Hundred Days' Reform

Elements of the Qing government were sufficiently alarmed by the defeats in the First Sino-Japanese War to permit Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to propose reforms to the Guangxu Emperor, who agreed and the Hundred Days' Reform began. 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 sciences, liberal arts and the Chinese classics would all 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 mathematics and science instead of focusing mainly on Confucian texts)
  • 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 modern 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
  • establishing a bureau for railways and mines

The reforms were reversed and their chief advocates - the "Six Gentlemen of Wuxu": Tan Sitong, Kang Guangren (Kang Youwei's brother), Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui, and Liu Guangdi - were ordered to be executed. The two principal leaders, Kang Youwei and his student Liang Qichao, fled to Japan where they founded Baohuang Hui (Protect the Emperor Society) and worked, unsuccessfully, for a constitutional monarchy in China. Tan Sitong refused to flee and was executed.

During the Hundred Days' Reform, generals Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang, and Ma Haiyan were called to Beijing and helped put an end to the 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.