Chapter 33 Section 3 Implementation of the New Deal of 1898

In the general examination in the 21st year of Guangxu (1895 A.D.), Kang Youwei passed the Jinshi examination and was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Government and Industry.He wrote to the emperor twice in a row, reiterating the policy of self-improvement and avenging shame.Emperor Guangxu did not respond after reading it.In November of the 23rd year of Guangxu (AD 1897), Germany single-handedly created the "Jiaozhou Bay Incident".Kang Youwei once again presented the "Fifth Book of the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty", emphasizing the situation that the imperialists wanted to carve up China and the common people by "cutting wood and uncovering poles", and called on Emperor Guangxu to "get angry in time, change the old and make new ones", reform and strengthen ourselves, otherwise, China will It will perish after Turkey, Korea, Annan, and Poland.I hope that Emperor Guangxu can imitate the reforms of Russia and Japan, and recommended the Chinese translation "Taixi New History Lan Yao" and his own "Japanese Political Changes" as reference books.However, Matsuoka, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, refused to submit it.Because the words of the "Fifth Book" were so succinct, the capital copied them for a while, which was highly praised by the scholar-bureaucrats.

In the first month of the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898 A.D.), Emperor Guangxu sent Li Hongzhang, Weng Tonghe, Rong Lu, Liao Shouheng, Zhang Yinhuan and other officials to summon Kang Youwei in the Zongli Yamen to listen to his reform proposals.In fact, this was a debate between Kang Youwei and Li Hongzhang, Rong Lu and others over whether and how to reform the law.Weng Tonghe sympathized with and supported the Reformers.After hearing his report, Emperor Guangxu ordered Kang Youwei's memorial to be "submitted immediately, without any hindrance."Thereafter, he established a direct link with Emperor Guangxu.Then, Kang Youwei published the "Yingzhao Overall Planning" and formulated the principles of the reform: "Change can lead to completeness, unchanged can lead to perish; complete change can lead to strength, and small changes can still perish." He proposed three things that should be done urgently: (1) Make an oath to reform the old and restore the new, listen to the public opinion of the world, and adopt the good laws of all countries; (2) Open a system bureau in the palace, recruit 20 generalists from all over the world to participate in the matter, and renegotiate all political systems; (3) Xu People all over the world write letters and say things.Emperor Guangxu appreciated Kang Youwei's opinion very much and adopted his suggestion.The reformers were very encouraged, and contacted people in Beijing to set up many regional mass organizations.In addition, Kang Youwei and Yu Shi Li Shengduo also jointly advocated the establishment of the Baoguo, which was launched and organized by the reformers with the purpose of saving the nation and preserving it. It strongly promoted the development of the reform movement.

On April 23 of the same year (June 11 in the Gregorian calendar), Emperor Guangxu, regardless of the obstruction of the diehards, issued the "Decree on the Establishment of the Country", announcing the implementation of reforms and announcing the country's governance policy to the world.The New Deal started today, and ended on the sixth day of August (September 21 in the Gregorian calendar) when Empress Dowager Cixi launched a coup and the reform movement failed. It lasted 103 days, known in history as the "Hundred Days of Reform", also known as the "Hundred Days of Reform".This was the climax of the development of the Restoration Movement. Five days after the promulgation of the "Dingguo Shizhao", Emperor Guangxu summoned Kang Youwei for the first time to discuss reform matters, ordered him to walk on Zhangjing, the prime minister's office, and allowed him to concentrate on his affairs.At this time, Kang Youwei's students and colleagues were also successively appointed as close ministers of the emperor, such as Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, Lin Xu, and Yang Rui, who served as the fourth-rank military aircraft Zhang Jing, known as the "Four Ministers of Military Aircraft".The reformers entered the upper-level organs of the country to serve, and they were able to meet the emperor directly, which was very beneficial to the implementation of the reform.

During the 103 days of the reform, Emperor Guangxu promulgated more than 300 "edicts" of the New Deal successively based on the suggestions of Kang Youwei and others.The main contents of these reform edicts are as follows: (1) In terms of economy, promote private industry and commerce, revitalize agricultural administration, open mining, build railways, and promote the development of the national economy.On April 24th, at the beginning of the New Deal, the governors and governors of each province were ordered to "quickly prepare" the Bureau of Commerce in the provincial capital, select wealthy gentry and business managers, and specify the regulations. (Article 47 of the Shangyu, Volume 2 of the Reform Movement of 1898) Later, two orders were issued to supervise and speed up the implementation, with special emphasis on setting up factories along the rivers and coasts. "Agriculture is the foundation of a rich country, and it is urgent to revitalize it."Issuing the "Rejuvenation of Craftsmanship Awards Regulations" to encourage gentry and people to revitalize agricultural administration, so as to "take agriculture as the body and business as the use".On the fifth day of the seventh month, the General Administration of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce was established, agricultural schools were established at the local level, farmers' associations were held widely, and agricultural newspapers were published.At the same time, the General Administration of Mining and Railways was established in the capital, and two special prime ministers, Minister Wang and Minister of State Affairs, were appointed to specialize in mining and building roads.The construction of Luhan, Yuehan, Ninghu and other railways started.

(2) In terms of military affairs, order the armies of all provinces to change to foreign exercises, use new methods to train troops, reduce and merge local troops, do their best to protect the armor, and strengthen military strength.On May 1st, Emperor Guangxu approved the request of Zeng Zongyan, the supervisory censor of Jiangnan Province, and ordered all provinces to refine their army and reform their foreign exercises. The army decides to pull out.Soon, he ordered to participate in military training using Western methods, and changed the Eight Banners Han barracks and rattan camps into foreign guns and practiced with new methods.On May 27, the generals, governors and governors of the provinces were ordered to cut down their troops and rectify the Baojia system to supplement the shortage of troops.

(3) In terms of culture and education, set up education, set up special schools and colleges, middle schools, and primary schools, abolish stereotyped essays, establish special economic departments, widely compile new Western books, and cultivate various new types of talents.Vigorously developing education is a major feature of the New Deal.On the second day of May, it was ordered to set up mining schools in Nanyang and Beiyang.On the 15th, the Imperial University Hall (predecessor of Peking University) was opened and Sun Jianai, a minister, was appointed to manage it.Academies all over the country have been changed to schools that study both Chinese and Western studies. Higher schools are opened in provinces, middle schools in prefectures, and primary schools in counties, and gentry and people are rewarded for running schools.Local free schools and social studies should also study both Chinese and Western studies, and orders were also issued to convert the prostitute temples of the academies in various provinces into schools. "The atmosphere of common people is everywhere, and everyone learns, and all learning is true" (Volume 2 of the Reform Movement of 1898, Article 82 of the Shangyu).At the same time as the establishment of the school, the imperial examination system was reformed.On the fifth day of May, in view of the disadvantages of stereotyped essays, the imperial edict started from lower examinations, and all examinations in the township examination, general examination, and childbirth examination should be changed to examination strategies.Later, he pointed out that in all subsequent examinations, five-character and eight-rhyme poems should not be used.In order to adapt to the deepening of the reform movement, Yang Shenxiu and Li Shengduo successively asked to open a library to translate books.On May 10, it was approved to change Liang Qichao's translation book office in Shanghai into a government-supervised business office, first translating books such as political history and biographies of various countries, and then studying military medicine, agriculture, industry and mining.Schools in all provinces should also widely compile books on Western agriculture.

(4) In terms of politics, select talents to promote the New Deal, reduce idle institutions and officials, and encourage officials and the people to discuss politics, so as to form a new political situation.To implement the New Deal, it is necessary to cultivate and select talents. On the day when the imperial edict was established, Emperor Guangxu ordered the governors of various provinces to recommend talents with good moral character and good knowledge of current affairs as appropriate.On April 24th, he was ordered to select people who pay attention to current affairs and have aspirations to travel and inspect various countries from among the princes and princes Baylor.On May 25th, the Special Economic Division was ordered, and the governors of the provinces recommended talents.He also ordered the provinces to select bright students from the schools and send them to study in Japan, so as to cultivate talents who are proficient in current affairs.On July 24, Emperor Guangxu issued an edict to abolish Zhanshifu, Tongzhengsi, Guanglu Temple, Honglu Temple, Dali Temple and other government offices, and the governors of Hubei, Guangdong, and Yunnan provinces and other local officials were abolished in other provinces.Scholars and civilians who have written a statement should submit it to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.On July 17, he also ordered the ministers of military and aircraft, etc., that when scholars and civilians submit a letter, the Metropolitan Procuratorate will submit it in its original form, and there is no need to dismantle it for reading.In this way, low-level officials and ordinary people were given a limited opportunity to express their opinions.

Although the measures of eliminating the old and introducing the new formulated by the "Hundred Days Restoration" were not well implemented, they played a certain role in promoting the development of Chinese society in terms of politics, economy, ideology, and culture.