...was a period of institutional reforms initiated during the late Qing Dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers.
To make peace with the Western powers in China, Prince Gong was made regent, grand councilor, and head of the newly formed Zongli Yamen (Office of Foreign Affairs). He would be assisted by a new generation of leaders. Cixi was virulently anti-foreign, but she had to accommodate Prince Gong because he was an influential political figure in the Qing court. She would, however, become the most formidable opponent of reform as her political influence increased.
The majority of the ruling elite still subscribed to a conservative Confucian worldview but, after China's serious defeats in the First and Second Opium Wars, several officials now argued that in order to strengthen itself against the West, China must adopt Western military technology and armaments. This could be achieved by establishing shipyards and arsenals, and by hiring foreign advisers to train Chinese artisans to manufacture such wares in China. It was believed that the intelligence and wisdom of the Chinese civilization were superior to those of the West, and thus China would first learn from foreigners, then equal them, and finally surpass them. As such, the "self-strengtheners" were by and large uninterested in any social reform beyond the scope of economic and military modernization, modeled on the West.
First phase (1861-1872)
The movement can be divided into three phases. The first, from 1861 to 1872, emphasized the adoption of Western firearms, machines, and scientific knowledge, as well as training technical and diplomatic personnel through a diplomatic office and a college.
The superintendents of trade
As a result of treaties with the Western powers, the two ports of Tianjin and Shanghai were opened to Western trade. Two officials titled Commissioners of Trade were appointed to administer foreign trade matters at the newly opened ports. Although ostensibly established to administer the new treaty ports, these two offices were actually intended to confine to the ports all diplomatic dealings with foreigners. Under their purview came the supervision of all new undertakings utilizing Western knowledge and personnel; thus, they became the coordinators of most self-strengthening programs.
Li Hongzhang was the Tianjin Superintendent from 1870 and was so successful in taking over the functions of the Zongli Yamen that communication between the imperial court and the foreign diplomats at Peking were maintained under the auspices of the Self-Strengthening reformers.
The maritime customs service (1861)
A British national, Horatio Nelson Lay, was appointed Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, which was established in April 1861. The office was designed to collect tariffs equitably and generate new revenues for the Manchu court from the import dues on foreign goods. Lay's main duty was to exercise surveillance over all aspects of maritime revenue and to supervise the Chinese inspectors who collected revenue at the various treaty ports.
The maritime customs service ensured the Chinese government a reliable and growing source of new revenue. Customs revenues increased from 8.5 million taels in 1865 to 14.5m taels (37.5 g) in 1885. Customs revenue paid off the 1860 indemnities, and furnished revenues for such new undertakings as the Peking Tongwenguan, the Jiangnan and Tianjin Arsenals, the Fuzhou Navy Yard, and the educational mission to the United States. The customs service also played an important role in checking smuggling. It also charted the Chinese coast and installed lighthouses, beacons, and other modern aids to maritime navigation.
In 1863, Lay was replaced by Robert Hart, who advocated establishing a national mint and post office, and tried to help China organize a modern navy. However, he was unable to win acceptance for any of his ideas because the Manchu court was not willing to allow foreigners to play an active role in the self-strengthening movement.
Military modernization
The most important goal of the Self-Strengthening Movement was to develop military industries; namely, the construction of military arsenals and of shipbuilding dockyards to strengthen the Chinese navy. The program was handicapped by several problems:
Zeng Guofan established the Shanghai arsenal and oversaw developments in ship-building; Li Hongzhang built the Nanking and Tientsin Arsenal; and Zuo Zongtang constructed the Fuzhou Dockyard. Léonce Verny helped build the Ningbo Arsenal in 1862-64, and the French officer Prosper Giquel directed the construction of the Foochow Arsenal in 1867-74. As these powerful regional strongmen were able to act independently of the central government, there was little coordination between the provinces and the government.
These military industries were largely sponsored by the government. As such, they suffered from the usual bureaucratic inefficiency and nepotism. Many of the Chinese administrative personnel were sinecure holders who got on the payroll through personal connections (关系).
The program proved expensive: Li Hongzhang had wanted the Kiangnan Arsenal to produce breech loading rifles of the Remington type. Production finally started in 1871 and produced only 4,200 rifles by 1873, and these rifles were more costly than, and far inferior to the imported Remington arms. Shipbuilding efforts were also disappointing: the program consumed half of the arsenal's annual income but the ships built were at least twice as costly as comparable vessels available for purchase in Britain. The lack of material and human resources proved to be a formidable problem. The program was heavily reliant on foreign expertise and materials. The unavoidable growth in the number of foreign employees had made increased costs inevitable. Furthermore, officials were not even aware when the foreigners were not competent to perform the tasks that they had been hired to do. Laxity in procurement practices also contributed to escalating costs. Many opportunities for corruption existed in construction contracts and in the distribution of workers' wages.
Prince Gong
With the Taiping threat gone, Cixi focused on new internal threats to her power. Of special concern was the position of Yixin, the Prince Gong, whose loyalty network covered much of the country, and who had effectively garnered the support of the Han Chinese armies. In addition, Prince Gong controlled daily court affairs and the Zongli Yamen, the de facto ministry of foreign affairs. As Prince Gong’s stature rose, Cixi increasingly saw him as a threat to her power. She set to work.
Although the Prince was rewarded for his conduct and recommendation of Zeng Guofan before the Taiping defeat, Cixi was quick to move after Cai Shaoqi, a little-known official who was the recorder at Court, filed a memorial asking for Yixin's resignation. Having built up a powerful base and a network of allies at court, Yixin considered the memorial insignificant. Cixi, however, took the memorial as a stepping stone toward Yixin's removal. In April 1865, under the pretext that Yixin had "improper Court conduct before the two Empresses," among a series of other charges, Yixin was dismissed from all his positions, but was allowed to keep his title. The dismissal, however, surprised the nobility and court officials, and brought about numerous petitions for his return. Yicong, the Prince Tun; as well as Yixuan, the Prince Chun, both sought their brother's reinstatement. Yixin himself, in an audience with the two Empresses, burst into tears. Bowing to popular pressure, Cixi allowed Yixin to return to his position as the head of the foreign ministry, but rid Yixin of his title of Chief Policy Advisor. Yixin would never return to political prominence, and neither would the liberal and pro-reform policies of his time. Yixin's demotion showed Cixi's iron grip on Qing politics, and her lack of willingness to give up absolute power to anyone, even her most important ally in the Xinyou Coup, Prince Gong.
Second phase of Self-strengthening (1872-1885)
In 1870 a number of foreigners were killed during riots in the city of Tianjin. This incident soured China's relatively stable relations with Western nations and marked the end of the first period of the Self-Strengthening Movement. By the second period, Li Hongzhang had emerged as the most important leader of the reform movement. He played a pivotal role in starting and supporting many of the initiatives during this period. Over 90 percent of the modernization projects were launched under his aegis. In addition to organizing and developing Western-style military academies, fortifications, and the fleet, Li also oversaw the development of capitalist enterprises, funded by private businesses with government involvement or oversight. These included railways, shipping infrastructure, coal mines, textile mills, and telegraph lines. However, the movement did not recognize the significance of the political institutions and social theories which had led to Western advances and innovations.
During this phase, commerce, industry, and agriculture received increasing attention. Attention was also given to the creation of wealth in order to strengthen the country. This was a new idea for the Chinese, who had always been uncomfortable with activities which create wealth from anything other than land. The development of profit-oriented industries such as shipping, railways, mining, and telegraphy were therefore rather new ventures for the Chinese government.
The Chinese government sanctioned what was known as "government-supervised merchant undertakings." These were profit-oriented enterprises operated by merchants but controlled and directed by government officials. Capital for these enterprises came from private sources, but the government managed them and also provided subsidies in some cases.
Examples of such government supervised merchant undertakings include the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, Kaiping Coal Mines, the Shanghai Cotton Mill, and the Imperial Telegraph Administration.
However, being supervised by the government, these enterprises could not escape the ugly aspects of government administration: nepotism, corruption, and lack of initiative. Managers also found ways to siphon off profits in order to avoid the payment of official levies and exactions. They also monopolized business in their respective areas, and by thus discouraging private competition, impeded economic development. Despite its economic inefficiencies, the merchant-bureaucrat combination remained the principal device for initiating industrial enterprises. The three-decade long Self-Strengthening Movement was generally unsuccessful. Many Qing government officials were skeptical and did not allocate enough attention or resources to the movement. Xenophobes who wanted nothing to do with Western civilization whipped up opposition to the movement. Many self-strengthening projects were funded by provincial governments or private enterprises, thus resulting in little benefit to the national interest, and even contributing to disunity and warlordism. Finally, self-strengthening was based on the flawed belief that military and economic modernization could be achieved without political or social reform.
Tongzhi's deficiencies in ruling
Tongzhi received a rigorous education from four famous teachers of Cixi's own choosing, who instructed the Emperor in the classics and various old texts for which the Emperor displayed little or no interest.
The pressure and stress put upon the young Emperor made him despise learning for the majority of his life. According to Weng Tonghe's diary, the Emperor could not read a memorandum in full sentences by age sixteen. Worried about her son's inability, Cixi only pressured Tongzhi more. When he was given personal rule at age 18, in November 1873 (four years later than was customary), Tongzhi proved to be an incompetent Emperor.
Tongzhi made only one important policy decision during his short rule, which lasted from 1873 to 1875. He decreed that the Imperial Summer Palace, destroyed by the English and French in the Second Opium War, be completely rebuilt under the pretext that it was a gift to Cixi and Ci'an. Historians also suggest that it was an attempt to drive Cixi from the Forbidden City so he could rule without interference in policy or his private affairs. The imperial treasury was almost depleted at the time from internal strife and foreign wars, so Tongzhi asked the Board of Finance to scrape up the necessary funds, and requested that nobles and high officials donate their share. Uneasy about the Emperor's neglect of national affairs, Yixin (Prince Gong) and Yixuan (Prince Chun), along with the Court's top officials, submitted a joint memorandum asking the Emperor to cease the construction of the Summer Palace. Tongzhi, unwilling to submit to criticism, issued an Imperial Edict removing Yixin’s title as Prince and demoting him to commoner status. Seeing the mayhem unfold from behind the scenes, Cixi and Ci'an made a dramatic appearance at court directly criticizing the Emperor for his wrongful actions, and asking him to withdraw the Edict; Cixi said that “without Prince Gong, the situation today would not exist for you and me.” Feeling a grand sense of loss at court and unable to assert his authority, the Emperor returned to his former habits. It was rumored that the Emperor caught syphilis and became visibly ill. The doctors spread a rumor that the Emperor had caught smallpox, and proceeded to give medical treatment accordingly. Within a few weeks, on 13 January 1875, the Emperor died and Cixi was back in power.
His death left the court in a succession crisis as he was childless. Eventually, the Dowager Empresses named Tongzhi's three year-old cousin (son of Prince Chun and Dowager Empress Cixi's sister), Prince Zaitien, as Tongzhi's successor, the Guangxu Emperor, with the Dowager Empresses Ci'an and Cixi resuming their roles as regents. The Jiashun Empress died in March (coincidence?).