Master of Arts

thesisIn an effort to build a modern transportation system, an economically bankrupt Qing government approved the funding and construction of provincial railways. When these provinces proved incapable of building these projects, the central government nationalized every proposed railway line to facilitate construction using foreign loans. These loans gave foreign powers considerable leverage in determining China's future railway network. With the central government ignoring local economic and political concerns over these actions, Sichuan province experienced outbreaks of protest over railway sovereignty. While these issues have been discussed by many scholars, the role of government policy in creating the conditions for protest has not been fully explored. The Qing government's policy of ignoring a politically and geographically isolated province belied Sichuan's increasing importance, both economically and militarily, in the empire. Economically, government actions restricted the means of raising railway funds and a tolerated system of corruption drained the funding already accrued. Politically, the central government promoted a national self-strengthening program centered on the training of overseas students. In Sichuan, these returned students achieved limited political success, but their authority was curtailed by government leaders more concerned with protecting the dynasty. These students then formed an alternative power structure by merging with a secret society in an effort to protect provincial sovereignty. When conflict finally broke out, Qing officials found that prior military policies focusing on Sichuan's Tibetan frontier aided in their defeat. By analyzing the Qing government's economic, political, and military policies, this thesis argues that government interference in provincial concerns was the central factor in creating a unified, revolutionary society and in its success