XianfengTen years (1860 AD),Anglo-French forcesAfter conquering Beijing and occupying the Old Summer Palace, they carried out a frenzied looting of the Old Summer Palace, known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens", and finally burned it to the ground. This oneThe Old Summer Palace was burnedof events becameModern Chinese Historyon a page of extreme humiliation. The whole world is rightAnglo-French forcesof atrocities are indignant, French writersHugoAlso with indignationLanguage descriptioncalled them "robbers" for their atrocities, and said that they considered themselves to have achieved a great victory.
The Old Summer Palace was burnedThe far-reaching impact of the incident is still a pain in the hearts of the Chinese people. The Old Summer Palace served as a Chinese palace andCultureTreasures, after being destroyed, countless preciousArtGoods and artifacts were looted. The Old Summer Palace was burnedThe incident is not only for ChinaCultureIt is also a trampling on the dignity of the Chinese nation. This incident highlighted the aggression and plundering behavior of the great powers against China, and was a great humiliation and tragedy for the Chinese people.
The Old Summer Palace was burnedAfter the event, inZeng GuofanIn his notes, he wrote a controversial sentence: "The foreigners entered Beijing in August of the tenth year, and they did not damage our temple and society, and they are now in ShanghaiNingboand other places to help me attack and suppress the bandits, both of which are virtuous to me. We in China should not forget the big ones and complain about the small ones. This passage indicatesZeng GuofanRightAnglo-French forcesHe believes that they did not destroy the Qing Dynasty's Zongmiao Sheji, but also helped the Qing Dynasty to be exterminated in other parts of ChinaTaiping Heavenly Kingdomof reactionary forces. Zeng GuofanIt is believed that both aspects are beneficial to China, and Chinese should not forget the great kindness and count the small resentment.
This passage has caused widespread criticism and spitting in later generations, and it is difficult for people to understand whyZeng GuofanInThe Old Summer Palace was burnedAfter that, he could still express his right words so "unashamedly".Anglo-French forcesof gratitude. However, this statement is in particularHistoryThere is a reason for the background.
The first year of Tongzhi (1862 AD).Zeng GuofanBeing in a specific situationHistoryMoment. On the one hand, he was leading the Hunan army to suppress itTaiping Heavenly KingdomMovement, this movement isChinese HistoryThe last large-scale peasant uprising against Qing rule. On the other hand,Zeng GuofanAlso pushingWesternization Movement, hoping to enhance China's strength by introducing Western technology and equipment.
In the face of challenges on these two fronts,Zeng GuofanThe support of the external team is urgently needed. Therefore, he is gratefulAnglo-French forcesand tend to put the interests of the country first, rather than overly caring about personal grievances and national interests. In addition, as:Westernization MovementOne of the main promoters,Zeng GuofanIt is necessary to cooperate with the British and French powers to obtain their technology and support.
In summary,Zeng GuofanInThe Old Summer Palace was burnedAfter the event express rightAnglo-French forcesThere is indeed a special reason for this. However, his remarks have aroused widespread criticism and condemnation in later generations, and people's evaluation of him has also been divided.
Zeng GuofanHe is known as one of the four famous ministers of Zhongxing in the late Qing Dynasty, and is known as "the last physicist" and "the first perfect man in China". However, he is also extremely controversialHistoryFigure. The Old Summer Palace was burnedAfter,Zeng GuofanRightAnglo-French forcesof the rhetoric and he is suppressingTaiping Heavenly KingdomThe actions of the movement have been criticized and blamed.
fromHistoryperspectiveZeng GuofanThere are indeed some faults. As a Han Chen, he helped the Manchu regime**Han Chinese, which cannot be whitewashed. In addition, in some incidents, he showed excessive flattery and compromise to foreigners, so much so that he was labeled as "Zeng Shaved Head", ".Executioner", "thief" and other labels.
However, forZeng GuofanThe evaluation also needs to take into account the particular situation in which he is locatedHistoryBackground. Zeng GuofanInfluenced by the Confucian education of loyalty and patriotism, he has always regarded the Qing court as his own monarch, and he is willing to become a virtuous minister and good general of the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, the Chinese at that time generally did not have a good understanding of foreigners and were rarely aware of their threat. Therefore,Zeng GuofanAnxious to achieve victory between peasant uprisings and foreign aggression, his ideas of internal and external security were considered sensible at the time.
In general,Zeng GuofanNot a flawless character, nor a traitor and a thief. His ideological realm is indeed limited, and his vision is relatively narrow. Although he is suppressingTaiping Heavenly KingdomHe has made some achievements in the movement, but he does have a certain deficit in the general interests of the nation. So, forZeng GuofanThe evaluation we need to start withHistoryStarting from the background, treat his words and deeds as a guest.
In the end, everyone is rightZeng GuofanPerceptions may vary. Readers are welcome to leave a message to discussZeng Guofanand whether the praise for him is too high.