1835
The Daoguang Emperor (道光帝) was the eighth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and ascended the throne in 1820. The Daoguang Emperor is most notably known for his attempts to stop the opium trade between the West and China during the late 1830s; however, it was to little avail, and the sanctions resulted in the first Opium War between Britain and China (1839-1842). The emperor’s reign was not only marked by external threats but also internal rebellion. During the Daoguang Emperor’s reign, the Grand Canal, which was used to transport rice from South China to the capital in Beijing, was in desperate need of repair; however, corrupt government officials embezzled the money destined for repairs, and by 1849, the canal was deemed impassable. As a result, all rice shipments has to be made by seas, and thousands of unemployed canal boatmen helped to fuel the flames of unrest that ultimately lead to the Taiping Rebellion.
The 1835 Edict from the Daoguang Emperor is not tied to the immanent peril that threatened his reign. In fact, the edict praises a man named Ji Lang’a （吉郎阿）for defending the Qianlong Emperor’s tomb. For his service, the Daoguang Emperor gave Ji Lang’a the title of Wude Qiwei(武德骑尉), which is a fifth rank official (正五品) in the middle of the nine-grade official ranking system (九品) in dynastic China.
