Amban
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amban (pl: ambasa) is a Manchu word meaning "high official," which corresponds to a number of different official titles in the Qing imperial government. For instance, members of the Grand Council were called Coohai nashūn-i amban (
) in Manchu and Qing governor-generals were called Uheri kadalara amban (
).
By far the most known ambans were the Qing imperial residents (Manchu: 
Seremšeme tehe amban; Chinese: Zhùzhá Dàchén 駐劄大臣; and Tibetan: Ngang pai) in Tibet, Mongolia and East Turkestan, which recognized Qing suzerainty, but were not governed as regular provinces and retained many of their indigenous institutions.
The Qing imperial residents can be roughly compared to a European resident in a protectorate (e.g. a British Indian princely state), the real rapport depending on historical circumstances rather than a general job description for every amban, while his authority often was very extensive, rather like a provincial governor.
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[edit] Tibet
The Qing Emperor appointed the amban in Tibet, who represented Qing suzerainty over the Buddhist theocracy of Tibet, and commanded over 2000 troops stationed in Lhasa. The chief amban was aided with assistant amban (Bāngbàn Dàchén 幫辦大臣) and both of them reported to the Qing Court of Colonial Affairs. Their duties included acting as intermediary between China and the Hindu kingdom of Nepal (Ghorkhas Country); a secretary (Yíqíng zhāngjīng 夷情章京) dealt with native affairs. Three Chinese commissioners (liángtái 糧台), 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 Manchu Eight Banners, a few were Han Chinese or Mongol. The Emperors used ambasa to influence Tibetan politics, and the Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang Emperors each decreed that the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama were bound to follow the leadership or guidance of the ambasa in carrying out the administration of Tibet.
List of Qing Imperial Residents in Tibet
[edit] Altishahr
Between 1761 and 1865, the Qing Empire appointed an imperial resident (Manchu: 
hebei amban; Chinese: cānzàn dàchén 參贊大臣) to Altishahr, which today forms part of southern Xinjiang. The imperial resident, who resided in Kashgar, Ush Turfan or Yarkand and exercized Qing suzerainty 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 (hakim beg), who were given ranks in the Qing civil service and were ultimately accountable to the imperial agent. After the rebellion of Yakub Beg, Altishahr was incorporated into the administration of Xinjiang, which became a province in the Qing empire in 1884.
[edit] Urga
In the holy city of Urga, an amban (Chinese: Kùlún bànshì dàchén 庫倫辦事大臣) was stationed in order to assert Qing control over the Mongol dependencies. He controlled all temporal matters, and was specially charged with the control of the frontier town of Kiakhta and the trade conducted there with the Russians. Urga was also the residence of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, who was the spiritual head of the Mongol Khalkha tribes. The Khutuktu ranked third in degree of veneration among the dignitaries in the Tibetan Buddhism, after the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. He resided in a sacred quarter on the western side of the town and acted as a spiritual counterpart of the Qing amban.
[edit] Sources and references
- Kolmaš, Josef. The Ambans and Assistant Ambans of Tibet, Archiv Orientální. Supplementa 7. Prague: The Oriental Institute, 1994.
- Mayers, William Frederick. The Chinese Government: A Manual of Chinese Titles, Categorically Arranged and Explained, with an Appendix. 3rd edition revised by G.M.H. Playfair ed. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1897; reprint, Taibei: Ch'eng-Wen Pub. Co., 1966.
- Newby, Laura J. The Empire and the Khanate: A Political History of Qing Relations with Khoqand C. 1760-1860. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2005.
- Norman, Jerry. A Concise Manchu-English Lexicon. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1978.
