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.” Komiks
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 internal and foreign wars. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement had not yet subsided. 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 repeatedly invaded by foreign enemies. InformationKomiksPhotoCinemaFaced with internal and external difficulties and national danger, China is exploring reform mapBabaylanThe Way to Save. Western forces opened the door of China with strong ships and powerful cannons, making the “Big Empire” realize that they were really behind. Because Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan and other pioneering ideas of “opening 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 tests the ruling people at that time.
Empress Dowager Cixi Stills
In this major change, there are two key figures who are most capable of deciding the course of the ship of the Qing Dynasty: one is Empress Dowager Cixi, who began to rule behind the curtain 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 was the war to wipe out the Taiping Army and the Nian Army in the 1860s. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinema rose step by step and 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 can compete 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? In the repeated failures of foreign wars, leaders of the Westernization faction such as Li Hongzhang and other Westernization faction have a dream of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Therefore, they proposed to “learning the barbarians’ strengths 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 civilian industries were quickly created, mining, textiles, telegraphs and other military and civilian industries, and adopted the “official supervision and business” method to attract private capital to run industries.
The Westernization Movement laid a certain foundation for the foundry industry. 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 and other aspects in a short period of time, quickly laying a certain industrial foundation for traditional agricultural countries, and href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Cinema 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 was the peak period of the Westernization Movement, known in history as “Tongguang ZTE”. Undoubtedly, Li Hongzhang is a “minister of Zhongxing”. The whole country is complacent about the success of the Westernization Movement, believing that learning from the West has achieved great success.
Cinema
Beiyang Navy Stills
However, it is this superficial effect that covers the existing problems.
The Westernization Movement, a path to enrich the country and strengthen the army, had great limitations from 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 are only willing to learn to decorate the Cinema‘s storefront, and have not touched on fundamental issues such as the system.
KomiksStudying to learn from Western Japan two years later than the Qing government is a good reference system. In addition to learning from the West, Japan carried out the Meiji Restoration, and carried out a more thorough social improvement to Japan from comprehensive learning from economy and military Komiks to politics and education.
So, China and Japan, as “classmates”, gradually widened the gap. Japan quickly completed the process of modernization and rose to become a powerful East Asia country. The economic and social development momentum of the Qing Dynasty 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. The Beiyang Water Division, known as Asia’s No. 1 Beiyang Shui, 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 could not grasp it better? Although this is restricted and hindered by conservative forces, Li, who is knowledgeable and strives to guide China’s progress. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>KomiksHongzhangs, however, did not strive for more important and more critical reforms, and obviously they had the responsibility that they could not be shirked.
Looking back on history, the twists and turns and limitations in the exploration of China’s modernization path are sad.
The times have limitations, and individuals have limitations. In the late Qing Empire, Li Hongzhang was struggling with 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.
Modern China with many disasters and difficulties Data picture
CinemaThe 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 and restore the war and war. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>BabaylanThe Road to Prosper a Strong Country.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News·Yangcheng School Editor | Xia Yang