Āguì 阿桂
The pre-eminent Manchu statesman and military commander of the late Qiánlóng era. Manchu Bordered-Yellow Banner; zì Guǎngtíng 廣廷; hào Yúnyán 雲巖; posthumous title Wénchéng 文成. Lifedates 1717–1797 (CBDB id 510929 confirms Qing dynasty).
Father: Ākèdūn 阿克敦 (1685–1756), grand secretary under Yōngzhèng. Began career as a bǐtièshì 筆帖式 (Manchu translator-scribe). Rose through frontier military command during the second Jīnchuān 金川 campaign (1771–1776) to become commander-in-chief; received the highest honors — Yīděng chéngmóu Yīngyǒng gōng 一等誠謀英勇公 (First-Class Loyal-and-Strategist Heroic Duke), entered the Zǐguānggé 紫光閣 (Hall of Purple Light) of imperial heroes. Subsequently Wǔyīngdiàn dàxuéshì 武英殿大學士, supervisor of the Qiánlóng emperor’s military councils for two decades, and one of the principal regents in the emperor’s late life.
Co-compiled (as fèng chì — “by imperial commission”) with Liáng Guózhì the Huáng Qīng kāiguó fānglüè 皇清開國方略 (KR2b0039) in 32 juǎn, the Qiánlóng-imperial chronicle of the Qing founding (1583–1644). Composed in Qiánlóng 38 / 1773 under imperial commission; completed Qiánlóng 51 / 1786 (the Sìkù tíyào dates the commission to Qiánlóng 38 / 1773; the catalog meta gives Qiánlóng 51 / 1786 as the completion date). Āguì’s role on the project was the institutional-supervisory one of zǒng cái (chief director); the substantive compositional work was done by the Mǎnzhōu yuánliú kǎo historiographical bureau under his supervision.
Other significant historical-editorial roles: zǒng cái of the Sìkù quánshū compilation (1773–1782); supervisor of the Mǎnzhōu yuánliú kǎo 滿洲源流考 (1789); supervisor of the Bā qí tōng zhì 八旗通志. He was also the chief compiler-of-record of three fānglüè in the present division: Píngdìng liǎng Jīnchuān fānglüè (KR2c0013, 1781–86) on the Second Jīnchuān war (which he himself commanded) — co-compiled with Fù Kāng’ān 福康安 and Liáng Guózhì 梁國治; Qīndìng Lánzhōu jìlüè (KR2c0015, 1781) on the Sūsì sìshísān 蘇四十三 revolt; and the Qīndìng jiǎopǔ Línqīng nìfěi jìlüè (KR2c0014, 1777) on the Wáng Lún 王倫 revolt.
Biography in Qīng shǐ gǎo 318. CBDB id 510929.