Late Qing Reforms of the Early 20th Century through the Eyes of Russian Diplomatic Representatives (based on the Documents from the Russian State Historical Archive)

Abstract

In 1901, after the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion by the troops of eight powers and the signing of the "Boxer Protocol", dependence of the Qing Empire on foreign powers increased, which, in turn, aggravated the growing economic and socio-political crisis in the country. The Imperial government was forced to start a series of cultural, economic, educational, military, and political reforms known as the New Policies of the late Qing dynasty. The article presents the analysis of the reports written by Russian diplomatic representatives who at that time closely monitored the events taking place in China. The article discusses the importance of referring to such source of historical data as written reports and telegrams sent from China by Russian representatives and now kept in the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive. These documents can provide scholars with a complete picture of the initial stage of the "the New Policies" and the struggle for political influence related to it, which is of great importance in understanding the complicated period of Chinese history. The documents reviewed were not only summaries of the collected and accumulated information, but also contained a deep analysis of the events taking place in China. Characteristics of high-ranking Chinese officials contained in the reports of Russian representatives are invaluable. Moreover, in these sources one can find the assessment given to the attitude of the Western powers and Japan towards the reforms started in China. The study of the archival documents brings us to the conclusion that being well-trained sinologists, Russian diplomats and representatives of the Ministry of Finance were careful observers of the Late Qing reforms and could make far-reaching forecasts.