Research On Guo Songtao's Viewpoints Of Modernization

Guo Songtao was the minister of westernization and diplomatic envoy of the late Qing Dynasty.He was a famous thinker,diplomat and military strategist in China and abroad.After seeing his country invaded by foreign enemies,he developed a deep sense of anxiety and tried to reform China.As the first foreign minister of modern China,he was deeply inspired by the advanced technology and culture of the West during his stay abroad.In combination with the current situation of Chinese society at that time,he devoted himself to exploring the way out of the country and became one of the early advocates and practitioners of learning from the West and exploring the process of China's modernization among the feudal classes of the Qing Dynasty.Guo Songtao's thought of modernization involves a wide range of contents.In the field of political modernization,he proposed to apply the bourgeois constitutional monarchy to China to achieve the purpose of maintaining the relationship between the monarch and the people.In order to consolidate the state power,it is proposed to attach importance to the construction of the legal system,and to govern by virtue and law.In view of the corrupt officials in the late Qing Dynasty,he advocated strict management and leniency to the people.In the field of economic modernization,he advocated encouraging the development of industry and commerce,opposed the policy of emphasizing on agriculture and restricting commerce,and emphasized that the government should be governed by commerce and industry.To rectify the tax system of money law,regulate the market order,and actively engage in trade with foreign countries to promote economic development;In the field of education modernization,he advocated to add practical content to students' education curriculum so as to promote the development of natural sciences.He urged students to study abroad to learn advanced western culture and science and technology and then return home to make contributions.In the field of diplomatic modernization,he proposed to set up consular bases to protect the interests of foreign nationals by investigating the reality of their presence abroad.He strongly opposed the arrogant and arrogant spirit against the traditional hubris and exclusion in the imperial court.He believed that foreign policy should be formulated based on the actual situation of the country,and advocated that the country's human and material resources should be avoided as far as possible because of war,and that the foreign policy of peace should be flexible and firm.Guo Songtao's thought of modernization shows the characteristics of "basing on tradition" as the core and "unifying the essence" as the main line.His thought of modernization had a great enlightening effect on the generation and development of China's early reform thought,which led to the emergence of a large number of people committed to reforming China.It has a strong impact on the concept of "Hua-Yi center theory",which has existed for a long time in Chinese history.It breaks through the shackles of traditional Hua-Yi order concept and provides a prerequisite for learning from the West.However,as a feudal bureaucrat deeply influenced by Confucianism,his modernization thought has not fully realized the essence of western capitalism's invasion of China,and he idolizes western advanced culture too blindly,and his personal thought and practice are still out of step.