the United States, the Treaty of Whampoa (1844) with France, and the Treaty of Canton (1847) with Sweden-Norway. This is the first group of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties. In November 1845, Keying was well received in Hong Kong.

In 1858, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Keying to negotiate a peace treaty with Britain and France to conclude the Second Opium War. During the negotiations, the British interpreters Horatio Nelson Lay and Thomas Francis Wade sought to expose Keying's duplicity by producing documents the British had captured in Guangzhou, in which Keying expressed his contempt for the British. Humiliated, Keying promptly left the negotiations in Tianjin for Beijing and he was later arrested for having left his post in contravention of imperial order. He was sentenced to death by the Imperial Clan Court, but was allowed to commit suicide instead.

Namesakes

Keying, trading junk and the first Chinese ship to sail to Britain and America.
Keying and Marine House c. 1845, became part of the Hong Kong Hotel in 1866. It was demolished in 1858 and now site of Central Building at Pedder Street and Queen's Road Central.

Notes

References

[[Yeewan Koon, Yeewan. (2012). "Narratives of Free Trade The Commercial Cultures of Early US-China Relations". Hong Kong University Press.
Fang, Chao-ying. "Ch'i-ying".
Gao Zhonghua (2005). ''Sushun yu Xianfeng zhengju''. Jinan: Qilu shushe. p. 165, n. 1.
''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HFsEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA69 Curiosities of Modern Travel: A Year-book of Adventure]''. London: David Bogue. 1847. p. 69.
(1960). "China's Entrance into the Family of Nations: The Diplomatic Phase, 1858–1880". Harvard East Asian Studies.
(1960). "China's Entrance into the Family of Nations: The Diplomatic Phase, 1858–1880". Harvard East Asian Studies.
(2012-02-22). "Our History". The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited.
"Rustomjee & Co. / Keying House / The Parsee’s residence [1845-1868] {{!}} Gwulo".

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