1900年,带领乡民三次打退法国侵略军的广东遂溪县知县李平书,被朝廷革职,心情忧郁地回到故乡上海。李平书是清朝官吏中思想开明的激进者。他曾应友人之邀,到新加坡游历过。在新加坡,他看到了繁盛的国际贸易、发达的国际金融机构、大农场以及新兴的大都市。这一切,使李平书产生了向西方学习,维新改良、自强救国的愿望。 In 1900, Li Pingshu, magistrate of Suixi County in Guangdong, who led the villagers three times in a bid to repel the French invaders, was dismissed by the court and returned to his hometown in depression. Li Pingshu was a radical activist among the Qing officials. He was invited by friends, traveled to Singapore. In Singapore, he saw the flourishing international trade, developed international financial institutions, farms and emerging metropolises. All these make Li Pingshu produce a desire to learn from the West, make improvements and reform, and save the nation by himself.