Chapter 10 9. Kang Youwei advocated political reform

When Yuan Shikai was training troops in Xiaozhan, a major event happened in the Qing court, which was the "Eight Movement Coup".Yuan Shikai has an important relationship with the Reform Movement of 1898, so before we describe this period of history, we must first explain all the things between the Queen Mother and Guangxu. After the death of Emperor Tongzhi, because he had no sons and no adoptive sons, the uninitiated Empress Dowager Ci'an (East Empress) and the ambitious Empress Dowager Cixi (Empress Dowager Xi) agreed together that the second son of Prince Chun (Yizhen) Zaitian, as the successor son of Emperor Xianfeng, inherited the throne, this is Emperor Guangxu.According to the imperial succession law of the Qing Dynasty, this is unreasonable, because Tongzhi and Guangxu are both "Zai" characters, they are cousins, and there is no precedent in the Qing Dynasty.However, Guangxu's father, Yizhen, was the brother of Emperor Xianfeng, and Guangxu's mother was the younger sister of the Queen Mother, and the two brothers married two sisters.The Empress Dowager Xi is both Guangxu's aunt and Guangxu's aunt, and she is closer than her own son. This relationship should be the closest.It is safe and controllable to choose a relative with such a relationship to be the emperor. What's more, the Queen Mother has a strong desire for power at this time. If she does not become the Queen Mother, how can she listen to politics behind the curtain?

Guangxu came to the throne at the age of five, and he was still an ignorant child. All the political affairs of the Qing court were listened to by the two empress dowagers behind the curtain.The Eastern Empress Dowager has always been unwilling to take charge, so the Western Empress Dowager has real power.By the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), Guangxu was already 17 years old. At this time, the Eastern Empress Dowager had also died for more than five years. The Western Empress Dowager was embarrassed to continue to listen to the government, so she announced that she would "return the government" in the first month of next year. In fact, returning the government was just a name , She changed the title of "training politics" and continued to seize power.It was not until the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888) that Guangxu declared his pro-government. At this time, Guangxu was 19 years old, but the dismissal of senior officials above the second rank still had to be decided by Cixi.

No matter how you look at it, Emperor Guangxu was a lovely young emperor worthy of sympathy.He wants to be a good and promising emperor, but unfortunately, in a political environment where there is nothing to be done, there is Cixi's tyranny, and the Manchu officials in the court are all stubborn, old-fashioned and ignorant, not to mention that he can't do anything politically, even Yu is not free in love.The family law of the Qing Dynasty was already extremely strict, coupled with Cixi's domineering, resulting in tragedies for the emperors of the Tongzhi and Guangxu dynasties. There is an undisclosed secret in the palace of the Qing Dynasty, which is a case about Cixi's forced death of his own son Tongzhi and his queen.It is said that the selection of the queen of Tongzhi was advocated by the Queen Mother of the East, so the Queen Mother of the West was not happy. When Tongzhi was newly married, she used the excuse that the queen was young and did not understand palace etiquette, so the young couple were not allowed to be together.When Tongzhi had smallpox, Cixi called the queen to reprimand her. The queen felt aggrieved, so she went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to cry at the Emperor Tongzhi.Tongzhi persuaded her to endure, and comforted her, saying: Our husband and wife will eventually have a bright future.Unexpectedly, this sentence caused a catastrophe.It turned out that Cixi didn't like this daughter-in-law, so she set up monitoring eyes and ears around Tongzhi.That day, she heard that the Queen was visiting Tongzhi, so she was not allowed to quietly go outside the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to eavesdrop on the conversation between her son and his wife.The young couple never expected that a few private words would lead to a catastrophe. Cixi rushed in angrily, grabbed the queen by the hair, beat her with her hands, and asked the inner court to prepare a stick to serve her.Tongzhi fainted from fright, so Cixi did not torture the queen.When Tongzhi died, Cixi put all the responsibilities on the queen and ordered the queen's diet to be restricted.Two months later, the queen was tortured to death.After the queen's death, Cixi's anger still persisted, and she removed the queen's father, Chongqi, from the position of servant.In the second year, there was an eventful imperial censor who made a memorial, saying that there were many rumors outside, some said that the queen died of excessive grief, and some said that she died of sheer millet.As a result, the queen's posthumous title was not won, and the censor lost his official position.

Before Tongzhi's death, it was an open secret that Cixi and Tongzhi's mother and son were at odds.All the old eunuchs in the Forbidden City confirmed that Tongzhi greeted the Empress Dowager Dong, and left some words behind, but he couldn't even say a word to his biological mother.When Tongzhi was in charge, the Western Empress Dowager's cronies in the court had already formed, and the Eastern Empress Dowager never asked questions. If the emperor did not ask the Western Empress Dowager first, it would be impossible for the emperor to do things.This is the real reason for the discord between mother and child.Cixi is a person with a very strong desire for power, and she is never willing to let go of any power she has. For her own authority, she treats her own flesh and blood or cronies with life for those who follow me, and die for those who oppose me.

During the Guangxu period, her temper became more moody.An eunuch played chess with her and said, "I killed the horse of the ancestors." She immediately became angry and said, "I will kill your family!" She ordered the eunuch to be taken out and beaten to death. After Empress Dowager Cixi returned to power, she enjoyed herself as much as she wanted, sold officials and nobles through Li Lianying, and embezzled navy funds to repair the Summer Palace.During the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1899-1895, she was celebrating her 60th birthday. From Xiyuan to the Summer Palace, she made colorful and played music and plays along the way.She also said to the ministers in front of the emperor: "Whoever makes my birthday unhappy, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life." Since Cixi treated her own son Tongzhi so autocratically, she was naturally very domineering towards Guangxu. Especially in the post-election of Guangxu.She forced Guangxu to choose her niece as queen, that is, Longyu, but Guangxu loved the concubine Zhen whom she had chosen.Longyu was neglected after Guangxu's wedding. Guangxu doted on Concubine Zhen and was banned by Cixi.Guangxu was braver than Tongzhi. He saw that Cixi was extravagant and stubbornly controlled the government. Even the emperor's marriage was not free, and he felt great disgust in his heart.In addition, the Qing Dynasty at that time had reached a critical moment, so the young emperor boldly accepted new ideas and truly took control of the government.It's a pity that he was born at an untimely time, and after only a hundred days of the reform, he was thrown into the cold palace by Cixi.

The Reform Movement of 1898 was the result of the Reform Movement, which can be said to have been facilitated by Kang Youwei.Kang Youwei's reform movement was top-down, and the method was to write to the emperor.Kang's first letter was in the 14th year of Guangxu (1888). At that time, he failed in the Shuntian Township Examination, so he wrote to ask to become a law.This article is about 6000 words.At that time, the Qing court was full of die-hard conservatives. Only Guozijian Jijiu Shengyu, Imperial Academy editor Huang Shaoji, the head of the Criminal Department Shen Zengzhi, and Guangxu’s teacher Fu Weng Tonghe agreed with Kang’s opinion, but none of the ministers had the guts to submit Kang’s article. .In the 21st year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1895), Kang entered Beijing for an examination as a juren. It was just after the Sino-Japanese peace talks after the Sino-Japanese War. , Move the capital to fight again.The important items are: issue an edict to encourage the spirit of the world, move the capital to establish the foundation of the world, train troops to strengthen the trend of the world, and reform to rule the world.This book has not been forwarded, but it has spread throughout the city of Beijing, which is the famous "Book on the Bus".On the second day after the bus was submitted to the letter, the examination results were released, and the Kangzhong Scholars ranked fifth, and 48 were demoted to the top two in the palace examination, and were awarded the head of the staff department.He drafted another memorandum, please reform the law in time, enrich the country and support the people, teach the soldiers to manage the army, seek talents and be careful about them, and seek self-improvement through sentimentality.This memorial was forwarded by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and finally Guangxu saw it. He was very moved and ordered four copies, one to be sent to the Queen Mother, one to be kept at the Military Aircraft Office and distributed to the governors and generals of each province, one to be kept in the Qianqing Palace, and one to be kept in the Qin Dynasty. Government Palace.Because this memorial was appreciated by Guangxu, Kang Nai made another memorial, advocating the establishment of a parliament and issuing an imperial edict.This time, the capital procuratorate refused to transfer the memorial, and neither did the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.However, Weng Tonghe appreciated Kang's arguments, so he went to Kang to talk about the reform, and took all of Kang's works to read.Since Weng was the emperor's teacher and minister of military affairs, he was closest to Emperor Guangxu, so Weng often instilled Kang's ideas of reform and reform in Guangxu.Guangxu's inclination to reform has already begun at this time.

In June of the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Weng Tonghe obtained the consent of Emperor Guangxu and ordered Chen Chi to draft 12 edicts for the implementation of the New Deal, which were to be promulgated one after another. However, he was afraid that Cixi and a group of conservative ministers would object, so he went to persuade Prince Gong Yixin Promulgated by the master of the mountain.Yixin refused to agree, so the matter was put on hold.At this time, the conservatives in the Qing court were very displeased with Kang Youwei, who had written letters indiscriminately. Xu Tong, a scholar of the university, and Chu Chengbo, the censor, all impeached him. Chen Chi and Shen Zengzhi persuaded Kang Youwei to leave Beijing temporarily, and Kang Nai left Beijing to return to Guangdong at the end of August.In the second year, Cixi killed the eunuch Kou Liangcai, and Zhang blamed Zhen and the second concubine Jin. The relationship between the Empress Dowager and Guangxu became turbulent, and reform and reform were completely out of the question.

In the winter of the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), the Germans occupied Jiaozhou, and Kang Youwei rushed to Beijing to give a very long memorial. He stated the international situation and the current situation in China, and put forward several points: (1) Implement a constitutional monarchy. (2) Rectify the administration of officials and finances. (3) Implement new education policies. (4) Set up social welfare. (5) Revitalize industrial and commercial undertakings. (6) Let the border ministers reform their own laws. (7) Follow the example of Russia, France, and Japan to set the country's affairs.This voluminous article not only spread throughout Beijing, but was also published in newspapers in Shanghai.

Because the above-mentioned memorial shocked the whole court, Guangxu originally wanted to summon Kang, but Yixin said: "It is a rule in this dynasty that officials below the fourth rank cannot be summoned." At three o'clock in the afternoon on the third day of the first lunar month in the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898), Kang Youwei met with Li Hongzhang, Weng Tonghe, Rong Lu, Liao Shouheng (Shangshu of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs), and Zhang Yinhuan (Left Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs) and other famous ministers of the Qing court at that time. Xihua Hall of the Prime Minister's Yamen.It was a brilliant debate.Rong Lu said: "The law of the ancestors cannot be changed."Kang Youwei replied: "The law of the ancestors is to govern the land of the ancestors. Now that the land of the ancestors cannot be kept, why should the laws of the ancestors be followed?" Adapting measures to current conditions is to adapt to needs." His answer refuted Ronglu.Liao Shouheng asked: "How to start the reform?" Kang Youwei replied: "We should start with the reform of the legal system." Li Hongzhang asked: "Then the six ministries can be completely withdrawn, and the rules can be completely discarded?" The past and present are different, and the current legal system should be changed, even if it cannot be completely reformed at the moment, it should be changed gradually according to the situation, so as to implement the New Deal.” Then he talked about the economy and finance from politics, and said that Japan became prosperous and strong by imitating the Western Restoration, Now the system is very complete, China and Japan are close, and we should learn from Japan.The conversation lasted from three o'clock until dark.

The next day Weng Tonghe reported the conversation to Guangxu. Guangxu wanted to summon Kang again. "Peter's Change of Politics" was submitted together.On the eighth day of the first month of the first lunar month, Kang Youwei gave a memorial to "overall the overall situation". He said in a compromise: "Now the power of all nations, if they can change, they will survive; if they remain unchanged, they will perish; The disease lies in sticking to the old law and not changing it..." Then, citing the reforms during the Meiji Restoration as evidence, he asked Guangxu to do three major things first: (1) gather ministers in the Temple of Heaven, decree the country's affairs, get rid of the old and establish the new; (2) set up a letter At the Meridian Gate, two censors were sent to collect the books, and the scholars and people of the world wrote letters to discuss matters; (3) set up a system bureau in the inner court, and selected dozens of generalists from all over the world to join it.In addition, there are 12 bureaus of law, degree support, academic affairs, agriculture, commerce, industry, mining, railway, post, telegraph, army, and navy under the common bureau.Kang Bin warned the Qing court in the preface of his book that if the law was not changed automatically, the Qing Dynasty would be over when others came to change, but if it could be changed automatically, the Qing court could still rule forever.In Kang Youwei's memorial, on the one hand, he emphasized that reform can make people rich and powerful, and that reform is very easy.These opinions completely moved the young and aspiring Emperor Guangxu. He put Kang Youwei's works and memorials on his desk and read them every day.

Kang Youwei not only sought the approval of Emperor Guangxu for his reform ideas, but also contacted many officials and intellectuals who could accept the new ideas.When he was lecturing in Changxing, he had already met several fellow disciples, the most famous of which was Liang Qichao.Later, Kang became a Jinshi and became more and more famous. In Beijing, he met Xu Zhijing, a scholar in the Imperial Academy, Yang Shenxiu, a censor, Gao Xiezeng in Geshizhong, and a group of comrades such as Zhang Yinhuan, Li Duanfen, Yang Rui, Lin Xu, and Liu Guangdi.He was supported by Chen Baozhen and Zhang Zhidong (who later opposed Kang) among the governors.Others such as Huang Zunxian, Chen Sanli, Xu Renshou, Wang Kangnian, Tu Shouren, Huang Shaoquan, etc. all gave him spiritual responses.He also has a private disciple, Tan Sitong, who is the most capable member of his comrades. To carry out the reform movement, the organization method is to establish a society, and the propaganda method is to open a newspaper.In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Kang founded a daily newspaper in Beijing with his own money, called "Chinese and Foreign Jiwen", edited by Liang Qichao and Mai Menghua.Those who print 2,000 copies of the Di Bao (Gazette of the Qing government) every day will send it with the Di Bao.In July, Wen Tingshi came forward to organize the Strong Society, whose members included Jiang Biao, Yuan Shikai, and Huang Zunxian.There is an assembly every ten days, and every time someone makes a speech.Zhang Zhidong specially donated 5,000 gold as membership fee to set up a strong school bookstore, publish books and newspapers, and translate famous works from various countries.In September, Kang went south, especially to Nanjing to meet Zhang Zhidong, governor of Liangjiang, and facilitated the establishment of a branch of the Strong Society in Shanghai.Later, the Beijing Qiangxue Bookstore was changed to the Official Bookstore, and finally the Official Bookstore was changed to the Imperial University Hall.The branch of the Shanghai Fangqiang Society issued a "Current Affairs News", which sold well.Then various clubs were organized one after another, Hubei had Quality Society, Guangzhou had Saint Society, Hunan had South Society, Map Association, Mingda Society, Guangdong had Cantonese Society, Qun Society, Suzhou had Suzhou Society, Shanghai had Footbinding Society, Agricultural Society, Translation Society Book Club, Mongolia Society, Beijing Society of Shame, Economics Society, Shanxi Society of Taste Classics. In the 23rd year of Guangxu (1897), Kang Youwei went to Guilin to open the Holy Society with Tang Jingsong and Cen Chunxuan.Afterwards, he returned to Beijing and invited people living in Beijing from various provinces to initiate the establishment of societies, including the Cantonese Society, the Shu Society, the Fujian Society, and the Shaanxi Society.Then Li Shengduo and Kang Youwei, the censors, initiated the National Defense Council, whose purpose was to defend the country's political power and land, defend the people's self-reliance, emphasize the appropriateness of political reform, study the benefits of diplomacy, and so on.Due to the establishment of the Baohui Association, local organizations were established in each province, such as the Baodian Association in Yunnan, and the Baozhe Association in Zhejiang.The conservative faction attacked again, and the censor Huang Guijun played impeachment, but Guangxu ignored it.Yushi Pan Xianlan impeached the National Assembly again, and the Minister of Military Aircraft resolutely advocated banning it. Guangxu said: "This association can protect the country. Isn't it a very good organization? Why bother to investigate?" Impeach Kang Youwei, saying that he initiated the organization of the National Assembly to protect China, not the Qing Dynasty.Guangxu still ignored him, but Wen Ti was dismissed because of this.However, due to the powerful attacks of the opposition, the work of the Bulgarian Congress has also come to an invisible halt.