In 1898
康有为 and his student
梁启超 persuaded the young Guangxu Emperor (
光绪) to launch sweeping modernizing reforms (
戊戌变法). Empress Dowager Cixi (
慈禧太后) crushed the movement after just 103 days — six reformers were beheaded (
戊戌六君子), but Kang escaped to Japan and continued campaigning for a Qing restoration for decades.