Why didn't Qing Dynasty industrialize?
- Thread starter Malone
- Start date
Kaze
Banned
It did industrialize - it tied to... but it was too little too late, competition, corruption, and subverted by the government incompetence and traditional values (rail roads were objected to because it might mess up the feng-shui / and keep people from stealing the steel rails for their own use).
It's just like connorCD and Kaze above said, there's a lot of factors why the Qing didn't industrialise as much as Japan. The Qing tried to industrialise but it was too late, not to mentioned the efforts to industrialise were hampered by government corruption, incompetence and traditionalist conservatives of inward-looking prevailed in the ruling elites. That, a lot of wars and defeats also hampered meaningful industrialisation efforts.
There was reform movement called Hundred Days Reform in response to humiliating defeats China had suffered for more than half a century at the hands of foreign powers. But Cixi and the conservatives put them down. This sudden halt to the brief Hundred Days’ Reform meant that China—now under the total rule of archconservative, scheming Cixi—had no chance of modernizing like Japan did, paving the way for further humiliation and growing resentment towards the Qing Dynasty, leading China closer and closer to revolution.
There was reform movement called Hundred Days Reform in response to humiliating defeats China had suffered for more than half a century at the hands of foreign powers. But Cixi and the conservatives put them down. This sudden halt to the brief Hundred Days’ Reform meant that China—now under the total rule of archconservative, scheming Cixi—had no chance of modernizing like Japan did, paving the way for further humiliation and growing resentment towards the Qing Dynasty, leading China closer and closer to revolution.
Exactly. To put things into context, the Qing government built a number of Western styled arsenals and shipyards starting from the mid-1800s. Licensed built rifles produced from these arsenals were in fact way more expensive and less effective than the same rifles imported from their country of origin.A lot of the initiatives were state-led and there were a lot of room for corruption. Not to mention, a lot of the westerners the government hired as advisers and managers weren't really qualified for the task.
It didn't help that the Qing Empire was minority-ruled, and the Manchu predicated their military dominance of the Empire on tactics that were rendered obsolete by Industrial technology. So there was a certain degree of the Imperial Bureaucracy not wanting to Industrialize, because that could weaken their hold on China.
Its a very CK2 style situation: as Byzantine Emperor, you might deliberately make decisions that demonstrably weaken Byzantium... because you aren't Byzantium. You are the guy who happens to be emperor. A strengthened empire doesn't do you any good if your internal rivals benefit more than you do.
Its a very CK2 style situation: as Byzantine Emperor, you might deliberately make decisions that demonstrably weaken Byzantium... because you aren't Byzantium. You are the guy who happens to be emperor. A strengthened empire doesn't do you any good if your internal rivals benefit more than you do.
I am not even sure the conservatives didn't want to modernize.
I tend to think of it as a question of priorities. Everyone knows that they have to modernize. But they have to win the battle to be politically on top first. No faction was able to achieve clear dominance and the whole question of modernization became factional and a weapon to beat your opponents with. All the time the house is burning...
I tend to think of it as a question of priorities. Everyone knows that they have to modernize. But they have to win the battle to be politically on top first. No faction was able to achieve clear dominance and the whole question of modernization became factional and a weapon to beat your opponents with. All the time the house is burning...