ABSTRACT
Politics is about power, the exercise of power over human and material resources, and the priority with which these resources are to be acquired, developed, or deployed. In the context of Ch’ing China in the second half of the nineteenth century, politics entails, at least in part, choosing an appropriate solution for preserving the dynasty in the face of internal disorder and Western as well as Japanese imperialism. Questions concerning the necessity of change, the direction of change, and the control and deployment of resources to bring about that change were the central issues of the day.
