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Feng Guifen (; 1809 – May 28, 1874, Encyclopædia Britannica Online courtesy name Linyi (), art name Jingting (), later art name Dengweishanren (), jinshi degree 1840) was a scholar during the Qing Dynasty. He was also a teacher, and a government official, serving as adviser to leading statesmen of his time. (2025). 9780231109383, Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231109383 Feng is known for his interest in techniques by which states had become wealthy and strong, highlighting these subjects in the essay he wrote to propose reforms for the Celestial Empire. He was the originator of the philosophy of the Self-Strengthening Movement undertaken in the late 19th century.
During the Taiping Rebellion, Feng organized a local militia to fight the rebels. He fled to Shanghai when the rebels occupied Suzhou. Later in his life, Feng became the leader of the jingshi school during the Tongzhi Restoration (1862-1874). He also had an established intellectual relationship with Sun Yat-sen.
The essays, which numbered 40 in total, outlined two measures. The first involved the technical improvements in the bureaucracy from the engineering initiatives in the Yellow River to fiscal reform such as the reform of the traditional salt gabelle. The second proposed constitutional changes, particularly the reallocation of political power and status. Although many of his reforms were never fully enacted, they were circulated for later generations of political reformers. It is also considered one of the earliest reformist agenda of modern China and would contribute to the Hundred Days Reform of 1898. His ideas also became the basis for the Self-Strengthening Movement that emerged in 1861 and lasted until 1895.
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