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 loyalistEmperor Guangxu, Emperor of China during this episode, tried to assert his power during Hundred Days ReformEmpress Dowager Cixi, the real power behind the throneIto Hirobumi, senior Japanese statesman whose met with Guangxu while Cixi 'sat behind the curtain'Yuan Shikai, leader of Chinese armyRong Lu, conservative Manchu governor of metropolitan region and Cixi loyalistKang Guangren, Kang Youwei's younger brotherOkuma Shigenobu, Japanese prime minister who offered Kang Youwei aidMao Zedong, leader of the Chinese RevolutionSupport the show