March 20

In a war, Japan faced a decisive military defeat in 1894 - 1895. This represented for a small country under the central influence of China a further humiliation. Widespread poverty among its peasant population was also occurring in China. The Boxer Uprising which took place from 1898 - 1901 represented the issues of foreign imperialism and peasant rebellion. The Boxer Rebellion disclosed the depth of feeling against imperialism. Foreign occupation of Beijing and China's government's large reparation payments were the outcome of the Boxer Rebellion. In the aftermath of China's defeat by Japan, one leading advocate of reform was Kang Youwei. Kang Youwei was a Confucian scholar, whose views informed others in China of the Hundred Days of Reform in 1898.