Chen Baozhen

Chen Baozhen

Chen Baozhen (1831-july 22, 1900) was born on the 18th of the first month of Xinmao (1831) in the 11th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty. In the thirtieth year of Daoguang, he studied in Yining Prefecture in 1850, and in the first year of Xianfeng in 1851, he passed the examination. At the beginning of his life, he ran regiment training in the township from his father. Because he led the regiment training to help Ke Fuyi and ningzhou city make great contributions, Emperor Xianfeng ordered the county magistrate to make up for it later, and chose it first. In 1860, he failed in the examination of entering Beijing, and once stayed in Beijing to associate with the four elegant people. In 1862, Zeng Zhibin was recommended as the alternate governor of the two kingdoms. In 1875, Chen, Jing, Yong and Yuandao were appointed as officials. In the sixth year of Guangxu, Gengchen (1880) was changed to guanhebeidao. In the 16th year, Gengyin (1890) was appointed as the governor of Hubei Province. In 1894, he was appointed as the governor of Zhili. In the autumn of the next year, he was promoted to the governor of Hunan Province until the 1898 coup in the 24th year of Guangxu. The reformer, who was called "the important Minister of the new deal" by Emperor Guangxu, was the backbone of the famous reformers in the late Qing Dynasty, and the only one of the local governors who was inclined to reform. Later, he was criticized by Wang Xianqian and ye Dehui of Hunan conservative school. In 1898, the 1898 coup broke out and the hundred day reform failed. Chen Baozhen was deposed as "protecting bandits indiscriminately". Guangxu 26 years (1900) died on July 22.

Chen Baozhen, Chen Sanli, Chen Hengke, Chen Yinke and Chen fenghuai have five outstanding figures, who are called "Chen's five heroes" by later generations.

Life of the characters

The early years of the characters

In 1831, Chen Baozhen was born in Yining, Jiangxi Province. in the first year of Xianfeng (1851), people were selected in the Xinhai Enke rural examination. When he returned to his hometown in the third year of Xianfeng (1853), he organized a regiment training in Yining Prefecture with his father, fought with the Taiping army, and built strategies for Xi Baotian. With his help, Xi Baotian finally captured Hong tianguifu, the young leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Hong Rengan, the Minister of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Stepping into official career

In 1860, he entered Beijing for a joint examination and left Beijing. He made friends with Yi peishen and Luo hengkui, famous scholars in Beijing, and exchanged views on morality and economics. At that time, he was known as "three gentlemen". In the first year of tongzhi (1862), he invested in xibaotianmuzhong of Jiangxi Province and made plans for his staff. In 1864, he went to Nanjing to join Zeng Guofan and was highly valued. In 1869, after Zeng Guofan's recommendation, he went to Beijing to meet with the governor of Hunan Province. When he entered Hunan, he was ordered to take charge of military affairs on behalf of Xi Baotian, who died of illness. He suppressed the Miao people's uprising, promoted Taoist officials and served as the camp office. In 1875, he took charge of Jingdao affairs in chenyongyuan, Hunan Province, and managed Fenghuang Hall (now Fenghuang County in Western Hunan Province). He taught local people to plant tea, bamboo and potato, so as to help the people in Suzhou. He also led the people to chisel the Tuojiang River to make the boat smooth. In the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), he changed his official position to Hebei Road in Henan Province and donated money to establish the school "Zhiyong jingshe". In 1883, he was promoted to be an inspector general of Zhejiang Province. He was impeached and removed from his post and returned home because he was in prison in Henan Province. In 1886, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, invited him to tune Guangzhou. When the Yellow River burst in Zhengzhou, it was ordered to help the saihe river. The proposed governance strategy was very pertinent. It was highly valued by Li Hongzao, the governor of the Yellow River, and recommended by his ministers. In 1889, Wang Wenshao, the governor of Hunan Province, recommended that Chen Baozhen could be widely used. He was called to the capital, and in the next year he was appointed to Hubei Province. After three days, he was given the post of minister. Guangxu 19 years (1893), transfer Zhili Buzheng Shi.

New deal reform

In 1894, the Sino Japanese War of 1894 broke out. Emperor Guangxu summoned Chen Baozhen to inquire about the strategy of fighting and defending. What he played was in line with the emperor's will. He ordered Baozhen to supervise the eastward expedition of Hunan army. The next year, when Chen Baozhen learned that the Treaty of Shimonoseki had been signed, he was filled with grief and indignation. He wept bitterly and sighed, "no country Later, he repeatedly spared the state affairs, bitterly reported the gains and losses, hoping to reform and strengthen. after the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April 1895, he was deeply distressed by the crisis of the country and spared the pros and cons of the current situation. In the same year, he was promoted to governor of Hunan. He took the development of Hunan as his own responsibility and was determined to rectify it. As soon as he took office in Changsha, he impeached more than 20 confused officials below the county level, which earned him a good reputation. When he was the governor of Hunan Province, he took "reform and opening up new" as his own duty and promoted a new deal. It successively set up the Mining Bureau, the mint Bureau, the official money Bureau, set up the telecommunications, shipping and manufacturing companies, founded the southern society, the school of mathematics, the school of current affairs, and supported Tan Si to publish Journal of Hunan and Xiang Bao, which greatly opened the reform atmosphere in Hunan and became the most dynamic Province in China. in February 1895, Hunan General Administration of mines was formally established in Changsha, the provincial capital. He also drew up the "Hunan mining concise constitution", which made some specific provisions on the methods, funds, shares, mineral quality and other issues of running mines. Then began a large-scale construction of the mine. In the same year, he negotiated with Changsha gentlemen Wang Xianqian, Zhang Zutong, Yang Gong and Huang Ziyuan to establish Hefeng match company and baoshancheng machinery company. These enterprises are actually the earliest enterprises in Changsha and Hunan, and the pioneers of Hunan modern telecommunication industry. In consultation with Zhang Zhidong, governor of Huguang, a power line between Hunan and Hubei was set up. A section of Hunan Province, starting from Changsha, was set up along the post roads of Xiangyin, Yuezhou and Linxiang, and then to Puqi County, Hubei Province, with a distance of 225 km. After the completion of the whole line, a telegraph office was set up in Changsha to send and receive official and commercial telegrams, which was the beginning of the establishment of the telegraph office in Hunan Province. In 1896, the Shuikoushan lead-zinc mine in Changning, the Xikuangshan antimony mine in Xinhua, the Banxi antimony mine in Yiyang, and the Huangjindong gold mine in Pingjiang were established. Among them, the Shuikoushan lead-zinc mine was the first, and the output of lead-zinc increased year by year. Liao Shujuan, a scholar of Ningxiang, was appointed to supervise Shuikoushan mine. He created the "open pit method" to drain the water smoothly, which greatly improved the mining efficiency. The large-scale exploitation of Xinhua and Yiyang antimony mines has brought about the antimony smelting industry in Changsha. Since 1896, national capitalists have successively set up Dacheng company and Xiangyu antimony smelter in lingguandu. Lingguandu has become the largest mineral product transfer terminal in Hunan Province. The mining policy has a deep influence on the economic decision-making of the successor. In May of the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1898), he called for the implementation of the new policy, and put forward three strategies to save the country. In July, Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi participated in the new deal. In September, Zhang Zhidong, governor of Huguang, was transferred to Beijing for the premier's new deal. However, he opposed the reformers' theory of "equal civil rights" and was dissatisfied with Kang Youwei's reform of Tuogu system. He took a compromise attitude towards the attack of the conservative and stubborn forces in Hunan.

Dismissal

In 1898, the reform movement of 1898 and the coup launched by Empress Dowager Cixi failed. On August 6, 1898 (September 21, 1898), Cixi launched a coup, imprisoned Guangxu, wanted Kang and Liang, and killed "Six Gentlemen" at the entrance of Beijing vegetable market. On August 21 (October 6) of the lunar calendar, the imperial edict punishing Chen Baozhen and Chen Sanli issued: "Chen Baozhen, governor of Hunan, is in fact responsible for protecting bandits by means of feudal officials. Chen Baozhen's immediate dismissal will never be used. Chen Sanli, the head of Yizi's official department, was dismissed from his post after attracting evil spirits. "

The end of old age

Chen Baozhen and Chen Sanli, who were dismissed in the winter of 1898, left Hunan governor's office with their families and moved to their hometown in Jiangxi. The coffin of Huang Shuzhen, wife of Chen Baozhen, who died in 1897, was also moved back. Instead of going back to Zhuxiang, Xiushui County, Jiangxi Province, the whole family supported the coffin. Instead, they rented a house in Mozi lane, Nanchang. On July 22, 1900, Chen Baozhen died suddenly at the age of 69.

Character achievement

Politics

Chen Baozhen knows that employing people is the organizational guarantee for the implementation of the new deal. Nothing can be achieved without changing the corrupt administration and selecting the talents who are calm, resolute, resourceful and capable of reform. Therefore, the first thing he did in carrying out the new deal was to rectify the administration of officials and select those who were in favor of change. He successively investigated the impeachment of more than 20 incompetent and incompetent officials in Fu County, some of whom were powerful and powerful, so the official administration of Hunan changed. At the same time, Chen Baozhen invited Tan Sitong, a bourgeois reformer, to return home to promote the reform, and employed Tang Caichang, Tan Sitong's close friend in Hunan, Ouyang Zhonghu, PI Xirui and other reformers. When Liang Qichao was obstructed by Zhang Zhidong in running the current affairs newspaper in Shanghai, Chen Baozhen immediately hired him to be the chief teacher of Hunan current affairs school. At the same time, Chen Baozhen also paid attention to the cultivation of reform talents. In October 1897, he set up the "current affairs school" in Changsha. Then he set up the clerical school and the military school, and set up the New Political Bureau as the organ to plan and implement the new policy.

Culture

In the propaganda and cultural education of the reform thought, Chen Baozhen also devoted himself to the role of schools in the new deal. When the current affairs school was founded, he personally drafted the recruitment notice of the current affairs school. Chen Baozhen also urged all prefectures and counties to send talented young people to the province. If there was no travel fee, local officials would try to pay for it. He also accepted Liang Qichao's proposal to recruit more students from other classes, so as to absorb young people over the age of 20 and make them learn more. he set up the nanxue Association in Changsha and nanxue branches in various prefectures and counties. After the founding of Journal of Hunan, the nanxue society established Xiangxue (daily) as its organ newspaper. Chen Baozhen strongly supports this. He once ordered all the counties to order "Xiangxue" and "Journal of Hunan", and advised the rich to buy and distribute them by themselves.

Economics

Guangxu 21 years (1895) 10