Kang Youwei and the Hundred Days Reform

In the wake of the Sino-Japanese War, Kang Youwei works with the Guangxu Emperor to try to replicate Japan's Meiji reforms, before being crushed by Cixi and other Manchu conservatives.

At the beginning of the episode, I talk some about how westerners have written about Chinese history. A good book that goes really deep into this is Paul Cohen's Discovering History in China. If you're into that topic, you may also want to read Fabio Lanza's End of Concern: Maoist China, Activism, and Asian Studies.

Some names from this episode:
Kang Youwei, Confucian advocate of liberal modernization and Qing loyalist
Emperor Guangxu, Emperor of China during this episode, tried to assert his power during Hundred Days Reform
Empress Dowager Cixi, the real power behind the throne
Ito Hirobumi, senior Japanese statesman whose met with Guangxu while Cixi 'sat behind the curtain'
Yuan Shikai, leader of Chinese army
Rong Lu, conservative Manchu governor of metropolitan region and Cixi loyalist
Kang Guangren, Kang Youwei's younger brother
Okuma Shigenobu, Japanese prime minister who offered Kang Youwei aid
Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Revolution

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