Chapter 6 Chapter Five Kang Jinshi

When the Empress Dowager West left Wanshou Temple, sitting in a sedan chair, evasive and solemn, went west to the Summer Palace, Kang Youwei walked out of Fayuan Temple, alone, and went south to Guangdong. His trip to Beijing this time was a failure. His purpose in coming to Beijing was to write to the emperor, asking for political reform.Before writing this letter, he spent five years preparing in Xiqiao Mountain, Nanhai, Guangdong. In Xiqiao Mountain, he immersed himself in the study of ancient Chinese books and the translations of all new Western books. He did not know foreign languages, but he Collected all the books translated into Chinese, from the time of reading, to learn about foreign countries.The conclusion is: China must take the road of modernization in order to be saved. To walk this way, first of all, one person must be convinced, that is, there is no hope for the emperor to convince the Queen Mother.So, he did everything possible and decided to write to the emperor.This trip to Beijing was an experiment of his dream of writing a letter to the emperor, but he failed because although the book was well written, he couldn't get it up.In Chinese imperial politics, it is very difficult for the common people to express their feelings directly. The emperor seldom gives the common people this opportunity. You have to be responsible for the content of the letter, who wants to cause trouble when nothing happens?What's more, the line of the rich and powerful is not so easy to set up. How can this kind of line come to the ordinary people who are alone?

In this way, Kang Youwei decided to return to the south in frustration. He decided to strengthen his identity and his right to speak before making a comeback.At that time, the starting point for ordinary people who were underestimated by others to have status and a right to speak was to take the exams, the exams for scholars, exams for candidates, and exams for Jinshi.The Jinshi examination is the most important thing. At that time, he was just raising people. He was determined to take the Jinshi examination, and he wrote books, gave lectures, and trained his own team. Although this trip to Beijing failed, in Kang Youwei's heart, there was one thing that made him feel comforted, that is, he finally found a connection with Weng Tonghe, the teacher of the powerful emperor.He first wrote a letter to Weng Tonghe, but Weng Tonghe refused to see him; he asked Guozijian Jijiu Sheng Yu to introduce him, but Weng Tonghe thought that his letter to the emperor was too straightforward and his opinions were useless, so he still refused to act on his behalf.Even so, Kang Youwei left a deep impression on this senior official who was on the ranking list.Coincidentally, Weng Tonghe was a calligrapher and had a lot of research on ancient steles, and Kang Youwei also had a considerable level of calligraphy and ancient steles.He studied calligraphy and ancient monuments in Beijing, and spent 17 days after returning from the south to write this kind of experience into "Guangyi Boat Double Oar", and sent it to Weng Tonghe.Weng Tonghe was amazed that this young man had such skill, and the impression he left behind changed from a deep impression to a feeling of sympathy.

Of course, for Kang Youwei, writing this kind of "Guang Yi Boat Double Oar" is by no means the subject of his books and talks. molecular orientation.This kind of great work can be divided into three parts: the first part is "Xin Xue Pseudo-Classic Test", which breaks the traditional theory, telling intellectuals to dare to get rid of the shackles of tradition; Tell intellectuals that even Confucius advocates reforming the status quo, and don't be afraid of reforming the status quo; the third part is the "Book of Great Harmony" that proposes a future vision, telling intellectuals that they should first take the reform route to a moderately prosperous life, and finally reach the realm of Datong .

In addition to writing books and writing books, he opened a class of private schools and accepted more than a dozen students. Among them was a young prodigy Liang Qichao who was awarded the Juren at the age of seventeen. He was eighteen years old at the time and was willing to worship him as a teacher.It seems a little strange that Juren worships nonjuren as his teacher, but Liang Juren really admires the 33-year-old Kang Feijuren.Liang Qichao originally read old Chinese things logically, but one day, when he met Kang Youwei with a friend, he found that Kang Youwei's knowledge was the sound of the sea tide and the roar of a lion. He and his friend were surprised and happy, complained and mourned The surprise is that there are mountains beyond the mountains and seas outside the sea. The world of learning is so big, and it is a blessing to meet such an expert as Kang Youwei!The sad thing is that the well-thought-out way that he and that friend have always believed in is so impracticable, and all the effort they have spent in the past has actually gone in the wrong direction, although this direction is the direction that most Chinese intellectuals would like to follow. They left, but after listening to Kang Youwei's high-spirited speeches, they decided to follow Kang Youwei.So, in the second year after Kang Youwei returned to the south, his private school opened in Guangzhou.The private school is called Wanmu Thatched Cottage, and the subjects taught range from classical to modern, from religion to speech, from mathematics to physical education.Although there are no more than a dozen teachers and apprentices together, everyone divides the work and cooperates. The teaching assistant is called the head of Bowen, the one who is honest is called the head of Yueli, the one who leads sports is called the head of Gancheng, and the one who manages books and instruments is called Shu. The supervisor of the Department of Devices, the teachers and students, are dear and sincere, living and studying together, and jointly cast new beliefs and new visions for the bleak and great future.

In this way, three years have passed.These three years are very different from Kang Youwei's preparations for the previous five years.The preparation for the first five years is solitary, but the preparation for these three years is group.In the past three years, he has not only enriched himself, but also printed and published thematic works such as "A Test of New Learning Apocrypha" and "Confucius Reform". Be his most capable student, be his most radiant drummer.He is becoming more and more independent. 1894 arrived, which was the Jiawu Year in China. In this year, China's foreign aggression became more complicated.The foreign devils who came to bully China in the past were all blond and blue-eyed, and they were all Caucasian, mainly British and French.When China's national prestige spread far and wide in ancient times, these foreign devils never met China, and China's national prestige could not be displayed on their heads. Most of the targets of China's national prestige were yellow race people, including Japan and Vietnam.In the Han Dynasty, Japan was crowned the king of Japanese slaves by China; in the Yuan Dynasty, Japan was also attacked by China. In the eyes of China, Japan has always looked down upon.But when the nineteenth century came, Japan became powerful because of its willingness to reform, and it was so big that it wanted to attack China.The Japanese saw helplessly that China was weakening. In 1842, China was signed the Treaty of Nanking by the British Alliance; in 1858, the British and French Alliance signed the Treaty of Tianjin; In addition to the alliance under the city of Britain and France, the Beijing Treaty was concluded. Besides the alliance under the city, miscellaneous humiliating treaties were also concluded again and again.Japan thinks that China will take a bite of this piece of fat.Thus, in 1894, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 was waged with China over the issue of Korea.

The Sino-Japanese War was officially declared on July 1, 1894, and China was defeated.After the defeat, everyone scolded Li Hongzhang, the person in charge of the administration, but Li Hongzhang said: I will not take the blame for this humiliation!He said that he has experienced adversity for a long time, knows the general trend of the world and the country, and knows that this battle cannot be fought. He has already warned everyone not to fight, but everyone shouted to fight, saying that it is impossible to fight, and it is a traitor if they do not fight; He also scolded him for not winning the battle and being a traitor.So he said that he was not responsible for the defeat this time.

In this war, on land, China deployed defenses in North Korea with only 15,000 troops, while Japan stormed with 40,000 troops; at sea, China had no new ships in the Yellow Navy for six years. The British suggested that they must first buy two Clippers, but the navy funds were embezzled by the Queen Mother to repair the Summer Palace. The clippers were bought by Japan, and one of them became the Yoshino. With this ship, Japan sank the main force of the Chinese navy. On the other hand, the mentality of the same hatred and hatred during the war is also unique in China.At the beginning of the war, on the Japanese side, from the emperor down, everyone was busy listening to the military situation; but on the Chinese side, from the Queen Mother down, everyone was busy listening to the drama.As if the battle was fought by someone else.This kind of mentality, after a while, is full of jokes.As far as the navy is concerned, the Chinese navy is divided into factions, divided into the Beiyang Department, the Nanyang Department, the Southern Fujian Department, and the Guangdong-Ocean Department, each with its own department.Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, China held a naval inspection, and the Yueyang Faction sent three ships, Guangjia, Guangyi and Guangbing.Unexpectedly, the inspection was endless, and the war broke out suddenly, and the three ships were left behind to strengthen their momentum.After the war, Guangjia ran aground, Guangyi sank, and Guangbing surrendered.After the war, the head of the Cantonese Department actually wrote a letter to the Japanese surrendered general, saying that the three ships all had the prefix "Guangdong" and belonged to Guangdong. Come on, give us back the boat with the wide prefix!

After the Sino-Japanese War, some foreigners commented that in a way, this was not a war between China and Japan, but a war between Li Hongzhang and Japan.With Li Hongzhang fighting 30 million people in Japan alone, the outcome is clear! In the eyes of the Chinese, Japan has been a small country, a small neighbor, and a small vassal for two thousand years. Now that China has been defeated by the Japanese devils, the shame that the Chinese feel is far greater than being defeated by the British devils.Under this humiliation, Chinese intellectuals began to react violently, the most special of which was to write a letter on the bus.According to the traditional Chinese saying, after a scholar is admitted to Juren, he or she goes to Beijing to take an examination of Jinshi, which is called in the bus, and writing on the bus is a petition to the emperor, that is, candidates before the joint entrance examination submit a letter to the ruler.This kind of writing has long been a tradition in China, that is, the students of the late Han dynasty wrote letters to the emperor. Therefore, although writing a letter is a bit offside, it is not unconventional.In the second year after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it happened to be the day when all the provinces went to the capital to take the Jinshi examination. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao also came from Guangdong.Thirteen days after the news of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki by China and Japan, Liang Qichao first united 190 people from Guangdong to write a letter to Chen Shiju; Um, please reform the letter.During the process of submitting the letter, Juren from Taiwan was even more heartbroken, because in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Taiwan was going to be ceded to the Japanese.This petition was drafted by Kang Youwei. He spent a day and two nights writing a petition of more than 10,000 characters. However, for a regime that is in decline, the petition is invalid.The letter had to be passed through the yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but the Metropolitan Procuratorate refused to transact it. The reason was that the Qing government had approved the Treaty of Shimonoseki and there was nothing to talk about.

Although there is nothing to talk about on the surface, the Qing government cannot remain indifferent to this kind of public opinion expression and joint activities of thousands of people, especially Juren.The most prominent among the juren was Kang Youwei, because Kang Youwei was no longer a Kang Juren. He passed the exam the day after he submitted the letter, and he really became a Kang Jinshi. Before Kang Youwei became a Jinshi, he was already a famous public official.He became famous for his book six years ago, and in the past six years, his reputation has grown even bigger.In particular, his book "Xinxue Apocrypha" was banned in the first year, and his reputation among juren was even more prosperous, and the old-fashioned party in the imperial court had a headache for him, not to mention.He won the Jinshi this time, and almost got the first place in the exam, so his reputation will naturally rise to a higher level.On the top of the floor, he wrote to the emperor for the third time, and finally the emperor saw it.Although I have seen it, there is still a long way to go before it can take effect.

After Kang Youwei became a Kang Jinshi, in order to publicize, he initiated the establishment of a newspaper, "Chinese and Foreign Bulletin". At that time, the Chinese did not subscribe to the newspaper. People who wanted to read the newspaper had to give it away for free.So, they printed 3,000 copies a day, asked and bought a circular boy, and sent it to the Shenzhai compound every day.However, at that time, everyone could not figure out what this newspaper was all about.I always suspect that there is some conspiracy coming to my door.Therefore, even if it is given away for free, no one dares to accept it.The newsboy was also scared, thinking that this newspaper must not be a good thing, and in the end he refused to deliver it for fear of getting involved.

Not long after the start of the newspaper, Kang Youwei initiated the organization of a national salvation group to strengthen the society, published books and periodicals, and advocated new trends.This will attract the sponsorship of enlightened people, and even British and American envoys donated books and printing presses.However, soon, the shadow of stubbornness came over, and Kang Youwei felt that it was difficult for him to gain a foothold in Beijing, so he decided to go to the south to plan some developments in the south.So, on the eve of the strong society being banned, he left Beijing. Although the activities in Beijing failed this year, Kang Youwei made a lot of progress on the long road of winning the king's way.The most important one is that six years ago, Weng Tonghe, the teacher who refused to meet the emperor, had a better impression of him. Weng Tonghe not only stopped rejecting him, but also met him.Weng Tonghe remembers clearly: Six years ago, Kang Youwei predicted that China would be defeated by Japan. Unfortunately, now, he deeply feels that he has underestimated this calligrapher named Kang Youwei.Now that Kang Youwei is a Jinshi, Weng Tonghe, an early Jinshi, really wanted to meet this later Jinshi, so the meeting between the two came true. During this meeting, there was a dialogue that most affected Weng Tonghe.Kang Youwei had the following conversation with this dignitary who looked like a loyal old farmer: Of course, Xiangguo knew about the Opium War 20 years ago, that is, 55 years ago.The cause of the Opium War was that foreigners harmed others and benefited themselves. They transported opium cigarettes that they themselves did not smoke or eat to China, which resulted in the Opium War.China was defeated in this battle, and the real reason for the defeat was that China was fundamentally backward. The Chinese government, officials, scholar-bureaucrats, army, weapons, and people were all behind.At that time, China did not have full contact with the world, and it was understandable that it did not realize that it was outdated. But after the war was defeated, they still did not wake up, and slept for another 20 years. Twenty years later, the British and French allied forces burned the Old Summer Palace. This is inexcusable.After the British and French Allied Forces, some people began to awaken, like Prince Gong and others started the self-strengthening movement, but because everyone below the empress dowager was conservative, and Prince Gong himself was not new enough, so the results of incomplete awareness in the past thirty-five years are not as good as the Japanese. The last battle fought the truth.Counting back and forth, twenty years plus thirty-five years, a total of fifty-five years, because we have not fully awakened, and because foreigners and Orientals are moving faster than us, after fifty-five years, we are more regressive and backward than we are .Now we think back, if we had learned a lesson as soon as the Opium War was defeated fifty-five years ago, we would not have wasted the first twenty years, and then the next thirty-five years, we would be like today! According to Mr. Kang, Weng Tonghe said slowly, after the Opium War fifty-five years ago, what was the reason why we could not awaken? In my opinion, the important reason is that China is conservative from top to bottom, and cannot see China's situation in the world, but the scholar-bureaucrats who can see this situation are self-sacrificing, cherish their feathers, are afraid of being criticized by the public, and are unwilling to be troublesome and unwilling to make mistakes. Shouting out is an even more important reason.For example, the Spring and Autumn Period blamed the sages, taking Lin Wenzhong and Lin Zexu as an example.Fifty-five years ago, Mr. Lin Wenzhong was a scholar-bureaucrat with the best official voice and most achievements, and he was also a real man. He was sent to Guangdong to ban smoking. Wen Zhonggong is also full of self-confidence, he is confident that he can defeat foreigners.But he is superior to others after all. As soon as he arrived in Guangdong and saw it on the ground, he knew that Chinese weapons were not as good as foreigners, and self-confidence alone was not enough.Because Chinese guns are all second-hand goods from the seventeenth century, shotguns, lifting guns, hundred-child guns, son-and-mother guns, overlord firecrackers, etc., are no match for foreigners.So he made a lot of money to buy foreign guns and ships, and also asked people to translate books and periodicals produced by foreigners, so as to know the enemy.These materials were later given to Wei Yuan to be compiled into "Pictures of Haiguo", advocating the use of barbarians to control barbarians.The Japanese translated the book into Japanese, which facilitated their restoration.But with Mr. Lin Wenzhong's status at that time and his understanding of China's situation in the world, it is obvious that he did not do enough.Why?He also committed the old habits of Chinese scholar-bureaucrats who were conservative, kept themselves clean, cherished their feathers, was afraid of being criticized by the Qing government, and was unwilling to be troublesome.Lord Lin Wenzhong wrote a letter to his friend in September 22nd year of Daoguang. In the letter, he clearly pointed out that foreigners can shoot farther and faster than us. I'm afraid it's only for the coaxing of the enemy.Although the Chinese army has combat experience, that kind of experience is the experience of fighting face to face. Now the foreigners are fighting from ten miles away, and they are defeated without seeing each other.Therefore, the first thing to do today is to use cannons. Without cannons, even if Yue Fei and Han Shizhong are around, there is nothing he can do.Leaving this one thing alone now really makes Yue Han lose his hands, what can I do!Mr. Lin Wenzhong wrote this letter, and he asked his friend not to show it to others. This instruction fully explained everything.Mr. Lin Wenzhong himself clearly knew where China was not doing well, but in his position, he refused to speak out.If it is said that he was in bad luck when he wrote the letter, it is inconvenient to say more, but later he became the governor of Shaanxi, Gansu and Yunnan and Guizhou, and he refused to speak out when he made a comeback.He cleans himself up, takes good care of his feathers, is afraid of being judged and criticized, and does not want to be troublesome.Even a virtuous and promising man like Mr. Lin Wenzhong adopts such a negative attitude towards national affairs. How can China's affairs come to an end? Weng Tonghe listened quietly without saying a word. Obviously, he was deeply moved by this example of Lin Zexu.When Lin Zexu died (1850), he was only twenty years old. At that time, others looked down upon him.Now he is sixty-five years old, and he is getting old. In the past few decades, he has served the country, and he feels that his achievements are questionable. In the future, he will only serve the country for a few years. He feels that he is getting old, and he has come to Japan There are not many, people also have metabolism, and the country needs a new generation to rescue.Before he retires, wouldn't it be better if he used his vision and influence to recommend some promising newcomers to the imperial court?The Kang Youwei in front of him is indeed a promising newcomer. After a while, Weng Tonghe nodded slowly, and said kindly to the thirty-eight-year-old Kang Youwei: Mr. Kang is young and promising, I can see it, and I think you know that I, an old man, can see it, otherwise you wouldn't Will miss me again and again.It is my responsibility to recommend promising talents to the imperial court, and it is my duty. What's more, it is wrong to know that there are talents and not recommend them.I naturally pay attention to Mr. Kang.But Mr. Kang knows the complexity of China's political situation, so in my position, if I want to get something done, sometimes I can't deal with it directly, but I have to deal with it in a roundabout way.I think, I will try my best to think of a way in a short time so that Mr. Kang can get the way of the king.Whether it will be successful or not, I don't know, but one thing I can assure Mr. Kang is that I will never cherish feathers again.Mr. Kang knows that I have lectured in front of the curtain where the empress dowagers of the two palaces hang behind the curtain to listen to politics. I am the master of the emperors of the two dynasties. It doesn't matter anymore. Weng Tonghe is from Changshu, Jiangsu. Nearly 40 years ago, he not only passed the Jinshi examination, but was also the number one scholar in Jinshi. Kang Youwei was not born at that time.Over the past forty years, his personal status has been rising day by day, but China's status has been declining day by day. His inner self-blame and shame have increased with age.Five years ago on his 60th birthday, the Empress Dowager gave him a plaque, a pair of couplets, one each with characters of blessing and longevity, a handle with three inlaid jade Ruyi, a bronze longevity Buddha, an embroidered python robe, eight small scrolls, and Immediately summoned.With your faithful order, it is a great honor to win over him.However, in his heart he blamed himself and felt ashamed, thinking that his own loyalty was questionable.For so many years, the object of his loyalty seems to be only a personal favor to the Queen Mother, rather than the public welfare of the entire country.Among them, the embezzlement of naval funds to the Queen Mother to repair the Summer Palace made him even more heartbroken.At that time, the Navy had tens of millions of funds, but the actual amount allocated to the Navy was only one percent.Wasn't he himself who was in charge of the country's finances at that time?At that time, the one who couldn't argue with reason and couldn't fight with advance and retreat, wasn't he himself?Wasn't he the one who decided at that time that the navy should not buy a single gun or a cannon within fifteen years?Now that the war has been defeated, how can he have a part in his own crime of harming the country?Now that he was old, he felt that he had to do some redemption in his lifetime. In order to do so, even if he offended the Queen Mother, he couldn't care less.