Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/451

Rh London, until a few months before his death. Arriving in London on January 21, 1877, Kuo presented his letter of credence at Buckingham Palace on February 6. Early in 1878 he was appointed concurrently Minister to France, and then took up residence in Paris. But in the autumn of the same year he was ordered back to China and was appointed to take his place. Kuo's tenure of office abroad was comparatively uneventful. From the beginning he was reluctant to accept the appointment and, moreover, was on bad terms with his associate, Liu Hsi-hung. He repeatedly urged the government to introduce railways, machinery and other Western conveniences, but his suggestions were strongly resented by recalcitrant officials in power and evoked a reprimand. Upon his return to China he did not proceed to Peking; so convinced was he that his life would be in danger there, that he pled ill health and went directly to his home. For a time he taught in the Academy, Ch'êng-nan Shu-yüan 城南書院 at Changsha and spent his last years chiefly in writing. As his studio was styled Yang-chih Shu-wu 養知書屋, he was also known as Yang-chih hsien-shêng (先生). But even in retirement he was always concerned with the welfare of the nation, especially with its foreign relations. On the question of the treaty of Livadia (see under ) and the French intervention in Annam (see under ), he submitted memorials and offered opinions. As a liberal statesman he advocated the construction of railways and the establishment of a telegraph service. He was perturbed at the fatal obstinacy of the government authorities in matters of foreign affairs, and rightly so, for their policies resulted finally in the Boxer Uprising of 1900, nine years after Kuo's death.

Kuo Sung-tao produced several works on the classics, among them the 禮記質疑 Li-chi chih-i, in 49 chüan, first published in 1890. It is recorded that he also left a work, 湘陰圖志 Hsiang-yin t'u-chih, a topographical study of his native district in 34 chüan. His diary of the journey from Shanghai to London, entitled 使西紀程 Shih-hsi chi-ch'êng, appears in the collectanea Hsiao fang-hu chai yü-ti ts'ung-ch'ao (1891, see under ). His collected works, Yang-chih shu-wu ch'üan-chi (全集), including 15 chüan of verse, 28 chüan of prose and 12 chüan of memorials, were first printed in 1892.

Two younger brothers: Kuo K'un-tao 郭崑燾, a chü-jên of 1844, and Kuo Lun-tao 郭崙燾 , were learned scholars who rendered valuable service in the suppression of the Taipings. Kuo Sung-tao's eldest son, Kuo Kang-chi 郭剛基, who died in early life, married Tsêng Chi-ch'un 曾紀純, fourth daughter of Tsêng Kuo-fan. A son of Kuo K'un-tao, Kuo Ch'ing-fan 郭慶藩, wrote or compiled some ten works, among which were the comprehensive annotations to Chuang-tzŭ, entitled 莊子集釋 Chuang-tzŭ chi-shih, 24 chüan, printed in 1894.

[1/452/1a; 5/15/5b; Autobiographical notes (玉池老人自叙, 1893); Liu Hsi-hung, 英軺日記 Ying-yao jih-chi in Hsiao fang-hu chai yü-ti ts'ung-ch'ao (see under ); Chang Tê-i 張德彝, 四述奇 Ssŭ-shu ch'i (1883); Boulger, The Life of Sir Thomas Macartney (1908), with portraits; for a definitive history of the likin system see Lo Yü-tung 羅玉東, 中國釐金史 Chung-kuo li-chin shih (1936).]

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LABU 喇布 d. 1681, age twenty-eight (sui), member of the Imperial Family and second son of, succeeded to the title of Prince Chien (簡親王 Chien Ch'in-wang) in 1670. In 1674 the emperor gave him the rank of Yang-wei Ta-chiang-chün 揚威大將軍 and ordered him to lead an army against and other rebels, and to garrison Nanking. In the following year, the emperor sent Labu to Kiangsi to take the place of who had been ordered to advance from Kiangsi into Hunan. Although Labu succeeded in several minor campaigns around Po-yang Lake, he was unable to prevent the invading army under Han Ta-jên 韓大任 and Kao Ta-chieh 高大節 (last word also written 傑 or 捷) from occupying Chi-an in 1676 and threatening the rear of Yolo's army. Labu was ordered to ease the situation by attacking Chi-an, but he was twice defeated by the brave rebel general, Kao Ta-chieh, when the Manchu army was routed and Labu fled. After Kao Ta-chieh's death, later in the year, Labu again besieged Chi-an, and by the following spring had reduced Han Ta-jên and his forces to starvation. A sudden sortie of the enemy took him by surprise and threw the Manchu troops into confusion, in the course of which Han Ta-jên and his men escaped. For this and for earlier defeats Labu was severely censured by the emperor, but at the beginning 439