Book excerpt·Jiang Tingfu: "Modern History of China", Zhonghua Book Company

"Modern History of China" was written in 1938.

Although the whole book only has more than 50,000 words, as the famous scholar and Fudan University professor Shen Weibin said: "Although the length is small, the academic content is very high.

Thoughts: Want to know about academics How high the content is.

The whole book is written from the Opium War to the eve of the Anti-Japanese War.

The content does not stick to the process of events and the presentation of details; the method grasps the overall evolution trend, which shows that the author The writing style is deep and speculative

Thoughts: I haven’t realized it yet

Starting from the relationship between foreign affairs and domestic affairs

The whole book is divided into four chapters, sorting out the four chapters. The first chapter talks about foreign troubles; the second chapter talks about internal worries. This is the background for the subsequent plan to save the country and the people, which shows that if China does not learn from the West and does not carry out reforms, China will have no future; the third chapter talks about the self-strengthening movement (ie. Westernization Movement), this is also the first plan; Chapter Four talks about three plans, namely the Reform Movement, the Boxer Movement, and Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles. This layout leads to the formation of Chapters One and Two, and Chapters Three and Four. The chapter is the causal relationship between the results.

Keep the person who wrote it, do not erase the academic achievements based on the person's political stance, and do not alter the writings of the predecessors to meet today's needs.

Thoughts: This is what Chen Xulu said in the preface of the Yuelu Publishing House edition.

However, in the nineteenth century, why did our nation encounter unprecedented difficulties? First, is it because of us? The science of science is not as good as that of others. In the competition between people and the competition between nations, the most decisive factor is the level of knowledge.

Idea: Always ask questions in the form of questions and answer in the form of lists ( First, second...)

The political situation of Western countries in the Middle Ages was very similar to that of China's Spring and Autumn Period, and the situation after the Renaissance was very similar to our Warring States Period. In the life of the great powers competing for supremacy, Westerners. We developed a fervent patriotism and a profound national concept. We clung to the concept of family and hometown.

During our Kangxi period, Russia was fortunate to have a great Peter, who was the supreme emperor. , changed his name and went to Western Europe to learn shipbuilding and steelmaking. Later, he invited many Western European technicians to Russia to help him carry out the reform. At that time, many Russians opposed him, especially the national elite in the capital Moscow. Party. He fought against all odds and even moved the capital to a remote, but coastal, Neva River, because he wanted to be close to the sea and have easy access to Western Europe, the birthplace of modern culture.

Thoughts: Peter. The Emperor's determination to reform is strong

We must pay attention to how imperialism oppresses us. We must carefully study the resistance plans in each period. We must especially analyze the extent and reasons for the success or failure of each plan. If we learn the lessons of China’s modern history, we will be able to contribute more to the war of resistance and founding of the country.

Thoughts: After reading this book, I understand the importance of modern history, no matter how glorious and powerful ancient China was. In the past, it was more important to draw historical experience and lessons from the difficult and difficult modern history.

This issue of decency and ritual has become a major obstacle to diplomatic relations, and the "Chinese Dynasty" will never be accommodating.

Thoughts: In ancient times, China did not recognize the equality of other countries. If envoys from various countries came, they would respect China as a superior country and regard themselves as vassals.

At that time, China did not know about diplomacy and only knew about "suppressing and pacifying the barbarians."

The trade system at that time was also special. Western merchants were limited to Guangzhou.

In Guangzhou, outsiders are not free. Summer and autumn are the buying and selling seasons, and they can live in the Thirteenth Street in Guangzhou; after buying and selling, they must go to Macau for the winter. The Thirteen Banks are the thirteen companies designated by the Chinese government to do business with foreigners. A member of the Thirteenth Line is always the leader of the Thirteenth Line and is also the government's negotiator. All orders from Guangzhou officials were transmitted to foreign businessmen by the general manager of the business, and submissions from foreign businessmen to officials were also forwarded by the general manager of the business.

Customs taxes were originally very light, with an average of only 4%. The Qing government did not value the customs revenue, but the bad regulations imposed by officials were extremely onerous. of twenty.

Outsiders go through a kind of bargaining negotiation every time they pay taxes, so they are very impatient.

China did not attach much importance to legal rights at that time.

Thoughts: Before "extraterritoriality", the Qing government was unwilling to deal with cases involving foreigners. Therefore, after the "extraterritoriality", the Qing government did not feel that national sovereignty had been violated. The Qing government felt that reparations and five-port trade were more abhorrent. On the one hand, it increased the financial burden, and on the other hand, it made foreigners everywhere, making it more difficult to guard against foreign invasion.

Before the Opium War, we refused to give equal treatment to foreign countries; after that, they refused to give us equal treatment.

Government leaders should be responsible for guiding public opinion. If there is no guidance, or if the guidance is not effective, this is the failure of politicians.

Yi? and Wenxiang will never look back, nostalgic for the seclusion era that is gone and will never return. They move forward boldly and find new ways out in international life. What makes those of us who study modern history sad is that this new spirit could not appear after the Opium War, but appeared twenty years later in the late Xian Dynasty and the early Tong Dynasty. Every inch of time is worth every inch of gold, this is true for individuals and even more so for the nation.

Thoughts: After the First Opium War, China was indifferent and did not feel that it was any worse or needed improvement. By the time of the Second Opium War, which coincided with the Taiping Rebellion, the Qing government These officials only realized the power of ships' guns and guns, and it was twenty years after the First Opium War that they thought of reform.

Although diplomacy is important in modern history, internal affairs are the fundamental factor that determines the strength of a country.

For example, before World War I, Germany’s diplomacy failed, so the war also failed. However, due to the sound internal affairs of Germany, less than twenty years after the war, he regained his position. This is self-reliance.

Thoughts: How did German diplomacy fail?

This is a trap that has been played out in China for thousands of years. It has been played out over and over again, and even the sages cannot escape. On the one hand, people at that time did not know how to use science to control births; on the other hand, they did not know how to use science to increase production. After the great chaos and at the beginning of the great rule, the population decreased and there was land to cultivate, so the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their living standards improved slightly. This is the golden age in the minds of ordinary people. Later, the population increased day by day, and the wasteland decreased day by day. Moreover, the newly cultivated land either had poor soil quality or insufficient water resources. As a result, the area of ??cultivated land per person decreased and the standard of living declined. The common people were confused and had no choice but to burn incense and worship Buddha, lamenting their bad fate.

There is another cycle in Chinese history. Most of the founding monarchs and founders of each dynasty came from the common people, and their personal salaries were extremely low. Their standards of luxury were very low. They were more sympathetic to the sufferings of the people and were more conscientious in their work. This was an era when internal affairs were prosperous and officials were clarified. Later, the desires of the ruling class gradually increased, and the standard of luxury increased accordingly. Therefore, the corruption of officials also greatly increased.

He became a big deal in the future, not because the Qing government and bureaucrats automatically handed over power to him, but because their failure forced them to ask Zeng Guofan to come out and give him a job. opportunities and rights.

Thought: Opportunities are always earned by oneself.

In addition, the Hunan Army is full of family and hometown concepts. The soldiers only know that they have direct superiors, but they do not know that there is a supreme commander, let alone a country.

One time, Zeng Guoquan went back to his hometown to recruit troops and gave the original troops to Zeng Guofan for temporary control. These troops did not obey the rules. Guofan had no choice but to urge Guoquan to return to camp quickly. So the Hunan Army is the beginning of a private army.

Thoughts: I only know my direct superiors, but I don’t know the supreme commander.

When there is nothing to do, the foreign weapons are regarded as strange and cunning, and they think there is no need to learn them; when there is something wrong, the foreign weapons are surprised to be strange and magical, and they think that they cannot be learned.

Su Zizhan said: "If you say something when there is nothing, it is enough to gain fame, but you will always suffer from disbelief; if you say something when there is something, it will be enough to gain trust, but it will suffer from nothing."

Thoughts: Saying it when nothing happened is enough as a statement, but it is always difficult for people to believe it. Saying it when it has already happened is enough to make people believe it, but the problem is that it is too late.

A modern army comes first and needs modern weapons, so two machinery manufacturing plants were established in Jiangnan and Tianjin. Most of those two factories are actually arsenals. Second, new weapons must have technical personnel to operate them, so weapons schools are set up and officers are sent to study abroad. Third, a modern army must have modern transportation, so shipyards and telegraph offices were established, as well as railways were built. Fourth, the cost of new-style national defense is several times higher than that of old-style defense. It is absolutely impossible to finance modern national defense with medieval production. Therefore, Li Hongzhang wanted to set up an investment promotion bureau to operate transportation along the rivers and coasts, establish a cloth-making factory to regain his rights, and open coal and gold mines to increase income.

Idea: One link after another.

The leaders of the self-strengthening movement did not anticipate various needs in advance and formulate a construction plan. At first, they only knew the need for modernization of national defense. But after they took one step forward on this road, they found that they had to take another step; and after taking another step, they had to take another step. In fact, it must go to the end before it can take effect.

Thoughts: At that time, the Westernization Movement did not have a comprehensive plan. It was just that local officials realized that they needed to learn Western technology, so they took a step... The same is true for learning and doing things. Maybe they didn't realize it. , but once you get out and start, the rest will fall into place. Everything is difficult at the beginning.

Although Zeng Guofan and other leaders of the self-improvement movement followed a good line, they could not save the country and the nation. What's the reason for this? It lies in their incompleteness. Why aren't they thorough? Partly because they don’t want to be thorough themselves, and mostly because the times don’t allow them to be thorough.

Thoughts: The leaders of the Westernization Movement had an incomplete understanding of the West. Those who have never studied abroad are even rarer. Secondly, they admire Western science and know that science is the basis of machinery, but they themselves have no common sense about scientific machinery. The three only knew technology and did not know Western systems. In fact, their construction undertakings were hindered by the old system and the old spirit.

But if the leaders at that time were newer and wanted to further accept Western culture, would society allow them? Society must give them greater obstacles. The incomplete reforms they carried out have already been opposed by ordinary people. If they go further, the opposition will be even greater.

Thoughts: The people are not awakened.

Now we are not ashamed to be inferior to others, but to be ashamed of imitating others

Thoughts: Prince Gong said

These transcendent discussions of his have aroused Abuse from scholar-bureaucrats across the country. They said that Guo Songtao was a traitor and "had second thoughts towards Britain."

Thoughts: Discussions that are beyond the times are incomprehensible to ordinary people. If they cannot understand, they will naturally not support them. For example, Wang Anshi’s wealth-gathering policies that are beyond the times are reviled by others.

Strictly speaking, people’s superstition is one of the biggest obstacles to our nation’s acceptance of Western culture in modern times.

Tongzhi was in power for thirteen years, from 1862 to 1874. During this period, Germany was unified, Italy was unified, and the central government of the United States also eliminated the independence movement in the South, restoring and strengthening the unity of the United States. That period was a period of great success for nationalism in the West. After the reunification of these countries, great domestic construction and economic development will follow. Before Tongzhi, the only countries that had imperialism abroad were Britain, Russia, and France. After Tongzhi, the United States, Germany, and Italy were added.

The relationship can be said to have three levels: First, capitalist countries are eager to invest in foreign countries.

Any international investment that has a political role is aggressive and imperialist.

Any international investment that has no political role is pure, and both investors and fund recipients can benefit. Therefore, we should adopt the same attitude towards foreign capital as towards water. Sometimes, in some places, and under certain conditions, we should dig wells to draw water, or open rivers to divert water; at other times, places, and conditions , we must build dikes and water.

The second level of relationship between imperialism and capitalism is the promotion of business.

The larger the factory, the more products it produces, and the greater the profit. The difficulty lies in the market. The competitive markets of various countries can be based solely on the quality of goods and low prices, without relying on military aggression or political pressure. But in the late nineteenth century, international trade became less free. Countries not only raise their own tariffs, but also raise tariffs in their territories. In this way, the development of business follows the development of political power. Competing for the market is equivalent to competing for territory. Once an oppressed country loses its tariff autonomy, it will never be possible to develop industry.

The third level of relationship between imperialism and capitalism is the search for raw materials.

Thoughts: Imperialists, in order to find raw materials for industry, will invade aggressively.

As far as we know, in history, various political systems, whether monarchy or democracy; various social and economic systems, whether capitalism or feudalism, all have the possibility of imperialism.

Thoughts: Ultimately, the difference between capitalism and imperialism is political intervention in other countries.

In addition to our headquarters, our territory also includes Myanmar, Siam, Vietnam, Ryukyu, Korea, Mongolia, etc. These places can be divided into two categories: Mongolia and others belong to the first category, which are under the jurisdiction of the vassal bureau, and China has sent ministers to station there. The second category includes tributary countries such as Goryeo and Vietnam. In fact, China's relationship with them is very shallow. They only pay tribute on a regular basis, and the new king must be canonized by the Chinese emperor when he ascends the throne. Furthermore, we do not send permanent representatives to their capitals, nor do we interfere in their internal affairs. We are also very negative on the economic front. We don’t immigrate, and we don’t encourage trade. It’s simply not worth the gain.

This year, Senator Hirobumi Ito was sent to Europe to inspect civil affairs, and Prince Yu Sikawa was sent to Russia. He also dispatched an envoy to Italy to station in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They looked at each other on the road, and their attention was on cultivating the party. . Westerners are also happy to be attached to them, and they often intend to protect them whenever they encounter negotiations between China and Japan. Since the country has a lot of foreign debt and is facing a crisis, the Westerners are protecting it for the sake of self-protection and financial gain, or they may be hiding it.

Thoughts: Li Hongzhang said. Japan uses foreign debt to survive as a country.

It is taboo for military strategists to show signs of plotting before the husband has the tools to plot others.

Yuan Shikai was still under thirty at this time, and suddenly something big happened. He couldn't ask for instructions because of the unreachable telegraph, so he had to act cheaply. He dares to take responsibility boldly and stop the other party's conspiracy. No wonder Li Hongzhang valued him from then on and sent him as the general representative in Korea.

Thoughts: Dare to take responsibility, this is a sign of taking on big things.

International relations are no better than personal relations. They are unreasonable and unsentimental. Countries are all selfish. If they have the same interests, they will unite as friends or alliances; if they have conflicting interests, they will become enemies. Diplomats from all countries are good at planning.

As soon as the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, Russia, Germany, and France united to force Japan to return the Liaodong Peninsula, including Lushun and Dalian. Russia took the initiative, and Germany and France only agreed. At that time, Russian Finance Minister Witte was rushing to repair the Siberian Railway. He found that the eastern section, such as the north bank around Heilongjiang, was too long and the project was too difficult. If it crossed our three northeastern provinces, the route could be shortened and the project would be easier. Much more. At the same time, Vladivostok is too far north and freezes in winter, making it difficult to navigate. If Russia can acquire Dalian and Port Arthur, Russia will have complete military and commercial ports in the Far East. Completing the Siberian Railway and obtaining an ice-free seaport were what Witt wanted to achieve by taking advantage of the opportunity. At that time, France allied with Russia to fight Germany. Russia asked France for help, but France did not dare to refuse. What's more, France also had ambitions to seize the opportunity to develop in the Far East? Germany's calculations are even more precise.

He wants to agree with Russia. Firstly, it can make Russia know that Germany is Russia's friend, and Russia does not need to contact France. Secondly, if Russia develops towards the Far East, it will not cause much trouble in Europe, and Germany will just go along with it. Thirdly, Germany can also ask for assistance from us. price. This is the real motive for the three countries to interfere in the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

Thoughts: Benefits

The scholar-bureaucrat class all believe that the legal system is the legal system of the ancestors, the legal system of the sages and sages, passed down from generation to generation, and can never be changed. Kang Youwei knew that unless he first broke through this ideological difficulty, there would be no way to start the reform. So before the Sino-Japanese War, he wrote an article "An Examination of Confucius' Reform". He said that Confucius was fundamentally a reformer, and the purpose of Confucius' Spring and Autumn Annals was to reform the legal system.

From our perspective today, these two major new policies should have been implemented early. However, during the 1898 Year, even though the national crisis was so serious, the majority of people opposed it. Why? In one word, their jobs were ruined. Everyone knows that stereotyped writing is abolished and practical learning is promoted, but hundreds of academicians, thousands of Jinshi, tens of thousands of Juren, hundreds of thousands of scholars, millions of children, and scholars all over the country feel that all their previous efforts have been wasted. They have spent so much effort hoping to get promoted and make a fortune from them. Once stereotyped writing is abolished, they are in despair. No wonder they wanted to accuse Kang Youwei of being a foreign slave and traitor. As for the officials who were laid off, not to mention, they all hated it with gnashing of teeth.

Strictly speaking, the Boxer Movement can be said to be the third plan to save the country and the nation in modern Chinese history. However, this plan is against Westernization and modernization, and is different from the first and second plans. It's the opposite. The disastrous defeat of the Boxers was entirely natural. The heavy cost of the defeat proves that the Chinese nation must not reverse course if it wants to survive.

After the Wuchang Uprising, within one month, thirteen provinces including Hunan, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Yunnan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Shandong declared independence one after another, and there was no A fierce war breaks out in one place. The Qing government's demise was not brought down by the revolutionary army's military power, but by the disintegration of the Qing Dynasty itself. Each independent province selected representatives, formulated a provisional constitution, and elected Mr. Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president of the Republic of China. Our ancient empire suddenly became the Republic of China.

Thoughts: The Qing government that lost the trust of the people was not overthrown by the revolutionary army with military force, but was disintegrated by the Qing Dynasty itself.

The national level of our people is very low. They originally joined the army not to defend the country, but to solve personal livelihood problems. If they are not trained, they will not know the great loyalty, which is loyalty to the country and the doctrine. They only know the small loyalty, loyalty to the officials who provide them with food and clothing, and loyalty to the leaders of their fellow townsmen or tribesmen.

The overseas students were scattered to various schools and schools in various countries. After returning home, they brought back all the theories from all countries, and they argued with each other, adding ideological divisions to the warlord separatism.

In fact, on the government side, the motivation for the Ming Dynasty's overseas undertakings was the self-interest of the eunuchs.

But in terms of the imperial court - whether it was the Ming or the Qing - the status of foreign missionaries was that of technical experts. The imperial court only used them because they could improve the calendar and manufacture French cannons and red-coat cannons.

How many traces of Western scientific methods and scientific knowledge can we find in the artistic works of the Qianjia, Daoxian and Daoxian eras? Although the missionary work in the seventeenth century had a lot of heroic flavor, it did not cause a spiritual movement in China, and Chinese culture still retained the old outlook.

Thought: Art works can indeed reflect history

Since the seventeenth century, Europeans have invaded Asia in two ways. One road came from the ocean, from south to north, and its aggressor was the Western Maritime Powers; one road came from the land, from north to south, and its aggressor was Russia. The two lines of aggression, combined, form a scissor-like split. All of Asia, including China, is within the mouth of this scissor. This is the basic situation in Asia in modern times, a change that has not happened in thousands of years.

Why did Emperor Kangxi give up his attitude of "unifying all nations and bringing all nations together" at this time?

Thought: We once had diplomacy that treated others as equals.

Emperor Kangxi was erudite and knowledgeable, could read Western writing, and personally presided over the compilation of scientific and technological books.

The great achievements in China’s diplomatic history are obtained from equal treatment and free trade, not from the tradition of independence and self-respect.

In the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684), the Holy Ancestor issued an imperial edict to lift the sea ban. Although this edict allows Chinese people to go to the sea and does not explicitly allow outsiders to import, in fact, no matter which country wants to come to Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, or Ningbo for trade, China will treat them equally.

The British tried their best to express the respect of equals, but the generals added the tone of Ryukyu and Annan to this letter. The generals at that time could not and did not dare to actually translate, and the reason why the officials at that time prohibited outsiders from learning Chinese and using Chinese to exchange books was partly to take advantage of this paper. This diplomacy is childish and comical.

Ma’s diplomatic failure was due to the incompatibility between Chinese and Western concepts of diplomatic relations. We adhere to the concept of "heaven governing all nations" and do not recognize the existence of the so-called "international"; in modern times, the West has gradually deduced international life and the conventions and public laws it requires. Ma's failure proves that China is never willing to give up this traditional concept automatically or peacefully.

The armillary sphere sent by Britain this time is truly the finest product of Western science and technology in the eighteenth century. Why haven’t the Chinese people (both Manchu and Han included) awakened at all? The failure of Ma's cultural mission proves that China will never automatically accept Western science and technology.

In the 21st year of Jiaqing (1816), the arrival of Lord Amherst (Lord Amherst) was a complete disaster. Because of the problem of kneeling and worshiping, Renzong actually issued an order to expel the guests. When I returned from Beijing to Guangzhou, most of the officials along the way looked at me with blank eyes. From then on, Westerners knew that in order to change China's trade system and establish equal diplomatic relations with China, peaceful negotiation would not work.

Japanese, European and American newspapers were not shy about it. They said that the actual number of Soviet troops entering China was less than 3,000; the Chinese army, except for one brigade, had no ability to resist. In Manzhouli and Hailar, the Chinese army not only did not resist, but also looted wantonly before fleeing. The result of the conflict was that they succumbed to Russian conditions. Recently, British public opinion leader Lione Curtis published a book "China's Big Issue", which discusses the relationship between the Sino-Russian conflict and the "September 18th Incident", which deserves our attention. He said: "Japan has come to the conclusion from this incident that the Chinese army will collapse if it takes quick and powerful actions. The relationship between the central and local governments is so alienated that foreign countries can use force to deal with local governments in Manchuria without having to Declaring war on China. ”

Thought: Every action and word of the country will have an impact later.

The atmosphere created by our government and the opposition in recent years is, in a word, arrogance and arrogance. Defeat this today, defeat that tomorrow. We don’t ask whether our abilities grow at the same time as our desires, and we don’t weigh the priorities of events. It seems that the more enemies we have, the better. He allowed himself to be narcotized by his own slogans, and euphemistically called it "revolutionary diplomacy." When the "September 18th Incident" happened, we thickened our skin and asked for sympathy and help from those whom we wanted to defeat in our slogans and slogans the day before yesterday.

Let us not let the anniversary of the death of September 18th go to waste without holding our authorities and ourselves accountable.

Thoughts: The meaning of commemoration is not only the incident itself, but also the heroes and martyrs. It is also important to remember the lessons of being beaten, which is not easy to remember.

It turns out that modern diplomacy is not about taking advantage, but about mediating international interests. The way out for our diplomacy is not to harm the interests of outsiders to promote our own interests, but to try to make the interests of China and foreign countries advance together. At the very least, we must protect our interests from outsiders' infringement.

The progress of the nation cannot rely on the call of a few leaders, nor can it rely on a universal prescription. Actual progress still relies on countless people working quietly and diligently in their daily work.

The difference between the Bunji faction and the martial arts faction is that the Bunji faction advocates that adequate domestic and diplomatic preparations should be made before the war, and that after the war, one should be measured and do not want to exceed what the situation allows.

Second, we should regard the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Russia as a diplomatic seed, and we should put more effort into cultivating it so that it can bear good fruits in the future. The big mistake in our diplomacy is that we only seek to gain, not to cultivate. Personal friendship takes time, let alone diplomatic relations?

Thoughts: Even if diplomacy puts interests first, attention should also be paid to cultivating relations with other countries.

In short, considering China’s internal situation and international situation, we cannot talk about regaining lost ground. At present, our work can only create the ability and qualifications to regain lost ground domestically, and create a situation where it is possible to regain lost ground internationally.

Domestic affairs and diplomacy are like two legs: if the left leg takes a step forward, the right leg must keep up, otherwise, there will be no progress as a whole. If domestic affairs are improved, diplomacy will be easier to handle; if diplomacy is handled properly, domestic affairs will progress more smoothly.

I carry a gun, and you also carry one: I suspect that your gun is against me, and you suspect that my gun is against you. In order to preemptively strike, war breaks out. I'm afraid that your gun is better than mine, and you're afraid that mine is better than yours, so you and I are scrimping on food and clothing in order to improve the quality of the gun barrel - the armament. One day, I think my efforts have achieved considerable results. I believe that my gun is really better than yours, so I will open it to you as soon as possible. This is how the last world war started. You and I don't carry guns now, and we don't care about our own safety, because we have a "public security bureau". There were only losers in the last war, not victors, because Britain and France, which claimed to be victorious, were not only less prosperous and happy after the war than they were before the war, but fifteen years of hard work was not enough to recover. If we use current weapons to stage the Second World War, the result will not be the end of mankind, but also the end of culture. Therefore, after the war, many far-sighted people - no less in big countries than in small countries - unanimously advocated the organization of a League of Nations, a world "public security bureau".

Thoughts: The reasons for opposing "THAAD" and North Korea's nuclear weapons development at that time.

As far as China is concerned, what we suffer from is not that the League of Nations covenant is not in our favor, but that the League of Nations is weak. So, the first way we use the League of Nations is to cultivate the power of the League of Nations. When other countries do not trust the League of Nations, we must especially trust it. When other countries try to undermine the prestige of the League of Nations at every turn, we must respect every move we make and improve the prestige of the League of Nations. If people in other countries say that the League of Nations Covenant is a waste of paper, we should say that the Covenant is a matter of course. If people in other countries say that the League of Nations can only deal with European affairs, we should say that the League of Nations is the arbiter of the world. If there are three million members of the League of Nations in other countries, we should have thirty million. If other countries regard the League of Nations as a subject of special study in diplomacy, we should make the history, organization, and purpose of the League of Nations a required course in primary and secondary schools. Whatever the League of Nations advocated, we endeavored to cooperate. No matter what meeting the League of Nations convenes, we must send representatives to attend, and we must send the most qualified people in the country. Japan has withdrawn from the League of Nations, and our opportunity to participate in the League of Nations has also arrived. Among member states, China is the most qualified to represent Asia. In order to maintain its cosmopolitan nature, the League of Nations will welcome China's cooperation from now on.

Countries that engage in trade are afraid that China itself will not be prosperous and powerful, because as soon as China becomes prosperous and powerful, their commerce will progress.

In diplomacy, do something to others and then ask for something from them.

All serious national disasters are a touchstone for the country and nation. If we want to know the level of knowledge, organizational ability, habits and outlook on life of a country's people, the best way is to see how the nation handles a serious national crisis. As for the government and the army, not to mention, under the national crisis, their strengths and weaknesses are naturally exposed.

People in the world often blame the government for being discordant and refusing to fight; little do they know that if there is peace, the government will be overthrown from within, and if there is war, the government will be overthrown from outside. Those who want the government to declare either peace or war do not intend peace, let alone war. They only want to use the issue of peace and war to overthrow the government.

Ordinary people, moved by emotion and unaware of the role of this, echoed the sentiment. Opposition leaders responded to the government in a politician's way, and the government had no choice but to respond in a politician's way.

A condition for the rejuvenation of the Thirteen Nationalities

It is possible to be an official in China; it is difficult to be an official while doing things at the same time; it is dangerous to do things seriously; to be serious and have a plan, That's simply impossible. "Those who are officials for the sake of being officials, as long as everyone is perfunctory and accommodating in everything, they will stay in their positions for a long time and rise step by step. The most indispensable character in officialdom is tact, and the most valuable skill is coping. This natural elimination is Eliminate the strong and capable among the nation, and retain the weak, mediocre and incompetent among the nation.

Based on what is written in the newspapers, the ideal university of the Chinese people is this: no matter what happens to the faculty. No layoffs; no tuition fees for students, the more subsidies the better, and diplomas are issued on a regular basis. In fact, academics in our country have long been abolished, but the mentality of the imperial examination still exists.

More than ten years ago, when China and Russia jointly organized the China-Eastern Railway, Russia wanted to preserve the name of the joint venture and run it independently, so it gave the Chinese people the well-paid and unencumbered supervisory position. We thought we had taken advantage, so we were satisfied. In modern times, in the so-called Sino-foreign joint undertakings, it is not only Russia that outsiders take advantage of our nation's weakness.

Abandoning the outlook on life and embracing the career outlook is a prerequisite for the rejuvenation of our nation. .

We can ignore the fact that India collapsed in the first few episodes of modern history. There are four other countries that can be compared, namely, China, Japan, Russia, and Turkey. The experiences of these four countries are important*. **Similarly, the modernization of the four countries is top-down.

Idea: Compare the reforms of the four countries horizontally.

Among the four countries, modernization is It is top-down and often goes against public opinion. The promotion of reform must rely on the centralization of political power. From the modernization process of these four countries, we can draw the same conclusion: the more centralized the political power of a country, the better its achievements in modernization. Good. The so-called good means that the more thorough and rapid the reform, without the tyranny of Peter the Great - not only the dictatorship - the old Masco conservative forces cannot be overthrown, and Russia may have to preserve the Tatar and Eastern European culture. Until the turmoil of the Napoleonic War, the precious time of the eighteenth century was wasted.