Difficult Diplomacy -- A Study of the Qing Dynasty's Chinese Envoy to the United States (Political and Social Changes in Modern China)

Author: Liang Biying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: "The Academic Research Series on 'Political and Social Changes in Modern China'" is the final outcome of the "985" research project at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. It focuses on studying the relationship between political and social changes in modern China. Politics is a broad and complex concept. This project takes a broad definition of politics, expanding the research scope to political thought, political institutions, international environment, foreign relations, and important political figures and events in modern China. It combines politics and society to examine the relationship between politics and the economy, the impact of politics on education and talent cultivation, the role of politics in social stability and civilization progress, and the role of politics in foreign relations, especially the political attitudes of some important figures and the social impact of their governance theories, policies, and methods. It aims to explore the interactive relationship between politics and society from multiple perspectives and levels using political sociology theories and methods, and to measure and evaluate the correctness of political thought, propositions, and the governance of political figures based on the stability, progress, development, and level of civilization of society. This is a new attempt. The politics of modern China was formed under the political framework of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. On one side, capitalistic imperialism and feudalism, as well as bureaucratic capitalism, held the ruling power over China; on the other side were the vast patriotic and revolutionary people and various intellectuals pursuing progress and keeping pace with the trend of the times. These two sides represented two social forces in China and reflected two prospects for modern China. Their political ideas, thoughts, and proposals for reforming China constrained the development direction of modern China. The politics of modern China is the central content and basic background for examining the social transformation of modern China. In modern China, political power is held by the broad masses of the people, and the national power center is the central government led by the Communist Party of China. The state focuses its efforts on developing the economy, culture, and education, rapidly advancing Chinese society. Previous research on modern Chinese history has achieved fruitful results and significant breakthroughs in various aspects, but there are also shortcomings. For example, the key hub controlling the social transformation of modern China—political change—has relatively weak research on its social impact, and there is an urgent need for research and higher requirements. There is also a trend of shifting research focus from various social aspects back to the center and an objective requirement for improving research from specific studies to a holistic grasp. Previous political history research focused on class struggle and revolutionary movements, unidirectionally explaining the turmoil and unrest caused by political change in society, as well as its impact on the economy, culture, and education. To some extent, this limited the expansion of the field of modern Chinese political history research and the improvement of its theories. This project takes the interaction between political and social changes in modern China as the basic starting point. Building on existing micro-studies, it establishes an innovative and era-specific macro-explanatory system, with the expansion of observational scope and the deepening of research levels as the main guide. Through the combination of macro and micro research and the innovation of methods, it aims to enhance the level of research and open up new paths. The history of modern Chinese politics is an important aspect of modern Chinese history research. Overall, past research has been characterized by both a large number of achievements and severe shortcomings, leaving considerable room for further development. Sun Yat-sen University has a strong tradition and advantage in the study of modern Chinese political thought, political institutions, political figures, and international relations. It leads the domestic and international academic community in research on Sun Yat-sen and modern Chinese politics, adheres to academic norms, and has long fostered a spirit of seeking truth and cooperation among scholars, showing great potential in multiple aspects. The research on the "Political and Social Changes in Modern China" project involves senior professors and doctoral supervisors, postdoctoral researchers, and the rest are doctoral graduates, forming a research team with a mix of experience levels. Each member explores new frontiers based on their interests and research findings. Many of the works are their doctoral theses, which received excellent evaluations from their dissertation committees after repeated revisions before being published. They have conducted specialized research on the relationship between modern Chinese politics and society from different perspectives and angles, each with its own characteristics and strengths, demonstrating foresight and academic rigor. The "Academic Research Series on 'Political and Social Changes in Modern China'" presented to readers is the result of their hard work. It is hoped that these achievements will help and inspire people to understand the relationship between politics and social change from new angles. Of course, we also expect criticism and corrections from readers and the academic community. Modern China was a time of earth-shaking changes, and Chinese diplomacy also moved from the traditional feudal "barbarian affairs" to modern diplomacy. Whether in terms of diplomatic concepts, institutions, or organizations, there were tremendous changes. Under the overall trend of this development in diplomatic relations, the author chose the perspective of the late Qing dynasty's Chinese Envoy to the United States to show the difficult development of modern Sino-US diplomatic relations.