In 1904, Kang Youwei purchased a private island abroad. Who owns this island now?
The last feudal dynasty in China was the Qing Dynasty, and the last feudal emperor was Puyi. At that time, China was increasingly isolated from the world. If it did not progress, it would fall behind and be beaten. This is the most realistic portrayal of the Qing Dynasty. The door of the country was opened, so many Chinese people with a sense of crisis stood up to save China. One of them was Kang Youwei. He later relied on the publicity overseas to complete capital accumulation and buy an island in a foreign country!
Kang Youwei spent a huge sum of money to buy an island in 1904. Where did he get the money? This has to do with his participation in a series of reform events. Friends who have read history all know the two revolutionary activities of the "1898 Reform Movement" and "Writing on the Bus". The Reform Movement of 1898 is an interesting reform activity. It was a group of reformers who wanted to achieve the purpose of capital reform through the hands of the feudal monarchy, and the person they sought help from was Emperor Guangxu, who had no actual rights. Failure was a sure thing, but it was of great significance. It was obvious It was a patriotic movement to save the nation, but the feudal forces represented by Cixi were too strong. After Cixi persecuted the "Six Gentlemen of 1898", she also imprisoned Emperor Guangxu. Seeing that the situation was not going well, the founders Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao fled abroad.
At that time, Kang Youwei traveled to Canada, the United States and Europe. In July 1899, Kang Youwei founded the "Loyalist Party" in Canada. This was a party that operated in the form of a company. To join the Royalist Party, you had to pay a membership fee of US$1! At that time, Kang Youwei also had clear plans for the huge sum of money he was about to receive this time, and that was to use all the money to start a shipping company or build a railway and other things that were beneficial to the people. But when Kang Youwei actually had the money, he used it to start a series of business activities, and also used the membership fees for private individuals to purchase luxury residences, overseas islands, etc.
After 1903, business activities brought a steady stream of cash flow to Kang Youwei. In this way, Kang Youwei accumulated a large amount of original wealth through overseas publicity and business activities. This wealth was also what Kang Youwei was able to do. The reason why he was so wealthy that he could easily buy an island in Sweden. With this money, he traveled around and was very happy. In 1904, Kang Youwei arrived in Europe and took a fancy to an island in Sweden. The island was not far from the Swedish city. He thought the scenery here was beautiful. He even wrote in his travel diary that there are mountains in the city and mountains in the mountains. He liked the scenery of the city very much, so he spent a huge sum of money to buy the island, then built Chinese-style garden buildings on the island, and purchased some luxurious furniture and other items to decorate the island. The total cost was about 150 It is not an exaggeration to say that it is an astronomical sum of about 10,000 RMB, considering that currency inflation at that time was not as serious as it is now. What's more, Kang Youwei just bought it casually? After Kang Youwei bought the island, he named it "Beihai Thatched Cottage". In his spare time, he invited three or two friends to discuss current affairs and sit in silence over a cup of tea. But Kang Youwei did not live here for a long time, only lived for three years.
Kang Youwei passed away in 1927. Because he did not do anything to the "Beihai Thatched Cottage" in Sweden during his lifetime, the island also became increasingly deserted without anyone taking care of it, and the buildings on the island also gradually became deserted. With the erosion of time, it became more and more obsolete and became a land without one. Later Sweden took the island back to the country. With the development of tourism in the past two years, people have come here to look for business opportunities. What was once an uninhabited island has become meaningful because of Kang Youwei, a historical figure. Sweden has developed this former "Kangyouwei Island" into a tourist attraction to attract tourists from all over the world. Since very few Chinese people come to Europe, the tourism situation of "Kang Youwei Island" is not bad. People can still feel the situation here today.
Although Kang Youwei's political stance changed throughout his life, from a reformist to a royalist, he actively safeguarded the interests of the feudal country. Even if he founded the "royalist party", it was only for personal gain. , but we cannot deny his contribution in history. Standing at the historical node, he launched the "1898 Reform" and "Petition on the Bus".
The human heart is also complex. We should look at historical figures from multiple levels and evaluate a figure in history without personal emotions. What mission the times have given him is what we are more concerned about.