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Qi Yunshi
Qing historian who compiled the official tables and biographies of the Mongol and Muslim princes, then wrote on the western frontier while in exile at Ili
In an archive hall, tall wooden shelves hold scrolls and bound books with small tags, and one person climbs a ladder with their back turned; a long table in front holds an unrolled river map, a bronze lamp and a copper jug, with a city wall seen through the window.
Also known as Zi Hegao · Hao Yunlu
- Roles
- Historian
Qi Yunshi, courtesy name Hegao, styled Yunlu, came from Shouyang in Shanxi. After passing the metropolitan examination in 1778 he joined the Hanlin Academy and, as a compiler in the State Historiographical Office, used Manchu and Chinese archives to produce the official tables and biographies of the princes of the outer Mongols and the Muslim regions. Later, as a director in the Board of Revenue supervising the Baoquan mint, he was caught up in a case of missing copper and in 1804 sent to serve at Ili. There the military governor Songyun commissioned him to compile a general account of the western frontier, Xichui zongtong shilue; he also wrote Xiyu shidi and Xichui yaolue, and recorded his journey into exile in Wanli xingcheng ji. He died in 1815, and his frontier account, enlarged by Xu Song, was presented to the throne as Xinjiang shilue.
Life and times
Dates 1751 CE–1815 CE