Kang Youwei

Kang Youwei
Kang, c. 1905
Born(1858-03-19)19 March 1858
Nanhai, Guangdong, Qing China
Died31 March 1927(1927-03-31) (aged 69)
Qingdao, Shandong, Republic of China
EducationJinshi degree in the Imperial Examination
Known forLeader in the Gongche Shangshu movement
Leader in the Hundred Days' Reform
Notable workThe Reformations of Emperor Meiji (日本明治變政考), The Reformations of Peter the Great (俄大彼得變政記)
Spouses
  • Zhang Yunzhu
  • Liang Xujiao
  • He Zhanli
  • Liao Dingzhen
  • Zhang Guang
Children15 children, including Kang Tongbi
RelativesKang Youpu (brother)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese康有為
Simplified Chinese康有为
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinKāng Yǒuwéi
Wade–GilesK‘ang1 Yu3-wei2
IPA[kʰáŋ jòʊ.wěɪ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHōng Yáuh-wàih
JyutpingHong1 Jau5 Wai4
IPA[hɔŋ˥ jɐw˩˧.wɐj˩]
Other names
Courtesy name (zi)
Traditional Chinese廣廈
Hanyu PinyinGuǎngshà¹
JyutpingGwong2 Haa6
Art name (hao)
Traditional Chinese長素
Hanyu PinyinChángsù
JyutpingCoeng4 Sou3
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese明夷
Hanyu PinyinMíngyí
JyutpingMing4 Ji4
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese更生 or 更甡
Hanyu PinyinGēngshēng
JyutpingGang1 Sang1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese西樵山人
Hanyu PinyinXīqiáo Shānrén
JyutpingSai1 Ciu4 Saan1 Jan4
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese游存叟
Hanyu PinyinYóucúnsǒu
JyutpingJau4 Cyun4 Sau2
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese天游化人
Hanyu PinyinTiānyóu Huàrén
JyutpingTin1 Jau4 Faa3 Jan4
¹ K'ang Yu-wei: A Biography and a Symposium gives Guǎngxià 廣夏

Kang Youwei (19 March 1858 – 31 March 1927) was a Chinese political thinker and reformer in the late Qing dynasty. His increasing closeness to and influence over the young Guangxu Emperor sparked conflict between the emperor and his adoptive mother, the regent Empress Dowager Cixi. His ideas were influential in the abortive Hundred Days' Reform. Following the coup by Cixi that ended the reform, Kang was forced to flee. He continued to advocate for a Chinese constitutional monarchy after the founding of the Republic of China.