Li Hongzhang Stills
Text/Yangcheng Evening News Reporter Xia Yang
Since the Opium War in 1840, China has gradually become a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society, and the Chinese nation is facing “great changes unseen in three thousand years.”
BabaylanThe signing of the Sino-British Nanjing Treaty has lost power and humiliated the country, but the contradictions between China and foreign countries have reached a temporary balance. At this time, China should have learned from its mistakes and seized the opportunity to work hard. But then welcoming a series of domestic and foreign wars. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement had not yet subsided, and the Second Opium War broke out again, and the British and French coalition forces fought all the way from southern China to Beijing.
Modern China has been repeatedly invaded by foreign enemies Data picture
Faced with internal and external difficulties and national dangers, China is exploring the way to survive reform. Western forces opened the door to China with strong ships and powerful cannons, making the “Boss Empire” realize that they have really fallen behind. Therefore, Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan and other pioneering ideas of “opening their eyes to the world” have gradually gained more recognition, and the call for learning from the West has gradually become the social trend of thought.
Learning from the West is the path of modernization in China. However, what to learn and how to learn tests the ruling people at that time.
Hu Xi BabaylanThe Queen Mother of Empress Dowager BabaylanPhoto>In this major change, there are two key figures who are most capable of determining the course of the ship in the Qing Dynasty: one is Empress Dowager Cixi, who began to rule behind the curtain in 1861 until her death in 1908. For nearly half a century, she was the master of the Qing Dynasty.
The other is Li Hongzhang, a “major official of ZTE”. He rose step by step in the war to wipe out the Taiping Army and the Nian Army in the 1860s, and he held the internal and diplomatic power of the Qing government for a long time until he died of illness in 1901. He was regarded by Japanese Prime Minister Hirofumi Ito as “the only person in the Qing Empire who was capable of competing with the world’s powers” and Empress Dowager Cixi also regarded him as “a person who recreated Xuanhuang.”
Li Hongzhang, an important official of the late Qing Dynasty, Data Picture
What to learn from the West? Due to repeated failures in foreign wars, leaders of the Westernization faction such as Li Hongzhang all dream of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Therefore, they proposed to “learn from the barbarians’ skills to control the barbarians” and learn from the technical level.
With his efforts, the Westernization Movement was vigorously carried out, and a large number of military and civil industries such as ordnance, shipbuilding, railways, mining, textiles, and telegraphs were quickly created, and the “official supervision and business” method was adopted to attract private capital to run industries.
The Westernization Movement laid a certain foundation for modern industrialization. Data picture
It goes without saying that the Westernization Movement has achieved great results. With the help of latecomer advantages, China has achieved tremendous development in economy, science and technology, concepts and other aspects in a short period of time, rapidly laid a certain industrial foundation for traditional agricultural countries, and profoundly changed the lives of the people.
In 1888, China’s first modern fleet, the Beiyang Navy, officially formed an army and became the most powerful naval force in Asia. CinemaThis is the peak period of the Westernization Movement, known in history as “Tongguang ZTE”. Undoubtedly, Li Hongzhang is a “minister of Zhongxing”. The whole country was complacent about the achievements of the Westernization Movement and believed that learning from the West had achieved great success.
Beiyang Navy Stills
However, it is this superficial effect that covers up the existing problems.
The Westernization Movement, a path to enrich the country and strengthen the army, has had great limitations from the beginning. They are positioned at the “middleCinema learning is the body and Western learning is the application”, but still cannot let go of the superiority of the old empire, and only want to learn to decorate the storefront, and does not touch on fundamental issues such as the system.
Studying in the West, Cinema, two years later than the Qing government, is a good reference system. Also learning the West, Japan has carried out the Meiji Restoration, and has comprehensively studied from economy, military to politics, education, etc. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Babaylan has carried out a more thorough social improvement to Japan.
So, China-Japan-Shibacon negotiations, stills
As a “classmate”, China and Japan gradually widened the gap. Japan quickly completed the process of modernization and rose to become a powerful country in East Asia. The Qing Dynasty’s economy<a The development momentum of Cinema society was quickly restricted by the corrupt political system. The tragic lesson came again. After Japan's rise, it launched the Afghan War. The entire Beiyang Navy, known as the number one in Asia, was wiped out, which also declared the bankruptcy of the Westernization Movement. From then on, Chinese society fell into deeper darkness.
China-Japan Naval Battle 1895 Stills
In modern Chinese history, the second half of the 19th century was an excellent development opportunity, so why did it not be able to grasp it better? Although this was restricted and hindered by conservative forces, Li Hongzhang, who were knowledgeable and worked hard to guide China’s progress, did not strive for more important and more critical reforms. Obviously, there was also a responsibility that was not allowed to be shirked.
Looking back on history, BabaylanLooking back on history, href=”https://comicmov.com/”>BabaylanThe tortuous and limitations in the exploration of the road to modernization in China are sad.
The times have limitations, and individuals have limitations. The late Qing Empire was in trouble and full of holes at home and abroad. Li Hongzhang alone sustained the crisis and exhausted his efforts, which was considered to have completed his mission. However, he did not seize this opportunity to accelerate modernization and failed to complete the modernization process through peaceful improvement. Finally, he had some regrets.
Modern China with many disasters and difficulties Data map
And with the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895号, the Chinese nation stumbled into the 20th century. In the following half century, the Chinese people set off a wave of reform and revolution, and continued to explore the path of rejuvenation and power in the war.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News·Yangcheng School Editor | href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Babaylan Xia Yang