What is a humerus? An important courtier close to the emperor? A powerful courtier? Or are courtiers like Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, and Zhang Zhidong? The most vivid explanation is probably this last one.
In fact, there are two theories about the four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, one is that these four people are Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Hu Linyi and Peng Yulin. Another more widely circulated theory is that of Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, and Zhang Zhidong. What we want to talk about today is the more famous zengzuo li zhang's life and death.
Zeng Guofan is a man whose ancestors can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period when the Confucian Sect Saint Zengzi. In the eighteenth year of Daoguang (1838), before he reached the age of thirty, he was admitted to the Jinshi, which happened to be the same as Li Hongzhang's father, Li Wen'an.
Later, Zeng Guofan became a protégé of the then powerful minister Guo Jia Mu Zhang'a, and was supported by Mu Zhang'a. As a result, Zeng Guofan soon became the crown prince's attendant official Zuo Shuzi,and later became a Japanese official, often serving the emperor.
Less than ten years after entering the army, Zeng Guofan had the title of Rebbe Attendant, from a Shu Ji shi to a key member from Erpin. From the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang (1849) to the following year, he made the Rebbe Shilang, the Bingbu Shilang, and the Gongbu Shilang a full-time.
After relying on the Xiang army in his hands, Zeng Guofan transformed from a central civilian official into a "general" with real power in the local area. He exchanged his military and military merits for the honor of wearing a yellow coat, and also successively exchanged for the official positions of Inspector of Hubei, Shangshu of Bingbu, Viceroy of Liangjiang, and Viceroy of Liangjiang, and received the title of Prince Taibao and hereditary first-class titles.
After the beginning of the Western Affairs Movement, Zeng Guofan successively served as a scholar of Tirenge University and a scholar of Wuyingdian University. In the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), he became the governor of Zhili. Four years later, Zeng Guofan died of illness in Nanjing, and the imperial court posthumously honored him as Taifu (太傅) with the courtesy name "Wenzheng".
Li Hongzhang, who was trained by Zeng Guofan, did simple paperwork in the first few years after zhongju entered the army, and also organized regimental exercises in the local area, but in the end, he was slandered and returned home to keep filial piety before he rose step by step by virtue of his military achievements. Later, he returned to Zeng Guofan and was entrusted with the task of organizing the Huai Army in the Xianfeng Decade (1860).
With the support of the Huai Army and the recommendation of Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang directly became the governor of Jiangsu in the first year of Tongzhi (1862). The following year, he also served as minister of trade and commerce for the five families, and later also served as minister of trade and commerce in Beiyang. And Zeng Guofan had been the governor of Liangjiang, and Li Hongzhang had also done it. Zeng Guofan had a first-class title, and Li Hongzhang also had it. And he also served as a university fellow of the Viceroy of Huguang.
In the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1901), Li Hongzhang died of illness in Beijing, was posthumously awarded the title of Taifu, and was made a first-class marquis, receiving the title of "Wen Zhong". The Qing court also built an ancestral hall for him in Beijing, which is also the only ancestral hall for Han officials in the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, there is still a certain truth in thinking that Li Hongzhang is "better than blue out of blue".
And Li Hongzhang's nemesis Zuo Zongtang was also quite unhappy in his early years. He participated in the imperial examination many times, but either his relatives died, his studies were interrupted, or he fell behind and could not enter the career path. Fortunately, he had real talent and practical learning, and was appreciated by people such as He Changling and Tao Shu. Hu Linyi, Lin Zexu, and others also befriended Zuo Zongtang.
In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), Zuo Zongtang became an aide at the invitation of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, at the invitation of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, and entered the shogunate of the viceroy of Huguang the following year. Later, he was invited by the new governor of Hunan, Luo Bingzhang, to plan for him, and this plot lasted for six years. During this period, the central imperial history had noticed this talented and ambitious man and recommended Zuo Zongtang to the imperial court. In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), Zuo Zongtang became a soldier. Two years later, he was awarded the rank of Sipin.
In the Xianfeng Decade (1860), Zuo Zongtang came to zeng guofan. The following year, Zeng Guofan, who was fortunate in talent, recommended Zuo Zongtang as the governor of Zhejiang. In the second year of Tongzhi (1863), Zuo Zongtang was promoted to the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and the following year he was awarded the title of Prince Taibao. His most famous Xinjiang-related exploits were made after he was appointed Minister of Chincha. During his time in the northwest, Zuo Zongtang was also awarded the title of lieutenant. And this is also what his nemesis Li Hongzhang has had.
After the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Zuo Zongtang successively served as a viceroy of Shaanxi and Gansu, a scholar of Dongge University, and also received the title of first-class lieutenant of light vehicles. In the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), Zuo Zongtang, who had worked in the local area for decades, was transferred to the central government as a minister of military aircraft and also walked in the prime minister's gate. However, because he was not accustomed to the work of the central authorities, he was later appointed as the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of trade and commerce in Nanyang, which happened to "correspond" with the minister of trade and commerce of Beiyang, who was his nemesis Li Hongzhang. In the eleventh year of Guangxu (1885), Zuo Zongtang died of illness in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Subsequently, the imperial court posthumously awarded him the title of Taifu (太傅) and conferred the title of "WenXiang".
Zhang Zhidong, one of the remaining important ministers, did not have much to do with Zeng Guofan' fame. Zhang Zhidong was admitted to the army because of the examination, and later entered the Wenyuan Pavilion to work. In the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Zhang Zhidong was appreciated by Cixi for presenting a letter opposing the Signing of the Treaty of Livadia between the Qing court and Russia.
With Cixi's approval, Zhang Zhidong was promoted all the way, and for two years he served as a waiter in the Hanlin Academy, Zuo Shuzi, a Japanese lecturer, and a cabinet scholar, and was appointed as the inspector of Shanxi. In the ninth year of Guangxu (1883), he was transferred to the viceroy of Liangguang. During his tenure, Zhang Zhidong was reprimanded by Li Hongzhang for wanting to take advantage of the victory to pursue the incoming French army.
In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), Zhang Zhidong was transferred to the governor of Huguang because of the request to build the Luhan Railway, responsible for the construction of the southern section of the railway. During the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, he served as the governor of Liangguang and supported the Penghu Reform. In the first year of Xuan reunification (1909), he died in Beijing, and the Qing court gave him the nickname "Wenxiang", which was the same as Zuo Zongtang.
The inspector of the Qing Dynasty was the highest military and political governor of a province. The Governor-General was the highest military and political officer in the region. The area administered by the governor is generally two or three provinces. All four of the ministers served as inspectors and governors, so in this respect there was no obvious distinction between high and low official positions. However, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang were both important ministers of the central government, and Zhang Zhidong was also deeply appreciated by Cixi, so zuo Zongtang was the lowest in terms of his position in the central government. In terms of knighthood, Zhang Zhidong was the only one who did not have a title. The other three, all of whom had first-class titles.
As for the title, according to the Qing Dynasty etiquette system, the title "Wenzheng" is the highest, "Wenzhong" ranks 4th, and "Wenxiang" ranks 23rd. Therefore, the most honorable person with the title is Zeng Guofan. Moreover, in the nearly 270 years since the Qing army entered the customs, there were only eight people with the title of "Wenzheng", and Zeng Guofan was one of these eight.