Major events that occurred in China in the 1880s included the Westernization Movement, the Sino-French War, the bankruptcy of Fukang Bank, the second Chongqing Lesson Plan, and the establishment of the Beiyang Navy.
1. Westernization Movement
The Westernization Movement, also known as the Tongzhi Restoration and Self-Strengthening Movement. It was a self-rescue movement carried out by the Westernization faction of the late Qing Dynasty from the 1860s to the 1890s to introduce Western military equipment, machine production, and science and technology to save the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
On January 11, 1861, Yixin, together with Guiliang and Wenxiang, presented the "Six Articles of Regulations for Coordinating the Overall Development of Barbarian Affairs" and launched a Westernization Movement with the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army.
After the Xinyou coup in 1861, Cixi re-employed the Westernization faction, which introduced Western advanced science and technology on a large scale and established modern military industries and civilian enterprises. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, the Beiyang Navy was completely wiped out, marking the failure of the Westernization Movement that lasted for more than 30 years.
The Westernization Movement objectively stimulated the development of China's capitalism and resisted the economic import of foreign capitalism to a certain extent, but it did not put China on the road to prosperity.
2. Sino-French War
The Sino-French War, also known as the Qing-French War (French: Guerre franco-chinoise), lasted from December 1883 to April 1885 (the ninth year of Guangxu) November to February of the 11th year), a war caused by France's invasion of Vietnam and then its invasion of China. The first phase of the battlefield was in northern Vietnam; the second phase expanded to the southeastern coast of China.
During the course of the war, although the French navy and army had the upper hand in most battles, they were unable to achieve a strategic victory that determined the overall situation: Although the French Far East Fleet won a complete victory in the naval battle and once captured Keelung, However, due to the setback in the battle of Huwei (now Tamsui Town, Taipei County) and the epidemic, the strategic goal of taking Taiwan Island could not be achieved;
Although the Qing army suffered a disastrous defeat on both land and sea in the early days, Prince Gong Foreman Yi?'s military aircraft department was completely replaced (Jiashen Yishu), but the defense of Taiwan and Hangzhou Bay was successful in the later period, and Feng Zicai led the troops in the battle of Zhennanguan, which caused heavy casualties to the French army. French commander Nigri also Seriously injured. The failure of the war directly led to the collective collapse of French Prime Minister Jouferry and other cabinets. ?
Taking this opportunity, the two countries restarted peace talks, which resulted in the signing of the "New Sino-French Treaty". The Qing side recognized France's suzerainty over the French colonies in Indochina, and the two countries resumed trade. Affected by this war, the Qing government established a province in Taiwan, with Liu Mingchuan as governor, vigorously promoted modern defense and new policies, and actively prepared for the establishment of the Beiyang Navy.
3. Fukang Bank ran and collapsed
After Zeng Guofan's death, Li Hongzhang looked for opportunities to attack Hu Xueyan in order to curb Zuo Zongtang's power. Hu was engaged in the silk export industry and invested 20 million taels of raw silk. He had a unique monopoly. "All silk-breeding villages and towns in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were given a deposit and ordered not to sell to outsiders, but to sell them entirely to the Hu family." In 1882, foreign businessmen Hu's monopoly on raw silk was helpless, "You can't even get a pound or a tael."
The following year, Hu tried to unite Chinese businessmen to monopolize, but no one paid attention. At this time, foreign businessmen were completely angered. Hu's raw silk that had been lying around for a year had to be sold at a discount, resulting in a loss of eight million taels.
At this time, Shanghai Daotai Shao Youlian deliberately delayed Hu Xueyan's salary for twenty days. Hu Xueyan was short of cash, so he transferred 800,000 fortnightly cash from his own bank.
When the news came out, everyone immediately spread the rumor that Hu Xueyan had hoarded raw silk and lost a lot of money, misappropriating Fukang's deposits. The run first occurred in Hangzhou, and Tailai Bank collapsed. Later, a wave of bank runs occurred all over the country.
On December 3, 1883, the Fukang branch in the capital was closed. Then, Zhenjiang, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Jinling, Hankou, Changsha and other semicolons were also closed one after another. Finally going bankrupt in 1884 and heavily in debt, Hu Xueyan dismissed his concubines and servants.
4. The Second Chongqing Missionary Plan
In June 1886, American Christian missionaries purchased land and built houses in Eixiangjing in the west of Chongqing. The gentry Zhao Changxu and others used it to break the ground and create a On the grounds of harming feng shui, they jointly petitioned the county magistrate to stop it, but the knot was not resolved and everyone was indignant.
It happened to be the time for the Chongqing Prefecture Wutong Shengfu Examination. The exam-taking Wusheng took the lead in gathering thousands of people. On July 1, they demolished the house of the American priest in Eixiangjing, and then went into the city to destroy Liangfengya and Congshu. Two English churches and a French church in the city were destroyed, and the residences of priests and believers were burned down.
On July 2, they continued to demolish the houses of believers in the city, mostly targeting "well-off families." Luo Yuanyi, a believer who lives on Yangliu Street, has already recruited thugs to be on guard. The police came to demolish the houses, but 11 people were killed and 22 injured, which aroused great anger among the people in the city.
Within two days, more than 250 Christian houses were burned down in Ba County, Dazu, Tongliang and other places, and all American, British and French churches, bungalows and medical centers in and around Chongqing were destroyed. People's sentiments in various prefectures and counties in eastern Sichuan were fierce, and both civilian and religious parties gathered to fight.
At the beginning of July, Jiangbei Hall religious people gathered with weapons and burned more than 400 houses. People from various tribes in eastern Sichuan formed their own militias one after another, claiming to fight against the rebels. On July 25, Nanchuan and Qijiang militia groups attacked Chongqing Baiguoshu Theological Seminary, causing heavy casualties on both sides.
The Qing court was extremely shocked by the Chongqing religious case and issued two consecutive edicts on August 13 and 23, 1886, ordering Sichuan Governor Liu Bingzhang to investigate and deal with it. Liu Bingzhang appointed alternate prefects Tang Yizu and Luo Xiangkui to investigate, and together with officials from Sichuan Province, Chongqing Prefecture, and Ba County, they negotiated a compensation contract with the French consul and bishop in Chongqing.
On January 11, 1887, the parties agreed on a compensation contract, with the total compensation being 220,000 taels of French silver, 23,000 taels of American silver, and 18,570 taels of British silver, totaling 261,570 taels (including compensation for Dazu and Tongliang). , all compensation will be raised by Sichuan East Road.
On January 15, East Sichuan Province reported on the convictions of Chongqing’s teaching case officers: Luo Yuanyi and Shi Hui were beheaded; Wu Bingnan and He Baoyu were hanged after autumn; the remaining criminals were either beaten with shackles, or Wanted. On December 21, Sichuan East Road, Chongqing Prefecture, Ba County, and the Chongqing Town Governor's Office jointly announced that the Chongqing religious case had been concluded and that the properties in Eixiang Ning and other places had been redeemed.
5. The Beiyang Navy was established
The Beiyang Navy, also known as the Beiyang Fleet and the Beiyang Navy, was formally established in 1888. It is a modern naval fleet established by China. It is also the strongest and largest of the four modern navies established by the Qing Dynasty. There are 25 main warships, 50 auxiliary warships, 30 transport ships, and more than 4,000 officers and soldiers. ?
The Beiyang Navy was formally established on December 17, 1888 (the fourteenth year of Guangxu) on Liugong Island in Weihaiwei, Shandong. The Qing government allocated 4 million taels of silver every year for naval construction.
The fleet strength was once ranked first in Asia and ninth in the world (based on the ranking of the "U.S. Naval Yearbook" of that year, the top eight are: Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Spain, Ottoman Turkey, Italy, and the United States) ).
Baidu Encyclopedia - Westernization Movement
Baidu Encyclopedia - Sino-French War
Baidu Encyclopedia - Fukang Bank's run and collapse
Baidu Encyclopedia - Chongqing Lesson Plan
Baidu Encyclopedia - Beiyang Navy