Text/Feng Xuanyi
Sun Baoqi was a famous late Qing dynasty minister and a famous diplomat, who served as a minister in France and concurrently as a minister to Spain and an inspector of Shandong. He was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, to a family of eunuchs. After entering the official field, he went smoothly and promoted all the way, and was a political star in the late Qing Dynasty. Before the fall of the Qing Dynasty, he served as the governor of Shandong. If the Qing Dynasty did not die, presumably his official position would be higher. When he arrived in the Republic of China, he served as the fourth acting prime minister and foreign minister of the Beiyang government, which can be described as very prominent. He is very successful in the official arena, so how did he get started? Many people despise Sun Baoqi, saying that he has won the political position by in-law. This is not entirely the case.
1. Escorting the Han youth of Empress Dowager Cixi
Sun Baoqi has a very prominent origin. His father was a teacher of the Guangxu Emperor, a cabinet scholar and a household attendant, and his father-in-law was the inspector of Shandong. It can be seen from this that Sun Baoqi's origin is so good that he was born with a golden key. Because of the shadow of his family and his own efforts, after he became an adult, Sun Baoqi was awarded the positions of chief of the Punishment Department and directly subordinate to the alternate Dao, and presided over the opening of the Tongyuan Bureau, the Beiyang Yucai Hall, and the Kaiping Wubei Academy. When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing in 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled in a hurry, and Sun Baoqi was one of the few escorts. This gave Sun Baoqi a great opportunity. During the escape, Sun Baoqi showed unusually good care for Cixi and the emperor, and when the roads were muddy, Sun Baoqi often pushed Cixi's carriage behind him. After this difficult escape, Empress Dowager Cixi left a deep impression on the Han boy.
When Cixi and the emperor arrived in Xi'an, they reused Sun Baoqi, and initially asked him to assist Prince Yili of Qing in handling the telegraph office of the Military Aircraft Department, mainly translating various foreign telegrams sent from Beijing. At that time, Li Hongzhang and the commander of the Eight-Power Coalition Army, Wadsi, were in Beijing for negotiations, and there were many cables of various kinds. Sun Baoqi has been learning English and French since childhood, and is also familiar with code, which comes in handy at this time. During this time, Sun Baoqi handled the telegram properly, which made Cixi very happy. Upon returning to Beijing, Cixi immediately appointed Sun Baoqi as minister to France and later to Spain. Since then, Sun Baoqi has embarked on the broad road of life.
Second, Prince Yi of Qing came to the door to propose to him, which surprised the Sun family
For a long time, the Qing Dynasty implemented the Manchu and Han policy of prohibiting intermarriage. However, as the situation became increasingly unstable, on February 1, 1902, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict allowing Manchu-Han marriages. Finally broke the centuries-old ban. Soon after the promulgation of this holy decree, the Sun family ushered in a marriage, and Prince Yili of Qing took the initiative to find Sun Baoqi and expressed his willingness to marry his relatives, and he wanted his fifth son to marry Sun Baoqi's second daughter, and specially came to discuss with Sun Baoqi. When Sun Baoqi heard this, he was horrified. Because, Prince Yili of Qing was a royal family, and at that time, he was powerful and powerful, and he was the object of many people's favor. Although Sun Baoqi was appreciated by Cixi, he was only a Han minister. This is a marriage that is not right, and Sun Baoqi is naturally surprised. He thought about it for a moment, but he still didn't want to climb this tall branch, so he said, "You are a relative of the emperor and the state, and our small family really can't afford a dowry!" "
Yi Yi listened, smiled and said, "Don't worry! The dowry doesn't cost you a penny. As long as you agree, I will send someone to deliver something to your house when the time comes, and the new daughter-in-law will bring it over when she passes through the door. "
When all was said and done, Sun Baoqi could not refuse, but had to agree.
When they got married, Yi Li did send someone to send all the dowry to sun mansion, and then miss Sun Er brought it to Yi Li's family, and the Sun family did not pay a penny, and the face was earned.
Third, a web of in-laws like a spider's web
Because of this relationship between the Sun family and Yi Li, the Sun family immediately entered the core layer of power in the Great Qing. Many people who had hoped to have no way out before should take the line of the Sun family. Sun Baoqi also went further and further on the road of in-law politics, and finally compiled a spider's web-like in-law political network.
The third daughter of the Sun family married the grandson of wang Wenshao, a university scholar;
The third son of the Sun family took the daughter of Feng Guozhang, a famous warlord of Beiyang. As we all know, Feng Guozhang later became the president of the Republic of China.
Sun Baoqi, Yuan Shikai, and Sheng Xuanhuai are all double-owned relatives, and each has two pairs of children married.
Sun Baoqi can really give birth, he has 24 children, it is really "talented"! Through a series of marriage relationships, Sun Baoqi and the most influential courtiers in the imperial court at that time almost all formed a relationship, weaving an unbreakable web. In this net, everyone takes what they need, uses each other, and forms a relationship of interest between you and me and you.
Sun Baoqi's in-law politics was unmatched and unmatched in the late Qing Dynasty. The Sun family gained great benefits from this. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai became a big winner. When the Qing Emperor abdicated, he transformed himself into the president of the Republic of China. Sun Baoqi served as chief of foreign affairs. In 1927, Sun Baoqi retired from politics and settled in Shanghai in 1928. On February 3, 1931, Sun Baoqi suffered a stomach attack, and the treatment was ineffective, and he died in Shanghai at the age of 65.