The Investigation Abroad Of Chinese Envoys To The West (1876-1894)

The envoys to the west before the Jiawu Battle are a group of people who went abroad much earlier in Chinese modern history. They shouldered a special mission of finding out the things abroad, besides dealing with foreign affairs. Actually, the envoys couldn't help making investigation on western economy, politics, technology and education while placing themselves in the forward position of the culture conflict, which impelled them to think more about how China would become prosperous and strong. The essay tries to make a comprehensive research on the investigation of the group so as to reveal the hardship Modern China encountered during stepping toward the world.The framework of the essay is as follows:Chapter I: The quality of envoys, the general situation of envoys and the cause of special mission about finding out the things abroad have been introduced.Chapter II: The author has made a thorough research on the main content of the investigation abroad. About economy, consulting what they learned through perceiving the appearance of cities, investigating all kinds of industries and comprehending western economic policies, the envoys emphasized on renewing the economic sense, transforming the mode of production, developing various industries, encouraging the private investment and offering policy support to improve Chinese economic reforms. About politics, during their learning the parliament system, the political party system and the system about balancing power, the envoys showed admiration for the westerndemocratic system as well as misunderstanding. About education, the envoys thought it an important cause which had been making western countries become prosperous and strong. Therefore, they advocated Chinese education reforms should be based on such aspects as the standard for qualified personnel, teaching content and universal education.Chapter III: The historical significance of the investigation abroad has been revealed. It contributed to the spreading of the western knowledge and civilizing the current tendencies in modern Chinese society. In spite of its limitation resulting from envoys' thoughts and their historic conditions, it is still a profitable part of Chinese modernization.