After the failure of the Wuxu Reform in 1898, Kang Youwei began a sixteen-year exile abroad, only to return to China after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1913.
This move aroused the ardent expectations of many widows, but unfortunately, contrary to their expectations, Kang Youwei did not revive the ambitions of the Qing Dynasty, but chose to enjoy his old age.
In fact, during the long years of exile, Kang Youwei was not all in "exile", he spent a lot of money to buy an island in Sweden, and built a Chinese-style garden "Beihai Caotang" on the island, which shows the pursuit of a better life.
So what is the fate of the island? What does it belong to now? Today, let's talk about the story.
Kang Youwei's development history
Kang Youwei, formerly known as Kang Zuyi, was born in Nanhai, Guangdong in 1858, his grandfather Kang Zanxiu and father Kang Zanyi are both famous local squires, and the family is quite wealthy.
Kang Youwei's childhood was spent in the South China Sea, where the idyllic scenery is stunning, the house is spacious and surrounded by green bamboo, and the courtyard is lush with flowers and plants, like a paradise.
Kang Youwei has been smart and studious since childhood, received a good education since he was a child, laid a deep cultural foundation, and the elders in the family have high hopes for him.
His father, Kang Zanyi, is a lover of nature, and often takes his son to visit the mountains and rivers of the South China Sea, learn about various plants and animals, and truly combine education and practice.
As he grew older, Kang Youwei's thirst for knowledge became stronger, and in order to give him a better education, his father sent him to Guangzhou to study.
At that time, Guangzhou was an important city in the southern part of the mainland, with a prosperous economy and a strong academic atmosphere. After Kang came to Guangzhou, he worshipped under the famous scholar Xu Qin and began to systematically study Confucian knowledge.
As an open port city, Guangzhou attracted a large number of foreign merchants and missionaries, as well as advanced scientific instruments and books.
Therefore, during his studies in Guangzhou, Kang Youwei learned not only the knowledge of Confucian classics, but also Western science and technology and thought.
He became interested in it, and began to study Western science and philosophy as soon as he had time, and belonged to the type of people who stood at the forefront of the times and opened their eyes to the world.
In 1895, Kang Youwei came to Beijing to participate in the examination, and at the same time the Qing Dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War, and the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" was signed, which caused an uproar throughout the country.
Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and other people with lofty ideals were very dissatisfied, and united the provinces to raise people to ask Emperor Guangxu to change the law and try to become stronger, which was called "writing on the bus".
A group of hot-blooded young people ran and called for signs, expressing their urgent desire to change the law to the imperial court, and the activity of writing caused a shock to the government and the opposition, and the names led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao spread all over the country for a while, of course, the most famous is Kang Youwei.
At that time, Emperor Guangxu also met with him, and took this opportunity to explain the necessity of changing the law to Emperor Guangxu, and also put forward a series of reform proposals.
Confucianism, foreign science and other remarks, so that Emperor Guangxu admired Kang Youwei's talent and insights very much, and appointed the prime minister Yamen Zhangjing to walk and be responsible for planning the reform of the law.
In 1898, Emperor Guangxu promulgated the "Ming Dingguo is", this edict marked the official beginning of the law change, Kang Youwei also set up a special department called the "System Bureau", the emperor directly commanded, responsible for deciding political affairs, and implementing new policies.
The system bureau did not exist for long, but it fundamentally changed the political system of the Qing Dynasty, as if it were a small department exclusive to the emperor, and this naturally attracted great attention from the conservative forces, after all, to the detriment of their interests.
In the process of reforming the law, Kang Youwei worked closely with Tan Sitong, Liang Qichao and other reformers to promote a series of reform measures, and hundreds of edicts on the reform involved various fields such as politics, economy, military, and culture, further reducing the living space of conservatives.
Although Emperor Guangxu was the 95th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the real ruler of the court at that time was not him, but the famous Empress Dowager Cixi, who belonged to the "diehards" in the conservative forces.
The Empress Dowager Cixi and her supporters were hostile to the reforms, which shook the foundations of Qing rule.
Regardless of whether this idea is true or not, in September the Empress Dowager Cixi staged a coup d'état, placing Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in Yingtai, and the Wuxu Reform failed.
Traveling in Europe and buying islands to build gardens
Kang Youwei immediately fled Beijing after learning the news, and fled to Japan to Hong Kong via Tanggu in Tianjin, fearing that he would be caught by Empress Dowager Cixi.
With the help of friends, Kang Youwei was able to stay in Japan for a short time, and Sun Yat-sen's alliance was preparing a revolution to overthrow the Qing government, and repeatedly hoped to cooperate with Kang Youwei, but the latter firmly refused because he was a very thorough royalist.
Kang Youwei's days in exile were not hard, relying on various lobbying and various speeches (such as rescuing Emperor Guangxu and changing the law) to obtain large donations, relying on this money to live overseas.
He had close contacts with the local Chinese diaspora in Japan, and also married a Japanese woman as a concubine, and lived a comfortable life. In 1899, Kang Youwei left Japan for Canada and lived in Vancouver for a period of time, and the local overseas Chinese also gave a villa.
During this period, Sun Yat-sen still sent people to persuade him to join the revolution, but Kang Youwei still refused, and later came to United States.
In a speech, he met a young girl named He Zhanli, and the two quickly fell in love, and soon married and lived happily ever after.
Since about 1904, Kang Youwei has traveled to various European countries, visiting Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece and other countries.
This money was supposed to be the funds provided by everyone for his revolution, but Kang Youwei "kept it for himself" and has been living a life of financial freedom.
In Sweden, he was fascinated by the natural beauty of the area, with lakes, forests and fresh air, as if he had found a paradise.
Known as the "fairy of the lake", Sweden's sand dunes are surrounded by dense forests and are beautiful, peaceful and peaceful.
During his days in Baden, Kang Youwei stayed at the local Salt Lake Hotel, and every day he would stand on the viewing platform and enjoy the tranquility brought by the lake and mountains.
Maybe it's a whim, or maybe it's an early idea, Kang Youwei sees a small island in the center of the lake, although the island is not big, but it is surrounded by water and green leaves, like a green gem inlaid in the lake.
The island was uninhabited and quiet, and he was so attracted to the island that he decided to buy it. After some negotiations, the nameless island was bought for 36,000 Sweden kronor, which is about 1.5 million yuan now.
1.5 million yuan is not a small amount even now, Kang Youwei naturally does not have so much money to travel every day, and this money is basically donated to him by others.
After buying the island, Kang Youwei named it "Beihai Thatched Cottage" and built a Chinese-style garden on the island, which also cost a lot of money.
He lived in the "Beihai Thatched Cottage" for three years, and it was not until 1907 that the domestic situation changed, and he reluctantly left the island and began his journey back to China.
Kang Youwei's old age
Kang Youwei's experience in Europe enabled him to have a deeper understanding of the Western capitalist countries, to see the advanced of these countries, and to see their problems, but unfortunately he failed to fall into the action of reforming the mainland.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution, Kang Youwei still had a serious royalist ideology and was gradually marginalized politically. He was actively involved in Zhang Xun's restoration, but the restoration failed after only three days, and he became completely disillusioned with politics from then on.
He chose to spend his later years in Qingdao away from the political arena, during which he wrote many poems to express his feelings for the country and society.
In March 1927, Kang Youwei attended the last banquet in his life, returned home and died of suspected food poisoning in the early morning of the second day, ending his magnificent life.
Kang Youwei's life has both glorious moments and lost moments. Although the efforts of the Reform Movement did not completely change the fate of the Qing Dynasty, their thoughts and actions had a profound impact on modern Chinese history.
He advocated the reform of the law to put China on the road of capitalism, advocated a constitutional monarchy, and hoped to save the country through reform, but the failure of the Wuxu reform law shattered his political ideals.
How to describe Kang Youwei? The period of the Wuxu Reform did reflect the courage and determination that a revolutionary should have, but after the failure of the Wuxu Reform, he seemed to have changed as a person, so some people said that he was a "Kang Sage", while others said that he was a "drunken man", and his reputation was mixed.
After Kang Youwei left the "Beihai Grass Hall", the island gradually fell into disuse, and the buildings were slowly damaged, and it became an uninhabited island again over time.
After World War II, the Sweden government nationalized the island and renamed it "Hotel Island".
Nowadays, this island still exists, but it is no longer what it was back then, and the "Beihai Thatched Cottage" no longer exists, and only a few tourists come to this island every year to trace the footprints of Kang Youwei.
In general, Kang Youwei went from the core figure of the Wuxu Reform to the overseas exile, and then spent a huge amount of money to buy an island and build a garden, reflecting his story in that era, and at the same time leaving a different impression on future generations.
"Kang Shengren" is a kind of praise for him, and Zhang Taiyan's "old and not dead is a thief" is a kind of irony of Kang You, and these two statements are still very popular today. What do you think differently about Kang You?
Reference: Between the Old and the New - Kang Youwei's Feudal View - CNKI (cnki.net)
Kang Youwei Island - Baidu Map (baidu.com)