The Dawn of Guangxu’s Rule
In 1889, a significant transition occurred in China’s imperial court as the Guangxu Emperor formally assumed power from the formidable Empress Dowager Cixi. This shift was marked by ceremonial proclamations – Cixi’s edict gracefully stepping back from direct governance while maintaining influence, and Guangxu’s reciprocal declaration expressing gratitude for her mentorship. The young emperor’s marriage in February 1889 and Cixi’s subsequent relocation to the Summer Palace in March symbolized this political transition, though real power dynamics remained complex beneath the surface.
This period represented China’s last opportunity for internal reform before external pressures became overwhelming. The 28-year-old Cixi, having effectively ruled since 1861 through the Tongzhi Emperor’s reign, now entered what contemporaries called her “retirement” – though as subsequent events would prove, her withdrawal from daily governance was more theatrical than substantive. The court’s elaborate rituals couldn’t mask the fundamental tension between imperial tradition and the urgent need for modernization.
Collision with the Modern World
The 1890s brought relentless challenges that would define Guangxu’s reign. In 1890, British attempts to penetrate Tibet from India signaled growing foreign pressures on China’s periphery. But the catastrophic turning point came with the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). What began as a joint intervention in Korea – where both China and Japan sent troops to suppress the Donghak Rebellion – escalated into full-scale war after the Japanese navy sank the British-operated Kowshing transport carrying Chinese troops.
China’s shocking military defeats unfolded rapidly:
– The Battle of the Yalu River (September 1894) saw five Chinese warships lost
– Japanese land forces invaded Manchuria by October
– The strategic port of Lüshun (Port Arthur) fell in November
– Weihaiwei’s last defenses collapsed in February 1895
The resulting Treaty of Shimonoseki (April 1895) imposed humiliating terms:
1. Recognition of Korean “independence” (effectively Japanese domination)
2. Cession of Taiwan, Penghu Islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula (later redeemed for 30 million taels)
3. War indemnity of 200 million taels
4. New treaty ports opened to foreign commerce
The Scramble for Concessions
China’s weakness triggered a feeding frenzy among imperial powers. The late 1890s became known as the “Scramble for Concessions”:
– Russia secured railway rights through Manchuria (1896) and leased Port Arthur (1898)
– Germany seized Jiaozhou Bay (1897) after the murder of two missionaries
– Britain obtained Weihaiwei (1898) as counterbalance to Russian gains
– France expanded influence in southern China and Indochina
Lord Salisbury’s warning about Port Arthur proved prophetic – Russia’s warm-water naval base fundamentally altered East Asian geopolitics. The powers’ competing spheres of influence were temporarily stabilized by the 1899 Anglo-Russian Agreement and America’s “Open Door” policy, but China’s sovereignty was being systematically dismantled.
The Hundred Days’ Reform and Its Aftermath
Amid this crisis, the Guangxu Emperor launched an ambitious reform program in June 1898, guided by reformers like Kang Youwei. The “Hundred Days’ Reform” proposed sweeping changes:
1. Modernization of education and examination systems
2. Administrative streamlining and anti-corruption measures
3. Industrial development and infrastructure projects
4. Limited political liberalization
For three months, remarkable progress occurred – incompetent officials were dismissed, Western technologies introduced, and even fiscal transparency attempted. But the radical pace alienated conservatives. On September 21, Cixi orchestrated a coup, rescinding all reforms and executing six reformers (the “Six Gentlemen Martyrs”). Kang Youwei barely escaped to Hong Kong.
The failed reform had profound consequences:
– Confirmed Cixi’s absolute control
– Strengthened anti-foreign factions at court
– Destroyed China’s last chance for peaceful modernization
The Boxer Cataclysm
By 1900, anti-foreign sentiment coalesced around the Boxer movement. As attacks on foreigners escalated, the court’s ambiguous stance – secretly encouraging Boxers while publicly restraining them – led to disaster:
– June 1900: Boxers and imperial troops besieged foreign legations
– June 20: German minister Ketteler murdered
– August 14: Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing
The Boxer Protocol (1901) imposed crushing terms:
– 450 million taels indemnity (39-year payment plan)
– Execution of pro-Boxer officials
– Permanent foreign military presence
– Dismantling of coastal defenses
The Long Sunset
The court’s return to Beijing in 1902 marked not restoration, but managed decline. Key figures passed – Li Hongzhang, architect of China’s foreign policy, died in 1901. The Guangxu Emperor, kept under house arrest after 1898, became a spectral figure until his mysterious 1908 death (one day before Cixi’s).
This era’s legacy remains contested:
– Demonstrated the fatal costs of resisting modernization
– Revealed imperial institutions’ inability to reform
– Created conditions for revolutionary movements
– Established patterns of foreign intervention that would haunt 20th century China
The Guangxu era’s tragedies – from the wasted reform opportunity to the Boxer disaster – formed the painful transition from imperial China to its revolutionary future. The questions it raised about balancing tradition and change, sovereignty and international engagement, remain relevant in contemporary China’s ongoing dialogue with its complex past.