Ministers › Diplomat / Envoy

Zeng Jize

Late Qing diplomat and son of Zeng Guofan who, as minister to Britain, France and Russia, renegotiated the Ili treaty at St Petersburg in 1881

Also known as Zi Jiegang · Shi Huimin

Zeng Jize, courtesy name Jiegang, was a son of the grand secretary Zeng Guofan of Xiangxiang in Hunan and inherited his title, Marquis Yiyong of the first rank, in 1877. In 1878 he became minister to Britain and France, and in 1880, after Chonghou was condemned for signing an unauthorised treaty with Russia, he was also sent to St Petersburg to reopen it. Ten months of argument produced the Treaty of St Petersburg in 1881, which returned the passes of southern Ili, including the Tekes valley. He then argued over Vietnam with the French government and settled the opium duty with Britain, adding over six million taels a year to revenue. Back in China in 1886, he joined the Zongli Yamen and served as vice-president of the Boards of War and Revenue until his death in 1890, when he was canonised as Huimin. In 1887 the Asiatic Quarterly Review in London printed an English essay under his name on the Qing state's sleep and awakening.

Life and times

  1. 1839 CEBornQing
  2. 1876Zuo Zongtang Reconquering XinjiangTook partage 37In 1876–77 Qing forces defeated Yaqub Beg's regime and recovered most of Xinjiang; Liu Jintang commanded in the field while Zuo Zongtang directed strategy, finance, and supply.
  3. 1890 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Sayings4
    1. Bearing Both Toil and BlameQingIdiom in Zeng Jize's envoy diary: told to bear toil and blame for the nation
    2. Selfless Loyalty and Devotion to the StateQingIdiom from Zeng Jize's envoy diary: the Empress Dowager's praise of Zeng Guofan
    3. Bending to Preserve the Whole: Zeng Guofan and the Tianjin CaseQingIdiom from Zeng Jize's diary: yielding and enduring for the sake of the larger good
    4. Avenging Wrongs and Wiping Out DisgraceQingIdiom in Zeng Jize's envoy diary: true redress lies in self-strengthening, not mob violence
  2. Literature · Prose3
    1. Diary of an Envoy to Britain, France and RussiaQingZeng Jize's diary as Qing envoy to Europe, 1878–1886, including the Ili treaty talks
    2. Diary of an Envoy to Britain, France and Russia: Guangxu 4 (1878)Qing
    3. Diary of an Envoy to Britain, France and Russia: Audience in the Hall of Mental Cultivation (28th Day, 7th Month, 1878)Qing

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Zeng Guofan
    Father
    Zeng Jize

Connections

  1. Shared events2
    1. Zuo Zongtang1812 CE–1885 CE
    2. Liu Jintang1844 CE–1894 CE