An Overview of the Historical Event of "Writing on the Bus"

After the treaty of shimonoseki was signed in the 21st year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1895), Kang Youwei joined more than 300 candidates from various provinces in Beijing to petition "refusing peace, moving the capital and reforming the political system" (in Han Dynasty, candidates were sent to Beijing by bus, and later "bus" was the representative of candidates). 1March, 89518th, Kang Youwei took his disciple Liang Qichao to Beijing to take the exam. Just when China was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, Li Hongzhang went to Japan to make peace. On March 2 1, two days before the treaty of shimonoseki was signed, the contents of the unprecedented treaty of humiliating the country and the country had reached Beijing. Juren gathered in the capital at that time were indignant and rushed to complain, urging the Qing court to refuse to ratify the treaty and continue the war of resistance. At first, each province took the province as a unit, and made demands to Douchayuan respectively. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao mobilized Guangdong and Hunan to take the lead, so don't save them. Within a few days, books were flying all over the sky. "The court was full of chapters and clothes were blocked." People even "surrounded the chief officer's car" and were filled with emotion. Juren in Taiwan Province Province is even more lamentable, tearful and strongly opposed to the cession of Taiwan Province Province. The Qing government ignored it. Therefore, Kang Youwei also proposed that 18 provinces jointly publish a book * * *, and put forward strong demands to the Qing court. They immediately recommended Kang to the draft. Kang Youwei is full of enthusiasm and blood boiling. In one day and two nights, he drafted a book about today's emperors who went to court,18,000 words, which is a masterpiece on the bus and the second book of the emperors who went to court. A Letter to the Bus is generous, gorgeous and full of time-saving words. It elaborates on Chen Ziqiang's way, quoting classics and connecting Chinese and Western literature. It can be said that it was a declaration of patriotic intellectuals at that time to save the nation and revitalize China. First of all, the letter strongly opposes the cession of Taiwan Province Province, pointing out that cutting Taiwan Province Province to Japan is "abandoning Taiwan Province people" and "scattering the world", which will lead to "people's hearts going first" and China is in danger of falling apart. He also opposed peace talks, thinking that peace talks were "dissolving the people's bodies, inspiring foreigners' hearts, and dying faster", so he demanded "refusing peace, moving the capital, training troops, and reforming the political system" and put forward all his ideas of reform and reform: First, sending letters to stir up the world. Emperor Guangxu was asked to issue three imperial edicts as soon as possible: "the imperial edict of self-guilt". In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894- 1895, China was defeated by Japan. The emperor should make a special imperial edict, reflect deeply and take responsibility, so as to inspire the people, share the national humiliation, inspire the soldiers and die generously. Second, the "imperial edict of Ming punishment" is for those fatuous ministers who insult the country, neglect the body and do not help the times; Greedy generals who failed to fight well, fled when they heard the news, and deducted their pay; Treason envoys who are good at allowing land to be ceded and humiliating the country; For those who are unprepared and send inhuman officials in Xinjiang, they should be punished according to the situation, and those who are serious should be put to death, and those who are light should be dismissed to hide their eyes and ears. For those who have merit, rewards will be given. Three times, I suggested that Emperor Guangxu offer a reward for talents, and promote those intellectuals with real talents and practical knowledge to participate in the decision-making of state affairs, so that officials at all levels at the central and local levels know what they know, regardless of whether they have been officials or not. After three letters, the rewards and punishments will be clear, and the morale of the world will be greatly encouraged. You can go to the country for urgent needs with one heart and one mind. Second, moving the capital is the foundation of the world. Kang Youwei believes that offshore capital is easily threatened by foreign invaders. Now Lushun and Ahava have been captured by the Japanese, and the barrier of the capital has been completely lost. It is suggested that the capital should be moved to Xi 'an quickly, so that the Japanese aggressors will lose their threat and there is no need to cede territory, and peace talks can be reached. Even if the peace talks fail, our army will gather in the capital to guard the risks of Tongguan and Hanguguan. It can also be said that we can fight if we can. Third, the trend of strengthening the world through training. Kang Youwei thinks that the important reason for China's repeated defeats is that the soldiers are weak and the weapons are backward, so he advocates training heavy troops, with special emphasis on selecting generals and buying weapons. When selecting generals, we should pay attention to selecting people who are young, strong, humble and willing to serve our country; Not a tired and frustrated veteran. It is suggested that the gentlemen in the whole country should have collective training, and each county should recommend a generous soldier. If you choose one out of ten, you can select excellent generals for the use of your country. To buy machinery, it is necessary to select people who are skilled in manufacturing technology and can be honest and clean, and buy modern guns from foreign countries. This is "well-equipped, profitable and fearless." Kang believes that as long as there are elite soldiers and fierce soldiers, coupled with elite weapons, we can strengthen the trend of the world and be a shoo-in for foreign countries. Fourth, reform has become the rule of the world. Kang Youwei believes that the above three items are only "expedient measures to deal with the enemy"; Only "political reform" is the "policy of building a country and strengthening itself." He played a philosophical thought of change, pointing out that the Qing system followed the Ming system for hundreds of years, "things have been wasted for a long time, the equipment has been broken for a long time, and the law has been harmful for a long time." He suggested to Emperor Guangxu: To govern today, we should govern the world with the trend of pioneering, but not with the trend of sticking to it. In the Qing Dynasty, we should update Baidu, and we can no longer take the old chapter as the leading factor. How to reform? He put forward three suggestions: the method of enriching the country, the method of raising the people and the method of teaching the people. There are six ways to enrich the country: one is the "Japanese paper money law", that is, the national bank is established and the state issues paper money made by the household department. After the passage of paper money, it can expand business, improve military pay and make the country rich and strong. Second, "railway" is to allow private capital to build railways. Let the people raise funds by themselves, the government can not only charge a certain fee to the road builders, but also increase the fiscal revenue; After the railway extends in all directions, it can also cut off grain transportation and abolish post stations, saving a lot of money for the country. Third, "machine, ship". Kang Youwei pointed out that at present, private factories are forbidden to manufacture weapons in various provinces, which makes our country's technology manufacturing unable to be perfected day by day, and the weapons produced are extremely backward, so we have to spend money to import foreign guns and guns. This practice is to tie your hands and feet. He argued that private machinery factories and shipping companies should be allowed and the government should protect them. Fourth, "mining", it is suggested to set up mining science and hire Belgian experts with the most developed mining science to impart knowledge and guide exploration. "Then my wealth of gold, silver, coal and iron can be the best on earth." Five "casting silver". In view of the large amount of foreign currency flowing into China, which has caused financial chaos and caused greater losses to China, it is suggested that all provinces should follow the example of Guangdong and set up a silver casting bureau to unify the color and shape of silver dollars to facilitate circulation; At the same time, with the development of mineral resources, we will gradually increase the amount of money to offset foreign currency, so as to plug the loopholes and collect profits. 6 "postal service" means dismantling the old post office and opening a post office. There are four ways to support the people: one is "farming", suggesting that the whole town should set up agricultural associations and advocate scientific farming methods; Establish Silk Tea Bureau and Silk Tea Society to revitalize the traditional silk tea industry in China. Others grow cotton and sugar cane in the southeast; Talking about animal husbandry in northwest China; Open rivers and plant trees in desert areas; Open nets to catch fish at the seaside, and comprehensively transform and develop agriculture in China. Second, "encouraging workers" means rewarding scientific inventions. It is suggested that all prefectures and counties should set up examination institutes, translate books made in foreign countries, and train talents to make machines. All inventors were awarded licenses, medals and patents. Third, "benefiting business" means reducing heavy taxes and protecting business. Here, Kang Youwei put forward the view that "the world must be built in commerce". He believes that everyone knows that ancient countries were destroyed by soldiers; Now everyone ignores the destruction of the country and the cause. Now that foreign goods are flooding the domestic market, domestic goods are exploited by a tax when they enter the mainland. How can they compete with foreign goods? He suggested that the central government set up a trading office, the provinces set up chambers of commerce, assemble merchant groups, such as joint stocks, and set up companies, which will be rewarded by the state to make it "strong and easy"; Reward business study, translate foreign business books and cultivate business talents; Set up a "comparison factory" to compare the advantages and disadvantages of goods, with the aim of "widely weaving against foreign cloth, building materials against foreign goods" and "comparing foreign goods" to obtain profits. At the same time, it avoids the harm of lijin, reduces the heavy export tax and makes the goods flow smoothly. Fourth, "compassionate poverty." Kang Youwei pointed out that China has a large population, but the people are in poverty, beggars are everywhere, and it is not enough to "consolidate people's hearts" without a shirt. He put forward three methods to help the poor: first, immigrants reclaimed land; The second is to set up police homes for idle people in counties, where all unemployed people earn money, teach them skills and make them stand on their own feet; Third, widowed, widowed or disabled people will be adopted by county hospitals. There are four ways to teach the people: first, popularize education, and suggest that all counties, townships and villages set up books to broaden their knowledge; All villages should set up schools so that all children can go to school. The second is to reform the imperial examination, that is, to reform the method of selecting scholars in literature and martial arts. It is suggested that Wushu should be changed into art, and art colleges should be set up in provinces, prefectures and counties. Astronomy, geology, medicine, optics, electronics, machinery, ordnance and driving should be separated, and surveying and mapping, drawing, language and writing should be studied. In addition to Confucian classics, the examination contents at all levels mainly assess history, current affairs and strategies, and select the best candidates. Palace examination chose people who dared to "speak out and give advice" and had real talents and practical learning to join the Hanlin; In addition, anyone who has created a book and invented new meanings and is really useful can enter the Hanlin. In this way, people all over the world will be full of talents, and talents from China will also emerge in large numbers. Third, open a newspaper office and issue newspapers, so as to "keep abreast of current events", "open up new ideas" and change customs. Fourth, we should establish the Tao, that is, we should advocate Confucianism. It is suggested that all rural temples should be changed into Confucius temples, and Confucius temples should also be established in places where overseas Chinese live in Nanyang to promote Chinese culture. In addition, Kang Youwei also pointed out the drawbacks of the legal system at that time, and suggested abolishing redundant officials, tightening institutions, clarifying the management of officials, and reforming the official system. He particularly emphasized that the biggest source of poverty and weakness in China is "congestion". The monarch is isolated from the minister, and the minister is isolated from the people. You can't get up and down, and you can't brainstorm. Therefore, they asked the emperor to issue a special imperial edict, asking the people to recommend "a person who is familiar with ancient and modern times, knows Chinese and foreign countries, has a clear regime and is outspoken", and every 65,438+households choose one person and name him "Yilang". The negotiator's duty is to prepare for the emperor's consultation, and he can "refute the imperial edict and speak for the people." All matters related to promoting reform and raising funds at home and abroad are discussed at the negotiators' meeting. After being approved by a two-thirds majority, they are handed over to government ministries for implementation. The "negotiators" are replaced once a year. Although there is still a gap between Kang Youwei's parliament and the typical western bourgeois parliament, it is the first time that Kang explicitly requested to realize the ideal of bourgeois representative system in China in the Book of the Last Emperor. He believes that the implementation of this system will lead to the political situation of "the monarch and the people are the same, the friendship is the best, and the Chinese family will share weal and woe." Finally, Kang Youwei said confidently: If Baidu is updated and constantly strives for self-improvement today, China will be able to recover its lost land and get rid of the humiliating position of bearing the burden of humiliation and paying compensation. In a word, in a sense, Kang Youwei's On the Bus is a political program of bourgeois reform and reform after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, under the unprecedented crisis of the Chinese nation, in an attempt to save the nation and lead China to the capitalist road without overthrowing the old regime of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, Kang Youwei's previous letters have generally failed to reach the scope of "letters on the bus". On April 7th, 8th and 9th, after the release of the manuscript of Letter on the Bus, 108 province 1300 people gathered in the suggestion thatched cottage of Song Jun Temple in the south of Xuanwu, Beijing, and it was scheduled to arrive at Duchayuan four days before the renewal of treaty of shimonoseki (April 14). Sun Yuwen, Minister of Military Affairs and Minister of the Ministry of War of the Qing Dynasty, was afraid of public anger, blocked the peace bureau, secretly sent cronies to Song Jun Temple and the guild halls where juren lived in various provinces overnight, spreading rumors to confuse people, shaking people's hearts, posting anonymous posts on the streets, making false threats and preventing people from signing letters. On April 8, the Qing court also quickly stamped "Yu Bao" on the text of treaty of shimonoseki, resulting in a fait accompli; And use this as an excuse to stop the legitimate demands of patriotic supporters. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, many juren heard the news that the Qing government approved the peace treaty, so hundreds of people "broke up after discussion" and "took back the list". Therefore, although there were 1300 people attending the rally in Songyun Temple at the beginning, there were only 603 people left in the appendix of the book on the bus, and the book was not sent to Douchayuan. Although the direct purpose of "writing on the bus" was not achieved, in the feudal autocratic era, thousands of patriotic intellectuals bravely broke through the ban of "literati in politics" by the Qing government, gathered together, sounded the alarm of the motherland's peril, and issued a cry of saving the nation from extinction. This is a great pioneering work in itself, and it is an earth-shattering and tear-jerking patriotic cause. Moreover, the contents of the letter were copied, which caused earth-shattering repercussions on the land of China. It marks that the ideological trend of bourgeois reform, which has been brewing for many years, has begun to become a practical political movement, and it is the first scene of the bourgeois reformists officially entering the historical stage, indicating the rise of a larger mass reform movement in the future.