Editing Hundred Days' Reform (section)

===Richard's federation theory===
According to Professor Lei Chia-sheng (雷家聖),<ref>Lei Chia-sheng雷家聖, ''Liwan kuanglan: Wuxu zhengbian xintan'' 力挽狂瀾：戊戌政變新探 [Containing the furious waves: a new view of the 1898 coup], Taipei: Wanjuan Lou 萬卷樓, 2004.</ref> Japanese former prime minister [[Itō Hirobumi]] (伊藤博文) arrived in China on September 11, 1898, about the same time that Kang Youwei invited British missionary [[Timothy Richard]] to Beijing. Richard suggested that China appoint Itō as one of many foreign advisors in order to further push China's reform efforts.<ref name="Richard1916">Richard, Timothy, [https://archive.org/details/fourtyfiveyears00richuoft ''Forty-five Years in China: Reminiscences''] publ. [[Frederick A. Stokes]] (1916)</ref> On September 18, Richard successfully convinced Kang to adopt his plan in which China would join a federation (合邦) of ten nations.

Kang nonetheless asked fellow reformers Yang Shenxiu (楊深秀) and Song Bolu (宋伯魯) to report this plan to the Guangxu Emperor.<ref>Kang Youwei 康有為, ''Kang Nanhai ziding nianpu'' 康南海自訂年譜 [Chronicle of Kang Youwei's Life, by Kang Youwei], Taipei: Wenhai chubanshe 文海出版社, p. 67.</ref> On September 20, Yang sent a [[Official Communications of the Chinese Empire#Memorials|memorial]] to the emperor to that effect.<ref>Yang Shenxiu, "Shandong dao jiancha yushi Yang Shenxiu zhe" 山東道監察御史楊深秀摺 [Palace memorial by Yang Shenxiu, Investigating Censor of Shandong Circuit], in ''Wuxu bianfa dang'an shiliao'' 戊戌變法檔案史料 [Archival sources on the history of the 1898 reforms], Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1959, p. 15.「臣尤伏願我皇上早定大計，固結英、美、日本三國，勿嫌『合邦』之名之不美。」</ref> In another memorial to the Emperor written the next day, Song advocated the formation of a federation and the sharing of the diplomatic, fiscal, and military powers of the four countries<!--Which countries? Please name them in the text of the article.--> under a hundred-man committee.<ref>Song Bolu, "Zhang Shandong dao jiancha yushi Song Bolu zhe" 掌山東道監察御史宋伯魯摺 [Palace memorial by Song Bolu, Investigating Censor in charge of the Shandong Circuit], in ''Wuxu bianfa dang'an shiliao'', p. 170.「渠(李提摩太)之來也，擬聯合中國、日本、美國及英國為合邦，共選通達時務、曉暢各國掌故者百人，專理四國兵政稅則及一切外交等事。」</ref> Lei Chia-sheng argues that this idea was the reason why Cixi, who had just returned from the Summer Palace on September 19, decided to put an end to the reforms with the September 21 coup.

On October 13, following the coup, British ambassador [[Claude Maxwell MacDonald|Claude MacDonald]] reported to his government that Chinese reforms had been "much injured" by Kang and his friends' actions.<ref>''Correspondence Respecting the Affairs of China, Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty'' (London, 1899.3), No. 401, p. 303.</ref> However, the British and American governments had been largely unaware of the "federation" plot, which appears to have been Richard's own personal idea. The Japanese government might have been aware of Richard's plan, since his accomplice was the former Japanese prime minister, but there is no evidence to this effect yet.