Early career

Keying was born on 21 March 1787. A descendant of Nurhaci's ninth son Babutai (Duke Kexi of the First Rank), Keying was a member of the imperial house of Aisin Gioro, and belonged to the Manchu Plain Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. He held several prominent posts in the Qing government and was demoted several times because of corruption in office, but managed to regain his position as a leading official in the Qing court.

Opium Wars

In 1842, the Daoguang Emperor entrusted Keying to conclude a peace treaty with the Britain following the First Opium War, and he was chiefly responsible for negotiating and signing the Treaty of Nanking. The following year, he signed the Treaty of the Bogue to supplement the Treaty of Nanking. He also concluded the Treaty of Wanghia (1844) with the United States, the Treaty of Whampoa (1844) with France, and the Treaty of Canton (1847) with Sweden-Norway. This is the first group of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties. In November 1845, Keying was well received in Hong Kong.

In 1858, the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Keying to negotiate a peace treaty with Britain and France to conclude the Second Opium War. During the negotiations, the British interpreters Horatio Nelson Lay and Thomas Francis Wade sought to expose Keying's duplicity by producing documents the British had captured in Guangzhou, in which Keying expressed his contempt for the British. Humiliated, Keying promptly left the negotiations in Tianjin for Beijing and he was later arrested for having left his post in contravention of imperial order. He was sentenced to death by the Imperial Clan Court, but was allowed to commit suicide instead.

Namesakes

• Keying, trading junk and the first Chinese ship to sail to Britain and America.

• Keying and Marine House c. 1845, became part of the Hong Kong Hotel in 1866. It was demolished in 1858 and now site of Central Building at Pedder Street and Queen's Road Central.

經歷

宗室祿康繼嗣子。以蔭生授宗人府主事。

1838年，任盛京將軍。

1842年3月奕經在浙江戰敗，清政府命耆英署理杭州將軍。4月，他被任命為欽差大臣，同伊里布一起赴浙江向英軍求和。8月，英軍闖入南京下關長江江面，耆英同伊里布趕奔南京，跟英國代表砵甸乍談判，簽訂了中英《南京條約》。

1843年，耆英再任欽差大臣，與英國簽訂《中英五口通商章程》和《虎門條約》。

1844年，耆英任兩廣總督兼辦通商事務，與美國簽訂了《望廈條約》，與法國簽訂了《黃埔條約》，與瑞典簽署了《中瑞廣州條約》。

1858年第二次鴉片戰爭期間，耆英被派赴天津協助桂良與英法聯軍交涉，由于英軍在占領廣州期間查獲兩廣總督衙門大量檔案文件，發現耆英在上報朝廷時對英國言辭不恭，因此拒絕與其交談。桂良請耆英回京，咸豐帝大怒，下獄議罪，擬絞監候，肅順上疏立即正法，咸豐帝賜其自盡。嫡妻瓜爾佳氏，將軍觀明之女、繼妻博爾濟吉特氏，吉拉敏之女。

世系

• 太祖清顯祖塔克世

• 烈祖誠毅勇壯貝勒穆爾哈齊

• 天祖輔國公祜世塔（1615-1663）

• 高祖父越齡（1653-1700）輔國公祜世塔七子。

• 曾祖父宗學副管常祥保（1694-1756）。

• 祖父京畿道監察御史、頭品頂戴炳文(1730-1812)。祖母宜特墨氏。

• 父廣西道監察御史宗室祿豐。母伊爾根覺羅氏。

• 養父東閣大學士祿康。

• 妻瓜爾佳氏，其父鑲黃旗滿洲、嘉慶朝盛京將軍觀明。

• 子

　• 宗室慶錫，馬蘭鎮總兵兼管內務府大臣。孫宗室德昌，妻楊佳氏（父內務府鑲黃旗漢軍繼振，堂伯道光二十五年乙巳科進士宜振，祖父道光己丑科進士、浙江嘉興府知府鍾裕）。

　• 宗室慶賢，宗人府理事、二等侍衛班領。孫宗室德本，鴻臚寺少卿；孫宗室德祜（1870-1911），陝西鳳翔府知府，辛亥時與兩幼子皆殉難，其妻佟佳氏（父鑲黃旗滿洲、同治五年署西安將軍穆隆阿；胞姊佟佳氏嫁同治六年丁卯科舉人、度支部尚書宗室溥頲，其祖父戶部尚書奕紀 (清朝宗室)）。曾孫光緒十八年（1892年）壬辰科進士宗室長紹。

以他命名的事物

• 耆英號，一艘中國帆船，曾創下中國帆船航海最遠的紀錄

延伸閱讀