In the old photos left behind, Li Hongzhang's wife and wife, both in appearance and talent, were excellent at that time, and even the appearance of the concubine was not inferior to the current star.
A life of mixed reviews
For Li Hongzhang's evaluation, more people pay attention to Li Hongzhang's invasion of China by great powers in the late Qing Dynasty, and Li Hongzhang was forced to sign treaties such as the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
At that time, the Qing government was simply unable to resist the aggression of Western forces, weapons in the hands of the great powers, and financial resources of the enemy. The Qing government, which was rotten to the bone, had no chance of winning compared to it.
China's feudal society, which had lasted for thousands of years, was naturally at a disadvantage compared to the West's newly rising and vigorous capitalist system.
After the outbreak of the Eight-Power War of Aggression against China, Li Hongzhang knew that if he wanted to keep his country, he had to negotiate diplomatically with Western forces, and he himself stood up in times of crisis and dealt with the great powers.
After negotiations, various regulations were signed that would be considered humiliating to the country by later generations, but at such a time of crisis, perhaps this was the best result.
Therefore, Li Hongzhang's right and wrong cannot be too one-sided and prejudiced.
Li Hongzhang's merits cannot be denied, he spent his whole life dealing with Western invaders, and actively promoted the development of Chinese capitalism... These are all his credits.
Fault, he too. A life of corruption, a treaty that humiliates the country... All existed in his life, and he did it himself.
However, in the evaluations of many others, it can still be seen that Li Hongzhang's own ability and talent are affirmed by many people.
Liang Qichao commented on him, "When Rong Ma pressed the realm, in order to swallow his words, the onlookers were particularly sad, and Hongzhang experienced the realm! ”
There is also the British Pland who commented on him as "one of the three great men of the world in the nineteenth century", on a par with the head of the United States, Grant, and the iron-blooded German prime minister Bismarck. ”
From the views of the above two historical celebrities, it can be seen that Li Hongzhang is not a complete sinner for China, on the contrary, his practices and ideas have been recognized by more people.
Hui Qianlanxin's wife
Li Hongzhang's wife's surname is Zhou, and Li Hongzhang has been related for seventeen years, and he is not from a large family, but he has always helped Li Hongzhang take care of the family after marriage.
At that time, Li Hongzhang's career was still in the development stage, so he was very busy every day. During this time, Zhou took care of all the household affairs at home, which solved a lot of worries for Li Hongzhang.
The two have been married for more than ten years, and their feelings are respectful. Later, the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion made the people's lives miserable and displacement the norm.
Zhou's campaign was also not saved. In order to escape the war, he had to hide in Tibet. At that time, Li Hongzhang was busy calming this calamity, and he had no time to take care of his family.
Zhou eventually died of illness due to long-term hard work.
It is said that before Zhou's death, he had been taken care of by Li Hongzhang, which could be regarded as making up for his regret for his wife, but even with her husband's company, it was still impossible to recover the collapse of Zhou's body, and Xianfeng died in eleven years.
A step-family from a famous family
Li Hongzhang's steproom is Zhao Xiaolian, the Zhao family has a very good family lineage, and his grandfather once obtained the position of champion through scientific examinations, and he is the son of the family, all of whom are from Jin Shi.
The excellence of the elders, fathers, and brothers in the family is undoubtedly the icing on the cake for Zhao Xiaolian's social status.
But Zhao Xiaolian was twenty-one years old at the time, which was already among the "leftover women" at the age of twenty-one during the Qing Dynasty, and she was going to be poked in the spine at that time.
Why has Zhao Xiaolian been in purdah for so many years? Some relevant information mentioned that Zhao Xiaolian is an outstanding learner, has a strong temperament and refuses to admit defeat, and has always adhered to the attitude of "rather lack than abuse" in the matter of choosing her husband.
In the end, Li Hongzhang was thirty-eight years old at the time, and compared with the young Zhao Xiaolian, he could be her father's age, but in the end, Zhao Xiaolian herself still chose Li Hongzhang.
Although Li Hongzhang is not young, he has already achieved success in his career and has established a firm position in the imperial court. Moreover, Li Hongzhang's own talent and skills are not lacking, which is also very attractive to Zhao Xiaolian.
For Li Hongzhang himself, the power of the Zhao family is outstanding. Marrying Zhao Xiaolian, not only does he have a wife to take care of the family home, but the Zhao family will also provide great help to his own career.
Therefore, one wants to find a good husband, the other wants to reach a marriage, and the two hit it off and achieve marriage.
Zhao Xiaolian also accompanied Li Hongzhang for the rest of his life, and after Li Hongzhang's death, he was also buried with Zhao Xiaolian, and the two were also considered Qin Se and Ming.
A concubine room with outstanding beauty
According to the feudal system of having three wives and four concubines, Li Hongzhang was a relatively decent person, and there were only two women in his concubine room. One is a side chamber, and the other is a concubine. The looks of these two women, even compared with later generations, are both beautiful women.
There are almost no records of Mo's later life, and there are no heirs left for Li Hongzhang, only an old photo that records her beauty.
For the concubine Dongmei, it was included in the house by Li Hongzhang in his later years. Li Hongzhang was in poor health in his later years and needed someone to take care of him, so Li Hongzhang took a fancy to Dongmei.
In the photo, Dongmei looks like a big beauty, not short in height, beautiful eyebrows, and modern stars.
Dongmei is the woman who accompanied Li Hongzhang to the end, in the photo, she is dressed in a traditional Han costume, meticulously combed hair, thick eyebrows, straight nose, all show her beauty.
It is no wonder that Li Hongzhang chose her to be a concubine, originally she was born as a maid, and she took care of Li Hongzhang hard, so she gave her the status of a concubine.
Li Hongzhang's life was a treacherous one, and he experienced the most turbulent period of the entire late Qing Dynasty. He once said, "When a great husband is born, only the flesh and qi nourish the nature indelible, otherwise he will fall into the path of the devil." ”
Therefore, when the country was in danger, he actively promoted the development of the foreign affairs movement, and after the outbreak of the Taiping Rebellion, he gave up his family to quell the rebellion.
Liang Qichao, in the evaluation of later generations, his reputation is excellent, he and Li Hongzhang intersect, how can someone who can write "Young China Say" communicate with a despicable person? It can be seen that Li Hongzhang is not as despicable as we think.
There are not many women in Li Hongzhang's life, and they are all top beauties. It can be said that Li Hongzhang is not shallow in this life, and the beauty is on the side, accompanying each other until he is old.
His wives and concubines have several people, with appearance and talent, even Zhao Xiaolian, who is proud of his talents, is willing to be his stepmother, perhaps because of his own charm.