Li Hongzhang was successful at a young age. He was admitted as a scholar at the age of seventeen. At the age of twenty-four, he became a high school Jinshi with a good score of 13th place in the second class and became the youngest Hanlin scholar in Anhui Province. His fortune and success are as follows: Inseparable from Zeng Guofan. As a son of the Nian family, Li Hongzhang worshiped Zeng Guofan as his teacher. Zeng Guofan treated him with special eyes and favored him. In addition, Li Hongzhang was very intelligent and asked for advice humbly, so he made rapid progress. In the second year after being taught by Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang passed the examination. During the nearly ten years of "living day and night", Li Hongzhang not only studied poetry and prose, practiced calligraphy and read history, but also consulted Zeng Guofan on the theory of economics and philosophy, from which he benefited a lot.
Affected by many factors, later generations, whenever they talk about Li Hongzhang, think that he blindly compromises and favors foreigners, and call him a "traitor" and "traitor", leaving behind a picture of a deer-browed rat. Eyes, trivial and useless caricature. In fact, Li Hongzhang was tall, about 1.8 meters tall, with an elegant demeanor, a dignified appearance, and a bit of handsomeness. He was nicknamed the "Crane in the Clouds"; he was not as timid, narrow-minded, and narrow-minded as people imagined. In his early years, he wrote ten poems "Entering the Capital", one of which wrote: "The husband holds the Wu hook with only one hand, and his spirit is higher than that of a hundred-foot building. Whoever writes history in the past ten thousand years wants to be named a marquis three thousand miles away." In just one short poem, we can read his lofty ideals and heroic ambitions, see his broad mind and broad vision, and see his unrestrained literary talent and his calm and calm demeanor.
The great turning point in Li Hongzhang's life came from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. On March 4, 1853, Lu Xianji, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, recommended Li Hongzhang and others to accompany him in front of Emperor Xianfeng. Therefore, Li Hongzhang left the capital, returned to his hometown Suzhou, and traveled to various parts of Anhui, taking it as his own duty to do his best to destroy the Nian Army and the Taiping Army, and serve the Qing court. During the five years when Li Hongzhang was in charge of the regiment training in Anhui, he either joined the shogunate to participate in military planning or independently led the army in combat. Although he used a lot of force, he also fought many big, tough and victorious battles. "The national calamity has not been eliminated and the family has not recovered. Even if I leave, I will hesitate." Li Hongzhang received a letter from his mentor Zeng Guofan, hoping that he could enter the Hunan Army shogunate. Li Hongzhang left Anhui for Jiangxi and rushed to Zeng Guofan's Jianchang camp.
In terms of personal talent, Li Hongzhang ranks above Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan knew Li Hongzhang well and regarded him as an assistant, consultant, and right-hand man. He consulted with him on all major plans and decisions. Li Hongzhang was indeed very talented. He reviewed official documents, drafted slips, and made suggestions, all in a decent and thorough manner. Li Hongzhang was talented and outstanding, so he was inevitably a bit arrogant and unruly in his dealings. Zeng Guofan also felt that Li Hongzhang was mature in all aspects, so he could let him take charge and give it a try. Therefore, he recommended Li Hongzhang as governor of Jiangsu and ordered him to recruit soldiers and horses to form an army to aid Shanghai. When Li Hongzhang first arrived in Shanghai, he was like a dragon emerging from the water. He immediately became famous and wrote the earliest entrepreneurial myth of Chinese people in Shanghai, a "feng shui treasure land".
Li Hongzhang claimed to have taken over the mantle of teacher, but in fact he failed to truly understand, absorb, and inherit the essence of Zeng Guofan as a true Neo-Confucianist. He lacked an inner spiritual focus and strict requirements. It appears to be quite practical and practical for both myself and others. He "likes to use profit and salary to drive the crowd", attaches great importance to talents and focuses on strategy and ability, and puts ethics secondly. He once stated openly: "The world is bustling with people, and they are all interested in profit. I am not helpful to others. Who is willing to help me?" The subordinates are lured with practical benefits. As long as things are done, rewards will be given based on merit, and officials and titles will be given without ambiguity. He clung to military power and backed it up with strong military strength. He openly declared to his subordinates: "You don't have to worry about any small mistakes. All big mistakes will be borne by me, Li Hongzhang!" As soon as he said this, everyone was willing to serve him, but because of this, they were confused and confused. Over time, , will inevitably affect morale, corrupt public morals, and create a chaotic situation in which "one generation is inferior to the last".
Li Hongzhang has been committed to officialdom throughout his life and has never given up. He believes that only by being an official can he achieve a career - be loyal to the emperor and serve the country at the top, and seek benefits for the people at the bottom. "How can I not be enthusiastic about it?" Of course, if Viewed from another perspective, it can also be regarded as a kind of responsibility and courage - the courage to do things without fear of danger and obstacles, and never flinching in the face of difficulties.
Li Hongzhang thinks of himself as a superior person, is arrogant and disrespectful, does not know how to beat around the bush to retreat in order to advance, does not know how to stop when it is appropriate to be humble, and does not restrain his sharpness and hide his capabilities and bide his time. He has offended too many people.
In addition to bending the rules and doing everything possible to please the Empress Dowager Cixi, he did not like the Emperor Guangxu; he was at odds with Weng Tong; he fell out with Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, etc., and they attacked each other and did not accept each other's opinions, especially Zuo Zongtang. The two had a deep feud, and they were in conflict with each other on almost everything, and they often went to war; he angered the Qingyi faction of the court, which was equivalent to poking a "hornet's nest", attracting never-ending unprovoked attacks; even re-employment His Empress Dowager Cixi also put up defenses against him... All kinds of forces openly and covertly opposed and obstructed him, and all the responsibilities were borne by him alone, and all mistakes and failures were blamed on him. In the modern history of a hundred years of humiliation, Li Hongzhang's lonely and lonely figure was reflected in front of the vast sky. He almost received the most spit and infamy in the world from high-ranking officials in the imperial court to ordinary people. Li Hongzhang seemed to be too ignorant of the traditional way of conducting himself in the world. This was probably one of the reasons why he was scolded before his death and slandered after his death.
Li Hongzhang succeeded Zeng Guofan as the governor-general of Zhili and took the top spot as the minister of the frontier. He stayed in this position for twenty-five years. Li Hongzhang was particularly favored by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who considered him to be the most powerful minister in the Qing court, and soon appointed him as the Minister of Beiyang. On January 9, 1825, Li Hongzhang was awarded the Bachelor of Wenhua Palace, ranking first among the cabinet's bachelors. This de facto position of prime minister has always been a "patent" for the Manchus. Li Hongzhang was the first Han to hold this title.
When talking about Li Hongzhang's personal achievements, it mainly lies in the word "foreign"-foreign affairs and diplomacy. It is these two aspects that make him controversial.
Since he led the troops from Anqing to Shanghai alone, Li Hongzhang seemed destined to deal with foreigners for the rest of his life.
Li Hongzhang took military self-improvement as the starting point to "convert the barbarians into Xia" and comprehensively studied the Western Westernization Movement, which mainly included four aspects: First, transportation, running telegraphs and railways, and he established the Telegraph General Administration in Tianjin to run it himself The telegraph business was to build an 11-kilometer railway with the same gauge and quality as the British in Kaiping Coal Mine, and the Kaiping Railway Company was established to build the Tanglu Railway, Tangjin Railway, Guandong Railway, etc.; the second was mining, and the Kaiping Coal Mine was established. Established the Kaiping Mining Bureau and opened the Mohe Gold Mine; the third was private industry and founded the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau. This was the earliest government-supervised commercial enterprise founded by Li Hongzhang. It was also the largest industrial and mining enterprise in modern China and the first to introduce Western technology and management methods. civil enterprises; the fourth is commerce, organizing companies to actively seek opportunities for trade with Westerners.
Under Li Hongzhang’s active leadership, Westernization, a new thing, not only blossomed into gorgeous flowers in China, but also bore numerous fruitful and impressive fruits, setting many firsts: the establishment of China's first army equipped entirely with foreign guns and artillery, established China's first truly modern navy, dispatched the first batch of government-sponsored overseas students to study in the West, and built China's first railway... In addition , he also built China's first large-scale arsenal, the first steel-making furnace, the first coal mine, the first machine-made cotton textile factory, the first steamship shipping enterprise, the first ship, the first telegraph office, The first book translation agency, the first army officer school...
Li Hongzhang pioneered the trend. When conducting these Western-style industries, he was fiercely attacked and seriously interfered by conservatives. Just take the construction of railways as an example. This is a good thing that undoubtedly benefits the country and the people in today's eyes, but it was strongly obstructed by diehards at the time. Behind five thousand years of splendid civilization, what is shrouded in the shadow is five thousand years of accumulated abuse and inertia. If you want to change, even if it touches tradition even slightly, it will attract the desperate defense of stubborn conservative forces. In response to this, Li Hongzhang couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh: "Today, countries are changing again and again, but China remains unchanged. God's will! Man's will!"
Li Hongzhang, who was already declining at that time, looked back on the hardships he had experienced throughout his life. During the rough times, he once said sadly: "The things I have been doing all my life, including military training and the navy, are just paper tigers. How can I really let it go? It's just a superficial effort, and it can only be perfunctory if it is not exposed." It's like a broken house, which was turned into a clean room by a paper-pasteer. Although he knew it was paper-paste, he never knew what kind of material it was inside. You can also deal with it in a hesitant way. But you have to tear it apart easily, and you have not prepared any repair materials or transformation methods. Naturally, the truth will be revealed and it will be irremediable, but how can the paper maker be responsible for it? "
What Li Hongzhang said revealed many facts.
He is really like a "paperer". Wherever there is a loophole, he has to paste it up and fix it. Once a violent storm hits, the decoration on the surface will be exposed, and the old house will become more riddled with holes. Naturally, the "paperer" will become the target of public criticism.
For the failure of the Sino-Japanese War, all the responsibility was placed on Li Hongzhang alone, because it was the Beiyang Navy he founded that failed in the battle with the Japanese fleet, and it was his Beiyang Army that abandoned Pyongyang and was defeated again and again, causing the Japanese army to Go deep into the three northeastern provinces and Shandong. But in fact, as long as we do a little analysis, we can see that the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War was a comprehensive defeat in modern China - not only the failure of the Qing government, but also the self-proclaimed traditional culture and the stubborn people. Sexual failure. While Li Hongzhang was fighting a desperate battle with the Japanese army with the Beiyang Navy and the Huaihe Army, the other two navies of the Qing Dynasty - the Nanyang Fleet and the Guangdong Fleet, as well as other army units from all over the country, stood aside and did not participate. , some colleagues also secretly restrained themselves and kept attacking Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang once urged reinforcements from the north and south, but they did not arrive on time either due to deliberate delay or due to traffic congestion. In response to this, Liang Qichao wrote angrily in his book "The Biography of Li Hongzhang": "It is not surprising that the provincial officials only know how to draw borders to defend themselves. If they regard this matter as a private matter for Zhili Manchuria, they have plans." Is it true that a brigade is sent out to help people in dire straits? It’s just empty words.” No wonder the Westerners say that “Japan is not fighting China, but is actually fighting Li Hongzhang alone.” As a political enemy, Liang Qichao reached this point and couldn't help but praise: "One man fights for one country, Hefei, Hefei. Even if he loses, it is heroic!"
Li Hongzhang naturally knew that Japan was coming from behind, and war From the beginning, it was not only a military battle, but also a competition in the comprehensive national strength between China and Japan. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan was determined to reform, and it was already ahead of China in all aspects. Therefore, he was extremely unwilling to go to war with Japan. He first tried to negotiate with Britain and Russia but failed, and then wanted to make certain concessions through negotiations to avoid the war. However, Emperor Guangxu and the main war faction refused to agree, so he had to change from "avoiding war and seeking peace" to "seeking peace through war."
During the war, the Beiyang Navy, which Li Hongzhang had worked so hard to manage, was completely wiped out. The army retreated thousands of miles away. Not only did they fail to protect the vassal state of Korea, but the mainland was also massively invaded by the Japanese army. Dalian and Lushun were lost one after another. If the war continues, it will only result in the loss of more land, and even the capital will be unable to protect itself. The battle will not be won, and there is no way to "force peace through war." Li Hongzhang has no choice but to seek international mediation again. The more he understood the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty and the character of the people, the more he felt that peace should be sought as soon as possible. The sooner the peace was reached, the less losses would be suffered. Under the mediation of the United States, Japan agreed to negotiate. During the negotiations, Li Hongzhang argued hard to reduce losses as much as possible and reach a peace agreement as soon as possible. On the one hand, the Japanese side launched military operations in the Beitang and Dagu areas to exert pressure, and on the other hand, it was arrogant and difficult to obtain maximum benefits. Just when the two hands were locked in a stalemate, an assassin helped Japan, allowing Li Hongzhang to take some initiative in the negotiations. When Li Hongzhang returned to the hotel with his entourage after the third meeting, the Japanese youth took the opportunity to shoot him in the left face. Li Hongzhang immediately fainted and fell to the ground, blood flowing from his cheeks and staining his clothes red. Li Hongzhang was rushed to the hospital. When he woke up, he was extremely calm, but he had mixed feelings inside. He was seventy-three years old. If he died heroically, he would be able to win the reputation of sacrificing his life for his country. However, fate arranged for him to live and continue to face endless humiliation and disaster. A bullet remained in his body forever. What is more chilling than the bullets is the misunderstanding, and the infamy of "traitor" will always be engraved in his heart.
As the most prestigious Chinese politician and diplomat in the world, Li Hongzhang faced the extremely vicious and greedy Japanese Empire. At the cost of his life, he continued to negotiate despite his injuries, refusing to give in an inch and fighting for every inch of territory. Although the reparations were reduced by one-third and the ceded territory by nearly one-half, which was regarded as fulfilling its mission, it only signed a "Sino-Japanese Treaty of Shimonoseki" that was regarded as traitorous by the Chinese people.
“Forty million people burst into tears. Where is China at the end of the world?” There is no diplomacy for a weak country, and there is no diplomacy of equality for a defeated country! The pain and humiliation deeply hurt Li Hongzhang, and he vowed never to set foot on Japanese soil in his life.
Under the pressure of the situation, Emperor Guangxu had to negotiate peace against his will, reluctantly signed the Shimonoseki Peace Treaty, and vented his resentment on Li Hongzhang. When Zeng Guofan was alive, Li Hongzhang, his successor, shouldered all responsibilities and infamy.
Once he passed away, Li Hongzhang was like a weaned baby. Although his politics and career continued to rise, his personal reputation began to decline and fell deeper and deeper. In the end, he almost fell into the abyss of eternal destruction. As the saying goes, "power" For a moment, the whole world will be slandered."
In April 1895, when Li Hongzhang returned to China with a bandage on his face and an unhealed gunshot wound, he found that he had become a historical sinner with national outrage: Emperor Guangxu was resentful and dissatisfied, and ministers said that he He lost power and humiliated the country. People said that he accepted a large amount of bribes from the Japanese. Even his son Li Jingfang became a secret agent for the Japanese bribery. Some people were waiting for the opportunity to kill him to avenge the national humiliation... Taking this as a starting point and out of some utilitarian needs, through The propaganda machine continues to expand and mislead, and it seems that all the darkness and chaos in modern China, such as invasion by foreign enemies, backwardness and beatings, poor people's livelihood, semi-feudal and semi-colonial rule, etc., were mostly caused by the "traitor" and "traitor" Li Hongzhang. As a result, Li Hongzhang has always been Become a symbol of sin.
Of course, there will be people who will stand up and say some fair words for him. For example, Prince Gong, who advocated Westernization, defended Li Hongzhang at the time, saying, "China's defeat was all due to the lack of Westernization, not Hongzhang." Mistake". But this sound was too weak and was soon drowned out by the harsh noise.
However, whenever the country's situation is thrown into chaos, crises and dangers abound by ignorant people, it is Li Hongzhang who comes out to clean up the mess. Looking around the government and the public, he is the only one worthy of such an important task. Li Hongzhang always exchanged personal honor for a short period of peace and tranquility at critical moments, so that the weak Qing Empire could breathe a sigh of relief and prevent it from falling apart and falling apart.
The Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China. At this time, Li Hongzhang was far away from the capital and was sent to Guangzhou to act as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Cixi and a group of conservatives borrowed the help of the Boxer Rebellion to blindly xenophobia. The Boxer Rebellion, which was exploited, burned churches and killed foreigners in Shandong and Zhili under the banner of "supporting the Qing Dynasty and destroying foreigners." They then entered Beijing to attack foreign embassies. At the end of the riot, Empress Dowager Cixi went so far as to hysterically declare war on eleven major powers including Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan, and ordered Li Hongzhang, the feudal official, and others to "go north to serve the king." Li Hongzhang knew very well that the country was weak and no country could win, let alone the eleven powerful countries. Therefore, "If we don't try our best, we may end up being a country with thousands of years of cultural relics." All he can do is to control the situation as much as possible, try to save the crisis, and save the southeastern half of the Qing Empire from the wars of the great powers. Invasion and brutality.
The Eight-Power Allied Forces quickly occupied Beijing, and the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled in panic. At this time, the "traitor" Li Hongzhang attracted the attention of Chinese and foreign people for a while, believing that only by going north could the war end. "Whenever the Manchu Qing government brought this huge empire to the brink of destruction, the only person they had to use was Li Hongzhang." So, the Qing court began to issue edicts again and again, asking him to "come to Beijing quickly, without any delay." Delay for a moment." If it is said that Li Hongzhang bears a serious responsibility for the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, and he went to Japan to negotiate, he is responsible for it. However, this war has nothing to do with him, and he could have completely shied away all the responsibility. But when the country is in crisis, can he just sit back and watch?
The Qing court sent him telegrams one day after another: "This minister has received a great favor, especially if it is not comparable to other ministers. How can he sit back and watch the overall situation be difficult and dangerous without caring about it? After receiving this order, no matter whether it is land or water, , set off immediately and telegraphed the departure date quickly. "He could only ignore his personal safety and personal reputation, and rush to the capital to negotiate at the age of seventy-seven.
Li Hongzhang was once again pushed to the forefront of history!
Negotiations require confidence, bargaining chips, strength and support, but all Li Hongzhang can rely on is his words and his loyalty to the court.
After a lot of mediation, Li Hongzhang suffered humiliation and argued hard, and finally reached a Xinchou peace treaty with the great powers despite his illness.
The treaty was signed and the coalition forces began to retreat. Li Hongzhang's condition gradually worsened. He could not eat well, had hot and cold fits, coughed incessantly, and could not sit up. Despite this, Li Hongzhang was still concerned about the current situation and the future, and wrote in the memorial reporting the signing of the peace treaty: "In the past few decades, I have been investigating, and every time there is a provocation, there will be another loss. This is especially true after last year's incident. The haste has caused deep pain, and Bo Hai is shocked. Now that the peace talks have been completed, the overall situation is somewhat settled. We still hope that the court will stick to its opinions, make peace externally, and become prosperous internally. "
At a time of war, the Chinese people longed for peace and were eagerly awaiting Li Hongzhang. "After Hongzhang received the order, the situation in the court began to turn around, and everyone drank to congratulate him.
People who have always had a good impression of him said that he was a patriotic hero when he was ordered to do something in danger. ". But once the peace treaty was signed and the crisis was lifted, the situation took a turn for the worse, and Li Hongzhang became the target of criticism and scolding again. "Qin Hui is a traitor, and Li Hongzhang is a traitor to the country. "This statement spread throughout the streets and alleys and in the countryside.
Due to the environment of the times, cultural traditions, historical background, and personal limitations, Li Hongzhang did make some mistakes when dealing with foreign relations. In this regard, we can call it "misleading the country", but he has never betrayed the country. Not only did Li Hongzhang not betray the country, he also defended the country's rights and interests all the time. The West unanimously recognized that Li Hongzhang "is undoubtedly a true patriot." He is always trying his best to maintain the interests of his country, but unfortunately, the chips in his hands are too few! In diplomatic situations, he never behaves servilely and always maintains his dignity, even foreigners To be fair, no one in the entire Manchu Qing Dynasty could handle things more satisfactorily than Li Hongzhang, whether it was Sino-Japanese negotiations or signing a contract with the coalition. In the eyes of foreigners, they didn't know the Qing Dynasty existed. , but they know that there is a Li Hongzhang in China, and "the person whom foreign envoys think may be a reasonable negotiation partner in China is also Li Hongzhang." For this reason, foreigners can not buy the Qing court's fault, but they have to buy Li Hongzhang's fault.
After China's defeat in the Sino-Russian War, Russia, out of its own national interests, induced Li Hongzhang to sign the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty, the first military alliance treaty between China and a foreign country, on the pretext of jointly preventing Japanese aggression. The purpose is not to join hands with China to deal with Japan, but to unilaterally obtain various rights and interests in China, especially the right to build the Middle East Railway, so as to penetrate Russian influence into the three northeastern provinces.
Li Hongzhang was extremely happy after signing the contract. I thought that I had done a great thing for China and that it would ensure that China would be fine for twenty years, and that the Qing government could focus on developing foreign affairs in a peaceful and tranquil environment, making the country rich and powerful. Unexpectedly, it was this treaty that attracted the attention of the Western powers. Li Hongzhang, who had been fooled by Russia, had nowhere to vent his grievances, so he clearly told the Russian Minister Resal that he could sign the withdrawal terms, but refused to establish the so-called Daosheng Bank Agreement.
The stubborn Russians continued to put pressure on him. In order to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty", Li Hongzhang was already suffering from anger and illness. On October 30, 1901, Li Hongzhang's condition worsened. After returning home from the Russian Embassy, ??he began to vomit blood, which was "purple-black and had large lumps." He vomited a small amount of blood first, and then half a bowl. He did not eat or drink for seven days, and the Russian minister was still standing in bed one hour before he died. The head forced him to sign the treaty. When asked about his instructions for family matters before his death, Li Hongzhang was speechless. When asked about state affairs, he burst into tears and slowly closed his eyes. Li Hongzhang's assistant and Zhili Chief Minister Zhou Fu stood aside. He cried loudly: "I still have something to say, how can I die?" Others scolded him for talking too much. Unexpectedly, Li Hongzhang's eyes suddenly widened and he really waited for him to speak. Zhou Fu had to make up a story: "The Russian minister said that after the Prime Minister's death, Russia will definitely not make trouble for China." As for the matter, the two palaces will return to Beijing from Xi'an soon. "After hearing this, Li Hongzhang tilted his head with endless sadness and regret, truly closed his eyes, and completed his seventy-eight-year-old life journey.
In the face of history, a minimum of common sense , that is, respecting the facts, not being able to disagree at will, not following others' opinions, and not deliberately covering up, exaggerating, or tampering with the facts to achieve certain propaganda purposes. "It is not an exaggeration to describe Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang's biggest diplomatic mistake was the policy of "using barbarians to control barbarians." When fighting the Taiping Army and the Nian Army, he adopted the strategy of dividing and defeating the Taiping Army and the Nian Army. This strategy has achieved great success, so they want to repeat the old trick, using the intrigues among the powers to draw out the conflicts, reduce the pressure on China, and seek a balancing technique. It cannot be said that this strategy is completely useless, but at critical moments. , the great powers will never have a showdown with other countries for the sake of China to harm their own interests, or even break out of war. If they want to gain dignity and take the initiative in international relations, the only word is "strength". The Qing Dynasty is in decay, and China is poor and weak. , where is the strength at all? This determines that China's diplomacy in modern times has always been in the tragic situation of "people are fighting for the sword, and I am the flesh and blood".
Li Hongzhang has been devoted to his career and fame all his life, and he has been diligent and diligent. Even the revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, who had different political views with him, admired him: "Since the beginning of the rule, the Zhongtang has never prospered without gains and reformed without disadvantages. No matter how difficult it is, Li Hongzhang's personal efforts have failed: he was restricted by the feudal bureaucracy and failed to achieve great results; he reformed the military. Due to the defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, more than 20 years of hard work were in vain; in conducting diplomacy, he was repeatedly bullied and slandered all over the world; he pioneered modern education, but also died midway due to obstacles from many parties... Li Hongzhang can be described as an out-and-out tragic historical figure. , however, his tragedy is not a personal tragedy, but the epitome of a national tragedy, a national tragedy, and the tragedy of the times. In this regard, Liang Qichao commented quite pertinently: "I respect Li Hongzhang's talent, I cherish Li Hongzhang's knowledge, and I am saddened by Li Hongzhang's fate." Mao Zedong also said that he was "the water is shallow but the boat is big."
It cannot be said that he was a complete failure in his career. Looking at Li Hongzhang's life, it should be said that it was a life of success and failure, comedy and tragedy. Under his advocacy, or guidance, the Manchu Empire finally broke free from the shackles of thousands of years of tradition and slowly moved forward with difficult and faltering steps on the road to learning from the West. In fact, as long as Li Hongzhang achieves comprehensive success in China's industrialization, military westernization, education modernization and many other aspects, modern China, and even today's China, will undergo great changes that will turn the world around. For example, if the Qing Dynasty had won the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, it would not have been Japan, but China, which would have risen to the ranks of the world's military powers. From then on, there would never have been a situation of complete loss of sea power and frequent invasions by foreign powers. As a result, China's coastal defense, as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, is not so shabby that it does not even have an aircraft carrier.
Of course, this is an impossible assumption. Modernization is a systematic project. We cannot seek quick success and quick success, and there will not be only one unilateral success. To achieve comprehensive reform, we must have long-term planning and supporting political reforms such as constitutional monarchy. The Manchu rulers who invaded the Central Plains as foreigners would never delegate power to the throne. Li Hongzhang also had no long-term reform plan or construction blueprint. He basically just took one step at a time, watched one step at a time, and learned one step at a time, which was only superficial practical and technical reforms. , the deep-seated systems, laws, political systems, culture and other aspects are basically not touched. Not only Li Hongzhang, this was also a major blind spot of the entire Westernization Movement in modern times. For example, the Qing government sent twelve people including Yan Fu as the first batch of European students to study naval technology. At the same time, Japan sent about a hundred foreign students to the United Kingdom. Most of the subjects studied were law and politics, and few specialized in military affairs.
Li Hongzhang has character advantages that are difficult for ordinary people to match. He possesses a rare resilience and endurance. When others scolded him, he never defended himself and appeared very detached. He married his daughter to Zhang Peilun, one of the leaders of the Qing faction who scolded him the most. Facing various political opponents and opposition forces, Li Hongzhang never backed down. Although he suffered a lot of infamy and made enemies from all sides, he still had to do things. He kept dealing with the great powers, tried his best to turn the tide, and risked his life to save the Qing government from a desperate situation.
One of the most criticized things about Li Hongzhang is that he accumulated a large amount of property and was said to be "the richest in the world". It is true that Li Hongzhang amassed wealth, but he was able to distinguish between public and private matters. Most of his assets include shares in China Merchants Group, Telegraph Bureau, Kaiping Coal Mine, Commercial Bank, etc., as well as profits from pawnshops and banks in Shanghai and other places. There was no embezzlement of the imperial government's public funds. When Li Hongzhang resigned as governor of Zhili, he handed over all the more than 8 million taels of silver that had been "intercepted" for a long time and accumulated to his successor Wang Wenshao. It is said that this fund later fell into the hands of Yuan Shikai and became a special fund for him to make friends with princes and communicate with internal and external parties.
Despite having a large amount of assets, Li Hongzhang lives a very simple life, with a simple diet and strict habits. His personal hobbies include smoking a hookah and drinking two drinks at lunch. So in the eyes of foreigners, he is a typical miser. Li Hongzhang hated the opium that poisoned China. Yan Fu smoked opium while serving in the Beiyang Naval Academy he founded, and was often severely reprimanded by him.
When Li Hongzhang died of illness, Yan Fu sent an elegiac couplet with understanding and sympathy: "If you use all your strategies in the past, you know that your success will not stop there; if you can't see yourself in the evening, what will happen to scholars?" Yan Fu believed that if If Li Hongzhang's Westernization Movement and military reforms were not obstructed by many parties, there would not have been the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War and the Gengzi disaster; and at a time when the only way to save the country is to defeat the enemy and seek peace, if Li Hongzhang did not assume the responsibility of presiding over the peace talks to clean up the mess, the scholar-bureaucrats They also want to attack him for only seeking personal honor and integrity while harming the country and the people.
Among the many evaluations of Li Hongzhang, foreigners are the most fair and fair. They unanimously believe that Li Hongzhang was China's first-class politician and diplomat in the 19th century, and called him the Bismarck of the East. Among them, the American Grover Cleveland's evaluation is the most representative: "Li Hongzhang is not only the greatest figure China has produced in contemporary times, but also comprehensively speaking of all aspects of his nature and talents, he is the world's greatest figure in the last century." The most unique figure. As a scholar, he is outstanding; as a soldier, he has rendered valuable service to the country in important battles; as a politician who has been in politics for thirty years, he has contributed greatly to the earth. The people of the oldest and most populous country in the world have provided recognized excellent facilities; for a diplomat, his achievements ranked him among the top in the history of diplomacy."
This man has passed away. , but the influence is still profoundly affecting and changing China's historical pattern through the Westernization and Self-Strengthening Movement he organized, through the integrity of China's sovereignty that he preserved at the expense of his personal life and honor, and through his special appreciation of Yuan Shikai and others who were deliberately promoted. Especially during the difficult process of opening up to the world, Li Hongzhang made contributions that were unmatched by his time and unimaginable by future generations. At the Universal Games that year, the national flags of various countries were raised in sequence accompanied by the national anthem. When it was China's turn, only the Yellow Dragon Flag was raised in silence. The so-called majestic Qing Empire did not even have a national anthem, and bursts of Western ridicule rang out on the field. At this time, Li Hongzhang, an old man in his seventies, stood up, walked to the Huanglong flag resolutely, straightened his back as much as possible, opened his voice that was neither crisp nor high-pitched, and sang a song that he had known since he was a child. The song - "Jasmine", a folk ditty from his hometown in Anhui. The hustle and bustle fell into silence, with only Li Hongzhang's voice reverberating on the sports field. After singing the song, thunderous applause suddenly poured in from all directions to this old man who was willing to risk his life to defend the dignity of the motherland and nation.
As for Li Hongzhang’s shortcomings and weaknesses, we can name many in one go. For example, he failed in employing people and was nepotistic. He only valued people from his hometown of Anhui and favored his relatives and disciples; he blindly took the defensive during the Sino-Japanese War of 1898 and lacked the courage and vigor to take the initiative; he was too political and political, and lacked Zeng Guofan's temperament. The piety and loyalty of the Neo-Confucianists ignored "taking self-cultivation as the foundation"; he emphasized doing practical things and did not pay attention to academic cultivation. It was not until his later years that he realized that he "regrets that he did not study in his prime and relied entirely on a sense of arrogance and arbitrariness." "Hu Wei, in fact, has no foundation." He is more than smart, but not wise enough. He lacks the demeanor of a great statesman, the courage of a great reformer, and the courage of a great military strategist. He is not enough to take on the great responsibility of helping the world and strengthening the country and advancing bravely. He relies on his talents and is arrogant. In the Qing Dynasty, no one else has the same style as me. Therefore, he is arrogant and disrespectful to his colleagues, scolds his subordinates at every turn, and "scorns" foreigners as well. He likes to read "Zhuangzi" and "Guanzi" and does not read Western books. His knowledge and understanding of Western learning has always remained at a very superficial level; he knows the truth about many corruptions within China, but he is unwilling to make huge sacrifices and focus on reform. For example, in an interview with a reporter in the United States, he once said: "The Qing Dynasty had newspapers. But it is a pity that the editors of the Qing Dynasty are not willing to tell the truth to readers. They do not tell the truth like your newspapers. They only tell the truth. The editors of the Qing Dynasty are very stingy when telling the truth. They only tell part of the truth... ..." He clearly knows about China's false pretenses, but as an important leader, why doesn't he try every means to eradicate this shortcoming that still exists today? ...
Of course, "no gold is pure, and no man is perfect." Besides, many of the above are our personal demands on Li Hongzhang. History and national conditions determine that for every step forward, the ancient Chinese Empire had to pay ten times the effort and price of others. Gordon, the captain of the foreign gun team, once said sharply: "The Chinese are a strange nation. They are indifferent to all reforms." He also said that among the Chinese he knew, only Li Hongzhang had any desire for reform.
No matter what point of view we hold and what angle we view and evaluate Li Hongzhang, there is no need to add terms such as "traitor" and "traitor" to him. He did what he did for the Qing court. A lifelong scapegoat is fundamentally different from Qin Hui, Wang Jingwei and others. Even if the "angry youth" blames him for many faults and disasters in modern times without any care, at least in our eyes, he is still an old man worthy of respect!