The circuit intendant of Shanghai. or the daotai. of Shanghai, also formerly romanized as taotai or tao tai, was an imperial Chinese official who oversaw the circuit of Shanghai, then part of Jiangsu Province, in the Qing Empire. He oversaw the area's courts, law enforcement, civic defense, canals, and customs collection. As well as areas within modern Shanghai, his remit also included Qidong in present-day Jiangsu.
The position was only compensated at the senior fourth rank (), the seventh level from the top in the 9 rank, 18 level system, but, in addition to other sources of income, it was seen as a springboard to higher office within the empire.
History The original seat of the circuit was at Taicang. It was moved to Shanghai in the 18th century. The first foreign settlement in Shanghai, the British Concession, was established by the Land Regulations () undertaken on the initiative of the intendant Gong Mujiu.. His was the one who signed it on behalf of the Qing government on 29 November 1845. Lin Gui approved the British consul Rutherford Alcock's proposal to extend the British boundary west from Barrier Road (, today's Henan Rd.) to Thibet Road (, now Xizang Rd.) on 27 November 1848. On 6 April 1849, he signed the agreement with Charles de Montigny formalizing and delineating the city's French Concession. An intendant was also involved with the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement upon the merging of the British and American settlements in 1863.
The intendant was forced to flee the Small Sword Society in 1853 amid the chaos surrounding the Taiping Rebellion..
The intendants of the 1870s and '80s resisted French plans to expand their concession southwest, particularly the construction of a road through Shanghai's Ningbo Cemetery to connect the French Concession with Xujiahui (then "Siccawei"). One of the intendants in the 1890s finally yielded upon an agreement by the French to pay the duly assessed value of the land condemned, but the demolition of the cemetery walls in July 1898 prompted riots which killed twelve and the landing of French troops to protect the construction workers.
List Installed Name Origin Notes1730Xu Yongyou 徐永佑 1731Wang Chenghui 王澄慧 Henan 1735Li Shan 礼山Manchu army 1735Cui Lin 崔琳Shanxi 1736Weng Zao 翁藻Zhejiang 1740 Li Shijie 李士杰 Hubei Acting1740Weng Zao 翁藻Zhejiang 1740Wang Yunming 王云铭Shandong 1743Wang Dexin 汪德馨Henan 1745Tuo Enduo 托恩多 Manchu 1747Fu Chun 傅椿 Manchu 1748Tao Shihuang 陶士偟Hunan 1748 Zhu Lin 朱霖 Manchu army Acting1749Guang An 广安 Manchu 1843Gong Mujiu 宫慕久Dongping in Shandong March 1847Xian Ling 咸龄 April 1848 Wu Jianzhang 吴健彰Xiangshan in Guangdong Acting1848Lin Gui 麟桂Manchu August 1851 Wu Jianzhang 吴健彰 Xiangshan in Guangdong ActingAugust 1854 Lan Weiwen 蓝蔚雯 ActingOctober 1857Xue Huan 薛焕 1858Wu Xu 吴煦 1862 Huang Fang 黄芳 ActingJuly 1864Ding Richang 丁日昌 September 1865Ying Baoshi 应宝时 1869Tu Zongying 涂宗瀛 1872Shen Bingcheng 沈秉成 1875Fen Junguang 冯焌光 May 1877Liu Ruifen 刘瑞芬 April 1882Shao Youlian 邵友濂 October 1896Lü Haihuan 吕海寰 July 1897Cai Jun 蔡钧 April 1899Li Guangjiu 李光久 1899Yu Lianyuan 余联沅 1901 Yuan Shuxun 袁树勋 Transferred 1906 Rui Cheng 瑞澂 Itinerant
See also Mayor of Shanghai Old City of Shanghai
References Citations
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