Kang Youwei in Chicago, USA
Leader of the Change of Law
In 1888, he wrote to the Guangxu Emperor for the first time, pointing out that Japan was “waiting for Jilin in the east, the British had started Tibet and Yunnan in the west, and the Russians had built a railroad in the north and forced Shengjing. He proposed three things: to become the law, to understand the situation, and to be cautious.
In addition, Kang Youwei, who believed in Confucianism, also devoted himself to transforming Confucianism into a national religion that could be adapted to modern society, and served as the president of the Confucian Church.
In 1891, Kang Youwei opened a school in Guangzhou and accepted students to teach, and Liang Qichao, another master of nationalism who reigned over the Republic, was his student. It is said that Liang Qichao, who was already a scholar at that time, met with Kang Youwei, who was still a supervisor, and deeply admired his knowledge and insight, so he took the initiative to be his teacher. The books he wrote at that time, “The Examination of the Pseudepigrapha of the New School” and “The Examination of the Reformation of Confucius”, had a great impact on the intellectual and thinking circles.
In 1895, Kang Youwei, who was sitting for the imperial examinations in Beijing, was shocked and indignant when he heard the news that the Qing government had signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan, and united with a large number of scholars to launch a “public petition” and proposed specific reform measures in various aspects.
Soon after, Kang Youwei was admitted to the imperial examinations. In 1898, with the permission of Cixi and Guangxu Emperor, he started to carry out the change of law, which was called the “Hundred Days Reform”. Later, Cixi launched a coup d’état and the reform failed, and Kang Youwei was also wanted.
After several changes, Kang Youwei fled overseas and founded the Royalist Society in July 1899, proposing “constitutional monarchy” and “opposing revolution”. After the Xinhai Revolution, Kang Youwei returned to China and settled in Shanghai, where he also took an active part in the restoration of the imperial system; he was involved in the restoration of Emperor Xuantui by Zhang Xun in 1917, but ultimately failed.
In 1923, Kang Youwei moved to his beloved Qingdao, where he died suddenly one day in March 1927 after attending a banquet with his fellow countrymen. There are different stories about the cause of his death, one is that he died of illness and the other is that he was killed, but the public story is still that he died of illness. After his death, he was buried in Qingdao.
Kang Youwei’s writings include “Kangzi’s Inner and Outer Chapters” and “The Complete Book of Practical Public Law” written in 1885, and “The General Discussion on Teaching” written in 1886, whose core content is to aspire to equality and justice and to improve politics. Other masterpieces of Kang Youwei include “Changxing Xueji”, “Gui Xue Q & A”, “Datong Shu”, “Lunyu Shu”, “Chunqiu penciling micro-words and great meanings examination”, etc.
After his death, he was whipped to death
After the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the whole country “broke the Four Olds”, and there were “beatings, smashing and looting” everywhere in the country, even killing people and digging graves. Although Kang Youwei died early, he was not spared either. His grave in Qingdao was dug up by the Red Guards of a school, and his bones were whipped, while his skull with white hair was tied to a stick and carried by the Red Guards for public display.
Fortunately, Wang Jiqin, a researcher at the Qingdao Museum, risked being branded as a “filial son of the royalists” and offered to take the skull to the museum for exhibition as an object of “justified rebellion”, and received permission from the Red Guards. After the exhibition, Wang Jiqin took advantage of the chaos and received Kang Youwei’s skull and relics into a wooden box, avoiding further disaster. It was only after the end of the Cultural Revolution that Kang Youwei’s bones were re-entered into the ground.
Daughters criticize Mao “for the disaster of all generations”
Kang Youwei had 12 children, only 2 sons and 4 daughters grew up, and most of his offspring live abroad. His second daughter Kang Tongbi and his daughter Luo Yifeng, born to his original wife Zhang Yunzhu, chose to stay on the mainland and went through the vicissitudes of the Cultural Revolution.
Kang Tongbi went to the United States to study at an early age, and entered Harvard University and Carlinford University, returning to China after graduation. She was the vice president of the Universal Women’s Association, the president of Shandong Ethics, and the president of the Chinese Women’s Association, and later married Luo Chang and had a daughter and a son. She was elected as a representative in the Senate of seven provinces in North China convened by Fu Zuoyi to negotiate with the Chinese Communist Party on the peaceful occupation of Beiping.
After the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, Kang Tongbi was appointed as a member of the Central Museum of Literature and History and was also elected to three terms of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Due to her husband’s early death, her son Luo Rongbang settled in the United States, and she lived with her daughter Luo Yifeng.
During the Cultural Revolution, Kang Tongbi’s mother and daughter were both affected. In 2004, Zhang Lifan, son of Zhang Naiqi, published an article titled “The Disorderly World of the People – Remembering Kang Tongbi’s Mother and Daughter during the Cultural Revolution”, describing the situation. According to the article, the Red Guards not only raided their home and removed the refrigerator, but also criticized Kang Tongbi, who was more than 80 years old, with ink on her face, but the mother and daughter still helped the poor and did not consider their own safety.
Kang Tongbi was very angry about the violence of the Cultural Revolution throughout the country, and once wrote to Mao in front of Zhang Lifan: “If this goes on, what will become of the country? If you want to bring down Liu Shaoqi, it’s up to you two, don’t make the whole country suffer!” She also pointed to the portrait on the wall and said, “What longevity, I think it’s a disaster for all generations!”
Because of Kang Tongbi’s background, she did not receive good treatment even after she fell ill. In the book “The Past is Not as Smoky” by Zhang Yihe, daughter of the “Great Rightist” Zhang Bojun, Kang Tongbi’s death is described as follows: “At first, the old lady was only suffering from a cold, so she first recuperated at home. But when she became more and more ill, she was admitted to the hospital and put in the observation room. The narrow bed was right in front of the door, and the wind was blowing all the time, and people were passing by. Luo Yifeng pleaded repeatedly to see if she could be transferred to a ward. The hospital staff gave her a blank look and replied, ‘Your mother is just a socialite, just stay here. A few days later, Kang Tongbi died in the observation room.” The time was August 17, 1969, and the old man was 83 years old.
Kang Tongbi’s daughter, Luo Yifeng, graduated from the Department of Home Economics of Yanjing University and did not work in any unit, but she was also unable to escape the Cultural Revolution and was “repaired” by the street office to explain her relationship with the president of Yanjing University, Situ LeiDeng, as a teacher and student. Luo Yifeng was like a scared bird, not knowing what to do, and was later imprisoned. After her release from prison, she followed her parents in 1974 and did not wait for the end of the Cultural Revolution.
Such a tragedy, while bringing sighs of relief, makes people once again hope that China will soon be free of the Chinese Communist Party!
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