but refused to allow trading at Kashgar. The Treaty of Kuldja, signed at this time, was negotiated by I-shan and Pu-yen-t'ai 布彥泰 (d. 1880), assistant military-governor of Ili, and bore the signature of Kovalevsky, the Russian envoy.
Summoned back to the capital, I-shan was appointed a senior assistant chamberlain of the Imperial Bodyguard (1854) and an adjutant general (1855). Early in 1856 he was appointed military-governor of Heilungkiang at which post he encountered the Russian eastward expansion and occupation of the Amur region under the leadership of Nikolai Nikolaivitch Muraviev (c. 1809–1881), later Count Amurski. According to the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689 (see under Songgotu), the Argun River and the Hsing-an Mountains formed the boundary between Siberia and Manchuria. After the Treaty of Kiakhta of 1727 (see under Tulišen) which delimited the boundary between Siberia and Outer Mongolia, no dispute about boundaries arose. Although the Russian eastward expansion had taken place under the leadership of such personages as Yermak who took the land of Sibir in 1581, and Khabarov who erected (1652) a fort on the present site of Khabarovsk which still bears the name of its discoverer, the Russian government made no serious effort to extend its influence and had no well constructed plans to consolidate its gains. But after her defeat in the Crimean War (1854–56) Russia wished to be compensated, and the occupation of the region north of the Amur River served that purpose. Muraviev was the main promoter and undertaker of this expansion and became, in September 1847, governor-general of Eastern Siberia. Under him the lower Amur region was explored and rapidly settled with colonists. By 1853 he had opened up harbors on the Gulf of Tartary, established posts in Sakhalin Island, and founded Nikolaevsk at the mouth of the Amur River. During the Crimean War Russia used–despite protests from China–the Amur River as the route of transport in her occupation of eastern Siberia. When later she made diplomatic approaches to China her chief arguments were the long friendship between the two nations and the importance of a mutual stand against England.
At this time China was harassed by the British and French allies and by the wide-spread Taiping Rebellion. The central government at Peking was financially straitened and inadequately informed. To Emperor Wên-tsung and his officials the great northeastern territory was just a stretch of wasteland where only a few pearls and some fur were produced. China's inadequate knowledge of the geography of this region greatly handicapped her defense against Russian encroachments. I-shan was not qualified to carry on negotiations over little known boundaries with so well informed an adventurer as Muraviev. The climax of the negotiations came when I-shan and Muraviev met at Aigun. The first conference took place on May 11, 1858. Muravaev proposed to make the Amur River the boundary between the two empires but I-shan maintained that the boundary set up by the Treaty of Nerchinsk should continue to be effective. After five days of fruitless meetings Muraviev, on the evening of the fifth day, tried a demonstration of force by setting off cannon on the left bank of the river. I-shan, frightened into submission, signed the Treaty of Aigun the following day (May 16, 1858). This treaty, consisting of three articles, states that the territory on the left (north) bank of the Amur River should be recognized as Russian, that on the right bank as far as the Ussuri River, as Chinese, and the territory between the Ussuri River and the sea should be held in common by the two countries until its demarcation should be decided at some future date. Navigation of the Amur, Sungari and Ussuri Rivers should be open only to Russian and Chinese vessels, and trade across the border should be permitted—though no regulations for such trade were prescribed.
A few days later—May 20, 1858—the Taku forts near Tientsin were taken by the Anglo-French allied forces. On June 23, 1858 Euphemius Poutiatine 普提雅廷, representing Russia, together with the representatives of other Western powers, concluded in Tientsin a treaty with twelve articles concerning trade (see under Kuei-liang). Thus within a short time Russia negotiated with China treaties regulating both territory and trade which reacted greatly to Russia's advantage, but which were much resented in Peking. For the Treaty of Aigun I-shan was denounced, particularly by Yin Chao-yung 殷兆鏞 (T. 序伯, H. 譜經, 1806–1883, chin-shih of 1840) who accused him of lightly handing over to Russia a vast and valuable territory. In 1859 I-shan was ordered back to Peking and was deprived of his rank of adjutant general. On November 14, 1860 another treaty between Russia and China was concluded at Peking—this time with Nikolai Pavlovitch Ignatieff 伊格那提業幅 and Prince Kung (see under I-hsin) as negotiators. Added to the indignities
392
