Zheng Guanying’s Thought And Practice Of Traffic Construction

The emergence of new modes of transportation(railway,telegraph,ship and post)is one of the important contents of modern social transformation.In the 19 th century,with the expansion of the industrial revolution in the world,the emergence of new power made profound changes in transportation modes.Under the tide of the world,the construction of new-style transportation caused a fierce debate between the late Qing Dynasty government and public,and the development and start of modern new-style transportation was also one of the important contents of early reform thinker.Zheng Guanying(1842-1921),a famous early reform thinker in the late Qing Dynasty,inspected the traffic situation in China at that time,put forward a series of ideas for developing traffic,and actively participated in the construction practice of ships,telegrams and railways,forming a unique and systematic traffic construction thought.The formation of his traffic construction thought has a special background.After the first Opium War,the gradual loss of China’s navigation rights,the rise of the Westernization Movement,his personal growth environment and the spread of Western learning to the east all had an important impact on the formation of his traffic construction thought.The main content of Zheng Guanying’s traffic construction thought mainly includes three parts.In terms of land transportation,Zheng Guanying proposed to establish a railway network centered on Beijing based on the consideration of national defense and people’s livelihood,and advocated "doing business between China and the West to save capital".At the same time,it advocates studying Western law and repairing the main official roads and rural roads.In terms of water transportation,it is suggested that shipping companies should do business and support enterprises such as China Merchants Bureau to recapture the navigation rights seized by foreign capital through commercial competition.In post and telecommunications,it emphasizes the important role of rapid transmission of information in military affairs,and advocates that postal and telegraph services should be managed by the government.Zheng Guanying also took part in the traffic construction at that time with practical actions,including: taking part in the construction of telegraph lines,entering the China Merchants Bureau and managing the Guangdong-Guangdong-Han Railway.His practical activities made certain contributions to the development of the traffic industry at that time.By combing Zheng Guanying’s thought and practice of traffic construction,we can find his strong sense of national hardship,outstanding business thinking,distinct thinking of keeping pace with the times and so on.By comparing with the traffic thoughts of contemporary thinkers Tang Shouqian and Chen Chi,this paper further discusses the enlightenment significance of their thoughts.At the same time,there are still some limitations in his thoughts,such as too much emphasis on the superiority of business,too much emphasis on less planning,and contradictions between thoughts and actions.From Zheng Guanying’s traffic construction thought and practice,it can be seen that the complexity and arduousness of the initial stage of modern transportation in China,If the political system is not changed,truly effective traffic construction cannot be implemented.