1. Li Hongzhang tried his best to safeguard China's interests and pursue Westernization, but he could not change the reality of China's backwardness.

He argued hard for the signing of unequal treaties, but unfortunately the country was weak and he had to accept humiliating demands.

2. The Westernization Movement led by him, Zeng Guofan and others was a manifestation of his progress.

He also had deeds to defend China diplomatically, such as going to negotiate alone after the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing, and finally calming down the incident without ceding territory; during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1899, when the Sino-Japanese War was in an unfavorable situation, he took the initiative to reach a settlement at the minimum cost, etc. , are all beneficial aspects of his defense of the country.

3. However, later generations also criticized Li Hongzhang for his wrong decisions.

If they avoid war too much and attach great importance to coastal defense, they are willing to sacrifice the entire Xinjiang and give up Xinjiang defense;

4. The "Special Treaty of the Sino-Japanese Tianjin Conference" signed in 1885 after completely defeating Japan. , giving Japan the right to send troops into North Korea;

5. Command errors during the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1896 led to the annihilation of warships at Weihaiwei; after the victory of the Sino-French War, they instead signed an unequal treaty Treaties, etc.

6. Although these unfavorable treaties and practices are subject to various objective conditions, he still has to bear heavy responsibility for the misguided actions of these incidents.

In addition, during the early suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, he killed too many people.

This also involves the overall evaluation of the Hunan Army and the Huai Army.

The Westernization Movement and his series of measures did not change China's continued decline, and his contribution was not significant.

Extended information

Cultural achievements

Calligraphy attainments

While commenting on Li Hongzhang’s merits and demerits, people , gradually noticed his calligraphy art. Through his large number of surviving ink marks, we can see his extraordinary skills in calligraphy.

But few people mention that he was a highly educated man and a profound calligrapher in the late Qing Dynasty.

Li Hongzhang's fans are arranged in an orderly manner on an irregular surface, and the words are harmonious. They are as beautiful as lively pearls jumping, with measured lines, sparse but not chaotic.

Reading it is refreshing and pleasing to the eye. It can be regarded as a high-quality calligraphy work, which shows the profound attainments of Li Hongzhang's calligraphy.

Book collection achievements

After Li Hongzhang was in politics, he liked to collect books.

Living in Lilac Garden in Shanghai, there is a library called "Wangyun

Thatched Cottage".

When he was suppressing the Xiaodaohui uprising in Shanghai in the tenth year of Xianfeng (1860), he often visited the library "Yijitang" of the famous bibliophile Yu Songnian. Yu once gave him many rare books.

After his death, his book collection was inherited by Li Jingmai. During the Anti-Japanese War, many of his precious editions were sold by the owner of the "Han Wenyuan" bookstore.

The rest of the collection was donated to the Aurora University Library by his grandson Li Guochao in 1940, totaling 18,000 volumes.