1898 is an important year in China's modern history. A revolution shook the whole country and is still a hot topic in historiography.
On March 6, 1898, the Qing government signed the Jiao'ao Lend-Lease Treaty with Germany. On April 10, German journalist Paul Goldmann was assigned by the Frankfurter Zeitung to conduct an interview with China from the Port of Geniana, Italy.
After setting off on the German "Prussia" long-distance mechanical ship, Goldman crossed the Mediterranean Sea, through Egypt, the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden, and sailed to singapore, a European-style oriental new city. Then, he landed in Hong Kong, through Guangzhou, Shanghai, and all the way to the hinterland of China for a detailed investigation. On the way, he interviewed Wang Cunshan, then secretary of the Governor of Guangdong and director of the Lijin Bureau, and Cai Jun of Shanghai Daotai. From Shanghai, take a boat down the Yangtze River and stop at Zhenjiang, Hankou, Wuchang and other places.
Dragon's Back Spit Smoke, selected from "Wu YouRu Painting Treasure"
In Hankou, Goldman visited the commercial institutions and monasteries established in Chinese mainland in Europe. In Wuchang, he inspected the new type of army trained by German instructors hired by Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang. In Qingdao, Weihai, Zhifu (Yantai) and other places in Jiaozhou Bay, he visited the Jiaozhou area that had just been incorporated into the German concession.
Goldman met many modern Chinese historical figures during his visit. In Yantai, he met Chen Jitong, a former Qing government diplomat in Europe. This is an important figure in modern history who has vigorously promoted Chinese culture in Europe. In Tianjin, he interviewed Rong Lu, the Qing government's army chief and governor directly under him. In Beijing, he visited Li Hongzhang, who had just left the wilderness.
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We got on a carriage, the kind of Beijing carriage with no shock springs underneath. During the march, it will transmit the unevenness of the road surface and the vibration caused by the encounter with stones, which can be called the most terrible "torture" means of transportation in human invention. Leading the way in front was the knight of the consulate, followed by a Chinese servant on horseback. We turned right from the consulate and walked for a while on the avenue leading to the Royal Palace, then turned right again and came to the narrow alley. After about half an hour, the carriage and the knight stopped in the middle of a not-so-wide street. This street is less crowded, quiet and sparsely populated. Li Hongzhang was waiting for us at his son's residence. The house is made of wood, and like a typical Chinese building, the room is only one floor above the ground. The house was newly built, and the bright green exterior paint contrasted strongly with the dirty gray houses nearby. From the wide frontage and open space in front of the house, it can be seen that there must be rich people living here.
The knight of the consulate first went to hand over our Chinese letter of visit, and when he came back to tell us that the visit had been approved, we got out of the carriage. Walking through the gate, through the clean garden paved with large rectangular stone slabs, stepping on the stone slab staircase, Mr. Li Hongzhang was already standing at the door to greet us. The door was almost as tall as his, making him look a little taller than he actually was. The appearance of an old man who is high up in the sky is solemn and respectful.
He wore simple household attire, a reddish-brown brocade robe, a blue silk tunic with unbuttoned buttons and some wear near the neckline. His tanned face had not changed much, as he had been known in Europe. He had a pair of glasses hanging from his nose, not the kind of weird style (exaggerated, bizarre, unusual) used by ordinary Chinese literati, but European-style glasses with thin gold frames. Behind the lenses is a pair of shrewd, small, flexible eyes, sometimes with a fierce glare. He speaks so loudly that it doesn't sound uncomfortable, but rather because his elderly voices are a bit mushy (the French call this slurred speech). He tried to be as quiet as possible, at least at first.
After that, his words became slightly more, but he still controlled the content of the words, with a sly gaze. Sometimes he would burst into a brief laugh as he spoke, and the yellow teeth in his mouth were clearly visible, which were strong, slender canine teeth. When he laughed like this, a look of mockery flashed on his face, but then he returned to seriousness and dullness. The old gentleman's head was covered with no hair left, and under the scalp was a round skull with strong bones.
Li Hongzhang holds a black wooden cane with an ivory grip in his hand. Since he liked to think of himself as Bismarck of China (this is the flattery that some European horse ass elves have been saying to him, and he himself believed it after a long time), it is not impossible to get a replica of the crutches carried by the iron-blooded prime minister in his later years, and among Li Hongzhang's relics, there is a diamond-encrusted cane, which is said to be the most expensive cane in the world, which was originally from US President Grant. Grant stepped down in 1877 and traveled around the world with his wife Julia. Arrived in China in April 1879, becoming the first U.S. president to arrive in China. Li Hongzhang set up a feast at the Governor's Mansion in Tianjin to entertain Grant and his wife, and fell in love with Grant's exquisite cane. Grant then said, "Since the Church loves this staff, I should have given it to you." It is just that this staff was given by Congress on behalf of the national gentry when I left office, and I am not in a position to give it privately. When I return to China, I will announce this matter, and if everyone agrees, I will send it to you as a gift to appreciate the grace of the whole zhongtang. When Li Hongzhang visited the United States in 1896, Grant's widow did not forget the promise of that year and gave the cane to Li Hongzhang. Since then, Li Hongzhang has been inseparable from this cane until his death as a relic.
Hui Tong preached, selected from "Wu You Ru Painting Treasure"
The room we are in now is an antechamber with a stone floor, with little furniture in the room, except for a European leather chair in the corner, with a few more Chinese chairs in front of the leather chair, and the interior of the house behind it, separated by a wooden board painted green. When there are no visitors, the board seems to be put back. Li Hongzhang shook hands with us, asked me to introduce his name, and read the letter of visit we gave him. He tried to read my name. Then he sat down in a leather chair and invited us to sit in the chair. He stretched out his feet, wearing soft Chinese cloth shoes with legs wrapped in white linen. He then introduced us to his grandson, a thirteen-year-old chinese young man with a very bright idea. The German anti-Semites would probably see his bulging nose as a counter-evidence of his pure Asian blood. The young gentleman, dressed in a gorgeous dark violet robe, politely but somewhat shyly reached out his hand to us and shook it, then sat down straight in a chair a little farther away, listening intently to his grandfather.
Not far from the leather chair, there was already a servant surnamed Lai at his side. When the two sides were talking, Li Hongzhang asked him to take the east for a while and asked him to take the west for a while. First he wanted cigarettes. He smoked it with a small gilded filter, and then he asked for a metal hookah, and the faithful lai servant had to put the pipe in his mouth. Then there was a cup of tea. Apart from the shisha, he also provided us with all the services. Li Hongzhang placed a pot on his leather chair, like an opened container. From time to time, he would take it to his mouth, spit it in, and put it back in place. Since all the doors were open and the wind was blowing a little exaggeratedly, we were all wearing coats, but still feeling cold. Without being called, "Lai" took the initiative to bring a Chinese home hat and put it on the old man's bare head.
Starting from trying to get to know me, Li Hongzhang began to talk to me. He pointed his crutches at me and asked a bunch of questions: Why did you come from Germany? How long has it been in China? What places have you visited? How long did you stay in Jiaozhou? When will I return to Europe?
When I was free, I took the opportunity to quickly ask questions and bring the conversation to the point. I said: It was because the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung correctly anticipated the major events that were happening in front of me that sent me to Beijing. At the moment I am just a foreigner and do not know how to understand this crisis, and I would be very fortunate to receive a response from you to the following question: "What the hell is going on?" ”
Li Hongzhang hesitated for a moment, then said slowly: "The fault lies in the young official." ”
"Why?"
"Senior, experienced officials are squeezed out by a younger generation that has never dealt with state affairs. They want to benefit from it until they finally can't go any further. After this crisis, these younger officials have been eliminated. ”
"This upheaval should be a good thing if senior officials can get back to their posts." But such a thing doesn't seem to be happening. And people have seen from this that China, which is currently in a difficult period, has not yet given a position to someone like you. ”
The old gentleman nodded excitedly, confirming that this was also his opinion. But he still hesitated and did not speak more clearly. So I had to try to push him a little bit.
"As far as I know," I said, "there is no way to grasp the point of the current situation without a suitable person who can represent the Chinese government." Who are the foreign envoys negotiating with right now? I can imagine that they are now in great chaos. ”
I imagine it this way because I have my reasons. My idea was confirmed by Herr Von Goltz, who said that the German mission no longer enters and exits the Chancellor's office. The prime minister Has been abandoned, and Li Hongzhang has been expelled from the gate, so who will stay there?
"Yes, but the government has always been there." Li Hongzhang answered.
"The government is not enough just to be there." I responded.
"The government has to do some function. Now that things have gone too far, China will face the consequences. At the very least, China's credibility will suffer. ”
Li Explains: "As long as China can still pay interest on loans, there is no need to worry about financial credit. At present, interest is paid on time. ”
"What has been linked to these loans and interest is the past. The key is the future, and China needs credit even more. The era of European business is now beginning, which requires the use of European capital. If Europe doesn't give you money, China won't even be able to repair the railway. ”
"Then don't fix it." Li Hongzhang said calmly.
In Europe, this gentleman is regarded as a pioneer in the pursuit of modernization, but it surprised me to hear these words from his mouth. Mr. von Dagoz offers examples of how China has lost credibility in recent events: The Belgians do not want to fund more for the route from Beijing to Hankou, for which they are responsible. The German business alliance was also at a loss for the xinjiang-Tianjin railway plan and expressed its desire to withdraw it.
Street repair machine, selected from "Wu You Ru Painting Treasure"
I repeat: "All of this is because there is no one in Europe who can be trusted to sit in the Chinese government." For China's credit, Mr. Li Hongzhang is the best spokesperson. I can't understand that I won't let you continue to serve. Among the officials who lead China, you are almost equivalent to the name of Chinese credit, and now it has no effect. ”
Li Hongzhang listened to these words of praise without blinking, and seemed to be able to detect that these words touched him. He pondered for a moment, then said, "Foreigners understand and admire me according to their past achievements, but if Chinese don't think so, what can I do?" ”
"I don't think so!" I say.
"This is not false. Prime Minister Bismarck once experienced such a thing: he won the trust of all civilized countries, but there was no way to make his emperor trust him! Li Hongzhang said.
"Then why did you lose the trust of your emperor?"
"People slammed me for being too partial to foreigners. They called me a traitor. ”
When Li Hongzhang said this, his face trembled with resentment. When he said the three words "traitor", a burst of laughter broke out.
What he wrote down helps us understand the scenery of the cities along the way at the end of the 19th century and the face of Chinese society. With the acumen of a journalist and the writing of a writer, he recorded the customs of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hankou, Wuchang, Jiaozhou, Tianjin, Beijing and other cities in the late Qing Dynasty, which has a sense of picture. It is easy to recall the paintings of Wu Youru, a famous journalist and genre painter in modern China. What is particularly valuable is that in the book, Goldman highly affirms the diligence, bravery and wisdom of the Chinese people he has come into contact with. He predicted at the time that Shanghai would become a great city in the East with decades of efforts. This prophecy later became a reality.
A dynasty lost power, selected from "Wu You ru painting treasure"
In the book, he also revealed the inside story of the capital competition of the European powers in the initial Process of China's railway planning, as well as the situation that China's economy and the European economy are compatible with the European economy and the conflict of interests between the great powers. Through interactions with officials at different levels of the Qing government, he documented the different ideas of officials in the late Qing Dynasty for reform and cooperation with the West, as well as the different reactions of the people to such ideas.
Paul Goldman's interview in China is meticulously observed, beautifully written, and highly recognized by Chinese folk and ordinary Chinese people. Under the historical conditions at that time, this was rare and valuable. After a hundred years, this book can be discovered, translated, and published, which is also meaningful and valuable. Some netizens even compared the historical value of this book with "Marco Polo's Travels" and Snow's "Red Star Shines on China" as the best of the books written by foreigners in China.
As a German journalist, Paul Goldman is friendly to China, and his position and integrity on major historical issues such as opposing the Nazis are also admirable, but we must also note that in this book, after all, he looks at China from a German perspective, and sometimes it is inevitable to reveal some racial arrogance, and even occasionally the tone of colonizers. This is obviously a historical limitation, but also his prejudice, so while affirming the historical value of this book, Chinese readers also need to be vigilant about individual expressions, and need to take a critical stance to read and understand the relevant content.
Read history to Ming Zhi. Looking at today, our lives have undergone earth-shaking changes, and the ancient China, which has suffered many disasters, has finally shaken off the doom of being subject to people and ushered in a new and exciting situation.
China and the world are in a community of common destiny, and we need historical communication, cultural communication, the elimination of prejudices, and mutual respect. This is also another value and significance of such a historical work published today.