Guangxu Emperor - Years in Power

Years in Power

Even after Guangxu began formal rule, Empress Dowager Cixi continued to influence his decisions and actions, despite residing for a period of time at the Summer Palace, which she had ordered Guangxu's father to construct, with the official intention not to intervene in politics.

After taking power, Guangxu was obviously more reform minded than the conservative leaning Cixi. He believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies like Japan, China would become more politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, Guangxu began the Hundred Days' Reform, aimed at a series of sweeping political, legal, and social changes. For a brief time, after the supposed retirement of Empress Dowager Cixi, Guangxu issued edicts for a massive number of far-reaching modernising reforms with the help of more progressive ministers such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.

Changes ranged from infrastructure to industry and the civil examination system. Guangxu issued decrees allowing the establishment of a modern university in Beijing, the construction of the Lu-Han railway, and a system of budgets similar to that of the west. The initial goal was to make China a modern, constitutional empire, but still within the traditional framework, as with Japan's Meiji Restoration.

The reforms, however, were not only too sudden for a China still under significant neo-Confucian influence and other elements of traditional culture, but also came into conflict with Cixi, who held real power. Many officials, deemed useless and dismissed by Guangxu, were begging Cixi for help. Although Cixi did nothing to stop the Hundred Days' Reform from taking place, she knew the only way to secure her power base was to stage a military coup. Guangxu was made aware of such a plan, and asked Kang Youwei and his reformist allies to plan his rescue. They decided to use the help of Yuan Shikai, who had a modernised army, albeit only 6,000-strong. Cixi relied on Ronglu's army in Tianjin.

Ronglu also had an ally, general Dong Fuxiang, who commanded 10,000 Muslim Kansu Braves of the imperial army, including generals such as Ma Fuxiang and Ma Fulu. They were stationed in the Beijing metropolitan area and constantly attacked foreigners and westerners, they were on the side of the conservatives under Cixi during the coup. They were also armed with western rifles and modern artillery, which showed that the conservative faction of Empress Cixi were willing to use western technology.

Taiwanese professor Lei Chia-sheng (雷家聖) revealed new research about the coup plot. The Guangxu Emperor may have actually been suckered into a trap by the reformists led by Kang Youwei. A British missionary and a former Japanese prime minister Itō Hirobumi tricked Kang, into agreeing to cede Chinese sovereignty to Itō. British ambassador Sir C. MacDonald said that the reformists had actually damaged the modernisation of China. Empress Dowager Cixi learned of the plot, and decided to put and end to it and save China from coming under foreign control.

However Yuan Shikai was having doubts about the plan. The day before the staged coup was supposed to take place, Yuan revealed all the plans to Ronglu, exposing the Guangxu Emperor's plans. This raised Cixi's trust in Yuan, who thereby became a lifetime enemy of Guangxu. In September 1898, Ronglu's troops took all positions surrounding the Forbidden City, and surrounded the emperor when he was about to perform rituals. Guangxu was then taken to Ocean Terrace, a small palace on an island in the middle of a lake linked to the rest of the Forbidden City with only a controlled causeway. Cixi followed with an edict dictating Guangxu's total disgrace and "not being fit to be Emperor". Guangxu's reign had effectively come to an end.