The Opium War was an important turning point in China's historical development, the world capitalist powers opened the door of China by force, and since then independent feudal China has gradually become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and the Chinese people have suffered unprecedented suffering and humiliation.
Suffering often breeds great works. The Opium War brought up a number of advanced figures in China who opened their eyes to the world, and China in that period produced two epoch-making geographical works, one was Wei Yuan's "Chart of the Sea Country" and the other was Xu Jishe's "Yinghuan Zhiluo".
Liang Qichao once spoke highly of these two books, saying: "The Chinese scholars and masters have a slight knowledge of world geography, and it has really begun from this point. ”
The name Xu Jishe is now very unfamiliar to people.
In a speech delivered by Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on June 29, 1998 at Peking University, there was this passage: "Looking out the window from the White House where I live in Washington, D.C., the monument to our first president, George Washington, rises into the sky. This is a very high obelisk, but there is a small stone stele next to this large stele, which is engraved: Millikin does not have the title of a prince, does not follow the rules of the world, and the public instrument is put into justice, creating a situation that has never existed in ancient and modern times, and a he qiye. These words did not come from the Americans, but were written by Xu Jihu, the governor of Fujian, who in 1853 was given to china as a gift. ”
At that time, many people listened to the speech and learned that there was such a cattle person as Xu Jishe in our history.
This passage of Xu Jishe's famous words that Clinton said came from Xu Jishe's famous book "Yinghuan Zhiluo."
Born in the sixtieth year of Qianlong (1795), Xu Jishe was one of the great pioneers of modern China who opened his eyes to the world and was a famous geographer in modern times, which the New York Times once called "Galileo of the East".
Xu Jihu was a native of Dongye Town, Wutai County, Shanxi, and his father Xu Rundi was a jinshi who served as a cabinet secretary and Tongzhi of Shinan Province, Hubei Province. The Xu clan of Wutai County, Shanxi, was called the "Right Wang Clan of the Mountain" by Zeng Guoquan (the younger brother of Zeng Guofan), who had served as the governor of Shanxi.
Among Xu Jihu's descendants, there was a well-known figure, that is, Xu Xiangqian, the founding marshal of New China, the only northerner among the ten marshals.
According to the "Xu Clan Genealogy" of Wutai County, Shanxi, Xu Jihu was the fifteenth xu clan of Wutai County, and Xu Xiangqian was the nineteenth. Xu Jihu was xu xiangqian's ancestor, the grandfather of Xu Xiangqian's grandfather.
Xu Xiangqian
Xu Jihu was enlightened by his mother at the age of six, read and read, and at the age of seven, he followed his mother to Beijing to visit his father, and was once taught by Gao Hu, a famous talent at that time and the sequel to "Dream of the Red Chamber".
In the sixth year of Daoguang (1826), Xu Jiyi was the first in the imperial examination, and was elected as the Shu Jishi of the Hanlin Academy, and later appointed as the editor of the Hanlin Academy.
In October of the sixteenth year of Daoguang (1836), Xu Jihu was appointed as the prefect of Xunzhou Prefecture in Guangxi Province. Since then, Qingyun has risen straight up, successively serving in Fujian Yanjin Road, Tingzhanglong Road and other positions. During the Opium War, he fought bravely against the British on the Zhangzhou front.
In the twenty-second year of Daoguang (1842), Xu Jishe was promoted to Jinjing. The Daoguang Emperor inquired about the overseas situation and the customs and customs of various countries, and he knew that he was right, so the Daoguang Emperor instructed him to compile a letter and submit it. Therefore, Xu Jihu wrote the "Yinghuan Zhiluo" through great hardships, which was engraved and printed in 1848.
The Yinghuan Zhiluo provides a more comprehensive account of the situation on all continents and regions of the world at that time. The book is divided into 10 volumes, 6 volumes, and a total of 42 sub-charts. At that time, the various countries that existed in the world were basically reflected, systematically and truly introducing the geographical boundaries, customs and customs of the world, historical evolution, specific figures on fiscal revenue and the scale of the army and navy, as well as the expansion of overseas and china's exchanges, showing all aspects of this new world in front of people.
As soon as "Yinghuan Zhiluo" was born, it was highly valued by people of insight at home and abroad. Liu Hongxiang, a former inspector of Fujian, praised the book as "a guide to the earth in a hundred worlds." After it was transmitted to Japan, the Yinghuan Zhiluo received widespread attention and was considered to be the "South Needle of Informing the World" and contributed to their restoration and change. Later, Xu Jishe's name was also included in the "Who's Who in the World" by the United States.
After Xu Jihu, he successively served as the envoy of Fujian, the inspector of Guangxi, the inspector of Fujian, and the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.
In the first year of Xianfeng (1851), Xu Jishe was falsely accused, dismissed from his post and returned to Beijing, and demoted to the Shaoqing of the Taibu Temple. The next year, he was falsely accused again and completely fell behind his post and returned to his hometown. During his time in his hometown, he was not idle, and wrote the business charter of Qianzhuang (ticket number) for the earliest private bank in China, Qianzhuang (ticket number), which is the earliest "Bank Law" in China as we know it so far.
In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Xu Jihu was once again ordered to enter the capital and served as a trade attendant, becoming the first official in Chinese history to be in charge of foreign trade. In the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), Xu Jihu served as the prime minister of state affairs and the prime minister of affairs of the same culture.
In March of the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), Xu Jihu returned from an old illness and died in his hometown at the age of 79 in the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873). Shortly before his death, the imperial court gave him the top of his head.
Zeng Guoquan (brother of Zeng Guofan), who had served as the governor of Shanxi, wrote an epitaph for Xu Jihu.
In the 28th year after Xu's death, his great-grandson (the fourth grandson) Xu Xiangqian, the later founding marshal, was born. Once again, the honor of this family has been pushed to a new peak. (Liu Jixing)