Cixi and Modernization of China

Abstract

Empress Dowager Cixi, birth mother of the Qing Dynasty Emperor Tongzhi, lived in the late 19 th Century and the early 20 th Century, and was the actual ruler of the Qing Dynasty from 1861 to 1908. Under her administration, her great support of Westernization during the earlier period promoted modernized revolution of Chinese society, whereas her objection to the political reform during the late period strangled the Hundred Days' Reform and hindered all-around progress of the Chinese society. Cixi did not only belong to the Renovation Group, but also belonged to the Conservative Liner, and she was an extremely contradictory and complicated historical figure. When the national gate of China was exploded by hard ships and fierce cannons of Europe, regime of the late Qing Dynasty gradually went downhill step by step, and the process of Chinese modernization was forced to come on. The major symbol of Chinese modernization is industrialization of the economy and democratization of the politics. In China, modernization means industrialization and reform of such aspects as politics, economy and culture, etc, which followed industrialization, and means realization of modern transition of the traditional society-transition from the medieval society to modern society. Under administration of Cixi, Chinese modernization went through two stages. The first stage was the start-up period, in which the westernization group led the Westernization Movement, with the guiding ideology of "the system of Chinese learning and use of western learning", and the Westernization Movement was a "self-rescue" movement by the landocracy. Therefore, at that time, reform of political modernization was not started, and the Westernization Movement was launched mainly in the fields of economy, military, culture and education. The second stage was an overall development stage, and was the more important stage. When the danger of "national subjugation and genocide" stared Chinese people in the face, they recalled a painful experience, and came to realize that it was a must to combine in an organic way learning of advanced western scientific technology and reform of political system, and an all-around reform was required for Chinese politics, economy, military, culture and education. Hence, Chinese modernization moved forward one big step.