Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Hsiao Yung-tsao
HSIAO Yung-tsao 蕭永藻, d. 1729 age 86 (sui), official, belonged to the Chinese Bordered White Banner, his father, Hsiao Yang-yüan 蕭養元, being a captain. Hsiao Yung-tsao was made a clerk at the Board of Punishments and in 1677 a secretary of the Grand Secretariat. After a number of promotions he was made governor of Shun-t'ien-fu in 1695, and in January 1697 governor of Kwangtung. His administration appears to have been honest but not entirely successful. In January 1701 the governor of Kwangsi, P'êng P'êng [q. v.], was sent to take his place and he was transferred to Kwangsi. Soon thereafter an imperial edict was issued instructing him to follow the good example of his predecessor in the conduct of government, and to be more careful than before in the choice of subordinates. In 1706 he was transferred to the post of junior vice-president of the Board of War, and after other promotions was made, in the following year, president of that Board. In 1710 he was transferred to the presidency of the Board of Civil Office and in January 1711 was made a Grand Secretary. In 1717 he became concurrently a member of the Council of Princes and High Officials (議政處). When Yin-chên [q. v.] ascended the throne in the last days of 1722 he lost no time in sending Hsiao to the undesirable post of custodian of the Imperial Mausolea at Ma-lan yü 馬蘭峪, seventy-five miles northeast of Peking; and in January 1728, on a charge of laxness in performing his duties, deprived him of his office and titles but required him to continue his residence and services at the mausolea. A reason for this treatment may be seen in the charge, contained in the imperial order of impeachment, that Hsiao had encouraged Yin-t'i [禵, q.v.], fourteenth son of Emperor Shêng-tsu—indicating that he was involved in the difficulties over the succession which disturbed the later K'ang-hsi period. He died early in 1729.
[1/273/7b; 2/12/47b; 3/12/24a; 11/27/1a; Pa-ch'i t'ung-chih (see under Li Fu) 202/13a.]
Dean R. Wickes