The Tongzhi Restoration (; c. 1860–1874) was an attempt to arrest the dynastic decline of 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-spea ...

by restoring the traditional order. The harsh realities of the Opium War, the

unequal treaties Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...

, and the mid-century mass uprisings of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It laste ...

caused Qing officials to recognize the need to strengthen China. The Tongzhi Restoration was named for the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1861 to 1875, which effectively laste ...

(r. 1861–1875), and was engineered by the young emperor's mother, the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

(1835–1908). The restoration, however, which applied "practical knowledge" while reaffirming the old mentality, was not a genuine program of modernization. Academics are divided as to whether the Tongzhi Restoration arrested the dynastic decline or merely delayed its inevitable occurrence.

Self-Strengthening Movement

The Tongzhi Restoration was a direct result of 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 ...

led by the statesmen

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 ...

(who became viceroy) and

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

to revitalize government and improve cultural and economic conditions. The Self-Strengthening Movement's most successful project was its first, the establishment in 1861 of a foreign office to handle diplomacy. Foreign-language schools were established in 1862 in English and French, but enrollment was quite small because ambitious young men preferred to immerse themselves in preparation for the examination on Confucianism. Arsenals were established in 1865 in 1867, and a naval dockyard in 1866. Their products performed very poorly in wars against European powers, but did give the government superior firepower against peasant uprisings. A machine factory was established in 1870, and students were sent for advanced education to the United States starting in 1872. Coal mines were opened in 1877. The

Beiyang Fleet The Beiyang Fleet (Pei-yang Fleet; , alternatively Northern Seas Fleet) was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trust ...

was launched in 1888 to replace the fleet sunk by the French in 1884. Professor Immanuel C. Y. Hsu concludes that the reforms were basically superficial and mostly limited to armaments and machinery. There was no attempt to exploit Western ideas or methods, and so it "barely scratched the surface of modernization, without achieving a breakthrough in industrialization." Two major defeats in wars with France and Japan proved that China could not defend itself. The reforms were poorly organized, with little direction from the royal court, leaving it up to poorly equipped provincial authorities who competed with each other.

Historiography

The chief historian of the Tongzhi Restoration,

Mary C. Wright Mary Clabaugh Wright (born Mary Oliver Clabaugh; Chinese name Ruì Mǎlì; September 25, 1917 – June 18, 1970) was an American historian and sinologist who specialized in the study of late Qing dynasty and early twentieth century China. She w ...

described it as the "last stand of Chinese conservatism", arguing that "not only a dynasty but also a civilization which appeared to have collapsed was revived to last for another sixty years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the 1860s." John K. Fairbank wrote, "That the Qing managed to survive both domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as the Qing Restoration."

Notes

References

* Hsu, Immanuel C. Y. ''The Rise of Modern China'' (5th ed. 1995) pp 261-94. * Spence, Jonathan D. '' The search for modern China'' (1990). pp 194-215. * Wright, Mary Clabaugh. ''The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T'ung-Chih Restoration, 1862 -1874.'' (Stanford UP, 1957
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Self-Strengthening Movement

Historiography

Notes

References

See also