Li Hongzhang's evaluations are mixed, what kind of character is he?
When it comes to the history of the late Qing Dynasty, people seem to have only heard of certain Han Chinese names. Zuo Zhongtang, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang. The Manchus who fought the world at the end of the Qing Dynasty have been erased from the depths of history, and the Han people who fought the world for the Qing Dynasty at the end of the Qing Dynasty, today we will talk about Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang, the ** man of the year in the late Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang is undoubtedly a prominent figure in modern Chinese history, but he is also a highly controversial figure. He devoted his life to the revival of the late Qing dynasty, but Li Hongzhang's name was in the middle of an unequal agreement.
Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito thinks he is"The only person in the Qing Empire who can compete with the world powers", the German Admiralty Konrad thought he was"Bismarck of the East", the Empress Dowager Cixi thought he was"The man who recreates the secrets of the world"。Li Hongzhang's internal and external evaluations seem to be extremely high.
When this Taiwei was alive, he was revived for the late Qing Dynasty. However, after signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki, he found that he had also become a thief. Although Li Hongzhang is talented, he also reluctantly said that as a defeated country, we have long lost the initiative, and Li Hongzhang wants to reduce the compensation from the strength of the Qing ** in the negotiations.
Li Hongzhang has tried everything in his life, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and mining. In order to save the late Qing Dynasty, he tried everything he could. He even worked with Zeng Guofan to suppress the Taiping Rebellion, thus saving the late Qing from the brink of death. Although some people say that he is **, as far as the late Qing Dynasty is concerned, he can only ask for help from the Western powers, and it can even be said that he was defeated at the feet of the Western powers. However, what he did was not for himself, but to save the last generation of the Qing Dynasty.
Li Hongzhang went to Japan to negotiate at the age of 72, although he was well aware that Qing ** was at a disadvantage. After the third round of negotiations, Li Hongzhang returned to his residence, but was delayed for several hours by a Japanese young man on the way, who suddenly ran out, pulled out a gun, and shot Li Hongzhang in the lower part of his left eye. Fortunately, Li Hongzhang did not die. Fearing involvement from the West, Japan reduced the reparations from 300 million taels to 200 million taels, and the Qing court eventually signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan. In this way, Li Hongzhang's name was written on the pillar of shame in history.