Li Hongzhang Stills
Text/Yangcheng Evening News Reporter Xia Yang
Since the Opium War in 1840, China has gradually become a semi-colonial feudal semi-colonial society, and the Chinese nation is facing “great changes unseen in three thousand years.”
Although the signing of the Sino-British Nanjing Treaty was deprived of power and humiliating the country, the contradictions between China and foreign countries reached a temporary balance. At this time, China should have learned from the pain 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 “Big Empire” realize that they were really behind. Therefore, Lin Zexu and 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 a 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.
Empress Dowager Cixi Stills
In this major change, there are two key figures who stand on the bow of the Qing Dynasty and stand on the bow of the Qing Dynasty. Komiks to decide the course of the ship: one is Empress Dowager Cixi, who began to listen from behind in 1861. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Babaylan‘s administration was not until his death in 1908, and nearly half of CinemaCinemaomicmov.com/”>Cinema In the century, she was the master of the Qing Dynasty.
The other was Li Hongzhang, a “major official of the revival”. He rose step by step in the war to eliminate the Taiping and 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 Hirobuki Ito as “the only person in the Qing Empire who was capable of competing with the world’s powers.” Empress Dowager Cixi also regarded him as “recreating the Xuanhuang man”.
Li Hongzhang, an important official in the late Qing Dynasty, Data picture
What to learn from the West? In the repeated failures of foreign wars, Li Hongzhang and other leaders of the Westernization faction had a dream of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Therefore, they proposed to “learning the strengths of the barbarians to control the barbarians” and learn from the technical level.
With his efforts, the foreign affairs movement was vigorously carried out, and quickly created a large number of ordnances, shipbuilding, railways, mining, textiles, and electricity. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks and other military and civil industries, and adopt the “official supervision and business” method to attract private capital to run industries.
The Westernization Movement laid a certain foundation for modern industrialization. Data picture
NotKomiks said that the Westernization Movement has made great achievements. The results of Komiks. 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, quickly laid a certain industrial foundation for traditional agricultural countries and profoundly changed the lives of the people. In 8 years, China’s first modern fleet, Beiyang Navy, officially formed an army and became Asia.f=”https://comicmov.com/”>BabaylanThe most powerful naval force in the continent. This was the peak of the Westernization Movement, known in history as the “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.
Komiks The Westernization Movement, a path to enrich the country and strengthen the army, had great limitations from the beginning. They are positioned as the “Cinema‘s middle school as the body and Western learning as the purpose”, but they still cannot let go of the superiority of the old empire under Komiks, and only want to learn to decorate the storefront, and do not touch on fundamental issues such as the system.
It is a good reference system to start learning from Japan two years later than the Qing government. Also learning from the West, Japan carried out the Meiji Restoration, from the economic and military affairs to the political and educational comprehensive learning, it carried out a relatively thorough social improvement in Japan.
So, China and Japan, as “classmates”, gradually widened the gap. Japan quickly completed the process of modernization and rose to become a powerful country in East Asia. The economic and social development momentum of the Qing Dynasty was soon restricted by the corrupt political system.
The painful lesson came again. CinemaAfter the rise of Japan, it launched the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and the Beiyang Navy, known as Asia’s number one, was wiped out, which also declared the bankruptcy of the Westernization Movement. From then on, Chinese society fell into deeper darkness.
China-Japan Navy Battle 1895 Stills
In modern Chinese history, the second half of the 19th century was an excellent development opportunity, so why didn’t I grasp it better? Although this is restricted and hindered by conservative forces, Li Hongzhang, who are knowledgeable and strive to guide China’s progress, have not fought for more important and more critical reforms, and obviously they cannot shirk responsibility.
Looking back on history based on the present, the twists and limitations in China’s exploration of the road to modernization are sad.
The times have limitations, and individuals have limitations. The late Qing Empire was in trouble at home and abroad and was full of holes. Li Hongzhang alone survived the crisis and exhausted his efforts, which was considered to have completed his mission. But he did not seize this good opportunity to accelerate modernization and failed to complete the modernization process through peaceful improvement. He finally had some regrets.
There was a disaster-ridden modern Chinese country. Data picture
After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, 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 midst of war.
Source | YangCinema CityBabaylan Evening News·Yangcheng School Editor | Xia Yang