Abstract
| This article examines how steam technology influenced Chinese culture and society after the First Opium War. The steam engine had been the heart of the Industrial Revolution in the West. Machine tools and technical drawings were the essential elements in the process of building it. Yet the Chinese technological tradition lacked these two elements. Although the Chinese misunderstood the steam mechanism when they witnessed British steamships during the First Opium War, they soon learned from trial and error how the mechanism worked as well as the importance of machine tools and technical drawings. In the 1860s, to build steamships and produce modern weapons, the Qing government established modern shipyards and arsenals, importing machine tools and hiring foreign technicians to train Chinese workmen. However, the fiscal strain caused by the Taiping Rebellion and a shift in government policy caused the Qing government divert funds from supporting domestic shipyards to purchasing foreign warships. As well, the lack of institutions that could pool capital made both private entrepreneurs and government projects reluctant to employ steam technology. Nevertheless, the introduction of the corporation allowed for the capital investments necessary to develop steam technology in the late Qing. This article concludes that employing steam power led to revolutionary changes in Chinese technology, culture, and society. |