In 1885, Zuo Zongtang died of illness in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, at the age of 73. After Zuo Zongtang's death, the imperial court posthumously gave Taifu the title of "Wenxiang" and incorporated it into the Ancestral Hall of Zhaozhong and the Ancestral Hall of Xianliang.
In 1901, Li Hongzhang died of illness at the Xianliang Temple in Beijing at the age of 79. After Li Hongzhang's death, the imperial court posthumously gave Taifu the title of "Wen Zhong" and incorporated it into the Ancestral Hall of The Virtuous One. Because the main hall of the Zhaozhong Ancestral Hall was destroyed by the artillery fire of the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900, Li Hongzhang did not enjoy the treatment of entering the Zhaozhongci Temple.
So, zuo Zongtang's "Wenxiang" nickname and Li Hongzhang's "Wenzhong" nickname, who has a higher specification?
Let's first look at what a nickname is.
Chinese has a cultural tradition of "heavy death over life", and attaches great importance to the reputation after death. Therefore, when a person dies, it is necessary to "build a coffin and make a conclusion" and summarize and evaluate his life. The nickname is a concise summary of this kind of summary evaluation.
Of course, not everyone has a nickname. In ancient times, it was usually emperors, concubines, princes, ministers, and other high-ranking people who were eligible to be given titles.
The vast majority of nicknames, such nicknames are positive words. But sometimes, such as changing the dynasty and changing oneself, there will be pejorative nicknames. For example, after the fall of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, gave Yang Guang, the last emperor of the Sui Dynasty, the nickname "Jiao". "炀" means "fainting", which belongs to "evil deeds".
The Qing Dynasty followed the ming system and also gave the deceased civilian generals the title of emperor. Moreover, the Qing Dynasty's courtesy names were used separately, with the civil servants generally using the beginning of the text, and the military generals generally using the beginning of the martial character. In addition, there are also nicknames that begin with the word loyalty, which belong to the general use of the Minister of Culture and Military Affairs.
There is a hierarchy of titles. For Wen Chen, the highest rank of courtesy name was "Wen Zheng". Because "Wenzheng" was a very high honor, rulers rarely gave this title to their ministers. When Li Dongyang, the first assistant minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, was about to die, he learned that he would receive the title of "Wenzheng" after his death, and he wept with joy. In the nearly 300 years of the Qing Dynasty, only 8 "Wenzheng" titles were issued, namely Tang Bin, Liu Tongxun, Zhu Jue, Cao Zhenyong, Du Shoutian, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzao, and Sun Jianai.
After "Wenzheng", it is "Wenzhen" and "Wencheng". These two nicknames are also quite rare.
Before Emperor Renzong of Song, "Wenzhen" was the highest rank of courtesy name. Because Song Renzong's name was Zhao Zhen, in order to avoid secrecy, "Wen Zhen" was changed to "Wen Zheng". Later, "Wenzhen" was restored and became the second best name after "Wenzheng". The famous qing dynasty ministers Chen Tingjing, Li Guangdi, Zhang Yushu, etc., all received the title of "Wenzhen".
The nickname "Wencheng" is second to that of "Wenzhen". After his death, Liu Ji, the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, received the nickname "Wencheng". Therefore, his hometown is known as "Wencheng County". Ah Gui, a famous general during the Qing Dynasty, received the nickname "Wencheng" when he died of illness at the age of 81.
The nickname after "Wencheng" is "Wenzhong". "Wen Zhong" ranked fourth in the system of name names.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were not many ministers who could get the title of "Wen Zhong". In addition to the aforementioned Li Hongzhang, there are also Sonny, Fu Heng, Lin Zexu, Wen Xiang, Zhou Tianjue, Luo Bingzhang, Hu Linyi, Shen Zhaolin, Rong Lu, Liang Dingfen and other people who have won the nickname of "Wen Zhong".
After "Wen Zhong", there are also dozens of nicknames such as "Wen", "Wen Duan", "Wen Ding", "Wen Jian", "Wen Yi", "Wen Su", "Wen Yi", "Wen Xian", "Wen Zhuang", "Wen Jing", "Wen Jing", "Wen Mu", "Wen Zhao", "Wen Ke", "Wen Gong", "Wen Xiang", "Wen Qing", and "Wen Xiu". Here, Zuo Zongtang's "Wenxiang" title had already reached the twenty-third place, which was far inferior in rank to the "Wenzhong" title obtained by Li Hongzhang.
For Zuo Zongtang, it was not easy to obtain the title of "WenXiang".
During the Qing Dynasty, generally those who were not from Hanlin (or those who were born into jinshi)) had to be given the title of "Wen". Zuo Zongtang went to Beijing three times to participate in the examination, all of whom were named Luosun Shan, and did not pass the entrance examination in his lifetime, according to which he could not get the "Wen" character name, let alone "Wen Xiang". Fortunately, Empress Dowager Cixi saw that Zuo Zongtang had worked hard and made great achievements, and gave him the birth of a tongjinshi, which gave him the opportunity to obtain the title of "Wenxiang".
To sum up, Li Hongzhang's "Wenzhong" nickname is higher than Zuo Zongtang's "Wenxiang" nickname.
[References: "Tan", "Great Qing Huidian", etc.]