Self-Strengthening Movement
Late Qing reform movement to strengthen state through Western technology.
Last updated
The Self-Strengthening Movement was a Qing dynasty reform effort that began in 1861, focusing on military and economic modernization to preserve the dynasty.[1][2] Its leaders prioritized adopting Western firearms, ships, and industrial technology while largely neglecting Western political systems.[1]
Quick Facts
- Start year
- c. 1861
- End year
- 1895
- Field
- Reform movement
- Nationality
- Chinese (Qing dynasty)
Facts from the source article.
What happened
The movement's first phase (1861–1872) emphasized Western firearms, machines, scientific knowledge, and training of technical and diplomatic personnel.[3] Military modernization focused on constructing arsenals and shipbuilding dockyards to strengthen the navy.[4] A school for the navy was established in Fuzhou in 1866 under Zuo Zongtang.[5] The imperial court was compelled to recognize a crisis in 1860 after China's military setbacks in the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion's advances.[6]
Prince Gong and Grand Councilor Wen Xiang suggested creating a new office for foreign affairs in 1861, which resulted in the establishment of the Zongli Yamen.[6][1] Li Hongzhang became the dominant figure in the second phase (1872–1885), with more than nine-tenths of modernization initiatives started under his direction.[4]
What the cited sources add
The source "The Defeat That Changed China's History" states that the movement existed only to keep the Qing Dynasty alive, unlike Japan's Meiji Restoration.[1] It notes that scholar Feng Guifen wrote in the early 1860s that China should learn only "solid ships and effective guns" from the "barbarians"[1] The same source identifies Li Hongzhang as Viceroy of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang.[1] It also reports that historians attribute the movement's failure to its neglect of Western political systems and culture.[1]
References
- "The Defeat That Changed China's History". facts only, no text reused. bjreview.com
- Wikipedia, "Self-Strengthening Movement" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Liu, "Li Hung-Chang and China's Early Modernization", M.E. Sharpe, 1994, p. 23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Self-Strengthening Movement" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Feng-Guifen", Encyclopedia Britannica (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Self-Strengthening Movement" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Coco, "China's Early Industrialization in the Age of the European Colonial Powers: A Controversial Beginning", The Chinese Historical Review, 3 July 2021, p. 113–37 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Self-Strengthening Movement" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 陈, "图说中国海军史: 古代-1955, Volume 1", Fujian Education Press, 2002, p. 159; "Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911", Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 541–42 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Self-Strengthening Movement" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Defeat That Changed China's History" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Self-Strengthening Movement (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in East Asian History
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Self-Strengthening Movement (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced