The Self-Strengthening Movement

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the self-strengthening movement was a movement in China during the period 1861 to 1894 and how it aimed to save the Qing Government, which had been much weakened by various rebellions and the unequal treaties imposed on China after the Opium Wars. The paper further looks at how the self-strengthening movement failed to achieve its aims and suggest that this failure was mainly due to the fact that the reforms of the self-strengthening movement were not comprehensive enough. More specifically, the paper explains that the self-strengthening movement failed because it changed only a few superficial aspects, while the basic foundation of the goverment remained unchanged.

From the Paper:

"However, a major and basic problem was that Chinese attitudes of contempt for foreigners were so deeply entrenched that all diplomatic attempts were hamstrung. For example, students at Zongli Yamen were often called "devil's slaves." Similarly, China did not at first send Chinese ambassadors abroad, but instead sent Westerners, accompanied by Chinese observers. Accordingly, the first "Chinese" ambassador was an American, Anson Burlingame. Burlingame was sent out in 1869. It was not until 1877 that a true Chinese Ambassador, Guo Songtao, was appointed. This was 16 years after Western ambassadors had arrived to live in Beijing. This time lapse illustrates how hard it was for Chinese to even begin to accept the concept of contact with the outside world. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beeching, Jack. The Chinese Opium Wars. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1976.
• Gardella, Robert, Jane K. Leonard, and Andrea McElderry, eds. Chinese Business History: Interpretive Trends and Priorities for the Future. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1998.
• Giles, Herbert A. China and the Manchus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1912.
• Hashim, Ahmed S. "The Revolution in Military Affairs outside the West." Journal of International Affairs 51, no. 2 (1998): 431+.
• Huang, Ray. China, a Macro History. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1997.

More papers on The Self-Strengthening Movement:

• Term Paper # 131418 : "Failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement of China"
• Analytical Essay # 140089 : "China and the Failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement"
• Analytical Essay # 142568 : "Self-Strengthening Movement in 19th Century China"

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