Among them, Zeng Guofan once talked with Zhao Liewen, a famous person, about the fate of the Qing Dynasty. He shook his head and sighed: "It's really worrying. In this book, Li Hongzhang pointed out: For thousands of years, China has never encountered such a dangerous situation surrounded by foreign powers. Great powers are greedy for peace. If they don't do something about it as soon as possible, they will only be swallowed up by the wind and waves.
It can be seen that Li Hongzhang was a person who was deeply in crisis in the late Qing court and was not bound by all kinds of "friends" appearances. He strongly advocated saving the sober school from reality. Although there were some praises and denials from later generations, it is undeniable that Li Hongzhang's contributions at that time, such as doing westernization, promoting China students to study in the United States, and arguing diplomatically, are worthy of recognition.
This minister of the late Qing Dynasty, who was notorious for signing various unequal treaties, saw the tall buildings in the United States for the first time that year, and then thought about the fate of his country, and said sad words with mixed feelings. /kloc-More than 0/00 years ago, Li Hongzhang, who had just experienced the downfall of the Beiyang Navy and signed a treaty in Shimonoseki, Japan, which made him excited and vowed never to set foot on Japanese territory again, came to the United States, which was one of the best in the world at that time, with full melancholy.
In the eyes of European and American countries at that time, Li Hongzhang was more influential than the Qing emperor. Although he was 73 years old, in the eyes of foreign media at that time, he "ruled a big country with a population larger than all the monarchs in Europe combined" and was extremely capable (according to The New York Times). Therefore, when he boarded new york Port in August this year, he was immediately greeted by a high-level salute, cheers from the crowd and a general.
When Li Hongzhang was in the United States, he visited the memorial archway in Washington, handed the imperial edict to the President, and visited new york's Chinatown in a lively atmosphere and welcome. In September, Li Hongzhang gave a public speech, comparing the cultural differences between China and the West, especially the differences in religious beliefs; At the Chinese gathering, he expressed sympathy and concern for the unequal treatment of overseas Chinese workers.
Before Li Hongzhang left new york for Philadelphia, he was interviewed by a newspaper. Perhaps out of the subjective judgment that the western civilization will make the Oriental Minister Li Hongzhang boasted, I asked Li Hongzhang about the most surprising exotic customs in this trip to the United States. "
It is a high-rise building (skyscraper) with 20 stories or more. Many such buildings have been built in your country. They look very powerful and it is very difficult to destroy them, "Li Hongzhang said. But there are no such tall buildings in the Qing Dynasty ... I think even if the same building is built in the Qing Dynasty, it will soon be blown down by strong winds. Li Hongzhang seems to be right. He not only envies the simplicity of American industrial production. Perhaps no matter who Li Hongzhang is, in a foreign country, he will feel bitter when he sees such a strong contrast with the weak status quo of his own country. At that time, the Qing dynasty was still a bungalow skyscraper, and many people never dreamed of it!
This history makes future generations feel infinite when reading it. "Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall." No matter what our environment is, we can't forget how China once became food in the eyes of the great powers. Only by constantly striving for self-improvement, perseverance and continuous pursuit of progress can we stand proudly in the forest of the world and avoid history repeating itself.