'Zhongli Yamen', or the Office for Foreign Affairs, was set up in 1861 to deal with international relations and state-run modernisation projects. Mao Changxi was one of the three Chinese ministers appointed to this Office, the other three being Manchu. A native of Henan, Mao entered government service through imperial exams and rose to government office of the highest rank after his success in suppressing the Taiping northern army. This is one of the very few portraits of Chinese officials taken by Thomson in which the sitter looks away from the camera.