Causes of the Late Qing Reform, 1901-11

• External military defeat:

  • Cixi supported the Boxers to attack foreigners.
  • She even declared war on foreign powers in 1900.
  • This resulted in the Eight-Power Expedition.
• External military defeat:

  • After China's defeat, the Qing government signed the harsh 'Boxer Protocol' with the foreign powers in 1901.
  • It required the execution of officials, destruction of some Chinese forts, and a staggering indemnity of 450 million taels, etc.
• External military defeat:

  • At this point, the Qing government accepted the need for change.
  • A series of reforms were instituted to strengthen China.
  • Cixi also hoped to gain back support for the Qing government by implementing reforms.
• Decentralization:

  • Another reason why the Qing government chose to carry out reform in 1901 was because it wanted to check the growing power of regional authorities.
  • During the Boxer Uprising, prominent provincial officials such as Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai had refused to support the Boxers and stood aside as foreign invasion proceeded.
  • Therefore, the Qing government implemented reforms so as to strengthen the central government at the expense of provincial authorities.
• Spread of revolutionary ideas:

  • The Qing government attempted to check the spread of revolutionary ideas in China through reform.
  • After repeated failures at reform attempts, i.e. the Self-Strengthening Movement, the Hundred Days' Reform and the unprecedented humiliating defeat by the eight foreign powers, more and more people believed that the Qing itself was a major obstacle to change and China's survival as a nation.
• Spread of revolutionary ideas:

  • They turned to support the revolutionaries to overthrow the Qing government.
  • To counter the revolutionary forces, the Qing government carried out reforms.
• Success of Meiji reform:

  • The successful Meiji reform in Japan had turned Japan from an isolated agrarian country threatened by the Western powers into an industrializing state that had become one of the world powers.
  • Winning the Russo-Japanese War, Japan became the first country to defeat a Western power.
  • Therefore, some Qing officials and people believed that the establishment of constitutional monarchy in China following Meiji Japan's example could make China rich and strong.