Weng Tonghe

Also known as Zi Shuping · Sheng Fu

Weng Tonghe, courtesy name Shuping, styled Songchan and in old age the Lay Buddhist of the Vase Hut, came from Changshu in Jiangsu and was the son of the grand secretary Weng Xincun. He took first place in the palace examination of 1856, tutored the Tongzhi emperor in the 1860s and from 1876 taught the young Guangxu emperor, more than twenty years in all. He headed the Boards of Punishments, Works and Revenue, twice served on the Grand Council, and urged war with Japan in 1894. On 15 June 1898, four days after the decree that launched the reforms, he was dismissed and sent home, and after the coup that autumn he was stripped of rank and placed under local supervision. He died at Changshu in 1904; in 1909 his ranks were restored with the posthumous name Wengong, and his diary is a standard source for the politics of the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns.