Family of Centuries -- Kang Youwei

Author: Wang Mingde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Kang Youwei (1858—1927), a modern thinker and litterateur. Born in Su Village, Dunrenli, Nanhai County, Guangdong, in a family ancestral home, he was named Youwei, also known as Zuyi, styled Guangsha, and styled Changsu. After the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, he changed his style to Gengsheng and later styled himself Tianyou Huaren in his later years. His arduous study before the age of twenty did not lead him to a path to save the country and its people, thus causing him to doubt traditional Confucian learning. In 1882, he went to Beijing for the imperial examination but failed. He then went to Shanghai and purchased a large number of Western books, from which he began to advocate Western learning. In 1888, he went to Beijing for the imperial examination again but failed. He submitted a memorial to Emperor Guangxu requesting reform, but it did not reach the emperor. In 1890, he devoted himself to writing. In 1891, he opened a school in Changxingli and completed The Examination of the False Classics of the New Learning. In 1892, he compiled The Examination of Confucius's Reform of the Constitution. In 1895, he went to Beijing with Liang Qichao and Liang Xiaoshan for the imperial examination. After the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, he launched the famous "Petition of the Carriage," submitting several memorials to Emperor Guangxu and proposing such policies as "enriching the nation, nurturing the people, educating scholars, and training troops." He founded The Gazette of the World and The Annals of China and the World, and established the Strong Society. In 1898, he organized the Constitutional Association and was summoned by Emperor Guangxu, becoming the leader of the Hundred Days' Reform. When Empress Dowager Cixi launched a coup, the reform failed, and Kang Youwei fled to Japan via Hong Kong, beginning a sixteen-year exile. In 1913, he ended his exile and settled in Shanghai. In 1917, he participated in Zhang Xun's restoration. In 1927, he passed away in Qingdao.