Qing Dynasty's Zongli Yamen

　　The Zongli Yamen was the central government agency of China’s late Qing Dynasty responsible for handling foreign affairs, dispatching envoys abroad, and also overseeing trade, coastal defense, tariffs, mining and railways, postal and telegraph services, military industry, the Tongwen Guan (School of Combined Learning), and the dispatch of students overseas. Initially called the Zongli Geguo Tongshang Yamen (Office for the Management of the Business of All Foreign Countries), it was commonly referred to as the Zongli Yamen, the Zongshu (General Office), or the Yishu (Translation Office). After the signing of the Beijing Treaty with Britain, France, and other countries in the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign (1860), the Qing government saw an increase in foreign diplomatic affairs. In January of the following year, Prince Gong Yixin, Grand Secretary Gui Liang, and Vice Minister of Revenue Wenxiang petitioned to establish the Zongli Yamen in the capital to take over foreign affairs previously handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Lifan Yuan. Approved by Emperor Xianfeng, it was established in the second month of the first year of the Tongzhi reign (March 1862).

　　The Zongli Yamen

　　The Zongli Yamen was led by princes or grand councilors, and modeled after the structure of the Grand Council, with two levels of officials: ministers and chapter secretaries. These included premier ministers, acting premier ministers, apprentice premier ministers, and managing ministers. Initially, Yixin, Gui Liang, and Wenxiang served as the three ministers, with the number later increasing slightly from seven or eight to over ten, among whom Yixin served for as long as 28 years. Under the ministers were chief chapter secretaries (two Manchus and two Han Chinese each), assistant chapter secretaries (one Manchu and one Han Chinese), chapter secretaries (ten Manchus and ten Han Chinese each), and additional chapter secretaries (eight Manchus and eight Han Chinese each).

　　Its former site is located at No. 49 Dongtangzi Hutong in Beijing. It was originally the residence of Qing Dynasty Grand Secretary Saišang’a and was rebuilt in the same year of its establishment. The eastern half of the Zongli Yamen housed the Jing Shi Tong Wen Guan (Capital Tongwen Academy), China’s earliest foreign language teaching institution (now the predecessor of Peking University’s School of Foreign Languages), while the western half served as the venue for diplomatic activities between ministers of various ministries and foreign envoys. In 1901, as part of the Late Qing reforms, the Zongli Yamen was restructured into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is also the reason why the street south of Dongtangzi Hutong is named Waijiaobu Jie (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Street).

　　The Zongli Yamen initially managed diplomacy and trade, but later expanded its responsibilities to include overseeing factory operations, railway construction, mine development, school establishment, and student dispatches abroad. Its authority grew steadily, eventually taking charge of all matters related to diplomacy as well as finance, military, education, mining, and transportation involving foreign countries, making it an important decision-making body within the Qing government.