The Study On Zeng Guoquan

Zeng Guoquan was not a significant character in Modern China, he left behind own trace as an high-ranked officer in the group of Xiang Army. This thesis attempts to make a study about him as an officer, an official and his modernization thought, in order to unveil his actual image, and the change of the late Qing government.As an important officer in Xiang Army, Zeng Guoquan suppressed Taiping and Nian Army's movement, and resisted foreign invasion. He made an outstanding contribution to the development of Xiang Army, and underwent many things from spring to wane, accompanying with the group of Xiang Army.As an official, Zeng Guoquan was a qualified traditional one. During being in power, he concentrated on the administration, such as rectifying feudal officials, relieving the people in disaster and flood victims, strictly enforcing opium, and partly improving the salt policy and the canal transporting. Simultaneity, he took strong arms to keep away insurgences and banditries from the late Qing Dynasty government.During the period of Modernization Movement, Zeng Guoquan applied himself to many modernization events, such as expanding Jingling Machine Mill and Jingling Powder Plant, trying to steel-making,setting up modernized coast defenses, establishing Jiangnan Marine College, setting wire, proposing to build railway. But totally, Zeng Guoquan is not a rustler to carrying out modernization events,and his modernization is quite limited.In all, Zeng Guoquan's experience and characteristic reflected some questions of Xiang Army, government and society in the late Qing Dynasty.