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Why did China continue to decline in spite of a large intellectual community at the time of the Opium War? |
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See answer below. |
Gong Zizhen, a mid-Qing thinker and writer, grew up to be a knowledgeable man under the guidance of his grandfather Duan Yucai (段玉裁). Having witnessed the national decline and looming social crisis during the Jiadao years (first half of the 19th century), Gong Zizhen began to study governance and advocate political reform. His efforts would influence later reform movements. He penned the compilation titled Jihai Miscellaneous Poems (己亥雜詩), which contains the famous lines “Bring on the wind and thunder to invigorate China; how sad it is that its ten thousand horses have all fallen silent; I entreat the heavens to rouse itself again; defy convention and bestow us with talented people.” He’s also famous for his essay A Pavilion for Sick Plum Trees (病梅館記) which expresses his wish for reform and modernization. A complete collection of his works has been published for posterity.
The Gazetteer of Four Continents, a translation of Scottish geographer Hugh Murray’s Cyclopaedia of Geography, gives a brief account of the geography, history and politics of more than 30 countries on four continents and, as China’s first systematic examination of global geography, a trendsetter. For his contribution, Lin Zexu is now regarded as modern China’s “pioneer who sought to understand the world.”
The preface of the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms states that the book aims to help readers “learn about skills that the barbarians excel in so as to subdue them,” which means learning the West’s advanced technologies in order to use them in defense of China. Unfortunately, the book had little impact on China; but was instead held in high regard in Japan after making its way there, and helped inspire Japan’s Meiji Restoration. In 1862, a delegation of the Japanese Bakufu government visited China for a study mission. Takasugi Shinsaku, a delegate, wanted to buy the published works of Lin Zexu and other enlightened Chinese intellectuals, e.g. the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, in a Shanghai bookstore, but none were in stock. He later wrote in his diary, “The mindset of the Qing people is vastly different from the right and standard one Chinese people used to have; they are entranced by empty words and have little interest in practical knowledge.”
Protest from the Jiaobin Dwelling touched on various areas including the political system, military, culture, manufacturing and economy of the West and proposed learning from them. The book’s recommendations for “adopting Western knowledge, manufacturing Western implements, collecting more revenue and reforming the imperial examination system” influenced the development of the Self-Strengthening Movement. Its view of “adopting Western methods for enriching and strengthening the country while retaining Chinese morals and the Confucian ethical code” became the basis of Zhang Zhidong’s (張之洞) call to “pursue Chinese studies for core values while learning Western knowledge for practical application.” Protest from the Jiaobin Dwelling significantly influenced the theoretical framework of the Self-Strengthening reforms that the Qing dynasty would later carry out.
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Why did China continue to decline in spite of a large intellectual community at the time of the Opium War? |
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From the late 17th century through the 18th century, China was a prosperous country. However, by the 19th century China was in decline characterized by a failing economy coupled with poor governance, widespread corruption, an incompetent military and endless civil unrest. By the mid-Qing dynasty, China had become complacent and backward looking; people of talent, sophistication and vision were often dismissed. Lin Zexu was in exile because of his hardline anti-opium policy; Gong Zizhen resigned because of his frustration over incompetent leaders; Wei Yuan was discharged (and turned to Buddhism) for his “delayed reports” and “mishandled intelligence,” while Xu Jiyu was repeatedly denounced and demoted. In truth, Chinese elites had little to offer to the modernization project for as long as they continued to embrace classic Confucianism to the exclusion of all other intellectual perspectives. They were to be rudely awakened by a series of failures. |
