Li Hongzhang

Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823 - November 7, 1901), whose training name was Zhongtong, courtesy name Zifu, Jianfu, nickname Shaoquan, Yisou, and Shengxin, and was known as Li Zhongtang and Li Fuxiang. A native of Hefei, Luzhou, Anhui Province (now part of Hefei City), he was an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty and an important politician, strategist, diplomat, industrialist, and reformer in modern China. Li Hongzhang was a disciple of Zeng Guofan. He was a Jinshi under Daoguang and Dingwei. He was promoted to Crown Prince Taifu, Bachelor of Wenhua Palace, Minister of Commerce of Beiyang, and Governor of Zhili. His title was First-class Su Yibo. He founded the local armed Huai Army, trained the Western-style navy Beiyang Navy, and participated in the crusade against the Taiping Army, the pacification of the Nian Army, the Westernization Movement, the Sino-French War, the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1895, and the Boxer Rebellion. After his death, he was given a posthumous gift to the Taifu and became a Marquis. Posthumous title: Wenzhong. Li Hongzhang was considered by the modern historian Tang Degang to "please the faint emperor internally and resist the great powers externally". He had deft diplomatic skills and was known as the "Four Famous Ministers of the ZTE" in the late Qing Dynasty along with Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Zhang Zhidong. Li Hongzhang was awarded the Royal Victoria Medal by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It is said that U.S. President Grant called Lee the first of the four great men in the world at that time, as famous as the then British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the French Prime Minister Gambetta, and the German Chancellor Bismarck. His works are collected in "The Complete Works of Li Wenzhonggong".