Zeng Jize
Zeng Jize's father, Zeng Guofan, was awarded the title of Marquis of Yiyong of the First Rank by the Qing court for his merits in pacifying the Taiping Army, which also provided Zeng Jize with the opportunity to enter the Qing bureaucracy as a "yinsheng". Because he did not have to rely on the "imperial examination" to enter the official field, Zeng Jize had a lot of leisure time to contact the knowledge of Western learning. Reading the newspaper also naturally entered Zeng Jize's study life, which became an indispensable part of his diplomatic career.
In the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), his father Zeng Guofan died of illness, and Zeng Jize left Beijing to return to his hometown to guard the funeral. During Ding's period, Zeng Jize had already begun to read newspapers and periodicals to gain knowledge of Western learning. This rural affair was reported by the "Declaration" in Shanghai. Although the "Declaration" is to publicize the behavior of the intellectual class to read newspapers in order to expand the sales of newspapers, this also invisibly reflects Zeng Jize's desire for Western studies. During Ding's worries, Zeng Jize recorded newspaper reading activities in his diary many times.
The Declaration of the Tongzhi Period
Later, Guo Songtao's struggle with Liu Xihong caused the Qing court to recall both of them at the same time, and decided to send Zeng Jize and Li Fengbao to replace them. As a result, Zeng Jize was summoned to Beijing by the Qing court and prepared to go to England to serve. When Zeng Jize was in Beijing, Cixi had summoned them twice, and Zeng Jize also recorded these two meetings in his diary. When he summoned Zeng Jize for the second time, Cixi asked him if he knew about The latest situation of Wittoma (a British diplomat who had been a British minister in China), and Zeng Jize replied: "When I saw the newsprint in the summer, I said that Wittoma would leave after autumn, and I was unheard of afterwards. It can be seen that at this time, Zeng Jize already knew how to obtain diplomatic intelligence through the press.
Before going abroad, Zeng Jize lived in TaijiChang, which is close to the embassy district of Dongjiaomin Lane, which gave him many opportunities to contact Western intellectuals in China, one of whom was Ding Yunliang.
Ding Yunliang
Ding Yunliang, missionary of the Presbyterian Church of American Christianity, ziguan xi. He was familiar with Chinese and Chinese dialects, served as the chief instructor of the Beijing Tongwenguan, and also founded the journal "Chinese and Western Hearing and Seeing" that introduced Western artifacts, politics, and economics. On December 11 of the third year of Guangxu (January 13, 1878), Zeng Jize went to visit Ding Yunliang, and later obtained the "Records of Chinese and Western Hearings" from Ding Yunliang. Zeng Jize was so treasured that he even read the "Records of Chinese and Western Hearings" on the ship to Europe.
In an era when he did not receive professional training, Zeng Jize acquired Western knowledge by reading newspapers and periodicals, and thus gained the basis for carrying out foreign affairs. So how did Zeng Jize become a good professional diplomat with the help of newspapers and periodicals? This has to do with his understanding of the diplomatic role played by the press.
Cover of "Chinese and Western Smells and Insights"
After Zeng Jize went abroad, he experienced a serious diplomatic public opinion. After Zuo Zongtang used military force to recover Xinjiang, the Qing court sent Chonghou, who was "proficient in foreign affairs", to St. Petersburg in 1878 to sign a treaty with Russia. At that time, the Chinese people hoped that Chonghou could rely on the victory in Xinjiang to maintain the territory of western China. However, under the coercion and inducement of the Russians, Chonghou signed the Treaty of Livadia, which was extremely humiliating and humiliating. After signing the treaty, He was still complacent about taking back the city of Ili, and when he passed through Germany, he ordered Li Fengbao, the minister in Germany, to kneel in public to greet him.
Germany in the 19th century
The incident caused an uproar in European public opinion, with European newspapers slamming Chinese officials for disrespecting envoys. Zeng Jize saw this in the newspapers. At this time, it coincided with Li Fengbao's visit to England to inspect apprentices and buy guns, so Zeng Jize went to the station to meet Li Fengbao in his imperial clothes.
Li Fengbao had told Zeng Jize that there was no need to greet him, but Zeng Jize insisted on greeting him, hoping that through his own actions, he would solemnly tell the Europeans that Qing court officials did not understand diplomatic norms, not only knew only the backward countries that were inferior and orderly, but also told Europeans that Li Fengze was an envoy of the Qing court and should be treated with courtesy by his envoys. This is Zeng Jize's response to the public opinion of European newspapers.
European newspapers also published articles ridiculing Li Fengbao's purchase of ship cannons, which was a gesture by the Qing court to put up a façade in disregard of domestic emptiness. Zeng Jize, who was well versed in the public opinion of European newspapers and periodicals, immediately sent a letter to the European newspaper to "discern the theory that Li Gong personally purchased ships and cannons." Why does Zeng Jize attach so much importance to newspapers? Because in zeng Jize's journey to become a professional diplomat, the press played an extremely important role.
After arriving in London, England, Zeng Jize read the domestic newspapers sent by the Shanghai Bureau of Literature and Periodicals to understand domestic affairs. In his diary, he mentioned reading newspapers and periodicals such as the "Declaration", "Bulletin of the Nations", and "Sino-foreign New Daily". He also asked his translators to help him translate Western newspapers and periodicals, and then check the translations himself, and often read them for a long time. Zeng Jize knew the value of the information that the press could provide, and since he could learn Western knowledge and doctrine from reading the press, he could also obtain information on Western activities from the press. In the European press in the mid-to-late 19th century, the pursuit of information, especially the pursuit of government insiders, has become the primary source of news choice for newspaper editors, who are not worried about which government secrets will be exposed by this information, but are more willing to ferment these secrets in order to win the attention of the public and increase their commercial income. And this also helped Zeng Jize to obtain as much intelligence information as possible from Western newspapers.
For example, when discussing his own message of envoying Russia with the Japanese minister to britain, Mori Youli, Zeng Jize said to Mori Youli: "The new newspaper has a saying: Russia, the private contract with Huawei is difficult. Zeng Jize's move was to persuade Sen Youli not to try to inquire about some details of Zeng Jize's mission to Russia.
Sen is courteous
For example, during the Sino-French war around Vietnam, Zeng Jize was a comprehensive European newspaper report, knowing that the French government was no longer able to continue the "Sino-French war", so he asked the Qing court to insist on being tough on France in order to protect the rights and interests of the Qing court in Vietnam. Zeng Jize's letter to the Qing court was even reported by the "Declaration". But the "Declaration" also knows that Zeng Jize has no way of changing the decision of the Qing court. At this time, Li Hongzhang had already made the decision to compromise and make concessions, not only giving up the qing court's rights in Vietnam and ceding it to the French, but also following the advice of the French to remove Zeng Jize from the post of minister in France at that time.
The Sino-French War in film and television dramas
In that era when there were no teaching materials, no examples, and no professional training, Zeng Jize, through reading newspapers and periodicals, learned from the West, understood the world, and also understood the intelligence of the countries to which diplomacy was targeted, understood the domestic situation, got rid of the image of the suzerainty of qing court diplomats who "preached and educated", and gradually grew into a professional diplomat who relied on diplomatic ability and strategy, based on the international diplomatic system, and adapted to the international dialogue framework of the "Law of the Nations of All Nations". Sadly, the Qing court was weak, and Zeng Jize was still unable to exert his abilities. In the spring of 1890, Zeng Jize died with regret.
Diplomats of the late Qing Dynasty, represented by Zeng Jize, grew into a generation of diplomats by actively reading newspapers and periodicals, actively contacting the media, and taking the initiative to seek intelligence in the deteriorating diplomatic environment and without the professional practice of diplomacy. In that era of traitorous country and glory, what Zeng Jize did was not to go with the flow, not to show the ridiculous "temperament of the Heavenly Dynasty", but to defend the dignity of the country and the nation abroad with great sound.
Declaration, Shanghai: Declaration Hall.
Zeng Jize, Yu Yueheng School, Zeng Jize Collection, Yuelu Book Club, 2008.
Zeng Jize, compiled by Liu Zhihui, "Zeng Jize's Diary" (volume 2), Zhonghua Bookstore, 2013.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Chino Kagapu Dadao)
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