The so-called "Westernization" refers to a series of things related to foreign relations and foreign exchanges, such as westernization negotiations, concluding treaties, sending overseas students, buying foreign guns, training troops according to "foreign laws", learning from western powers, using machines, mining and setting up factories. The Westernization Movement was originally named "Tongguang New Deal".
Extended data:
Prince Gong Yixin is the sixth son of Daoguang and the half-brother of Emperor Xianfeng. Zeng Guofan was born in a landlord family. 1838 Jinshi, 1839 assistant minister. Zuo and Li Hongzhang were important ministers in the late Qing Dynasty and local representatives of the Westernization School. Zhang Zhidong has served as a student in Hubei and a student in Sichuan.
The concept of the Westernization Movement is "learning from foreigners to control foreigners, and learning from China and using the West". Although the Westernization Movement did not make China rich and strong, it objectively promoted the emergence and development of Chinese national capitalism.
The fundamental guiding ideology of Westernization Movement is self-improvement and seeking wealth. Feng Guifen, a westernization thinker, first put forward this idea.
Westernization enterprises generally adopt western technology and equipment for production and belong to modern enterprises. Moreover, the funds for the establishment of military industry in the early stage of Westernization School were allocated by the Qing government, and the products produced were distributed to the army, but the management mode was feudal yamen-style.
Contents of Westernization Movement:
(1) Establish modern military industry: Zeng Guofan Anqing Inner Ordnance Institute (imitation guns), Li Hongzhang Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration (imitation guns) and Zuofuzhou Shipping Bureau (imitation warships).
(2) Setting up civil industries: China Merchants Bureau of Li Hongzhang (operating transportation and headquartered in Shanghai), Hubei Weaving Layout of Zhang Zhidong (making homespun) and Hanyang Iron Works (imitating western ironmaking).
(3) Coastal defense planning: beiyang fleet (188 1 year, the naval base was chosen in Lushun and Weihai), Nanyang Fleet (responsible for coastal defense affairs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, with the fleet bases in Shanghai and Nanjing) and Fujian Fleet.
(4) Founding a new school: Shi Jing Wentong Museum, the first official foreign language school in the late Qing Dynasty, was invited by Prince Gong Yixin in 186 1, 1, with the initial purpose of training foreign language translators and westernization talents.
(5) Sending overseas students: 1872, Chen Lanbin, Liang, Zhan Tianyou and others led the first batch of overseas students to the United States. Since then, the Qing government has sent 30 international students to 1875 every year, with a total of 120 international students. More than 50 of them went to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, MIT and other famous schools for further study.