Liang Ch'i-ch'ao

Liang Ch'i-ch'ao

(lyäng chē-chou), 1873–1929, Chinese reform leader. Liang was a disciple of K'ang Yu-weiK'ang Yu-wei
, 1858–1927, Chinese philosopher and reform movement leader. He was a leading philosopher of the new text school of Confucianism, which regarded Confucius as a utopian political reformer.
..... Click the link for more information.
. Stunned by China's disastrous defeat by Japan (see Sino-Japanese War, FirstSino-Japanese War, First,
1894–95, conflict between China and Japan for control of Korea in the late 19th cent. The Li-Ito Convention of 1885 provided for mutual troop withdrawals and advance notification of any new troop movements into Korea.
..... Click the link for more information.
), K'ang and Liang launched (1895) a movement for constitutional and educational reform. The movement received the backing of Emperor Kuang-hsuKuang-hsu
or Kwang-hsü
, 1871–1908, emperor of China (1875–1908). Although he was not in the direct line of succession, he was appointed to the throne by his aunt, the dowager empress and regent, Tz'u Hsi. He began his rule in 1889.
..... Click the link for more information.
 in 1898, but the "hundred days' reform" was aborted by the Empress Dowager Tz'u HsiTz'u Hsi,
 Tsu Hsi,
 Tse Hsi,
or Cixi
, 1834–1908, dowager empress of China (1861–1908) and regent (1861–73, 1874–89, 1898–1908).
..... Click the link for more information.
. Liang fled to Japan where he continued to promote gradualist reform and constitutional monarchy. Although his writings had a great influence on the constitutional movement within China, the large Chinese student community in Japan increasingly favored an anti-Manchu revolution as espoused by Sun Yat-senSun Yat-sen
, Mandarin Sun Wen, 1866–1925, Chinese revolutionary. He was born near Guangzhou into a farm-owning family. He attended (1879–82) an Anglican boys school in Honolulu, where he came under Western influence, particularly that of Christianity.
..... Click the link for more information.
. Following the republican revolution of 1911, Liang returned to China and led the Progressive party in parliament, generally supporting the regimes of Yüan Shih-kaiYüan Shih-kai
, 1859–1916, president of China (1912–16). From 1885 to 1894 he was the Chinese resident in Korea, then under Chinese suzerainty. He supported the dowager empress, Tz'u Hsi, against the reform movement (1898) of Emperor Kuang Hsü, and she
..... Click the link for more information.
 and Tuan Ch'i-juiTuan Ch'i-jui
, 1865–1936, Chinese general and political leader. He studied military science in Germany and held high positions in the army under the Ch'ing dynasty.
..... Click the link for more information.
 and opposing the KuomintangKuomintang
[Chin.,=national people's party] (KMT), Chinese and Taiwanese political party. Sung Chiao-jen organized the party in 1912, under the nominal leadership of Sun Yat-sen, to succeed the Revolutionary Alliance.
..... Click the link for more information.
.

Bibliography

See studies by J. R. Levenson (2d rev. ed. 1967) and C. Hao (1971).