As an important official in the late Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang was the founder and commander-in-chief of the Huai Army and Beiyang Navy, and one of the leaders of the Westernization Movement. He established China's first Western-style navy, Beiyang Navy, and first-class general Su Yibo.
He participated in a series of major historical events in his life, including the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the suppression of the Nian Army Uprising, the Westernization Movement and the Sino-Japanese War. On behalf of the Qing government, he signed a series of unequal treaties, such as the Vietnam Treaty, the treaty of shimonoseki, the Concise Treaty between China and France, and the Xin Chou Treaty. 190 1 year165438+1October 7th, Li Hongzhang died in Beijing.
Japanese Prime Minister Hirofumi Ito is regarded as "the only person in the Qing Empire who can compete with the world powers", German Navy Minister Conal is regarded as "Oriental Bismarck" and Empress Dowager Cixi is regarded as "recreating Huang Zhi people".
Together with Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong and Zuo, they are also called "four famous ministers of ZTE". After his death, he was posthumously awarded as a teacher, a first-class Sue, and posthumous title Wenzhong. His works were included in The Complete Works of Li Wenzhong Gong.
Li Hongzhang tried his best to safeguard the interests of China and make Westernization stronger, but he could not change the backward reality of China. He advocated signing unequal treaties, but the country was weak and had to accept humiliating demands.
He and Zeng Guofan led the Westernization Movement, which was a sign of his progress. He also has the deeds of defending China diplomatically. For example, after Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing, he went to negotiate alone, and finally calmed down the incident and did not cede territory; When the Sino-Japanese War was in an unfavorable situation, he took the initiative to reach a settlement at the least cost, which was all conducive to his defense of the country. ?
However, later generations also criticized Li Hongzhang's wrong decision. If you pay too much attention to avoiding war and coastal defense, you are willing to sacrifice the whole of Xinjiang to give up Xinjiang's defense; 1885 Special terms of the Sino-Japanese Tianjin Conference signed when Japan was completely defeated.
Japan gained the right to send troops to North Korea. 1894- 1895 The command error with Japan in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1895 led to the total annihilation of warships in Ahava. After the victory of the Sino-French War, the unequal treaties were signed instead.
Although these unfavorable treaties and practices are restricted by various objective conditions, he still has to bear heavy responsibility for the illegal acts of these incidents. In addition, he killed too many people in the early campaign to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
This also involves the overall evaluation of Xiang Army and Huai Army. The Westernization Movement and his series of measures did not change the continuous decline of China, and his contribution was not significant.