Using the "two-point theory", we should correctly understand the historical role of the Westernization Movement. The Westernization Movement strengthened the Qing government's ability to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom revolution, but it also resisted foreign aggression, but its ultimate goal was to maintain the feudal autocratic rule of the Qing Dynasty. Judging from the tendency, the Westernization Movement demanded to change the laws of ancestors, opposed to blindly rejecting the die-hards, and advocated learning from advanced western science and technology, which not only complied with the development of "new ideas". It also had an important influence on the later bourgeois reform thought. From the objective effect, although the Westernization Movement did not make China prosperous, it resisted the economic aggression of foreign capitalism to a certain extent and induced the emergence of Chinese national capitalism. It is the turning point of China's development from traditional manual production to large-scale machine production, which has developed China's modern military and education and promoted the democratic revolution and modernization of China as a whole.

positive results

(1) objectively promoted the development of China's early industry and national capitalism. The Westernization School inherited Wei Yuan's thought of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners", and developed military industry and a number of civilian enterprises with the goal of "seeking strength" and "seeking wealth", which significantly increased the capitalist economic component in the social economy. (2) It became the beginning of modern education in China. In order to cultivate new diplomacy, the Westernization School opened a number of new schools and sent the earliest official students, which was the beginning of modern education in China. (3) spread new knowledge and broaden people's horizons. The Westernization School translated a batch of western books and introduced modern western scientific and cultural knowledge, which brought new knowledge and insight to China at that time and broadened people's horizons. (4) It has caused changes in social atmosphere and values. With the rise of Westernization Movement,

Limitations:

First, the Westernization School tried to use some advantages of western capitalism to maintain feudal autocracy without touching the decadent feudal system. The contradiction between this means and the foundation makes the Westernization Movement doomed to be impossible. At the same time, the Westernization Movement was obstructed and destroyed by die-hards all over the country, which increased the resistance to the development of the Westernization Movement. Second, the class limitations of the Westernization School itself determine that they are both founders and operators of modern industry. It is also its destroyer and destroyer, and its feudal yamen and bureaucracy will inevitably lead to the failure of westernization enterprises. Third, one of the purposes of the Westernization Movement was to resist foreign aggression, but the Westernization School insisted on "harmony without difference" in conducting diplomatic activities and surrendered to foreign countries. The modern enterprises they founded have the function of resisting foreign aggression and benefiting people, but they can't change the semi-colonial and semi-feudal social status of China.