以下內容乃K.W.Ho之補習教材，於課堂教授，內容乃配合K.W.Ho之答題方法及風格所製作，同時內容可能有錯誤之處以供在課堂上糾正。非補習學生在未有得到課堂教學的情況下錯誤使用，恕不負責，同學請敬請留意。
【Free】6000頁筆記及60份5**考卷免費使用：按此
Youtube教學：按此
_________________________________________________________________________
20世紀上半葉的中國可否被視為是一個「強國」？試解釋你的答案。
定義及架構 「強國」顧名思義即是強大的國家，而強國可從兩方面介定，一方面是在經濟和軍事等硬實力方面擁有富強的實力，另一方面是在政治及教育方面等軟實力方面擁有龐大的影響力及水平，使之不單能屹立於國際舞台上，更能塑造世界的發展。而20世紀上半茱的中國在各方面均不符合強國的標準，故不能被視為一個「強國」。
主旨句 經濟方面，中國並不符合強國的指標。 // 標準 經濟強國應該是十分富裕，經濟產業名列世界前茅。 // 段落內容 儘管20世紀上半葉的各個中國政權積極推動經濟改革，例如晚清時期積極發展鐵路；南京政府時期推動金融業及工業發展，南京十年間(1927-37年)更被譽為「黃金十年」。然而，當時的中國距離達致「經濟強國」仍然距離甚遠。在富裕程度方面，中國人民生活貧困，於20世紀初更因多次乾旱(北部)及河水泛濫(長江流域)而引致飢荒出現，人民連溫飽也無以為繼。而且，中國於不平等條約中積欠列強的賠款遲遲未能清還，例如《辛丑條約》的4億5千萬兩等，國庫空虛，更難說得上是富裕國家。在經濟產出方面，20世紀上半葉中國超過80%的人口均從事農業活動，但小農模式維持，農業生產在缺乏機械化及科技化的投入低下，生產力偏低，農業落後問題十分嚴重。更甚，中國在20世紀上半葉時的戰事此起彼落，先有民國時期的軍閥混戰，後來國共內戰不斷，而外又有日本的侵略，結果使工廠、農地受到破壞，經濟產出大受中斷，更難說得上世界排名名列前茅。 // 小結可見，20世紀上半葉的中國在經濟方面不能被視之為強國。
軍事方面，中國軍事實力軟弱，並不能稱之為強國。軍事強國指擁有先進及強大的武備，能夠平內抵外。即使20世紀上半葉，中國各政權為了加強軍事能力，進行了不少努力，例如晚清時期成立練兵處(1903年)和國民黨成立了黃埔軍校(1924年)以圖培訓出現代化軍隊。然而，中國軍事力量仍然十分弱小。在武備方面，中國軍事武器仍靠外國出口，而且戰機、戰艦等甚為貧乏，武備大大落後於其他國家。更甚，在平內方面，晚清改革時訓練的新軍成為袁世凱的私人部隊，更反成為袁世凱迫退清帝的利劍。此外，南京政府時期的軍力也不足完全擊敗共產黨，使共產黨日後有反擊的機會。在抵外方面，中國的軍力並不足以抵抗外國入侵，如日本於1930年代初屢屢侵犯中國國境，包括「九一八事件」(1931年)及「一二八事件」(1932年)，及後更於1937年全面侵略中國，國、共兩軍節節敗退，雖然日本最終於1945年投降，但實多虧於美國在太平洋戰爭中為日本送上致命打擊，才能擊敗日本，因此實非中國軍隊的主要功勞。可見，20世紀上半葉的中國軍力仍然弱小，不能被稱為是強國。
中國不但在經濟及軍事等硬實力方面未能達到強國指標，在政治、教育方面同樣也不能視之為現代化。
政治方面，中國弱小的政治影響力也不能令其冠以強國之名。政治強國指一國擁有政治影響力，在國際事務發揮重要的影響力。儘管中國過往曾以「天朝大國」自居。然而，中國自18世紀起開始衰落，政治影響力日益減少，不但未能夠影響鄰近地區的發展，更加是受到列強的蹂躪，連主權也不保。例如1915年日本迫使中國簽訂《廿一條》，試圖令中國成為其保護國。及後，1919年巴黎和會中國以戰勝國身份出席會議，但卻遭受到戰敗國待遇，列強將中國山東利益由德國手上轉交日本，而中國卻只能默然接受，簡直是喪權辱國之舉。及至二次世界大戰後，外國勢力仍然干預中國內政，如美、蘇兩國在第二次國共內戰(1946-49)中分別支持國民黨及共產黨，使中國成為冷戰時期美、蘇雙方鬥爭的場所。換言之，中國不但未能在國際事務上發揮重要的影響力，更加成為列強蹂躪、侵略的對象，地位嚴重不平等，實為弱國而非強國之表現。可見，政治方面中國也不能被稱為強國。
教育方面，中國的教育水平甚低，也不能被稱為強國。教育強國指高的教育水平。教育與國家強大與否有很大關連，因為教育水平高低直接影響了國家的科技程度，從而影響經濟生產模式及軍事武器。雖然中國曾作過出在教育上的現代化努力，例如晚清時期廢除科舉(1905年)、1910年代有新文化運動推動使用白話文以取代文言文、南京政府時期嘗試推行義務教育。然而，中國在20世紀上半葉的教育水平仍然十分落後。在基礎教育方面，佔大部分的農村人口仍然未有接受教育的機會，以致文盲問題嚴重，清末時期的識字率只有約10%。此外，即使南京政府推行《義務教育法》，但礙於資金問題而未有貫徹執行，至1930年代初的識字率也僅得約30%，教育水平十分落後。而且，在高等教育方面，20世紀上半葉的中國大學數量十分少，高等教育發展薄弱，每年僅得很少大學生畢業，例如於1928年只有3252人畢業，但以一個人口達幾億的國家而言，比例是小之又小，可見，中國的教育水平十分落後，並不能稱之為強國。
總括而言，中國在20世紀上半葉的經濟、軍事實力仍然弱小，政治影響力低，教育水平亦十分落後，故整個國家在各方面均不符合強國的標準，並不能被稱得上是「強國」。
Could China be regarded as a ‘power’ in the first half of the 20th century? Explain your answer.
‘Power’, as its name suggests, refers to a country that is powerful. It can be defined in two ways. One is hard power in economic, military and other terms, which means it should be rich and strong. Another is soft power in political, educational and other aspects, which means it should enjoy significant influence and progress that allow it to survive in the international arena and even shape worldwide development. Failing to satisfy the criteria of a power in the said aspects, China could not be regarded as a ‘power’ in the first half of the 20th century.
In economic aspect, China did not satisfy the criteria of a ‘power’. An economic power should be abundantly prosperous and rank high for different industries in its economy. It was true that in the first half of the 20th century, different Chinese regimes implemented various economic reforms, including rail network development under the Late Qing Reform, and financial and industrial development during the Nanjing decade (1927-37), which was even dubbed ‘the Golden decade黃金十年’. However, China at that time still had a long way to go before turning into an ‘economic power’. In terms of prosperity, people’s livelihood in China was far from prosperous, and there were several famines due to drought (Northern China) and flooding (Yangtze River Basin) that caused difficulties in meeting basic needs. Also, China was bound by various unequal treaties to repay indemnity far beyond its affordability, as exemplified by the 450 million taels to be paid under the Boxer Protocol辛丑條約. This drained the treasury and made China more distant from being a wealthy nation. In terms of economic output, more than 80% of the Chinese population practiced agriculture in the period concerned, but the traditional smallholding pattern endured, under which agricultural productivity remained low without mechanization or the use of technology. Agricultural backwardness remained a serious problem. Worse still, China in the first half of the 20th century was characterized by recurrent wars with the chaotic Warlord軍閥 Era coming first, the Chinese Civil War國共內戰 next, and external threats from Japan as well. These caused destruction of factories and farmland and a fall in output, keeping China further away from the world’s top ranks. Therefore, China could not be regarded as a power in economic aspect in the period concerned.
In military aspect, China had inferior military strength and could not be regarded as a power. A military power should possess state-of-the-art armaments and be capable of guaranteeing internal security and external defense. It was true that in the first half of the 20th century, different Chinese regimes made various efforts to enhance the country’s military capability. For instance, the Bureau of Military Training練兵處 (1903) and the Whampoa Military Academy黃埔軍校(1924) were established by the Qing Court and Kuomintang respectively to train a modern army. Nevertheless, China remained militarily incompetent. In terms of armaments, China relied on arms imports and lacked military aircrafts and battleships, falling behind other countries with its military equipment. Worse still, in terms of internal disputes, the New Army新軍 built up during the Late Qing Reform became the private troops of Yuan Shikai as a useful weapon to force the Qing Emperor to abdicate. Also, the military strength during the Nanjing decade fell short of what was needed to defeat the Communist Party completely and this left a chance for the communists to launch a counterattack later. As for external threats, China was too weak to resist foreign aggression. For example, Japan made repeated intrusions into China’s territory in the early 1930s with the September 18th Incident九一八事件(1931) and January 28th Incident一二八事件(1932), and it even started its full-scale invasion of China in 1937. The Nationalist and Communist forces kept on retreating in defeat. Although Japan ended up surrendering in 1945, the US got credit for that because Japan was defeated thanks to America’s fatal blow delivered during the Pacific War, and the result was mainly not the work of the Chinese army. Therefore, China could not be regarded as a power in the period concerned due to its military incapacity.
Not only did China fail to satisfy the criteria of a power in terms of hard power in economic and military terms, it was also not modernized in political and educational aspects.
In political aspect, China did not quality as a power with its insignificant political influence. A political power should enjoy political influence enough to play a key role in international affairs. China had the name of ‘Celestial Empire天朝大國’ back in the day but it had been on decline since the 18th century, with shrinking political influence not enough to make an impact on the development of neighbouring regions and save it from being ravaged by foreign powers and losing its sovereignty. For example, Japan forced China to sign the Twenty One Demands廿一條 in 1915 as an attempt to make China its protectorate. Afterwards, China attended the Paris Peace Conference巴黎和會 of 1919 as a victorious country but was treated as if it was defeated. The powers transferred the German interests in Shandong, China to Japan, and China could say nothing but accept this humiliating arrangement. Even after the Second World War, there was still foreign intervention in China’s internal affairs, as exemplified by the Chinese Civil War國共內戰(1946-49) in which the US and the USSR supported the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party respectively and made China their remote battleground during the Cold War. In other words, China did not only fail to exert significant influence on global issues but also fall prey to foreign aggression. Being in an extremely unequal position, China showed itself to be a weak country instead of a strong one. Therefore, China could not be regarded as a power in political aspect.
In educational aspect, China could not be regarded as a power due to its low educational level. An educational power should enjoy high educational level. Education greatly contributes to how strong a country is because it directly facilitates technological development that will change the production mode and types of weapons used. It was true that there were educational modernization efforts in China, such as the abolishment of the imperial civil service exam科舉(1905), the New Cultural Movement新文化運動 in the 1910s that advocated replacing Classical Chinese with Vernacular Chinese, and the attempt at compulsory education by the Nanjing government. However, China remained backward in terms of educational level in the period concerned. In terms of elementary education, the rural population who took up the majority did not get a chance to receive education. This led to serious illiteracy problem as shown by the literacy rate of mere 10% during the Late Qing period. On top of that, even though the Nanjing government introduced the Compulsory Education Law義務教育法 of 1932, the law was not fully enforced due to financial difficulties and China’s literacy rate of mere 30% in the early 1930s showed the low educational level there. Also, in terms of tertiary education, its foundation was weak with the limited numbers of universities and university graduates in the period concerned. For example, there were only 3,252 graduates in 1928 and this number was very low for a country with a population of several hundred million. It was clear that China was backward in terms of educational level and could not be regarded as a power.
In conclusion, China remained economically and military weak in the first half of the 20th century with low political influence and educational backwardness. From a holistic view, the country did not satisfy the criteria of a ‘power’ and could not be regarded as one.
Kommentare