Zuo Zongtang

Portrait of General Zuo Zongtang, by Piassetsky, 1875

Zuo Zongtang, first Marquis Kejing second class ( Chinese  左宗棠 , Pinyin Zuǒ Zōngtáng , W.-G. Tso Tsung-T'ang ; alias 季 高 , Jì Gāo ) (born November 10, 1812 in Wenjialong , Chinese Empire ; † September 5, 1885 in Fuzhou ), known as General Tso or General Tsuo in Western Europe, was a Chinese statesman and military. He was born in Wenjialong, north of Changsha in Hunan Province during the Qing Dynasty . He fought with distinction in the greatest civil wars of his time. Among other things, in the 14-year Taiping Uprising , in which an estimated 30 million people lost their lives.

biography

Early career

Zuo's career did not begin under a lucky star because he failed the Chinese civil servant examination seven times in a row (~ 1822-1835).

He then gave up everything and returned to his bourgeois life. Zuo went back to his home on the Xiang River in Hunan and lived a quiet life there. He raised silkworms , read various scriptures and drank tea. During this period he first turned his attention to the studies of Western sciences and political economy .

Taiping Riot

Photo of the old general

When the Taiping Rising broke out in 1850, Zuo was 38 years old. He was appointed advisor to the governor's staff of Hunan . In 1856 he was officially offered a post in the Hunan Provincial Government.

In 1860 Zuo was entrusted with the command of over 5,000 volunteer fighters, who later became known as the " Chu Army ". In September 1860, he drove the Taiping rebels out of Hunan and Guangxi Province and forced them to retreat to the coastal areas of Zhejiang .

Zuo conquered Shaoxing City and from there advanced to Fujian and Guangdong Province, where the revolt originated. In 1863 he was appointed governor of Zhejiang and was given the title of "Undersecretary of War".

In August 1864, Zuo and Zeng Guofan dethroned the King of Taiping ( Hong Tianguifu ) and thus sealed the end of the uprising. For his service during the rebellion, he was made Earl Kejing ( Earl Kejing ) first class.

In 1865, Zuo was appointed viceroy and governor general of Fujian and Zhejiang . As the “authorized representative of the marine industry”, Zuo oversaw the construction of the first modern Chinese “shipyard and marine academy” in Fuzhou in the following years .

Achievements and titles

Zuo's successes should continue. In 1867 he was appointed Viceroy and Governor General of Shaanxi and Gansu appointed, in addition to the Reich Commissioner ( Imperial Commissioner ) of the Army of Shaanxi.

This authority enabled him, together with Li Hongzhang, to suppress another uprising in 1867/68, the Nian uprising ( 捻軍 起義 , Niǎnjūn qǐyì ).

After these military successes, Zuo marched westward with his 120,000-strong army and won a number of victories against the Dungans in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces , i. H. Chinese Muslims (see Dungan uprisings ). Finally, his campaign (which he financed with personal loans, among other things) ended the rule of Jakub Bek in Xinjiang in 1877/8 . The success helped liberate the Kuldscha region from the Russian occupation (1871–81) through diplomatic channels.

For all services to his country and its emperor, Zuo was appointed "Grand Secretary" in 1874 and promoted to " Marquesate " in 1878 .

Later life and death

Zuo was when he was already over 70 years in the "Great Council" ( Grand Council appointed). This was the cabinet of the Qing Dynasty around 1880. But Zuo was too unfamiliar with the bureaucracy and asked to be recalled. In 1881 he was appointed viceroy and governor-general of Jiangnan and Jiangxi .

In 1884, during the Sino-French War , Zuo received his fourth and last appointment as Commander in Chief, Reich Commissioner and General Inspection of the Army, he oversaw the coastal defense in Fujian .

Zuo Zongtang died in Fuzhou in 1885 shortly before a ceasefire was agreed .

Trivia

• A chicken dish, General Tso's chicken , was apparently named after him. In order to raise the morale of his men, Zuo is said to have varied the monotonous chicken and rice dish creatively. All other spellings are based on incorrect pronunciation, e.g. a. to be mentioned are: General Tsao's, General Zhou's, General Mac's, General Gao's, Chou's, General Tzo's, General To's, General So's, General Joe's, Jordan Chicken, and General Toso's.

• In the Simpsons episode, Gloria and True Love ( A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love ), Montgomery Burns proclaims, "Ah, General Gao, you were a bloodthirsty opponent, but your chicken was delicious!"

• Furthermore, in the Simpsons episode The Smiling Buddha ( Goo Goo Gai Pan ) you can admire a monument to the "warrior and spicy chicken pioneer" General Gao.

• In the feature film The Wedding Banquet by Ang Lee , a Chinese restaurant owner served a respected guest, his former commander, "chicken for General Tao".

• In an American card game ( Chrononauts ), which is about time travel, you can draw the General Tso's Chicken card from 1884.

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Zuo is the family name here, Zongtang is the first name.