Episode 1 of 2
Submission of the Scholar's Petition
- When
- April 22, 1895
- Where
- Beijing
Examination candidates led by Kang Youwei submitted a ten-thousand-word petition to the Emperor opposing the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
Five days after the treaty's signing, civil examination candidates signed a petition against the treaty. This action, known as the Gongche Shangshu, is considered the first modern political movement in China. The petition called for reforms and expressed opposition to the treaty terms.
Sources
- Gongche Shangshu movement Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-27
- Kang Youwei Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.