Seisenkai - Seisenkai

A Chinese bureaucrat and politician in the late Qing Dynasty, one of the leading figures in the later stages of the Westernization Movement. His pen name was Xingsun or Youxun. He was from Wujin, Jiangsu Province. His pen name was either Jigi or Guzai. Although he did not pass the imperial examination, he was recognized for his abilities under Li Hongzhang, and he served as director of the China Merchants Bureau (a public-private joint shipping company), supervisor of the East China Customs (Zhifu Customs, Shandong Province), Tianjin Customs Road, director of the China Railway Company, general director of the China Commercial Bank, and general director of the Telegraph Bureau, and rose to prominence as an economic bureaucrat and financial figure. After Li Hongzhang's death, he allied with Zhang Zhidong and came into conflict with Yuan Shikai. Around 1908, he implemented a policy of nationalizing the major railways, and accepted foreign loans using the railways as collateral in an attempt to restore the finances of the Qing dynasty, which was opposed by a wide range of classes. This opposition movement triggered the Xinhai Revolution, which resulted in the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the downfall of Sheng. Westernization faction bureaucrats generally had a strong tendency to "rise to power and make money" (to advance in the government ranks and make a fortune), and Sheng was a typical example.

[Akio Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)末の官僚、政治家で、洋務運動後期の代表者の一人。字(あざな)は杏蓀(きょうそん)または幼勛。江蘇(こうそ)省武進の人。号は次沂(じぎ)または愚斎。科挙に合格しなかったが、李鴻章(りこうしょう)の幕下で実力を認められ、招商局（公私合営の海運会社）を皮切りに、東海関（山東省芝罘(チーフー)税関）監督、天津(てんしん)海関道、鉄路公司(コンス)督弁、中国通商銀行総弁、電報局総弁などを歴任または兼任し、経済官僚、財界人として頭角を現した。李鴻章没後は張之洞(ちょうしどう)と結んで袁世凱(えんせいがい)と対立した。1908年ごろから主要鉄道国有化政策を打ち出し、鉄道を担保に外国から借款を受け入れて、清朝の財政の立て直しを図り、広範な階層の反対を受けた。この反対運動が辛亥(しんがい)革命への引き金になり、その結果、清朝は滅亡し、盛も失脚した。洋務派官僚は一般に「昇官発財」（官界に出世して財をなす）の傾向が強く、盛はその一典型であった。

［伊東昭雄］

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