Although these four old four are all "famous ministers of Zhongxing", their achievements are different for the Qing Dynasty and even today's China, but they are different in the word-of-mouth evaluation of later generations. Zeng Guofan is obviously the most respected one among these four people. Hu Linyi, on the other hand, was not known to future generations because of his early death. Although Zuo's evaluation of praise and criticism is not as good as Zeng Guofan's, it is definitely more praise than criticism. However, Li Hongzhang can only be regarded as a person with mixed feelings, and he is also the most criticized "famous minister" by later generations.
Above _ Hu Linyi (A.D. 18 12- A.D. 186 1 year), whose real name is Runzhi, was one of the famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty.
Then, why is there such a big gap between being a famous minister of ZTE and being an official with the DPRK? In fact, this gap is mainly in "character".
As mentioned earlier, Hu Linyi's early death is not widely known, so I won't go into details in this article. Let's pay attention to the personality gap between Zeng, Zuo and Li. This difference in conduct can be discussed and compared from three aspects: name, benefit and behavior.
Above _ Zeng Guofan (18 1 1 year-1872)
First, say "name" first.
Why did Zeng Guofan enjoy a high reputation? Because he really achieved indifferent fame and fortune. Zeng Guofan really tried to avoid "leaving a name" all his life. He often does good deeds without leaving a name, does not keep records himself, and does not mention them in his letters. It is "Lei Feng's style" selflessness.
Zuo cares more about his reputation than Zeng Guofan, and he often does some good things such as funding, but Zuo prefers to "publicize" his concern for the country and the people. In addition, it can be seen that Zeng and Zuo attached great importance to personal reputation. As we all know, Zeng and Zuo both wrote many letters such as family letters and family instructions. It can be said that they have gathered too much wisdom in dealing with people, and now they are the source of our understanding of historical facts and self-cultivation. But Zeng Guofan made it clear at that time that his letters and other words could not be printed, while Zuo made it clear to his son that his letters should be printed and circulated. Although Zuo published letters for educating future generations, it is inevitable that he will gain fame.
As for Li Hongzhang's handling of reputation, it runs counter to Zeng and Zuo in cognition. Li Hongzhang is realistic in his work, and his reputation is vain in his view, so he doesn't pay much attention to it. Perhaps because of this, Li Hongzhang can do something for the other two.
Above _ Zeng Guofan's letter
Second, say "name" before "profit".
The so-called "profit" is not just money. Zeng and Zuo are both typical ascetic monks, especially Zeng Guofan. Zeng and Zuo agree that money can only be used for daily expenses, and they will abide by the oath of "not getting rich for officials" for life.
In addition, they are even more reluctant to leave their monetary assets to future generations. Their outlook on life is that if children and grandchildren are the same material, they can still have enough to eat without leaving a family legacy. On the contrary, if they have wealth, they can't lose their family. Moreover, they believe that the richer family fortune is, the more likely it is to produce playboys and black sheep, which is more in line with the China people's belief that "poor children should take care of themselves as soon as possible".
Li Hongzhang's interest view is completely opposite to Zeng and Zuo's, and his desire for money is quite heavy. Unlike Zeng and Zuo, "being an official is not for money", Li Hongzhang used his high position and power to grab a lot of wealth for himself and his family. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty vigorously engaged in the "Westernization Movement". As one of the main promoters of the development of "Westernization", most of the enterprises set up by Li Hongzhang have shares in them, and many of them are "dry shares".
Li Hongzhang himself is also an expert in business and financial management, and Li is involved in profiteering industries such as pawn and finance. In addition, some hidden black income is not without. It is said that Li Hongzhang also accepted bribes from the Russians. Although there is no conclusive evidence about this, it is not necessarily groundless. So Li Hongzhang was not only much richer than Zeng and Zuo, but also the first-class rich man in the country at that time.
Above _ Li Hongzhang (1823, February 15-190 1,165438+1October 7th)
Third, finally, talk about this "for".
Confucius said, "A gentleman loves money and takes it wisely." To tell the truth, there were not many people who wanted to do it in ancient times, so it is understandable for individuals to pay attention to their reputation and cherish some money. However, if they do not perform well, it is not a grievance to be criticized by future generations. In my opinion, Li Hongzhang's personal conduct is not only far from Zeng and Zuo, but can even be described as "despicable".
The author's evaluation of Li Hongzhang's personal conduct is so low, not because Li Hongzhang wants to pay back personal grievances, but because Li disregarded the right and wrong of the country and vented his anger with personal anger to avenge himself.
Many friends know that the relationship between Zeng and Zuo is not harmonious, and Zuo often speaks ill of Zeng Guofan. However, Zeng Guofan laughed off such rumors every time he heard them. When Zuo fought in the northwest, Zeng Guofan, the governor of Liangjiang, spared no effort to support Zuo in logistics. Even Zuo, who thinks highly of himself, has to admit that he is ashamed. It is a gentleman's behavior to put personal grievances aside for the benefit of the country.
Above _ left (1812-1885), the word season is high.
On the other hand, there are not a few despicable acts that disregard the country's righteousness for personal purposes. Although it is not certain to accept the bribe from the Russians mentioned above, the Russians took the place of the Japanese and seized the interests of South Manchuria. Li Hongzhang really made a lot of efforts to mediate. Perhaps this matter can be justified as "not losing the interests of the Qing Dynasty". Anyway, neither Japan nor Russia has anything from the Qing Dynasty, although the territory belongs to the Qing Dynasty. Then, it is absolutely naked and sinister to kill Hu Xueyan and then turn left (so-called: turn left before turning Hu).
When the Qing-French War broke out, Zuo did not go to Korea in his later years, but went to the battlefield. At this time, Hu Xueyan gambled all his fortune in order to start a silk business war with foreigners. Li Hongzhang took this opportunity to collude with HSBC, which lent money to Hu Xueyan, and forced Hu Xueyan to go bankrupt. Zuo Ziran, who lost his "purse", could not fight with all his strength, which became one of the important factors that decided the final direction of the Qing-French war. Finally, both Zuo and Hu Xueyan died of grief.
Above _ Coin with Li Hongzhang on it
For personal political purposes, Li Hongzhang did not hesitate to help foreign banks to harm their own commercial interests. In any case, Li Hongzhang's behavior is very despicable.
Therefore, it makes sense to say that "left is not as good as Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang is not as good as left".
References:
1 Bad Rules Zhang Hongjie/Zhu Yuelu Bookstore
2 Zeng Guofan Biography Zhang Hongjie/Democracy and Construction Press
3 "The influence of HSBC on modern China" Liu Xue's academic paper.
The text was created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures originated from the Internet and belonged to the original author.