Historical issues

Objective: To learn from foreigners and control them.

Function: By learning from the West, buying manufacturing tools and introducing advanced technology and technicians, China has its own modern industrial and military system, which has stimulated the emergence and development of Chinese national capitalism, and at the same time promoted the modernization of culture, education and ideas, thus accelerating the pace of China's modernization. However, due to its feudal nature, it inevitably has great limitations, and it is difficult to achieve the goal of saving the Qing Dynasty by demanding wealth. After the defeat of the Qing army in the Sino-Japanese War, the Westernization Movement also failed.

2. 1898 Reform Movement

Goal: to save the country from extinction. /kloc-At the end of 0/9, the crisis of the Chinese nation was unprecedented because imperialism set off a frenzy to carve up China. The bourgeois reformists, represented by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, set off the Reform Movement of 1898 in order to save the nation and survive.

Function: The Reform Movement of 1898 was a bourgeois reform movement in the history of China, which was in line with the historical development trend of China at that time and had great progressive significance; It was also a political activity of patriotism and saving the country, which inspired people's patriotic thought and national consciousness at that time and played an important role. At the same time, it was the first ideological emancipation trend in modern China, which promoted the awakening of the people in China.

3. Why did Empress Dowager Cixi persist in the Westernization Movement when the Qing government's finances were exhausted?

From the early 1960s to the mid-1990s of 19, the Westernization Movement lasted for more than 30 years. With the aim of "seeking strength" and "seeking wealth", it has learned from western countries in many fields and made a big step on the road of China's modernization. These 30 years were the period when Empress Dowager Cixi took control of the central power, and all major issues of the Westernization Movement had to be approved by her before they could be put into practice. Under the historical conditions at that time, foreign invaders had an important influence on Empress Dowager Cixi's support for the Westernization Movement.

Some external reasons:

1840 The survival of the Qing government after the Opium War and the signing of a series of treaties that humiliated the country not only destroyed China's territorial integrity, but more seriously, foreign powers gained a series of privileges in China and interfered in local government affairs, which actually became the second largest political force in China besides imperial power. Before the Qing government woke up from the first opium war, the second opium war broke out again. This war dealt a fatal blow to the ruling clique in the late Qing Dynasty, which can be described as "painful". In the situation of defeat, the ruling group in the late Qing Dynasty was not so respectful to the western powers, but wanted to resist aggression and seek revenge through self-improvement. The ideas and practices of the Westernization School coincide with the wishes of Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi chose to support the Westernization Movement in order to maintain the crumbling Qing Dynasty and its ruling position, and for the so-called "self-improvement".

Internal reasons:

At that time, a series of popular uprisings broke out in China. In order to relieve the "internal worries" of the people's uprising as soon as possible, the Qing government, on the one hand, adopted the policy of borrowing teachers to help suppress it, on the other hand, set up a new military industry and trained a new navy and army, and started the Westernization Movement of "learning from foreigners" to control the people's uprising.

Therefore, after the Second Opium War, foreign invaders expressed their willingness to help the Qing government militarily and economically, to send troops to help suppress it, to sell guns and ships to the Qing government, to send consultants and technicians for guidance and to lend money. It can be seen that Cixi has the need to help foreigners, and foreigners also have the will to support them. The two hit it off.

The Westernization School was appreciated by foreigners, which made Cixi, who was afraid of foreigners, have to attach great importance to it. At the same time, foreigners really have the sincerity to help suppress the peasant uprising, and let Cixi taste the sweetness of cooperation with them. Supporting the Westernization Movement can accumulate strength for resisting foreign aggression in the future, gain the support of foreigners, and help suppress the peasant movement. So as to consolidate Cixi's fledgling rule. In addition, maintaining a "peace draw" between China and foreign countries objectively provided a temporary and relatively stable development environment for the Qing Dynasty, which was beneficial. After weighing the pros and cons, Cixi finally decided to support the Westernization Movement.