Zuo Zongtang

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Zuo Zongtang
Portrait of General Tso, by Piassetsky, 1875
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office 1881 – 1884
Preceded by	Peng Yulin
Succeeded by	Yulu
Born	November 10, 1812(1812-11-10) Xiangyin, Hunan
Died	September 5, 1885 (aged 72) Fuzhou, Fujian
Occupation	Politician

Zuǒ Zōngtáng, 1st Marquess Kejing of the Second Class (traditional Chinese: 左宗棠; Courtesy name: Jigao traditional Chinese: 季高) (November 10, 1812 - September 5, 1885), spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang in Wade-Giles and known simply as General Tso or General Tsuo to Western Europeans, was a Chinese statesman and military leader. He was born in Wenjialong, north of Changsha in Hunan province in the waning years of the Qing Dynasty. He served with brilliant distinction during China's most important (and the world's largest-scaled at the time) civil war, the 14-year-long Taiping Rebellion, in which it is estimated at least 20 million people lost their lives. The Tso in General Tso is sometimes misspelled "Cho" in English, probably due to Cantonese influence. The correct pronunciation of the name in Mandarin is [tsuɔ tsʊŋtʰɑŋ],Zuǒ was belong to Qing empire strong,pure leader of the war hawk the lastest.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early career 1.2 Taiping Rebellion 1.3 Success and appointments 1.4 Later life and death 2 General Tso's chicken 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career

Zuo's career got an inauspicious start when as a young man he flunked the official court exams seven times (~1822-1835).

All but giving up on public life, Zuo returned to his home by the River Hsiang in Hunan and resigned himself to a quiet life farming silkworms, reading, and drinking tea. It was during this period that he first directed his attention to the study of Western sciences and political economy.

[edit] Taiping Rebellion

When the Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850, Zuo, then 38 years old, was hired as an advisor by the staff of the governor of Hunan. In 1856, he was formally offered a position in the provincial government of Hunan.

In 1860, Zuo was given command of a force of 5,000 volunteers (later known as "Chu Army"), and by September of that year he drove the Taiping rebels out of Hunan and Guangxi provinces, into coastal Zhejiang.

Zuo captured the city of Shaoxing, and from there pushed south into Fujian and Guangdong provinces, where the revolt had first begun. In 1863, Zuo was appointed Governor of Zhejiang and an Undersecretary of War.

In August of 1864 Zuo, together with Zeng Guofan, dethroned the Taiping king, Hong Tianguifu, and brought an end to the rebellion. He was created Earl Kejing of the 1st Class for his part in suppressing the Rebellion, He,Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang wewr called [Zeng,Zuo,Li] that VIP on suppressing the Rebellion .

In 1865, Zuo was appointed Viceroy and Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang. As Commissioner of Naval Industries, Zuo oversaw the erection of China's first modern shipyard and naval academy in Fuzhou the following year.

[edit] Success and appointments

Zuo's successes would continue. In 1867, he became Viceroy and Governor General of Shaanxi and Gansu and Imperial Commissioner of the Army in Shaanxi.

In these capacities, he succeeded in putting down another uprising, the Nian Rebellion (捻軍起義) in 1868.

After this military success, he marched west with his 120,000 strong army, winning many victories against the rebellious Muslims of Northwestern China including today's Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai provinces and Chinese Turkestan in the 1870s, In this battle,Qing dynasty's military spending barrow from the HSBC that Zuo suggested this plan(borrow money).

In 1878, he successfully suppressed the Yakub Beg's uprising in Xinjiang and helped to negotiate an end to Russian occupation of the border city of Ili.

For all his contributions to his nation and monarch, Zuo was appointed a Grand Secretary to the Grand Secretariat in 1874 and elevated to a Marquessate in 1878.

[edit] Later life and death

Now in his seventies, Zuo was appointed to the Grand Council, the cabinet of the Qing Empire at the time, in 1880. Uneasy with bureaucratic politics, Zuo asked to be relieved of his duties and was appointed Viceroy of Liangjiang in 1881. In 1884, upon the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Zuo received his fourth and last commission as commander-in-chief and Imperial Commissioner of the Army and Inspector General overseeing coastal defense in Fujian. He died shortly before a truce was signed between the two nations, in Fuzhou (Foo-chow), 1885.

[My soldiers...sons...fallow me！fighting！....glory...My country...shine！]In his life’s few miniutes last that he pick up sitting at bed sunddely ,shout angry,and then he vomiting many bowls blood died. His death was angry at Li Hongzhang signed wrong and uncapable.

[edit] General Tso's chicken

Main article: General Tso's chicken

General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried Hunan Chinese dish that is popularly served in American and Canadian Chinese restaurants. The origins of the dish are unclear. The dish was previously largely unknown in China and other lands home to the Chinese diaspora.^[1] One theory is that the dish was a classic specialty from Hunan province, invented by Zuo's wife and served for him and his officers upon every military victory, although this theory is generally considered to be apocryphal.^[2] In reality, Zuo is unlikely to have ever tasted the dish.^[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Hsü, Immanuel C. Y. The Ili Crisis: A Study of Sino-Russian Diplomacy, 1871-1881. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965.
• Hummel, Arthur William, ed. Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (1644-1912). 2 vols. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943.

Government offices
Preceded by Peng Yulin	Viceroy of Liangjiang 1881-1884	Succeeded by Yulu