On the Refusal of the Officials to Build Railways Thought in the Qing Dynasty

In the discussion of the railway construction, the officials of the Tongzhi period in the Qing Dynasty put forward four main reasons for refusing to build the railway. First, they suspected the Westerners "hiding the evil and coveted business"; Second, building the railway would cause "the loss of resistance, and the threat toward sovereignty"; Third, building the railway could "prevent the livelihood and cause internal disorder"; and fourth, building the railway would be costly, which reflected the unfavorable facts of railway construction at that time. The internal and external analysis and judgment of the situation is the internal reason for the officials to refuse the railway construction, and the psychological shadow caused by the western invasion and the purpose of building the railway in China are the external factors of refusal. The lag of state functions in the late Qing Dynasty is the fundamental reason to hinder modern China's railway industry.