Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/295

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LIGURIA. 267 LILAC. it embraced the teniloiy from the Ligurian Sea (Uulf of GeuoaJ, across the Maritime Alps to the Po in the north, and from the Varus in the »'st to the JIacra in the east. At a very early jjcriod the Ligures possessed a larger territory, extending far into C4aul, on the western side of the Ihone. They were subjugated by the Romans in the second century n.c. See ]jIguri.

Kepub- 

uc. LIGU'KIAN. The name now applied to the Inll, dark, long-headed people about the Gulf of Lleiioa, Italy, and southward. lornierly the term was given under a misapprehension to the broad- headed lyjie of iliddle Europe. It is now be- lieved that the entire Italian Peninsula was peopled by a primitive long-headed Lit;urian type, underlying the modern one. The purest repre- sentatives of the ancient Ligurians are the tall, dark, and exceedingly dolichocephalic population of the district about Lucca. These modern desig- nations come from the ancient Liguria in North- western Italy. Consult: Ripley, Races of Europe (Xew York, 1899) ; Sergi, Mediterranean Race (London, 1901). See Italy, section on Ethnol- ogy- LIGURIAN REPUBLIC. The name given to the Itepublic of (ienna in 1797, when it was obliged by Napoleon 15onapiirte tn exchange its aristocratic for a democratic constitution. It was ruled b.v a directory till 1802, wlien a Doge was made the chief executive. In 1805 the Re- pul)lic was incorporated in the French Empire. .See Ge.noa. LIGURIAN SAGE. A name given to the pnc't .ulus I'ersius Flaccus. LI HUNG CHANG, le hung ehUng (1823?- 1901). A Chinese statesman, born in Lu-ehow, Ngan-hwei Province, February Ifi, 182.S (or 1819). He was highly educated, and passed through the various grades of scholarship, receiv- ing tlu' third degree (Chin Sze) in 1847. In 1849 lie eiiti'rcd the Hanlin College. .s early as 1853 he distinguished himself in the field against the Tai|)ings, Passing through several minor (iHices, he became in 1804 Oovernor of the Kiang Provinces, in which caiiacity he was intrusted with tlic task of putting down the Taiping rebels who had continued to hold their own. With the assistance of the 'Ever-Victorious Army' under Gordon (q.v. ) Li Hung Chang was successful in supju'essing the rebellion. When Su-chow was captured Gordon |)romised that the lives of the rebel leaders should be spared, but they were all killed liv Li's orders — a treacherous act, which so angered Gordon that he resigned his command. Li now became successively commander of the Chinese Imperial forces, an earl, head of the naval administration, and Viceroy of the capital Province of Chi-li. This last appointment placed him practically ne.t the throne, and he held it for the exceptional period of twenty-four years, from 1870 to 1895. During the entire period the foreign policy of China was under his control. Without becoming a partisan of the Western civilization, he recognized the necessity of re- organizing the fighting forces of China on a modern basis, in order to meet the threatening encroachments of (he European Powers and the rising influence of .Japan, whose interests in Korea were coming into conflict with those of the Chinese, Under Li's supervision the army Vol. XII.— 18. and the navy were greatly strengthened. The war with .Japan found hiui in a position of great responsibility. He had been instrumental in bringing on the war, and he had to Ijcar the brunt of the defeat which followed, although the in- efficiency of the Chinese forces was largely due to the way in which his plans for military and naval improvement had been hampered by Chi- nese Court metliods. It was equally a part of these methods that he should be made a scape- goat by the Emperor, and accordingly before the close of the war he was remocd from ollice, deprived of the insignia of his rank, and sent into retirement. lie was, however, recalled and invested with full powers to negotiate a peace with Japan. lie was received in that country with respect and obtained terms which, hard as they were, were probably better than could have been obtained by any other person under the cir- cumstances, lu ISOli he represented China at the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. of Russia, and then made a tour of the world, passing through (Jermany, France, England, and the Uni- ted States, received everywhere with high honors. Upon his return to China he became the virtual head of the Tsung-li-Vamen or foreign olTice. He returned to the (iovernorship of the Kiang Prov- inces in 1900, but was soon recalled to the Gov- ernorship of Chi-li and his former extensive pow- ers, because he was the only man who could be relied upon to meet the emergency in the foreign relations of the Emjiire produced bv the Boxer outbreak. His last public task was the settlement with the European Powers and the United States of the issues raised by that trouble. He died No- vember 7, 1901, Li Hung Chang was able, crafty, and according to European morals as well as the best teachings of the Chinese moral code, un- scrupulous. He accumulated a colossal fortune in the public service. He was not a friend to the foreigner, but he believed in the value of the material civilization of the West and wished China to profit by its lesson and strengthen her- self thereby. It was commonly believed ,that Li was not incorruptible and it was asserted that he had accepted retainers from Russia. He cer- tainly souglit to maintain a good understanding with that empire, though this niav well have been only what he regarded as a necessary polic.v under the circumstances. In internal policies he was generallv identified with the party of the Dowager Empress, though he was too shrewd to go all lengths with her radical advisers. Li Hung Chang couM not. however, have been the statesman he nnciuestionably was if he had not preserved a certain rugged integrity of purpose. While he sought his own advantage, he served his country sincerely and was one of her few statesmen of commanding ability. He was a man of powerful physique and great eapacitv for work. Consult Douglas, /.I Iliiny Chang (London, 1805). See CllINKSK J'^MI'IRE. LILAC (Sp. lilac, from .-Vr. liluk, lilac, from Pers. liliij, lilaiij. lilang, indigo-plant, from nihih, indigo-plant. Skt. nlln. GnJ. (lark blue), Si/ri»w. A genus of shrubs and small trees of the natural order Oleaeeir. The common lilac {Si/rin/ja riil- paris) . a native of the north of Persia, is one of the most common ornamental shrubs cultivated in Europe and North .merica. It was first brought to Vienna durins the latter part of the sixteenth century by Busbecq. the ambassador of Ferdinand I., who also introduced the tulip into