From June 30 to July 3, 2023, the “State and Social Governance in Late Qing Dynasty – 10th International Symposium on the Study of Late Qing Dynasty History” was held in Tianjin. The symposium was jointly sponsored by the Research Office of Late Qing Dynasty History of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Faculty of History of Nankai University, and organized by the Faculty of History of Nankai University. It was attended by nearly 100 scholars from universities and research institutions across the country, as well as Britain, Canada, Japan, South Korea and other countries.
At the opening ceremony, Professor Yu Xinzhong, Dean of the Faculty of History of Nankai University, and Researcher Cui Zhihai, Director of the Research Office of Late Qing Dynasty History of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered welcome speeches respectively. Wang Xianming, a professor at the Faculty of History of Nankai University; Li Yu, a professor at the School of History of Nanjing University; Li Fan, a professor at the School of History of Beijing Normal University; Cui Zhihai, a researcher at the Research Office of Late Qing Dynasty History of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Wang Hongbin, a professor at the School of History and Culture of Hebei Normal University; Liu Zenghe, a professor at the Department of History of Jinan University; and Shang Xiaoming, a professor at the Department of History of Peking University, gave keynote speeches. The opening ceremony was moderated by Cui Min, a professor at the Faculty of History of Nankai University.
Professor Yu Xinzhong said that Nankai University has a good tradition of research on the history of the Qing Dynasty. He realized the importance of history of the late Qing Dynasty while writing the book Plagues and Society in Regions south of the Yangtze River in the Qing Dynasty, and then paid more attention to medical and health history in modern times in subsequent studies. The previous research on history of late Qing dynasty focused on the history of political events, but as the research period extends and research topics become more diversified, there is a growing trend of academic and thematic topics, as reflected in the topics of the conference papers. A salient feature of the research on history of late Qing dynasty is the diversity of materials. The exploration of archives, anthologies, notes, newspapers and periodicals as well as overseas materials makes it possible to broaden the scope and depth of this field. The use of these materials is expected to advance the progress of history science.
Researcher Cui Zhihai first thanked the participating experts and scholars for their strong support. He then reviewed the history of the conference for the study of history of late Qing dynasty, saying that the conference was the tenth session since it was first held at Soochow University in 2006, becoming an important platform for academic exchanges for scholars studying the history of late Qing dynasty at home and abroad. In addition to its academic nature, the conference is characterized by its openness and inclusion. Each conference has attracted new participants, regardless of their views or age. He hoped that the conference would keep this fine tradition, and would go from strength to strength.
Professor Wang Xianming’s report entitled “From self-strengthening movement to current affairs: On the changes and situations of the late Qing Dynasty” analyzed the changes in the situation from self-strengthening movement to current affairs as well as the metamorphosis of the content during the period from the self-strengthening movement to new deal in late Qing Dynasty, and outlined the profound impact of historical changes, concepts and the people’s perception of the life.
Professor Li Yu’s report entitled “On the Influence of China Merchants Steamship Navigation Company on the Dissemination of Industrial Culture in Late Qing Dynasty”, discussed the relationship between China Merchants Steamship Navigation Company and industrialization in modern China, and noted that the role of the company in shaping cultural ideas and disseminating industrial culture should not be underestimated.
Professor Li Fan’s report entitled “‘Republic’ at Two Levels: The Founding of the Republic in History Textbooks in the Early Republic of China Period” examined the narration of historical facts regarding the Xinhai Revolution and the founding of the Republic of China in history textbooks in the early Republic of China period. It noted that historical writing captured the essence of the end of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic, highlighted the core of the “republic” at the two levels of national fusion and changes in political system, recognizing the practice of regarding people’s livelihood as the ultimate criterion, advocating “dominant nation chauvinism” and eliminating the negative influence of “petty nationalism”.
Cui Zhihai’s report entitled “New Thoughts on Revolutionary History and the Nationalist Narrative System of the Late Qing Dynasty” expounded on how the studies of political history of late Qing Dynasty correctly view the relationships between the ruling class and the ruled class, between revolution and counter-revolution, and between revolution and reform, Sino-Western relations and the invasion of great powers in late Qing Dynasty, the issue of blind xenophobia in late Qing Dynasty, the issue of war and peace supporters in the late Qing Dynasty, and the relationship between narrative of revolutionary history and other paradigms. It emphasized that it is necessary to take a pragmatic and scientific attitude towards the issues involved in the themes of late Qing dynasty revolution and nationalism, opposing historical nihilism while avoiding simplifying complex history.
Professor Wang Hongbin’s report entitled “An Investigation of the Guangdong Customs’ Objectionable Practices and Their Historical Impact” examined the types of Guangdong Customs’ objectionable practices and their harm in the Qing Dynasty, and noted that such unspoken rules of officialdom severely harmed the development of Chinese commerce and gave rise to many international commercial disputes, and that their long-standing existence was the result of institutional malady.
Professor Liu Zenghe’s report entitled “The Rivalry between Ministries and Provinces for Fiscal Control over Export Sales in the Late Qing Dynasty and Its Dilemma” expounded on the rivalry between the Qing court and other provinces to control export sales revenue, revealed the internal logic behind the situation of “mutual concealment between internal and external parties”, and pointed out that the imbalance of power among emperor and ministers, provincial governors, and prefecture and county officials was the root cause of the worsening treasury operation despite governance.
Professor Shang Xiaoming’s report entitled Ins and Outs ‘Memorial for Rapid Finalization of the Great Plan’ by the Cabinet of Yuan Shikai conducted a detailed analysis of the text of the Memorial for Rapid Finalization of the Great Plan based on the North-South peace negotiations process, noting that the formulation of the memorial, memorials to the throne and other issues were misunderstood in the academic circles, and saying that it is necessary to comprehensively and dynamically understand Yuan Shikai’s political intentions and peace negotiation strategy.
After the opening ceremony, the participating scholars carried out 6 sessions of discussions in three groups. 75 papers submitted at this conference discussed the successes and failures of state and social governance in the context of great changes in the late Qing Dynasty from multiple perspectives. Some reflected on and explored the nature of the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion, as well as evaluation and research paths. Some discussed provision of soldier's pay and provisions, corruption cases, railway planning, flag affairs reform, and governance of northwest, southwest, northeast and southeast frontiers through economic development. Some focused on social governance issues related to monk crimes, refugee relief, and anti-Qing secret societies and formation of associations. Some examined the reform of diplomatic, military, administrative, fiscal, medical and other institutions or systems as well as their impact. Some discussed issues such as external cognition in Sino-foreign relations, anti-religion trends, joint trials of Sino-foreign disputes, power struggles, and suzerain/vassal relations. Some examined the political achievements and contacts of scholars such as Zhang Zhidong, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Wu Dacheng, Cai Naihuang, and Sun Deqian. Some analyzed the transmission of newspaper and periodical information and the formation of news public opinion, benefit drama and improvement to drama, and the view of male science scholars on family. In the comment session, the scholars carried out in-depth exchanges of views on the papers.
The closing ceremony of the conference was chaired by Qiu Zhihong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Zhang Xiaochuan, an associate professor at Hunan University; Xue Yiqun, an associate researcher at Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Cao Nanping, an associate professor at Fudan University, made summaries on behalf of the first, second and third groups respectively, noting that the papers were the result of a broad vision and rigorous argumentation and paid attention to the use of new historical materials and multilingual historical materials. For example, many papers studying Zhang Zhidong have distinctive characteristics, presenting the character in a vivid manner. A number of papers discussed the Qing government's strategies for state and social governance as well as dilemmas from the perspectives of institutional change, relationship between the central government and the local government, etc., which are an improvement to previous studies. While there is no end to research and exploration, “any progress brings its joys” as far as researchers are concerned.
In the free talk session, Professor Hou Jie of Nankai University recognized the significance of the conference to strengthen communication in the academic community, and thanked the conference affairs team for its hard work. Professor Cui Min of Nankai University delivered a closing speech, expressing gratitude to the Faculty of History of Nankai University and the Institute of Modern and Contemporary History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for their understanding and support for preparations, and expressing heartfelt thanks to the experts and scholars who made a success of the conference. Qiu Zhihong said that this conference attracted a large number of scholars and high-caliber papers, and was a high-level academic event as well as a sign of continuous progress in the research on the history of late Qing dynasty. He looked forward to seeing the participants again at the 11th International Symposium on the Study of Late Qing Dynasty History.
This conference came to a successful conclusion amidst warm applause!
