Kitabı oku: «A Brief Modern Chinese History», sayfa 9

China’s Sprouting National Capitalism

China’s failure in the First Sino-Japanese War and the ensuing scramble for China, physically and spiritually, both hurt and stimulated the Chinese. Suffering humiliation at the hands the colonizers, many Chinese suddenly realized that national subjugation might be imminent and China must find a way out. The politicians were the first to attempt to economically rehabilitate the country.

One part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki demanded, for the first time, that the Japanese be allowed to run industry and commerce in China’s treaty ports. This could be applied to all powers in accordance with the most-favored-nation clause. It meant that foreign countries could illicitly set up factories in China. Three days after signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Emperor Guangxu told his ministers that, from then on, they should stand together and work hard to make the country economically prosperous and militarily powerful.9 Many high ministers enthusiastically discussed this issue and generally agreed that the fundamental reason for China’s failure in the war was the nation’s accumulated poverty and weakness. Some even criticized the SSM promoters’ inability to develop the Chinese economy. One pointed out that the government intervened excessively in economic affairs10 while another governor said that there was a lack of protection for businesses.11 By then, China was in a deep financial crisis. Despite its hard work, Qing failed to substantially rehabilitate the national economy. As a result, the imperial court decided to abandon the conventional practice, wherein the state played a leading role in the nation’s economy, and instead encouraged private business.

In 1896, the Qing government set up the State Administration of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce (SAAIC) and its provincial branches. In regards to the railroad-building project, the government allowed wealthy merchants to found their own railroad company and promised that the state would not interfere in their business. Private mining companies were also supported and protected by the government. As a consequence, the first modern private commercial and industrial enterprises were founded nationwide. Some of them were well-known (see table below).

Enterprises	Founder(s)
The Nantong-based Dasheng Cotton Mill (大生纱厂)	Zhang Jian 张謇, a zhuangyuan (the candidate ranking first in the highest Examination).
The Yantai-based Zhangyu (张裕) Winery	Zhang Bishi 张弼士 (Cheong Fatt Tze), an overseas Chinese living in Southeast Asia.
The Hangzhou-based Heyihe Silk Mill (合义和丝厂)	Lou Jinghui 楼景晖, a merchant.
The Shanghai-based The Commercial Press (商务印书馆)	Xia Ruifang 夏瑞芳, a businessman
The Shanghai-based Yuanchang Rice Mill (源昌碾米厂)	Zhu Dachun 祝大椿, an entrepreneur
The Changsha-based Hefeng Match Factory (和丰火柴厂)	Wang Xianqian 王先谦, a scholar-official

In 1897, Qing’s Ministry of Revenue founded China’s first commercial bank, the Imperial Bank of China (中国通商银行), which was fully modeled on established foreign banks. The Qing government promised that they would not interfere in the bank’s affairs. Qing also reorganized SSM enterprises that were performing poorly and had them exclusively managed by businessmen. The Hubei Iron Mill was an example of this reform. As a result of Qing’s rehabilitation endeavors, Chinese capitalism began to emerge after the end of the First Sino-Japanese War.

In five decades (1858–1911), China founded 953 civil industrial enterprises, each of which had starting capital of at least 10,000 silver dollars. The total capital of these enterprises was more than 200,000,000 silver dollars.12 Among these enterprises, 650 were founded in the first decade of the twentieth century and their total generated capital amounted to 140,000,000 silver dollars. In Qing’s last decade, the dynasty witnessed a new surge in modern industry and played the predominant role in China’s economic growth. Industries devoted to cotton, silk, flour, match, hydroelectricity, and mining developed rapidly. The first decade of the twentieth century can serve as an example (see table below).

Industries	Numbers	Total capital (in silver dollars)	Compared to that of the last six decades (1840–1900)
Textiles	82	13,321,000	3 times the number of factories, slightly more than 3 the capital,
Silk	70	5,569,000	50% of the number, 50% of the capital
Flour	53	7,868,000	5 times the number, 7 times the capital
Match	28	1,300,000	3 times the number, 3 times the capital
Hydroelectricity	60	38,138,000	50 times the number, 381 times the capital
Machinery	20	3,521,000	2 times the number, 10 times the capital
Mining	73	22,729,000	A slight increase in the number, a slight decrease in the capital

The growth of the railroad and shipping industries is also worth mentioning. In the first four years of the twentieth century, 16 railroad companies were set up. By 1911, these companies generated about 60,000,000 silver dollars, which accounted for 30% of the estimated total funds. The companies that built railroads in Guangdong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang were the most prosperous and built, in total, 422 km of railroad in China.13 As regards the shipping industry, in the previous four decades, 74 steamship companies were founded that together held a worth of 2,739,000 silver dollars. In the following decade (1901–1911), another 138 companies with a total capital of 14,507,000 silver dollars were set up in China.14 Customs statistics indicate that the total number and tonnage of Chinese steamships increased from 517 and 18,215 in 1900 to 901 and 901,169 in 1911.15 China’s national shipping industry continued to grow and, although Chinese shipping companies could not be placed on a par with their Western counterparts, they developed rapidly.

As a result, domestic trade in the 1890s witnessed a 63.9% increase in comparison to that of the previous decade. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the rate of increase was more than 70% each decade.16 The number of Chinese treaty ports also grew to 82 in the same period.17 Gradually these ports grew into commercial centers, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hankou, Tianjin, and Dalian. In a period of three years (1909–1911), these five ports accounted for 67.7% of China’s foreign trade. Shanghai alone made up 44.2% of China’s foreign trade.18 Shanghai was undoubtedly the most vibrant commercial hub in China.

Some researchers have concluded that as early as 1911 the industries run by merchants had already played a leading role in China’s burgeoning capitalism. At that time, Chinese capitalism was marked by several features. Light industry accounted for 43.2% of the total capital, with textile, flour, and food industries making up 57.7%. In contrast, mining industries were weak, and machinery and shipping industries lagged far behind despite their rapid growth. Chinese capitalist enterprises were too small. Their average capital was merely 229,000 silver dollars. Of the 896 Chinese capitalist enterprises, almost one-fifth, 18.9%, of them were registered in Shanghai.19

The Chinese bourgeoisie emerged with Chinese capitalism. It is estimated that, before 1911, China’s capitalist class amounted to 60,000–100,000 people. More than 90% of them belonged to the national bourgeoisie, 7% were the comprador bourgeoisie, and a tiny minority were the bureaucratic bourgeoisie. 86% of capitalists worked in commerce, 8% in finance, and 6% in industry. Taking the amount of capital into consideration, the overwhelming majority of Chinese capitalists were actually petty bourgeois and only a very small number amassed great wealth.20 In 1903, Qing’s government implemented a law regulating the founding of the chambers of commerce (CC) nationwide. Shanghai took the lead in setting up CC, followed by Tianjin and Suzhou. Eight years later, there were 835 CC throughout China. The CC were the organizational embodiment of the capitalist class and contributed greatly to the socio-organizational integration of the bourgeoisie of every hue. Most importantly, the CC gave the capitalist class the ability to fulfill their desire for political participation. In this sense, the founding of the CC nationwide demonstrated that the Chinese bourgeoisie already had its own class consciousness.

The emergence of a capitalist class and its acquisition of class consciousness meant that Chinese society could be substantially rehabilitated. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out that due to the predominance of the petty bourgeoisie, this new social class was not very powerful.

As a consequence, the Chinese bourgeoisie was weak politically, something that could be seen in the performance of the political agents of China’s capitalist class. Chinese society could therefore not be fundamentally revived by the Chinese bourgeoisie alone, as demonstrated by the 1898 Hundred Days’ Reform and the 1911 Revolution.

Sun Yat-sen and Early Revolutionaries

The Chinese bourgeoisie historically took the stage in the wake of the initial development of China’s national capitalism. The emergence of the Chinese bourgeoisie and national crisis went together. The Chinese bourgeoisie were economically unstable; however, they were intellectually advanced in comparison with the established social classes in China. The bourgeoisie endeavored to reform and revolutionize the system. Two groups emerged at this time, the reformists and the revolutionaries. The leading figure among the revolutionaries was none other than Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925).21

Born into a poor peasant family in Xiangshan (present-day Zhongshan, Guangdong), Sun left home when he was 13 years old to live with his elder brother, a farmer in Hawaii. Sun was educated in an English-language school and living overseas broadened his horizons and inspired him to rebuild China in light of the Western model.22 Later, Sun studied medicine in Hong Kong and obtained a Master’s degree in 1892. Sun, young and well-educated, then became a doctor working in Macao and Guangzhou. In 1894, driven by his strong feelings of patriotism, Sun wrote a letter to Li Hongzhang, the leading minister of Qing’s central government, recommending that China carry out more fundamental reforms. He also critically pointed out that the SSM failed in its point.23 His letter was ignored, and Sun concluded that the Qing dynasty was too corrupt to be rebuilt, and that the country could only be revived by revolution.

Sun tried to mobilize the Chinese living in Hawaii to fight against the Japanese empire. Sun found comrades in Honolulu and, on November 24, 1894, they together founded a small revolutionary group, composed of more than 20 members, known as the Reviving China Society (兴中会). Sun prepared the Society’s Constitution, wherein he proposed a draft of two of his Three People’s Principles, nationalism and democracy.24 Sun and his party resolved to remold China entirely by overthrowing the Qing dynasty. They took steps to raise money in Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Guangdong, and enthusiastically prepared for armed rebellion. The Society had its headquarters in Hong Kong. They planned to capture Guangzhou by force and then use Guangdong as the base for a northern expedition to fight against Qing. In October, 1895, the Society’s weapons were seized and key members were arrested by the Qing army. Some of the founding members of the Society were executed. Sun fled to Japan, where he won the support of the Chinese community living there, and set up the Society’s Yokohama branch, still determined to follow a Western model.

In 1896, Sun went to the United States and Britain, where he spoke about his revolutionary ideas. Officers of Qing’s embassy in London arrested Sun and detained him in the embassy. Finally, with the help of Sun’s British supervisor, the British Foreign Office called for the release of Sun and he was freed.25 Later, Sun published Kidnapped in London in English, which led to Sun as a revolutionary becoming known worldwide. Sun lived in London for roughly one year and intensively read about Western politics and economy, trying his best to find out how European society worked. In doing so, he created sanmin zhuyi, or the Three People’s Principles: nationalism, democracy and (economic) egalitarianism. In 1900, he launched a second armed uprising against Qing. Unfortunately, this rebellion also failed, with one of their leaders dying in the fighting.26 Sun became famous for his rebellions against Qing. Some even called Sun the pole star of the revolutionaries.27 He focused much of his revolutionary zeal around his ideological beliefs28 and became a popular revolutionary leader who awakened the masses. A great social revolution was soon to dawn.

The Abortive 1898 Hundred Days’ Reform

Qing’s failure in the First Sino-Japanese War shocked Chinese intellectuals. Upon hearing the news, Tan Sitong 谭嗣同 (1865–1898), who later died a martyr’s death in the 1898 reform, wrote a poem expressing the Chinese’s pain and hate: “the four hundred million Chinese people are all crying, at a complete loss to what lies ahead for their beloved country.”29 When a small number of revolutionaries, led by Sun Yat-sen, were attempting to overthrow the Qing dynasty, the new Chinese bourgeoisie preferred to rebuild China by means of political reform. The leading reformists were Kang Youwei 康有为 (1858–1927) and Liang Qichao 梁启超 (1873–1929).

Kang came from a bureaucratic family in Nanhai, Guangdong. He had immersed himself in the Confucian classics and ancient texts; however, he gradually realized that traditional Chinese scholarship was not conducive to rebuilding China. Kang visited Hong Kong and Shanghai, where he was greatly impressed by the Western style of social administration.30 He decided to study Western books in order to expose himself to new kinds of knowledge.31 Being deeply disappointed at Qing’s poor performance in the Sino-French War, Kang severely criticized the imperial court in a letter he wrote to the throne and recommended that the emperor rebuild China through strong reforms.32 However, Kang’s letter was too bold to be accepted by the central government. Kang then decided to spend his time discussing the new and old Confucian classics with a scholar. He favored jinwen jingxue (traditional scholarship based on the old-text Confucian classics) because it focused on exploring the meaning and practical dimensions of the traditional Confucian texts. Kang attempted to creatively use jinwen jingxue to attack well-established doctrines.

Kang created his own academic system in which he could justify his theories and ideas of political reform. The Kang-style Confucian scholarship was centered around santong (three intellectual orthodoxies) and sanshi (three historical periods). According to the theory of santong, each dynasty had a specific tong (orthodoxy) which was bestowed by Heaven. When the old dynasty acted against the will of Heaven, there would be a new tong. Whenever a new dynasty acquired Tianming (the mandate of Heaven), the old orthodoxy would be replaced with a new one; and a new set of basic institutions would be created. In ancient times, the Xia dynasty (2100–1600 BC) had the black tong; Shang (1600–1100 BC) had the white tong; and Zhou (1100 BC–221 AD) had the red tong. Institutional changes took place in accordance with the changes of tong in each dynasty. History was by no means static and consisted of the constant alternations of santong (the black, white, and red orthodoxies). Kang made key concepts such as mutability and adaptability more prominent within this theory. This laid the theoretical foundations for the 1898 Hundred Days’ Reform (hereinafter referred to as the 1898 Reform). Corresponding to santong, Kang separated history into three phases, juluan (the period of chaos), shengping (the period of peace) and taiping (the period of Great Peace) in light of Master Gongyang’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋公羊传). Kang was revolutionizing Confucianism by inserting his ideas into the traditional theory. He created a political roadmap in which absolute monarchy would be replaced by a system of shared governance between sovereigns, then shared governance in a complete democracy, arguing that Confucius had made a similar attempt in antiquity.33 Simply put, Kang proposed a political evolution of successive alternations of centralized politics, constitutional monarchy, and a republic. He went further, pointing out that because Confucius was not able to fulfill his grand political ideal, China should aspire to share governance and at the same time lay the foundation for the period of Great Peace. In doing so, Kang prepared the theory and blueprint for the 1898 Reform.

Kang firmly believed that his theory was the purest embodiment of the most genuine Confucian Way. He argued that jinwen jingxue was the orthodox Confucian teaching and guwen jingxue (traditional scholarship based on the old-text Confucian classics) was false and had been forged by politicians and scholars of the Han dynasty (202 BC–8 AD). In addition, he portrayed Confucius as a great reformer, who pioneered key political concepts such as democracy, equality, and civil rights.34 Kang himself was, undoubtedly, a loyal follower of Confucius. Kang’s Great Peace was an assemblage of beautiful Sino-Western social ideals, one entirely freed from the limits brought about by conventional marriage, family, state, nation, ownership, and politics. Kang secretly wrote a book, The Grandest Human Society (人类公理), depicting his dream society. In order to spread his theories, in 1891, Kang set up a school, The Thatched Cottage in the Woods (万木草堂), in Guangzhou. Many of the young people studying in this school later became Kang’s right-hand men. Liang Qichao was Kang’s most brilliant student. Liang was from an ordinary peasant family in Xinhui, Guangdong; at just 17 years of age, he passed the Examination at the provincial level. For this reason, Liang was hailed as a wunderkind.

Kang and his students discussed Chinese and foreign governance in the hope that they could find a solution to the crises plaguing China. Kang produced two well-known books, A Critical Reexamination of the Forgery Involving the New-Text Confucian Classics (新学伪经考, hereinafter referred to as the Reexamination) and An Inquiry into the Institutional Reforms Led by Confucius (孔子改制考, hereinafter referred to as the Inquiry). These two monographs articulated Kang’s reformist ideas and programs, which included his denial of the orthodoxy of Qing’s Confucianism. The true value of Kang’s Reexamination did not lie in its academic contribution but in providing the historical and philosophical justification for the 1898 Reform. It was for this reason that the Qing government banned the book as soon as it was published.

In April, 1895, Kang and his students arrived in Beijing, where they would take the highest Examination. When preparing for the Examination, they learned that the government was going to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Angry at Qing’s stupidity and cowardice, Kang immediately started a petition and mobilized candidates from all over the country in the hopes that their efforts could prevent the government from signing and ratifying the treaty. They gathered together in front of an imperial agency, demanding that their petition be presented to the throne.35 More than 1,300 candidates from 18 provinces gathered at the former residence of a renowned official of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Kang delivered an impassioned speech and prepared a written petition that would be submitted to the emperor, arguing that changes could only be accomplished by reform. However, the petition was rejected because the Treaty had already been stamped by the imperial government. This incident, which was historically known as Gongche shangshu (literally, the public vehicle petition), had historic significance. Not only did it contain reformist ideas but it was also the first modern, democratic public meeting in China. This had a deep influence on Chinese society. Qing’s government took no action to crack down on Kang and his comrades, which suggested that the reformist political endeavor led by the intellectuals might be allowed by the imperial government. Thus, reform became of great interest in Chinese society.

Shortly after the petition, Kang passed the Examination at the highest level and was appointed to an imperial post. He continued to write memoranda to the throne. One was presented to Emperor Guangxu, who was unwilling to be submissive to the imperialist powers. Inspired by Kang’s thought-provoking memorandum, the Emperor asked high officials nationwide to discuss key issues such as governance and development. Gradually, some prominent ministers openly supported political reform. Kang then founded a pro-reform organization known as the Society for Strengthening China (强学会) in Beijing. Quite a few prominent figures, such as the militarily powerful Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (1859–1916), joined this Society. Liang was appointed its secretary and created for the first time a modern, Beijing-based newspaper entitled China and World News (中外纪闻). This newspaper was devoted to introducing Chinese society to modern politics, economy, and science. Although the Society and newspaper were banned by conservative politicians, the reformists and Liang in particular realized that modern newsprint was the best tool to promote political reform. In late 1895, all of Kang’s pro-reform activities were based in Shanghai. Winning support from Zhang Zhidong, a powerful Governor General, Liang founded the famous Currents Affairs (时务报), a major Shanghai-based Chinese newspaper (or journal). Apart from Liang, who was editor-in-chief, there were a number of highly influential contributors, such as Huang Zunxian 黄遵宪, a veteran diplomat. Liang put much effort into editing this newspaper and produced 40 popular editorials. Liang’s newspaper was sold in more than 70 cities in China, as well as being circulated in Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, and Singapore.

Liang became the spokesman of the coming 1898 Reform. With the help of modern media, Liang rapidly disseminated the ideas of surviving by reform among the Chinese. Current Affairs was the de facto mouthpiece of the 1898 Reform. Stylistically, Liang’s writings in this newspaper were creative, powerful, and attractive; and his liberal-minded editorials were particularly appealing to Chinese youth. In spite of being denounced by conservatives, Liang’s writing style influenced generations of Chinese. Even Hu Shi, who was said to be a pioneer in promoting modern vernacular Chinese, said Liang’s writings played a pivotal role in China’s social revolution. Liang’s best-known essay in Current Affairs was the 60,000-word An Overall Description of Reform (变法通议).36 In this widely-read essay, Liang went beyond the traditional Chinese ideas of change and adopted Western evolutionist concepts.

Yan Fu 严 复 (1854–1921),37 a native of Houguan (present-day Minhou) studied in Britain and then obtained a teaching position in the Tianjin-based Naval College. He finished translating the first half of Thomas H. Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics, titling the Chinese translation Tianyan lun 天演论 (literally, social evolution directed by Heaven). Apart from Evolution and Ethics, Yan translated several other well-known Western books, Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, Herbert Spencer’s The Study of Sociology, Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws, amongst others, into Chinese. At the same time, he wrote editorials for some Tianjin-based newspapers, introducing his readers to Western socio-political ideas such as evolutionism, and promoting reformist thinking. Yan was one of Liang’s close friends as well as a sponsor of Current Affairs. For this reason, Liang read Tianyan lun even before it was published. The evolutionist thinking in this book empowered Liang both ideologically and intellectually, Kang was also greatly inspired by Yan’s translations and essays. Liang realized that evolutionism was more appealing to the Chinese than traditional Confucianism because evolutionism showed that human society was always changing and that change always brings good results. Liang demanded immediate reform,38 demonstrating his greater intellectual growth in comparison with Kang.

Liang’s political program could be found in the above-mentioned long essay, which was centered on education and argued that educational reform lay in bringing change to the existing Examination and overhauling the established bureaucracy.39 Liang argued that only when the traditional education system was completely changed would a new generation of talents emerge and reform be initiated. The goal of Liang’s style of political reform was to radically change the political system, that is, to replace the monarchy with a more democractic, Western system.40 Tan Sitong, a brave young reformist thinker, attacked the old monarchy. Tan was from Liuyang in Hunan and his father had been the governor of Hubei.

Tan was a student of philosophy and liked to read Western books. He wrote the Book of Benevolence (仁学), arguing that monarchy was abnormal and inhumane.41 While the book was not published, it had a big influence on Liang, who also criticized the absolute monarchy in his published essays.

Zhang Zhidong, the prominent Governor General of Hunan and Hubei was hesitant about the reform advocated by Liang and his comrades. Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager Cixi was displeased with calls for reform, Zhang demanded that Liang tone down his radical views. Liang abandoned Current Affairs and went to Hunan where the young reformists were very active. They founded the newspaper, The Hunan News (湘学报), and organizations such as the Society of Southern Learning (南学会), as well as a modern school known as the Institute of Current Affairs (时务学堂). Recommended by Huang Zunxian, Liang was appointed the Chief Chinese Professor of the Institute, where he and his students fearlessly discussed democratic politics, criticized absolute monarchy, and expressed anti-Manchu nationalist feelings. Liang recommended that the governor of Hunan practice local self-government and lay the foundation of democracy in the near future. Thanks to their efforts, Hunan was politically and economically reformed. Hunan’s leading officials and renowned scholars frequently visited the Institute, where they lectured on politics and economics. The local gentry joined them and democratically exchanged ideas. Hunan set up several modern agencies such as the Center for Political Training and the Police Bureau, both of which were unprecedented in China. However, soon Liang’s radical speeches were reported to the more conservative imperial authorities and Hunan’s conservatives accused Liang of being rebellious. The governor of Hunan was forced to make a concession and dismissed some of the outspoken lecturers; he also reorganized the Institute. Soon Liang received a summons to Beijing from Kang.

The people were disappointed at Qing’s poor performance in the First Sino-Japanese War. Fearing that the people’s anger would grow uncontrollable, the Qing government relaxed its grip on thought and culture. As a consequence, many modern newspapers, books, and societies were created by intellectuals. In three years (1895–1898), more than 100 modern societies were set up nationwide. Some were focused on political issues, such as reform; others on Western knowledge; and others still on the improvement of social customs, such as banning opium. Even a few high imperial officials joined these societies. The Changsha-based Society of Southern Learning was the most remarkable, its lectures often attracting thousands of listeners. Thanks to these societies, Chinese society grew increasingly more open politically. The aforementioned Shanghai-based Current Affairs was the best-known. The Macao-based New Knowledge (知新报) was also very influential, more outspoken, and served as the reformists’ mouthpiece after the failure of the 1898 Reform. The Tianjin-based National News (国闻报), which was founded by some renowned figures such as Yan Fu, was widely read in the north. Yan himself published more than 40 editorials advocating for enlightenment and reform. Yan even drew a caricature ridiculing the utilitarian (ultra)conservatives and pointed out that established traditional scholarship must be destroyed lest it led to disaster for the country.42 The Hunan News and Hunan (湘报) were the most influential newspapers in central China. Tang Caichang 唐才常, an active reformist, played a pivotal role in the editorial work of the two newspapers. The ideas of one of the Hunan contributors were too radical and infuriated the conservative Governor General, who demanded that the Hunan government pay close attention to subversive speech.43 At that time, Shanghai was the center of China’s modern press and produced more than a dozen newspapers. In addition to Shanghai, a number of cities, including Hangzhou, Wuxi, Wenzhou, Guilin, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, amongst others, also published modern newspapers. Books also began to be printed at this time. In 1896, Liang Qichao wrote a detailed bibliography. One year later, the reformists in Shanghai set up the Great Harmony Publishing House (大同译书局) and published books advocating for fundamental reform. The rapid growth of China’s modern media and press was a great impetus to the 1898 Reform.