A Mosaic of the Hundred Days: Personalities, Politics, and Ideas of 1898 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

This analysis of the interplay among people and of events leading up to the reform acts of 1898--the Hundred Days--and their abrupt termination presents a new interpretation of the late Ch'ing political scene. The Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and high-court personalities are followed through the maze of motives and relationships that characterized the power structure in Peking.Of special interest is Kwong's treatment of K'ang-Yu-Wei, often viewed as the Emperor's advisor during this period and a major source of reform policy, a promincence largely derived frm his own writings and those of Liange Ch'i-ch'ao. Those sources are here examined and show to be less than objective, and K'ang's role is assessed as far more peripheral than heretofore believed

This analysis of the interplay among people and of events leading up to the reform acts of 1898—the Hundred Days—and their abrupt termination presents a new interpretation of the late Ch'ing political scene. The Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and high-court personalities are followed through the maze of motives and relationships that characterized the power structure in Peking.

Of special interest is Kwong's treatment of K'ang-Yu-Wei, often viewed as the Emperor's advisor during this period and a major source of reform policy, a promincence largely derived frm his own writings and those of Liange Ch'i-ch'ao. Those sources are here examined and show to be less than objective,and K'ang's role is assessed as far more peripheral than heretofore believed

This analysis of the interplay among people and of events leading up to the reform acts of 1898--the Hundred Days--and their abrupt termination presents a new interpretation of the late Ch'ing political scene. The Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and high-court personalities are followed through the maze of motives and relationships that characterized the power structure in Peking. Of special interest is Kwong's treatment of K'ang-Yu-Wei, often viewed as the Emperor's advisor during this period and a major source of reform policy, a prominance largely derived from his own writings and those of Liange Ch'i-ch'ao. Those sources are here examined and shown to be less than objective, and K'ang's role is assessed as far more peripheral than heretofore believed. This analysis of the interplay among people and of events leading up to the reform acts of 1898--the Hundred Days--and their abrupt termination presents a new interpretation of the late Ch'ing political scene. The Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and high-court personalities are followed through the maze of motives and relationships that characterized the power structure in Peking.Of special interest is Kwong's treatment of K'ang-Yu-Wei, often viewed as the Emperor's advisor during this period and a major source of reform policy, a prominence largely derived from his own writings and those of Liange Ch'i-ch'ao. Those sources are here examined and show to be less than objective, and K'ang's role is assessed as far more peripheral than heretofore believed Front Matter Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Reference Matter