Zhao Guozuo

Zhao Guozuo (赵国祚; 1609–1688) was a Qing dynasty military commander and provincial governor-general of Han-Chinese banner (Manchu military-social unit of Qing society) origin, who fought in the conquest of south China and later against the rebels of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, ending his career as Jiangxi provincial commander (提督) with the posthumous name Minzhuang (敏壮).

Origins and family

The Draft History of Qing (《清史稿》) states that Zhao Guozuo was a Han-Chinese bannerman of the Bordered Red Banner and the second son of Yi He (一鹤), who had come over to the founder Nurhaci (太祖) in the latter's reign.¹ According to the Qingshi gao, his first post was company commander (牛录额真), in which he supervised military farming at Yizhou (义州).¹

Career

Conquest era. Zhao took part in the campaign up the Heilongjiang (黑龙江) and in the capture of Qiantunwei (前屯卫) and Zhonghousuo (中后所).¹ In the early Shunzhi years he followed the conquest of Jiangnan, where the taking of Yangzhou (扬州), Jiaxing (嘉兴), and Jiangyin (江阴) all earned him credit, and his hereditary rank rose step by step from half a cheng (半个前程) to second-class adaha hafan (二等阿达哈哈番).¹ According to the China Biographical Database (CBDB), he served as vice commander (副都统) and then commander (都统) of Han-Chinese banner troops in 顺治 8, and as 镶白旗汉军都统 and Pingnan General (平南将军) in 顺治 12.²

Zhejiang governor-general. He was made Pingnan General and stationed his troops at Wenzhou (温州); he was then appointed Zhejiang governor-general.¹ When Zheng Chenggong attacked Wenzhou, Zhao directed the troops that drove him off and captured more than ninety boats; when Zheng next attacked Ningbo (宁波), the deputy banner commander Xia Jingmei (夏景梅) and brigade general Chang Jingong (常进功) repelled him.¹ The throne, judging that Zheng had withdrawn on his own and that Zhao's memorial exaggerated the victory, reprimanded him not to repeat the fraudulent reporting of the late Ming.¹ When Zheng then launched his great assault on Jiangning (江宁), Zhao directed the defense; after the crisis passed, the Board proposed dismissing him and his fellow commanders for tolerating the enemy, but the emperor commuted this to forfeiture of salary.¹

In civil administration he was remembered well: over his four years governing Zhejiang he attended closely to the people's affairs, and in a famine year, when rice prices rose, he opened the treasury to sell grain at stabilized prices and circulated orders to neighboring provinces not to block grain shipments, for which the people were grateful.¹ He was transferred to Shandong (山东) and then to Shanxi (山西).¹ In 康熙元年 (1662), when the court evaluated all provincial governors and governors-general, he was removed from office on the finding that his merit did not offset his faults.¹

The Three Feudatories revolt. When Wu Sangui rebelled, Zhao was recalled as Jiangxi provincial commander, stationed at Jiujiang (九江), and ordered to move to Nanchang (南昌) when Wu's troops entered Jiangxi (江西).¹ Geng Jingzhong, joining the revolt, sent forces into Jiangxi that took Guangxin (广信) and Jianchang (建昌); Zhao and the generals Xi Ergen (希尔根) and Ha'erhaqi (哈尔哈齐) marched to their relief.¹ Geng's general Yi Ming (易明) met them with over ten thousand men from Jianchang; the government troops attacked along separate routes, broke the rebels, pursued them more than seventy li, and took Fuzhou (抚州).¹ When Yi returned with another ten thousand, Zhao with the vanguard commander Sha Naha (沙纳哈) and acting guard commander Wa Dai (瓦岱) defeated him again, beheading more than four thousand.¹ The grand general Prince An, Yue Le (岳乐), requested Zhao for his campaign, and the request was approved; the army attacked Changsha (长沙), where Zhao drove off Wu San-gui's troops, and he was then moved to Chaling (茶陵).¹ After Changsha fell, he followed Prince An against Baoqing (宝庆); Wu Guogui (吴国贵), a general of Wu Shifan (吴世璠), held Wugang (武冈), and Zhao with the Jiande general Lin Xingzhu (林兴珠) fought a hard battle in which cannon fire killed Wu Guogui and Wugang was taken.¹

Political influence

The record shows Zhao's influence chiefly through the offices he held and the court's treatment of him. As Zhejiang governor-general he shaped provincial policy directly: the famine measures of treasury grain sales and the order to neighboring provinces not to block grain shipments were his own acts, and the history records that the people felt gratitude toward him for them.¹ His career also illustrates the court's discipline over provincial commanders: the reprimand for inflated victory reports, the Board's proposal to strip him of office after the Jiangning crisis, the commutation to salary forfeiture, and his removal in the 康熙元年 (1662) evaluation of all governors-general all show performance review applied to senior provincial officials.¹

Military style

The biography shows a commander used with regular field armies rather than with a personal force. In Jiangxi he fought alongside Manchu generals Xi Ergen and Ha'erhaqi and the vanguard and guard commanders Sha Naha and Wa Dai, and the account of the Fuzhou battles records attacks along separate routes, a pursuit of more than seventy li, and a second engagement in which over four thousand heads were taken.¹ At Wugang the decisive move was firepower: the history says the cannon killed Wu Guogui, after which the town fell.¹ He served under the grand general Prince An Yue Le in the Hunan campaigns, moving from Changsha to Chaling and then to Baoqing as the front advanced.¹

Death, titles, and heirs

After the taking of Wugang, Zhao asked to retire because his wounds had flared up.¹ He died at the age of eighty; the court granted sacrificial burial and the posthumous name Minzhuang (敏壮).¹ His son Yue inherited the hereditary rank and rose from brigade commander of the Guangdong garrison (广东驻防协领) to Plain Red Banner Han-Chinese commander (正红旗汉军都统).¹ Some editions of the text write the son's name with the character Yue (玥) instead of Yue.³

Assessment

Within the biography itself the assessment is mixed: the history credits him with diligence in civil affairs in Zhejiang and with battlefield victories, but also records the reprimand for exaggerated reporting and his removal in the 1662 evaluation because his merit did not offset his faults.¹ The CBDB row, consistent with the history, gives 1609–1688.²

References

1. 《清史稿》卷二百五十七 列传四十四 (赵国祚传), Wikisource transcription. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/清史稿/卷257
2. China Biographical Database (CBDB), person 58323, 赵国祚. https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0058323
3. 国学3000, 《清史稿》卷四十四 原文. https://guoxue3000.com/tw/books/373/chapters/286

Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › Early Qing (1616 to 1796) › Officials and military commanders › Military commanders and generals

Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026

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