Fu Nai was a statesman who made himself famous by his skillful treatment of the aborigines of Hunan

Hunan

' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

. He first conquered and disarmed them, and then set to work to teach them to cultivate the arts of peace. He was particularly successful as a military leader, though himself actually a civilian. In 1809 he rose to be Judge in Hunan, and was ordered, by special request of the aborigines, to visit their territory once a year.