Tong Guowei

Tong Guowei (died 1719) was a Qing dynasty official. He was a maternal uncle of the Kangxi Emperor.

== Life ==

Tong Guowei was the second or third son of Tulai. The family was associated with the Tong clan from Fushun. According to the "Comprehensive History of Eight Banners," the Tong family was a sinicized Jurchen clan incorporated into the Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner. However, scholar Pamela Kyle Crossley noted that the Tong family was actually Han Chinese and had falsely claimed to be related to the Manchu Tunggiya clan of Jilin. This false claim was used to facilitate a transfer to a Manchu banner during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor.

During the Kangxi period, the Tong family was influential and earned the nickname "Tong Ban Chao" (佟半朝), meaning "the Tong who fill up half the Court," reflecting their political prominence. In 1674, following the start of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Wu Yingxiong, son of Wu Sangui, plotted a riot in Beijing. Tong Guowei responded by arresting the ringleaders with thirty guards. He was appointed the commander of the imperial bodyguard (領侍衛內大臣) and served as a Deliberative Minister in 1682. In 1689, he was conferred the hereditary rank of First Class Duke (一等公).

Tong Guowei participated in military campaigns against the Dzungars, notably the Battle of Ulan Butung, where his brother Tong Guogang was killed. He was criticized for his conduct in this battle, specifically for not pursuing the retreating enemy, which led to his dismissal from his post as Deliberative Minister. Despite this setback, he accompanied Kangxi on expeditions against Galdan in 1696 and 1697.

Tong Guowei died in 1719. Posthumously, he was given the name Duanchun (端純), and in 1723, the Yongzheng Emperor awarded him the posthumous appointment of Grand Tutor (太傅).

In addition to his political career, it is believed that Tong Guowei and his brother Tong Guogang held Christian beliefs, although their positions at court prevented them from formal conversions. They maintained close relationships with Jesuit missionaries, including Lodovico Buglio and Gabriel de Magalhães.

== Family ==

Father: Tulai

Mother: Lady Gioro

Siblings:

- Elder sister: Empress Xiaokangzhang (mother of Kangxi Emperor)

- Elder brother: Tong Guoji (uncertain)

- Elder brother: Tong Guogang (佟國綱)

Wife: Lady Hešeri

Children:

- Eldest son: Yekeshu, father of Sunggayan

- Second son: Dekesi

- Third son: Longkodo

- Fourth son: Hongshan

- Fifth son: Qingyuan

- Sixth son: Qingfu

Daughters:

- Empress Xiaoyiren

- Imperial Noble Consort Quehui