In the 19th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, Xia Tong took part in the provincial examination of Guisi Branch and won the prize. In the 24th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, Emperor Guangxu was "appointed" as the hundred-day scholar (champion) of the Hundred Days of Reform Movement (Cohen) and awarded it to the Hanlin Academy for compilation. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu, he was sent to study at Hosei University in Japan. He was the first person in China to study abroad as a top scholar, studying industry and economy, and returning to China.