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

• 禮記質疑: 49卷 (1890)

生平

道光二十七年（1847年）進士，選翰林院庶吉士，因丁憂回鄉；後遇太平軍攻打長沙，跟隨曾國藩組建湘軍，由軍功授翰林院編修。還朝，入直上書房。

咸豐初年，任編修官；左宗棠當時在駱秉章幕府中名聲顯赫，咸豐帝於是透過他聯繫左宗棠出來任官，以擊敗太平軍。

咸豐九年（1859年），英法聯軍攻打天津，其反對僧格林沁撤北塘備，意見不合，辭官還鄉。

同治元年（1862年），應李鴻章邀請任蘇松督糧道，後升兩淮鹽運使。

同治二年（1863年），署理廣東巡撫；次年，太平天國南京被攻克，其上書陳述因鎮壓太平天國而臨時設立之地方集資制度（厘金）的危害；後捲入毛鴻賓、瑞麟先後兩任兩廣總督的官場摩擦，於同治六年（1866年）6月解任，再次歸鄉閒居。

光緒元年（1875年），授福建按察使，未上任，又入直總理各國事務衙門；期間發生馬嘉理事件；他曾彈劾雲南巡撫岑毓英失職；次年，授兵部侍郎，出使英國道歉，成為首任出使英國欽差大臣，兼出使法國欽差大臣。

光緒二年十月十八日（1876年11月15日），自上海乘船赴歐；在駐英期間參觀各地工廠學校和政府機構，其觀念亦因此產生根本變化，發出「西洋政教、製造，無不出于學」的呼聲；他把使英途中見聞寫成《使西紀程》，向清政府大力介紹外國先進的管理概念和政治措施，稱讚西洋政教制度，並對中國內政提出效仿的建議；但在該作寄回中國後，因希望由總理衙門刊印，導致保守派人士的仇視，要求將其撤職查辦；翰林院編修何金壽參劾他「有二心于英國，想對英國稱臣」等語，他因此被清廷申斥，書稿亦遭毀版；而後又遭到其副手劉錫鴻誣陷，于是因病請辭。

光緒四年（1878年）8月，清政府將郭召回，改派曾紀澤接任；次年5月5日，他乘船抵達長沙；由于湘陰發生守舊排外風潮，他被污衊為「勾通洋人」，遭到不明真相的百姓和鄉紳帖大字報侮辱。

郭嵩燾賦閒期間曾在湖南主講城南書院，開設禁煙會，宣傳禁止鴉片。

生前曾籌備成立船廠，未能實現。

郭嵩燾病逝後，李鴻章奏請將其事蹟宣付史館立傳，但清廷以其「出使外洋，所著書籍，頗滋物議」為由，不准其奏。

軼聞

郭嵩燾抵達英國倫敦後不久，于1877年10月16日應英國工廠主的邀請，訪問了在倫敦附近的電氣廠。在參觀過程中，英國工廠主特意請郭嵩燾參觀剛剛發明不久的電話。這是他首次，也是中國人第一次接觸到電話。電話安裝在相隔數十丈的上下樓內，郭嵩燾讓隨從張德彞到樓下去接聽，自己在樓上與其通話。「郭問『聽聞乎？』張答到『聽聞。』郭又問『你知覺乎？』張應曰『知覺。』郭又說『請數數目字。』張依言而數曰『一、二、三、四、五、六、七。』」郭嵩燾在日記中寫道：「其語言多者亦多不能明，惟此數者分明。」由此可見，這次通話的效果並不盡如人意。

著述

• 《禮記質疑：49卷》，思賢講舍，1890

• 《使西紀程》：對歐洲的政治、經濟、社會、教學，作了詳細的記錄，並倡言清政府效仿實施。

• 《養知書屋文集》

• 《郭嵩燾日記》，北京：人民出版社，1981-1983。

• 《郭嵩燾奏稿》，楊堅 校補，長沙：嶽麓書社，1983。

• 《使西紀程：郭嵩燾集》，陸玉林 選注，瀋陽：遼寧人民出版社，1994。