The Hundred Days Reform of 1898 brought a ray of light to China, a dark feudal autocratic country. However, the vigorous political reform movement ended with six gentlemen in wyndell dichinson Caishikou. There are many reasons for its failure, such as the incompleteness of anti-imperialism and feudalism, the disparity in strength, the fact that imperialism does not allow China to develop capitalism, and the impossibility of reform. This paper focuses on the failure of the reform from the aspects of the reformers' own ability and quality, whether they have the ability to lead the reform, and holds that the failure of the reform is mainly caused by the reformers' eagerness for success, insufficient theoretical preparation, rash reform actions, improper strategic measures and other reasons.
First, the ideological preparation for political reform is not sufficient.
Political reform is a social change involving the interests of different classes and strata. Engels pointed out: "Every new progress is bound to be an attack on something sacred and a resistance to the old and declining order worshipped by habits." Therefore, it is necessary to awaken people from all walks of life and mobilize the mighty army of reform, but the ideological preparation for the Reform Movement of 1898 was not sufficient, and the whole society did not form a strong innovation trend.
1. The reform theory is not convincing.
Any social change must be guided by the theory of progress, and only when this theory is accepted by people can it be transformed into a huge material force. The theoretical basis of the Reformists' political reform is mainly embodied in Kang Youwei's textual research on new learning and Confucius' political reform. The former is aimed at the old and the latter at the new. These two books are an unprecedented "reversal" and "revolution" of traditional Confucianism. After they were published, they were like "one of the great winds in the ideological circle", such as volcanic earthquakes, which caused great vibration. Kang Youwei borrowed the authority of Confucius and played the banner of reform. His original intention was to reduce the resistance to political reform, but it backfired. First of all, Kang's theory was strongly resisted by the die-hards. They regard "the study of China's ancient classics" as their foundation, regard Kang Liang's theory as a scourge, and attack Kang Liang as "a scum of literati who tampered with six books and destroyed the Bible, demanded constitutional reform and had no monarch to expand civil rights."
Secondly, the Westernization School also opposed it. Zhang Zhidong criticized Kang Liang's "heresy and atrocities" in Persuasion. Second, most scholars and imperial bureaucrats who sympathized with the reformists in politics also held a negative attitude towards this theory. As far as the history of modern thought is concerned, Kang's theory has made a bold impact on orthodox thought, which has played a role in emancipating the mind. But as far as political reform is concerned, Kang Youwei's theory confuses academics and politics. The "Pseudo-Confucian Examination" challenges traditional Confucianism in an all-round way, and the "Reform Examination" lacks historical basis and is difficult to convince the public. On the contrary, it has caused too many arguments, confusion and doubts, which has left intellectuals in a confused position and given the die-hards a handle to suppress political reform. Therefore, the negative impact of Kang theory is greater than the positive impact.
2. Insufficient ideological mobilization of social forces.
Political reform is a profound social change, and whether social forces are fully mobilized is related to the success or failure of political reform. Before the Meiji Restoration in Japan, its reformists had long-term infiltration and ideological enlightenment in areas with weak feudal rule. By the end of the shogunate, farmers, citizens, emerging landlords and bourgeoisie, usurers and young warriors, from the standpoint of different social interest groups, strongly demanded the reform of the old feudal system, forming a huge reform force. This is an important condition for Japan's success.
From the rise of China's reform thoughts to the promulgation of reform letters by Emperor Guangxu, the reform thoughts have stirred China for about 40 years, but this is only a drop in the bucket in the long history of thought. The direct driving force of political reform is rising "emotions" rather than mature "thoughts". Kang Youwei and others, with high patriotic enthusiasm, wrote a letter calling for political reform when the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War triggered the crisis of national subjugation and extinction. At the same time, they also organized societies, founded journals, publicized reform ideas, and set off a movement to emancipate the mind in the intellectual circles. However, the resistance is considerable, and many publications and societies are intermittent, and the influence is limited to Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan. The reform idea has not been widely spread and accepted by people. On the eve of the Reform Movement of 1898, reformists were only a few, most of them were conservatives and most of them were centrists.
According to Yan Fu's estimation, the ratio of reformists to conservatives is one to one thousand. Even Hunan Province, known as the most prosperous province in China, has quite conservative forces, not to mention other provinces. At that time, the minority capitalists in China were not enthusiastic about political reform, lacked the independent character of daring to fight and fight, and did not fully support and protect their spokesman, the reformists. The idea of political reform is not only strongly opposed by the old school and the school of classical Chinese classics, but also lacks the direct participation of western students and the strong coordination and cooperation of powerful figures such as Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang. Kang Liang is fighting alone.
As for the broad masses, they are basically divorced from political life. The reformists' condescending heroic historical view prevented them from enlightening the people, and the ordinary people were still shrouded in the fog of conservatism. They don't understand the reformists' ideas, let alone their good intentions of saving the country and saving the world.
On the occasion of the reform and political reform, the anti-imperialist patriotic movement of the people of China is constantly rising, and the anti-Westernization movement and the Boxer Movement are developing vigorously. Due to the deep invasion of foreign powers, the people's anti-aggression struggle inevitably has irrational feelings of blind xenophobia. At this time, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 ended only three years ago, and the wounds of the war have not yet healed. Despite the national feelings of the people, the reformists praised Hirofumi Ito, the chief culprit of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, as the founding father of the Meiji Restoration in Japan, warmly invited him to visit China, and actively urged Emperor Guangxu to summon him as the savior of China's reform.
The reformists hoped that foreigners would help China to carry out political reform, which was in sharp contrast with the general xenophobia of the people and added obstacles to the progressive movement of learning from the West. The vigorous 100-day reform has not brought any practical benefits to the people. None of the reform measures involves the land issue that farmers are most concerned about, and some New Deal measures even harm the interests of the people. Because the reformists failed to enlighten the people, it is difficult for the people to understand the relationship between anti-imperialism and anti-aggression and learning from the West to save the nation. They are deeply estranged from the reformists and indifferent to political reform.
It can be seen that during the Reform Movement of 1898, the reformers' ideological mobilization of social forces was extremely inadequate, and the reform lacked a deep ideological foundation, whether it was the ideological circle, the literati class or the ordinary people class.
3. Lack of understanding of the complexity of reform
Kang Liang and other new Uighur factions clamored for reform with high patriotic enthusiasm. The sense of crisis of national subjugation and extinction is intertwined with the sense of competition and change. They expect China to "completely change" and "quickly change" and complete the road of self-improvement within 10 years, which is full of idealism.
Because the reformists are good at learning, lack practical experience in political struggle and outstanding organizational leadership, they are not fully prepared for the complexity and arduousness of political reform, and simply regard the harsh political struggle as "only in the middle of the emperor's transfer." They didn't estimate the national conditions of China, the serious situation that feudal forces obstructed and undermined political reform, and they didn't recognize the essence of imperialism. They tried to rely on Britain and Japan to resist Russia. Kang Youwei strongly suggested that Guangxu "try to form an alliance with Britain". This unrealistic and naive fantasy naturally failed, because the purpose of imperialist aggression against China was by no means to turn feudal China into capitalist China, but to turn China into their colony.
Emperor Guangxu, as the decision-maker of the political reform, also lacked understanding of the complexity of the political reform, did not realize the stubbornness and decay of the whole feudal system and the strength of the old forces, and thought that a piece of imperial edict could get rid of the old and the new. More than 65,438+000 imperial edicts were hastily issued, but most of them became mere formality and were not implemented.
The above analysis shows that the theoretical preparation and ideological mobilization of reform and reform are insufficient, and the leaders of reform have insufficient understanding of the complexity of reform. The 100-day Reform was hastily launched without adequate mental preparation, which was another important reason for the failure of the reform.
Second, the reform action is too hasty.
As mentioned earlier, the thought of political reform was not well prepared, and the 100-day reform was brought to the fore by a sharp national crisis. "Instead of hating others for refusing to reform, it is better to reform the restless witch and refuse the pressure of others" became the only way to protect the country and strengthen itself at that time. In this situation, reformers are eager to be in power, eager to succeed in the reform, blindly advancing, and rushing.
1. Reduce redundant staff, green camp, abolish stereotyped writing, abolish the parasitic privilege of standard-bearers, and rush for success, and strike on a large scale.
Successful political reform should be based on objective conditions, easy first and difficult later, and strive for various forces to reduce the resistance to reform. The leading group of Meiji Restoration in Japan was still very cautious about abolishing the rule of suzerain and gentry, and adopted the redemption policy and arranged the way out. It took 65,438+00 years to gradually solve these remaining problems and ensure the political stability needed for the reform.
Regardless of objective conditions, China reformers violated vested interests and even the middle and lower classes, causing social unrest. They didn't fully consider the possible consequences and the measures that should be taken. During the Hundred-Day Reform, Guangxu drastically abolished redundant officials on a large scale. In a very short period of time, from the central government to the local government, they were severely removed and forcibly sealed up. They had no patience to persuade laid-off workers and had no proper way out, which caused great social turmoil and strong dissatisfaction from the old forces.
As Chen Jilong, who was in the Ministry of Punishment at that time, said: "1898, the coup began with the dismissal of officials, and no fewer than ten people were laid off in the idle yamen of Beijing. The joint relationship was dereliction of duty and unemployment, which would reach 10,000 people. The ruling and opposition parties were shocked and quite a few people were unhappy. " Abandoning stereotyped writing to promote learning has aroused the anger of hundreds of academicians, thousands of scholars, tens of thousands of juren, hundreds of thousands of scholars and millions of young scholars, and cut off their career path, so that scholars are so jealous of Liang Qichao that they even want to assassinate Kang Youwei, which shows the great resistance. Cutting green camp and abolishing the parasitic privilege of the flag bearer will undoubtedly ruin the livelihood of millions of soldiers who abandoned the flag bearer, and make them "lose their job of settling down, get together day and night, and plot against the New Deal". Dramatic reform measures have pushed many forces to the opposite of reform.
2. Opening a system bureau is an advanced behavior divorced from reality.
The reformists regard the realization of constitutional monarchy as the strategic goal of political reform, and demand that the official system be changed, the monarchy be reduced, and parliament be opened and implemented immediately. This is an advanced behavior that ignores the national conditions and is divorced from reality. Parliamentary system has a long historical tradition in the west, and it is constantly improving with the development of capitalism. Japan established the House of Representatives more than 20 years after the reformists came to power. However, in China, the introduction of the word "house" has only been 10 years, and there are no conditions and foundations for its realization. In August, when Kang Youwei once again proposed the establishment of a bureau to take over the power of the Prime Minister's yamen and the Minister of Military Affairs, "there was an uproar in the DPRK, saying that all officials were abolished when this bureau was opened." The minister of military affairs publicly boycotted and the contradiction quickly intensified. Zhang Zhidong said: "The theory of civil rights is harmful." The reformist unrealistic program not only failed to unite more forces, but isolated itself.
Radical reform has exceeded the endurance of society.
In the 103 days of the Hundred Days Reform, more than 100 imperial edicts were promulgated, involving political, economic, military, cultural and social aspects. Reform measures that go hand in hand regardless of priorities, such as heavy rain pouring down, make people feel at a loss. The reformists did not promulgate, implement and consolidate one item, but pursued quantity unilaterally in an attempt to turn China into a bourgeois constitutional monarchy overnight. Although this desire is progressive, the result is haste makes waste.
Because the reformers failed to fully mobilize social forces beforehand, people lacked due ideological preparation for this reform involving thousands of families and millions of people, and many people were in a state of wait-and-see, doubt and even conflict. Some New Deal measures have harmed the actual interests of the people, and Kang Youwei even put forward the idea of changing his name and surname, which rashly violated the sacred national tradition and gave the people an opportunity. The theory of changing clothes with broken hair was strongly opposed by the flag bearer, causing an uproar. The reform measures of the storm exceeded the social conditions and people's psychological endurance at that time. Zilin Xibao commented: "The Reform Party carried out drastic reforms in various departments until the whole world was shocked, thinking that compared with this young China, even the speed of Japanese reform fell behind." Even Kang had a premonition that the reform was "too big", "too excessive" and "safe and successful"?
Strategically, the factions in the ruling group failed to divide and rule and won the majority, but made enemies on all sides and isolated themselves.
The Reform Movement of 1898 is a profound change involving social and political systems, and Empress Dowager Cixi, who holds the highest real power, has a very important attitude towards the Reform Movement of 1898. Historians used to regard Cixi as the representative of the die-hard forces and resolutely opposed the political reform, which was somewhat absolute. In fact, after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, facing the increasingly serious political crisis and the surging tide of reform and saving the country, many ministers of the imperial court also wrote to demand reform. In this case, the queen mother had to agree to carry out some reforms within her authority. Without the approval of Cixi, Guangxu could not have completed the "Hundred Days Reform". Of course, Empress Dowager Cixi has reservations about the content of the reform: that is, "the ancestral system will not change", the monarchical status of Empress Dowager Cixi will not change, and the customs of Manchu will not change.
The differences between Guangxu and Cixi are mainly manifested in reducing redundant staff, abolishing old officials and reforming the political system. Although Cixi is opposed to cutting off the latent luck, she is not opposed to cutting off the governors of Huguang, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces and overlapping institutions in various places, which shows that she is not completely opposed to political reform. The direct cause of the coup was not so much a political dispute as her realization that political reform threatened her authority and Kang Youwei's plan to send troops to seize power after "encircling the garden". Like emperors of past dynasties, Cixi put the maintenance of personal absolute authority and enjoyment in the first place.
Wang Zhao, director of the ritual department, once said: "The coup of 1898, outsiders or misunderstanding Cixi opposed the political reform. In fact, Cixi only knows rights and has no political views. Purely internal affairs. " After the coup, Kang Youwei also thought: "The conflict between the Western Empress Dowager and Guangxu does not involve political differences" and "it seems that the main purpose is to compete for political power". If this is the case, then the reformists "let Cixi stand out in the name of advocating political reform" and use Cixi's influence among the old ministers to implement the New Deal, which can reduce resistance. However, Guangxu, Kang Liang and others did not do this, but wanted to get rid of the control of the Queen Mother and even "encircle the garden", eventually forcing the Queen Mother to launch a coup and "discipline politics" again.
As for Zhang Zhidong, Li Hongzhang and other westernization groups, they advocate a moderate reform line. Reformers can seek common ground while reserving differences and strive for them to stand on their side. Most military ministers are in favor of other New Deal measures to varying degrees, except for opposing the establishment of the Bureau and the Logistics Department. If the reformists weigh the pros and cons, suspend the opening of the system bureau and the silence hall, temporarily do not touch the fundamental interests of their power, win the support of the majority, carry out economic, cultural and educational reforms first, and then gradually carry out political system reforms when the time is ripe, first easy and then difficult, step by step, then the reform may not be just "a hundred days' work." However, the leaders of the political reform were eager for success, indiscriminately attacking all classes and factions of the ruling class, slashing and withdrawing, demanding that conservative ministers be stopped and executed, and Li Hongzhang should be held accountable for treason, without giving the laid-off workers an appropriate way out.
In this way, all classes and factions that already have contradictions and differences naturally unite and gather around the Queen Mother to openly oppose political reform. Instead of taking advantage of contradictions, seeking common ground while reserving differences and disintegrating the feudal camp, the leaders of the political reform attacked in an all-round way, made enemies on all sides and pushed all possible allies to the opposite side, resulting in self-isolation.
To sum up, the 100-day reform was hastily launched under the circumstances of insufficient theoretical preparation for reform and insufficient ideological mobilization of social forces. Reformers lack a deep understanding of the arduousness of reform, rush for success without real power, act too hastily, have improper strategies, and are seriously divorced from reality, which eventually leads to the failure of reform. Reform is a huge and complicated social system project, which will meet with all kinds of opposition and obstruction from the old forces. Therefore, reformers need not only ideals, enthusiasm, courage and dedication, but also wisdom, ability, strategy, the ability to follow objective laws, make things easy first and then difficult, and make steady progress. In a sense, peaceful reform is more arduous than violent revolution.
Let's talk about the historical lessons of the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898.
Lesson: At that time, the reformist road in China was blocked, and the process of modernization in China was long and tortuous.
/kloc-The Reform Movement of 1898, more than 0/00 years ago, was the first time in modern times that China consciously carried out system reform to meet the challenge of modernization. However, this measure was not a "radical" reform, but ended in a bloody tragedy, which seriously frustrated the modernization process of China. There are many complicated and profound reasons for this failure, one of which is the role of cultural tradition.
First: you will be beaten if you fall behind. This reform movement has a profound social, political, cultural and international background, and the most direct reason is the failure of the Qing government in the Sino-Japanese War. Because Japan has been studying China culture for a long time in history, before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, China people always regarded Japan as an "island country" and a "small country". However, in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, which lasted nearly ten months, China was defeated by Japan, which was known as "the first in the East", and the Beiyang Navy was completely annihilated. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops were wiped out, and the Japanese invaded China, burning, killing and looting at will. The Qing government finally signed the treaty of shimonoseki, demanding compensation for humiliating the country and making peace with the enemy. This is enough to prove how backward China was then. In this case, it is strange that China didn't get beaten. Therefore, the Reform Movement of 1898 taught us a lesson, and we will be beaten if we fall behind. Only when we are strong, no one dares to bully us. The tragedy of the Reform Movement of 1898 will never be repeated in China.
Second, to reform and open up, we should not close our doors to the outside world. When China was defeated by the Japanese and the whole country shared weal and woe, the reformists with the same blood boiling didn't just stay in the stage of condemning and denouncing the enemy, let alone simply denying the advantages and disadvantages of the invaders, but calmly reminded people of the enemy's strengths and proposed to learn from the enemy, which was really commendable.
Because this requires superb knowledge, rational and clear understanding of the world trend, international pattern and domestic situation, and more importantly, extraordinary courage. In the face of public anger, their proposal of "taking a strong enemy as a teacher" is often denounced as "flattering the enemy to betray the country" and "forgetting one's ancestors by counting books", condemned by thousands of people, condemned by the whole world and discredited. The reason why the reformists are willing to take the risk of "the world is not convinced", admit and analyze the advantages of the enemy, and then propose to learn from them is because of their sincere love for the country, as Liang Qichao said: "Today's so-called patriots, who do things that are beneficial to the country, are especially well deserved." This kind of patriotism is purer, more profound, more sober, more rational, more responsible and more effective, and more worthy of respect and promotion.
Ancestor worship and "Huaxia-centered theory" are important features of China traditional culture. Ancestor worship sanctifies ancestors and patriarchal clan system, which makes any reform very difficult and is always considered as "forgetting one's ancestors after several classics". According to "Huaxia Centrism", China is the "heaven" occupying the center of the world, and only China has the best culture. Other nationalities, countries and cultures are all "land", "foreign", "Manchu" and "fan". According to the distance from China, the "land" or "barbarian" or "alien" is classified as "land".
The combination of "ancestor worship" and "Huaxia center" makes any reform in foreign countries more difficult to learn and learn from, and is regarded as "turning foreign countries into summer". China is connected with the world, so it is impossible to develop itself behind closed doors and leave the world. It's no use. The reason why the Qing Dynasty was so backward was that it closed its doors to the outside world. When the world powers developed to such a great power, the rulers of the Qing government didn't know it, but thought they were heaven. Under such circumstances, the Reform Movement of 1898 can hardly be recognized within the ruling class, and they will think that you are rebelling and destroying the foundation of the country. Therefore, another lesson of the Reform Movement of 1898 is to reform and open up and learn the advanced cultures of all countries in the world.
Third: whether it is reform or revolution, the people are the creators of history. We should keep close contact with the masses. Without the masses, no reform and revolution can be completed. The failure of the Reform Movement of 1898 illustrates this point. Our current leaders should learn this lesson and get the support of the masses in everything they do. As the saying goes, "those who win the hearts of the people win the world", it is impossible to reform without the mass base!
Fourth: Everything should be realistic, and there should be no illusions. The reformists lack the courage to oppose imperialism and feudalism and only adopt improved methods. Although they put forward the resounding slogan of "saving the nation from subjugation to survive", they thought that to save the nation from subjugation to survive, there was no need to directly oppose imperialism. Only by learning from the West and implementing capitalist reform, China could be made rich and strong, and aggression could be avoided. They even fantasize about imperialism such as Britain, America and Japan to help reform. This reflects the compromise of reformists.
At the same time, the reformists were not only dissatisfied with the obstruction and destruction of feudal diehard forces, but also kept inextricably linked with feudalism. The Reform Movement of 1898, which was supposed to be bloodless, ended in a bloody coup in 1898. However, the reformer's life awakened the people of China: in semi-colonial and semi-feudal China, it is impossible to make China rich and strong through peaceful reform. Later, many reformists gave up the illusion of reformism and embarked on the road of armed revolution.
Fifth, the capitalist road doesn't work in China. The Reform Movement of 1898 was a bourgeois reform movement. The Revolution of 1911 was a bourgeois revolutionary movement, and later a bourgeois regime, the Republic of China, was established. But it failed in the end. This is enough to prove that the capitalist road is not feasible in China.
Only the socialist road led by the * * * Party is suitable for China. Moreover, the great achievements brought by the reform and opening up now are unmatched by any dynasty in history. New China is playing an increasingly important role in the world, with a higher status and stronger comprehensive national strength. This is obvious to all. The great China is awakening. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is being realized.