Steering Foreign Relations and Pushing the Self-Strengthening Movement

Steering Foreign Relations and Pushing the Self-Strengthening Movement

Prince Gong

A royal family member and politician of the Qing dynasty, and the 6th prince of the Daoguang Emperor. Known by the title Prince Gong, he is called Prince Gong or Prince Kung in English. As the half-brother of the Xianfeng Emperor, he handled diplomatic negotiations for the Qing side during the Second Opium War and was involved in the signing of the Treaty of Beijing (Convention of Peking) in 1860. In 1861, he launched the Xinyou Coup with Empress Dowager Cixi and others, eliminating the court's regency forces that had become political enemies, and led the central politics of the Qing dynasty. Afterwards, he promoted the establishment of the Zongli Yamen and the organization of diplomatic systems, supporting the Self-Strengthening Movement that introduced Western military and industrial technology. On the other hand, political conflicts with Cixi and the conservatives continued, and he was dismissed from his major posts in 1884. He became involved in government affairs again in 1894 when the First Sino-Japanese War began, but died in Beijing in 1898.

Timeline

Category
Element
Year Prince Gong
1833
Birth of Prince Gong (Period: January 11, 1833, Location: Beijing, China)
1848
Marriage (Prince Gong, Gualgiya, Age: 14 years old, Period: 1848, Location: Beijing, China)
1850
Conferment of Peerage to Prince Gong (Age: 17 years old, Period: February 1850, Location: Beijing, China)
1860
Negotiation of the Convention of Peking and Shift in Foreign Policy (Age: 26 years old, Period: 1860, Location: Beijing, China)
Promotion of the Self-Strengthening Movement (Age: 26 years old, Period: 1860s–1890s, Location: Various Regions across China, Especially Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, etc.)
Dispatch of Qing Diplomatic Missions and Establishment of Legation System (Age: 26 years old, Period: 1860s–1870s, Location: Beijing, China, European and American Countries, etc.)
1861
Establishment of the Zongli Yamen (Age: 27 years old, Period: 1861, Location: Beijing, China)
1884
Dismissal of Prince Gong by Empress Dowager Cixi (Age: 50 years old, Period: 1884, Location: Beijing, Qing Imperial Court, China)
Jiashin Political Shift (Age: 50 years old, Period: 1884, Location: Beijing, China)
1894
First Sino-Japanese War (Age: 60 years old, Period: 1894–1895, Location: Korean Peninsula, Yellow Sea, Liaodong Peninsula, Shandong Peninsula, etc.)
Political Retirement and Re-appointment (Prince Gong, Age: 60 years old, Period: 1884, 1894, Location: Beijing, China)
1898
Death of Prince Gong (Age: 65 years old, Period: May 29, 1898)
Unknown
Marriage (Prince Gong, Zhanggiya, Period: Late 19th Century (Exact Marriage Date Unknown), Location: Beijing, China)
Marriage (Prince Gong, Xuegiya, Period: Mid-19th Century (Exact Marriage Date Unknown), Location: Beijing, China)
Marriage (Prince Gong, Liugiya, Period: Mid-19th Century (Exact Marriage Date Unknown), Location: Beijing, China)

Map

Category
Element
Asia World
asia map

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