After more than 30 years of Westernization Movement, it was proved bankrupt in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895. Li Hongzhang summed up his life in his later years: "I have been doing things all my life, training and the navy are paper tigers." How can I really put it down, but I can barely draw it, which is superficial and perfunctory for a while. "
There are many reasons for the failure of the Westernization Movement, including the lack of a complete plan, the lack of understanding of the politicians, the opposition of conservatives, and the corruption of bureaucratic political style. Huang Renyu pointed out in "The Great History of China" that the so-called "Westernization" is because western society emphasizes efficiency, which is quite different from China's traditional social habits. The use of every weapon is bound by traditional culture and concepts, which are affected in all aspects. If various industrial factories are set up, the society needs the cooperation of various commercial organizations, such as parts, banks, insurance, etc. , but these were not available in China in the19th century; Accounting has no perfect management concept, which leads to the inability to effectively verify accounting accounts; There is no standard for personnel control, because traditional culture lacks modern personnel management thinking.
However, the Westernization School has made considerable achievements in resisting commodity export, promoting ideological emancipation and stimulating the development of Chinese national capitalism, which has certain positive significance.