Li Hongzhang was a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, the founder and commander-in-chief of the Beiyang Navy, the leader of the Westernization Movement, and one of the main leaders of the Westernization Movement. Most people in the world respectfully call him Li Zhongtang, so do you know about Li Hongzhang? What are the historical evaluations? Let me provide you with the historical evaluation of Li Hongzhang below, let us understand together.
Introduction to the historical evaluation of Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang is a representative figure in modern Chinese politics, military and diplomacy. At home, Li Hongzhang carried out military suppression of peasant uprising forces for the unity and stability of the country, and served the country In order to make China rich and powerful, it advocated reform, advocated accepting Western culture and science and technology, and introducing foreign science and technology and advanced military and civil affairs. Abroad, Li Hongzhang advocated peace talks and appeasement of foreign powers in exchange for China's stability in the world.
At the end of modern times, Li Hongzhang's influence gradually increased. However, he was shackled by the feudal empire's thoughts and could not escape the limitations of the Westernization Reform, and the reform failed to achieve its goals. Li Hongzhang gradually transformed from a powerful country to a rich country during the Westernization Movement, and began to build the court's state-owned people's livelihood enterprises. The wealth brought by the Westernization Movement was ultimately owned by only a few Manchu nobles.
The new trend brought by the Westernization Movement gave modern China the foundation to catch up with the great powers, liberated the people's minds to a certain extent, and promoted the success of future revolutions. Enterprises founded by the Westernization Movement such as the Steamship Merchants Company accelerated the economic prosperity of the southern coastal areas, and the Hanyang Arsenal became an important force in the armed revolution in modern China.
The Qing government was willing to be a human being in front of the world's powers. As an important minister of foreign affairs, Li Hongzhang signed a series of unequal treaties with the powers in order to ensure the stability of the Qing Dynasty. As a result, the penetration of the powers continued to increase. The "Xinchou Treaty" signed by Li Hongzhang before his death turned modern China into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, and the country fell into chaos.
To the Qing government, Li Hongzhang was a famous minister of ZTE, to the people of the country, he was a traitor, and to the historical situation, he was a great man of reform. Li Hongzhang was extremely talented, but the corruption of the Manchu Qing Dynasty greatly limited his scope for display. The water is shallow and the boat is big, which is frustrating.
A brief introduction to Li Hongzhang's life
Li Hongzhang was an important official in the late Qing government in three dynasties. He was famous as a cabinet scholar (Zhongtang) and was known as Li Zhongtang in the world. Born into a wealthy family in Hefei, Anhui Province, he studied classics and history since he was a child, and entered an official career by participating in the imperial examination as an adult. Compared with other students, Li Hongzhang obtained interpersonal relationships that were far more important than official positions, such as his mentor Zeng Guofan.
During the Xianfeng period, Li Hongzhang entered the army by suppressing the Taiping Army. Later, due to the weakness of the Qing government's military strength in the south of the Yangtze River, he was ordered to form the Huai Army. With Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army as the backbone, the Huai Army suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army. As the peasant uprising took hold, the military strength continued to expand. After the Hunan Army was disbanded, the Huai Army was still the most elite force in Jiangnan. This armed force located in the south of the Yangtze River became the basis for Li Hongzhang's right to speak in the Qing government.
During the Tongzhi period, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and others tried to carry out capitalist reforms under the feudal monarchy, initiated the enlightenment of the power of capital in modern China, established the Qing government's state-owned enterprises, and changed the late Qing court's views on modern science, military and economic attitudes. During the Westernization Movement, the foreign affairs department of the Qing government headed by Li Hongzhang once gained sovereignty in front of the great powers.
During the Guangxu period, Li Hongzhang began to establish the naval force of the Qing government. The establishment of the Beiyang Navy represented the pinnacle of the Westernization Movement. However, due to the corruption of the political system, the Beiyang Navy's logistical supplies were extremely backward. During the Sino-Japanese War, the Beiyang Navy The annihilation of the entire army also marked the failure of the reform that Li Hongzhang had struggled for half his life.
In his later years, when Li Hongzhang served as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, the Eight-Power Allied Forces launched a war of aggression against China. Li was forced by the fugitive government of the late Qing Dynasty to go to Beijing. Li Hongzhang, who was seriously ill, was mentally and physically exhausted after signing the Xinchou Treaty. He died of illness in Beijing and was given the posthumous title Wenzhong.