刘成禺笔下的“武昌假光绪案”流传甚广，情节却未必近真。本文首先是考订该案史实，进而管窥己亥、庚子之交的政局演变。认为该案属于撞骗之案，“假光绪”并无任何政治企图。之所以由“常案”升级为“奇案”“巨案”，主要由“建储”前后的政局大气候所致。最重要者是“建储”后，《汉报》等新党报刊为维持“反废立”的舆论热潮，有心煽惑；旧党为压制舆论而野蛮报复。政局在“新党肆于言”“旧党肆于权”的交替上升中一步步恶化。

“The Fake Emperor Guangxu in Wuchang” was a well-known composition by Liu Chengyu. Although the plot sounds interesting, the story was not likely accurate. This article reveals the specific chain of events surrounding this work and discusses the political situation on the eve of Boxer Movement. It concludes that The Fake Emperor was a fraud and had no political intent. The political chaos of the time mainly resulted from the serious conflicts in the attempted establishment of a Crown Prince in 1899. Perhaps most remarkable, the mass media, which mostly edited by reformers, was strongly against Qing Government’s plan of announcing a Crown Prince. So, the media energetically took the fake Emperor rumors to provoke people’s emotions, and there is no doubt regarding the Government’s vengeful repression. This trend partly resulted in the Government’s antiforeignism as well as the worsening of the overall political situation.