Hundred Days' Reform

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The Hundred Days' Reform (simplified Chinese: 戊戌变法; traditional Chinese: 戊戌變法; pinyin: wùxū biànfǎ, or simplified Chinese: 百日维新; traditional Chinese: 百日維新; pinyin: bǎirì wéixīn) was a failed 104-day national cultural, political and educational reform movement from 11 June to 21 September 1898, undertaken by the young Guangxu Emperor and his reform-minded supporters led by Kang Youwei. The movement proved to be short-lived, ending in a coup d'état (戊戌政變 "The Coup of 1898") by powerful conservative opponents led by Empress Dowager Cixi.

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[edit] Beginning

The Qing emperor of China, Guangxu (1875–1908), ordered a series of reforms aimed at making sweeping social and institutional changes. This was in response to weaknesses exposed by China's defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-5, not long after the Opium Wars; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble of 'privileges' in China by other foreign powers, notably the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the stubborn conservatives.

With the help of certain senior officials of the Qing court, who were supporters of reform, Kang Youwei was permitted to speak with the Emperor, and his suggestions were enacted. Some of Kang's students were also given minor but strategic posts in the capital to assist with the reforms. Three essential preconditions of reform were:

  • Elimination of sinecures (positions that provide little or no work but give a salary)
  • Creation of a modern education system (studying maths and science instead of focusing mainly on Confucian texts, etc.)

The reformers declared that China needed more than "self-strengthening" and that innovation must be accompanied by institutional and ideological change.

[edit] End

Opposition to the reform was intense among the conservative ruling elite, especially the Manchus, who, condemning the announced reform as too radical, proposed instead a more moderate and gradualist course of change. Supported by ultraconservatives and having the tacit support of the political opportunist Yuan Shikai, Empress Dowager Cixi engineered a coup d'état on September 21, 1898, forcing the young, reform-minded Guangxu into seclusion. The emperor was put under house arrest within the Forbidden City until his death in 1908. Cixi then took over the government as regent. The Hundred Days' Reform ended with the rescinding of the new edicts and the execution of six of the reform's chief advocates, together known as the "Six Gentlemen" (戊戌六君子): Tan Sitong, Kang Guangren (Kang Youwei's brother), Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui (reformer) and Liu Guangdi. The two principal leaders, Kang Youwei and his student Liang Qichao, fled abroad to found the Baohuang Hui (Protect the Emperor Society) and to work, unsuccessfully, for a constitutional monarchy in China. Another leader of the reform, Tan Sitong, refused to flee and was arrested and executed .

According to the new research of Taiwan’s scholar Lei Chiasheng in 2004, there is new explanation of Cixi’s coup in 1898. During the period of Hundred Days' Reform, Japanese prime minister Ito Hirobumi（伊藤博文） and British missionary Timothy Richard went to Beijing and lobbied Kang Youwei（康有為） for the plots of “borrow- talent” （借才）and “united-states”（合邦）. In fact,the plots were diplomatic tricks. Cixi found the plots and arranged the coup to stop them. According to the files of Qing Government, we can understand that Cixi could get the information about the new-policies. So she could read the Yang Shenxiu（楊深秀）’s report which was suggestion on uniting the China, USA, UK and Japan. Finally, she understood the dangerous situation and started the coup.

[edit] Aftermath

In the decade that followed, the court belatedly put into effect some reform measures. These included the abolition of the Imperial Examination in 1905, educational and military modernization patterned after the model of Japan, and an experiment in constitutional and parliamentary government. The suddenness and ambitiousness of the reform effort actually hindered its success. One effect, to be felt for decades to come, was the establishment of the New Army, which, in turn, gave rise to warlordism.

On the other hand, the failure of the reform movement gave great impetus to revolutionary forces within China. Changes within the establishment were seen to be largely hopeless, and the overthrow of the whole Qing government increasingly appeared to be the only viable way to save China. Such sentiments directly contributed to the success of the Chinese Revolution in 1911, barely a decade later.

[edit] Differing Interpretations

Views of the Hundred Days' Reform have grown increasingly more complex and nuanced. The traditional view portrayed the reformers as heroes and the conservative elites, particularly the Empress Dowager Cixi, as villains unwilling to reform because of their selfish interests.

However, some historians in the late 20th century have taken views that are more favorable to the conservatives and less favorable to the reformers. In this view, Kang Youwei and his allies were hopeless dreamers unaware of the political realities in which they operated. This view argues that the conservative elites were not opposed to change and that practically all of the reforms that were proposed were eventually implemented.

For example, Sterling Seagrave, in his book "The Dragon Lady", argues that there were several reasons why the reforms failed. Chinese political power at the time was firmly in the hands of the ruling Manchu nobility. The highly xenophobic Ironhats faction dominated the Grand Council and were seeking ways to expel all Western influence from China. When implementing reform, the Guangxu Emperor by-passed the Grand Council and appointed four reformers to advise him. These reformers were chosen after a series of interviews, including the interview of Kang Youwei, who was rejected by the Emperor and had far less influence than Kang's later boasting would indicate. At the suggestion of the reform advisors, the Guangxu Emperor also held secret talks with former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi with the aim of using his experience in the Meiji Restoration to lead China through similar reforms.

It has also been suggested, controversially, that Kang Youwei actually did a great deal of harm to the cause by his perceived arrogance in the eyes of the conservatives. Rumours about potential repercussions, many of them false, made their way to the Grand Council, and were one of the factors in their decision to stage a coup against the Emperor. Kang, like many of the reformers, grossly under-estimated the reactionary nature of the vested interests involved.

The Emperor set about to enact his reforms largely bypassing the powerful Grand Council. The councilors, angry at the Emperor's actions and fearful of losing the political power they had, then turned to the Empress Dowager Cixi to remove the emperor from power. Many, though not all, of the reforms were cancelled. The Council, now confident in their power, pushed for the execution of the reformers, an action that was carried out ruthlessly.

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