Zhang Zhidong

“Foreigners can only fight with success in the summer. We can fight during any of the four seasons, so we have the weather on our side.”

“The navigation of our inland waters has for years been sought in vain by foreign countries, and if we grant the privilege to Russia, other States will be guided in their demands by her example.”

“With foreign officials come foreign merchants, and with foreign merchants come foreign soldiers. They will usurp our authority and influence to begin with, and in the course of time, our guests will have become our hosts.”

“In order to defend the Chinese race, one must first defend the Confucian culture; and in order to defend the Confucian culture, one must first defend the State. This is because what preserves the race relies upon intelligence, which is in turn nurtured by Confucian education.”

“The dependencies of inner and outer Mongolia are the bulwarks of China. The desert of Gobi, stretching for ten thousand li, is a barrier set by Heaven to the Russians, and if they seek to invade our borders, they will find it everywhere along the Northern frontier difficult and troublesome.”

“Let us display our loyalty and love and embrace every opportunity to become wealthy and strong; let our first object be the veneration of the Imperial Court, which vouchsafes its protection to the commonwealth, and let those who hold the reins of government consider the general good.”

“Although China is not so wealthy and powerful as the West, her people of whatever condition - rich or poor, high or low - all enjoy a perfect freedom and a happy life. Not so all the inhabitants of Western lands.”

“Today our books are numberless, and one man cannot master them in a lifetime. Now that the sea-waves are dashing upon our shores, unless we keep pace with the times and acquire Western learning, we shall be left in the lurch.”

“In the schools of the Western countries, there is always the subject 'Religion.' The Classics are China's religion.”