Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy
Xu Jingcheng
Qing diplomat who served as envoy to France, Germany and Russia, managed the Chinese Eastern Railway contract and was beheaded in 1900 for opposing war
On a road beside a desert gateway, a camel train carries a lidded chest and rolled bundles while travellers walk along the path; a large sailing ship lies in the harbour at the right, a stone waymark stands by the road, and dunes and mountains fill the distance.
Also known as Hao Zhuyun · Shi Wensu
- Roles
- Diplomat / Envoy
Xu Jingcheng, courtesy name Zhuyun, came from Jiaxing in Zhejiang and passed the metropolitan examination in 1868. In 1884 he went abroad as minister to France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria, and from 1890 served as envoy to Russia, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands; in St Petersburg he handled the contract for the Chinese Eastern Railway and became director of its company. Back in Beijing he sat on the Zongli Yamen, served as vice minister of personnel and oversaw the Imperial University. In 1900 he and Yuan Chang opposed the attack on the legations and war with the powers, and on 28 July they were beheaded together at Caishikou. He received the posthumous name Wensu in 1909, and his papers were published as the Collected Writings of Xu Wensu.
Life and times
Dates 1845 CE–1900 CE