Different Ambitions and Principles Lead to Different Lives

Zuo Zongtang and

Li Hongzhang

Xu Zhipin

Modern Press Co.， Ltd.

January 2022

59.80 （CNY）

This book takes the story of Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang’s intertwined lives as the plot， referring to Zeng Guofan and Empress Dowager Cixi. It is based on official history， interspersed with anecdotal history. By comparing comprehensively and deeply the differences between the two men in ten areas with a contemporary perspective， the book restores the history in the hope of giving contemporary readers a historical reference and modern inspiration.

Xu Zhipin

Xu Zhipin is a well-known writer and a leading figure in the study of Zuo Zongtang in China. Fifteen books written by him have been published. His representative works are the “Zuo Zongtang series.” Among them， Zuo Zongtang： The Last Hawk of the Empire of the Great Qing won the 2013 Influential Book Award of China. Some of his works have been translated into English and Japanese versions and published overseas.

Zuo Zongtang conducted himself in Confucianism by Confucius and Mencius， incorporating talent， knowledge， experience， and heroism， while Li Hongzhang in Zongheng Technique， the political strategies， fought on the officialdom， business， and foreigners with talent and experience. All of these made a big difference in the end， which provoked deep thinking.

Zuo Zongtang had kept the Confucian beliefs of loyalty， filial piety， and integrity as his faith as he entered the political stratum as a private intellectual. He did not take up his duties until forty years old， and after middle age， he rose through the ranks quickly. Grateful for the court’s treatment and rewards， which exceeded the norm， he tried his best to return the favor and was certainly reluctant to use his position and prestige for personal gains.

As a devoted believer in pre-Qin Confucianism， Zuo Zongtang acquired the sincerity and righteousness of Confucianism in his childhood and made loyalty， filial piety， integrity， and moderation his beliefs， which governed his lifelong loyalty. He relied on Confucianism by Confucius and Mencius and Legalism by Han Feizi as his means and methods to be an official. The former was his idealism， the latter his realism. Zuo Zongtang summed up his philosophy of life， which blended the ideal and the realistic， thus： “It’s taboo to be corner-cutting for the Creator， and all things in the world could be touched by ‘sincerity’.”

Zuo Zongtang was a man of simplicity， honesty， and competence， however， his loyalty to his cause and the court reached a level that at some points bordered on blind loyalty. When a person is loyal to a doctrine to the extent of being completely egoless， it can be called faith. Zuo Zongtang was more loyal to Confucianism than to the imperial court， which can be judged from the fact that in 1873 he dared to offend the wishes of the Empress Dowager Cixi， going so far as to bring down the prefect of Urumqi – Cheng Lu， who had been installed by her as a crony.

If Zuo Zongtang was motivated by his Confucian beliefs， Li Hongzhang was by the snobbishness of his official rank.

Unlike Zuo Zongtang， who grew up as an ordinary person， Li Hongzhang became a Jinshi （a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations） in his early years， and although he encountered some difficulties in his career， he had the smoothest career amongst his peers.

The most obvious difference between the learned Li Hongzhang， Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang was that he was dismissive of morality and knowledge and thus ended up as an “ignorant” and powerful minister. This probably had something to do with the fact that Li Hongzhang was very smooth in the civil examination in the early years. From a psychological point of view， people tend to make up for what they lack， and the more they have， the less they cherish， as Li Hongzhang’s later experiences fully demonstrate.

In his youth， Li Hongzhang， who stuck to the principle of “poems manifest ambition” and dreamed of “becoming a prime minister and feudal lord，” had a strong urge to make a name for himself throughout his life. After half a lifetime of experience in officialdom and on the battlefield， Li Hongzhang believed that he had found a home for his values， that life was just about enjoying it in time， and that morality and knowledge were only used to educate others. Only power and interests are real in life， which also seems to have been particularly favorable to him. When he became the governor of Jiangsu at the age of 39， Zeng Guofan asked him to collect taxes to support the payment of the Xiang army in Shanghai and Suzhou， which were boiling rich. Since he held all the aces， he could do as he pleased. Having both might and money， Li Hongzhang， who was gifted and heroic， could not help but have a mentality of dressing like a good man after thinking of himself standing out from the crowd. Due to the lack of a code of conduct that is consistent with certain ethical principles in his heart， he was particularly concerned about what others thought of him. And once he evaluated himself according to worldly criteria， he became obsessed with unrestrained vanity， as if it were the only real and reliable thing for a living being as he did possess both power and money.

Growing older and more powerful， Li Hongzhang did not believe in the court， his teachers， or books. His leisure and vanity were exposed， which paved the way for him to become the “framer” of the decline of the late Qing. This was also the reason why the three men had very different aspirations： “Zeng Guofan was desperate to do his studies， Zuo Zongtang was desperate to do his work， and Li Hongzhang was desperate to be a bureaucrate.”

The “pragmatism” of the bureaucracy-oriented took place of everything else， with no faith in the head and no self-discipline in the heart， the consequences of which had to be digested slowly within oneself. In Li Hongzhang， Liang Qichao could not help but criticize him for being “ignorant.”

In Zeng Guofan’s later years， he reminded Li Hongzhang of his own experience and insights over the years， asking him to bear in mind that “The difficulty of doing things for decades lies in the fact that the people’s hearts are not right and the world is not that simple， and to make the country better， someone has got to set an example， gradually causing those around him or her to follow suit， thus creating a powerful force.”

The words amounted to showing him the way and direction for a Confucian scholar to shoulder the changes. One or two people who looked up to the stars could find a way out for their own country and nation by their own doctrinal insight so that hundreds of echoes could follow them and realize their mission of the times.

Therefore， for Li Hongzhang’s new and old learning， his inner wanderings， impurity， and personal role in the evolution of history， we can quote Liang Qichao： “He is a hero produced by the times， not a hero that creates the times.” In contrast， Zuo Zongtang was different： before the age of 48， he rose to the occasion of the Taiping Rebellion. Thus， he is “a hero produced by the times;” between the ages of 48 and 73， he took the initiative to plan for the country’s interest and became “a hero who creates the times.”

Although history can never be assumed， it is logical to conclude that from 1853 to 1901， if there had been no Li Hongzhang in China， he would have been replaced by someone of roughly equal ability; however， from 1852 to 1885， if there had been no Zuo Zongtang， his chosen career would have been lost to history because there would have been no second person to replace him.

However， Zuo Zongtang also had problems， which were already determined at the start of his rise to power. As an independent scholar who grew up in civil society， the unique “cleanliness” and “clarity” in his personal qualities made it possible for him to achieve unprecedented success in his ideals for the country， but it is difficult for anyone to follow in his footsteps， for only one in ten thousand has both a natural talent and the opportunity to rise to the top.

Zuo Zongtang had lived the folk life until he was forty years old and met a lot of strange and unusual people， which， together with his personality of isolation formed during childhood， led to the fact that the talents he appreciated or promoted were all highly competent， but their personalities were mostly narrow. This was one of the bottlenecks in his appointment of personnel.

It can be supported by history that the Gansu scholar Wu Kedu， who Zuo Zongtang was appreciative of， was a man who was willing to “die to exhort the monarch” and to make Cixi return the political power to Guangxu Emperor. From this story， one would get the impression that Wu is somewhat flawed by his pedantry and stubbornness. The Jieyuan （the person who ranks first in the first round of the imperial examination） An Weijun， with super righteousness， discovered and cultivated by Zuo Zongtang among the 4，000 candidates in Gansu imperial examination hall， was criticized by the people for being unyielding.