In the early 19th century, Lin Zexu and others put forward the idea of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners", which was once agreed by the Qing government. So the Qing government set up a shipyard in Mawei, bought foreign guns and guns from France, Germany and other countries, set up a naval academy, and sent people to study abroad and learn to drive warships. At that time, Zuo Zongtang presided over the manufacture of Mawei Ship, and after the court agreed and allocated funds, Zuo Zongtang handed over all the projects to Hu Xueyan, who had helped him, and made this "red-topped businessman".

originally, China learned advanced technology from foreign countries, but France wanted to turn China into a colony, so French warships entered Mawei port to throw their weight around. On August 23, 1884, French warships suddenly fired their guns and attacked the naval fleet of China. In the face of sudden heavy artillery fire, Fujian navy rushed to fight and fought back bravely. Ten thousand soldiers and civilians along the river took part in the war and blocked the river. In the naval battle, Fujian Navy was hit hard, and many warships were sunk, killing more than 7 people and 62 French soldiers. Afraid of being trapped in the ponytail, the French army retreated. This is a war of "teachers beating students". The bones of the soldiers killed in the naval battle were buried here. People represented by Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Hongzhang actually advocate peace talks, compromise and no resistance, and fantasize that Britain and the United States will mediate.

After the Second Opium War, the idea of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners" was adopted by the Qing government, and it followed the example of "Western law" and set up westernization. In 1866, Zuo Zongtang founded the "Ship School" in Mawei, Fuzhou. The ship administration run by Shen Baozhen was the biggest product of the Westernization Movement and became the earliest shipbuilding industry in China. However, the ship administration was not limited to China's modern industry, and it had a far-reaching influence on modern China in economy, politics, military affairs, science and technology, education and culture. Ship Administration boldly challenged the old education such as "private school, official school, Chinese studies", innovated and followed the imperial examination system for thousands of years and the educational model of "attaching importance to righteousness and reason, ignoring skills", broke through the traditional concept of being closed to the outside world, absorbed foreign essence, taught science and technology, and attached importance to the combination of theory and practice. Its model was followed by Tianjin, Nanjing, Huangpu, Weihai, Kunming and other places. No matter whether it is the official gentry or the children of the common people, the ship administration can sign up for the exam. He sent young children to study abroad, bought guns, built ships that were second only to Britain at that time, bought rolling mills, lathes, built warships, planes, compasses and telescopes. When taking an examination of mechanics, you should first take an examination of your physical fitness. As long as you can lift a big stone lock, you can take the examination. The school he runs implements the elimination system, with more than 6 students at the time of admission. If every exam is rated as "third class", he will be ordered to drop out of school, and only 16 students will graduate. At that time, Yan Fu won the first place in the exam, which was greatly appreciated by the school and sent him to study abroad. Yan Fu later translated the theory of evolution and introduced Huxley's theory of evolution, which influenced a generation. Yan Fu became the first principal of Peking University. Zhan Tianyou studied in the United States, and later learned to drive in a ship school. Later, he built a railway and became one of the founders of China's railways.

In a word, the war made the people of China resist the rise of the invaders, awakened the patriotic enthusiasm of the people on the other hand, accelerated the downfall of the fatuous Qing government, inspired the national pride of a generation of Chinese people and made a generation of national heroes. As a territory of China, Fuzhou has experienced the same historical changes.