Background
Sheng Xuanhuai was born in Wujin, Jiangsu, to a scholar-gentry family.
Sheng Xuanhuai was born in Wujin, Jiangsu, to a scholar-gentry family.
Sheng Xuanhuai received a traditional education. He gained the shengyuan title at the age of twenty-one. After failing the jinshi degree examination three times, Sheng joined the entourage of Li Hongzhang as a functionary.
In 1876 he successfully negotiated with the Jardine &c Matheson Company for the return of the unauthorized Shanghai-Wusong (Woosung) railroad. Li soon entrusted him with the administration of various state-sponsored enterprises, among which were the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, the Imperial Telegraph Administration, and the Shanghai Cotton Cloth Mill.
Li Hongzhang's fall after China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 hardly affected Sheng Xuanhuai’s career. Under the aegis of Zhang Zhidong, governor general of Hunan and Hubei, his industrial empire continued to expand. One of his major acquisitions in this period was the bankrupt Hanyang Ironworks, which was reorganized as a guandu shangbatt industry in 1896. He merged the Ironworks with the Daye Iron Mines in Hubei and the Pingxiang Coal Mines in Jiangxi to form the Han-Ye-Ping industrial complex under his directorship in 1908.
As an entrepreneur, Sheng Xuanhuai’s interests went beyond the devel-opment of basic industries. For the training of engineers and administrators, he founded two Western educational institutions the Beiyang College in Tianjin (1895) and the Nanyang College in Shanghai (1896). Between 1896 and 1906, he was director general of the Imperial Railway Administration, which contributed to the building of the Beijing-Hankou line. In 1897 he organized the first modern Chinese bank, the Imperial Bank of China.
During the Boxer Uprising, Sheng Xuanhuai played a leading role in designing the policy of neutralization of southeast China, which saved the area from social disturbance and economic devastation. In recognition of his contribution, he was awarded the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir-Apparent in 1901. He became vice-president of the Ministry of Public Works the next year. Between 1902 and 1907 his official career suffered a temporary eclipse as a result of the rise of Yuan Shikai, who aggressively took over the enterprises formerly started by Li Hongzhang.
Sheng Xuanhuai managed to regain his influence in the imperial government after Yuan Shikai's retirement in 1909. He reached the apex of his career with his appointment to the position of minister of Posts and Communications in 1911. However, his negotiation of a new loan from the Four-Power Banking Consortium and the policy of railroad nationalization led to the bitter opposition of the provincial gentry and merchants. This triggered the Railways Protection Movement in central China, which in part brought about the fall of the dynasty. Sheng was dismissed from office by the imperial court in 1911. During the 1911 Revolution, he fled to Japan. After his return to Shanghai in 1913, he resumed control of the China Merchants,Navigation Company and the Han-Ye-Ping Coal and Iron Company. In the same year, Sheng offered support to Yuan Shikai in the suppression of the Second Revolution. He died in Shanghai on April 27, 1916.
Sheng Xuanhuai’s career generally epitomized China’s early attempts at industrialization. Economic historians have often emphasized the limitations of the state-sponsored enterprises, and projected a negative image of the industrial officials. Based on newly available material, recent studies have shed light on the positive side of the guandu shangban policy. The industrial officials, particularly Sheng Xuanhuai, are credited for their pioneering role in the defense of China's commercial and national rights during the late Qing period.
Taking active part in the Self-Strengthening Movement, He actively advocated using Western technology in saving the country from destitution. His influence was mainly felt in the southern part of China, specifically in Shanghai. By 1893, Sheng controlled China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, established the Imperial Telegraphy Administration and created first successful cotton mill in China. In 1896, he took over the Hanyang ironworks and related mines, along with control of the newly created imperial railway administration.