Original content of Chinese Starlight
Author: Chinese Starlight
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China's diplomatic circles have always been full of talents,
Wang Yi, who has a domineering side leak nearby,
Gentle and generous Hua Chunying;
Far from the wise and erudite Gong Peng,
Personable Gu Weijun.
And on this road of our diplomacy,
There is a long-hidden "fierce character",
It has always been unknown.
In the old China, which was poor and weak,
He dared to slap the table and suppress the western arrogance:
"We return home,
Electric Chinese government troop ships! Talk to you again! “
He was hailed as the "Wizard of a Thousand Faces" and set countless firsts:
The first self-funded international student in China;
The first Chinese who runs a self-Chinese newspaper;
The first Chinese to obtain a Doctor of Laws degree in the United Kingdom;
Hong Kong's first Chinese barrister;
The only of the 40 Justices of the Peace to Chinese;
hong Kong's first Chinese to serve as a member of the Legislative Council;
The first chinese ambassador to the United States in modern times...
He is Wu Tingfang.
July 30, 1842,
Wu Tingfang was born in Singapore to an overseas Chinese family,
Three years later, the Wu family moved back to their hometown in Guangdong.
Wu Tingfang was eager to learn at an early age, and never forgot to read,
In the feudal Qing Dynasty,
Readers take the imperial examination as the only way out,
Wu Tingfang is different,
Ideas and traditions are "retrograde".
He hated the study of the Eight Strands and was even more unsympathetic to the Zhishi,
His father had to send him to Hong Kong for a Western-style education.
At the age of 14,
Wu Tingfang entered St Paul's College in Hong Kong,
Learn English, Arithmetic, And Grace.
Although studying under British rule,
But in his heart,
Not his own splendid future,
And it is all full of enthusiasm for the suffering motherland!
Two Opium Wars,
Gave birth to countless people with lofty ideals in the late Qing Dynasty,
Wu Tingfang is one of the people who "opens his eyes to see the world".
He took it as his duty to promote Western learning and enlighten the people's wisdom,
Only 18 years old,
He founded the first Chinese newspaper, "Sino-Foreign New Daily".
The country is weak, and the people's wisdom is closed,
It's a loud cry, a deafening voice!
Because of his proficiency in English, Wu Tingfang graduated,
That is, as an interpreter in the High Court of Hong Kong.
At that time,
Humiliating Chinese under Eiji,
To have such a job,
It can be regarded as a rare "stand out".
But for Wu Tingfang, who has great ambitions,
This is not what he wants, he expects to study abroad,
Go to the West to find a cure to save the country and save the people.
In 1874,
33-year-old Wu Tingfang studied in the UK at his own expense,
afterwards
Tens of thousands of international students go abroad,
A mighty way to study and save the country,
It began with Wu Tingfang,
He was the first person in modern China to study at his own expense.
In the UK,
Wu Tingfang developed a great interest in jurisprudence,
He ran all over the courts of London,
Observe the trial of one case after another.
3 years later,
He obtained his Doctorate degree and bar qualifications,
Be the first,
Chinese with a Doctor of Laws degree in the United Kingdom.
It was 1877.
A Chinese with long braids,
Becoming a barrister in the UK,
The shock of this incident at the time,
No less than when black slavery was prevalent in the United States,
Suddenly announced that a black man can be president of the United States,
This is unimaginable.
After returning to Hong Kong,
Wu Tingfang was approved to open a law firm,
He was allowed to open in the British colonies.
The first Chinese lawyer.
In the most unequal years at home and abroad,
Wu Tingfang's dream of legal power is becoming more and more intense.
August 1878,
Governor Hennessy of Hong Kong announced the abolition of flogging against Chinese,
British inhabitants in port for their own superiority,
Gather the crowd against it,
And in Hong Kong, the Chinese do not dare to speak out,
Wu Tingfang stepped forward:
"Flogging is only for Chinese, which is contrary to equality and human rights!"
He organized the Chinese to support the Governor of Hong Kong,
Promote the formal abolition of flogging in Hong Kong.
from now on
Wu Tingfang's name spread throughout Hong Kong,
He grew more famous,
Promoted as:
The first and only Chinese Justice of the Peace that year.
Two years later, he became a representative of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Breaking the British monopoly on the Legislature for 38 years,
Became the first Chinese lawmaker to enter the Legislative Council.
Such a position,
It is still hot in Hong Kong today.
Moreover, a hundred years ago,
It can be said that it is "one step to the sky",
Enter the real high society.
Wu Tingfang is recognized as a spokesperson for the Chinese in Hong Kong,
When people saw him, they all called him "Uncle Wu".
Glory and wealth, status and power,
Wu Tingfang possessed as much as she could.
For the future,
He can choose to follow the Governor of Hong Kong further,
Obtaining British citizenship was a great honor of the year.
He can also make a lot of money,
Become a magnate of Fujia Xiangjiang.
But he's biased,
embarked on one of the hardest roads,
In his opinion, the monstrous riches are worthless,
What broke through in his heart,
It is the seed of the dream of a strong country.
To strengthen the country, we must first abolish,
The unequal regulations that weigh on the heads of the Chinese,
Therefore, Wu Tingfang boldly in Hong Kong,
Proposed "abolition of public flogging",
"Prohibition of girls' trade",
"Prohibition of discrimination against Chinese" and other bills,
In the face of his strong appeal,
The Legislative Council of Hong Kong,
All the bills against him were passed and implemented.
He also united with wealthy Chinese merchants,
Requested the establishment of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong,
Breaking the british monopoly of financial power;
He also married his brother-in-law,
Well-known Chinese leader He Qi,
Carry out the Kowloon Bay reclamation project for the benefit of the people;
Hong Kong civilian education,
He also had to help...
The status of the Chinese in Hong Kong,
Just like that, Wu Tingfang,
Little by little, it pulled up from the dust.
In 1882, Wu Tingfang's fame,
Alarmed the central minister Li Hongzhang,
It just so happens that the foreign affairs movement is going on,
Li Hongzhang looked at Wu Tingfang,
Talent that has not been obtained for "looking for years".
With a heart to serve the nation,
Wu Tingfang decisively left Hong Kong,
He came to the shogunate of Li Hongzhang and became a legal adviser.
As a reformer,
When the force turns the tide, the momentum is like a broken bamboo.
Wu Tingfang built the railway and negotiated,
Reform the legal system and contend for national rights.
In the past, every time there was a difficult case between China and the West,
Foreigners arrogantly think that China cannot learn,
Always argue with the laws of the West,
The Qing government was defeated everywhere.
I didn't expect to kill Wu Tingfang halfway,
The Syroth is as precious as he is,
Foreigners had to bow to the wind.
Because of the exceptional talent in the diplomacy of the law,
In 1896, Wu Tingfang, who was more than half a hundred years old,
He was appointed as the first Minister to the United States.
then
The news that the Qing envoy to the United States is about to arrive in the United States,
It has already aroused great interest from the American people,
Wu Tingfang's boat arrived, and the pier was empty,
When Wu Tingfang appeared with braids,
The Americans let out a burst of laughter.
Didn't expect it to be soon,
Wu Tingfang let them know that "powerful".
The evening welcome party was held solemnly,
Because Li Hongzhang visited the United States before,
He who speaks with a full mouth also,
It makes the translators embarrassed,
So the people who attended the welcome,
This time, I was also waiting to see Uncle Wu's jokes.
Who knows that Uncle Wu took the stage, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he was:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening……
The people present were momentarily confused, because Wu Tingfang said,
Definitely not ordinary American English,
It's an authentic London accent!
To know that in the United States, a London English,
It will definitely make everyone look up,
Wait for Wu Tingfang to finish the whole process of unscripted English speech,
The audience erupted in applause.
During the United States,
Wu Tingfang's mission is heavy, the first is to protect Chinese workers,
He started with the Sino-US treaty.
On the issue of abuse of Chinese businessmen in the United States,
Fight with reason and evidence.
As in 1897,
White people in New Jersey insulted Chinese workers,
Wu Tingfang is telling the US Government:
"The magistrate deliberately connived at the bandits to harm the Chinese people,
Contrary to the purpose of the treaty,
Even the laws of your country do not conform. ”
After the United States took custody of the Philippines in 1898,
The commander-in-chief of the US military did not allow the Chinese to enter the Philippines.
Wu Tingfang started from the promulgation of decrees in the history of the United States,
Points out that the implementation of Chinese exclusion in escrows violates U.S. law.
Even, he dared to do so in the U.S. Congress,
Denouncing the rejection of Chinese workers by parliamentarians,
Contrary to the spirit of equality in Washington.
Huagong was thus greatly protected,
Wu Tingfang became the "guardian deity" of Chinese interests.
Weak countries have no diplomacy, in the late Qing Dynasty,
The Qing government was forced to sign countless unequal treaties.
And under Wu Tingfang's diplomatic thunderous means,
We signed the first treaty of equality!
In 1905, Mexico introduced the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Chinese workers are prohibited from entering the country.
Wu Tingfang was sent to negotiate,
Mexico is supported by the United States,
Negotiate beyond being aggressive,
But what the Mexicans did not expect was that
China, which has always been a soft persimmon,
This time there was a hard stubble.
Only to see Wu Tingfang shoot the case,
Shouting angrily, "Lower the flag! Return!
Telegraph the Chinese government, send troops to come,
Talk to you again! ”
As soon as these words came out, Mexican officials were stunned,
To fight they simply don't have that strength.
I had to find the United States to mediate from it,
Finally this diplomatic war,
Mexico repeals the "Prohibition of Entry of Chinese Workers" Ordinance,
And signed an equality treaty with the Qing government:
Sino-Mexican Treaty of Commerce.
This is the first equality treaty in modern China.
In our humiliating days of diplomacy,
Only Wu Tingfang was once a Chinese,
Did this time the diplomacy of raising eyebrows!
"Weak countries have no diplomacy, but they can have diplomats."
This sentence is precisely from the mouth of Wu Tingfang.
He, with his exceptional diplomatic demeanor,
It has become a beautiful landscape in the late Qing Dynasty.
Was sent to Spain,
Peru and other countries as ministers,
With superb talent to fight for us fairness,
over and over
Let the world hear China's voice.
Once, Wu Tingfang went to The United Kingdom to give a speech,
After the end a lady said,
To name his dog "Wu Tingfang",
It's a great insult.
Everyone present was waiting to see his jokes,
And he answered cleverly:
Then you remember to hold the kiss "Wu Tingfang" every day.
Another time,
Wu Tingfang negotiated with the United States on behalf of the Qing court,
Pointing out that in the Treaty of Simgou,
The amount of compensation paid is far higher than the actual loss,
Ask the U.S. to return the excess.
Eventually, after several years of painstaking negotiations,
The Government of the United States refunds the excess amount of the reparations,
It is used to admit Chinese students to study in the United States.
In 1908,
Wu Tingfang and the United States signed the Sino-US Treaty of Arbitrary Dictatorship.
Paving the way for China's accession to the International Peace Organization in The Hague;
He also found Bell, the inventor of the telephone,
Edison, the inventor of electric light,
Invite them to visit China.
Hu Shi later said:
"When Wu Tingfang was a diplomat overseas,
It's all about his eccentric behavior,
and strange discussion overwhelmed the arrogance of the Westerners,
Aroused their curiosity,
To be able to make a representative of a weak country,
Respected by many outsiders. “
In 1909, at the age of 67, Wu Tingfang,
Finally completed his diplomatic mission,
Back to China.
Externally, Wu Tingfang strives for the rights and interests of the motherland,
Internally, he was a "pioneer of reform."
With his solid knowledge of the law,
So that the barbaric and heavy punishment law that has been passed down in China for thousands of years,
"Ling Chi", "Owl Head",
"Corpse killing", "edge sitting", "thorn characters", etc. were abolished.
He pioneered the modern law of the mainland,
He successively presided over the drafting of the "Great Qing Commercial Law",
Article 26 of the Concise Articles of Association of the Chamber of Commerce,
Article 24 of the Concise Statutes of the Railway,
as well as new laws such as the Criminal and Civil Procedure Law of the Great Qing Dynasty.
And founded China's first modern law school,
It has trained nearly 10,000 legal talents.
Sun Yat-sen said,
"This is a new era of Chinese law."
And the returning Wu Tingfang,
Because he was extremely disappointed in the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government,
Shouldering a new historical mission,
The rest of his life fought for the republic.
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution,
Wu Tingfang, who has retired, ignores his old age,
He went out to the mountains to participate in the revolution and supported Sun Yat-sen.
At this time, the Qing Emperor Puyi refused to abdicate,
To avoid greater bloodshed,
Wu Tingfang used his influence overseas,
Telegram to the envoys of various countries in China,
Put pressure on the Qing government.
He was also elected as a delegate to the North-South Peace Conference,
Finally succeeded in prompting the abdication of the Qing Emperor,
In a peaceful manner,
Let China complete the smooth transition from imperialism to republic.
After the establishment of the Nanjing government,
Wu Tingfang was appointed as the government's chief of foreign affairs and finance.
In June 1922, Chen Jiongming shelled the Presidential Palace,
80-year-old Wu Tingfang dragged his elderly body,
Discussed the rebellion plan with Sun Yat-sen.
Wu Tingfang was furious at Chen Jiongming's rebellion,
In a fit of rage, I was bedridden,
Just a few days later, Wu Tingfang took Hexi to go...
At the time of death,
Earnestly instruct the prince to protect the Dharma,
Show the people of the country, without a word or family affairs.
Losing Wu Tingfang, Sun Yat-sen said with great sorrow:
"Today, when General Wu dies, I will die first,
That is, to die on behalf of the kings! ”
After Wu Tingfang left,
His wife, He Miaoling, according to the aftermath of his deliberations before his death,
Take the family property he left behind, as well as his own savings,
Donate all to the community.
Built a church for Hong Kong,
Establishment of scholarships for Anglo-Chinese College,
Founded Minsheng College, built Wan Chai Gospel Church,
Opened a leprosy house,
Created Ho Miao Ling Hospital...
Hold a heart, and go without half a blade of grass,
This is this old time couple,
For the society of this new world,
All the "legacy" left behind ...
A night of white beard, thanks to the rescue of Donggao Gong;
The film is gray and skeletal, and the wind and fame have spread far and wide.
Wu Tingfang, who was later known as the "Wizard of a Thousand Faces",
With talent, when the country is in the most danger,
With your weakest shoulders,
Support the burden of the entire Chinese nation.
In this life,
He carries diplomacy, he repairs the law, he promotes republicanism,
At every critical moment that determines the course of history,
His choice is always the same,
That's going right,
The same direction as national development.
The grand righteousness that keeps pace with the times,
Let the flower of his life shine brightly!
China Today,
It is no longer the China that can be bullied.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is becoming more and more domineering,
Everywhere shows the demeanor of a big country,
Presumably this is also what Wu Gong has been looking forward to all his life,
And he had for this day,
All the efforts we have made for this country,
It is worth remembering the Chinese nation for generations to come!
END