生平

道光二十七年（1847年）进士，选翰林院庶吉士，因丁忧回乡；后遇太平军攻打长沙，跟随曾国藩组建湘军，由军功授翰林院编修。还朝，入直上书房。

咸丰初年，任编修官；左宗棠当时在骆秉章幕府中名声显赫，咸丰帝于是透过他联系左宗棠出来任官，以击败太平军。

咸丰九年（1859年），英法联军攻打天津，其反对僧格林沁撤北塘备，意见不合，辞官还乡。

同治元年（1862年），应李鸿章邀请任苏松督粮道，后升两淮盐运使。

同治二年（1863年），署理广东巡抚；次年，太平天国南京被攻克，其上书陈述因镇压太平天国而临时设立之地方集资制度（厘金）的危害；后卷入毛鸿宾、瑞麟先后两任两广总督的官场摩擦，于同治六年（1866年）6月解任，再次归乡闲居。

光绪元年（1875年），授福建按察使，未上任，又入直总理各国事务衙门；期间发生马嘉理事件；他曾弹劾云南巡抚岑毓英失职；次年，授兵部侍郎，出使英国道歉，成为首任出使英国钦差大臣，兼出使法国钦差大臣。

光绪二年十月十八日（1876年11月15日），自上海乘船赴欧；在驻英期间参观各地工厂学校和政府机构，其观念亦因此产生根本变化，发出「西洋政教、制造，无不出于学」的呼声；他把使英途中见闻写成《使西纪程》，向清政府大力介绍外国先进的管理概念和政治措施，称赞西洋政教制度，并对中国内政提出效仿的建议；但在该作寄回中国后，因希望由总理衙门刊印，导致保守派人士的仇视，要求将其撤职查办；翰林院编修何金寿参劾他「有二心于英国，想对英国称臣」等语，他因此被清廷申斥，书稿亦遭毁版；而后又遭到其副手刘锡鸿诬陷，于是因病请辞。

光绪四年（1878年）8月，清政府将郭召回，改派曾纪泽接任；次年5月5日，他乘船抵达长沙；由于湘阴发生守旧排外风潮，他被污蔑为「勾通洋人」，遭到不明真相的百姓和乡绅帖大字报侮辱。

郭嵩焘赋闲期间曾在湖南主讲城南书院，开设禁烟会，宣传禁止鸦片。

生前曾筹备成立船厂，未能实现。

郭嵩焘病逝后，李鸿章奏请将其事迹宣付史馆立传，但清廷以其「出使外洋，所著书籍，颇滋物议」为由，不准其奏。

轶闻

郭嵩焘抵达英国伦敦后不久，于1877年10月16日应英国工厂主的邀请，访问了在伦敦附近的电气厂。在参观过程中，英国工厂主特意请郭嵩焘参观刚刚发明不久的电话。这是他首次，也是中国人第一次接触到电话。电话安装在相隔数十丈的上下楼内，郭嵩焘让随从张德彝到楼下去接听，自己在楼上与其通话。「郭问『听闻乎？』张答到『听闻。』郭又问『你知觉乎？』张应曰『知觉。』郭又说『请数数目字。』张依言而数曰『一、二、三、四、五、六、七。』」郭嵩焘在日记中写道：「其语言多者亦多不能明，惟此数者分明。」由此可见，这次通话的效果并不尽如人意。

著述

• 《礼记质疑：49卷》，思贤讲舍，1890

• 《使西纪程》：对欧洲的政治、经济、社会、教学，作了详细的记录，并倡言清政府效仿实施。

• 《养知书屋文集》

• 《郭嵩焘日记》，北京：人民出版社，1981-1983。

• 《郭嵩焘奏稿》，杨坚 校补，长沙：岳麓书社，1983。

• 《使西纪程：郭嵩焘集》，陆玉林 选注，渖阳：辽宁人民出版社，1994。

Early career

Guo was born in Xiangyin, Hunan in 1818. As a young man, Guo studied at the Yuelu Academy in Changsha, where befriended Zeng Guofan. In 1847, Guo was awarded the highest degree in the imperial exams and soon afterwards he became a bachelor in the Hanlin Academy. In 1853, he was called to assist Zeng Guofan in joining the Xiang Army to suppress the Taiping Rebellion in their native province of Hunan. During the suppression of the Taipings Rebellion, Guo distinguished himself as a prominent advocate of the local likin tax as a means of financing the campaigns. In 1852 his forces recaptured Nanchang, Jiangxi from Taiping forces. He later also assisted Li Hongzhang's Huai Army in their campaigns against rebels in the Anhui province.

He called for foreign languages to be taught at a government school in 1859.

Diplomatic service

Guo became an important member of China's Self-Strengthening Movement in the 1860s and 70s and distinguished himself for his advocacy of a moderate and peaceful foreign policy. Guo became the first Qing minister to be stationed in a western country. He served as Minister to Britain and Minister to France from 1877 through 1879 as part of the United Kingdom's demands after the Margary Affair for an Imperial commissioner to be posted to Britain. In 1877 the English artist Walter Goodman was commissioned to paint his portrait, exhibited that year at the Royal Academy and later at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The whereabouts of this painting is unknown but a photograph taken of it at the time is in a private collection in England.A Victorian photograph of Walter Goodman's 1877 portrait of Guo Songtao.

Advocate of Railways

In July 1877 while serving as Chinese Minister to Britain, Guo led an entourage of legation officials on a visit to the Ipswich engineering works of Ransomes and Rapier to see the manufacture of steam locomotives, railway equipment and other engineering products. He travelled from London to Ipswich by train and expressed his deep admiration for Britain』s railway system, commenting that the distance travelled during the two-hour train journey would have taken two or three days in his own country.

He subsequently became a great proponent of railways and other modern engineering development in China, incurring the wrath of conservative and anti-railway Court officials, who resented his representations. In early 1878 he was also appointed Minister to France (concurrent with his British appointment) and moved to Paris, but in late 1878 he was ordered to return to China. Upon his return, fearful for his life because of his pro-foreign views, he returned to his home province and virtually retired from public life, spending his time writing and teaching in an academy.

Works

• 礼记质疑: 49卷 (1890)