Part 46

“I have never for a moment doubted that you men of Shensi are brave and patriotic and that, should occasion offer, you would fight nobly for your country. I know that if you joined these Boxers, it would be from patriotic motives. I would have you observe, however, that our enemies are the foreign troops who have invaded the Metropolitan province and not the foreign missionaries who reside in the interior. If the Throne orders you to take up arms in the defence of your country, then I, as Governor of this province, will surely share in that glory. But if, on your own account, you set forth to slay a handful of harmless and defenceless missionaries, you will undoubtedly be actuated by a desire for plunder, there will be nothing noble in your deed, and your neighbours will despise you as surely as the law will punish you.

“At this very moment our troops are pouring in upon the capital from every province in the Empire. Heaven’s avenging sword is pointed against the invader. This being so, it is absurd to suppose that there can be any need for such services as you people could render at such a time. Your obvious and simple duty is to remain quietly in your homes, pursuing your usual avocations. It is the business of the official to protect the people, and you may rely upon me to do so. As to that Edict of Their Majesties which, last year, ordered the organisation of trained bands, the idea was merely to encourage self-defence for local purposes, on the principle laid down by Mencius of watch and ward being kept by each district.”

A little later the Governor referred to that Decree of the Empress Dowager (her first attempt at hedging) which began by quoting the “Spring and Autumn Classic” in reference to the sacred nature of foreign Envoys, and used it as a text for emphasising the fact that the members of the several missionary societies in Shensi had always been on the best of terms with the people. He referred to the further fact that many refugees from the famine-stricken districts of Shansi, and numbers of disbanded soldiers, had crossed the borders of the province, and fearing lest these lawless folk should organise an attack upon the foreigners, he once more urged his people to permit no violation of the sacred laws of hospitality. The province had already commenced to feel the effects of the long drought which had caused such suffering in Shansi, and the superstitious lower classes were disposed to attribute this calamity to the wrath of Heaven, brought upon them by reason of their failure to join the Boxers. Tuan Fang proceeded to disabuse their minds of this idea.

“If the rain has not fallen upon your barren fields,” he said, “if the demon of drought threatens to harass you, be sure that it is because you have gone astray, led by false rumours, and have committed deeds of violence. Repent now and return to your peaceful ways, and the rains will assuredly fall. Behold the ruin which has come upon the provinces of Chihli and Shantung; it is to save you from their fate that I now warn you. Are we not all alike subjects of the great Manchu Dynasty, and shall we not acquit ourselves like men in the service of the State? If there were any chance of this province being invaded by the enemy, you would naturally sacrifice your lives and property to repel him, as a matter of simple patriotism. But if, in a sudden access of madness, you set forth to butcher a few helpless foreigners, you will in no wise benefit the Empire, but will merely be raising fresh difficulties for the Throne. For the time being, your own consciences will accuse you of ignoble deeds, and later you will surely pay the penalty with your lives and the ruin of your families. Surely, you men of Shensi, enlightened and high-principled, will not fall so low as this? There are, I know, among you some evil men who, professing patriotic enmity to foreigners and Christians, wax fat on foreign plunder. But the few missionary Chapels in this province offer but meagre booty, and it is safe to predict that those who begin by sacking them will certainly proceed next to loot the houses of your wealthier citizens. From the burning of foreigners’ homes, the conflagration will spread to your own, and many innocent persons will share the fate of the slaughtered Christians. The plunderers will escape with their booty, and the foolish onlookers will pay the penalty of these crimes. Is it not a well-known fact that every anti-Christian outbreak invariably brings misery to the stupid innocent people of the district concerned? Is not this a lamentable thing? As for me, I care neither for praise nor blame; my only object in preaching peace in Shensi is to save you, my people, from dire ruin and destruction.”

Tuan Fang was a member of the Mission to foreign countries in 1905 and has received decorations and honours at the hands of several European sovereigns. In private life he is distinguished by his complete absence of formality; a genial, hospitable man, given to good living, delighting in new mechanical inventions and fond of his joke. It is he who, as Viceroy of Nanking, organised the International Exhibition now being held in that city. As Viceroy of Chihli, he was in charge of the arrangements for the funeral of the Empress Dowager in November of last year, and a week after that impressive ceremony was denounced for alleged want of respect and decorum. It was charged against him that he had permitted subordinate officials to take photographs of the _cortège_ and that he had even dared to use certain trees in the sacred enclosure of the Mausolea as telegraph poles, for which offences he was summarily cashiered; since then he has lived in retirement. The charges were possibly true, but it is matter of common knowledge that the real reason for his disgrace was a matter of Palace politics rather than funereal etiquette, for he was a _protégé_ of the Regent and his removal was a triumph for the Yehonala clan, at a time when its prestige called for a demonstration of some sort against the growing power and influence of the Emperor Kuang-Hsü’s brothers.

FOOTNOTES

[1] As an example of unbalanced vituperation, uttered in good faith and with the best intentions, _vide_ _The Chinese Crisis from Within_ by “Wen Ching,” republished from the _Singapore Free Press_ in 1901 (Grant Richards).

[2] About £120.

[3] The same euphemism was employed to describe the Court’s flight in August 1900.

[4] Grandfather of Na T’ung, the present head of the Waiwupu.

[5] “Yi” and “Cheng” are honorific names, meaning respectively “harmonious” and “sedate.”

[6] The expression has reference to the fact that the Empresses Regent are supposed to be concealed from the sight of Ministers at audience by a curtain suspended in front of the Throne.

[7] The age of the Emperor was less than six, but the solemn farce of his alleged acts and opinions is solemnly accepted by the Chinese as part of the eternal order of things.

[8] To allow women privily to accompany the Imperial cortège is a crime punishable by law with the penalty of the lingering death.

[9] The Prison of the Imperial Clan Court.

[10] Poetical term for Purgatory.

[11] Hereditary titles in China usually descend in a diminishing scale.

[12] He was the father of that Marquis Tseng who, as Minister to England (1878), lived to be credited by the British press with literary abilities which he did not possess and liberal opinions which he did not share. His grandsons, educated partly in England, have lately been distinguished for that quality of patriotic Conservatism which prides itself on having no intercourse with foreigners.

[13] A short biographical note on Tso Tsung-t’ang, the hero of the Mahomedan rebellion who gained distinction under Tseng against the Taipings, is given in the appendix.

[14] So called because they declined to plait the queue, as a sign that they rejected Manchu rule.

[15] His younger brother, subsequently made an earl and Viceroy of Nanking for many years.

[16] This is merely figurative, referring to an ancient and obsolete custom.

[17] So named because, before becoming a eunuch at the age of sixteen, he was apprenticed to a cobbler at his native place, Ho-Chien fu, in Chihli, from which district most of the eunuchs come.

[18] This form of argument, under similar conditions, obtains all over the Empire. “How could I possibly squeeze my master?” says the servant.

[19] Quotation from the Book of Changes, implying a sense of impending danger.

[20] Chinese pamphleteers in Canton record the event with much detail, and state that this son is alive to-day under the name of Chiu Min.

[21] A fantastic account of this mission is contained in an imaginative work recently published (_La Vie Secrète de la Cour de Chine_, Paris, 1910), where the Chief Eunuch’s name is given as “Siao.” This curious blunder is due to the fact that the Eunuch’s nickname, on account of his stature, was “Hsiao An’rh” (little An), just as Li hien-Ying’s is “P’i Hsiao” Li all over China.

[22] The Phœnix flag signified that he was sent by the Empresses Regent.

[23] The same expression is used of a novice taking the vows of Buddhist priesthood.

[24] Tzŭ Hsi was fond of masquerading with her favourite, till well advanced in years. One photograph of her is on sale in Peking, wherein she is posing as the Goddess of Mercy (Kuanyin) with Li in attendance as one of the Boddhisatvas.

[25] A term of humility.

[26] This Kuei Ching was an uncle of Tuan Fang, recently Viceroy of Chihli, and a man generally respected.

[27] This disease is regarded amongst the Chinese as one of good omen, especially if the symptoms develop satisfactorily.

[28] The annual and seasonal sacrifices at the ancestral Temple and at the Imperial tombs involve “kowtowing” before each tablet of the sacred ancestors, and this cannot be done in the presence of one of the same generation as the last deceased, much less by him.

[29] Prince Kung was the sixth, Prince Ch’un the seventh, in order of seniority.

[30] On the occasion to which the Memorialist refers, the lawful heir to the Throne committed suicide. The allusion would be readily understood (if not appreciated) by the Empress Dowager, whose irregular choice of Kuang-Hsü and violation of the dynastic laws had certainly led to the death of A-lu-te. Looked at from the Chinese scholar’s point of view, the innuendo was in the nature of a direct accusation.

[31] The writer refers to the united action of the Manchu Princes and nobles who assisted in the establishment of law and order, and the expulsion of the Chinese rebels and Pretenders, during the troublous time of the first Regency (1644) and the minority of the infant Emperor, Shun-Chih.

[32] The burial place was close to, but necessarily outside, the large enclosed park which contains the Imperial mausolea.

[33] Burial clothes should all be new and clean—by cutting away the soles, his boots would look less shabby.

[34] I.e. by causing the Empresses to have his corpse mutilated.

[35] About £10.

[36] The point whence, according to legend, the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven and where his clothes were buried.

[37] A quotation from Tseng Tzu, one of the most noted disciples of Confucius.

[38] A sort of Chinese Mr. Malaprop, known to history as one who invariably spoke at the wrong time.

[39] It is curious to note how frequently the Imperial tombs have been the scene of such unseemly wrangles, wherein grievances and passions, long pent up within the Palace precincts, find utterance. A case of this kind occurred in 1909, on the occasion of the burial of Tzŭ Hsi, when the surviving consorts of T’ung-Chih and Kuang-Hsü, having quarrelled with the new Empress Dowager (Lung Yü) on a similar question of precedence, refused to return to the City and remained in dudgeon at the tombs until a special mission, under an Imperial Duke, was sent humbly to beg them to come back, to the no small scandal of the orthodox.

[40] This title was originally given to an infamous eunuch of the Court of the Ming Emperor Chu Yü-hsiao, who, because of his influence over his dissolute master, was canonised by the latter after his death. The same title was claimed and used by the Eunuch An Te-hai, _vide supra_, page 90.

[41] See above, page 93.

[42] Tzŭ Hsi had no love for this official, for it was he who drafted Hsien-Feng’s valedictory Decree, at the dictation of Su Shun, in 1861. _Vide_ page 33.

[43] Sun remained in high favour until December 1894, when the Emperor was induced by Weng T’ung-ho to dismiss him. At that time the Empress was taking little active part in the direction of affairs, occupying her time with theatricals and other diversions at the Summer Palace, and playing a watching game in politics, so that for a while Sun’s life was in real danger.

[44] Apricot yellow is a colour reserved, strictly speaking, for the use of the Throne.

[45] In that event it would not be the Yehonala clan alone which would benefit, as the present Emperor’s grandmother (who was one of Prince Ch’un’s concubines) is still alive and would necessarily share in any honours posthumously conferred on her husband, whilst Kuang-Hsü’s mother would be excluded.

[46] The results of the Prince’s eminent services in naval and military reorganisation were demonstrated three years later, not entirely to the nation’s satisfaction, in the war with Japan.

[47] From a sentence in the Book of Rites, which means “to give rest and peace to Heaven-sent old age.”

[48] Sir Walter Hillier, appointed by Yüan Shih-k’ai to be foreign adviser to the Grand Council in 1908. When Yuan was compelled to flee from Seoul before the advance of the Japanese, he was escorted to Chemulpo by a guard of blue-jackets.

[49] _i.e._ the Japanese (literal translation).

[50] At present Chinese Minister in London.

[51] Now known as the Empress Dowager Lung Yü.

[52] Kang Yi was a bigoted reactionary and the arch instigator of the Boxer movement at the capital. Young China has carefully preserved one of his sayings of that time: “The establishment of schools and colleges has only encouraged Chinese ambitions and developed Chinese talent to the danger of the Manchu Dynasty: these students should therefore be exterminated without delay.”

[53] In 1901, this official begged Tzŭ Hsi, just before her departure from K’ai-Feng fu for Peking, not to return thither, on the ground that her Palace had been polluted by the presence of the foreign barbarians.

[54] The Emperor prided himself on being a great stickler in such matters, and many of the younger officials feared him on account of his quick temper and martinet manner in dealing with them.

[55] K’ang’s subsequent escape under British protection, in which one of the writers was instrumental, is graphically described in despatch No. 401 of Blue Book No. 1 of 1899.

[56] She was thrown down a well, by Tzŭ Hsi’s orders, as the Court prepared for flight after the entrance of the allied forces into Peking. (_Vide infra._)

[57] It is interesting to note that this Manchu Prince (Tsai Ch’u) was released from prison by the present Regent, the Emperor’s brother, and was appointed to the command of one of the Manchu Banner Corps on the same day, in January 1909, that Yüan Shih-k’ai was dismissed from the viceroyalty of Chihli. The Emperor’s party, as opposed to the Yehonala Clan, heartily approved of his reinstatement.

[58] _Vide_ Blue Book China No. I. of 1899, letters Nos. 266, 401, and 426.

[59] As an example of Chinese official methods: the Shanghai Taotai when requesting the British Consul-General’s assistance to arrest K’ang Yu-wei, did not hesitate to say that the Emperor was dead, murdered by the Chief Reformer. _Vide_ Blue Book No. I of 1899; letter No. 401.

[60] From _The Times_ of 31st March, 1899.

[61] Chang Yin-huan, who had been created a Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George in connection with Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration, was subsequently put to death, after banishment to Turkestan. An order given by Prince Tuan at the commencement of the Boxer crisis was the immediate cause of his execution.

Another reformer named Hsü Chih-ching was condemned to imprisonment for life in the Board of Punishments under this same Decree; he was released by the Allies in August 1900, when he proceeded at once to T’ai-Yüan fu, and handed himself over to justice, disdaining to accept his release at the hands of foreigners. This incident is typical of the Chinese officials’ attitude of mind and of their reverence for the Decrees of the head of the State.

[62] On the occasion of her seventieth birthday (1904), the Empress Dowager promulgated a general amnesty for all those who had taken part in the Reform Movement of 1898, excepting only the leaders K’ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch’i-ch’ao, who were expressly excluded from grace, and Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was a fugitive from justice on other counts.

[63] Li Tuan-fen returned from exile in Turkestan under the amnesty of 1904.

[64] Weng T’ung-ho has been posthumously restored to his full rank and titles by a Decree of the present Regent. Thus is the Emperor tardily justified and the pale ghosts of his followers continue to suffer, even in Hades, the chances and changes of Chinese official life!

[65] This official was eventually decapitated by the allies, as one of the originators of the Boxer rising.

[66] This Prefect of Hsüanhua was subsequently promoted by the Empress Dowager, when passing through that city, at the beginning of the flight from Peking.

[67] Hsü, to whom Jung Lu was writing, was a Cantonese by birth, and was at this time Viceroy of Foochow.

[68] A note on the career and character of this courageous official is given in the Appendix.

[69] The Decree is given at the end of this chapter.

[70] The victim was British, not French—viz., the Rev. Mr. Brooks, killed on 31st December, 1899, just after Yu Hsien’s removal had been arranged.

[71] Between January and June the entries are of no particular interest.

[72] The Supreme Deity of the Taoists and tutelary spirit of the Boxers.

[73] A nickname of An Te-hai, _vide supra_, p. 90 _et seq._

[74] The Chancellor of the Japanese Legation, Mr. Sugiyama.

[75] This was a forgery.

[76] A quotation from the “Book of Odes.”

[77] This man’s subsequent arrest and execution are described in a Censorate memorial at the end of this chapter.

[78] Mr. (later Sir Harry) Parkes.

[79] Professor James.

[80] Mentioned above under full name of Chi Shou-ch’eng. Chi Pin was his “hao” or intimate personal name.

[81] Ching Shan’s house was just inside the Tung An Gate of the Imperial City, about a quarter of a mile to the north of the present Legation area boundary.

[82] This favourite companion of Tzŭ Hsi was really Jung Lu’s secondary consort, who was only raised to the rank of _la première légitime_ after his first wife’s death in September, 1900. She survived him and continued to exercise great influence with the Old Buddha.

[83] A short biographical note on Chang Chih-tung will be found in the Appendix.

[84] _Vide_ under June 20th.

[85] A quotation from Mencius.

[86] Quotation from Mencius.

[87] History of events under the Chou dynasty, by Confucius; one of the Five Classics.

[88] How well and successfully she did it, has been told in Miss Catherine A. Carl’s book, _With the Empress Dowager of China_. The painting of her portrait for the St. Louis exhibition was in itself an example of Tzŭ Hsi’s “cardinal virtues of government,” which she practised with conspicuous success on the simple-minded wife of the American Minister, Mrs. Conger. (_Vide_ Cordier, _Relations de la Chine_, Vol. III., p. 423.)

[89] The second character of Prince Tuan’s name contained the radical sign for _dog_, and was given him by the Emperor Hsien-Feng, because he had been begotten during the period of mourning for his parent Tao-Kuang; it being an offence, under Chinese law, for a son to be begotten during the twenty-seventh months of mourning for father or mother.

[90] A classical allusion, in common use, equivalent to “Ne sutor ultra crepidam.”

[91] A traitor whose crime and punishment are recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

[92] A classical expression, meaning the Spirit-world.

[93] Referring to his part in the _coup d’état_ of 1898.

[94] The expression is figurative.

[95] A species of owl—classical reference.

[96] Consort of Kuang-Hsü, now Empress Dowager, known by the honorific title of Lung-yü.

[97] Prince Ch’un subsequently married Jung Lu’s daughter, by special command of the Empress Dowager.

[98] This Memorial was never published officially, and Tzŭ Hsi refrained from issuing a Rescript thereto; it was forwarded by an official with the Court at Hsi-an to one of the vernacular papers at Shanghai, which published it.

[99] A lane four hundred yards north of the glacis which now surrounds the Legation quarter.

[100] Quotation from Confucius.

[101] Tzŭ Hsi was addicted to gentle sarcasm of this kind in Decrees.

[102] Admiral Seymour’s expedition.

[103] See Dr. Smith’s “China in Convulsion,” page 361.

[104] The North Gate of the Imperial City.

[105] At that time Governor-designate of Shensi. He had come north with troops to defend the capital.

[106] Tutor of the Heir Apparent, father-in-law of the Emperor T’ung-Chih, his daughter, the Empress Chia-Shun (A-lu-te), had committed suicide in 1875 (_vide supra_).

[107] An allusion to Kuang-Hsü’s order for Jung Lu’s summary execution in September 1898.

[108] See biographical note, _infra_ (Appendix).

[109] Deceased, 26th August 1910.

[110] As he had done for Tzŭ Hsi’s son, the Emperor T’ung-Chih.

[111] Amongst Chinese officials no characteristic is more common than their jealousy of each other and their promiscuous habit of backbiting and slandering.

[112] It was because of Tung Fu-hsiang’s great popularity in Kansu that Her Majesty, fearing another rebellion, hesitated to order his execution.

[113] This sentence is equivalent to imprisonment for life.

[114] See Ching Shan’s Diary, page 258; also cf. page 324.

[115] The Empress Dowager was from the outset most anxious to screen and protect this official, for whom she had a great personal regard. On reviewing his case in the light of later information and current public opinion, it would appear that most of his actions were instigated, if not ordered, by Kang Yi, and that the decision of the foreign Ministers to insist upon his death was taken without any very definite information as to his share of guilt.

[116] In accordance with prescribed custom.

[117] He was directly descended from Nurhachu, the conqueror of the Mings.

[118] This was no empty boast. Yü Hsien, cold-blooded fanatic that he was, bore a most honourable name for absolute integrity and contempt for wealth. He died in poverty, so miserable, that amongst all his clothes there was not one suit new enough to be fittingly used for his burial robes. His name is still held in high honour by the people of Shansi, who sing the praises of his Governorship, and who claim that his proud spirit it was which protected their Province from being invaded by the foreigners. They erected a shrine to his memory, but it was demolished to appease the foreign Powers.

[119] The Chinese rendering of a German name.

[120] This is the Chinese date; the day of the audience was the 4th September.

[121] Wen T’i had been a censor in 1898, but was cashiered by the Emperor for being reactionary. Tzŭ Hsi restored him to favour after the _coup d’état_.