Editing Li Hongzhang (section)

==Biography==

===Early life and career===
Li was born into a [[Scholar-official|scholar-gentry]] family in Qunzhi Village ({{lang|zh-hant|群治村}}), Modian Township ({{lang|zh-hant|磨店鄉}}), {{convert|14|km|mi}} northeast of central [[Hefei]], [[Anhui|Anhui Province]], China. In 1843, he sat for the entry-level [[imperial examination]] in [[Lu Prefecture (Anhui)|Lu Prefecture]] and obtained a ''yougong'' ({{lang|zh-hant|優貢}}; or ''gongsheng'' {{lang|zh-hant|貢生}}) position. His father, who was serving as an official in the imperial capital [[Beijing]],{{sfn|Liu|1970|p=7}} was eager to see his son succeed, so he encouraged his son to come to [[Shuntian Prefecture]] to take the district-level examination. Li then travelled to Beijing. Along the way, he wrote ten poems under the collection ''Entering the Capital'' ({{lang|zh-hant|入都}}) to express his feelings.

In 1844, Li obtained a ''juren'' ({{lang|zh-hant|舉人}}) position in the district-level examination,{{sfn|Liu|1970|p=7-8}} but failed to make it in the metropolitan-level examination. He then started taking classes under [[Zeng Guofan]].<!--{{sfn|Liu|1970|p=7-8}}--> In 1847, he sat for the metropolitan-level examination again and obtained a ''jinshi'' ({{lang|zh-hant|進士}}) position at the young age of 24, and was admitted to the [[Hanlin Academy]] as a [[shujishi]] ({{lang|zh-hant|庶吉士}}).<!--{{sfn|Liu|1970|p=7-8}}--> At the same time, he also continued taking classes under Zeng Guofan to improve his knowledge. Three years later, he took the ''sanguan'' ({{lang|zh-hant|散館}}) examination in the academy and earned the position of a ''bianxiu'' ({{lang|zh-hant|編修}}; an editor).{{sfn|Liu|1970|p=8}}

===Suppressing the Taiping Rebellion===
In January 1851, the [[God Worshipping Society]] led by [[Hong Xiuquan]] started the [[Taiping Rebellion]] in [[Guangxi|Guangxi Province]]. Within about two years, the rebels had conquered many territories in southern China and established the [[Taiping Heavenly Kingdom]] with [[Nanjing]] as their capital. In 1853, the rebels, advancing from [[Wuhan]], captured [[Anqing]] and killed {{ill|Jiang Wenqing|zh|蔣文慶|ja|蔣文慶}} ({{lang|zh-hant|蔣文慶}}), the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of [[Anhui|Anhui Province]]. The [[Xianfeng Emperor]] commissioned {{ill|Lü Xianji|qid=Q45663924|short=yes}} ({{lang|zh-hant|呂賢基}}), the [[Three Departments and Six Ministries|Left Vice Secretary of Works]], to travel to Anhui Province and recruit civilians to form militias to counter the rebels. Lü Xianji knew that Li was familiar with the local situation in Anhui Province so he secured permission from the imperial court to bring Li along with him as an adviser and assistant. Li was later ordered to remain in Anhui to oversee the militia. In late 1853, the Taiping rebels defeated imperial forces and captured [[Shucheng County]]; Lü Xianji committed suicide. In the following year, [[Jiang Zhongyuan]] ({{lang|zh-hant|江忠源}}), the ''xunfu'' of Anhui Province, committed suicide after [[Lu Prefecture (Anhui)|Lu Prefecture]] fell to the rebels. Li then became a subordinate of {{ill|Fu Ji|zh|福濟}} ({{lang|zh-hant|福濟}}), the new ''xunfu'', who ordered him to lead troops to attack the rebels, with Li often leading them in person.{{sfn|Liu|1970|pp=9-10}} Li recaptured two counties and Lu Prefecture from the rebels within the following year. For his achievements, he earned the appointment of a ''daotai'' (道台; [[Circuit (administrative division)|circuit]] administrator) and the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|single-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat. Later, he led troops into the [[Huai River]] area, but could not get along with his subordinates and was forced to abandon his mission.

In the winter of 1858, Li was reassigned to serve in [[Zeng Guofan]]'s office, where he was in charge of drafting documents. Li led a carefree life, flouted rules and regulations, and often woke up late. Zeng Guofan once chided him, "Shaoquan, now that you're working in my office, I only have this piece of advice for you: 'Commitment' is the only thing that matters to us here." Li was shocked and he improved his behaviour after that. In the same year, {{ill|Weng Tongshu|zh|翁同书|ja|翁同書}} ({{lang|zh-hant|翁同書}}), the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of Anhui, abandoned his post when he came under attack by the Taiping rebels. Zeng Guofan drew from Li's draft when he wrote a [[Memorial to the throne|memorial]] to the imperial court to accuse Weng Tongshu of failing in his duty. The lines from Li's draft that were included in Zeng Guofan's actual memorial included: "It is my duty, as Your Majesty's subject, [to point out the failures of my colleague.] I do not dare to let this pass just because of [[Weng Tonghe]]'s fame and prestige." Although Li earned Zeng Guofan's praise for drafting the memorial, he also caused Weng Tonghe (Weng Tongshu's brother) to bear a grudge against him for what he wrote. While serving under Zeng Guofan, he was put in charge of Yanjianshao Circuit ({{lang|zh-hant|延建邵道}}) in [[Fujian|Fujian Province]] but did not take up his appointment and remained with Zeng.

In 1860, Li was put in command of the naval forces in Anhui and [[Jiangsu]] provinces to counter the Taiping rebels. After Zeng Guofan's [[Xiang Army]] recaptured [[Anqing]] from the rebels in 1861, Zeng wrote a memorial to the imperial court to praise Li, calling him "a talent with great potential", and sent Li back to [[Hefei]] to form a militia. Li managed to recruit enough men to form five battalions in 1862. Zeng Guofan ordered him to bring his troops along with him to [[Shanghai]]. Li and his men sailed past rebel-controlled territory along the [[Yangtze River]] in British [[steamboat]]s – the rebels did not attack because Britain was a neutral party – and arrived in Shanghai, where they were commissioned as the [[Huai Army]]. Zeng Guofan recommended Li to serve as the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of Jiangsu Province. After gaining ground in Jiangsu, Li focused on enhancing the Huai Army's capabilities, including equipping them with Western firearms and artillery. Within two years, the Huai Army's strength increased from 6,000 to about 60–70,000 men. Li's Huai Army combined forces later with Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army and [[Charles George Gordon]]'s [[Ever Victorious Army]] and prepared to attack the Taiping rebels.

From 1863 to 1864, Li led the Huai Army to attack and recapture [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], [[Changzhou]] and other rebel-controlled territories. For his contributions, Li was awarded the honorary appointment [[Three Ducal Ministers|Crown Prince's Grand Protector]] ({{lang|zh-hant|太子太保}}) and an [[imperial yellow jacket]]. After retaking Changzhou, and capturing, interrogating and executing the rebel leader [[Chen Kunshu]] in 1864,{{sfn|Hail|1943|p=465}} Li received a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Standard non-imperial titles|''jiduwei'']] peerage in recognition of his achievements. An incident connected with the surrender of Suzhou soured Li's relationship with Gordon. According to an earlier arrangement with Gordon, the rebel leaders agreed to yield [[Nanjing]] to imperial forces on the condition that their lives would be spared. However, after the capture of Nanjing, Li ordered the rebel leaders to be executed. This breach of faith infuriated Gordon so much that he grabbed a rifle and wanted to shoot Li, but Li fled. By the end of 1864, the Taiping Rebellion had basically been suppressed by imperial forces. Li was awarded a noble peerage as "[[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Notable titles|First Class Count Suyi]]" ({{lang|zh-hant|一等肅毅伯}}) and the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|double-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat.

===As Viceroy of Zhili===
After the suppression of the [[Taiping Rebellion]] in 1864, Li assumed a civil office as the [[Grand coordinator and provincial governor|''xunfu'']] of [[Jiangsu|Jiangsu Province]] for about two years. However, on the outbreak of the [[Nian Rebellion]] in [[Henan]] and [[Shandong]] provinces in 1866, he was ordered to lead troops into battle again. After some misadventures, Li managed to suppress the movement. In recognition of his contributions, he was appointed as [[Grand Secretariat|Assistant Grand Secretary]] ({{lang|zh-hant|協辦大學士}}).

In 1867, Li was appointed as the [[Viceroy of Huguang]], where he remained until 1870, when the [[Tianjin Massacre]] necessitated his transfer to [[Tianjin]] to handle the diplomatic crisis with the French. He was given the concurrent appointments as Viceroy of [[Zhili|Zhili Province]] and Beiyang Trade Minister ({{lang|zh-hant|北洋通商大臣}}) to oversee various issues in Zhili, [[Shandong]] and [[Liaoning|Fengtian]] provinces, including trade, tariffs, diplomacy, coastal defence, and [[Self-Strengthening Movement|modernisation]]. He was also conferred the honorary position of "Grand Secretary of Wenhua Hall" ({{lang|zh-hant|文華殿大學士}}).

From the time he became Viceroy of Zhili and Beiyang Trade Minister until his death, with a few intervals of retirement, he shaped the Qing Empire's foreign policy to a large extent. In 1876, he signed the [[Chefoo Convention|Yantai Treaty]] with [[Thomas Francis Wade|Sir Thomas Wade]] to end a diplomatic crisis with Britain caused by the murder of [[Augustus Raymond Margary]] in [[Yunnan|Yunnan Province]]. He also arranged treaties with Peru and the [[Convention of Tientsin|Tianjin Convention]] with Japan, and directed Chinese foreign policy in Korea. Among Li's projects to open China to the world on Chinese terms was support for the [[Chinese Educational Mission]], which sent Chinese boys to the United States for education, starting in 1872. The mission was aborted in 1881.{{sfnb|Chisholm|1911|p=681}}

On the death of the [[Tongzhi Emperor]] in 1875, Li introduced a large army into the capital and effected a coup which placed the [[Guangxu Emperor]] on the throne under the regency of the Empress Dowagers [[Empress Dowager Ci'an|Ci'an]] and [[Empress Dowager Cixi|Cixi]]. In 1879, Li was awarded the honorary appointment [[Three Ducal Ministers|Crown Prince's Grand Tutor]] ({{lang|zh-hant|太子太傅}}).

In 1886, on the conclusion of the [[Sino-French War]], Li arranged a treaty with the French. Li was impressed with the necessity of strengthening the Qing Empire, and while he was Viceroy of Zhili, he raised a large well-drilled and well-armed force, and spent vast sums both in fortifying [[Lüshunkou|Port Arthur]] and the [[Taku forts|Dagu forts]] and in strengthening the navy. For years, he had watched the successful reforms effected in Japan and had a well-founded dread of coming into conflict with the Japanese.{{sfnb|Chisholm|1911|p=681}}

===Establishing military academies===

[[File:Hubert Vos's painting of Li Hongzhang.jpg|thumb|left|A painting of Li Hongzhang]]

In 1885, Li founded the Tianjin Military Academy ({{lang|zh-hant|天津武備學堂}}) to train Chinese military officers as part of his military reforms.<ref>{{cite book|volume=11, Part 2 of The Cambridge History of China Series|title=Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911|editor1-link=John K. Fairbank|author-link1=Kwang-Ching Liu|author=Kwang-ching Liu|editor1=John King Fairbank|editor2-link=Denis Twitchett|editor2=Denis Crispin Twitchett|year=1980|page=266|isbn=0-521-22029-7|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|volume=11, Part 2 of The Cambridge History of China Series|title=Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911|author=Kwang-ching Liu|editor=John King Fairbank, Denis Crispin Twitchett|edition=illustrated|year=1980|page=267|isbn=0-521-22029-7|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> The move was supported by [[Huai Army]] commander {{ill|Zhou Shengchuan|zh|周盛傳|ja|周盛伝}}.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|volume=11, Part 2 of The Cambridge History of China Series|title=Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911|editor=John King Fairbank, Denis Crispin Twitchett|edition=illustrated|year=1980|page=267|isbn=0-521-22029-7|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> The academy was to serve Huai Army and [[Green Standard Army]] officers. Various practical military, mathematics and science subjects were taught at the academy. The instructors were German military officers.<ref name="auto"/> Another programme was started at the academy for five years in 1887 to train teenagers as new military officers.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book|volume=11, Part 2 of The Cambridge History of China Series|title=Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911|editor=John King Fairbank, Denis Crispin Twitchett|edition=illustrated|year=1980|page=268|isbn=0-521-22029-7|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> Mathematics, practical and technical subjects, sciences, foreign languages, Chinese classics and history were taught at the school. Students also took exams. The Weihaiwei and Shanhaiguan military schools copied the Tianjin Military Academy's curriculum.<ref name="auto1"/> The maritime defence fund supplied the budget for the Tianjin Military Academy, which was shared with the Tianjin Naval Academy.<ref name="auto1"/>

===First Sino-Japanese War===
[[File:"LI HUNG CHANG" in 1909 United States Government art detail, from- HONGZHANG, Li (engraved portrait) (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Li Hongzhang in U. S. Government engraved portrait]]
Because of his prominent role in Chinese diplomacy in Korea and strong political connections in [[Manchuria]], Li found himself directing Chinese forces during the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] of 1894–1895. In fact, it was mostly the armies that he established and controlled that did the fighting, whereas other Chinese troops led by his political rivals did not come to their aid. Rampant corruption further weakened the Chinese military. For instance, one official misappropriated ammunition funds for personal use. As a result, shells ran out during battle, forcing one navy captain, [[Deng Shichang]], to resort to ordering his ship to ram an enemy ship. The defeat of Li's modernised armed forces by the Japanese undermined his political standing, as well as the wider cause of the [[Self-Strengthening Movement]].

Li had received the privilege of wearing a [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Other honours and privileges|three-eyed peacock feather]] in his hat{{sfnb|Chisholm|1911|p=681}} – a rare exception because three-eyed peacock feathers had previously been restricted to only members of the [[Aisin Gioro|imperial clan]] – during [[Empress Dowager Cixi]]'s 60th birthday celebrations in 1894. However, after the Chinese defeat in the war, Li was disgraced and stripped of his peacock feather. The Qing imperial court initially wanted to send [[Zhang Yinhuan]] ({{lang|zh-hant|張蔭桓}}) and {{ill|Shao Youlian|zh|邵友濂|ja|邵友濂|ko|소우렴}} ({{lang|zh-hant|邵友濂}}) as their representatives to negotiate with the Japanese, but the Japanese rejected them. Li was selected to take on this mission and was given back his peacock feather.

On March 24, 1895, while negotiating with Japan's [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Itō Hirobumi]] and [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Foreign Affairs Minister]] [[Mutsu Munemitsu]] in [[Shimonoseki]], Li was attacked by an assassin,<ref name="New York Times 1895-03-25 p. 5">{{cite news |title=Li Hung Chang Attacked: An Attempt to Assassinate the Chinaman by a Japanese. The Assailant is Under Arrest A Report that the Japanese Forces Occupied the Main Island of the Pescadores Last Thursday. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1895/03/25/archives/li-hung-chang-attacked-an-attempt-to-assassinate-the-chinaman-by-a.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 March 1895 |page=5}}</ref> {{ill|Koyama Toyotarō|ja|小山豊太郎|ko|고야마 도요타로|zh|小山豐太郎}} ({{lang|zh-hant|小山豐太郎}}), who shot him in the left cheek.<ref name="liu-he-nikkei">{{cite news |last1=Nakazawa |first1=Katsuji |title=The embattled envoy: Xi critics take aim at trade negotiator Liu He |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/The-embattled-envoy-Xi-critics-take-aim-at-trade-negotiator-Liu-He |access-date=23 June 2022 |work=Nikkei Asia |date=28 February 2019 |quote=During his stay in Shimonoseki, Li was shot in the left cheek by a Japanese activist with a pistol. But fortunately, the injury was not life-threatening and he continued peace treaty negotiations with Japan while wearing a bandage.}}</ref>{{sfn|Paine|2002|pp=261-262}} Koyama was arrested by Japanese police later and he claimed that he desired for the war to continue.

Due to the public embarrassment caused by the attack, the Japanese agreed to the immediate ceasefire Li had urged in the days before,{{sfn|Mutsu|1982|p=174}} though fighting would continue on Taiwan and in the Penghu Islands.{{sfn|Paine|2002|pp=260-264}} On April 17, 1895, Li signed the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] with the Japanese, thus ending the First Sino-Japanese War.{{sfn|Paine|2002|p=273}}

===Tour of Russia, Europe and North America===
[[File:Li Hung Chang, Vanity Fair, 1896-08-13.jpg|thumb|Hongzhang by [[Jean Baptiste Guth|Guth]] in ''[[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 13 August 1896]]
[[File:No 3 Arrival of Li Hung Chang, Chinese Viceroy, at Vancouver BC, with photo of Viceroy in corner (HS85-10-8782).jpg|thumb|Hongzhang's arrival at [[Vancouver]] in 1896.]]

In 1896, Li attended the [[Coronation of the Russian monarch|coronation]] of [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] of the [[Russian Empire]] on behalf of the Qing Empire and toured Europe, Canada and the United States, where he advocated reform of the American immigration policies that had greatly restricted Chinese immigration after the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] of 1882 (renewed in 1892).<ref name="li-nyt-geary-act" />

In a famous interview published by ''[[The New York Times]]'' on September 3, 1896, Li was asked whether he favored the introduction of the newspaper into China as developed in the U.S. or in Europe. Li's answer was stunningly honest: "There are newspapers in China, but the Chinese editors, unfortunately, do not tell the truth. They do not, as your papers, tell 'the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' The editors in China are great economizers of the truth; they tell only a part of it. They do not have, therefore, the great circulations that your papers have. Because this economy of the truth, our papers fail in the mission of a great press, to be one of the means of civilization."<ref name="li-nyt-geary-act">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/09/03/archives/li-on-american-hatred-chinese-laborers-he-says-have-higher-virtues.html|title=LI ON AMERICAN HATRED: CHINESE LABORERS, HE SAYS, HAVE HIGHER VIRTUES. Argues for Free Competition in Labor as Well as Free Trade in Commodities -- The Geary Act Most Unfair, He Says in a Formal Audience with Reporters -- Amazed by Our Tall Buildings and Pleased with Most Things He Sees. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=3 September 1896 |page=10}}</ref>

While in Britain, he toured parts of the country by train, keeping with his desire to inspire railway development in his own country while constantly fighting against the prejudices of conservative leaders. He visited the industrial area in [[Barrow-in-Furness|Barrow]], [[North West England]], and toured [[Windermere|Lake Windermere]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li-Hung-chang-UK-visit-1896.jpg|title=English: Li Hung-chang's visit to Britain in 1896|first=Original photographer|last=unknown|date=August 4, 2013|via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> on the steamer [[SY Tern|''Tern'']] operated by the [[Furness Railway|Furness Railway Company]]. He also witnessed the [[Fleet Review, Royal Navy#Queen Victoria|1896 Royal Naval Fleet Review at Spithead]]. It was during his visit to Britain in 1896 that [[Queen Victoria]] made him a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]].<ref name="Antony Best 1922">Antony Best, "Race, Monarchy, and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 1902–1922,"[[Social Science Japan Journal]] 2006 9(2):171–186</ref>

===Boxer Rebellion and death===
In 1900, Li once more played a major diplomatic role in negotiating a settlement with the [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] forces which had [[Battle of Peking (1900)|invaded Beijing]] to put down the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. His early position was that the Qing Empire was making a mistake by supporting the Boxers against the foreign powers. During the [[Siege of the International Legations]], [[Sheng Xuanhuai]] and other provincial officials suggested that the Qing imperial court give Li full diplomatic power to negotiate with foreign powers. Li telegraphed back to Sheng Xuanhuai on June 25, describing the declaration of war a "false edict". This tactic gave the "[[Southeast Mutual Protection]]"<ref name="Luo2015">{{cite book|author=Zhitian Luo|title=Inheritance within Rupture: Culture and Scholarship in Early Twentieth Century China|date=30 January 2015|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-28766-2|page=19}}</ref> provincial officials a justification not to follow [[Empress Dowager Cixi]]'s declaration of war.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0804751285|last=Zhou|first=Yongming|title=Historicizing Online Politics: Telegraphy, the Internet, and Political Participation in China|url=https://archive.org/details/historicizingonl00zhou|url-access=limited|location=Stanford|date=June 2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicizingonl00zhou/page/n89 75]}}</ref> Li refused to accept orders from the government for more troops when they were needed to fight against the foreigners, which he had available.<ref>{{cite book|title=The dragon empress: life and times of Tz'u-hsi, 1835-1908, Empress dowager of China|author=Marina Warner|year=1974|edition=illustrated, reprint|publisher=Cardinal|page=138|isbn=0-351-18657-3}}</ref> Li controlled the Chinese telegraph service, whose despatches asserted falsely that Chinese forces had exterminated all foreigners in the siege and convinced many foreign readers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Warriors of the rising sun: a history of the Japanese military|author=Robert B. Edgerton|year=1997|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/warriorsofrising00edge/page/86 86]|isbn=0-393-04085-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/warriorsofrising00edge/page/86}}</ref>

In 1901, Li was the principal Chinese negotiator with the foreign powers which captured Beijing. On September 7, 1901, he signed the [[Boxer Protocol]] ending the Boxer Rebellion, and obtained the departure of the Eight-Nation Alliance at the price of huge indemnities for the Chinese. Exhausted from the negotiations, he died from liver inflammation two months later at Xianliang Temple in Beijing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fenby|first=Jonathan|title=The Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850–2009|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2009|pages=89–90}}</ref> The [[Guangxu Emperor]] posthumously honoured Li as [[Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty#Notable titles|Marquis Suyi of the First Class]] ({{lang|zh-hant|一等肅毅候}}). This peerage was inherited by Li Guojie, who was assassinated in [[Shanghai]] on February 21, 1939, allegedly as a result of his support for the [[Reformed Government of the Republic of China|Nanking Reformed Government]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Another Political Murder in Shanghai|work=Dundee Evening Telegraph|date=21 February 1939|access-date=20 November 2014|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19390221/078/0006| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref>