The Hundred Days’ Reform (or Great Guangxu Reform) was an ambitious reform program conducted by the Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty in China between 11 June and 21 September of 1898. This reform period represented the most far-reaching and comprehensive efforts at modernizing the country in its history. The reform program was allegedly concocted and implemented by a group of progressive officials known as “the Tongmenghui,” which was led by Kang Youwei.
The great reforms aimed to fundamentally revise the entire structure and foundation of traditional Chinese society. These sweeping changes ranged from introducing new administrative, economic, and military systems to completely restructuring the educational and legal systems. The reformers sought to strengthen and unify the Chinese nation by bringing it up to speed with a modern world that had already begun to transform China’s traditional status quo.
The Hundred Days’ Reform was an attempt to resolve the long-standing issue of Chinese cultural stagnation and political corruption. It proposed a wide range of reforms based on the principles of “enlightened rule,” advocating for constitutional government, rule of law, democracy, innovation, and technological advancement. This was an effort to break free from the millennia-long legacy of dynastic rule and feudalism in China, a legacy that was seen as deeply hindering the country’s progress.
Kang Youwei and his supporters envisioned a modernized and industrialized China through the adoption of foreign technology, competition in the global market, and the leveraging of the West’s legal and political systems. The reformers also called for a greater emphasis on education, an end to the much-resented knowledge testing system (the traditional entrance criteria into the civil service), and the decentralization of power by introducing elected local assemblies with legislative powers.
The Hundred Days’ Reform was met with extreme resistance from powerful conservative forces within the Qing court. While the Emperor Guangxu granted permission for the reform program to be implemented, he was quickly stripped of his power by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who feared that the reforms would undermine her own position. On 22 September 1898, the reform was officially terminated after just 100 days.
Despite its short duration, the Hundred Days’ Reform had enormous implications for the future of China. It inspired many reformers and revolutionaries in their democratic reform efforts in the early 20th century. It also pushed forward the idea of transforming China into a modern and unified nation-state – an idea that would eventually lead to the destruction of the Qing Dynasty and the founding of the Republic of China in 1912.