Hanyang Iron Works is the product of Westernization Movement, which inherited all the important genes of mother. Without the specific historical environment of Westernization Movement, it is impossible to understand the physiological characteristics of Hanyang Iron Works. Only by deeply dissecting typical specimens such as Hanyang Iron Works can we have a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the Westernization Movement and learn from early modernization attempts correctly. Cixi shook and changed China in the late Qing Dynasty. Zhang Zhidong founded the Iron Works, which was recognized by the victory of the "Railway Debate". Its leading product is only to provide rails for the railway, but it is only an accessory of the railway, and its fate is closely linked with the fate of the railway. On the important decision of holding the railway and setting up the iron and steel industry, the late Qing government turned a blind eye to the construction of the railway, and then hesitated whether to build the Beijing-Tianjin railway, and finally decided to build Luhan Road. Within a few months, it suddenly changed its mind and decided to build Guandong Road. For a while, he seemed to support Zhang Zhidong, but he turned his head and relied on Li Hongzhang. Not only instructed Zhang Zhidong to build an iron factory in front to build rails, but also agreed that Li Hongzhang's Guandong Road would import rails in the rear; Finally, the celebration of Galeries Lafayette's 60th birthday is very important. The navy and railway funds are used to meet the extravagant demands of the old woman. The establishment of Hanyang Iron Works exposed various drawbacks of the Qing government, such as lack of opinions, policy planning, ability to coordinate local concerted actions and ability to mobilize social resources. The establishment of such an arduous system engineering in iron and steel industry cannot be strongly supported. The Westernization Movement is the next reform to introduce western capitalist civilization under the feudal autocracy, and the old system will inevitably become the shackles that the reform is difficult to break through. Cixi, the supreme decision-maker of the Great Qing Dynasty, had a choice in accommodating western things. In her mind, different interest circles have formed distinct interests, the core of which is her absolute authority to control the imperial power, followed by the interests of the royal family, the interests of the bureaucratic ruling group and so on. It can't be said that she doesn't consider the national interest at all, but it is obviously on the periphery. This difference in interest level influenced her decision-making. Her support for the Westernization Movement was based on not affecting the rule of feudal dynasties. The proposal to build a railway has been put on hold again and again, for fear of destroying the inherent social order and triggering large-scale riots, which is an important reason; Putting down Lu Han Road and building Guandong Road first is not so much to protect the country as to protect the birthplace of our ancestors. Although some of Zhang Zhidong's ideas and Li Hongzhang's westernization career may affect Cixi's decision-making to some extent, they cannot violate Cixi's bottom line. Li Hongzhang is better at using Cixi's psychology to achieve his own goals. This vacillation from the interests of the feudal ruling group and subsequent frequent changes led to the overall disorder of the Westernization Movement, which greatly increased the resistance to implementation and limited the depth, breadth and effect of introducing capitalist civilization. For iron works, it is difficult to continue during construction, and cooking is interrupted many times after completion, which is both congenital deficiency and acquired disorder. The governor acted in his own way and fought in secret. Zhang Zhidong dared to independently undertake the important task of establishing a steel plant. In terms of advantages, he has the courage to take responsibility for the country and the people. From the shortcomings, it is the passion, lack of experience and underestimation of the difficulties that the reader will face, relying on part of the financial resources that he could control under the system at that time. In the process of fighting the Taiping rebels, the overseers mastered some real powers of the local army, government, people and finance. The Qing government allowed the provinces to raise their salaries on the spot and write them off by themselves, which formed the local finance after the war. After the payment to the central government is completed, the governor can control the retained part by himself. In order to share the war reparations and set up westernization, local governments are also allowed to increase taxes within a certain range. Zhang Zhidong was in charge of Hubei, and used these powers to double the fiscal revenue. Among them, the annual income of 23 new taxes is between 6.5438+0 million and 2 million, all of which have become the backing of Hubei's westernization cause. As far as Hanyang Iron Works is concerned, in addition to the investment of 2 million taels designated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Zhang Zhidong's official funds for borrowing seats actually reached more than 3.8 million taels, accounting for 65.5% of the total funds. In order to raise these funds, Zhang Zhidong undoubtedly used the financial resources available to Governor Huguang and even acting Governor of Liangjiang to a position beyond the limit. Because of this, after the completion of the iron works, it still needs 654.38+0 billion production liquidity, which is beyond the mobile financial resources of a province in Hubei, and Zhang Zhidong can do nothing. The contradiction between the central and local governments often appears directly and sharply in finance. Unfortunately, Zhang Zhidong and Weng Tonghe have deep grievances. Weng Tong is in charge of the household department. In terms of financial expenditure, he actually implemented the policy of reducing expenditure without increasing income on the premise of meeting the needs of the royal family, and tightened his pockets for everyone except Lafayette. He stood in a conservative position, opposed westernization, and tried to take back the financial power of governors to the central government. At that time, he opposed the construction of the railway and "argued that Tianjin was not suitable for opening" to Cixi and Guangxu. Fu Kun, another minister, promised Prince Chun to allocate 2 million yuan to build a railway every year, but he was "not sure". Zhang Zhidong's "wasting money" has always been biased, and he has made enemies in Guangdong's military reimbursement. As a result of various factors, he must have repeatedly refuted Zhang Zhidong's funds in the iron works. In "To the Main Hall of Yancun Village", Zhang repeatedly complained that "the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development refused to pay the money without preconceived facts" and "the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development refused to pay the money. As for today, what Luo dug is tattered and lifeless ",which refers to Weng Tonghe. More unfortunately, Zhang Zhidong also met another chief governor, Li Hongzhang. There is a deep prejudice between them, especially in the Sino-French war. Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong are two giants in the late Westernization Movement, both pioneers of China railway industry, but they have completely different views on which railway to build and how to build it. Li has always regarded Zhang as a "boastful" scholar, and he doesn't believe that he can build railway tracks that Japan can't. Li insisted on building Tianjin access road, and later skillfully transferred the project to Guandong Road to manage Beiyang in an all-round way. Among them, there is a struggle for the dominance of railway construction, and there is a difference between buying and building rails. As a result, Li firmly grasped the railway funds, and the Hanyang Iron Works, which built the railway tracks, could never get their hands on it. Weng Tong holds the financial power and Li Hongzhang holds the railway funds. Cixi and Guangxu never had a clear view on such an important event as the establishment of iron and steel industry. The naval yamen, the Ministry of Housing, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong, who were in charge of it, never really reached a consensus, so Hanyang Iron Works became the cross of Zhang Zhidong's lonely suffering. With the financial situation in the middle of Guangxu and the strength of the whole country, it is still difficult to run Hanyang Iron Works well. Where is it so fragmented, infighting How can a province in Hubei make a difference? China's iron and steel industry was established because the rulers were fragmented; China's iron and steel industry can't concentrate the whole country's efforts to set up it, because the governors of all walks of life go their own way. For the modernization or industrialization of post-developed countries, trade protection is a shield to resist market forces and develop national industries. It's a pity that China lost its defensive shield before its industrialization began. After the Opium War, western powers coerced the Qing government to nail the import and export tariffs at a very low level, which is rare in the world. This has caused rare strange phenomena: the import tax rate is lower than the export tax rate, the foreign trade tax is lower than the domestic trade tax, the foreign goods tax burden is lower than the domestic goods tax burden, and the foreign businessmen tax burden is lower than the Chinese businessmen. China's tariff has become a powerful weapon to protect foreign goods and foreign businessmen. China's steel industry was founded under the severe situation that western powers monopolized China's steel market. The Westernization Movement has been going on for more than 30 years, and many arsenals have been established. However, steel used as raw materials for firearms must be imported from abroad. According to the records of China's modern handicraft history, from 1867 to 1894, the imported iron increased by 10 times, the workshops in iron producing areas closed down one after another, and foreign iron occupied almost all the markets in China. Zhang Zhidong worriedly pointed out in "Folding an Ironmaking Plant" that "the people compete for foreign iron, but this subway is unsalable", and the whole country "only exchanges silver for iron, and the day leads to a long month, what will be the harm!" The appearance and existence of Hanyang Iron Works will inevitably change the original share and proportion of China's iron and steel market in the late Qing Dynasty, but it is impossible to fundamentally change the basic pattern of the market dominated by foreign powers under the international situation at that time, and the products of Hanyang Iron Works will inevitably be squeezed and impacted in the domestic market. China's fledgling modern iron and steel industry is faced with imported products with privileges and advantages in quality and price, so it is difficult to win a place in the market. According to Dai Lu's research on the history of Hanyeping Company, up to1908-1911,the overall domestic steel market capacity in China was about 290,000 tons, of which the annual output of Hanyang Iron Works was120,000 tons, and only 70,000 tons were sold in China, except for exporting more than 50,000 tons. Hanyang Iron Works was built for railways. In such a weak environment as machinery industry, rail is the only hope for its survival and development. However, China Railway is the focus of fierce competition among big countries, which requires high loan interest and high profit of railway equipment. As a result of the competition, only a few projects, such as Baoding-Hankou, Guangzhou-Shenzhen and the northern section of Jinpu Road, have decided to use the rails of Hanyang Iron Works. As Sun Baodi said: "The Beijing-Fengfeng Railway is not more than 50 tracks of Korean factories, but more than 70 tracks of British businessmen, which makes Chinese businessmen short of breath and foreigners more interested." Even if we buy and use the Han track, there are still many twists and turns. Wang Xun, who is responsible for the sales of iron works, said: "The rail procurement of Han Jing Road is mainly from foreigners, which is not the cheapest price for me, and there is no hope of winning the bid; Even if you get it, you will be more picky and never enjoy preferential treatment. " Among the great powers, Japan's damage to Daye Iron Mine and Hanyang Iron Mine is the most serious and fatal. Han Yeping has always been the focus of previous Japanese cabinets. It is the concerted action of its foreign minister, finance minister and industry and commerce minister to plunder Daye ore and control Hanyeping. Japan's modern iron and steel industry was founded and developed by Daye Iron Mine. To sum up, since 1900, the low-phosphorus and high-quality ore of Daye Iron Mine has been deliberately seized for a long time through the coal-iron mutual sale contract, which has led Hanyang Iron Works to use the low-quality ore with high phosphorus for its own use; Taking loans as bait, we will gradually realize long-term control of Daye Iron Mine and Hanyang Iron Plant, making them the bases for supplying pig iron and ore to Japan. On the one hand, it was monopolized by people, on the other hand, it was trapped in the domestic market and took most of the shares. How much vitality can Hanyang Iron Works have after its production and sales have been hit so fatally? From the external factors, the early unfortunate fate of China's iron and steel industry is the inevitable result of the violent division of the world market by foreign powers. The limited supply of raw materials and insufficient supply of coke in iron works was once widely considered as one of the three major mistakes of Zhang Zhidong in running iron works. Practically speaking, the reasons for the difficulty in coke supply in Hanchang are both Zhang Zhidong's mistakes and the constraints of external conditions at that time. Zhang's mistake is to buy steelmaking equipment first and then explore iron ore; It is against the basic construction procedure of iron and steel enterprises to determine the location of coal mine before it is determined. It not only exposed his lack of experience and knowledge reserve, but also reflected his rash and eager ideological tendency driven by the sense of hardship. In his book/kloc-the industrial revolution in the 8th century, Paul Mantu said: "Britain is rich in coal reserves, and the use of coal increased at the end of18th century. The route network created there may transport coal to all places at a very low cost, and the whole country has become a world with special interests suitable for industrial growth. " It is a pity that one hundred years later, the Westernization Movement in China in the late Qing Dynasty has been going on for thirty or forty years, and the environment suitable for industrial growth is still out of reach. The three elements he mentioned, namely rich coal reserves, universal mining and convenient transportation, were not available when Hanyang Iron Works was founded. Although the modern coal mining industry developed before the iron and steel industry in the late Qing Dynasty, it made slow progress and had little effect. A unique Kaiping coal mine, far from Daye Iron Mine and Hanyang Iron Plant, needs to re-enter the Yangtze River from Tianjin via Shanghai for long-distance transshipment, which greatly increases the cost. Moreover, Tianjin is closed in winter and cannot sail. As soon as Zhang Zhidong arrived in Hubei, he sent a large number of people out to explore coal and iron, and he still met the clay coal mines mined by hand in Wang Yang Sea. Several coal mines have been mined by machines, but the effect is not good. Sanshi Wang obtained a large amount of coal and was suddenly submerged by groundwater; After years of mining in Maanshan, the change of coal quality is unpredictable, but the final result is "gray" and not suitable for steelmaking. There are many uncertainties in underground mining itself. We can't tell whether these changes are caused by foreign technicians' misjudgment and improper handling, or whether the geological and hydrological conditions of the ore body itself are complex and difficult to control. For the party Zhang Zhidong, these changes are not something he can predict in advance; He can't change or stop it. Even if Zhang Zhidong waits for another two or three years to build a factory, these external environments are unlikely to change greatly, and some setbacks may be inevitable. After Sheng Xuanhuai and Zhang Zhidong's alternate exploration along the Yangtze River in Guangxu for three years, sixteen years and twenty-two years, no coal resources suitable for steelmaking were found in the areas close to iron mines along the Yangtze River, which is independent of human will. Finally, Sheng Xuanhuai decided to develop Pingxiang coal mine, but it still had to overcome the obstacles of thousands of miles apart, inconvenient transportation and difficult transportation. The raw materials and products of the iron and steel industry, whether in large quantities or out in large quantities, must be supported by transportation. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu, there were neither railways nor highways on the land south of the Yellow River, and the shipping was backward, which made it impossible to provide necessary support. The burden of building transportation infrastructure falls on enterprises. In order to mine, we must invest heavily in road construction. Kaiping Coal Mine, Li Guoyi Coal Mine, Daye Iron Mine and Pingxiang Coal Mine all encounter this problem. Kaiping Coal Mine built canals first, then railways, including 9.2 kilometers of Tang Xu Railway and 32.2 kilometers of Kaiping Railway Phase II. In order to transport Pingxiang's coal to Hanyang, we must first build a railway branch line from Pingxiang to Anyuan, 7.2 kilometers, and also build a railway from 1906 to Zhuzhou, with a total length of 90.5 kilometers and a cost of more than 2 million yuan in seven years, which is beyond the capacity of an enterprise. Even so, due to the delay in the completion of the Guangdong-Han railway, coal tar still needs to use ships or private boats after arriving in Zhuzhou, and can only reach Hanyang through Xiangjiang River, Dongting Lake and Yangtze River, which still increases the cost of iron works and affects the development of coal mines. The problem of coke supply in Hanyang Iron Works is not only a subjective decision-making, but also restricted by economic and social conditions such as the level of exploration and mining technology, the natural conditions that coal and iron resources are far apart, the lagging development of coal industry and the lack of supporting transportation infrastructure. From a deeper perspective, in the early modernization process, underdeveloped countries lacked the overall layout, and related industries and departments could not develop in harmony and cooperate with each other. They only rely on the steel industry to fight alone, not only to develop mineral deposits, but also to build railways and compete for the market. They are surrounded by enemies and are bound to fall into difficult difficulties. Another angle of judgment has been criticizing Zhang Zhidong's mistake in running an iron works, that is, the location of the iron works. It is an indisputable fact that Hanyang produces neither iron nor coal. The question is what scale and perspective we use to evaluate Zhang Zhidong's site selection. The so-called "rigid iron" or "rigid coal" is not the golden rule of iron works layout. It is not without precedent in metallurgical history to choose the iron works in a place with convenient transportation between coal mines and iron mines. It is also listed as one of the layout rules in metallurgy. If we ask Zhang Zhidong not only from the perspective of an enterprise decision-maker, but also from the point of view of promoting regional modernization and urbanization, Zhang Zhidong's merits and demerits may be different. The opening of Hankou port and the Westernization Movement were both products of the Second Opium War. Thirty years after the Westernization Movement, Hubei's political arena remained silent. Su Yunfeng believes that "the year when Zhang Zhidong arrived in Hubei was the starting point for important changes in politics, economy and society in Hubei." More specifically, the industrialization of Hubei was initiated by the establishment of Hanyang Iron Works, which is a key link. After all, Zhang Zhidong is the governor of Huguang, not just the general manager of Hanyang Iron Works. He came to Hubei with the grand plan of "managing eight tables" and "starting from Jianghan first". Judging from the "six conveniences" emphasized by Hanyang, considering the needs and development of iron works, gun factories, cloth factories and schools, as well as the urban construction of Hankou, it is his first move to realize the rise of Jianghan. In other words, when considering the layout of iron works, Zhang Zhidong comprehensively considered the industrial layout and urban construction of Wuhan. Although this consideration is not mature and perfect at this time, his thinking and starting point are clear and unquestionable. When Zhang Zhidong arrived in Hubei, Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang were three towns separated by the Yangtze River and Hanshui River, each with its own system to manage traditional daily affairs. When it comes to "Westernization", whether it is economy, diplomacy, military affairs, urban construction, public security or police, we must obey Zhang Zhidong. Throughout the late Qing Dynasty, the Governor's Office of Huguang and its subordinate managers played a leading role here, and the three towns of Wuhan actually became unwritten "Westernization Special Economic Zones" under the direct jurisdiction of Governor Huguang. Hanyang, once famous for producing buckles and rafts, has become a large-scale heavy industry base with smelting and manufacturing as the arrival of iron works and gun factories, which has spawned the birth and development of a number of private machine manufacturing and repair enterprises. Because of the existence of iron works, Hanyang will be especially favored by Wuchang, a regional administrative center, and will not be left out in the cold by Hankou, a rising commercial and financial center in Central China. Because of the existence of Iron Works, the largest iron and steel complex in the Far East, Hanyang entered the field of vision of international media and followed up on it. Because of the existence of Iron Works, a symbolic enterprise of China's Westernization Movement, former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen and German The Prince Henry made a special trip around Hanyang. Hanyang has won an international reputation for Wuhan and improved its international status. If there is no iron works, how can Hanyang compete with Hankou and Wuchang? At the same time of the rise of Hanyang, Zhang Zhidong successively established the famous Fourth Textile Bureau in Wuchang, making Wuchang a light industrial base with textile industry as the mainstay. In Hankou, a densely populated commercial city, some private light industrial enterprises producing daily consumer goods for people's livelihood took the lead in setting up. Before the Revolution of 1911, there were 120 kinds of industries in the three towns, each with its own emphasis and characteristics. As a region, Wuhan has initially formed an industrial system with coordinated development of light and heavy industries, complete categories, simultaneous development of military and civilian, simultaneous development of government and business, simultaneous development of government and supervision, and simultaneous development of private and foreign investment, which has become one of the earliest and largest industrial bases in China and initiated the industrial modernization of Wuhan. The construction of Hanyang Iron Works has changed the economic function and status of Hanyang, strengthened the internal relations among the three towns in Wuhan, and promoted the modernization and urbanization of Wuhan as a whole. If it was placed in Huangshi Port, a small town along the river at that time, it would certainly play a driving role, but its radiation range and energy are incomparable to Wuhan, which is the thoroughfare of nine provinces. There is no doubt about this. Hanyang Iron Works is not related to manual workshops such as Hunan Tutie and Wuhu Iron and Steel. This industrial seedling was not cultivated in the soil of traditional feudal society in China, but transplanted from the west. Western iron and steel industry is the product of capitalist development, which has its own soil and external environment for survival and development. Zhang Zhidong's tragedy lies in that he founded the Iron Works in the late Qing Dynasty when China's macro or micro environment, such as politics, economy, society and culture, was not available or basically not available. Although Zhang Zhidong tried his best, neither the macro environment nor the uncontrollable factors could be changed by him. This increased the arduousness, complexity and tragedy of this undertaking, and also laid the groundwork for the great setback and decline of China's iron and steel industry in modern times. On the other hand, Hanyang Iron Works also represents a new mode of production and a new human civilization. Once the old social structure is implanted, it will inevitably become a catalyst and produce a series of chain reactions, which will inevitably promote the changes of the original social structure and promote the modernization and urbanization of the region. Source: Hanyang Iron Works and Westernization Movement.