Family

Ortai was originally wed to a woman of the Gūwalgiya clan, until she died. Then he married the daughter of Mai Zhu, the Minister of the Board of Punishments. Ortai then refused to take on secondary spouses despite polygamous customs of aristocratic men of his generation. They had two daughters and six sons. His fourth son Oning (鄂寧 È níng) also served as Viceroy of Yung-Gui for a short period in 1768.

His son O-rong'an succeeded him as Earl (and was honored with the prefix Xiangqin in 1749) before being killed in battle against the Dzungars in 1755. O-rong'an was posthumously honored in the Temple of Zealots of the Dynasty.

His younger son, O-shi, was also posthumously honored in the Temple of Zealots of the Dynasty after dying in battle in 1758, near Yarkand.

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Career

Early career

Ortai rose quickly through the ranks in his youth, reportedly due to his reputation for incorruptibility. In 1699, Ortai became a juren, and by 1703, he was promoted to captain of his family's Banner company. The same year, he was promoted to Senior Imperial Bodyguard of the 3rd Rank.

In 1716, he was promoted again to the Assistant Department Director of the Imperial Household. After the emperor Yongzheng ascended in 1722, Ortai served as an examiner for the Yunnan province civil service exams, and then as financial commissioner of Jiangsu province.

Governorship

His first governorship was awarded in 1724, when he was made lieutenant governor of Jiangsu province. The next year, he was appointed acting governor-general (or Viceroy) of the restive southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, although it took some time for him to assume office, as he had to first travel to Beijing and then to the provinces.

His assignment was to stabilize the region for Qing rule. The main source of resistance came from indigenous people of Yun-Gui, the Miao. The majority of his rule was focused on quelling local resistance to Qing rule, often relying on military force. His policy, called gaitu guili 改土归流, aimed to replace local hereditary rulers with imperial bureaucrats, thereby placing the restive territories under a more firm grip of the central government. Guy has characterized Ortai's rule as a "Qing mission civilisatrice," while Elliott has said some might call Ortai ruthless.

During his time as governor, he put down several resistances, including in Guangshan (in Guizhou) in 1726, Changzhai (in Guizhou) in 1727, and Dongchuan in 1728. From 1727-1728, he dealt with local resistance in Cheli and other places in southwest Yunnan led by the Diao 刁 clan; these territories were re-organized into Pu'er prefecture. In 1727, he assisted the governor general of Sichuan in dealing with rebellions in Wumen and Zhengxiang. This territory was thereafter absorbed into Yunnan.

In reward for his efforts, he received several honors and promotions in rank. In 1727, he was promoted to minor hereditary rank of Qi duyu, and then Qingche duyu 1st Class. The following year, he was given the additional governor-generalship of Guangxi. In 1729, he was promoted again, to Baron, 3rd Class, and to Junior Guardian. Some scholars such as R. Kent Guy believe that the emperor valued Ortai's ability to represent his will in a sensitive territory, and that Ortai did not have real skill as a military leader.

After receiving this third governorship, he switched his policy and tried attracting local leaders, promising rewards for those who would submit and using force on those who resisted. Ortai dealt with more resistances in the next few years, including in Guzhou (in Guizhou) in 1729, and again in Wumeng in 1730.

Ortai has been described as a successful Qing governor by Kent and other scholars, as he took power from local leaders and placed it in the hands of the Qing. Ortai also increased the tax productive territory available to the empire via methods such as instituting mining reforms in Yunnan's salt and copper mining industries, increasing profits overall.

Promotion to Central Government

After his time as governor in the southwest, Ortai was promoted to several positions in the central government in Beijing, including: Grand Secretary, President of the Board of War, and Grand Councillor. From September 1732 – 1733, Ortai supervised military affairs in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and the supply transport for the campaign against the Dzungars. In 1733, he advised the Yongzheng emperor to make peace with the Dzungars.

In 1735, he was promoted to Viscount. That same year, he was sent with Zhang Tingyu and three princes (including the future emperor Qianlong) to put down a rebellion at Taigong in Guizhou province. Zhang Zhao, an official charged with handling the rebellion, blamed Ortai for not having ensured a more lasting peace before he left Guizhou to take office in Beijing. Ortai took the blame for not having prevented this rebellion when he was governor general, and was demoted from hereditary rank.

Under Emperor Qianlong, he held the highest rank of his career as Earl of the 3rd Class. From 1738 until his death in 1745, he served in many important posts and was given significant responsibilities, such as directing work on the Yellow River (1739), and directing many official publications (see "Writings" below). When he was ill and on his deathbed, in 1745, the Qianlong emperor honored Ortai with the additional title of "Grand Tutor."

Posthumous Honors

Upon his death, the Qianlong emperor gave Ortai the ceremonial name Wenduan. Ortai was honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and in the Temple of Eminent Statesmen, though this latter honor was later retracted (see "Rivalry with Zhang Tingyu").

Relationship with Yongzheng Emperor

Ortai was a confidant and advisor to the Yongzheng emperor, and under the Yongzheng emperor, he was the second most powerful Manchu in the empire.

The two likely met when Ortai was an imperial bodyguard, and the emperor was still a prince. According to Yuan Mei, an 18th century poet, Ortai refused an order from the then-prince on the grounds that he served the emperor, and not his sons. This impressed the prince, who kept him in mind in the future for appointments.

The personal friendship and trust that Ortai enjoyed from the Yongzheng emperor allowed him greater authority as a governor. This friendship was sealed with regular gifts and even with a marriage. When the emperor's brother Prince Yi was betrothed to Ortai's cousin, the emperor wrote the governor saying he was happy that their families would be joined.

When the Yongzheng emperor was on his death bed, he ordered that upon Ortai's death (which did not happen for another ten years), he should be named in the Imperial Ancestral Temple as commendation for his service.

Rivalry with Zhang Tingyu

Zhang was a confidant and advisor to the Yongzheng emperor, like Ortai was, and he enjoyed a similar amount of power. The two were the Yongzheng emperor's closest advisors, and were even with him at his death bed. The Yongzheng emperor had named the two counselors as advisors to his son, the Qianlong emperor, during the transition period, and the Qianlong emperor kept them.

In the early part of Qianlong's reign, Ortai and Zhang and their respective political followers became embroiled in power struggles. The factions had an ethnic element to them - Ortai's was Manchu, and Zhang's Han Chinese, generally - which worried Qianlong, who noted with displeasure that "the Manchus all depend for their thinking on Ortai, the Han all on Zhang Tingyu."

In 1743, the emperor learned that Ortai had covered up corruption on the part of one of his sons. Angry, the emperor warned Ortai "I have used you in the past and I am forgiving you now, but this is hardly a guarantee that I will not punish you severely in the future!"

In 1755, ten years after Ortai's death, the Qianlong emperor launched an investigation into Ortai's follower Hu Zhongzao. Hu was accused of having written anti-Manchu poems, and having disrespected the emperor. The quarrel with Zhang and his faction featured heavily in the writings. Hu was executed, and his friend O-chang - Ortai's nephew - was forced to commit suicide for having written poems "unfavorable to the Manchus." Ortai's name was removed from the Temple of Eminent Statesmen, as punishment for promoting factionalism.

Writings and Publications

• 1725: Nanbang lixian ji 南邦黎献集, 16 juan

• 1742: Shoushi tongkao, 78 juan (illustrated treatise on agriculture)

• 1743: Yizhong jinjian, 90 + 1 juan (general treatise on medicine)

• 1745: Baqi Manzhou shizu tongpu, 80 + 2 juan (a genealogy of the Manchu clans and families)

• 1746 (posthumously): Baqi zeli 则例, 12 juan (on the laws governing Bannermen)

• 1746 (posthumously): Zhongshu zhengkao 中枢政考, 31 juan (on the laws governing the military affairs of the empire)

• San Li yishu (commentaries to the classics on ceremony)

• Baqi tongzhi (history of the Manchu Banner system)

生平

康熙十六年（1677年）出生，康熙三十八年（1699年）中舉人，康熙四十二年襲封佐領，康熙五十五年任內務府員外郎。康熙末與田文鏡、李衛並為雍親王（雍正帝）心腹。雍正五年（1727年），奉命修《八旗通志》初集，凡250卷。雍正時期嘗任雲貴總督，兼轄廣西，在雲南積極推行改土歸流，雍正四年（1726年）上疏「雲貴大患，無如苗蠻，欲安民，必制夷，欲制夷，必改土歸流」，七年設官府，置流官，駐軍隊，鞏固了西南邊疆。與田文鏡、李衛並稱為「模範總督」。雍正十年（1732年），任保和殿大學士兼兵部尚書，辦理軍機事務。雍正崩於深夜，鄂爾泰適巧為值班軍機大臣，最先探視雍正遺體並安排入殮，且受遺旨與張廷玉輔政。乾隆初任總理事務，加至太保。乾隆三年，高宗欲仿古制行「三老五更」之禮，為此向鄂爾泰及張廷玉諮詢。鄂爾泰傾向于贊成，而張廷玉則斷以為不可。四十年以後，乾隆見張廷玉所作的《三老五更議》時，仍然感觸頗深，指責鄂爾泰「因好虛榮，近于驕者」。乾隆十年（1745年）以病解職。同年三月乾隆親往鄂爾泰住所視疾，加為太傅。不久病卒。

鄂爾泰死後，乾隆二十年三月，爆發胡中藻案，四月，鄂爾泰的得意門生胡中藻被斬殺，已故大學士鄂爾泰被撤出賢良祠，不准入祀。鄂爾泰之侄鄂昌被賜自盡。

軼事

• 鄂爾泰名言：「大事不可糊塗，小事不可不糊塗，若小事不糊塗，則大事必至糊塗矣。」張廷玉聞後稱讚此言「最有味，宜靜思之」。

• 鄂爾泰時任內務府員外郎時，曾拒絕了以皇子身份向鄂爾泰請託的雍正，此舉不但沒有得罪雍正，反而得到了雍正的賞識。

• 雍正三年（1725年）冬，鄂爾泰即將前往雲南任職，雍正得知其身體不適，命令他乘坐雍正的御輿前往赴任，之後鄂爾泰恢復了健康，雍正高興的在鄂爾泰的奏摺上批示說：「朕與卿一種君臣相得之情，並不比泛泛乃無量劫善緣之所致。」雍正五十大壽，因鄂爾泰時任雲貴總督未能出席，雍正特地挑選了宴會中的食物，快馬加鞭運往雲南給鄂爾泰。

評價

雍正最欣賞李衛、鄂爾泰、田文鏡三人，當面告訴尹繼善，謂當學此三人。尹繼善奏曰：「李衛，臣學其勇，不學其粗；田文鏡，臣學其勤，不學其刻；鄂爾泰，宜學處多，然臣亦不學其愎。」雍正不以為忤。乾隆嘗謂：「我朝百餘年來，滿洲科目中，惟鄂爾泰與尹繼善為真知學者。」

家庭

• 祖父：圖彥突，官至戶部郎中。

• 父親：鄂拜，曾任國子祭酒。

妻妾

• 原配夫人，瓜爾佳氏。康熙五十年，生長女，夫人早逝。

• 續娶夫人，喜塔臘氏，大學士兼吏部尚書邁柱之女。康熙五十一年成婚，稱邁夫人。鄂爾泰與邁夫人感情甚篤，相敬如賓，不娶妾媵，除長女外，其他子女皆邁夫人所出。

子女

• 長女：原配夫人瓜爾佳氏所出，早夭。

• 長子鄂容安，為乾隆時期兩江總督。娶鑲白旗滿洲訥殷富察氏，原任通政使司通政使博爾多之女。

• 次子鄂實，官前鋒統領，娶總督江南等處七省漕糧補熙之女補氏，補氏不久去世，他又繼娶大學士高斌之女。

• 三子鄂弼，官至西安將軍，娶鑲黃旗滿洲瓜爾佳氏，領侍衛內大臣信勇公哈達哈之女。

• 次女：續娶夫人喜塔臘氏所出，適正黃旗滿洲赫舍里氏工部尚書赫奕次子侍讀學士肇敏。

• 四子鄂寧，任雲貴總督，娶內大臣海望之女。

• 五子鄂圻，娶莊親王允祿之女。

• 六子鄂謨，娶邁柱之孫女。