“秦庭空痛哭”:康有为请求美国政府保救光绪皇帝活动述论

A Study on Kang You-wei's Turning to the USA for Helping Rescue Emperor Guang-xu

慈禧太后发动戊戌政变剥夺了光绪皇帝的有限权力,残酷镇压维新派,康有为被迫流亡海外。但康有为始终没有放弃推行维新变法的政治理想。从戊戌逃亡到两宫崩逝,以恢复光绪皇帝权力、重返朝廷推行改革为诉求的“保皇”是康有为孜孜以求的政治目标。庚子事变以前,康有为的求救保皇活动以向英、日求救为主,仅仅两度以群发求救信函的方式向美国政府求救。庚子事变之后,康有为对英、日的求救活动完全停止,却两度向美国政府求救。1905年康有为给美国总统罗斯福写信请求美国政府帮助恢复光绪权力。两宫崩逝之际康有为又给美国总统罗斯福发电报,请求保护光绪皇帝的生命安全。美国政府力求与清政府保持正常关系,对康有为的求救呼吁始终不予理睬,康有为向美国求救的活动徒劳无功。

Empress Dowager Ci-xi launched the 1898 coup to deprive Emperor Guang-xu of his power and suppress the reformers.Kang You-wei fled abroad but he never gave up his political ideal to reform China.From Sept.1898 to Nov.1908,Kang You-wei endeavored to restore the power of Emperor Guang-xu.To achieve his goal Kang turned to the UK,Japan and the US for help.This thesis focuses on Kang's efforts to entreat American government for help.From the 1898 coup to the 1900 incident,Kang mainly relied on the UK and Japan to help him,but he asked the American government for help twice via letters.After the 1898 coup Kang fled to Hongkong via Shanghai and soon reached Japan from Hongkong.On October 31,1898,Kang ordered his followers to send Chinese letters to the ministers of the Powers in Beijing,entreating them for help.Such a letter was received by American minister Conger who translated it into English and sent it to the US State Department.During the 1900 incident Empress Dowager Ci-xi declared war against the Powers.It seemed that there was a good opportunity for Kang to get help from the Powers to restore the emperor into power.While Kang,who was living in Penang of Strait Settlements,mainly asked British government for help,but he also sent letters respectively to the Powers for the second time entreating them again for help restoring Guang-xu into throne.The letter reached American minister Conger,but the US government did not respond to Kang's request.After 1901,Kang stopped asking the UK and Japan for help but he turned to the US twice.Kang went to America in February 1905 for the first time and met with President Roosevelt two times in June.On September 14,1905,Kang,who was then in New York,wrote a letter to Roosevelt to ask for his help.Kang suggested two approaches to Roosevelt.One approach is to ask Conger s wife to persuade Princess Rong-shou to ask Empress Dowager Ci-xi to return the ruling power to Emperor Guang-Xu.The other approach is that the US could collaborate with British and Japanese governments to force Empress Dowager Ci-xi to abandon the ruling power.On hearing the news that Emperor Guang-xu was dying,and worrying that Yuan Shi-kai would poison Emperor Guang-xu,Kang sent three telegraphs on November 15 and 16 to President Roosevelt,asking him to prevent Yuan Shi-kai from poisoning Emperor Guang-xu.Kang Yu-wei s action to entreat the Powers for help by military or diplomatic measures divorced from the reality of Chinese foreign relationship and did not follow the basic principles of international relation.The US government needed to keep normal diplomatic relation with China and ignored Kang's request.Kang's efforts to ask the US Government for help ended in vain.