Guangxu Emperor

**Guangxu**

**Emperor of China**
 Predecessor
**Concubines:**
Consort Zhen

The **Guangxu Emperor** (born 14 August 1871), personal name **Zaitian**, nicknamed «**the Great**», is the 10th and current Emperor of the Qing Dynasty since 1875, although in practice he has ruled without Empress Dowager Cixi's influence only since 1898. His era name, "Guangxu", means "glorious succession".

As the initiator of the Hundred Days Reform, the Empress Dowager's attempted coup d'etat with the support of the conservative ruling elite, with whom the Emperor stood at odds, resulted in the Wuxu War. The liberal and moderate forces loyal to Guangxu fought against reactionary forces in what became a 3-year long war which saw the separation of Mongolia and the start of an insurgency in Kashgaria. Ultimately, the reformist forces, led by Yuan Shikai and supported by European powers, imposed themselves over the conservatives.

After the victory the Guangxu Emperor envisioned the Qing Dynasty's transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy based on the French and British models, and the start of an ambicious project to westernize China and improve the nation's economy and industry. Although loved by his subjects, the country still stands at odds with the influence the military holds in the young constitutional government, and the role it plays is questioned by many. Much is to be done if the Qing is to adapt successfully.

## Biography

### Early life

**Aisin-Gioro Zaitian** was born on 14 August 1871 as the second son of Yixuan, Prince Chun of the First Rank. After Emperor Tongzhi died childless in 1875, the question about his successor sparked up in the Imperial Court. Although Empress Dowager Ci'an had proposed one of Prince Gong's sons, she was overruled by her co-regent Empress Dowager Cixi, who pushed for the coronation of her nephew, the 4-year old Zaitian as Emperor of China.

### Early reign

Zaitian was named the heir and successor to his uncle the Xianfeng Emperor, rather than to his cousin the Tongzhi Emperor, as to maintain the father-son succession laws. Upon ascension he chose "*Guangxu*" as his regnal name, therefore becoming known as the Guangxu Emperor, being adopted by Empresses Dowager Ci'an and Cixi.

In 1876, Weng Tonghe became the Guangxu Emperor's tutor, instilling the seeds of reformism in the young sovereign's mind, while at the same time creating in him a sense of filial piety towards Cixi and Ci'an which would endure for decades. The unexpected death of Empress Dowager Ci'an in 1881 was a deep blow to the Emperor, whose depression during this time was noted in his diary by Weng Tonghe, who by this time had become a fatherly figure for the boy.

### Start of full rule

In 1887, the Emperor reached maturity and was legally allowed to start ruling on his own right, however Cixi would postpone his full ascension to power until 1889, when he was married to Empress Jingfen, Cixi's niece, and to two sisters who would become Consorts Jin and Zhen, respectively.

Despite the start of Guangxu's proper reign, Cixi continued to influence Guangxu during these years, and the young Emperor often travelled to the Summer Palace to seek advice from her. In March 1891, the Emperor received the foreign ministers of various nations in an audience, as the Tongzhi Emperor had done in 1873. That same summer, in response to revolts targeting Chinese Christians and missionaries, the Emperor pushed an edict declaring them under state protection. In October 1891, the Sino-Japanese War broke out after a treaty of subservience had been imposed over Korea by the Japanese. The war ended in a humilliating Chinese defeat, and saw the loss of the island of Taiwan (Formosa) and the port of Amoy to the Japanese.

Following the war, the Guangxu Emperor came to believe that by learning from a nation like Japan, the Qing Empire would become more politically and economically powerful. In June 1896, the emperor began the Hundred Days' Reform, aimed at a series of sweeping political, legal and social changes. For a brief time, after Cixi's supposed retirement in 1889, the Guangxu Emperor issued edicts for a massive number of far-reaching modernizing reforms with the help of more progressive officials such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.