Study On The Ministry Of Commerce, The Ministry Of Agriculture, Industry And Commerce In The Social Economic Transformation In Late-Qing

Be an important reformation movement which took place in the early years of 20^th centuries, the New Policies in Late-Qing dynasty had important influence to the henceforth social change of China, although it didn't succeed. Particularly in economic reformation, the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce had produced profound influence to the economic transformation and the overall start of modern industrialization of China. This text tries to inquiry its influence and limitation that the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce had produced to modern China's economic transformation from the angle of political history and modernization and focusing on its background, process and social results. Furthermore, the text analyses the relationship between the system innovation and system reformation.The article thinks that the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce was a common result of the changed domestic and international environment in Late-Qing and the inherent demanding of Qing Government. The system arrangement of the Ministry of Commerce had historical progression as well as congenital shortage and blemish. Its administrative behavior started China's modern industrialization in system, and promoted the economic transformation of China from tradition to modern. The text contains the following six parts:Chapter 1: Since modern age, it was the structural and institutional disorderliness of the traditional economy of China behind the incursion of the western influence. It caused the rising of mercantilism that the western industrial civilization input, and the government public finance sank into predicament. And these were the historian foundation and background of the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce.Chapter 2: The main officials of the Ministry of Commerce were Shang-Shu, Shi-Lang, Cheng-Can, Lang-Zhong, Yuan-Wailang etc., whose duties had custom-made. Therefore, the Adviser Official was a lately-established job. The local management mainly depended on reformed commercial congressmen. Central organization mainly contained four Si and one Ting, equipped with some direct jurisdiction organizations, such as law school, official news agency, trademark registration bureau, and industry school and so on. It reflected the characteristics of new organization from the organizational establishment to the officer system and the officer's duties. Paths from the Ministry of Commerce to the governors and to the counties, from the Ministry of Commerce to the commercial bureau and to the chamber of commerce, and from the Ministry of Commerce to envoy and commercial attendant were the three main paths for the Ministry of Commerce to carry out its authority operation. The social results of the Ministry of Commerce had a great relation with the three paths.Chapter 3: The Ministry of Commerce's reforming into the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce was the need of economic development as well as the internal contradiction of Qing Government and its need of political reformation. Looking from the angle of organizational reformation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce had more specialized system design and more perfect manage system. As for its actual effect, the inflating officer group and embarrassed funds had seriously affected its normal operation in final. In the mean time, its descended position reflected the work center's change of Qing Government in that time.Chapter 4: under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, a series of changes occurred in the social economic field: The modern economical laws and regulations system had been gradually established; the reward system to encourage developing industry and commerce had been built; modern economic management method had been widely utilized; policies and measures had been established and implemented gradually to manage economic environment, protect the benefits of the industrialists and businessmen, take attention to industry education, and so on; Its advocating and standard managing to the modern significance companies, bureaus, and factories had promoted the development and prosperity of the industry and commerce economy of China. This symbolized that the modern industrialization of China started.Chapter 5: Because of the valuing and advising of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, the farmers' association had been established widely in the whole country, and more complete internal system of which had been also set up. Under the predominating of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and the interpolating of the farmers' association, the agricultural schools were established widely, experimental farms were built, which provided a platform to introduce and improve breeds, promote new technology, and popularize agricultural technique, and so on. All of above reflected a fact that the traditional economic formation of agriculture had already started transforming into modern formation, which further impelled the transformation of Chinese economy.Conclusion: The Ministry of Commerce was a "two-way servicing special agency". It symbolized that the government's function already started to transform in order to conform to the requirement of historical development. Both the depth, extent, and the scale of the development of modern China's industry and commerce expressed that the modern industrialization of China had truly started, and get initial development. Simultaneously, the social concept and merchants' social role also changed. These all had laid the foundation for hereafter China's industrialization. On the other hand, the system limitation of Qing Government as well as the system flaw of the Ministry of Commerce had seriously restricted the social achievements of the Ministry of Commerce's system creation.In summary, the Ministry of Commerce had played an important role in promoting China's economic development, and had enabled China's modern industrialization truly to start. But the government's nature and political system of Qing Government had limited the Ministry of Commerce's system creation from breaking the restraint of traditional system, which explained that it was impossible to impel the social progress fundamentally only through the inside system innovation without the reformation and progress of political system.