105 Westernization Movement
Welcome to listen to Chinese history, but like this, the author and the node broadcast how to do the Westernization Movement in the early reign of Empress Dowager Cixi. With the assistance of Prince Gong and Prince Chun, they rectified the governance, relied on Han officials such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang, and with the support of foreign powers, they successively suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Miao, and Muslim uprisings, which eased the ruling crisis of the Qing Dynasty, temporarily stabilizing the Qing Dynasty. Out of the consideration of maintaining feudal autocratic rule, they once again focused on the Westernization Movement, emphasizing strengthening military power by developing military and civilian industries, training the navy and the army to enhance military strength, thereby objectively promoting modernization in China. The Westernization Movement, which started under the leadership of the Westernization faction, had a positive impact. At the time, the conservative Qing government did not support the Westernization faction, and even strongly opposed it. The Westernization faction had to conduct the Westernization Movement in secret. After Empress Dowager Cixi took over the regency, the key officials such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang advocated introducing advanced Western technology to defend the Qing government's position, proposing the idea of "Chinese learning for fundamental principles and Western learning for practical application." On the other hand, the conservative faction led by Empress Dowager Cixi had to rely on firearms and cannons to maintain their rule, thus initiating a significant impact on modern Chinese history. The initial goal of the Westernization Movement, led by Li Hongzhang and others, was to seek wealth through reform, primarily focusing on establishing modern military industries, creating modern armies, purchasing advanced foreign weapons, and systematically introducing Western military technology. In a short period, under the leadership of Li Hongzhang and other Westernization faction ministers, China's modern military industrial system was established, with the capability to manufacture cannons, artillery, ammunition, and steam warships domestically. This marked a significant turning point in modern Chinese history, leading to the emergence of China's capitalist industry and the unprecedented development of the military. However, the ultimate goal of the Westernization Movement was to maintain Qing rule, rather than leading China towards prosperity and strength. As a result, it failed to prevent China's fate of defeat in foreign wars and the process of semi-colonialization. As China was defeated by Japan, the Westernization faction and the Westernization Movement were blamed as the culprits of defeat. While Japan surged to become a world-class power, China fell into decline, remaining backward for a long time. Archives 86: Li Hongzhang, a native of Hefei, Anhui, entered the Hanlin Academy at the age of 24 and rose to become the Governor-General of Zhili and the Minister of Commerce for North China during the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi. He was known as a representative and pioneer of the Westernization Movement, playing a crucial role in modernizing China.