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(1) The Cradle of the Self-Strengthening Movement’s Pioneers

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The Taiping Rebellion and the Anglo-French Expedition to China set off a shock among the Qing (清朝) officials. They came to realise that the emulation of Western industry and military technology was needed to strengthen their weak country facing foreign invasions. The first Qing reform was thus launched under the rallying call of “self-strengthening” and “wealth-building”. Some significant advocates of this Self-strengthening Movement had deep connection with Macao, a long-established meeting place of the East and West.

Before the First Opium War, Protestant organisations set up the Morrison Memorial School in Macao. Local Chinese children including Yung Wing (容閎) and Tang Tingshu (唐廷樞) were admitted to receive Western education from an early age, who later became significant participants of the reform movement. Zheng Guanying (鄭觀應), another representative of the Western Affairs Camp, travelled between his hometown Xiangshan County (香山縣) in Guangdong Province (廣東) and Macao since his childhood, during which he witnessed the advanced Western technologies and the plight of his people and country. Since 1884, Zheng moved to Macao for retirement and worked on his book Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity (《盛世危言》) that influenced many reformers and revolutionaries in modern China.

What role did Macao play in the Self-strengthening Movement?

See answer below.

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Left: Elijah Coleman Bridgman, a missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), was one of the founders of Morrison Memorial School. Right: A Brief Account of the United States of America published in 1861. Bridgman wrote this book to introduce the United States to the Chinese people. With the promotion of the American missionaries, many Chinese students chose to study in the United States in early years.

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Samuel Robbins Brown (left) was a missionary of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCA). He became the Headmaster of Morrison Memorial School in Macao in 1838. When he returned to the United States in 1847, he took Yung Wing, Wong Fun (黃寬), and Wong Shing (黃勝) with him to study at Manson Academy in East Windsor (right).

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Left: Yung Wing graduated from Yale College (now known as Yale University) in 1854. Right: My Life in China and America written by Yung. Born in Xiangshan County, Yung studied at Morrison Memorial School as a child and later continued his study in the United States as the first Chinese students studying abroad. After returning from the United States, he participated in the Self-strengthening Movement and promoted plans for Chinese children to study in the United States.

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Tang Tinggui (唐廷桂) was born in Xiangshan County and went to Morrison Memorial School with Yung Wing. He once served as the chief translator at the Custom House in Shanghai (上海) and actively participated in developing modern industries.

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Tang Tingshu, the younger brother of Tang Tinggui, studied at Morrison Memorial School with his brother and Yung Wing. An active participant in developing modern industries during the Self-strengthening Movement, Tang Tingshu established the first cement plant in mainland China after his study tour at Green Island Cement in Macao.

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After the British missionary Robert Morrison passed away in 1834, the establishment of Morrison Education Society was advocated by people including the missionary Elijah Coleman Bridgman, John Robert Morrison (Robert Morrison’s son), and Dr. Peter Parker to promote education. Morrison Memorial School officially opened on 4 November 1839. Led by the missionary Samuel Robbins Brown, the school recruited Tang Tingzhi (唐廷植) and Yung Wing as students successively. It was relocated to Hong Kong in 1842 and closed down in 1850. Regarded as the first Western school, it taught classes on Chinese, English, maths, geography, history, and moral education, which were different from those of the traditional Chinese schools.

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     Green Island Cement in Macao

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Green Island Cement was set up by the Chinese businessman Yu Jinzhong (余錦中) on Ilha Verde (Green Island) in northwest Macao in 1886, with British businessmen as shareholders. Stood as the first cement plant in China, the company later established its new plant and branch in Hong Kong in 1890. The newly-established Green Island Cement came to the attention of Li Hongzhang (李鴻章), a Western Affairs Camp statesman, that its cement could be a more economical alternative to those imported for its high consumption during the Self-strengthening Movement construction. He then asked Tang Tingshu to stop by and study the plant operation on his way back to his hometown. Tang later opened Tangshan Cement Factory (唐山細綿土廠), the first cement plant in mainland China, in 1889. Therefore, some scholars regard Green Island Cement as the cradle of China’s cement industry.

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Left: Zheng Guanying at the age of 60. Right: a waxwork of Zheng’s (right) daily life scene in the Mandarin’s House (Zheng Guanying’s Family House) in the Xiangshan Commercial Culture Museum in Zhongshan (中山), Guangdong Province. Born in Xiangshan County, Zheng participated in the management of government-managed enterprises, such as Shanghai Machinery Weaving Bureau and Shanghai Telegraph Bureau during the Self-strengthening Movement. He moved to Macao and worked on his book Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity after he retired in 1884.

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The office building of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company in Shanghai. Li Hongzhang appointed Zheng Guanying the company’s deputy to manage its business in 1882.

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             The Mandarin’s House in Macao where Zheng Guanying wrote the Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity after he retired in 1884.

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Built by Zheng Guanying’s father Zheng Wenrui (鄭文瑞) in 1869, the Mandarin’s House sat on Travessa de António da Silva, Macao. It is one of the historic buildings in the Historic Centre of Macao. Although the Zheng’s family originated from Yongmo Village (雍陌村), Xiangshan County, Zheng Wenrui travelled between his hometown and Macao for business. Zheng Guanying, who accompanied his father, was thus able to witness the cruel coolie trade in Macao, which he would criticise later in his life. His childhood experiences prompted his participation in reforming China to save his people from the dire suffering.

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The Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity (provided by Kiang Wu Hospital Charitable Association, cited from “Macau Memory”, Macao Foundation)

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Zheng Guanying started to write the Words of Warning in Times of Prosperity in 1884. It integrated his previous books Vital Remedies (《救世揭要》) and On Change (《易言》) concerning his initiatives in reforming various areas of the Qing, including political system, commence, military, industry, and education. When Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) was studying medicine in Hong Kong, he visited Zheng in Macao as he travelled there frequently. The volume “Agriculture” in the book was written by Sun. After its publication, the Words of Alarm in Times of Prosperity once was regarded as the best guidance for national salvation. It was of high value to Emperor Guangxu (光緒) and Western Affairs Camp statesman Zhang Zhidong (張之洞), and an influence to many important figures in modern China, including Kang Youwei (康有為), Liang Qichao (梁啟超), Sun Yat-sen, and Mao Zedong (毛澤東).

What role did Macao play in the Self-strengthening Movement?

Macao was an early meeting place for the East and West that made available the exposure of Western knowledge to local Chinese such as Yung Wing, Tang Tinggui, and Tang Tingshu. With their horizons widened, these pioneers became important participants of the Self-strengthening Movement. Moreover, some Western industrial techniques also entered China through Macao, a good example being the cement industry. All these manifest Macao’s significance to the movement.

Photo courtesy of Mr. Alex Lou, Vice Chairman of The Heritage Society (pictures 6 and 9), Macao Foundation (picture 10), Fotoe (pictures 3, 5, 7, and 8), and misc. photo sources.