1840年6月(道光二十年五月),英國對清廷發動第一次鴉片戰爭,清廷不敵英軍的戰艦大炮宣告戰敗,兩國於1842年8月29日(道光二十二年七月二十四日)簽訂了中國第一個不平等條約-《南京條約》。就此開啟了清朝被西方列強蠶食鯨吞的命運。1856年(咸豐六年),英法聯軍再次聯合攻打中國,中國戰敗,此時的清廷開始出現了「師夷之長技以制夷」的一連串軍事、商務、教育、民生工業等自強改革運動的思想。 其中,李鴻章自1862年(同治元年)抵達上海後,便開始籌畫並著手洋務運動的事業,且繼曾國藩接任直隸總督之後,直到甲午戰爭期間,一直始終其事,從事於全國性自強建設的事業。從最初的軍事工業建設及新式教育建設,到後來的商務民生工業建設,幾乎都由李鴻章所創辦或策畫。雖然最後自強運動以失敗告終,但其歷史意義和重要性仍是不可抹滅的。 In June 1840, the United Kingdom launched the first opium war against the Qing China, who lost to British warships and artillery, and declared defeat. This began the erosion of the Qing China by Western powers. In 1856, a British and French military alliance once again carried out joint attacks on China; with China’s defeat, the Qing Court began to exhibit new ways of thinking on a series of military, commercial, education, public welfare, and industrial matters, as a part of the “Self-Strengthening Movement.” After arriving in Shanghai in 1862, Li Hongzhang began to plan and execute the political causes of the Self-Strengthening Movement. From the time that Li succeeded Zeng Guofan as the Viceroy of Zhili, to the period of the First Sino-Japanese War, Li was occupied with establishing the Movement on a national scale. Nearly all of the reforms from military, industrial, and educational modernization to subsequent commercial and public welfare reforms were planned or implemented by Li Hongzhang. Although the Self-Strengthening Movement ended in failure, its historical significance and importance remain indelible.