t they have achieved absolutely nothing, and on the contrary, they have been driving the men of ability in the empire into foolishness, greed, and cheating. Sitong thinks that not only do you not know what is meant by “foreign matters,” but also that you are ignorant of the meaning of discussion. In China, during the last several decades, where have we had genuine understanding of foreign culture? When have we had scholars or officials who could discuss them? If they had been able to discuss foreign matters, there would have been no such incident as we have today (the defeat of China by Japan.) What you mean by foreign matters are things that you have seen, such as steamships, telegraph lines, trains, guns, cannon, torpedoes, and machines for weaving and for metallurgy; that’s all. You have never dreamed of nor seen the beauty or perfection of western legal systems and political institutions. . . all that you speak of are the branches and foliage of foreign matters, not the root.(Mancall, 198)Sitong’s voice was loud yet solitary. He was executed shortly after a coup in China. The failure of the self-strengthening movement and the dimming of the lights to bright new innovations occurring in the rest of the world did not mean that no attempt was made to understand how foreign nations conducted their international relations. The rise of new leaders in 1860 in the capital and provinces changed the political climate a little bit. Although there was warning by the Prince of dramatic changes, a new approach to foreign affairs set the tone for a new era. The new leaders gave hope to progressive officials for future changes. In 1865 and 1866 Robert Hart and Thomas Wade presented a constructive memorandum for the dynasty’s regeneration, the court felt confident and open-minded enough to circulate it among top officials for discussion. The possibility of restoring order and sound government did not hide t...
