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 ( ; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 ...

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 Emp ...

. The most vocal and prominent member in the group of six was Tan Sitong. 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 political thinker and reformer in China of the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor sparked confli ...

. 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. On September 21, 1898, after growing intolerance of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

's hundred days' reform, Cixi and Ronglu successfully attempted a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

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 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on the same day without being tried by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. However, biographer

Jung Chang Jung Chang (, ; born 25 March 1952) is a Chinese-born British author. She is best known for her family autobiography ''Wild Swans'', selling over 10 million copies worldwide but Censorship in China, banned in the China, People's Republic of Ch ...

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, Yang Shenxiu (杨深秀), Yang Rui (杨锐), and Liu Guangdi.

References

{{Hundred Days' Reform 1898 in China Chinese reformers People executed by the Qing dynasty by decapitation

Beheaded

See also

References