Zhang Zhidong—an Eminent Governor of Hubei

By Chen Long

Wuhan and Chicago both play important roles in their respective countries and they share many similarities—with both being a central city in a central region, and a transportation hub as well.

The development of Wuhan's transportation was initiated and promoted by Zhang Zhidong, who served as Viceroy of the Huguang area (i.e. Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan Provinces and the Surrounding Areas) in the late Qing Dynasty. He was not tall in stature and modest in manners, but his solemnity and self-respect stood out from his plain official gown. Before taking office in Hubei, he submitted a memorial to Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908) in which he zealously proposed the construction of a railway from Beijing to Wuhan. After several rounds of debate with the conservatives in the court, Zhang won the support of the emperor and his proposal was eventually accepted. On October 12, 1889, he was transferred from Guangzhou to Wuhan to supervise the Beijing-Wuhan railway project.

Building railways was one of the measures Zhang took for reviving the state, for he believed that railways had the power of connecting all the classes nationwide, including scholars, farmers, workers, businessmen and soldiers, so that all walks of life could move around freely. After China's defeat in the Opium War of 1840-1842, the Qing government had to cede the island of Hong Kong to Britain and was forced to open five cities as free treaty ports, which included Shanghai and Ningbo, and China paid reparations of 21 million silver taels. Since then,

other foreign powers got their way one after another, forcing the Qing government to sign unequal treaties so that China gradually lost its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Thus, some Chinese officials and scholars started to seek ways of strengthening China by learning from powerful countries.

In 1906, Jing-Han Railway was opened to traffic with a total length of 1,200 km. And it remained the most important railroad connecting the north and south of China for the entire 20th century.

While building railways, Zhang also promoted the expansion of Hubei's waterways centered in Wuhan. Furthermore, the “Stunning” from the US shipping company sailed into Hankou port and Osaka Commercial Lines Corporation opened two direct lines, Hankou-Kobe and Hankou-Osaka, which enabled Hankou to enjoy the reputation of being an international port. Thus, Wuhan emerged as a metropolis “leading to the ocean and communicating with the world.”

The iron industry in China relied heavily on imports, so the manufacturing of military weapons was hampered. In his letter to the Emperor, Zhang called for the establishment of steel plants in Hubei. In 1893, the Hanyang Steel Plant was set up. Soon, the “Hanyang-made” rifle was produced and was in service for the Chinese army for 50 years after.

During his administration in Hubei, he was devoted to fostering a private-sector economy which resulted in a boom of over 100 privatelyowned corporations ranging from mining, machinery manufacturing, and oil processing, to industries covering matches, tobacco, and cotton etc. Wuhan's annual trade volume hit 130 million silver taels, surpassing Tianjin and Guangdong to rank second only to Shanghai in China.

In the summer of 1907, Zhang, after 18 years' administration in Hubei, was transferred back to Beijing to serve as prime minister of State Security. He was 71 years old then, and passed away two years later.

Zhang's life was a good example of an official in the history of modern China who endeavored to find a way to rejuvenate China. Since the Opium War, Chinese people have been longing for the prosperity and rejuvenation of a nation as well as the improvement of people' well being.

(Translation: Wang Wen)

張之洞治鄂

文/陳龍

中國武漢和美國芝加哥有很多相似之處。它們都是各自國家中部的一個中心城市，也是全國的交通樞紐。

奠定武漢交通地位的人，是清朝的湖廣總督張之洞。他是個子矮而簡約的人，但質樸的衣服散發出莊嚴的氣質。來湖北之前，張之洞上奏光緒皇帝，力陳修建從武漢到北京的鐵路。和一些保守大臣進行一番辯論后，張之洞的建議被皇帝采納，1889年10月12日，他從廣州調任武漢，督辦京漢鐵路工程。

修鐵路是張之洞找到的一條強國之道。他說有了鐵路，中國的“士農工商兵”就可以快速運轉起來，縱橫四海。因為1840年英國發動了一場鴉片貿易戰爭，中國戰敗，割讓香港島給英國，開放上海、寧波等五處為通商口岸，并賠款2100萬兩百白銀。之后陸續有西方國家強迫中國簽訂不平等條約，中國逐漸喪失了領土和主權的完整。中國一些官員和知識分子便開始向戰勝國學習，尋找使國家強起來的辦法。

1906年，京漢鐵路貫通了，全長1200公里。在一個世紀里，這條鐵路成為中國最重要的南北交通干線。

鐵路之外，張之洞還以武漢為中心延伸湖北的水運交通。隨著美國輪船公司“驚異號”開進漢口，日本大阪商船會社開通了漢口至神戶、大阪的直達航線，使漢口港成為國際港口。武漢成了一個“外通海洋，輻射世界”的開放城市。

當時中國軍工用鐵依靠進口，槍炮制造受制于人。張之洞給皇帝寫信要求修建煉鐵廠。1893年，漢陽鐵廠建成，他們生產的“漢陽造”步槍被中國軍隊使用了50多年。

在湖北主政期間，張之洞還致力于發展民營商業，使武漢的民營工業企業達到了100多家，涉及采礦、機器制造、榨油、火柴、卷煙和棉紡等30多個行業。武漢年貿易額達到1億3000萬兩白銀，超過天津和廣東，成為當時中國僅次于上海的第二大城市。

1907年夏天，在湖北為官18年的張之洞回到北京任軍機大臣，那年他已經71歲，到京兩年后便去世了。

張之洞的一生是中國近代官員的一個縮影，他在苦求“富國之妙術”。鴉片戰爭之后的中國人有一個夢想，就是希望國家富強，民族振興，人民幸福。