Zhang Te-yi And Diplomacy Of Late Qing

Zhang Te-yi,a Tongwen Guan student,went to the West eight times during his life,and grew to be a Chinese envoy in England from an interpreter.His life was a diplomatic history of late Qing Dynasty.The experience to the West in his early years bridged Zhang to the western world.He was lucky to witness several major diplomatic activities of Qing Government,and gradually understand and accepted the western etiquettes,and built up skilled and steady diplomatic competences.During his envoy in England,Zhang Te-yi contacted with envoys of various countries and ministers of England by private social actively,attended the international diplomatic activities on behalf of Qing Government,and seek rights and interests for Chinese laborers in South Africa through the law.Zhang completed his envoy work excellently,and tried to reshape the national image of Qing Government in the international diplomacy.Moreover,aimed at several shortcomings in the diplomacy of Qing Government,Zhang put foreword a series reform propositions based on western diplomatic institutions,including standardizing the diplomatic etiquettes,reforming the system of diplomatic officials,increasing funds to support,and cultivating diplomatic talents.All of his reform propositions tended to standardize and specialize diplomatic institutions of Qing Government.During his diplomatic life for about forty years,Zhang Te-yi gradually formed his pragmatic and cultural diplomatic thoughts.He always deal with all kinds of foreign affairs with reliable and pragmatic style,and promoted the communication between Chinese and western culture by introducing western culture to China actively and talking about Chinese traditional culture to foreigners.In the diplomatic circle of late Qing with several talents,Zhang was general and commonplace,but he was also a representative of many envoys who walked in the forefront of the diplomacy of Qing Government.These pragmatic and low-key envoys may have no much deep theories,but they had rich practical experience,and they played very important roles in promoting the developments of diplomacy in late Qing,which can not be ignored.