Who knows Kang Youwei?

Kang Youwei (1March 85819-1March 9271), formerly known as Zuyi, whose real name is Guangsha, Changping, and also known as Ming Yi, Ji Geng, Xiqiao Mountain, Youcuncuo and Tianshou. After the Revolution of 1911, Kang Youwei returned to China in 19 13, settled in Xinjiayuan, Shanghai, and served as the editor-in-chief of Unbearable magazine. He believed in Confucius' Confucianism and devoted himself to transforming Confucianism into a state religion that could adapt to modern society. He was the president of the Confucius Institute. 1927 died on March 3 1 day.

Kang Youwei is a politician, educator, writer and artist in the modern history of China, and a representative of bourgeois reformism. As an activist in the late Qing Dynasty, Kang Youwei advocated the reform movement, which reflected the direction of historical progress. But later, he and Yuan Shikai became the spiritual leaders of the Restoration Movement.

Studying in early years

Portrait of Kang Youwei (2)

Born in a feudal bureaucratic family, his grandfather Kang Zanxiu was a juren in Daoguang period, and his father Kang Dachu was a magistrate in Jiangxi.

Kang Youwei's earliest teacher was his grandfather Kang Zanxiu. 1858 March 19 (Wuwu Year) was born in Danzaosu Village, Nanhai County, Guangdong Province. He studied Confucianism since childhood. At the age of eighteen, I learned from Zhu Ciqi, a famous scholar in Jiujiang, Nanhai. Kang Zanxiu and Zhu Ciqi both believed in Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties. Therefore, under the influence of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties, Kang Youwei despised the tedious textual research of the so-called sinologists in an attempt to open up a new way of studying. After studying Neo-Confucianism for a while, I don't agree with Neo-Confucianism either. Because Neo-Confucianism only talks about Confucius' self-cultivation and does not talk about Confucius' salvation. [2]

1879 began to contact western culture. He left Zhu Ciqi at the age of 22 and went to Baiyun Cave in Xiqiao Mountain to study alone. He read many practical books, such as Gu's Records of Diseases in Counties and Countries under the World, Gu Zuyu's Minutes of Reading History, etc. In the same year, he went to Hong Kong once, which opened his eyes. Later, I read some books, such as Atlas of Sea Countries, A Brief Introduction to Ying Huan, and said that "buying a map of the earth and gradually collecting books on western learning are the basis of speaking about western learning". This year is an important beginning for Kang Youwei to change from middle school to western learning.

1882, Kang Youwei went to Beijing to take the exam. When he came back, he passed by Shanghai, where he was further exposed to capitalist things and collected many books and periodicals introducing the political system and natural sciences of capitalist countries. After studying, Kang Youwei gradually realized that the capitalist system was more advanced than the feudal system in China. The imperialist aggression and corruption in the Qing Dynasty ignited the fire of saving the country in the young Kang Youwei's chest. The prosperity of the west made him determined to learn from the west in order to save the motherland in danger. He absorbed western evolutionism and political views, and initially formed the ideological system of reform and reform. [3]

Imperial examination candidates jointly wrote to the emperor.

1888, Kang Youwei went to Beijing again to take the rural examination in Shuntian, and took the opportunity to write to Emperor Guangxu for the first time.

Kang Youwei (2 photos)

The demand for political reform was rejected. In September of that year, he wrote to Emperor Guangxu, lamenting the peril of the motherland, criticizing the conformism, demanding reform and reform, and putting forward three programmatic propositions of "changing into law, being clear about the current situation and being cautious about the current situation".

189 1 year, Kang Youwei returned to Guangdong, opened 10,000 mu of Caotang Academy, and called his disciples to give lectures. His disciples are Liang Qichao and Chen. Create theories for the political reform movement. He has written two books, New Learning Test and Confucius Reform Test, both written in the name of Zun Kong. The previous book announced that some feudalists had always regarded the sacred classics as forged documents. The latter book dressed the originally conservative Confucius as a man with enterprising spirit, advocating democratic ideas and equality. Although Kang Youwei's views are unscientific, his spirit of reform has had a strong shock and repercussions in the intellectual circles, posing a great threat to feudal diehard conservatives, so these two books are regarded as heresies by them.

1894, Kang Youwei began to compile the book "Axioms of Human Beings", which was revised several times and later published as "Datong Book". Datong Book describes all kinds of human sufferings, and puts forward that Datong society will be a paradise on earth with selfless production, no class, mutual friendship and equality. This is of course absurd, because "Kang Youwei wrote The Book of Great Harmony, and he didn't and can't find the way of great harmony."

After Kang Youwei laid the theoretical foundation for the Reform Movement of 1898, he became active from 1895 to 1898.

Emperor Guangxu

Successfully carried out the reform practice.

1in April, 895, juren from all provinces who were taking exams in Beijing were extremely indignant when they heard that the Qing government was going to conclude the treaty of shimonoseki with Japan. Kang Youwei drafted a "On the Emperor" with more than 18,000 words overnight. More than 1300 people from all provinces got together and passed the book.

1895 Duchayuan. This is the famous "words on the bus". In the book, Kang Youwei, from the standpoint of patriotism, strongly advocated "rejecting peace, moving the capital and reforming the law" and suggested that the emperor "summon the spirit of the world, move the capital to set the foundation of the world, train troops to strengthen the trend of the world, and reform the law to govern the world." In this exam, Kang Youwei won the Jinshi and was appointed as the director of the Ministry of Industry. Later, Kang Youwei gave the emperor several books in succession. Kang Youwei's question moved Emperor Guangxu very much. In these books, Kang Youwei systematically expounded his thought of political reform and put forward his own opinions from politics, economy, culture and education. Politically, Kang Youwei put forward the requirement of changing absolute monarchy into constitutional monarchy. He pointed out: "The strength of the East and the West is due to the formulation of the Constitution and the establishment of the National Assembly. Parliamentarians, monarchs and citizens discuss the politics and laws of a country. " Economically, Kang Youwei put forward the idea of developing industry, revitalizing commerce and protecting the interests of the national bourgeoisie. In terms of culture and education, Kang Youwei put forward the ideas of "enlightening people", "promoting learning" and "abolishing stereotyped writing". These aspects constitute the basic program of Kang Youwei's political reform and reform.

1895, he went to Beijing to take an exam, and learned that the treaty of shimonoseki was signed, which attracted more than 300 people and tens of thousands of books, that is, "writing on the bus", but failed to be reached. At the end of May of that year, he wrote a letter for the third time and got the approval of Emperor Guangxu. In July, he and Liang Qichao founded "Chinese and foreign stories" and soon organized a strong society in Beijing.

1897, when Germany occupied JIAOZHOU bay, Kang Youwei wrote to ask for political reform again. In June 5438+the following year 10, Emperor Guangxu ordered Kang Youwei to issue a political reform opinion, and he presented a book "Imperial Decree as a whole" and two books "Meiji Reform in Japan" and "Reform of Peter the Great in Russia". In April, he and Liang Qichao organized to defend the National Assembly and called for saving the country and strengthening the country. [4]

Historical truth

In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Kang Youwei went to Beijing to take the B-ultrasound exam, and Kang Youwei claimed to know.

Portrait of Kang Youwei (12)

Treaty of shimonoseki was signed, and Song Jun joined 1300. More than 300 people wrote tens of thousands of words, that is, "written on the bus", but it failed. In fact, Kang Youwei only has the support of his disciples, and the main sponsor of the bus letter is others. Because Emperor Guangxu was young and had no practical political experience, Kang Youwei wrote a book for the third time at the end of May of that year based on his radical and unrealistic reform views, which was praised by Emperor Guangxu. However, according to the opinions of many scholars, when Kang Youwei carried out political propaganda and reminiscence (most obviously as his Chronicle of Kang Nanhai Customs), there were many places where he did not respect the facts, and there were many bragging and fabrication phenomena. However, many scholars, such as Mao Haijian, think that Kang Youwei's so-called organization of a joint petition is actually a political event of abortion, but it was constantly discredited by Kang Youwei and falsified history, which was accepted by many historians before. The letter on the bus was actually organized by senior officials in Beijing at that time, such as Weng Tonghe, Li Hongzao, Wang Mingluan and others, with the purpose of obstructing the signing of treaty of shimonoseki [5].

Reform Movement of 1898

The Empress

1898, 16 In June, Emperor Guangxu summoned Kang Youwei in the Qin Zhengting Hall of the Summer Palace, appointed him as Zhang Jing, the prime minister's yamen, and allowed him to specialize in preparing for the political reform, which was called the Reform Movement of 1898 in history. Later, due to the intervention of Empress Dowager Cixi, the reform failed, and its specific details are still controversial.

At the beginning of the Reform Movement of 1898, under the auspices of Kang Youwei, Emperor Guangxu promoted a series of reforms, which was later called the Reform Movement of 1898. Later, due to the intervention of Empress Dowager Cixi, the political reform failed. According to scholars' research, every memorial, full text or abstract received by Emperor Guangxu should be sent to Cixi for review, which is recorded in detail in the archives of the Qing Palace, so Cixi is completely clear about the contents of the reform. If Cixi did not support the Reform Movement of 1898, the Reform Movement of 1898 would not last for a hundred days. It was only because the reformist officials around Emperor Guangxu recklessly put forward some unrealistic radical policies during the reform that Cixi launched a coup.

According to Lei Jiasheng's book "Turning the tide: A new probe into the coup of 1898" [6], during the Reform Movement of 1898, former Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen visited China. Timothy richard, a British missionary at that time, suggested to Kang Youwei, the leader of the Reformists, asking the Qing Dynasty to hire Ito as a consultant and even giving him the right to handle affairs. [7] Therefore, after Ito came to China, reformist officials wrote to ask for the reuse of Ito, which aroused the vigilance of conservative officials. Yang Chongyi, a conservative official, even secretly played Empress Dowager Cixi: "I heard that Toyo and Ito Bowen are very close and want to take over dictatorship. If ITO fruit is used, it has been handed down from generation to generation. [8] "This fierce remark prompted Empress Dowager Cixi to return to the Forbidden City from the Summer Palace on September 1897 (the fourth day of August) to understand Emperor Guangxu's views on Ito.

However, Ito and Timothy Richard proposed to Kang Youwei that "China, the United States, Britain and Japan should unite". So, at Kang Youwei's behest, Yang Shenxiu, a reformist official, wrote to Emperor Guangxu on September 20th, 1897 (the fifth day of August): "I especially hope that my emperor will make plans early to consolidate Britain, America and Japan, and don't think that the name' America' is not beautiful. [9] "Song Bolu, another official of the reformists, also wrote on September 2 1 day (the sixth day of August):" When Qu (Timothy Richard) came, he planned to unite China, Japan, the United States and Britain as confederate countries, and * * * elected people who knew the times and learned stories from various countries 100. [10] It seems that China wants to hand over its military, financial, taxation and diplomatic state power to outsiders. Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the Forbidden City on1September, 997 19, 18 (the fourth day of August) and learned about it from September 20 to 2 1. Shocked by the seriousness of the situation, she decided to launch a coup to protest politics and end the reform movement in 1898.

1On July 20th, 899, Kang Youwei co-founded the "Salvation Society" with overseas Chinese businessmen Li Fuji and Feng in the Thousand Islands of Canada. 1February 900 1 1 day The Qing court ordered Li Hongzhang to level the graves of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao in Guangdong as an example. On June 4, 65438, the Qing court ordered the governors of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong to offer a reward of 65438+ 2 million yuan to arrest Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, show their autopsies and offer a reward as a whole. If you get your rank, you will get an exceptional reward. Anyone who buys and reads published newspapers will be severely punished, and all books written will be strictly investigated and destroyed. [ 1 1- 12]

During the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei wrote two monographs on the history of Meiji Restoration. One is a Japanese bibliography, which was published by Shanghai Datong Translation Publishing House in winter by Ding Younian (1897). The other one was "An Examination of Japanese Political Change" found in the Palace Museum, and was presented to Emperor Guangxu in 1898. According to Japanese scholars, "In the process of collecting and reading a large number of Japanese books, he made many modifications and fabrications on the historical facts of the Meiji Restoration to meet the needs of China's political reform and structural adjustment at that time. Most of these changes are closely related to the specific reform measures suggested by the author. " [ 13]

Flee overseas

1898 In the early morning of September 2 1, Empress Dowager Cixi announced that "Emperor Guangxu was under house arrest and six gentlemen of the 1898 Movement were killed. Kang Youwei and his servant Li Tang left Beijing before dawn on September 20, fled to Hong Kong from Tanggu, Tianjin, and then moved to Japan, the United States and Europe, claiming that they held the imperial edict, organized a meeting to protect the king and advocated it. In order to gain international support, he traveled around the world and met European monarchs. During the period from 1898 to 19 13, Kang Youwei swam across the Pacific Ocean four times, the Atlantic Ocean nine times, the Indian Ocean eight times, and rowed in the Arctic Ocean for seven days, and successively traveled to the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Singapore and so on. On August 12th (September 25th) of Xuantong Yuannian (1909), Yang Qingchang, the son of Yang Rui, handed the secret imperial edict to Zai Feng, the younger brother of Emperor Guangxu, and asked Yang Rui and Kang Youwei to tamper with it. The truth came out. [ 1]

1903, Kang Youwei initiated the establishment of a joint-stock company, named China Commercial Company, headquartered in Hongkong, with branches in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Yokohama and San Francisco, and successively set up more than ten enterprises.

1904, Kang Youwei also bought an island in Sweden and built a Chinese garden building "Beihai Caotang" on the island. According to the research of Zhao Liren, a researcher of Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, Kang Youwei spent 28,000 kronor on it and 7,999 kronor on its restoration. "Although the house is not spacious, it can accommodate about ten people. The furniture and decoration are extremely luxurious and it looks quite rich." It's kind of like saying one thing and doing another.

After the Revolution of 1911, Kang Youwei returned to China in 19 13, edited the magazine I can't stand it, and advocated the restoration of Confucius. As the leader of the royalist party, he opposed the * * * peace system and has been planning to eliminate the abolition of Emperor Puyi.

19 17, Kang Youwei and Zhang Xun, a Beiyang warlord loyal to the previous dynasty, launched the restoration and made Puyi the throne, which soon failed under the crusade of the then Prime Minister Duan of Beiyang Government.

Down and out in Shanghai, whoring every day, but no money for whoring. Over time, the prostitute's family knew about it, and the group went to the inn where Kang Youwei lived to inquire. Kang Youwei felt embarrassed and fled to Guangdong. On the day of boarding, all prostitutes came to the boat to look for him, but they couldn't find him for a long time. After sailing, a sailor was shocked to see someone in the planking, and called everyone to see it. It turned out to be Mr. Kang Youwei. Later, someone wrote a poem satirizing it: "It is worthless to have a ship without a platform to avoid debt."

19 18 Spring and Summer Tour in Hangzhou. The "saint" actually "took a prostitute to swim around the lake" and wrote a poem on a whim, which began with "I am also a southern makeup floating around the West Lake." Comparing prostitutes to stones and themselves was once a well-known laughing stock.

Kang Youwei was wandering around the lake when he suddenly saw a young girl playing with gauze, suspecting that it was a stone near-re-embodiment. Upon inquiry, the woman's name is Zhang Guang, only 18 years old, and she is not married. Kang hurriedly asked someone to propose marriage. Seeing that Kang was over sixty, the Zhang family declined politely. However, with Kang's insistence and the matchmaker's efforts, the poor Zhang family finally nodded. 19 19, Kang Youwei held a wedding in Shanghai, and all relatives and friends congratulated him, except his wife, concubines and children who disapproved of this marriage and boycotted the wedding in the form of collective absence.

Old age life

1923, Kang Youwei moved to Huiquan Bay, Qingdao, bought a house to live in, and named his house "Paradise Garden". Later, several of his children also lived here when they were studying in Qingdao. When I first lived in Qingdao, I planned to establish a university and draft the university charter, but I gave up because Gao Hongen, the commercial port of Jiaoao, supervised it first. In his later years, he wrote many poems about the beautiful scenery of Qingdao, and some of his poems have become an integral part of Laoshan Scenic Area.

As for Kang Youwei's life story, although many historians have written many monographs, little is known about his past life from the autumn of 19 16 to the spring of 1927.

It should be acknowledged that the Reform Movement of 1898 led by Kang Youwei has a distinctive patriotic nature and progressive significance, and occupies an important position in the modern history of China. However, due to historical limitations, he became politically conservative in his later years. [ 14]

After the Revolution of 1911, Kang Youwei returned from overseas, feeling depressed, but he still couldn't forget politics. On the one hand, he organized "Confucianism" and launched the activity of "establishing Confucianism as the state religion", on the other hand, he tried his best to keep close contact with Zhang Xun and others who were entrenched in Jiangsu. 19 16 In the summer, a maoshan taoist went to Shanghai to find Kang Youwei and invited him to visit Maoshan, which is known as "the immortal mansion of Qin and Han Dynasties and the prime minister's home of Liang and Tang Dynasties". Kang Youwei admired Tao Hongjing, known as the "Prime Minister in the Mountain", for a long time, so he went there gladly. After he arrived in Maoshan, he lived in Ganyuanguan and changed the Huangge where Tao Hongjing lived into the Prime Minister's Hall. Later, he wrote a couplet of "Tao Hongjing, Prime Minister in the Mountain, Kang Youwei, an overseas fugitive" at Huayang Dongkou, meaning that he lives in the deep mountains and has national aspirations. This time he lived in Maoshan for nearly a year. Zhang xun restoration's ugly drama only lasted 12 days, and it ended hastily. Kang Youwei was wanted, fled to Shanghai, and lived in seclusion in Maoshan for a long time. [ 15]

1927 On March 29th, Kang Youwei visited a fellow countryman in Guangdong. I went home and drank a cup of lemon black tea, and my abdominal pain was like a wring. I went to two doctors for diagnosis, and a Japanese doctor diagnosed food poisoning. After living for more than 20 hours, he died at 5 am on March 3 1, 1927 (February 28 of the lunar calendar). It is said that he was not stiff when he died.

Kang Youwei died in 1927, just as the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Zhang Jingjiang was the chairman of Zhejiang Province. He once closed the garden with Kang Youwei as a "relic to protect the emperor from encroaching on public property". Although the parties conducted mediation, there was no result. With the rise of the Anti-Japanese Army and the fall of Hangzhou, Liang's three biological children, Er Yi, sold the one-day garden, and the one-day garden with excellent scenery gradually disappeared.