Self-reliance new policy

Author: Zhao Rui
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Publishing Time: 2002-08-01
Features: In 1844, as the (initial sounds of the Second Opium War subsided), the Qing Dynasty, still reeling from the shock, was relieved by the peace brought by the "Millennium Treaty" and the security of its frontier regions. Twelve years later, the Second Opium War seemed to come out of nowhere. The root of the disaster lay in the Qing government's collaboration with the invaders. During the Second Opium War, the Qing government signed a series of unequal treaties with the Western powers. In 1844, near Macau in the village of Wanhai, the Qing court signed the Treaty of Wanhai with the United States. The treaty included a clause: "At various ports, the customs and regulations may vary, and it is feared that some adjustments will be necessary in trade and maritime matters. It should be left to the two countries to send representatives to negotiate fairly after twelve years." The Treaty of (Huangpu) with France also contained similar provisions. No one expected that twelve years later, Western powers would actually demand "revisions." What the Qing government did not anticipate was that even greater disasters were already upon them. Britain, in particular, was the most enthusiastic about "revisions," but the three treaties between China and Britain did not include provisions for revisions after twelve years. Therefore, it dug deep and finally found a clause in the Treaty of Humen: "If the Great Emperor of China grants new favors to the various countries in the future, the British should also be allowed to enjoy them equally." This became an unfounded basis. Thus, Britain, France, and the United States joined forces to demand a comprehensive revision of the Treaty of Nanjing from the Qing government, including the full opening of China for trade, legalization of the opium trade, and the permanent of foreign envoys in Beijing. The Qing government, which held China's sovereignty, was under the young Emperor Xianfeng, who had a traditional aversion to Westerners. In his edict, he ordered a response: "Reasonably persuade them to curb their covetousness" and "refute their demands step by step to prevent them from being insatiable." He also stipulated that only one Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Affairs in Guangzhou be allowed to handle foreign affairs, a tactic known as "biding them in." In fact, the unreasonable demands of Britain, France, and the United States were rejected by the Qing government. Unable to achieve their goals through diplomacy, they turned to force. In February 1856, France used the "Augustus Paulus Incident" (also known as the Xilin Incident) as a pretext to negotiate with China, and the war began when they bombarded Guangzhou with cannons but ultimately withdrew due to insufficient forces. The following year, Lord Elgin was appointed as the plenipotentiary envoy and led a joint naval and land force to China, acting in coordination with the French government. In December 1857, a combined Anglo-French force of over 5,600 gathered on the Pearl River, with the American envoy William L. Reed and the Russian envoy Putiatin participating in the treacherous plot to invade China. Ye Mingchen, as the Imperial Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, faced the invasion of the allied forces with "calmness and silence" and made no preparations. He adhered to a policy of "neither fighting nor peace, nor defending, nor surrendering, nor fleeing." This policy could not be described as anything short of unprecedented. In 19th-century China, it indeed had profound historical significance. His desire to "avenge the humiliation and uphold the dignity of the nation" was similar to that of Lin Zexu, but behind his demeanor of "reading a book calmly and sending them away with a smile" lay the stark historical gap between China and the West. The following spring, the Anglo-French forces captured Dagu and advanced to Tianjin. The panicked Emperor Xianfeng surrendered to the military force and signed separate treaties with Britain, France, the United States, and Russia—the Treaty of Tianjin. The main contents of the treaty included: allowing foreign envoys to reside permanently in Beijing; opening 11 additional cities such as Niu Zhuang (later changed to Yingkou), Dengzhou (later changed to Yantai), and Nanjing as ports of trade; permitting foreigners to travel inland, engage in trade, and practice their religions freely; and paying Britain a indemnity of 4 million taels of silver and France 2 million taels of silver. The consequences of the Treaty of Tianjin were obvious, but the clause allowing foreign envoys to reside in Beijing particularly displeased Emperor Xianfeng, as what he could not bear to lose was not money or territory, but the dignity of the Chinese emperor in the eyes of foreigners. He sent Gui Liang to negotiate, willing to trade the clause on envoys residing in Beijing for exemptions on tariffs. However, the Western powers not only refused but also insisted on exchanging the treaty in Beijing. In 1859, the war broke out again over the treaty. The following year, the allied forces invaded Beijing. On June 22, Emperor Xianfeng, along with his empress, concubines, and a group of officials, fled in panic to Rehe, leaving his younger brother, Prince Gong, to negotiate. Under harsher conditions, China signed separate treaties with Britain, France, and Russia—the Treaty of Beijing. In addition to recognizing the full validity of the Treaty of Tianjin, the Treaty of Beijing also included clauses to open Tianjin as a commercial port, cede the New Territories to Britain, and allow Chinese laborers to go abroad. The indemnities to Britain and France were also increased to 8 million taels of silver each. Meanwhile, Russia seized 1.444 million square kilometers of Chinese territory through the Treaty of Hulunbuir, the Treaty of Beijing, and the Agreement on the Demarcation of the Northwestern Frontier. This unprecedented catastrophe was called the "Gengshen Incident" by contemporaries. Compared to the Second Opium War two decades earlier, the old dream of the Celestial Empire was nearing its end. Facing the deepening national crisis, the wise called for a strong response: "This is a 'great anger that has never been seen since the world began,' and all those with a sense of justice would be 'so angry that their hair stands on end.' Today, as a vast and powerful country in the world, we are subjugated by small barbarians. If we do not rise and strengthen ourselves, our Chinese nation will be preyed upon by all the countries in the world—how can we endure it!" Meanwhile, the Qing rulers, caught between the storm of the Taiping Rebellion and the encroachment and threats of Western powers, felt an acute sense of crisis and were also contemplating adjustments in strategy to fundamentally address this unprecedented situation described by Li Hongzhang as a "change unseen in thousands of years." They sought to escape their internal and external dilemmas and the declining state of their rule. In this transformation, Yixian, Wenxiang, and Gui Liang, who were central to the negotiations with the invaders, gradually formed a similar viewpoint: that only by introducing and learning Western naval and artillery technologies and advanced craftsmanship could they effectively gain control over internal unrest and external threats, thereby ensuring the rule of the Qing Dynasty. This group of people with similar ideas were called the "Self-Strengthening Movement" by contemporaries. The Self-Strengthening Movement, which advocated learning from the West, introducing advanced technologies, and establishing military and civilian industries to achieve strength and wealth, spanned from the 1860s to the early 20th century. It is clear that the emergence of the Self-Strengthening Movement was a product of the shock of the two invasions under fire. The Second Opium War, which lasted four years, not only touched China's distant frontier but also brought fear and disaster to the very core of Chinese society, completely shattering the traditional distinction between "civilized" and "barbarian." The term "" (barbarian) had been used to refer to people and things outside the Chinese sphere for thousands of years since Confucius. Because the "" and the Chinese belonged to different cultural levels, the term gradually internalized into a cultural divide. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Europeans crossed the ocean, and the scope of "" expanded to include them as well, such as "Red-haired barbarians" and "White barbarians." The things they brought were often preceded by the prefix "," such as "oceanic silver" and "oceanic medicine." These terms reflected the traditional notion of the Celestial Empire, where "all nations come to pay homage" and "the four barbarians submit." The Westerners had long recognized the profound meaning behind "" (fire) and suggested, "The term '' is not pleasant; it should not be used in the future." As a result, the term "" did not appear in treaties such as the Treaty of Nanjing and the Treaty of Humen. However, in official documents and private writings within the Qing court, the term "" was common. It was not until the Treaty of Tianjin in the Second Opium War that a clear regulation was made: "In all future official documents, whether in the capital or elsewhere, the term '' should not be used when referring to British officials and civilians." This shift from "" to "" in usage reflected a significant change in traditional Chinese thought.