Hundred Days Reform | 1898

In 1895, China incurred heavy losses after its defeat by Japan and this proved to be the provocation for a
wide variety of reactions among the Chinese. These reactions became even more so pronounced
because of the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement before that. All were unanimous, however,
in showing a determined desire for political change. Only a few years later, the Hundred Days of Reform
was an attempt to modernise China by reforming its government, economy and society. These reforms
were launched by the young Guangxu emperor and his followers in June 1898. Some intellectuals
believed that for significant reform to succeed, it had to come from above. They hoped the young Qing
emperor might follow the example of the reform-minded Meiji emperor, who had overseen and
encouraged successful economic and military reforms in Japan. But the Hundred Days of Reform was
short lived and mostly ineffective, thwarted by the actions of Dowager Empress Cixi and a cohort of
conservatives in the Qing government and military. The failure of these reforms is considered a
significant starting point for the Chinese Revolution.

The political context of the time was a complex one. The Guangxu Emperor (Qing dynasty) had come to
the throne as a four-year-old in 1875, at the height of the Self Strengthening Movement. During the
emperor’s childhood matters of policy were dealt with by his aunt, adoptive mother and regent, the
Dowager Empress Cixi. From the beginning of the war against Japan, violent disagreements had erupted
at court between powerful officials and the political situation was tense. Several factions had cropped
even at the highest echelons.

Following the Sino-Japanese War, a civil service examination candidate, Kang Youwei sent a memorial
urging for reform and westernization. He sought a hearing with the emperor; however, this petition was
ignored by the imperial Qing government. Meanwhile, within established official circles, a group
of conservative reformers—led by Zhang Zhidong, whose famous work Quanxue pian (“Exhortation to
Learning”) was distributed —calling for the development of Western-style industrialization without the
abandonment of China’s cultural heritage.

It was against this background that Kang Youwei led another group of 1300 scholars to send a second
memorial to the emperor on May 2, 1895. It advocated the rejection of the peace treaty (Treaty of
Shimonoseki) and the institution of a whole series of reforms. The emperor never saw the text as it got
intercepted by a Board of Censors. But a month later, he both read and approved a third memorial by
Kang Youwei. At that point, the treaty already having been ratified only dealt with reforms. A fourth
memorial that openly advocated for representative government was stopped by conservative officials.

These memorials circulated in scholarly circles and we may note the emergence of various “study
societies”, whose self-appointed task was to promote reform. Some of the important societies were the
Society for Study of Self-Strengthening (1895) and the Society for Study of the West (1897). Such
societies were founded around universities and dominated by students and scholars. Reformist ideas
were also spread by the press, which expanded considerably during this period. Among the most
influential was the Shiwu Bao (Current Events Gazette), based in Shanghai.

Spurred by this group and alarmed by the slow dismemberment of China by Western powers in the
wake of the Sino-Japanese War, the government began to seriously consider the idea of reform. As a
result, Kang finally came to the attention of the Guangxu emperor, and in January 1898 he met with a
group of high government officials. On June 11, 1898, the emperor acceded to one of Kang’s requests
and issued his first reform decree, urging his subjects to learn useful foreign information. This was the
start of what was to be known as the Hundred Days of Reform. On June 16, 1898, Kang was given his
first interview with the emperor. Thereafter the government officials who had been advocating
moderate reforms were pushed to the background, and Kang, his famous disciple Liang Qichao, and
other followers became trusted imperial advisers.

In mid-June 1898, the Guangxu emperor gave an audience where he unveiled dozens of broadly-worded
edicts, each ordering the reform of a particular branch of government or policy: from the military to
money, from education to trade. Over the following 100 days, the emperor issued even more reform
edicts, more than 180 altogether. The English language newspaper The Peking Press gave point-
form summaries of these reform edicts as they were handed down. The emperor also summoned
ministers, generals and officials to the Forbidden City, to receive his edicts and to discuss how reform
might be developed and implemented within their respective departments.

The old civil service examination system based on the Chinese Classics was ordered abolished, and a
new system of national schools and colleges was established. Western industry, medicine, science,
commerce, and patent systems were promoted and adopted. Government administration was
revamped, the law code was changed, the military was reformed, and corruption was attacked.

The attack on corruption, the army, and the traditional educational system threatened the privileged
classes of traditional Chinese society. As might be expected, many conservatives viewed these sweeping
reforms as rushed, panicked and dangerous. The Guangxu Emperor’s decrees outraged traditionalist
Confucian scholars, who considered them impetuous and believed they tried to do too much too soon.
The reforms also threatened the position of powerful ministers and bureaucrats and created much work
and disruption for others. The response was a widespread but potent campaign of whispers and
intrigues against the Guangxu emperor. Much of this talk focused on the likely response of the Dowager
Empress.

In the end, both things occurred. Within days of the first edicts, Cixi was working to thwart the emperor
and his reforms. The Dowager Empress ordered the removal of Weng Tonghe, the emperor’s closest
advisor and strongest ally, from the Forbidden City. She ordered the appointment of Ronglu, one of her
allies, as war minister and commander of the army protecting Beijing; and recruited the support of Yuan
Shikai, another powerful general.

The trigger came in September when the Guangxu emperor appointed two foreigners – one English, one
Japanese – to his advisory council. Fearing a Qing government influenced or even controlled by
foreigners, conservatives urged Cixi to move. She did so on September 21st, entering the emperor’s
residence and ordering he sign a document abdicating state power in her favour. Isolated and opposed
by conservative military commanders, the young emperor had little choice but to agree.

Shortly after, Yuan Shikai led troops into the Forbidden City and placed the emperor under house arrest.
The gates of Beijing were locked as the army hunted down reformists and their supporters. Dozens were
captured and executed or thrown into prison; the more fortunate sought refuge in embassies or
escaped to exile. Kang Youwei, who had become the figurehead of the reform movement, managed to
evade capture and fled to Japan. He was later sentenced in absentia to the notorious ling chi (‘slow
slicing’ or ‘death by a thousand cuts’).

Although some moderate reform measures, such as the establishment of modern schools, were
retained, the examination system was re-established and most of the reform edicts, which had never
been enacted anyway, were repealed. In the early 1900s, officials like Zhang Zhidong were allowed to
carry out a full-scale reform effort, but it was a piecemeal, belated effort. The failure of the Hundred
Days of Reform marked the last attempt at a radical revolution by the imperial regime in China.