刘锡鸿,字云生,广东番禺人。在中国近代史上,其人无足称道,但其事却启人深省。作为晚清第一批驻外使节,他曾亲自涉足西方,并因与郭嵩焘的纷争而使朝野俱知,后更以其域外“见闻”反对兴建铁路,影响了清廷的铁路论战。对此,历来论者甚少注目,或有触及,又一概谓之顽固派、守旧派。以“派”来规范,或许能涵盖某一阶层、群体,然习用久之,不免失诸简单化、脸谱化。本文试图从中国近代化这一视角来具体剖析刘锡鸿的思想、实践与心态,以蠡测近代中国百余年的艰难历程。 Liu Xihong, word cloud Health, Panyu, Guangdong. In the modern history of China, there is no praise for its people, but its events are inspiring. As the first batch of diplomatic envoys in the late Qing Dynasty, he personally involved in the West and made known to both the North and the South as a result of the dispute with Guo Songtao. Later, he even objected to the construction of the railway with his “outside information” and affected the Qing Dynasty’s railway controversy. In this regard, historians rarely pay attention, or touch, another term that die-hards, old school. To “send” to regulate, may be able to cover a class, group, but use for a long time, can not be ignored simplistic, faceted. This article tries to analyze Liu Xihong’s thought, practice and mentality from the perspective of China’s modernization in order to test the hard course of more than 100 years in modern China.