13 Facts About Zhang Tingyu

Zhang Tingyu was a Han Chinese politician and historian who lived in the Qing dynasty.

Zhang Tingyu subsequently rose through the ranks in the Qing civil service and served under the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors.

Zhang Tingyu was especially trusted by the Yongzheng Emperor, who made him one of the first members of the Grand Council, an informal state organ which would, in due course, develop into the emperor's own privy council.

Zhang Tingyu was the only official to survive the battles of succession from Kangxi to Yongzheng to Qianlong, and was trusted by all three emperors.

Zhang Tingyu's Manchu rival, Ortai, was an official who served Yongzheng and Qianlong.

In 1749, Zhang Tingyu requested for retirement, his second request in two years.

The next day, Zhang Tingyu did not visit the emperor to thank him in person, instead sending his son Ruocheng.

However, Zhang Tingyu made the mistake of seeking an audience with the emperor even before the edict rebuking him had reached his residence.

Zhang Tingyu then sent Zhang a list of past officials who had their plaques enshrined in imperial ancestral temples, and ordered Zhang to reflect on whether he was worthy of the honour.

Zhang Tingyu then requested the emperor to revoke the honor and to punish him; the Qianlong emperor agreed to the revocation, but did not punish Zhang Tingyu further.

The emperor then decided to punish Zhang Tingyu by revoking all rewards which had been bestowed upon Zhang Tingyu by himself, his father and grandfather.

Zhang Tingyu died of illness in 1755, and was granted a plaque at the Imperial Ancestral Temple according to the wishes of the Yongzheng Emperor and the Qianlong Emperor, who had decided to reverse the revocation decision.

Zhang Tingyu was the only Han Chinese official during the Qing dynasty to be bestowed such a posthumous honor.