Exposure: What did the Qing Dynasty send 120 young children to United States for? Why were only 94 people recovered?

In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the defeat in the Opium War made the Qing government realize its backwardness. In order to learn the advanced military technology of the foreigners, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang jointly signed a petition to send students to United States. Eventually, Cixi approved the request, and from 1872 to 1875, the Qing government sent 120 young children to study in the United States. However, after many years, the Qing government only recovered 94 of them, and the whereabouts of the remaining 26 people are a mystery. What happened to these international students who were reluctant to return to their home countries? And for what reason did you choose to put down roots in the United States? Let's find out.

One. A journey full of expectations

The Celestial Empire prides itself on being a state of etiquette, and the state of etiquette is known as a proud wind. But no one could have expected that the Qing Empire, once known as the "Great Power of the East", would suffer such a humiliating defeat in the Opium War.

Faced with the clamping down of the foreign powers, the Qing government finally realized its backwardness in military science and technology. In order to get out of the situation of passive struggle, the Empress Dowager Cixi made a major decision from the advice of Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and other courtiers - to send students to Western countries to learn advanced military science and technology.

This decision was a breakthrough at the time. According to traditional Chinese thinking, learning from a foreign race what you are not good at is undoubtedly a kind of humiliation and self-deprecation. But the Qing government had no choice but to accept this humiliation in order to regain its footing in the future.

As a result, with the support of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the "Westernization faction" led by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang launched a talent selection for several years. They carefully selected 120 talented young children from all over the country, most of whom were around 10 years old. These children are all highly qualified and will be the pillars of learning Western technology in the future.

After a rigorous review, the 120 young children were selected as the first batch of students to study in the United States. In 1872, with the ideal of reshaping China, they sailed across the ocean, just to be able to learn the advanced science and technology of the West, and one day to save the motherland from the sound of artillery fire.

This study abroad journey was undoubtedly a difficult attempt. In the face of unfamiliar languages and cultures, away from home and the warmth of their parents, these children shoulder far more than their personal future, but also the hope of the whole country. But for both the Qing government and the international students themselves, this expectation is so sincere and warm.

Ii. The germ of new ideas

Leaving home to study in the United States was undoubtedly the most significant turning point in the lives of those young children who were only ten years old. They originally grew up in the closed and conservative Qing Empire, and the ancestral teachings had already nurtured the patriotic fervor in their hearts into a persistent and stubborn thinking - the feelings of family and country were above all else.

However, when stepping on a foreign land, what you can see and hear is such a novel and strange custom that is very different from that of the Central Plains. What the United States has brought to these young students is not only advanced science and technology, but also a new ideology and culture that they have never had the opportunity to come into contact with.

The first thing that struck them was the radically different educational philosophy of United States. In contrast to traditional Chinese cramming, United States schools focus more on inspiring students' initiative, advocating independent thinking, and questioning authority. Under the influence of this philosophy, international students gradually began to doubt the immutable cultural traditions of their homeland, and realized the value of different points of view and the importance of independent thinking.

And when you actually walk into the campus and experience United States' democracy firsthand, this skepticism and thinking reaches its peak. As a new republic, the United States presented this group of young students with a very different picture of society from absolute monarchy. Here, the people can freely express their opinions, have the right to vote, and have the right to supervise and understand the state. The activities of the student government association can be seen everywhere on campus, and the activities of the clubs are rich and colorful, and the atmosphere of freedom and democracy is everywhere.

International students have never seen such a free, fair and equal social model, and an unprecedented sense of freshness arises. All the ideas and concepts formed in the old China, which was struggling to survive under the oppression of power, suddenly seemed so old in the face of this novelty. They began to wonder: why is this country so developed and civilized? Is it the institutional advantage behind it? Are we missing out on something?

It was at this time that the missionaries of the Christian church set foot on this hot land of longing for sowing. Faced with the double baptism of the two concepts of "God" and "democracy and freedom", the thinking of international students has undergone earth-shaking changes. They found that the original deep-rooted idea of "middle school" had become so narrow, while the idea of Christianity, as a "heretical", was so in line with the development of modern civilization. The sacrosanct imperial system is nothing but the oppression and enslavement of the people's spirit by a small number of people.

This is a new kind of enlightenment, an awakening that completely subverts conventional thinking. In just a few years, this group of Chinese teenagers has stood at an unprecedented height, examining and reflecting on the deep-rooted cultural traditions of the motherland. The seeds of new ideas sprout in their hearts and bear fruit in the future is an unsolved mystery.

3. The Three Destinies of International Students

Of the 120 international students who went to the United States, each of them had a different experience and ended up taking a very different path in life. In the final analysis, these divergences of fate stem from the different perceptions and choices of international students about the two cultures of their motherland and United States.

First, some international students have lived in United States for many years, but they still retain their loyalty to the motherland. Although they are immersed in the atmosphere of democracy and freedom in the United States, the heavy responsibility of the motherland will always be engraved in their hearts and has become their deepest concern.

In 1881, when the Qing government decided to recall the students, this part of the population obeyed the call of the state, gave up the opportunity to take root in a foreign land, and chose to return to their homeland. For example, Ding Rizuo, who settled in New York, had already found a lucrative job there, but after receiving an order from the state to recall, he still gave up the comfortable life in United States and returned to Beijing with his family. Since then, he has embarked on a career step by step, and has served in the Beiyang Navy Division and the Beiyang Navy. Lifelong perseverance, unswerving, and admirable spirit of loyalty to the motherland.

There are also international students whose fate is even more legendary. After returning to China, they contributed to the modernization process of the motherland with the professional skills they had learned. Among them, the most famous are Yan Fu and Tan Sitong. During his stay in United States, Yan Fu read a lot of books and gained a profound understanding of Western studies, and after returning to China, he translated Western theories such as evolution theory and substance theory into China, bringing new vitality to the ideological emancipation movement in the late Qing Dynasty. Tan Sitong, on the other hand, brought United States gunpowder, steelmaking and other technologies back to China, and participated in the construction of the first batch of state-owned arms factories, making outstanding contributions to the development of China's industry.

However, some international students eventually choose to put down roots in the United States. They have completely broken the old shackles on their bodies, abandoned conservative traditional ideas, and devoted themselves to a new foreign culture, becoming a real "new sprout". Even if the Qing government pursued it desperately, they turned a blind eye and left their future on the American continent without hesitation.

For example, Lu Gefei, a 18-year-old boy, had already shown extraordinary talent and insight. After being baptized and embracing Protestantism, he traveled to United States, eventually establishing himself at Yale University, where he received his Doctor of Science degree in 1892. After returning to China, although Lu Gefei was appointed as the director of a Beijing Shitongwen Museum set up by the Qing government, he was soon overwhelmed by his liberal ideas and was forced to leave Beijing. Eventually, he devoted his life to translation and helping China go global.

Others suffered an even more tragic fate, dying in a foreign land. Ataoshen is a case in point. This talented young man from Tsinghua University was once regarded as a leader in learning Western studies. Unfortunately, he died of illness in 1879 at the age of 22, and his future was ruthlessly stifled in the prime of life. In addition to illness, accidents, car accidents, drowning, etc., have caused casualties among these international students. Undoubtedly, such an encounter makes people sigh, and their souls can only be tied to the land of United States for a long time.

Fourth, the Qing government's helpless move

The Qing government sent these students to the United States out of good intentions. They hoped to reinvigorate the prestige of the Chinese kingdom and reshape the position of the Qing Empire in the world by introducing advanced science and technology from the West. However, with the passage of time, the fate of this group of international students in the United States gradually diverged, and even some of them have been completely assimilated by foreign cultures and refused to return to China to serve.

Faced with such a situation, the stubborn Qing officials were naturally greatly shocked and distressed. They never expected that this group of "proud sons of heaven" whom they had carefully cultivated would lose their ideological consciousness of loving the country and the party while learning advanced culture. As a result, in 1881, the imperial historian Wang Tingfang made an extremely fierce statement and fiercely criticized and condemned this group of students.

"Those who are broad and shameless, greedy for life and love the soil, and those who are disabled and are appointed by the state are also echoed by many others." These cruel words can be seen that the Qing government was dissatisfied and angry with the students studying in the United States at that time. In Dr. Wang's view, these international students have been completely assimilated by United States culture and have become "shameful people", forgetting their original study purpose and the important responsibilities of their home and country. All they seek is the decadent so-called "freedom" that they are supposed to serve, and they have no loyalty to the country for which they are supposed to serve.

In the midst of such fierce criticism, the Qing government finally decided to take action and recall all these international students. This was undoubtedly a difficult decision, but there was no other way to maintain the authority of the imperial court. Therefore, in May 1881, the Qing government officially issued this edict to the embassy staff in United States at that time: "If you order you to return to China, you should submit the list to China for temporary return."

However, things are far from being as simple as they seem. At that time, a large number of the 120 people studying in the United States had taken root in foreign countries and held firm democratic and liberal ideas. Some of them turned a blind eye to this call, while others simply rejected it. For example, Lu Gefei directly said to the embassy staff: "The remaining 20 years of poor mechanics in the West are not the work of overnight, and if they are recalled today, how can they be regained?"

In the face of such a tough refusal, the Qing government seemed to have nothing to do for a while. Although they once planned to pay for foreign lawyers to send students back to China through legal means, they were ultimately unable to do so. After all, in the land of United States, the authority of the Qing government has been unable to manifest itself, and they can only sigh with joy and feel powerless against these "losses."

However, the Qing government soon made a new decision, which was to classify the students who had remained in the United States as "truants" and "betrayers", and instead set its sights on those who obeyed orders and returned to China. They hoped that through re-cultivation and education, they would bring these people back under the control of the imperial court and avoid other "mutinies".

5. The germination of new ideas in China

Although the Qing government eventually recalled only 94 students, these people have undoubtedly become important carriers for the spread of new ideas in China. The education of modern civilization they received in the United States and the concept of freedom and equality they experienced had a profound impact on the ideological emancipation movement in China later.

Among this group of returning students, the most famous are Yan Fu and Tan Sitong. Yan Fu not only translated and introduced Western theories such as evolution theory and substance theory to China, but also spread the ideology of freedom and democracy to the hearts of the Chinese people. His famous quote "I love Lu Degang is Chinese" This clear view shows his grand ideals and pursuits. Tan Sitong made great contributions to the fields of gunpowder and metallurgy, and made important contributions to industrial modernization.

And reform thinkers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, whose later ideological roots also originated from this international student movement. These "outstanding teachers and students" have been influenced by the students studying in the United States, and their thinking has undergone a fundamental change and awakening. For example, Liang Qichao, in 1892, was employed by the Jingshi Tongwen Museum, and had extensive contacts with Lu Gefei, Yan Fu and others, so he received a profound enlightenment. Later, he wrote the article "General Discussion on the Reform of the Law", which became the theoretical pillar of the reform movement, and its ideological influence can be said to be endless.

In addition to thinkers, a number of students studying in the United States devoted themselves to the actual revolutionary cause. The most famous are Huang Zunxian and Song Jiaoren. In his early years, Huang Zunxian studied in the United States, where he received a new ideological education that made him strongly dissatisfied with the authoritarian rule of the Qing government. In 1895, he joined the Xingzhong Society, led by Sun Yat-sen, and became one of Sun Yat-sen's most important revolutionaries. Song Jiaoren also received the baptism of liberal ideology during his study in United States, and later became an important leader of the Chinese Democratic Revolutionary Party. He also served as the chief police officer of the Beiyang government as a liberal, and made significant contributions to promoting China's democracy and freedom.

In addition, quite a number of students studying in the United States have engaged in the work of teaching and educating people, and have set up a large number of schools in various localities, spreading new ideas and new knowledge to all parts of the country. For example, Yan Xiu, who graduated from United States in 1889, founded Peking Union Medical College University in Beijing after returning to China, which became an important position for spreading Christian civilization and Western learning. There are also people like Huang Zuolin, Ding Rizuo and others, all of whom later set up a number of modern and new-style schools with their peers, and popularized modern ideas with half the effort.

It is not difficult to see that this international student movement has played a crucial role in China's enlightenment and awakening. Although it was initially an attempt to introduce new Western technologies, it unexpectedly brought back foreign liberal democratic ideas. This is undoubtedly a major turning point in the concept of Chinese civilization in the past few thousand years, and new trends of thought have since sprouted on the land of China and are destined to have a far-reaching impact in the future.