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Qixiu
Manchu minister of rites and grand councillor who sided with Prince Duan in backing the Boxers in 1900 and was executed at the powers' demand in 1901
In a council hall, a long table holds an unrolled map scroll, a brass-cornered chest and a brush pot, with tall-backed chairs around it and a bronze lamp at the left; a figure stands with their back turned on the balcony at the right, with palace roofs beyond.
Also known as Zi Songyan
- Roles
- Chief Ministers
Qixiu, of the Kuyala clan, courtesy name Songyan, belonged to the Manchu Plain White Banner. He passed the metropolitan examination in 1865, served in the Boards of Punishments and of Revenue and rose to minister of rites. In 1900 he joined the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen, sided with Prince Duan, Zaiyi, and Prince Zhuang, Zaixun, in favour of using the Boxers, and is said to have recommended a monk to help in the attack on the Beitang cathedral. When the allied armies entered Beijing he failed to leave with the court and was detained by Japanese troops. In the peace talks the powers named him one of the chief culprits, and in February 1901 he was beheaded at Caishikou together with Xu Chengyu, the son of Xu Tong.
Life and times
Dates 1839 CE–1901 CE