1. YenningLee
Period6
October6, 2010
Why Did China’s Reform Movements of the 19th
Century Fail?
Life inChinaduringthe late Qingdynastywasharsh and the standardsof livingwere
extremely low.Faminestruckthe nationkillingatotal of an estimated9.5millionto20 million
people from1850 to 1873, as a resultof the populationexplosionandvariousepisodesof natural
disasters. Chinawasindire needof reformsaspolitical problems,corruptionandgeneral
incompetence of governmentofficialshinderedrescueof Chinesecitizensfromtheirharshlives. The
Qingdynasty’sgeneral hatredtowardsthe foreigners,alongwithitswillingnesstoagree tounequal
treatiesandinability toadapttoideological change wasalso responsible forChina’sfailureto
modernize anddevelopforthe goodof itsownpeople. Itisnot tobe saidthat the court of the Qing
dynastystoodby idlywhiletheircitizensufferedastheydidattemptnumerousreformstoimprove
the livesof the people.However,the negativeaccumulationof governmental issues,the
unwillingnesstoletgoof Confucianideologiesandthe Qing’sinabilitytodeal withunequal treaties
ultimatelycausedthe failure of the Chinese reforms inthe 19th
century.
From the beginningthe general goal of reformationinChinahadneverbeentodevelopthe
nationbut“achievementof amore perfectmoral-political order”(Roberts,81). The Qingcourt had
neverintendedformodernizationin Chinaandthe Self-Strengtheningpolicywasneverregardedas
a national policysupportedbythe government. Anexampleof the lackof governmentsupportfrom
the Qingcourt can be exhibitedwiththe initiationof producingwesternweaponsandshipsinChina
duringthe Self-Strengtheningmovement.The failuretodevelopaneffective westernstyle arsenal
and navywas due to the fact that the governmentdidnotprovide fundingforthe projects.These
programswere highlyexpensive andthe workerswere inexperiencedhowever,withoutareadily
available financial resource andproperextensive traininginthese fields,militaryexpansionproved
to be a failure;artillerycreatedwere of poorqualityandthe navycreatedwasmannedby
undertrainedmenwhodidnotunderstandtheirjobs(Roberts,78). The membersof the Qingcourt
were mostlypre-occupiedwithretainingtheirpowerratherthanmakinga consciouseffortto
developthe nation,one of the mostprominentfiguresthatexhibitthisattitude isthe Empress
DowagerCixi.Overthe course of herlifetime,the Qingcourtsaw the ascensionof eitherminoror
incompetentEmperorsof Chinaasa resultof EmpressCixi’sexcessivenepotism.EmpressDowager
usesherinfluence tomanipulate Qingofficialsintodoing herbiddingand (Roberts,64).She was
responsible forcausingrivalriesbetweenprovincial andthe central bureaucracies,anact that
althoughpreservedherstatuswithinthe Qingcourthad destroyedpossibilitiesforaunifiedand
cooperative centralized government. Duringthe time of the Qingrule,the onlyorganizationthathad
evencome close toreceivingsupportfromthe Qingcourtwas the Zongli Yamen.However,asan
office createdwiththe intentionof handlingrelationswithWesternpowers,the Zongli Yamenwas
oftenhadtheiractionsand arrangementscurbedbymembersof the Qingdynasty,namelythe
EmpressDowager. EmpressDowagerisbyno accounts the sole figure toexhibitthe incompetence
of the Qingdynastyhowever,itwas herobviousreluctance tochange reflectedthe ideologiesand
political behaviorsof Qingofficialsatthe time.

2. The inability of the Chinesepeople toletgoof Confucianidealsisalsoafactor inthe failure
of the reformsinChina. The Confucianschool of thought,althoughcanbe regardedasthe verysole
fabricof East Asiancivilizationisaninfringementtomodernizationinaworldwhere the Westisthe
greaterpower. Althoughthe Chinese wantedtoenjoythe successthatwesternershadwiththeir
improvedtechnologyandgeneral standardsof living,the governmentandtoa certainextent,the
people themselveswere hesitantonchangingtheircore Confucianvalues. The superstitiousQing
court initiallyrefusedthe constructionof railwaysfearingthatitwouldthrow the fengshui of the
nationintodisharmony (Roberts,76).Due tothislack of governmentsupport,Chinese workershad
to transportcoal primitivelyand inefficiently,usinghorse-drawntramsandwatercanals.Although
the importance of educationduringthe Tongzhi restorationwas emphasized,the governmentdid
little tochange the curriculum since the philosophyof the reformswere rootedinConfucian
traditions.The introductionof mathematicsandastronomywasrejectedfromthe language school
of Beijingbecausethe grandsecretaryclaimedtheywere“of verylittle use” (Roberts, 75).There
were a fewattemptsattryingto expandthe educationsystemduringthe Self-Strengthening
movementhowever,suchasRongHong’sprogram that sentChinese boystostudyinAmericato
learnwesternsubjectsandthe livelihoodof the west.However,afterwordsreachedQingofficial Li
Hongzhangthat the studentswere becomingAmericanized bothsociallyandpolitically,the program
was cancelled(Roberts, 79). Newsubjectssuchastelegraphoperation,miningandseveral foreign
languageswere eventuallyintroducedinsome schoolshowevertheirimportance wasdownplayed
since the educationsystemstillsurroundedthe traditional civilservice examinations. AsHistorian
Mary Wrightstated,“the performance of [China] wasbrilliantbutthe final resultdismal failure..[a]
constituentelementof the Confuciansystemitself”,the Confuciansuperstitionsthatthe Chinese
heldonto couldnot possiblyhave letthemco-existpeacefullywiththe new foundscience and
technologyof the westernworld(Roberts, 75).Moreover, the Confucianemphasisonharmonyin
societycouldnothave possiblyallowedthe Chinese toadopta capitalisticeconomicbehaviorsimilar
to the West. The conservative nature of the Chinese alsomade itaneasytargetfor the Westerners
to take advantage of.
Chinahas had a strenuousrelationshipwiththe westeversince theirinitial exposure to
Christianmissionaries.The trade trendof foreignerswithChinahadeventuallydestroyedthe nation
bothsociallyandeconomically. Followingthe defeatof the Chineseinthe Opiumwar,the Qingcourt
had no choice butto signunequal treatieswiththe west(andJapanwiththe Treatyof Shimonoseki).
From 1842 to 1901 Chinahadsigned14 treatieswithforeignpowersvaryingfromgranting
extraterritorialitytopayingindemnityforthe wrongstheymayormay not have caused(Tamura,
112). These unequal treaties gave the foreignerspoweroverChinaandwere free totrade anyway
theywanted.Importedforeigngoodswere oftentimeshigherqualitythanthe onesproducedlocally
inChinadue to the advancementof westerntechnologyandcoupledwiththe low costtheywere
available in,Chinasoonfound itslocal businessesdestroyed (Roberts,80). Thisshortage of income
and poorfinancial performance fromthe Chinese asaresultof unequal treatiesmade ithardforthe
governmenttoprotectitsowndomesticindustriessince consumersstrivedtofindthe bestdeals
possible. China’slenience ingrantingtreatiestojustaboutanynationthat demandedforone came
fromthe Qingcourt’sideathat the westernerswouldleavethem alone if theyfollowedtheir
requests(Roberts,113).Althoughthe westernpowersinitialintentionswasonlytobreakChinese
isolationinordertotrade withthem,the Qingcourt’s carelessnessingrantingunequaltreaties
causedthe failure of China’seconomywhichwasessentialtothe reformeffort(Padmanban,349).

3. The Qing dynasty’sattemptatreformstotackle the threat of westernpowersinthe midto
late 19th
centurywas generallyunsuccessful mostlydue tothe factthat the governmentdidlittleto
supportthese reforms.WithvariousQingfiguressuchasthe EmpressDowagerCixi,the actionsof
the Tongzhi restorationandSelf-strengtheningmovementwere onlysupportedtoanextentthatthe
Qingofficialswouldstill be able toretaintheirpositionsinpower.The Self-Strengtheningmovement
had neverbeenanational policyora clearsteptowardsmodernizationandindustrial development.
While the Tongzhi restorationwasanattempttoreaffirmoldtraditionsandrevitalize the
governmentratherthan modernizationandthe Chinesepeople wereafraidtodevelopnew
technologiesdue toage oldConfuciansuperstitions.The unequal treatiesimposedontoChina by
westerntradersalsocontributedtoeconomicstrife inthe nation andhinderedanygovernmental
plansfor national development. The Qingdynasty’sreluctance tochange the nationfora better
good,the local citizen’slackof moderneducationandirrational Confuciansuperstitionandthe
economicdisadvantage imposeduponChinabyunequal treatiesthatcausedthe reformeffortsof
the 19th
centuryto fail.