Li Hongzhang was a great figure in the late Qing Dynasty. He inherited his teacher Zeng Guofan's career and opened China's eyes to the world. He is a real scholar and official in China. His worldview is certainly bigger than Lin Zexu's. Lin Zexu is also a scholar and an official who looks at the world, but he belongs to an old scholar and an old official. Therefore, the purpose of his war was to try to expel all outsiders from China, and he ended in failure.

Li Hongzhang tried to industrialize, militarize and educate China, but he was only half successful. China really made progress under his initiative, and made great progress. It is not smaller than Japan in industry. By 1890, China's navy was ahead of the Japanese in East Asia. Industry is also ahead of Japan. This can be seen in the articles of Westerners at that time. Japan's lead over China lies in the constitutional government, the standing military system, the enthusiasm of the people and the stability of the domestic political situation for more than 20 years.

Specifically, China lags behind Japan in political system and people's courage and spirit of exploration. We used to have many such things in China during the Han and Tang Dynasties. Other microscopic factors include: First, successive years of famine forced Weng Tonghe to reduce naval military spending and provide disaster relief (not to express personal opinions with Li Hongzhang as some people say! ! Weng has a good personal relationship with Li. Weng asked Li for help many times, and Li agreed. )。 Second, the national and political situation in China is unstable. Every ten years, there is a war, whether it is external or internal, and every time it is chosen when the queen mother is immortal, this is also an unpleasant thing for the queen mother. China's national strength has almost been consumed, and it has to borrow money from outsiders every year to make up for its military expenditure. Third, the national quality is too low, and the proportion of modern civilization education is still too low. The content of education is still the content of the imperial examination system in the past 2000 years. Although there are some practical contents, it obviously lags behind the science of western countries for hundreds of years. Third, the people have no patriotic enthusiasm. In that era when Manchu was in power and Han people were oppressed, Han people would not really contribute to Manchu. Everything is decided by the will of the Manchu people, and the Han people are resigned to their fate. After Hongyang, although there were places of support for ministers such as Zeng, Li and Zuo, it was obviously impossible to call on the whole country. Therefore, the cause advocated by Li Hongzhang can only make pioneering progress in Beiyang and Nanyang, and there is no movement or little movement in other places. Fifth, the scholar-officials have no sense of urgency, and Li Hongzhang's anxiety will not help. No bureaucrat has yet fought for the first place and the rise of China. This is dozens of times stronger than China. Sixth, even people who really look at the world like Li Hongzhang do not fully understand world events. The world we see is mainly practical, such as military, industry, education and so on. However, we can't see the factors behind it, such as law, science, political system and ethnic relations. Therefore, it is impossible to reform the political system, cultural system, ethnic system and social legal system. Therefore, although Sun Yat-sen respected Li Hongzhang, he also pointed out his shortcomings. Sixth, the virtue of China's traditional scholar-bureaucrat bound the hands and feet of Li Hongzhang and others. They only know that they are loyal to their country. No matter whether the above decision is good or bad, they always do what they say and dare not disobey anything. Compared with Sun Wen's generation, this is also a big defect of their generation.

For these reasons, the Sino-Japanese War failed, and so did Li Hongzhang. After the failure, Li Hongzhang did not lose heart, but traveled around the world. He is the farthest and most China scholar and official in China. Wherever he went, he was warmly welcomed. In these cheers, he remained calm and dignified. He learned more about the politics, economy, industry, humanities and the way of governing the country in western Thailand. The alliance with Russia, with industry as bait, has won the favor of Britain, Belgium, Germany, France and other countries, and more and more investors have come to China.

Li Hongzhang failed himself, but his career did not fail completely. He passed it on to Yuan Shikai. One advantage of Yuan Shikai over Li Hongzhang is that he has a big brain, determination, perseverance, courage and planning, so he can succeed in the end. But the starting point of this success should be Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. These three people complement each other, and no one can miss anyone. So now we can say that the modern history of China can be traced back to Lin Zexu, Hong Xiuquan, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang.

Of course, Li Hongzhang is not perfect. There are no perfect people in the world. If there is, it is also self-deception. Li Hongzhang, like all great men, did not rely on his own success or failure, but found a cause that made China strong, and chose a successor to inherit this cause. This is also the most meaningful legacy left by Li Hongzhang to China.

When we evaluate Li Hongzhang, we don't need to explain his failure, hide it or whitewash it. We don't need to get angry and accuse him of failure for no reason. We don't need to describe him as a person who has nothing to do with teasing myna, pleasing the queen mother and the emperor, having nothing to do with little women, and having nothing to do with Weng Tonghe in the hall.

Li Hongzhang is a scholar and official in China. There are the main characteristics and defects of China literati and officials, as well as the backbone, wisdom, courage and insight of China people. We should regard him as a part of China people, understand him, criticize him, praise him, love him and commemorate him.

Li Hongzhang is a historical figure. Not all people can become historical figures. People who become historical figures are bound to have things and achievements worthy of going down in history. When dealing with historical figures, we can't force them to reach a certain height with our present eyes. If they don't reach it, they will be reduced to nothing. This is an attitude of historical nihilism. At the same time, the evaluation of historical figures can not serve current politics, political parties and current affairs. Those who follow me will be honored, and those who oppose me will die. Historical figures are the background, not the foil. This is the truth, not the dough. So is Li Hongzhang. We must treat him wrongly on the basis of real facts, not just on personal likes and dislikes and feelings.