Ti yong

Ti-Yong (simplified Chinese: 体用; traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: tǐ yòng) was a concept formed around the reform era at the end of the Qing dynasty's rule in China. The concept is formed around two Chinese words: tĭ - meaning "essence", and yòng - meaning "practical use". The concept came to describe the method of self-strengthening envisioned by Confucian reformers of the late nineteenth century. The belief was that China should maintain its own style of learning to keep the "essence" of society, while at the same time using Western learning for "practical application" in developing its infrastructure and economy.