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Liu Guangdi (; 18 June 1861 - 28 September 1898) was a Chinese government minister during the late Qing dynasty. He was a leader of the Hundred Days' Reform movement of 1898. After the reforms were reversed in a coup, he and five other leaders were executed. They are now considered as martyrs and are referred to as the Six Gentlemen. Liu was also a reformist patriotic poet of the late Qing Dynasty. 掩盖百年的“戊戌六君子”被杀真相, Tencent Comments Accessed in December 18, 2014
In 1898, the Constitutional Reform campaign known as the Hundred Days Reform movement, which was led by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, reached a climax. Kang Youwei set up the Society for Safeguarding the Empire (Baoguohui 寶國會) and Liu Guangdi joined it with other friends. On 13 April 1898, the Guangxu Emperor ordered Kang to start the reformation. Over the next few months Guangxu published a series of reform measures. In July, Liu Guangdi was recommended to Guangxu because of his sharp political ideas. GuangXu appreciated him, and on 5 September he promoted him as one of the ministers of military.
Actually, the then Grand Council was staff division of the Constitutional Reform. Guangxu was so eager to change China's situation that had to read over hundreds of recommendations every day. Liu Guangdi and Tan Sitong helped him and provided him with solutions. With the help of the reformist, Guangxu published a series of reform measures.
The Constitutional Reform encroached on the interests of the hard-liner conservatives within the imperial court including ministers, bureaucrats, and military leaders; led by Empress Dowager Cixi. Seeing the chaotic political situation, Liu Guangdi grew increasingly concerned about the Cixi's interference in reform efforts. He wanted to get rid of Cixi's control in order to insure success of constitutional reform while staying clean and unsullied in the fierce political whirlpool.
As he liked the styles of poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu, he composed many poems which praised nature and sighed for current affairs. He loved his homeland. He even wrote more than 40 poems to praise the beautiful scenery of Mount Emei. Liu expressed anger at despair towards foreign incursions into Chinese territory and the state of the Chinese nation in his poems. The subject of his poems focused on his hatred of corruption and his patriotism to China.
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