From The 1861 Coup To The 1884 Reshuffle Of The Key Posts

In history , the internal conflicts of the ruling cliques appear more complicated when interlaced with a variety of interests and those of the late Qing Dynasty is the most complicated among the complex. The dynasty faces unprecedented challenges arising both internally and externally. Therefore, the struggles in both the court and the bureaucracy seem intense and bizarre and are fraught with complex plots and unknown secrets.Sushun came into power in the late Xianfeng reign. He vigorously rectified the financial and governmental systems, advocating and insisting on putting the officials of the Han nationality in important positions. All these moves contributed to the monarchy's survival of the crisis. Blunt and straight as he was, Sushun made a lot of enemies due to his extreme means and lack of strategies. After the death of Xianfeng Emperor, Prince Yixin, who was excluded from the " Imperial Posthumous Edict" joined the similarly out-in-the-cold and power-hungry Empress Dowager Cixi in launching "the 1861 coup" ,which had defeated Sushun and established the new system---the Empress dowager holds the court from behind a screen with the assistance of Prince Gong. Having to restrain her ambition of being a czar temporarily for her lack of experience, the fledgling Cixi enjoyed a relatively harmonious cooperation with Yixin for a period of time. In 1865, she displayed only a small part of her capability by stripping the title of Yixin as the prince with suffrage. This weakened his power and led to the decline of his status.With the launching of Westernization Movement, the diehard clique emerged in the ruling class. The Empress in support of the advocates of Westernization movement sometimes used the diehard clique as a tool to suppress Yixin. Meanwhile, the limpid flow clique with its unique style developed as another important force that affected the political situation. In addition, high-level personnel changes were also having a significant impact on the political situation then. The sudden death of Queen mother Cian and the upgrade of Prince Yixuan's status after Guangxu came to the throne resulted in Cixi's gradually gaining the upper hand in the struggle with Yixuan for power. In the 10th year of Guangxu's reign, Cixi took advantage of the adverse situation in the Sino-French War to launch "the 1884 reshuffle of the key posts". All the officials in the military-political-affair setup headed by Yixin were dismissed from office, and thus expelled from the center of power. She replaced them with a docile tool- the clique of Prince Chun, and at the same time disintegrated the clique of limpid flow, which she had long been dissatisfied with. At this point, she finally gained the supreme power without any constraint.With the downfall of the Qing Dynasty, various conflicts came in a continuous stream. The changes of the central political situation were bound to have a series of effects on the local political situation. The supreme rulers of the Qing Dynasty became clearly aware of the corruption and incompetence of the Manchu noble relatives and the offspring of the "Eight Banner" of the Man nationality. So they had to put the Han officials in important positions regardless of traditions. As a result, the power and status of the Han Governors had been gradually enhanced. They not only seized the military, political and financial powers of the local government, but also exert influence on the court decision. This brought about the weakening of Centralization. The situation where the local government out weighed the central one appeared and the leadership was rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates. Although the Qing central government had tried to reverse this situation, the efforts either had little effect or ended in failure. Consequently, the situation ended up irreversible.The 1861 Coup and the 1884 Reshuffle of the Key Posts are two major political changes in the late Qing Dynasty. The internal struggles of the ruling clique had become complex because of the multi-center of power. Empress Dowager Cixi had made her own way from ascending the stage of history to taking the supreme power of the state. This was simultaneously the weakening process of the Qing Dynasty. Yet this rise and fall ended long before its influence would. This process still has a profound impact on modern society in many aspects.