After the Opium War, landlords increased their exploitation of farmers, and land annexation became more serious. The taxes paid by the Qing government increased year by year, which made farmers overwhelmed. 185 1 year 1 month1day, Hong Xiuquan led an uprising in Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi Province, which was called "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" in history. The significance of this peasant class leadership spread rapidly, which led to the establishment of a tit-for-tat regime in Nanjing in 1853. Why did this uprising not take place in the inland, but in the southeast coast? 1842 treaty of nanking opened five trading ports, concentrated in the southeast coast. Britain wants to dump their goods in these places to get silver, but they greatly underestimate the power of China's traditional small-scale peasant economy and overestimate the purchasing power of farmers. After opening these ports, the expected effect has not been achieved. On the other hand, these foreign yarns and foreign fabrics make some small-scale peasant economies in the southeast coast tend to collapse to a certain extent, separating "agriculture" and "weaving", and many bankrupt craftsmen become free laborers. The level of capitalist development in cities is difficult to absorb these labors. Many people have become unstable factors in society. This is where it can be used. Inland, the small-scale peasant economy is still deeply rooted and hard to shake. Although there have been many uprisings more or less, what achievements have been made. Hong Xiuquan took advantage of this favorable situation and promulgated the revolutionary program "heaven to heaven and acres" that farmers all longed for, so they took refuge in it one after another. However, this revolution led by the peasant class finally failed, and its objective reason is naturally the joint strangulation of Chinese and foreign reactionary forces. But we can't ignore the inevitability of its failure. The most important point is that this uprising is against the feudal class, not against the feudal system. Even if the Qing dynasty was successfully overthrown, it was only to establish another feudal dynasty. In addition, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement was religious, and the combination of theocracy and kingship established a very complete feudal official system, which paralyzed people's thoughts. A person in a relatively peaceful environment will often breed negative thoughts that are not enterprising. Hong Xiuquan is like this. After making his capital in Tianjing, he indulged in debauchery, like a bad king. Due to its own reasons, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom gradually fell out of favor. History tells us that once people's hearts are lost, it is difficult for any regime to exist. Tianjing finally fell in 1864, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement that lasted for 13 years failed. I don't regret its failure The later "Senior Minister's New Chapter" is just a bunch of empty articles, which may contain all kinds of ideas similar to the development of capitalism, but it can't save the decline of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After all, it is only symbolic.
When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in full swing, some ministers within the feudal rulers began to study how to revitalize the stormy Qing Dynasty in the face of internal and external troubles. At this time, it was divided into two factions. The die-hards, led by Wu Ren, a great scholar, sang that "the way to build a country lies in respecting propriety and righteousness, not in tactics, and the fundamental plan lies in people's hearts, not in technology", and advocated that "loyalty is the armor and propriety is the god" to resist foreign aggression; On the other hand, the "enlightened school" represented by Prince Gong wholeheartedly advocates learning to learn advanced western technology on the premise of maintaining basic feudal norms and Zoroastrianism. "Middle school as the body, western learning for use" is its code of action. In fact, there is no essential difference between the two, the difference is whether to learn advanced western technology. Empress Dowager Cixi, who is actually in power, tends to adopt the views of Yi Xin and others after weighing the pros and cons. Therefore, from the 1960s, represented by Yi Xin, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and others, a number of military enterprises were founded in the early stage with the slogan of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners", and in the later stage, in order to solve the financial difficulties of military enterprises, a number of private enterprises were developed with the slogan of "learning from foreigners to strengthen themselves". This process, from 65438 to 1960, was called "Westernization Movement". The mainstream view is that the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 marked the failure of the Westernization Movement, while the book holds that the fundamental reason for the failure of the Westernization Movement is that they only learned advanced western technology on utensils and neglected to change the feudal system. This view seems to be demanding of the ancients, but I find it hard to refute it. In my opinion, it is not easy to judge the failure of a movement. The Westernization Movement did not change the nature of China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. However, this movement is to save the rule of the Qing government, that is to say, we should judge whether it is successful or not. At this point, I'm afraid no one will object that this movement really kept the Qing Dynasty alive for some time. We shouldn't ask them to do what Sun Yat-sen can do, such as. So I don't think the Westernization Movement was a success. But at least it is not a failure.
Although the Westernization Movement enabled the Qing government to remain in power for a period of time, it is an indisputable fact that the acute social contradictions in China have not been resolved. One treaty after another was signed, which further proved the incompetence of the Qing government. People's lives can't be improved, and even their families are ruined. The signing of "treaty of shimonoseki" made the social contradictions in China unprecedentedly acute, and some advanced elements thought that the Chinese nation was in danger. At this time, China's capitalism developed to a certain extent, and advanced bourgeois elements such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao advocated learning from the western political system, establishing a constitutional monarchy in China and taking the capitalist road. This view is higher than that of Westernization Movement, which only studies advanced western technology, and involves the institutional level. But unfortunately, capitalism was not fully developed at that time and the bourgeoisie was extremely weak. The key moment depends on Yuan Shikai's armed forces and a puppet emperor with no real power. It is not surprising that it failed. But what we need to learn here is their spirit of striving for the independence and prosperity of China.
After the failure of the Westernization Movement and the Reform and Reform, the land of China continued to sink. With the signing of the "Xin Chou Treaty", the Qing government officially became the ruling tool of imperialism in China, and its reactionary behavior became increasingly obvious. Openly helping foreign countries to suppress the patriotic movement "Boxer Rebellion" undoubtedly exposed its reactionary design, and the people are still in dire straits, which has not changed at all, and even intensified. Although the Qing government implemented "preparatory constitutionalism" at the end of 19. But the appearance of the "Royal Cabinet" proves that this is just a scam. 19 at the end of the 20th century, capitalism developed further. However, the semi-colonial and semi-feudal social form in China seriously hindered the further development of capitalism: the oppression of its feudal forces; The export of foreign goods and capital makes the development of capitalism in China difficult. To develop capitalism into a towering tree, we must establish a truly powerful capitalist country. At this time, the bourgeois revolutionaries headed by Sun Yat-sen stepped onto the historical stage. Although they failed in the previous armed uprising, they did not lose heart. Finally, the Wuchang Uprising of 19 1 1 successfully overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established a bourgeois republic. Unfortunately, even if Sun Yat-sen has a beautiful blueprint, it is difficult to implement it, and it seems that it is difficult for anyone to implement various laws. The revolution did not change the social situation at that time, and the people's lives were still miserable, so it was naturally difficult to pursue any political rights. Its own weakness forced it to rely on external forces, which was the root of its failure. We should know that the abnormal society in China is caused by foreign forces, but Sun Yat-sen acknowledged the interests of foreign countries in China, and the main oppressive forces still exist, making it difficult for society to undergo fundamental changes. As for the idea of democracy, at least at that time, it was an unreasonable idea in the minds of China people, and naturally it did not take root in people's hearts.
The fruits of the Revolution of 1911 finally fell into Yuan Shikai's hands. After he became president, his ambition was extremely inflated and he was ready to ascend to the throne for restoration. In the end, it was just an ugly drama, which ended in tragedy. After that, although Zhang Xun was restored twice, it was only a short farce. Then China entered the era of Northern Warlords. At this time, China is divided, and it is difficult to form a strong whole. Some people of insight believe that only by eradicating feudal ethics ideologically can China truly awaken. So Chen Duxiu and others launched the "New Culture Movement", advocating democracy and science and opposing backwardness and ignorance. The "New Culture Movement" criticized traditional culture enormously and extensively, and even some excellent cultures were mercilessly attacked by bad lenses, which was one-sided. "Weak countries have no diplomacy." When the news of the Paris Peace Conference came, students in Beijing had already shed blood. Their just demands forced the government to act according to their opinions. This day is the May 4th Movement, which is called the May 4th Movement in history. During this period, Marxism was introduced into China. Through the vigorous propaganda of Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and others, Marxism is well known by more and more people and regarded by more and more intellectuals as a good medicine to solve the China problem. 192 1 year, China * * * production party was founded, and China's revolutionary cause entered a new stage.
During this period, all classes made their own efforts, but they all failed. The failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom does not deserve people's sympathy; The westernization movement made Chinese people shine; The symbolic significance of reform is greater than the actual significance; The Revolution of 1911 made people feel sorry; Although the New Culture Movement emancipated people's minds, its sequela still caused endless harm, leading to the lack of spiritual culture of China people. During this historical period, the bourgeoisie was very active and its understanding deepened. Apart from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the Westernization Movement and various bourgeois political reforms are essentially learning from the West. From the initial study of western advanced technology to the study of western political system, and then to the dissemination of western ideas during the New Culture Movement, it can be said that this process is a historical necessity and one of the ways to save the nation from extinction. Even though the New Culture Movement did more harm than good to China people today, it is undeniable that in the social environment at that time, outstanding intellectuals in China went to this road of completely denying ancient culture. When evaluating this period of history, we are often demanding the ancients. This is true of the Westernization Movement and the Revolution of 1911.
Centennial meditation
-Some experiences in learning the "Westernization Movement"
After studying the modern history for just one semester, I became interested in the "Westernization Movement", which was the first major modernization reform in the history of China. I want to take this opportunity to talk about my understanding and experience of this period of history.
The Westernization Movement began at the beginning of 186 1. At that time, Prince Gong, an imperial envoy who stayed in Beijing to discuss peace, wholeheartedly led the performance of "overall planning and overall folding". With the consent of the princes and the approval of Xianfeng, the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs was formally established. Since then, the Westernization Movement has officially started. 1In September, 894, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894 broke out, and the new army and beiyang fleet, which had been painstakingly managed by the Westernization School for more than ten years, were defeated. In April of the following year, the Qing government was forced to sign the treaty of shimonoseki, and the Westernization Movement failed.
This 35-year-old movement, as the beginning of China's modernization, has been subject to many debates. The Westernization Movement started the first shot of China's modernization, but the first shot didn't start, which was basically a failure and didn't turn China into an independent modern capitalist society. Therefore, for this movement, there have been mixed opinions.
I'm just a freshman, and I'm studying engineering, so I can't have profound opinions. Personally, I think we should read this history of different lengths from the period before the Westernization Movement, so as to see it more comprehensively.
The Opium War in the 1940s and 1950s was an indirect factor of the Westernization Movement. Because it is these two wars that have made the Qing government, which has always been weak and incompetent, appear a "Westernization School" that knows how to resist better than the original decadent ministers. The so-called Westernization School is an influence of the ruling class of the Qing government on how to solve a series of internal and external troubles, as opposed to the "die-hards".
Westernization advocated the use of capitalist industrial and commercial means to maintain the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty. 65438+During the 1960s and 1990s, the Westernization School set off the "Westernization Movement", an improved movement of "learning from foreigners and mastering their skills". The die-hards, led by the great scholar Woren, sang that "the way to build a country lies in respecting ceremony, not in tactics, and the fundamental purpose lies in people's hearts, not in skills", and advocated that "loyalty is the armor and ceremony is the god" to resist foreign aggression. They criticized the Westernization School for learning advanced production technology from the West, saying that it was "very advanced and correct", but "taking propriety and righteousness as the backbone and loyalty and righteousness as the armor" was not conducive to self-improvement. In the past twenty or thirty years, Chinese and foreign officials failed to control the enemy, and they just filled their responsibilities with empty words, which led to the changes in Geng Shen. "The westerners and die-hards attacked each other, and the struggle was fierce. The Prime Minister's Office is the central organization to promote the Westernization Movement. However, the influence of the Westernization School is mainly not in the central government of the Qing Dynasty, but in the governors and governors who hold local real power. Cixi understood that in order to maintain the dominance of the Qing Dynasty, she had to rely on the powerful Westernization School which was appreciated by foreign invaders. So she temporarily adopted the strategy of supporting Westernization.
In the central government, Prince Gong Yixin, the newly established prime minister and yamen minister, became the representative force of the Westernization School in the central government. Most local representatives are related to Zeng Guofan:
Zeng Guofan (Han nationality, scholar in the eighteenth year of Daoguang, leader of Xiang army) Li Hongzhang (Zeng Guofan's favorite pupil, Han nationality, scholar in the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang, leader of Huai army, powerful faction in the late Qing Dynasty) Zhang Zhidong (Han nationality, scholar in the second year of Tongzhi, known as "Xiang Shuai") left (Zeng Guofan's subordinate, Han landlord, led the army to recover Xinjiang). They are all ministers who have made outstanding achievements in the Westernization Movement.
In the early days of the Westernization Movement, the Westernization School established a number of modern military industries under the banner of "self-improvement" and adopted advanced western production technologies.
186 1 year, the Anqing ordnance institute founded by Zeng Guofan hired China craftsmen to imitate western-style guns, which was the earliest modern military industry in China. From 1862, it took three years to successfully develop China's first ship "Huanggu".
In the later period of the Westernization Movement, in order to solve the difficulties of military industry in terms of capital, fuel and transportation, the Westernization School set up many civilian industries under the banner of "seeking wealth". Such as: Tianjin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau, Shanghai Shipping Merchants Bureau, etc.
Among them, Beiyang Navy is the most powerful. 1888, beiyang fleet was formally established, with 25 warships and more than 4,000 officers and men, with Ding, the general of Huai Army, as the prefect. At the same time, two naval bases, Lushunkou and Ahava, were completed, and the construction of the whole Beiyang coastal defense system was declared complete. Li Hongzhang proudly said: Beiyang Navy has a "strong momentum" ... it can be stationed in Liaoning and Bohai, and it can also be supported in other places, supplemented by the stationing of various artillery companies, which is enough to defend Gyeonggi. "(You can imagine the scenery at that time, but it's a pity that this huge fleet is still no match for small fleets of other countries in the Sino-Japanese War in the future, and the reason is also worth pondering. )
What is more commendable is that the Westernization School pays attention to the cultivation of talents while enhancing its combat power. This can be seen from the establishment of new schools such as Shi Jing Wentong Museum and Fuzhou Ship Administration School, and the training of translators, military personnel and scientific and technological personnel. It can be seen from sending several groups of international students abroad for further study.
To sum up, the emergence and development of "Westernization School" has great and practical significance. It not only strengthened the current national strength of the Qing government, but also achieved the so-called "sustainable development" today.
But why did it end in failure? I have roughly summarized several reasons: the obstruction of other capitalist countries and the destruction of the Westernization Movement through various channels. This is an inevitable factor. In that situation at that time, in the face of the Westernization Movement with the slogan of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners", powerful capitalist countries will inevitably block it in every way.
The second problem is that the ideological line of the Westernization Movement itself is not perfect. As mentioned earlier, this movement was mainly used to stabilize feudal rule. Westernization school advocates "middle school as the body, western learning for use", hoping to maintain feudal rule with advanced technology, and the reform will not touch the feudal system. It can be seen that there is no essential difference between these "Westernization Groups" and "die-hards", but their distribution is more progressive, and their fundamental interests and goals are still very backward, which initially laid the groundwork for the failure of the Westernization Movement.
The third is the quality of these "Westernization Schools". The whole Westernization Movement lacks a sound and powerful leadership core, and its strength is limited. Westernization officials lack their own modernization accomplishment and fail to realize the key role of system construction in western capitalist countries in their economic development. On the contrary, the Westernization School tried to rely solely on the introduction of western advanced technology and equipment, without completely changing the feudal exploitation system, and tried to engage in the so-called "Chinese style and western use" in China, that is, to take China's feudal system as a container to accommodate western advanced technology, without understanding the internal contradictions between the two, which would inevitably lead to failure.
So what seems to be advanced is inevitable decay, which makes this magnificent movement turn into a meteor after all.
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 also proved that the Westernization Movement did not make China prosperous. However, it introduced some modern scientific production technologies from western capitalist countries, trained a number of scientific and technical personnel and skilled workers, objectively stimulated the development of capitalism in China and resisted the expansion of foreign economic forces.
In short, it is impossible for a nation that has fallen behind for decades to change its tragic fate by only one or two sports. However, the Westernization Movement itself and this sad history can be used as teaching materials to teach us lessons, learn from its advanced nature and avoid its dross. Only in this way can a great nation really rise!