On The Knowledge Of Western Science And Technology By The Envoys To Foreign Countries In Late Qing Dynasty

For a long time,the Qing government regarded itself as “The Kingdom of Heaven” and sent envoys to the vassal states only in the name of “Enfeoffment”.Since the Opium War opened the door to China,especially after Western countries obtained the privilege of having their ministers stationed in Beijing,the Qing government faced a new situation of forced opening up,under the strong appeal of the Western countries,the active promotion of enlightened officials at home and the real need to negotiate with foreign powers,the Qing government finally made an attempt to dispatch envoys,he sent the first Chinese envoy to the West at the 1875.After China was forced to open its doors,many advanced western science and technology began to be introduced into China,including not only the military technology of ships and artillery,but also new communication technologies such as telegraph and telephone,as well as modern means of transportation such as railways and ships.In the 1960s and 1970s,the Westernization Movement put into practice the idea of“Learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians” and set off a upsurge of learning from the West.The dispatch of minister to foreign countries in the late Qing Dynasty coincided with this period.After envoys abroad,they had a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of the frequent scientific and technological achievements in the West.In order to explore the way of the Western countries’ prosperity,the envoys in the late Qing Dynasty made a detailed investigation on the military science and technology,the convenient transportation and communication technology and the developed modern agricultural science and technology that the Western countries relied on.From paying attention to the “Apparatus” of external technology to studying the “Reason” of internal science,and then to devoting himself to the practice of introducing Western Science,the understanding of Western Science and technology by the minister stationed abroad has a process of developing from shallow to deep and dynamic.On the whole,the understanding of the western learning of the late Qing Dynasty was quite objective,they could objectively look at the development gap between China and the West in the 19th century,and even some of the envoys further recognized the dual nature of scientific and technological civilization;In the field of Chinese and Western medicine,some foreign ministers can view the merits of Chinese and Western medicine dialectically and insist on the integration of Chinese and Western medicine,which is not out of date even today.Therefore,the study of this subject can not only see the gradual deepening of the understanding of western science and technology by the ministers stationed abroad in the late Qing Dynasty,but also reveal the role they played in promoting the development of modern science and technology and promoting the modernization of the country,it also has some practical significance for the development of modern science and technology,international communication and cultural integration.