"[1][2] In a modern context, the phrase qingyi refers a group of officials that opposed Li Hongzhang and the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s and 1870s.

Li emphasized the adoption of Western manufacturing techniques and complained of the irresponsible talk of the qingyi.

John Fairbanks classified him as a Confucian conservative based on his ti-yong (Chinese: 體用; pinyin: tǐ-yòng) or “structure-use” thesis.

The court, led by members of the Manchu minority, saw mass participation in political issues as a threat to their power.

The disastrous Boxer Rebellion of 1900 can be seen as an attempt to implement the qingyi`s ideas about mass participation in the fight against foreign powers.