Modern Chinese History
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A Change in China’s Self-Conception and Worldview
These wars shattered the Chinese conception of themselves and the outside world. Up to 1839, even in the letter to Queen Victoria by Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu, who was in charge of dealing with the sale of British opium in China, the view of the outside world had not changed significantly from half a century earlier, the time of Emperor Qian Long (Chien-lung).
A closed, self-complacent, agrarian and self-sufficient Chinese economy finally encountered the taste of an aggressive, rapidly industrializing society that would not bow to any one else. It was a shock that would send reverberations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. China's defeat in this series of wars, while fostering nationalism, would inflict a tremendous dent on the Chinese sense of cultural identity. Serious questionings of Chinese culture and government would eventually follow. Unlike the Japanese, who would strive to hold onto some "national essence," the Chinese, in the 20th century, would seek the destruction of such an essence, namely, Confucian learning: the systematic teachings by Confucius, a Chinese scholar who lived 2,500 years ago. They would also usher in a regime change: replacing the Manchu imperial government with a republic in 1911. In the 19th century, serious questionings of traditional Chinese practices were made and reforms were proposed.
Proposals for Reform
The 1895 Chinese Scholars' Petition for Reform
Upon hearing of China's defeat by Japan, formerly a country that had looked up to China, many Chinese scholars petitioned the Chinese government for reforms. Prior to 1895, limited reforms had been carried out, primarily in establishing naval shipyards and creating some sporadic schools, which specialized in engineering, translation, and interpretation.The effort was not nationwide because China did not have a nationwide educational system. The traditional form of education was private tutorials, and the Imperial Examination System used to select government officials was based primarily on a familiarity with classical Confucian texts on human cultivation.
The Imperial Examination System
From around 7th century A.D., China started a civil service examination whereby they selected government officials based on a variety of subjects, chiefly Confucian learning texts. By the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), only two subjects remained in the examination: a civics part, focusing on Confucian learning, and a military part (consisting of horse riding, archery, etc.) reserved only for Manchu men. Science and technology, although developed early in China, were ignored by the state. After the Western encroachments into China, more and more Chinese reformers advocated a reform of the imperial examination system, adding subjects such as mathematics and astronomy.
Also, many petitioned for establishing government sponsored schools in China to teach Western subjects of science and astronomy. It was under such circumstances that emperor Guang Xu, the nephew of Empress Cixi and Emperor Xian Feng, the emperor who was forced to flee Beijing (Peking) during the Second Opium War and who died a year after the war came to an end in 1861, decided to launch a series of reforms in China.
The Hundred Day Reform (1898)
In 1898 Emperor Guang Xu, together with his advisers, formulated a series of reform proposals. This planning process, however, only lasted for around 100 days, and the emperor's aunt, Empress Dowager Cixi, expressed disagreement with some of the drastic measures of reform. Of six chief advisers of the emperor, four of them were beheaded, and two fled to Japan upon the decision of the empress dowager. The reform was aborted. Some of its decisions, however, were eventually carried out, such as establishing an imperial university in Peking (Beijing) to serve as the state's organ for an eventual educational reform and as a means to train government officials with a combination of Chinese and Western learning. Larger scale reform would be put underway after the Boxer Uprising in 1902.
Remember Pedia Share
A Change in China’s Self-Conception and Worldview
These wars shattered the Chinese conception of themselves and the outside world. Up to 1839, even in the letter to Queen Victoria by Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu, who was in charge of dealing with the sale of British opium in China, the view of the outside world had not changed significantly from half a century earlier, the time of Emperor Qian Long (Chien-lung).
A closed, self-complacent, agrarian and self-sufficient Chinese economy finally encountered the taste of an aggressive, rapidly industrializing society that would not bow to any one else. It was a shock that would send reverberations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. China's defeat in this series of wars, while fostering nationalism, would inflict a tremendous dent on the Chinese sense of cultural identity. Serious questionings of Chinese culture and government would eventually follow. Unlike the Japanese, who would strive to hold onto some "national essence," the Chinese, in the 20th century, would seek the destruction of such an essence, namely, Confucian learning: the systematic teachings by Confucius, a Chinese scholar who lived 2,500 years ago. They would also usher in a regime change: replacing the Manchu imperial government with a republic in 1911. In the 19th century, serious questionings of traditional Chinese practices were made and reforms were proposed.
Proposals for Reform
The 1895 Chinese Scholars' Petition for Reform
Upon hearing of China's defeat by Japan, formerly a country that had looked up to China, many Chinese scholars petitioned the Chinese government for reforms. Prior to 1895, limited reforms had been carried out, primarily in establishing naval shipyards and creating some sporadic schools, which specialized in engineering, translation, and interpretation.The effort was not nationwide because China did not have a nationwide educational system. The traditional form of education was private tutorials, and the Imperial Examination System used to select government officials was based primarily on a familiarity with classical Confucian texts on human cultivation.
The Imperial Examination System
From around 7th century A.D., China started a civil service examination whereby they selected government officials based on a variety of subjects, chiefly Confucian learning texts. By the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), only two subjects remained in the examination: a civics part, focusing on Confucian learning, and a military part (consisting of horse riding, archery, etc.) reserved only for Manchu men. Science and technology, although developed early in China, were ignored by the state. After the Western encroachments into China, more and more Chinese reformers advocated a reform of the imperial examination system, adding subjects such as mathematics and astronomy.
Also, many petitioned for establishing government sponsored schools in China to teach Western subjects of science and astronomy. It was under such circumstances that emperor Guang Xu, the nephew of Empress Cixi and Emperor Xian Feng, the emperor who was forced to flee Beijing (Peking) during the Second Opium War and who died a year after the war came to an end in 1861, decided to launch a series of reforms in China.
The Hundred Day Reform (1898)
In 1898 Emperor Guang Xu, together with his advisers, formulated a series of reform proposals. This planning process, however, only lasted for around 100 days, and the emperor's aunt, Empress Dowager Cixi, expressed disagreement with some of the drastic measures of reform. Of six chief advisers of the emperor, four of them were beheaded, and two fled to Japan upon the decision of the empress dowager. The reform was aborted. Some of its decisions, however, were eventually carried out, such as establishing an imperial university in Peking (Beijing) to serve as the state's organ for an eventual educational reform and as a means to train government officials with a combination of Chinese and Western learning. Larger scale reform would be put underway after the Boxer Uprising in 1902.
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