The Self-Strengthening Movement was a 19th century Chinese campaign of economic and military reforms inspired by China's military weakness. It sought to adopt Western methods like "Learn barbarian methods to combat barbarian threats." The movement had some successful reforms but ultimately failed to strengthen the Qing dynasty or military due to a lack of support, decentralization, and narrow focus without accompanying social or political change. In contrast, Japan's sweeping Meiji reforms transformed it into a modern military power.

1. Self-Strengthening Movement
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b.A.History

2. The Self-Strengthening Movement
• 1. The Self Strengthening Movement was a campaign for
economic and military reform in China, inspired by the
nation’s military weakness in the mid 19th century.
2. The Self Strengthening Movement began in the 1860s and
sought to acquire and utilise Western methods. “Learn
barbarian methods to combat barbarian threats” was one of
its mottos.
3. The movement produced some successful capitalist and
military reforms, though most of these were provincially
rather than nationally based. It failed to strengthen Qing rule
or military power, as suggested by subsequent defeats in two
wars.

3. • 4. Self strengthening failed due to a lack of Qing
support, the decentralised nature of government and
its narrow focus. Qing leaders wanted military and
economic modernisation but without accompanying
social or political reforms.
5. In contrast, sweeping reforms under the Meiji
Emperor had transformed Japan – once as backward
as China – into a modern military-industrial state, the
most advanced in Asia.
•

4. phase of movement
• First phase (1861–1872)
The movement can be divided into three phases:-
Superintendents of Trade
Maritime Customs Service (1861)
Military modernization.
• Second phase (1872–1885)
• Third phase (1885–1895)

5. major idea behind self-strengthening
•
There was an inherent contradiction in the idea of self-
strengthening. This contradiction arose because the self-
strengtheners felt that the Qing imperial system was superior
to the West, and that all that was needed was to improve the
imperial military capacity. Therefore, the self-strengtheners
ignored the possibility that western military supremacy
sprang from their economic and political institutions and
structures, and instead thought to add western science and
technology onto the confucian culture of the Qing empirea.

6. Successes of movement
• Self-strengthening did lead to modern trained
Chinese, many of whom would play important roles in
later Chinese history. It also did develop over time
from a military focus to attemts to develop modern
transport and industry within China which probably
provided a base of expertise for later development.

7. self-strengthening fail
• Reason 1: Geography: The self-strengtheners were too few in number
to enable a country as vast as China to catch up with other countries.
China was also beset by natural disasters which limited state income.
Reason 2: There was resistance to the very idea of dealing with
foreigners from court officials. This made implementing and
maintaining reform very difficult.
Reason 3: As the rate of innovation in the West and Japan was much
greater, the technology gap actually widened between China and the
major powers during the self-strengthening period
Reason 4: The self-strengtheners were not businessmen and often
their projects failed.
For example: Li’s steamship firm was looted by insiders and his coal
mine was heavily indebted to foreigners.
Reason 5: There was almost a complete lack of administrative
structures to help develop China.

8. • Reason 6: There was almost a complete lack of legal structures to
help develop China.
For example: Projects were dependent on the favour of powerful
figures at the imperial court. The problem with this was that the
favour could always be withdrawn and therefore damage attempts to
modernize.
Reason 7: The self-strengtheners tended to rely on their provincial
bases of support. This meant self strengthening was always on a local
level rather than a truly national attempt to modernize.
Reason 8: Military equipment made in China was very expensive as
most materials had to be imported.
For example: Before 1875, when the shipbuilding programme was
discontinued at Kiangnan, the ships built were believed to cost twice
what a similar ship would cost to make in Britain
Reason 9: Human resource costs were very high, and corruption was
an ever present problem particularly in construction costs and worker
salaries.