CHAPTER X

FOLK WAYS AND OFFICIALS

Several voices whispered: "It's Prince Pu Lun."

It was at President Yuan Shih-kai's reception, New Year's Day, 1914; the diplomatic corps and high officials were there. The Empress Dowager's residence, now occupied by the President, was the scene. From the side rooms, whither we had withdrawn for refreshments after exchanging greetings with the President, we looked out into the main hall and saw that its floor had been entirely cleared, and a solitary figure in a general's uniform was proceeding across the floor toward the President. Walking alone and unattended, the representative of the Chinese Imperial Family had come to bring its felicitations to the President of the Republic. For the first time since the abdication, the Imperial Family was publicly taking notice of him who had displaced it in power.

When the guests began to depart I gathered up my party and left the hall, together with Admiral Tsai Ting-kan. Outside was Prince Pu Lun, still solitary, walking with sad and pensive regard. We overtook him. I talked pleasantly with him on such non-committal matters as the Imperial collection of art, which was at this time being brought from Mukden. He seemed quite appreciative of this attention. I took him with me to the outer palace gate where his own carriage met him.

Except the automobiles used inside of the palace enclosure, few were then to be found in Peking; soon, with improved roads, many hundreds came. The Empress Dowager before her death had acquired a large collection of these foreign vehicles, which interested her greatly; but up to the time of her death the Board of Ceremonies had not succeeded in solving the problem how she might ride in an automobile in which there would also be, in sitting posture, one of her servants, the chauffeur. If they had had more time, I imagine that they might have found some way by which the chauffeur could kneel in driving the Imperial car, but, as it was, the poor Empress Dowager never had the pleasure of the swift rides she so much coveted.

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Many popular superstitions still prevailed in parts of the provinces. The military attaché of the American Legation, Major Bowley, who later did distinguished service in the Great War as general of artillery, was active in visiting the military commanders in different parts of China and in observing their actions and getting their views. He had just returned from such a trip to Kiangsi Province, and related how one of the generals there strove to improve his morale by drinking the blood of enemies who had been killed. He spared Major Bowley a cupful of this precious liquid, which was to be taken before breakfast. It is startling to discover among the people so highly civilized as are the Chinese occasional remnants of barbarous doctrines and practices. There is an inverted homoeopathy in Chinese popular belief--to the effect that "equals strengthen equals"; thus, to eat muscle develops strength, to eat tripe aids the digestion, to eat heart or drink blood develops courage, and so on.

* * * * *

One evening, at a dinner at Mr. Liang Shih-yi's house a spirited discussion developed between the host and Mr. Anderson. The latter had related a local custom of the Soochow region according to which it was permissible for a community or a crowd of people to bite to death any person who was thoroughly disapproved of by all. Apparently the method of execution was in itself a guaranty of universal condemnation, as a great many people would have to coöperate to effect the desired result by this method. Mr. Liang protested that the expression "bite to death" was in this case used only metaphorically, and there followed a long debate on Chinese folk customs.

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A dinner with General Kiang, Commander of the Peking Gendarmerie, afforded another sidelight on Chinese character. We had already been seated, when an unusually tall Chinese entered, wearing Chinese civilian dress. He was introduced as Tutuh Yin (General Yin Chang-heng), and I learned that he had just returned from Szechuan, where he had become governor during the revolution, after putting to death the Imperial Governor-General, Chao Er-feng. General Yin was of striking appearance, with strong features, and vigorous in gesture. Now, it is the custom at Chinese dinners, particularly when military are present, to engage in extensive drinkings of health. The Chinese, who are usually very abstemious, drink wine that resembles sherry, and also a liqueur-like rice wine, which latter is potent. The proposer of the toast raises his little cup and drains it in one draught; the guest to whom he addresses himself is expected to do likewise; both say "Gambey" (a challenge to empty the cup). General Yin, who seemed in high spirits, was on his legs half the time "gambeying" to the other guests, especially to myself and the other Americans, the military attaché, the Chinese secretary, the commandant of the guard, and other officers. General Yin must have performed this courtesy at least forty times in the course of the evening, which with the attentions paid us by the other members of the table round, amounted to a considerable challenge of one's capacity. It must, however, be confessed that I largely shirked this test, in company with the amiable General Yin Chang, my Manchu neighbour, by irrigating a large plant in front of us with the liquid dedicated to friendship.

I saw General Yin Chang next morning. He asked whether I knew what had been the matter with Tutuh Yin the night before. I said that he seemed very animated and carried his liquor very well. General Yin then told me that after I had left, the Tutuh Yin had sat down with him and talked seriously and intently, revealing his deep worry lest Yuan Shih-kai should have him executed. He stated that Chao Er-hsun, the brother of the murdered Viceroy, was in Peking, and with other men using every influence to destroy him. "So," the Manchu general said, "his bravado was just a cover for his worries."

Next day Yin Tutuh called on me at my residence. He expressed deep regret for having taken so much wine on the evening of the dinner. He said: "It is not my custom, but I was excited and worried because of the uncertainty of my affairs." He then launched forth into a literary discussion of Confucianism in its bearing upon modern thought. Not knowing that he was a student of the classics, I was surprised when he revealed this side of his nature. As a matter of fact, he greatly resembled the men of the Renaissance who combined harsh and cruel qualities with a deep love of literature. The last time I saw the Tutuh Yin, more than five years later, he presented me with his written works. There were gathered about twenty members of the Confucian Society, and the conversation again turned around the permanent qualities of Confucianism. When the concept of the "unknowable" was referred to, General Yin cited at length Herbert Spencer's views thereon. He said: "The greatness of Confucius lies in the fact that he centred his attention on those things which we know and can control, and that he aimed at the highest development of human action on this common-sense basis. He leaves the dreams about the unknowable to others."

Among our guests at a dinner was Dr. King Ya-mei, a Chinese lady noted for her wide information and cleverness. We spoke about the recent advance of Russia in Mongolia. "Who can resist Russia!" she exclaimed. Like all thinking Chinese, she was deeply worried about the difficulties confronting her nation on all sides. Dr. C.C. Wang, who was also present, spoke of the lack of continuity in developing expert knowledge, because of the frequent shifts which are made in the public service.

Dr. King Ya-mei then told an amusing incident, which shows how natural community action and passive resistance are to the Chinese. In an orphan asylum at Tientsin a new set of regulations had been issued, but the orphans had paid no attention to them. After a good many children had been called to order without result, a meeting was convoked by the principal. When the orphans were asked why they did not obey the regulations, their spokesman said: "We are perfectly satisfied with the old regulations, and have no desire to change them."--"But the new regulations have been made by your teachers," rejoined the superintendent, "and they must be obeyed."--"We do not think," the spokesman replied, "that they are an improvement, and we propose to obey the old rules."--"But, then you shall be punished severely."--"If you try to punish us, we shall all go away; and then what will become of the orphan asylum?"

They had reasoned it out that they were an important part of the institution. That orphans should conceive the idea to go on strike shows how normal and self-evident that mode of social action seems in China.

* * * * *

I was visited by the newly appointed Chinese minister to Japan, Mr. Lu Tsung-yu, who later became quite notorious in China in connection with the loans of 1918. He was accompanied by Doctor Tsur, the president of Tsing Hua College and a leading American-returned student. Mr. Lu is a slight man of suave manners, keen intelligence, and a love of manipulation. On this occasion he developed the idea that coöperation between the United States, China, and Japan was possible and desirable, as these three countries had many parallel interests. It was his opinion that Japan could not create an extensive settlement in Manchuria. He had been stationed in that region several years when Hsu Hsi-chang was viceroy; and he told me that he had observed that the Japanese came as officials, soldiers, or railway employees, or in connection with mining enterprises: but they did not seem to have any impulse to settle in the country as farmers, and as small merchants they could scarcely compete with the Chinese. Mr. Lu had been educated in Japan, being one of the first batch of Chinese students at Waseda University; together with Tsao Ju-lin, at this time Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who also later played an important part in Chino-Japanese affairs; and Chang Chung-hsiang, the Chief Justice of China at that time, a man who exercised considerable influence in introducing into China the Japanese idea of judicial procedure and organization and who became Chinese minister in Tokyo in 1916. This trio of associates was popularly known as "the Three Diamonds."

* * * * *

An important meeting of the diplomatic corps dealt with the procedure in the matter of claims against the Chinese Government on account of damage suffered during the revolution. The Japanese, French, and German representatives were inclined to insist that the Chinese Government be held responsible for all losses which could in any way be said to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the revolution. In line with the traditional policy of fairness and moderation followed by the United States I strongly urged that only losses directly and physically traceable to violent action should be paid, eliminating such uncertain and contingent matters as anticipated profits. The British minister gave support to this view; his legation, too, had not encouraged the filing of indirect claims. After much discussion, the suggestion was accepted in the form proposed. By this action were ruled out indirect claims to the amount of nearly four million dollars, which had already been listed and included by some of the legations in their totals.

* * * * *

The British Legation, in which diplomatic meetings are held, is an old palace, formerly the residence of a Manchu prince, which was purchased by the British Government at the time when legations were first established at Peking. Fortunately, the fine architectural forms of the old structure had been retained sufficiently to leave this group of buildings justly proportioned, beautifully decorated, and free from jarring foreign notes. One passes to the minister's residence through two lofty, open halls, with tiled roofs and richly coloured eaves. The residential buildings are Chinese without and semi-European within, Chinese decorative elements having been allowed to remain in the inner spaces. The diplomatic meetings always took place in the dining room, where a huge portrait of Queen Victoria, from the middle period of her reign, impassively--not without symbolic significance--looked down upon the company.

There were at this time about sixteen legations in Peking, so that the meetings were not too large for intimate conversation. The proceedings were usually carried on in the English language, partly out of deference to the Dean, and partly because English has come quite naturally to be the international language of the Far East.

The diplomatic corps in Peking meets frequently, and it has more comprehensive and complicated business than falls to such a body in any other capital. Matters of diplomatic routine occupy only a subsidiary place. Because of the system of extra-territoriality under which foreign residents remain exempt from Chinese law and subject only to that of their own respective nation, the foreign representatives in China are constantly concerned with the internal affairs of that country. The effects of any legislation by the Chinese Government upon foreign residents have to be considered by the diplomatic corps: if the most punctilious minister discovers that the measure in question in any way transgresses that absolute immunity from local law which is claimed, then objection will be made, and the unanimous consent, which is necessary to approve of such matters, is difficult or impossible to obtain.

Questions of taxation are constantly before the diplomatic corps, as the Chinese local officials quite naturally attempt to find some way to make the foreigners bear at least part of the taxation of a government whose general protection they demand. The methods of proving claims and collecting indemnities give rise to much discussion, whenever there has been some outbreak of revolutionary activity. As certain revenues have been pledged for international loans, the diplomatic corps will object to the Chinese Government using these revenues at all before they have been released as not needed for defraying the debt charges. One of the most fruitful causes of irritation comes from attempts frequently made by one or the other minister to "hold up" the funds belonging to the Chinese until they have fulfilled some particular demand which he had made. The fact that it may be an entirely extraneous and irrelevant matter, such as the appointment of a national of the minister to a Chinese government job, does not seem to disturb the man who thinks he has found a clever way to achieve his purpose. The international settlement at Shanghai and the régime of foreign troops in Peking and along the Mukden Railway also give rise to a great many problems which are referred to the diplomatic corps. From questions involving the recognition of the Government itself to such matters as the advisability of bambooing prisoners at Shanghai, no question seems to be too big or little to come before this body.

The discussions tend rather to avoid general issues and to confine themselves to a statement and explanation of the position taken by each government. Occasionally the stubborn and unreasonable adherence of one or two representatives to what is considered by others as an unduly severe and exacting position, leads to joint efforts in an attempt to make a more fair and liberal policy prevail. The discussions are not infrequently longer than is necessary; the main points are lost sight of, and discussion becomes entangled, because one side may be talking of one thing, whereas the other has quite a different matter in view. Until it is discovered that there is no real difference or only a difference in form, much valuable time may be consumed. At times, these conferences remind one of a university faculty meeting.

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Weeks were filled with innumerable conferences on matters of business. In China it rarely happens that the decision lies with only one official. In order to have a proposal accepted, a great many men have to be consulted and won over. Impatient representatives, backed by strong national force, have frequently tried to cut short this procedure, and, planting themselves before the official whose assent they needed, have "pounded the table" until a promise was obtained. They sometimes succeeded by so powerfully getting on the nerves of the Chinese official that he saw no way to save his peace of mind but by giving in. At one time I expressed great surprise to the Minister of Finance, because, instead of insisting that reasonable arrangements for the renewal of a certain short-term loan should be made, he had given the representative in question--the agent of a munition company--a large order for additional materials which were not needed, only to secure an extension of time. He said, in self-defence: "The manners of the man were so abominable that I could not stand it any longer."

However, the method of the strong arm and mailed fist, while it has produced results in China, has also carried in itself the elements of its own defeat. The Chinese may make a concession under such circumstances, but they will thereafter have no interest whatsoever in facilitating the business in question; on the contrary, it is likely to be delayed and obstructed at every point, so that it can be carried out only through constant pressure and show of force. The people of China have a strong and widespread sense of equity. He who proposes a reasonable arrangement and gives himself the trouble to talk it over with officials and other men concerned, in the spirit of arriving at a solution fair to all, will build on a sound foundation. Whenever foreign interests have acted on this principle, the results have been far more fruitful of good than where things have been carried through with a high hand by demand and threat, without reasoning or give and take. But to sit in conference with various people on all the phases of any proposal is a great consumer of time. One is kept busy day and night in following the roads and trails that lead to the final meeting of minds from which action is to result.

* * * * *

I had a visit from the Tuchun Tien, of Kalgan, after my return from America in the fall of 1918. I found that the Tuchun was in very bad grace at the American Legation. He had interfered with an automobile service which an American had tried to establish between Kalgan and Urga, in Mongolia, and had in other ways shown an apparent hostility to legitimate American enterprise. As the writing of notes had not secured any satisfactory results, I began to probe into the situation to find what lay back of the attitude of the general.

I found that he was "blood-brother" of Mr. Pan Fu, whom in turn I numbered among my friends. I therefore consulted Mr. Pan Fu about the situation. He said that there must be some misunderstanding, as the General was certainly not animated by any feeling of hostility to America; but that it was possible that the particular American in Kalgan had rubbed him the wrong way. So he promised to write the General a long letter.

A short time later he called on me and reported that General Tien had written him that he was soon coming to Peking and would be very glad to meet me. The Tuchun soon called on me, with Mr. Chow Tsu-chi, and we had a most friendly talk. Very little was said about any past difficulties in Kalgan, but a great deal about future prospects of goodwill and mutual help. In fact, our friendship was quite firmly established, and there was no further room for misunderstanding.

Tuchun Tien was an open-faced, friendly looking person who, though he had straggling side whiskers unusual with the Chinese, had nothing of the berserker in his bearing. Our conversation was long and cordial. When it had already lasted more than an hour, Mr. Chow looked at me apologetically and said, in English: "We had better let him talk, it does him good." As for myself, I was glad to hear his views.

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Mrs. Reinsch and I gave a dinner to Mr. Robert Gailey of the Y.M.C.A. on the eve of his departure for America. About thirty guests were present, all members of the American mission societies in Peking. I had just entered the reception room to be ready to welcome our guests when much to my surprise Prince Pu Lun was ushered in. It was evident that there had been some mistake about invitations, but as there appeared to be no other dinner given at the Legation, I made no effort to clear up the error and tried to make him thoroughly welcome. I had the table rearranged so as to seat the Prince between two ladies both of whom spoke Chinese very well. He appeared to be surprised at the composition of the company and the absence of wines, but was apparently well entertained by his neighbours. When the dinner was about half through, Kao, the head boy, came to the back of my chair and whispered to me: "Mrs. Lee's boy outside. Say Prince belong Mrs. Lee dinner." So after dinner I felt in duty bound to tell the Prince that Mrs. Lee had sent word that she would be very happy if he could come to her house in the course of the evening.

After a short conversation, in which he told me about his children of whom he is very fond, the Prince departed, to recoup himself at the house of the navy doctor for the abstinences laid upon him at the minister's dinner.