Li Hongzao
Li Hongzao
Li Hongzao (February 14, 1820 - July 24, 1897), a native of Baoding, Hebei Province, was named Lansun, Shisun and Yanzhai. He was the leader of Qingliu in Tongguang period and one of the most important ministers of the main battle group in the late Qing Dynasty. Xianfeng two years (1852) Jinshi, selected Shu Jishi, granted editing, governor of Henan Academic politics. In the first year of tongzhi (1862), he was promoted to minister. He was deeply trusted by Empress Dowager Cixi. He graduated from the cabinet and served as the left Minister of the Department. In the fourth year of tongzhi (1865), he was promoted to the imperial censor of zuodu in duchayuan and the prince Shaobao. In 1876, the second year of Guangxu (1876), he ordered the national affairs yamen, also the prime minister, to oppose Wan Yan Chonghou's unauthorized revision of the Treaty of rivajia. He successively served as Minister of rites, assistant bachelor, and Minister of transferred officials. In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), he died at the age of 78 after begging for leave. The Qing government gave him the posthumous title of Wenzheng as a gift to the crown prince and Taifu as a sacrifice to Xianliang temple.
Life of the characters
Early official calendar
Li Hongzao was born in February 1820 in Zhonghe County, Guangxi Province. Li Hongzao was a Jinshi in the second year of Xianfeng (1852). Later, he served as a provincial examination in Shanxi Province to supervise Henan's politics. In 1860, Emperor Xianfeng chose Confucian officials as his master. Peng Yunzhang, a great scholar, recommended Li Hongzao to Emperor Xianfeng. Li Hongzao was summoned to Beijing. In 1861, he ordered Professor Li Hongzao to study.
Dan Li Di Shi
In 1862, Li Hongzao was promoted to minister. As a master of Tongzhi emperor, he was deeply trusted by the Empress Dowager of the West. He was a Bachelor of cabinet and a minister of the Department of household affairs. In the fourth year of tongzhi (1865), he was promoted to the imperial censor of zuodou in the capital Chayuan and added the prince Shaobao. In the fifth year of tongzhi (1866), Li Hongzao was granted the title of right Minister of rites. In the same year, he returned home as his mother. Empress Dowager Cixi, citing the precedent of sun Jiagan, an important minister in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, ordered Li Hongzao to be filial and return to Beijing 100 days later to teach and take charge of aviation. Li Hongzao pleaded for the termination of filial piety, which was rejected by the imperial court. The Empress Dowager still ordered Prince Gong to send a message of consolation. Li Hongzao complained of illness one after another, so the imperial court finally let him complete his filial piety. In 1868, the Nien army went northward to disturb the capital area. Li Hongzao was living in seclusion at that time. In the name of the different powers of the military officers, the Qing government requested the special prince to be the general and take charge of the capital so as to stabilize the North Road. Then he ordered Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang to be the counsellors and stationed in Baoding and Hejian respectively, leading the troops to fight bravely Guorui was in charge of military affairs and united army was in charge of guerrilla; Zhili governor was in charge of the defense of the provincial capital and the preparation of the army's salary to help; Ding Baozhen was ordered to stay at the border of Zhili and Shandong to prevent the Nian Army from fleeing eastward; Li Henian was stationed at the border of Zhili and Henan to prevent the Nian Army from fleeing southward; Zuo Zongtang and other powerful troops were stationed at the border of Zhili and Shanxi to prevent the Nian Army from fleeing southward; and Request the imperial court to issue an imperial edict to the officials of each ministry. After his memorials entered, Emperor Tongzhi ordered all the generals to be controlled by Prince Gong. Soon after, Li Hongzao was appointed as the Minister of rites. He was still on duty in Hongde hall and military aircraft department. in 1871, Li Hongzao was promoted to be the censor of zuodu in the capital Chayuan, and was granted the title of Prince Shaobao. From 1868 to 1871, Emperor Tongzhi and Cixi proposed to rebuild Yuanmingyuan. At that time, China's national strength was declining day by day, and the Western powers were ambitious about China's territory and sovereignty, and were always looking for opportunities to succeed. Li Hongzao thought that the national strength was declining and the people were poor. He wrote to the emperor many times in public or secretly. He made it clear that the finance should be used where the country needed, and that the state money should not be abused to where it shouldn't be used. He tried his best to prevent the restoration and directly dissuaded Tongzhi emperor many times. At last, Tongzhi emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi were forced to take back their orders. At this time, Hejian and other places in the middle of Hebei Province had another major disaster, and the disaster area was full of hungry people. Li Hongzao and Zhang Zhidong drew up a notice calling on court officials to raise money for relief. According to the original notice and the bill, 29 people responded at that time. If you raise money, you can get 100 liang of silver at most, or 10 Liang or 20 Liang at least. Li Hongzao personally donated 500 liang of silver and sent all the donations to the victims. In 1874, when Emperor Tongzhi was ill, he ordered Li Hongzao to answer the chapter on his behalf. Soon after the death of emperor Tongzhi, Li Hongzao impeached himself without a certificate, which led to the early death of the emperor. The Qing government dismissed him from the position of walking in Hongde hall.
Qingliu leader
In 1876, Li Hongzao was also in charge of the premier's Yamen of state affairs. Soon after his mother died, Ding you returned home. After serving his full time, he still took his original post and transferred to the Ministry of civil affairs as secretary of the Ministry of war and assistant bachelor. In 1878, the Qing government sent minister Chonghou to Russia to negotiate with Russia on the return of Ili. However, Chonghou signed the "Treaty of rivajia" with acting foreign minister Giles of Russia in the Crimea peninsula the following year, which made China lose a large area of territory outside Ili city and brought great shame to China's sovereignty. Li Hongzao firmly opposed the signing of the treaty. in 1883, France invaded China's Vietnam, provoking the Sino French war. Li Hongzao wrote angrily and impeached his ministers. Later, Li Hongzao was relegated to be a cabinet bachelor. Later, he was promoted to minister of rites. In 1887, the Yellow River burst in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. Emperor Guangxu ordered Li Hongzao to supervise the river affairs in Henan Province. Previously, Li Henian, governor of the river course, and Ni Wenwei, governor of Henan Province, negotiated to start the construction of Xiba dike. After Li Hongzao arrived, he still carried out according to their plan. After that, the construction of Dongba dam continued. Among them, Li Hongzao took people to firmly guard against many dangerous situations. At that time, it was the autumn flood season, and the Xiba project was not effective, so Li Hongzao asked for a temporary suspension. However, Emperor Guangxu dismissed him from office in the name of being a governor. He also stripped Li Henian of his position as governor of the river course and ordered Li Hongzao to act as an agent temporarily. Soon after, Li Hongzao returned to Beijing and once again discussed his dismissal in the name of poor handling of the affairs of the Ministry of rites. Emperor Guangxu dealt with it leniently. In 1888, Emperor Guangxu's wedding ceremony was completed, and Li Hongzao resumed his original post.
Refuse to fight
In 1894, the Sino Japanese war broke out. Compromise and surrender became more and more popular in the imperial court. Li Hongzao was so anxious that he wrote to the emperor again and again, suggesting that the imperial court should increase revenue and reduce expenditure, mobilize the whole army, rebuild morale and defend the country. In the end, Li Hongzhang signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki on behalf of the Qing Dynasty. Under such circumstances, Li Hongzao and Weng Tonghe reiterated their opposition to the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
He died in his old age
In 1897, Li Hongzao asked to be an official because of illness. Soon his illness worsened. Emperor Guangxu gave him medicine and ordered the imperial doctor to see him. He died at the age of 78. After his biography was handed in, Emperor Guangxu was very sad and gave him the posthumous title Wenzheng and the crown prince Taifu.
Main achievements
Politics
In 1878, the Qing government sent minister Chonghou to Russia. However, Chonghou signed the "Treaty of rivajia" with acting foreign minister Giles of Russia in the Crimea peninsula the following year. Li Hongzao firmly opposed the signing of the treaty. He made an impassioned speech and argued for it. He launched the Qing Dynasty school to impeach Li Hongzhang for his improper employment. He invited Emperor Guangxu to punish him for his crime of indulging in the amendment of the treaty, and sent envoys to Russia to amend the treaty. As a result, the treaty was amended and tens of thousands of square kilometers of Chinese territory was preserved. With the joint efforts of Li Hongzao, Zhang Zhidong and others, the imperial court sent Zeng Jize (the son of Zeng Guofan) to Russia. After arduous negotiations, Zeng Jize signed the Sino Russian Ili treaty with Russian Foreign Minister Giles and Russian Minister to China buce in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 24, 1881, and finally regained a large area of territory and many military fortresses and checkpoints in the southern border of Ili lost by the Treaty of rivajia, and corrected many relevant boundary and trade terms. In 1894, when Japan provoked Korea, the Qing government ordered Li Hongzhang to run military affairs and give him the title of military aircraft minister. On the issue of dealing with Japanese aggression, Li Hongzao agreed with Weng Tonghe, the Minister of military aircraft. He supported Emperor Guangxu in the war and opposed the compromise of Empress Dowager Xi, sun Yuwen and Li Hongzhang. On April 17, 1895, Li Hongzhang, on behalf of the Qing government, signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan, stipulating that China should compensate Japan 200 million for its military expenditure and cede large areas of land such as Penghu, Taiwan and Liaodong Peninsula to Japan. This humiliating and treacherous treaty was strongly opposed by the people of the whole country. Many feudal officials and important officials of the imperial court, as well as the imperial censor's platform admonishment and leading generals went to Shanghai one after another to oppose the ratification of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Many people claimed that Zhang Qian would fight again and denounce Zhu He and Fei Ji. Sun Yuwen, Minister of military aircraft, advocated early ratification of the treaty. Li Hongzao and Weng Tonghe advocated the postponement of approval. However, due to the pressure at home and abroad, death cannot be stopped.
Art
Li Hongzao has written a beautiful "Pavilion style" since he was a child, and he works very hard. He left behind many memorials and argumentative manuscripts, most of which were written in the style of "Dong", which was elegant and elegant, and his words were full of pearls. Since the Qing Dynasty, the study of calligraphy steles has been popular, and the "Wei stele style" has been popular all over the world. However, Li Hongzao used both inscriptions and inscriptions in his own style. His family letters and letters are mostly written in the form of "Wei stele". The characters of "Yan ti" and "Huangshan Gu ti" written by him are very precious and have a good sense of temperament. What is rare is that Li Hongzao or Li Hongzao
Li Hongzao