Li Hongzhang

Early life and career

Li was born into a scholar-gentry family in Qunzhi Village (群治村), Modian Township (磨店鄉), 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northeast of central Hefei, Anhui Province, China. In 1843, he sat for the entry-level imperial examination in Lu Prefecture and obtained a yougong (優貢; or gongsheng 貢生) position. His father, who was serving as an official in the imperial capital Beijing, was eager to see his son succeed, so he encouraged his son to come to Shuntian Prefecture to take the district-level examination. Li then travelled to Beijing. Along the way, he wrote ten poems under the collection Entering the Capital (Rù Dū 入都) to express his feelings.

In 1844, Li obtained a juren (舉人) position in the district-level examination, but failed to make it in the metropolitan-level examination. He then started taking classes under Zeng Guofan. In 1847, he sat for the metropolitan-level examination again and obtained a jinshi (進士) position at the young age of 24, and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy as a shujishi (庶吉士). At the same time, he also continued taking classes under Zeng Guofan to improve his knowledge. Three years later, he took the sanguan (散館) examination in the academy and earned the position of a bianxiu (編修; an editor).

Li's ancestral family name was actually Xǔ (許). His ancestors had migrated from Hukou, Jiangxi Province to Hefei, Anhui Province. Li's eighth-great-grandfather, Xu Yingxi (許迎溪), had given up his second son, Xu Shen (許慎), for adoption by a relative, Li Xinzhuang (李心莊). Xu Shen and his descendants had taken Li (李) to be their family name since then. Li's father, Li Wen'an (李文安; 1801–1855), obtained a jinshi degree in the imperial examination in 1838 – the same year as Zeng Guofan. Li Wen'an also served as a langzhong (郎中) in the Ministry of Justice.

Li had one elder brother and four younger brothers; he was the second son in his family. His elder brother, Li Hanzhang (李瀚章; 1821–1899), served as a xunfu and zongdu in a number of provinces. His third brother, Li Hezhang (李鶴章; 1825–1880), served as a military officer. His fourth brother was Li Yunzhang (李蘊章), his fifth brother was Li Fengzhang (李鳳章), and his sixth brother was Li Zhaoqing (李昭慶; 1835–1873).

Li's first primary spouse, Lady Zhou (周氏), bore him a son, Li Jingyu (李經毓), who died prematurely. Lady Zhou died of illness in 1861.

Li's second primary spouse, Zhao Xiaolian (趙小蓮), bore him another son, Li Jingshu (李經述). Li Jingshu inherited his father's peerage as Marquis Suyi (肅毅侯), but died early. Li Jingshu's son, Li Guojie (李國傑; 1881–1939), inherited the Marquis Suyi peerage and served in a number of official positions in the final years of the Qing dynasty. He became an official and industrialist in the Republic of China later. Li Guojie also married the daughter of Natong (那桐; 1857–1925), who served in the Grand Secretariat and Grand Council.

Li's secondary spouse, Lady Mo (莫氏), bore him three sons: Li Jingyuan (李經遠), Li Jingmai (李經邁; 1876–1938) and Li Jingjin (李經進). Among the three, only Li Jingmai survived into adulthood. He served as the Qing Empire's Ambassador to Austria-Hungary and a Right Vice Secretary (右侍郎) in the Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部).

Li had three daughters. One of them, Li Ju'ou (李菊藕), married Zhang Peilun (1848–1903) and bore the father of the writer Eileen Chang (1920–1995). The other two daughters married Guo Enhou (郭恩垕), the magistrate of Weifang County, and Ren Dehe (任德和), the zhushi (主事) of Yixing County.

Li also adopted Li Jingfang (1855–1934), a son of his sixth brother Li Zhaoqing. Li Jingfang served as the Qing Empire's Ambassador to Japan and a Left Vice Secretary (左侍郎) in the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (郵傳部).

His grandson, Li Shiu Tong, would become a sexologist known for his work and relationship with his mentor and romantic partner Magnus Hirschfeld, and would posthumously be recognized as a researcher in his own right following the rediscovery of his manuscripts.

Bribery controversy

Sergei Witte dismissed some rumours during Li's visit to Europe that Li was bribed. However, according to the Russian account, Li had urged the Russian government to build a three-million rubles "Li Hongzhang Foundation" to make Li and Zhang Yinheng to support the Sino-Russia railway treaty and Lushun-Dalian Rent Treaty, and a payment of 0.5 million rubles was confirmed. Ma Wenzhong questioned whether the Russian account was reliable.