Li Hongzhang

Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese general who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. He served in important positions of the Imperial Court, once holding the office of the Viceroy of Zhili.

He was best known in the west for his diplomatic negotiation skills. Since 1894 First Sino-Japanese War, Li had become a literary symbol for China's embarrassments in the late Qing Dynasty. His image in China remains largely controversial, with most criticizing his lack of political insight and his failure to win a single external military campaign against foreign powers, but praising his role as a pioneer of industry modernization in Late Qing, his diplomatic skills and his internal military campaigns against Taiping Rebellion.

Life

Li Hongzhang (李鴻章) was born in the village of Qunzhi (群治村) in Modian township (磨店鄉), 14 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of downtown Hefei, Anhui. From very early in life, he showed remarkable ability, and he became a shengyuan in the imperial examination system. In 1847, he obtained jinshi degree, the highest level in the Imperial examination system. Two years later gained admittance into the Hanlin Academy (翰林院). Shortly after this the central provinces of the empire were invaded by the Taiping rebels, and in defense of his native district he raised a regiment of militia. His service to the imperial cause attracted the attention of Zeng Guofan, the generalissimo in command.

In 1859, Li Hongzhang was transferred to the province of Fujian, where he was given the rank of taotai, or intending of circuit. But at Zeng's request, Li was recalled to take part against the rebels. He found his cause supported by the "Ever Victorious Army," which, having been raised by an American named Frederick Townsend Ward, was placed under the command of Charles George Gordon. With this support Li gained numerous victories leading to the surrender of Suzhou and the capture of Nanjing. For these exploits, he was made governor of Jiangsu, was decorated with an imperial yellow jacket, and was enfeoffed as an earl.

An incident connected with the surrender of Suzhou, however, soured Li's relationship with Gordon. By an arrangement with Gordon, the rebel princes yielded Nanjing on condition that their lives should be spared. In spite of the agreement, Li ordered their instant execution. This breach of faith so infuriated Gordon that he seized a rifle, intending to shoot the falsifier of his word, and would have done so had Li not fled. On the suppression of the rebellion (1864), Li took up his duties as governor, but was not long allowed to remain in civil life. On the outbreak of the Nian Rebellion in Henan and Shandong (1866), he was ordered again to take to the field, and after some misadventures, he succeeded in suppressing the movement. A year later, he was appointed viceroy of Huguang, where he remained until 1870, when the Tianjin Massacre necessitated his transfer to the scene of the outrage. He was, as a natural consequence, appointed to the viceroyalty of the metropolitan province of Zhili, and justified his appointment by the energy with which he suppressed all attempts to keep alive the anti-foreign sentiment among the people. For his services, he was made imperial tutor and member of the grand council of the empire, and was decorated with many-eyed peacocks' feathers.

To his duties as viceroy were added those of the superintendent of trade, and from that time until his death, with a few intervals of retirement, he practically conducted the foreign policy of China. He concluded the Chefoo convention with Sir Thomas Wade (1876), and thus ended the difficulty caused by the murder of Mr. Margary in Yunnan; he arranged treaties with Peru and Japan, and he actively directed the Chinese policy in Korea.

On the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, in 1875, he, by suddenly introducing, a large armed force into the capital, affected a coup d'etat by which the Guangxu Emperor was put on the throne under the tutelage, of the two dowager empresses; and, in 1886, on the conclusion of the Franco-Chinese War, he arranged a treaty with France. Li was always strongly impressed with the necessity of strengthening the empire, and when viceroy of Zhili he raised a large well-drilled and well-armed force, and spent vast sums both in fortifying Port Arthur and the Taku forts and in increasing the navy. For years, he had watched the successful reforms effected in Japan and had a well-founded dread of coming into conflict with that empire.

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