Philosopher and historian, the leader of the Hundred Days of Reform in China (1898). Impressed by British administration, he saw equality as a product of Confucianism. In 1898 he organized thousands of young scholars to demand drastic national reforms. The young Emperor Zaitian summoned him to implement reforms as the first step to creating a constitutional monarchy, but the movement was ended when Dowager Empress Ci-Xi seized the emperor, executed six of the young reformers, and punished all who had supported them. Kang escaped to Japan with foreign help, returning to China in 1914.
| Kang Youwei | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | |
| Pinyin | Kāng Yǒuwéi |
| Wade-Giles | K'ang Yu-wei |
| Traditional Chinese | 康有為 |
| Simplified Chinese | 康有为 |
| Family name | Kang |
| Courtesy name (zi) | Guǎngsh๠(廣廈) |
| Courtesy names (hao) Chángsù (長素) Míngyí (明夷) Gēngshēng (更生) or 更甡 Xīqiáo Shānrén (西樵山人) Yóucúnsǒu (游存叟) Tiānyóu Huàrén (天游化人) | |
| Notes: | ¹K'ang Yu-wei: A Biography and a Symposium gives Guǎngxià 廣夏 |
| Edit | |
Kang Youwei (Chinese: 康有為;
Kang portrayed Confucius as a reformer and not a reactionary. Kang even argued the rediscovered versions of the Confucian classics as a forgery to bolster his claims. Kang was a strong believer in constitutional monarchy and wanted to remodel the country after Meiji Japan. Kang and Liang, who together organized the Protect the Emperor Society, travelled throughout the Chinese diaspora promoting constitutional monarchy and competing against Sun Yat-sen's Revive China Society and Revolutionary Alliance for funds and converts.
After China became a republic in 1912, he remained an advocate of constitutional monarchy and, for this aim, he launched a failed coup d'état in 1917. Kang became suspicious that Zhang did not care for constitutionalism and was merely using the restoration to become the power behind the throne.
Kang's reputation serves as an important barometer for political attitudes of his time.
Kang was poisoned in the city of Qingdao, Shandong in 1927.
Kang's daughter, Kang Tongbi (康同壁) was a student at Barnard College.
CHANG HAO: Intellectual change and the reform movement, 1890-1898, in: Twitchett, Denis and Fairbanks, John (ed.): The Cambridge History of China, Vol. ZARROW, PETER: “The rise of Confucian radicalism”, in Zarrow, Peter: China in war and revolution, 1895-1949 (New York: Routledge), 2005, 12-29.Kang youwei Grandson : Kang Ta siang (Live in Indonesia)
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