14 THE REFORM MOVEMENT IN CHINA THE BEGINNINGS OF REFORM 15 plant was moved to Hankow.'The Lu-Han (or Peking-Hankow)line barbarian"was "preposterous."10 In England he obtained seven steamers, did not make great progress under Chang's direction,owing principally to one supply ship,crews,and the services of Captain Sherard Osborn.Lay a lack of funds,and in the days of the "battle of concessions"the con- assured Osborn that he would be commander-in-chief of the navy,serving cession for the line was given to a Belgian company,in reality the mask directly under the Emperor.On their return to China they received word for the ambitions of France and Russia. that "the high Chinese officer already nominated by the Viceroy of the Other means of communication were taken up in the period before the Two Kiang [Tseng Kuo-fan]and the Governor of Kiangsu [Li Hung- Sino-Japanese War.Telegraphs soon demonstrated their usefulness to a chang]was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet."Osborn refused government which was eager to exercise more rapid control over distant to be subordinate to provincial officials and insisted that the fleet be dis- provinces.The first line,from Shanghai to Tientsin,was established in banded,which was done.1 The Chinese government had no reason to be 1881,and a few years later Peking was connected by wire with Canton satisfied with this denouement,for which Lay was generally blamed.He and Chungking.A postal system on the Occidental model was first in- was dismissed from the office of Inspector-General of Customs,in which troduced into China under the direction of the Imperial Maritime Cus- he was succeeded by Sir Robert Hart,the best known of all the foreign toms,which established a few postal depots in the 'sixties to care for the officials who in recent times have served the Chinese government. mails of the legations and customs and grew to such an extent that in The ignominious failure of this first attempt to acquire a modern navy 1878 China was asked to join the Postal Union.At last in 1896 an Imperial dampened the enthusiasm of the central government for some time.How- Post for all China was set up,to be managed by Sir Robert Hart,who ever,Li Hung-chang and a few other enterprising officials instituted a thus came to serve the Chinese government as Inspector of both Customs number of enterprises designed to improve China's defense forces.A and Posts.These ventures in facilities for rapid communication owed considerable amount of military and naval equipment was purchased,but their existence to the determination of a few individuals and not to any it was of all sorts and varieties.A number of arsenals were established, popular demand.The mass of the Chinese people felt no need for,and the pioneer being in Foochow.12 The Foochow arsenal contained an ex- little confidence in,such changes.Yet telegraphs,posts,and railways all tensive school for marine engineering and navigation,which was not very contributed to the wider spread and interchange of ideas and thus wore successful,however.18 Li Hung-chang saw to the establishment at Tientsin down the wall of prejudice and procured an entry for innovations more of a naval school with English instructors,a military school with German fundamental. instructors,and a medical school.A number of students went to Europe The story of army and navy reorganization from 1860 to 1894 is to study naval affairs,and the British Navy received as cadets young disheartening,viewed with a knowledge of the ineffectiveness of the Chinese,who subsequently proved competent officers.14 "reformed"forces against the Japanese.The leader in the endeavor to It was 1885 before the imperial government made its next move. create for China a fighting force comparable to those of Western powers China's difficulties with France in 1884-1885 resulted in a desire on the was Li Hung-chang,and when the resulting military and naval machine part of the more progressive officials for effective navy reform.Accord- proved all but useless the disgrace of China was visited upon his head. ingly,in 1885 a Board of Admiralty was formed,although it had almost The first fiasco came in connection with the measures against the Taipings. nothing in the way of a navy over which to exercise jurisdiction.At the H.N.Lay,head of the then recently organized Imperial Maritime Cus- head of this body was Prince Chun,the father of the young Emperor,and toms,was asked by the Chinese government in 1862 to secure for it a its most interested members were Li Hung-chang and Marquis Tseng.15 small feet of European ships to be used in cutting off the rebels from Li was now able to take more definite steps toward the creation of a navy their sources of supply.Lay executed.this commission in high-handed worthy of the name.Warships were purchased in Europe,arrangements fashion,for,to him,"the notion of a gentleman acting under an Asiatic 10 Lay,Our Interests in China,p.19. Douglas,Europe and the Far East,pp.286-287;Wen Ching,The Chinese Morse,International Relations,II,37-42. Crisis from Within,p.21.Wen Ching is the pseudonym of Lim Boon-keng (Bland, 1a Wen Ching,op.cit.,D.17. Recent Events and Present Policies in China,p.52). 18 Fryer,"Chinese Education-Past,Present,and Future,"in Chinese Recorder, Morse,International Relations,IL,337;Douglas,op.cit,p.249. August 1897. China Year Book,1912,pp.195-196. 14 Michie,The Englishman in China,II,393-395. 15 Bland and Backhouse,China under the Empress Dowager,p.99. [14] [15]