As we all know, after the Sino-Japanese War, China faced a serious national crisis. In this case, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao and others proposed a reform and change of law, which was later supported by the Guangxu Emperor. On June 11, 1898 (the 24th year of Guangxu), the Guangxu Emperor promulgated the edict "Dingguo is the Edict", which opened the curtain on the change of law.
However, on September 21 of that year, Empress Dowager Cixi suppressed the Reform and Reform Movement, and all the reform measures were abolished except for the Beijing Normal University Hall, which declared the bankruptcy of the Restoration law, so the Penghu Reform Law was also called the Hundred Days Restoration.
Above_ The "Dingguo is the Edict" is a reform program promulgated by the Guangxu Emperor on June 11, 1898 for the Hundred Days Restoration
However, just three years after the suppression of the Wushu Reform Law, after the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China, the signing of the Xinugu Treaty, and the return of Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor from Xi'an to Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi immediately presided over the "New Deal at the End of the Qing Dynasty" with similar content to the Pengshu Reform Law. Of course, it is not very appropriate to say that it is similar here, because the various measures carried out by the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty were one level higher in scope and depth than the Penghu Reform Law. In other words, many of the measures taken during the Period of the Penghu Reform were continued in the New Deal, and some of the measures proposed during the Penghu Reform Period that were not implemented were also implemented during the New Deal period.
Why, then, did Empress Dowager Cixi personally preside over a similar "New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty" not long after she suppressed the Penghu Reform Law?
Above: Cixi (1835–1908) was Empress Xiaoqinxian
Before exploring this question, we must first make some brief comparisons between the content of the Penghu Reform Law and the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
First, the political aspect
During the ReformAtional Reform Period, the reformists advocated opening up the way of speech, abolishing and merging the old institutions, and promoting new people. Kang Youwei also initially envisioned the formulation of a new legal system including civil law, public international law, and military law, and convened a congress following the example of the West. Opening up the way of speech, eliminating old institutions, and promoting new people were achieved during the period of law change, but the law and the opening of the National Assembly were not realized due to the short time and great resistance to the change of law.
When Empress Dowager Cixi presided over the New Deal, the official system was directly reformed politically, such as the change of the Prime Minister's Ministry of State Affairs into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1901, and the establishment of a number of modern government departments such as the Ministry of Commerce, the Patrol Police Department, the Academic Department (Ministry of Education), and the Ministry of Posts and Communications.
The idea of the Reformers to enact new laws during the Reform period was also realized during the New Deal period. For example, during the New Deal period, many of the tortures inherited from ancient times in the Great Qing Laws were abolished, and many modern laws such as the Civil Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, and the Civil Procedure Law were compiled, basically abolishing the old set of judicial systems. The promulgation of laws such as the Company Law, the Bankruptcy Law, the Regulations of the Great Qing Bank, and the Articles of Association for the Trial Registration of Trademarks is conducive to the development of modern national capitalism.
The Eight Strands of Literature is a style of examination for the Ming and Qing dynasties, also known as Zhiyi, Zhiyi, Shiwen, and Babiwen.
Economic and cultural education
The reformers believed that the development of industry and commerce could enrich the country and benefit the people, so they advocated rewarding industry and commerce, and Kang Youwei even proposed that some agricultural, industrial, and commercial institutions should be set up to promote the development of industry and commerce.
During the period when Cixi presided over the New Deal, the same measures as during the Penghu Reform Period were still implemented, such as rewarding industry and commerce and advocating the establishment of factories and enterprises by the people, which enabled China's national capitalism to develop to a certain extent during this period.
In terms of culture and education, during the Penghu ReformAtion, the reformists proposed that the Eight Strands of Literature should be abolished, the Beijing Normal University Hall should be established, and a large number of students should be sent. However, as mentioned above, after the Penghu Reform Law was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi, all the reform measures except for the Beijing Normal University Hall were abolished. But in the New Deal, presided over by Empress Dowager Cixi three years later, the Qing government not only abolished the Eight Strands of Literature, but also quickly abolished the imperial examination system that had lasted for more than a thousand years in China.
Moreover, the Qing court also encouraged the establishment of middle and primary schools in various localities, and in addition to the official election to study abroad, it also encouraged self-funded study abroad, and after returning to China, it was appointed, which for a time formed a climax of establishing schools and studying abroad.
Above_ Six towns in Beiyang
Third, the military aspect
During the Period of the Penghu Reform Law, the Reform Faction advocated eliminating the old-style army and learning from the Western military to form a new-style army, but due to the rapid failure of the Penghu Reform Law, it was not actually realized. During the New Deal, this initiative was continued, not only phasing out the old army, but also training the new army according to the Western military system. For example, in 1905, the Qing Dynasty unified the planning and expansion of the new army, decided to train the thirty-six towns of the new army, all using new guns, and the army formation and training were imitated by Germany and Japan.
It is worth mentioning that during the New Deal, in order to adapt to the army building of the new army, the Qing Dynasty also stopped the martial arts examination nationwide and set up many modern military schools. Therefore, the aforementioned upsurge in running schools actually includes a number of military academies, such as the Beiyang Army Lecture Hall and the Baoding Officers' Academy.
Of course, in addition to these few aspects, there are many aspects involved in the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty. From the comparison between the content of the Penghu Reform Law and the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty, it can be seen that the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty continued many of the ideas and measures of the Penghu Reform Law period, but the reform of the New Deal was more systematic and comprehensive.
Above_ Baoding Army Officer School
The reasons why Empress Dowager Cixi completed such a change from suppressing the law to presiding over the New Deal in just three years were as follows:
The change of law was too hasty and endangered Cixi's power
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Dynasty's power was weakening, and Empress Dowager Cixi also knew that if there was no more reform, the Qing Dynasty's rule would be difficult to maintain. Therefore, at the beginning of the Penghu Reform Law, she was not absolutely opposed, and in some ways even gave some support to the Guangxu Emperor. For example, in the "Cixi Transmission Record", it is recorded that before the change of law, the Guangxu Emperor often read new books on the change of law, such as "Outline of English and French Politics" and "Record of Collecting Winds".
Guangxu was quite impressed, so he showed it to Empress Dowager Cixi and told her that the development of the military could not save the crisis, and only by reforming politics could it be solved fundamentally. Empress Dowager Cixi agreed, but only "warned the emperor not to act excessively." Although Cixi was not absolutely opposed to the change of law at first, she could not tolerate the fall of power after a long time. Therefore, during the change of law, she first forced Guangxu to order the removal of The Emperor and the Military Chancellor Weng Tonggong from his post, weakening the emperor's power.
She then ordered all newly conferred second-class or higher officials to go to the empress dowager to give thanks, so as to avoid losing control of the high-ranking officials. In the end, Cixi promoted his close confidant Rong Lu to be the governor of Zhili, strengthening control of the situation in the capital and ensuring that nothing went wrong.
Above_ Liang Qichao, Guangxu Emperor, Kang Youwei
It is reasonable to say that although Cixi interfered with the change of law, the change of law can still be carried out after all. However, during the period of changing the law, Kang Youwei constantly gave the Guangxu Emperor "chicken blood", saying that the change of law is "if it can change, it is complete, it will die if it is unchanged, it will be strong if it is changed, and it will still die if it is small." This made Guangxu eager to seek treatment, and left behind the problem that the change of law would affect the interests of many groups, causing "people's hearts to panic and complain" up and down the government and the public.
Kang Youwei also advised the emperor to summon more talented and ambitious people who were in favor of the restoration and reform of the law, and not to add officials, but to give specific errands. The purpose of Kang Youwei's move to support the Guangxu Emperor was actually to avoid direct conflict between the old and new officials, so that the reformists could gradually grasp power around the high-ranking officials and officials, and also enhance the power of the emperor. These changes were soon detected by Empress Dowager Cixi, who, in order to ensure her absolute power, suppressed the Penghu Reformation in the name of the emperor's adventurous entry into obscurity and the appointment of traitorous ministers, which caused dissatisfaction among the government and the public.
Above_ Empress Dowager Cixi fled westward
Forced by the situation to implement the "New Deal"
During the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China, Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an with the Guangxu Emperor. After the war, Qing rule was crumbling and facing a huge crisis.
On the one hand, the mutual protection of the southeast marked that the Qing court was becoming more and more difficult to control the localities, and the humiliation of defeat made the authority of the Qing court absent;
On the other hand, after the war, dissatisfaction with the decadent rule of the Qing court was high, and the influence of the revolutionaries was increasing.
In order to maintain the rule of the Qing Dynasty, in 1901, Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict in the name of the imperial court in Xi'an, in which she first declared: "There are all kinds of scriptures that are not easy to come by, and there is no immutable rule." Then he said that the suppression of the Penghu Reform Law three years ago was because "the small people who steal the law are inciting conspiracies." It has been severely punished to curb the flow. This was actually Cixi's exoneration from her suppression of the Penghu ReformAtion, shifting the reason for the failure of the Reform to the Kangliang Restoration Faction, which she regarded as a "small disciple".
In the end, Cixi declared in this edict: "All political affairs must be effectively rectified, in order to gradually become rich and strong." Then all politically concerned with the national economy and the people's livelihood, whether old or new, need to be implemented in the next order, and must not be wasted because of choking. ”
Above_ The signatures of various countries on the Treaty of Xinugu, as well as the signatures of Li Hongzhang (left) and Qingwang (right) are all flower pledges (picture pledges)
After the signing of the Treaty of Xinugu, Cixi returned to Beijing. However, at this time, the domestic public opinion environment was quite unfavorable to Empress Dowager Cixi's rise to power, because there were voices in the country for Empress Dowager Cixi to return power to the Guangxu Emperor and let the emperor take power and make changes. For example, the "Ta Kung Pao", which had a great influence in society at that time, commented: "The emperor treated the Manchus and Hans equally, did not blindly hate foreign countries, and after taking power, he could suppress internal chaos, and external repairs could be made between China and foreign countries, so that internal and external troubles could be eliminated into invisibility."
Therefore, as mentioned above, in order to consolidate her power, Empress Dowager Cixi must take some measures to change her old-fashioned and xenophobic image and establish a new image with a reform posture. This will not only guarantee her power, but also adapt to the situation, and also exchange support from all walks of life. Therefore, presiding over the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty was inevitable for Empress Dowager Cixi at this time.
Above_ Shares issued during the New Deal period at the end of the Qing Dynasty
To sum up, the reason why Empress Dowager Cixi presided over a similar or even more advanced New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty three years after suppressing the Penghu Reform Law was mainly because the Penghu Reform Law endangered the power of Empress Dowager Cixi. Three years later, the change in the situation made the Qing Dynasty face a serious crisis of rule, and Empress Dowager Cixi was forced by the situation to preside over the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty in order to consolidate the rule of the Qing Dynasty and avoid the fall of her own power.
Resources:
[1] Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, Zhonghua Bookstore
[2] Modern Chinese History, Zhonghua Bookstore, Lieberthal
[3] Examination of the History of the Penghu Transformation Law, Sanlian Bookstore, Mao Haijian