A Study Of Zhang Mingqi’s Governance In Guangdong

Zhang Mingqi was the last Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in the late Qing Dynasty. He had an early start in political career because he was only 36 years old when he became the governor. However, this position did not last long for there was no more than one year before the Qing government collapsed and he was elected as Chief Commander of Guangdong Province in the Republic of China, but he did not accept and left for Hong Kong. The huge contrast in Zhang Mingqi’s life is due to the complex social environment on the one hand and the changing political environment on the other.This thesis focuses on four major events which happened during the time when Zhang Mingqi was the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces. The four events are: prohibiting gambling in Guangdong, dealing with Macau border affairs, coping with the revolutionary uprising and nationalizing Yuehan railway. Centering on the representative events during Zhang’s governance, the thesis attempts to restore and inspect, in time sequence, Zhang’s choices, success or failure, gain or loss in dealing with these events as thoroughly as possible. In addition, through the investigation and study, the thesis also aims to gain some understanding of the politics in the late Qing Dynasty and of the Guangdong society before the 1911 Revolution.The thesis is generally developed by the time sequence of the historical events and is divided into five chapters. Chapter one mainly expounds on Zhang Mingqi’s rising to power, his experiences on the way from Beijing back to Guangdong after he was appointed the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces, as well as the preliminary adjustments of personnel and payroll after he arrived in Guangdong. Chapter two sounds out Zhang’s “first service” in Guangdong—prohibiting gambling which arouses many disputes. Chapter three investigates into the Macau problem—a “required course” for the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in the late Qing Dynasty and focuses on how Zhang Mingqi coped with a previous event that the Qian-shan Base was destroyed. Chapter four mainly explores Zhang’s disposal of the “Wen Shengcai” event and the rehabilitation after the “329 Uprising.” Chapter five discusses how Zhang dealt with the nationalization of Yuehan railway(the Guangdong section). The last part is an overall evaluation of Zhang Mingqi’s governance in Guangdong Province.