From the 1860s to the 1890s, the Qing government was hit by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Nian Army peasant uprising, and was defeated again by foreign invaders in the Second Opium War. Faced with this situation, some insightful people in the camp of the feudal ruling class, such as: among the central officials, the Prime Minister's Yamen Minister Yi?, the bachelor Gui Liang, the Minister of Household Affairs Wenxiang, etc., and among the local officials, Liangjiang Governor-General Zeng Guofan, Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang Zuo Zongtang, Governor-General of Zhili Li Hongzhang, and later Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang were represented. They felt the "power of ships and artillery" from foreign countries, and thus realized that whether to save the nation from danger or to protect themselves They can no longer stick to the outdated "laws of their ancestors" when governing. The only way is to learn from the West and introduce advanced production methods and material civilization; they also inherited the ideas of Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan of "learning from the foreigners and developing skills to control the foreigners" , this formed a trend of learning from the West with the purpose of saving the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty, resisting aggression and strengthening itself, with the introduction of advanced Western production technology as the main content, and with the purpose of "Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application", which is known in history as " Westernization Movement", formerly known as "Tongguang New Deal" (meaning the "New Deal" held during the Tongzhi and Guangxu years, also known as the "Self-Strengthening New Deal").
In the early days of the Westernization Movement, the modern military industry and the new navy were prepared under the slogan of "self-improvement." At the end of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Zeng Guofan established the "Internal Ordnance Institute" and "Internal Ordnance Institute" in Anqing. "Manufacture foreign guns and cannons, and store them extensively and at a low level" was the starting point for the Westernizationists to establish a military industry. In the third year of Tongzhi (1864), the Anqing Ordnance Institute moved to Nanjing with the army. Although the Ordnance Institute in Anqing was mainly engaged in handicraft manufacturing, it was a major weapons supply center for the Qing army at that time.
In June of the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang bribed the Americans in Hongkou, Shanghai, on the basis of the material resources, manpower and technical experience of the Anqing Ordnance Institute and the Shanghai and Suzhou Foreign Artillery Bureaus. The Qiji Iron Works founded in the region also included the "tool-making tools" purchased by Rong Hong from the United States, and the "Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau" was formally established, referred to as "Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau", "Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau", "Shanghai Bureau". The bureau was led by Cole, the former director of Qiji Factory, as the manufacturing technical director. All its affairs were initially planned by Inspector Richang of Shanghai Customs Department, and later Shen Baojing of Hubei Customs Department was appointed to supervise it. The founding expenses were approximately more than 200,000 taels of silver. In the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau moved from Hongkou to Gaochang Miao Town in the south of Shanghai for expansion due to the narrow factory site. By the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), 15 factories had been built, and a dialect hall, There is one artillery battalion, one engineering office, one translation office and more than ten various affiliated institutions. The construction funds were 2 million taels of silver. Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau is engaged in arms production, ship repair and construction, machine manufacturing, translation of scientific and technological books and training of foreign language talents. The guns and ammunition produced were supplied to the garrisons in the north and south, "all over the country, with a total of 70 or 80 units" (mainly the Hunan and Huai army). In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Li Hongzhang moved the Suzhou Foreign Artillery Bureau sponsored by Magri to Yuhuatai, Nanjing, and expanded it into the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau, referred to as "Ning Bureau", which mainly produced guns, cannons, bullets and military supplies. By the first half of the 1980s, there were more than ten factories, using about 500,000 taels of silver. The guns and ammunition they produced were mainly supplied to the garrisons in the North and South. In the fifth year of Tongzhi (1866), Zuo Zongtang founded the Shipping Bureau in Fuzhou, which was later taken over by Shen Baozhen. The Shipping Administration Bureau consists of three parts: ironworks, shipyards and schools. At first, the Frenchmen Ige and Dirk were appointed as chief and deputy supervisors, employing 1,700 to 2,000 workers. The original plan was to build 16 ships within five years, with a start-up cost of about 400,000 taels, and a monthly shipbuilding cost of 53 taels. Production began in the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), and by the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), Japan had built 15 ships. At this time, the Shipbuilding Bureau had 16 factories and 3 slipways, and had spent 1.35 million taels of silver. In the first year of Guangxu (1875), the Shipping Bureau was taken over by students from the Art Bureau, and they began to imitate old wooden ships. Beginning in the second year of Guangxu (1876), new machine-powered steamships with 750 horsepower were built. In the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), three cruise ships with 2,400 horsepower and a displacement of 2,200 tons were built for the Nanyang Navy. Boat.
In the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), Wang Yi? of Gongxin approved and Chonghou, Minister of Commerce and Commerce of the Three Countries, set up the "Tianjin Arms and Machinery Bureau" in Tianjin. In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, took over and renamed it Tianjin Machinery. Manufacturing Bureau, referred to as "Tianjin Bureau". Soon, Li Hongzhang dismissed the secret official of the foreign general office and appointed Shen Baojing as the general office. Tianjin Machinery Bureau mainly produces gunpowder, guns, and bullets, which are supplied to the Huai Army and Zhili Army for training. By the first half of the 1980s, more than 1.1 million taels of silver had been used.
During the same period, many arms factories were set up in various places. "If only the provinces imitate it, it cannot serve the needs of each province." By the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), the Qing government had set up 20 factory bureaus. , except for the closure of Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, the other 19 are distributed in 12 provinces and autonomous regions across the country. In the more than 30 years from the 1960s to the 1990s, the Westernization faction established a military industry, which used 45 million taels of silver, all of which were paid by the state treasury; all bureaus and factories were owned by the government; the guns, ammunition, and ships produced were all owned by the Qing government. The allocations were distributed to the Hunan and Huai armies and the coastal provinces for use; each factory and bureau had groups of officials, and the organization was huge. The Westernizationists first hired foreigners when they founded Westernization.
During the Westernization Movement, the Westernizationists also planned to build a new navy. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Prince Gong Yi? asked the British to "help purchase European warships." In the first year of Tongzhi (1862), Su Chongguang, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, negotiated with the British to purchase warships from Britain. In the second year of Tongzhi (1863), a fleet of eight large and small ships, led by British naval officers, arrived in Shanghai. Since the British usurped the command of the Chinese navy, the Qing government refused to accept it, and the fleet was disbanded. The Qing government spent more than 1.6 million taels of silver on its naval activities, which failed. In the fifth year of Tongzhi (1866), the Qing government approved Zuo Zongtang’s suggestion of “setting up a bureau to supervise shipbuilding” and decided that Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau would each focus on shipbuilding and imitate the West in manufacturing warships to equip the navy. In the 10th year of Tongzhi (1871), the two factories respectively built several warships such as "Huiji", "Chehai", "Caojiang", "Dieffenbachia" and "Fuxing". In the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), Ding Richang proposed the establishment of three naval divisions: Beiyang, Dongyang and Nanyang. In the first year of Guangxu (1875), it was initiated by Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang, Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, and others. With the approval of the Prime Minister's Office, four million taels of silver were allocated to prepare naval military expenses and prepare to build three branches of the South, North and Guangdong within ten years. Later, due to limited financial resources, the navy decided to "first establish a naval force in Beiyang." After Shen Baozhen's death, the power of the navy was concentrated in Li Hongzhang. He set up a naval camp office in Tianjin to manage naval affairs; in the sixth year of Guangxu's reign, (1880) The Naval Academy was established in Tianjin to train Beiyang naval officers. At the same time, he spent 3 million taels of silver to purchase two ironclad ships, "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" from Germany. In the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), Li Hongzhang sent Ding Ruchang to command the Beiyang Navy. In the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), the Sanyang Navy began to take shape. The Nanyang Navy had about 19 warships, the Beiyang Navy had about 15 warships, and the Fujian Navy had about 11 warships. In June of the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), the Sino-French War broke out. In August, the French Far East Fleet destroyed all the ships of the Fujian Navy and destroyed the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. The Nanyang Navy also suffered losses, and only Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Navy retained its strength. Li Hongzhang also ordered the "Zhiyuan" and "Jingyuan" from the United Kingdom and purchased the "Jingyuan" and "Laiyuan" from Germany, which strengthened the strength of the Beiyang Navy. Before and after this, Li Hongzhang built Daku and Lushun docks for the repair of ironclad ships. In the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), the Beiyang Navy was officially established. Ding Ruchang was appointed as the admiral of the navy and owned 22 warships. Military training was controlled by the British and Germans. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Beiyang Navy was completely destroyed in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, ending the history of the Beiyang Navy.
The Westernizationists needed huge amounts of money to launch military industries, which made them feel that "everything they have tried is still not enough." They believed that foreign capitalism became rich through industry and commerce and grew stronger from wealth. Seeking wealth" is a prerequisite for "seeking strength". Therefore, the Westernizationists imitated the West and carried out the "seeking wealth" activity of establishing civilian industries in order to achieve the purpose of "promoting commerce, increasing wages, and striving for self-improvement."
Since the 1970s, the Westernization Movement has adopted the form of government-run, government-supervised and commercial-run, and government-business joint ventures to establish civilian industries, including mining, refining, textiles, transportation, etc., and by the 1990s In the medium term, we will set up dozens of enterprises.
In the 11th year of Tongzhi (1872), Li Hongzhang sent water transport committee member Zhu Qiang to establish the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau. This was the beginning of the Westernization movement's establishment of civilian industry. The Steamship Merchants Investment Co., Ltd. purchased more than 730,000 taels of investment shares, the customs allocated more than 1.9 million taels of official funds, and the government supervised the business. The General Administration is located in Shanghai, and has docks in Shanghai, Tianjin and other places to transport rice, etc. on behalf of the government. In the second year of Guangxu (1876), Li Hongzhang sent Tang Tingshu to organize the Kaiping Mining Bureau. In September of the third year of Guangxu (1877), it was officially established in Kaiping. The investment shares were more than 800,000 taels of silver, and the government supervised the business operation. The well was opened in the third year of Guangxu (1878). The following year, foreign machines were used and new methods were mined. In the seventh year of Guangxu's reign (1881), the Kaiping Mining Bureau produced "as much as five to six hundred tons" of coal every day. More than ten years later, the mining volume increased, and "one or two thousand tons of coal can be produced every day", and "the quality of the coal is excellent, best in the location." In the fifth year of Guangxu's reign (1879), Li Hongzhang tried to set up telegraphs at Dagu and Beitang Haikou forts to send messages to Tianjin, "ordering all battalions to respond immediately." In September of the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), Li Hongzhang established the General Telegraph Bureau in Tianjin, with Sheng Xuanhuai as the general office. The telegraph line went south along the canal from Tianjin to Shanghai and other places, and later lines were set up from Shanghai to Nanjing and Nanjing to Hankou. In April of the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), the telegraph office was changed to a government-supervised commercial office. Investment shares are worth 800,000 yuan. In the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), the General Telegraph Bureau moved to Shanghai and set up telegraph branches in various places. In the 16th year of Guangxu (1890), which was the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the General Telegraph Bureau, telegraph lines had spread all over the country. In the seventh year of Guangxu's reign (1881), the Mohe Gold Mine in Heilongjiang was established, with commercial shares of 70,000 taels of silver and official funds of 130,000 taels of silver. The government supervised the commercial affairs, and Li Hongzhang sent Li Jinyong, the alternate prefect of Jilin, to handle the matter. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu's reign (1889), new machines were used for mining, with an annual output of 18,961 taels of gold. In the same year, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, presided over the establishment of Hanyang Iron Works, and the Qing government allocated 2 million taels of silver as funding. In the 16th year of Guangxu (1890), construction started at the foot of the Dabie Mountains. It was completed in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), and ten factories were built. The government office had no money to wait for, so it was later taken over by Sheng Xuanhuai and changed to a government-supervised commercial office. In the second year of Guangxu (1876), Li Hongzhang and Shen Baozhen, the governor of Liangjiang, began to discuss the layout of Shanghai machine weaving. In the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), Zheng Guanying was sent to organize it, and it was established in the eighth year of Guangxu (1882). The investment capital is 500,000 taels, and it is a joint venture between government and businessmen. The bureau enjoys a ten-year patent and does not allow private imitation. Construction started in the 16th year of Guangxu (1890) and business is booming. In the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), there was a fire and the loss was about 700,000 taels of silver. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Huasheng Textile Factory was established, with ten branches. In the 16th year of Guangxu's reign, when Zhang Zhidong was the governor of Huguang, he moved the original Guangdong Weaving Layout to Wuchang and created the Hubei Weaving Layout. At the end of August in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), Zhang Zhidong approved the establishment of an organizational layout in Guangdong during his term as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Later, Zhang was transferred to the governor of Huguang, and the organizational layout was subsequently moved to Hubei. Due to difficulties in raising funds, Zhang Zhidong Zhidong successively borrowed 160,000 taels of silver from the British HSBC Bank and began to build the factory in the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891). Construction was officially started at the end of the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892), and there was still a surplus.
In the twenty years after the 1970s, the Westernizationists established 41 capitalist enterprises. By the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), 30 enterprises still existed. The capital is approximately 39 million yuan. This was China’s early bureaucratic capital.
In addition, since the first year of Tongzhi (1862), the Westernizationists have successively established more than 20 modern schools, including the Tongwen Museum in the Capital, the Shanghai Dialect Museum, the Fujian Shipbuilding School, and the Tianjin Naval School, to cultivate foreign languages. and modern scientific and technological talents. From the 11th year of Tongzhi (1872) to the 12th year of Guangxu (1886), the Qing government also sent nearly 200 students to European and American countries.
With the destruction of the Beiyang Navy in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, the Westernization Movement also declared bankruptcy.