Chen Baozhen

Who was Chen Baozhen?

Chen Baozhen, was a Chinese statesman and reformer during the Qing Dynasty. Chen was born in Xiushui County in Jiangxi province and obtained the second highest degree in the imperial examinations in 1851. During the Self-Strengthening Movement, Chen became closely associated with Zeng Guofan efforts to rearm China. In 1895, he was appointed governor of Hunan province, where he carried out a reform program with the aid of Tan Sitong and Liang Qichao. Chen's sympathies to the Hundred Days' Reform attracted criticism from his superiors, and he was dismissed from his post in 1898. He died in Nanjing two years later.