Ideas and ideologies to promote change 1860-1997

• Pre-opium wars - ideology = inflexible concepts of chinese superiority. Everything beyond the boarder was barbaric and backwards.
• each emperor was supposed to represent harmony between heaven and earth and a dramatic economic change was interpreted as a threat to this balance. New ideas were rarely adopted if they challenged traditional Confucian beliefs.
• 1860s new economic theory.

  • Industrialisation, trade, commerce, a new system of banking and finance were needed to modernise
  • these were introduced by European traders, missionaries and imperialists
  • before Europeans had started to dominate chinas waterways and rivers such as the Yangtze were used for trade with junks and sampans carrying goods between majors cities
  • banking had also been developed in china before 1860s, and not all banks had been the product of Europeans treaty ports- Chinese merchants had lent money to each other and to peasants for centuries
• the key difference between china and europe in trade and finance was the lack of the Industrial Revolution.
• money lending did not initially support the building of factories or railways as the imperial government did not favour
• dominant economic beliefs supported continuity and not change
• western economic ideas and china

  • mid 18th -> GB + Europe = wealthy and powerful
  • 1830s -> britian was able to introduce new commercial and industrial idea into china
  • the British demanded free trade and were willing to go to war otherwise.
  • 1860s -> free trade was effectively imposed following the opium wars
  • influx of cheap manufactured goods into china, Chinese had made goods could not compete in price or quantity.
• • Li Hongzhang believed the only way to compete was industrialisation
  • in the period 1860-1997 china became one of the most industrialised countries in the world = net exporters of manufactured goods.
• Li Hongzhang instituted 3 decades of reform - the self strengthening movement.

  1. in order to force foreign armies from China was to be economically powerful - building the countries industrial bade and to not risk war.
  2. while the economy should be changed, the imperial government should not change in fear of triggering a political or social revolution
• Prince Gong agreed with economic change and strengthening military - this was also supported by veterans of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion
• The movement was first suggested by the Chinese intellectual Feng Guifen in 1861 he believed that confucian ideas should remain the basis of chinese society an western ideas should be employed as a practical solution.
• The First Phase of the self strengthening movement 1861-1872
• The Second Phase of the self strengthening movement 1872-1885
• The Third Phase of the self strengthening movement 1885-1895
• SS First Phase

  Focused on the development of military power and acquisition of scientific ideas
• SS First Phase

  The government purchased European iron-hulled battleships establishing shipyards and munition factories.
• SS First Phase

  officers were sent to be trained in germany, Britain and the USA
• SS First Phase

  scientific ideas were translated into Chinese
• SS First Phase

  the Qing government hired british and european engineers and expertise to help transform the munitions industry.
• SS First Phase

  Defeats to the british created opportunities for skilled British workers who were prized as experts to run Chinese armament factories even if they lacked manufacturing experience.
• SS First Phase

  Li Hongzhang and many administrators were business men and established dozens of their own factories, schools, mines, printing press and ship yards.
• SS First Phase

  there was often widespread corruption as officials authorised projects that would directly benefit them and delivered government money into their own pockets
• SS First Phase

  the royal court was divided between pro-modernisers in the quise of the two emperors and a conservative anti-industrial group led by the dowager empress Cixi.
• SS First Phase

  1870s - Li Hongzhang became convinced that until economic self-sufficiency was achieved, military modernisation would have little effects

  europeans were able to beat china through the use of modern technology and vibrant and productive economies.
• SS Second Phase

  developments of industries such as coal, cotton and steamships navigation companies was a key feature of the second stage of the movement.
• SS Second Phase

  Britain -> economic liberalisation -> laissez faire in economics -> preferable and more profitable.
• SS Second Phase

  Bureaucracy = officials were the only class able to successfully administer major projects like the development of new industries.
• SS Second Phase

  Some industries such as steamships held national pride along profitable routes this damaged efficiency and profitability.
• SS Second Phase

  New industries were run by businessmen and industrialists were designed to generate profits. However, ultimately controlled by the government
• SS Second Phase

  corruption and state backed industries formed official and unofficial monopolies and led to a weakening of business in many sectors of the economy.

  proved gov administration to be essential but undermining chinas growth.

  power of local and national was so embedded in china was pivotal to holding the empire together - that it was inconceivable that they would not have a key role in managing and benefitting from industrialisation.
• SS Third Phase

  new industries were developed fashionably and not centrally directed or controlled from Beijing - this was a key weakness.
• SS Third Phase

  mandarins were unable to impose self-strengthening ideas on local administrators who were loyal to confucian ideas
• SS Third Phase

  1880s to 1890s - pace changed - only further military crisis that renewed demand among china’s educated middle class - students and forward-looking officials for government led modernisation.