1898, China, Kiangnan Province. Rare Silver Dragon Dollar Coin. PCGS XF+

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1898, China, Kiangnan Province. Rare Silver Dragon Dollar Coin. PCGS XF+ Mint Date: 1898 Region: Kiangnan Province Denomination: Silver Dollar Reference: L&M 217, Y-145a.2. R! Condition: Authenticated and graded by PCGS as XF (Details: Chopped & Tooled!) Material: SilverAuthenticity unconditionally guaranteed. ! The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871-14 November 1908), born Zaitian, was the tenth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, under Empress Dowager Cixi's influence, only from 1889 to 1898. He initiated the Hundred Days' Reform, but was abruptly stopped when Cixi launched a coup in 1898, after which he was put under house arrest until his death. His reign name means "The Glorious Succession".Even after he began formal rule, Cixi continued to influence his decisions and actions, despite residing for a period of time at the Imperial Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) which she had ordered Guangxu's father, the Prince Chun, to construct, with the official intention not to intervene in politics.After taking power, Guangxu was obviously more reform-minded than the conservative-leaning Cixi. He believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies like Japan, China would become more politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, Guangxu began the Hundred Days' Reform, aimed at a series of sweeping political, legal, and social changes. For a brief time, after the supposed retirement of Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu issued edicts for a massive number of far-reaching modernizing reforms with the help of more progressive Qing mandarins like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.Changes ranged from infrastructure to industry and the civil examination system. Guangxu issued decrees allowing the establishment of a modern university in Beijing, the construction of the Lu-Han railway, and a system of budgets similar to that of the west. The initial goal was to make China a modern, constitutional empire, but still within the traditional framework, as with Japan's Meiji Restoration.The reforms, however, were not only too sudden for a China still under significant neo-Confucian influence and other elements of traditional culture, but also came into conflict with Cixi, who held real power. Many officials, deemed useless and dismissed by Guangxu, were begging Cixi for help. Although Cixi did nothing to stop the Hundred Days' Reform from taking place, she knew the only way to secure her power base was to stage a military coup. Guangxu was made aware of such a plan, and asked Kang Youwei and his reformist allies to plan his rescue. They decided to use the help of Yuan Shikai, who had a modernized army, albeit only 6,000-. Cixi relied on Ronglu's army in Tianjin.But Yuan Shikai was beginning to show his skill in politics. The day before the staged coup was supposed to take place, Yuan chose his best political route and revealed all the plans to Ronglu, exposing the Emperor's plans. This raised Cixi's trust in Yuan, who thereby became a lifetime enemy of Guangxu. In September 1898, Ronglu's troops took all positions surrounding the Forbidden City, and surrounded the Emperor when he was about to perform rituals. Guangxu was then taken to Ocean Terrace, a small palace on an island in the middle of a lake linked to the rest of the Forbidden City with only a controlled causeway. Cixi followed with an edict dictating Guangxu's total disgrace and "not being fit to be Emperor". Guangxu's reign had effectively come to an end.For his house arrest, even court eunuchs were chosen to strategically serve the purpose of confining him. There was also a crisis involving Guangxu's removal and abdication and the installment of a new Emperor. Although Empress Dowager Cixi never forced Emperor Guangxu to abdicate, and his era had in name continued until 1908, Emperor Guangxu lost all honours, respect, power, and privileges given ... read more

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