Chapter 39 Section 2 Zuo Binglong and Huang Zunxian

Singapore is the center of overseas Chinese business activities in Southeast Asia, and also the most important base of Britain in Southeast Asia. At the beginning of 1877, shortly after taking office, Guo Songtao, the Minister to the United Kingdom, conducted diplomatic negotiations with the British Foreign Office to establish a consulate in Singapore.The British government took a negative attitude towards this matter, but it had sent consulates in many places in China before, so it was impossible to completely reject the Qing Dynasty's request.They adopted delaying, dodging, and limiting countermeasures, and only agreed to the Qing government’s establishment of a consulate in Singapore. They also imposed many restrictions on the functions of the consulate, and regarded the establishment of the consulate as a temporary arrangement. .What is particularly infuriating is the requirement that the first consul not be appointed by China, but selected from local overseas Chinese.In order to achieve the purpose of establishing a consulate, Guo Songtao agreed to the request of the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In October 1877, the Chinese Consulate in Singapore opened. The first consul was the overseas Chinese leader Hu Xuanze (real name Hu Yaji).Hu Xuanze died in 1880 and had been in office for less than three years.As an overseas Chinese leader, he has done a lot, but as a diplomat, his political achievements are lackluster. The achievements of Hu Xuanze's successors Zuo Binglong and Huang Zunxian are quite outstanding. Zuo Binglong, courtesy name Zixing, served as Consul in Singapore from 1881 to 1891, and Consul General in Singapore from 1907 to 1910. He was stationed in Singapore for more than 10 years.Zuo Binglong was a top student at Tongwenguan in the Qing Dynasty. Tongwenguan was a school for cultivating foreign language and diplomatic talents, so Zuo's English is very good. He once accompanied the Qing envoy Zeng Jize to England as a translator.Zuo Binglong was an official in the Qing government who was well versed in foreign affairs. During his tenure, he did some good deeds, such as: caring for the sufferings of overseas Chinese and preventing the trafficking of "pigboys" Chinese laborers in Singapore; It is to actively spread Chinese culture.He set up the "Huixian Club", gave lectures every month to promote Confucianism, and established the "English Eloquent Club" to debate political, social, and cultural issues once a week.He also vigorously advocated Chinese education, supported the establishment of private schools, and strengthened the connection between overseas Chinese and the motherland.Zuo Binglong's deeds were well received by his superiors, and the overseas Chinese society also praised his political achievements during his tenure.

Huang Zunxian, courtesy name Gongdu, served as Consul General in Singapore from 1891 to 1894.Huang is a Juren, good at poetry and prose, with high literary attainments. He once served as a counselor of the embassy in Japan and has rich diplomatic experience.Compared with Zuo Binglong, Huang Zunxian appears to be more bold and decisive, and more in line with the trend of the times.Zuo Binglong organized the "Huixian Society", and the topics he gave during his lectures were usually traditional Chinese studies. When Huang Zunxian took office, he reorganized the "Huixian Society" into the "South Society", and the topic was changed to combine the powers of the time and China. Reality.He also paid attention to investigation and research, and learned about the situation of overseas Chinese on the spot. After careful inspection, he pointed out that the phenomenon of overseas Chinese' reluctance to return to China was due to "the investigation of officials, the intrusion of subordinate staff, the extortion of clan leaders, and various other problems." It’s too much to say.” Overseas Chinese “walk alone, and once they are framed, there is no way to sue them.” Therefore, they dare not return when they want to return home.He wrote to the imperial court, please abolish the old law, establish a new chapter, lift the sea ban, and attract overseas Chinese to return to China.Huang Zunxian worked hard to protect the interests of overseas Chinese during his term of office, and openly fought against the British colonial government. Therefore, the British colonial officials were very dissatisfied with him, thinking that "if he stays in office for another five years, the loyalty of overseas Chinese here will be greatly weakened, and the goodwill of overseas Chinese towards us will also be greatly weakened." Great damage", this is a very good affirmation of Huang Zunxian's achievements.

Among the diplomats stationed in Southeast Asia in the late Qing Dynasty, Zuo Binglong and Huang Zunxian were the most prominent.But no matter how hard they try to fulfill their responsibility of "protecting overseas Chinese", due to China's weak national strength, just like Zuo Binglong wrote in a poem "There is no justice in the world, there is power... foreign aggression is frequent because the country is weak" It is difficult for a consul to do anything in such a harsh political environment. Weak countries have no diplomacy, this is an indisputable fact.