Chapter 28 New Policies Reforms, 1901–1911

In late January 1901, while holding court in Xi’an as the foreign powers oc- cupied Beijing in the aftermath of the Boxer uprising, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued a remarkable edict initiating what would become a ten-year long program known as the New Policies (xinzheng 新政) reforms. The Empress Dowager’s conversion to reform seems to have stemmed from fears that ei- ther the foreign powers would dismember the empire or possibly demand that the Guangxu Emperor be granted full executive powers over the government. Whatever the case, over the next decade the Qing central government enacted a bewildering variety of reforms. A majority of the New Policies reforms focused on a four key areas— education, military, public administration, and constitutional government. The reforms initially seemed unconnected, but took on a more sequential process after the military victory of the Japanese constitutional state over the autocratic Russian monarchy in 1905. Thereafter, high Qing officials focused the reforms to combine unimpaired imperial sovereignty with some form of public deliberation of government policies—to unite the court and country in a common endeavor to strengthen the empire. The earlier, haphazard reforms that saw minor changes to the education system suddenly shifted to endorse the establishment of an empire-wide system of modern-style schools designed to foster popular education, which also resulted in the abolition of the tradi- tional civil service examinations. Military reforms that had also begun with the abolition of the traditional military examination and their replacement by Japanese-style military academies shifted towards the creation of an en- tirely modern army with control held by the central government through the newly-created Ministry of the Army. Reforms of what was known as the “offi- cial system,” or what would later be called public administration, were some of the most far-reaching. Reforms to the central government structure focused on remaking a number of state institutions, particularly the traditional six boards. In 1906, the millennia-old six boards were abolished, along with their six-per- son executive committees, and replaced by eleven modern-style ministries that streamlined their administrative structure by adopting a single executive. The resulting ministerial-style government would be utilized by all states in twentieth-century China. Finally, the Qing government embraced a nine-year plan to transform the bureaucratic monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, which included the establishment of local self-government bureaus, provincial

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004361003_030 New Policies Reforms, 1901–1911 325 deliberative assemblies, and eventually a national parliament. Other reforms included a variety of efforts to ameliorate Han-Manchu ethnic tensions, severe prohibitions against opium, the development of industries and trade, the for- mation of a navy, financial and currency reforms, and a complete re-writing of Qing laws. Although the New Policies Reforms were long seen by historians as a last ditch effort by the moribund Qing dynasty to save itself and consolidate its power, more recently these reforms have been characterized by Douglas Reynolds as a “quiet revolution” that remade the nature of the Qing state. Historians now understand the significance of the New Policies Reforms not just for what they accomplished, which was not inconsiderable given the lim- ited time and financial constraints, but for representing a serious attempt on the part of the Qing to reconceptualize the nature of the state and its relation- ship to society.

April 21, 1901

On the 29th of January last We issued special instructions to the various provin- cial high authorities to memorialize us as to what they considered necessary for the reformation of the Empire and we gave two months to them to report upon the matter to the Throne. Most of these memorials have since arrived, but there seems to be so much in them and in many instances entirely opposed to one another that it is impossible to wade through every one of these papers within a reasonable time…We therefore hereby command that a special Board of High Commissioners be instituted forthwith, whose duty will be to examine all these memorials, compare them, and select from them such suggestions as seem most feasible…We appoint the following as High Commissioners of the said Board:—Prince Qing; the Grand Secretaries Li Hongzhang, Ronglu, Kungang, and Wang Wenshao; and Lu Chuanlin, President of the Board of Revenue. The Viceroys Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong are also appointed to the said Board as Coadjutors.

July 24, 1901

As this Government is making a revised treaty with Foreign Powers the first thing to be considered must be the perpetuation and cultivation of friendly relations with them. To do this must depend upon the ability and talents of the