Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/149

 himself in readiness to fight, should the parley fail. Fortunately, the Russo-Chinese treaty concerning Ili was concluded February 24, 1881, and Tsêng and his troops withdrew. He was then appointed governor-general of Kansu, Shensi and Sinkiang, but he declined the post owing to ill health. After a few months' rest at home he was appointed (August, 1882) acting governor-general of Kwangtung and Kwangsi; and about a year later was called to Peking (1883) where, for a fortnight in February 1884, he was acting minister of the Board of Ceremonies. Thereupon he was made acting governor-general of Liang-Kiang (Kiangsu, Kiangsi and Anhwei) and concurrently superintendent of trade for the southern seaports.

When Tsêng Kuo-ch'üan assumed his duties at Nanking (April, 1884) one fleet of French warships was menacing Annam and another Shanghai. He was ordered to strengthen the forts along the Yangtze delta, and to dispatch warships to Formosa. On July 20, 1884 he served as imperial commissioner to negotiate terms of peace at Shanghai with Jules Patenôtre 巴德诺 (1845–1925), French minister to China. From July 25 to August 18 the parley at Shanghai was at a deadlock because of the indemnity the French demanded. Soon afterwards war between France and China was resumed at Foochow and Formosa (see under and ). Tseng Kuo-ch'üan returned to Nanking to strengthen the defenses of Kiangsu. Finally the peace treaty was signed on June 9, 1885 (see under ). Tsêng's able services in this critical period, and his wise middle-course policy in governing the LiangKiang, were praised by the emperor who rewarded him, in 1889, with the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. When Tsêng died in office in the following year he was posthumously elevated to the title of Grand Tutor and was canonized as Chung-hsiang 忠襄. His name was celebrated in the Temple of Eminent Statesmen. A complete collection of his writings, entitled 曾忠襄公全集 Tsêng Chung-hsiang kung ch'üan-chi, 67 chüan, including his nien-p'u, was published in 1903.

[1/419/1a; 2/59/18a; 5/30/1a; 8/10 /1a; Hsiang chün chi (see bibl. under ) chüan 6, 9 (1889); Li Hsiu-ch'êng kung-chuang; Hail, W. J., Tsêng Kuo-fan and the Taiping Rebellion pp. 260–262 (New Haven, 1927); Morse, H. B., The International Relations of the Chinese Empire, vol. II, pp. 355–366 (London, 1918).]

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 TSÊNG Kuo-fan 曾國藩, Nov. 26, 1811–1872, Mar. 12, statesman, general and scholar, the first Marquis I-yung (毅勇侯), was a native of Hsiang-hsiang, Hunan. He was born in a poor peasant family and in his youth was much influenced, in his characteristic tendencies and habits of thought, by his grandfather, Tsêng Yü-p'ing 曾玉屏. His father, Tsêng Lin-shu 曾麟書, became a hsiu-ts'ai in 1832—a year before Tsêng Kuo-fan himself obtained the same degree. Tsêng Kuo-fan was a chin-shih of 1838 and in June of the same year became a member of the Hanlin Academy. At the capital, he pursued his studies with great tenacity of purpose and profited by his contacts with noted contemporary scholars. After routine promotions he was appointed, in 1849, junior vice-president of the Board of Ceremonies. At different times he served as acting vice-president on several other Boards and thus gained wide knowledge of state affairs. This experience enabled him, in his later memorials to the throne, to make practical proposals and to frame them with great clarity and precision. In 1852 he was sent to conduct the provincial examination of Kiangsi, but learning, on his way south, of the death of his mother, he was granted leave to return home to observe the customary mourning period.

From 1850 onward the Taiping Rebellion had spread rapidly from Kwangsi to Hunan, Hupeh and down the Yangtze River to Nanking (see under ). For three years the pursuing imperial troops vainly followed the insurgents from Kwangsi to the outskirts of Nanking (see under ). But the militia, organized in the villages by and, proved to be more effective than the regulars—particularly in 1852 in the defense of Changsha (see under ). After the Taipings had abandoned the siege of Changsha (November 30, 1852) Tsêng was ordered by the emperor to recruit and drill the Hunan militia. When, after much persuasion, he decided on January 29, 1853 to assume this responsibility he swore to himself that he would not covet wealth nor fear death.

Tsêng Kuo-fan's first task was to organize the Hunan Army (Hsiang-chün 湘軍), usually referred to as the "Hunan Braves." It comprised, among other troops, Lo Tsê-nan's "Hsiang Yung" 751