Li Hongzhang (15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901), First Class Marquis Suyi, was a Chinese statesman and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty who took part in the quelling of multiple rebellions throughout China and later represented the country in negotiations with the great powers of Europe. He held multiple positions in the Qing imperial court during the late 19th century until his death in 1901.
Biography[]
He was born into the scholar gentry class in 1823 and passed the imperial examination to gain several bureaucratic positions at a young age. During the Taiping Rebellion he was tasked with traveling to various towns in southern China and recruiting civilian militias to fight against the Taiping rebels. He did so and his militia managed to retake several towns from the enemy, at which point his talents were first noticed and Li received more promotions.
He formed his own army, eventually expanding it into the tens of thousands of troops, which became the Huai Army. This force was equipped with Western-made modern artillery and firearms thanks to Li Hongzhang's efforts, and they managed to recapture Suzhou and Changzhou in the early 1860s. Afterwards Li had the captured rebel leaders executed, for which he was given the imperial yellow jacket, the title "Crown Prince's Grand Protector" and the peerage First Class Count Suyi.
Li was appointed the governor of the Jiangsu Province after the end of the Taiping Rebellion in 1864 but only held the position for two years before he was called back into service to put down the Nian Rebellion. He managed to quell it and was promoted again for this deed to Assistant Grand Secretary. In 1867 he received multiple new offices, including the Viceroy of Huguang and Zhili provinces, and later the Beiyang Trade Minister.
The latter position allowed him to become the dominant figure in forming the Qing Empire's foreign policy during the late 19th century, as his role included modernizing the region. Upon the death of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1875 Li lead an army into the capital to ensure that the Guangxu Emperor would be appointed to take his place, under the regency of the Ci'an and Cixi. He later negotiated a treaty with France upon the conclusion of the Sino-French War.
In his position as the Viceroy of Zhili, Li Hongzhang oversaw the modernization of the region and of the Qing dynasty's military using Western methods and equipment. As part of this he had multiple forts built at Port Arthur, purchased new vessels for the Beiyang Fleet, created a modernized land force called the New Armies and the Beiyang Army, and founded military academies for future Chinese officers staffed by European instructors.
This was in anticipation for a war with Japan, which would come in 1894. The forces raised by Li did most of the fighting but rampant corruption led to inefficiencies which allowed the Japanese to triumph over the Chinese forces, both on land and at sea. Although this caused his disgrace at the Qing court, Li had to go to Japan to negotiate an end to the conflict, and it was then that he was shot in a failed assassination attempt.
In the late 1890s he attended the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia as the Qing Empire's representative and later visited the United Kingdom. After touring the country he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order by Queen Victoria. He later negotiated with the Eight-Nation Alliance after the Boxer Rebellion and died two months later in 1901.