Kang Youwei

Kang Youwei (1858–1927), originally named Zuyi, courtesy name Guangsha, style name Changsu, was a native of Nanhai, Guangdong. A modern Chinese politician, thinker, educator, and calligrapher, he was a leader of the Hundred Days' Reform. His representative works include A Study of the Forged Classics of the Xin Dynasty, A Study of Confucius as a Reformer, and The Book of Great Unity. This collection includes 13 of his works, covering art, Eastern philosophy, classics, philosophical readings, literary appreciation, and culture. These range from his treatise on calligraphy, Guang Yizhou Shuangji, to The Book of Great Unity, which presents his vision of universal harmony, as well as lectures recording his travels in Europe. His writings are broad in scope and incisive in argument, combining intellectual enlightenment with scholarly inquiry, and are important texts for understanding late Qing thought and the reform movement.