For a long time, this is a name that attracts scolding. When mentioning this minister of military affairs in the late Qing dynasty, many people subconsciously think of four words: humiliating the country!
Although Li Hongzhang was not the first in the Qing Dynasty, he was recognized as the man with the most experience.
Judging from the number of unequal treaties signed, in 70 years of the late Qing Dynasty, he took the lead. I personally signed a series of unequal treaties, such as Yantai Treaty, Sino-French New Testament, treaty of shimonoseki, Sino-Russian Secret Treaty, Xin Chou Treaty and so on. He also formulated the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, which was the most ceded territory without his hand.
One of the things that aroused people's hatred was that the last unequal treaty he signed before his death, the Xin Chou Treaty, not only caused China to lose 700 million silver with interest in the next 40 years. About half of them even lost to Japan, the sworn enemy. The use of this money, with the call sign of a China scholar who participated in the compilation of The History of China in Cambridge, said: Every tattoo of boxer indemnity is covered with the blood of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians.
Treaty of shimonoseki.
Boxer Protocol
Only on the basis of these achievements, China has never had a bureaucrat who betrayed the country so diligently and generously for five thousand years.
Such a "high-end atmosphere" has also created his long-term image as a public figure. According to the textbook compiled by the Department of Basic Education of the State Education Commission, Li Hongzhang is "rising in a pool of blood". In all kinds of patriotic films in the early days of the People's Republic of China, he was a standard traitor who often robbed plays. Even the traditional cross talk drum book, which is loved by the masses, is often ridiculed by editors. He said with the emotion of a crosstalk master: All the senior officials in Qing Dynasty enjoyed this treatment except him and |.
The man of the hour in international politics in the late Qing Dynasty was fed up with abuse and even interpreted as a joke.
However, in the eyes of another group of China people, the name Li Hongzhang means a mythical existence. Especially in modern times, a group of political and economic elites expressed sincere admiration for Li Hongzhang's personal participation in leading the Westernization Movement. And his achievements, everything is standard hard power. Even the Beiyang Navy, which was devastated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, was once the sixth power in the world. It is the predecessor of China's modern navy. Even after the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, Li Hongzhang, who was discredited in treaty of shimonoseki, was forced to study abroad in the dark. In the same year, his visit to new york became a big news in the United States. According to * * *' s comments, no foreigner can get such a grand courtesy in America.
These once glorious moments in his life, with the passage of time, have already faded away from the dust of history, shining with dazzling brilliance in the depths of the long river of years. And more and more respected by modern people. Therefore, in the last thirty years, the positive comments about Li Hongzhang have quietly increased. There are even all kinds of supreme admiration. He is regarded as the flag figure of China's getting rid of ignorance and moving towards modern civilization, and he is also called "the four famous ministers of ZTE" with Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong and Zuo.
However, whether it is extreme depravity or high esteem, it is inevitable to slide to the extreme of deviation. How to evaluate Li Hongzhang, perhaps his own words are closer: I have worked all my life, training and navy are paper tigers, how can I really let go? However, almost no painting, very superficial. Can be perfunctory for a while, without showing emotion.
Judging from this role alone, Li Hongzhang, who calls himself a "paperhanger", was really conscientious in the face of the stormy reality in the late Qing Dynasty. Let's take a look at Li Hongzhang's life and rationally analyze the merits and demerits of Li Hongzhang, the cabinet minister in the late Qing Dynasty.
His first job as a paperhanger was the famous suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Shortly after the outbreak of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Li Hongzhang took the lead in suppressing and pacifying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
According to many historical records, this incident was to suppress the people's uprising. But look closely, there are really too many unbearable places in this vigorous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. According to the general historical point of view, it is limited.
What are the limitations of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Regardless of the rapid corruption of the leadership, he is arrogant and extravagant. Not to mention its agricultural land system, it is completely unrealistic. In the occupied areas, the people suffered as much as the Qing Dynasty. And their destruction of China's traditional civilization is even more outrageous. Books and documents of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were all burned, and Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, was seriously damaged. According to the call sign of Zeng Guofan, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, if Confucius knew anything and saw their atrocities, he would definitely cry in Jiuquan.
Sages are still so, let alone Qian Qian, a scholar who started by reading sages' books. If we look at that period of history objectively, we can know that there were too many literati with grass-roots status but boiling blood at that time, regardless of fame and fortune, and just to defend the orthodoxy of sages, they put their homes and careers into this battle. Many people gave their lives without remorse. Their ideals and pursuits can hardly be easily labeled as "suppressing the uprising".
Li Hongzhang was one of these people at that time. He followed his teacher Zeng Guofan, trained and fought in the army, and lived and died for many years. At the beginning, I also made an appointment with many classmates, and I resigned and went back to my hometown after finishing this business. However, since then, I have embarked on a different life path intertwined with scenery and humiliation.
In the bloody battle with Taiping Army, Li Hongzhang's official position rose steadily, but his vision was broadened for the first time. His foreign partner Gordon, a young British military talent, only used 5,000 China soldiers with foreign guns, and strictly relied on British training to build an invincible new iron army.
Under the esteem of British and American consuls in Shanghai, this "China Army" can completely compete with the first-class British and American troops in combat effectiveness. This is undoubtedly an unforgettable trip for China's officials in China, such as Li Hongzhang, who was accustomed to the successive defeats of the army in the Opium War.