Since the Opium War in 1840, China has gradually degenerated into a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society.
The signing of the 1900 Treaty of Xinugu marked China's complete degeneration into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. And Empress Dowager Cixi's sentence "Measure the material strength of China and tie the joy of the country" made the Qing government a court of foreigners.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Li Hongzhang, as a signatory of the "Xinugu Treaty", bears a large part of the responsibility, and among his stepsons, there are also people who oppose Li Hongzhang's traitor to the country and seek glory, and this stepson is Li Jingfang.
Li
Li Jingfang was born in June 1855. Originally, he was the son of Li Zhaoqing, the sixth brother of Li Hongzhang. Later, he succeeded to Li Hongzhang's family as the eldest son. Li Jingfang has been clever and witty since childhood. After being sent to a private school, Li Hongzhang had high hopes, and even asked an English teacher to teach him English. At the age of 27, he took the examination and was raised.
Ranked 38th in Jiangsu Province. Subsequently, he served as the counselor of the U.S. Secretary of State and was promoted to the rank of Erpin. He then became Minister of Japan. After the defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the Sino-Japanese War in 1894. Li Hongzhang was sent to Japan for negotiations. During the signing of the Treaty of Maguan, Li Hongzhang was assassinated in Japan.
During Li Hongzhang's healing, Li Jingfang, then a Japanese minister, signed the Treaty of Maguan in place of Li Hongzhang. Subsequently, he was appointed as the special minister for the cession of Taiwan, responsible for the cession of Taiwan. After the handover with Japan was completed, Li Jingfang has been living in Shanghai. Unwilling to return to Beijing to resume his life.
Li Jingfang
Later, in order to counter Japan, Li Hongzhang began to visit European countries while looking for potential allies. At this time, Because Li Jingfang had been engaged in foreign affairs for a long time and was proficient in many Chinese, he was selected by Li Hongzhang as an attaché to visit European countries together.
Upon arriving in Tsarist Russia, the Tsar made an exception and secretly met with Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang, and the two sides held talks on various matters, and finally signed the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Mutual Assistance to the Enemy." Subsequently, Li Hongzhang and Li Jingfang set off for Germany to meet the German emperor and present the letter of state. Subsequently, he traveled to the Netherlands, Belgium, France and other places to visit and travel.
He then traveled to England again to meet the Queen to discuss tariff increases at the customs gates of China and the United Kingdom. Finally, he traveled to the United States to meet with U.S. President Cleveland. He then returned to Tianjin by ship. Behind this seemingly glamorous diplomatic achievement was soon punctured by the Boxer Rebellion.
After the signing of the Treaty of Maguan, the Qing government was no longer able to pay reparations. We had no choice but to continue to squeeze the people, who were already miserable. Empress Dowager Cixi, who presided over the government, also held a grudge against her because of the interference of foreigners in the government. At this time, the Boxer Rebellion began to rise in Shandong and other places.
Subsequently, the Boxers gradually spread throughout the country. Beijing also had a certain number of Boxers. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi decided to rebel because of her perennial hatred for foreigners. In addition, some conservative ministers told Empress Dowager Cixi that "the Boxers will not enter with swords and guns." There was a scene of the Qing Dynasty declaring war on all the world powers.
However, in the ensuing battle in the eastern suburbs of Minxiang, the Boxers were hit in the head and bleeding in front of the machine gun positions. The Qing army and the Boxers could not take down a guard of only a few hundred men. In the end, the coalition forces went all the way down from Dagukou and from Tianjin to Beijing. Cixi then ran away again.
Li Hongzhang and Prince Gong yili were left in Beijing to discuss negotiations with foreigners. And after facing the unreasonable demands of the eight ministers and the bankruptcy of the plan to revive the Qing government in the early years by hoping for the foreign affairs movement, Li Hongzhang had no better way to save this precarious and decadent dynasty.
At this time, Li Jingfang stood up and opposed the various traitorous clauses in the Xinugu Treaty. Subsequently, he proposed to Li Hongzhang to refuse to sign the "Xinugu Treaty", but in front of the foreigners' big ships and cannons, Li Hongzhang understood that these were all fools' dreams. In the end, he signed the Treaty of Xinugou.
With the signing of the Xinugu Treaty, Li Hongzhang also died of depression a year later. Li Jingfang escorted Li Hongzhang's coffin back to his ancestral home. He also went to Shanghai with Sheng Xuanhuai to participate in the negotiation of a treaty of commerce with Britain. Later, he was responsible for the preparation of the Shanghai-Nanjing railway section in China.
And in order to restore China's national sovereignty, after many negotiations, the General Post Office, which had long been controlled by foreigners, was transferred from the Tax Department to the Mail Department. He subsequently served as the first director of the General Post Office of China. However, due to the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Li Jingfang was finally forced to resign and return home.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Li Jingfang and his brother Li Jingmai began to gradually sort out Li Hongzhang's previous deeds and edit them. I hope to leave a proof for Li Hongzhang in the world.
But in 1917, the two brothers, Li Jingfang and Li Jingmai, vigorously advocated Zhang Xun's restoration. As a result, the restoration failed unsurprisingly, the concept of democracy and republicanism had already penetrated deeply into the hearts of the people, and history could never turn back.
Li Jingfang then went to Dalian, because the failure of the restoration and the impact of democratic ideas on him were too great, and then he closed his door all day, made a will in 1933 to explain some matters after his death, and finally died of illness in 1934 shortly after his eightieth birthday.
Throughout Li Jingfang's life, he was influenced by Li Hongzhang in his early years and became a member of the Western affairs faction among Qing officials who learned from the West. However, because he accompanied Li Hongzhang for a long time, he made less political achievements. But he still tried to maintain the face of the Qing Dynasty in the world.
Until the eve of the Xinugu Treaty, he desperately hoped that the Qing Dynasty would maintain decent national dignity. But the reality is very harsh, and he seems to accept this reality. Since then, since the Republic of China period, he has faded out of politics and concentrated on writing a biography of Li Hongzhang, trying his best to make him still decent after his death.
Even though he supported the restoration of the feudal dynasty in the later Restoration of Zhang Xun, he knew in his heart that this was already an outdated product. So it's just lip service, and it's not supported by actual actions. In the face of the absolutely strong, the weak have no right to talk about conditions. China has had enough of this in modern times.
Therefore, in the new period, we must cherish this hard-won peaceful life, and use our own skills to build an increasingly powerful motherland, so that our children and grandchildren can have a more comfortable living environment, so that we can Chinese raise our heads in the world instead of letting foreigners think that we are all the widows of the Qing Dynasty and the sick man of East Asia.