From 1861 to 1894, the Westernization faction within the Qing government launched a vigorous reform movement across the country, historically known as the Westernization Movement. Also called the Self-Strengthening Movement, it adopted the slogan "Learn from the barbarians' advanced technologies to strengthen ourselves," a phrase first proposed by Li Hongzhang, originating from theI ChingThe movement of heaven is full of power; the gentleman strives to constantly strengthen himself.
The Self-Strengthening Movement first emerged during the Qing government's suppression of the Taiping Rebellion. At that time, the Taiping Rebellion within China had thrown the Qing government into chaos, and in order to crush this massive peasant uprising, the Qing government did not hesitate to seek help from Western powers. It was during this period that the advanced science and technology of Western countries inspired the Self-Strengthening faction, led by Zeng Guofan, to consider learning from and adopting these innovations.
By the end of 1860, Zeng Guofan was the first to propose learning advanced Western technology to build warships and weapons. In 1861, he further suggested to the Qing court that they purchase warships and weapons from abroad and manufacture their own copies. His proposals quickly gained support from Prince Gong (Yixin) and Li Hongzhang. In the subsequent Self-Strengthening Movement, Zeng Guofan, Prince Gong, and Li Hongzhang became the pioneering figures of the Westernization faction.
As representatives of the Westernization Movement, Zeng Guofan and others believed that in order to suppress popular resistance and maintain the rule of the Qing government, it was necessary to achieve self-strengthening, which required introducing advanced Western science and technology while preserving the existing feudal system. They hoped to carry out reforms without altering the feudal framework, using modern technology to uphold feudal rule—this was the principle of "Chinese learning as the foundation, Western learning for practical use" that the Westernization Movement consistently adhered to. This stance was opposed byUniversityThe strong opposition from the conservative faction in court, represented by Scholar Woren, led to fierce disputes between the two sides.
Due to the relatively open-minded thinking of the Westernization faction and their close ties with Western powers, Empress Dowager Cixi weighed the options carefully and ultimately decided to temporarily side with the Westernization faction, hoping that by launching the Westernization Movement, she could resolve the Qing government's ruling crisis.
At that time, the Zongli Yamen (Office of General Management), which was in charge of foreign affairs, became the central institution for carrying out the Westernization Movement. First established in 1861, the Zongli Yamen not only managed diplomacy and trade but also oversaw a range of activities such as opening factories, building railways, mining, founding schools, and sending students abroad. The central representatives of the Westernization faction were key officials in the Zongli Yamen like Yi Xin and Wen Xiang, while local representatives mainly included high-ranking officials such as Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, and Zhang Zhidong, among whom Zhang Zhidong had the greatest influence. However, during the development of the Westernization Movement, the power of the Westernization faction was concentrated more in local regions than at the central level, with the real power holders—the governors-general and governors—being the driving force behind the movement.
The slogan of the early Self-Strengthening Movement was "self-strengthening," during which the Westernization faction established numerous military factories across various regions, including the Anqing Arsenal founded by Zeng Guofan in Anqing, the Fuzhou Shipyard established by Zuo Zongtang in Fuzhou, and the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau set up by Li Hongzhang in Shanghai.
As the first military factory established by the Westernization Movement, the Anqing Inner Ordnance Factory primarily focused on manufacturing ammunition. Among all the factories run by the Westernization faction, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, founded in 1865, was the largest in scale. It mainly produced firearms, ammunition, and machinery, while also repairing steamships. The smokeless gunpowder manufactured there was of such high technical quality that it was unrivaled worldwide at the time, and it also produced rifles comparable to the German Mauser. The Fuzhou Shipyard was the most important modern warship production base in China, praised by Li Hongzhang as the "pioneer." It was the most well-equipped new-style shipyard established by the Qing government, with technical personnel recruited from abroad at high cost. While setting up military factories, the Westernization faction also sent a large number of students abroad to study, so that they could return and serve the country in the future.
In August 1862, with the support of Prince Gong (Yixin), the Imperial Tongwen College (School of Combined Learning) was established in Beijing as a foreign language school aimed at teaching foreign languages and training diplomatic talent. The college offered courses in English, Russian, German, and Japanese, and hired foreign teachers from Britain, France, and the United States. Initially, enrollment was limited to children of the Eight Banners, but later restrictions were relaxed, allowing Han Chinese students to also study there. Graduates of the college typically took up positions in the imperial court, working in translation, diplomacy, and other foreign affairs.
In the later stages of the Self-Strengthening Movement, the slogan shifted to "seeking wealth," leading to the establishment of numerous enterprises across various regions, along with coastal defense planning and the creation of three naval fleets: the Nanyang, Beiyang, and Fujian fleets. During this period, Li Hongzhang founded the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, with its headquarters in Shanghai and branches in Yantai, Hankou, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Kobe, Luzon, and Singapore. Around the same time, Zhang Zhidong single-handedly established the Hanyang Iron Works, which was also the earliest government-run steel enterprise in modern China.
The Westernization Movement, spanning over thirty years, introduced advanced science and technology from Western countries, trained a large number of technical talents, stimulated the development of capitalism in China, promoted the emergence of national capitalism, accelerated the rise of the Chinese bourgeoisie and the expansion of the proletariat, and to some extent curbed the expansion of Western powers in China, ultimately initiating the process of China's modernization. However, the Westernization Movement did not lead China onto a path of prosperity and strength; this vigorous reform movement ultimately could not escape the fate of failure.
The main reason for the failure of the Westernization Movement was its principle of "Chinese learning as the foundation, Western learning for practical use," which never addressed the decayed feudal system and production relations of the time. The Westernization faction attempted to maintain the existing feudal rule while introducing advanced Western capitalist production techniques to preserve the Qing government's authority, a fundamentally contradictory approach that made it impossible for the movement to succeed under such conflicting circumstances. Additionally, the conservative faction at the imperial court created considerable obstacles to the smooth implementation of the movement. From these perspectives, the failure of the Westernization Movement was an inevitable and unavoidable outcome.