Moderate Reform and Self-Strengthening

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Feng Guifen (1809-1874), a classicist, teacher, and official demonstrated an acute grasp of both state and foreign affairs. He recognized the disturbing fact that Western superiority lay not in arms alone but also in leadership. In his eyes, however, the qualities of character shown by Westerners were simply the same recognized as essential in leadership within the Chinese tradition. Put simply, the foreigners' example might be edifying, and a rejection to the deplorable state of Chinese public life, ibut it had nothing new that China had anything new to learn from the West. The lesson was simply had more to make of its own learning. Feng pointed out to the territory of China is eight-times that of Russia, ten times that of the United States, one hundred times tha of France, and two hundred times that of Great Britain...Yet China being shamefully humiliated by the four nations due to no other reason, but to their inferiority due to their own fault. Was was learned from the foreigners was strong ships and effective guns.
Feng proposed a blue print they would follow during the next century. Among the various proposals included:
1. To establish official schools of Western languages and translation in Shanghai.
2. Learning from foreign teachers about science, geography, technology. At first, take the foreigners as their teachers and models; then come to the same level and be their equal; finally, surpass them. This is the way to self-strengthening.
3. A way to repel the barbarians is to use the instruments and adopt the ways of the barbarians by developing their technology. If chinese could manufacture, repair, and use ships and weapons, are their own. "Thus, the empire can be pacified, become the leading power in the world; restore their own original strength, redeem ourselves from former humiliations, and maintain the integrity of our vast territory so as to remain the greatest country on earth".
4. On the adoption of western learning, if Chinese ethincs and Confucian teachings serve as the foundation, and supplemented by the methods used by prosperous and powerful nations, would itnot be the best of all solutions?

Zeng Guofan (1811-1872) and his protégé Li Hongshang (1823-1901) were oustanding exponents of "self-strengthening". They proposed sending young men abroad to study.
The students to be taken to foreign countries will all be under the control of commissioners. Specializing in different fields, they will earnestly seek for mastery on their subjects. There will be interpreters, and instructors to teach them chinese learning from time to time, so that they will learn the great principles for the establishment of character to be used at their return to China.

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