Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Langtan
LANGTAN 郎坦, 1634–1695, general, was a member of the Gûwalgiya clan and belonged to the Manchu Plain White Banner. A son of Ubai [q. v.], he was appointed an Imperial Bodyguard at the age of fourteen (sui) and in 1649 served in the war against Chiang Hsiang [q. v.] at Tatung, Shansi. He was discharged in 1651 because of his father's condemnation (see under Ubai), but his post was restored to him in the following year. In 1663 he succeeded to the family's hereditary captaincy and followed Tuhai [q. v.] to Hupeh to suppress bandits. At his father's death in 1665 Langtan succeeded to the hereditary rank of viscount of the first class. In 1680 he was made deputy lieutenant-general of the Mongolian Plain White Banner, and two years later was transferred to the Manchu Banner. In order to ascertain the real condition of the Russians at Albazin, Langtan was sent with Pengcun [q. v.], on the pretense of hunting deer, to spy in the Amur region. They returned early in 1683 and memorialized the emperor on the situation, stating that 3,000 soldiers with twenty cannon would be sufficient to take the fort at Albazin. They advised that the troops should advance by land and that provisions should be transported by boat from Aigun on the slower route up the Amur River. They recommended the construction of about fifty boats to reinforce forty larger and twenty-six smaller vessels already in service. Their recommendations received imperial sanction and Bahai [q. v.], then military-governor of Ninguta, was entrusted with the task of building the boats, transporting cannon and stationing troops at strategic points. In 1683 Langtan was promoted to the rank of a commandant of the vanguard division and was sent to Heilungkiang city (west of Aigun) to help Sabsu [q. v.], then military-governor of that region. Before long a sifting of the numerous officers resulted in the dismissal of Langtan, but he was ordered to continue to serve without office or title.
In 1685 Pengcun was in command of the first expedition to attack Albazin, Langtan serving as a staff officer. After the Russians were allowed to retreat, and the fort was destroyed, Langtan and others returned to Mergen. Early in 1686, however, the Russians were found to have returned to Albazin and to be building a yet stronger fort. A new expedition was sent under Sabsu, with Langtan second in command. In July the fort was surrounded, but the Russians resisted stubbornly. Three months later when the news reached Peking that a Russian envoy was on his way for a peace conference, the besieging forces were ordered to be withdrawn. Langtan returned to Ninguta, and in 1688 was promoted to be lieutenant-general of the Mongolian Plain White Banner. In 1689 he was present at the Peace Conference of Nerchinsk and was one of the signers of the first treaty between Russia and China (see under Songgotu). Soon thereafter he was again transferred to command the Manchu Plain White Banner.
In 1690 outlaws made their appearance in Jehol, north of the Great Wall. Langtan was sent to quell them and succeeded in bringing back order to that region. In anticipation of a possible invasion by Galdan [q. v.], Langtan was in 1691 designated An-pei Chiang-chün (安北將軍) and placed in command of a detachment at Tatung, Shansi. Later in the year he was sent to Kweihwa to review the troops that were guarding the Mongolian border. In 1692, after his return to Peking, he was promoted to be a chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard, commandant of the division of fire-arms, and a member of the Council of State. In the next year, with the title Chao-wu (昭武) chiang-chün, he commanded a detachment at Kanchow, Kansu, and in 1694 was transferred to Ninghsia in preparation for the offensive against Galdan. Later in 1694 he was sent to the Tula River in Outer Mongolia where Galdan was reported to have been seen. He returned to Peking without encountering Galdan but in 1695 was again sent out, this time to inspect the defense works along the Mukden borders. He fell ill near the Great Wall and died shortly thereafter.
[1/286/1a; 2/10/37b; 3/275/43a; 34/159/2b; see also bibliography under Sabsu and Songgotu.]