Zuo Zongtang 左宗棠

Tso Tsung-t'ang 左宗棠 (T. 季高, 樸存 H. 老亮, 忠介先生) Nov. 10, 1812-1885, Sept. 5, military leader and statesman, was a native of Hsiang-yin, Hunan. Born in a family of moderate means but with scholarly traditions, his schooling began at an early age, first with his grandfather, Tso Jên-chin 左人錦 (T. 斐中, 松埜 1738-1817), and then with his father, Tso Kuan-lan 左觀瀾 (T. 晏臣, 春航, 1778-1830). When he was eighteen sui (1829) he read for the first time the two great geographical works, T'ien-hsia chün-kuo li-ping shu by Ku Yen-wu [q.v.] and Tu-shih fang-yü chi-yao by Ku Tsu-yü [q.v.], and evinced a great interest in them. Doubtless the study of these works inspired a life-long interest in the topography of the Chinese Empire and later helped him considerably in military strategy. After his father's death, in 1830, the financial condition of the family became worse, but in the same year he met Ho Ch'ang-ling [q.v.], who saw in him great promise and gave him access to his own library. In the following year he studied in the Academy, Ch'êng-nan Shu-yüan 城南書院, in Shan-hua, Hunan, where Ho Hsi-ling (see under Ho Ch'ang-ling) was director. Both he and his older brother, Tso Tsung-chih 左宗椊 (T. 仲基, 景喬 d. 1872), became chü-jên in 1832. In the same year he married Chou I-tuan 周詒端 (T. 筠心,1812-1870) who left a collection of verse, entitled 筠心飾性齋遺稿 Shih-hsing chai i-kao. They made their home with his wife's family in Hsiang-t'an, Hunan, until 1844. In the meantime Tso participated three times (1833,1835,1838) in the metropolitan examinations, but failed to qualify for the chin-shih degree. In 1837 he lectured in the Lu-chiang Shu-yüan 淥江書院, in Li-ling, Hunan, where he made the acquaintance of T'ao Chu [q.v.] who was then viceroy of Liang-Kiang (Kiangsu, Kiangsi and Anhwei). After failing for a third time in the metropolitan examination (1838) he determined not to try again.

Tso then studied seriously works in the fields of history, classics, geography and agriculture, particularly the last two. During this time, too, he familiarized himself with the 欽定皇輿西城圖志 Ch'in-ting Huang-yü Hsi-yü t'u-chih, an official work on Chinese Turkestan compiled during the years 1756-1782. In 1839 he compiled an historical atlas of military strategy which seems not to have been printed. He also promoted the planting of mulberry trees and introduced the members of his family to the art of sericulture. When his friend, T'ao Chu, died (1839) the latter left a request that Tso be the teacher of his son, T'ao Kuang (see under T'ao Chu), who later became Tso's son-in-law. Thereupon he taught in the T'ao family in An-hua, Hunan, for eight years (1840-48). During this period there occurred the Anglo-Chinese War (1840-42), and though he took no active part in it, he was deeply concerned over the course of events. In this period, also, he first made the acquaintance of Hu Lin-i [q.v.] who had great respect for his talents and did much to bring him to the position and the fame which he later achieved. As Tso's financial condition improved he bought a farm in his native district and moved his family there in 1844. He experimented in ancient methods of agriculture; he cultivated tea; he promoted sericulture; and therefore styled himself, "Husbandman of the River Hsiang" (湘上農人). In 1845 he wrote a work on agriculture, entitled 樸存閣農書 Pu-ts'un ko nung-shu. In 1848 he was recommended to Lin Tse-hsü [q.v.], but for some reason did not join his staff. Yet when Lin was on his way from Yunnan to Fukien in the following year, Tso had an interview with him in Changsha. During the initial stages of the Taiping Rebellion in Kwangsi, Tso and his fellow-townsman, Kuo Sung-tao [q.v.], found a place of refuge in the mountains east of Hsiang-yin. By 1851 he was already forty sui and that year marks the end of his early years of seclusion and comparative inactivity. From the year 1852 till his death in 1885, he was continuously connected with, or in charge of, military operations -- campaigning against the Taipings, the Nien-fei, and the Muslims of the Northwest, or preparing for hostilities with the French on the question of Annam.

In 1852, on the recommendation of Hu Lin-i, Tso Tsung-t'ang was invited to the secretarial staff of Chang Liang-chi 張亮基 (T. 采臣 H. 卿恪, 1807-1871) who was then governor of Hunan and later acting governor-general of Hu-Kuang (Hupeh and Hunan). Tso was given full responsibility in all military affairs. The Taiping forces were launching attacks at many points in Central China, with the result that Wuchang, the capital of Hupeh, fell early in 1853. But this city was recovered soon after, and when Tso's merits were reported to the government he was given the rank of a magistrate. In the same year (1853) Nanking fell into the hands of the rebels. Chang Liang-chi was transferred, in the autumn of 1853, to be governor of Shantung, and Tso then retired and went home. In the following year, in consequence of an interview with Tsêng Kuo-fan [q.v.], he went to Yochow, Hunan, to serve on the secretarial staff of Lo Ping-chang [q.v.], governor of that province. For more than five years he acted as Lo's chief assistant in supervising military affairs in Hunan. But the weight of his influence, and the frankness and self-assurance with which he performed his duties, aroused the jealousy of his colleagues, so that in 1859 charges of corruption and unruliness were lodged against him and he was ordered to Wuchang for inquiry. However, his friend Hu Lin-i came to his rescue and the charges were dropped.

He then decided to participate once more in the metropolitan examination, and early in 1860 set out for Peking. But a letter from Hu Lin-i intercepted him at Hsiang-yang, Hupeh, with the result that he went instead to Tsêng Kuo-fan's headquarters at Su-sung, Anhwei. His abilities as a soldier were brought to the attention of the throne from various sources, and as the pressure of the Taipings was becoming increasingly menacing, he was finally ordered to raise, in Hunan, a volunteer corps of five thousand men for service in Kiangsi and Anhwei. Upon his return to Changsha in June he raised his army and began training it in July. On September 22,1860 he led his men from Changsha toward Nanchang, Kiangsi. His small force made a good showing, taking Wu-yüan (Anhwei) in December. The rebels then fled toward Chekiang. By October 1861 he had engaged them in more than twenty battles. On December 27, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the government forces in Chekiang. Two days later Hangchow fell into the hands of the Taipings for the second time. On January 23, 1862 he was appointed governor of Chekiang, at a time when virtually the entire province was in the hands of the enemy. But step by step he battled his way into the province to take over the administration. He recovered Ch'ü-chou and Yen-chou in 1862 and, by early 1863, Chin-hua and Shaohsing. On May 5, 1863 he was promoted to governor-general of Fukien and Chekiang. The siege of Hangchow began in the autumn of 1863 and by April 1, 1864 his forces entered that city. With the recovery of Hangchow the tranquilization of Chekiang was complete and Tso was rewarded with the rank of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, with the coveted Yellow Jacket, and a little later with an earldom of the first rank and the designation Ko-ching (恪靖伯). Then he proceeded to Fukien. By February 1866 the last remnants of the rebels were pursued to Chia-ying chou, Kwangtung, and there they were annihilated (see under Hung Jên-kan). This campaign ended the Taiping régime and Tso was given the double-eyed peacock feather. His exploits in Chekiang are recounted in the work, 平浙紀略 P'ing-Chê chi-lüeh, 16 chüan, compiled by Ch'in Hsiang-yeh (see under Ch'in Hui-t'ien) and Ch'ên Chung-ying 陳鍾英. The preface is dated 1874.

Tso Tsung-t'ang was also an able administrator. In both Chekiang and Fukien he accomplished a great deal for the rehabilitation and reorganization of those provinces—paying special attention to education and to the storage of grain. In Foochow he established a bureau for sericulture and cotton and also a printing office named Cheng-i t'ang Shu-chü 正誼堂書局. Aroused by recurring international difficulties, he paid especial attention to naval matters and in 1864 when he was in Hangchow, he experimented with small steam-boats on West Lake. In Foochow he selected Ma-wei shan 馬尾山 as the site of a small navy yard which was later managed by Shên Pao-ch'ên [q.v.]. But as China was still harassed by troubles in the North, which called for his military skill, his peaceful rehabilitation of the South was unavoidably cut short.

On September 25, 1866 Tso Tsung-t'ang was appointed governor-general of Shênsi and Kansu, a portion of the empire then harassed by a serious Mohammedan uprising. He left Foochow in December 1866, arrived at Hankow toward the end of January 1867, and there made preparations for his northwestern campaign. But on his way to Shênsi he received an imperial order commanding him first to fight the Nien-fei, or mounted bandits (see under Sêng-ko-lin-ch'in and Liu Ming-ch'uan) who since 1851 had spread carnage in the provinces of Honan, Anhwei, Hupeh, Shantung and Chihli. These bandits, being mounted, were very mobile; and, unlike the Taipings, made no attempt to settle in one place or to establish a government. Though Tsêng Kuo-fan and Li Hung-chang [q.v.] had in turn been made responsible for their suppression, one group of Nien-fei under Chang Tsung-yü (see under Sêng-ko-lin-ch'in) began in 1867 a westward movement which caused the government to fear that they might join the Mohammedan. Late in the same year Chang's forces ravaged Shansi, Honan, and Chihli, and even endangered the Metropolitan area of Peking. For their failure to suppress them Tso Tsung-t'ang, Li Hung-chang and others were deprived of their ranks. In 1868 Tso moved his army to Wu-ch'iao, Chihli, and in the summer the Nien-fei were surrounded and annihilated at Ch'ih-p'ing, Shantung, by combined government forces. Tso's rank was restored to him and he was ordered to Peking for audiences with the Emperor (September 25, 30, 1868). By November 26 he was in Sian, the capital of Shênsi, and there began to take measures for the suppression of the Mohammedan uprising.

For some eighty years following the northwestern campaign of Emperor Kao-tsung (see under Chao-hui) the Mohammedans in China except during the early Tao-kuang period (see under Ch'ang-ling), were fairly peaceful. Then, owing to the progressive weakening of the central government by the Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion, the wars of 1858-60, and the troubles with the Nien-fei, the hold of China on the Northwest steadily relaxed. Finally there broke out a Mohammedan Rebellion that lasted from 1862 to 1877 and devastated most of Shênsi and Kansu. The outstanding leader of the Mohammedans in these two provinces was Ma Hua-lung 馬化漋 (d. 1871) who took as his base of operations Chin-chi-pu, Kansu. Tso Tsung-t'ang began his campaign by dividing his forces into three units and pressing on to Chin-chi-pu by three routes. By the spring of 1869 Shênsi was pacified, and later in the same year Tso moved his headquarters to P'ing-liang, Kansu. However, the northern route army under the very able leader, Liu Sung-shan 劉松山 (T. 壽卿, 1833-1870), suffered a serious reverse around Chin-chi-pu, and Liu died in action. His command was taken over by his nephew, Liu Chin-t'ang 劉錦棠 (T. 毅齋, 1844-1894), who proved worthy of the charge. On February 17, 1871 Chin-chi-pu was taken and Ma Hua-lung was executed. Though occupied both in suppressing the rebels and rehabilitating devastated areas, Tso Tsung-t'ang had, by August 1872, moved his headquarters to Lanchow. Meanwhile he had a printing establishment set up in Sian and an arsenal in Lanchow. In October he joined his armies in the attack on Suchow, Kansu. On November 4, 1873 Suchow was taken and the entire province of Kansu was pacified, but about this time Po Yen-hu 白彥虎, another rebel Mohammedan from Shênsi, escaped to Hami. Tso was made associate Grand Secretary, but remained at his post as governor-general. In reorganizing his newly-pacified provinces he carried out several important reforms, among them prohibition of opium culture, and encouragement of the cotton industry according to methods outlined in his printed booklets. He established factories for weaving both cotton and wool, and utilized the leisure hours of his soldiers in farming unused land-farms which were later transferred to the people. In the autumn of 1874 he was promoted to full Grand Secretary and in the following year was placed in charge of military affairs in Sinkiang.

For carrying on a campaign so far removed from his source of supplies, and in a land so sparsely settled as Chinese Turkestan, the two most pressing needs were food and money. Fortunately Tso Tsung-t'ang had always been interested in farming, and his practice ef putting his men to work on the land when they were not otherwise occupied, made it possible for him to meet in part, at least, the first of these needs. In June 1875 the Russian traveller, Sosnowsky, arrived in Lanchow on his way to Russia, and with him Tso contracted for the purchase of Siberian grain to be delivered at Ku-ch'êng, Sinkiang—it being actually cheaper to transport it from there than over the long route from China. By April 1876 the Russians had delivered four million catties of this grain. In order to provide funds for his campaign Tso memorialized the throne, urging that ten million taels be borrowed from foreign banks in Shanghai. This request, however, provoked the opposition of many officials in Peking who regarded the building of an adequate navy and coastal defense more pressing needs than the recovery of territory in far distant Sinkiang. Even those who believed in the prosecution of the campaign were not sufficiently convinced of its importance to advocate a foreign loan. Among those who held this view was the influential Li Hung-chang [q.v.]. But Tso Tsung-t'ang persistently pleaded his case and finally won his point. He argued that the recovery of Sinkiang was necessary for the retention of Mongolia which in turn was essential to the safety of Peking. Unless all the strategic points in Sinkiang were held by China the Mohammedan rulers of that area would sooner or later have to yield, either to Russia or to Britain. In his opinion, the primary reason for the encroachment of Western nations on the sea-board of China was for commercial advantages and not for territorial aggrandizement. This, he believed, was a problem to be solved by diplomacy rather than by force of arms. Moreover, funds had previously been ear-marked for a navy, and therefore the problem of coast defense had nothing to do with the crisis in Sinkiang. He obtained the loan early in 1876, and having previously made all preparations, moved his headquarters to Suchow with a view to regaining the territory north of the T'ien-shan and then taking the region to the south.

The dominant figure in Sinkiang at this time was Yakoob Beg 阿古柏帕夏 (c. 1820-1877). Some ten years previously (1864) a Mohammedan leader named Chin Hsiang-yin 金相印 started a rebellion. Finding himself unable fully to overcome the Chinese government troops stationed in Sinkiang, Chin requested help from Khokand 浩罕. But as Khokand was then in process of being absorbed by Russia, he could not expect much help from that quarter. Nevertheless Buzurg 布素魯克, a son of Jehangir (see under Ch'ang-ling), and Yakoob were sent to his aid. The two arrived in Kashgaria in January 1865. Yakoob, being the more able and aggressive, emerged by 1873 as master of the entire Tarim Basin from the Pamirs to Lob Nor. In the same year Po Yen-hu escaped from Shênsi and Kansu to Sinkiang and paid allegiance to Yakoob who stationed him at Urumchi to guard the region north of T'ien shan. As soon as Yakoob assumed the leadership of all the Mohammedans in this area he attracted the attention of Delhi, London, St. Petersburg and Constantinople, and in the same year (1873) the Sultan of Turkey conferred upon him the title of Amir of Kashgaria. In that year, too, the British sent to Kashgar the Forsyth Mission to form an estimate of the situation. Yakoob had fought against the Russians for Khokand and he had no friendly feelings toward Russia which in turn feared lest he hold designs on regions farther north. In July 1871 Russia had occupied Kuldja. But in 1872 she signed a treaty of commerce with Yakoob, and in the following year Britain signed a similar treaty with him, thus effectually giving international recognition to his regime.

But Tso Tsung-t'ang, having secured the necessary funds and made his preparations, planned his campaign and started westward. One city after another fell into his hands, and during the year 1876 the north T'ien-shan region was pacified. At this juncture the British government, through Sir Thomas Francis Wade 威妥瑪 (1818-1895) in Peking and through Kuo Sung-tao in London, proposed that Yakoob Beg would surrender should China, allow him to keep his kingdom under Chinese suzerainty. When the offer was reported to Tso he memorialized the throne that the status of Yakoob was purely a domestic question and if Britain wished to create a buffer state in Central Asia she was herself well able to furnish the territory. In the following spring (1877) Tso's victorious forces moved southward. The much heralded Yakoob Beg did not put up a vigorous defense for his régime and, with the fall of Turfan on May 16, 1877, the kingdom of Kashgaria came to an end and Yakoob is reported to have committed suicide by poison. Po Yen-hu and Yakoob's sons struggled along for a short period and later fled across the border to Russia. Early in 1878 all of Turkestan was recovered. Tso Tsung-t'ang was rewarded by being raised to a second class marquis (侯), and Liu Chin-t'ang was made a baron. Among other generals who were rewarded with minor hereditary ranks for their services, may be mentioned: Chang Yüeh (see under Tuan-fang, posthumously raised to a baron in 1891); Yü Hu-ên 余虎恩 (raised to a baron in 1891, d. 1905); Huang Wan-p'êng 黃萬鵬 (T. 搏九, raised to a baron in 1897, d. 1898); Chin-shun 金順 (T. 和甫, 1835-1885, posthumous name 忠介; and Tung Fu-hsiang (see under Jung-lu). The official account of Tso's campaign against the Mohammedan rebels, entitled P'ing-ting Shan, Kan, Hsin-chiang, Hui fei fang-lüeh (see under I-hsin), was printed in 1896.

Since Sinkiang had now become tranquilized, negotiations about the Russian evacuation of Ili began. When Russia moved her troops into Ili in 1871, she gave assurances to the Chinese government and to the world that the territory would be restored to China as soon as that country was in a position to assert her authority there. At the close of 1878 Ch'ung-hou [q.v.] was sent to St. Petersburg to demand the return of Ili, and in the following year he concluded with Russia the Treaty of Livadia. When the terms of this Treaty became known in China they met severe opposition, and it was obvious that it would not be recognized. Hence on February 12, 1880 Tsêng Chi-tsê [q.v.] was appointed minister to Russia to negotiate a new one, but as the outcome of the renewed negotiation remained uncertain, China continued her military preparations. In May Tso Tsung-t'ang's forces took up positions in Sinkiang and, in June, he made his headquarters at Hami. At the same time there were troop movements in Tientsin, Mukden and Shantung. If Tsêng Chi-tsê is to be praised for his diplomatic success in concluding the new Treaty of St. Petersburg (February 24, 1881), it must be granted that the achievement of Tso Tsung-t'ang in recovering Chinese Turkestan was an important factor in that success.

From the area in Turkestan recovered by Tso, and the territory of Ili returned by Russia, a new province was created in 1884, and given the name, Hsin-chiang (Sinkiang). Liu Chin-t'ang was the first governor (1884-89), being succeeded by Wei Kuang-tao (see under Wei Yüan).

On August 11, 1880 an Imperial order was issued, summoning Tso Tsung-t'ang to Peking for advisory duties. He arrived at the capital on February 24, 1881, on the very day that the Treaty of St. Petersburg was signed. After an Imperial audience he was appointed to serve in the Grand Council and in the Tsungli Yamen, with the honor of being permitted to ride horseback inside the Forbidden City. But his long years of isolation on the wind-swept plains of Central Asia and his honesty and outspokenness made it difficult for him to fit into the ways of an effete officialdom. He did not feel at home in Peking, and his colleagues felt uneasy in his presence. After taking a month's sick leave in the autumn (1881) he was on October 28 appointed governor-general of Kiangnan and Kiangsi. He assumed his new post on February 12, 1882, after a visit to his native place in Hunan. By the end of the year he was a tired and sick man and had lost the use of his left eye. He begged leave to retire, but in deference to his fame and his position his wish could not be granted. He was given instead three months' leave. In the fall of 1883 he was called to quell an uprising in southern Shantung and before long he had the situation in hand. When trouble with the French over Annam became acute he was once more summoned to Peking. He reached the capital in June 1884 and was put in charge of all military affairs of the Empire. By August conflict with the French along the coast of Fukien became serious (see under Chang P'ei-lun) and Tso was appointed high commissioner of that province. In September 1884 he left the capital, and in December reached Foochow which he had left some twenty years previously. Before long a settlement with France seemed imminent and negotiations were resumed in the spring of 1885. On June 9 a treaty was signed by Li Hung-chang. On September 5 Tso Tsung-t'ang died in Foochow, age seventy-four (sui). He was granted all appropriate posthumous honors and was canonised as Wên-hsiang 文襄.

As in the case of most great characters of history, many anecdotes, usually exaggerated and sometimes without foundation, are told about Tso Tsung-t'ang. Some of these relate to alleged misunderstandings between himself and Tsêng Kuo-fan. It is clear that these two great heroes—natives though they were of the same province—were not good friends. They differed much in tastes, temper, and other characteristics, and their estrangement seems to have grown deeper as the years passed. Nevertheless, they had great respect for each other and they never permitted their differences to degenerate into a feud. Another point frequently mentioned, and as often over-emphasized, is the assertion that Tso in suppressing the Mohammedan uprising resorted to unnecessary cruelty and wholesale slaughter of the native population. That there was much killing is certainly true, but it does not follow that Tso himself was a cruel man. Though he was strict he was fair, and when the conflict ended he did what he could to rehabilitate the devastated areas. The great highway in Kansu, lined on both sides with willow trees, still stands as a testimony to his concern to make the land fairer and more habitable.

Tso Tsung-t'ang had four sons: Tso Hsiao-wei 左孝威 (T. 子重, 1846-1873, chü-jên of 1862), Tso Hsiao-k'uan 左孝寬 (b. 1847), Tso Hsiao-hsün 左孝勛 (b. 1853), and Tso Hsiao-t'ung 左孝同 (T. 子異 H. 逸叟, 1857-1924). A son of Tso Hsiao-wei, named Tso Nien-ch'ien 左念謙 (d. 1892), inherited the rank of marquis. The complete works of Tso Tsung-t'ang, comprising 134 chüan, are entitled 左文襄公全集 Tso Wên-hsiang kung ch'üan-chi. They include 64 chüan of memorials, 26 chüan of letters and dispatches, 7 chüan of literary works, 12 chüan of other official papers, 10 chüan of memorials drafted for Lo Ping-chang, 4 chüan of memorials drafted for Chang Liang-chi, 1 chüan of table-of-contents, and 10 chüan consisting of a chronological biography of Tso written by Lo Chêng-chün (see under Wang Fu-chih), under the title Tso Wên-hsiang kung nien-p'u. The collection as a whole was printed in 1888-97. A small collection of his essays, entitled 盾鼻餘瀋 Tun-pi yü-shên (68 double pages), was printed at Sian, Shênsi, in the spring of 1881, and was reprinted in Peking in June of the same year. The Library of Congress possesses a copy which includes additional essays written as late as 1884 (106 double pages).

[ 1/418/la; 2/51/34b; 5/6/3a; (Ch'in-ting) Chiao-p'ing nien-fei fang-lüeh (see under I-hsin); Wei Kuang-tao, 戡定新疆記 K'an-ting Hsin-chiang chi (1899); Tsêng Wên-wu 曾問吾, 中國經營西域史 Chung-kuo ching-ying hsi-yü shih (1936); Bales, W. L., Tso Tsung-t'ang, Soldier and Statesman of Old China (1937); Boulger, D. C., The Life of Yakoob Beg (1878); Piassetsky, P., Russian Travellers in Mongolia and China, vol. II (1884); Wang Hsien-ch'ien (see under Chiang Liang-ch'i), 虛受堂文集 Hsü-shou t'ang wên-chi, 11/7a.J

TU LIEN-CHÊ

《清史稿》卷412

左宗棠，字季高，湖南湘陰人。父觀瀾，廩生，有學行。宗棠，道光十二年舉人，三試禮部不第，遂絕意仕進，究心輿地、兵法。喜為壯語驚眾，名在公卿間。嘗以諸葛亮自比，人目其狂也。胡林翼亟稱之，謂橫覽九州，更無才出其右者。年且四十，顧謂所親曰：「非夢卜敻求，殆無幸矣！」

咸豐初，廣西盜起，張亮基巡撫湖南，禮辟不就。林翼敦勸之，乃出。敘守長沙功，由知縣擢同知直隸州。亮基移撫山東，宗棠歸隱梓木洞。駱秉章至湖南，復以計劫之出佐軍幕，倚之如左右手。僚屬白事，輒問：「季高先生云何？」由是忌者日眾，謗議四起，而名日聞。同里郭嵩燾官編修，一日，文宗召問：「若識舉人左宗棠乎？何久不出也？年幾何矣？過此精力已衰，汝可為書諭吾意，當及時出為吾辦賊。」林翼聞而喜曰：「夢卜敻求時至矣！」

六年，曾國藩克武昌，奏陳宗棠濟師、濟餉功，詔以兵部郎中用，俄加四品卿銜。會秉章劾罷總兵樊燮，燮搆於總督官文，為蜚語上聞，召宗棠對簿武昌，秉章疏爭之不得。林翼、國藩皆言宗棠無罪，且薦其才可大用。詹事潘祖蔭亦誦言總督惑於浮辭，故得不逮。俄而朝旨下，命以四品京堂從國藩治軍。初，國藩創立湘軍，諸軍遵其營制，獨王錱不用。宗棠募五千人，參用錱法，號曰「楚軍」。十年八月，宗棠既成軍而東，偽翼王石達開竄四川，詔移師討蜀。國藩、林翼以江、皖事急，合疏留之。時國藩進兵皖南，駐祁門，偽侍王李世賢、忠王李秀成糾眾數十萬圍祁門。宗棠率楚軍道江西，轉戰而前，遂克德興、婺源。賊趨浮梁景德鎮，斷祁門餉道。宗棠還師擊之，大戰於樂平、鄱陽，僵尸十餘萬，世賢易服逃，而徽州賊亦遁浙江。自是江、皖軍勢始振。

十一年，詔授太常寺卿，襄辦江南軍務，乃率楚軍八千人東援浙。朝命國藩節制浙江，國藩薦宗棠足任浙事。宗棠部將名者，劉典、王開來、王文瑞、王沐，數軍單薄，不足資戰守；乃奏調蔣益澧於廣西，劉培元、魏喻義於湖南，皆未至，而宗棠以數千人策應七百餘里，指揮若定，國藩服其整暇。已而杭州陷，復疏薦之，遂授浙江巡撫。

時浙地唯湖、衢二州未陷賊，國藩與宗棠計，以保徽州，固饒、廣為根本。奏以三府屬縣賦供其軍，設婺源、景德、河口三稅局裨之，三府防軍悉隸宗棠。賊大舉犯婺源，親督軍敗之。同治元年正月，詔促自衢規浙。宗棠奏言：「行軍之法，必避長圍，防後路。臣軍入衢，則徽、婺疏虞，又成糧盡援絕之勢。今由婺源攻開化，分軍扼華埠，收遂安，使饒、廣相庇以安，然後可以制賊而不為賊制。」二月，克遂安。世賢自金華犯衢州，連擊敗之。而皖南賊復陷寧國，遣文瑞往援，克績溪。十一月，喻義克嚴州。二年正月，益澧及高連陞、熊建益、王德榜、余佩玉等克金華、紹興，浙東諸郡縣皆定。

杭州賊震怖，悉眾拒富陽。時諸軍爭議乘勝取杭城，宗棠不喜攻堅，謂皖南賊勢猶盛，治寇以殄滅為期，勿貪近功。乃自金華進軍嚴州，令劉典將八千人會文瑞防徽州，以培元、德榜駐淳安、開化，而益澧攻富陽。劾罷道府及失守將吏十七人，舉浙士吳觀禮等賑荒招墾，足裕軍食。四月，授浙閩總督，兼巡撫事。劉典軍既至皖南，遂留屯。益澧攻富陽，軍僅萬餘人，皆病疫，宗棠亦患瘧困憊，富陽圍久不下，乃簡練舊浙軍，兼募外國軍助之攻。七月，李鴻章江蘇軍入浙攻嘉善，嘉興寇北援，於是水陸大舉攻富陽，克之。益澧等長驅擣杭州，魏喻義、康國器攻餘杭。宗棠以杭賊恃餘杭為犄角，非先下餘杭，收海寧，不能斷嘉、湖援濟，躬至餘杭視師。是時皖賊古隆賢反正，官軍連下建平、高淳諸邑。金陵賊呼秀成入謀他竄，獨世賢踞溧陽，與廣德賊比，中梗官軍。鴻章既克嘉善，上言當益軍攻嘉興。會浙師取常州，而廣德賊已由寧國竄浙。宗棠慮賊分擾江西、福建，乃檄張運蘭率所部趨福建，召劉典防江西。海寧賊蔡元隆以城降，更名元吉，後遂為驍將。三年二月，元吉會江蘇軍克嘉興。杭州賊陳炳文勢蹙約降，猶慮計中變，乘雨急攻之，夜啟門遁，杭州復，餘杭賊汪海洋亦東走。捷聞，加太子少保銜，賜黃馬褂。

移駐省城，申軍禁，招商開市，停杭關稅，減杭、嘉、湖稅三之一。益澧為布政使，亦輕財致士，一時翕然稱之。群賊聚湖州，乃移軍合圍，先攻菱湖。三月，江蘇軍克常州，賊敗竄徽、婺，趨江西。世賢踞崇仁，海洋踞東鄉，宗棠以賊入江西為腹心患，奏請楊岳斌督江西、皖南軍，以劉典副，從之。六月，曾國荃克江寧，洪秀全子福瑱奔湖州，俄復潰走，磔於南昌。七月，克湖州，盡定浙地。論功，封一等恪靖伯。

餘賊散走徽、寧、江西、廣東，折入汀州，福建大震。乃奏請之總督任，以益澧護巡撫，增調德榜軍至閩。四年三月，江蘇軍郭松林來會師，賊棄漳州出大埔。五月，進攻永定。世賢、海洋既屢敗，傷精銳過半，歸誠者三萬。宗棠進屯漳州，躡賊武平。於是賊竄廣東之鎮平，而福建亦定。

乃檄康國器、關鎮平兩軍入粵，王開琳一軍入贛防江西，劉典軍趨南安防湖南，留高連陞、黃少春軍武平，伺賊進退。六月，賊大舉犯武平，力戰卻之。世賢投海洋，為所戕，賊黨益猜貳。詔以宗棠節制三省諸軍。十月，賊陷嘉應，宗棠移屯和平琯溪。德榜慮帥屯孤懸，自請當中路。劉典聞德榜軍趨前，亦引軍疾進。猝遇賊，敗，賊追典，掠德榜屯而過，槍環擊之，輒反走。是夜降者逾四萬，言海洋中砲死矣，士氣愈奮。時鮑超軍亦至，賊出拒，又大敗之。合閩、浙、江、粵軍圍嘉應。十二月，賊開城遁，扼諸屯不得走，跪乞免者六萬餘，俘斬賊將七百三十四，首級可計數者萬六千，詔賜雙眼花翎。

五年正月，凱旋。宗棠以粵寇既平，首議減兵併餉，加給練兵。又以海禁開，非製備船械不能圖自強，乃創船廠馬尾山下，薦起沈葆楨主其事。會王師征西陲回亂久無功，詔宗棠移督陝、甘。十月，簡所部三千人西發，令劉典別募三千人期會漢口，中途以西捻張總愚竄陝西，命先入秦剿賊。

陝、甘回眾數至百萬，與捻合。宗棠行次武昌，上奏曰：「臣維東南戰事利在舟，西北戰事利在馬。捻、回馬隊馳騁平原，官軍以步隊當之，必無幸矣。以馬力言，西產不若北產之健。捻馬多北產，故捻之戰悍於回。臣軍止六千，今擬購口北良馬習練馬隊，兼製雙輪砲車。由襄、鄧出紫荊關，徑商州以赴陝西。經營屯田，為久遠之規。是故進兵陝西，必先清關外之賊；進兵甘肅，必先清陝西之賊；駐兵蘭州，必先清各路之賊：然後餽運常通，師行無阻。至於進止久速，隨機赴勢，伏乞假臣便宜，寬其歲月，俾得從容規畫，以要其成。」

六年春，提兵萬二千以西。議以砲車制賊馬，而以馬隊當步賊。捻倏見砲車，皆不戰狂奔。時陝西巡撫劉蓉已解任，總督楊岳斌請歸益急。詔寧夏將軍穆圖善署總督，宗棠以欽差大臣督軍務。分軍三道入關，而皖南鎮總兵劉松山率老湘軍九千人援陝，山西按察使陳湜主河防，其軍皆屬焉。松山既屢敗捻，又合蜀軍將黃鼎、皖軍將郭寶昌，大破之富平。捻掠三原，沿渭北東趨，回則分黨西犯，麇集北山。宗棠以捻強於回，當先制捻。檄諸軍憑河結營，期蹙而殲之涇、洛間。捻乘軍未集，又折而西渡涇、渭，窺豫、鄂。已而大軍進逼，勢不復能南，乃趨白水。乘大風雨，鋌走入北山。宗棠防捻、回合勢，且北山荒瘠，師行糧不繼，因急扼耀州。十月，捻敗走宜川，別黨果竄耀州，合回匪攻同官。留防軍不能禦，典、連陞軍馳救，大破之。諸軍將雖屢敗捻，終牽於回，師行滯；而捻大眾在宜川者益北擾延長，掠綏德，趨葭州，回亦自延安出陷綏德。宗棠自以延、綏迭失，上書請罪，部議革職。時北山及扶、岐、汧、隴、邠、鳳諸回，所在響應。捻自南而北，千有餘里，回自西而東，亦千有餘里。陝西主客軍能戰者不及五萬，然回當之輒敗。松山等克綏德，回走米脂，捻復分道南竄。於是劉厚基出東北追回，松山等循西岸要捻。師抵宜川，回大出遮官軍，留戰一日，破之；而捻遂取間道逾山至壺口，乘冰橋渡河。宗棠奉朝旨，山右毗連畿輔，令自率五千人赴援，以劉典代督陝甘軍。

是年十二月，捻自垣曲入河南，益北趨定州，游騎犯保定，京師戒嚴。詔切責督兵大臣，自宗棠、鴻章及河南巡撫李鶴年、直隸總督官文，皆奪職。宗棠至保定，松山等連破賊深、祁、饒、晉。當是時，捻馳騖數百里間，由直隸竄河南、山東，已復渡運越吳橋，犯天津。鴻章議築長圍制賊；宗棠謂當且防且剿，西岸固守，必東路有追剿之師，乃可掣其狂奔之勢：上兩從其議。於是勤王師大集，宗棠駐軍吳橋，捻徘徊陵邑、濟陽，合淮、豫軍迭敗之，總愚走河濱以死，西捻平。入覲，天語褒嘉，且詢西陲師期。宗棠對以五年，後卒如其言焉。

七年十月，率師還陝，抵西安。時東北土寇董福祥等眾十餘萬，擾延安、綏德，西南陝回白彥虎等號二十萬，踞甘肅董志原。松山至，破土寇，降福祥；而回益四出剿掠，其西南竄出者，並力擾秦川，黃鼎破之。宗棠進軍乾州，諜報回巢將徙金積堡，分軍擊之，遂下董志原，連復鎮原、慶陽，回死者至三萬。督丁壯耕作，教以區田、代田法。擇嶮荒地，發帑金巨萬，悉取所收饑民及降眾十七萬居焉。遂以八年五月進駐涇州。

甘回最著者，西曰馬朶三，踞西寧；南曰馬占鰲，踞河川；北曰馬化隆，踞寧夏、靈州。化隆以金積堡為老巢，堡當秦、漢兩渠間，扼黃河之險，擅鹽、馬、茶大利。環堡五百餘寨，黨眾嘯聚。掠取漢民產業子女。陝回時時與通市，相為首尾。化隆以新教煽回民，購馬造軍械，而陽輸誠紿穆圖善。董志原既平，陝回竄靈州，化隆上書為陝回乞撫。宗棠察其詐，備三月糧，先攻金積堡，以為收功全隴之基。及松山追陝回至靈州，扼永靈洞。化隆懼，仍代陝回乞撫，謀緩兵，穆圖善信之，日言撫，綏遠城將軍至劾松山濫殺激變。然化隆實無意降也，密召諸回並出劫軍餉。十一月，宗棠進駐平涼。九年，松山陣歿，以其兄子錦棠代之，戰屢捷，而中路、南路軍亦所向有功，陝回受撫者數千人。及奪秦壩關，化隆益窘，詣軍門乞降，誅之，夷其城堡。遷甘回固原、平涼，陝回化平，而編管鈐束之，寧、靈悉定。奏言進規河湟，而是時有伊犂之變，詔宗棠分兵屯肅州，乃遣徐占彪將六千人往。

十年七月，自率大軍由平涼移駐靜寧。八月，至安定。寇聚河州，其東出，必繞洮河三甲集，集西太子寺，再西大東鄉，皆險要。諸將分擊，悉破平之。時回酋朶三已死，占鰲見官軍深入，西寧回已歸順，去路絕，遂亦受撫。河州平。

十一年七月，移駐蘭州。占彪前以伊犂之變率師而西也，於時肅州阻亂，回酋馬文祿先已就撫，聞關外兵事急，復據城叛。及占彪軍至，乃嬰城固守，而乞援西寧。陝回白彥虎、禹得彥亦潛應文祿。會錦棠率軍至，西寧土回及陝回俱變，推馬本源為元帥。西寧東北阻湟水，兩山對峙，古所稱湟中也。賊據險而屯，俄敗走，遺棄馬騾滿山谷，竄巴燕戎格。大通都司馬壽復嗾向陽堡回殺漢民以叛。十二年正月，錦棠攻向陽堡，奪門入，斬馬壽，遂破大通，擣巴燕戎格，誅本源，河東、西諸回堡皆降。文祿踞肅州，詭詞求撫，益招致邊外回助城守，連攻未能下。八月，宗棠來視師，文祿登城見帥旗，奪氣。請出關討賊自效，不許。金順、錦棠軍大集，文祿窮蹙出降，磔之。白彥虎竄遁關外，肅州平。以陝甘總督協辦大學士，加一等輕車都尉。奏請甘肅分闈鄉試，設學政。十三年，晉東閣大學士，留治所。自咸豐初，天下大亂，粵盜最劇，次者捻逆，次者回。宗棠既手戡定之，至是陝、甘悉靖，而塞外平回，朝廷尤矜寵焉。

塞外回酋曰帕夏，本安集延部之和碩伯克也。安集延故屬敖罕，敖罕為俄羅斯所滅，安集延獨存。帕夏畏俄逼，闌入邊。據喀什噶爾，稍蠶食南八城，又攻敗烏魯木齊所踞回妥明。妥明者，西寧回也，初以新教游關外。同治初，乘陝甘漢、回搆變倡亂，據烏城。帕夏既攻敗妥明降之，遂併有北路伊犂諸城，收其賦入。妥明旋被逐，走死，而白彥虎竄處烏城，仍隸帕夏。帕夏能屬役回眾，通使結援英、俄，購兵械自備。英人陰助之，欲令別立為國，用捍蔽俄。當是時，俄以回數擾其邊境，遽引兵逐回，取伊犂，且言將代取烏魯木齊。

光緒元年，宗棠既平關隴，將出關，而海防議起。論者多言自高宗定新疆，歲糜數百萬，此漏卮也。今至竭天下力贍西軍，無以待不虞，尤失計。宜徇英人議，許帕夏自立為國稱藩，罷西征，專力海防。鴻章言之尤力。宗棠曰：「關隴新平，不及時規還國家舊所沒地，而割棄使別為國，此坐自遺患。萬一帕夏不能有，不西為英併，即北折而入俄耳。吾地坐縮，邊要盡失，防邊兵不可減，糜餉自若。無益海防而挫國威，且長亂。此必不可。」軍機大臣文祥獨善宗棠議，遂決策出塞，不罷兵。授宗棠欽差大臣，督軍事，金順副之。

二年三月，次肅州。五月，錦棠北逾天山，會金順軍先攻烏魯木齊，克之。白彥虎遁走托克遜。九月，克瑪納斯南城，北路平，乃規南路。令曰：「回部為安酋驅迫，厭亂久矣。大軍所至，勿淫掠，勿殘殺。王者之師如時雨，此其時也。」三年三月，錦棠攻克達坂城，悉釋所擒纏回，縱之歸。南路恟懼，翼日，收托克遜城，而占彪及孫金彪兩軍亦連破諸城隘，合羅長祜等軍收吐魯番，降纏回萬餘。帕夏飲藥死，其子伯克胡里戕其弟，走喀什噶爾。

白彥虎走開都河，宗棠欲遂擒之，奏未上，適庫倫大臣上言西事宜畫定疆界，而廷臣亦謂西征費鉅，今烏城、吐魯番既得，可休兵。宗棠歎曰：「今時有可乘，乃為畫地縮守之策乎？」抗疏爭之，上以為然。時俄方與土耳其戰，金順請乘虛襲伊犂。宗棠曰：「不可。師不以正，彼有辭矣。」八月，錦棠會師曲會，遂由大道向開都河為正兵，余虎恩等奇兵出庫爾。白彥虎走庫車，趨阿克蘇，錦棠遮擊之，轉遁喀什噶爾。大軍還定烏什，遂收南疆東四城，何步雲以喀什漢城降。伯克胡里既納白彥虎，乃并力攻漢城。大軍至，復遁走俄。西四城相繼下，宗棠露布以聞，詔晉二等侯。布魯特十四部爭內附。

四年正月，條上新疆建行省事宜，并請與俄議還伊犂、交叛人二事。詔遣全權大臣崇厚使俄。俄以通商、分界、償款三端相要。崇厚遽定約，為朝士所糾，議久不決。宗棠奏曰：「自俄踞伊犂，蠶食不已，新疆乃有日蹙百里之勢。俄視伊犂為外府，及我索地，則索償盧布五百萬元。是俄還伊犂，於俄無損，我得伊犂，僅一荒郊。今崇厚又議畀俄陬爾果斯河及帖克斯河，是劃伊犂西南之地歸俄也。武事不競之秋，有割地求和者矣。茲一矢未加，遽捐要地，此界務之不可許者也。俄商志在貿易，其政府即廣設領事，欲藉通商深入腹地，此商務之不可許者也。臣維俄人包藏禍心，妄忖吾國或厭用兵，遂以全權之使臣牽制疆臣。為今之計，當先之以議論，委婉而用機，次決之以戰陣，堅忍而求勝。臣雖衰慵無似，敢不勉旃。」上壯其言，嘉許之。崇厚得罪去，命曾紀澤使俄，更前約。於是宗棠乃自請出屯哈密，規復伊犂。以金順出精河為東路，張曜沿特克斯河為中路，錦棠經布魯特游牧為西路；而分遣譚上連等分屯喀什噶爾、阿克蘇、哈密為後路聲援：合馬步卒四萬餘人。

六年四月，宗棠輿櫬發肅州，五月，抵哈密。俄聞王師大出，增兵守伊犂、納林河，別以兵船翔海上，用震撼京師，同時天津、奉天、山東皆警。七月，詔宗棠入都備顧問，以錦棠代之。而俄亦懾我兵威，恐事遂決裂。明年正月，和議成，交還伊犂，防海軍皆罷。

宗棠用兵善審機，不常其方略。籌西事，尤以節兵裕餉為本謀。始西征，慮各行省協助餉不時至，請一借貸外國。沈葆楨尼其議，詔曰：「宗棠以西事自任，國家何惜千萬金。為撥款五百萬，敕自借外國債五百萬。」出塞凡二十月，而新疆南北城盡復者，饋運饒給之力也。初議西事，主興屯田，聞者迂之；及觀宗棠奏論關內外舊屯之弊，以謂掛名兵籍，不得更事農，宜畫兵農為二，簡精壯為兵，散愿弱使屯墾，然後人服其老謀。既入覲，賜紫禁城騎馬，使內侍二人扶掖上殿，授軍機大臣，兼值譯署。國家承平久，武備弛不振，而海外諸國爭言富強，雖中國屢平大難，彼猶私議以為脆弱也。及宗棠平帕夏，外國乃稍稍傳說之。其初入京師，內城有教堂高樓，俯瞰宮殿，民間讙言左侯至，樓即燬矣，為示諭曉，乃止。其威望在人如此。然值軍機、譯署，同列頗厭苦之。宗棠亦自不樂居內，引疾乞退。九月，出為兩江總督、南洋通商大臣。嘗出巡吳淞，過上海，西人為建龍旗，聲砲，迎導之維謹。

九年，法人攻越南，自請赴滇督師。檄故吏王德榜募軍永州，號「恪靖定邊軍」，法旋議和，止其行。十年，滇、越邊軍潰，召入都，再直軍機。法大舉內犯，詔宗棠視師福建，檄王錱子詩正潛軍渡臺灣，號「恪靖援臺軍」。詩正至臺南，為法兵所阻，而德榜會諸軍大捷於諒山。和議成，再引疾乞退。七月，卒於福州，年七十三，贈太傅，諡文襄。祀京師昭忠祠、賢良祠，並建專祠於湖南及立功諸省。

宗棠為人多智略，內行甚篤，剛峻自天性。穆宗嘗戒其褊衷。始未出，與國藩、林翼交，氣陵二人出其上。中興諸將帥，大率國藩所薦起，雖貴，皆尊事國藩。宗棠獨與抗行，不少屈，趣舍時合時不合。國藩以學問自斂抑，議外交常持和節；宗棠鋒穎凜凜向敵矣，士論以此益附之。然好自矜伐，故出其門者，成德達材不及國藩之盛云。子四人：孝威，舉人，以廕為主事，先卒，旌表孝行；孝寬，郎中；孝勛，兵部主事；孝同，江蘇提法使。孫念謙，襲侯爵，通政司副使。

論曰：「宗棠事功著矣，其志行忠介，亦有過人。廉不言貧，勤不言勞。待將士以誠信相感。善於治民，每克一地，招徠撫綏，眾至如歸。論者謂宗棠有霸才，而治民則以王道行之，信哉。宗棠初出治軍，胡林翼為書告湖南曰：「左公不顧家，請歲籌三百六十金以贍其私。」曾國藩見其所居幕陜小，為別製二幕貽之，其廉儉若此。初與國藩論事不洽，及聞其薨，乃曰：「謀國之忠，知人之明，自媿不如。」志益遠矣。