In my opinion, Li Hongzhang was actually a powerful official of the Qing Dynasty who stood at the forefront of that turbulent period.
When Li Hongzhang became an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, he held many posts, such as Beiyang Minister of Trade and Governor of Zhili, all of which were official posts at that time. In his official career, Li Hongzhang participated in a series of important historical events in the late Qing Dynasty, such as the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement and the Westernization Movement.
As one of the main stakeholders of the Westernization Movement, Li Hongzhang did gain some good reputation in later generations. After all, the Westernization Movement was a change and a self-innovation, although it failed in the end.
Li Hongzhang is here? Middle school is the body and western learning is the use? In the Westernization Movement, he did show a sense of expectation of the current situation. However, he only saw the surface and didn't realize the inside. He only studied western guns, treating the symptoms rather than the root cause. Li Hongzhang did not deeply realize that the competition between countries lies in people.
In the important events of the late Qing Dynasty, the signing of a series of unequal treaties also made Li Hongzhang's evaluation in later generations mostly derogatory. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, after a series of battles failed, Li Hongzhang signed a series of unequal treaties on behalf of the Qing government, such as the treaty of shimonoseki, the Xin Chou Treaty, which seriously violated national sovereignty and interests.
But Li Hongzhang, as an official of the Qing Dynasty, can only be said to be an agent. He represented the ruler of the Qing dynasty at that time, not himself, and he personally did not have the strength to cede land for compensation. In this matter, Li Hongzhang can be said to be involuntarily. If we define Li Hongzhang only by signing a treaty, it is still somewhat one-sided.
Mr. Liang Qichao once said to Li Hongzhang: Respect, cherish and grieve over Li's encounter.
It is difficult to judge what kind of person Li Hongzhang is, whether he is a hero or a sinner. He wants to change the time through personal efforts, but he doesn't have enough level. He can only say that Li Hongzhang, as a minister of the Qing Dynasty at that time, had tried his best to do what he should do.