Liu Kunyi (1831-1902), a native of Xinning, Hunan. He successively served as the Governor of Jiangxi, the Governor of Liangguang, and the Governor of Liangjiang. As the most senior person in the late Qing Dynasty, the large political force of the Xiang clique, he served for a long time as the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of trade and commerce in Nanyang, "sitting in the southeast, standing in the weight of China", and was said to be "comparable to Fu Xiang (referring to Li Hongzhang)" in everything, and was an important local high-ranking official in the late Qing Dynasty. Following in the footsteps of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, he actively participated in the Western affairs movement, was a major member of the late Period of the Western Affairs School, and played a certain role in promoting the development of China's modern history.
After the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese nation was faced with the dangerous situation of being divided up by the great powers, and the bourgeois reformists stepped forward and shouted for the transformation of the law and the improvement of the law. With the support of the Guangxu Emperor, they set off a vigorous restoration and reform activity. A dark China has a glimmer of hope.
In this restoration movement, what was the attitude of Liu Kunyi, who was the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of trade and commerce in Nanyang? Kang Youwei said that he was a "stubborn old minister who obstructed the new Fa Shangli." Some people also say that he joined empress dowager Xi in destroying and obstructing the restoration movement, preferring to destroy the country rather than change the law. However, if we carefully analyze Liu Kunyi's words and deeds during the Restoration Movement, we will find that the above statements may not be accurate.
As we all know, the reformists have many similarities with the westerners' administrative views. For example, Kang Youwei said in the Second Book of the Shangqing Emperor: "There are six laws for rich countries, namely the law of banknotes, the law of railways, the law of machine ships, the law of mining, the casting of silver, and the postal service"; "the law of raising the people, one is farming, the second is persuasion, the third is to benefit merchants, and the fourth day is to show the poor", and so on, all of which are originally advocated by the Western-style faction, and many of them have been put into practice. For another example, the tone set by the Guangxu Emperor for the restoration and reform of the law--"To plant its roots in the study of sages and righteousness, and to learn from the West and pay attention to the strength of the current affairs"—is actually a reproduction of the Western school's idea of "using the Chinese body and the Western body". As for the edicts promulgated by the Guangxu Emperor during the Hundred Days Restoration, such as training troops and raising salaries, opening schools, revitalizing commerce, and developing industrial and mining transportation, most of them were also consistently advocated and pursued by the Westerners. Moreover, Liu Kunyi personally participated in the Sino-Japanese War and had a personal understanding of the shame of defeat. As soon as the war was over, he went up to the government to demand that the law be changed and become stronger, saying that after the defeat of the war, Japan "demanded debts and land, demanded arbitrarily, and did not do what it wanted, and China has never had such a second in the past since the disaster was destroyed," and That China "must not cut through the teeth of those who practice flesh and blood" and "do not want to be rich and strong." It should be said that emotionally, Liu Kunyi originally agreed with and supported the restoration and reform of the law. Because of this, when Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others established the Strong Society, he would "donate more than 5,000 yuan" to fund the affairs of the conference and support the restoration activities.
However, the power struggle between the two parties in the Restoration Movement made Liu Kun hesitate to change the law. The Guangxu Emperor, who supported the restoration, had a false name, and all military and political power was in the hands of Empress Xi, who hated the new Uighurs. The slightest politically minded people at the time knew what this situation meant. For example, Li Hongzhang once said to people: "Now the political power is in the hands of the conservative faction, so bureaucrats who are a little more knowledgeable and newly learned must be extra careful not to propose a new law, and even if they have new ideas and new political views, they will not be able to do anything." Of course, the old and sophisticated Liu Kunyi will not be an exception. He was well aware of the consequences of his involvement in the struggle between the two parties of the Emperor and the Empress, so he adopted a cautious and cautious attitude toward the restoration and reform.
Moreover, the radical remarks of the reformists also made Liu Kunyi a little discouraged. Liu Kunyi was a Western-style official, but he was also a feudal official deeply influenced by traditional culture. He was unacceptable to the bourgeois ideas of equality and civil rights propagated by the reformers; he was even more disgusted by the reformers' practices of changing their clothing and violating traditional customs. He once said to people: "Equality and civil rights, vainly quoting "On" and "Meng", Chinese and foreign people are talking about it, I don't know what is the so-called 'Heaven and Earth, in order to determine the people's aspirations' in yi's "Yi"? "If you want to change the clothes and crowns, with new eyes and ears, it is inevitable that there will be people's feelings"; following the example of the West, "then trade and trade can be used to enrich the country, and ships and cannons can be used to strengthen the army, and as for the cultural relics and crowns, each country has its own ancestral system."
In addition, Liu Kunyi, who has long-term administrative experience, cannot accept kang and Liang's "rapid" way of changing the law. He believes that "China's habits are too deep, and if it wants to be flexible, it must start from an easy place, step by step, be firm and unshakable, but have practical benefits and will not drop out of the middle." So. At the beginning of the Hundred Days Restoration, he "asked for careful consideration of the proposed performance, do not go through the dispute, and do not get involved in the rush." If you follow the strict will, and if you follow the rules of shen rao, you will not dare to go to Chen Yi before folding." Although he did not dare to go up to Chen, his attitude toward the restoration and change of law was to act with the purpose of "not going through the chaos and not getting involved in the rush."
Based on the above reasons, coupled with the feudal officials' characteristic wait-and-see style of doing things in case of trouble and acting procrastinatingly, Liu Kunyi selectively implemented some law-changing measures during the Hundred Days Restoration. Moreover, he stood on the stand of the Westerners and viewed the reform and reform of the law with the principle of "using chinese bodies and western styles, believing that "the new law, such as reforming foreign exercises and adding schools, is really an urgent task at the moment," and supported the reform measures in the Reform Law, such as the reorganization of the army and the use of military force, the revitalization of learning and the cultivation of talents, and the revitalization of agriculture, industry, and commerce. For example, the Guangxu Decree transformed the existing academies in various provinces into schools that part-time middle schools and Western schools. Two months after his preparations, he changed the original Material Storage School into Jiangnan Higher School, and changed the Zhong Shan, Zunjing, Xiyin, Wenzheng, Fengchi, Kuiguang and other colleges into schools at all levels, all of which were also studied in middle school and Western studies.
It can be seen that for some measures to restore and change the law, Liu Kunyi handled them in accordance with the will and implemented them. We cannot assume that the feudal landlord class is all opposed just because the Wushu Reform Law was launched by the bourgeois reformists; nor can we conclude that Liu Kunyi was an opponent of the Pengshu Reform Law because the Guangxu Emperor reprimanded Liu Kunyi for failing to carry out the reform in 1898. For Guangxu's rebuke, we should examine the social background at that time. At that time, "all those who held a new policy and sent it to other provinces were not carried out from the time of direct subordination, nor did they discuss it, and the telegram was strictly urged and ignored." The Lord is furious, hence this purpose. Those who blame Liu (referring to Liu Kunyi) and Tan (referring to Tan Zhonglin) are intended to warn Rong Xiang (referring to Rong Lu)." Liang Qichao, the leader of the Restoration Movement, also believed that "although this edict clearly condemns Tan and Liu, it is actually a deep evil to Ronglu and declares his guilt." During the Hundred Days Restoration, the governors of various localities waited and watched the new policy of changing the law and did not implement it, especially Rong Lu, the directly subordinate governor who was the most revered and claimed to be the leader of the frontier ministers, was even more fearless. Guangxu was impatient, but because Rong Lu was a close confidant of Empress Dowager Xi and it was inconvenient to accuse, he took the name of Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, and Tan Zhonglin, the governor of Liangguang, to order the governors of the provinces to implement the new law.