A Seasoned Statesman in Turbulent Times
The late 19th century presented China with unprecedented challenges as Western powers and a rapidly modernizing Japan pressed upon the weakening Qing dynasty. At the center of these turbulent events stood Li Hongzhang, one of China’s most prominent statesmen, whose pro-Western leanings made him a target of conservative factions at court. By 1899, the 77-year-old veteran official found himself increasingly isolated in Beijing’s political landscape.
Li’s extensive experience with foreign affairs, gained through decades of dealing with Western powers and Japan, had convinced him of the necessity for China to modernize. However, his pragmatic approach clashed with the rising anti-foreign sentiment among conservative officials and the imperial court. The situation reached a critical point when Empress Dowager Cixi, having regained power through the 1898 coup that ended the Hundred Days’ Reform, suggested Li leave the capital for a provincial post.
The Gathering Storm: Rising Tensions in Beijing
In December 1899, Li recorded in his diary the growing tension between his faction and the conservative elements at court. After a secret audience with Cixi at 2 a.m. on December 12, he wrote with palpable frustration about being maneuvered out of the capital. The aging statesman saw clearly the dangerous path his country was taking under the influence of anti-foreign officials like Prince Duan, who championed the Boxer movement.
Li’s diary entries reveal his growing alarm at the court’s embrace of the Boxers, whom he viewed as a destructive force that would bring disaster upon China. His warnings went unheeded, and by March 1900, he had assumed the position of Governor-General of Liangguang (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces), effectively exiled from the political center where his counsel was most needed.
The Boxer Crisis Unfolds
From his post in the south, Li watched helplessly as the Boxer Rebellion escalated in northern China. His diary entries from March to June 1900 document his mounting frustration and despair:
– March 26: He expressed regret over not ceding Shandong to Japan in 1895, believing it might have prevented the Boxer uprising
– June 10: Reported Boxer attacks on foreign properties in Beijing
– June 14: Noted the killing of a Japanese diplomat, foreseeing inevitable war
– June 22: Reacted with horror to news of the German minister’s murder
Li recognized these actions would bring catastrophic consequences, writing: “The entire Christian world will unite against us and reach for the throat of the Qing dynasty like a farmer grabbing a goose by the neck.”
The Diplomat’s Dilemma: Duty Versus Disillusionment
As the crisis deepened, the court recalled Li in July 1900 to negotiate with the foreign powers. His diary reveals profound ambivalence about this mission. On July 22 in Shanghai, he wrote: “I can only obey the court’s instructions, bowing and scraping to apologize to the foreigners for the killings committed by people for whom I have no sympathy whatsoever.”
Despite his misgivings, Li prepared a lengthy memorial to the throne, offering a clear-eyed assessment of China’s military weakness and the folly of confronting multiple foreign powers simultaneously. He argued passionately against continuing support for the Boxers, comparing their supposed supernatural powers to the superstitions that had contributed to the fall of previous dynasties.
The Final Mission: Negotiating the Boxer Protocol
Li’s last diary entries from August 1900 in Tianjin show a man physically weakened but determined to salvage what he could for his country. “After resting for a few days, I will continue to Beijing to try to make the powers stop,” he wrote on August 18. “If only my hands weren’t so weak, and my cause no weaker than my hands.”
The elderly statesman succeeded in negotiating the Boxer Protocol (Xinchou Treaty) with eleven nations in 1901, preventing the complete dismemberment of China. Foreign representatives acknowledged his achievement, with one noting he had won “the laurel wreath of admiration that no Chinese politician or diplomat before him had ever gained.”
The End of an Era
Li Hongzhang died on November 7, 1901, at Beijing’s Xianliang Temple, just two months after signing the Boxer Protocol. His death came sixty days before Empress Dowager Cixi’s return to the capital from her flight during the conflict. The man who had wished to ask if she had “learned her lesson” never got the chance.
Legacy of a Reluctant Reformer
Li’s diary provides extraordinary insight into the mind of a pragmatic statesman caught between a conservative court and an increasingly aggressive foreign presence. His earlier career, including his handling of Korean affairs in the 1880s, demonstrated his understanding of international relations and China’s precarious position.
The documents show Li as a complex figure—proud yet pragmatic, loyal yet critical, often forced to implement policies he disagreed with. His final years were marked by the painful realization that his warnings about China’s weakness and the dangers of xenophobia had been ignored, with disastrous consequences.
In the end, Li Hongzhang’s story embodies the tragic dilemma of late imperial China’s reformist officials—those who recognized the need for change but found themselves constrained by a system resistant to transformation. His diary stands as both a personal testament and a historical document of China’s turbulent encounter with the modern world.