History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
The evaluation of many characters in history has a positive and negative side, and a person cannot be evaluated from only one angle. The historical figure I want to talk about today is a notorious traitor, but at the same time he is also a very knowledgeable person, especially in calligraphy. The four big words he wrote down at that time are still everywhere today.
Some people may not have heard of the name Zheng Xiaoxu, but when it comes to his master, everyone must know that his master is Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor. Zheng Xiaoxu has been very intelligent since childhood, and after the age of 22, he served as Li Hongzhang's staff, which was highly valued by Li Hongzhang, so he has been working under Li Hongzhang.
Under the promotion of Li Hongzhang, Zheng Xiaoxu crossed to Japan at a young age and became the consul general of the Qing government in Japan. Later, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and Zheng Xiaoxu returned to China. After returning to China, Zheng Xiaoxu was still very successful in the official arena, and in 1911 he served as a high-ranking envoy in Hunan Province.
After Puyi's abdication, Zheng Xiaoxu's life also took a turn, and after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Xiaoxu was bent on restoration. At that time, Zheng Xiaoxu had long braids and refused to use the Republic of China chronicle when writing. It was also at the instigation of Zheng Xiaoxu that Puyi went to the northeast to ascend the throne again as emperor. With Puyi's ascension to the throne, Zheng Xiaoxu's position was naturally promoted, and he gradually began to fight for the Japanese invaders.
However, leaving aside that Zheng Xiaoxu was a traitor, his achievements in calligraphy were still quite successful at that time. In the calligraphy circles of the Republic of China period, there has always been the name of "North than Southern Zheng", of which Nan Zheng is said to be the traitor Zheng Xiaoxu.
Zheng Xiaoxu's writing at that time can be said to be a thousand gold, and it is said that one word of his can be worth 1,000 oceans. After the establishment of the Bank of Communications in 1908, Zheng Xiaoxu was also graciously invited to write the four characters of "Bank of Communications". These four big characters have been passed down to this day and can now be seen everywhere on the street.
Zheng Xiaoxu died in 1938, and it is said that he was poisoned and killed by the Japanese invaders. When Zheng Xiaoxu wrote an inscription for the Bank of Communications, he had not yet become a traitor. If Zheng Xiaoxu had not been appointed to the Japanese invaders, perhaps he would have become a generation of famous calligraphers Zheng Xiaoxu, instead of the traitor Zheng Xiaoxu, who is now mentioned.