Yue Zhongqi

Also known as Zi Dongmei · Hao Rongzhai · Posthumous name Xiangqin

Yue Zhongqi, courtesy name Dongmei and literary name Rongzhai, was registered as a native of Chengdu, though his family had long lived in Gansu. In 1720 he led the advance of the army sent into Tibet and reached Lhasa. In 1724 he served under Nian Gengyao against Lobzang Danjin's rising in Qinghai. Acting governor-general of Sichuan and Shaanxi from 1725 and confirmed in the post that year, he reported in 1727 that famine refugees from other provinces were streaming into Sichuan and asked that they be settled on land to reclaim; the emperor ordered him and governor Xiande to register every household that had arrived. In 1728 Zeng Jing sent his disciple Zhang Xi with a letter urging him to rise against the dynasty, and Yue reported it to the throne. As General Pacifying the Distant Regions he led the war against the Dzungars, was stripped of office after defeats, and was sentenced to death pending review; he was released in 1737. Recalled in 1748 as provincial commander of Sichuan, he took part in the Jinchuan campaign. He died at Zizhou in 1754 on his return from suppressing Chen Kun's rising at Chongqing, and was given the posthumous name Xiangqin.