Han Learning and Song Learning were eventually blended into a new school of thought during the late Qing. Scholars involved included Wang Fuzhi, Gu Yanwu, Yan Yuan, Li Gong, Dai Zhen, Duan Yucai, Ji Yun, Zhang Xuecheng, Ruan Yuan, and Liao Ping. In the late Qing period, Han Learning appealed to many reformers and revolutionaries such as Kang Youwei, who eventually became a monarchist; Tan Sitong a fervent anti-Manchu polemicist; and Liu Shipei a devout nationalist who was first an revolutionary and an anarchist then a supporter of Yuan Shikai. Cui Shu went further and rejected Han learning in an attempt to recover pre-Han Confucianism. According to B. Elman, many Han Learning proponents were involved in opposition to Heshen's clique (1746–1799), thus suggesting that typical portrayal of this group as apolitical should be reconsidered.