The development process and stage characteristics of China’s modernization

(1) Initial stage (1840-1895)

After the Opium War in 1840, tradition was affected Faced with the severe challenges of reality, the Chinese people's exploration of modernization began. The disastrous defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 showed that the Qing government's modernization exploration, represented by the Westernization Movement, failed.

1. Economically: Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan, the reformists of the landlord class, "learned from the barbarians and developed skills to control the barbarians"; the Westernizers of the landlord class led the Westernization Movement, during which they experienced from heavy industry to light industry, from government-run, government-run, and government-run Supervise the process of commercial affairs, government-business cooperation, and commercial affairs. The national bourgeoisie began to establish modern industry.

2. Politically, the Westernizationists insisted on "Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application" and did not put the modernization of the political system on the agenda.

3. Ideologically and culturally: The "spread of Western learning to the East" began, new schools were established, and scientific and technological talents were cultivated.

Basic characteristics of this stage: The protagonists responsible for the task of modernization in this stage are the Westernizers of the landlord class; the field is mainly in the economic field and they learn from Western advanced technology.

(2) Overall development stage (1895-1919)

"Overall development" is reflected in the comprehensive development of modernization in the economic, political, and cultural fields, and the comprehensive reflection of the connotation of modernization and the full expression of the leading role of the bourgeoisie in the process of modernization.

1. Economic modernization: the initial development of national industry at the end of the 19th century; the short-lived spring of national industry during the "World War I".

2. Modernization of the political system: the reformers launched the Reform Movement of 1898; the constitutionalists led the constitutional movement and road protection movement; the revolutionaries led the Revolution of 1911 and established the bourgeois Communist Party.

3. Ideological and cultural modernization: the criticism of old ideas gradually deepened, the reformers and die-hard forces debated, the revolutionaries and royalists debated, and the New Culture Movement.

Understand the basic characteristics of this stage: the backbone of the modernization task in this stage is the bourgeoisie; the most prominent field is in the political field; the staged results include the political overthrow of the feudal autocratic monarchy system, The bourgeois republic was established. Economically, national industry has developed greatly, and ideologically and culturally, democratic principles and concepts are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

(3) Zigzag progress and new development stage (1919-1949)

In the extremely acute and complex historical environment of class struggle and national struggle, modernization was proceeding with difficulty. At the same time, Added new connotation.

1. Zigzag progress: Economically, in the early period of the Nationalist Government’s rule, the national economic construction movement was implemented and promoted the modernization process in the economic field. However, the formation and monopoly of bureaucratic capital made the development of national industry increasingly difficult. shrink. During the Anti-Japanese War, the original industry was severely damaged by Japanese aggression. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the combination of American monopoly capital and the bureaucratic capital of the four major families pushed China's modernization cause into a desperate situation. Politically, the Nationalist Government's compromises and concessions to Japanese aggression and the massacre of the Communist Party, workers and peasants affected the normal development of the democratic system.

2. New development: First, it is reflected in the fact that the proletariat has become an important role in modernization. Secondly, the political content of modernization has changed from realizing the victory of bourgeois democracy to winning the victory of the new democratic revolution. Thirdly, after the May 4th Movement, Marxism began to become the mainstream of new ideological trends, providing scientific theory for the new development of political democratization.

The basic characteristics of this stage: This stage illustrates that the Chinese proletariat has begun to assume the task of China's modernization, and China's modernization has entered a new stage of development.