Mosaic of the Hundred Days

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.