What were the reasons that led to the demolition of my country’s first railway?

In 1876, the British company Jardine Matheson built a railway between Shanghai and Wusong, the Wusong Railway.

Wusong Railway is the first railway put into operation in China. Train tickets are divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower. The fares are 730 Wen, 360 Wen and 200 Wen respectively. According to the market conditions at the time, pork cost about 50 cents per catty. This means that the cheapest ticket can buy 4 pounds of pork. It can be seen that the train fares on Wusong Railway are relatively expensive.

However, there was an endless stream of people taking the bus. According to the "Shenbao" report: "The trains return six times a day, but the passenger cars are crowded and there is no room. Even those in the city who rarely go out for even a step all year round must take their families for a trip when they hear about this." The trains return six times a day, The buses were so crowded that there was no room left. Those people in the city who stay away from home all year round must bring their families to join in the fun after hearing about such things.

However, the Wusong Railway has faced tremendous pressure since the day it was built. Shanghai Daotai Feng Zhangguang greeted the British consul many times and did not allow them to build the railway without authorization. The British consul adopted a perfunctory attitude while continuing the construction, which resulted in the Wusong Railway being finally completed and put into operation.

Raw rice became cooked rice, and local officials in the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to acquiesce in its existence.

Soon, a traffic accident occurred on the Wusong Railway: a pedestrian had never seen a train before. When he passed by the railway, he saw the roaring train. He panicked and was run over by the train. die. If someone dies, it will be serious now. Local people protested. Feng Zhangguang took the opportunity to find the British consul again and asked the train driver to pay for his life.

The British Consular Court in the Shanghai Concession heard the case and found the train driver not guilty and acquitted in accordance with British Railway Law. This angered the local people even more. In order to avoid further intensification of conflicts, the British Consul General in Shanghai, William Wytoma, ordered the Wusong Railway to temporarily cease operations.

The Qing government stepped up negotiations with Britain, hoping to buy back the Wusong Railway. On October 24 of that year, China and Britain signed the "Articles for the Purchase of Wusong Railway" in Nanjing: Wusong Railway was bought out by China at a price of 285,000 taels of silver, which was paid in three installments.

On October 20, 1877, after paying the down payment, the Qing government bought back the Wusong Railway and, despite strong opposition from the United Kingdom and the United States, leveled the railway bed and demolished the station buildings. The carriages, locomotives, rails, etc. were shipped to Taiwan.

China’s first operating railway only existed for a short period of time before being hastily dismantled.

What was the reason why the Qing government demolished the Wusong Railway?

At that time, most officials in the Qing Dynasty opposed the construction of railways. There are roughly three reasons for objection. The first is "enemies": the railway is beneficial to foreigners who invade the country and drive straight into it. The second is "sick people": the railway takes up a lot of farmland, demolishes houses and graves, and damages Feng Shui. The third is "unemployment": after the railway is completed, the boat and carriage porters, inns and shops along the line will no longer be able to make a living, and they will surely gather into bandits.

Even Li Hongzhang, Liu Kunyi, Shen Baozhen and other Westernization officials believed that it was necessary to dismantle the Wusong Railway.

The view of Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, is: "The capital is the foundation of the world, and the Yangtze River is the most important area of ​​wealth. However, if we can guard this most important and secondary place, there will be setbacks if the Haikou border of the other provinces is slightly arranged." "Li Hongzhang believes that the Wusong area is an important area second only to the capital and cannot be handed over to others, and the Wusong Railway must be "taken back and managed by oneself."

Liu Kunyi, Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, believed that the Wusong Railway would threaten the military status of Wusong Fort: "Although it is not enough to block the Yangtze River, it can also defend Su and Song counties."

Governor of Liangjiang In a letter to Guo Songtao, Shen Baozhen said: "There is nothing the railway brothers are more willing to do than Wusong, which is not their place. When loading and unloading goods, it is impossible to prevent theft and leakage."

It can be seen from this. The Qing government demolished the Wusong Railway out of political, economic, military and other factors, and it was not just about "destroying Feng Shui".