Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, the two masters and apprentices, dominated most of the government affairs of the late Qing Dynasty, but although the two were masters and apprentices, their personalities were extremely different!
The status of the two in the late Qing Dynasty can be described as the top pillar, and their descendants are also very powerful, and some of them have become famous diplomats.
Zeng Jize's father was Zeng Guofan, he was the second eldest in the family, because the eldest brother died early, so after the death of his father Zeng Guofan, the marquis of Yiyong of the first class was inherited by him.
As we all know, Zeng Guofan is a representative of Confucianism, so Zeng Jize received a strict education from an early age. Later, his father Zeng Guofan presided over the foreign affairs movement, Zeng Jize was first exposed to English, and Western culture had a deep influence on Zeng Jize, which also indicated that he would engage in diplomatic activities and deal with foreigners in the future.
After Zeng Guofan's death, Empress Dowager Cixi summoned Zeng Jize, and Empress Dowager Cixi learned about Zeng Jize's foreign language proficiency and views on the foreign affairs movement through some questions. Zeng Jize said: "The difficulty of the foreign affairs movement lies in the fact that foreigners are unreasonable and unreasonable, Chinese cannot see through the truth, and the people of the Chinese hate foreigners, but patriotism does not lie in how many foreigners have been killed and how many churches have been burned, but in how they have slowly become stronger in order to avoid being bullied by foreigners."
Empress Dowager Cixi was convinced and nodded her head repeatedly: "Yes, we don't share the heavens with the foreigners, but we must slowly make ourselves stronger, and it is definitely not something that can be solved by killing a foreigner and burning a foreign nest."
The following year, Empress Dowager Cixi sent Zeng Jize to visit England and France on behalf of the Qing Dynasty. In 1880, Zeng Jize came to Russia to negotiate tit-for-tat with Tsarist Russia on issues such as Ili in Xinjiang.
Earlier, Chincha Chonghou was at a weak position in negotiations with Tsarist Russia, and was threatened by Tsarist Russia to sign the EighteenTh Article of the Treaty of Livadia. Although the treaty ostensibly led to the Qing Dynasty's recovery of Xinjiang's Ili, it concealed a hegemonic clause, and the vast territory west of the Theks River in southern Ili and the vast territory west of the Horgos River in western Ili belonged to Tsarist Russia.
This treaty endangered national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and actually divided the western territory of the Qing Dynasty. Zuo Zongtang once angrily left a sentence: "I have only a desolate suburb left in Ili, and between one or two hundred miles in the northern realm are All Russian subordinates, desperate for thousands of miles, why should I survive?" ”
How easy is it to revise an already signed treaty, like meat to the mouth who is willing to spit it out? This must have been a difficult negotiation, the negotiation process was extremely difficult, Zeng Jize was sharply tongue-tied, Zuo Zongtang cooperated militarily, and finally successfully revised some of the terms to recover some of China's rights and interests in the nine cities of Ili and Turks.
Zuo Zongtang commented on Zeng Jize: "Jie Gang's trip was of great benefit to the situation, and he was devoted to China and foreign countries, and he was not very good at meeting people. Zuo Zongtang has always been qinggao, and for Zeng Jize, it is not easy to get his evaluation of "poor people".
Let's look at Li Hongzhang's son, Li Jingfang's adopted son, Li Hongzhang's adoptive father, Li Hongzhang, began to learn English when he was in power, and at the age of 27, Li Jingfang came to Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Trade Gate to handle official affairs with Li Hongzhang.
In 1895, he followed Li Hongzhang on an envoy to Japan and became a witness to the negotiations on the Treaty of Maguan. The following year, Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang visited 8 European and American countries in a row, and in 1907, he became the leader of the team to represent the Qing Dynasty on an envoy to Britain.
Li Jingfang's diplomatic career lasted more than twenty years, and he participated in many important diplomatic negotiations in the late Qing Dynasty, and Zeng Jize was inferior to him in terms of time and diplomatic experience. But Li Jingfang has a beautiful resume, but there are no major achievements, I think the main reason is that Li Hongzhang is too famous, so that people around him do not have the opportunity to show their fists and feet, most of the time live in the shade of Li Hongzhang.
It is reported that before the signing of the "Maguan Treaty" that year, Li Hongzhang was assassinated by the Japanese, and the imperial court subsequently appointed Li Jingfang to preside over the work with full authority and continue negotiations; in the face of the bullying and intimidation of the Japanese, Li Jingfang did not humble himself and took a tough stand, but Li Hongzhang did not approve of Li Jingfang's approach, and as a result, everyone knows that Li Hongzhang signed the "Maguan Treaty" on behalf of the Qing Dynasty, which humiliated the country.
In general, Li Jingfang has been engaged in diplomatic work for many years and has experience, and Li Hongzhang's son is stronger than Zeng Guofan's son in work experience. However, when it comes to diplomatic achievements, Li Jingfang is mediocre and mediocre, and his contribution is not as great as Zeng Jize's, and zeng guofan's sons are stronger than Li Hongzhang's sons in diplomatic achievements.
Some of the contents are borrowed: "Zeng Huimin's Public Testament", "Li Jingfang's Diplomatic Career", if there is infringement, please contact to delete.