The Qing government sent 120 young children to study in the United States, but why did it only recall 94 people?
During the Qing Dynasty, there was not only a humiliating history, but also a commendable and glorious period, but with the implementation of the policy of closing the country to the outside world, the Western powers became stronger and stronger, and the Qing government became more and more corrupt and incompetent, directly lagging behind the Western countries, especially after the Opium War, the Western powers began to open China's doors, and also signed many treaties that humiliated the country, causing China to lose a lot of territory and sovereignty, and at the same time making China realize that China has fallen behind!
It is also under such a social background that more and more people of insight feel that they should implement changes at this time and begin to learn from the West, otherwise it is likely to lead to China's continued backwardness, and fresh blood must be injected into it, that is, under the guidance of such ideas, there are also more and more international student movements that quietly emerge spontaneously.
During 1872 and 1875, Mr. Rong Hong made continuous efforts to encourage Chinese to go abroad and learn from foreign countries, that is, the so-called international students, for the prosperity and progress of China, and the destination was the United States, that is, during this period, about 120 young children aged 10 to 16 years old went to the United States to study. I thought that after studying in the United States for a period of time, these students would be able to transmit some advanced culture and ideas in the United States to China, so that China could keep pace with the times and not be so backward, but what was surprising was that only 94 of the 120 students who studied in the United States came back, which also made people wonder where the remaining dozens of people went?
In fact, these 120 young children are the first batch of Chinese young children to stay in the United States, most of them arrived in the United States by ship across the Pacific, and they also experienced various twists and turns in the process. Then, according to Li Hongzhang's plan at that time, he originally wanted to send these young children to the Naval Academy and the Military Academy, but the United States at that time did not accept such a request, nor did it give Chinese students the same treatment, but there was a wave of Chinese exclusion.
So at that time, Li Hongzhang felt that since he could not achieve his goal, then he recalled all these young children who went out of China and the United States, but at this time the United States made some adjustments, so later Li Hongzhang decided to continue to study those students who had entered the university, but those who did not have much education and did not have much foundation could choose to come back, so only a few people really withdrew, until 1881, 94 students who went to the United States were recalled to the country.
However, there are also some students who study in the United States, not only to complete their studies, but also because they have serious illness in the United States, or because they have lost their lives in the United States, so they have not returned to the embrace of the motherland and have not achieved the purpose of returning to their homeland. But even so, their pioneering deeds, leaving their hometowns from an early age, and their efforts for the honor and development of the motherland are also very admirable!