The Hundred Days Reform
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Ordered
by Emperor Guangxu from June-September 1898
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Reform
would strengthen defence against the West
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Highly
influenced by Japanese modernization
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The
Meiji Reform conducted only 30 years earlier enabled
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Upset
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Education:
‘Eight-Legged Essay’ abolished [part of Civil Service Exams that focused on
memory and practice; calligraphy and poetry]
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Knowledge
of social and political problems
-
Creativity
encouraged
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Schools
taught in both Chinese and Western thought
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Traditional
schools turned into modern government schools
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Reasons
for Reform Failure:
While the reforms looked good on paper, they were never put into effect
-
Lasted
only 103 days
- Most decrees were not carried out
●
Most
were afraid of retribution from Dowager Empress Cixi
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Many
reforms were cancelled after imprisonment of Emperor Guangxu
●
Officials
were either non-cooperative or resistant to change
-
Felt
that it was a direct assault on Chinese tradition
- Reformers did not know how to tactfully change
an entire society and lost any popular support they might have had
-
Traitors
to traditional thought
-
Others
did not have the means to reform
-
Other
still did not understand the reforms
The
End of the Qing
●
Structure of the Qing Government before 1909
was hierarchical and operated on 2 levels, an official level and an unofficial
level.
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Lowest Level was that of the “Local Adminstration” : the
-
Only 1281 counties for 400,000,000 people. Needed something more.
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Gentry
fulfilled local (community) administration.
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Effective
for 2 reasons:
-
Had
influence as Gentry.
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Knew
the Local Conditions
●
Very
important that these 2 conditions exist! The ability of the Provincial Governor
to govern depended on the local magistrates who then in turn depended on the
Gentry.
●
Beginning with the Opium War (1839-42),
The Boxer Rebellion was sparked by
-
This made Empress Dowager think that the Chinese could rebuke the foreign
influences in
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Constitutionalists
vs. Revolutionaries
Constitutionalists were not opposed to the monarchy, but they wanted to reform
the relationship between the government and the people. They did not want a republican form of government,
but a constitutional monarchy.
●
Revolutionaries were opposed to the monarchy and wanted a republican form
of government.
●
In 1906 the Qing government decided to allow
for local self government as a transition to the larger responsibility of
a Constitutional Monarchy.
●
Wanted a way to bring the local government under control
●
First Local Elections in 1909
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2 Rounds. First was to vote for
an electoral college. Second was to actually choose the representatives.
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Election participation restricted to the Gentry.