The country is weak and is often bullied by the powerful, and this truth is not outdated today, and the most direct feeling about this is naturally those diplomats. The Syrian ambassador's loneliness in the United Nations General Assembly a few years ago has amply demonstrated this.
From the late Qing Dynasty onwards, Chinese diplomats were not well-behaved. In foreign countries, you have to endure the strange eyes of foreigners, and if you are not good at home, you will be scolded as a traitor, and the first generation of Qing Dynasty diplomat Guo Chongtao tasted this taste, and one of the founders of the Xiang Army was scolded by the whole country, not even a nickname.
Later Zeng Jize and others were slightly better, but in the face of aggression by the great powers, they constantly signed treaties that humiliated the country or ceded territory, no matter how resentful they were, they had no choice, and sometimes the corrupt imperial court would force them to sign quickly, so as not to anger the "friendly countries".
In the Republic of China, the diplomatic department was finally fully integrated with the great powers, and some people naively thought that we had overthrown the imperial system and stepped into the threshold of a civilized country, and our status should be better. But in fact, there were still a large number of kings and emperors in Europe at that time, who cares whether you Chinese have braids, wear robes or coats, and bully you.
After the abdication of the Qing Emperor and the establishment of the Republic of China, a large number of Western-style educated intellectuals were employed, and as a Chinese diplomat, Lu Zhengxiang was one of the representative figures. A native of Shanghai, born in 1871 to a missionary father, he grew up learning Western-style cultures such as Christianity.
After graduating from the government-run Tongwenguan and other schools, Lu Zhengxiang worked as a Russian translator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Xu Jingcheng, the minister of Chincha, felt that Lu Zhengxiang was a good seedling and intended to train him to become a diplomat. Lu Zhengxiang also lived up to his expectations, and with excellent performance, he became a minister in Russia at a young age.
At this time, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and Lu Zhengxiang was unexpectedly appointed as the chief of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China. Because he did not have any official background and political faction, and his work ability and other aspects were excellent, he was favored by Tang Shaoyi, the premier of Beiyang.
Under the management of Lu Zhengxiang, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs became the most efficient and new department in the Republic of China government, which was completely different from the Yamen style of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the success of the reorganization and reconstruction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the government, opposition, and public opinion praise him, and even made him the prime minister of the cabinet.
However, in the era of the Beiyang government, which was full of factions and the power struggle was fierce, a purely professional official like Lu Zhengxiang could not eat it. Not only did the prime minister not do it long, but he also had to sign an unequal treaty on behalf of the Beiyang government, leaving an undeserved insult.
In 1915, Yuan Shikai reappointed Lu Zhengxiang as the chief of foreign affairs, signing the Twenty-One Articles with Japan on his behalf. Yuan Shikai was anxious to claim the title of emperor at that time and needed the support of the Japanese, and the Japanese seized on his mentality, and the lion opened his mouth widely, wanting to seize a large amount of Chinese sovereignty.
Lu Zhengxiang knew that this was a traitorous treaty, but at the urging of Yuan Shikai, he could only sign it hard. After the "Twenty-One Articles" were poked out by people of insight, it caused a nationwide scolding, and Lu Zhengxiang believed that only when China joined the Allies and declared war on Germany, it would be possible to return the rights and interests it had sold.
After that, Lu Zhengxiang resigned his post and insisted on making a comeback until China declared war on Germany. The Japanese took advantage of the European war to seize Qingdao by force, and China could only hope to regain sovereignty over Qingdao as a victorious power after the war.
During World War I, China sent more than 100,000 Chinese workers to Europe to engage in dangerous front-line soil work and arms production for the Allies, and made its own contribution to the victory of the war. However, at the Paris Peace Conference after the war, China's status as a victorious power was not respected by the great powers.
Lu Zhengxiang attended the Paris Peace Conference as the head of the Chinese delegation, and diplomatic envoys from various countries appreciated the professionalism and courtesy of the Chinese delegation, but this could not change
Weak countries have no diplomacy
facts. At the peace conference, qingdao's sovereignty was transferred to Japan by the great powers, completely ignoring China's just claims, and in their eyes, Qingdao was only a spoil of war and had nothing to do with China.
Lu Zhengxiang and other Chinese diplomats did their best to salvage this unfavorable situation, but it was still impossible to reverse the contempt of the great powers for China. In the end, Lu Zhengxiang was indignant and refused to sign the agreement, not recognizing Japan's seizure of sovereignty over Qingdao.
This imperialist congress of spoils finally made the Chinese people see their faces clearly, and from the beginning of the May Fourth Movement, the Chinese revolution unfolded vigorously. Thirty years from now, China will appear on the international stage with a new look, shocking the world.
A few years after the Paris Peace Conference, Lu Zhengxiang resigned all his duties to go to Belgium to complete his wife's last wishes and become a monk. What prompted him to give up his earthly life, in addition to the death of his beloved wife, was mainly the difficulty of the Republic of China's diplomacy and the fragmentation of China's sovereignty, which made him feel physically and mentally exhausted.
By January 1949, he had become seriously ill. Bishop Nanwen, the abbot of the monastery, visited him and said to him, "China has taken half of your heart." Unable to speak, he held out three fingers. Nanwen understood and said, "China has taken three-quarters of your heart." He smiled wearily.
Even after escaping to church, Lu Zhengxiang still had his heart set on the motherland and called on the Belgian people to help China fight during World War II. Fortunately, he saw China drive out the Japanese invaders and reclaim all national sovereignty.
In 1949, Lu Zhengxiang died of illness in Belgium, and before he died, he wrote a letter hoping that the chinese people would forgive him for signing the Twenty-One Articles, and the Chinese people at that time did not know the origin of the matter, scolded him as a traitor, and scolded him for half a life, but this was not his fault, it was a crime committed by Yuan Shikai, and it had nothing to do with Lu Zhengxiang. For China, Lu Zhengxiang is meritorious.