The Hundred Days of Reform was an attempt to modernise China by reforming its government, economy and society. They were launched by the young Guangxu emperor and his followers, particularly the writer Kang Youwei, in mid-1898. The reforms were eventually wound back by Dowager Empress Cixi, leading to the Emperor’s arrest and sidelining from power.
The need for urgent reforms in China followed the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movement and defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, which exposed China’s military weakness.
Some intellectuals believed that for significant reform to succeed, it had to come from above. They hoped the young Qing emperor might follow the example of Japan’s reform-minded Meiji emperor, who had overseen and encouraged successful economic and military reforms in his country.
