Since the Opium War in 1840, China has suffered deeply at home and abroad. In particular, the repeated defeats of the two Opium Wars shocked the Qing court officials, who believed that China was defeated by the lack of strong ships and artillery and other technologies, so they needed to learn the technology that the West was good at to deal with their invasion, that is, Wei Yuan's "division and destruction of the long technique to suppress and destroy".
At the same time, the results of the joint suppression of the Taiping Rebellion by the Xiang and Huai armies and the foreign gun team enabled Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and other famous ministers to experience the superiority of Western guns. Therefore, in order to save the dying imperial court, it was necessary to learn from the West to improve itself. Since 1860, the Western-style movement, the first reform to study the West in modern times, came into being.
The guiding ideology of the Western-affairs movement is "middle school as the body, western learning as the use", that is, adhering to the traditional Chinese system and culture as the foundation, supplemented by the study and application of Western science and technology. Its representative figures include Prince Gong Yixuan, Wen Xiang, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, etc., known as the Westernist faction, and the leading organ is the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs.
The foreign affairs movement lasted for more than 30 years, with the slogan of "self-improvement" as the slogan in the early stage, focusing on the development of military industry and imitating foreign military training; In the later period, it turned to "self-enrichment", focusing on the development of various civilian industries. Its important measures include cultivating qualified personnel, strengthening armaments, and building industry.
Because the Western-style movement was unwilling to learn the constitutional systems of Europe and the United States in order to maintain the rule of the Qing court, and the corruption of the imperial court officials, it was difficult to achieve the goal of self-improvement and self-prosperity. When the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894, the Beiyang Navy, which had been operated by Li Hongzhang and others for many years, suffered a crushing defeat, thus declaring the defeat of the foreign affairs movement. Nevertheless, this round of learning from the West created a number of new industrial and commercial enterprises, cultivated military and scientific and technological talents, and took the first step in China's modernization.
(1) The self-improvement movement takes foreign countries as its teachers
The defeat of the two opium wars made the Qing court extremely shocked, believing that China was defeated by the lack of strong ships and artillery and technology. The Xiang and Huai armies united with the foreign gun team to successfully suppress the Taiping Rebellion, and some of the famous ministers experienced the superiority of foreign guns and cannons. In order to save the dying imperial court and deal with internal and external troubles, it was necessary to learn from the West to improve oneself.
Since 1860, the first reform in modern times, the Western Affairs Movement, came into being, and the representative figures include Prince Gong Yixuan, Wen Xiang, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, etc., known as the Westernist School. The guiding ideology of the movement is "mastering and destroying with long skills" and "middle school as the body, western learning as use". In January 1861, the Qing court established the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs, which became the leading body of the Western Affairs Movement. For more than 30 years before and after the Western Affairs Movement, the slogan of "self-improvement" was used in the early stage, and the emphasis was on developing the military industry and imitating foreign military training; In the later period, it turned to "self-enrichment", focusing on the development of various industrial industries.
Pictured from left to right: University scholar Wen Xiang and Prince Gong Yi Tong. They are the central members of the foreign affairs movement.
The main leaders of the Westernist faction, from left: Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong. They are all powerful and prestigious superintendents.
At the initiative of Prince Gong, the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs was established in 1861. The Yamen was presided over by Yi Tong for a long time, handled foreign affairs, and became a landmark official office of the Western Affairs Movement. The picture shows the main entrance of the Prime Minister's Office of State Affairs.
Understanding and establishing a new type of diplomatic relations is a key point of the foreign affairs movement. In 1867, the Qing government appointed American diplomat Pu Anchen as plenipotentiary. From 1868 to 1870, Pu Anchen led Chinese missions to the United States and several important European countries. The mission will help enhance China's diplomatic awareness and improve Sino-foreign relations. The picture shows a group photo of the members of the mission, and the person standing in the middle is Pu Anchen.
In 1877, the Qing Dynasty and the United Kingdom formally established diplomatic relations. The picture shows the Qing Dynasty Embassy in the United Kingdom, which was the first diplomatic mission stationed abroad in modern Chinese history.
Jiangnan Machine Manufacturing General Bureau in Shanghai. In the early stage of the foreign affairs movement, with the slogan of "self-improvement", the focus was on developing the military industry and imitating foreign military training. The Jiangnan Machine Manufacturing Bureau, established in June 1865, was a famous large-scale government-run military enterprise at that time.
Founded in 1866 in Mawei, Fuzhou, the Fuzhou Shipping Administration Bureau has a shipyard and a ship administration school to train shipbuilding technicians and naval officers. The defeat of the two foreign wars made the Qing government understand that the new threat came from the sea, so the foreign affairs movement paid special attention to the construction of a new ship administration and navy.
In the later period of the Western Affairs Movement, more attention was paid to the establishment of industries, and the picture shows the Shanghai Steamship Merchants Building. In January 1873, China Merchants Steamship was established in Shanghai, mainly to develop inland and ocean shipping business.
The office building of the Kaiping Mining Bureau was established in 1878. Mining is an industry that the foreign affairs movement focuses on developing.
Development map of the foreign affairs movement
Why is China's first reform in modern times called the Foreign Affairs Movement? What does foreign affairs mean?
Because its goal was to learn military, scientific, technological, industrial and other affairs from the more advanced Western countries at that time. In ancient China, it was said that foreign things were more hu and fan (such as pepper and sweet potato). Since the end of the Ming Dynasty, Xi has called Europe and the United States the Western Ocean, and all affairs related to it, such as foreign affairs, ship-making and artillery making, and industrial development, are collectively referred to as foreign affairs, and relevant reforms are called foreign affairs movements, and those who promote them are called foreign affairs factions.