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Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823 – November
7, 1901) was a China|Chinese general who ended
several major rebellions, and a leading statesman
of the late Qing Empire.

==Life==

Li Hongzhang was born Li Tongzhang
(李銅章) in the village of
Qunzhi (群治村) in Modian
township (磨店乡), 14 kilometers
(9 miles) northeast of downtown Hefei, Anhui. From
very early in life he showed remarkable ability,
and he became a shengyuan when at a young age. In
1847 he obtained the title of jinshi, and two
years later gained admittance into the Imperial
Hanlin College (翰林院). Shortly after this the
central provinces of the empire were invaded by
the Taiping Rebellion|Taiping rebels, and in
defence of his native district he raised a
regiment of militia. His service to the imperial
cause attracted the attention of Zeng Guofan, the
generalissimo in command.

In 1859 Li Hongzhang was transferred to the
province of Fujian, where he was given the rank of
taotai, or intendant of circuit (political
division)|circuit. But at Zeng's request Li was
recalled to take part against the rebels. He found
his cause supported by the "Ever Victorious Army,"
which, having been raised by an American named
Frederick Townsend Ward, was placed under the
command of Charles George Gordon. With this
support Li gained numerous victories leading to
the surrender of Suzhou and the capture of
Nanjing. For these exploits he was made governor
of Jiangsu, was decorated with a imperial yellow
jacket, and was enfeoffed as an earl.

An incident connected with the surrender of
Suzhou, however, soured Li's relationship with
Gordon. By an arrangement with Gordon, the rebel
princes yielded Nanjing on condition that their
lives should be spared. In spite of the agreement,
Li ordered their instant execution. This breach of
faith so infuriated Gordon's that he seized a
rifle, intending to shoot the falsifier of his
word, and would have done so had Li not fled. On
the suppression of the rebellion (1864) Li took up
his duties as governor, but was not long allowed
to remain in civil life. On the outbreak of the
Nian Rebellion in Henan and Shandong (1866), he
was ordered again to take to the field, and after
some misadventures he succeeded in suppressing the
movement. A year later he was appointed viceroy of
Huguang, where he remained until 1870, when the
Tianjin massacre necessitated his transfer to the
scene of the outrage. He was, as a natural
consequence, appointed to the Viceroy of
Zhili|viceroyalty of the metropolitan province of
Zhili, and justified his appointment by the energy
with which he suppressed all attempts to keep
alive the anti-foreign sentiment among the people.
For his services he was made imperial tutor and
member of the grand council of the empire, and was
decorated with many-eyed peacocks' feathers.



To his duties as viceroy were added those of the
superintendent of trade, and from that time until
his death, with a few intervals of retirement, he
practically conducted the foreign policy of China.
He concluded the Chifu convention with Sir Thomas
Wade (1876), and thus ended the difficulty caused
by the murder of Mr Margary in Yunnan; he arranged
treaties with Peru and Japan, and he actively
directed the Chinese policy in Korea. On the death
of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1875 he, by suddenly
introducing, a large armed force into the capital,
effected a coup d'etat by which the Guangxu
Emperor was put on the throne under the tutelage,
of the two dowager empresses; and in 1886, on the
conclusion of the Franco-Chinese War, he arranged
a treaty with France. Li was always strongly
impressed with the necessity of strengthening the
empire, and when 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 and in increasing the
navy. For years he had watched the successful
reforms effected in Japan and had a well-founded
dread of coming into conflict with that empire.

Because of his prominent role in Chinese diplomacy
in Korea and of his strong political connections
in Manchuria, Li Hongzhang found himself leading
Chinese forces during the disastrous Sino-Japanese
War (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
rivals and political enemies did not come to their
aid. The fact that some of his men were extremely
corrupt further disadvantaged China from the
beginning of the war. For instance, one official
used ammunition funds for personal use. As a
result, shells ran out for the some of the
battleships during battle such that one navy
commander, Deng Shichang, resorted to ramming the
enemies' ship. The defeat of his relatively
modernized troops and a small naval force at the
hands of the Japanese greatly undermined his
political standing, as well as the wider cause of
the Self-Strengthening Movement.

In 1896 he toured Europe and the United States of
America, 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).

Li Hongzhang played a major role in ending the
Boxer Rebellion. In 1901 he was the principal
Chinese negotiator with the foreign powers who had
captured Beijing, and on September 7, 1901 he
signed the treaty ending the Boxer crisis,
obtaining the departure of the foreign armies at
the price of huge indemnities for China.
Exhausted, he died two months later in Beijing.

==Opinions and legacy==

Li Hongzhang has been generally a target of
criticism by the CPC government and was portrayed
in many ways as a traitor to the Chinese people,
an infamous name that lives in history. Such a
message is echoed through textbooks and other
forms of propoganda. The CCTV production Towards
the Republic was the first public portrayal of Li
Hongzhang in Mainland China that enforced a heroic
image upon him. The series was later banned. Many
historians and scholars consider Li an adept
politician and diplomat that prolonged peace in
the later Qing Dynasty era of Chinese history.

start box
succession box|title=Acting Viceroy of
Liangjiang|before=Zeng Guofan|after=Zeng
GuoFan|years=1865–1866
succession box|title=Viceroy of
Huguang|before=Guan Wen|after=Li
Hanzhang|years=1867–1870

succession box | before = Zeng Guofan | title =
Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang
(1st time)| years = 1871—1895 | after
= Wang Wenzhao
succession box|title= Viceroy of
Liangguang|before=Tan Zhonglin|after=Tao
Mo|years=1899─1900
succession box | before = Yu Lu | title = Viceroy
of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang (2nd
time)| years = 1900—1901 | after = Yuan Shikai
end box

== See also ==

*Self-Strengthening Movement
*Military history of China
*Beiyang Army

lived|b=1823|d=1901|key=Li Hongzhang