Chonghou[note 1] (Chinese: 崇厚; pinyin: Chónghòu; Wade–Giles: Ch'ung-hou, 7 October 1826 – 26 March 1893),[5] of the Wanyan clan, was a Qing dynasty official and diplomat.

His brother Chongshi contributed 10,000 taels to the government for military expenses, and as a result, Chonghou was named as a prefect in Henan province.

After the riot was quelled, Chonghou was sent to France with a letter of apology, which he was to be given to Adolphe Thiers, making him the first Chinese official to visit the West since those who accompanied Anson Burlingame to the United States in 1868.

[7] He was denounced by Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, nominally for returning without authorization; and also by the then Censor Zhang Zhidong for having exceeded his powers.

[9] Chonghou himself described his reasoning as such: Only because our military forces were exhausted, our treasury was short of money, our border defenses were also inadequate to rely on, and because I wanted to safeguard our national interests, I had no choice but to agree under pressure.

After months of tension and appeals by foreign ambassadors and leaders, including Queen Victoria, and Zeng as well, the Qing government relented, and commuted his death sentence, but Chonghou still had to make a contribution of 300,000 taels to purchase his freedom.

[6] Historian S. C. M. Paine believes that given his prior experience in France and in negotiating trade agreements in Tianjin, it is very unlikely that Chonghou would have agreed to the terms of the treaty on his own.

Russia had been in communication with the Qing government during its occupation of Xinjiang, so Russian demands should have been well-known long before Chonghou left for Saint Petersburg.