Politics, power and the Chinese maritime customs: The Qing restoration and the ascent of Robert Hart

Article Abstract:

Robert Hart, the Inspector General of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, who served his Chinese masters by running the Customs with efficiency and providing useful advice, was projected as an apolitical man who remained above the fray of political struggles and the aggressive diplomacy of the day. A different angle on Hart's career in the 1860s an early 1870s which perceives him as a political man, raising his principled arguments for an independent Customs service and administrative honesty with concern for his own self-interest is presented.

Chinese history, Ching dynasty, 1644-1912, Era overview

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Robert Hart in China: The significance of his Irish Roots

Article Abstract:

The source of the cultural sensitivity of Robert Hart, who served as a chief fiscal administrator in the Chinese Empire, can be gathered from his Irish roots. An examination of Hart's network of Irish contacts and his ideas about Ireland reveals his multi-national identity which seemed to allow Hart to be both pro-British while also retaining a critical perspective, as might be expected by someone who by place of birth, social class and religion was not from the heart of the English establishment.

United Kingdom, Ireland, Analysis, National identity

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Breaking the bonds of precedent: the 1905-6 Government Reform Commission and the remaking of the Qing central state

Article Abstract:

The 1906 Government Reform Commission in relation to the leadership of the central bureaucracy is explored by reflecting the role of external pressures and the emergent Qing critique of the old system that led to the reforms. The 1906 reform marked the departure from the later Imperial system that had governed China in the Ming and Qing period and the acceptance of a European-style ministerial system.

Evaluation, Economic aspects, Political reform, Imperialism, Qinghai, China

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