Agui

This article is about the Manchu general. For the Japanese town, see Agui, Aichi.

In this Manchu name, the given name is Agūi, but is often simplified to Agui in English-language text. In accordance with Manchu custom, it should be used alone or with titles but not with the clan name Janggiya.

First Class Duke Chengmou Yingyong Agūi
Chief Grand Councillor
In office 1779–1797
Monarchs	Qianlong Emperor Jiaqing Emperor
Preceded by	Yu Minzhong
Succeeded by	Heshen
Grand Councillor
In office 1776 – 1797 (as the Chief Grand Councillor since 1779)
In office 1763–1765
Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall
In office 1777–1797
Assistant Grand Secretary
In office 1776–1777
Minister of Personnel
In office 6 March 1776 – 27 June 1777 Serving with Cheng Jingyi
Preceded by	Guanbao
Succeeded by	Yonggui
Minister of Revenue
In office 24 April 1773 – 6 March 1776 Serving with Yu Minzhong (until 1773), Wang Jihua (since 1773)
Preceded by	Šuhede
Succeeded by	Fengšengge
Minister of Rites
In office 19 February – 24 August 1773 Serving with Wang Jihua
Preceded by	Yonggui
Succeeded by	Yonggui
In office 4 January – 23 September 1770 Serving with Wang Jihua
Preceded by	Yonggui
Succeeded by	Yonggui
Minister of War
In office 5 June – 8 August 1768 Serving with Lu Zongkai
Preceded by	Fulong'an
Succeeded by	Toyong
General of Ili
In office March 1767 – April 1768
Preceded by	Mingrui
Succeeded by	Iletu
Personal details
Born	Agūi (1717-09-17)September 17, 1717 Beijing, Qing dynasty
Died	October 10, 1797(1797-10-10) (aged 80) Beijing, Qing dynasty
Parent	Akdun (father)
Occupation	politician, general
Clan name	Janggiya
Courtesy name	Guangting (廣廷)
Posthumous name	Wencheng (文成)
Military service
Allegiance	Qing dynasty
Branch/service	Manchu Plain Blue Banner Manchu Plain White Banner

Agui (Chinese: 阿桂; pinyin: Āguì; Wade–Giles: A¹-kuei⁴; Manchu: ᠠᡤᡡᡳ, Möllendorff: agūi, Abkai: agvi; September 7, 1717 – October 10, 1797) was a Manchu noble general for the Qing dynasty. As the only son of Akdun, he was a scion of a noble family who led a number of important Manchu military operations, including several of the "Ten Great Campaigns".

Sino-Burmese War

On April 14, 1768, Fuheng was appointed military commissioner (Jinglue) and Agui and Aligun, both Manchus, were appointed deputies. This occurred due to the death of the previous commander Ming Rui. Agui had already proven himself in Chinese Turkestan, as a competent commander. He served under Fuheng in the 1769 failed campaign of the Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769). Agui soon found himself out of favor as he was not fully supportive of Fuheng's plans and the Chinese Qianlong Emperor was vocal of his dislike for this behavior. The main push occurs in December at the height of the disease period and the Chinese suffer great losses to disease. Confusion surrounds the following events. Some sources say that the Myanmar nation initiated peace talks and others say the Chinese did; however it happened, by December 1769 peace negotiations had started, and on December 22 the treaty was signed. However, both Agui and Fuheng were absent. The chief negotiator for the Chinese was Ha Guoxing. Documents from this era seem to support the fact that the only reason the Chinese agreed to a treaty was through the leadership of Agui and other generals, as Fuheng was vehemently opposed to a peace treaty. When the treaty was brought from the Myanmar king to Fuheng to be signed, he refused. Agui, after allying other powerful generals on his side, confronted Fuheng again. Fuheng demanded that all those allied against him and for peace, sign a statement (ganjie) to that effect. When they all did, he grew furious and threatened impeachment. This did not occur as he was getting sicker each day. At this time a decree was received from Qianlong, demanding a complete withdrawal regardless of the circumstances. This withdrawal, may also have been attributed to Agui, as he was the one responsible for letting the emperor know of the illness affecting Fuheng. Agui took charge of the troops during the withdrawal as Fuheng was worsening.

When all was said and done, Agui took the majority of the emperor's wrath as Fuheng was on his deathbed. The emperor in acknowledging the retreat and defeat at the hands of the Myanmar, stated that it

made the Myanmar look down upon our celestial dynasty.

He also blamed Agui and others for not stopping Fuheng from the foolhardy decision to invade Myanmar if they knew that it would fail. The Jinchuan uprising could not come at a better time for Agui, who would alter drastically, the emperor's opinion of him after his coming victories. Agui thought so negatively of his time in Myanmar that he had all correspondence and writings concerning this time destroyed upon his death.

Ten Great Campaigns

He put down an uprising of the Jinchuan people west of Sichuan, called the second Battle of the Jinchuan. This battle took place from 1771 until 1776. During this battle, Agui expressed the importance in shangyun which was the policy of utilizing merchants in keeping the military stocked.

In 1781, Agui went to Lanzhou, in the northwestern Gansu province, to lead the suppression of the Jahriyya revolt by the Salar adherents of the Jahriyya Sufi order. along with Heshen, Li Shiyao and Fuk'anggan.

Agui also led campaigns to unify the Yili area and Taiwan island (1786-1787) within the Chinese state.

He served as a minister to the emperor and a member of the Grand Council and Grand Secretariat (both administrative cabinets of the Chinese government) until his death.

Agui's grandson was Na-yen-ch'êng who served as an official in Xinjiang after the Afaqi Khoja revolts.

References

• Dai, Yingcong (2004). "A Disguised Defeat: The Myanmar Campaign of the Qing Dynasty". Modern Asian Studies. 38 (1): 145–189. doi:10.1017/S0026749X04001040. ISSN 1469-8099. S2CID 145784397.
• Dai, Yingcong (December 2001). "The Qing State, Merchants, and the Military Labor Force in the Jinchuan Campaigns". Late Imperial China. 22 (2). Johns Hopkins University Press: 35–90. doi:10.1353/late.2001.0008. S2CID 145620289.
• Dupuy, R. Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor N. (1986). The Encyclopedia of Military History from 3500 B.C. to the Present (2nd Revised ed.). New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers. ISBN 0-06-181235-8.
• Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "A-kuei". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-Ak – Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
• Hummel, Arthur W. Sr., ed. (1943). "A-kuei" . Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. United States Government Printing Office.
• Lipman, Jonathan Neaman (1998). Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-468-6.