Vistopia
Cover of Modern China’s Childhood: 33 Lectures on Late-Qing Institutions
Modern China’s Childhood: 33 Lectures on Late-Qing Institutions
How did an ancient celestial empire become a modern state?
Completed · 38 episodes
Buy for ¥128.00
Audio in Chinese
Preface: Seeking Modern China's “Childhood” in the Late Qing 01. The Eve of Upheaval: Why Did an Almost “Perfect” Monarchy Fail? 02. Unequal Power and Responsibility: Why Did Rule from behind the Curtain Accelerate Imperial Collapse? 03. Failed Self-Rescue: Why Did Modern China Not Become a Constitutional Monarchy? Anecdote | Awkward Talk, Co-opting, and Consultation: Audiences with Late-Qing Monarchs 04. You Cannot Have It Both Ways: Why Could the Grand Council Not Meet the Late Qing's Domestic and Foreign Challenges? 05. The Imperial Cabinet: Why Did the Late Qing Experiment in Responsible Government Fail? 06. From Six Ministries to Modern Departments: How Did Traditional “Small Government” Begin Its Modern Transition? 07. Official-System Reform: Why Is It So Hard to Put Specialists in Charge of Specialized Work? Anecdote | Four Cabinet Ministers Who Did Not Sign the Imperial Edict of Abdication 08. What Can Late-Qing Government Revenue and Expenditure Tell Us? 09. Foreign Loans and Purchased Office: Why Did the Late Qing Repeatedly Resort to Fiscal Poison? 10. Did Expanding Government to “Meet the Times” Instead Accelerate the Qing's Fall? 11. Why Fan Jin Went Mad: How Did the Examination System Differ from Modern National Education? 12. Gong Zizhen's Question: Why Was the Examination System Traditional Society's Unassailable “Best Answer”? 13. Abolishing Examinations and Founding Schools: How Was Today's Education System Established? 14. Banners and Green Standard Army: Why Did the Qing's Once-Formidable Forces Lose Their Fighting Power? 15. Why Could the Xiang and Huai Armies Become Neither Warlords nor Modern Forces? 16. Why Did the Qing's Modernized Army Become Its Gravedigger? 17. Did Traditional Justice Defend Fairness or Ethical Order? 18. The Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai Case: How Did a Justice System Favoring Leniency Manufacture a Wrongful Conviction? 19. Institutions, Laws, and Talent: What Legacy Did Late-Qing Judicial Reform Leave? 20. How Did Modern China's Supervisory System Take Shape? 21. The Celestial Empire Dream Shattered: How Did the Traditional Tributary Order Break Down? 22. From “Foreign Devils' Envoys” to Diplomats: The Birth and Growth of Modern Diplomacy in the Late Qing Anecdote | Every Legation Has Its Troubles: The Finances of Late-Qing Diplomats Abroad 23. The Birth of the Ministry of Commerce: How Did the Late-Qing Government Intervene in the Economy? 24. Sheng Xuanhuai and the Railway Protection Movement: Why Did One Railway Ignite the Qing's Fall? 25. Governors, Staff Advisers, and Gentry: How Did Modern Local Government's Predecessor Emerge? 26. Grain Transport and River Control: Should a National Project Be Judged Economically or Politically? 27. Imperial Power Stopped at the County: How Did Modern China's Administrative Geography Arise? 28. The Impoverished “Corrupt Official”: Why Did Low Taxes Become a Crushing Burden on Local Finance? 29. The Beginnings of Municipal Government: How Did Chinese Urban Governance Connect with the World? Anecdote | The “Retired Emperor's” Troubles: Prince Chun Yixuan's Private Burden 30. How Was a Multiethnic State Governed before the Modern Nation-State? 31. Going West and Settling Manchuria: How Did Late-Qing Frontier Reforms Shape the Future? 32. Acceleration and Disorder: Why Did Late-Qing Institutional Transition End in Revolution? 33. Did the Late Qing Really End after the Revolution? (Finale)