The Northern-South Conflict and the Late Qing Political Situation: 1861~1884 - A Discussion Centered on the Han Ministers of the Military Affairs Office

Author: Lin Wenren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Throughout the Qing Dynasty, the close connection between factional dynamics and political development should be considered a product of the post-1860 era. Since the rise of the Taiping Army and the increasing complexity of foreign relations, the ebb and flow of interaction between the central government and local authorities, as well as the gradual transformation of Han officials into active participants in decision-making, led to the resurgence of factional activities as the decision-making power of the autocratic monarch gradually slipped away. From this, it can be inferred that the power dynamics before the "Gong Chun Conflict" and the "North-South Conflict" in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign (1884) can be named along these two lines. Under the manipulation of Empress Dowager Cixi, who sought to monopolize power, the political situation underwent a dramatic upheaval in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign (1884) due to the Sino-French-Vietnamese conflict. This book attempts to present the internal changes of the decision-making core, the Military Affairs Office, through major internal and external decisions, discussions, debates, and political struggles in the twenty-four years between the "North-South Conflict" and the "Gong Chun Conflict." Numerous historical works or sources often mention this period of history with terms like "Southern Faction" and "Northern Faction," and this book aims to reveal their true nature and their position in the late Qing political landscape. Starting from the "Xinyou Incident" and focusing on the factional issues of the "North-South Conflict," the book explores the internal changes in the personnel layout of the Qing Dynasty's decision-making core from 1861 to 1884. The author is a professor at the Department of History, National Taiwan University of Political Science and Law. The book not only involves a large amount of Qing Dynasty archival materials and private diaries but also presents the author's incisive insights.