He quelled several major rebellions and served in important positions in the Qing imperial court, including the Viceroy of Zhili, Huguang and Liangguang.

Although he was best known in the West for his generally pro-modern stance and importance as a negotiator, Li antagonised the British with his support of Russia as a foil against Japanese expansionism in Manchuria and fell from favour with the Chinese after their defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War.

Li was born in a scholar-gentry family in Qunzhi Village (群治村), Modian Township (磨店鄉), 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northeast of central Hefei, Anhui Province, China.

In 1847, he sat for the metropolitan-level examination again and obtained a jinshi (進士) position at the young age of 24, and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy as a shujishi (庶吉士).

In 1853, the rebels, advancing from Wuhan, captured Anqing and killed Jiang Wenqing [zh; ja] (蔣文慶), the xunfu of Anhui Province.

The Xianfeng Emperor commissioned Lü Xianji [d] (呂賢基), the Left Vice Secretary of Works, to travel to Anhui Province and recruit civilians to form militias to counter the rebels.

In the following year, Jiang Zhongyuan (江忠源), the xunfu of Anhui Province, committed suicide after Lu Prefecture fell to the rebels.

For his achievements, he earned the appointment of a daotai (道台; circuit administrator) and the privilege of wearing a single-eyed peacock feather in his hat.

In the same year, Weng Tongshu [zh; ja] (翁同書), the xunfu of Anhui, abandoned his post when he came under attack by the Taiping rebels.

Zeng Guofan drew from Li's draft when he wrote a memorial to the imperial court to accuse Weng Tongshu of failing in his duty.

Li and his men sailed past rebel-controlled territory along the Yangtze River in British steamboats – the rebels did not attack because Britain was a neutral party – and arrived in Shanghai, where they were commissioned as the Huai Army.

After gaining ground in Jiangsu, Li focused on enhancing the Huai Army's capabilities, including equipping them with Western firearms and artillery.

For his contributions, Li was awarded the honorary appointment Crown Prince's Grand Protector (太子太保) and an imperial yellow jacket.

After retaking Changzhou, and capturing and executing the rebel leader Chen Kunshu, Li received a jiduwei peerage in recognition of his achievements.

Li was awarded a noble peerage as "First Class Count Suyi" (一等肅毅伯) and the privilege of wearing a double-eyed peacock feather in his hat.

From the time he became Viceroy of Zhili and Beiyang Trade Minister until his death, with a few intervals of retirement, he shaped the Qing Empire's foreign policy to a large extent.

In 1876, he signed the Yantai Treaty with Sir Thomas Wade to end a diplomatic crisis with Britain caused by the murder of Augustus Raymond Margary in Yunnan Province.

The defeat of Li's modernised armed forces by the Japanese undermined his political standing, as well as the wider cause of the Self-Strengthening Movement.

Due to the public embarrassment caused by the attack, the Japanese agreed to the immediate ceasefire Li had urged in the days before,[15] though fighting would continue on Taiwan and in the Penghu Islands.

[18] In a famous interview published by The New York Times on September 3, 1896, Li was asked whether he favored the introduction of the newspaper into China as developed in the U.S. or in Europe.

He visited the industrial area in Barrow, North West England, and toured Lake Windermere[19] on the steamer Tern operated by the Furness Railway Company.

[1] In 1900, Li once more played a major diplomatic role in negotiating a settlement with the Eight-Nation Alliance forces which had invaded Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion.

This tactic gave the "Southeast Mutual Protection"[20] provincial officials a justification not to follow Empress Dowager Cixi's declaration of war.

This peerage was inherited by Li Guojie, who was assassinated in Shanghai on February 21, 1939, allegedly as a result of his support for the Nanking Reformed Government.

His elder brother, Li Hanzhang [zh; ja; ko] (李瀚章; 1821–1899), served as a xunfu and zongdu in a number of provinces.

Li Jingfang served as the Qing Empire's Ambassador to Japan and a Left Vice Secretary (左侍郎) in the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (郵傳部).

His grandson, Li Shiu Tong, would become a sexologist known for his work and relationship with his mentor and romantic partner Magnus Hirschfeld, and would posthumously be recognized as a researcher in his own right following the rediscovery of his manuscripts.

In 1913, William Francis Mannix wrote and published a fabricated Memoirs of Li Hung Chang[29] which received widespread praise before being exposed as a forgery in 1923.

[30][31] His biographer William J. Hail argued that Li "did perhaps all he could for a land where the conservatism of the people, a reactionary officialdom, and unrestrained international rivalry made each step forward a matter of great difficulty," and praised him as "always progressive, yet patient and conciliatory, it was his fate to bear blame for failures which might have been avoided if he had had his way.

In Liang's view, Li was the chief culprit for the Self-Strengthening Movement, which these nationalists condemned for collaborating with the European imperialists and suppressing the masses.