The Late Qing Diplomatic Envoys And The Revolution

The Qing Dynasty was compelled to go towards the world after the Opium Wars. In 1875, the Qing Dynasty accredited Guo SongTao to England,which was the important step to the world.After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing Dynasty began to adjust his foreign policy.Many Chinese intellectuals who had learned western knowledge were appointed diplomatic envonies.They admired the western civilization, while they were loyal to the Qing Dynasty. So this ws a special group.At the early 20 century, the bourgeois revolution rose, which pounded at the Qing Dynasty. Many revoutionists ran away to foreign countries,because the rulers gave orders to arrest them. So the task to arrest the revolutionists was put on the diplomatic envoies' shoulders. The envoies maintained sharp vigilance to the students studying abroad, because they were liable to be affected by the revolutionists. When the students' patriotic zeal were suppressed again and again, the students was disappointed with the Qing Dynasty and began to change their political stands to the revolution, which aggravated the contradictions between envoies and students. Even if some envoies sympathized revolution or students , they had to do it inwardly . In a word ,before the Revolution of 1911,the deplomatic envoies hold the stand of the Qing Dynasty.The Revolution of 1911 was a turn in Chinese history .It overthrew the Qing Dynasty and set up a new country . At the time, the diplomatic envoies must make a choose between the two state systems. When the Qing Dynasty was overthrown , they weigned the advantages and disadvantages. Though the reasons of their change are various ,and the courses are relapse, the change itself promoted the establishment of the democracy ,which opened up the wide way to the future for them.