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Amban (Manchu andMongol:
АмбанAmban,Tibetan:ཨམ་བན་am ben,Chinese:昂邦,Uighur:ئامبان་am ben) is a Manchu language term meaning "high official" (Chinese:大臣;pinyin:dàchén), corresponding to a number of differentofficial titles in the imperial government ofQing China. For instance, members of theGrand Council were calledCoohai nashūn-i amban in the Manchu language and Qinggovernor-generals were calledUheri kadalara amban (Manchu:
).
The most well-known ambans were the Qing imperialresidents (Manchu:
Seremšeme tehe amban;Chinese:駐紮(劄)大臣Zhùzhá Dàchén; Tibetan:Ngang pai) inTibet,Qinghai,Mongolia andXinjiang, which were territories of Qing China, but were not governed as regular provinces and retained many of their existing institutions.
The Qing imperial residents can be roughly compared to a Europeanresident (also known asresident commissioners) in aprotectorate (e.g. a British Indianprincely state), the real rapport depending on historical circumstances rather than a general job description for every amban, while his authority was often very extensive, rather like a provincial governor.
The Qing Emperor appointed an amban inTibet (Chinese:駐藏大臣;pinyin:Zhùzàng Dàchén), who represented Qing authority over the Buddhist theocracy of Tibet, and commanded over 2,000 troops stationed inLhasa.[citation needed] The chief amban was aided by an assistant amban (幫辦大臣;Bāngbàn Dàchén) and both of them reported to the QingLifan Yuan. Their duties included acting as intermediary between China and the Hindu kingdom ofNepal (Gorkha Kingdom or गोर्षा सर्कार pronounced: Gorkha Sarkar); a secretary (夷情章京;Yíqíng zhāngjīng) dealt with native affairs. Three Chinese commissioners (糧台;liángtái), of the class of sub-prefects, were stationed at Lhasa, Tashilumbo and Ngari.
The Qing imperial resident in Tibet was introduced in 1727 and most ambasa were appointed from the ManchuEight Banners, a few were Han Chinese or Mongol. The Emperors used ambasa to supervise Tibetan politics, and theQianlong,Jiaqing andDaoguang Emperors each decreed that theDalai Lama andPanchen Lama were bound to follow the leadership or guidance of the ambasa in carrying out the administration of Tibet.
Zhao Erfeng, a Han ChineseBannerman, was appointed as the last Amban of Tibet by the Qing government. He was killed during theXinhai Revolution by Chinese Republican Revolutionary forces intent on overthrowing the Qing dynasty. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, the Manchu Amban Lien Yu and his Chinese soldiers were expelled from Lhasa.[1]
Altishahr, meaning six cities, consisted of theUyghur cities of Yarkand, Kashgar, Khotan, Kuche, Aksu, and Yangi Hisar (or Ush-Turfan).[2] The Qing dynasty's wars with theZunghar Khanate pushed them into the area and by 1759 they had obtained control of this region.[2] After therebellion ofYakub Beg, Altishahr was incorporated into the administration of Xinjiang, which became a formal province in the Qing empire in 1884. Between 1761 and 1865, theQing Empire appointed an imperial resident (Manchu:
hebei amban; Chinese:zǒnglǐ huíjiāng shìwù cānzàn dàchén總理回疆事務參贊大臣) to Altishahr, which today forms part of southernXinjiang. The imperial resident, who resided inKashgar,Ush Turfan orYarkand and exercised Qing authority over the region. The imperial resident was controlled with local imperial agents (Manchu:
Baita icihiyara amban; Chinese:Bànshì dàchén辦事大臣), who were sent to most important cities in the region, where they ruled in conjunction with the local officials (Uighurھاكىمبەگhakim beg, Chinese:阿奇木伯克), who were given ranks in the Qing civil service and were ultimately accountable to the imperial agent.
In the holy city ofUrga, an amban (Mongol:
Хүрээний амбан ноён, Chinese:庫倫辦事大臣Kùlún bànshì dàchén) was stationed in order to assert Qing control over theMongol dependencies. He controlled all temporal matters, and was specially charged with the control of the frontier town ofKiakhta and the trade conducted there with the Russians. Urga was also the residence of theJebtsundamba Khutuktu, who was thespiritual head of the MongolKhalkha tribes. The Khutuktu ranked third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries in theTibetan Buddhism, after theDalai Lama andPanchen Lama. He resided in a sacred quarter on the western side of the town and acted as a spiritual counterpart of the Qing amban.
After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, the Manchu amban was expelled by Mongol forces, fleeing toChina proper via Russia.
In the early Qing, the wordamban was also used in the title of the military governors (昂邦章京,angbang-zhangjing, which is a transcription of the Manchuamban-jianggin; R.L. Edmonds translates the title in English as "military deputy-lieutenant governor"[4]) in the northeastern provinces of the Qing Empire, viz.Jilin andHeilongjiang. The firstamban-jianggin appointed in the region was theNinguta garrison commanderSarhuda, who became theamban-jianggin ofNinguta in June 1653.[5]
Media related toAmbans at Wikimedia Commons
