HEROES & LEADERS
XU JINGCHENG 1845-1900 CHINA
Xu Jingcheng was a major political figure and served as a diplomatic envoy to several European countries during a political career that spanned more than three decades. He was a key advocate of modernisation in China and supported the Hundred Days’ Reforms, which resulted in improvements in infrastructure such as railways and other public works.
As a young diplomat Xu gained an understanding of European industrialisation during the late 19th century and authored an encyclopaedia of foreign ships and naval vessels, while advocating the modernisation of the Qing government’s navy. In 1890 he returned to Beijing and rose to a post
