In academic community,there is a prevailing view regarding two appointments of Britishman Li Taiguo,first by He Guiqing in 1859 and later by Zongli Yamen in 1861,through which he was assigned to the position of Inspector General of the Qing Maritime Customs.Howev-er,limited research has been conducted on the relationship between these two appointments and the events that occurred during the interim period,and no new historical resources have been presented.By synthesizing previous researches and scrutinizing Chinese and British archives,we have found that He Guiqing's assignment was illegal,lacking sanction from the supremacy of Qing dynasty and unrecognized by British diplomats.As early as 1860 or even earlier,Xue Huan et al.,some Qing officers,plotted secretly to assign Li Taiguo through the supreme power.It re-sulted in the official appointment by Zongli Yamen in 1861.Although British diplomats never o-penly acknowledged He Guiqing's designation of Li Taiguo,they consistently supported the idea of having a British person as Inspector General of the Qing Maritime Customs for their interest.
Li Taiguo(Horatio Nelson Lay)Inspector General of Qing China Maritime CustomsF.Bruce's Secret LettersXue Huan(Sieh Huan)Zongli Yamen(Tsungli Yamen)