Photo by Weng Tong
Weng Tonghe was an important political figure in the late Qing Dynasty, who served as Tongzhi and Guangxu emperors. During Guangxu period, he was deposed by Empress Dowager Cixi because of his involvement in political struggle. Let him take office for the first time in Guangxu eight years and serve as minister of military aircraft for the first time. Since taking office, he has mainly participated in two major political struggles, one is to deal with the fraud case of Yunnan army reimbursement, and the other is to participate in the Sino-French-Vietnamese negotiations.
Secondly, I like collecting books and learning calligraphy very much in my hobby, and I have high attainments in this respect. He has been an official in Beijing for nearly 40 years. In calligraphy, he is good at regular script and running script. At the same time, he absorbs the essence of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy and writes his own calligraphy works, forming Weng's unique calligraphy style. Therefore, his works occupy a very important position in the book circle of the Qing Dynasty, and his evaluation is also very high.
About his former residence, it is now called "Wengtong Memorial Hall". This memorial hall was opened at199111. So far, Weng Tonghe's former residence is a relatively complete official residence in Jiangnan style. Weng spent his youth here. Until 1990, his great-grandson Weng Xingqing, an American Chinese, donated his former residence to the country, and 1996 was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit.
Weng Tonghe and Li Hongzhang were joint college students and military affairs ministers during Guangxu period. He and Li Hongzhang's grievances came from a memorial, and it was precisely because of this memorial that they resented each other and began their struggle with each other.
Before and after the Sino-Japanese War, Weng Tonghe made things difficult for Li Hongzhang in every way. After the defeat, Li Hongzhang was labeled a traitor and Weng Tonghe was demoted. Now think about it, Weng Tonghe became enemies with Li Hongzhang because of his own thoughts, and his selfish actions made the fate of the country frustrated. Moreover, what he did reflected the political corruption at that time, so it was reasonable that he was later dismissed from office.
There are many stories about their grievances in history. The most common thing is that before the Sino-Japanese War broke out in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the difference between them was that Weng Tonghe advocated preparing for war to prevent accidents; However, Li Hongzhang believes that Japan does not dare to provoke war easily because of the constraints of the public law of nations; At the beginning of the war, Weng Tonghe tended to fight with the main force, while Li Hongzhang hoped to calm the war through mediation. After the Yellow Sea War, Li Hongzhang still believed that Russia could protect North Korea, but Weng Tonghe was skeptical and thought it would not be so kind. It can be seen that they have different political views.
Later, after the Sino-Japanese War, many ministers went to impeach Li Hongzhang, but Weng Tonghe stood up to help him speak. Later, some officials prepared to recall Li Hongzhang's official position. Weng Tong also stood up and put in a good word for him, thinking that Li Hongzhang's tactics in the war were irreplaceable by others. It can be seen that their relationship is not rumored to be incompatible, but there are some different views.
Weng Tonghe commented that Weng Tonghe was one of the important political figures in the late Qing Dynasty. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he persisted in resisting Japan and opposed surrender and the Reform Movement of 1898. He made great contributions to China and celebrities. Born in a famous family, he was educated by Confucianism since childhood. He has read a lot of poetry books and is best at calligraphy.
Wengtong wax figure
Weng Tonghe held an important position in the court for a long time, and the era he lived in was also an era of political turmoil in the late Qing Dynasty. He was patriotic and anxious, tried to reform the country and refused to surrender to the main battle. From these aspects, we can see that loyalists and patriots have embarked on a road full of thorns in order to save national politics. Of course, Weng Tonghe, as a ruling power and a court minister, was naturally limited by history. However, his spirit and mind of worrying about the country and the people and taking the world as his own responsibility when resisting foreign enemies deserve our admiration.
As far as his personal integrity is concerned, he was a very important minister in the two dynasties for more than 40 years in the imperial court. He was in charge of state affairs for ten years. After being dismissed from office, he returned to his hometown empty-handed. In his later years, although he had to rely on his fellow villagers to help him and sell his own calligraphy and painting for a living, his moral integrity and incorruptible style deserve praise from future generations. His life was accompanied by many important events, some of which he personally participated in the negotiations and some of which he heard and saw. Although the time span is very large, it involves a wide range of fields. But what is rare is that he has kept a diary every day for 47 years. Diary covers a wide range of issues, including national and military affairs, diplomacy, politics, culture and education, and of course, personal daily life and family fun. Some important events, figures and systems recorded in it are of great significance to the study of modern history.
Weng Tong Memorial Hall Weng Tong Memorial Hall is located in the ancient city of Changshu, and now it is also called "Colored Clothes Museum", which is a national key cultural relics protection unit. At present, it is a well-preserved folk house with typical Jiangnan architectural style. And his hero Weng Tong spent his youth here.
Wengtong memorial hall
According to relevant historical records, this house was built in Hongzhi period of Ming Dynasty, and was purchased by his father in 13th year of Qing Daoguang. The main hall of this house is called "Colored Dress Hall", in which there are sculptures, shapes and painted murals, which are rich in content and of high artistic value. As for his hero, Weng Tong, his life was related to major political activities, which had a far-reaching impact on the modern history of China. In addition, he advocated political reform and was called "the first mentor of China reform" by Kang Youwei. Historically, he was a famous patriotic politician in modern China. He was in the imperial court for more than forty years, which was also the time when China's famous families were in danger. He shared his worries for the country with the respect of the emperor's teacher. He took the world as his responsibility and the people's livelihood as the foundation of the country. He made immortal contributions to the independence of China celebrities and the progress of the country, leaving a deep mark on history.
About this memorial hall, it was officially opened on 199 1,1. 1990, descendants of Weng Tonghe dedicated this house to the country. About the main hall "Caiyitang" 1996 was rated as a national key cultural relics protection area by the national judges. Later, in order to play the patriotic education and historical role of this house, it was expanded and repaired many times. The expanded memorial hall displays many original works about Weng Tong, such as cultural relics, calligraphy, related major works and articles. The exhibition hall is paved with mahogany furniture in the Qing Dynasty, giving visitors an illusion of being there.
Calligrapher Weng Tonghe is a famous politician and calligrapher in the modern history of China. His life was accompanied by many important historical events, and he also participated in these events. Not only that, this important official of the Qing Dynasty also won many reputations. When I was young, I won the highest prize. In his later years, he actively supported the political reform in the Reform Movement and was praised as "the first mentor of China Reform". Besides, he likes painting, writing poems and calligraphy, among which his calligraphy is very famous.
Weng Tong's Calligraphy Works
Perhaps influenced by family factors, he liked learning calligraphy very much since he was a child. Now we can see from his works that his calligraphy looks like Yan Zhenqing, but it also has the style of Liu Yong and others. His brushwork is casual and his structure is broad, and some words combine the meanings of Zhao and Dong.
Among Weng Tong's calligraphy, he is best at regular script and running script. His calligraphy played an important role in the Qing Dynasty and was highly appraised. Sha Menghai, a calligrapher, once pointed out in an article: "He was born at the latest, so he was able to learn from others' strengths and get through Yan Zi and Bei Bei. This is the characteristic of Weng Tong. " His calligraphy works have a commemorative spirit, natural form, restrained strokes and ethereal rules, which constitute the main characteristics of his calligraphy. He began to learn calligraphy in his early years and learned from others. Concentrate on trying to find out the inscriptions of Yan Zhenqing and Northern Wei Dynasty for reference. Secondly, it absorbed the calligraphy strengths of Liu Yong, Qian Feng and He.
Put their strengths into practice and integrate them into their own calligraphy. He inherited the essence of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, wrote his own calligraphy works, formed a unique style of Weng Zi's calligraphy, and became a calligrapher of great significance.