Chen Baozhen (; 1831–1900) was a Chinese statesman and reformer during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Chen was born in Tingzhou (Now

Shanghang County Shanghang (; hak, Sông-hông-yen) is a county in southwest Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong Province to the southwest. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Longyan. Transportation Part of Shanghang County i ...

). His family originated from

Xiushui County Xiushui County () is a county in the northwest of Jiangxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hunan to the west and southwest and Hubei to the northwest. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Jiujiang ...

Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...

. He obtained the second highest degree in the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s in 1851. During the

Self-Strengthening Movement The Self-Strengthening Movement, also known as the Westernization or Western Affairs Movement (–1895), was a period of radical institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following the military disasters of the Opium ...

, Chen became closely associated with

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang A ...

's efforts to rearm China. In 1895, he was appointed governor of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

province, where he carried out a reform program with the aid of

Tan Sitong Tan Sitong (, March 10, 1865 – September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng (), pseudonym Zhuangfei (), was a well-known Chinese politician, thinker, and reformist in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). He was executed at the age of 33 when ...

and

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade–Giles, Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political act ...

. Chen's sympathies to the

Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...

attracted criticism from his superiors, especially

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

who distrusted reformists such as Chen Baozhen. He was dismissed from his post in 1898 after the failure of the Hundred days' Reform. Without the support of

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

Chen was no longer protected from conservatives' criticism. Chen died in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

two years later. During his term in Hunan, Chen promoted his reform with the goal of modernizing Hunan. It was one of the first actual reform carried out in modern China. He also founded the first school in Hunan province which was known for its revolutionary ideals. During the reform, Chen appointed

and

who were active advocates of modernization, a move that met with resistance from Hunan's local conservative gentry. The conservatives disdained the implementation of Western schools in Hunan and set up obstacles for reformists. In order to silence his conservative opponents, Chen enforced censorship on local newspapers. However, conservative pressure on Chen's reform eventually brought an abrupt end to the reform. Although Chen did not complete the modernization of Hunan, younger elite scholars were influenced by his endeavour. By the early 20th century, Hunan had become one of the most radical reformist provinces in China.

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, the founder of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, was among the younger elites who were influenced by Hunanese reformist ideals. Chen Baozhen's grandson

Chen Yinke Chen Yinke, or Chen Yinque (3 July 18907 October 1969), was a Chinese historian, linguist, orientalist, politician, and writer. He was a fellow of Academia Sinica, considered one of the most original and creative historians in 20th century China ...

was acknowledged as a leading historian of Chinese history. One of his great-grandsons, Chen Fenghuai, was a pioneer of botanic studies in China.

References and further reading

* Stephen R. Platt.
Provincial Patriots: The Hunanese and Modern China
' (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007). ISBN 9780674026650.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Baozhen Qing dynasty politicians from Jiangxi Politicians from Jiujiang 1831 births 1900 deaths