Hundred Days ' reform - wikipedia Hundred Days ' reform This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( June 2011 ) Hundred Days ' Reform Traditional Chinese 戊戌 變法 Simplified Chinese 戊戌 变法 show Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin wùxū biànfǎ Alternative Chinese name Traditional Chinese 百 日 維新 Simplified Chinese 百 日 维新 Literal meaning Hundred Days ' Reform show Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin bǎirì wéixīn The Hundred Days ' Reform was a failed 104 - day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement from 11 June to 22 September 1898 in late Qing dynasty China. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu Emperor and his reform - minded supporters. Following the issuing of the reformative edicts, a coup d'état ( `` The Coup of 1898 '', Wuxu Coup ) was perpetrated by powerful conservative opponents led by Empress Dowager Cixi. Contents 1 Beginning 2 End 3 Aftermath 4 Differing interpretations 4.1 Failure as Kang 's responsibility 4.2 Richard 's federation theory 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References Beginning See also : Self - Strengthening Movement Guangxu ( born 1871, reigned 1875 -- 1908 ) ordered a series of reforms aimed at making sweeping social and institutional changes. He did this in response to weaknesses exposed by China 's defeat by Japan in the First Sino - Japanese War in 1894 - 1895, not long after the First ( 1839 - 1842 ) and Second ( 1856 - 1860 ) Opium Wars ; this blow came as a major shock to the Chinese, because Japan had been regarded as a tributary state, was much smaller than China, and was regarded as inferior. China also fought France in the Sino - French War from 1884 to 1885. Moreover, the defeat of China by Japan led to a scramble for `` privileges '' in China by other foreign powers, notably by the German Empire and Russia, further awakening the conservatives. Before the First Sino - Japanese War, China engaged in technological modernization only, buying modern weapons, ships, artillery, and building modern arsenals to produce these weapons, and only giving their soldiers modern weapons without institutional reform, all the while declining to reform the government or civil society according to western standards - unlike Japan, which adopted western - style government with a Parliament and completely reorganized its army along western lines. With the help of certain senior officials of the Qing court who supported 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. The goals of these reforms included : abolishing the traditional examination system eliminating sinecures ( positions that provided little or no work but provided a salary ) establishing Peking University as a place where Western liberal arts and sciences and the Chinese classics would both be available for study establishing agricultural schools in all provinces and schools and colleges in all provinces and cities building a modern education system ( studying math and science instead of focusing mainly on Confucian texts, etc. ) encouraging imperial family members to study abroad changing the government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy applying principles of capitalism to strengthen the economy modernizing China 's military and adopting Western training and drill methods establishing a naval academy utilizing unused military land for farming rapid industrialization of all of China through manufacturing, commerce, and capitalism establishing trade schools for the manufacture of silk, tea, and other traditional Chinese crafts establishment of a bureau for railways and mines The reformers declared that China needed more than `` self - strengthening '' and that innovation must be accompanied by institutional and ideological change. However, conservatives like Prince Duan opposed the reformers, suspecting a foreign plot. Prince Duan wanted to expel foreigners completely from China. In addition to the edicts of reform, plans were made to forcefully remove Empress Dowager Cixi from power. Yuan Shikai was supposed to kill Ronglu and take control of the military garrison at Tientsin. He was then intended to return to Beijing with the contingent and imprison the Empress Dowager ; however, Yuan had previously promised his support to Ronglu and instead of killing him, told him of the plot. This led to the coup that ended the Hundred Days ' Reform. End Opposition to the reform was intense among the conservative ruling elite, who, condemning the announced reform as too radical, proposed instead a more moderate and gradualist course of change. With the aforementioned, tacit support of the political opportunist Yuan Shikai and the backing of conservatives, Empress Dowager Cixi engineered a coup d'état on September 22, 1898, forcing the young, reform - minded Guangxu into seclusion. The emperor was put under house arrest within the Summer Palace 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 and Liu Guangdi. The two principal leaders, Kang Youwei and his student Liang Qichao, fled to Japan 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. During the Hundred Days ' Reform in 1898 Generals Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang, and Ma Haiyan were called to Beijing and helped put an end to the reform movement along with Ma Fulu and Ma Fuxiang. Dong Fuxiang and the Muslim Gansu Army stationed in Beijing during the Hundred Days ' Reform later participated in the Boxer Rebellion and became known as the Kansu Braves. Aftermath The court put into effect some reform measures a decade later. 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. Leo Tolstoy corresponded with Gu Hongming on the Hundred Day 's Reform and agreed that the reform movement was ill - advised. 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. Failure as Kang 's responsibility 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 Iron hats 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 Itō 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 underestimated the reactionary nature of the vested interests involved. The Emperor set about to enact his reforms largely bypassing the powerful Grand Council. The councillors, 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. Richard 's federation theory According to Professor Lei Chia - sheng ( 雷 家 聖 ), Japanese former prime minister Itō Hirobumi ( 伊藤 博文 ) arrived in China on September 11, 1898, about the same time that Kang Youwei invited British missionary Timothy Richard to Beijing. Richard suggested that China appoint Itō as one of many foreign advisors in order to further push China 's reform efforts. On September 18, Richard successfully convinced Kang to adopt his plan in which China would join a federation ( 合邦 ) of ten nations. Kang nonetheless asked fellow reformers Yang Shenxiu ( 楊深秀 ) and Song Bolu ( 宋伯魯 ) to report this plan to the Guangxu Emperor. On September 20, Yang sent a memorial to the emperor to that effect. In another memorial to the Emperor written the next day, Song advocated the formation of a federation and the sharing of the diplomatic, fiscal, and military powers of the four countries under a hundred - man committee. Lei Chia - sheng argues that this idea was the reason why Cixi, who had just returned from the Summer Palace on September 19, decided to put an end to the reforms with the September 21 coup. On October 13, following the coup, British ambassador Claude MacDonald reported to his government about the Chinese situation, saying that Chinese reforms had been `` much injured '' by Kang and his friends ' actions. The British and American governments had been largely unaware of the `` federation '' plot, which appears to have been Richard 's own personal idea. The Japanese government might have been aware of Richard 's plan, since his accomplice was the former Japanese prime minister, but there is no evidence to this effect yet. See also New Policies History of China Qing dynasty Economy of China Economic history of China ( Pre-1911 ) Economic history of China ( 1912 -- 1949 ) Notes ^ Jump up to : Eckel, Paul E. ( 1948 ). The Far East since 1500. New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company. pp. 278 -- 280. Jump up ^ The China Year Book. G. Routledge & Sons, Limited. 1914. pp. 572 --. Jump up ^ Leonhard, Robert R. `` The China Relief Expedition Joint Coalition Warfare in China Summer 1900 '' ( PDF ). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. p. 13. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Jump up ^ 董福祥 与 西北 马 家 军阀 的 的 故事 - 360Doc 个人 图书 馆 Jump up ^ Khoon Choy Lee ( 1 January 2005 ). Pioneers of Modern China : Understanding the Inscrutable Chinese. World Scientific. pp. 10 --. ISBN 978 - 981 - 256 - 618 - 8. Jump up ^ See, for instance, `` Hundred Days of Reform ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 November 2011. Jump up ^ Lei Chia - sheng 雷 家 聖, Liwan kuanglan : Wuxu zhengbian xintan 力挽狂瀾 : 戊戌 政變 新 探 ( Containing the furious waves : a new view of the 1898 coup ), Taipei : Wanjuan Lou 萬 卷 樓, 2004. Jump up ^ Richard, Timothy, Forty - five Years in China : Reminiscences publ. Frederick A. Stokes ( 1916 ) Jump up ^ Kang Youwei 康有為, Kang Nanhai ziding nianpu 康 南海 自 訂 年譜 ( Chronicle of Kang Youwei 's Life, by Kang Youwei ), Taipei : Wenhai chubanshe 文海 出版 社, p. 67. Jump up ^ Yang Shenxiu, `` Shandong dao jiancha yushi Yang Shenxiu zhe '' 山東 道 監察 御 史 楊深秀 摺 ( Palace memorial by Yang Shenxiu, Investigating Censor of Shandong Circuit ), in Wuxu bianfa dang'an shiliao 戊戌 變法 檔案 史料 ( Archival sources on the history of the 1898 reforms ), Beijing : Zhonghua shuju, 1959, p. 15. 「 臣 尤 伏 願 我 皇上 早 定 大 計, 固 結 英 、 美 、 日本 三國, 勿 嫌 『 合邦 』 之 名 之 不 美. 」 Jump up ^ Song Bolu, `` Zhang Shandong dao jiancha yushi Song Bolu zhe '' 掌 山東 道 監察 御 史 宋伯魯 摺 ( Palace memorial by Song Bolu, Investigating Censor in charge of the Shandong Circuit ), in Wuxu bianfa dang'an shiliao, p. 170. 「 渠 ( 李 提 摩 太 ) 之 來 也, 擬 聯合 中國 、 日本 、 美國 及 英國 為 合邦, 共 選 通達 時務 、 曉暢 各國 掌故 者 百人, 專 理 四 國 兵 政 稅則 及 一切 外交 等 事. 」 Jump up ^ Correspondence Respecting the Affairs of China, Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty ( London, 1899.3 ), No. 401, p. 303. References Rebecca E. Karl and Peter Gue Zarrow, eds., Rethinking the 1898 Reform Period : Political and Cultural Change in Late Qing China. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2002. ISBN 0 - 674 - 00854 - 5. Luke S.K. Kwong. A Mosaic of the Hundred Days : Personalities, Politics, and Ideas of 1898. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 1984. ISBN 0 - 674 - 58742 - 1. Lei Chia - sheng 雷 家 聖 ( 2004 ). Liwan kuanglan : Wuxu zhengbian xintan 力挽狂瀾 : 戊戌 政變 新 探 ( Containing the furious waves : a new view of the 1898 coup ). Taipei : Wanjuan lou 萬 卷 樓. ISBN 957 - 739 - 507 - 4. 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Question: who stopped the reforms of the qing emperor in 1898
Answer: powerful conservative opponents led by Empress Dowager Cixi