文祥（1818-1876）字博川，號文山，瓜爾佳氏，滿洲正紅旗人，道光廿五年（1845）進士，引見以部曹用，因為辦事忠勤，為文宗所重。咸豐八年五月即以戶部左侍郎入值軍機處，十年十二月並兼在總理各國事務衙門行走。本論文是從「朝廷的重臣」的觀點上，探索文祥在清代後期政局中如何「決大事」、「判大勢」、「定大政」所起的關鍵作用。

Wenxiang was a member of the Gualgiya clan and a Manchu Plain Red Bannerman. He became a metropolitan degree-holder (chin-shih) in 1845 and began his career as secretary in the Board. His loyalty and diligence won him the trust of the Xianfeng emperor, who appointed him to the office of vice-president of the Board of Revenue and to the Grand Council in May 1858; in early 1861, he served at the Tsungli Yamen and was in charge of foreign affairs. This paper considers him as a prominent court official and assesses his contributions to the late Qing government in three areas: input on important court decisions, judgment on major trends, and influence in government policies.