COURT LIFE IN CHINA

THE CAPITAL

ITS OFFICIALS AND PEOPLE

By

ISAAC TAYLOR HEADLAND

Professor in the Peking University

ISAAC TAYLOR HEADLAND'S THREE BOOKS THAT "LINK EAST AND WEST"

 Court Life in China: The Capital Its Officials and People. The Chinese Boy and Girl Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes

PREFACE

Until within the past ten years a study of Chinese court life wouldhave been an impossibility. The Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and thecourt ladies were shut up within the Forbidden City, away from a worldthey were anxious to see, and which was equally anxious to see them. Then the Emperor instituted reform, the Empress Dowager came out frombehind the screen, and the court entered into social relations withEuropeans. 

For twenty years and more Mrs. Headland has been physician to thefamily of the Empress Dowager's mother, the Empress' sister, and manyof the princesses and high official ladies in Peking. She has visitedthem in a social as well as a professional way, has taken with her herfriends, to whom the princesses have shown many favours, and they havethemselves been constant callers at our home. It is to my wife, therefore, that I am indebted for much of the information contained inthis book. 

There are many who have thought that the Empress Dowager has beenmisrepresented. The world has based its judgment of her character uponher greatest mistake, her participation in the Boxer movement, whichseems unjust, and has closed its eyes to the tremendous reforms whichonly her mind could conceive and her hand carry out. The great Chineseofficials to a man recognized in her a mistress of every situation; theforeigners who have come into most intimate contact with her, voice herpraise; while her hostile critics are confined for the most part tothose who have never known her. It was for this reason that a morethorough study of her life was undertaken. 

It has also been thought that the Emperor has been misunderstood, beingoverestimated by some, and underestimated by others, and this becauseof his peculiar type of mind and character. That he was unusual, no onewill deny; that he was the originator of many of China's greatestreform measures, is equally true; but that he lacked the power toexecute what he conceived, and the ability to select great statesmen toassist him, seems to have been his chief shortcoming. 

To my wife for her help in the preparation of this volume, and to myfather-in-law, Mr. William Sinclair, M. A. , for his suggestions, I amunder many obligations. 

 I. T. H. 

CONTENTS

 I. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--HER EARLY LIFE II. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--HER YEARS OF TRAINING III. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A RULER IV. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A REACTIONIST V. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A REFORMER VI. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS AN ARTIST VII. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A WOMAN VIII. KUANG HSU--HIS SELF DEVELOPMENT IX. KUANG HSU--AS EMPEROR AND REFORMER X. KUANG HSU--AS A PRISONER XI. PRINCE CHUN--THE REGENT XII. THE HOME OF THE COURT--THE FORBIDDEN CITY XIII. THE LADIES OF THE COURT XIV. THE PRINCESSES--THEIR SCHOOLS XV. THE CHINESE LADIES OF RANK XVI. THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CHINESE WOMAN XVII. THE CHINESE LADIES--THEIR ILLS XVIII. THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF A DOWAGER PRINCESS XIX. CHINESE PRINCES AND OFFICIALS XX. PEKING--THE CITY OF THE COURT XXI. THE DEATH OF KUANG HSU AND THE EMPRESS DOWAGER XXII. THE COURT AND THE NEW EDUCATION

I

The Empress Dowager--Her Early Life

All the period since 1861 should be rightly recorded as the reign ofTze Hsi An, a more eventful period than all the two hundred andforty-four reigns that had preceded her three usurpations. It beganafter a conquering army had made terms of peace in her capital, andwith the Tai-ping rebellion in full swing of success. .. . 

Those few who have looked upon the countenance of the Dowager describeher as a tall, erect, fine-looking woman of distinguished and imperiousbearing, with pronounced Tartar features, the eye of an eagle, and thevoice of determined authority and absolute command. --Eliza RuhamahScidmore in "China, The Long-Lived Empire. "

I

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--HER EARLY LIFE

One day when one of the princesses was calling at our home in Peking, Iinquired of her where the Empress Dowager was born. She gazed at me fora moment with a queer expression wreathing her features, as she finallysaid with just the faintest shadow of a smile: "We never talk about theearly history of Her Majesty. " I smiled in return and continued: "Ihave been told that she was born in a small house, in a narrow streetinside of the east gate of the Tartar city--the gate blown up by theJapanese when they entered Peking in 1900. " The princess nodded. "Ihave also heard that her father's name was Chao, and that he was asmall military official (she nodded again) who was afterwards beheadedfor some neglect of duty. " To this the visitor also nodded assent. 

A few days later several well-educated young Chinese ladies, daughtersof one of the most distinguished scholars in Peking, were calling on mywife, and again I pursued my inquiries. "Do you know anything about theearly life of the Empress Dowager?" I asked of the eldest. Shehesitated a moment, with that same blank expression I had seen on theface of the princess, and then answered very deliberately, --"Yes, everybody knows, but nobody talks about it. " And this is, no doubt, thereason why the early life of the greatest woman of the Mongol race, and, as some who knew her best think, the most remarkable woman of thenineteenth century, has ever been shrouded in mystery. Whether theEmpress desired thus to efface all knowledge of her childhood byrefusing to allow it to be talked about, I do not know, but I said tomyself: "What everybody knows, I can know, " and I proceeded to find out. 

I discovered that she was one of a family of several brothers andsisters and born about 1834; that the financial condition of herparents was such that when a child she had to help in caring for theyounger children, carrying them on her back, as girls do in China, andamusing them with such simple toys as are hawked about the streets orsold in the shops for a cash or two apiece; that she and her brothersand little sisters amused themselves with such games as blind man'sbuff, prisoner's base, kicking marbles and flying kites in company withthe other children of their neighbourhood. During these early years shewas as fond of the puppet plays, trained mice shows, bear shows, and"Punch and Judy" as she was in later years of the theatricalperformances with which she entertained her visitors at the palace. Shewas compelled to run errands for her mother, going to the shops, asoccasion required, for the daily supply of oils, onions, garlic, andother vegetables that constituted the larger portion of their food. Ifound out also that there is not the slightest foundation for the storythat in her childhood she was sold as a slave and taken to the south ofChina. 

The outdoor life she led, the games she played, and the work she wasforced to do in the absence of household servants, gave to the littlegirl a well-developed body, a strong constitution and a fund ofexperience and information which can be obtained in no other way. Shewas one of the great middle class. She knew the troubles and trials ofthe poor. She had felt the pangs of hunger. She could sympathize withthe millions of ambitious girls struggling to be freed from thetrammels of ignorance and the age-old customs of the past--a combatwhich was the more real because it must be carried on in silence. Andwho can say that it was not the struggles and privations of her ownchildhood which led to the wish in her last years that "the girls of myempire may be educated"?

When little Miss Chao had reached the age of fourteen or fifteen shewas taken by her parents to an office in the northern part of theimperial city of Peking where her name, age, personal appearance, andestimated degree of intelligence and potential ability were registered, as is done in the case of all the daughters of the Manchu people. Thereason for this singular proceeding is that when the time comes for theselection of a wife or a concubine for the Emperor, or the choosing ofserving girls for the palace, those in charge of these matters willknow where they can be obtained. 

This custom is not considered an unalloyed blessing by the Manchupeople, and many of them would gladly avoid registering their daughtersif only they dared. But the rule is compulsory, and every one belongingto the eight Banners or companies into which the Manchus are dividedmust have their daughters registered. Their aversion to this custom iswell illustrated in the following incident:

In one of the girls' schools in Peking there was a beautiful child, thedaughter of a Manchu woman whose husband was dead. One day this widowcame to the principal of the school and said: "A summons has come fromthe court for the girls of our clan to appear before the officials thata certain number may be chosen and sent into the palace as servinggirls. " "When is she to appear?" inquired the teacher. "On thesixteenth, " answered the mother. "I suppose you are anxious that sheshould be one of the fortunate ones, " said the teacher, "though Ishould be sorry to lose her from the school. " "On the contrary, " saidthe mother, "I should be distressed if she were chosen, and have cometo consult with you as to whether we might not hire a substitute. " Theteacher expressed surprise and asked her why. "When our daughters aretaken into the palace, " answered the mother, "they are dead to us untilthey are twenty-five, when they are allowed to return home. If they areincompetent or dull they are often severely punished. They may contractdisease and die, and their death is not even announced to us; while ifthey prove themselves efficient and win the approval of the authoritiesthey are retained in the palace and we may never see them or hear fromthem again. "

At first the teacher was inclined to favour the hiring of a substitute, but on further consideration concluded that it would be contrary to thelaw, and advised that the girl be allowed to go. The mother, however, was so anxious to prevent her being chosen that she sent her withuncombed hair, soiled clothes and a dirty face, that she might appearas unattractive as possible. 

The prospects for a concubine are even less promising than for aserving maid, as when she once enters the palace she has little if anyhope of ever leaving it. She is neither mistress nor servant, wife norslave, she is but one of a hundred buds in a garden of roses which havelittle if any prospect of ever blooming or being plucked for the courtbouquet. When, therefore, the gates of the Forbidden City close behindthe young girls who are taken in as concubines of an emperor they shutout an attractive, busy, beautiful world, filled with men and women, boys and girls, homes and children, green fields and rich harvests, andconfine them within the narrow limits of one square mile of brick-pavedearth, surrounded by a wall twenty-five feet high and thirty feetthick, in which there is but one solitary man who is neither father, brother, husband nor friend to them, and whom they may never even see. 

When therefore the time came for the selection of concubines for theEmperor Hsien Feng, and our little Miss Chao was taken into the palace, her parents, like many others, had every reason to consider it a pieceof ill-fortune which had visited their home. The future was veiled fromthem. The Forbidden City, surrounded by its great crenelated wall, mayhave seemed more like a prison than like a palace. True, they had otherchildren, and she was "only a girl, but even girls are a smallblessing, " as they tell us in their proverbs. She had grown old enoughto be useful in the home, and they no doubt had cherished plans ofbetrothing her to the son of some merchant or official who would addwealth or honour to their family. Neither father nor mother, brothernor sister, could have conceived of the potential power, honour andeven glory, that were wrapped up in that girl, and that were finally tocome to them as a family, as well as to many of them as individuals. Their wildest dreams at that time could not have pictured themselvesdukes and princesses, with their daughters as empresses, duchesses, orladies-in-waiting in the palace. But such it proved to be. 

II

The Empress Dowager--Her Years of Training

 The kindness of the Empress is as boundless as the sea. Her person too is holy, she is like a deity. With boldness, from seclusion, she ascends the Dragon Throne, And saves her suffering country from a fate we dare not own. --"Yuan Fan, " Translated by I. T. C. 

II

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--HER YEARS OF TRAINING

The year our little Miss Chao entered the palace was a memorable one inthe history of China. The Tai-ping rebellion, which had begun in thesouth some three years earlier (1850), had established its capital atNanking, on the Yangtse River, and had sent its "long-haired" rebelsnorth on an expedition of conquest, the ultimate aim of which wasPeking. By the end of the year 1853 they had arrived within one hundredmiles of the capital, conquering everything before them, and leavingdevastation and destruction in their wake. 

Their success had been extraordinary. Starting in the southwest with anarmy of ten thousand men they had eighty thousand when they arrivedbefore the walls of Nanking. They were an undisciplined horde, withoutcommissariat, without drilled military leaders, but with such recklessdaring and bravery that the imperial troops were paralyzed with fearand never dared to meet them in the open field. Thousands of commonthieves and robbers flocked to their standards with every new conquest, impelled by no higher motive than that of pillage and gain. Rumoursbecame rife in every village and hamlet, and as they neared the capitalthe wildest tales were told in every nook and corner of the city, fromthe palace of the young Emperor in the Forbidden City to the mat shedof the meanest beggar beneath the city wall. 

My wife says: "I remember just after going to China, sitting oneevening on a kang, or brick bed, with Yin-ma, an old nurse, our onlylight being a wick floating in a dish of oil. Yin-ma was about the ageof the Empress Dowager, but, unlike Her Majesty, her locks weresnow-white. When I entered the dimly lighted room she was sitting inthe midst of a group of women and girls--patients in the hospital--wholistened with bated breath as she told them of the horrors of theTai-ping rebellion. 

"'Why!' said the old nurse, 'all that the rebels had to do on their wayto Peking, was to cut out as many paper soldiers as they wanted, putthem in boxes, and breathe upon them when they met the imperial troops, and they were transformed into such fierce warriors that no one wasable to withstand them. Then when the battle was over and they had comeoff victors they only needed to breathe upon them again, when they werechanged into paper images and packed in their boxes, requiring neitherfood nor clothing. Indeed the spirits of the rebels were everywhere, and no matter who cut out paper troops they could change them into realsoldiers. '

"'But, Yin-ma, you do not believe those superstitions, do you?'

"'These are not superstitions, doctor, these are facts, which everybodybelieved in those days, and it was not safe for a woman to be seen withscissors and paper, lest her neighbours report that she was cutting outtroops for the rebels. The country was filled with all kinds ofrumours, and every one had to be very careful of all their conduct, andof everything they said, lest they be arrested for sympathizing withthe enemy. '

"'But, Yin-ma, did you ever see any of these paper images transformedinto soldiers?'

"'No, I never did myself, but there was an old woman lived near ourplace, who was said to be in sympathy with the rebels. One night myfather saw soldiers going into her house and when he had followed themhe could find nothing but paper images. You may not have anything ofthis kind happen in America, but very many people saw them in thoseterrible days of pillage and bloodshed here. '"

Such stories are common in all parts of China during every period ofrebellion, war, riot or disturbance of any kind. The people go aboutwith fear on their faces, and horror in their voices, telling eachother in undertones of what some one, somewhere, is said to have seenor heard. Nor are these superstitions confined to the common people. Many of the better classes believe them and are filled with fear. 

As the Tai-ping rebellion broke out when Miss Chao was about fifteen orsixteen years of age, she would hear these stories for two or threeyears before she entered the palace. After she had been taken into theForbidden City she would continue to hear them, brought in by theeunuchs and circulated not only among all the women of the palace, butamong their own associates as well, and here they would take on a moremysterious and alarming aspect to these people shut away from theworld, as ghost stories become more terrifying when told in the dimtwilight. May this not account in some measure for the attitude assumedby the Empress Dowager towards the Boxer superstitions of 1900, andtheir pretentions to be able at will to call to their aid legions ofspirit-soldiers, while at the same time they were themselvesinvulnerable to the bullets of their enemies?

It was when Miss Chao was ten years old that the conflict known as theOpium War was brought to an end. It has been said that when the Emperorwas asked to sanction the importation of opium, he answered, "I willnever legalize a traffic that will be an injury to my people, " butwhether this be true or not, it is admitted by all that the centralgovernment was strongly opposed to the sale and use of the drug withinits domains. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that the first timethe Chinese came into collision with European governments was over amatter of this kind, and it is to the credit of the Chinesecommissioner when the twenty thousand chests of opium, over which thedispute arose, were handed over to him, he mixed it with quicklime inhuge vats that it might be utterly destroyed rather than be an injuryto his people. They may have exhibited an ignorance of internationallaw, they may have manifested an unwise contempt for the foreigner, butit remains a fact of history that they were ready to suffer greatfinancial loss rather than get revenue from the ruin of their subjects, and that England went to war for the purpose of securing indemnity forthe opium destroyed. 

The common name for opium among the Chinese is yang yen--foreigntobacco, and my wife says: "When calling at the Chinese homes, I havefrequently been offered the opium-pipe, and when I refused it theladies expressed surprise, saying that they were under the impressionthat all foreigners used it. "

What now were the results of the Opium War as viewed from thestandpoint of the Chinese people, and what impression would it makeupon them as a whole? Great Britain demanded an indemnity of$21, 000, 000, the cession to them of Hongkong, an island on the southerncoast, and the opening of five ports to British trade. China lost herstanding as suzerain among the peoples of the Orient and got her firstglimpse of the White Peril from the West. 

Although the Empress Dowager was but a child of ten at this time shewould receive her first impression of the foreigner, which was that hewas a pirate who had come to carry away their wealth, to filch fromthem their land, and to overrun their country. He became a veritablebugaboo to men, women and children alike, and this impression wascrystallized in the expression yang huei, "foreign devil, " which is theonly term among a large proportion of the Chinese by which theforeigner is known. One day when walking on the street in Peking I meta woman with a child of two years in her arms, and as I passed them, the child patted its mother on the cheek and said in anundertone, --"The foreign devil's coming, " which led the frightenedmother to cover its eyes with her hand that it might not be injured bythe sight. 

On one occasion a friend was travelling through the country when aChinese gentleman, dressed in silk and wearing an official hat, calledon him at the inn where he was stopping and with a profound bowaddressed him as "Old Mr. Foreign Devil. "

My wife says that: "Not infrequently when I have been called for thefirst time to the homes of the better classes I have seen the childrenrun into the house from the outer court exclaiming, --'The devildoctor's coming. ' Indeed, I have heard the women use this term inspeaking of me to my assistant until I objected, when they asked withsurprise, --'Doesn't she like to be called foreign devil?'" And so theEmpress Dowager's first impression of the foreigner would be that of adevil. 

Colonel Denby tells us that "A Frenchman and his wife were carried offfrom Tonquin by bandits who took refuge in China. The Chinesegovernment was asked to rescue these prisoners and restore them toliberty. China sent a brigade of troops, who pursued the bandits totheir den and recovered the prisoners. The French government thankedthe Chinese government for its assistance, and bestowed the decorationof the Legion of Honour on the brigade commander, and then shortlyafterwards demanded the payment of an enormous indemnity for theoutrage on the ground that China had delayed to effect the rescue. TheChinese were aghast, but they paid the money. "

This incident does not stand alone, but is one of a number of similarexperiences which the Chinese government had in her relation with thepowers of Europe, and which have been reported by such writers asHolcomb, Beresford, Gorst Colquhoun and others in trying to account forthe feelings the Chinese have towards us, all of which was embodied inthe years of training of our little concubine. 

It should be remembered that many concubines are selected whom theEmperor never takes the trouble to see. After being taken in, theirtemper and disposition are carefully noted, their faithfulness in theduties assigned them, their diligence in the performance of theirtasks, their kindness to their inferiors, their treatment of theirequals, and their politeness and obedience to their superiors, and uponall these things, with many others, as we shall see, their promotionwill finally depend. 

When Miss Chao entered the palace, like most girls of her class orstation in life, she was uneducated. She may have studied the small"Classic for Girls" in which she learned:

"You should rise from bed as early in the morning as the sun, Norretire at evening's closing till your work is wholly done. "

Or, further, she may have been told, When the wheel of life's at fifteen, Or when twenty years have passed, As a girl with home and kindred these will surely be your last; While expert in all employments that compose a woman's life, You should study as a daughter all the duties of a wife. "

Or she may have read the "Filial Piety Classic for Girls" in which shelearned the importance of the attitude she assumed towards those whowere in authority over her, but certain it is she was not educated. 

She had, however, what was better than education--a disposition tolearn. And so when she had the good fortune, --or shall we saymisfortune, --for as we have seen it is variously regarded by Chineseparents to be taken into the palace, she found there educated eunuchswho were set aside as teachers of the imperial harem. She was bright, attractive, and I think I may add without fear of contradiction, veryambitious, and this in no bad sense. She devoted herself to her studieswith such energy and diligence as not only to attract the attention ofthe teacher, but to make herself a fair scholar, a good penman, and anexceptional painter, and it was not long until, from among all theconcubines, she had gained the attention and won the admiration--andshall we say affection--not only of the Empress, but of the Emperorhimself, and she was selected as the first concubine or kuei fei, andfrom that time until the death of the Empress the two women were thestaunchest of friends. 

The new favourite had been a healthy and vigorous girl, with plenty ofoutdoor life in childhood, and it was not long before she became thehappy mother of Hsien Feng's only son. She was thenceforward known asthe Empress-mother. In a short time she was raised to the position ofwife, and given the title of Western Empress, as the other was known asthe Eastern, from which time the two women were equal in rank, and, inthe eyes of the world, equal in power. 

The first Empress was a pampered daughter of wealth, neither vigorousof body nor strong of mind, caring nothing for political power if onlyshe might have ease and comfort, and there is nothing that exhibits theEmpress Dowager's real greatness more convincingly than the fact thatshe was able to live for thirty years the more fortunate mother of hercountry's ruler, and, in power, the mistress of her superior, withoutarousing the latter's envy, jealousy, anger, or enmity. Let any womanwho reads this imagine, if she can, herself placed in the position ofeither of these ladies without being inclined to despise the lessfortunate, ease-loving Empress if she be the dowager, or hating themore powerful dowager if she be the Empress. Such a state of affairs asthese two women lived in for more than a quarter of a century is almostif not entirely unique in history. 

Perhaps the incident which made most impression upon her was one whichhappened in 1860 and is recorded in history as the Arrow War. A fewyears before a number of Chinese, who owned a boat called the Arrow, had it registered in Hongkong and hence were allowed to sail under theBritish flag. There is no question I think but that these Chinese werecommitting acts of piracy, and as this was one of the causes ofdisturbance on that southern coast for centuries past, the viceroydecided to rid the country of this pest. Nine days after the time forwhich the boat had been registered, but while it continued unlawfullyto float the British colours, the viceroy seized the boat, imprisonedall her crew, and dragged down the British flag. This was an insultwhich Great Britain could not or would not brook and so the viceroy wasordered to release the prisoners, all of whom were Chinese subjects, onpenalty of being blown up in his own yamen if he refused. 

Frightened at the threat, and remembering the result of the former war, the viceroy sent the prisoners to the consulate in chains withoutproper apologies for his insult to the flag. This angered the consuland he returned them to the viceroy, who promptly cut off their headswithout so much as the semblance of a trial, and Britain, anxious, asshe was, to have every door of the Chinese empire opened to foreigntrade, found in this another pretext for war. We do not pretend toargue that this was not the best thing for China and for the world, butit can only be considered so from the bitter medicine, and corporalpunishment point of view, neither of which are agreeable to either thepatient or the pupil. 

Britain went to war. The viceroy was taken a prisoner to India, whencehe never returned. As though ashamed to enter upon a second unprovokedand unjust war alone, she invited France, Russia, and America to joinher. France was quite ready to do so in the hope of strengthening herposition in Indo-China, and with nothing more than the murder of amissionary in Kuangsi as a pretext she put a body of troops in thefield large enough to enable her to checkmate England, or humiliateChina as the exigencies of the occasion, and her own interests, mightdemand. America and Russia having no cause for war, no wrongs toredress, and no desire for territory, refused to join her in sendingtroops, but gave her such sympathy and support as would enable her tobring about a more satisfactory arrangement of China's foreignrelations--that is more satisfactory to themselves regardless of thewishes, though not perhaps the interests, of China. 

We know how the British and French marched upon Peking in 1860; how thesummer palace was left a heap of ruins as a punishment for the murderof a company of men under a flag of truce; and how the Emperor HsienFeng, with his wife, and the mother of his only son, our EmpressDowager, were compelled to flee for the first time before a foreigninvader. Their refuge was Jehol, a fortified town, in a wild and ruggedmountain pass, on the borders of China and Tartary, a hundred milesnortheast of Peking. At this place the Emperor died, whether ofdisease, chagrin, or of a broken heart--or of all combined, it isimpossible to say, and the Empress-mother was left AN EXILE AND AWIDOW, with the capital and the throne for the first time at the mercyof the Western barbarian. 

This was the beginning of two important phases of the Empress Dowager'slife--her affliction and her power, and her greatness is exhibited aswell by the way in which she bore the one as by the way in which shewielded the other. In most cases a woman would have been so overcome bysorrow at the loss of her husband, as to have forgotten the affairs ofstate, or to have placed them for the time in the hands of others. Notso with this great woman. Prince Kung the brother of Hsien Feng, hadbeen left in Peking to arrange a treaty with the Europeans, which hesucceeded in doing to the satisfaction of both the Chinese and theforeigners. 

On the death of the Emperor, a regency was organized by two of theprinces, which did not include Prince Kung, and disregarded both of thedowagers, and it seemed as though Prince Kung was doomed. Hisfather-in-law, however, the old statesman who had signed the treaties, urged him to be the first to get the ear of the two women on theirreturn to the capital. This he did, and as it seemed evident that theregency and the council had been organized for the express purpose oftyrannizing over the Empresses and the child, they were at oncearrested, the leader beheaded, and the others condemned to exile or tosuicide. The child had been placed upon the throne as "good-luck, " butnow a new regency was formed, consisting of the two dowagers, withPrince Kung as joint regent, and the title of the reign was changed toTung Chih or "joint government. " Thus ended the Empress Dowager's yearsof training. 

III

The Empress Dowager--As a Ruler

That a Manchu woman who had had such narrow opportunities of obtaininga knowledge of things as they really are, in distinction from thetissue of shams which constitute the warp and the woof of an OrientalPalace, should have been able to hold her own in every situation, andnever be crushed by the opposing forces about her, is a phenomenon initself only to be explained by due recognition of the influence ofindividual qualities in a ruler even in the semi-absolutism ofChina. --Arthur H. Smith in "China in Convulsion. "

III

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A RULER

In considering the policy pursued by the Empress-mother after heraccession to the regency, one cannot but feel that she was fully awareof the fact that she had been the wife of an emperor, and was themother of the heir, of a decaying house. Of the 218 years that herdynasty had been in power, 120 had been occupied by the reigns of twoemperors, and only seven monarchs had sat upon the throne, a smallernumber than ever ruled during the same period in all Chinese history. These two Emperors, Kang Hsi and Chien Lung, the second and fourth, hadeach reigned for sixty years, the most brilliant period of the "GreatPure Dynasty, " unless we except the last six years of the EmpressDowager's regency. The other ninety-eight years saw five rulers riseand pass away, each one becoming weaker than his predecessor both incharacter and in physique, until with the death of her son, Tung Chih, the dynasty was left without a direct heir. 

The decay of the imperial house, the encroachments of the foreigner, and the opposition of the native Chinese to the rule of the Manchus, awoke the Empress Dowager to a realization of the fact that a strongerhand than that of her husband must be at the helm if the dynasty of herpeople were to be preserved. "It may be said with emphasis, " saysColonel Denby, who was for thirteen years minister to China, "that theEmpress Dowager has been the first of her race to apprehend the problemof the relation of China to the outer world, and to make use of thisrelation to strengthen her dynasty and to promote material progress. "She was fortunate in having Prince Kung associated with her in theregency, a man tall, handsome and dignified, and the greatest statesmanthat has come from the royal house since the time of Chien Lung. 

Here appears one of the chief characteristics of the Empress Dowager asa ruler--her ability to choose the greatest statesmen, the wisestadvisers, the safest leaders, and the best guides, from the great massof Chinese officials, whether progressive or conservative. Prince Kungwas for forty years the leading figure of the Chinese capital outsideof the Forbidden City. He appeared first, at the age of twenty-six, asa member of the commission that tried the minister who failed to makegood his promise to induce Lord Elgin and his men-of-war to withdrawfrom Tientsin in 1858. The following year he was made a member of theColonial Board that controlled the affairs of the "outer Barbarians, "and a year later was left in Peking, when the court fled, to arrange atreaty of peace with the victorious British and French after they hadtaken the capital. "In these trying circumstances, " says ProfessorGiles, "the tact and resource of Prince Kung won the admiration of hisopponents, " and when the Foreign Office was formed in 1861, it beganwith the Prince as its first president, a position which he continuedto hold for many years. 

It was he, as we have seen, who succeeded in outwitting andoverthrowing the self-constituted regency on the death of his brotherHsien Feng, and, with the Empress Dowager, seated her infant son uponthe throne, with the two Empresses and himself as joint regents. Thiscondition continued for some years, with the senior Empress exercisingno authority, and Prince Kung continually growing in power. Thearrangement seemed satisfactory to all but one--the Empress-mother. Toher it appeared as though he were fast becoming the government, and sheand the Empress were as rapidly receding into the background, while inreality the design had been to make him "joint regent" with them. Inall the receptions of the officials by the court, Prince Kung alonecould see them face to face, while the ladies were compelled to remainbehind a screen, listening to the deliberations but without taking anypart therein, other than by such suggestions as they might make. 

Being the visible head of the government, and the only avenue topositions of preferment, he would naturally be flattered by the Chineseofficials. This led him to assume an air of importance whichconsciously or unconsciously he carried into the presence of theirMajesties, and one morning he awoke to find himself stripped of all hisrank and power, and confined and guarded a prisoner in his palace, by ajoint decree from the two Empresses accusing him of "lack of respectfor their Majesties. " The deposed Prince at once begged theirforgiveness, whereupon all his honours were restored with theiraccompanying dignities, but none of his former power as joint regent, and thus the first obstacle to her reestablishment of the dynasty waseliminated by the Empress-mother. To show Prince Kung, however, thatthey bore him no ill will, the Empresses adopted his daughter as theirown, raising her to the rank of an imperial princess, and though thePrince has long since passed away his daughter still lives, and next tothe Empress Dowager has been the leading figure in court circles duringthe past ten years' association with the foreigners. 

During her son's minority, after the dismissal of Prince Kung as jointregent, the Empress-mother year by year took a more active part in theaffairs of state, while the Empress as gradually sank into thebackground. She was far-sighted. Having but one son, and knowing theuncertainty of life, she originated a plan to secure the succession toher family. To this end she arranged for the marriage of her youngersister to her husband's younger brother commonly known as the SeventhPrince, in the hope that from this union there might come a son whowould be a worthy occupant of the dragon throne in case her own sondied without issue. She felt that the country needed a great centralfigure capable of inspiring confidence and banishing uncertainty, astrong, well-balanced, broad-minded, self-abnegating chief executive, and she proposed to furnish one. Whether she would succeed or not mustbe left to the future to reveal, but the one great task set by destinyfor her to accomplish was to prepare the mind of a worthy successor tomeet openly and intelligently the problems which had been too vast, toonew and too complicated for her predecessors, if not for herself, tosolve. 

When her son was seventeen years old he was married to Alute, a youngManchu lady of one of the best families in Peking and was nominallygiven the reins of power, though as a matter of fact the supremecontrol of affairs was still in the hands of his more powerful mother. The ministers of the European countries, England, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, now resident at Peking, thought this agood time for bringing up the matter of an audience with the new ruler, and after a long discussion with Prince Kung and the Empress-mother, the matter was arranged without the ceremony of prostration which allprevious rulers had demanded. 

The married life of this young couple was a short one. Three yearsafter their wedding ceremonies the young monarch contracted smallpoxand died without issue, and was followed shortly afterwards by hisyoung wife who heeded literally the instruction of one of their femaleteachers in her duty to her husband to

 Share his joy as well as sorrow, riches, poverty or guilt, And in death be buried with him, as in life you shared his guilt. 

That her nearest relatives did not believe, as has often beensuggested, that there was any "foul play" in regard to her death, isevident from the fact that her father continued to hold office untilthe time of the Boxer uprising, at which time he followed the fleeingcourt as far as Paotingfu, where having heard that the capital was inthe hands of the hated foreigners, he sent word back to his family thathe would neither eat the foreigners' bread nor drink their water, butwould prefer to die by his own hand. When his family received thismessage they commanded their servants to dig a great pit in their owncourt in which they all lay and ordered the coolies to bury them. Thisthey at first refused to do, but they were finally prevailed upon, andthus perished all the male members of her father's household except onechild that was rescued and carried away by a faithful nurse. 

When Tung Chih died there was a formidable party in the palace opposedto the two dowagers, anxious to oust them and their party and placeupon the throne a dissolute son of Prince Kung. But it would require amaster mind from the outside to learn of the death of her son andselect and proclaim a successor quicker than the Empress Dowagerherself could do so from the inside. She first sent a secret messengerto Li Hung-chang whom she had appointed viceroy of the metropolitanprovince at Tientsin eighty miles away, informing him of the illness ofher son and urging him to come to Peking with his troops post-haste andbe ready to prevent any disturbance in case of his death and theannouncement of a successor. 

When Li Hung-chang received her orders, he began at once to put theminto execution. Taking with him four thousand of his most reliableAnhui men, all well-armed horse, foot and artillery, he made a secretforced march to Peking. The distance of eighty miles was covered inthirty-six hours and he planned to arrive at midnight. Exactly on thehour Li and his picked guard were admitted, and in dead silence theymarched into the Forbidden City. Every man had in his mouth a woodenbit to prevent talking, while the metal trappings of the horses weremuffled to deaden all sound. When they arrived at the forbiddenprecincts, the Manchu Bannermen on guard at the various city gates werereplaced by Li's Anhui braves, and as the Empress Dowager had senteunuchs to point out the palace troops which were doubtful or that hadopenly declared for the conspirators, these were at once disarmed, bound and sent to prison. The artillery were ordered to guard the gatesof the Forbidden City, the cavalry to patrol the grounds, and thefoot-soldiers to pick up any stray conspirators that could be found. Astrong detachment was stationed so as to surround the Empress Dowagerand the child whom she had selected as a successor to her son, and whenthe morning sun rose bright and clear over the Forbidden City thesurprise of the conspirators who had slept the night away was complete. Of the disaffected that remained, some were put in prison and otherssent into perpetual exile to the Amoor beyond their native borders, andwhen the Empress Dowager announced the death of her son, she proclaimedthe son of her sister, Kuang Hsu, as his successor, with herself andthe Empress as regents during his minority. When everything wassettled, Li folded his tent like the Arab, and stole away as silentlyas he had come. 

The wisdom and greatness of the Empress Dowager were thus manifested inbinding to the throne the greatest men not only in the capital but inthe provinces. Li Hung-chang had won his title to greatness during theTai-ping rebellion, for his part in the final extinction of which hewas ennobled as an Earl. From this time onward she placed him in thehighest positions of honour and power within sufficient proximity tothe capital to have his services within easy reach. For twenty-fouryears he was kept as viceroy of the metropolitan province of Chihli, with the largest and best drilled army at his command that China hadever had, and yet during all this time he realized that he was watchedwith the eyes of an eagle lest he manifest any signs of rebellion, while his nephew was kept in the capital as a hostage for his goodconduct. Once and again when he had reached the zenith of his power, orhad been feted by foreign potentates enough to turn the head of abronze Buddha, his yellow jacket and peacock feather were kindly butfirmly removed to remind him that there was a power in Peking on whomhe was dependent. 

Li Hung-chang's greatness made him many enemies. Those whom hedefeated, those whom he would not or could not help, those whom hepunished or put out of office, and those whose enmity was the result ofjealousy. When the war with Japan closed and the Chinese governmentsent Chang Yin-huan to negotiate a treaty of peace, the Japaneserefused to accept him, nor were they willing to take up the matteruntil "Li Hung-chang was appointed envoy, chiefly because of his greatinfluence over the government, and the respect in which he was held bythe people. " We all know how he went, how he was shot in the face by aJapanese fanatic, the ball lodging under the left eye, where itremained a memento which he carried to the grave. We all know how herecovered from the wound, and how because of his sufferings he was ableto negotiate a better treaty than he could otherwise have done. Then hereturned home, and only "the friendship of the Empress and his ownpersonal sufferings saved his life, " says Colonel Denby, for "the newtreaty was urgently denounced in China" by carping critics who wouldnot have been recognized as envoys by their Japanese enemies. 

In 1896 he was appointed to attend the coronation of the Czar atMoscow, and thence continued his trip around the world. Never beforenor since has a Chinese statesman or even a prince been feted as he wasin every country through which he passed. When he was about to start, at his request I had a round fan painted for him, with a map of theEastern hemisphere on one side and the Western on the other, on whichall the steamship lines and railroads over which he was to travel wereclearly marked, with all the ports and cities at which he expected tostop. He was photographed with Gladstone, and hailed as the "Bismarckof the East, " but when he returned to Peking, for no reason butjealousy, "he was treated as an extinct volcano. " The Empress Dowagerinvited him to the Summer Palace where he was shown about the place bythe eunuchs, treated to tea and pipes, and led into pavilions whereonly Her Majesty was allowed to enter, and then denounced to the Boardof Punishments who were against him to a man. And now this GrandSecretary whom kings and courts had honoured, whom emperors andpresidents had feted, and our own government had spent thirty thousanddollars in entertaining, was once more stripped of his yellow jacketand peacock feather, and fined the half of a year's salary as a memberof the Foreign Office, which was the amusing sum of forty-five taels orabout thirty-five dollars gold, and it was said in Peking at the timethat only the intercession of the Empress Dowager saved him fromimprisonment or further disgrace. 

During the whole regency of the Empress Dowager only two men haveoccupied the position of President of the Grand Council--Prince Kungand Prince Ching. While the former was degraded many times and had hishonours all taken from him, the latter "has kept himself on top of arolling log for thirty years" without losing any of the honours whichwere originally conferred upon him. The same is true of ChangChih-tung, Liu Kun-yi and Wang Wen-shao, three great viceroys and GrandSecretaries whom the Empress Dowager has never allowed to be without animportant office, but whom she has never degraded. Need we ask thereason why? The answer is not far to seek. They were the most eminentprogressive officials she had in her empire, but none of them weregreat enough to be a menace to her dynasty, and hence need not bereminded that there was a power above them which by a stroke of her pencould transfer them from stars in the official firmament to dandelionsin the grass. Not so with Yuan Shih-kai--but we will speak of him inanother chapter. 

All the great officials thus far mentioned have belonged to theprogressive rather than the conservative party, all of them thefavourites of the Empress Dowager, placed in positions of influence andkept in office by her, all of them working for progress and reform, andyet she has been constantly spoken of by European writers as areactionary. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as we shall see. Nevertheless she kept some of the great conservative officials inoffice either as viceroys or Grand Secretaries that she might be ableto hear both sides of all important questions. 

One of these conservatives was Jung Lu, the father-in-law of thepresent Regent. When she placed Yuan Shih-kai in charge of the army ofnorth China, she also appointed Jung Lu as Governor-General of themetropolitan province of Chihli. One was a progressive, the other aconservative. Neither could make any important move without theknowledge and consent of the other. Whether the Empress Dowager foresawthe danger that was likely to arise, we do not know, but she providedagainst it. We refer to the occasion when in 1898 the Emperor orderedYuan Shih-kai to bring his troops to Peking, guard the Empress Dowagera prisoner in the Summer Palace, and protect him in his efforts atreform. The story belongs in another chapter, but we refer to it hereto show how the Empress Dowager played one official against another, and one party against another, to prevent any such calamity orsurprise. It would have been impossible for Yuan Shih-kai to have takenhis troops to Peking for any purpose without first informing hissuperior officer Jung Lu unless he put him to death, much less to havegone on such a mission as that of imprisoning as important a personageas the Empress Dowager, to whom they were both indebted for theiroffice. 

Another instance of the way in which the Empress Dowager played oneparty against another was the appointment of Prince Tuan as a member ofthe Foreign Office. After his son had been selected as theheir-apparent it seemed to the Empress Dowager that for his owneducation and development he should be made to come in contact with theforeigners. Most of the foreigners considered the appointmentobjectionable on account of the "Prince's anti-foreign tendencies. Butto my mind, " says Sir Robert Hart, "it was a good one; the EmpressDowager had probably said to the Prince, 'You and your party pull oneway, Prince Ching and his another--what am I to do between you? You, however, are the father of the future Emperor, and have your son'sinterests to take care of; you are also head of the Boxers and chief ofthe Peking Field Force, and ought therefore to know what can and whatcannot be done. I therefore appoint you to the yamen; do what youconsider most expedient, and take care that the throne of yourancestors descends untarnished to your son, and their empireundiminished! yours is the power, --yours the responsibility--and yoursthe chief interests!' I can imagine the Empress Dowager taking thisline with the Prince, and, inasmuch as various ministers who had beenvery anti-foreign before entering the yamen had turned round andbehaved very sensibly afterwards, I felt sure that responsibility andactual personal dealings with foreigners would be a good experience anda useful education for this Prince, and that he would eventually be oneof the sturdiest supporters of progress and good relations. "

IV

The Empress Dowager--As a Reactionist

The most interesting personage in China during the past thirty yearshas been and still is without doubt the lady whom we style the EmpressDowager. The character of the Empress's rule can only be judged by whatit was during the regency, when she was at the head of every movementthat partook of the character of reform. Foreign diplomacy has failed, for want of a definite centre of volition and sensation to act upon. Ithad no fulcrum for its lever. Hence only force has ever succeeded inChina. With a woman like the Empress might it not be possible really totransact business?--Blackwood's Magazine. 

IV

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A REACTIONIST

It was between November 1, 1897, and April 16, 1898, that Germany, Russia, France and England wrested from the weak hands of the EmperorKuang Hsu the four best ports in the Chinese empire, leaving Chinawithout a place to rendezvous a fleet. The whole empire was aroused toindignation, and even in our Christian schools, every essay, oration, dialogue or debate was a discussion of some phase of the subject, "Howto reform and strengthen China. " The students all thought, the youngreformers all thought, and the foreigners all thought that Kuang Hsuhad struck the right track. The great Chinese officials, however, werein doubt, and it was because of their doubt--progressives as well asconservatives--that the Empress Dowager was again called to the throne. 

Now may I request the enemies of the Empress Dowager to ask themselveswhat they would have done if they had been placed at the head of theirown government when it was thus being filched from them? You say shewas anti-foreign--would you have been very much in love with Germany, Russia, France and England under those circumstances? That she actedunwisely in placing herself in the hands of the conservatives andallying herself with the superstitious Boxers, we must all franklyadmit. But what would you have done? Might you not--I do not say youwould with your intelligence--but might you not have been induced tohave clutched at as great a log as the patriotic Boxers seemed topresent, if you had been as near drowning as she was?

"It is generally supposed, " says one of her critics, "that Kang Yu-weisuggested to the Emperor, that if he would render his own positionsecure, he must retire the Empress Dowager, and decapitate Jung Lu. " Ifthat be true, and I think it very reasonable, the condition must havebeen desperate, when the reformers had to begin killing the greatest oftheir opponents, and imprisoning those who had given them their power, though neither of these at that time had raised a hand against them. Have you noticed how ready we are to forgive those on our side fordoing that for which we would bitterly condemn our opponents? The samepeople who condemn the Empress Dowager for beheading the six youngreformers stand ready to forgive Kuang Hsu for ordering thedecapitation of Jung Lu, and the imprisonment of his foster-mother. 

There were two powerful factions in Peking, the progressives, headed byPrince Ching; and the conservatives, headed by Jung Lu. Now the EmpressDowager may have reasoned thus: "The progressives and reformers havehad their day. They have tried their plans and they have failed. Theonly result they have secured is peace--but peace always at the expenseof territory. Now I propose to try another plan. I will part with nomore ports, and I will resist to the death every encroachment. " Shetherefore took up Li Ping-heng, who had been deposed from thegovernorship of Shantung at the time of the murder of the Germanmissionaries, and appointed him Generalissimo of the forces of theYangtse, where he no doubt promised to resist to the last allencroachments of the foreigners in that part of the empire while JungLu was retained in Peking as head of all the forces of the province ofChihli and the Northern Squadron. She then appointed Kang Yi, anotherconservative, equally as anti-foreign as Li Ping-heng, to inspect thefortifications and garrisons of the empire, and to raise an immense sumof money for the depleted treasury. In his visits to the southernprovinces, Kang Yi at this time raised not less than two million taels, which was no doubt spent in the purchase of guns and ammunition andother preparations for war. Yu Hsien, another equally conservativeManchu, she appointed Governor of Shantung to succeed Li Ping-heng, andit is to him the whole Boxer uprising is due. Moreover when he, at therepeated requests of the foreigners, was removed from Shantung, shereceived him in audience at Peking, conferred upon him additionalhonours and appointed him Governor of the adjoining province of Shansi, where, and under whose jurisdiction, almost all the massacres werecommitted. Indeed Yu Hsien may be considered the whole Boxer movement, for this seems to have been his plan for getting rid of the foreigners. 

But while thus allying herself with the conservatives, the EmpressDowager did not cut herself off from the progressives. Li Hung-changwas appointed Viceroy of Kuangtung, Yuan Shih-kai Governor of Shantungand Tuan Fang of Shensi while Liu Kun-yi, Chang Chih-tung, and KueiChun were kept at their posts, so that she had all the greatest men ofboth parties once more in her service. Then she began sending outedicts, retracting those issued by Kuang Hsu, and what could be moreconsiderate of the feelings of the Emperor, or more diplomatic as astate paper than the following, issued in the name of Kuang Hsu, September 26, 1898. 

"Our real desire was to make away with superfluous posts for the sakeof economy: whereas, on the contrary, we find rumours flying abroadthat we intended to change wholesale the customs of the empire, and, inconsequence, innumerable impossible suggestions of reform have beenpresented to us. If we allowed this to go on, none of us would know towhat pass matters would come. Hence, unless we hasten to put ourpresent wishes clearly before all, we greatly fear that the petty yamenofficials and their underlings will put their own construction on whatcommands have gone before, and create a ferment in the midst of theusual calm of the people. This will indeed be contrary to our desire, and put our reforms for strengthening and enriching our empire tonaught. 

"We therefore hereby command that the Supervisorate of Instruction andother five minor Courts and Boards, which were recently abolished by usand their duties amalgamated with other Boards for the sake of economy, etc. , be forthwith restored to their original state and duties, becausewe have learned that the process of amalgamation contains manydifficulties and will require too much labour. We think, therefore, itis best that these offices be not abolished at all, there being noactual necessity for doing this. As for the provincial bureaus andofficial posts ordered to be abolished, the work in this connection cango on as usual, and the viceroys and governors are exhorted to workearnestly and diligently in the above duty. Again as to the edictordering the establishment of an official newspaper, the ChineseProgress, and the privilege granted to all scholars and commoners tomemorialize us on reforms, etc. , this was issued in order that a waymight be opened by which we could come into touch with our subjects, high and low. But as we have also given extra liberty to our censorsand high officers to report to us on all matters pertaining to thepeople and their government, any reforms necessary, suggested by theseofficers, will be attended to at once by us. Hence we consider that ourformer edict allowing all persons to report to us is, for obviousreasons, superfluous, with the present legitimate machinery at hand. And we now command that the privilege be withdrawn, and only the properofficers be permitted to report to us as to what is going on in ourempire. As for the newspaper Chinese Progress, it is really of no useto the government, while, on the other hand, it will excite the massesto evil; hence we command the said paper to be suppressed. 

"With regard to the proposed Peking University and the middle schoolsin the provincial capitals, they may go on as usual, as they are anursery for the perfection of true ability and talents. But withreference to the lower schools in the sub-prefectures and districtsthere need be no compulsion, full liberty being given to the peoplethereof to do what they please in this connection. As for theunofficial Buddhist, Taoist, and memorial temples which were ordered tobe turned into district schools, etc. , so long as these institutionshave not broken the laws by any improper conduct of the inmates, or thedeities worshipped in them are not of the seditious kind, they arehereby excused from the edict above noted. At the present moment, whenthe country is undergoing a crisis of danger and difficulty, we must becareful of what may be done, or what may not, and select only suchmeasures as may be really of benefit to the empire. "

I submit the above edict to the reader requesting him to study it, and, if necessary to its understanding, to copy it, and see if the EmpressDowager has not preserved the best there is in it, viz. , "the PekingUniversity, and the middle schools in the provincial capitals, " "fullliberty being given to the people with reference to the lower schoolsin the sub-prefectures and districts to do as they please. " How muchoil would be cast on how many troubled waters can only be realized bythe unfortunate priests and dismissed officials and people upon whom"there need be no compulsion"!

Three days after the foregoing, on September 29th, she issued anotheredict purporting to come from the Emperor, ordering the punishment ofKang Yu-wei and others of his confreres. Now, if it is true that KangYu-wei advised the Emperor to behead Jung Lu and imprison the EmpressDowager, for no cause whatsoever, how would you have been inclined totreat him supposing you had been in her place? The decree says:

"All know that we try to rule this empire by our filial piety towardsthe Empress Dowager; but Kang Yu-wei's doctrines have always beenopposed to the ancient Confucian tenets. Owing, however, to the abilityshown by the said Kang Yu-wei in modern and practical matters, wesought to take advantage of it by appointing him a secretary of theForeign Office, and subsequently ordered him to Shanghai to direct themanagement of the official newspaper there. Instead of this, however, he dared to remain in Peking pursuing his nefarious designs against thedynasty, and had it not been for the protection given by the spirits ofour ancestors he certainly would have succeeded. Kang Yu-wei istherefore the arch conspirator, and his chief assistant is LiangChi-tsao, M. A. , and they are both to be immediately arrested andpunished for the crime of rebellion. The other principal conspirators, namely, the Censor Yang Shen-hsin, Kang Kuang-jen--the brother of KangYu-wei--and the four secretaries of the Tsungli Yamen, Tan Sze-tung, Liu Hsin, Yang Jui, and Liu Kuang-ti, we immediately ordered to bearrested and imprisoned by the Board of Punishments: but fearing thatif any delay ensued in sentencing them they would endeavour to entanglea number of others, we accordingly commanded yesterday (September 28th)their immediate execution, so as to close the matter entirely andprevent further troubles. "

This with the execution of one or two other officials is the greatestcrime that can be laid at the door of the Empress Dowager--great enoughin all conscience--yet not to be compared to those of "good Queen Bess. "

We now come to what is said to have been a secret edict issued by theEmpress Dowager to her viceroys, governors, Tartar generals and thecommanders-in-chief of the provinces, dated November 21, 1899. And thisI regard as one of the greatest and most daring things that great womanever undertook. 

After the Empress Dowager had taken the throne, Italy, following theexample set by the other powers, demanded the cession of Sanmen Bay inthe province of Chekiang. But she found a different ruler on thethrone, and to her great surprise, as well as that of every one else, China returned a stubborn refusal. Moreover, she began to prepare toresist the demand, and it soon became evident that to obtain it, Italymust go to war. This she had not the stomach for and so the demand waswithdrawn. This explanation will go far towards helping us tounderstand the following secret edict of November 21st, to which I havealready referred. 

"Our empire is now labouring under great difficulties which arebecoming daily more and more serious. The various Powers cast upon uslooks of tiger-like voracity, hustling each other in their endeavoursto be the first to seize upon our innermost territories. They thinkthat China, having neither money nor troops, would never venture to goto war with them. They fail to understand, however, that there arecertain things that this empire can never consent to, and that, ifhardly pressed upon, we have no alternative but to rely upon thejustice of our cause, the knowledge of which in our breasts strengthensour resolves and steels us to present a united front against ouraggressors. No one can guarantee, under such circumstances, who will bethe victor and who the vanquished in the end. But there is an evilhabit which has become almost a custom among our viceroys and governorswhich, however, must be eradicated at all costs. For instance, wheneverthese high officials have had on their hands cases of internationaldispute, all their actions seem to be guided by the belief in theirbreasts that such cases would eventually be 'amicably arranged. ' Thesewords seem never to be out of their thoughts: hence, when matters docome to a crisis, they, of course, find themselves utterly unpreparedto resist any hostile aggressions on the part of the foreigner. We, indeed, consider this the most serious failure in the duty which thehighest provincial authorities owe to the throne, and we now find itincumbent upon ourselves to censure such conduct in the most severeterms. 

"It is our special command, therefore, that should any high officialfind himself so hard pressed by circumstances that nothing short of warwould settle matters, he is expected to set himself resolutely to workout his duty to this end. Or, perhaps, it would be that war has alreadyactually been declared; under such circumstances there is no possiblechance of the imperial government consenting to an immediate conferencefor the restoration of peace. It behooves, therefore, that ourviceroys, governors, and commanders-in-chief throughout the wholeempire unite forces and act together without distinction orparticularizing of jurisdictions so as to present a combined front tothe enemy, exhorting and encouraging their officers and soldiers inperson to fight for the preservation of their homes and native soilfrom the encroaching footsteps of the foreign aggressor. Never shouldthe word 'Peace' fall from the mouths of our high officials, nor shouldthey even allow it to rest for a moment within their breasts. With sucha country as ours, with her vast area, stretching out several tens ofthousands of li, her immense natural resources, and her hundreds ofmillions of inhabitants, if only each and all of you would prove hisloyalty to his Emperor and love of country, what, indeed, is there tofear from any invader? Let no one think of making peace, but let eachstrive to preserve from destruction and spoliation his ancestral homeand graves from the ruthless hands of the invader. "

One of her critics, referring to the last sentence of the above edict, asks: "Do not these words throw down the gauntlet?" And we answer, yes. Did not the thirteen colonies throw down the gauntlet to England forless cause? Did not Japan throw down the gauntlet to Russia for lesscause than the Empress Dowager had for desiring that "each strive TOPRESERVE FROM DESTRUCTION AND SPOLIATION HIS ANCESTRAL HOME ANDGRAVES"? It was not for conquest but for self-preservation the EmpressDowager was ready to go to war; not for glory but for home; not againsta taunting neighbour, but against a "ruthless invader. " Her unwisdomdid not consist in her being ready to go to war, but in allowingherself to be allied to, and depend upon, the superstitious rabble ofBoxers, and to believe that her "hundreds of millions" of undisciplined"inhabitants" could withstand the thousands or tens of thousands ofwell-drilled, well-led, intelligent soldiers from the West. 

That she was ready to go to war rather than weakly yield to the demandsfor territory from the European powers is further evidenced by thefollowing edict issued by the Tsungli Yamen to the viceroys andgovernors:

"This yamen has received the special commands of her Imperial Majestythe Empress Dowager, and his Imperial Majesty the Emperor, to grant youfull power and liberty to resist by force of arms all aggressions uponyour several jurisdictions, proclaiming a state of war, if necessary, without first asking instructions from Peking; for this loss of timemay be fatal to your security, and enable the enemy to make good hisfooting against your forces. "

In order to strengthen her position she appointed two commissionerswhom she sent to Japan in the hope of forming a secret defensivealliance with that nation against the White Peril from the West. Foronce, however, she made a mistake in the selection of her men, forthese commissioners, unlike what we usually find the yellow man, revealed too much of the important mission on which they were bent, andwere recalled in disgrace, and the treaty came to naught. 

V

The Empress Dowager--As a Reformer

Taught by the failure of a reaction on which she had staked her lifeand her throne, the Dowager has become a convert to the policy ofprogress. She has, in fact, outstripped her nephew. "Long may shelive!" "Late may she rule us!" During her lifetime she may be countedon to carry forward the cause she has so ardently espoused. She graspsthe reins with a firm hand; and her courage is such that she does nothesitate to drive the chariot of state over many a new and untriedroad. She knows she can rely on the support of her viceroys--men of herown appointment. She knows too that the spirit of reform is abroad inthe land, and that the heart of the people is with her. --W. A. P. Martin in "The Awakening of China. "

V

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS A REFORMER

In June, 1902, soon after the return of the court from Hsian to Peking, a company of ladies from the various legations in Peking who hadreceived invitations to an audience and a banquet with the EmpressDowager were asked to meet at one of the legations for the purpose ofconsultation. The meeting was unusual. Many of those who were presenthad no higher motive than the ordinary tourist who goes sightseeing. With the exception of one or two who had been in once before, none ofthese ladies had ever been present at an audience. Several of themhowever had passed through the Boxer siege of 1900, had witnessed theguns from the wall of the Imperial City pouring shot and shell into theBritish legation, where they were confined during those eight memorableweeks of June, July and August, and had come out with their heartsfilled with resentment. One of them had received a decoration from hergovernment for her bravery in standing beside her husband on thefortifications when buildings were crumbling and walls falling, and herhusband was buried by an exploding mine, and then vomited out unhurt bya second explosion. Among the number were several recent arrivals inPeking who had had none of these bitter experiences, but had heard muchof the Empress Dowager, and above all things else they were anxious tosee her whom they called the "She Dragon. "

The presiding officer had been longest in Peking, and as doyen of thesediplomatic ladies, she acted as chairman of the meeting. The firstquestion to be decided was the mode of conveyance to the "ForbiddenCity. " Without much discussion it was decided to use the sedan chair, as being the most dignified, and used only by Chinese ladies of rank. The chairman then called for an expression of opinion as to the methodof procedure in presentation to the throne. One suggested that theyhave no ceremony about it, but all go up to the throne together, for inthis way none would take precedence, but all would have an equalopportunity of satisfying their curiosity and scrutinizing this femaledragon ad libitum. Another said: "It will be broiling hot on that Juneday, and it will be better to keep at a safe distance from her, withplenty of guards to protect us, or we may be broiled in more sensesthan one. " The chairman looked worried at these suggestions, but stillkept her dignity and her equilibrium. Then a mild voice suggested thatit was customary in all audiences for those presented to courtesy tothe one on the throne. "Courtesy!" broke in an indignant voice, "itwould be more appropriate for her to prostrate herself at our feet andbeg us to forgive her for trying to shoot us, than for us to courtesyto her. " It was finally decided, however, that the same formalities beobserved as were followed by the ministers when received at court. Igive these incidents to show the temper that prevailed among themembers of some of the legations at Peking at the time of this firstaudience. 

"When a few days later we followed the long line of richly-robedprincesses into the audience-hall, all this was changed. As we lookedat the Empress Dowager seated upon her throne on a raised dais, withthe Emperor to her left and members of the Grand Council kneelingbeside her, and these dignified, stately princesses courtesying untiltheir knees touched the floor, we forgot the resentful feelingexpressed in the meeting a few days before, and, awed by her majesticbearing and surroundings, we involuntarily gave the three courtesiesrequired from those entering the imperial presence. We could not butfeel that this stately woman who sat upon the throne was every inch anempress. In her hands rested the weal or woe of one-third of the humanrace. Her brilliant black eyes seemed to read our thoughts. Indeed sheprides herself upon the fact that at a glance she can read thecharacter of every one that appears before her. "

After the ladies had taken their position in order of their rank, thedoyen presented their good wishes to Her Majesty, which was replied toby a few gracious words from the throne. Each lady's name was thenannounced and as she was formally presented she ascended the dais, andas she courtesied, the Empress Dowager extended her hand which shetook, and then passed to the left to be introduced in a similar way tothe Emperor. 

It was thus she began her reforms in the customs of the court, which upto this time had kept her ever behind the screen, compelled to wieldthe sceptre from her place of concealment, equally shut out from theeyes of the world and blind to the needs of her people. Up to her timethe people and the nation were the slaves of age-old customs, butbefore the power of her personality rites and ceremonies became theservants of the people. In the words of the poet she seemed to feel that

 "Rules Are well; but never fear to break The scaffolding of other souls; It was not meant for thee to mount, Though it may serve thee. "

Without taking away from the Emperor the credit of introducing therailroad, the telegraph, the telephone, the new system of education, and many other reforms, we must still admit that it was thepersonality, power and statesmanship of the Empress Dowager thatbrought about the realization of his dreams. The movement towardsfemale education as described in another chapter must ever be placed tothe credit of this great woman. From the time she came from behind thescreen, and allowed her portrait to be painted, the freedom of womanwas assured. 

One day when calling at the American legation I was shown two largephotographs of Her Majesty. One some three feet square was to be sentto President Roosevelt, the other was a gift to Major Conger. Similarphotographs had been sent to all the ministers and rulers representedat Peking, and I said to myself: "The Empress Dowager is shrewd. Sheknows that false pictures of her have gone forth. She knows that thepainted portrait is not a good likeness, and so she proposes to havegenuine pictures in the possession of all civilized governments. " Thisshrewdness was not necessarily native on her part, but was engenderedby the arguments that had been used by those who induced her to be thefirst Chinese monarch to have her portrait painted by a foreign artist. 

A few years ago the Empress Dowager had a dream, which, like every actof hers, was greater than any of those of her brilliant nephew. Thisdream was to give a constitution to China. Of course, if this were doneit would have to be by the Manchus, as the government was theirs, andany radical changes that were made would have to be made by the peoplein power. The Empress Dowager, however, wanted the honour of this moveto reflect upon herself, and hoped to be able to bring it to asuccessful issue during her lifetime. 

There was strenuous opposition, and this most vigorous in the party inwhich she had placed herself when she dethroned Kuang Hsu. Theconservatives regarded this as the wildest venture that had yet beenmade, and were ready to use all their influence to prevent it;nevertheless the Empress Dowager called to her aid the greatest andmost progressive of the Manchus, the Viceroy Tuan Fang, and appointedhim head of a commission which she proposed to send on a tour of theworld to examine carefully the various forms of government, with thepurpose of advising her, on their return, as to the possibility ofgiving a constitution to China. 

A special train was provided to take the commission from Peking toTientsin. It was drawn up at the station just outside the gate in frontof the Emperor's palace. The commission had entered the car, and thenarrow hall or aisle along the side was crowded with those who had cometo see them off, when, BANG, there was an explosion, the side of thecar was blown out, several were injured, including slight wounds tosome of the members of the commission, and the man carrying the bombwas blown into an unrecognizable mass. For a few days the city was inan uproar. Guards were placed at all the gates, especially thoseleading to the palace, and every possible effort was made to identifythe nihilist. But as all efforts failed, and nothing further transpiredto indicate that he had accomplices, the commission separated anddeparting individually without display, reunited at Tientsin andstarted on their tour of inspection. 

This commission was splendidly entertained wherever it went, givenevery possible opportunity to examine the constitutions of thecountries through which it passed, and on its return to Peking thereport of the trip was published in one hundred and twenty volumes, themost important item of which was that a constitution, modelled afterthat of Japan, should be given to China at as early a date as possible. 

The leader of this expedition, His Excellency the Viceroy Tuan Fang, isone of the greatest, if not the greatest living Manchu statesman. LikeYuan Shih-kai, during the Boxer uprising, he protected all theforeigners within his domains. That he appreciates the work done byAmericans in the opening up of China is evidenced by a statement madein his address at the Waldorf Astoria, in February, 1906, in which hesaid:

"We take pleasure this evening in bearing testimony to the part takenby American missionaries in promoting the progress of the Chinesepeople. They have borne the light of Western civilization into everynook and corner of the empire. They have rendered inestimable serviceto China by the laborious task of translating into the Chinese languagereligious and scientific works of the West. They help us to bringhappiness and comfort to the poor and the suffering, by theestablishment of hospitals and schools. The awakening of China, whichnow seems to be at hand, may be traced in no small measure to theinfluence of the missionary. For this service you will find China notungrateful. "

Some may think that this was simply a sentiment expressed on thisparticular occasion because he happened to be surrounded by secretariesand others interested in this cause. That this is not the case isfurther indicated by the fact that since that time he has on twoseparate occasions attended the commencement exercises of the NankingUniversity, on one of which he addressed the students as follows:

"This is the second time I have attended the commencement exercises ofyour school. I appreciate the good order I find here. I rejoice at theevidences I see of your knowledge of the proprieties, the depth of yourlearning, and the character of the students of this institution. I amdeeply grateful to the president and faculty for the goodnessmanifested to these my people. I have seen evidences of it in everydetail. It is my hope that when these graduates go out into the world, they will remember the love of their teachers, and will practice thatvirtue in their dealing with others. The fundamental principle of allgreat teachers whether of the East or the West is love, and it remainsfor you, young gentlemen, to practice this virtue. Thus your knowledgewill be practical and your talents useful. "

I have given these quotations as evidences of the breadth of the manwhom the Empress Dowager selected as the head of this commission. It isnot generally known, however, that Duke Tse, another important memberof this commission, is married to a sister of the young EmpressYehonala, and consequently a niece of the Empress Dowager. Suchrelations existed between Her Majesty and the viceroy, as ruler andsubject, that it would be impossible for him to give her the intimateaccount of their trip that a relative could give. It would be equallyimpossible, with all her other duties, to wade through a report such asthey published after their return of one hundred and twenty volumes. But it would be a delight to call in this nephew-in-law, and have himsit or kneel, and may we not believe she allowed him to sit? and giveher a full and intimate account of the trip and the countries throughwhich they passed. She was anxious that this constitution should begiven to the people before she passed away. This, however, could notbe. Whether it will be adopted within the time allotted is a questionwhich the future alone can answer. 

The next great reform undertaken by the Empress Dowager was her crusadeagainst opium. The importance of this can only be estimated when weconsider the prevalence of the use of the drug throughout the empire. The Chinese tell us that thirty to forty per cent. Of the adultpopulation are addicted to the use of the drug. 

One day while walking along the street in Peking, I passed a gatewayfrom which there came an odour that was not only offensive butsickening. I went on a little distance further and entered one of thebest curio shops of the city, and going into the back room, I found theodour of the street emphasized tenfold, as one of the employees of thefirm had just finished his smoke. I left this shop and went to anotherwhere the proprietor had entirely ruined his business by his use of thedrug, and it was about this time that the Empress Dowager issued thefollowing edict:

"Since the first prohibition of opium, almost the whole of China hasbeen flooded with the poison. Smokers of opium have wasted their time, neglected their employment, ruined their constitutions, andimpoverished their households. For several decades therefore China haspresented a spectacle of increasing poverty and weakness. To merelymention the matter, arouses our indignation. The court has nowdetermined to make China powerful, and to this end we urge our peopleto reformation in this respect. 

"We, therefore, decree that within a limit of ten years this injuriousfilth shall be completely swept away. We further order the Council ofState to consider means of prohibition both of growing the poppy andsmoking the opium. "

The Council of State at once drew up regulations designed to carry outthis decree. They were among others:

That all opium-smokers be required to report and take out a license. 

Officials using the drug were divided into two classes. Young men mustbe cured of the habit within six months, while for old men no limit wasfixed. But both classes, while under treatment, must furnishsatisfactory substitutes, at their own expense, to attend to the dutiesof their office. 

All opium dens must be closed within six months, after which time noopium-pipes nor lamps may be either made or sold. Though shops for thesale of the drug may continue for ten years, the limit of the traffic. 

The government promises to provide medicine for the cure of the habit, and encourages the formation of anti-opium societies, but will notallow these societies to discuss other political matters. 

Next to China Great Britain is the party most affected by this movementtowards reform. When this edict was issued Great Britain was shippingannually fifty thousand chests of opium to the Chinese market, but atonce agreed that if China was sincere in her desire for reform, and cutoff her own domestic productions at the rate of ten per cent. Perannum, she would decrease her trade at a similar rate. It isunfortunate that the Empress Dowager should have died before thisreform had been carried to a successful culmination, but whatever maybe the result of the movement the fact and the credit of its initiationwill ever belong to her. 

Such are some of the special reform measures instituted by the EmpressDowager, but in addition to these she has seen to it that the Emperor'sefforts to establish a Board of Railroads, a Board of Mines, educational institutions on the plans of those of the West, should allbe carried out. She has not only done away with the old system ofexaminations, but has introduced a new scheme by which all those whohave graduated from American or European colleges may obtain Chinesedegrees and be entitled to hold office under the government, by passingsatisfactory examinations, not a small part of which is the diploma ordiplomas which they hold. Such an examination has already been held anda large number of Western graduates, most of them Christian, were giventhe Chu-jen or Han-lin degrees. 

VI

The Empress Dowager--As an Artist

There is no genre that the Chinese artist has not attempted. They havetreated in turn mythological, religious and historical subjects ofevery kind; they have painted scenes of daily familiar life, as well asthose inspired by poetry and romance; sketched still life, landscapesand portraits. Their highest achievements, perhaps, have been inlandscapes, which reveal a passionate love for nature, and show withhow delicate a charm, how sincere and lively a poetic feeling, theyhave interpreted its every aspect. They have excelled too at allperiods in the painting of animals and birds, especially of birds andflying insects in conjunction with flowers. --S. W. Bushell in "ChineseArt. "

VI

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER--AS AN ARTIST

One day the head eunuch from the palace of the Princess Shun called atour home to ask Mrs. Headland to go and see the Princess. While sittingin my study and looking at the Chinese paintings hanging on the wall, two of which were from the brush of Her Majesty, he remarked:

"You are fond of Chinese art?"

"I am indeed fond of it, " I answered. 

"I notice you have some pictures painted by the Old Buddha, " hecontinued, referring to the Empress Dowager by a name by which she ispopularly known in Peking. 

"Yes, I have seven pictures from her brush, " I answered. 

"Do you happen to have any from the brush of the Lady Miao, herpainting teacher?" he inquired. 

"I am sorry to say I have not, " I replied. "I have tried repeatedly tosecure one, but thus far have failed. I have inquired at all the beststores on Liu Li Chang, the great curio street, but they have none, andcannot tell me where I can find one. "

"No, you cannot get them in the stores; she does not paint for thetrade, " he explained. 

"I am sorry, " I continued, "for I should like very much to get one. Iam told she is a very good artist. "

"Oh, yes, she paints very well, " he went on in a careless way. "Shelives over near our palace. We have a good many of her paintings. Theyare very easily gotten. "

"It may be easy for you to get them, " I replied, "but it is no smalltask for me. "

"If you want some, " he volunteered, "I'll get some for you. "

"That would be very kind of you, " I answered, "but how would youundertake to get them?"

"Oh, I would just steal a few and bring them over to you. "

It is hardly necessary to assure my readers as I did him that I couldnot approve of this method of obtaining paintings from the Lady Miao'sbrush. However he must have told the Princess of my desire, for thenext time Mrs. Headland called at the palace the Princess entertainedher by showing her a number of paintings by the Lady Miao, togetherwith others from the brush of the Empress Dowager. 

"And these are really the work of Her Majesty?" said Mrs. Headland witha rising inflection. 

"Yes, indeed, " replied the Princess. "I watched her at work on them. They are genuine. "

It was some weeks thereafter that Mrs. Headland was again invited tocall and see the Princess, and to her surprise she was introduced tothe Lady Miao, with whom and the Princess she spent a very pleasantsocial hour or two. When she was about to leave, the Princess, who isthe youngest sister of the Empress Yehonala, brought out a picture of acock about to catch a beetle, which she said she had asked Lady Miao topaint, and which she begged Mrs. Headland to receive as a present fromthe artist and herself. 

During the conversation Mrs. Headland remarked that the Empress Dowagermust have begun her study of art many years ago. 

"Yes, " said Lady Miao. "We were both young when she began. Shortlyafter she was taken into the palace she began the study of books, andpartly as a diversion, but largely out of her love for art, she took upthe brush. She studied the old masters as they have been reproduced bywoodcuts in books, and from the paintings that have been preserved inthe palace collection, and soon she exhibited rare talent. I was then ayoung woman, my brothers were artists, my husband had passed away, andI was ordered to appear in the palace and work with her. "

"You are a Chinese, are you not, Lady Miao?"

"Yes, " she replied, "and as it has not been customary for Chineseladies to appear at court during the present dynasty, I was allowed tounbind my feet, comb my hair in the Manchu style, and wear the gowns ofher people. "

"And did you go into the palace every day?"

"When I was young I did. Ten Thousand Years"--another method ofspeaking of the Empress Dowager--"was very enthusiastic over her artwork in those days, and often we spent a large part of the day eitherwith our brushes, or studying the history of art, the examples in thebooks, or the works of the old masters in the gallery. One of herfavourite presents to her friends, as you probably know, is a picturefrom her own brush, decorated with the impress of her great jade seal, the date, and an appropriate poem by one of the members of the Collegeof Inscriptions. And no presents that she ever gives are prized morehighly by the recipients than these paintings. "

I had seen pictures painted by Her Majesty decorating the walls of thepalaces of several of the princes, as well as the homes of a number ofmy official friends. Some of them I thought very attractive, and theyseemed to be well done. They were highly prized by their owners, but Iwas anxious to know what the Lady Miao thought of her ability as anartist, and so I asked:

"Do you consider the Empress Dowager a good painter?"

"The Empress Dowager is a great woman, " she answered. "Of course, as anartist, she is an amateur rather than a professional. Had she devotedherself wholly to art, hers would have been one of the great namesamong our artists. She wields her brush with a power and precisionwhich only genius added to practice can give. She has a keenappreciation of art, and it is a pity that the cares of state might nothave been borne by others, leaving her free to develop her instinct forart. "

The Empress Dowager kept eighteen court painters, selected from amongthe best artists of the country, and appointed by herself, whose wholeduty it was to paint for her. They were divided into three groups, andeach group of six persons was required to be on duty ten days of eachmonth. As I was deeply interested in the study of Chinese art I becameintimately acquainted with most of the court painters and knew thecharacter of their work. The head of this group was Mr. Kuan. I calledon him one day, knowing that he was not well enough to be on duty inthe palace, and I found him hard at work. Like the small boy who toldhis mother that he was too sick to go to school but not sick enough togo to bed, so he assured me that his troubles were not such as toprevent his working, but only such as make it impossible for him toappear at court. Incidentally I learned that the drain on his pursefrom the squeezes to the eunuchs aggravated his disease. 

"When Her Majesty excused me from appearing at the palace, " heexplained, "she required that I paint for her a minimum of sixtypictures a year, to be sent in about the time of the leading feasts. These she decorates with her seals, and with appropriate sentimentswritten by members of the College of Inscriptions, and she gives them, as she gives her own, as presents during the feasts. " Mr. Kuan and Ibecame intimate friends and he painted three pictures which hepresented to me for my collection. 

One day another of the court painters came to call on me and during theconversation told me that he was painting a picture of the EmpressDowager as the goddess of mercy. Up to that time I had not beenaccustomed to think of her as a goddess of mercy, but he told me thatshe not infrequently copied the gospel of that goddess with her ownpen, had her portrait painted in the form of the goddess which she usedas a frontispiece, bound the whole up in yellow silk or satin and gaveit as a present to her favourite officials. Of course I thought at onceof my collection of paintings, and said:

"How much I should like to have a picture of the Empress Dowager as thegoddess of mercy!"

"I'll paint one for you, " said he. 

All this conversation I soon discovered was only a diplomaticpreliminary to what he had really come to tell me, which was that hehad been eating fish in the palace a few days before, and had swalloweda fish-bone which had unfortunately stuck in his throat. He said thatthe court physicians had given him medicine to dissolve the fish-bone, but it had not been effective; he therefore wondered whether one of thephysicians of my honourable country could remove it. I took him to myfriend Dr. Hopkins who lived near by, and told him of the dilemma. Thedoctor set him down in front of the window, had him open his mouth, looked into his throat where he saw a small red spot, and with a pairof tweezers removed the offending fish-bone. And had it not been forthis service on the part of Dr. Hopkins, I am afraid I should neverhave received the promised picture, for he hesitated as to thepropriety of him, a court painter, doing pictures of Her Majesty forhis friends. However as he often thereafter found it necessary to callMrs. Headland to minister to his wife and children he came to theconclusion that it was proper for him to do so, and one day he broughtme the picture. 

The Empress Dowager not only loved to be painted as the goddess ofmercy, but she clothed herself in the garments suitable to that deity, dressed certain ladies of the court as her attendants, with the headeunuch Li Lien-ying as their protector, ordered the court artists topaint appropriate foreground and background and then called young Yu, her court photographer, to snap his camera and allow Old Sol the greatartist of the universe with a pencil of his light to paint her as shewas. 

One day while visiting a curio store on Liu Li Chang, the great bookstreet of Peking, my attention was called by the dealer to four smallpaintings of peach blossoms in black and white, from the brush of theEmpress Dowager. These pictures had been in the panels of the partitionbetween two of the rooms of Her Majesty's apartments in the SummerPalace, and so I considered myself fortunate in securing them. 

"You notice, " said he, "that each section of these branches must bedrawn by a single stroke of the brush. This is no easy task. She mustbe able to ink her brush in such a way as to give a clear outline ofthe limb, and at the same time to produce such shading as she maydesire. Should her outline be defective, she dare not retouch it;should her shading be too heavy or insufficient, she cannot take fromit and she may not add to it, as this would make it defective in thematter of calligraphy. A stroke once placed upon her paper, for theyare done on paper, is there forever. This style of work is among themost difficult in Chinese art. "

After securing these paintings, I showed them to a number of the bestartists of the present day in Peking, and they all pronounced them goodspecimens of plum blossom work in monochrome, and they agreed with LadyMiao, that if the Empress Dowager had given her whole time to paintingshe would have passed into history as one of the great artists of thepresent dynasty. 

One day when one of her court painters called I showed him thesepictures. He agreed with all the others as to the quality of her brushwork, but called my attention to a diamond shaped twining of thebranches in one of them. 

"That, " said he, "is proof positive that it is her work. "

"Why?" I inquired. 

"Because a professional artist would never twine the twigs in thatfashion. "

"And why not?"

"They would not do it, " he replied. "It is not artistic. "

"And why do not her friends call her attention to this fact?" Iinquired. 

"Who would do it?" was his counter question. 

VII

The Empress Dowager--As a Woman

The first audience given by Her Imperial Majesty to the seven ladies ofthe Diplomatic Corps was sought and urged by the foreign ministers. After the troubles of 1900 and the return of the court, Her Majestyassumed a different attitude, and, of her own accord, issued manyinvitations for audiences, and these invitations were accepted. Thenfollowed my tiffin to the court princesses and their tiffin in return. This opened the way for other princesses and wives of high officials tocall, receive calls, to entertain and be entertained. In many casesarrangements were made through our mutual friend Mrs. Headland, anaccepted physician and beloved friend of many of the higher Chinesefamilies; and through her innate tact, broad thought, and great lovefor the good she may do, I have been able to come into personal touchwith many of these Chinese ladies. --Mrs. E. H. Conger in "Letters fromChina". 

VII

THE EMPRESS DOWAGER-AS A WOMAN

Although the great Dowager has passed away, it may be interesting toknow something about her life and character as a woman as those saw herwho came in contact with her in public and private audiences. In orderto appreciate how quick she was to adopt foreign customs, let me givein some detail the difference in her table decorations at the earlierand later audiences as they have been related by my wife. 

"At the close of the formalities of our introduction to the EmpressDowager and the Emperor at one of the first audiences, we, with theladies of the court, repaired to the banqueting hall. After we wereseated, each with a princess beside her, the great Dowager appeared. Werose and remained standing while she took her place at the head of thetable, with the Emperor standing at her left a little distance behindher. As she sat down she requested us to be seated, though theprincesses and the Emperor all remained standing, it being improper forthem to sit in the presence of Her Majesty. Long-robed eunuchs thenappeared with an elaborate Chinese banquet, and the one who served theEmpress Dowager always knelt when presenting her with a dish. 

"After we had eaten for some little time, the doyen asked if theprincesses might not be seated. The Empress Dowager first turned to theEmperor, and said, 'Your Majesty, please be seated'; then turning tothe princesses and waving her hand, she told them to sit down. They satdown in a timid, rather uncomfortable way on the edge of the chair, butdid not presume to touch any of the food. 

"The conversation ran upon various topics, and, among others, the Boxertroubles. One of the ladies wore a badge. The Empress Dowager noticingit, asked what it meant. 

"'Your Majesty, ' was the reply, 'this was presented to me by my Emperorbecause I was wounded in the Boxer insurrection. '

"The Empress Dowager took the hands of this lady in both her own, andas the tears stood in her eyes, she said:

"'I deeply regret all that occurred during those troublous times. TheBoxers for a time overpowered the government, and even brought theirguns in and placed them on the walls of the palace. Such a thing shallnever occur again. '

"The table was covered with brilliantly coloured oilcloth, and waswithout tablecloth or napkins properly so called, but we used asnapkins square, coloured bits of calico about the size of a largebandana handkerchief. There were no flowers, the table decorationsconsisting of large stands of cakes and fruit. I speak of this becauseit was all changed at future audiences, when the table was spread withsnow-white cloths, and smiled with its load of most gorgeous flowers. Especially was this true after the luncheons given to the princessesand ladies of the court by Mrs. Conger at the American legation, showing that the eyes of these ladies were open to receive whateversuggestions might come to them even in so small a matter as thespreading and decoration of a table. The banquets thereafter were madeup of alternating courses of Chinese and foreign food. 

"With but one exception, the Empress Dowager thereafter never appearedat table with her guests. But at the close of the formal audiences, after descending from the throne, and speaking to those whom she hadformerly met, she requested her guests to enter the banquet hall andenjoy the feast with the princesses, saying that the customs of hercountry forbade their being seated or partaking of food if she werepresent. After the banquet, however, the Empress Dowager alwaysappeared and conversed cordially with her guests. 

"Her failure to appear at table may have been influenced by thefollowing incident: One of the leading lady guests, anxious, no doubt, to obtain a unique curio, requested the Empress Dowager to present herwith the bowl from which Her Majesty was eating--a bowl which wasdifferent from those used by her guests, as the dishes from which herfood was served were never the same as those used by others at thetable!

"After an instant's hesitation she turned to a eunuch and said:

"'We cannot give her one bowl [the Chinese custom being always to givethings in pairs]; go and prepare her two. '

"Then, turning to her guests, she continued apologetically:

"'I should be glad to give bowls to each of you, but the Foreign Officehas requested me not to give presents at this audience. ' It had beenher custom to give each of her guests some small gift with her ownhands and afterwards to send presents by her eunuchs to their homes. 

"On another occasion the lady referred to above took an ornament from acabinet and was carrying it away when the person in charge of thesethings requested that it be restored, saying that she was responsiblefor everything in the room and would be punished if anything weremissing. 

"The above incidents do not stand alone. It was not uncommon for someof the Continental guests, in the presence of the court ladies, to makeuncomplimentary remarks about the food, which was Chinese, and oftennot very palatable to the foreigner. These remarks, of course, were notsupposed to be understood, though the Empress Dowager always had herown interpreter at table. One often felt that some of these ladies, intheir efforts to see all and get all, forgot what was due their owncountry as well as their imperial hostess. 

"One can understand the enormity of such an offense in a court theetiquette of which is so exacting that none of her own subjects everdared appear in her presence until they had been properly instructed incourt etiquette in the 'Board of Rites, ' a course of instruction whichmay extend over a period of from a week to six months. These breachesof politeness on the part of these foreign ladies may have beenoverlooked by Her Majesty and the princesses, but, if so, it was on theold belief that all outside of China were barbarians. 

"All the ladies who attended these audiences, however, were not of thischaracter. There were those who realized the importance of thoseoccasions in the opening up of China, and were scrupulous in theirefforts to conform to the most exacting customs of the court. And whocan doubt that the warm friendship which the Empress Dowager conceivedfor Mrs. Conger, the wife of our American minister, who did more thanany other person ever did, or ever can do, towards the opening up ofthe Chinese court to the people of the West, was because of herappreciation of the fact that Mrs. Conger was anxious to show theEmpress Dowager the honour due to her position. 

"It was in her private audiences that this great woman's tact, womanliness, fascination and charm as a hostess appeared. Taking herguest by the hand, she would ask in the most solicitous way whether wewere not tired with our journey to the palace; she would deplore theheat in summer or the cold in winter; she would express her anxietylest the refreshments might not have been to our taste; she would tellus in the sincerest accents that it was a propitious fate that had madeour paths meet; and she would charm each of her guests, even thoughthey had been formerly prejudiced against her, with little separateattentions, which exhibited her complete power as a hostess. 

"When opportunity offered, she was always anxious to learn of foreignways and institutions. On one occasion while in the theatre, she calledme to her side, and, giving me a chair, inquired at length into thesystem of female education in America. 

"'I have heard, ' she said, 'that in your honourable country all thegirls are taught to read. '

"'Quite so, Your Majesty. '

"'And are they taught the same branches of study as the boys?'

"'In the public schools they are. '

"'I wish very much that the girls in China might also be taught, butthe people have great difficulty in educating their boys. '

"I then explained in a few words our public-school system, to which shereplied:

"'The taxes in China are so heavy at present that it would beimpossible to add another expense such as this would be. '

"It was not long thereafter, however, before an edict was issuedcommending female education, and at the present time hundreds of girls'schools have been established by private persons both in Peking andthroughout the empire. 

"On another occasion, while the ladies were having refreshments, theEmpress Dowager requested me to come to her private apartments, andwhile we two were alone together, with only a eunuch standing byfanning with a large peacock-feather fan, she asked me to tell herabout the church. It was apparent from the beginning of herconversation that she made no distinction between Roman Catholics andProtestants, calling them all the Chiao. I explained to her that theobject of the church was the intellectual, moral, and spiritualdevelopment of the people, making them both better sons and bettersubjects. 

"Few women are more superstitious than the Empress Dowager. Her wholelife was influenced by her belief in fate, charms, good and evilspirits, gods and demons. 

"When it was first proposed that she have her portrait painted for theSt. Louis Exposition, she was dumfounded. After a long conversation, however, in which Mrs. Conger explained that portraits of many of therulers of Europe would be there, including a portrait of QueenVictoria, and that such a painting would in a way counteract the falsepictures of her that had gone abroad, she said that she would consultwith Prince Ching about the matter. This looked very much as though ithad been tabled. Not long thereafter, however, she sent word to Mrs. Conger, asking that Miss Carl be invited to come to Peking and painther portrait. 

"We all know how this portrait had to be begun on an auspicious day;how a railroad had to be built to the Foreign Office rather than havethe portrait carried out on men's shoulders, as though she were dead;how she celebrated her seventieth birthday when she was sixty-nine, todefeat the gods and prevent their bringing such a calamity during thecelebration as had occurred when she was sixty, when the Japanese wardisturbed her festivities. On her clothes she wore the ideographs for'Long Life and 'Happiness, ' and most of the presents she gave wereemblematic of some good fortune. Her palace was decorated with greatplates of apples, which by a play on words mean 'Peace, ' and withplates of peaches, which mean 'Longevity. ' On her person she worecharms, one of which she took from her neck and placed on the neck ofMrs. Conger when she was about to leave China, saying that she hoped itmight protect her during her journey across the ocean, as it hadprotected herself during her wanderings in 1900, and she would notallow any one to appear in her presence who had any semblance ofmourning about her clothing. 

"It is a well-known fact that no Manchu woman ever binds her feet, andthe Empress Dowager was as much opposed to foot-binding as any otherliving woman. Nevertheless, she would not allow a subject to presume tosuggest to her ways in which she should interfere in the social customsof the Chinese, as one of her subjects did. This lady was the wife of aChinese minister to a foreign country, and had adopted both for herselfand her daughters the most ultra style of European dress. She one daysaid to Her Majesty, 'The bound feet of the Chinese woman make us thelaughing-stock of the world. '

"'I have heard, ' said the Empress Dowager, 'that the foreigners have acustom which is not above reproach, and now since there are nooutsiders here, I should like to see what the foreign ladies use inbinding their waist. '

"The lady was very stout, and had the appearance of an hour-glass, andturning to her daughter, a tall and slender maiden, she said:

"'Daughter, you show Her Majesty. '

"The young lady demurred until finally the Empress Dowager said:

"'Do you not realize that a request coming from me is the same as acommand?'

"After having had her curiosity satisfied, she sent for the GrandSecretary and ordered that proper Manchu outfits be secured for thelady's daughters, saying:

"'It is truly pathetic what foreign women have to endure. They arebound up with steel bars until they can scarcely breathe. Pitiable!Pitiable!'

"The following day this young lady did not appear at court, and theEmpress Dowager asked her mother the reason of her absence. 

"'She is ill to-day, ' the mother replied. 

"'I am not surprised, ' replied Her Majesty, 'for it must require sometime after the bandages have been removed before she can again compressherself into the same proportions, ' indicating that the Empress Dowagersupposed that foreign women slept with their waists bound, just as theChinese women do with their feet. "

The first winter I spent in China, twenty years ago, was one of greatexcitement in Peking. The time of the regency of the Empress Dowagerfor the boy-emperor had ended. I have explained how a prince is notallowed to marry a princess because she is his relative, or even acommoner his cousin for the same reason. That is the rule. But ruleswere made to be broken, and when the time came for Kuang Hsu'sbetrothal the Empress Dowager decided to marry this son of her sisterto the daughter of her brother. It mattered not that the young man wasopposed to the match and wanted another for his wife. The EmpressDowager had set her heart upon this union, and she would not allow herplans to be frustrated, so an edict was issued that all people shouldremain within their homes on a certain night, for the bride was to betaken in her red chair from her father's home to the palace. So that inthis as in all other things her will was law for all those about her. 

She was a bit below the average height, but she wore shoes, in thecentre of whose soles there were--heels, shall we call them?--sixinches high. These, together with her Manchu garments, which hang fromthe shoulders, gave her a tall and stately appearance and made herseem, as she was, every inch an empress. Her figure was perfect, hercarriage quick and graceful, and she lacked nothing physically to makeher a splendid type of womanhood and ruler. Her features were morevivacious and pleasing than they were really beautiful; her complexionwas of an olive tint, and her face illumined by orbs of jet half hiddenby dark lashes, behind which lurked the smiles of favour or thelightning flashes of anger. 

When seated upon the throne she was majesty itself, but the moment shestepped down from the august seat, and took ones hand in both of hers, saying with the most amiable of smiles: "What a kind fate it is thathas allowed you to come and see me again. I hope you are not over-wearywith the long journey, " one felt that she was, above all, a woman, acompanion, a friend--yet for all that the mistress of every situation, whether diplomatic, business, or social. 

I wish her mental characteristics could be described as completely asJapanese and other photographers have given us pictures of her person. But perhaps if this were possible she would seem less interesting. Andit may be that in the relation of these few incidents of her careerthere may have been revealed something of the patriotism, thestatesmanship, the imperious will, and the ambitions that brought aboutthe reestablishment and the continuation of the dynasty of her people. We have seen how the enemies of her country fell before her sword. Dangerous statesmen fell before her pen, and if they were fortunateenough to rise again with all their honour it was to be divested of alltheir former power. Every obstacle in her path was overcome either bydiplomacy or by force. 

The Empress Dowager has no double in Chinese history, if indeed in thehistory of the world. She not only guided the ship of state during thelast half century, but she guided it well, and put into operation allthe greatest reforms that have ever been thought of by Chinesestatesmen. Compared with her own people, she stands head and shouldersabove any other woman of the Mongol race. And what shall we say of hercompared with the great women of other races? In strength of characterand ability she will certainly not suffer in any comparison that can bemade. We cannot, therefore, help admiring that young girl, who formerlyran errands for her mother who, being made the concubine of an emperor, became the mother of an emperor, the wife of an emperor, the maker ofan emperor, the dethroner of an emperor, and the ruler of China fornearly half a century--all this in a land where woman has no standingor power. Is it too much to say that she was the greatest woman of thelast half century?

VII

Kuang Hsu--His Self-Development

The Emperor Kuang Hsu is slight and delicate, almost childish inappearance, of pale olive complexion, and with great, melancholy eyes. There is a gentleness in his expression that speaks rather of dreamingthan of the power to turn dreams into acts. It is strange to find apersonality so etherial among the descendants of the Mongol hordes; yetthe Emperor Kuaug Hsu might sit as a model for some Oriental saint onthe threshold of the highest beatitude. --Charles Johnston in "TheCrisis in China. "

VIII

KUANG HSU--HIS SELF-DEVELOPMENT

On the night that the son of the Empress Dowager "ascended upon thedragon to be a guest on high, " two sedan chairs were borne out of thewest gate of the Forbidden City, through the Imperial City, and intothe western part of the Tartar City, in one of which sat the seniorEmpress and in the other the Empress-mother. The streets were dimlylighted, but the chairs, each carried by four bearers, were precededand followed by outriders bearing large silk lanterns in which weretallow-candles, while a heavy cart with relays of bearers brought upthe rear. The errand upon which they were bent was an importantone--the making of an emperor--for by the death of Tung Chih, thethrone, for the first time in the history of the dynasty, was leftwithout an heir. Their destination was the home of the Seventh Prince, the younger brother of their husband, to whom as we have already saidthe Empress Dowager had succeeded in marrying her younger sister, whowas at that time the happy mother of two sons. 

She took the elder of these, a not very sturdy boy of three years andmore, from his comfortable bed to make him emperor, and one can imaginethey hear him whining with a half-sleepy yawn: "I don't want to beemperor. I want to sleep. " But she bundled little Tsai Tien up incomfortable wraps, took him out of a happy home, from a loving fatherand mother, and a jolly little baby brother, --out of a big beautifulworld, where he would have freedom to go and come at will, toys to playwith, children to contend with him in games, and everything in a homeof wealth that is dear to the heart of a child. And for what? Shefolded him in her arms, adopted him as her own son, and carried himinto the Forbidden--and no doubt to him forbidding--City, where hisworld was one mile square, without freedom, without another childwithin its great bare walls, where he was the one lone, solitary manamong thousands of eunuchs and women. The next morning when theimperial clan assembled to condole with her on the death of her son, she bore little Tsai Tien into their midst declaring: "Here is youremperor. "

At that time there were situated on Legation Street, in Peking, twoforeign stores that had been opened without the consent of the Chinesegovernment, for in those days the capital had not been opened toforeign trade. As the stores were small, and in such close proximity tothe various legations, the most of whose supplies they furnished, theyseem to have been too unimportant to attract official attention, thoughthey were destined to have a mighty influence on the future of China. One of them was kept by a Dane, who sold foreign toys, notions, dry-goods and groceries such as might please the Chinese or be of useto the scanty European population of the great capital. By chance someof the eunuchs from the imperial palace, wandering about the city insearch of something to please little Tsai Tien, dropped into this storeon Legation Street and bought some of these foreign toys for his infantMajesty. 

They had already ransacked the city for Chinese toys. They had gone toevery fair, visited every toy-shop, called upon every private dealer, and paid high prices for samples of their best work made especially forthe royal child. There were crowing cocks and cackling hens; barkingdogs and crying infants; music balls and music carts; horns, drums, diabolos and tops; there were gingham dogs and calico cats; camels, elephants and fierce tigers; and a thousand other toys, if only he hadhad other children to share them with him. But none of them pleasedhim. They lacked that subtile something which was necessary to ministerto the peculiar genius of the child. 

Among the foreign toys there were some in which there was concealed asecret spring which seemed to impart life to the otherwise deadplaything. Wind them up and they would move of their own energy. Thiswas what the boy needed, --something to appeal to that machine-lovingdisposition which nature had given him, and Budge and Toddy were nevermore curious to know "what made the wheels go round" than was littleTsai Tien. He played with them as toys until overcome by curiosity, when, like many another child, he tore them apart and discovered thesecret spring. This was as much of a revelation to the eunuchs as tothe child, and they went and bought other toys of a more curiouspattern, and a more intricate design, and it was not long until, at theinstigation of the enterprising Dane, the toy-shops of Europe weremanufacturing playthings specially designed to please the almond-eyedbaby Emperor in the yellow-tiled palace in Peking. 

As the child grew the business of the Dane shopkeeper increased. Hisstock became larger and more varied, and Tsai Tien continued to be aprofitable customer. There were music boxes and music carts--real musiccarts, not like those from the Chinese shops, --trains of cars, wheeledboats, striking clocks and Swiss watches which, when the stem waspulled, would strike the hour or half or quarter, and all these werebought in turn by the eunuchs and taken into the palace. As the Emperorgrew to boyhood the Danish shopkeeper supplied toys suitable to hisyears from his inexhaustible shelves, until all the most intricate andwonderful toys of Europe, suitable for a boy, had passed through thehands of Kuang Hsu, --"continued brilliancy, " as his name implied--andhe seemed to be making good the meaning of his name. 

We would not lead any one to believe that Kuang Hsu was an ideal child. He was not. If we may credit the reports that came from the palace inthose days, he had a temper of his own. If he were denied anything hewanted, he would lie down on his baby back on the dirty ground and kickand scream and literally "raise the dust" until he got it. My wifetells me that not infrequently when she called at the Chinese homes, and they set before her a dish of which she was especially fond, andshe had eaten of it as much as she thought she ought, the ladies wouldask in a good-natured way in reply to some of her remarks about hervoracious appetite, "Shall we get down and knock our heads on thefloor, and beg you not to eat too much, and make yourself sick, likethe eunuchs do to the Emperor?" There is nothing to wonder at thatKuang Hsu, without parental restraint, and fawned upon by cringingeunuchs and serving maids, should have been a spoiled child; the wonderis that he was not worse than he was. 

One day in 1901 while the court was absent at Hsian, and the front gateof the Forbidden City was guarded by our "boys in blue, " I obtained apass and visited the imperial palace. The apartments of the Emperorconsisted of a series of one-story Chinese buildings, with paperwindows around a large central pane of glass, tile roof and brickfloor. The east part of the building appeared to be the living-room, about twenty by twenty-five feet. The window on the south side extendedthe entire length of the room, and was filled with clocks from end toend. There were clocks of every description from the finest Frenchcloisonne to the most intricate cuckoo clocks from which a bird hoppedforth to announce the hour, and each ticking its own time regardless ofevery other. Tables were placed in various parts of the room, on eachof which were one, two or three clocks. Swiss watches of the mostcurious and unique designs hung about the walls. Two sofas sat back toback in the centre of the room, and a beautiful little gilt desk onwhich was the most wonderful of all his clocks, with several largeforeign chairs upholstered in plush and velvet, completed thefurniture. I sat down in one of these chairs to rest, for it was a hotsummer day, and immediately there proceeded from beneath me sweetstrains of music from a box concealed beneath the cushion. It was notonly a surprise, it was soothing and restful; and I was prepared to seean electric fan pop out of somewhere and fan me to sleep. It was reallyan Oriental fairy tale of an apartment. 

As Kuang Hsu grew to boyhood he heard that out in this great wonderfulworld, which he had never seen except with the eyes of a child, therewas a method of sending messages to distant cities and provinces withthe rapidity of a flash of lightning. For centuries he and hisancestors had been sending their edicts, and their Peking Gazette orcourt newspaper--the oldest journal in the world--by runner, or relaysof post horses, and the possibility of sending them by a lightningflash appealed to him. He believed in doing things, and, as we shallsee later, he wanted to do them as rapidly as they could be done. Hetherefore ordered that a telegraph outfit be secured for him, which he"played with" as he had done with his most ingenious toys, and thetelegraph was soon established for court use throughout the empire. 

One day a number of officials came to us at the Peking University andin the course of a conversation they said:

"The Emperor has heard that the foreigners have invented a talk box. Isthat true?"

"Quite true, " we replied, "and as we have one in the physicallaboratory of the college we will let you see it. "

We had one of the old Edison phonographs which worked with a pedal, andlooked very much like a sewing-machine, and we took them to thelaboratory, allowed one of them to talk into it, and then set themachine to repeating what had been told it. The officials weredelighted and it was not long until they again appeared and insisted onbuying it as a present for the Emperor, for in this way better than anyother they might hope to obtain official recognition and position. 

The Emperor then heard that the foreigners had invented a "fire-wheelcart, " but whether he had ever been informed that they had built asmall railroad at Wu-Sung near Shanghai, and that the Chinese hadbought it, and then torn it up and thrown it into the river we cannotsay. There are many things the officials and people do which neverreach the imperial ears. However that may be, when Kuang Hsu heard ofthe railroad and the carts that were run by fire, he wanted one, and hewould not be satisfied until they had built a narrow gauge railroadalong the west shore of the lotus lake in the Forbidden City, and thefactories of Europe had made two small cars and an engine on which hecould take the court ladies for a ride on this unusual merry-go-round. The road and the cars and the engine were still there when I visitedthe Forbidden City in 1901, but they were carried away to Europe bysome of the allies as precious bits of loot, before the court returned. 

Not long after he had heard of the railroads, he was told that theforeigners also had "fire-wheel boats. " Of course he wanted some, andas I crossed the beautiful marble bridge that spans the lotus lake, Isaw anchored near by three small steam launches which had evidentlybeen used a good deal. I saw similar launches in the lake at the SummerPalace, and was told that in the play days of his boyhood, Kuang Hsuwould have these launches hitched to the imperial barges and take theladies of the court for pleasure trips about the lake in the cool ofthe summer evenings, as the Empress Dowager did her foreign visitors inlater times. 

The Emperor in those days was on the lookout for everything foreignthat was of a mechanical nature. Indeed every invention interested him. In this respect he was diametrically opposite to the genius of thewhole Chinese people. Their faces had ever been turned backward, andtheir highest hopes were that they might approximate the golden ages ofthe past, and be equal in virtue to their ancestors. This feeling wasso strong that a hundred years before he mounted the throne, hisforefather, Chien Lung, when he had completed his cycle of sixty yearsas a ruler, vacated in favour of his son lest he should reign longerthan his grandfather. Kuang Hsu was therefore the first occupant of thedragon throne whose face was turned to the future, and whose chief aimwas to possess and to master every method that had enabled the peoplesof the West to humiliate his people. 

When he heard that the foreigners had a method of talking to a distanceof ten, twenty, fifty or five hundred miles, he did not say like theold farmer is reported to have said, --"It caint be trew, because my sonJohn kin holler as loud as any man in all this country, an' he caint beheerd mor'n two miles. " Kuang Hsu believed it, and at once ordered thata telephone be secured for him. 

In 1894 the Christian women of China decided to present a New Testamentto the Empress Dowager on her sixtieth birthday which occurred thefollowing year. New type was prepared, the finest foreign papersecured, and the book was made after the best style of the printer'sart, with gilt borders, gilt edges, and bound in silver of an embossedbamboo pattern and encased in a silver box. It was then enclosed in ared plush box, --red being the colour indicating happiness, --which wasin turn encased in a beautifully carved teak-wood box, and this wasenclosed in an ordinary box and taken by the English and Americanministers to the Foreign Office to be sent in to Her Majesty. 

The next day the Emperor sent to the American Bible Society for copiesof the Old and New Testaments, such as were being sold to his people. Afew days thereafter a Chinese friend--a horticulturist and gardener whowent daily to the palace with flowers and vegetables--came to me inconfidence as though bearing an important secret, and said:

"Something of unusual importance is taking place in the palace. "

"Indeed?" said I; "what makes you think so?"

"Heretofore when I have gone into the palace, " said he, "the eunuchshave treated me with indifference. Yesterday they sat down and talkedin a most familiar and friendly way, asking me all about Christianity. I told them what I could and they continued their conversation untillong after noon. I finally became so hungry that I arose to come home. They urged me to stay, bringing in a feast, and inviting me to dinewith them, and they kept me there till evening. One of them told methat the Emperor is studying the Gospel of Luke. "

"How does he know that?" I inquired. 

"That is what I asked him, " he answered, "and he told me that he is oneof the Emperor's private servants, and that His Majesty has a part ofthe Gospel copied in large characters on a sheet of paper each day, which he spreads out on the table before him, and this eunuch, standingbehind his chair, can read what he is studying. "

On further inquiry I discovered that there was no other way that theeunuch could have learned about the Gospel, except in the wayindicated. This man was invited to dine with the eunuchs day after dayuntil he had told them all he knew about Christianity, after which theyrequested him to bring in the pastor of the church of which he was amember, and who was one of my former pupils, to dine with them and tellthem more about the Gospel. The pastor hesitated to accept theinvitation, but as it was repeated day after day, he finallyaccompanied the horticulturist. 

When offered wine at dinner the pastor refused it, at which the eunuchremarked: "Oh, yes, I have heard that you Christians do not drinkwine, " and like a polite host, the wine was put aside and none wasdrunk at the dinner. During the afternoon they took their guests tovisit some of the imperial buildings, advanced the sum of three hundreddollars to the horticulturist to enlarge his plant, and gave variouspresents to the pastor. 

It must not be inferred from this that the Emperor was becoming aChristian. Very far from it, though the interest he took in theChristian doctrine set the people to studying about it, not only inPeking but throughout many of the provinces, as was indicated at thetime by the number of Christian books sold. As early as 1891 he issueda strong edict ordering the protection of the missionaries in which hemade the following statement: "The religions of the West have for theirobject the inculcation of virtue, and, though our people becomeconverted, they continue to be Chinese subjects. There is no reason whythere should not be harmony between the people and the adherents offoreign religions. " The Chinese reported that he sometimes examined theeunuchs, lining them up in classes and catechising them from the booksread. 

One day three of the eunuchs called on me with this samehorticulturist, for the purpose no doubt of seeing a foreigner, and toget a glimpse of the home in which he lived. One of them was youngerthan the other two and above the average intelligence of his class. Afew days later the horticulturist told me a story which illustrates aphase of the Emperor's character which we have already hinted at--hisimpulsive nature and ungovernable temper. He had ordered a number ofthe eunuchs to appear before him, all of whom except this young manwere unable to come, because engaged in other duties. When the eunuchgot down on his hands and knees to kotow or knock his head to HisMajesty, the latter kicked him in the mouth, cutting his lip andotherwise injuring him, and my informant added:

"What kind of a man is that to govern a country, a man who punishesthose who obey his orders?" Indeed there was a good deal of feelingamong the Chinese at that time that the Empress Dowager ought to punishthe Emperor as a good mother does a bad child, though in the light ofall the other things he did, he was to be pitied more than blamed for adisposition thus inherited and developed. 

It was about this time he began the study of English. He ordered thattwo teachers be appointed, and contrary to all former customs heallowed them to sit rather than kneel while they taught him. At thetime they were selected I was exchanging lessons in English for Chinesewith the grandson of one of these teachers, and learned a good dealabout the progress the young man was making. He was in such a hurry tobegin that he could not wait to send to England or America for books, and so the officials visited the various schools and missions in searchof proper primers for a beginner. When they visited us we made athorough search and finally Dr. Marcus L. Taft discovered anattractively illustrated primer which he had taken to China with himfor his little daughter Frances, and this was sent to Kuang Hsu. 

One day a eunuch called on me saying that the Emperor had learned thatthe various institutions of learning, educational associations, tractand other societies had published a number of books in Chinese whichthey had translated from the European languages. I was at that time thecustodian of two or three of these societies and had a great variety ofChinese books in my possession. I therefore sent him copies of ourastronomy, geology, zoology, physiology and various other scientificbooks which I was at that time teaching in the university. 

The next day he called again, accompanied by a coolie who brought me apresent of a ham cooked at the imperial kitchen, together with boxes offruit and cakes, which, not being a man of large appetite, I thankedhim for, tipped the coolie, and after he had gone, turned them over toour servants, who assured me that imperial meat was very palatable. Dayafter day for six weeks this eunuch visited me, and would never leaveuntil I had found some new book for His Majesty. They might beliterary, scientific or religious works, and he made no distinctionbetween the books of any sect or society, institution or body, but withan equal zeal he sought them all. I was sometimes reduced to a sheettract, and finally I was forced to take my wife's Chinese medical booksout of her private library and send them in to the Emperor. I learnedthat other eunuchs were visiting other persons in charge of otherbooks, and that at this time Kuang Hsu bought every book that had beentranslated from any European language and published in the Chinese. 

One day the eunuch saw my wife's bicycle standing on the veranda andsaid:

"What kind of a cart is that?"

"That is a self-moving cart, " I answered. 

"How do you ride it?" he inquired. 

I took the bicycle off the veranda, rode about the court a time or two, while he gazed at me with open mouth, and when I stopped he ejaculated:

"That's queer; why doesn't it fall down?"

"When a thing's moving, " I answered, "it can't fall down, " which mightapply to other things than bicycles. 

The next day when he called he said:

"The Emperor would like that bicycle, " and my wife allowed him to takeit in to Kuang Hsu, and it was not long thereafter until it wasreported that the Emperor had been trying to ride the bicycle, that hisqueue had become entangled in the rear wheel, and that he had had a notvery royal tumble, and had given it up, --as many another one has done. 

IX

Kuang Hsu--As Emperor and Reformer

In 1891 the present Emperor Kuang Hsu issued a very strong edictcommanding good treatment of the missionaries. He therein made thefollowing statement: "The religions of the West have for their objectthe inculcation of virtue, and, though our people become converted, they continue to be Chinese subjects. There is no reason why thereshould not be harmony between the people and the adherents of foreignreligions. "--Hon. Charles Denby in "China and Her People. "

IX

KUANG HSU--AS EMPEROR AND REFORMER

AS a man, there are few characters in Chinese history that are moreinteresting than Kuang Hsu. He had all the caprices of genius withtheir corresponding weakness and strength. He could wield a pen withthe vigour of a Caesar, threaten his greatest viceroys, dismiss hisleading conservative officials, introduce the most sweeping andfar-reaching reforms that have ever been thought of by the Chinesepeople, and then run from a woman as though the very devil was afterhim. 

He has been variously rated as a genius, an imbecile and a fool. Let usgrant that he was not brilliant. Let us rate him as an imbecile, andthen let us try to account for his having brought into the palace everyingenious toy and every wonderful and useful invention and discovery ofthe past twenty or thirty years with the exception of the X-rays andliquid air. Let us try to explain why it was that an imbecile wouldpurchase every book that had been printed in the Chinese language, concerning foreign subjects of learning, up to the time when he wasdethroned. Let us tell why it was that an imbecile would study allthose foreign books without help, without an assistant, without ateacher, for three years, from the time he bought them in 1895 till1898, before he began issuing the most remarkable series of edicts thathave ever come from the pen of an Oriental monarch in the same lengthof time. And let us explain how it was that an imbecile could embody inhis edicts of two or three months all the important principles thatwere necessary to launch the great reforms of the past ten years. 

I doubt if any Chinese monarch has ever had a more far-reachinginfluence over the minds of the young men of the empire than Kuang Hsuhad from 1895 till 1898. The preparation for this influence had beengoing on for twenty or thirty years previously in the educationalinstitutions established by the missions and the government. From theseschools there had gone out a great number of young men who had takenpositions in all departments of business, and many of the state, andrevealed to the officials as well as to many of the people the power offoreign education. An imperial college had been established by thecustoms service for the special education of young men for diplomaticand other positions, from which there had gone out young men who werethe representatives of the government as consuls or ministers in thevarious countries of Europe and America. 

The fever for reading the same books that Kuang Hsu had read was sogreat as to tax to the utmost the presses of the port cities to supplythe demand, and the leaders of some of the publication societies fearedthat a condition had arisen for which they were unprepared. Bookswritten by such men as Drs. Allen, Mateer, Martin, Williams and Leggewere brought out in pirated photographic reproductions by the bookshopsof Shanghai and sold for one-tenth the cost of the original work. Authors, to protect themselves, compelled the pirates to deliver overthe stereotype plates they had made on penalty of being brought beforethe officials in litigation if they refused. But during the three yearsthe Emperor had been studying these foreign books, hundreds ofthousands of young scholars all over the empire had been doing thesame, preparing themselves for whatever emergency the studies of theyoung Emperor might bring about. 

One day during the early spring a young Chinese reformer came to me toget a list of the best newspapers and periodicals published in bothEngland and America. I inquired the reason for this strange move, andhe said:

"The young Chinese reformers in Peking have organized a Reform Club. Some of them read and speak English, others French, others German andstill others Russian, and we are providing ourselves with all theleading periodicals of these various countries that we may read andstudy them. We have rented a building, prepared rooms, and propose tohave a club where we can assemble whenever we have leisure, forconversation, discussion, reading, lectures or whatever will bestcontribute to the ends we have in view. "

"And what are those ends?" I inquired. 

"The bringing about of a new regime in China, " he answered. "Our recentdefeat by the Japanese has shown us that unless some radical changesare made we must take a second place among the peoples of the Orient. "

"This is a new move in Peking, is it not?"

"New in Peking, " he answered, "but not new in the empire. Reform clubsare being organized in all the great cities and capitals. In Hsian, books have been purchased by all classes from the governor of theprovince down to the humblest scholar, and the aristocracy haveorganized classes, and are inviting the foreigners to lecture to them. Every one, except a few of the oldest conservative scholars, arediscarding their Confucian theories and reconstructing their ideas inview of present day problems. There is an intellectual fermentation nowgoing on from which a new China is certain to be evolved, and wepropose to be ready for it when it comes. "

The leader of this reform party was Kang Yu-wei, a young Cantonese, whohad made a thorough study of the reforms of Peter the Great in Russia, and the more recent reforms in Japan, the history of which he hadprepared in two volumes which he sent to the Emperor. He had made areputation for himself in his native place as a "Modern Sage andReformer, " was hailed as a "young Confucius, " was appointed athird-class secretary in the Board of Works, and as the Emperor and hehad been studying on the same lines, Kang, through the influence of thebrother of the chief concubine, was introduced to His Majesty. He had athree hours' conference with the Foreign Office, in which he urged thatChina should imitate Japan, and that the old conservative ministers andviceroys should be replaced by young men imbued with Western ideas, whomight confer with the Emperor daily in regard to all kinds of reformmeasures. 

This interview was reported to Kuang Hsu by Prince Kung and Jung Lu, who both being old, and one of them the greatest of the conservatives, could hardly be expected to approve of his theories. Kang, however, wasasked to embody his suggestions in a memorial, was later given anaudience with the Emperor, and finally called into the palace to assisthim in the reforms he had already undertaken. And if Kang Yu-wei hadbeen as great a statesman as he was reformer, Kuang Hsu might neverhave been deposed. 

The crisis came during the summer of 1898. I had taken my family to theseashore to spend our summer vacation. A young Chinese scholar--aHanlin--who had been studying in the university for some years, andwith whom I was translating a work on psychology, had gone with me. Hetook the Peking Gazette, which he read daily, and commented upon withmore or less interest, until June 23d, when an edict was issuedabolishing the literary essay of the old regime as a part of thegovernment examination, and substituting therefor various branches ofthe new learning. "We have been compelled to issue this decree, " saidthe Emperor, "because our examinations have reached the lowest ebb, andwe see no remedy for these matters except to change entirely the oldmethods for a new course of competition. "

"What do you think of that?" I asked the Hanlin. 

"The greatest step that has ever yet been taken, " he replied. 

This Hanlin was not a radical reformer, but one of a long line ofofficials who were deeply interested in the preservation of theircountry which had weathered the storms of so many centuries, --stormswhich had wrecked Assyria, Babylonia, Media, Egypt, Greece and Rome, while China, though growing but little, had still lived. He was one ofthose progressive statesmen who have always been found among a strongminority in the Middle Kingdom. 

The Peking Gazette continued to come daily bringing with it thefollowing twenty-seven decrees in a little more than twice that manydays. I will give an epitome of the decrees that the reader at a glancemay see what the Emperor undertook to do. Summarized they are asfollows:

1. The establishment of a university at Peking. 

2. The sending of imperial clansmen to foreign countries to study theforms and conditions of European and American government. 

3. The encouragement of the arts, sciences and modern agriculture. 

4. The Emperor expressed himself as willing to hear the objections ofthe conservatives to progress and reform. 

5. Abolished the literary essay as a prominent part of the governmentalexaminations. 

6. Censured those who attempted to delay the establishment of thePeking Imperial University. 

7. Urged that the Lu-Han railway should be prosecuted with more vigourand expedition. 

8. Advised the adoption of Western arms and drill for all the Tartartroops. 

9. Ordered the establishment of agricultural schools in all theprovinces to teach the farmers improved methods of agriculture. 

10. Ordered the introduction of patent and copyright laws. 

11. The Board of War and Foreign Office were ordered to report on thereform of the military examinations. 

12. Special rewards were offered to inventors and authors. 

13. The officials were ordered to encourage trade and assist merchants. 

14. School boards were ordered established in every city in the empire. 

15. Bureaus of Mines and Railroads were established. 

16. Journalists were encouraged to write on all political subjects. 

17. Naval academies and training-ships were ordered. 

18. The ministers and provincial authorities were called upon toassist--nay, were begged to make some effort to understand what he wastrying to do and help him in his efforts at reform. 

19. Schools were ordered in connection with all the Chinese legationsin foreign countries for the benefit of the children of Chinese inthose places. 

20. Commercial bureaus were ordered in Shanghai for the encouragementof trade. 

21. Six useless Boards in Peking were abolished. 

22. The right to memorialize the throne in sealed memorials was grantedto all who desired to do so. 

23. Two presidents and four vice-presidents of the Board of Rites weredismissed for disobeying the Emperor's orders that memorials should beallowed to come to him unopened. 

24. The governorships of Hupeh, Kuangtung, and Yunnan were abolished asbeing a useless expense to the country. 

25. Schools of instruction in the preparation of tea and silk wereordered established. 

26. The slow courier posts were abolished in favour of the ImperialCustoms Post. 

27. A system of budgets as in Western countries was approved. 

I have given these decrees in this epitomized form so that all thosewho are interested in the character of this reform movement in Chinamay understand something of the influence the young Emperor's study hadhad upon him. Grant that they followed one another in too closeproximity, yet still it must be admitted by every careful student ofthem, that there is not one that would not have been of the greatestpossible benefit to the country if they had been put into operation. Ifthe Emperor had been allowed to proceed, making them all as effectiveas he did the Imperial University, and if the ministers and provincialauthorities had responded to his call, and had made "some effort tounderstand what he was trying to do, " China might have by this timebeen close upon the heels of Japan in the adoption of Western ideas. 

As the edicts continued to come out in such quick succession my Hanlinfriend became alarmed. He came to me one day after the Emperor hadcensured the officials for trying to delay the establishment of theImperial University and said:

"I must return to Peking. "

"Why return so soon?" I inquired. 

"There is going to be trouble if the Emperor continues his reform atthis rate of speed, " he answered. 

It was when the Emperor had issued the sixth of his twenty-sevendecrees that this young Chinese statesman made this observation. If hismost intimate advisers had had the perspicuity to have foreseen thefinal outcome of such precipitance might they not have advised theEmperor to have proceeded more deliberately? When one remembers howChina had been worsted by Japan, how all her prestige was swept away, how, from having been the parent of the Oriental family of nations, adesirable friend or a dangerous enemy, she was stripped of all herglory, and left a helpless giant with neither strength nor power, onecan easily understand the eagerness of this boy of twenty-seven torestore her to the pedestal from which she had been ruthlessly torn. 

Another reason for his haste may be found in the seizure of histerritory by the European powers. A few months before he began hisreforms two German priests were murdered by an irresponsible mob in theprovince of Shantung. With this as an excuse Germany landed a battalionof marines at Kiaochou, a port of that province, which she took withfifty miles of the surrounding territory. As though this were notenough, she demanded the right to build all the railroads and open allthe mines in the entire province, and compelled the Chinese to pay anindemnity to the families of the murdered priests and rebuild thechurch and houses the mob had destroyed. China appealed to Russia whohad promised to protect her against all invaders. Instead of coming toher aid, however, Russia demanded a similar cession of Port Arthur, Talienwan and the surrounding territory which she had refused to allowJapan to retain two years before. Not to be outdone by the others, France demanded and received a similar strip of territory atKuang-chou-wan; and England found that Wei-hai-wei would beindispensable as a kennel from which she could guard the Russian bearon the opposite shore, but why she should have found it necessary alsoto demand from China four hundred miles of land and water aroundHongkong was no doubt difficult for Kuang Hsu to understand. 

When the Empress Dowager turned over the reins of government to hernephew she did it very much as a father would place the reins in thehands of a child whom he was teaching to drive an important vehicle ona dangerous road--she sat behind him still holding the reins. Among thethings reserved were that he should kotow to her once every five dayswhether she were in Peking or at the Summer Place, and she reservedsuch seals of office as made it necessary for all the highest officialsto come and express their obligations to her at the same time they cameto thank the Emperor. While Kuang Hsu may have been reconciled to theperformance of these duties at eighteen, they became irksome attwenty-seven and he demanded and received full liberty in the affairsof state. 

We have seen how he used his liberty, --not wisely, perhaps, as areformer, and yet the reformation of China can never be written withoutgiving the credit of its inception to Kuang Hsu. He was very differentfrom Hsien Feng, the husband of the Empress Dowager, before whose deathwe are told "the whole administrative power was vested in the hands ofa council of eight, whilst he himself spent his time in ways that wereby no means consistent with those that ought to have characterized theruler of a great and powerful nation. " Whatever else may be said ofKuang Hsu, he cannot be accused of indolence, extravagance, orindifference to the welfare of his country or his people. 

Appreciating the difficulty of securing an expression of opinion fromthose opposed to his views, and thus getting both sides of thequestion, in his fourth edict he requested the conservatives to send intheir objections to his schemes for progress and reform, and then as ifto get the broadest possible expression of opinion he adopted aShanghai journal called Chinese Progress as the official organ of thegovernment. But lest this be insufficient, in his twenty-second edicthe gave the right to all officials to address the throne in sealedmemorials. 

There was at this time a third-class secretary of the Board of Ritesnamed Wang Chao who sent in a memorial in which he advocated:

1. The abolition of the queue. 

2. The changing of the Chinese style of dress to that of the West. 

3. The adoption of Christianity as a state religion. 

4. A prospective national parliament. 

5. A journey to Japan by the Emperor and Empress Dowager. 

The Board of Rites opened and read this memorial, and, astounded at itsboldness, they summoned the offender before them, and ordered him towithdraw his paper. This he refused to do and the two presidents andfour vice-presidents of the Board accompanied it with a countermemorial denouncing him to the Emperor as a man who was makingnarrow-minded and wild suggestions to His Majesty. 

Partly because they had opened and read the memorial and partly becauseof their effort to prevent freedom of speech, Kuang Hsu issued anotheredict explaining why he had invited sealed memorials, and censuringthem for explaining to him what was narrow-minded and wild, as if helacked the intelligence to grasp that feature of the paper. He thenturned them all over to the Board of Civil Office ordering that body todecide upon a suitable punishment for their offense, and assuring themthat if they made it too mild, his righteous wrath would fall uponthem. The latter decided that they be degraded three steps and removedto posts befitting their lowered rank, but the Emperor revised thesentence and dismissed them all from office, and this was the beginningof his downfall. 

The Empress Dowager had been spending the hot season at the SummerPalace, and during the two months and more that the Emperor had beenstruggling with his reform measures, she gave no indication, either byword or deed, that she was opposed to anything that he had done. And Ithink that all her acts, from that time till the close of the Boxerinsurrection, can be explained without placing her in opposition to histheories of progress and reform. 

So long as the Emperor devoted himself to the creation of new officeshe found little active opposition on the part of the conservatives, while the reformers did everything in their power to encourage him. Theextent of the movement it is not easy to estimate. It opened up theintensely anti-foreign province of Hupeh, and transformed it into asection where railroads were to be built connecting the north with thesouth. It opened up the great mining province of Shansi and the lumberregions of Manchuria. It started railroads which are now lines of tradefor the whole empire. 

When he issued the fifth edict substituting Western science for theliterary essay in the great examinations, letters and telegrams beganto pour in upon us at the Peking University from all parts of theempire, asking us to reserve room for the senders in the school. Theirtuition was enclosed in their letters, and among those who came werethe grandson of the Emperor's tutor, graduates of various degrees, menof rank, and the sons of wealthy gentlemen who had not yet obtaineddegrees. Numerous requests came to our graduates to teach English inofficial families, one being employed to teach the grandson of LiHung-chang, and another the sons of a relative of the royal family. 

But when his reforms led the Emperor to dispense with useless offices, as in his twenty-first, twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth edicts, for thepurpose of retrenchment, and to dismiss recalcitrant officials fordisobedience to his commands, a howl arose which was heard throughoutthe empire. The six members of the Board of Rites dismissed in edicttwenty-three, with certain sympathizers to give them face, went to theEmpress Dowager at the Summer Palace, represented to her that the boywhom she had placed upon the throne was steering the ship of state tocertain destruction, and begged that she would come and once more takethe helm. She listened to them with the attention and deference forwhich she has always been famed, and then dismissed them without anyintimation as to what her course would be. 

When the Emperor heard what they were doing, he sent a courierpost-haste to call Yuan Shih-kai for an interview at the palace. WhenYuan came, he ordered him to return to Tien-tsin, dispose of hissuperior officer, the Governor-General Jung Lu, and bring the armycorps of 12, 500 troops of which he was in charge to Peking, surroundthe Summer Palace, preventing any one from going in or coming out, thusmaking the Empress Dowager a prisoner, and allowing him to go on withhis work of reform. 

It is just here that we see the difference in the statesmanship of theEmpress Dowager and the Emperor. When she appointed these twoofficials, one a liberal in charge of the army, she placed the other, aconservative, as his superior officer, so that one could not movewithout the knowledge and consent of the other, thus forestalling justsuch an order as this. To obey this order of the boy Emperor, Yuan mustcommit two great crimes, murder and treason, the one on a superiorofficer, and the other against her who had appointed him to office andwho had been the ruler of the country for thirty-seven years, either ofwhich would have been sufficient to have execrated him not only in theeyes of his own people but of history and of the world. Nay more, hadhe obeyed this order, the conservatives would have raised the cry ofrebellion, and an army ten times greater than he could have mustered, would have crushed Yuan and his little company of 12, 500 men, on theplea that he was about to take the throne. 

Yuan then did the only wise thing he could have done. He went to JungLu, without whose consent he had no right to move, showed him theorder, and asked for his commands. Jung Lu told him to leave the orderwith him, and as soon as Yuan had departed he took the train forPeking, called on Prince Ching, and they two went to the Summer Palaceand showed the order to Her Majesty, suggesting to her that it might bewell for her to come into the city and give him a few lessons ingovernment. 

As the Empress Dowager had been behaving herself so circumspectlyduring all the summer months, allowing the Emperor to test himself as aruler, one can scarcely blame her for not wanting to be bottled up inthe Summer Palace when she had done nothing to deserve it. Whentherefore this second delegation of officials, consisting of the twohighest in rank in the empire, came to request her to once more takecharge of the government, she called her sedan chair and started forthe capital. She went without an army, but was accompanied by those ofher palace eunuchs on whom she could implicitly depend, and enough ofthem to overcome those of the Emperor in case there should be trouble. That force was necessary is evident from the fact that she condemned todeath a number of his servants after she had taken the throne. 

When the Emperor heard that she was coming he sent a messenger withletters urging Kang Yu-wei to flee, and to devise some means for savingthe situation, while he attempted to find refuge for himself in theforeign legations. This however he failed to do, but was taken by theEmpress Dowager, and his career as a ruler ended, and his life as aprisoner began. 

X

Kuang Hsu--As a Prisoner

Kuang Hsu deserves a place in history as the prize iconoclast. He senta cold shiver down the spine of the literati by declaring that a man'sfitness for office should not depend upon his ability to write a poem, or upon the elegance of his penmanship. This was too much. The literatiargued that at the rate at which the Emperor was going, it might beexpected that he would do away with chop-sticks and dispense with thequeue. --Rounsevelle Wildman in "China's Open Door. "

X

KUANG HSU--AS A PRISONER

The year that Kuang Hsu ascended the throne a great calamity occurredin Peking. The Temple of Heaven--the greatest of the imperial temples, the one at which the Emperor announces his accession, confesses hissins, prays and gives thanks for an abundant harvest, was struck bylightning and burned to the ground. When the Emperor worships here itis as the representative of the people, the high priest of the nation, and his prayers are offered for his country and not for himself. Thereare no idols in this temple, and his prayers go up to Shang-ti theSupreme Being "by whom kings reign and princes decree justice. " Whentherefore instead of giving rain Heaven sent down a fiery bolt todestroy the temple at which the Son of Heaven prays, the people werestruck with dismay. 

The pale faces of the women, the apprehensive noddings of the men, andthe hushed voices of our old Confucian teachers as they spoke of thematter, indicated the concern with which they viewed it. Here was a boywho had been placed upon the throne by a woman; he was the samegeneration as the Emperor who had preceded him, and hence could notworship him as his ancestor. It augured ill both for the Emperor andthe empire, and so the boy Emperor began his reign in the midst of evilforebodings. 

During the nine years that Kuang Hsu had nominal control of affairs aseries of dire calamities befell the empire. Famines as the result ofdrought, floods from the overflow of "China's Sorrow, " war with Japan, filching of territory by the European countries, while editorialsappeared daily in the English papers of the port cities to the effectthat China was to be divided up among the powers. Then too Kuang Hsuwas childless and there was no hope of his giving an heir to the throne. 

Times and seasons have their meanings for the Chinese. Anythinginauspicious happening on New Year's day is indicative of calamity. Mr. Chen, a friend of mine, had become a Christian contrary to his mother'swishes. When his first child was born it was a girl, born on New Year'sday. His mother shook her head, looked distressed, and said thatnothing but calamity would come to his home. His second child was aboy, but the old woman shook her head again and sighed saying that itwould take more than one boy to avert the calamity of ones first babybeing a girl born on New Year's day, and it was not until he had fiveboys in succession that she was finally convinced. 

There was an eclipse of the sun on New Year's day of 1898 whichforeboded calamity to the Emperor. During the summer of this year hebegan his great reform, and in September the Empress Dowager tookcontrol of the affairs of state and Kuang Hsu was put in prison, neveragain to occupy the throne. His prison was his winter palace, where, for many months, he was confined in a gilded cage of a house, on asmall island, with the Empress Dowager's eunuchs to guard him. Thesewere changed daily lest they might sympathize with their unhappymonarch and devise some means for his liberation. Each day when theguard was changed, the drawbridge connecting the island with themainland was removed, leaving the Emperor to wander about in the courtof his palace-prison, or sit on the southern terrace where itoverlooked the lotus lake, waiting, hoping and perhaps expecting thathis last appeal to Kang Yu-wei in which he said: "My heart is filledwith a great sorrow which pen and ink cannot describe; you must goabroad at once and without a moment's delay devise some means to saveme, " might bring forth some fruit. 

Whether this confinement interfered with the health of the Emperor ornot it is impossible to say, but from the first he was made to pose asan invalid. As his failing health was constantly referred to in thePeking Gazette, the foreigners began to fear that it was the intentionto dispose of the Emperor, and such pressure was brought to bear on thegovernment as led them to allow the physician attached to the Frenchlegation to enter the palace and make an examination of His Majesty. Hefound nothing that fresh air and exercise would not remedy and assuredthe government that there was no cause for alarm, and from that time weheard nothing more of his precarious condition. 

One day not long after the coup d'etat a eunuch came rushing into ourcompound, his face scratched and bleeding, and knocking his head on theground before me, begged me to save his life. 

"What is the matter?" I inquired. 

"Oh! let me join the church!" he pleaded. 

"What do you want to join the church for?" I asked. 

"To save my life, " he answered. 

"But what is this all about?" I urged, raising him to his feet. 

"You know the eunuch who came to you to buy books, " he said. 

I assured him that I knew him. 

"Well, " he continued, "I am a friend of his. The Empress Dowager hasbanished him, burned all the books he bought for the Emperor, and I amin danger of losing my head. Let me join the church, and thus save mylife. "

All I could do was to inform him that this was not the business of thechurch, and after further conversation he left and I never saw himagain. 

Day after day as the Emperor received the Peking Gazette on his lonelyisland he saw one after another of his coveted reforms vanish like mistbefore the pen of his august aunt. Nor was this all, for often therescinding edicts appeared under his own name, and by the New Year, when he was brought forth to receive the foreign ministers accreditedto his court, scarcely anything remained of all his reforms but thePeking University and the provincial and other schools. It is not to bewondered at therefore that he was reticent and despondent. Whatpromises of good behaviour it was necessary for him to make before hewas even allowed this much liberty, it is useless for us to conjecture. 

Following this audience the Empress Dowager, who up to this time hadbeen seen by no foreigner except Prince Henry of Prussia, decided toreceive the wives of the foreign ministers. Her motives for this newmove it is impossible to determine. It may have been to ascertain howthe foreign governments would treat her who had been reported to havecalmly ousted "their great and good friend the Emperor, " to whom theirministers were accredited. Or it may have been that she hoped by thisstroke of diplomacy to gain some measure of recognition as head of thegovernment. She would at least see how she was regarded. 

The audience was an unqualified success. The seven ladies received werecharmed by the gracious manner of their imperial hostess, who assuredthem each as she touched her lips to the tea which she presented tothem that "we are all one family, " and up to that period of her lifethere was nothing to indicate that she did not feel that the sentimentshe expressed was true. Up to the time of the coup d'etat, as Dr. Martin says, "she herself was noted for progressive ideas. " "It willnot be denied by any one, " says Colonel Denby, "that the improvementand progress" described in his first volume, "are mainly due to thewill and power of the Empress Regent. To her own people, up to thisperiod in her career, she was kind and merciful, and to foreigners shewas just. " From the time of her return to the capital after theirflight in 1900 till the time of her death she became one of thegreatest reformers, if not the greatest, that has ever sat upon thedragon throne. One cannot but wish therefore in the interests ofsentiment that it were possible to overlook many things she did from1898 to 1900, which in the interests of truth it will be impossible todisregard. Nevertheless we should remember that she was driven to thesethings by the filching of her territory by the foreigners, and by thefalse pretentions of the superstitious Boxers and their leaders, and inthe hope of preserving her country. 

Her first act after imprisoning Kuang Hsu was to offer a large rewardfor his adviser Kang Yu-wei either alive or dead. Failing to get him, "she seized his younger brother Kang Kuang-jen, and with five othernoble and patriotic young men of ability and high promise, he wasbeheaded September 28th, while protesting that though they might easilybe slain, multitudes of others would arise to take their places. " Oneof my young Chinese friends who watched this procession on its way tothe execution grounds told me that, --

"The scene was impossible to describe. These five young reformers, "after expressing the sentiments quoted above from Dr. Smith, "reviledthe Empress Dowager and the conservatives in the most blood-curdlingmanner. "

I have already spoken of Wang Chao the secretary of the Board of Riteswho presented the memorial which caused the dismissal of the sixofficials of that body, and, indirectly, the fall of the Emperor. Sometime before writing this petition he called at our home requesting Mrs. Headland to go and see his mother who was ill. When his motherrecovered he sent her to Shanghai, and at the time of the coup d'etathe failed to get out of the city and went into hiding. Some daysafterwards a closed cart drove up to our home and to our astonishmenthe stepped forth. We expressed our surprise that he was still inPeking, and asked:

"Has the Empress Dowager ceased prosecuting her search for youreformers?"

"Not yet, " he answered. 

"And what is she doing?" we inquired. 

"Killing some, banishing others, driving many away from the capital, while still others are going into self-imposed exile. "

"Does the Emperor know anything about this?" we inquired. 

"No doubt, " he replied. "Everybody knows it, why not he?"

"That will make his imprisonment all the harder to bear, " we suggested. 

"Quite right, " he answered. 

"There is general alarm in the city that the Emperor himself will bedisposed of; what do you think about it?"

"Who can tell? He has not a friend in the palace except the firstconcubine, and, I am told, that she like himself is kept in closeconfinement. The Empress stands by her aunt, the Empress Dowager, whilethe eunuchs now are all her tools. The officials who go into the palaceto audiences are all conservative and hence against him, though Isuppose they never see him. "

"Do you suppose he ever sees the edicts issued in his name?"

"Not at all. They are made by the conservatives and the Empress Dowagerand issued without his knowledge. "

"And what do you propose to do?" we inquired. 

"I shall leave for Shanghai as soon as I can safely do so, " he replied. 

Before the year had passed the Empress Dowager had been induced orcompelled to select a new Emperor. We cannot believe that she did it ofher own free will, and for several reasons. First, the child selectedwas the son and the grandson of ultra conservative princes, and wecannot but believe that as she had placed herself in the hands of theconservative party, it was their selection rather than hers. Second, itmust have been a humiliation to her ever since she discovered that hernephew, whom she had selected and placed upon the throne in order tokeep the succession in her own family, being the same generation as herson who had died, could not worship him as his ancestor, and hencecould not legally occupy the throne, though as a matter of fact such acondition is not unknown in Chinese history. 

But if her humiliation was great, that of our boy-prisoner was stillgreater, for he was compelled to witness an edict, proclaimed in hisown name, which made him say that as there was no hope of his having achild of his own to succeed him, he had requested the Empress Dowagerto select a suitable person who should be proclaimed as the successorof Tung Chih, his predecessor, thus turning himself out of the imperialline. That this could not have been her choice is evidenced, further, by the fact that just as soon as she had once more regained her power, she surrounded herself with progressive officials, turned out all thegreat conservatives except Jung Lu, and dispossessing the son of PrinceTuan, at the time of her death selected her sister's grandchild andproclaimed him successor to her son and heir to the Emperor Kuang Hsu, in the following edict:

"Inasmuch as the Emperor Tung Chih had no issue, on the fifth day ofthe twelfth moon of that reign (January 12, 1875) an edict waspromulgated to the effect that if the late Emperor Kuang Hsu shouldhave a son, the said Prince should carry on the succession as the heirof Tung Chih. But now the late Emperor has ascended upon the dragon tobe a guest on high, leaving no son, and there is no course open but toappoint Pu I, the son of Tsai Feng, the Prince Regent, as the successorto Tung Chih, and also as heir to the Emperor Kuang Hsu, " which isquite in keeping with the conduct and character of the Empress Dowagerall her life except those two bad years. 

During the days and weeks following the dispossession of Kuang Hsu ofthe throne, in 1899 many decrees appeared which signified that at nodistant date he would be superseded by the son of Prince Tuan. Theforeign ministers began again to look grave. They spoke openly of theirfear that Kuang Hsu's days were numbered. They pressed their desire forthe usual New Year's audience, and once more the imprisoned monarch wasbrought forth and made to sit upon the throne and receive them. Butwhen the ladies asked for an audience they were refused, the EmpressDowager being too busy with affairs of state. She was at that timeseriously considering whether or not the government should cast in itslot with the Boxers and drive all the foreigners with all theirproductions into the eastern sea. 

One of the princesses told Mrs. Headland that before coming to adecision the Empress Dowager called the hereditary and imperial princesinto the palace to consult with them as to what they would better do. She met them all face to face, the Emperor and Prince Tuan standingnear the throne. She explained to them the ravages of the foreigners, how they were gradually taking one piece after another of Chineseterritory. 

"And now, " she continued, "we have these patriotic braves who claim tobe impervious to swords and bullets; what shall we do? Shall we cast inour lot with their millions and drive all these foreigners out of Chinaor not?"

Prince Tuan, as father of the heir-apparent, uneducated, superstitiousand ignorant of all foreign affairs, then spoke. He said:

"I have seen the Boxers drilling, I have heard their incantations, andI believe that they will be able to effect this much desired end. Theywill either kill the foreigners or drive them out of the country and nomore will dare to come, and thus we will be rid of them. "

The hereditary princes were then asked for an expression of opinion. The majority of them knew little of foreigners and foreign countries, and as Prince Tuan, the father of the future Emperor, had expressedhimself so strongly, they hesitated to offer an adverse opinion. Butwhen it came to Prince Su, a man of strong character, widely versed inforeign affairs, and of independent thought, he opposed the measuremost vigorously. 

"Who, " he asked, "are these Boxers? Who are their leaders? How canthey, a mere rabble, hope to vanquish the armies of foreign nations?"

Prince Tuan answered that "by their incantations they were able toproduce heaven-sent soldiers. "

Prince Su denounced such superstition as childish. But when afterfurther argument between him and Prince Tuan the Empress Dowagerassured him that she had had them in the palace and had witnessed theirprowess, he said no more. 

The imperial princes were then consulted, but seeing how Prince Su hadfared they were either in favour of the measure or non-committal. Finally the Empress Dowager appealed to Prince Ching who, morediplomatic than the younger princes, answered:

"I consider it a most dangerous undertaking, and I would advise againstit. But if Your Majesty decides to cast in your lot with the Boxers Iwill do all in my power to further your wishes. "

It is not a matter of wonder therefore that the Empress Dowager shouldbe led into such a foolish measure as the Boxer movement, when thePrince who had been president of the Foreign Office for twenty-fiveyears could so weakly acquiesce in such an undertaking. 

"The Emperor, " said the Princess, "was not asked for an expression ofhis opinion on this occasion, but when he saw that the Boxer leadershad won the day he burst into tears and left the room. "

Similar meetings were held in the palace on two other occasions, whenthe Emperor implored that they make no attempt to fight all the foreignnations, for said he, "the foreigners are stronger than we, both inmoney and in arms, while their soldiers are much better drilled andequipped in every way. If we undertake this and fail as we are sure todo, it will be impossible to make peace with the foreigners and ourcountry will be divided up amongst them. " His pleadings, however, weredisregarded, and after the meeting was over, he had to return to hislittle island, where for eight weeks he was compelled to sit listeningto the rattling guns, booming cannons and bursting firecrackers, forthe Boxers seemed to hope to exterminate the foreigners by noise. Hemust have felt from the books he had studied that it could only resultin disaster to his own people. 

When the allies reached Peking and the Boxers capitulated the Emperorwas taken out of his prison and compelled to flee with the court. 

"What do you think of your bullet-proof Boxers now?" one can imaginethey hear him saying to his august aunt, as he sees her cutting off herlong finger nails, dressing herself in blue cotton garments, andclimbing into a common street cart as an ordinary servant. "Wouldn't ithave been better to have taken my advice and that of Hsu Ching-chengand Yuan Chang instead of having put them to death for endeavouring intheir earnestness to save the country? What about your old conservativefriends? Can they be depended upon as pillars of state?" Or some other"I-told-you-so" language of this kind. 

From their exile in Hsian decrees continued to be issued in his name, and when affairs began to be adjusted, and the allies insisted onsetting aside forever the pretentions of the anti-foreign Prince Tuanand his son, banishing the former to perpetual exile, our hopes ranhigh that the Emperor would be restored to his throne. But to ourdisappointment the framers of the Protocol contented themselves withthe clause that: "Rational intercourse shall be permitted with theEmperor as in Western countries, " and with the return of the court in1902 he was still a prisoner. 

Every one who has written about audiences with the Empress Dowagertells how "the Emperor was seated near, though a little below her, " butthey never tell why. The reason is not far to seek. The world must notknow that he was a prisoner in the palace. They must see him near thethrone, but they may not speak to him. The addresses of the ministerswere passed to her by her kneeling statesmen, and it was they whoreplied. No notice was taken of the Emperor though he seemed to be inexcellent health. The Empress Dowager however still relieved him of theburdens of the government, and continued to "teach him how to govern. "

"I have seen the Emperor many times, " Mrs. Headland tells me, "and havespent many hours in his presence, and every time we were in the palacethe Emperor accompanied the Empress Dowager--not by her side but a fewsteps behind her. When she sat, he always remained standing a few pacesin the rear, and never presumed to sit unless asked by her to do so. Hewas a lonely person, with his delicate, well-bred features and hissimple dark robes, and in the midst of these fawning eunuchs, brilliantcourt ladies, and bejewelled Empress Dowager he was an inconspicuousfigure. No minister of state touched forehead to floor as he spoke inhushed and trembling voice to him, no obsequious eunuchs knelt whencoming into his presence; but on the contrary I have again and againseen him crowded against the wall by these cringing servants of HerMajesty. 

"One day while we were in the palace a pompous eunuch had steppedbefore the Emperor quite obliterating him. I saw Kuang Hsu put hishands on the large man's shoulders, and quietly turn him around, thathe might see before whom he stood. There were no signs of anger on hisface, but rather a gentle, pathetic smile as he looked up at the bigservant. I expected to see him fall upon his knees before the Emperor, but instead, he only moved a few inches to the left, and remained stillin front of His Majesty. Never when in the palace have I seen a kneebend to the Emperor, except that of the foreigner when greeting him orbidding him farewell. This was the more noticeable as statesmen andeunuchs alike fell upon their knees every time they spoke to theEmpress Dowager. 

"The first time I saw him his great, pathetic, wistful eyes followed mefor days. I could not forget them, and I determined that if I ever hadopportunity I would say a few words to him letting him know that theworld was resting in hope of his carrying out the great reforms he hadinstituted. But he was so carefully guarded and kept under such strictsurveillance that I never found an opportunity to speak to him. Nor didhe ever speak to the visitors, court ladies, the Empress Dowager, orattendants during all the hours we remained. 

"One of the ministers told me that one day after an audience, when theEmpress Dowager and the Emperor had stepped down from the dais, HerMajesty was engaged in conversation with one of his colleagues, and asthe Emperor stood near by, he made some remark to him. Immediately theEmpress Dowager turned from the one to whom she had been talking andmade answer for the Emperor. 

"On one occasion when there were but four of us in the palace, and wewere all comfortably seated, the Emperor standing a few paces behindthe Empress Dowager, she began discussing the Boxer movement, lamentingthe loss of her long finger nails, and various good-luck gourds ofwhich she was fond. The Emperor, probably becoming weary of aconversation in which he had no part, quietly withdrew by a sideentrance to the theatre which was playing at the time. For some momentsthe Empress Dowager did not notice his absence, but the instant shediscovered he was gone, a look of anxiety overspread her features, andshe turned to the head eunuch, Li Lien-ying, and in an authoritativetone asked: 'Where is the Emperor?' There was a scurry among theeunuchs, and they were sent hither and thither to inquire. After a fewmoments they returned, saying that he was in the theatre. The look ofanxiety passed from her face as a cloud passes from before the sun--andseveral of the eunuchs remained at the theatre. 

"I am told that at times the Empress Dowager invites the Emperor todine with her, and on such occasions he is forced to kneel at the tableat which she is seated, eating only what she gives him. It is an honourwhich he does not covet, but which he dare not decline for fear ofgiving offense. "

XI

Prince Chun--The Regent

Prince Chun the Regent of China gave a remarkable luncheon at theWinter Palace to-day to the foreign envoys who gathered here to attendthe funeral ceremonies of the late Emperor Kuang Hsu. The repast wasserved in foreign style. Among the Chinese present were Prince Ching, former president of the Board of Foreign Affairs and now adviser to theNaval Department; Prince Tsai Chen, a son of Prince Ching, who was atone time president of the Board of Commerce; Prince Su, chief of theNaval Department; and Liaing Tung-yen, president of the Board ofForeign Affairs. After the entertainment the envoys expressedthemselves as unusually impressed with the personality of theRegent. --Daily Press. 

XI

PRINCE CHUN--THE REGENT

The selection of Prince Chun as Regent for the Chinese empire duringthe minority of his son, Pu I, the new Emperor, would seem to be thewisest choice that could be made at the present time. In the firstplace, he is the younger brother of Kuang Hsu, the late Emperor, andwas in sympathy with all the reforms the latter undertook to introducein 1898. If Kuang Hsu had chosen his successor, having no son of hisown, there is no reason why he should not have selected Pu I to occupythe throne, with Prince Chun as Regent, for there is no other prince inwhom he could have reposed greater confidence of having all his reformmeasures carried to a successful issue; and a brother with whom he hadalways lived in sympathy would be more likely to continue his policythan any one else. 

But, in the second place, as we may suppose, Prince Chun was selectedby the Empress Dowager, whatever the edicts issued, and will thus havethe confidence of the party of which she has been the leader. It isquite wrong to suppose that this is the conservative party, or even aconservative party. China has both reform and conservative parties, but, in addition to these, she has many wise men and great officialswho are neither radical reformers nor ultra-conservatives. It was thesemen with whom the Empress Dowager allied herself after the Boxertroubles of 1900. 

These men were Li Hung-chang, Chang Chih-tung, Yuan Shih-kai, PrinceChing, and others, and it is they who, in ten years, with the EmpressDowager, put into operation, in a statesmanlike way, all the reformsthat Kuang Hsu, with his hot-headed young radical advisers, attemptedto force upon the country in as many weeks. There is every reason tobelieve that Prince Chun, the present Regent, has the support of allthe wiser and better element of the Reform party, as well as thosegreat men who have been successful in tiding China over the ten mostdifficult years of her history, while the ultra-conservatives at thislate date are too few or too weak to deserve serious consideration. We, therefore, think that the choice of Pu I as Emperor, with Prince Chunas Regent, whether by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, or both, was, all things considered, the best selection that could have been made. 

Prince Chun is the son of the Seventh Prince, the nephew of the EmperorHsien Feng and the Empress Dowager, and grandson of the Emperor TaoKuang. He has a fine face, clear eye, firm mouth, with a tendency toreticence. He carries himself very straight, and while below theaverage in height, is every inch a prince. He is dignified, intelligent, and, though not loquacious, never at a loss for a topic ofconversation. He is not inclined to small talk, but when among men ofhis own rank, he does not hesitate to indulge in bits of humour. 

This was rather amusingly illustrated at a dinner given by the lateMajor Conger, American minister to China. Major and Mrs. Congerintroduced many innovations into the social life of Peking, and nonemore important than the dinners and luncheons given to the princes andhigh officials, and also to the princesses and ladies of the court. In1904, I was invited to dine with Major Conger and help entertain PrinceChun, Prince Pu Lun, Prince Ching, Governor Hu, Na T'ung, and a numberof other princes and officials of high rank. I sat between Prince Chunand Governor Hu. Having met them both on several former occasions, Iwas not a stranger to either of them, and as they were well acquaintedwith each other, though one was a Manchu prince and the other a Chineseofficial, conversation was easy and natural. 

We talked, of course, in Chinese only, of the improvements andadvantages that railroads bring to a country, for Governor Hu, amongother things, was the superintendent of the Imperial Railways of northChina. This led us to speak of the relative comforts of travel by landand by sea, for Prince Chun had gone half round the world and back. Welistened to the American minister toasting the young Emperor of China, his princes, and his subjects; and then to Prince Ching toasting theyoung President of the United States, his officials, and his people, ina most dignified and eloquent manner. And then as the buzz ofconversation went round the table again, and perhaps because of theirhaving spoken of the YOUNG Emperor and the young President, I turned toGovernor Hu, who had an unusually long, white beard which reachedalmost to his waist as he sat at table, and said:

"Your Excellency, what is your honourable age?"

"I was seventy years old my last birthday, " he replied. 

"And he is still as strong as either of us young men, " said I, turningto Prince Chun. 

"Oh, yes, " said the Prince; "he is good for ten years yet, and by thattime he can use his beard as an apron. "

"It is an ill wind that blows no one good, " says the proverb, and thiswas never more forcibly illustrated than in the case of the death ofthe lamented Baron von Kettler. Had it not been for this unfortunateoccurrence, Prince Chun would not have been sent to Germany to conveythe apologies of the Chinese government to the German Emperor, and hewould thus never have had the opportunity of a trip to Europe; and theworld might once more have beheld a regent on the dragon throne who hadnever seen anything a hundred miles from his own capital. 

Prince Chun started on this journey with such a retinue as only theChinese government can furnish. He had educated foreign physicians andinterpreters, and, like the great Viceroy Li Hung-chang, he had a roundfan with the Eastern hemisphere painted on one side and the Western onthe other, and the route he was to travel distinctly outlined on both, with all the places he was to pass through, or to stop at on the trip, plainly marked. He was intelligent enough to observe everything ofimportance in the ports through which he passed, and it was interestingto hear him tell of the things he had seen, and his characterization ofsome of the people he had visited. 

"What did Your Highness think of the relative characteristics of theGermans and the French, as you saw them?" I asked him at the samedinner. 

"The people in Berlin, " said he, "get up early in the morning and go totheir business, while the people in Paris get up in the evening and goto the theatre. "

This may have been a bit exaggerated, but it indicated that the Princedid not travel, as many do on their first trip, with his mouth open andhis eyes closed. 

After his return to Peking he purchased a brougham, as did most of theother leading officials and princes at the close of the Boxer troubles, and driving about in this carriage, he has been a familiar figure fromthat time until the present. As straws show the direction of the wind, these incidents ought to indicate that Prince Chun will not be aconservative to the detriment of his government, or to the hindrance ofChinas progress. 

It is a well-known fact that the Empress Dowager, in addition to herother duties, took charge of the arrangement of the marriages of allher nieces and nephews. One of her favourite Manchu officials, andindeed one of the greatest Manchus of recent years, though veryconservative, and hence little associated with foreigners, was Jung Lu. As the affianced bride of Prince Chun had drowned herself in a wellduring the Boxer troubles, the Empress Dowager engaged him to thedaughter of the lady who had been Jung Lu's first concubine, but who, as his consort was dead, was raised to the position of wife. 

"This Lady Jung, " says Mrs. Headland, "is some forty years of age, verypretty, talkative, and vivacious, and she told me with a good deal ofpride, on one occasion, of the engagement of her son to the sixthdaughter of Prince Ching. And then with equal enthusiasm she told mehow her daughter had been married to Prince Chun, 'which of courserelates me with the two most powerful families of the empire. '

"I have met the Princess Chun on several occasions at the audiences inthe palace, at luncheons with Mrs. Conger, at a feast with the ImperialPrincess, at a tea with the Princess Tsai Chen, and at the palaces ofmany of the princesses. She is a very quiet little woman, and lookedalmost infantile as she gazed at one with her big, black eyes. She isvery circumspect in her movements, and with such a mother and father asshe had, I should think may be very brilliant. Naturally she had to bespecially dignified and sedate at these public functions, as she andthe Imperial Princess were the only ones belonging to the old imperialhousehold, the descendants of Tao Kuang, who were intimately associatedwith the Empress Dowager's court. She is small, but pretty, and, as Ihave indicated, quiet and reticent. She was fond of her father, andnaturally fond of the Empress Dowager, who selected her as a wife forher favourite nephew, Prince Chun, to whom she promised the successionat the time of their marriage. After her father's death, and while shewas in mourning, she was invited into the palace by the EmpressDowager, where she appeared wearing blue shoes, the colour used insecond mourning. 

"'Why do you wear blue shoes?' asked Her Majesty. 

"'On account of the death of my father, ' replied the Princess. 

"'And do you mourn over your dead father more than you rejoice overbeing in the presence of your living ruler?' the Empress Dowagerinquired. 

"It is unnecessary to add that the Princess 'changed the blue shoes forred ones while she remained in the palace, so careful has the EmpressDowager always been of the respect due to her dignity and position. "

Having promised the regency to Prince Chun, we may infer that theEmpress Dowager would do all in her power to prepare him to occupy theposition with credit to himself, and in the hope that he would continuethe policy which she has followed during the last ten years. Whenever, therefore, opportunity offered for a prince to represent the governmentat any public function with which foreigners were connected, PrinceChun was asked or appointed to attend. I have said that it was themurder of the German minister, Baron von Kettler, that gave Prince Chunhis opportunity to see the world. And just here I might add that anaccount of the massacre of Von Kettler, sent from Canton, was publishedin a New York paper three days before it occurred. This indicates thathis death had been premeditated and ordered by some highauthorities, --perhaps Prince Tuan or Prince Chuang, Boxerleaders, --because the Germans had taken the port of Kiaochou, and hadcompelled the Chinese government to promise to allow them to open allthe mines and build all the railroads in the province of Shantung. 

After the Boxer troubles were settled, the Germans, at the expense ofthe Chinese government, erected a large stone memorial arch on the spotwhere Von Kettler fell. At its dedication, members of the diplomaticcorps of all the legations in Peking were present, including ladies andchildren, together with a large number of Chinese officialsrepresenting the city, the government, and the Foreign Office, andPrince Chun was selected to pour the sacrificial wine. He did it withall the dignity of a prince, however much he may or may not haveenjoyed it. On this occasion he used one of the ancient, three-legged, sacrificial wine-cups, which he held in both hands, while Na Tung, President of the Foreign Office, poured the wine into the cup from atankard of a very beautiful and unique design. It is the only occasionon which I have seen the Prince when he did not seem to enjoy what hewas doing. I ought to add just here that I have heard the Chinese referto this arch as the monument erected by the Chinese government inmemory of the man who murdered Baron von Kettler!

It is a well-known fact that the Boxers destroyed all buildings thathad any indication of a foreign style of architecture, whether theybelonged to Chinese or foreigner, Christian or non-Christian, legation, merchant, or missionary. In the rebuilding of the Peking legations, missions, and educational institutions, there were naturally a largenumber of dedicatory services. Many of the Chinese officials attendedthem, but I shall refer to only one or two at which I remember meetingPrince Chun. I believe it was the design of the Empress Dowager, assoon as she had decided upon him as the Regent, to give him as liberalan education in foreign affairs as the facilities in Peking would allow. 

For many years the Methodist mission had tried to secure funds fromAmerica to erect a hospital and medical school in connection with themission and the Peking University. This they found to be impossible, and finally Dr. N. S. Hopkins of Massachusetts, who was in charge ofthat work, consulted with his brother and brother-in-law, whosubscribed the funds and built the institution. This act of benevolenceon the part of Dr. Hopkins and his friends appealed to the Chinesesense of generosity, and when the building was completed, a largenumber of Chinese officials, together with Prince Chun and Prince PuLun, were present at its dedication. A number of addresses were made bysuch men as Major Conger, the American minister, Bishop Moore, Na Tung, Governor Hu, General Chiang, and others of the older representatives, in which they expressed their appreciation of the generosity whichprompted a man like Dr. Hopkins to give not only himself, but hismoney, for the education of the Chinese youth and the healing of theirpoor. And I might add that Dr. Hopkins is physician to many of theprinces and officials in Peking at the present time. 

During this reconstruction, a number of the colleges of north Chinaunited to form a union educational institution. One part of this schemewas a union medical college, situated on the Ha-ta-men great street nota hundred yards north of the Von Kettler memorial arch. To the erectionof this building the wealthy officials of Peking subscribed liberally, and the Empress Dowager sent her check for 11, 000 taels, equal to$9, 000 in American gold, and appointed Prince Chun to represent theChinese government at its dedication. At this meeting Sir Robert Hartmade an address on behalf of the foreigners, and Na Tung on behalf ofthe Chinese. Although Prince Chun took no public part in the exercises, he privately expressed his gratification at seeing the completion ofsuch an up-to-date hospital and medical school in the Chinese capital. 

I have given these incidents in the life of Prince Chun to show that hehas had facilities for knowing the world better than any other Chinesemonarch or regent that has ever sat upon the dragon throne, and that hehas grasped the opportunities as they came to him. He has beenintimately associated with the diplomatic life of the variouslegations, which is perhaps the most important knowledge he hasacquired in dealing with foreign affairs, as these ministers are thechannels through which he must come in contact with foreigngovernments. He has been present at the dedication of a number ofmissionary educational institutions, and hence from personal contact hewill have some comprehension of the animus and work of missions and thecharacter of the men engaged in that work. He may have as a councillor, if he so desires, the Prince Pu Lun, who has had a trip around theworld, with the best possible facilities for seeing Japan, America, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy, and who has been in evenmore intimate contact with the diplomats and other foreigners than hasPrince Chun himself. My wife and I have dined with him and the Princessboth at the American legation and at his own palace, and when we leftChina, they came together in their brougham to bid us good-bye, a thingwhich could not have happened a few years ago, and an indication of howwide open the doors in China are now standing. 

On the whole, therefore, Prince Chun begins his regency with a brighteroutlook for his foreign relations than any other ruler China has everhad. What shall we say of his Chinese relations? Being the brother ofKuang Hsu, and himself a progressive young man, he ought to have thesupport of the Reform party, and being the choice of the EmpressDowager, he will have the support of the great progressive officialswho have had the conduct of affairs for the last quarter of a centuryand more, and especially for the past ten years, since the EmperorKuang Hsu was deposed. 

XII

The Home of the Court--The Forbidden City

The innermost enclosure is the Forbidden City and contains the palaceand its surrounding buildings. The wall is less solid and high than thecity wall, is covered with bright yellow tiles, and surrounded by adeep, wide moat. Two gates on the east and west afford access to theinterior of this habitation of the Emperor, as well as the space androoms appertaining, which furnish lodgment to the guard defending theapproach to the dragon's throne. --S. Wells Williams in "The MiddleKingdom. "

XII

THE HOME OF THE COURT--THE FORBIDDEN CITY

During the past ten years, since the dethronement of the late EmperorKuang Hsu, I have often been asked by Europeans visiting Peking:

"What would happen if the Emperor should die?"

"They would put a new Emperor on the throne, " was my invariable answer. They usually followed this with another question:

"What would happen if the Empress Dowager should die?"

"In that case the Emperor, of course, would again resume the throne, " Ialways replied without hesitation. But during those ten years, not oneof my friends ever thought to propound the question, nor did I have thewit to ask myself:

"What would happen if the Emperor and the Empress Dowager should bothsuddenly snap the frail cord of life at or about the same time?"

Had such a question come to me, I confess I should not have known howto answer it. It is a problem that probably never presented itself toany one outside of that mysterious Forbidden City, or the equallymysterious spectres that come and go through its half-open gates in thedarkness of the early morning. There are three parties to whom it mayhave come again and again, and to whom we may perhaps be indebted bothfor the problem and the solution. 

When the deaths of both of their Imperial Majesties were announced atthe same time, the news also came that the Japanese suspected thatthere had been foul play. With them, however, it was only suspicion;none of them, so far as I know, ever undertook to analyze the matter orunravel the mystery. There is no doubt a reasonable explanation, but wemust go for it to the Forbidden City, the most mysterious royaldwelling in the world, where white men have never gone except byinvitation from the throne, save on one occasion. 

In 1901, while the court was in hiding at Hsianfu, the city to whichthey fled when the allies entered Peking, the western half of theForbidden City was thrown open to the public, the only condition beingthat said public have a certificate which would serve as a pass to theAmerican boys in blue who guarded the Wu men, or front gate. I wasfortunate enough to have that pass. 

My first move was to get a Chinese photographer--the best I could findin the city--to go with me and take pictures of everything I wanted aswell as anything else that suited his fancy. 

The city of Peking is regularly laid out. Towards the south is theChinese city, fifteen miles in circumference. To the north is a square, four miles on each side, and containing sixteen square miles. In thecentre of this square, enclosed by a beautifully crenelated wall thirtyfeet thick at the bottom, twenty feet thick at the top and twenty-fivefeet high, surrounded by a moat one hundred feet wide, is the ForbiddenCity, occupying less than one-half a square mile. In this city theredwells but one male human being, the Emperor, who is called the"solitary man. "

There is a gate in the centre of each of the four sides, that on thesouth, the Wu men, being the front gate, through which the Emperoralone is allowed to pass. The back gate, guarded by the Japanese duringthe occupation, is for the Empress Dowager, the Empress and the womenof the court, while the side gates are for the officials, merchants orothers who may have business in the palace. 

Through the centre of this city, from south to north, is a passagewayabout three hundred feet wide, across which, at intervals of twohundred yards, they have erected large buildings, such as the imperialexamination hall, the hall in which the Emperor receives his bride, theimperial library, the imperial kitchen, and others of a like nature, all covered with yellow titles, and known to tourists, who see themfrom the Tartar City wall, as the palace buildings. These, however, arenot the buildings in which the royal family live. They are the placeswhere for the past five hundred years all those great diplomaticmeasures--and dark deeds--of the Chinese emperors and their greatofficials have been transacted between midnight and daylight. 

If you will go with me at midnight to the great gate which leads fromthe Tartar to the Chinese city--the Chien men--you will hear thewailing creak of its hinges as it swings open, and in a few moments theair will be filled with the rumbling of carts and the clatter of thefeet of the mules on the stone pavement, as they take the officialsinto the audiences with their ruler. If you will remain with me theretill a little before daylight you will see them, like silent spectres, sitting tailor-fashion on the bottom of their springless carts, returning to their homes, but you will ask in vain for any informationas to the business they have transacted. "They love darkness ratherthan light, " not perhaps "because their deeds are evil, " but because ithas been the custom of the country from time immemorial. 

Immediately to the north of this row of imperial palace buildings, andjust outside the north gate, there is an artificial mound called CoalHill, made of the dirt which was removed to make the Lotus Lakes. It issaid that in this hill there is buried coal enough to last the city intime of siege. This, however, was not the primary design of the hill. It has a more mysterious meaning. There have always been spirits in theearth, in the air, in every tree and well and stream. And in China ithas ever been found necessary to locate a house, a city or even acemetery in such surroundings as to protect them from the entrance ofevil spirits. "Coal Hill, " therefore, was placed to the north of theseimperial palace buildings to protect them from the evil spirits of thecold, bleak north. 

Just inside of that north gate there is a beautiful garden, withrockeries and arbours, flowering plants and limpid artificial streamsgurgling over equally artificial pebbles, though withal making abeautiful sight and a cool shade in the hot summer days. In the eastside of this garden there is a small imperial shrine having four doorsat the four points of the compass. In front of each of these doorsthere is a large cypress-tree, some of them five hundred years old, which were split up from the root some seven or eight feet, and plantedwith the two halves three feet apart, making a living arch throughwhich the worshipper must pass as he enters the temple. To the north ofthe garden and east of the back gate there is a most beautiful Buddhisttemple, in which only the members of the imperial family are allowed toworship, in front of which there is also a living arch like thosedescribed above, as may also be found before the imperial temples inthe Summer Palace. This is one of the most unique and mysteriousfeatures of temple worship I have found anywhere in China, and noamount of questioning ever brought me any explanation of its meaning. 

Now if you will go with me to the top of Coal Hill I will point out toyou the buildings in which their Majesties have lived. There are sixparallel rows of buildings, facing the south, each behind the other, inthe northwest quarter of this Forbidden City, protected from the evilspirits of the north by the dagoba on Prospect Hill. 

Perhaps you would like to go with me into these homes of theirMajesties--or, as a woman's home is always more interesting than theden of a man, let me take you through the private apartments of thegreatest woman of her race--the late Empress Dowager. She occupiedthree of these rows of buildings. The first was her drawing-room andlibrary, the second her dining-room and sleeping apartments, and thethird her kitchen. 

One was strangely impressed by what he saw here. There was no gorgeousdisplay of Oriental colouring, but there was beauty of a peculiarlypenetrating quality--and yet a homelike beauty. 

No description that can be written of it will ever do it justice. Notuntil one can see and appreciate the paintings of the old Chinesemasters of five hundred years ago hanging upon the walls, the beautifulpieces of the best porcelain of the time of Kang Hsi and Chien Lung, made especially for the palace, arranged in their natural surroundings, on exquisitely carved Chinese tables and brackets, the gorgeouslyembroided silk portieres over the doorways, and the matchlesstapestries which only the Chinese could weave for their greatestrulers, can we appreciate the beauty, the richness, and the refinedelegance of the private apartments of the great Dowager. 

I went into her sleeping apartments. Others also entered there, satupon her couch, and had their friends photograph them. I could notallow myself to do so. I stood silent, with head uncovered as I gazedwith wonder and admiration at the bed, with its magnificentlyembroidered curtains hanging from the ceiling to the floor, itsyellow-satin mattress ten feet in length and its great round, hardpillow, with the delicate silk spreads turned back as though it wereprepared for Her Majesty's return. On the opposite side of the roomthere was a brick kang bed, such as we find in the homes of all theChinese of the north, where her maids slept, or sat like silent ghostswhile the only woman that ever ruled over one-third of the human racetook her rest. The furnishings were rich but simple. No plants, nointricate carvings to catch the dust, nothing but the two beds and asmall table, with a few simple and soothing wall decorations, and themonotonous tick-tock of a great clock to lull her to sleep. 

If Shakespeare could say with an English monarch in his mind, "Uneasylies the head that wears a crown, " we might repeat it with addedemphasis of Tze Hsi. For forty years she had to rise at midnight, winter as well as summer, and go into the dark, dreary, cold halls ofthe palace, lighted much of the time with nothing but tallow dips, andheated only with brass braziers filled with charcoal, and there sitbehind a screen where she could see no one, and no one could see her, and listen to the reports of those who came to these dark audiences. Then she must, in conjunction with them, compose edicts which were sentout to the Peking Gazette, the oldest and poorest newspaper in theworld, to be carved on blocks, and printed, and then sent by courier toevery official in the empire. Ruling over a conquered race, she mustalways be watching out for signs of discontent and rebellion; beingherself the daughter of a poor man, and beginning as only the concubineof an emperor, and he but a weak character, she must be alert fordissatisfaction on the part of the princes who might have some title tothe throne. She must watch the governors in the distant provinces andthe viceroys who are in charge of great armies, that they do not directthem against instead of in defense of the throne. 

When her husband died while a fugitive two hundred miles from herpalace, she must see to it that her three-year-old child was placedupon the throne with her own hand at the helm, and when he died shemust also be ready with a successor, who would give her another leaseof office. Even when he became of age and took the throne she mustwatch over him like a guardian, to prevent his bringing down upon theirown heads the structure which she had builded. Nay, more, when itbecame necessary for her to dethrone him and rule in his name, banishing his friends and pacifying his enemies, keeping him a prisonerin his palace, it required a courage that was titanic to do so. But shenever flinched, though we may suppose that many of her poorestsubjects, who could sleep from dark till daylight with nothing but abrick for a pillow, might have rested more peacefully than she. 

She had a myriad of other duties to perform. She was the mother-in-lawof that imperial household, with the Emperor, the Empress, sixtyconcubines, two thousand eunuchs, and any number of court ladies andmaid-servants. Their expenses were enormous and she must keep her eyeon every detail. The food they ate was similar to that used by all theChinese people. I happen to know this, because one of her eunuchs whovisited me frequently to ask my assistance in a matter which he hadundertaken for the Emperor, often brought me various kinds of meat, orother delicacies of a like nature, from the imperial kitchens. 

I want you to visit three of the imperial temples in these beautifulpalace grounds. The first is a tall, three-story building at the headof that magnificent Lotus Lake. In it there stands a Buddhist deitywith one thousand heads and one thousand arms and hands. Standing uponthe ground floor its head reaches almost to the roof. Its body, faceand arms are as white as snow. There is nothing else in thebuilding--nothing but this mild-faced Buddhist divinity for thatbrilliant, black-eyed ruler of Chinas millions to worship. 

Standing near by is another building of far greater beauty. It is facedall over with encaustic tiles, each made at the kiln a thousand milesaway, for the particular place it was to occupy. Each one fits withouta flaw, a suggestion to American architects on Chinese architecture. 

The second of these temples stands to the west of the Coal Hill, immediately to the north of the homes of their Majesties. One day whilepassing through the forbidden grounds I came upon this temple from therear. In the dome of one of the buildings is a circular space some tenfeet in diameter, carved and gilded in the form of two magnificentdragons after the fabled pearl. It is to this place the Emperor goes intime of drought to confess his sins, for he confesses to the gods thatthe drought is all his doing, and to pray for forgiveness, and for rainto enrich the thirsty land. The towers on the corners of the wall ofthe Forbidden City are the same style of architecture as the smallpavilion in the front court of this temple. 

Now as the buds of spring are bursting and the eaves on themulberry-trees are beginning to develop, will you go with the EmpressDowager or the Empress into a temple on Prospect Hill, between the CoalHill and the Lotus Lake, where she offers sacrifices to the god of thesilkworm and prays for a prosperous year on the work of that littleinsect? Above it stands one of the most hideous bronze deities I haveever seen--male and naked--in a beautiful little shrine, every tile ofwhich is made in the form of a Buddha's head. During the occupationtourists were allowed to visit this place freely, and their desire forcurios overcoming their discretion, they knocked the heads off thesetiles until, when the place was closed, there was not a single tilewhich had not been defaced. 

One other building in the Forbidden City is worthy of our attention. Itis the art gallery. It is not generally known that China is the parentof all Oriental art. We know something of the art of Japan but littleabout that of China. And yet the best Japanese artists have never hopedfor anything better than to equal their Chinese teacher. In this artgallery there are stored away the finest specimens of the old mastersfor ten centuries or more, together with portraits of all the notedemperors. Among these portraits we may now find two of the EmpressDowager, one painted by Miss Carl, and another by Mr. Vos, a well-knownAmerican portrait painter. 

XIII

The Ladies of the Court

I love to talk with my people of their Majesties, the princesses, andthe Chinese ladies, as I have seen and known them. Your friendship Iwill always remember. Her Majesty, your imperial sister, found a warmplace in my heart and is treasured there. Please extend to the ImperialPrincess my cordial greetings and to the other princesses my best ofgood wishes. --Mrs. E. H. Conger, in a letter to the Princess Shun. 

XIII

THE LADIES OF THE COURT

The leading figure of the court is Yehonala, wife of the late EmperorKuang Hsu. She has always been called the Young Empress, but is now theEmpress Dowager. After the great Dowager was made the concubine ofHsien Feng, she succeeded in arranging a marriage, as we have seen, between her younger sister and the younger brother of her husband, theSeventh Prince, as he was called, father of Kuang Hsu and the presentregent. 

The world knows how, in order to keep the succession in her own family, she took the son of this younger sister, when her own son the EmperorTung Chih died, and made him the Emperor Kuang Hsu when he was butlittle more than three years of age. When the time came for him to wed, she arranged that he should marry his cousin, Yehonala, the daughter ofher favourite brother, Duke Kuei. This Kuang Hsu was not inclined todo, as his affections seem to have been centred on another. The greatDowager, however, insisted upon it, and he finally made her Empress, and to satisfy, --or shall we say appease him?--she allowed him to takeas his first concubine the lady he wanted as his wife; and it wascurrently reported in court circles that when Yehonala came into hispresence he not infrequently kicked off his shoe at her, a bit ofconduct that is quite in keeping with the temper usually attributed toKuang Hsu during those early years. This may perhaps explain why shestood by the great Dowager through all the troublous times of 1898 and1900, in spite of the fact that her imperial aunt had taken herhusband's throne. 

Mrs. Headland tells me that "Yehonala is not at all beautiful, thoughshe has a sad, gentle face. She is rather stooped, extremely thin, herface long and sallow, and her teeth very much decayed. Gentle indisposition, she is without self-assertion, and if at any of theaudiences we were to greet her she would return the greeting, but wouldnever venture a remark. At the audiences given to the ladies she wasalways present, but never in the immediate vicinity of either theEmpress Dowager or the Emperor. She would sometimes come inside thegreat hall where they were, but she always stood in some inconspicuousplace in the rear, with her waiting women about her, and as soon as shecould do so without attracting attention, she would withdraw into thecourt or to some other room. In the summer-time we sometimes saw herwith her servants wandering aimlessly about the court. She had theappearance of a gentle, quiet, kindly person who was always afraid ofintruding and had no place or part in anything. And now she is theEmpress Dowager! It seems a travesty on the English language to callthis kindly, gentle soul by the same title that we have been accustomedto use in speaking of the woman who has just passed away. "

My wife tells me that, --"A number of years ago I was called to see Mrs. Chang Hsu who was suffering from a nervous breakdown due to worry andsleeplessness. On inquiry I discovered that her two daughters had beentaken into the palace as concubines of the Emperor Kuang Hsu. Herfriends feared a mental breakdown, and begged me to do all I could forher. She took me by the hand, pulled me down on the brick bed besideher, and told me in a pathetic way how both of her daughters had beentaken from her in a single day. 

"'But they have been taken into the palace, ' I urged, to try to comforther, 'and I have heard that the Emperor is very fond of your eldestdaughter, and wanted to make her his empress. '

"'Quite right, ' she replied, 'but what consolation is there in that?They are only concubines, and once in the palace they are dead to me. No matter what they suffer, I can never see them or offer them a wordof comfort. I am afraid of the court intrigues, and they are onlychildren and cannot understand the duplicity of court life--I fear forthem, I fear for them, ' and she swayed back and forth on her brick bed. 

"Time, however, the great healer with a little medicine and sympathy toquiet her nerves, brought about a speedy recovery, though in the endher fears proved all too true. "

In 1897 the brother of this first concubine met Kang Yu-wei in thesouth, and became one of his disciples. Upon his return to Peking, knowing of the Emperor's desire for reform, and his affection for hissister, he found means of communicating with her about the youngreformer. 

At the time of the coup d'etat, and the imprisonment of the Emperor, this first concubine was degraded and imprisoned on the ground ofhaving been the means of introducing Kang Yu-wei to the notice of theEmperor, and thus interfering in state affairs. She continued insolitary confinement from that time until the flight of the court in1900 when in their haste to get away from the allies she was overlookedand left in the palace. When she discovered that she was alone with theeunuchs, fearing that she might become a victim to the foreignsoldiers, she took her life by jumping into a well. On the return ofthe court in 1902, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon her posthumoushonours, in recognition of her conduct in thus taking her life andprotecting her virtue. 

Some conception of the haste and disorder with which the court left thecapital on that memorable August morning may be gleaned from the factthat her sister was also overlooked and with a eunuch fled on foot inthe wake of the departing court. She was overtaken by Prince Chuang whowas returning in his chair from the palace, where, with Prince Ching, he had been to inform their Majesties that the allies were inpossession of the city. The eunuch, recognizing him, called hisattention to the fleeing concubine, who, when he had alighted andgreeted her, begged him to find her a cart that she might follow thecourt. Presently a dilapidated vehicle came by in which sat an old man. The Prince ordered him to give the cart to the concubine and sent herto his palace where a proper conveyance was secured, and she overtookthe court at the Nankow pass. 

At the audiences, this concubine was always in company with the EmpressYehonala, standing at her left. She, however, lacked both the beautyand intelligence of her sister. 

The ladies of the court, who were constantly associated with theEmpress Dowager as her ladies in waiting, are first, the ImperialPrincess, the daughter of the late Prince Kung, the sixth brother ofthe Empress Dowager's husband. Out of friendship for her father, theEmpress Dowagers adopted her as their daughter, giving her all therights, privileges and titles of the daughter of an empress. She is theonly one in the empire who is entitled to ride in a yellow chair suchas is used by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor or Empress. The highestof the princes--even Prince Ching himself--has to descend from hischair if he meet her. Yet when this lady is in the palace, no matterhow she may be suffering, she dare not sit down in the presence of HerMajesty. 

"One day when we were in the palace, " says Mrs. Headland, "the ImperialPrincess was suffering from such a severe attack of lumbago, that shecould scarcely stand. I suggested to her that she retire to the rear ofthe room, behind some of the pillars and rest a while. 

"'I dare not do that, ' she replied; 'we have no such a custom inChina. '"

She is austere in manner, plain in appearance, dignified in bearing, about sixty-five years of age, and is noted for her accomplishment inmaking the most graceful courtesy of any lady in the court. 

During the Boxer troubles and the occupation, her palace was plunderedand very much injured, and she escaped in her stocking feet through aside door. At the first luncheon given at her palace thereafter, sheapologized for its desolate appearance, saying that it had been lootedby the Boxers, though we knew it had been looted by the allies. Atlater luncheons, however, she had procured such ornaments as restoredin some measure its original beauty and grandeur, though none of thesedismantled palaces will regain their former splendour for many years tocome. 

Next to the Imperial Princess are the two sisters of Yehonala, one ofwhom is married to Duke Tse, who was head of the commission that madethe tour of the world to inquire as to the best form of government tobe adopted by China in her efforts at renovation and reform. It is nottoo much to suppose that it was because the Duke was married to theEmpress Dowager's niece that he was made the head of this commission, which after its return advised the adoption of a constitution. Theother sister is the wife of Prince Shun, and is the opposite of theEmpress. She is stout, but beautiful. She has always been the favouriteniece of the Empress Dowager, appeared at all the functions, and thoughvery sedate when foreign ladies were present at an audience, I was toldby the Chinese that when the imperial family were alone together shewas the life of the company. She would even stand behind the EmpressDowager's chair "making such grimaces, " the Chinese expressed it, as tomake it almost impossible for the others to retain their equilibrium. As she was the youngest of the three sisters, and because of her happydisposition, the Chinese nicknamed her hsiao kuniang, "the littlegirl. " These three sisters are all childless. 

The Princess Shun and Princess Tsai Chen, only daughter-in-law ofPrince Ching, herself the daughter of a viceroy, were very congenial, and the most intimate friends of all those in court circles. The latteris beautiful, brilliant, quick, tactful, and graceful. Of all theladies of the court she is the most witty and, with Princess Shun, themost interesting. These two more than any others made the court ladieseasy to entertain at all public functions, for they were full ofenthusiasm and tried to help things along. They seemed to feel thatthey were personally responsible for the success of the audience or theluncheon as a social undertaking. 

Lady Yuan is one of two of these court ladies who dwelt with theEmpress Dowager in the palace, the other being Prince Ching's fourthdaughter. She is a niece by marriage of the Empress Dowager, though shereally was never married. The nephew of the Empress Dowager, to whomshe was engaged, though she had never seen him, died before they weremarried. After his death, but before his funeral, she dressed herselfas a widow, and in a chair covered with white sackcloth went to hishome, where she performed the ceremonies proper for a widow, whichentitled her to take her position as his wife. Such an act is regardedas very meritorious in the eyes of the Chinese, and no women are morehighly honoured than those who have given themselves in this way to alife of chastity. 

The second of these ladies who remained in the palace with the EmpressDowager is the fourth daughter of Prince Ching. Married to the son of aviceroy, their wedded life lasted only a few months. She was taken intothe palace, and being a widow, she neither wears bright colours noruses cosmetics. She is a fine scholar, very devout, and spends much ofher time in studying the Buddhist classics. She is considered the mostbeautiful of the court ladies. 

The Empress Dowager took charge of most of the domestic matters of allher relatives, taking into the palace and associating with her as courtladies some who were widowed in their youth, and keeping constantlywith her only those whom she has elevated to positions of rank, ormembers of her own family. Nor was she too busy with state affairs tostop and settle domestic quarrels. 

Among the court ladies there was one who was married to a prince of thesecond order. Her husband is still living, but as they were notcongenial in their wedded life, the Empress Dowager made herself a kindof foster-mother to the Princess and banished her husband to Mongolia, an incident which reveals to us another phase of the great Dowager'scharacter--that of dealing with fractious husbands. 

XIV

The Princesses--Their Schools

The position accorded to woman in Chinese society is strictly adomestic one, and, as is the case in other Eastern countries, she isdenied the liberty which threatens to attain such amazing proportionsin the West. There is no reason to suppose that woman in China istreated worse than elsewhere; but people can of course paint hercondition just as fancy seizes them. They are rarely admitted into thedomestic surroundings of Chinese homes, therefore there is nothing tocurb the imagination. The truth is that just as much may be said on oneside as on the other. Domestic happiness is in China--as everywhereelse the world over--a lottery. The parents invariably select partnersin marriage for their sons and daughters, and sometimes make as greatblunders as the young people would if left to themselves. --Harold E. Gorst in "China. "

XIV

THE PRINCESSES--THEIR SCHOOLS[1]

[1] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. 

One day while making a professional call on the Princess Su ourconversation turned to female education in China. I was deeplyinterested in the subject, and was aware that the Prince hadestablished a school for the education of his daughters and the womenof his palace, and was naturally pleased when the Princess asked:

"Would you care to visit our school when it is in session?"

"Nothing would please me more, " I answered. "When may I do so?"

"Could you come to-morrow morning?" she inquired. 

"With pleasure; at what time?"

"I will send my cart for you. "

The following morning the Prince's cart appeared. It was lined withfur, upholstered in satin, furnished with cushions, and encircled by ared band which indicated the rank of its owner. A venerable eunuch, thehead of the palace servants, preceded it as an outrider, and assistedme in mounting and dismounting, while the driver in red-tasselled hatwalked decorously by the side. 

The school occupies a large court in the palace grounds. Anotherevidence of Western influence in the same court is a large two-storyhouse of foreign architecture where the Prince receives his guests. Prince Su was the first to have this foreign reception hall, but he hasbeen followed in this respect by other officials and princes as well asby the Empress Dowager. 

"This is not unlike our foreign compounds, " I remarked to the Princessas we entered the court. 

"Yes, " she replied, "the Prince does not care to have the court paved, but prefers to have it sodded and filled with flowers and shrubs. "

The school building was evidently designed for that purpose, beinglight and airy with the whole southern exposure made into windows, andcovered with a thin white paper which gives a soft, restful light andshuts out the glare of the sun. The floor is covered with a heavy ropematting while the walls are hung with botanical, zoological and othercharts. Besides the usual furniture for a well-equipped schoolroom, itwas heated with a foreign stove, had glass cases for their embroideryand drawing materials, and a good American organ to direct them insinging, dancing and calisthenics. 

I arrived at recess. The Princess took me into the teacher's den, whichwas cut off from the main room by a beautifully carved screen. Here Iwas introduced to the Japanese lady teacher and served with tea. Shespoke no English and but little Chinese, and the embarrassment of oureffort to converse was only relieved by the ringing of the bell forschool. The pupils, consisting of the secondary wives and daughters ofthe Prince, his son's wife, and the wives and daughters of his deadbrother who make their home with him, entered in an orderly way andtook their seats. When the teacher came into the room the ladies allarose and remained standing until she took her place before her deskand made a low bow to which they all responded in unison. This is thecustom in all of the schools I have visited. Even where thesuperintendent is Chinese, the pupils stand and make a low Japanese bowat the beginning and close of each recitation. 

"How long has the school been in session?" I asked the Princess. 

"Three and a half months, " she replied. 

"And they have done all this embroidery and painting in that time?"

"They have, and in addition have pursued their Western studies, " sheexplained. 

In arithmetic the teacher placed the examples on the board, the pupilsworked them on their slates, after which each was called upon for anexplanation, which she gave in Japanese. While this class was recitingthe Prince came in and asked if we might not have calisthenics, evidently thinking that I would enjoy the drill more than themathematics. It was interesting to see those Manchu ladies stand and gothrough a thorough physical drill to the tune of a lively march on aforeign organ. The Japanese are masters in matters of physical drill, and in the schools I have visited I have been pleased at the quietdignity, and the reserve force and sweetness of their Japaneseteachers. The precision and unanimity with which orders were executedboth surprised and delighted me. Everything about these schools wasgood except the singing, which was excruciatingly poor. The Chinesehave naturally clear, sweet voices, with a tendency to a minor tone, which, with proper training, admit of fair development. But theJapanese teacher dragged and sang in a nasal tone, in which the pupilsfollowed her, evidently thinking it was proper Western music. I wasrather amused to see the younger pupils go through a dignified dance ormarch to the familiar strains of "Shall we gather at the river, " whichthe eldest daughter played on the organ. 

"The young ladies do not comb their hair in the regular Manchu style, "I observed to the Princess. 

"No, " she answered, "we do not think that best. It is not veryconvenient, and so we have them dress it in the small coil on top ofthe head as you see. Neither do we allow them to wear flowers in theirhair, nor to paint or powder, or wear shoes with centre elevations onthe soles. We try to give them the greatest possible convenience andcomfort. "

They were proud of their bits of crocheting and embroidery, each ofwhich was marked with the name of the person who did it and the datewhen it was completed. Many of them were made of pretty silk thread ina very intricate pattern, though I admired their drawing and paintingstill more. 

"Of what does their course of study consist?" I asked the Princess. 

She went to the wall and took down a neat gilt frame which containedtheir curriculum, and which she asked her eldest daughter to copy forme. They had five studies each day, six days of the week, Sunday beinga holiday. They began with arithmetic, followed it up with Japaneselanguage, needlework, music and calisthenics, then took Chineselanguage, drawing, and Chinese history with the writing of theideographs of their own language, which was one of the most difficulttasks they had to perform. The dignified way in which the pupilsconducted themselves, the respect which they showed their teacher, andthe way in which they went about their work, delighted me. Thediscipline it gave them, the self-respect it engendered, and the powerof acquisition that came with it were worth more perhaps than theknowledge they acquired, useful as that information must have been. 

The Princess Ka-la-chin, the fifth sister of Prince Su, is married tothe Mongolian Prince Ka-la. It is a rule among the Manchus that noprince can marry a princess of their own people, but like the Emperorhimself, must seek their wives from among the untitled. These ladiesafter their marriage are raised to the rank of their husbands. It isthe same with the daughters of a prince. Their husbands must come fromamong the people, but unlike the princes they cannot raise them totheir own rank, and so their children have no place in the imperialclan. Many of the princesses therefore prefer to marry Mongolianprinces, by which they retain their rank as well as that of theirchildren. 

Naturally a marriage of this kind brings changes into the life of theprincess. She has been brought up in a palace in the capital, lives onChinese food, and is not inured to hardships. When she marries a Mongolprince, she is taken to the Mongolian plains, is not infrequentlycompelled to live in a tent, and her food consists largely of milk, butter, cheese and meat, most of which are an abomination to theChinese. They especially loathe butter and cheese, and not infrequentlyspeak of the foreigner smelling like the Mongol--an odour which theysay is the result of these two articles of diet. 

Prince Su's fifth sister was fortunate in being married to a Mongolprince who was not a nomad. He had established a sort of villagecapital of his possessions, the chief feature of which was his ownpalace. Here he lives during the summers and part of the winters;though once in three years he is compelled to spend at least threemonths in his palace in Peking when he comes to do homage to theEmperor. 

During one of these visits to Peking the Princess sent for me to cometo her palace. I naturally supposed she was ill, and so took with me mymedical outfit, but her first greeting was:

"I am not ill, nor is any member of my family, but I wanted to see youto have a talk with you about foreign countries. "

She had prepared elaborate refreshments, and while we sat eating, shedirected the conversation towards mines and mining, and then said:

"My husband, the Prince, is very much interested in this subject, andbelieves that there are rich stores of ore on his principality inMongolia. "

"Indeed, that is very interesting, " I answered. 

"You know, of course, it is a rule, " she went on to say, "that noprince of the realm is allowed to go more than a few miles from thecapital without special permission from the throne. "

"No, I was not aware of that fact. "

She then went on to say that her husband was anxious to attend the St. Louis Exposition, and study this subject in America, but so long asthese hindrances remained it was impossible for him to do so. She thensaid:

"I am very much interested in the educational system of your honourablecountry, and especially in your method of conducting girls' schools. "

"Would you not like to come and visit our girls' high school?" I asked. 

"I should be delighted, " she replied. 

This she did, and before leaving the capital she sent for a Japaneselady teacher whom she took with her to her Mongolian home, where sheestablished a school for Mongolian girls. 

In this school she had a regular system of rules, which did not tallywith the undisciplined methods of the Mongolians, and it was amusing tohear her tell how it was often necessary for the Prince to go about inthe morning and wake up the girls in order to get them into school atnine o'clock. 

The next time she came to Peking she brought with her seventeen of herbrightest girls to see the sights of the city and visit some of thegirls' schools, both Christian and non-Christian. Everything was new tothem and it was interesting to hear their remarks as I showed themthrough our home and our high school. When the Princess returned toMongolia she took with her a cultured young Chinese lady of unusualliterary attainments to teach the Chinese classics in the school. Thisis the only school I have known that was established by a Manchuprincess, for Mongolian girls, and taught by Chinese and Japaneseteachers. This young lady was the daughter of the president of theBoard of Rites, head examiner for literary degrees for all China, andwas himself a chuang yuan, or graduate of the highest standing. Beforegoing, this Chinese teacher had small bound feet, but she had not beenlong on the plains before she unbound her feet, dressed herself insuitable clothing, and went with the Princess and the Japanese teacherfor a horseback ride across the plains in the early morning, a thingwhich a Chinese lady, under ordinary circumstances, is never known todo. The school is still growing in size and usefulness. 

Prince Su's third sister is married to a commoner, but as is usual withthese ladies who marry beneath their own rank, she retains her maidentitle of Third Princess, by which she is always addressed. 

"How did you obtain your education?" I once asked her. 

"During my childhood, " she answered, "my mother was opposed to havingher daughters learn to read, but like most wealthy families, she hadold men come into the palace to read stories or recite poetry for ourentertainment. I not infrequently followed the old men out, bought thebooks from which they read, and then bribed some of the eunuchs toteach me to read them. In this way I obtained a fair knowledge of theChinese character. "

She is as deeply interested in the new educational movement among girlsas is her sister. When this desire for Western education began, sheorganized a school, in which she has eighty girls or more, taken fromvarious grades of society, whom she and some of her friends, inaddition to employing teachers and providing the school-rooms, gave agood part of their time to teaching the Chinese classics, while aJapanese lady taught them calisthenics and the rudiments of Westernmathematics. 

She is aggressively pro-foreign, and is ready to do anything that willcontribute to the success of the new educational movement, and thefreedom of the Chinese woman. On one occasion when the Chinese inPeking undertook to raise a fund for famine relief, they called a largepublic meeting to which men and women were alike invited, the firstmeeting of the kind ever held in Peking. Such a gathering could nothave occurred before the Boxer rebellion. The Third Princess, havingpromised to help provide the programme, took a number of her girls, andon a large rostrum, had them go through their calisthenic exercises forthe entertainment of the audience. On another occasion she took all hergirls to a private box at a Chinese circus, where men and womenacrobats and horseback riders performed in a ring not unlike that ofour own circus riders. In this circus small-footed women rode horsebackas well as the women in our own circus, and one woman with bound feetlay down on her back, balanced a cart-wheel, weighing at least ahundred pounds, on her feet, whirling it rapidly all the time, and thenafter it stopped she continued to hold it while two women and a childclimbed on top. The Princess was determined to allow her girls to haveall the advantages the city afforded. 

At the school of this Third Princess I once attended a unique memorialservice. A lady of Hang Chou, finding it impossible to securesufficient money by ordinary methods for the support of a school thatshe had established, cut a deep gash in her arm and then sat in thetemple court during the day of the fair, with a board beside her onwhich was inscribed the explanation of her unusual conduct. Thisbrought her in some three hundred ounces of silver with which sheprovided for her school the first year. When it was exhausted and shecould get no more, she wrote letters to the officials of her province, in which she asked for subscriptions and urged the importance of femaleeducation, to which she said she was willing to give her life. To herappeal the officials paid no heed, and she finally wrote other lettersrenewing her request for help to establish the school, after which shecommitted suicide. The letters were sent, and later published in thelocal and general newspapers. Memorial services were held in variousparts of the empire at all of which funds were gathered not only forher school but for establishing other schools throughout the provinces. 

The school of the Third Princess at which this service was held wasprofusely decorated. Chinese flags floated over the gates anddoor-ways. Beautifully written scrolls, telling the reason for theservice and lauding the virtues of the lady, covered the walls of theschoolroom. At the second entrance there was a table at which sat ascribe who took our name and address and gave us a copy of the "orderof exercises. " Here we were met by the Third Princess, who conducted usinto the main hall. Opposite the doorway was hung a portrait of thelady, wreathed in artificial flowers, and painted by a Chinese artist. A table stood before it on which was a plate of fragrant quinces, candles, and burning incense, giving it the appearance of a shrine. Pots of flowers were arranged about the room, which was unusually cleanand beautiful. The Chinese guests bowed three times before the pictureon entering the room, which I thought a very pretty ceremony. 

The girls of this school, to the number of about sixty, appeared inblue uniform, courtesying to the guests. Sixteen other girls' schoolsof Peking were represented either by teachers or pupils or both. One ofthe boys' schools came en masse, dressed in military uniform, led by aband, and a drillmaster with a sword dangling at his side. Addresseswere made by both ladies and gentlemen, chief among whom were the ThirdPrincess and the editress of the Woman's Daily Newspaper, the onlywoman's daily at that time in the world, who urged the importance ofthe establishment and endowment of schools for the education of girlsthroughout the empire. 

XV

The Chinese Ladies of Rank

 Though your husband may be wealthy, You should never be profuse; There should always be a limit To the things you eat and use. If your husband should be needy, You should gladly share the same, And be diligent and thrifty, And no other people blame. --"The Primer for Girls, " Translated by I. T. H. 

XV

THE CHINESE LADIES OF RANK[2]

[2] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. 

The Manchu lady's ideal of beauty is dignity, and to this both herdeportment and her costume contribute in a well-nigh equal degree. Herhair, put up on silver or jade jewelled hairpins, decorated with manyflowers, is very heavy, and easily tilted to one side or the other ifnot carried with the utmost sedateness. Her long garments, reachingfrom her shoulders to the floor, give to her tall figure an addedheight, and the central elevation of from four to six inches to thesoles of her daintily embroidered slippers, compel her to stand erectand walk slowly and majestically. She laughs but little, seldom jests, but preserves a serious air in whatever she does. 

The Chinese lady, on the contrary, aspires to be petite, winsome, affable and helpless. She laughs much, enjoys a joke, and is alwaysgood-natured and chatty. 

One of their poets thus describes a noted beauty:

 "At one moment with tears her bright eyes would be swimming, The next with mischief and fun they'd be brimming. Thousands of sonnets were written in praise of them, Li Po wrote a song for each separate phase of them. 

 "Bashfully, swimmingly, pleadingly, scoffingly, Temptingly, languidly, lovingly, laughingly, Witchingly, roguishly, playfully, naughtily, Willfully, waywardly, meltingly, haughtily, Gleamed the eyes of Yang Kuei Fei. 

 "Her ruby lips and peach-bloom cheeks, Would match the rose in hue, If one were kissed the other speaks, With blushes, kiss me too. "

She combs her hair in a neat coil on the back of her head, uses fewflowers, but instead prefers profuse decorations of pearls. Her uppergarment extends but little below her knees, and her lower garment is anaccordion-plaited skirt, from beneath which the pointed toes of hersmall bound feet appear as she walks or sways on her "golden lilies, "as if she were a flower blown by the wind, to which the Chinese love tocompare her. Her waist is a "willow waist" in poetry, and her "goldenlilies, " as her tiny feet are often called, are not more than two orthree inches long--so small that it not infrequently requires theassistance of a servant or two to help her to walk at all. And thoughshe may not need them she affects to be so helpless as to require theiraid. 

Until very recently education was discouraged rather than sought by theManchu lady. Many of the princesses could not read the simplest booknor write a letter to a friend, but depended upon educated eunuchs toperform these services for them. The Chinese lady on the contrary canusually read and write with ease, and the education of some of them isequal to that of a Hanlin. 

Socially the ladies of these two classes never meet. Their husbands maybe of equal rank and well known to each other in official life, but theladies have no wish to meet each other. One day while the granddaughterof one of the Chinese Grand Secretaries was calling upon me, thesisters of Prince Ching and Prince Su were announced. When they enteredI introduced them. The dignity of the two princesses when presented ledme to fear that we would have a cold time together. I explained who myChinese lady friend was, and they answered in a formal way (wai t outou jen te, li to'u k'e pu jen te) "the gentlemen of our respectivehouseholds are well acquainted, not so the ladies, " but the ice did notmelt. For a time I did my best to find a topic of mutual interest, butit was like trying to mix oil and water. I was about to give up indespair when my little Chinese friend, observing the dilemma in which Iwas placed, and the effort I was making to relieve the situation, threwherself into the conversation with such vigour and vivacity, andsuggested topics of such interest to the others as to charm thesereserved princesses, and it was not long until they were talkingtogether in a most animated way. 

One of the Manchu ladies expressed regret at the falling of her hairand the fact that she was getting bald. "Why, " said my little Chinesefriend, "after a severe illness not long since, I lost all my hair, butI received a prescription from a friend which restored it all, and justlook at the result, " she continued turning her pretty head with itsgreat coils of shiny black hair. "I will be delighted to let you haveit. " The Manchu princesses finally rose to depart, and in theirleave-taking, they were as cordial to my little Chinese friend, who hadmade herself so agreeable, as they were to me, for which I shall everbe grateful. 

After they had gone I asked:

"Why is it that the Manchu and Chinese ladies do not intermingle in asocial way?"

"The cause dates back to the beginning of the Manchu dynasty, " sheresponded. "When the Chinese men adopted the Manchu style of wearingthe queue, it was stipulated that they should not interfere with thestyle of the woman's dress, and that no Chinese should be taken to thepalace as concubines or slaves to the Emperor. We have therefore alwaysheld ourselves aloof from the Manchus. Our men did this to protect us, and as a result no Chinese lady has ever been received at court, except, of course, the painting teacher of the Empress Dowager, who, before she could enter the palace, was compelled to unbind her feet, adopt the Manchu style of dress and take a Manchu name. "

"Is not the Empress Dowager very much opposed to foot-binding? Why hasshe not forbidden it?"

"She has issued edicts recommending them to give it up, but to forbidit is beyond her power. That would be interfering with the Chineseladies' dress. "

"Do the Manchus consider themselves superior to the Chinese?"

"It is a poor rule that will not work both ways. Have you never noticedthat in his edicts the Emperor speaks of his Manchu slaves and hisChinese subjects?"

Among my lady friends is one whose father died when she was a child, and she was brought up in the home of her grandfather who was himself aviceroy. She had always been accustomed to every luxury that wealthcould buy. Clothed in the richest embroidered silks and satins, decorated with the rarest pearls and precious stones, she had servingwomen and slave girls to wait upon her, and humour her every whim. Oneday when we were talking of the Boxer insurrection she told me thefollowing story:

"Some years ago, " she said, "my steward brought me a slave girl whom hehad bought from her father on the street. She was a bright intelligentand obedient little girl, and I soon became very fond of her. She toldme one day that her grandmother was a Christian, and that she had beenbaptized and attended a Christian school. Her father, however, was anopium-smoker, and had pawned everything he had, and finally when hergrandmother was absent had taken her and sold her to get money to buyopium. She asked me to send a messenger to her grandmother and tell herthat she had a good home. 

"I was delighted to do so for I knew the old woman would be distressedlest the child had been sold to a life of shame, or had found a cruelmistress. Unfortunately, however, my messenger could find no trace ofthe grandmother, as the neighbours informed him that she had leftshortly after the disappearance of the child. 

"As the years passed the child grew into womanhood. She was verycapable, kind and thoughtful for others and I learned to depend uponher in many ways. She was very devoted to me, and sought to please mein every way she could. She always spoke of herself as a Christian andrefused to worship our gods. When the Boxer troubles began I took myhouse-servants and went to my grandfather's home thinking that theBoxers would not dare disturb the households of such great officials asthe viceroys. But I soon found that they respected no one who hadliberal tendencies. 

"One day there was a proclamation posted to the effect that allChristians were to be turned over to them, and that any one foundconcealing a Christian would themselves be put to death. My grandmothercame to my apartments and wanted me to send my slave girl to theBoxers. We talked about it for some time but I steadfastly refused. When the Boxers had procured all they could by that method theyannounced that they were about to make a house-to-house search, and anyhousehold harbouring Christians would be annihilated. "

"But how would they know that your slave was a Christian?" I inquired. 

"Have you not heard, " she asked, "that the Boxers claimed that aftergoing through certain incantations, they could see a cross upon theforehead of any who had been baptized?"

"And did you believe they could?"

"I did then but I do not now. Indeed we all did. My grandmother came tome and positively forbade me to keep the slave in her home. After shehad gone the girl came and knelt at my feet and begged me to save her!How could I send her out to death when she had been so kind andfaithful to me? I finally decided upon a plan to save her. I determinedto flee with her to the home of an uncle who lived in a town a hundredmiles or more from Peking, where I hoped the Boxers were less powerfulthan they were at the capital. 

"This uncle was the lieutenant-governor of the province and had alwaysbeen very fond of me, and I knew if I could reach him I should win hissympathy and his aid. But how was this to be done? All travellers weresuspected, searched and examined. For two women to be travelling alone, when the country was in such a state of unrest, could not but bringupon themselves suspicion, and should we be searched, the cross uponthe forehead would surely be found, and we would be condemned to thecruel tortures in which the Boxers were said to delight. 

"After much thought and planning the only possible method seemed to beto flee as beggars. You know women beggars are found upon the roads atall times and they excite little suspicion. Then in the hot summer itis not uncommon for them to wrap their head and forehead in a piece ofcloth to protect them from the fierce rays of the sun. In this way Ihoped to conceal the cross from observation in case we came into thepresence of the Boxers. We confided our plans to a couple of the womenservants whom we could trust, and asked them to procure proper outfitsfor us. They did so, and oh! what dirty old rags they were. Theservants wept as they took off and folded up my silk garments and cladme in this beggar's garb. "

"But your skin is so soft and fair, not at all like the skin of a womanexposed to the sun; and your black, shiny hair is not at all rusty anddirty like the hair of a beggar woman. I should think these facts wouldhave caused your detection, " I urged. 

"That was easily remedied. We stained our faces, necks, hands and arms, and we took down our hair and literally rolled it in dust which theservants brought from the street. Oh! but it was nasty! such an odour!It was only the saving of the life of that faithful slave that couldhave induced me to do it. I had to take off my little slippers and wrapmy feet in dirty rags such as beggars wear. We could take but a littlecopper cash with us. To be seen with silver or gold would have at oncebrought suspicion upon us, while bank-notes were useless in those days. 

"In the early morning, before any one was astir we were let out of aback gate. It was the first time I had ever walked on the street. I hadalways been accustomed to going in my closed cart with outriders andservants. I shrank from staring eyes, and thought every glance wassuspicious. My slave was more timid than I and so I must take theinitiative. I had been accustomed to seeing street beggars from behindthe screened windows of my cart ever since I was a child and so I knewhow I ought to act, but at first it was difficult indeed. Soon, however, we learned to play our part, though it seems now like ahideous dream. We kept on towards the great gate through which wepassed out of the city on to the highway which led to our destination. 

"The first time we met a Boxer procession my knees knocked together inmy fear of detection but they passed by without giving us a glance. Wemet them often after this, and before we finished our journey I learnedto doubt their claim to detect Christians by the sign of the cross. 

"We ate at the roadside booths, slept often in a gateway or by the sideof a wall under the open sky, and after several days' wandering, wereached the yamen of my uncle. But we dare not enter and reveal ouridentity, lest we implicate them, for we found the Boxers strongeverywhere, and even the officials feared their prowess. We hung aboutthe yamen begging in such a way as not to arouse suspicion, until anold servant who had been in the family for many years, and whom I knewwell, came upon the street. I followed him begging until we were out ofearshot of others, and then told him in a singsong, whining tone, suchas beggars use, who I was and why I was there, and asked him to let myuncle know, and said that if they would open the small gate in theevening we would be near and could enter unobserved. 

"At first he could not believe it was I, for by this time we indeedlooked like veritable beggars, but he was finally convinced andpromised to tell my uncle. After nightfall he opened the gate and ledus in by a back passage to my aunt's apartments where she and my unclewere waiting for me. They both burst into tears as they beheld myplight. Two old serving women, who had been many years in the family, helped us to change our clothes and gave us a bath and food. My feethad suffered the most. They were swollen and ulcerated and the dirtyrags and dust adhering to the sores had left them in a wretchedcondition. It took many baths before we were clean, and weeks before myfeet were healed. 

"We remained with my uncle until the close of the Boxer trouble, anduntil my grandfather's return from Hsian where he had gone with theEmpress Dowager and the court, and then I came back to Peking. "

"Your grandmother must have felt ashamed when she heard how hard it hadgone with you, " I remarked. 

"We never mentioned the matter when talking together. That was a timewhen every one was for himself. Death stared us all in the face. "

"Where is your slave girl now? I should like to see her, " I remarked. 

"After the troubles were over I married her to a young man of myuncle's household. I will send for her and bring her to see you. "

She did so. I found she had forgotten much of what she had learned ofChristianity, but she remembered that there was but one God and thatJesus Christ was His Son to whom alone she should pray. She alsoremembered that as a small child she had been baptized, and that inschool she had been taught that "we should love one another"; this wasabout the extent of her Gospel, but it had touched the heart of hercharming little mistress and had saved her life. 

There were sometimes amusing things happened when these Chinese ladiescalled. My husband among other things taught astronomy in theuniversity. He had a small telescope with which he and the studentsoften examined the planets, and they were especially interested inJupiter and his moons. One evening, contrary to her custom, this samefriend was calling after dark, and when the students had finished withJupiter and his moons, my husband invited us to view them, as they wereespecially clear on that particular evening. 

After she had looked at them for a while, and as my husband was closingup the telescope, she exclaimed: "That is the kind of an instrumentthat some foreigners sent as a present to my grandfather while he wasviceroy, but it was larger than this one. "

"And did he use it?" asked my husband. 

"No, we did not know what it was for. Besides my grandfather was toobusy with the affairs of the government to try to understand it. "

"And where is it now?" asked Mr. Headland, thinking that the viceroymight be willing to donate it to the college. 

"I do not know, " she answered. "The servants thought it was a pump andtried to pump water with it, but it would not work. It is probablyamong the junk in some of the back rooms. "

"I wonder if we could not find it and fix it up, " my husband persisted. 

"I am afraid not, " she answered. "The last I saw of it, the servantshad taken the glass out of the small end and were using it to look atinsects on the bed. "

One day when one of my friends came to call I said to her: "It is along time since I have seen you. Have you been out of the city?"

"Yes, I have been spending some months with my father-in-law, theviceroy of the Canton provinces. His wife has died, and I have returnedto Peking to get him a concubine. "

"How old is he?" I inquired. 

"Seventy-two years, " she replied. 

"And how will you undertake to secure a concubine for such an old man?"

"I shall probably buy one. "

A few weeks afterwards she called again having with her a good-lookingyoung woman of about seventeen, her hair beautifully combed, her facepowdered and painted, and clothed in rich silk and satin garments, whomshe introduced as the young lady procured for her father-in-law. Sheexplained that she had bought her from a poor country family for threehundred and fifty ounces of silver. 

"Don't you think it is cruel for parents to sell their daughters inthis way?" I asked. 

"Perhaps, " she answered. "But with the money they received for her, they can buy land enough to furnish them a good support all their life. She will always have rich food, fine clothing and an easy time, withnothing to do but enjoy herself, while if she had remained at home shemust have married some poor man who might or might not have treated herwell, and for whom she would have to work like a slave. Now she isnominally a slave with nothing to do and with every comfort, inaddition to what she has done for her family. "

While we were having tea she asked to see Mr. Headland, as many of theolder of my friends did. I invited him in, and as he entered thedining-room the young woman stepped out into the hall. 

My friend greeted my husband, and with a mysterious nod of her head inthe direction of the young woman she said: "Chiu shih na ke, --that'sit. "

XVI

The Social Life of the Chinese Woman

The manners and customs of the Chinese, and their socialcharacteristics, have employed many pens and many tongues, and willcontinue to furnish all inexhaustible field for students of sociology, of religion, of philosophy, of civilization, for centuries to come. Such studies, however, scarcely touch the province of the practical, atleast as yet, for one principal reason--that the subject is so vast, the data are so infinite, as to overwhelm the student rather thanassist him in sound generalizations. --A. R. Colquhoun in "China inTransformation. "

XVI

THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CHINESE WOMAN

The home life of a people is too sacred to be touched except by thehand of friendship. Our doors are closed to strangers, locked toenemies, and opened only to those of our own race who are in harmonyand sympathy with us. What then shall we say when people of an alienrace come seeking admission? They must bring some socialdistinction, --letters of introduction, or an ability to help us in waysin which we cannot help ourselves. 

In the case of a people as exclusive as the Chinese this is especiallytrue, so that with the exception of one or two women physicians and thewife of one of our diplomats no one has ever been admitted in a socialas well as professional way to the women's apartments of the homes ofthe better class of the Chinese people. 

A Chinese home is different from our own. It is composed of manyone-story buildings, around open courts, one behind the other, andsometimes covers several acres of ground. Then it is divided into men'sand women's apartments, the men receiving their friends in theirs andthe women likewise receiving their friends by a side gate in their ownapartments, which are at the rear of the dwelling. A wealthy manusually, in addition to his wife, has one or more concubines, and eachof these ladies has an apartment of her own for herself and herchildren, --though all the children of all the concubines reckon asbelonging to the first wife. 

I have heard Sir Robert Hart tell an amusing incident which occurred inPeking. He said that the Chinese minister appointed to the court ofSaint James came to call on him before setting out upon his journey. After conversing for some time he said:

"I should be glad to see Lady Hart. I believe it is customary incalling on a foreign gentleman to see his lady, is it not?"

"It is, " said Sir Robert, "and I should be delighted to have you seeher, but Lady Hart is in England with our children, and has not beenhere for twenty years. "

"Ah, indeed, then perhaps I might see your second wife. "

"That you might, if I had one. But the customs of our country do notallow us to have a second wife. Indeed they would imprison us if wewere to have two wives. "

"How singular, " said the official with a nod of his head. "You do notappreciate the advantages of this custom of ours. "

That there are advantages in this custom from the Chinese point ofview, I have no doubt. But from certain things I have heard I fearthere are disadvantages as well. One day the head eunuch from thepalace of one of the leading princes in Peking came to ask my wife, whowas their physician, to go to see some of the women or children whowere ill. It was drawing near to the New Year festival and, of course, they had their own absorbing topics of conversation in the servants'courts. I said to him:

"The Prince has a good many children, has he not?"

"Twenty-three, " he answered. 

"How many concubines has he?" I inquired. 

"Three, " he replied, "but he expects to take on two more after theholidays. "

"Doesn't it cause trouble in a family for a man to have so many womenabout? I should think they would be jealous of each other. "

"Ah, " said he, with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head, "thatis a topic that is difficult to discuss. Naturally if this woman seeshim taking to that woman, this one is going to eat vinegar. "

They do "eat vinegar, " but perhaps as little of it as any people wholive in the way in which they live, for the Chinese have organizedtheir home life as nearly on a governmental basis as any people in theworld. 

In addition to the wife and concubines, each son when he marries bringshis wife home to a parental court, and all these sisters-in-law, ordaughters-in-law add so much to the complications of living, for eachmust have her own retinue of servants. 

Young people in China are all engaged by their parents without theirknowledge or consent. This was very unsatisfactory to the young peopleof the old regime, and it is being modified in the new. One day one ofmy students in discussing this matter said to me:

"Our method of getting a wife is very much better than either the oldChinese method or your foreign method. "

"How is that?" I asked. 

"Well, " said he, "according to the old Chinese custom a man could neversee his wife until she was brought to his house. But we can see thegirls in public meetings, we have sisters in the girls' school, theyhave brothers in the college, and when we go home during vacation wecan learn all about each other. "

"But how do you consider it better than our method?" I persisted. 

"Why, you see, when you have found the girl you want, you have to goand get her yourself, while we can send a middleman to do it for us. "

I still argued that by our method we could become better acquaintedwith the young lady. 

"Yes, " he said, "that is true; but doesn't it make you awfully mad ifyou ask a lady to marry you and she refuses?" and it must be confessedthat this was a difficult question to answer without compromising one'sself. 

The rigour of the old regime was apparently modified by giving theyoung lady a chance to refuse. About ten days before the marriage, twoladies are selected by the mother of the young man to carry a peculiarornament made of ebony and jade, or jade alone, or red lacquer, to thehome of the prospective bride. This ornament is called the ju yi, whichmeans "According to my wishes. " If the lady receives it into her ownhands it signifies her willingness to become his bride; if she rejectsit, the negotiations are at an end, though I have never heard of a girlwho refused the ju yi. [3]

Very erroneous ideas of the life and occupations of the Chinese ladiesof the noble and official classes are held by those not conversant withtheir home life. The Chinese woman is commonly regarded as littlebetter than a secluded slave, who whiles away the tedious hours at anembroidery frame, where with her needle she works those delicate andintricate pieces of embroidery for which she is famous throughout theworld. In reality, a Chinese lady has little time to give to such work. Her life is full of the most exacting social duties. Few Americanladies in the whirl of society in Washington or New York have moresocial functions to attend or duties to perform. I have often beenpresent in the evening when the head eunuch brought to the ruling ladyof the home (and the head of the home in China is the woman, not theman) an ebony tablet on which was written in red ink the list of socialfunctions the ladies were to attend the following day. 

She would select from the list such as she and her unmarried daughterscould attend, --the daughters always going with their mother and notwith their sisters-in-law, --then she would apportion the otherengagements to her daughters-in-law, who would attend them in her stead. 

The Chinese lady in Peking sleeps upon a brick bed, one half of theroom being built up a foot and a half above the floor, with fluesrunning through it; and in the winter a fire is built under the bed, sothat, instead of having one hot brick in her bed, she has a hundred. She rises about eight. She has a large number of women servants, a fewslave girls, and if she belongs to the family of a prince, she hasseveral eunuchs, these latter to do the heavy work about the household. Each servant has her own special duties, and resents being asked toperform those of another. When my lady awakes a servant brings her acup of hot tea and a cake made of wheat or rice flour. After eatingthis a slave girl presents her with a tiny pipe with a long stem fromwhich she takes a few whiffs. Two servants then appear with a largepolished brass basin of very hot water, towels, soaps, preparations ofhoney to be used on her face and hands while they are still warm andmoist from the bathing. After the bath they remove the things anddisappear, and two other women take their places, with a tray on whichare combs, brushes, hair-pomades, and the framework and accessoriesneeded for combing her hair. Then begins a long and tedious operationthat may continue for two hours. Finally the hair is ready for theornaments, jewels and flowers which are brought by another servant on alarge tray. The mistress selects the ones she wishes, placing them inher hair with her own hands. 

Some of these flowers are exquisite. The Chinese are expert at makingartificial flowers which are true to nature in every detail. Oftenabove the flower a beautiful butterfly is poised on a delicate spring, and looks so natural that it is easy to be deceived into believing itto be alive. When the jasmine is in bloom beautiful creations are madeof these tiny flowers by means of standards from which protrude finewires on which the flowers are strung in the shape of butterflies orother symbols, and the flowers massed in this way make a very effectiveornament. With the exception of the jasmine the flowers used in thehair are all artificial, though natural flowers are worn inseason--roses in summer, orchids in late summer, and chrysanthemums inautumn. 

The prevailing idea with the Chinese ladies is that the foreign womandoes not comb her hair. I have often heard my friends apologizing toladies whom they have brought to see me for the first time, and on whomthey wanted me to make a good impression, by saying:

"You must not mind her hair; she is really so busy she has no time tocomb it. All her time is spent in acts of benevolence. "

At the first audience when the Empress Dowager received the foreignladies, she presented each of them with two boxes of combs, one ivoryinlaid with gold, the other ordinary hard wood, and the set wascomplete even to the fine comb. One cannot but wonder if Her Majestyhad not heard of the untidy locks of the foreign woman, which sheattributed to a lack of proper combs. 

After the hair has been properly combed and ornamented, cosmetics ofwhite and carmine are brought for the face and neck. The Manchu ladyuses these in great profusion, her Chinese sister more sparingly. NoChinese lady, unless a widow or a woman past sixty, is supposed toappear in the presence of her family without a full coating of powderand paint. A lady one day complained to me of difficulty in lifting hereyelids, and consulted me as to the reason. 

"Perhaps, " said I, "they are partially paralyzed by the lead in yourcosmetics. Wash off the paint and see if the nerves do not recovertheir tone. "

"But, " said she, "I would not dare appear in the presence of my husbandor family without paint and powder; it would not be respectable. "

The final touch to the face is the deep carmine spot on the lower lip. 

The robing then begins. And what beautiful robes they are! the softestsilks, over which are worn in summer the most delicate of embroideredgrenadines, or in winter, rich satins lined with costly furs, eachseason calling for a certain number and kind. She then decoratesherself with her jewels, --earrings, bracelets, beads, rings, charms, embroidered bags holding the betel-nut, and the tiny mirror in itsembroidered case with silk tassels. When these are hung on the buttonsof her dress her outfit is complete, and she arises from her couch awonderful creation, from her glossy head, with every hair in place, tothe toe of her tiny embroidered slipper. But it has taken the time of ahalf-dozen servants for three hours to get these results. 

To one accustomed to the Chinese or Manchu mode of dress, she appearsvery beautiful. The rich array of colours, the embroidered gowns, andthe bright head-dress, make a striking picture. Often as the ladies ofa home or palace came out on the veranda to greet me, or bid me adieu, I have been impressed with their wonderful beauty, to which our owndull colours, and cloth goods, suffer greatly in comparison, and Icould not blame these good ladies for looking upon our toilets withmore or less disdain. 

It is now after eleven o'clock and her breakfast is ready to be servedin another room. Word that the leading lady of the household is aboutto appear is sent to the other apartments. Hurried finishing touchesare given to toilets, for all daughters, daughters-in-law andgrandchildren must be ready to receive her in the outer room when sheappears leaning on the arms of two eunuchs if she is a princess, or ontwo stout serving women if a Chinese. 

According to her rank, each one in turn takes a step towards her andgives a low courtesy in which the left knee touches the floor. Even thechildren go through this same formality. All are gaily dressed, withhair bedecked and faces painted like her own. She inclines her head butslightly. These are the members of her household over whom she hassway--her little realm. While her mother-in-law lived she was under thesame rigorous rule. 

In China where there are so many women in the home it is necessary tohave a head--one who without dispute rules with autocratic sway. Thisis the mother-in-law. When she dies the first wife takes her place ashead of the family. A concubine may be the favourite of the husband. Hemay give her fine apartments to live in, many servants to wait on her, and every luxury he can afford; but there his power ends. The firstwife is head of the household, is legally mother of all the childrenborn to any or all of the concubines her husband possesses. Thechildren all call her mother, and the inferior wives recognize her astheir mistress. She and her daughters, and daughters-in-law, attendsocial functions, receive friends, extend hospitality; but theconcubines have no place in this, unless by her permission. When thetime comes for selecting wives for her sons, it is the first wife whodoes it, although she may be childless herself. It is to her the bridesof these sons are brought, and to her all deference is due. In rarecases, where the concubine has had the good fortune to supply the heirto the throne or to a princely family, she is raised to the position ofempress or princess. But this is seldom done, and is usually rememberedagainst the woman. She is never received with the same feeling as ifshe had been first wife. 

One day I was asked to go to a palace to see a concubine who was ill. In such cases I always went directly to the Princess, and she took meto see the sick one. As we entered the room there was a nurse standingwith a child in her arms, and the Princess called my attention to ablemish on its face. 

"Can it be removed?" she asked. 

I looked at it and, seeing that it would require but a minor operation, told her it could. 

While attending to the patient, the nurse, fearing that the child wouldbe hurt, left the room and another entered with another child. 

"Now, " said the Princess when we had finished with the patient, "wewill attend to the child. " And she called the woman to her. 

"But, " said the woman, "this is not the child. "

"There, " said the Princess, "you see I do not know my own children. "

But I left our friend receiving the morning salutations of herhousehold. These over, she dismisses them to their own apartments, where each mother sits down with her own children to her morning meal, waited on by her own servants. If there are still unmarried daughters, they remain with their mother; if none, she eats alone. 

Since Peking is in the same latitude as Philadelphia my lady has thesame kinds of fruit--apples, peaches, pears, apricots, the mostdelicious grapes, and persimmons as large as the biggest tomato youever saw; indeed, the Chinese call the tomato the western redpersimmon. She has mutton from the Mongolian sheep (the finest I haveever eaten), beef, pork or lamb; chicken, goose or duck; hare, pheasantor deer, or fish of whatever kind she may choose. Of course these areall prepared after the Chinese style, and be it said to the credit oftheir cooks that our children are always ready to leave our own tableto partake of Chinese food. 

After her meal she lingers for a few minutes over her cup of tea andher pipe. In the meantime her cart or sedan chair is prepared. Heroutriders are ready with their horses; the eunuchs, women and slavegirls who are to attend her, don their proper clothing and prepare thechanges of raiment needed for the various functions of the day. Onetakes a basin and towels, another powder and rouge-boxes, another thepipe and embroidered tobacco pouch, not even forgetting the silvercuspidor, all of which will be needed. When she eats, a servant givesher a napkin to spread over her gown; after she has finished, anotherbrings a basin of hot water, from which a towel is wrung with which shegently wipes her mouth and hands. Another brings her a glass of water, or she washes out her mouth with tea, and finally with the littlemirror and rouge-box, while she still sits at table, she touches up herface with powder and she puts the paint upon her lip if it hasdisappeared. 

When ready to start, her cart or chair is drawn up as close as possibleto the gate of the women's apartments. A screen of blue silk eighteenor twenty feet long and six feet high, fastened to two woodenstandards, is held by eunuchs to screen her while she enters the cart. The chair can be used only by princesses or wives of viceroys ormembers of the Grand Council. But whether chair or cart it is lined andcushioned with scarlet satin in summer, and in winter with fur. It isan accomplishment to enter a cart gracefully, but years of practiceenable her to do so, and as soon as she is seated in Buddhist fashion, the curtain is dropped; her attendant seats herself cross-legged infront; several male servants rush up, seize the shafts of the cart, place the mule between them, fasten the buckles (it reminds one of thefire department), the driver takes his place at the lines, two othermale servants take hold of the sides of the mule's bridle, and all isin readiness to start. Female servants and slave girls crowd into othercarts, outriders mount their mules, and the cavalcade starts with mylady's cart ahead. 

As they pass along the streets they are remarked upon by allfoot-passengers, and as they near their destination, a courier onhorseback spurs up his steed, makes a wild dash forward, leaps from hishorse, and announces to the gate-keeper that the Princess will soonarrive. The news is at once taken to the servants of the women'sapartments, where the name is given to a eunuch, who bears it to hismistress. 

In the meantime the party has arrived. The mule is unhitched, cartdrawn to the gate, screen spread, servant descends from front, and thePrincess with the help of a couple of eunuchs is escorted through along covered walk into the court, where the ladies of the household arewaiting on the veranda to receive her. As she enters the gateway thehostess begins slowly to descend the steps. The others follow, and theymeet in the centre of the court. Low courtesies are made by each andformal inquiries as to each other's health. There is a short stop andcertain formalities before the guest will ascend the steps ahead of thehostess. The same occurs again on entering the reception hall, andtaking the seat of honour. The luckless foreigner sometimes makes themistake of conceding to her guest's modesty and allows her to take alower seat, which is a grievous offense, and she is only pardoned onthe plea that she is an outside barbarian, and does not understand therules of polite society. 

After she is seated tea is served, and servants bring in trays ofsweetmeats, fruit, nuts, dried melon seeds, candied fruits and smallcakes. One of these nuts is unique. It is an "English walnut" in which, after the outer hull is removed, the shell is self-cracked, and foldsback in places so that the kernel appears. While partaking of thesedelicacies the object of the visit is announced, which is that her sonis to be married on a certain date. Of course official announcementswill be sent later, but she wishes to ask if her hostess will act asone of her representatives to carry the ju yi to the young lady's home. 

After the ladies have chatted for a time about the latest officialappointments, some court gossip, the latest fashion in robeornamentation, and the newspaper news at home and abroad--for theChinese have ten or a dozen newspapers in Peking, among which is thefirst woman's daily in the world--the hostess invites her guest to seeher garden. They pass through a gateway into a court in which are greattrees, shrubbery, fish-ponds spanned by marble bridges, covered walks, beautiful rockeries, wisteria vines laden with long clusters ofblossoms, summer-houses, miniature mountains, and flowers of allkinds--a dream of beauty and loveliness. After returning to the houseanother cup of tea is served, and the guest rises to leave. But beforedoing so her servants bring in a bundle of clothing, and there in thepresence of her hostess her outer robes are changed for others of amore official character. 

Her next call is at the birthday celebration of the mother of one ofthe highest officials in the capital. I was present when she arrived. Instead of entering by the front gate, she went by a private entrancedirectly to the apartments of her hostess. Many guests (all gentlemen)were assembled in the front court, which was covered by a mat pavilionand converted into a theatre. The court was several feet lower than theadjoining house, the front windows of which were all removed and it wasused for the accommodation of the lady guests. On the walls of thetemporary structure hung red satin and silk banners on which werepinned ideographs cut out of gold foil or black velvet, expressive ofbeautiful sentiments and good wishes for many happy returns of the day. The Emperor, wishing to do this official honour, has informed him thaton his mother's birthday an imperial present will be sent her which isa greater compliment than if sent to the official himself. 

It was a gala scene. Fresh guests arrived every minute. The ladies intheir most graceful and dignified courtesies were constantly bending asother guests were announced, while the gentlemen, with low bows andeach shaking his own hands, received their friends. The clothes of themen, though of a more sombre hue, were richer in texture than those ofthe women. Heavy silks and satins, embroidered with dragons in goldthread, indicated that this one was a member of the imperial clan, while others equally rich were worn by the other gentlemen, eachembroidered with the insignia of his rank. Hats adorned with redtassels, peacock feathers in jade holders, and the button denoting therank of the wearer, were worn by all, as it would be a breach ofetiquette to remove the hat in the presence of one's host. 

It would also be bad form for the gentlemen to raise their eyes towhere the ladies were seated; just as the latter, who must look overthe heads of the men to view the theatre, would not be caught allowingtheir eyes to dwell upon any one. But no doubt these gentle littleladies have their own curiosity, and some means of finding out who'swho among that court full of dragon-draped pillars of state; for I havenever failed to receive a ready answer when I inquired as to the nameof some handsome or distinguished-looking guest whose identity I wishedto learn. 

The theatre goes on interminably. Like my lady, they change theirclothes, and the scenery, in full view of the audience. The plays aremostly historical, the women's parts being taken by men, as women arenot allowed to go on the stage. One daring company, in imitation of theforeign custom, had a woman take one of the parts; but a special orderfrom the viceroy put the company out of commission, and the leader inprison. 

The guests were not expected to sit quietly watching the play, butmoved about greeting each other and chatting at will. Servants broughttea and sweetmeats and finally a banquet was served. Near the close ofthe feast it was announced that the imperial present was coming, andthe members of the household disappeared. The deep boom of the drumsand the honk of the great horns were heard distinctly as they enteredthe street, and soon the yellow imperial chair, with its thirty-sixbearers in the royal livery, moved slowly towards us between two rowsof the male members of the household who had gone out and were kneelingon both sides of the street, knocking their heads as the chair passedthem. The great gates were thrown open and there in the gateway thefemale members of the family knelt and kotowed as the chair passed by. 

The presents were taken into a room specially prepared for theirreception. The head imperial eunuch placed them in position, and, witha low obeisance, departed, the richer by several hundred ounces ofsilver. The gentlemen guests were first invited to view these tokens ofimperial favour. In order of their rank they entered, prostratingthemselves before them. Later we ladies were invited into the room, where the Chinese all kotowed. What now were these wonderful giftsbefore which these men and women of rank and noble birth were fallingupon their faces?

They were two squares of red paper, eighteen inches across, printed inoutline of the imperial dragon, on which the characters for long lifeand happiness were written with the imperial pen; and a small yellowsatin box in which sat a little gold Buddha not more than an inch inheight! It was the thought, not the value, which elicited all thisappreciation. 

Shall we go with this busy little princess to another festal occasion?I was with her again. It was at the home of the sister of one of thesweetest little princesses in the whole empire. Her baby was a monthold and she was celebrating what they call the full month feast. Instead, however, of having the usual feasting and theatricals, themother, who, for days after her child was born, lay at death's door, sent out invitations to her friends to come and fast and give thanks tothe gods for sparing her life. 

Though the child was a month old the mother was too wan and weak toleave her couch. She was dressed, however, in festal robes, andreceived her guests with many gracious words and apologies. Of courseonly ladies were present. The great covered court was converted into alarge shrine. One could imagine they were looking into the main hall ofa temple, only that everything was so clean and beautiful. From thecentre of the shrine a Goddess of Mercy looked down complacently uponthe array of fruit, nuts, sweetmeats and cakes spread out before her. Many candles in their tall candlesticks were burning on every side. Before her was a great bronze incense-burner, from which many sticks ofincense sent out their fragrant odour on the air. As each guest passedthrough the court, she took a stick from the pile, lit it, and, with aword of prayer, added it to the number. 

After the guests had all arrived a princess--sister of thehostess--accompanied by two of the leading guests, descended into thepaved court and took her place before the altar. Deep-toned bells weretouched by small boys whose shaven heads and priestly robes denotedthat they, like little Samuel, were being brought up within the courtsof the temple. The Princess took a great bunch of incense in her twohands, one of her attendants lit it with a torch prepared for thatpurpose, the flame and smoke ascended amid the deep tones of the bells, as she prostrated herself before the goddess. She looked like abeautiful fairy herself as she stood with the flaming bunch of incenseheld high above her head. Three times she prostrated herself and ninetimes she bent forward, fulfilling all the requirements of the law. 

At the close of this ceremony the ladies were invited to partake of afeast prepared wholly of vegetables and vegetable oils. It requiresmuch more skill to prepare such a feast than when meat and animal oilsare used. The food furnished interesting topics for discussion. Most ofit was prepared by various temples, each being celebrated for someparticular dish, which it was asked to provide for the occasion. 

It is not uncommon for a Chinese lady to take upon herself a vow inwhich she promises the gods to observe certain days of each month asfast days, on condition that they restore to health a mother, father, husband or child. No matter what banquet she attends she need onlymention to her hostess that she has a vow and she is made the chiefguest, helping others but eating nothing herself. After this full monthfeast the baby was seen, its presents admired, the last cup of teadrunk, the farewells said, and we all returned home. 

[3] The remainder of the chapter is from Mrs. Headland's note-book. 

XVII

The Chinese Ladies--Their Ills

 My home is girdled by a limpid stream, And there in summer days life's movements pause, Save where some swallow flits from beam to beam, And the wild sea-gull near and nearer draws. 

 The good wife rules a paper board for chess; The children beat a fish-hook out of wire; My ailments call for physic more or less, What else should this poor frame of mine require? --"Tu Fu, " Translated. 

XVII

THE CHINESE LADIES--THEIR ILLS[4]

[4] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. 

One day a eunuch dashed into the back gate of our compound in Peking, rode up to the door of the library, dismounted from his horse, andhanded a letter in a red envelope to the house servant who met him onthe steps. 

"What is the matter?" asked the boy. 

"The Princess is ill, " replied the servant. 

"What Princess?" further inquired the boy. 

"Our Princess, " was the reply. 

"Oh, you are from the palace near the west gate?"

"Yes, " and the boy and the servant continued their conversation untilthe former had learned all that the letter contained, whereupon hebrought me the message. 

I opened the letter, written in the Chinese ideographs, and called themessenger in. 

"Is the Princess very ill?" I inquired. 

"Not very, " he answered, "but she has been indisposed for several days. "

"When does she want me to go?" I inquired, for I had long ago learnedthat a few inquiries often brought out interesting and valuableinformation. 

"At once, " he answered; "the cart will be here in a few minutes. "

By the time I had made ready my medical outfit the cart had arrived. Itwas very much like a great Saratoga trunk on two wheels. It was withoutseat and without springs, but filled with thick cushions, and as I hadlearned to sit tailor fashion it was not entirely uncomfortable to ridein. It had gauze curtains in summer, and was lined with quilted silk orfur in winter, and was a comfortable conveyance. 

When I reached the palace I was met by the head eunuch, who conductedme at once to the apartments of the Princess. Her reception room washandsomely furnished with rich, carved, teak-wood furniture after theManchu fashion, with one or two large, comfortable, leather-coveredeasy chairs of foreign make. Clocks sat upon the tables andwindow-sills, and fine Swiss watches hung on the walls. Beautiful jadeand other rich Chinese ornaments were arranged in a tasteful way aboutthe room. On the wall hung a picture painted by the Empress Dowager, agift to the Prince on his birthday. 

After a moment's waiting the Princess appeared attended by her womenand slave girls. 

"I beg your pardon for not having my hair properly dressed, " she said, as she took my hands in hers, the custom of these Manchu princesses andeven the Empress Dowager herself, in greeting foreign ladies. "Iwelcome you back to Peking after your summer vacation. "

When the usual salutations had been passed she told me her trouble andI gave her the proper medicine, with minute instructions as to how totake it, which I also repeated to her women. 

"The cause of my illness, " she explained, "is over-fatigue. I had to bepresent at court on the eighth of the eighth month and I became verytired from standing all day. "

"But could you not sit down?" I asked. 

"Not in the presence of the Empress Dowager, " she replied. 

"Of course, I know you could not sit down in the presence of HerMajesty, but could you not withdraw and rest a while?" I inquired. 

"Not that day. It was a busy and tiresome day for us all, " she replied. 

While we were talking the young Princess, her son's wife, came in andgreeted her mother-in-law in a formal but kindly way, and gave herhands to me just as the Princess had done. She remained standing allthe time she was in the room, as did four of the secondary princessesor wives of her husband. They were all beautifully dressed, but theyare beneath the Princess in rank, and so must stand in her presence. Ifthe Prince's mother had come in, as she often did when I was there, thePrincess would have to stand and wait on her. All Manchu families arevery particular in this respect. 

"You will be interested, " said the Princess, "in one phase of our visitto the palace. " Then turning to one of her women she said: "Bring methose two pairs of shoes. "

"These, " she explained, "are like some made by my mother-in-law andmyself as presents for the Empress Dowager. On the eighth of the eighthmonth we have a feast, when the ladies of the royal household areinvited into the palace, and our custom is for each of us to presentHer Majesty with a pair of shoes. "

The shoes were daintily embroidered, though not so pretty as some Ihave seen the Empress Dowager wear. Some of her shoes are decoratedwith beautiful pearls and others are covered with precious stones. 

"The Empress Dowager, " continued the Princess, "is very vain of hersmall feet; though, " she continued, as she put her own foot out, encased in the daintiest little embroidered slipper of light-bluesatin, "it is not so small as my own. "

It seemed very human to hear this delicate little Princess make aremark of this kind. Of course, both she and the Empress Dowager havenatural feet. 

It was late in the afternoon, some months after my visit to thePrincess, that a very different call came for my services. 

The boy came in and told me that a man wanted me to go to see his wife, who lived in the southern city outside the Ha-ta gate. It has alwaysbeen my custom never to refuse any one whether they be rich or poor, and so I told him to call a cart. 

It was in midwinter and a bitter cold night, the room was without fireand yet there was a child of three or four toddling about upon the kangor brick bed whose only garment was a long coat. 

"You should put a pair of trousers on that child, " I said, "or it willcatch cold and I will soon have to come again. "

"Yes, " they said, "we will put trousers on it. "

"You had better do it at once, " I insisted. 

"Yes, " they continued, "we will see that it is dressed. "

After attending to the woman, and again urging them to dress the child, I wrapped my warm cloak around me and started home, though I could notforget the child. 

"It is a cold night, " I said to the driver as we started on our way. 

"Yes, " he answered, "there will be some uncomfortable people in thecity to-night. "

"In that house we just left, " I continued, for I could not banish thechild from my thoughts, "there was a little child playing on the bedwithout a shred of trousers on. "

"Quite right, " said he; "they pawned the trousers of that child to getmoney to pay me for taking you to see the sick woman. "

"To pay you!" said I, with indignation, and yet with admiration for thecharacter of the people for whom I was giving my services--"to pay you!Then drive right back and give them their money and tell them to go andredeem those trousers and put them on the child!"

"The city gate will be closed before we can reach it if I return, " saidhe, "and we will not be able to get in to-night. "

"No matter about that, " I insisted, "go back and give them the money. "

He turned around with many mutterings, lashed up his mule at the top ofhis speed, gave them the money, and then started on a gallop for thecity gate. It was a rough ride in that springless cart over the ruttyroads. But my house seemed warmer that night and my bed seemed softerafter I had paid the carter myself. 

Among my friends and patients none are more interesting than the MissesHsu. They are very intelligent, and after I had become well acquaintedwith them I said to them one day:

"How is it that you have done such wide reading?"

"You know, of course, " they said, "that our father is a chuang yuan. "

I asked them the meaning of a chuang yuan. Then I learned that underthe Chinese system a great many students enter the examinations, andthose who secure their degree are called hsiu tsai; a year or two laterthese are examined again, and those who pass are given the degree ofchu jen; once more these latter are examined and the successfulcandidates are called chin shih, and are then ready for officialposition. They continue to study, however, and are allowed to go intothe palace, where they are examined in the presence of the Emperor, andthose who pass are called han lin, or forest of pencils. Once in threeyears these han lins are examined and one is allowed to obtain adegree--he is a chuang yuan. 

Out of four hundred million people but one is allowed this degree oncein three years. 

"Your father must be a very great scholar, " I remarked. 

"He has always been a diligent student, " they answered, modestly. 

"What is his given name?" I inquired, one day. 

"If you will give me a pencil I will write it for you; we never speakthe given name of our father in China, " said the eldest, and she wroteit down. 

"How many sisters are there in your family--eight, are there not?"

"Yes. You know, of course, that number five was engaged when a child ofsix to the son of Li Hung-chang. "

"No, I was not aware of the fact; and were they married?"

"No, they were never married. The young man died before they were oldenough to wed. When word of his death was brought to her, child thatshe was, she went to our mother and told her she must never engage herto any one else, as she meant to live and die the widow of this boy. "

"And did she go to Li Hung-chang's home?"

"No, the old Viceroy wanted to take her to his home, build a suite ofrooms for her, and treat her as his daughter-in-law, but our parentsobjected because she was so young. The Viceroy loved her very much, andhis eyes often filled with tears as he spoke of her and the son who hadpassed away. When the Viceroy died she wanted to go and kotow at hisfuneral, and all his family except the eldest son were anxious to haveher do so, and thus be recognized as one of the family. But this sonobjected, and though Lady Li knocked her head on the coffin until itbled he would not yield, lest she might want her portion. "

"And what has become of your sister? How is it that I have never seenher?"

"She withdrew to a small court, where she has lived with none but herwomen servants, not even seeing our father or brothers, and notallowing a male servant to go near her. And she will not permit theword Li to be spoken in her presence. "

"And what does she do?" I asked. "How does she employ herself?"

"Studying, reading, painting, and embroidery. When young Li refused toallow her to attend his father's funeral her sense of self-respect wasoutraged and she cut off her hair and threatened to commit suicide. Sheoften fasts for a week, and has tried on several occasions to take herown life. "

I asked them if they did not fear that she might succeed finally inthis attempt to kill herself. 

"Yes, we have constant apprehensions. But then, what if she did? Itwould only emphasize her virtue. "

It was some months after the young ladies told me what I have justrelated that they called, for they had taken up the study of Englishand I had agreed to help them a bit. 

"How is your sister?" I inquired, for the sad fate of this young girlweighed like a burden on my heart. 

"She fasted more than usual during the early summer, but she batheddaily and changed her clothes, dressing herself in her most beautifulgarments. She had not been sleeping well for some time, and one day sheordered her women to leave her and not return until they were called. They remained away until a married sister and a sister-in-law-a nieceof Li Hung-chang--called and wanted to see her. We went to her room butfound it locked. We knocked but received no answer. We finally puncheda hole through the paper window and saw her sitting on her brick bed, her head bolstered up with cushions and her eyes closed. We supposedshe was sleeping, but on forcing open the door we found that she hadgone to join her boy husband, though her colour and appearance was thatof a living person. "

"And are you sure she had not swooned?"

"She remained in this condition for twenty-two hours without pulse orheart beat, and so we put her in her casket. "

I could not but feel sad that I had not been in the city, and had hadan opportunity to help them to ascertain whether her life had reallygone out. But the girls seemed proud of the distinction of having had asister of such consummate virtue. Numerous embroidered scrolls andlaudatory inscriptions were sent her from friends of the Li family aswell as of their own, and it is expected that the throne will order amemorial arch erected to her memory. 

On another occasion I was requested to go to the palace of one of theprinces. The fourth Princess, a beautiful little child of five, was illwith diphtheria, and the first greeting of the mother as I went in wasthat she "was homesick to see me. " The child had been ill for severaldays before they sent for me, and I told them at once that the case wasdangerous. I wanted to do all I could for them and at the same timeprotect my own children from the danger of infection. After the firsttreatment with antitoxin she seemed to rally, her throat cleared up, but I soon found that the poison had pervaded her entire system, and soI stayed with her day and night. 

I found that the child had contracted the disease from another abouther own age, who was both her playmate and her slave. It is the customamong the wealthy to purchase for each daughter a companion who playswith her as a child, becomes a companion in youth and her maid when shemarries. These slaves are usually treated well, and when this onebecame ill the members of the family visited her often, taking her suchdainties as might tempt her appetite. As a result I had to administerantitoxin to eight of the younger members of the household, so carelesshad they been about the spread of this disease; indeed I have foundthat the isolation of patients suffering from contagious diseases iswholly unknown in China. 

One of the most attractive of all my Chinese lady friends and patientsis the niece of the great Viceroy, Li Hung-chang, the daughter of hisbrother, Li Han-chang, who is himself a viceroy. I have been herphysician for eighteen years or more and hence have become intimatelyacquainted with her. She has visited me very often in my home and, ofall the women I have ever known, of any race or people, I have nevermet one whom I thought more cultured or refined than she. This may seema strange statement, but the quiet dignity that she manifested on alloccasions and her charming manners are not often met with. I have neverfelt on entering a drawing-room such an atmosphere of refinement asseemed to surround her. 

That the Chinese take very kindly to foreign medicine there is nodoubt, though it is sometimes amusing how they go back to their ownnative methods. 

One day my husband brought home a physiological chart about the size ofan ordinary man. It was covered with black spots and I asked him thereason for them. 

"That is what I asked the dealer from whom I bought it, " he replied, "and he told me that those spots indicate where the needle can beinserted in treatment by acupuncture without killing the patient. "

When a Chinese is ill the doctor generally concludes that the only wayto cure him is to stick a long needle into him and let out the pain orset up counter irritation. If the patient dies it is evident he stuckthe needle into the wrong spot. And this chart has been made up frommillions of experiments during the past two or three thousand yearsfrom patients who have died or recovered. 

This was practically illustrated by a woman who was brought to thehospital. Having had pain in the knee she sent for a Chinese physicianwho concluded that the only method of relieving her was by acupuncture. He therefore inserted a needle which unfortunately pierced the synovialsac causing inflammation which finally resulted in complete destructionof the joint. Such cases are not infrequent both among adults andchildren in all grades of society, due to this method of treatment. 

One day I was called to see a lady who was in immediate need ofsurgical treatment. She had three sons who were in high officialpositions in the palace, and if their mother died they would have towithdraw from official life and go into mourning for three years. Whenmen are thus compelled to resign the new incumbent is not inclined torestore the office when the period of mourning is over. They weretherefore doubly anxious to have their mother recover. They had triedall kinds of Chinese physicians and finally sent for me. 

I explained the nature of the operation necessary, and gave them everyreason to hope for a speedy recovery, while without surgical treatmentshe must surely die. They consented and the operation was successful. She recovered rapidly for a few days until I regarded her aspractically out of danger. But one day when I called I found her bathedin perspiration, shaking with fear, weeping and depressed. Her woundwas in an excellent condition and I could find no reason for herdespondency. I cheered her up, laughed and talked with her, gave hersuch articles of diet as she craved, and left her happy. The next day Iagain found her in the same nervous condition. 

"Something is wrong with your mother of which you have not told me, " Isaid to her son. 

"Before we sent for you, " he said, "we had called a spirit doctor, whowent into a sort of trance, claimed to have descended into the spiritworld where he saw them making a coffin which he said my mother wouldoccupy before the fifteenth of the month. It is because that time isapproaching that she is filled with fear. "

I talked with the lady, showed her how her wound was healing, encouraged her to rest easy until the fifteenth, when I would spend theday with her, after which she immediately began gaining strength andsoon recovered. 

At another time I was called to see the wife of the president of theBoard of Punishments. I found an operation necessary. The next day Ifound the patient delirious with a fever, and asked the husband if mydirections had been followed. 

"I assure you they have, " he answered. "But the cause of the fever isthis: Last evening while the servants were taking their meal she wasleft alone for a short time. While they were absent, her sister wholived on this street, a short distance from here, committed suicide. When the servant discovered it she ran directly to my wife's room, andtold her of the tragedy. My wife began to tremble, had a severe chill, and soon became delirious. I suspect that her sister's spiritaccompanied the servant and entered my wife. "

In spite of this explanation I cleaned and dressed the wound and lefther more comfortable. The next morning she was somewhat better, withoutfever and in her right mind. 

"What kind of a night did she have?" I asked her husband. 

"Oh, very good, " he answered. "I managed to get the spirit out of her. "

"How did you do it?" I inquired. 

"Soon after you left yesterday, I dressed myself in my officialgarments, came into my wife's apartments, and asked the spirit if itwould not like to go with me to the yamen, adding that we would havesome interesting cases to settle. I felt a strange sensation come overme and I knew the spirit had entered me. I got into my cart, drove downto the home of my sister-in-law, went in where the corpse lay, and toldthe spirit that it would be a disgrace to have a woman at the Board ofPunishments. 'This is your place, ' I said, in an angry voice; 'get outof me and stay where you belong. ' I felt the spirit leaving me, myfingers became stiff and I felt faint. I had only been at the Board ashort time when they sent a servant to tell me that my wife was quietand sleeping. When I returned in the evening the fever was gone and shewas rational. "

XVIII

The Funeral Ceremonies of a Dowager Princess

There are five degrees of mourning, as follows:--For parents, grandparents and great-grandparents; for brothers and sisters; foruncles and aunts; and for distant relatives. In the first sackclothwithout hem or border; in the second with hem or border; in the third, fourth and fifth, pieces of sackcloth on parts of the dress. Whensackcloth is worn, after the third interval of seven days is over themourners can cast it off, and wear plain colours, such as white, gray, black and blue. For a parent the period is nominally three years, butreally twenty-seven months, during all which time no silk can be worn;during this time officials have to resign their appointments, andretire from public life. --Dyer Ball in "Things Chinese. "

XVIII

THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF A DOWAGER PRINCESS[5]

[5] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. 

One day I received a large sheet of white paper on which was written inChinese characters the announcement of the death of the DowagerPrincess Su, and inviting me to the "third-day exercises. " The realmeaning of this "chieh san" I did not comprehend, but I knew that thosewho were invited sent presents of cakes or fruit, or baskets of paperflowers, incense, gold and silver ingots made of paper, or rolls ofpaper silk, all of which were intended for the use of the spirit of thedeparted. The paper presents were all burned on the evening of thethird day, while the spirit feasted upon the flavour of the fruit andcakes. 

As I did not feel that it was appropriate for me to send these things, I had a beautiful wreath of white chrysanthemum flowers made, and sentthat instead. While I appreciated the invitation, I thought it wasprobably given only as a matter of form, and that I was not expected toattend the exercises, and so I sent my Chinese maid with the wreath, saying that as I did not understand their customs I would not go. 

It was not long until the maid returned saying that they were anxiousto have me come, that under no circumstances must I refuse, as theywished me to see their funeral ceremonies. The Princess sent her cartfor me, and according to the Chinese custom, I took my maid seated uponthe front, and set out for Prince Su's palace. As we neared ourdestination we passed numerous carts and chairs of princes who had beenat the palace to pay their respects. The street leading off the greatthoroughfare was filled with carts, chairs, servants and outriders, butthe utmost order prevailed. There were scores of soldiers and specialpolice, the latter dressed in long garments of gray with a short jacketof white on the breast of which was his number in black. These gray andwhite uniforms were mourning colours, and were given by the Prince. 

As we entered the gate we saw white-robed servants everywhere, eachwith a sober face and a dignified bearing, waiting to be of use. Myname was announced and two servants stepped out from the crowd, clothedfrom head to feet in white sackcloth, one presenting his arm to help methrough the court, as though I were a bound-footed woman, and the otherled the way. We were taken by a roundabout path, through numerouscourts and passages, the front being reserved for the male guests, andwere finally ushered into a room filled with white-robed womenservants, who with one accord bent their knee in a low courtesy. 

We were there met by the first and third Princesses, daughters of theDowager who had just passed away. They were dressed in white, theirhair being put up in the Manchu fashion. Instead of the jewels andbright flowers, however, it was crossed and recrossed with bands ofwhite folded sackcloth. As these two ladies were married daughters, andhad left this home, their sackcloth was not so coarse as that of thedaughters-in-law and granddaughters who dwelt in the palace. It wasthey who received the guests and conducted them into the room where themourners were kneeling. 

As the white door screen was raised I saw two rows of white-robedfigures kneeling on the floor, and as I entered they all bent forwardand touched their head to the ground, giving forth as they did it alow, wailing chant. 

Not knowing their customs I went up and stooped over, speaking first tothe Princess and then to the ladies as best I could. I afterwardswatched the other lady visitors and saw that they put their right handup near their head as our soldiers salute, and courtesied to thePrincess, her daughter-in-law and her eldest daughter. They then wentover to a little table on which was a silver sacrificial set, consisting of a wine tankard, a great bowl, and a number of tiny cupsholding but two tablespoonfuls. They took the cup in its little saucer, and, facing the beautiful canopied catafalque where the DowagerPrincess was lying in state, they raised the cup as high as their headthree times, emptying and refilling it each time. The mournersprostrated themselves and gave forth a mournful wail each time the cupwas poured, after which the visitor arose and came over to where wewere, and the ceremony was over. 

The third daughter of the late Dowager seemed to regard me as herspecial friend and guest, and insisted on my coming over to a whitecurtain that separated us from the view of the gentlemen, and fromthere I watched the proceedings of princes and officials who wentthrough a similar ceremony. There was this difference with them, however, as they entered through the great canopied court, they wereconducted by white-robed servants directly to the altar, and therekneeling, they made their obeisance to the spirit of the departed, after which they went into the room where the Prince and the other maledescendants of the dead Dowager were kneeling and prostratingthemselves. 

There was a heavy yellow curtain over the door that led into thesacrificial hall, and when the servants from without announced avisitor, this curtain was drawn aside, and as the guest and a flood oflight entered, the mourners began their wailing which they continueduntil he had departed. These visitors remained but a moment, while theladies who were there were all near relatives, and were dressed eitherentirely or partially in sackcloth. 

The room in which these ladies knelt was draped in white. The cushionswere all covered with white, and all porcelain and other decorationshad been removed. The floor was covered with a heavy rope matting, onwhich the ladies knelt--all except the Princess, for whom was prepareda small dark blue felt cushion. The Princess knelt at the northwestcorner of the room, directly in front of the curtain which separatedthem from the sacrificial hall. Several of the very near male relativesentered and gave the low Manchu courtesy to the Princess, the son'swife, and the eldest daughter, though none of the other kneeling ladieswere recognized. They left immediately without, so far as I noticed, raising their eyes. 

The Prince, his sons and the other mourners in the men's room wereclothed in white fur, and the servants too, who stood in thesacrificial hall, and at intervals along the way towards the hall, worewhite fur coats instead of sackcloth. 

To the left of the Princess there knelt in succession all the secondarywives of Prince Su, and if I mistake not there were five of theseconcubines. Behind the Princess knelt her son's wife--the futurePrincess Su, and on her left, the daughters and granddaughters of thePrince knelt in succession. The Princess and secondary princesses hadbands of sackcloth wound around their heads, though their hair hungdown their backs in two long braids, and as I had never seen theseprincesses except when clothed in beautifully embroidered satingarments, with hair put up in elaborate coiffures, decked with jewelsand flowers, and faces painted and powdered in the proper Manchufashion, it was not easy to recognize them in these white-robed, yellow-faced women, with hair hanging down their backs. 

The grandson's wife and granddaughters, on the other hand, had theirhair combed, but the long hairpin was of silver instead of jade orgold, and instead of being decorated with jewels and flowers, and a redcord, it was crossed and recrossed with bands of folded sackcloth aninch and a half in width. It was neat and very effective--the blackhair and white cloth making a pretty contrast to the Western eye, though it would probably not be so considered by the Chinese. 

After I had watched them for a few moments I said to the princess whoaccompanied me:

"I must not intrude upon your time longer; you have been very kind toallow me to witness all these interesting customs. "

"Oh, but you must not go now, " she insisted; "you must remain and seethe arrival of the priests, and the burning of the paper houses, goods, chattels, and images on the great street. I want you to understand allour customs, and this is the greatest and most interesting day of thefuneral ceremonies. "

I urged that I ought not to intrude myself upon them at this time. 

"No, no, " she said, "you must not say that. It is not intrusion; youmust stay and dine with us this evening. "

When I still insisted upon going she said that if I went they wouldfeel that I did not care for them, and she was so persistent that Iconsented to remain if the maid might be sent home to the children, which they at once arranged for. 

In the interval between the arrival of male guests, the ladies took meout into a large canopied court to see the decorations, and into thesacrificial hall. These ceremonies were all conducted in the house andcourt which the Dowager Princess had occupied, and where I had oftengone to see her when she wanted to thank me for some medical attentionI had given her children or grandchildren. 

As we passed through the great gate, I noticed that the court wascovered with a mat pavilion making a room about one hundred and fiftyfeet square, lighted by great squares of glass near the top, anddecorated with banners of rich brocade silks or satins, of sobercolours, blue, gray or white, on which were texts extolling the virtuesof the late Dowager or her family. These were the gifts of friends, whohad been coming and would continue to come for days if not weeks. 

At the north end as one came in at the gate was a gallery running thewhole length of the northern court, fitted up with special hangingswhich separated it into different compartments. Many elegant bannersand decorations gave it a striking effect. This was the place where thepriests, who had not yet arrived, were to say their prayers day andnight until the funeral ceremonies were over. 

Directly in front of the catafalque, in the gallery, there was a tableon which I afterwards saw the priests place a silver vessel which thehead priest carried, and the others regarded with much solemnity. 

From the gateway leading into the sacrificial hall the floor of thecourt had been raised even with the door of the house and the gate, aheight of about five feet, and forty feet wide, and was covered withthe same kind of rope matting that was on the floors. On the canopiedverandas there were stacks of cakes, incense, fruit and money. Thesewere the most novel sights I have ever seen in China. They were ten ortwelve feet high. They were a very pretty sight, and it required somescrutiny to discover that they were made of cakes and fruit. How theywere able to build them thus, tier upon tier, and prevent their fallingwhen they were touched is beyond my comprehension. What magic there isin it I do not know. 

As one entered the door of the sacrificial hall, towering aboveeverything else, was the great catafalque, draped in cloth of gold, andin front of it were stacks of these sacrificial cakes. Near them therewas a table on which there were great white, square candles, fiveinches or more in diameter, the four sides of which were stamped withfigures of fairies and immortals. On this table there were also varioussavoury dishes, together with cakes and fruit, prepared to feed thespirit of the dead. In front of this table again there was anotherabout a foot high on which were placed the sacrificial wine vessels, and before which the guests knelt. As we entered I saw the gentlemenkneeling to the left, while the ladies, separated from them by whitecurtains, were kneeling to the right. 

After we had seen the various customs without, I was taken into thedining-room, where I sat down with the young Princess and her twoaunts, daughters of the Dowager. They were very kind and polite, anddid all in their power to make me feel at home. We were attended bywhite-robed eunuchs, who knelt when they spoke to the Princess. Therewas such a lot of them. 

"How many servants do you use ordinarily?" I asked the eldest daughter. 

"About four hundred, " she replied. 

I thought of the task of robing four hundred servants in new whitesackcloth, and attending to all the other things that I had seen, inthe forty-eight hours since the death of the Dowager Princess. Even thebread, instead of being dotted with red as it is ordinarily, was dottedwith black!

As we were finishing our supper we heard the horns of the priests andwent to see them arrive. Prince Su, and the other male members of thefamily, went out to the door to receive them, but we remained within. They first went to the gallery, then the head priest came down into thesacrificial hall and made nine prostrations before the catafalque, without, however, pouring or offering wine. After each thirdprostration he stood up and raised his clasped hands to a level withhis eyes. They then began their weird music, standing on the two sidesof the raised platform between the gate and the house, thus allowing apassageway between them for the guests. 

The Princess told me that they were about to form a procession to go tothe great street. I therefore took my leave in order that I mightprecede them and see the procession arrive, and witness the burning ofthe presents for the spirit. 

When I arrived on the great street I there beheld a paper cart andhorses which were intended to transport the spirit to the easternheaven. There was a sedan chair for her use after her arrival, numerousservants, money, silk, and a beautiful, big house for her to dwell in, all made of paper. I had not long to wait for the procession, which washeaded by the priests playing mournful, wailing music on large andsmall horns and drums. The priests were followed by the mourners andtheir friends. When they arrived at the place of the burning, themourners prostrated themselves upon white cushions before the paperfurnishings amid the shrieks of the instruments, the wailing of thehired mourners, and the petitions of the priests for the spirits toassist the departed on her way. 

While this was going on, fire was applied to various parts of the paperpile, and in a moment a great flame sprang up into the air--a flamethat could be seen from miles around, and in less time than it takes totell it the whole was a heap of glowing ashes, the mourners haddeparted, and the little street children were stirring it up with longsticks. 

The first three days after death, the spirit is supposed to visit thedifferent temples, going, as it were, from official court to officialcourt receiving judgment, and cards of merit or demerit to take withit, for the deeds done in the body. On the third day it returns to sayfarewell to the home, and then leaves for its long journey, and allthis paper furniture is sent on ahead. 

They continue forty-nine days of prayers by the priests, alternatingthree days by the Buddhists, three by the Lamas, and three by theTaoists, after which the Buddhists take their turn again. Everythingelse remains much as I have described it. The family, servants, everybody in mourning, and all business put aside to make way for thisceremony of mourning, mourning, mourning, when they ought to berejoicing, for the poor old Princess had been a paralytic for years andwas far better out of her misery. 

The Princess frequently sent her cart for me during these days. Oncewhen I was going through the court where there were vast quantities ofthings to be burned for the spirit, all made of paper, I noticed somethat were so natural that I was unable to distinguish between them andthe real things. Especially was this true of the furniture and flowerslike that which had been in her apartments. There were great ebonychairs with fantastically marked marble seats, cabinets, and all thefurniture necessary for her use. Among these things I noticed on thetable a pack of cards and a set of dice, of which she had been veryfond, and a chair like the one in which the eunuchs had carried thecrippled old Princess about the court, and I said to the young Princesswho accompanied me:

"You do not think your grandmother will require these things in thespirit world, do you?"

"Perhaps not, " she replied, "but she enjoyed her cards and dice, andthe chair was such a necessity, that, whether she needs them or not, itis a comfort to us to get and send her everything she liked while shelived, and it helps us bear our sorrows. "

XIX

Chinese Princes and Officials

In any estimate of the forces which lead and control public opinion inChina, everywhere from the knot of peasants in the hamlet to thehighest officers of state and the Emperor himself, the literati, oreducated class, must be given a prominent position. They form animmense body, increased each year by the government examinations. Theyare at the head of the social order. Every civil officer in the empiremust be chosen from their number. They constitute the basis of anelaborate system of civil service, well equipped with checks andbalances which, if corrected and brought into touch with modern lifeand thought, would easily command the admiration of the world. --ChesterHolcomb in "The Real Chinese Question. "

XIX

CHINESE PRINCES AND OFFICIALS

One day while the head eunuch from the palace of one of the leadingprinces in Peking was sitting in my study he said:

"It is drawing near to the New Year. Do you celebrate the New Year inyour honourable country?"

"Yes, " I replied, "though not quite the same as you do here. "

"Do you fire off crackers?"

"Yes, in the matter of firecrackers, we celebrate very much the same asyou do. "

"And do you settle up all your debts as we do here?"

"I am afraid we do not. That is not a part of our New Year celebration. "

"Our Prince is going to take on two more concubines this New Year, " hevolunteered. 

"Ah, indeed, I thought he had three concubines already. "

"So he does, but he is entitled to five. "

"I should think it would make trouble in a family for one man to haveso many women, " I ventured. 

He waved his hand in that peculiar way the Chinese have of saying, don't mention it, as he answered:

"That is a difficult matter to discuss. Naturally if this woman seesthe Prince talking to that one, this one is going to eat vinegar, "which gives us a glimpse of some of the domestic difficulties inChinese high life. However it is a fact worth remembering that theManchu prince does not receive his full stipend from the governmentuntil he has five concubines, each of whom is the mother of a son. 

The leading princes of the new regime are Ching, Su, and Pu-lun. PrinceChing has been the leader of the Manchus ever since the downfall ofPrince Kung. He has held almost every office it was in the power of theEmpress Dowager to give, "though disliked by the Emperor. " He was madepresident of the Tsung-li Yamen in 1884, and from that time until thepresent has never been degraded, or in any way lost the imperialfavour. He is small in stature, has none of the elements of the greatman that characterized Li Hung-chang and Chang Chih-tung, or PrinceKung, but he has always been characterized by that diplomacy which haskept him one of the most useful officials in close connection with theEmpress Dowager. It is to his credit moreover that the legations werepreserved from the Boxers in the siege of 1900. 

Prince Su is the only one of the eight hereditary princes who holds anyoffice that brings him into intimate contact with the foreigners. During the Boxer siege he gave his palace for the use of the nativeChristians, and at the close was made collector of the customs duties(octoroi) at the city gates. Never had there been any one in charge ofthis post who turned in as large proportion of the total collections ashe. This excited the jealousy of the other officials, and they said toeach other: "If Prince Su is allowed to hold this position for anylength of time there will never be anything in it for any one else. "They therefore sought for a ground of accusation, and they found it, inthe eyes of the conservatives, in the fact that he rode in a foreigncarriage, built himself a house after the foreign style ofarchitecture, furnished it with foreign furniture, employed anEnglishman to teach his boys, and as we have seen opened a school forthe women and girls of his family. He therefore lost his position, butit is to the credit of Prince Chun, the new Regent, and his progressivepolicy, that Prince Su has been made chief of the naval department, ofwhich Prince Ching is only an adviser. 

The most important person among either princes or officials that hasbeen connected with the new regime is Yuan Shih-kai. He was born in theprovince of Honan, that province south of the Yellow River which isalmost annually flooded by that great muddy stream which is called"China's Sorrow. " As a boy he was a diligent student of the Chineseclassics and of such foreign books as had been translated into theChinese language, but he has never studied a foreign tongue nor visiteda foreign country. Here then rests the first element of hisgreatness--that without any knowledge of foreign language, foreign law, foreign literature, science of government, or the history of progressand of civilization, he has occupied the highest and most responsiblepositions in the gift of the empire, has steered the ship of state on astraight course between the shoals of conservatism on the one hand andradical reform on the other until he has brought her near to theharbour of a safe progressive policy. 

He has always been what the Chinese call the tu-ti or pupil of LiHung-chang, and it may be that it was from him he learned hisstatecraft. Certain it is that he always basked in the favour of thegreat Viceroy, and it may be that he had more or less influence withhim in his earlier appointments, for he rose rapidly and in spite ofall other officials. 

On his return from Korea he was made a judge. He was then put in chargeof the army of the metropolitan province, and with the assistance ofGerman officers he succeeded in drilling 12, 500 troops after theEuropean fashion. 

It was about this time that the Emperor conceived the plan ofinstituting and carrying out one of the most stupendous reforms thathas ever been undertaken in human government--that of transforming fourthousand years of conservatism of four hundred millions of people inthe short space of a few months. 

Given: A people who cannot make a nail, to build a railroad. 

Given: A people who dare not plow a deep furrow for fear of disturbingthe spirits of the place, to open gold, silver, iron and coal mines. 

Given: A people who in 4, 000 years did not have the genius to develop adecent high school, to open a university in the capital of everyprovince. 

These are three of the score or more of equally difficult problems thatthe Emperor undertook to solve in twice as many days. In order to thesolution of these problems there was organized in Peking a Reform Partyof hot-headed, radical young scholars not one of whom has ever turnedout to be a statesman. They were brilliant young men, many of them, butthey so lost their heads in their enthusiasm for reform that theyforgot that their government was in the hands of the same oldconservative leaders under whom it had been for forty centuries. 

They introduced into the palace as the private adviser of the Emperor, Kang Yu-wei, as we have already shown, to whom was thus offered one ofthe greatest opportunities that was ever given to a human being--thatof being the leader in this great reform. He was hailed as a youngConfucius, but his popularity was short-lived, for he so lacked allstatesmanship as to allow the young Emperor to issue twenty-sevenedicts, disposing of twenty-seven difficult problems such as I havegiven above in about twice that many days, and it is this hot-headedand unstatesman-like young "Confucius" who now calls Yuan Shih-kai anopportunist and a traitor because he did not enter into the followingplot. 

After the Emperor had dismissed two conservative vice-presidents of aBoard, two governors of provinces, and a half dozen other uselessconservative leaders, they plotted to overthrow him by appealing to theambition of the Empress Dowager and induce her to dethrone him andagain assume the reins of government. They argued that "he was heradopted son, it was she who had placed him on the throne, and she wastherefore responsible for his mistakes. " They complimented her on "thewisdom which she had manifested, and the statesmanship she hadexhibited" during the thirty years and more of her regency. To allwhich she listened with a greedy ear, but still she made no move. 

During this time were the Emperor and his young "Confucius" idle? By nomeans. They had hatched a counterplot, and had decided that what theycould not do by moral suasion and statesmanship they would do by force, and so they sent an order to Yuan Shih-kai, who as we have said haddrilled and was in charge of 12, 500 of the best troops in the empire, urging him to "hasten to the capital at once, place the Empress Dowagerunder guard in the Summer Palace so that she may not be allowed tointerfere in the affairs of the government, and protect him in hisreform measures. "

The Emperor knew that nothing could be done without the command of thearmy which was largely in the hands of a great conservative friend ofthe Empress Dowager (Jung Lu) the father-in-law of the present Regent. Yuan was in charge of an army corps of 12, 500 troops, but for him tohave taken them even at the command of the Emperor, without informinghis superior officer, would have meant the loss of his head at once. The first thing then for him to do was to take this order to Jung Lu. Yuan was in favour of reform, though he may not have approved of theEmperor's methods. Jung Lu hastened to Prince Ching and they two spedto the Empress Dowager in the Summer Palace where they laid the wholematter before her. She hurried to Peking, boldly faced and denouncedthe Emperor, took from him his seal of state, and confined him aprisoner in the Winter Palace. Kang Yu-wei, the young "Confucius, "fled, but the Empress Dowager seized his brother and five otherpatriotic young reformers, and ordered them beheaded on the publicexecution grounds in Peking. 

Naturally the Empress Dowager approved of the "wise and statesmanlikemethods" of Yuan in thus protecting instead of imprisoning her, andthus placing the reins of government once more in her hands, and sheappointed him Junior Vice-President of the Board of Works, and when shewas compelled to remove the Governor of Shantung who had organized theBoxer Society, she appointed Yuan Acting Governor in his stead. "Yuan, "says Arthur H. Smith, was "a man of a wholly different stripe" from theone removed, and "if left to himself he would speedily haveexterminated the whole Boxer brood, but being hampered by 'confidentialinstructions' from the palace, he could do little but issue poeticalproclamations, and revile his subordinates for failure to do theirduty. "

When Yuan was made Governor of Shantung a number of the Boxer leaderscalled upon him expecting to find in him a sympathizer worthy of hispredecessor. They told him of their great powers and possibilities, andof how they were proof against the spears, swords and bullets of theirenemies. Yuan listened to them with patience and interest, and invitedthem to dine with him and other official friends in the near future. 

During the dinner the Governor directed the conversation towards theBoxer leaders and their prowess, and led them once more to relate toall his friends their powers of resistance. He fed them well, and afterthe dinner was over he suggested that they give an exhibition of theirwonderful powers to the friends whom he had invited. This they couldnot well refuse to do after the braggadocio way in which they hadtalked, and so the Governor lined them up, called forth a number of hisbest marksmen, and proceeded with the exhibition, and it is unnecessaryto add that if the Empress Dowager had invited Yuan to the meeting withthe princes when they discussed the advisability of joining the Boxerson account of a belief in their supernatural powers, she might havebeen spared the humiliation of 1900. 

We shall soon see that Yuan cared no more for the "confidentialinstructions" of the Empress Dowager, when his statesmanship wasinvolved, than for the orders of the Emperor. His business was togovern and protect the people of his province, and thanks to his wisestatesmanship and strong character "there was not only no foreignerkilled during the troubled season of anxiety and flight" of 1900, and"comparatively little of the suffering elsewhere so common. "

And now we come to another plot which indicates the character of Yuanand two other great viceroys, Chang Chih-tung, now Grand Secretary, andLiu Kun-yi, Viceroy of the Yangtse-kiang provinces. It is a well-knownfact that during the Boxer rebellion the Empress Dowager was soinfluenced by the promises of the Boxers to drive out all theforeigners that she sent out some very unwise edicts that they shouldbe massacred in the provinces. Yuan and his two confreres secretlystipulated that if the foreign men of war would keep away from theports of their provinces they would maintain peace and protect theforeigners no matter what orders came from the throne. So that whenthese confidential instructions came from the palace to massacre theforeigners, in order to gain time they pretended to believe that nosuch orders could have come from the throne. They must be forgeries ofthe Boxers. They therefore refused to believe them until they had senttheir own special messenger all the way to Peking to get the edict fromthe hands of Her Majesty and bring it to them in their provinces. Thismessenger was also secretly instructed to find out what the contents ofthe edict were, and if it was contrary to the desires of the Governor, he was to dilly-dally on the way home until the Boxer trouble was endedor until the foreigners had all been removed from the territory. And itwas such conduct as this on the part of three Chinese and one Manchuviceroys that saved China from being divided up among the Powers in1900, a fact which the Empress Dowager was not slow to understand andreward. 

In 1900 Yuan was made Governor of the Shantung province, and the courtwas compelled to flee to Hsian. It was while the court was thus inhiding that an incident occurred which indicates the fertility of theEmpress Dowager and the elasticity of all Chinese social customs. Governor Yuan's mother died. In a case of this kind customs dictate, and the rules of filial affection demand, that a man shall resign allhis official positions and go into mourning for a period of threeyears. Yuan therefore sent his resignation to the Empress Dowager, while "weeping tears of blood. "

The country was of course in desperate straits and could ill afford tolose, for three years, for a mere sentiment, the services of one of hergreatest and most powerful statesmen. However much he may haveregretted to give up such a brilliant career which was just well begun, Yuan no doubt expected to do so. What was his surprise therefore toreceive from Her Majesty a message of condolence in which she praisedhis mother in the highest terms for having given the world such abrilliant and able son. Under the circumstances, however, it would beimpossible to accept his resignation as his services to the countryjust at this juncture were indispensable. She would, however, appoint asubstitute to go into mourning for him, and this with the knowledgethat she had borne a son whose services were so necessary to the safetyof the government and the country, would be a sufficient comfort to thespirit of his departed mother, and Yuan was forced to continue in hisofficial position as Governor of the province without the intermissionof a single day of mourning. Such is the elasticity and adaptability ofthe unchanging laws and customs of the Oriental when in the hands of amaster--or a mistress--like Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. 

One can imagine that in proportion as the Empress Dowager was pleasedwith the statesmanship manifested by Yuan Shih-kai in unintentionallyreseating her upon the throne, in a like proportion the Emperor wouldbe dissatisfied with it as being the cause of his dethronement. Thiswas not, however, against Yuan alone but against the father-in-law ofthe present Regent and even Prince Ching as well. During the whole tenyears, from 1898 until his death, while he was a prisoner "his heartboiled with wrath" against those who had been the cause of his downfall. 

It was not until the Boxer troubles of 1900 were over, and Yuan, by themasterly way in which he had disregarded the imperial edicts, hadprotected and preserved the lives of all the foreigners in hisprovince, keeping peace the while, that honours began to be heaped uponhim. And this not without reason as we shall proceed to show. 

In 1901 he was made Governor-General of the metropolitan province, andJunior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In 1902 he was decorated with theYellow Jacket, placed in charge of the affairs of the Northern Railway, and consulting minister to counsel the government. Wherever he was hegave as much attention to the city government as to that of theprovince or the nation, and in spite of his having no foreign educationhimself, he began building up a system of public schools in hisprovince like which there is nothing else in the whole of China. Let usremember also that during ail this time there was suspended over hishead, from the palace, a sword of Damocles which was liable to fall atany time. But we will explain that further on as it is the last act ofthe drama. 

When Yuan went to Tientsin as Viceroy of the metropolitan province hefound there Dr. C. D. Tenny, the president of the Tientsin Universitywhich had been begun by Li Hung-chang some ten or a dozen years before. It had a good course of study and was turning out a large number ofyoung graduates for whom there ought to be a better future than that ofinterpreters in the various business houses of that and other cities. He therefore called Dr. Tenny to him and inquired particularly aboutthe system of public school education throughout the United States. 

"What is to prevent our putting into operation such a system throughoutthis province?" asked the Viceroy. 

"Nothing, " answered Dr. Tenny, "except to be willing to submit to theconditions. "

"And what are those conditions?" asked His Excellency. 

"They are that you open schools in every important town, place in themwell-educated, competent teachers, whom you are willing to pay a salaryequal to what they may reasonably expect to get if they enter business. "

"May I ask if you would be willing to undertake the development of sucha system?" he asked further. 

"On one condition, " answered Dr. Tenny. 

"And what is that?"

"That you allow me to open a school wherever I think there should beone, call my teachers from whatsoever source I please to call them, paythem whatever salary I think they deserve, sending all the bills toYour Excellency, and you pay them without question. "

The Viceroy had known Dr. Tenny for years, had always had the mostimplicit confidence both in his ability and his honesty, and so, lightening up his duties in the Tientsin and Paotingfu Universities, hecommissioned him to establish what may be termed the first publicschool system of education on modern lines in the whole empire. Thisone act, if he had done no other, was reason enough for a wise regentto have continued him in office even though he "had rheumatism of theleg. " But it may be that there are extenuating circumstances in thisact of the Regent as we shall point out later. 

There is one phase of the Boxer uprising that I have never yet seenproperly represented in any book or magazine. We all know how theministers of the various European governments with their wives andchildren, the customs officials, missionaries, business men, andtourists who happened to be in Peking at the time, with all the ChineseChristians, were confined in the British legation and Prince Su'spalace. We know how they barricaded their defense. We know how theywere fired upon day and night for six weeks by the Boxer leaders andthe army of the conservatives under the leadership of their general, Tung Fu-hsiang. But the thing which we do not know, or at least whichhas not been adequately told, is the most interesting secret plot ofthe liberal progressives, under the leadership of "Prince Ching andothers, " to thwart the Empress Dowager and the Boxer leaders, theconservatives and their army, and protect the most noted company ofprisoners that have ever been confined in a legation quarter. The plotwas this:

When Prince Ching and his progressive associates in Peking discoveredthat they could not vote down the Boxer princes, they dared not openlyoppose them, but they secretly decided that the representatives of thePowers must not be massacred else the doom of China was sealed. Whenthey discovered that Yuan Shih-kai and the other great viceroys haddecided by stratagem to foil the Boxers even though they must set allthe imperial edicts at naught, they decided, for the sake of theprotection of the legations and the preservation of the empire, thatthey would do the same. They secretly sent supplies of food to thebesieged, which the latter feared to use lest they be poisoned. Butmore than that they kept their own armies in Peking as a guard and as afinal resort in case there was danger of the legation being overcome, and as a matter of fact there were regular pitched battles between thetroops of Prince Ching and his associates and those of the Boxerleader, Tung Fu-hsiang. Had the Boxers finally succeeded, Yuan Shih-kaiand Prince Ching and their associates would have lost their heads, butas the Boxers failed it was they who went to their graves by the shortprocess of the executioner's knife. 

So Yuan was between two fires. He had disobeyed the commands of theEmperor in not coming to Peking and had therefore incurred hisdispleasure and caused his downfall. He had disobeyed the EmpressDowager in not putting to death the foreigners in his province, and ifthe Boxers were successful he would surely lose his head on thataccount. The Boxers, however, were not successful and as hisdisobedience had helped to save the empire, Yuan, so long as theDowager remained in power, was safe. 

But a day of reckoning must inevitably come. The Empress Dowager was anold woman, the Emperor was a young man. In all human probabilities shewould be the first to die, while his only hope was in her outliving theEmperor, who had sworn vengeance on all those who had been instrumentalin his imprisonment. 

I have a friend in Peking who is also a friend of one of the greatestChinese officials. This official has gone into the palace daily for adozen years past and knows every plot and counterplot that has beenhatched in that nest of seclusion during all that time, though he hasbeen implicated in none of them. He has held the highest positions inthe gift of the empire without ever once having been degraded. One daywhen he was in the palace the Emperor unburdened his heart to him, thinking that what he said would never reach the ears of his enemies. 

"You have no idea, " said the Emperor, "what I suffer here. "

"Indeed?" was the only reply of the official. 

"Yes, " continued the Emperor, "I am not allowed to speak to any onefrom outside. I am without power, without companions, and even theeunuchs act as though they are under no obligations to respect me. Theposition of the lowest servant in the palace is more desirable thanmine. " Then lowering his voice he continued, "But there is a day ofreckoning to come. The Empress Dowager cannot live forever, and if everI get my throne again I will see to it that those who put me here willsuffer as I have done. "

It is not unlikely that this conversation of the Emperor reached theears of Yuan Shih-kai. Walls have ears in China. Everything has ears, and every part of nature has a tongue. If so, here was the occasion forthe last plot in the drama of the Emperor's life, and next to the lastin the official life of Yuan Shih-kai. 

The problem is to so manipulate the laws of nature as to prevent theEmperor outliving the Empress Dowager, and not allow the world to knowthat you have been trifling with occult forces. He must die a naturaldeath, a death which is above suspicion. He must not die one day afterthe Empress Dowager as that would create talk. And he ought to die sometime before her. The death fuse is one which often burns very muchlonger than we expect--was it not one of the English kings who said "Ifear I am a very long time a-dying, gentlemen"--and sometimes it burnsout sooner than is intended. There were two imperial death fusesburning at the same time in that Forbidden City of Peking. The EmpressDowager had "had a stroke. " Hers was undoubtedly nature's own work. Butthe enemies of Yuan Shih-kai tell us that the Emperor had "had aChinese doctor, " to whom the great Viceroy paid $33, 000 for hisservices. We are told that the Empress Dowager in reality died firstand then the Emperor, though the Emperor's death was first announced, and the next day that of the Dowager. 

What then are we to infer? That the Emperor was poisoned? Let it be so. That is what the Japanese believed at the time. But who did it? Mostassuredly no one man. One might have employed a Chinese physician forhim, but the last man whose physician the Emperor would have acceptedwould have been Yuan Shih-kai's. Had you or I been ill would we haveallowed the man who was the cause of our fall to select our physician?But granted that Yuan Shih-kai did employ his physician, and that hisdeath was the result of slow poisoning, could Yuan Shih-kai have somanipulated Prince Ching, the Regent (who is the late Emperor'sbrother), the ladies of the court, and all those thousands of eunuchs, to remain silent as to the death of the Empress Dowager until he hadcompleted the slow process on His Majesty? No! If the Emperor waspoisoned--and the world believes he was--there are a number of otherswhose skirts are as badly stained as those of the great Viceroy, orlong ere this his body would have been sent home a headless corpseinstead of with "rheumatism of the leg. "

What then is the explanation? It may be this, that the court, and theofficials as a whole, felt that the Emperor was an unsafe person toresume the throne, and that it were better that one man should perishthan that the whole regime should be upset. They even refused to allowa foreign physician to go in to see him, saying that of his own freewill he had turned again to the Chinese, all of which indicates that itwas not the plot of any one man. 

Why then should Yuan Shih-kai have been made the scapegoat of the courtand the officials, and branded as a murderer in the face of the wholeworld? That may be another plot. The radical reformers, followers ofKang Yu-wei, have been making such a hubbub about the matter ever sincethe death of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager that somebody had tobe punished. They said that Yuan had been a traitor to the cause ofreform, that he had not only betrayed his sovereign in 1898, but thatnow he had encompassed his death. 

Now to satisfy these enemies, the Prince Regent may have decided thatthe best thing to do was to dismiss Yuan for a time. I think that thetrivial excuse he gives for doing so favours my theory--with"rheumatism of the leg, " to which is added, "Thus our clemency ismanifest"--a sentence which may be severe or may mean nothing, and whenthe storm has blown over and the sky is clear again, Yuan may be oncemore brought to the front as Li Hung-chang and others have been in thepast. Which is a consummation, I think, devoutly to be wished. 

XX

Peking--The City of the Court

The position of Peking at the present time is one of peculiar interest, for all the different forces that are now at work to make or mar Chinaissue from, or converge towards, the capital. There, on the dragonthrone, beside, or rather above, the powerless and unhappy Emperor, thefather of his people and their god, sits the astute and ever-watchfullady whose word is law to Emperor, minister and clown alike. Theredwell the heads of the government boards, the leaders of the Manchuaristocracy, and the great political parties, the drafters of newconstitutions and imperial decrees, and the keen-witted diplomatistswho know so well how to play against European antagonists the greatgame of international chess. --R. F. Johnston in "From Peking toMandelay. "

XX

PEKING--THE CITY OF THE COURT

In the place where Peking now stands there has been a city for threethousand years. Five centuries before Christ it was the capital of asmall state, but was destroyed three centuries later by the builder ofthe great wall. It was soon rebuilt, however, and has continued fromthat time until the present, with varied fortunes, as the capital of astate, the chief city of a department, or the dwelling-place of thecourt. 

It is the greatest and best preserved walled city in the empire, if notin the world. The Tartar City is sixteen miles in circumference, surrounded by a wall sixty feet thick at the bottom, fifty feet thickat the top and forty feet high, with six feet of balustrade on theoutside, beautifully crenelated and loopholed, and in a good state ofpreservation. The streets are sixty feet wide, --or even more inplaces, --well macadamized, and lit with electric light. The chief modeof conveyance is the 'ricksha, though carriages may be hired by theweek, day or hour at various livery stables in proximity to the hotels, which, by the way, furnish as good accommodation to their guests as thehotels of other Oriental cities. 

In the centre of the Tartar City is the Imperial City, eight miles incircumference, encircled by a wall six feet thick and fifteen feethigh, pierced by four gates at the points of the compass; and in thecentre of this again is the Forbidden City, occupying less than half asquare mile, the home of the court. 

Fairs are held, at various temples, fourteen days of every month, distributed in such a way as to bring them almost on alternate days, while at certain times there are two fairs on the same day. It is amistake to suppose that the Chinese women in the capital are very muchsecluded. They may be seen on the streets at almost any time, while thetemple courts and adjacent streets, on fair days, are crowded withwomen and girls, dressed in the most gorgeous colours, their hairdecorated with all kinds of artificial flowers, followed by little boysand girls as gaily dressed as themselves. Here they find all kinds oftoys, curios, and articles of general use, from a top to a broom, frombits of jade or other precious stones, to a snuff bottle hollowed outof a solid quartz crystal, or a market basket or a dust-pan made ofreeds. 

Peking being the city of the court, and the headquarters of many of thegreatest officials, is the receptacle of the finest products of theoldest and greatest non-Christian people the world has ever known. China easily leads the world in the making of porcelain, the best ofwhich has always gone to Peking for use in the palace, and so we canfind here the best products of every reign from the time of Kang Hsi, as well as those of the former dynasties, to that of Kuang Hsu and theEmpress Dowager. The same is true of her brass and bronzeincense-burners and images, her wood and ivory carvings, her beautifulembroideries, her magnificent tapestries, and her paintings by oldmasters of six or eight hundred years ago. Here we can find the finestOriental rugs, in a good state of preservation, with the "tone" thatonly age can give, made long before the time of Washington. 

There is no better market for fine bits of embroidery, mandarin coats, and all the better products of needle, silk and floss, of which theChinese have been masters for centuries, than the city of the court. The population consists largely of great officials and their families, whose cast-off clothing, toned down by the use of years, often withouta blemish or a spot, finds its way into the hands of dealers. Thefinest furs, --seal, otter, squirrel, sable and ermine, --are broughtfrom Siberia, Manchuria and elsewhere, for the officials and the court, and can be secured for less than half what they would cost in America. Pearls, of which the Chinese ladies and the court are more fond than ofdiamonds, may be found in abundance in all the bazars, which are many, and judging from the way they are purchased by tourists, are bothcheaper and better than elsewhere. 

The Chinese have little appreciation of diamonds as jewelry. On oneoccasion there was offered to me a beautiful ring containing a largesapphire encircled by twenty diamonds. When I offered the dealer lessthan he asked for it, he said: "No, rather than sell it for that price, I will tear it apart, and sell the diamonds separately for drill-pointsto the tinkers who mend dishes. I can make more from it in that way, only I dislike to spoil the ring. " The Empress Dowager during her lateyears, and many of the ladies and gentlemen of the more progressivetype, affected, whether genuinely or not, an appreciation of thediamond as a piece of jewelry, especially in the form of rings, thoughcoloured stones, polished, but not cut, have always been more popularwith the Chinese. The turquoise, the emerald, the sapphire, the rubyand the other precious stones with colour have, therefore, alwaysgraced the tables of the bazars in the capital, while the diamond untilvery recently was relegated to the point of the tinker's drill. 

There is another method of bringing bits of their ancient handiwork tothe capital which most of those living in Peking, even, know nothingabout. A company, whose headquarters is at an inn, called the HsingLung Tien, sends agents all over the empire, to purchase and bring tothem everything in the nature of a curio, whether porcelain, painting, embroidery, pottery or even an ancient tile or inkstone, which theythen, at public auction, sell to the dealers. The sale is at noon eachday. The first time I visited it was with a friend from Iowa who wasanxious to get some unique bits of porcelain. The auctioneer does not"cry" the wares. Neither buyer nor seller says a word. Nobody knowswhat anybody else has offered. The goods are passed out of a closedroom from a high window where the crowd can see them, and then each onewanting them tries to be first in securing the hand of the auctioneer, which is ensconced in his long sleeve, where, by squeezing his fingers, they tell him how much they will give for the particular piece. It isthe only real case of "talking in the sleeve" I have ever seen, andeach piece is sold to the first person offering a fair profit on themoney invested, though he might get much more by allowing them to bidagainst each other. 

Among the attractive sights in Peking, none are quite so interesting asthe places where His Majesty worships, and of these the most beautifulin architecture, the grandest in conception, and the one laid out onthe most magnificent scale, is the Temple of Heaven. 

Think of six hundred and forty acres of valuable city property beingset aside for the grounds of a single temple, as compared with the wayour own great churches are crowded into small city lots of scarcely asmany square feet, and over-shadowed by great business blocks costing ahundred times as much, and we can get some conception of themagnificence of the scale on which this temple is laid out. A largepart of the grounds is covered with cedars, many of which are not lessthan five hundred years old, while other parts are used to pasture aflock of black cattle from which they select the sacrifice for a burntoffering. The grounds are not well kept like those of our own parks andchurches, but the original conception of a temple on such a large scaleis worthy of a great people. 

The worship at this temple is the most important of all the religiousobservances of the empire, and constitutes a most interesting remnantof the ancient monotheistic cultus which prevailed in China before therationalism of Confucius and the polytheistic superstition of Buddhismpredominated among the people. While the ceremonies of the sacrificesare very complicated, they are kept with the strictest severity. Thechief of these is at the winter solstice. On December 21st the Emperorgoes in a sedan chair, covered with yellow silk, and carried bythirty-two men, preceded by a band of musicians, and followed by animmense retinue of princes and officials on horseback. He first goes tothe tablet-chapel, where he offers incense to Shang Ti, the God above, and to his ancestors, with three kneelings and nine prostrations. Thengoing to the great altar he inspects the offerings, after which herepairs to the Palace of Abstinence, where he spends the night infasting and prayer. The next morning at 5:45 A. M. He dons hissacrificial robes, proceeds to the open altar, where he kneels andburns incense, offers a prayer to Shang Ti, and incense to hisancestors whose shrines and tablets are arranged on the northeast andnorthwest portions of the altar. 

There are two altars in the temple, a quarter of a mile apart, thecovered and the open altar, and this latter is one of the grandestreligious conceptions of the human mind. It is a triple circular marbleterrace, 210 feet wide at the base, 150 feet in the middle, and ninetyfeet at the top, ascended at the points of the compass by three flightsof nine steps each. A circular stone is in the centre of the top, around which are nine stones in the first circle, eighteen in thesecond, twenty-seven in the third, etc. , and eighty-one in the ninth, or last circle. The Emperor kneels on the circular stone, surrounded bythe circles of stones, then by the circles of the terraces, and finallyby the horizon, and thus seems to himself and his retinue to be in thecentre of the universe, his only walls being the skies, and his onlycovering, the shining dome. 

There are no images of any kind connected with the temple or theworship, the only offerings being a bullock, the various productions ofthe soil, and a cylindrical piece of jade about a foot long, formerlyused as a symbol of sovereignty. Twelve bundles of cloth are offered toHeaven, and only one to each of the emperors, and to the sun and moon. The bullocks must be two years old, the best of their kind, withoutblemish, and while they were formerly killed by the Emperor they arenow slaughtered by an official appointed for that purpose. 

The covered altar is, I think, the most beautiful piece of architecturein China. It is smaller than the one already described but has erectedupon it a lofty, circular triple-roofed temple ninety-nine feet inheight, roofed with blue tiles, the eaves painted in brilliant coloursand protected from the birds by a wire netting. In the centre, immediately in front of the altar, is a circular stone, as in the openaltar. The ceiling is covered with gilded dragons in high relief, andthe whole is supported by immense pillars. It was this building thatwas struck by lightning in 1890, but it was restored during the tenyears that followed. Being made the camp of the British during theoccupation of 1900, it received some small injuries from curio seekers, but none of any consequence. The Sikh soldiers who died during thisperiod were cremated in the furnace connected with the open altar. 

The Chinese have been an agricultural people for thirty centuries ormore, and this characteristic is embodied in the Temple of Agriculture, which occupies a park of not less than three hundred and twenty acresof city property opposite the Temple of Heaven. It has four greataltars, with their adjacent halls, to the spirits of Heaven, Earth, theYear, and the Ancestral Husbandman, Shen Nung, to whom the temple isdedicated. It was used as the camp of the American soldiers in 1900, and was well cared for. At one time some of the soldiers upset one ofthe urns, and when it was reported to the officer in command, the wholecompany was called out and the urn properly replaced, after which themen were lectured on the matter of injuring any property belonging tothe temple. 

There are several large plots of ground in this enclosure, one of whichthe Emperor ploughs, while another is marked "City Magistrate, " another"Prefect, " and on these bits of land the "five kinds of grain" aresown. One cannot view these imperial temples without being impressedwith the potential greatness of a people who do things on such amagnificent scale. But one, at the same time, also feels that thesetemples, and the great Oriental religions which inspire and supportthem have failed in a measure to accomplish their design, which oughtto be to educate and develop the people. This they can hardly be saidto have done, especially if we consider their condition in their lackof all phases of scientific development, for as the sciences standto-day they are all the product of the Christian peoples. 

There are three other imperial temples on the same large scale as thosejust described. The Temple of the Sun east of the city, that of theMoon on the west, and that of the Earth on the north, though it must beconfessed that the worship at these has been allowed to lapse. In theTartar City there are two others, the Lama Temple and the ConfucianTemple, in the former of which there is a statue of Buddha seventy-fivefeet high, and from thirteen to fifteen hundred priests who worshipdaily at his shrine. This statue is made of stucco, over a framework, and not of wood as some have told us, and as the guide will assure usat the present day. One can ascend to a level with its head by severalflights of stairs, where a lamp is lit when the Emperor visits thetemple. In the east wing of this same building is a prayer-wheel, whichreaches up through several successive stories, and is kept in motionwhile the Emperor is present. 

In the east side buildings there are a few interesting, though in somecases very disgusting idols, such for instance as those illustratingthe creation, but over these draperies have been thrown during recentyears, which make them a trifle more respectable. 

The temple is very imposing. At the entrance there are two large archescovered with yellow tiles, from which a broad paved court leads to thefront gate, on the two sides of which are the residences of the Lamasor Mongol priests. At the hour of prayer, which is about nine o'clock, they may be seen going in crowds, clothed in yellow robes, to thevarious halls of worship where they chant their prayers. 

Very different from this is the Confucian Temple only a quarter of amile away. Here we find neither priest nor idol--nothing but a smallboard tablet to "Confucius, the teacher of ten thousand ages" withthose of his most faithful and worthy disciples. In the court on eachside are rows of buildings--that on the east containing the tablets ofseventy-eight virtuous men; that on the west the tablets of fifty-fourlearned men; eighty-six of these were pupils of the Sage, while theremainder were men who accepted his teachings. No Taoists, howeverlearned; no Buddhists, however pure; no original thinkers, howevergreat may have been their following, are allowed a place here. It is aTemple of Fame for Confucianists alone. 

I have been in this temple when a whole bullock, the skin and entrailshaving been removed, was kneeling upon a table facing the tablet of theSage, while sheep and pigs were similarly arranged facing the tabletsof his disciples. 

For twenty-four centuries China has had Taoism preached within herdominions; for twenty-three centuries she has worshipped at the shrineof Confucius; for eighteen centuries she has had Buddhism, and fortwelve centuries Mohammedanism: and during all this time if we believethe statements of her own people, she has slept. Does it not thereforeseem significant, that less than a century after the Gospel of JesusChrist had been preached to her people, and the Bible circulated freelythroughout her dominions, she opened her court to the world, began tobuild railroads, open mines, erect educational institutions, adopt thetelegraph and the telephone, and step into line with the industrialmethods of the most progressive nations of the Western world?

XXI

The Death of Kuang Hsu and the Empress Dowager

Who knows whether the Dowager Empress will ever repose in themagnificent tomb she has built for herself at such a cost, or whether anew dynasty may not rifle its riches to embellish its own? Tze-Hsi isgrowing old! According to nature's immutable law her faculties mustsoon fail her; her iron will must bend and her far-seeing eye grow dim, and after her who will resist the tide of foreign aggression and stemthe torrent of inward revolt?--Lady Susan Townley in "My Chinese NoteBook. "

XXI

THE DEATH OF KUANG HSU AND THE EMPRESS DOWAGER

During mid-November of 1908 the Forbidden City of Peking was a blindstage before which an expectant world sat as an audience. It had notlong to wait, for on the fifteenth and sixteenth it learned that KuangHsu and the Empress Dowager, less than twenty-four hours apart, hadtaken "the fairy ride and ascended upon the dragon to be guests onhigh. " The world looked on in awe. It expected a demonstration if not arevolution but nothing of the kind happened. But on the other hand oneof the most difficult diplomatic problems of her history was solved ina quiet and peaceable, if not a statesman-like way, by the aged Dowagerand her officials, and China once more had upon her throne an emperor, though only a child, about whose succession there was no question. Andall this was done with less commotion than is caused by the election ofa mayor in New York or Chicago, which may or may not be to the creditof an absolute monarchy over a republican form of government. 

The world has speculated a good deal as to what happened in theForbidden City of Peking during the early half of November. Will thecurious world ever know? Whether it will or not remains for the futureto determine. We have, however, the edicts issued to the foreignlegations at Peking and with these at the present we must be content. From them we learn that it was the Empress Dowager and not Kuang Hsuwho appointed Prince Chun as Regent, and that this appointment wasmade--or at least announced--twenty-four hours before the death of theEmperor. 

On the thirteenth of November the foreign diplomatic representativesreceived the following edict from the great Dowager through the regularchannel of the Foreign Office of which Prince Ching was the president:

"It is the excellent will of Tze-hsi-kuan-yu-k'ang-i-chao-yu-chuang-ch'eng-shou-kung-ch'in-hsien-chung-hsi, the greatEmpress Dowager that Tsai Feng, Prince of Chun, be appointed PrinceRegent (She Chang-wang). "

The above edict was soon followed by another which stated that "Pu I, the son of Tsai Feng, should be reared in the palace and taught in theimperial schoolroom, " an indication that he was to be the next emperor, and that Tsai Feng and not Kuang Hsu was to occupy the throne, and allthis by the "excellent will" of the Empress Dowager. 

On the morning of the fourteenth the following edict came from theEmperor himself:

"From the beginning of August of last year, our health has been poor. We formerly ordered the Tartar generals, viceroys, and governors ofevery province to recommend physicians of ability. Thereupon theviceroys of Chihli, the Liang Kiang, Hu Kiang, Kiangsu and Chekiangrecommended and sent forward Chen Ping-chun, Tsao Yuen-wang, LuYung-ping, Chow Ching-tao, Tu Chung-chun, Shih Huan, and ChangPang-nien, who came to Peking and treated us. But their prescriptionshave given no relief. Now the negative and positive elements (Yin-Yang)are both failing. There are ailments both external and internal, andthe breath is stopped up, the stomach rebellious, the back and legspainful, appetite failing. On moving, the breath fails and there iscoughing and panting. Besides, we have chills and fever, cannot sleep, and experience a general failure of bodily strength which is hard tobear. 

"Our heart is very impatient and now the Tartar generals, viceroys, andgovernors of every province are ordered to select capable physicians, regardless of the official rank, and to send them quickly to Peking toawait summons to give medical aid. If any can show beneficial resultshe will receive extraordinary rewards, and the Tartar generals, viceroys, and governors who recommend them will receive special grace. Let this be published. "

This was followed on the same day by the following edict:

"Inasmuch as the Emperor Tung Chih had no issue, on the fifth day ofthe twelfth moon of that reign (January 12, 1875) an edict waspromulgated to the effect that if the late Emperor Kuang Hsu shouldhave a son, the said prince should carry on the succession as the heirof Tung Chih. But now the late Emperor has ascended upon the dragon tobe a guest on high, leaving no son, and there is no course open but toappoint Pu I, the son of Tsai Feng, the Prince Regent, as the successorto Tung Chih and also as heir to the Emperor Kuang Hsu. "

The next day--the fifteenth--another edict, purporting to come fromlittle Pu I, but transcribed by Prince Ching, was sent out to thediplomatic body and to the world. It is as follows:

"I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that on the 21st day ofthe 10th moon [Nov. 14, 1908] at the yu-ke [5-7 P. M. ] the late Emperorascended on the dragon to be a guest on high. We have received thecommand of Tze-hsi, etc. , the Great Empress Dowager to enter on thesuccession as Emperor. We lamented to Earth and Heaven. We stretchedout our hands, wailing our insufficiency. Prostrate we reflect on howthe late Emperor occupied the Imperial Throne for thirty-four years, reverently following the customs of his ancestors, receiving thegracious instruction of the Empress Dowager, exerting himself to theutmost, not failing one day to revere Heaven and observe the laws ofhis ancestors, devoting himself with diligence to the affairs ofgovernment and loving the people, appointing the virtuous to office, changing the laws of the land to make the country powerful, consideringnew methods of government which arouse the admiration of both Chineseand foreigners. All who have blood and breath cannot but mourn and bemoved to the extreme point. We weep tears of blood and beat upon ourheart. How can we bear to express our feelings!

"But we think upon our heavy responsibility and our weakness, and wemust depend upon the great and small civil and military officials ofPeking and the provinces to show public spirit and patriotism, and aidin the government. The viceroys and governors should harmonize thepeople and arrange carefully methods of government to comfort thespirit of the late Emperor in heaven. This is our earnest expectation. "

On the sixteenth day of November, three days after she had appointedthe regent, and two days after she had appointed Pu I, the diplomaticrepresentatives received the following from Prince Ching:

"Your Excellency:

"I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that we have reverentlyreceived the following testamentary statement of Her Imperial MajestyTze-hsi, etc. , the Great Empress Dowager:

"'Although of scanty merit, I received the command of His Majesty theEmperor Wen Tsung-hsien (the posthumous title of Hsien Feng) to occupya throne prepared for me in the palace. When the Emperor Mu Tsung I(Tung Chih) as a child succeeded to the throne, violence and confusionprevailed. It was a critical period of suppression by force. "Long-hairs" (Tai-ping rebels) and the "twisted turbans" (Nien Fei)were in rebellion. The Mohammedans and the aborigines had commenced tomake trouble. There were many disturbances along the seacoast. Thepeople were destitute. Ulcers and sores met the eye on every side. Cooperating with the Empress Dowager Hsiao Chen-hsien, I supported andtaught the Emperor and toiled day and night. According to theinstructions contained in the testamentary counsels of the Emperor WenTsung-hsien (Hsien Feng) I urged on the officials of Peking and theprovinces and all the military commanders, determining the policy to befollowed, diligently searching the right way of governing, choosing theupright for official positions, rescuing from calamity and pitying thepeople, and so obtained the protection of Heaven, gaining peace andtranquillity instead of distress and danger. Then the Emperor Mu TsungI (Tung Chih) departed this life and the late Emperor succeeded to thethrone. The times became still harder and the people in still greaterstraits, sorrow within and calamity without, confusion and noise; I hadno recourse but to give instruction in government once more. 

"'The year before last the preparatory measures for the institution ofconstitutional government were published. This year the time limits forthe measures preparatory to constitutional government have beenpromulgated. Attending to these myriad affairs the strength of my hearthas been exhausted. Fortunately my constitution was originally strongand up to the present I have stood the strain. Unexpectedly from thesummer and autumn of this year I have been ill and have not been ableto assist in the multitudinous affairs of government with tranquillity. Appetite and the power to sleep have gone. This has continued for along time until my strength is exhausted and I have not dared to restfor even a day. On the 21st of this moon [November 14th] came thesorrow of the death of the late Emperor, and I was unable to controlmyself, so that my illness increased till I was unable to rise from mybed. I look back upon our fifty years of sorrow and trouble. I havebeen continually in a state of high tension without a moment's respite. Now a reform in the method of government has been commenced and therebegins to be a clue to follow. The Emperor now succeeding to the throneis in his infancy. All depends upon his instruction and guidance. ThePrince Regent and all the officials of Peking and the provinces shouldexert themselves to strengthen the foundations of our empire. Let theEmperor now succeedings to the throne make his country's affairs offirst importance and moderate his sorrow, diligently attending to hisstudies so that he may in future illustrate the instruction which hehas received. This is my devout hope. Let the mourning period be fortwenty-seven days only. Let this be proclaimed to the empire that allmay know. '"

Still one more edict was necessary to complete this remarkable list, and this was sent to the legations on the 17th of November. It is asfollows:

"I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that on the 22d of themoon [November 15, 1908] I reverently received the following edict:

"We received in our early childhood the love and care of Tze-hsi, etc. , the Great Empress Dowager. Our gratitude is boundless. We have receivedthe command to succeed to the throne and we fully expected that thegentle Empress Dowager would be vigorous and reach a hundred years sothat we might be cherished and made glad and reverently receive herinstructions so that our government might be established and the statemade firm. But her toil by day and night gradually weakened her. Medicine was constantly administered in the hope that she mightrecover. Contrary to our hopes, on the 21st day of the moon [November14th] at the wei-k'o [1-3 P. M. ] she took the fairy ride and ascended tothe far country. We cried out and mourned how frantically! We learnfrom her testamentary statement that the period of full mourning is tobe limited to twenty-seven days. We certainly cannot be satisfied withthis. Full mourning must be worn for one hundred days and half mourningfor twenty-seven months, by which our grief may be partly expressed. The order to restrain grief so that the affairs of the empire may be offirst importance we dare not disregard, as it is her parting command. We will strive to be temperate so as to comfort the spirit of the lateEmpress in Heaven. "

We call attention to the fact that according to the fourth of theseedicts the death of the Emperor is put at from 5 to 7 P. M on theevening of the 14th of November, while that of the Empress Dowager isfrom 1 to 3 P. M. Of the same day at least two hours earlier, and thatin her last edict she is made to speak of the death of Kuang Hsu. Whether these dates have become mixed in crossing to America we havenot been able to ascertain, though we think it more than likely thather death occurred on November 15th instead of the 14th. 

XXII

The Court and the New Education

Abolish the eight-legged essay. Let the new learning be the test ofscholarship, but include the classics, history, geography andgovernment of China in the examinations. The true essay will then comeout. If so desired, the eight-legged essay can be studied at home; butwhy trouble the school with them, and at the same time waste time andstrength that can be expended in something more profitable?--ChangChih-tung in "China's Only Hope. "

XXII

THE COURT AND THE NEW EDUCATION

The changes in the attitude of the court towards a new educationalsystem began, as do many great undertakings, in a very simple way. Wehave already shown how the eunuchs secured all kinds of foreignmechanical toys to entertain the baby Emperor Kuang Hsu; how these weresupplemented in his boyhood by ingenious clocks and watches; how hebecame interested in the telegraph, the telephone, steam cars, steamboats, electric light and steam heat, and how he had them firstbrought into the palace and then established throughout the empire: andhow he had the phonograph, graphophone, cinematograph, bicycle, andindeed all the useful and unique inventions of modern times brought infor his entertainment. 

He then began the study of English. When in 1894 a New Testament wassent to the Empress Dowager on the occasion of her sixtieth birthday, he at once secured from the American Bible Society a copy of thecomplete Bible for himself. He began studying the Gospel of Luke. Thisgave him a taste for foreign literature and he sent his eunuchs to thevarious book depositories and bought every book that had beentranslated from the European languages into the Chinese. To these hebent all his energies and it soon became noised abroad that the Emperorwas studying foreign books and was about to embrace the Christianfaith. This continued from 1894 till 1898, during which time hisexample was followed by tens of thousands of young Chinese scholarsthroughout the empire, and Chang Chih-tung wrote his epoch-making book"China's Only Hope" which, being sent to the young Emperor, led him toenter upon a universal reform, the chief feature of which may beconsidered the adoption of a new educational system. 

But now let us notice the animus of Kuang Hsu. He has been praisedwithout stint for his leaning towards foreign affairs, when in realitywas it not simply an effort on the part of the young man to make Chinastrong enough to resist the incursions of the European powers? Germanyhad taken Kiaochou, Russia had taken Port Arthur, Japan had takenFormosa, Great Britain had taken Weihaiwei, France had takenKuangchouwan, and even Italy was anxious to have a slice of histerritory, while all the English papers in the port cities were talkingof China being divided up amongst the Powers, and it was these thingswhich led the Emperor to enter upon his work of reform. 

In the summer of 1898 therefore he sent out an edict to the effectthat: "Our scholars are now without solid and practical education; ourartisans are without scientific instructors; when compared with othercountries WE SOON SEE HOW WEAK WE ARE. DOES ANY ONE THINK THAT OURTROOPS ARE AS WELL DRILLED OR AS WELL LED AS THOSE OF THE FOREIGNARMIES? OR THAT WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY STAND AGAINST THEM? Changes must bemade to accord with the necessities of the times. .. . Keeping in mindthe morals of the sages and wise men, we must make them the basis onwhich to build newer and better structures. WE MUST SUBSTITUTE MODERNARMS AND WESTERN ORGANIZATION FOR OUR OLD REGIME; WE MUST SELECT OURMILITARY OFFICERS ACCORDING TO WESTERN METHODS OF MILITARY EDUCATION;we must establish elementary and high schools, colleges anduniversities, in accordance with those of foreign countries; we mustabolish the Wen-chang (literary essay) and obtain a knowledge ofancient and modern world-history, a right conception of the present-daystate of affairs, with special reference to the governments andinstitutions of the countries of the five great continents; and we mustunderstand their arts and sciences. "

The effect of this edict was to cause hundreds of thousands of youngaspirants for office to put aside the classics and unite inestablishing reform clubs in many of the provincial capitals, openports, and prefectural cities. Book depots were opened for the sale ofthe same kind of literature the Emperor had been studying, magazinesand newspapers were issued and circulated in great numbers, lectureswere delivered and libraries established, and students flocked to themission schools ready to study anything the course contained, literary, scientific or religious. Christians and pastors were even invited intothe palace by the eunuchs to dine with and instruct them. But thematter that gave the deepest concern to the boy in the palace was: "Howcan we so strengthen ourselves that we will be able to resist the WhitePeril from Europe?"

Among the important edicts issued in the establishment of the neweducation was the one of June 11, 1898, in which he ordered that "agreat central university be established at Peking, " the funds for whichwere provided by the government. Among other things he said: "Let alltake advantage of the opportunities for the new education thus open tothem, so that in time we may have many who will be competent to help usin the stupendous task of putting our country on a level with thestrongest of the western powers. " It was not wisdom the young man wasafter for the sake of wisdom, but he wanted knowledge because knowledgewas power, and at that time it was the particular kind of power thatwas necessary to save China from utter destruction. 

On the 26th of the same month he censured the princes and ministers whowere lax in reporting upon this edict, and ordered them to do so atonce, and it was not long until a favourable report was given and, forthe first time in the history of the empire, a great university waslaunched by the government, destined, may we not hope, to accomplishthe end the ambitious boy Emperor had in view. 

Kuang Hsu was aware that a single institution was not sufficient toaccomplish that end. On July 10th therefore he ordered that "schoolsand colleges be established in all the provincial capitals, prefectoral, departmental and district cities, and allowed the viceroysand governors but two months to report upon the number of colleges andfree schools within their provinces, " saying that "all must be changedinto practical schools for the teaching of Chinese literature, andWestern learning and become feeders to the Peking Imperial University. "He ordered further that all memorial and other temples that had beenerected by the people but which were not recorded in the list of theBoard of Rites or of Sacrificial Worship, were to be turned intoschools and colleges for the propagation of Western learning, a thoughtwhich was quite in harmony with that advocated by Chang Chih-tung. Thefunds for carrying on this work, and the establishment of theseschools, were to be provided for by the China Merchants' SteamshipCompany, the Telegraph Company and the Lottery at Canton. 

On August 4th he ordered that numerous preparatory schools beestablished in Peking as special feeders to the university; and on the9th appointed Dr. W. A. P. Martin as Head of the Faculty and approvedthe site suggested for the university by Sun Chia-nai, the president. On the 16th he authorized the establishment of a Bureau for"translating into Chinese Western works on science, arts andliterature, and textbooks for use in schools and colleges"; and on the19th he abolished the "Palace examinations for Hanlins as useless, superficial and obsolete, " thus severing the last cord that bound themto the old regime. 

What, now, was the Empress Dowager doing while Kuang Hsu was issuingall these reform edicts, which, we are told, were so contrary to allher reactionary principles? Why did she not stretch forth her hand andprevent them? She was spending the hot months at the Summer Palace, fifteen miles away, without offering either advice, objection orhindrance, and it was not until two delegations of officials andprinces had appeared before her and plead with her to come and takecontrol of affairs and thus save them from being ousted or beheaded, and herself from imprisonment, did she consent to come. By thus takingthe throne she virtually placed herself in the hands of theconservative party, and all his reform measures, except that of thePeking University and provincial schools, were, for the time, countermanded, and the Boxers were allowed to test their strength withthe allied Powers. 

Passing over the two bad years of the Empress Dowager, which we havetreated in another chapter, we find her again, after the failure of theBoxer uprising, and the return of the court to Peking, reissuing thesame style of edicts that had gone out from the pen of Kuang Hsu. OnAugust 29, 1901, she ordered "the abolition of essays on the Chineseclassics in examinations for literary degrees, and substituted thereforessays and articles on some phase of modern affairs, Western laws orpolitical economy. This same procedure is to be followed in examinationof candidates for office. "

And now notice another phase of this same edict. "The old methods ofgaining military degrees by trial of strength with stone weights, agility with the sword, or marksmanship with the bow on foot or onhorseback, ARE OF NO USE TO MEN IN THE ARMY, WHERE STRATEGY ANDMILITARY SCIENCE ARE THE SINE QUA NON TO OFFICE, and hence they shouldbe done away with forever. " It is, as it was with Kuang Hsu, thestrengthening of the army she has in mind in her first efforts atreform, that she may be able to back up with war-ships and cannon, ifnecessary, her refusal to allow Italy or any other European power tofilch, without reason or excuse, the territory of her ancestors. 

September 12, 1901, she issued another edict commanding that "all thecolleges in the empire should be turned into schools of Westernlearning; each provincial capital should have a university like that inPeking, whilst all the schools in the prefectures and districts are tobe schools or colleges of the second or third class, " neither more norless than a restatement of the edict of July 10, 1898, as issued by thedeposed Emperor, except that she confined it to the schools withouttaking the temples. 

September 17, 1901, she ordered "the viceroys and governors of otherprovinces to follow the example of Liu Kun-yi of Liang Kiang, ChangChih-tung of Hukuang, and Kuei Chun (Manchu) of Szechuan, in sendingyoung men of scholastic promise abroad to study any branch of Westernscience or art best suited to their tastes, that in time they mayreturn to China and place the fruits of their knowledge at the serviceof the empire. " Such were some of the edicts issued by the Emperor andthe Empress Dowager in their efforts to launch this new system ofeducation which was to transform the old China into a strong and sturdyyouth. What now were the results?

The Imperial College in Shansi was opened with 300 students all of whomhad already taken the Chinese degree of Bachelor of Arts. It had bothChinese and foreign departments, and after the students had completedthe first, they were allowed to pass on to the second, which had sixforeign professors who held diplomas from Western colleges oruniversities, and a staff of six translators of university textbooksinto Chinese, superintended by a foreigner. In 1901-2 ten provinces, under the wise leadership of the Empress Dowager, opened colleges forthe support of which they raised not less than $400, 000. 

The following are some of the questions given at the triennialexaminations of these two years in six southern provinces:

1. "As Chinese and Western laws differ, and Western people will notsubmit to Chinese punishments, what ought to be done that China, likeother nations, may be mistress in her own country?"

2. "What are the Western sources of economic prosperity, and as Chinais now so poor, what should she do?"

3. "According to international law has any one a right to interferewith the internal affairs of any foreign country?"

4. "State the advantages of constructing railways in Shantung. "

5. "Of what importance is the study of chemistry to the agriculturist?"

While Yuan Shih-kai was Governor of Shantung he induced Dr. W. M. Hayesto resign the presidency of the Presbyterian College at Teng Choufu andaccept the presidency of the new government college at Chinanfu thecapital of the province. Dr. Hayes drew up a working plan of grammarand high schools for Shantung which were to be feeders to thisprovincial college. This was approved by the Governor, and embodied ina memorial to the throne, copies of which the Empress Dowager sent tothe governors and viceroys of all the provinces declaring it to be alaw, and ordering the "viceroys, governors and literary chancellors tosee that it was obeyed. "

Dr. Hayes and Yuan Shih-kai soon split upon a regulation which theGovernor thought it best to introduce, viz. , "That the Chineseprofessors shall, on the first and fifteenth of each month, conducttheir classes in reverential sacrifice to the Most Holy Confucius, andto all the former worthies and scholars of the provinces. " Dr. Hayesand his Christian teachers withdrew, and it was not long until thosewho professed Christianity were excused from this rite, while theChristian physicians who taught in the Peking Imperial University wereallowed to dispense with the queue and wear foreign clothes, as beingboth more convenient and more sanitary. 

When Governor Yuan was made viceroy of Chihli, he requested Dr. C. D. Tenny to draw up and put into operation a similar schedule for themetropolitan province. This was done on a very much enlarged scale, andat present (1909) "the Chihli province alone has nine thousand schools, all of which are aiming at Western education; while in the empire as awhole there are not less than forty thousand schools, colleges anduniversities, " representing one phase of the educational changes thathave been brought about in China during the last dozen years. 

The changes in the new education among women promise to be even moresweeping than those among men. Dr. Martin, expressing the sentimentsthen in vogue, said, as far back as 1877, "that not one in ten thousandwomen could read. " In 1893 I began studying the subject, and was led atonce to doubt the statement. The Chinese in an offhand way will agreewith Dr. Martin. But I found that it was a Chinese woman who wrote thefirst book that was ever written in any language for the instruction ofgirls, and that the Chinese for many years have had "Four Books forGirls" corresponding to the "Four Books" of the old regime, and thatthey were printed in large editions, and have been read by the betterclass of people in almost every family. In every company of women thatcame to call on my wife from 1894 to 1900, there was at least one ifnot more who had read these books, while the Empress Dowager herselfwas a brilliant example of what a woman of the old regime could do. Where the desire for education was so great among women, that as soonas it became possible to do so, she launched the first woman's dailynewspaper that was published anywhere in the world, with a woman as aneditor, we may be sure that there was more than one in ten thousandduring the old regime that could read. What therefore may we expect inthis new regime where women are ready to sacrifice their lives ratherthan that the school which they are undertaking to establish shall be afailure?