Hundred Days' Reform (1898)

The young Guangxu Emperor, advised by Kang Youwei, attempted a 100-day program of modernization based partly on the Japanese Meiji model. He sought to modernize education, the military, and the economy. The conservative dowager Empress Cixi led a palace coup, placed the emperor under house arrest, and reversed the reforms. The failure of the Hundred Days' Reform is often contrasted with the success of Japan's Meiji Restoration.