Prince Chun Y i- xuan was an important figure in government circles in the late Qing Dynasty He had a sharp mind and was honest in performing his official duties. Prince Chun made a great contribution in early stage of the Chinese modernization .Especially outstanding were his achievements in launching the construction of railways. However the public was criticized him because he helped the Empress Dowager Cixi build the Summer Palace T he diversion of resources to the construction of the Summer Palace has long been considered a contributing fact or to the Qing 's defeat in the Sino - Japanese War ( 1894- 1895) , bu t the author thinks such view s are incorrect.