Of course, another reason is that he is the third in the imperial examination, that is, "exploring flowers." The earliest flower exploration is to select two students with the most outstanding appearance among Jinshi, which is called "flower exploration". Later, it specifically refers to the third place of Jinshi, but the Jinshi in this ranking still chose the outstanding appearance.
Therefore, Zhang Zhidong's title of Zhang Xiangshuai, on the one hand, is related to his own identity, on the other hand, it is also a good title for him.
As the saying goes, "Stand at 30, don't be confused at 40, and know your destiny at 50", but when Zhang Zhidong was in his fifties, he refused to admit his destiny and devoted himself to westernization. So when he was governor of Huguang, he vigorously ran schools and founded various schools. At present, several key universities in Wuhan, such as Wuhan University, Huazhong Agriculture and Wuhan Science and Technology University, are basically derived from Zhang Zhidong.
At the same time, he is also committed to building Wuhan into the largest heavy industry base in the Qing Dynasty. For example, Hanyang Iron Works, Hubei Textile Layout and Hubei Gun Factory, the largest modern enterprises in Asia, have all settled in Wuhan. The thoroughfare of nine provinces, which we often say now, actually originated from Zhang Xiangshuai. It was the Jinghan Railway he presided over that brought Wuhan into the railway hub.
It is easy to understand why the Revolution of 1911, the decisive event that led to the collapse of the Qing government, broke out in Wuchang (a district under the jurisdiction of Wuhan).
But Zhang Xiangshuai has a problem, that is, spending money like running water, which people call "money way". What is this?
The earliest budget of Hanyang Iron Works was 2.46 million taels of silver, but during the construction process, Zhang Zhidong kept asking the imperial court for money, first adding 422,000 taels, then adding them many times, and finally spending nearly 5 million taels of silver.
Of all the government officials in the Qing court, Zhang Zhidong is really a minority who spends money like water. He is a little overjoyed. He likes to make everything big, but he is honest and spends most of his money on the public.
It is mentioned in "Towards * * * and" that his Hanyang Iron Works produces scrap iron, which can't be used to pave railways at all. This situation is very common. So future generations are also very sorry. If Zhang Xiangshuai had been more cautious when considering everything, perhaps his contribution to the Westernization Movement would have surpassed that of Li Hongzhang.
In fact, Zhang Xiangshuai not only spends a lot of money on setting up industries, but also on some official receptions and personal behaviors.
After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the financial crisis of the Qing court was already very difficult. 1889, Ito Bowen visited Hubei. Zhang Zhidong is a grand banquet, and its specifications are similar to those of Empress Dowager Cixi's Manchu banquet. Spent 82 thousand silver in two days.
This kind of excesses behavior in ITO hirobumi's view, is too much, when he left, he also regrets:
"It's a pity to spend this money!"
After Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China, Empress Dowager Cixi went to xi 'an, and Li Hongzhang was one of the people who cleaned up the mess. Perhaps feeling bullied by the Qing court, Zhang Zhidong, located in the southeast, sent a telegram to Li Hongzhang almost every day:
"Foreigners can't be so unreasonable, they should also know how to be polite and upright. Not only should we not compensate foreigners, but we should strive to make foreigners apologize to China. "