This book is a long historical novel about Li Hongzhang. Living in the turbulent late Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang accompanied four generations of monarchs and dominated the political arena for decades. He built the Huai army, quelled the bandits, engaged in foreign affairs, created water divisions, and promoted diplomacy. Throughout his life, he was just a "paper for broken houses" in the late Qing Dynasty. Together with Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong, and Zuo Zongtang, he is known as the "Four Famous Ministers of ZTE". Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi regards him as "a person in the Qing Empire who has the ability to compete with the world's powers", and the Empress Dowager Cixi regards him as "the person who recreated Xuanhuang". However, because of his signing of a series of unequal treaties on behalf of the Qing government, as well as personal corruption, decision-making errors and other issues, he also received a lot of criticism, and his life was mixed.
Reader comments
He was the founder of the Huai Army, founded the Beiyang Navy, pacified the Nian Army, and learned from Zeng Guofan. The Japanese Hirobumi Ito praised him as the Bismarck of the East. Liang Qichao lamented that China could compete with the world's powers for hundreds of years. The Beiyang Navy was destroyed in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 and unequal treaties were signed. He died in humiliation with mixed success and failure. He was one of the four famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty. He promoted the Westernization Movement and put China on the road to becoming a powerful country. He was praised by Cixi as the last pillar of the late Qing Dynasty. However, because of signing various unequal treaties, he became the person criticized by everyone for a hundred years.
This book takes Li Hongzhang's life as the main line and vividly depicts his character and experiences. Although Li Hongzhang had mixed reputations and reputations throughout his life, his talent and courage are admirable. His words, "There are people in the Qing Empire who are capable of competing with the world's great powers" showed me his confidence and pride. The author's description is wonderful, making me feel like I was in that turbulent era. Recommended to friends who like historical novels!
This is a good book that gave me a deeper understanding of historical figures.
The writing is smooth, the characters are vividly drawn, and the history is reproduced, which is thought-provoking.
Mixed Feelings Times Times
It was very good to read it in one sitting. It was my first time to see many things, and it was very insightful.
He was the founder of the Huai Army, founded the Beiyang Navy, pacified the Nian Army, and learned from Zeng Guofan. The Japanese Hirobumi Ito praised him as the Bismarck of the East. Liang Qichao lamented that China could compete with the world's powers for hundreds of years. The Beiyang Navy was destroyed in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 and unequal treaties were signed. He died in humiliation with mixed success and failure. He was one of the four famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty. He promoted the Westernization Movement and put China on the road to becoming a powerful country. He was praised by Cixi as the last pillar of the late Qing Dynasty. However, because of signing various unequal treaties, he became the person criticized by everyone for a hundred years.
This book takes Li Hongzhang's life as the main line and vividly depicts his character and experiences. Although Li Hongzhang had mixed reputations and reputations throughout his life, his talent and courage are admirable. His words, "There are people in the Qing Empire who are capable of competing with the world's great powers" showed me his confidence and pride. The author's description is wonderful, making me feel like I was in that turbulent era. Recommended to friends who like historical novels!
This is a good book that gave me a deeper understanding of historical figures.
The writing is smooth, the characters are vividly drawn, and the history is reproduced, which is thought-provoking.
Mixed Feelings Times Times
It was very good to read it in one sitting. It was my first time to see many things, and it was very insightful.