Chapter 43 Letter to the Imperial Court to do Western Affairs

Li Hongzhang was determined to manage Westernization.Many vigorous events in the Westernization Movement, which were later called by historians, were directly or indirectly related to him.Many of his activities and achievements have become the most important part of the Westernization Movement.The Westernization Movement emerged in the 1860s.Due to the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the defeat of the Second Opium War, some farsighted people put forward the idea of ​​learning from the advanced affairs of the West.Although they have different backgrounds and statuses, they have one thing in common, that is, while learning from the West, they do not abandon China's inherent traditions.Inside the imperial court, some ministers also participated in the Westernization Movement.Among them, the more famous ones are Yixin, Wenxiang, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, and so on.Those who advocated the Westernization Movement were called the Westernization School in modern history.Li Hongzhang began to buy weapons from foreigners since he knew the magical effect of sharp weapons, but the weapons he bought were expensive and he could not use them.As a result, Li Hongzhang had a strong desire to establish China's own military industry.And he believes that it is more important to train a large number of corresponding military personnel.The talented and careful Li Hongzhang once calculated an account: a round of ordinary British shells sold for 30 taels of silver in the market, and 10,000 rounds of copper hat shells sold for 19 taels of silver.Why did the Qing Dynasty give the vain silver to foreigners?

Li Hongzhang's good wishes were immediately met with opposition from all sides.Li Hongzhang wrote to the Prime Minister’s Yamen headed by Yixin, saying: Chinese scholar-bureaucrats indulge in the words and sentences of articles and practice writing small characters every day, while military generals are mostly vulgar and stupid people.As for foreign weapons, some people think that there is no need to learn them, and some people think that they cannot learn them.In the memorial, Li Hongzhang strongly expressed his opinion, and described the magic of steam power operation in this way: machines such as turning wood, perforating, screwing, and casting bombs are all coiled in a steam furnace, filled with water and blazing charcoal, and the water is full of steam. The opening is from a copper throat to the air cylinder, and an iron pillar is connected in the cylinder, which rises and falls with the air, moves the iron wheel, and the wheel is tied with a belt, which is tied around the axis and connected to each other. Indulgence does not rely on human movement.In the Qing Empire, where almost no one knew that there was a steam engine in the world, Li Hongzhang was able to observe the operation principle of the steam engine so carefully, which is really amazing.

The long letter written by Li Hongzhang to the Prime Minister's Yamen has more than 3,000 words.This letter is an important document of modern China's response to the West and the initial expression of Westernization thought, and it is naturally one of the important texts in the history of modern Chinese thought. Li Hongzhang's achievements in emphasizing foreign wares were highly appreciated by Yixin. In Yixin's memorial to the emperor, he paid great attention to Li's hiring of Miying and Fayangbian's coach Bingyong. The academic system is full of praise, and he thinks that this sharp weapon is enough to break the fortress and win the victory.The south of the big river is clarified one by one, and the speed of effect is nothing short of a thing.Therefore, he is also very interested in foreign wares. When the ministers heard that he was successful in making this wares, they immediately sent a letter to inquire.This long letter from Li Hongzhang is a reply to Prince Gong's special letter.

Although this letter is long and seemingly loose, it has a strict internal logic.More importantly, we can see a change in the concept of introducing a new knowledge. In the first half of this letter, Li Hongzhang gave a detailed introduction to bombs, bombs and steam engines. It is vivid, simple and intuitive, just like a primary school student who has just learned about novelty is patiently explaining to other children.Thinking about it now, these were once the most serious official documents, and how those princes and ministers read these words seriously makes people laugh.It can be seen that those relatively enlightened princes and ministers were naive when they first opened their eyes to see the world, and it can also be seen that they were eager to understand the mysteries of strange skills, which was different from that of most people from top to bottom at that time. It is in stark contrast to seeing acrobatics as obscene.The reason why Li Hongzhang spared no expense in describing foreign wares must have a deeper purpose.

After Li Hongzhang finished introducing the foreign wares, he naturally began to explore the deeper knowledge and technical background behind the foreign wares. Although it is superficial, it is a sign that Chinese officials have further deepened their understanding of the knowledge pedigree of Western learning.Moreover, he began to compare certain aspects of Chinese and Western studies, which is also an important symbol of the comparison between Chinese and Western cultures.Therefore, his exposition is indeed extremely important, in fact, this is also the most important purpose of his letter.

He pointed out that Zha Xishi made utensils, participated in mathematics, devoted himself to contemplation, and changed every day, so it can change from month to year and from year to year.In the past, China’s introductions to Western guns were not only very few in number, extremely brief, and all of them were superficial and speculative.The reason why Western weapons are so powerful and accurate, all of them have certain reasons, which cannot be learned by simple taste.He emphasized that things in the world will change if they are poor, and if they change, they will be connected.Chinese scholars are obsessed with the accumulated habit of chapters and small letters, and warriors are so stupid and careless, so that what they use is not what they have learned, and what they have learned is not what they use.If there is nothing to do, he will sneer at foreign sharp weapons as strange skills and obscene skills, thinking that there is no need to learn them.Sometimes people are surprised that foreign sharp weapons become strange and miraculous, thinking that they cannot learn.I don't know that foreigners have regarded firearms as the life and soul of scholars for hundreds of years. Once they suddenly understand, they can coordinate yin and yang with good fortune, and they can direct them as they wish and do what they want quickly.He further pointed out that one of the reasons why this kind of utensil making has developed in the West is that the craftsmen who created it are respected by the whole country instead of Quyi.However, the science of making utensils has never been listed as authentic in the knowledge pedigree of China, so the status of the craftsmen who created it is low, and the folk arts are in the same stream.This kind of comparison has the meaning of sociology of knowledge, which was really rare at that time.Li Hongzhang had to say that the Chinese civil and military system is far superior to Westerners in everything, but the purpose is to emphasize that firearms alone are beyond reach; and the purpose of emphasizing that firearms are impossible to reach is to point out another reason for the difference between China and the West, that is, traditional Chinese principles and Separation of things: Confucianists understand their principles, craftsmen learn their things, and their attainments do not seek each other, so the effects cannot be combined.It was not easy to criticize Confucians in some way.On the contrary, Western learning can not only create but also seek understanding, which means reasoning.That is to say, in fact, the west is more in line with the traditional Chinese ideal of communion between directors and directors, so the making of utensils can be developed.Making utensils is not an invisible utensil that Chinese tradition despises, but there are profound truths in it.

At that time, Japan had not been learning from the West for a long time after its founding, but Li Hongzhang already felt that Japan’s rise was imminent, so he took Japan as an example to encourage the people of the country: Japan was also invaded by Britain and France a few years ago, but now the Japanese monarchs and ministers are angry and become heroes. The clever ones of the ministers' children went to the Xiguo ware factory to learn various arts.He also bought utensils and made them in his own country. Now he can drive ships and make bombs.At this time, most Chinese people still regarded Japan as an insignificant small island country, but Li Hongzhang had already seen that Japan would pose a serious threat to China in the future: the Japan of today is the Japanese pirates of tomorrow.It is far away from Western countries, but close to China.If I have self-reliance, I will attach beauty to me and spy on the shortcomings of the Westerners.If I am unable to strengthen myself, I will follow suit and share the benefits of the Westerners.

Reading history up to this point, one cannot but regret that the history of modern China has been misunderstood by Li Hongzhang’s latter prophecy. To become China's craziest aggressor.However, a few years later, when he first took over the country's diplomatic power, he forgot this statement for a while, and actually advocated uniting Japan to fight against the West!This shows that at that time he raised Japan's potential threat to China mainly to motivate the Chinese people. He lamented that the people of his country were ignorant of the general trend of the world and refused to change. He quoted Su Dongpo's words earnestly and earnestly: "Change is said when there is nothing to do, and it is enough to make a difference, but it is always suffering from unbelief."It is enough to see the letter when there is something to say, but it is too much to suffer.That is to say, when the situation is calm enough to change, people always do not believe that a crisis is imminent, so they refuse to reform; until the crisis comes, people believe that change should be made, but by then there is usually no time.Throughout the history of the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing government was pressed by the situation step by step, making mistakes again and again, and finally lost the opportunity to change and survive.

Finally, Li Hongzhang pointed out: If China wants to strengthen itself, it is better to learn foreign sharp weapons; if it wants to learn foreign sharp weapons, it is better to find the tools to make weapons.If you want to find the utensils and the people who make utensils, you may set up a special subject to obtain scholars.If a scholar spends his whole life as the goal of wealth and fame, his career can be accomplished, his art can be refined, and his talents can be gathered.The tool maker and the maker of the tool have indeed grasped the crux of the problem, because the history of world industrial development shows that it is a rather long process from making machines by hand to making machines with machines.Li Hongzhang proposed that Seeking Devices directly enters the stage of making machines with machines, which will greatly shorten the historical process from making machines by hand to making machines with machines.Finding tools for making tools naturally requires people who make tools, and the traditional Chinese imperial examination system for stereotyped essays can't train people who make tools. He proposed that only by setting up a special subject of natural science knowledge in the imperial examinations to train people who make tools It is indeed an insight, but it was a theory that shocked the world at the time, and Prince Gong Yixin didn't mention it in his memorial to the emperor.However, more than forty years later, the imperial examination was finally abolished completely. I wonder if people will remember Li Hongzhang's suggestion after wasting forty years in vain.

However, Prince Gong appreciated Li Hongzhang's suggestion in this letter to send soldiers from the capital's firearms battalion to Jiangsu to learn bombing, and he promised to implement it.It is worth mentioning that in the memorial, Prince Gong especially emphasized that after completing the studies in the Beijing camp, they can only be promoted to the school system of garrison flag soldiers in various provinces.People in Yuanqi have a fixed place to live, so it is easier to prevent idleness, and folk learning is still prohibited, so as not to cause abuse.And Cixi immediately issued an edict saying: "When the soldiers wait until the Soviet Union, the care must be carefully inspected and properly guarded against idleness, so that the transmission of secrets will not be leaked a little. Only then will it be appropriate."The Qing government's attitude of deep alarm and fear towards the people was vividly displayed.