Jiangsu And Jianghuai Provinces In The Late Qing Dynasty

The change of administrative district is an important embodiment of national politics to local administration.Through the adjustment of administrative division,we can see the political intention and governance strategy of the ruler,therefore,it is very important to study the change of administrative division.In the thirtieth year of Guangxu(1905),the Qing government divided Jiangsu Province into Jiangsu Province and Jianghuai Province,known as Suhuai Province in history.At this time,the Qing Dynasty was in the process of reform and renewal.The division of Suhuai Province has special significance.Through the adjustment of a series of central and local policies in the process of the division of Suhuai Province,we can not only understand the measures taken by the late Qing Dynasty to save the national crisis through the division of political regions,but also have a deeper understanding of the purpose and intention of the integration and adjustment of national policies in the process of local administration.During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement,government orders could not be delivered on time and government affairs could not be dealt with in time,which resulted in low administrative efficiency.Meanwhile,the southern Jiangsu Province was precipitous in topography and the northern Jiangbei area was rich in minerals and its geographical position was critical.Therefore,the removal of the governor of grain transport provided the prerequisite for the establishment of the province.In the process of dividing Jiangsu and Huai provinces,local official Zhang Jian first wrote to the court "Xuzhou should be Established as a Province",which aroused the debate on this issue.Then,the Qing government finally ordered Jiangsu to be divided into Jiangsu and Jianghuai provinces,and carried out a series of setting and integration of administrative organs.However,the arrangement of separating Jianghuai Province from Jiangsu Province and a series of measures taken by Enshou,governor of Jianghuai,failed to effectively solve a series of problems faced by the former Jiangsu Province.Therefore,the opposition voices of local officials gradually faded and eventually led to the failure of Suhuai Province,which to some extent reflected the decline of central power and the expansion of local power in the late Qing Dynasty.Although the division of Jiangsu and Huai provinces failed in the end,the discussion did not stop until the establishment of Jiangbei province in the Republican period.The late Qing Dynasty is relatively recent,and the factors considered in the planning of its administrative districts are closely related to the present.Therefore,the study of Suhuai Province is helpful for us to better understand the regionalization process,so as to play a certain reference and warning role for the contemporary reform of administrative districts and the coordination of central and local power.