The reason why the United States opposes the division of China among the eight countries is easy to understand
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In the negotiations of the Eight-Nation Alliance, when the British tried to divide China into eight plates according to the strength of each country, it was surprising that the Americans voted against it.
As a party that has already gained benefits, why would they make such a decision? What is the meaning behind this?
When the great powers discussed the division of interests, the Qing ** also tried to struggle, for example, the Guangxu Emperor sent a letter to the United States** to express his plea. However, this is like a prey asking a hunter for help, which is absurd, so the Americans have no profit to lose.
As for the reason for its opposition to the partition of China, first of all, it was not strong enough at that time. If the British division was followed, the United States would gain the smallest sphere of influence.
The Qing Dynasty's strength was weak, and once the land was divided, it might even face the fate of dying in name. Previously concluded unequal treaties will also be null and void. However, the United States does not have a high status among the eight countries, and in order to ensure long-term interests, it does not hesitate to draw another sum on China's empty treasury.
The United States proposed to let the Qing Dynasty open its treaty ports and use tariffs as reparations, which would be much easier than directly carving up China, and other countries would be able to sit back and enjoy the benefits. The other seven countries accepted the US proposal, considering that the division of land might cause controversy, and it was better to take the money directly.
Therefore, the United States opposes the partition of China, not so much for the sake of China's interests, but for its own interests.
In the eyes of Americans, Chinese are no different from people in India, Africa and other places, they are cheap labor. The United States then launched a high-level operation, and obtained 34 million taels through the treaty signed with the eight countries, accounting for 7 percent of the total reparations3%。
However, Qing ** was unable to repay and could only win a 39-year repayment period, which required to be collateralized by salt tax, inland tax, customs duty, etc. every year. Therefore, it is customary in China to call this indemnity the Gengzi indemnity, because the terms of the final indemnity were agreed in 1900, the year of Gengzi in the Chinese calendar.
The treasury is empty, the foreign powers plunder taxes, and the Qing ** increases the burden on the people. Although the United States accounted for a small share of the total reparations, its gains far exceeded its actual losses. Ambassador to China Rou Keyi realized that the continued collection of reparations would cause revolt and disgust in China.
The signing of the Treaty of Xinchou was born out of the rebellion of the Boxers, and if the Boxers were victorious, the countries would be forced to withdraw from China.
At one point, the failure of the Boxer Rebellion allowed some people to continue to pursue personal gain. However, the Qing Dynasty passed on huge indemnities to ordinary people, leading to a gradual deepening of public discontent, which may lead to more boycotts of foreign actions.
If the United States insists on small profits, future losses will be even greater. Therefore, in April and May 1901, Rou Keyi sent two letters to US Secretary of State John Hay, suggesting that the United States take this opportunity to extend favors to Qing ** in order to gain the favor of the Chinese people.
John Hymers was persuaded and publicly admitted in Congress in 1902 that Gengzi had paid too much indemnity, suggesting that a proper refund should be made. However, this refund is conditional.
After the announcement of the Gengzi indemnity, China's boycott of foreign goods has been on the rise, even affecting U.S. economic interests in China. In order to solve this problem, Rou Keyi put forward a proposal to members of the US Congress, hoping that the United States would provide China with assistance in the field of education and culture.
His proposal was based on an in-depth understanding of the social and political situation in China at the time. Educated youth, who are the main force of the boycott, argues for Roukeyi, are particularly resolute in their attitude towards American goods.
And these young people are the hope for China's future. Therefore, if the United States can provide China with assistance in education and culture, it can not only ease the economic pressure of the United States in China, but also change Chinese's perception of the United States and promote the development of Sino-US relations.
At the same time, Rou also noted that China's attitude toward Japan is more moderate than that of other countries. He found that although there were contradictions between China and Japan, the Chinese people's resistance to the Japanese was relatively small.
Therefore, if the United States can provide China with educational and cultural assistance, it may help change the Chinese people's perception of Japan and further promote the development of Sino-US relations.
In general, Rou Keyi's proposal is to hope that the United States can provide China with assistance in education and culture, so as to ease the economic pressure of the United States in China, change the Chinese's perception of the United States, and promote the development of Sino-US relations.
He realized that it was better to accept the United States through ideological influence than through military means. Therefore, he came up with the idea of refunding to affect Sino-American relations, to be precise, to improve Chinese's perception of the United States.
Therefore, if you don't want the United States to lose the huge Chinese market, the best way is to return the overcharged Gengzi indemnity, otherwise there is no other way. Rou Keyi firmly believes that the Chinese will understand that education is the only way to get rid of oppression, and a nation must attach importance to education.
If the United States were to lend a helping hand at this moment and propose to support China's education development with a refund, people from all walks of life in China would undoubtedly accept it gladly and be grateful from the bottom of their hearts for the assistance from the United States.
This will not only improve the position of American goods in the Chinese market, but in the long run, it will also increase the influence of the United States on the consciousness level of Chinese. Ming Enpu, a missionary who has lived in China for a long time, even made it clear that if the United States wants to influence China, it needs to take two steps: first, accept a large number of Chinese students to study in the United States; Second, the establishment of American schools in China.
Regarding the news that the United States is willing to refund the money, Liang Cheng, the minister to the United States, immediately learned about it. At that time, China was mired in poverty and disadvantage, and any amount of money was crucial for our country.
If this can be done, it will be extremely beneficial to the country and the people. As a result, Liang Cheng behaved very proactively. However, he did not realize that his struggle was nothing more than a clever use by the United States.
Roosevelt, the former ** of the United States, finally made a decision, as long as the refund was confirmed, and Qing ** agreed that this money could only be used to train international students sent to the United States, then it could be discussed.
But at this time, China is in the midst of a boycott of American goods, and Americans are worried that if they refund at this time, it will be interpreted by the Chinese as the result of the boycott, so that the United States is weak and can be bullied.
Americans have long had the will to refund money, but they are hesitant to decide how to refund the money in the best interest of the United States. At this time, the appearance of Liang Cheng provided a step for the United States.
The United States offered to refund the overcharged Gengzi compensation to China in order to improve the Chinese people's perception of the United States, but it also set strict regulations on the use of this money.
Did their goal finally come to fruition? When the Qing ** learned the news of the refund, they were full of gratitude to the United States, and some loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty even chanted "God bless the Great Qing".
In the actual negotiation process, the Americans behaved kindly, but in actual action, they manipulated China. They claimed that the loss at that time was less than $12 million, and that China** had already repaid it in full, and even paid an extra $9.64 million, so the United States decided to return the money in installments.
However, the United States has designated that this money can only be used for education, and sends a certain number of outstanding students to study in the United States every year. They stressed that this is an excellent opportunity to help China set up new education, and hoped that China would not fail the goodwill of the United States.
China ** believes that of course education should be developed, but if there are enough industrial profits, then it is enough to use these profits to develop education, and there is no need to use this money for industrial investment first.
The United States insists on its own view on this, and although the use of the fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty belongs to the internal affairs of the country, the United States shamelessly occupies the right to use this part of the funds in the name of goodwill.
After many invalid negotiations, Qing ** was forced to accept the U.S. plan, and even feared that the Americans would give up the refund, so he hurriedly formulated a plan to send students to study abroad. On the surface, the funds have been returned to China, but in reality, the United States has the real right to use them.
In order to supervise the dispatch of Qing **, the United States has also set up a special supervision agency.
The establishment of Tsinghua Academy is closely linked to the history of Chinese students studying in the United States. In 1909, the Qing Dynasty sent 47 students to study in the United States, followed by two large-scale dispatches, sending 70 and 63 people respectively, including Mei Yiqi, the later president of Tsinghua University, and Hu Shi, the famous one.
In 1911, the Tsinghua School was established, the predecessor of Tsinghua University as we know it today, and it was originally established as a preparatory department for Chinese students studying in the United States. The academy recruits twelve or thirteen-year-olds from all over the country, and its curriculum and subject arrangements are modeled after American schools.
In the 17 years before it was renamed Tsinghua University, Tsinghua Academy has been an important base for Chinese students studying in the United States, sending nearly 1,300 people to the United States for further study.
U.S. regulators have detailed records of all aspects of these students, including their daily routines, time off, behavior, learning, and spending. In addition, the United States has proposed that China establish a board of directors for education, composed of 10 Chinese and 5 American, ostensibly to avoid being accused of interfering in internal affairs.
But in reality, it is the people who give the money who have the power, so these 5 Americans have real power. This is equivalent to the Chinese money being robbed and then returning part of it, while the robbers claim to be saviors and want the Chinese to be grateful to them.
Outrageously, it turned out that they had achieved their goal. By the time the Americans began to refund money, the wise people at home had already strongly criticized the foreign powers for taking the opportunity to implant the cultures of other countries, believing that it was an invasion of culture.
However, as the number of students studying abroad increased, some intellectual elites began to claim to be deeply moved by American society and expressed admiration for American democracy and transparent finances. This naïve praise is only a superficial observation of American society, and the attempt to use the American model to save China at that time is obviously unrealistic, and even hinders the development of the Chinese revolution to some extent.
Other powers followed the example of the Americans, but they pretended to refund some of the money while greedily profiting from it, so the subsequent effects of the refunds were not as far-reaching as those of the Americans.
Among the students sent by the Qing Dynasty, those who returned to their homeland to devote themselves to education and culture have made remarkable achievements in their respective fields, and they have become role models for Chinese youth, and it is widely believed that studying in the United States will definitely lead to real learning.
However, when later students yearn for Tsinghua School and studying in the United States, they unconsciously ignore their own culture and ignore their own national identity.
And these people, their minds have been imperceptibly Westernized. Hu Shih was one of them, who promoted the vernacular literary movement but refused to accept the spread of Marxism.
Americans have skillfully integrated politics into their education, and they pay close attention to the psychological and ideological changes of outstanding talents, providing scholarships and other support to difficult international students.
As a result, most students choose to stay in the United States, which is beyond reproach from a personal point of view. However, from the perspective of the country and the nation, it is undoubtedly a huge loss that the talents we have worked so hard to cultivate are making contributions to the scientific and technological progress of the United States when they grow up.
Although this influence persisted after the founding of the People's Republic of China, many patriotic scientists still chose to return to China to build the country. The United States used inducements, threats and detainees to prevent them from returning home.
Qian Xuesen, Wang Chengshu and other scientists have made great efforts and sacrifices in order to return to China, and have made great contributions to the development of our country after returning to China. Even so, the number of people studying in the United States in China still far exceeds that of other countries, and some people even stubbornly believe that the air in the United States is sweeter.
Some people think that the United States has actually helped China for whatever purpose, but they have not seen the impact and harm of this study abroad boom. In general, why should we be grateful that the United States uses Chinese money to do American things to the detriment of China's interests?