Li Hongzhang Stills
Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Xia Yang
From the beginning of the Opium War in 2000, China gradually became a semi-feudal semi-colonial society, and the Chinese nation faced “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 learn from the pain and seize 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. 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 danger, China is exploring the way to survive in reform. Western forces opened the door to China with strong ships and powerful cannons, making the “Big Empire” realize that it was really behind. Therefore, Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan and other pioneers who “opened their eyes to the world” gradually gained more recognition, and the call for learning from the West gradually became a social trend.
Learning from the West is the path of modernization in China. However, what to learn and how to learn test the politicians 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 are the most capable of determining the course of the ship: one is Empress Dowager Cixi, who began to rule the country from behind in 1861 until her death in 1908. In the past half century, she was the master of the Qing Dynasty.
The other is Li Hongzhang, the “major official of the revival”. He rose step by step in the war to wipe out the Taiping Army and the Nian Army in the 1860s, and he mastered it for a long time. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>CinemaThe Qing government’s internal and external powers was not until it died of illness in 1901. He was regarded by Japanese Prime Minister Hirobuki Ito as “the only person in the Qing Empire who can compete with the world’s powers” and Empress Dowager Cixi also regarded him as “a person who recreated Xuanhuang”.
Li Hongzhang, a senior official of the late Qing Dynasty Data picture
What to learn from the West? Foreign Wars Repeated FailureCinema Cinema, Li Hongzhang and other leaders of the Westernization Movement 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 Westernization Movement was vigorously carried out, and quickly created a large number of ordnances, shipbuilding, railways, href=”https://comicmov.com/”>CinemaMining, textiles, telegraphs and other military and civil industries, and adopts the “official supervision and commercial operation” method to attract private capital to run industries.
The Westernization Movement laid a certain foundation for modern industrialization Data Picture
Not disdain, the Westernization Movement has achieved great results. With the help of the latecomer advantage, China has achieved tremendous development in economy, science and technology, concepts, etc. 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 1888, China’s first modern fleet, the Beiyang Navy, officially formed an army and became the most powerful naval force in Asia. This is the Westernization MovementCinema‘s peak period is known in history as “Tongguang ZTE”. Undoubtedly, Li Hongzhang was the “minister of ZTE”. 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 conceals the question of existenceKomiks topic.
The Westernization Movement, a path to enrich the country and strengthen the army, has had great limitations since the beginning. They are positioned as “middle school as the body and Western learning as the purpose”, but they still cannot let go of the superiority of the old empire, and only want to learn to decorate the storefront, and have not touched on fundamental issues such as the system.
When learning from the West two years later than the Qing government, it is a good reference system for reference. It is also learning. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>BabaylanIn the West, Japan carried out the Meiji Restoration, and comprehensively learned from economy, military to politics, education, and carried out a relatively thorough social improvement to Japan.
So, China-Japan negotiations, Shimonoseki
So, as a “classmate”, China and Japan gradually opened up 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 DynastyBabaylan was soon restricted by the corrupt political system. The painful lesson came again. After Japan’s rise, it launched the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Komiks, the Beiyang Cinema, which was known as the No. 1 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 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 in trouble, and Li Hongzhang alone sustained the crisis. He exhausted his efforts and 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.
Modern China with many disasters and difficulties Data picture
And with 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 | Yangcheng Evening News·Editor of Yangcheng School | Xia Yang