什麼是李鴻章

Li Hongzhang，亦拼作Li Hung-chang。

中國政治家，代表中國在中法戰爭（1883～1885年）、中日戰爭（1894～1895年）和義和團事件（發生於1900年）結束之後，進行一連串屈辱的談判。李鴻章在其生涯早期，即協助鎮壓太平天國之亂（1850～1864年），以及平定捻亂（約發生於1852～1868年間）。當時，李鴻章接觸到西方人（尤其是英格蘭人戈登）和西方武器，於是轉而深信，中國如果想要維護自己的主權，就需要擁有西方式的軍火。1870年，李鴻章被任命為首都所在地的直隸省的總督，他建立了兵工廠、開設軍事學校、建立兩座現代的海軍基地，購買戰艦，並從事其他「自強」的措施。李鴻章希望透過現代化來儲存傳統的中國，然而就在傳統的中國之中，他的創新未能獲得充份發展，而李鴻章本人也受到他所企圖保護之體系的致命傷害。

1823～1901年

Li Hongzhang

Chinese statesman who represented China in the series of humiliating negotiations at the end of the Sino-French War (1883-85), Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), and Boxer Rebellion (1900). Much earlier in his career, Li had helped with the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) and had put down the Nian Rebellion (c. 1852-68). At that time, he came in contact with Westerners (notably England's Charles George Gordon) and Western weapons and became convinced that China needed Western-style firepower if it wanted to protect its sovereignty. In 1870, when Li was appointed governor-general of the capital province, Zhili, he was able to build arsenals, found a military academy, establish two modern naval bases, purchase warships, and undertake other “self-strengthening” measures. Through modernization he hoped to preserve traditional China, but within traditional China Li's innovations could not develop fully, and he was fatally hampered by the system he was trying to protect.