What was the ‘Self-Strengthening’ Movement and why did it Fail?

L/O – To identify the key features of the self-strengthening movement and to evaluate the reasons for its failure

The Tongzhi Restoration 1861-1894• By the 1860s, the Qing

Dynasty in China was facing collapse. The impact of Western imperialism and internal rebellions had brought China to the brink of destruction.

• The Opium Wars had seen China defeated by Britain and France whilst the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) had led to the deaths of over 20 million!

The Tongzhi Restoration 1861-1894• China tried to restore its power by embarking

on a series of reforms. This period has become known as the ‘Tongzhi Restoration’.

• It was led by a group of reforming officials within the Qing Dynasty who became collectively known as the ‘Self-Strengthening Movement’.

• The Tongzhi Restoration ultimately failed to stop the decline of the Qing Dynasty, unlike the Meiji Restoration in Japan but did give the Qing another 50 years of rule until the 1911 Revolution.

Emperor Tongzhi

(1861-1875)

Historiographical Issues• Was the Tongzhi Restoration and

Self-Strengthening Movement the beginning of the end for Qing China or did it rather give a declining dynasty another 60 years it would not have had without it?

• Did the Restoration begin the process of declining state power?

• Were internal or external pressures more to blame for the decline of the Qing dynasty?

Source A: "Not only a dynasty but also a civilization which

appeared to have collapsed was revived to last for another sixty

years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the

1860s. This was the T'ung-chih Restoration."

By Historian Mary Wright

Source B: "That the Qing managed to survive both

domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as

the Qing Restoration." By Historian John Fairbank

A New Emperor• In 1861, the 5-year-old Emperor

Tongzhi ascended the throne, but real power resided with his mother, Empress Dowager Cixi, and his uncle Prince Gong.

• The Imperial Court was divided between Conservatives, led by Cixi, and Progressives led by Prince Gong.

• Both believed that military and economic modernisation was necessary to strengthen and protect China.

Emperor Tongzhi

Empress Dowager

Cixi (mother)

Prince Gong (uncle)

Who led the reforms?• The Self-Strengthening Movement and

Restoration was led by Prince Gong and a group of provincial officials.

• Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang were all Scholar-Generals and regional leaders who had risen to power by defeating the Taiping and Nian rebels.

• They were given a free-hand to reform China as the Imperial Court relied on them to rule. In a sense, they operated like the Warlords of the 20th century, but unlike them, were loyal to the Qing.

Zuo Zongtang

Li Hongzhang

Zeng Guofan

Aims of the Reformers• They sought to apply ‘practical knowledge’

from the West whilst reaffirming the old Confucian system of government. Different from Japan?

• The idea of self-strengthening was first expressed clearly in a series of essays to Zeng Guofan by Feng Guifen in 1861. He even advocated political reforms although this was too much for Zeng.

• Zeng and other Qing officials argued that in order to strengthen itself against the West, China had to adopt Western military technology BUT NOT social or political ideas. Mistake?

Zeng Guofan

Feng Guifen

…Books on mathematics, mechanics, optics, light, chemistry, and others all contain the ultimate principles of understanding things.

Most of this information is unavailable to people in China…

I have heard that with their new methods the Westerners have found that the movements of the earth conform closely to those of

the heavens. This can be of assistance in fixing the calendar… Other things beneficial to the national economy and the livelihood

of the people should also be used… There are many intelligent people in China. Surely there are some who, having learned from

the barbarians, can surpass them…

In my humble opinion, at the present time it is also appropriate to say “Learn from the various nations,” for they are similar to us and

hence their ways are easy to implement. What could be better than to take Chinese ethical principles of human relations and

Confucian teachings as the foundation, (ti) and supplement them with the techniques (yong) of wealth and power of the various

nations?

From “On the Adoption of Western Learning” by Feng Guifen

The Role of Zeng Guofan

• Zeng Guofan was the most influential and powerful reformer, responsible for defeating the Taiping Rebels.

• He sought to restore order by restoring the Confucian education and exam system and by re-organising agriculture.

• He then advocated adopting aspects of Western learning like science and engineering in order to build modern ships and armaments.

Zeng Guofan

The Role of Zeng Guofan• In 1864 he sent Yung Wing (the first

Chinese graduate of Yale University) to purchase machines in the USA in order to build a China’s first modern weapons factory (arsenal) in Shanghai in 1865.

• Further arsenals were built at Fuzhou in 1867 along with China’s first engineering school for studying mechanical skills and navigation were founded.

• In 1868, China built it’s first steamship at Fuzhou, with a further 11 warships being built by 1873.

Yung Wing (1828-1912)

Chinese warship Yangwu

Fuzhou Arsenal, Fujian Province - 1867

The Role of Prince Gong• As co-regent and grand

councillor, Gong had considerable influence and he championed the reform movement.

• From 1861, he led the new ‘Office for the Management of the Business of All Foreign Countries’ (Zongli Yamen) and along with his second in command, Wenxiang, worked to modernise China’s foreign relations.

Prince Gong

Wenxiang

Zongli Yamen Building in Beijing

The Role of Prince Gong

• In 1862 they opened an interpreter’s school, the Tongwen Guan, in Peking to teach Chinese students English and French.

• In 1867, despite conservative protests, Gong and Wenxiang converted the school into a full-fledge college teaching Western subjects such as mathematics, chemistry, geology and international law. American Missionary W. A. P. Martin

was responsible for transforming the Tongwen Guan into a modern school

The Role of Prince Gong• In 1863 Gong also reformed the

Imperial Maritime Customs Service in Shanghai, run by an international staff and led by Inspector-General Sir Robert Hart.

• The office collected maritime trade taxes and provided the Beijing government with 1/3 of its entire revenue.

• Prince Gong and Zongli Yamen officials even started discussions with the British to renegotiate the unfair treaties imposed on it.

First Customs House built in 1854

Hart worked closely with Prince Gong and persuaded him to establish the Tongwen Guan

Third Customs House as it is today in Shanghai,

originally built in 1927

Initial Successes

• By 1870, the Self-Strengthening Movement had managed to restore order to China, build new diplomatic structures, collect huge amounts of tax, build modern warships and weapons and had partially modernised education.

• It appeared that the Qing dynasty could modernise and regain its former strength. However it wasn’t to last.

Failure of Leadership• Reforms slowed in the 1870s. In 1869,

the reformer Prince Gong was removed from power by Cixi after having one of her favourite eunuchs executed for corruption.

• Key reformers also died. Zeng Guofan died in 1872 and Wenxiang in 1876. Even the Emperor Tongzhi died in 1875.

• Cixi then had her 3-year-old nephew, Guangxu, appointed as Emperor. Cixi – a conservative opposed to reforms – was now the ultimate political authority in China.

Prince Gong

Emperor Guangxu

Empress Dowager Cixi

The Role of Li Hongzhang• Despite a slow down in self-

strengthening programs, the reform movement continued under the leadership of Li Hongzhang until 1894.

• Li was trusted by Cixi due to his loyalty in helping to get Emperor Guangxu appointed. He was made Viceroy of Zhili and Commissioner of Trade for the northern ports in 1871.

• From the 1871-1894, Li worked hard to implement economic, educational and diplomatic reforms.

Li Hongzhang

Li had worked closely with Prince Gong and Zeng Guofan as a reformer. He also led Chinese forces during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. On his death he was replaced by Yuan Shikai. He

has an interesting history – check him out!

Li’s Economic Reforms• He pioneered the creation of

government owned and privately operated businesses to boost the economy.

• In 1872, he created the China Merchant Steamship Navigation Company in order to stop the domination of shipping by foreign powers.

• In 1877, he expanded the Kaiping Coal Mines near Tianjin and built a huge cotton mill at Shanghai in 1878.

The Kaiping Mine was the most productive in China

producing 38,000 tons in 1882

The China Merchant Steamship Navigation Company in Shanghai

today

Li’s Economic Reforms• Further economic

reforms in the 1880s included the construction and enlargement of weapons arsenals in Tianjin, the development in 1881 of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration, a new dock facility in Lushun and China’s first steam train in 1881.

Nanjing Jinling Arsenal, originally built by Li in 1865

The docks at Lushun (Port Arthur) in 1904.

The ‘Rocket of China’ constructed in China by Englishman Claude William Kinder and Tong King

Sing. Used to transport coal from the Kaiping Mine

Li’s Education Reforms• Earlier educational reforms

were carried on by Li. Students were sent overseas to the USA, UK, France and Germany to study Western sciences and military theory.

• He also established the Tianjin Beiyang Military Academy in 1885 which taught Western military science and was staffed by German Officers.

The Academy was destroyed in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion by international forces.

The first group of students to study in the USA in 1872. The programme was stopped

by conservatives in 1881 as the students had ‘plunged themselves into American culture’

Li’s Diplomatic Reforms• Despite a lack of success,

Li worked alongside the Zongli Yamen to negotiate tricky international issues.

• He tried to contain Japanese ambitions Asia, persuading the Korean King Kojong to open his country and sign treaties with the West to avoid Japanese domination in the 1880s.

Li Hongzhang

King Kojong of Korea

Li’s Diplomatic Reforms• He did have success with

Russia, signing the Treaty of St Petersburg in 1881. This gave land back to China and secured its long border with Russia.

• However war broke out between France and China in 1884 and finally between Japan and China in 1894. China’s defeat and humiliation in both wars showed that Self-Strengthening had failed.

Treaty of St. Petersberg

Why did Self-Strengthening fail?• The movement failed to strengthen

China sufficiently to be able to ensure survival from imperialist encroachment.

• There are many factors for the failure of the movement. These include:

1. Lack of Central Leadership2. Role of Cixi3. Corruption of Officials4. Resistance of Conservative Officials5. Anti-Western Sentiment6. Hostile Imperialist Powers

Are there any other factors missing from

this list?

1. Lack of Central Leadership• The Imperial Court was divided

over both the necessity and nature of reform that was needed.

• The divide between Conservatives led by Cixi and Reformers led by Prince Gong resulted in poorly planned reforms.

• The Emperor’s Tongzhi and Guangxu were also too young to rule and politics became dominated by Cixi.

2. Role of Empress Dowager Cixi• Cixi often worked against and

limited the potential of the Self-Strengthening Movement, being ignorant of the outside world.

• Her ambitions led to her removing Prince Gong from power who was a key reformer.

• She even diverted funds from reform projects to build a summer palace for herself!

3. Corruption of Officials• Many regional officials were

corrupt and often diverted money away from reform projects and modernisation.

• Lack of oversight also led to officials competing in the same industry, leading to inefficiencies.

• Many officials had purchased their positions during the Taiping Rebellion, often being unqualified, so they were therefore resistant to any modernisation in society.

4. Resistance of Conservatives• Many Confucian scholars and

government officials were resistant to Westernisation.

• They believed that learning from ‘barbarians’ wouldn’t work and would undermine the Confucian system of culture and government.

• Many were unwilling to contemplate political or social reforms.

5. Anti-Western Sentiment• Anti-Christian sentiment and

a belief that Westerners were uncultured barbarians influenced the views of many Chinese and prevented changes.

• Anti-Christian anger and riots prevented many Chinese from learning Western ideas and education in missionary schools.

6. Hostile Imperialist Powers• Unfortunately for China, many

imperialists nations from the West and Japan sought to undermine and control China.

• Western nations dominated trade in China, putting domestic industries out of business and forcing the Qing state into debt.

• Arguably, Self-Strengthening may have worked if it wasn’t for the major defeats of the Sino-French War of 1844-45 and Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95.

Historiographical Issues – Your Views• Was the Tongzhi Restoration and

Self-Strengthening Movement the beginning of the end for Qing China or did it rather give a declining dynasty another 60 years it would not have had without it?

• Did the Restoration begin the process of declining state power?

• Were internal or external pressures more to blame for the decline of the Qing dynasty?

Source A: "Not only a dynasty but also a civilization which

appeared to have collapsed was revived to last for another sixty

years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the

1860s. This was the T'ung-chih Restoration."

By Historian Mary Wright

Source B: "That the Qing managed to survive both

domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as

the Qing Restoration." By Historian John Fairbank

Plenary1. Why was Self-Strengthening needed?

2. Who were the leaders of the movement?3. What were the aims of the reformers?

4. What achievements did the reformers make until 1894?5. Why did the Self-Strengthening Movement fail?

6. Was the failure of the movement inevitable?7. Make a table showing the successes and failures of the

Self-Strengthening Movement using the following headings: social/cultural; political; economic; military

Did we meet our learning objective?L/O – To identify the key features of the self-strengthening

movement and to evaluate the reasons for its failure

Paper 3 - Exam Question 1 (2010)• Compare and contrast the Self-Strengthening Movement in China

(1861-1894) and the reforms under the Meiji Restoration in Japan (1868-1894).

The question requires candidates to analyse economic and military modernization, as well as the degree of social and political change in both China and Japan. Expect reference to the philosophical aims of both reform movements; to the different systems of government; to the underlying cultural

attitudes that influenced the impact of modernization upon each society and to the nature of the actual reforms. Candidates may note that in Japan a political revolution occurred producing a new and

dynamic leadership capable of sweeping reform on a national level, whereas China’s government was reluctant to embrace change and unable to promote a sense of national unity. For China candidates

may discuss: the Tongzhi (T’ung-chih) Restoration of Confucian government; the concept of self-strengthening; the weakness and conservatism of the central government; Cixi’s (Tz’u-hsi’s) power;

roles of Zeng Guofan (Tseng Kuo-fan), Li Hongzhang (Li Hung-chang), Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t’ang) and Prince Gong (Kung); the success or failure of the various reforms undertaken. For Japan: the Meiji

Restoration, the Regency and Imperial rule; “Western science and Eastern ethics”; Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism; readiness for reform; the Constitutions of 1868 and 1889; political,

cultural, economic, military and social change. Candidates may cite the Sino–Japanese War (1894–1895) as evidence of Japanese success and Chinese failure. Many answers will focus on contrasts, but

comparisons should also be identified. If only China or Japan is addressed, mark out of a maximum of [7 marks].

Paper 3 - Exam Question 2 (2013)• “Japan’s self-strengthening reform during the Meiji period was successful because

it was directed from the top, but the self-strengthening movement in China failed because it was not.” To what extent do you agree with this statement up to 1895?

This question requires candidates to analyse the process of reform in both Japan and China during the respective periods and assess the success of these reform movements with reference to the degree of political, social, cultural,

economic and military modernization that was achieved. Both movements were rooted in the concept of self-strengthening in order to withstand the demands and aggression of the West. Themes that may be used to compare and contrast could be: the philosophical aims of both reform movements; the different systems of government; the

underlying religious and cultural attitudes that influenced the impact of modernization upon each society; geographic and demographic factors; the roles of individuals or groups in each society; and the nature of the actual reforms.

Candidates may note that in Japan a political revolution occurred producing a new and dynamic leadership capable of sweeping reform on a national level, whereas China’s government was reluctant to embrace change and unable to

promote a sense of national unity. For Japan candidates may discuss: the Meiji Restoration, the Regency and Imperial rule; “Western science and Eastern ethics”; Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism; the readiness for reform; the

Constitutions of 1868 and 1889; the extent of the political, cultural, economic, military and social changes. For China candidates may discuss: the Tongzhi (T’ung-chih) Restoration of Confucian government; the concept of self-

strengthening; the weakness and conservatism of the central government; the Regency and the extent of Cixi’s (Tz’u-hsi’s) power; the aims of Prince Gong (Kung) and his conflict with Cixi (Tz’u-hsi); the choice of another boy Emperor,

Guangxu (Kuang-hsu) in 1875; the roles of Zeng Guofan (Tseng Kuo-fan), Li Hongzhang (Li Hung-chang), Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t’ang); the localized nature of many of China’s reforms; the success or failure of the various reforms

undertaken. Candidates may cite the Sino–Japanese War (1894–1895) as evidence of Japanese success and Chinese failure. Better answers may challenge the assumption in the quotation and identify a number of successful ventures in

China and that resistance to change also existed in Japan. Many answers will focus on contrasts, but comparisons should also be identified. If only Japan or China is addressed, mark out of a maximum of [12 marks].

Paper 3 - Exam Question 3 (2002)• “China’s Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1894) is often regarded

as a failure.” To what extent do you agree with this assessment?

[7 marks] for a descriptive list.[8 to 10 marks] for awareness that there were substantial achievements, particularly in the

years 1860 to 1874, and some optimism for the future.[11 to 13 marks] for which some analysis to establish the degree of success or failure will be

expected.[14 to 16 marks] for candidates who develop this further into an assessment of the entire

period and who give a relevant conclusion. Better candidates will realise that the finalmeasure of success or failure was the war against Japan and that China.s efforts at

modernisation have perhaps been unjustly dismissed in their entirety because of their defeat.

[17+ marks] for a sophisticated analysis and an awareness that the statement may bequestioned.

Paper 3 - Exam Question 4 (2004/2007)• To what extent do the careers of Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Li

Hongzhang demonstrate the weakness of the Qing government of China between 1864 and 1895?

1864 marks the defeat of the Taiping Rebellion; 1895, the defeat of China by Japan. Zeng (Tseng), Zuo (T’so) and Li rose to prominence because of their roles in defeating the Taiping and other rebellions and

became leaders of the Self-Strengthening Movement. While recognising that the Self-Strengthening Movement had its successes, candidates should concentrate upon the revealed weaknesses of the Qing

(Ch’ing) government. Self-Strengthening was largely a provincial affair: central planning and direction were lacking; Confucian-trained scholars despised the modernisers and undermined their authority.

Corruption was rife; rebellion diverted attention; provincialism undermined cooperation.[0 to 7 marks] for narrative or lists of events from their careers.

[8 to 10 marks] for a fairly complete account of the careers of the three officials or for anincomplete account which recognises some of the weaknesses of the regime.

[11 to 13 marks] for a simple analysis in which the weaknesses of the regime are illustrated byreference to the careers of at least two of the three officials.

[14 to 16 marks] for more detailed analysis of the weaknesses and failures of the regime withreference to the three officials, but focussing upon Li as the most active, long-lived and powerful.

[17+ marks] for sophisticated running comparison and analysis based upon sound knowledge of theweaknesses and failures of the regime.