Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform (), also known as Six gentlemen of Wuxu, were a group of six Chinese intellectuals whom the

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

had arrested and executed for their attempts to implement the

Hundred Days' Reform The Hundred Days' Reform or Wuxu Reform () was a failed 103-day national, cultural, political, and educational reform movement that occurred from 11 June to 22 September 1898 during the late Qing dynasty. It was undertaken by the young Guangxu E ...

. The most vocal and prominent member in the group of six was

Tan Sitong Tan Sitong (, March 10, 1865 – September 28, 1898), courtesy name Fusheng (), pseudonym Zhuangfei (), was a well-known Chinese politician, thinker, and reformist in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911). He was executed at the age of 33 when ...

. Kang Guangren was notable as the younger brother of the reformist leader

Kang Youwei Kang Youwei (; Cantonese: ''Hōng Yáuh-wàih''; 19March 185831March 1927) was a prominent political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor spar ...

. These executions were a part of the large purge in which about 30 men were arrested, imprisoned, dismissed from office, or banished. In many cases the family members of these men were arrested as well. Caishikou Beheaded Corpses2

On September 21, 1898, after growing intolerance of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

's hundred days' reform, Cixi and

Ronglu Ronglu (6 April 1836 – 11 April 1903), courtesy name Zhonghua, was a Manchu political and military leader of the late Qing dynasty. He was born in the Guwalgiya clan, which was under the Plain White Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners. De ...

successfully attempted a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

in which all substantive power was taken from the Guangxu Emperor and assumed by Cixi, and the six reformers influencing Guangxu were arrested. The traditional view is that Cixi was the main instigator of these executions. However, evidence has surfaced that the conservative "Iron Hat" faction might have threatened her by having a Chinese-Muslim army close to Beijing.

Beheaded

The six gentlemen stood trial on 28 September 1898, and were beheaded at

Caishikou Caishikou () is a neighborhood in Beijing, situated in Xicheng District. Part of it, known as Caishikou Execution Grounds (菜市口法场), was where most of Beijing's capital punishments were carried out during the Qing Dynasty and were open ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

without being tried by the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. However, biographer

Jung Chang Jung Chang (, , born 25 March 1952) is a Chinese-British writer now living in London, best known for her family autobiography ''Wild Swans'', selling over 10 million copies worldwide but banned in the People's Republic of China. Her 832-page ...

noted that Empress Dowager's action was also motivated by the assassination threat toward her. Yang Rui was said to be innocent, but four of the six were among the conspirators, including Yang Shenxiu who proposed the plan to infiltrate Cixi's resident. The assassination plan was concealed for a long time until the testimony of the man named Bi, who was ordered to kill Cixi but managed to escape, was revealing the plot to kill Cixi. The testimony was found in Japanese archives in the 1980s. Kang Youwei managed to escape to Japan, and he also spread stories to vilify Cixi. Jung Chang wrote that Kang Youwei was a "master propagandist". The six were beheaded in the following order: Kang Guangren (康广仁), Tan Sitong,

Lin Xu Lin Xu (; 1875 – 28 September 1898), courtesy name Tungu (), was a Chinese politician, scholar, songwriter and poet who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He was also a student of Kang Youwei, a prominent official and one of the leaders of a refo ...

Yang Shenxiu Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

(杨深秀),

Yang Rui Yang Rui (, born 2 May 1963) is a Chinese journalist, who formerly hosted the ''Dialogue'' talk show on CGTN. In addition to academics and China experts, Yang interviews a wide variety of opinion makers including prominent politicians, diplomats ...

(杨锐), and

Liu Guangdi Liu Guangdi (; 18 June 1861 - 28 September 1898) was a Chinese government minister during the late Qing dynasty. He was a leader of the Hundred Days' Reform movement of 1898. After the reforms were reversed in a coup, he and five other leaders w ...

References

{{Hundred Days' Reform 1898 in China Chinese reformers

Beheaded

See also

References