Collection of Tang Haoming -- Zhang Zhidong (Volumes 1, 2, and 3): Zhang Zhidong

Author: Tang Haoming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-07-01
Features: For over a century, history has deliberately left a for later generations: whenever the Huguang Governor is mentioned, it is Zhang Zhidong who comes to mind; whenever Zhang Zhidong is discussed, the special role of the "Huguang Governor" in China's modern Westernization history is immediately recalled. It is rare in China's thousands of years of official history for one person to be so closely linked to a position, filling a hollow official title with such richness and lasting significance, enough to provoke deep reflection. Zhang Zhidong was a key minister of the late Qing Dynasty and a towering figure in academia. He walked the path of officialdom and was highly valued by the court, serving as a critic of the Qing government in the capital and remaining loyal and diligent in his postings. Beyond upholding the Manchu rule, he yearned for Western science and technology, establishing industries. Living in an era of transition between the old and the new, he wove a complex identity of old consciousness and new ideas, striving to turn the tide and propose the famous principle of "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning for practical use," which remains relevant and fresh over a century later.