From the 1860s to the 1890s, the Qing Dynasty carried out various forms and rich contents of the Western affairs activities under the banner of learning from the West and "seeking strength" and "seeking prosperity". For example, the establishment of military industry and military schools, the establishment of civilian industry, the establishment of new schools, and so on.
Although Zeng Guofan did not have as many foreign affairs activities as Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan was the first to operate the foreign affairs movement. For this reason, he is called Chinese
"The Father of Foreign Affairs" and "The Father of Modernization".
First, we should first advocate the establishment of foreign affairs.
After the Qing government suffered a heavy blow from the two Opium Wars, state affairs became more and more difficult, and the situation became more and more depressed.
In this situation, Zeng Guofan was worried and contemplated the change of the country. After careful consideration, Zeng Guofan believed that if the Qing government wanted to strengthen itself against the enemy, it must have strong guns and guns, and it was necessary to do foreign affairs if it wanted ships to strengthen its guns.
Zeng Guofan (stills)
Therefore, on December 19, 1860, Zeng Guofan went to the imperial court and said:
"At present, The strength of the capital is to help suppress it, and it is necessary to relieve the worries of the moment." In the future, Shi Yizhi will build ships and cannons, especially for the eternal benefits. ”
At this point,
Zeng Guofan shouted
Set up foreign affairs
First sound
, became the Qing Dynasty's foreign affairs movement
Initiator.
2. Establish the first military industrial organization.
During the Western Affairs Movement, the Qing government founded more than twenty military factories, the earliest of which was the Anqing Ordnance Institute founded by Zeng Guofan after the capture of Anqing in the eleventh year of the Xianfeng Dynasty (1861). Gathered within the house
Hua Xiangfang
, Xu Shou, Gong Yuntang, Xu Jianyin, Zhang Sigui and other well-known domestic scientific and technological experts.
Hua Xiangfang (statue)
Although the ordnance depot at that time was small, it quickly copied a number of foreign guns and cannons. Among them, the breech gun and the flower cannon are indeed much more powerful and accurate than the shotgun and the earth gun. Since then, the weapons and equipment of the Xiang Army have been greatly improved.
After the establishment of the Anqing Ordnance Institute, Zeng Guofan was not satisfied with the manufacture of guns. With his strong support, in July of the first year of tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1862), the Anqing Ordnance Institute manufactured China's first steam engine; in the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Xu Shou, Hua Hengfang and others created China's first wooden steamship "Yellow Crane".
China's first wooden steamship "Yellow Crane" (pictured)
Zeng Guofan was very happy about this, and sighed: I can still do the things that foreigners can do with intelligent skills, and I can still do them Chinese. In the future, foreigners can no longer underestimate what we do not understand. So, Zeng Guofan planned"
Enlarge and continue to build multiple in turn".
After the capture of Tianjing, Zeng Guofan moved the Anqing Ordnance Institute to Nanjing and converted it into the Jinling Inner Ordnance Institute (based on the later Jinling Machine Manufacturing Bureau). However, Zeng Guofan, who was in a military position, did not have time to set up the factory himself.
Anqing Ordnance Institute is the first modern military enterprise independently founded by China
, is also the beginning of China's modern machinery industry, marked
The beginning of China's modern industry.
As a result, Zeng Guofan became the leader of the Western Affairs Movement of the Qing Dynasty.
Third, jointly build the largest military enterprise.
In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Rong Hong (who graduated from Yale University in the United States) who was entrusted by Zeng Guofan to purchase machinery in the United States for the preparation of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau returned to China.
Zeng Guofan
and
Li
In Shanghai
Co-founded
At that time, in the Western affairs movement
The largest
Military enterprises
Gangnam Manufacturing General Administration.
Li Hongzhang (image)
After the establishment of the Jiangnan Manufacturing General Bureau, it has continued to grow and develop. It employs 2,800 sappers; it can manufacture guns, ammunition, ships, and machines; and it also has cultural and educational institutions such as translation centers and schools.
Tongzhi 6th year (1867),
Zeng Guofan advocated that the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau manufacture steamships,
And allocated 20% of the Shanghai customs tariff as a fund for shipbuilding.
Since then, the factories of the Jiangnan Manufacturing General Bureau have been expanded year by year, and more than a dozen branches have been built successively, such as foreign gun factories, foreign artillery factories, artillery shell factories, gunpowder factories, shipyards, steelmaking plants, bullet factories, and mine factories.
Layout of Jiangnan Manufacturing General Bureau
In the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), the shipyard built the first steamship, named "Huiji". By the time of the Sino-French War, the Jiangnan General Manufacturing Bureau had produced a total of fifteen warships, the largest of which was 2800 tons.
Fourth, for the first time, young children are invited to study abroad.
At the same time as establishing a military industry, Zeng Guofan also founded a translation agency and a military engineering school to cultivate engineering and technical talents in mechanical manufacturing.
Moreover, in order to use the advanced scientific and cultural knowledge of the West to save the dying Qing Dynasty, in the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871), Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang jointly sent young children to study in the United States.
Therefore, in the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), under the leadership of Chen Lanbin and Rong Hong, the first batch of Chinese students, Zhan Tianyou and Huang Kaijia, and 30 others set off from Shanghai to the United States to start their study careers.
Young Zhan Tianyou (image)
This move has had a positive and far-reaching impact on the future dispatch of students from our country.
Although Zeng Guofan's foreign affairs activities are not very many, and the time is not long, he is
Founder and leader.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan is in the history of the western affairs movement in modern China
Status matters.
Main references: "Qing History Manuscript Muzong Benji", "Zeng Wenzheng Gongshou Handwritten Diary"