Zeng Jize
| Zeng Jize | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1839 |
| Died | 12 April 1890 (aged 51) |
| Occupation | |
| Known for | Signed Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) |
| Notable work | China, the Sleep and the Awakening |
| Title | Marquess Yiyong of the first rank |
| Term | 12 February 1880 - 17 August 1886 |
| Parent(s) | Zeng Guofan |
Marquis Zeng Jize (traditional Chinese: 曾紀澤; Simplified Chinese : 曾纪泽; pinyin : Zēng Jìzé; Wade Giles, Tseng Chi-tse) (1839 – April 12, 1890), one of China's earliest ministers to London, Paris and Saint Petersburg, played an important role in the diplomacy that preceded and accompanied the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885).
Zeng Jize (1839–90), a native of Hunan province, was the eldest son of Zeng Guofan (曾國藩), a leading reformist minister at the Qing court, who was a descendants of Zengzi. Zeng had inherited his father's title of Marquis in 1877. He received a traditional Chinese education, but was also one of the few Chinese officials who learned English and took an interest in European affairs. With these advantages he was persuaded to represent China's interests abroad as a diplomat.
Zeng was appointed minister to Britain, France and Russia in 1878, and lived in Europe for seven years (1879–1885). He made his name as a diplomat in 1880 and 1881, by renegotiating the infamous 1879 Treaty of Livadia with Russia. The resulting Treaty of Saint Petersburg (February 1881), which reversed most of the Russian gains of 1879, was generally considered a diplomatic triumph for China.
Zeng's duties as minister to Paris were dominated by the confrontation between France and China over Tonkin that eventually culminated in the Sino-French War. Zeng's denunciations of French policy in Tonkin began softly enough in April 1882 after the capture of the citadel of Hanoi by Henri Rivière, grew more insistent as French ambitions became clearer in the summer of 1883, and reached a climax immediately after the Son Tay Campaign in December 1883.
In July 1883 Zeng's optimistic assessment that the French government had no stomach for a full-scale war with China influenced the Qing government's decision to terminate the Shanghai negotiations between Li Hongzhang and Arthur Tricou over the future of Tonkin. The failure of the Shanghai negotiations stiffened France's resolve to confront the Black Flag Army to entrench its protectorate in Tonkin, and arguably made war between France and China inevitable.
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