Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/chinayellowperilOOmillrich J2 60 O (. .o o. m B) ^ 5° O 3 = =* m 9 S-5 CMIN A THE YELLOW PERIL AT WAR -WITH -THE -WORLD A History of the Chinese Empire from the Dawn OF Civilization to the Present Time ^ ^ ji* jx ^ Including Descriptions of the People, their Pur- suits AND IVlANNER OF LlFE ^^^^JX^S^ To ■WHICH IS Added a Complete Account of the Boxer Uprising, the Outbreak of Hostilities, Mas- sacre OF Missionaries, Suffering of Foreign Resi- dents, Mobilization of Fleets and Armies, Final Readjustment, Etc., Etc. j^^^^^jit^^ BY J. MARTIN MILLER AN EXTENSIVE TRAVELER THROUGHOUT CHINA AND AUTHOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY AND ATLAS OF THE WORLD ILLUSTRATED WITH REPRODUCTIONS OF ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS, MANY OF WHICH WERE TAKEN BY THE AUTHOR COPYRIGHT 1900 BY J. MARTIN MILLER. All Rights Reserved. PREFACE. In presenting this work to the reading public the author admits a pride in contributing his share to the records of events which literally have no parallel in history. Never before has one nation of the world stood against allied civilization as China has stood against Europe and America in the unique contest — military, diplomatic and commercial — which is here related. In order to make clearer the motives which impelled the participants and the conditions which had to be met, a somewhat full account of the history of the Chinese Empire is included as a preliminary to the more recent events described. The dawn of civilization in China, the progress of the great empire, the early and recent intercourse with European powers, the wars of the past and the war of five years ago with Japan — all are told in some detail. In addition there have been included descriptive chapters relating to the cities, the people, the manners of life, the pursuits and the country of the Chinese. To this has been added a full and authentic account of the rise of the "Boxers," with a full description of exactly what they are; the work of the mis- sionaries, who were the object of their first attack; the outbreak of hostilities; the sufferings of the foreign residents in Peking while they were imprisoned during those weeks of terror; the mobilization of fleets and armies to rescue the besieged and punish the guilty; the thrilling campaigns and all that followed them, and finally the terms of read- justment under which the world settled down to peace again. In other words the effort has been to make a book so complete that it will serve as a final compendium and reference work on the subject, condensed into the limits of a single large volume and therefore most serviceable for the greatest number of readers. In a prolonged journey through the Chinese Empire in 1899, the author gathered the historical and descriptive matter which comprise the chapters devoted to those phases of the subject, as well as many of the photographs which appear as ilustrations. Upon the outbreak of the "Boxer" difficulties a second journey to the scene of trouble was begun without delay, and there with the allied ■7rr-« /s /^tf»/-» PREFACE. forces throughout all the campaigns the facts which are embodied in the latter portion of the narrative were gathered or verified. It would be but effrontery, however, for any w^riter to claim clear originality for any work about China. This oldest of empires has been the subject of thousands of books and every fact and every opinion has been some- where said by some other writer. To the more famous of these it is a l^leasure to offer thanks and acknowledgments for references verified, quotations reprinted and facts cited. Careful study has been made of the works of the best authors. English, German, French and Ameri- can, with assurance that the best book is the one which seeks the best sources for its complete information. The resulting work is here pre- sented with the hope and belief that it will prove of service to its readers. J. MARTIN MILLER. .13 •a « I" F ^^ ** s ^ 0) <1> ^ js-r a-^ - fc. is c ^ a! n S.2 "S "3 ^ "^ -*-> .2! " >• p ss^a IS J3 ^ 3 j£ — C8 ■3 t. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. An Auction Frontispiece PAGE The Execution of Pirates at Kaulunq H A Christian Mission Industrial ScHOOii 12 A Social Evening in a Chinese Home 21 An Interior View of a Chinese Home 23 Chinese Residence 39 Octangular Doorway 40 Drawing Room of United States Legation at Peking 49 Methodist Episcopal Buildings at Nanking 50 A Cross-Country Journey 51 Chinese Merchants Selling Tea to a Commission House 52 Chinese Women Gl The Poor Man's Car in China 62 How the Feet of Chinese Women are Bound 79 Chinese Woman's Small Foot 80 Enjoying an Opium Smoke at Home 89 Pawnbroker's Shop, Canton 90 Execution Grounds at Canton 91 Chinese Prisoners 92 Hata Mun Street, City of Peking 101 Temple Gate in Peking 103 A Peking Cart 119 Harbor Front of a Chinese City 120 The Dragon Boat 129 Packing Tea 130 Chinese Children at the Wayside 131 FucHAu Road, Shanghai 132 Li Hung Chang , 141 Examination Hall at Peking 142 Prince Vaing's Coffin 159 The Peking Observatory 160 A Wedding Procession 177 Sedan Chair 178 Food for Cattle 195 13 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE On the Plains of Peiho 196 Outer Wall, Canton 213 Country Scene in China 214 Buddhist Temple, Canton 231 Gods in One of the Peking Temples 232 Avenue of Statues at the Ming Tombs 249 The Sleeping Buddha 250 Gateway to Ming Tombs 2G7 Avenue to the Ming Tombs 268 KoREAifs IN Procession— King's Body Guard 285 Chinkiang — General View 286 Chinese Infantryman 303 Chinese Bookseller'- 303 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. Early Names Given to China — The Boundaries of the Empire — Area of China Proper — The Vast Delta Plain — Great Mountain Ranges — The Rivers of China — The Yang- tsze Klang— The Grand Canal— The Water Way to Peking— The Lakes of China— The Eighteen Provinces — Area and Population — Agricultural Resources and Min- eral Wealth — Exports and Imports 23 CHAPTER H. IN THE DAWN OF HISTORY. The Founders of a Nation — Early Struggles for Existence — Myths and Fables of the Ancients — The Discovery of Fire — Early Modes of Worship — The Great Chinese Flood — The First Penal Code — The Oppression of the People — Confucius, the Greatest of His Race — Sketch of His Life — End of the Chow Dynasty — Chi Huang- ti, the First "Universal Emperor" — Building of the Great Wall — The Destruction of the Libraries— Events of Interest in the Contemporaneous History of the World 37 CHAPTER HI. THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. Constant Wars with Neighboring Tribes — A New Penal Code Issued — Revival of Learning — The Origin of "Punch and Judy" — The Emperor Theodosius Sends Embassadors — Division of the Empire — Arrival of the Nestorian Missionaries — Aid Against Enemies Asked from the Tartars — Death of the Great General, Ghengiz Kahn — An Army Nearly a Million Strong — Founding of the Ming Dynas- ty — War with Japan — Fall of the Ming Dynasty 55 CHAPTER IV. EARLY CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN POWERS. Grievances of the Tartars Against the Chinese — Fabled Origin of the Tartar Dynasty — Ching Che-tung, the "Father of the Pirates" — The Terrible Koxinga — Why the Chinese Wear "Pig-tails" — China's Greatest Ruler — Persecution of the Priests — Early European Intercourse— Marco Polo in China — Arrival of the Portuguese — Trade with the Dutch — Great Britain in the Field — Frequent Acts of Injustice Interfere with Commerce — "The Gunner's Case" — Arrival of Lord Macartney 81 CHAPTER V. THE OPIUM WAR WITH ENGLAND. Battles with Pirates— The Embassy of Lord Amherst — Question of the Kowtow — Kea- King Dies and is Succeeded by Taou-Kuang — Local Insurrections Throughout the Empire— Causes Leading to the First War with England — Troubles with the Dealers in Opium — Arrival at Canton of the Emperor's Commission — The British Fleet Blockades Principal Ports — Hongkong Ceded to Great Britain — Treaty of Peace Signed , 104 35 16 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. FOREIGN WAR AND INTERNAL REBELLION. The Revolt Under Hung Sew-tsuen — Capture of Nanking — War Between China and Great Britain— Canton Seized By the English Forces — Chinese Treachery — The Summer Palace Burned by "Chinese" Gordon — End of the Tai-ping Rebellion — A Story of Li Hung Chang — Persecution of the Missionaries — The Massacre at Tien-tsin — Extended Foreign Relations — Death of Emperor Tung-che — The First Railroad — War with France — Extension of Telegraph Lines 115 CHAPTER VH. GREAT CITIES OF THE EMPIRE. Divisions of the Provinces — The Walled Cities — Names of the Streets — Methods of Fighting Fire — Great Centers of Population — Canton, the Metropolis— Dwellers in Houseboats — Peking, the Capital — Its History — Its Great Walls — The Purple For- bidden City — The Temple of Heaven — Shanghai, a Great Commercial Port — Vic- toria, the English City on the Island of Hongkong — Nanking, the "Southern Capital" — Tien-tsin, Hang-chau, Amoy, Macao, Yun-nan — Treaty Ports of the Empire 133 CHAPTER VHI. THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. Power of the Emperor Over the People — The Council of State — Responsibility of Mandarins — Official Dishonesty the Rule, Rather Than the Exception — Honest Rulers Are Shown Great Respect — How the People Are Protected — Cruelty Prac- ticed in Courts of Law — The Punishment of Crime — How Criminals Sometimes Escape — Horrors of Chinese Prisons — The Schools of China — Rules of Conduct for Scholars — The Teacher's Authority Over the Pupil — System of Public Examina- tions 147 CHAPTER IX. DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. Ceremonies Attending the Marriage Rite in Ancient Times — "The Moon-light Old Gentleman" — Manner of Courtship — Proposals by Proxy — Wedding Gifts — Lit- erary Attainments Recognized as an Equivalent for Wealth — Power of the Hus- band Over the Wife — Women Placed Under Many Disadvantages — Stories of Infanticide Greatly Exaggerated — Funeral Rites — Human Sacrifices at One Time General — The Period of Mourning — Constant Anticipation of Death — Disposition of Property — How the Chinese Are Named 163 CHAPTER X. CUSTOMS AND COSTUMES OF THE CHINESE. Peculiar Customs of the Chinese Race — Life On the Rivers and Lakes — Opium Eating a Common Practice — Rice Their Staff of Life — Restaurant Bills of Fare — An Aristocratic Menu — Fish in Abundance in the Rivers of the Empire — Modes of Catching Them — Duck Breeding a Profitable Industry — How the Chinese Dress — Costumes of Officials — What the Women Wear — How They Treat Their Faces and Their Feet — Origin of the Queue 175 CHAPTER XL HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. Chinese Method of Dividing the Year — The Beginning of the New Yes^r — A Season of National Rejoicing — Ofiicial Etiquette in Connection with Celebrations of the Event — Superstitions Regarding the First Day of the Year — New Year's Calls Customary — The Feast of Lanterns — The Commencement of Spring — Sacrifices to the God of the Fields — Ceremonies at the Tombs of Ancestors — Commemoration of Buddha's Birthday — Legend of the "Spinning Damsel" — Rites Incidental to the Dying Year 189 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 17 CHAPTER XII. THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Peculiarities of tlie Language — The Chinese Possess No Alphabet — Beautiful Inscrip- tions for Ornamental Purposes — Grammatical Construction — Language Not Diffi- cult to Acquire — A Literary People — Books of Antiquity — Destruction of Literary Treasures — How Many of Them Were Saved — The Book of Rites— Spring and Autumn Annals — Works of History — Encyclopaedias — Poetry and Song — Maxims and Wise Saws 205 CHAPTER XIII. RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. The Three Religions of China — The Doctrines of Confucius — Influence of Confucian- ism on Succeeding Ages — Worship of Shang-te — Lao-tsze, the Founder of Taoism — The Principles of the Sect — Introduction of Buddhism — The Dream of an Em- peror — Mohammedanism, and Its Few Followers in China — The Chinese Nation Founded on and Governed by Superstitions — Interpretation of Dreams — Fortune Tellers, and Their Methods— A Buddhist Story— How Horoscopes are Cast 223 CHAPTER XIV. ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Origin of Music — Different Kinds of Drums — Musical Bells, and the Chinese Mode of Using Them — The Big Bell of Peking — Gong Fire Alarms — The Chinese Organ — Music Held in High Esteem in China — The Chinese Drama — Ancient Pantomimes — Domestic Plays the Most Popular with the People — Lack of Scenic Accessories — The Chinese as Artists — Architecture — The Homes of the People — How They Are Furnished— Beauty of the Temples 241 CHAPTER XV. CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. Chinese Origin of Printing— Of Gunpowder — Of the Magnetic Compass — Manufacture of Paper — Work of the Engraver and Pressman — Newspapers — Chinese Ink^ Inferiority in Gunnery — The Magnetic Car — Arts and Manufactures — Manner of Ginning Cotton — Silk and Porcelain — Scientific Knowledge — Practice of Medicine — Pharmacy — Ignorance of Physicians — The Medical Profession Held in Light Esteem 256 CHAPTER XVI. RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. The Prize Awaiting the World in China — Necessary to Create the Wants in Order to Supply Them— Chinese Adaptability to All Climates and Conditions — Mineral Wealth of the Empire — Inadequate Transportation Facilities — Agricultural Con- ditions — Supply and Cost of Labor — Condition of the Workmen — Opium — Textile Industries — Execrable Roads — Railway Progress — Steamers, Telegraphs and Posts 272 CHAPTER XVII. WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. Causes of the War — Japan's Declaration — China's Reply — Attack on the Japanese Minister — First Engagement at Sea — Alliance Between Japan and Korea — The Battle at the Yalu River — The Great Naval Engagement of the War — Invasion of the Second Japanese Army Corps — The Advance on Port Arthur — Capture of the City — Horrible Scenes of Slaughter — The Chinese Sue for Peace — Terms of the Treaty 284 18 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIII. FOREIGN RELATIONS SINCE THE CHINA-JAPANESE WAR, The Western World Looking for the Partition of China — Encroachments on Chinese Territory — Russian, English, German and French Aggressions — The Siberian Railway — Preparations of Russia and Great Britain at Port Arthur and Wei-hai- wei — Foreigners in China — Treaty Ports and Their Population 312 CHAPTER XIX. GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. Li Hung Chang, the Most Famous Oriental of the Age— His Great Wealth— His Tour of the World — A Chinese Estimate of His Worth— Prince Ching, the Polished — A Friend of Foreigners — The Southern Viceroys — Not in Sympathy with the Boxer Element — Yuan Shih Kai, the Governor of Shantung — A Military Leader — His Progressive Character — The Emperor and the Empress Dowager 323 CHAPTER XX. BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. First Rumors of Outrages Perpetrated by the Society of the Righteous Fist— Two Points of View of the Boxers — 1 he World Takes Alarm — Secret Societies in China and Their Work — Specimens of Boxer Proclamations — The Ministers in Peril — Marine Guard Arrives — The Dowager Empress — Prince Tuan in Power 336 CHAPTER XXI. FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. The March of the Allies Under Admiral Seymour— Good-Fellowship Prevails— Fight- ing All the Way — The American Captain McCalla Lauds the British Admiral Seymour — Battle of the Taku Forts — Casualties in the Fight— Story of the Land Battle— Americans Not in the Attack — Losses of the Allied Forces— Statement of Commander Wise— Shell Strikes the Monocacy— Fighting Around Tientsin — Attacking the Walled City — Colonel Meade's Report— Fighting Among Corpses for Spoil 350 CHAPTER XXII. "ON TO PEKING." Waiting for Reinforcements — On the Road to Peking — Bravery of the Japanese — Terrific Fire of the Chinese — Duel with Artillery— Gaudy Banners in the Breeze — Brave Charge of the Boys in Blue — Work of Reilly's Battery — Americans Killed by English Shells— Rapid Advance of the Allies — At the Gates of Peking — The Siege of the City Begun 371 CHAPTER XXIII. THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. Relief at Last— Plan of the Attack on the City— Bad Faith Charged Against Russians —First Entrance Into the City— Fighting at the Gates— Work of the Americans- Japanese Bravery Admired— Feats of Daring— At the British Legation— Besieged and Rescuers Meet — Scenes of Rejoicing — Peking in the Hands of the Allied Armies 379 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 19 CHAPTER XXIV. TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. The Terrors of the Siege — The First Attaclc — At the Mercy of Mobs — The Japanese Chancellor Assassinated — Fanatics Patrol the City — Bravery of the Ministers — Dangers from Incendiaries — Appeals for Relief — Murder of Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister — Children Play with Spent Cannon Balls — Sandbags of Satin— Arrival of the Allies 403 CHAPTER XXV. STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. Impressions and Memories of the Siege of Peking by One of the Imprisoned Mission- aries — Imprisonment in the British Legation — Murder of the German Ambassador — Night Scenes of Horror — Hardships and Dangers — Living on Horseflesh and Rice— Relief at Last 421 CHAPTER XXVI. CHRONICLES OF HORROR. Sufferings of Isolated Missionaries Throughout the Empire — Escape of the Green Party — Torture, Starvation and Death — Seventeen Days in a Coffin — The Story of Father Fridella — Perilous Journey to the Coast — Russian Atrocities in Manchuria — French Cruelties at Tungchau — Massacres by the Germans 433 CHAPTER XXVII. IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. After the Relief of Legations — A Visit to the Forbidden City — In the Palace of the Emperor — The Empress Dowager's Bed Chamber — Rare Curios and Priceless Decorations — The Siege of the Pel Tang — Brave Defense of the Catholic Head- quarters — Weeks of Horror — Among Exploding Mines — The Story of Sister Angelle — Rescued at Last 457 CHAPTER XXVIII. FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. Diplomacy More Dilatory Than Warfare — Various Views of the Powers — Demands Made by the United States— Count von Waldersee Appointed Commander-in- Chief — Li Hung Chang and His Work — Punishment of the Guilty Chinese — Terms of Settlement with China — Wu Ting Fang's Opinion — Views of a Chinese Reformer 473 u H c ■ CHINA THE YELLOW PERIL CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. Early Names Given to China— The Boundaries of the Empire— Area of China Proper— The Yast Delta Plain— Great Mountain Ranges— The Rivers of China— The Yang-tsze Kiaug —The Grand Canal— The Water Way to Peking— The Lakes of China— The Eighteen Provinces— Area and Population— Agi'icultural Resources and Mineral Wealth— Exports and Imports* rHE spacious seat of ancient civilization which we call China has from the earliest times been an object of profound in- terest to the peoples of the West. The enchantment of dis- tance has surrounded it with mystery and distinguished it by many different appellations, according as it was reached by the southern sea-route, or by the northern land-route traversing the longi- tude of Asia. In the former aspect the name has nearly always been some form of the name Sin, Chin, Sinse, China; in the latter point of view the region in question was known to the ancients as the land of the Ceres, to the Middle Ages as the empire of Cathay. It was Cathay with its outlying island of Zipangu (Japan), that Columbus sought to reach by sailing westward, confirmed as he was in his intense conviction of the smallness of the earth, and of the vast extension of Asia eastward; and to the day of his death he was full of the imagination of the proximity of the domain of the Great Khan to the islands and coasts which he had discovered. And such im- aginations are curiously embodied in some of the maps of the early sixteenth century, which intermingle on the same coast-line the new discoveries from Labrador to Brazil with the provinces and rivers of Marco Polo's Cathay. Cathay had been the aim of the first voyage of the Cabots in 1496, and it continued to be the object of many adventurous voyages by English and Hollanders till far on into the sixteenth century. At 33 24 THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. least one memorable land-journey also was made by an Englishman, of which the exploration of a trade-route to Cathay w^as a chief ob- ject, that in which Anthony Jenkinson and the two Johnsons reached Bokhara by way of Russia in 1558-1559. The country of which they collected notes at that city was still known to them only as Cathay, and its great capital only as Cambaluc. Cathay, as a supposed separate entity, may be considered to come to an end with the journey of Benedict Goes, the lay-Jesuit. This admirable person was, in 1603, dispatched through Central Asia by his superiors in India with the specific object of determining whether the Cathay of the old European writers, and of the modern Mahome- tans, was or was not a distinct region from that China of which par- allel marvels had now for some time been recounted. Benedict, as one of his brethren pronounced his epitaph, "seeking Cathay found Heaven." He died at Suchau, but not before he had ascertained that Cathay and China were one and the same country. China, as the name is used at the present time, embraces within its boundaries the dependencies of Manchuria, Mongolia, Jungaria, Hi, East Turkestan and Tibet, in addition to China proper. This vast em- pire extends from 18° 30' to 53° 25' N. latitude and from 80° to 130° E. longtiude. It is bounded on the north by Asiatic E.ussia along a frontier extending nearly 3,000 miles; on the east by those portions of the Pacific ocean which are known in the north as the Sea of Japan, in the central portion as the Yellow sea, and in the south as the China sea; on the south and south-west by the China sea, Cochin- China, and Burmah; and on the west by Kashmir and Russian Turke- stan. The area of China proper is not more than half that of the whole empire; it extends as far north only as 41° latitude, and as far west as 98° longitude. It is about 1,474 miles in length, and its breadth is about 1,355 miles. Its coast-line measures about 2,500 miles; its land frontier is described as being 4,400 miles in length, and its area is said to contain 1,848,870 square miles. The surface of the empire includes mountains and hills, valleys and plains. One of its most noticeable features is the immense delta plain in the north-eastern portion which, curving around the moun- tainous districts of the province of Shan-tung, extends for about 700 miles in a southerly direction from the neighborhood of Peking, and TEE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 25 varies from 150 to 500 miles in breadth. Commencing in the prefecture of Yung-ping Fu, in the province of Chih-li, its outer limit passes in a westerly direction as far as Chang-ping Chou, north-west of Peking. Thence running in a south-westerly course it passes westward of Ching-ting Fu and Kuang-ping till it reaches the upper waters of the Wei river in Ilo-nan. From this point it turns westward and crosses the Yellow river, in the prefecture of Huai-king. Leaving the river it takes a course to the south-east, and passing west of Joo-ning Fu, in the province of Ho-nan, it turns in a more easterly direction as far as Leuchou Fu. From this prefecture an arm of the plain, in which lies the Tsaou lake, stretches southward from the Huai river to the Yang- tsze Kiang, and trending eastward occupies the region between the river and Hang-chou bay. To the north of this arm rises a hilly dis- trict, in the center of which stands the city of Nanking. The boundary of the plain around the mountainous region of Shan- tung begins at Lai-chau Fu, and describes a huge bow to the west and south. The greater part of this vast plain descends very gently towards the sea, and is generally below the level of the Yellow river, hence the disastrous inundations which so often accompany its rise. Owing to the great quantity of soil which is brought down by the waters of the river, and to the absence of oceanic currents, the delta is rapidly increasing and the adjoining seas are as rapidly be- coming shallower. As an instance, it is said that the town of Pootai was one li (about one-third of an English mile) west of the seashore in the year 220 B. C, and in the year 1730 it was 140 li inland, thus giving a yearly encroachment on the sea of about 100 feet. Again, Seen-shwuy Kou, on the Peiho, was on the seashore in 500 A. D., and it is now about eighteen miles inland. The rest of the empire may be described as being either moun- tainous or hilly. Several ranges of high mountains, in connection with the mountain system of Central Asia, enter the western provinces of the empire, and after traversing the western and southern prov- inces in various directions dwindle down to low hills as they approach the seacoast. In the eastern portion of Tibet the Kuen-lun range throws off a number of small branches, which spread first of all in a south-easterly direction, and eventually take a north and south course, partly in the provinces of Sze-chuan and Yun-nan, where they divide 26 THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. the beds of the rivers which flow into Siam and Cochin-China, as well as the principal northern tributaries of the Yang-tsze Kiang. Another range, known as the Tung-nan, or Fu-no Shan, which ap- pears to be the eastern termination of the great Kuen-lun range of Central Asia, and which is noted for several snow-clad peaks, enters China in the southern portion of the province of Kan-suh, and stretches in an easterly direction across the province of Shen-se into that of Ho- nan, where it finally disappears. This range separates the waters which enter the Yellow river, through the Wei and the Li from those which flow into the Yang-tsze Kiang, through the Kia-ling and the Han. Forming the northern frontier of the province of Sze-chuan runs the Ku-lung or Po-mung range, which takes a general course eastward, and is finally lost sight of in the province of Hu-pih. In the south the Non-shan ranges, some peaks of which reach above the snow- level, take their rise in Yun-nan, and after spreading in a series of ranges over the south and east portions of Kuang-se trend in an east- erly direction, covering the entire province of Kuang-tung. Then turning north-eastward, they occupy the whole area of the provinces of Fuh-keen, Keang-se, Che-keang, Hoo-nan, and the southern Gan- hwuy, until they reach the Yang-tsze Kiang; which river, from the Tung-ting lake to Chin-keang Fu, forms their northern boundary. It is estimated that this mountain region occupies an area of about 300,000 square miles. Besides these more important ranges there are the Lung mountains in Kan-suh, the Ta-hang mountains in Shan-se, the Tae mountains in Shan-tung, and many others, among which may be mentioned the ranges which form the northern frontier of Chih-li. It will thus be seen that there is a general subsidence from the mountain districts in the west- ern portions of the empire to the central and southeastern provinces, where the mountains dwindle down to hills, and where the snowy peaks and rugged sides of the ranges in Yun-nan and Sze-chuen are exchanged for the wooded tops and carefully cultivated terraces of the littoral provinces. The rivers of China are very numerous, and, with the canals, form some of the most frequented highways in the empire. The two larg- est are the Yang-tsze Kiang and the Hoang-ho, or Yellow river, the latter of which is less known to fame for its value in a commercial sense, than by reason of the vast and destructive floods which have THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 2T from time to time caused it to inundate the low-lying country on either side of its banks. According to Chinese geographers the Yel- low river takes its rise in the "Sea of Stars," on the eastern side of the Bayen-kara mountains in Mongolia, where it has gained for itself the name of Ah-urh-tan, or Golden river, from the color of its waters. For some miles it runs in two streams, and when united takes at first a southeasterly course; then, turning to the northeast, it traverses the province of Kan-suh and passes through the great wall until it reaches the rising ground in the neighborhood of the In-shan. Here it curves to the southeast and south, and re-enters China proper through the wall, continuing its southern course, and forming the boundary between the provinces of Shen-se and Shan-se as far as Tung-kuan. Here it makes a sharp bend and runs nearly due east to Kai-fung Fu. In the neighborhood of this city it enters on the great eastern plain of China, and the alterations which have taken place in its bed between this district and the sea have earned for it the well-deserved title of "the Sorrow of Han." According to the Chinese records this portion of the river has changed its course nine times during the last 2,500 years, and has emptied itself into the sea at as many different mouths, the most north- erly of which is represented as having been in the neighborhood of the present mouth of the Peiho, about 39 degrees latitude, and the most southerly being that which existed before the last change in 1851-1853, in 34 degrees latitude. The breaches that were made in the northern bank of the river east of Kai-fung Fu during the floods of 1851, 1852, and 1853 caused the waters gradually to overflow the low-lying country to the northward; and these, after spreading over a belt of country about tAvelve miles in width, struck the bed of the Ta-tsing river, and having forced their way into that narrow, clean cut channel, followed it to the sea. The result of this change has been that the old course of the river is dry, and that the muddy, dun-colored waters, after permanently flooding a large tract of country, are now leading up to another grand catastrophe by destroying the banks of the new channel which they have found for themselves. The increased volume of water has added another obstruction to those before existing to the navigation of the river by destroying the large bridge at Tse-hoheen, a town about 200 miles from its mouth, the ruins of which have seriously impeded the 28 TEE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. course of the stream. But the Yellow river is of little value for pur- poses of navigation. At its mouth lies a bar having at its deepest part less than nine feet of water; further up, about three miles below Tse-hoheen, there is a shoal extending across the bed, at the deepest point of which there is about eleven feet of water, while in the passage at the extremity of the sunken bridge there is a depth of only about five feet. A far more valuable river in every way is the Yang-tsze Kiang, which takes its rise in the Min mountains of Tibet, and after a course of 2,900 miles empties itself into the Yellow sea. Chinese geographers state that this river has two sources, the more northerly of which gives birth to the Kang-chuh ah-lin at a point about 1,600 li to the southeast of the source of the Yellow river; and to the more southerly one of the two the Na-ko-to-moo-tsing ah-lin, which rises on the south of the range, owes its existence. Both these streams twist and turn eastward for upwards of 200 li, where they unite and form one stream, which flows to the east and then to the south until it enters the Chinese province of Yun-nan at the Hwang-shin g pass, or "Pass of Imperial Victory." The river then turns northward into the province of Sze-chuan, where it takes several important tributaries, and passes into Hu-pih. Flow- ing to the south it reaches the vicinity of the Tung-ting lake, the waters of which contribute largely to swell its volume; it then curves north- ward as far as Han-kau, receiving on the way the waters of the Han river, and again turns southward to the Po-yang lake. Thence through the province of Gan-hwuy it proceeds in a northeasterly direction until it reaches Nanking, 200 miles from the sea. Here the influence of the tide begins to be felt, and beyond this point it gradually widens into the great estuary by which it is connected with the ocean. The basin area of the Yang-tsze Kiang is calculated to be about 548,000 square miles, and it is navigable for steamers as far as Ichang, upwards of 1,200 miles from its mouth. Unlike the Yellow river, along the navigable portion of the Yang- tsze Kiang are dotted many rich and populous cities, among which the chief are Nanking, Gan-king, Kew-kiang, Han-kau, and Ichang. Beyond this last named city the navigation becomes impossible for any but light native craft, by reason of the rapids which occur at frequent intervals in the deep mountain gorges through which the river runs. Next in importance to the Yang-tsze Kiang as a water highway is THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 29 the Yun-ho, or, as it is generally known to foreigners, the Grand canal. This magnificent artificial river reaches from Hang-chau Fu in the province of Che-kiang to Tien-tsin in Chih-li, where it unites with the Peiho, and thus may be said to extend to Tung-chau in the neighbor- hood of Peking. After leaving Hang-chau it passes around the eastern border of Tai-liu, or Great lake, surrounding in its course the beautiful city of Su-chau, and then trends in a generally northwesterly direction through the fertile districts of Kiang-su as far as Chinkiang on the Yang-tsze Kiang. From here it flows until it reaches the course of the Yellow river, and when it reaches the city of Lin-tsing-Cliau, it is joined at right angles by the Wei river, from where it crosses the frontier into Cliih-li. In the neighborhood of Tsing Heen it receives the waters of the Ke-to, and finally joins the Peiho at Tien-tsin. Another of the large rivers of the country is the Han Kiang, which rises in the Po-mung or Kew-lung mountains in the province of Shen-se, and flows into the Yang-tsze Kiang at Han-kau, "the mouth of the Han." A noticeable peculiarity of this stream is that it is very narrow at its mouth (200 feet) and grows in width as the distance from its mouth increases. Another marked feature is that the summer high water line is for a great part of its course above the level of its banks, the result being that were it not for artificial barriers the whole part of the surrounding country would be under water for a great part of the year. The Peiho is a river of importance as being the water-way to Peking. Taking its course in Se-shan, or Western mountains, beyond Peking, it passes the city of Tung-chau, the port of Peking, and Tien-tsin, where it meets the waters of the Yun-ho, and empties itself into the gulf of Pechili at the village of Taku. The Peiho is navigable for small steam- ers as far as Tien-tsin during the greater part of the year, but throughout the winter months, that is to say, from the end of November to the be- ginning of March, it is frozen over. There are numerous lakes in the central provinces of China, the larg- est being Tung-ting in Hu-nan, which, according to Chinese geographers, is about 266 miles in circumference. The Tai lake, in the neighborhood of Su-chau Fu, is also celebrated for its size and the beauty of its sur- roundings. It is about 150 miles in circumference, and is dotted over with islands, on which are built temples for the devotees of religion, 30 THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. and summer houses for the votaries of pleasure from the rich and volup- tuous cities of Ilang-chau and Su-chau. One of the most remarkable features in the physical geography of China is the existence of a vast region of loess in the northern portion of the empire. This particular formation covers an area of about 25,000 square miles. Loess is a solid but friable earth of a brownish yellow color, spreading over high and low grounds alike, and is often found covering the sub-soil to a depth of over 1,000 feet. From an economical point of view the loess is invaluable to the natives of the north of China. In its perpendicular cliffs,, on the banks of the rivers, are dug innumer- able caves, in which a large majority of the people inhabiting the loess region dwell, while its surface yields abundant crops. The Chinese call it Hoang-tu, or "Yellow earth," and it has been suggested that the im- perial title of Hoang-te, "Yellow emperor," or "Ruler of the Yellow," had its origin in the fact that the emperor was lord of the loess or the "Yel- low earth." China proper is divided into eighteen provinces, namely: Chih-li, Shan-tung, Shan-se, Ho-nan, Kiang-su, Gan-hwuy, Kiang-se, Che-kiang, Fuh-een, Hoo-pih, Hu-nan, Shen-se, Kan-suh, Sze-chuan, Kuang-tung, Kuang-se, Kuei-chau, and Yun-nan. The metropolitan province of Chih-li, in which is situated Peking, the capital of the empire, contains an area of 58,949 square miles, and a population, according to the latest census reports, of 27,000,000. The province is rich in mineral wealth, the mountain ranges to the north containing coal in large quantities. Iron and silver also exist to a lim- ited extent. The principal agricultural products are wheat, oats, millet, maize, pulse, and potatoes. Fruits and vegetables are also grown in large quantities. Of the former the chief kinds are pears, plums, apri- cots, peaches, persimmons, and melons. Tien-tsin is the treaty port of the province, and is a city of considerable commercial importance. The province of Shan-tung, or "East of the Mountains," lies directly south of Chih-li, and contains an area of 65,104 square miles, with a population of about 30,000,000. It is divided into ten prefectures, with as many prefectural cities, of which Tsi-nan Fu, the provincial capital, is the chief. The physical features of the province are plainly marked, the center and eastern portions being occupied by a series of mountain ranges, between which lie fertile valleys, while the northwestern, south- ern, and western portions form a part of the great delta plain. THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 31 Speaking generally the province is not a fertile one. Not being in the loess region, the mountains are unproductive, and yield only brush- wood and grass, while the plain to the north is so impregnated with salt that it is almost valueless for agricultural purposes. The valleys between the mountains and the plain to the southwest are, however, extremely rich and fertile. The chief wealth of Shan-tung consists in its minerals, the principal of which is coal. Iron ore, ironstone, gold, galena, lead and copper are also found in considerable quantities in many parts of the province. Bhan-tung abounds in good harbors, the most noteworthy of which are Che-fu and Wei-hai-wei on the north, and Shih-taou, Kin-kea-kau, and Ching-taou on the south of the promon- tory. The province has acquired undying fame in the Chinese world of literature by reason of the fact that it is the birthplace of both Con- fucius and Mencius. Shan-se lies to the west of Chih-li, and occupies an area of 53,268 square miles. The capital is Tae-yuen Fu, and there are eight other prefectural cities. The population is returned as being 14,004,210. Min- ing is the principal industry, the agricultural products being few and of a poor quality. The means of transport are rude and insufficient, and all kinds of food command unusually high prices. Ho-nan, which lies to the south of Shan-se and Chih-li, has been highly favored by nature. It has an area of 65,404 square miles, and that portion lying north of the Yellow river is a fertile plain, "rendered park-like by numerous plantations of trees and shrubs, among which thick bosquets of bamboo contrast with the gloomy leaves of cypress." All kinds of cereals grow luxuriantly, and the general productiveness of the district is indicated by the extreme denseness of the population. Cotton is grown extensively and forms the principal product of export, and a considerable quantity of wild silk is produced in the mountains of Fu-nu Shan. The area of Kiang-su is 45,000 square miles, and it contains a larger population than any other province in the empire, the latest census giv- ing it 37,843,501. It forms a part of the great plain of northern China, and there are no mountains within its limits. The Grand canal runs through it from south to north, and the Yang-tsze Kiang crosses its southern portion from west to east. Besides these water-ways it pos- sesses several lakes, the most noteworthy of which is the Tai-hu, and numberless streams connect the canal with the sea. Its coast is studded 32 THE COUNTRY OF TEE CHINESE. with low islands and sand-banks, the result of the deposits brought down by the Yellow river during the different periods in which in the course of its history it has flowed into the Yellow sea. Kiang-su is rich in"places of interest Nanking, "the Southern Capi- tal," was the seat of the Chinese court until the commencement of the fifteenth century, and in modern times it has been famous as having been the headquarters of the Tai-ping rebels, from 1853, when they took the city by assault, to 1864, when its garrison yielded to "Chinese" Gor- don's "ever victorious army." Hang-chau Fu and Su-chau Fu on the Tai-hu are considered the most beautiful cities in China. "Above there is Paradise, below are Su and Hang," says a Chinese proverb. Tea and silk are the principal articles of commerce produced in the province, and next in importance are cotton, sugar, and medicines. The two treaty ports of Kiang-su are Shanghai, on the Wu-sung river, and Chin-kiang, on the Yang-tsze Kiang. The former is the com- mercial metropolis of the Chinese empire, and over one-half of the total value of the foreign imports at all the treaty ports passes through this port. The trade of Shanghai in foreign vessels, import and export, amounted in 1895 to over $175,000,000. The province of Gan-hwuy, "Peace and Plenty," is situated to the south of Ho-nan, covering an area of 48,461 square miles, and containing a population of 34,108,059 souls. Its principal city is Gan-king on the Yang-tsze Kiang, besides which it numbers seven prefectural cities. This is one of the most productive provinces of China. Over the whole of its southern portion tea is largely grown, and cotton is raised in immense quantities. The Shun-gan Kiang is the principal river of the province, and is of great importance for foreign commerce, supplying as it does direct water communication between some of the principal tea- growing districts in the neighborhood of Hang-chau. Lying to the south of Gan-hwuy is Kiang-si, covering an area of . 72,176 square miles, and containing a population of 19,000,000. It is divided into fourteen prefectures, and the provincial capital is Nan- chang Fu. The entire province is mountainous, but the soil is pro- ductive, and produces the finest black teas grown in the empire. In southeastern China is found Clie-kiang, the smallest of the eigh- teen provinces, having an area of only 35,000 square miles, and a popu- lation of about 20,000,000. It is situated in a jyortion of the empire which boasts of a delightful climate, and is renowned for its beautiful THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 33 cities. Hang-cliau, the capital, Ning-po, Hu-chau, and Kea-liing are famous cities of the empire, and even in 1286 Marco Polo described the first named as "beyond dispute the noblest in the world." Opposite Ning-po, at a distance of about fift}' miles, lies the island of Chusan, the largest of a group bearing that general name. This island is about twenty miles long and fifty miles in circumference. It is very moun- tainous, and is surrounded by numerous islands and islets. On its south side stands the walled town of Ting-hai, in front of which is the principal harbor. The population is returned as 50,000. The province of Fuh-keen, or as it was once called, Min, has an area of 53,480 square miles, and a popvilation estimated at about 20,000,000. It has two treaty ports, Amoy and Fu-chau Fu, at both of which a very large amount of foreign trade is done. The island of Formosa lies about eighty miles from the main land, and was formerly a part of this province. It was, however, surrendered to Japan at the close of the war with that nation. Hu-pih, "North of the Lakes," is situated to the south of Ho-nan, occupying an area of 70,450 square miles, and containing a population of 27,370,098. The most important city within its borders is the treaty port of Han-kau, besides which it contains ten other prefectural cities. The greater part of the province forms a plain, and its most noticeable feature is the Ilan river, the valley of which yields immense crops of cotton, wheat, rape seed, tobacco, and various kinds of beans. Vegetable tallow is also exported in large quantities from this part of Hu-pih. Gold is found in the Han, but not in sufficient quantities to make the working of it more than barely remunerative. It is washed every winter from banks of coarse gravel, on which it is deposited by the river. Hu-nan, "South of the Lakes," joins Hu-pih on the south, and was formerly a part of that province. It has an area of 84,000 square miles, and a population of about 18,000,000. It is essentially a province of hills, the only plain of any extent being that around the Tung-ting lake, but this extends little beyond the area which in summer forms part of the lake. North of the prefecture, Hang-chau, higher groups of moun- tains are found than those in the southern part of the province. Among these is the Hang-shan, one of the Wu-yo, or five sacred mountains of China, upon which the celebrated tablet of Yu was placed. Large quantities of coal, both anthracite and bituminous, are mined, the whole of the southeastern portion of the province being one vast coal- U THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. field. The people are, as a rule, more generally prosperous than are the inhabitants of the other provinces, and Baron von Richthofen, in the course of a journey through this section, noticed with surprise the number of fine country seats owned by rich men who had retired from business, which were scattered throughout the rural districts. The province of Shen-si is bounded on the north by the Great wall, on the west by Kan-suh, on the south by Sze-chuan, and on the east by Bhan-si, from which it is separated by the Yellow river. It contains an area of 67,400 square miles, and its population was said to number up- wards of 10,000,000 prior to the Mahometan rebellion of 1800-1875. A barrier of mountains divides the province into two parts, the northern portion including the basins of the Wei river, and of several other tributaries to the Hoang-ho. The position of the Wei basin is peculiar. Cut off from the rest of China on the east by the Yellow river, and on the south by the mountains, it yet forms the great channel of communi- cation with central Asia. Its position, therefore, from a strategical point of view is at once apparent. Were it in the hands of an enemy the Chinese colonies in central Asia would be completely severed from the mother country, and hence the eagerness which has been evinced by the government throughout all history to retain possession of the region. For upwards of 2,000 years, with the exception of intervals from 1122 B. C. to 1127 A. D., the city of Se-gan Fu, which lies in the basin, was the capital of the empire. Its walls enclose a space of six miles each way, and, unlike most Chinese cities, its fortifications are kept in perfect repair. The Wei basin is the greatest agricultural country in the northwest. Being a loess region it is unfit for rice, but it produces fine crops of cotton, wheat, opium, barley and maize, at a minimum expenditure of labor. The Shen-si opium is much valued by smokers, and ranks next to the Shan-si drug, which is second only to that produced in Kan-su. Coal abounds in the northern part of the province, but owing to difficulty of transit it is not worked to any great extent. The winters are cold, but short, and though fruit trees abound and are most productive, no ever- green trees or shrubs are to be met with within the province. Kan-su, the largest province in the empire, contains an area of 260,- 000 square miles, and a population of about 20,000,000. It occupies the extreme northwestern corner of the empire, projecting like a wedge into the Desert of Gobi. For the most part this province is a howling THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. 36 wilderness of sand and snow, but to the east of the Yellow river the country is cultivated and to some extent productive. The chief products are cloth, horse hides, a kind of curd like butter, "which melts in the mouth," and is known to the Mongols under the name of wuta, plums, onions, dates, melons, and medicines. Sze-chuan, "the Four Streams," was until Kan-su was extended across the desert the largest province in China. It has an area of 220,000 square miles, and a population variously estimated at from 40,000,000 to 60,000,000. Its productions are varied and valuable, and, unlike those of the northern provinces, are eminently suitable for foreign export. First on the list stands silk, and of this article of commerce a larger quantity is produced in eastern Sze-chuan than in any other province of the empire. The cultivation of the poppy is largely carried on, but the opium produced is of an inferior quality, and its exportation is, therefore, lim- ited. White wax is another of the most valuable articles produced in this province. It is made exclusively in the department of Kea-ting Fu, the climate of which appears to favor the propagation of the disease among the insects which is said by the natives to be the cause of the plentiful secretion of the wax. Tobacco occupies a prominent place among the productions of Sze-chuan, and is exported in large quantities. The habit, which is unknown in other provinces, of smoking tobacco leaves rolled up in the shape of cigars obtains largely here. Ning-yuen Fu is the principal district in which copper is produced, as much as from 500 to 600 tons a year being exported from this one prefecture. The mines are owned by private companies, who are bound by the terms of their license to sell the metal at a fixed price to certain holders of a government concession, who in turn are required to pay a certain amount into the provincial treasury. The province of Kuang-tung borders on the sea, south of Hu-nan, Kiang-si, and Fu-keen. It contains an area of 79,456 square miles, and a population of 20,000,000. Its mineral wealth is considerable, and the soil of its valleys and plains is very fertile. The principal article of export is silk, which is produced in the district forming the river delta, extending from Canton, the capital, to Macao, and having its apex at San-shwuy Heen. Tea is also grown in many districts, and is exported in large amounts. Matting, fire-crackers, sugar, and palm-leaf fans, millions of the latter being sent yearly to the United States alone, are 36 THE COUNTRY OF THE CHINESE. among other prominent articles of merchandise. The Kuang-tung coast abounds in islands, the largest of which is Hainan, which forms part of the prefecture of Keung-chau Fu. Kuang-si lies to the west of Kuang-tung, and has an area of 78,250 square miles, with a population of about 8,000,000. The provincial cap- ital is Kwei-ling Fu, or "City of the Forest of Cinnamon Trees." The province is well watered, and there are a number of important .towns, notably Wuchau, on the border of Kuang-tung, and Nanning. Kwei-chau, with an area of 64,554 square miles, and a population of about 6,000,000, is the poorest province in the empire from an agri- cultural standpoint, but it possesses considerable mineral wealth. Cop- per, silver, lead and zinc are found in large quantities, and as regards quick-silver, it is probably the richest district in the world. The province of Yun-nan, "South of the Clouds/' occupies an area of 107,969 square miles, but though thus the third largest province in the empire, its population is estimated at less than 6,000,000. This is in a great measure accounted for by the fact that it has been torn with civil wars, which have cost the lives of thousands, and driven many more beyond its borders. Like Kwei-chow, it is very rich in minerals, the mining industry greatly overshadowing the work in the factories and the fields. In fact it is claimed that in its hills and mountains may be found more gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead and tin than in any other province in the empire. The capital is Yun-nan, and it is a town of considerable commercial importance, controlling as it does the greater part of the trade between China and Burma, which country joins the province on the south. It is evident that the country of the Chinese is a highly favored one. Possessing as it does fertile lands on which almost every product under the sun may be grown, vast fields of mineral wealth of every kind, and water-ways to furnish the means of transportation of these treasures to all parts of the empire, and to the sea, the nation has had it within her power to become one of the commercial giants of the world. It is the purpose of the following pages to show some of the things which have prevented this consummation, and which will continue to militale against the people of the "Flowery Kingdom" until they adopt modern ideas in place of the industrial methods of twenty centuries ago. CHAPTER 1 1. IN THE DAWN OF HISTORY. The Founders of a Nation— Early Struggles for Existence— Myths and Fables of the Ancients— The Discovery of Fire— Early Modes of Worship— The Grreat Chinese Flood —The First Penal Code— The Oppression of the People— Confucius, the Greatest of His Race— Sketch of His Life— End of the Chow Dynasty— Chi Huang- ti, the First "Uni- versal Emperor" — Building of the Great Wall — The Destruction of the Libraries — Events of interest in the Contemporaneous History of the World. rAR reaching as is the history of China, it yet fails to give us any authentic account of the origin of the Chinese race. The Mon- golian, like his more civilized brother in other lands, has many mythological accounts of the beginning of his people upon the face of the earth, and some of this ancient lore agrees so well with the stories of other races that it may be fairly considered to possess an ele- ment of historic truth. We first discover the founders of the nation as a little horde of wan- derers, roving among the forests of Shan-si, without horses, without clothing, without fire to prepare their victuals, and subsisting on the spoils of the chase, eked out with roots and insects. Investigation, how- ever, has proved beyond a doubt that these wanderers were not native sons of the soil, but were pilgrims and strangers from other lands. Some believe that their point of departure was in the region to the south-east of the Caspian sea, and that, having crossed the headwaters of the Oxus, they made their way to the eastward along the southern slopes of the Tien-shan. But however this may be, it is plain that as they journeyed they struck on the northern course of the Yellow river, and that they followed its stream on the eastern bank as it trended south as far as Tung-kuan. Here, turning with it due east, they estab- lished small colonies on the fertile plains of the modern province of Shan-si. But though these immigrants were for the moment wanderers they soon acquired the habits of settled labor, and it is absolutely evident from the earliest records that they possess that they gave their atten- ifcion to agricultural pursuits. They cultivated grain for their sustenance, S7 38 IN THE DAWN OF HISTORY. and flax, which they wove into garments. They knew the value of silk worms, and planted the mulberry tree; they developed trade, and estab- lished fairs at certain centres in their districts. Neither were they destitute of the elements of intellectual culture. They had some knowl- edge of astronomy, and in all probability they brought with them an acquaintanceship with hieroglyphic writing. At all events, at a very early period, we have an account of E Yin (1743-1710 B. C), presenting a petition in writing to the king. The possession of these habits and acquirements gave the immi- grants a great advantage over the people of the land. As they ad- vanced they found the country- inhabited by "fiery dogs" on the north, "great bowmen" in the east, "the ungovernable vermin" on the south, and the "mounted warriors" on the west. Differing in language, as also in every other respect from the invaders, these tribes became their natural enemies, but they were unable to stand against the "black haired race." During the first centuries after the establishment of a regular system of government, we hear of them now as common enemies of the Chinese, and now as temporary allies of one or another of the states into which the growing kingdom was divided. But by degrees they drop out of the history of the empire. Step by step they were driven back into the less inhabited parts; whole tribes wfere transported, others were annihilated, until but a small remnant was left. These wanderers sought and found refuge from their enemies in the mountainous regions of Kwei-chau and Kuang-si, where their de- scendants, the Meaou-tsze, still maintain themselves against the forces of China. It was an ancient belief of Chinese writers that there had existed a period of 2,267,000 years between the time when the powers of Heaven and Earth first united to produce man as the possessor of the soil of China, and the time of Confucius. This having been accepted as a fact it became necessary for the early historians to invent long lines of dynas- tic rulers to fill up the gap between the creation and the period with which the "Book of Historical Documents" commences. Accordingly, we find a series of ten epochs described as preceding the Chow dynasty. The events connected with most of these are purely fictitious, and it is not until we come down to the eighth period that we can trace any glimmer, however obscure, of history. This period, we are told, commenced with the reign of Yew-chaou 5^ b y ^A Oi •A ^ « 0) M a * U Im o 10 w O' f/) B o M w u (J a> (U !* T) .^j m S3 3 3 -§1: o >.^ M S Q s« = 'c.5 S-. CO C3 lit 3— - M~ r 01 cu'H "^ ^ C3 0) en bC — 0) OQ CO ri o — oj S •a o 3 oi ft o « r; (1) H IS . .2 g^ e d fo (jj_. o m "O a o e be are the lisbe 0) hav they , in ingi -' cj w cs "0 o o .<" 0) I. w a 0) >-'a _ (U 2 ca to m t< O tn ^5 o => * y. _o S 0) ?5 J3 OSltK has next the chil if ■•-' ft (U-O r^ CD o c o fl W CO sx: ojS nj 0) eir ow eft. S 3 worn t. No 1 man r>3 osi-^ Z. ffl 5 ^ ■O ■" 0) CO CO ts .i; '^ CD a > OJ o o I o o o-*' ? -a M 'E .a o ^©g >?^3 C TO cd >- r- td a> V XS m ^ C8 TEE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 68 within, an adventurer named Lew Yuen established himself in 311 A. D. as emperor, first at Ping-yang in Shan-se and afterwards in Lo-yang and Chang-gan. The history of this period is very chaotic. Numerous states sprang into existence, some founded by the Heung-noo, and oth- ers by the Seen-pe tribe, a Tungusic clan inhabiting a territory to the north of China, and who afterwards established the Leaou dynasty in China. The hand of every man was now against his neighbor. Nothing was lasting; and in 419 the Eastern Tsin dynasty, which had dragged on a checkered existence for nearly a century, came to an end, and with it disappeared for nearly 200 years all semblance of united au- thority. The country became divided into two parts, the north and the south. In the north four families reigned successively, two of which were of Seen-pe origin, viz., the Wei and the How Chow, the other two, the Phi Tse and the How Leang, being Chinese. In the south five dif- ferent houses supplied rulers, who were all of Chinese descent. This period of disorder was brought to a close by the establish- ment of the Suy dynasty in 590. Among the officials of the ephemeral dynasty of Chow was one Yang Keen, who, when his daughter became empress in 578, had been created Duke of Suy. Meanwhile, he waited for an opportunity to overturn the reigning house, and, as has so often happened in the history of China, he had not long to wait. The last of the house of Chin was as weak and profligate as any of his predeces- sors. In 590 Yang Keen deposed him and immediately ascended the throne. The country, weary of contention, was only too glad to ac- knowledge his undivided authority; and during the sixteen years of his reign the internal affairs of China were comparatively peaceably and prosperously administered. The emperor instituted a. new and im- proved code of laws, and showed his respect for literature by adding 5,000 volumes to the 10,000 which composed the imperial library. Abroad, his policy was equally successful. He defeated the Tar- tars and chastised the Koreans, who were disposed to throw aside his authority. The only scene of disorder was in his own household. His sons were unruly and violent, and after his death, in 604, his second son forced the heir to the throne to strangle himself, and then in- stantly assumed the imperial yellow. This usurper, Yang-te, was seized with a desire for conquest. He sent expeditions against the Tartars, 64 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. and regained some of the influence which had formerly belonged to China in Central Asia. During his reign the volumes in the imperial library were in- creased to 54,000, and he spent vast sums in erecting a magnificent palace at Lo-yang, and in constructing unprofitable canals. These and other extravagances laid so heavy a burden on the country that discontent began again to prevail, and upon the emperor's return from a successful expedition against the Koreans, he found his king- dom divided into rebellious factions. In the turmoil which followed General Le Yeun rose to the surface, and on the death of the em- peror by assassination in 617 this man set Kung-te, the rightful heir, on the throne until such time as he should have matured his schemes. In the following year a dose of poison vacated the throne, and Li Yuen forthwith assumed the imperial sceptre, and proclaimed himself as Tai-tsung the first emperor of the Tang dynasty. One of the first acts of this ruler was to establish schools through- out the land. He instituted a system of literary examinations; and ordered a complete and accurate edition of all the classics to be pub- nshed under the supervision of the most learned men of the empire. He honored the memory of Confucius with special ceremonies of re- spect; he drew up a code of laws for the direction of his high officials in their judicial functions; and he made journeys through his domin- ions to inspect the conditions of the people. During his reign, the limits of the empire were extended over all the Turkish tribes lying west of the Kausuh, and south of the Tien- shan as far as the Caspian sea, which were placed under four satra- pies, or residencies, those of Kuche, Pisha or Khoten, Harashar, and Kashgar, as their names are at present. West of the last, many smaller tribes submitted, and rendered a partial subjection to the emperor, who arranged them into sixteen governments under the management of a governor general over their own chieftains. His frontiers reached from the borders of Persia, the Caspian sea and the Altai of the Kirghis steppe, along those mountains to the north side of Gobi eastward to the Inner Huigan. Sogdiana and part of the Khorassan, and the regions around the Hindu-kush, also obeyed him. The rulers of Nepaul and Magadha or Bahar in India sent their salutations by their ambassadors, and the Greek emperor, Theodosius, sent an en- voy carrying presents of rubies and emeralds. The Nestorian missionaries also presented themselves at court. THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 65 Tai-tsung received them with respect, and heard them rehearse the leading tenets of their doctrine; he ordered a temple to be erected at his capital, and had some of their sacred books translated for his ex- amination, though there is no evidence now remaining that any por- tion of the Bible v/as done into Chinese at this time. Xear the close of his life, Tai-tsung undertook an expedition against Korea, but the conquest of that country was not completed until after his death, when his son was successful in subduing it. During Tai-tsung's reign, his life was attempted several times, once by his own son, but he was preserved from these attacks, and died after a reign of twenty-three years, deeply lamented by a grateful people. Tai-tsung was succeeded by his son Kaou-tsung, whose indolent imbecility appeared the more despicable after his father's vigor, but his reign fills a large place in Chinese history, from the extraordinary career of his empress. Woo How, who gained supreme influence in the management of his affairs. The character of this woman has, no doubt, suffered much from the bad reputation native historians have given her, but enough can be gathered from their accounts to show that with all her cruelty, she understood how to maintain the author- ity of the crown, repress foreign invasions, quell domestic sedition, and provide for the wants of the people. Introduced to the harem of Tai-tsung at the age of fourteen, she was sent at his death to the retreat where all his women were con- demned for the rest of their days to honorable imprisonment. While a member of the palace, Kaou-tsung had been charmed with her ap- pearance, and having seen her at one of the state ceremonies con- nected with the ancestral worship, brought her back to the palace. His queen, Wang-shi favored these attentions in order to draw him from another rival, but the charms of Woo How soon obtained entire sway over the monarch, and united the former rivals against her. She managed to fill the principal offices with her friends, and by a series of maneuvers supplanted them both, and became empress. She gradually assumed more and more authority, until, long before the emperor's death, she engrossed the whole management of affairs, and at his demise she took the reins of government, which she wielded for twenty-one years with no weak hand. Her generals extended the limits of the empire, and her officers carried into effect her orders to alleviate the miseries of the people. 66 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. AVheu she was disabled by age, her sou Chuug-tsimg, supported by some of the first men of the laud, asserted his claim to her throne, and by a palace conspiracy succeeded in removing her to her own apartments, where she died in 705, aged eighty-one years. Chung-tsing for a few years emerged from the obscurity in which he had lived during his mother's reign, but his wift^, desiring to play a similar role to that enjoyed by Woo How, poisoned him, and set her son, Juy-tsuug, on the throne. This monarch, who was weak and vicious, reigned but three years, and was succeeded in 713 by Yueu- tsung, who Avas in some respects an enlightened and able prince. He busied himself with introducing reform into the administration of the empire, and encouraged literature and learning Avith wisdom and discretion. During his reign the king of Khokand applied to him for aid against the Tibetans and Arabs, who were advancing to at- tack him. Yeun-tsang promptly sent an army to his rescue, and the aggressors Avere completely routed. In a war with the Khitans in the north-east he Avas not so successful; and in the disorder which arose in consequence of the invasion of the northern provinces by these formidable neighbors. General Gan Lus-shan, an officer of Turkish, descent, placed himself at the head of a revolt, and having secured Tung-kAvan on the YelloAV river, advanced on Chang-gan. In this emergency the emperor fled, and placed his son, Suh-tsung, on the throne. This sovereign summoned to his aid the forces of the kings of Khoten and Khokand, of the state of Bokhara, of the Ouigours, and of the Arabs, and with these allies he completely defeated Gan Luh- shan and suppressed the rebellion. The promise held out by this en- ergetic beginning of his career was not filled out in his later reign, for he fell under the influence of bad advisers in his court, and died unregretted in 762. During the folloAving reigns the Tibetans made constant incur- sions into the Avestern provinces of the empire, and Tai-tsung, who occupied the throne from 763 to 780, was compelled to purchase the assistance of the Ouigours against these invaders by giving a Chinese princess as a Avife to the Khan. The history of this and the following century is for the most part a monotonous record of feeble governments, low and vicious intrigues, oppressions and rebellions. Almost the only relief in the constant rounds of these scenes towards the close of the Tang dvnastv was THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 67 the iconoclastic policy of Woo-tsung, who reigned from 841 to 847. Viewing the increase of monasteries and ecclesiastical establishments as an evil, he abolished all temples, closed all the monasteries and nunneries, and sent the inmates back to their families. Foreign priests were subjected to the same repressive legislation, and Christians, Buddhists, and Magi were bidden to turn their faces westward in the direction from whence they came. However, this policy terminated with the death of this ruler. Buddhism again revived during the reign of the Emperor E-tsung (860-874), who, having had the honor to discover a bone of Buddha, brought it to the capital in great state. But by constant internal dissensions and outbreaks the empire be- came so weakened that the prince of Leang found no difficulty in gain- ing possession of the throne, and in 907 he assumed the imperial yel- low with the title of Tai-tsoo, the first emperor of the later Leang dynasty. Thus ended the Tang dynasty, which is regarded as being the Golden Age of Chinese literature. Five dynasties, viz., the Later Leang, the Later Tang, the Later Tsin, the Later Han, and the Later Chow followed each other in quick succession between the years 907 and 900. But though the monarchs of these lines nominally held sway over the empire, their real power was confined to very narrow limits. The disorders which were rife during the time when the Tang dynasty was tottering to its fall fos- tered the development of independent states, and so arose Leang in Ho-nan and Shan-tung, Ke in Shen-si, Hwai-nan in Keang-nan, Chow in Sze-chuan and parts of Shen-si and Hu-kuang, Woo-yue in Chi- kiang, Tsoo and King-nan in Hu-kuang, Ling-nan in Kuang-tung, and the Ouigours in Tangout. A partial end was made to the disorganization when, in 960, General Chaou Kwang-yin was proclaimed by acclamation of the army emperor in succession to the youthful Kung-te, who was compelled to vacate the throne to make way for his former lieutenant. The circumstances of the time justified the exchange. It required a strong hand to weld together again the different parts into which the empire had been divided, and to resist the attacks of the Khitan Tartars, whose rule at this period ex- tended over the whole of Manchuria and Leaou-tung. Against these aggressive neighbors Tai-tsoo, the name under which Chaou Kwang- yin assumed the throne, directed his best efforts with varying success, and he died in 976, while the war was still being waged. 68 THE GROWTH OF A ORE AT EMPIRE. His son Tai-tsiing entered on the campaign with energy, but in the end was compelled to make a treaty of peace with the Khitans. His successor, Chin-tsung, who reigned from 997 to 1022, descended a step lower in his dealings with them, and agreed to pay them tribute to in- duce them to abstain from their incursions. Probably this tribute was not sent regularly; at all events, under Jin-tsung (1023-1064), the Khitans again threatened to invade the empire, and were only per- suaded to forego their determination by the emperor promising to pay them an annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver, besides a great quan- tity of silken goods. Neither was this arrangement long binding, and so formidable were the advances made by the Tartars in the next and following reign, that Hwuy-tsung (1101-1126), invited the Neu-che Tar- tars to expel the Khitans from Leaou-tung. They readily responded to this call; the service was effectually per- formed, but having once possessed themselves of the country they de- clined to yield it to the Chinese, and the result was that a still more aggressive neighbor was established on the north-eastern frontier of China. Without delay the Neu-che or Kins, as they now styled them- selves, overran the provinces of Chih-li, Shen-si, Shan-si, and Ho-nan, and during the reign of Kaou-tsung (1127-1163), they advanced their conquests to the line of the Yang-tsze Kiang. It was during this period that the Mongols began to acquire power in Eastern Asia, and about the beginning of the twelfth century they invaded the north-western frontier of China and the principality of Hea, which at that time consisted of the modern provinces of Shen-si and Kan-su. To purchase the good will of these subjects of Ghengiz Khan the king of Hea agreed to pay them tribute, and gave a x^rincess in marriage to their ruler. Hitherto the Mongols had been vassals of the Kin Tartars, but the rapid growth of their power indisposed them to remain tributaries of any monarch, and in consequence of a dispute with the Emperor Wei-choau Wang, Ghengiz Khan determined to invade the Kin province of Leaou-tung. In this expedition he was aided by the followers of the Khitan leader, Yay-lu Tsoo-tsai, and in alliance with this general he captured Leaou-yang, the capital city. After an unsuccessful invasion of China in 1212, Ghengiz Khan re- newed the attack in the following year and completely defeated the Kins. In the confusion which followed the emperor was murdered by his generals, and Seuen-tsung ascended the throne. But the change of THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 69 ruler brought no better fortune to the Kin cause. Ghengiz Khan divi- ded his army into four divisions, and made a general advance south- wards. With resistless force his soldiers swept over the provinces of Ho-nan, Chih-li, and Shan-tung, destroying in their course more than ninety cities, and spreading desolation everywhere. It was their boast that a horseman might ride without stumbling over the sites where these cities had stood. Panic-stricken by the danger which threatened him, the emperor moved his court to Kai-fung Fu, much against the advice of his min- isters, who foresaw the disastrous effect this retreat would have upon the fortunes of Kin. And now, as foes advanced, friends fell off from the tottering house. The state of Sung, which up to this time had paid tribute, now declined to recognize Kin as its feudal chief, and a short time afterwards declared war against its quondam ally. Meanwhile, in 1215, Yay-lu Tsoo-tsai advanced into China by the Shan-hai Kwan, and made himself master of Peking, which until then was one of the few cities in Chih-li which remained to Kin. After this victory his nobles wished him to proclaim himself emperor, but he refused, being mindful of his oath which he had sworn to Ghengiz Khan. In 1216 Tung-Kuan, a pass in the mountains between the frontier of Ho-nan and Shen-si, which in the history of China has been the scene of nu- merous dynastic battles, forming as it does the only gateway between Eastern and Western China, was taken by the invaders. Year after year the war dragged on, the resistance offered by the Kins growing weaker and weaker. In 1220 Tse-nan Foo, the capital of Shan-tung, was taken, and five years later Ghengiz Khan marched an army westward into Ilea and completely conquered the forces of the king; but it was not until the year following the king's death that he took possession of the principality. In the succeeding year Ghengiz Khan himself was gathered to his fathers, and Ogdai, his son, reigned in his stead. Thus died at the age of sixty-six this great general, whose armies had triumphed victoriously over the Avhole of Central Asia, from the Caspian sea and the Indus to Korea and the Yang-tsze Kiang. With his dying breath he adjured his son to complete the conquest of China, and with a view to this, the crowning desire of his life, he declined to nominate either of the two eldest sons who had been born to his Chin- ese wives, as his heir, but chose rather his third son, Ogdai, whose 70 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. mother was a Tartar. On hearing of the death of Ghengiz Khan the Kins sent an embassy to his successor desiring peace, but Ogdai, re- membering the last injunctions of his father, told them there would be no peace for them until their dynasty should be overthrown. Up to this time the Mongols had been without any code of laws. The old rule "That they should take who have the power, And they should keep who can," was the maxim on which they guided their mutual intercourse, and the punishments due for offences were left entirely to the discretion of the officers before whom the offenders were tried. The consistency, how- ever, which had been given to the nation by the conquests of Ghen- giz Khan made it necessary to establish a recognized code of laws, and one of the first acts of Ogdai was to form such a code. With the help also of Yay-lu Tsoo-tsai, he established custom houses in Ohih-li, Shan-tung, Shan-si, and Leaou-tung; and for this purpose divided these provinces into ten departments. Meanwhile the war with the Kins was carried on with energy. In 1230 Se-gan Fu was taken, and sixty important posts were captured. Two years later Too-le, brother of Ogdai, took Fung-tseang Fu and Han-chung Fu, in the flight from which last named place 100,000 per- sons are said to have perished. Following the course of the river Han in his victorious career this general destroyed 140 towns and fortresses, and defeated the army of Kin at Mount San-fung. In the following year the Mongol cause suffered a great loss by the death of Too-le. This famous warrior left behind hi)m twelve sons, two of whom, Mangu, the first-born, and Kublai, the fourth son, were destined to sit in succession on the throne of their uncle Ogdai. But their time was not yet. First of all they had to win their spurs, and well did they prove by their deeds their right to the name of Mongol or "daring." In China, in Central Asia, and on the banks of the Caspian they led their victorious armies. But meanwhile, in 1232, the Mongols made an alliance with the state of Sung, by which, on condition of Sung helping to destroy Kin, Ho-nan was to be the property of Sung forever. The effect of this coalition soon became apparent. Barely had the Kin emperor retreated from Kai-fung Fu to Joo-ning Fu in Ho-nan when the former place fell into the hands of the allies. Next fell Loyang, and the victorious generals then marched on to besiege THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 71 Joo-ning Fu. The presence of the emperor gave energy to the defend- ers, and they held out till every animal in the city had been killed for food, until every old and useless person had suffered death to lessen the number of hungry mouths, until so many able-bodied men had fallen by the hands of the enemy that the women manned ramparts, and then the allies stormed the walls. Once inside the town the inhab- itants, enfeebled by starvation, fell ready victims to their swords. The emperor, like another Sardanapalus, despairing now of success, burned himself to death in his palace, that his body might not fall into the hands of his enemies. For a few days the shadow of the imperial crown rested on the head of his heir Changlin, but in a tumult which broke out amongst his followers he lost his life, and with him ended the "Golden" dynasty, which from that time disappeared from the coun- try's annals until the Manchu family came nearly four centuries later, to claim the throne as heirs of the defender of Joo-ning Fu. Although China was still by no means conquered, yet the extinction of the Kin dynasty enabled Ogdai to send an army of 300,000 men to ravage the country bordering on the Caspian sea. But so vast were the resources at his command, that he was able to dispatch at the same time a force of 600,000 strong into Sze-chuan to subdue the power of Sung in that province. For, notwithstanding the treaty which had been made between Ogdai and Sung, no sooner were the spoils of Kin to be divided than fierce war broke out again between them, in prose- cuting which the Mongol armies swept over the provinces of Hu-kuang, Keang-nan, and Ho-nan, and were checked only when they reached the walls of Lu-chou Fu in Gan-hwuy. Ogdai was not destined to live to see his sway acknowledged over the whole empire. He died in 1241, at the age of fifty-six, having reigned thirteen years, and was nominally succeeded by his grandson, Cheliemen. But among the numerous ladies who called Ogdai lord, was one named Toliekona, who on the death of the emperor took possession of the throne, and after exercising rule for four years, established her son, Kwei-yew, as Great Khan. But in 1248 his life was cut short, and the nobles, disregarding the claims of Cheliemen, proclaimed as emperor Mangu, the eldest son of Too-le. Under this monarch the war against Sung was carried on with energy, and Kublai, outstripping the bounds of Sung territory, made his way into the province of Yun-nan, which at that time was divided into a number of independent states, and having 72 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. attached them to his brother's crown he passed on into Tibet, Tonktn, and Cochin-China, and from thence striking northwards entered the province of Kuang-si. On the death of Mangu in 1259 Kublai ascended the throne, and never in the history of China was the nation more illustrious, nor its power more wddely felt, than under this sovereignty. During the first twenty years of his reign Sung kept up a resistance, gradually growing weaker and weaker, against his authority; and it w^as not, therefore, until 1280 that he assumed complete jurisdiction as emperor of China. At this time his authority was acknowledged "From the Frozen sea, almost to the Straits of Malacca. With the exception of Hindustan, Arabia, and the westernmost parts of Asia, all the Mongol princes as far as the Dnieper declared themselves his vassals, and brought regu- larly their tribute." It was during this reign that Marco Polo visited China, and he de- scribes in glowing colors the virtues and glories of the "Great Khan." But though his rule was characterized by discretion and munificence, his Chinese subjects were uneasy under his yoke. He undertook public works, he patronized literature, and relieved the distress of the poor, but still they never forgot that he was an alien and a barbarian, and he died unregretted in 1294. His son had died during his lifetime, and after some contention his grandson Timur ascended the throne under the title of Yuen-ching. After a reign uneventful to China this prince was gathered to his fathers in 1307, and as he left no son, Woo-tsung, a Mongol prince, reigned in his stead. To him succeeded Jin-tsung in 1311, who made himself conspicuous by the honor he showed to the memory of Confucius, and by distribut- ing offices more equally between Mongols and Chinese than had hith- erto been done. This act of justice gave great satisfaction to the Chin- ese, and his death in 1320 ended a peaceful and prosperous reign. Three years later, — three years of disorder, — his successor, Ying-tsung, was murdered by a band of conspirators. From this time the star of the Yuen dynasty was in the descendant. Tai-ting-te, Ming-tsung, Wan-te, and Shun-te followed one another on the throne in quick suc- cession. Each reign was more troublesome than the last; and in the person of Shun-te (1333-1368) was summed up all the vices and faults of his predecessors. Outbreaks, which up to his time had been local in their character, THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 73 assumed large and threatening proportions; and finally this descend- ant of Ghengiz Khan was compelled to fly from his capital before Choo Yuen-chang, the son of a Chinese laboring man. Deserted by his fol- lowers he sought refuge in Ying-chang Fu, and there the last of a Yuen dynasty died. So disunited had the empire become by constant disturbances and rebellions, that Choo Yuen-chang met with little opposition to his forces, more especially as his first care on becoming possessed of a district was to suppress lawlessness and to establish a settled government. In 1355 he crossed the Yang-tsze Kiang and captured Nan-king, in con- sequence of which success he proclaimed himself duke of Woo, but as yet he carefully avoided adopting any of the insignia of royalty. Even when lie had taken the capital and was master of the empire thirteen years later, he still professed to dislike the idea of assuming the im- perial title. His scruples, however, on this point were overcome, and he solemnly declared himself emperor in 1368. Once seated upon the throne, he ingratiated himself with his sub- jects by his generous treatment of his enemies, and by the regard he showed for the welfare of his people. He carried his arms into Tar- tary, where he subdued the last semblance of Mongol power in that direction, and then bent his steps towards Leoau-tung. Here the Mongols defended themselves with the bravery of despair, but nothing could resist the onslaught of the victorious Chinese, and the conquest of this province left Hung-woo, as the founder of the new or Ming, "Bright," dynasty styled himself, without a foe in the empire. Hung-woo cultivated friendly relations with the rulers of the neij>:h-" boring states beyond the limits of his own kingdom. The king of Korea sent an embassy to congratulate him upon his succession, and the sovereign of the Lew-chew Islands sent his brothers and sons to his court to be educated. As a quondam Buddhist priest he naturally lent his countenance to that religion to the exclusion of Taoism, whose priests had for centuries earned the contempt of all but the most igno- rant by their pretended magical arts and their search after the phil- osopher's stone. In 1398, and in the thirtieth year of his reign, Hung-woo was gath- ered to his fathers, and Keen-wan, his grandson, reigned in his stead. Aware that the appointment of this youth — his father was dead — would give offence to the young emperor's uncles, Hung-woo dismissed them 74 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. to their respective governments before deatli closed liis ej^es. This, however, only delayed the storm. The prince of Yen, his eldest surviv- ing son, raised the banner of rebellion in his principality as soon as the news reached him of his nephew's accession, and after gaining several victories over the armies of Keen-wan he presented himself before the gates of Nan-king, the capital. Treachery opened the gates to him, and the emperor having fled in the disguise of a monk, the victorious prince clothed himself in imperial yellow and took the title of Yung-lo. At home this monarch devoted himself to the encouragement of literature and the fine arts, and, possibly from a knowledge that Keen-wan was among the Bud- dhist priests, he renewed the law prohibiting Buddhism. Abroad he swept Cochin-China and Tonkin within the folds of his empire and carried his arms into Tartary, where he made new conquests of waste regions and erected a monument of his victories. His death took place in 1425, and he was in that year succeeded by his son Hung-ke. Hung-ke^s reign was short and uneventful. He did that which was right as far as his knowledge went. He strove to promote only such mandarins as proved themselves to be able and honest, and de- sirous of securing the welfare of the people. During the reign of his successor, Suen-tih (1426-1436), the empire suffered the first loss of territory since the commencement of the dynasty. Cochin-China re- belled and gained her independence. But this was but the beginning of troubles. The next emperor, Ching-tung, was defeated and taken prisoner by a Tartar chieftain, a descendant of the Yuen family named Ye-seen, who had invaded the northern provinces. With unusual clemency the Tartar gave him his life, though he kept him a close prisoner until the fortunes of war turned against him. Having been completely defeated by a Chinese force from Liao-tung, Ye-seen lib- erated his captive, who returned to his capital amidst the rejoicings of his people, again to occupy the throne which during his imprison- ment (1450-1457) had been held by his brother King-te. The two following reigns, those of Ching-hwa (1465-1488) and of Hung-che (1488-1506) were quiet and peaceful. But their successor, Ching-tih (1506-1522), w^as called upon to face a very formidable in- surrection headed by the prince of Ning. He was, however, victorious over the rebel, who lost 30,000 men in the engagement which put an end to his hopes. The disorder into which the empire had been thrown TEE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 75 by this civil war encouraged the foreign enemies of China. First of all came a Tartar army from the dreaded north under Yen-ta, during the reign of Kea-tsing, in 1542, which laid waste the province of Shen- si, and even threatened the capital, and a little later a Japanese fleet appeared off the coast and carried fire and sword through the littoral provinces. Ill-blood had arisen between the Chinese and their island neigh- bors before this time, and a Japanese colony had been driven out of Ningpo by force and not without bloodshed a few years previously. Kea-tsing was not equal to such emergencies, and his death, which took place in 1567, would have been an advantage to the empire, had his son been a more able prince. But the only weapon this ruler, Yung-king by name, was able to wield against the Tartar Yen-ta was a bribe. He made him a prince of the empire, and gave him certain commercial privileges, which were further supplemented by the suc- ceeding emperor, Wan-leih (1573-1620), by a grant of land in Shen-se. During the reign of this sovereign, in the year 1592, the Japanese successfully invaded Korea, and Taikosama, the emperor of Japan, was on the point of proclaiming himself king of the peninsula, when a large Chinese force, answering to the invitation of the king, ap- peared on the field and completely routed the Japanese army, at the same time that the Chinese fleet cut oft' their retreat by sea. In this extremity the Japanese sued for peace, and sent an embassy to Peking to arrange terms. But the peace was of short duration. In 1597 the Japanese again invaded Korea and defeated the Chinese army which was sent against them ; nor were they less successful at sea. They destroyed the Chinese fleet and ravaged the coast. Suddenly, however, when in the full tide of conquest, they evacuated Korea, which again fell under the di- rection of China. Four years later Ricci arrived at the Chinese court; and though at first the emperor was inclined to send him out of the country, his abilities gradually Avon for him the esteem of the sover- eign and his ministers, and he remained the scientific adviser of the court until his death in 1610. About this time the power which was destined to overthrow the Ming dynasty began to grow restless. The Manchu Tartars, goaded into war by the injustice they were constantly receiving at the hands of the Chinese, led an army into China in 1616 and completely de- 76 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. feated the force which was sent against them. Three years later they were again victorious over the Chinese, and they gained pos- session of the province of Liao-tung. This final series of disasters was more than the emperor could bear, and he died, it is said, of a broken heart in 1620. In the same year Teen-ning, the Manchu sovereign, having de- clared himself independent, and possessed himself of Leaou-tung, moved the court to San-koo, to the east of Mukden, which, five years later, he made his capital. Meanwhile Tai-chang, the son of Wan- leih, ascended the Chinese throne, but barely had he assumed the reins of power when he fell ill. Acting on the advice of his doctors he drank the liquor of immortality and died. The next emperor, Teen- ke, after a brief and troublesome reign, followed him to the grave in 1627, and to him succeeded Tsung-ching, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty. In his reign the storm clouds, which had been collecting for some years, burst over the empire. In addition to the threatened danger on the north, rebel bands, enriched by plunder, and grown bold by success, began to assume the jjroportion of armies. They dominated over whole districts and provinces and paralyzed the imperial armies by their energy and daring. Out of this seething mass of insubordina- tion two leaders showed themselves conspicuously. These were Le Tsze-ching and Shang Ko-he. In order that there should be no dis- pute as to which should be greatest, they decided to divide the em- pire between them, and to begin with it was agreed that Shang should take possession of Sze-chuan and Hu-kuang, and that Le should make himself master of Ho-nan. Bent on this mission Le besieged Kaifung Fu, the capital of the province, and so long and closely did he beleaguer it that in the con- sequent famine human flesh was regularly sold in the market. At length an imperial force came to raise the siege, with consequences as fatal to the inhabitants as if the rebels had gained the city; for, fear- ful of meeting Le's army in the field, they cut through the dykes of the Yellow river, "China's Sorrow," and flooded the whole country including the city. The rebels escaped to the mountains, but upwards of 200,000 inhabitants perished in the flood, and the city became a heap of ruins. From Kaifung Fu Le marched against the other strongholds of THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. 71 Ho-nan and Shen-si, and was so completely successful that he deter- mined to attack Peking. A treacherous eunuch opened the gates to him, on being informed of which the emperor committed suicide. When the news of this disaster reached the general commanding on the frontier of Manchu, Tartary, he, in an unguarded moment, con- cluded a peace with the Manchus, and invited them to dispossess the rebel Le Tsze-ching. With ready acquiescence the Manchus entered China, and after defeating a rebel army sent against them, they marched towards Peking. On hearing of the approach of the in- vaders, Le Tsze-ching, after having set fire to the imperial palace, evacuated the city, but was overtaken, and his force was completely routed. The object for which the Manchus had been introduced into the empire having now been accomplished, the Chinese wished them to retire, but, like the Mongols, having once gained a footing in the empire, they declared themselves unwilling to leave it, and having taken possession of Peking they proclaimed the ninth son of Teen- ning emperor of China under the title of Shun-che, and adopted the name of Ta-tsing, or "Great Pure," for the dynasty. Meanwhile the mandarins at Nanking had chosen an imperial prince to ascend the throne. But with all the prestige of victory the Tartars bore down all opposition, and at this most inopportune mo- ment "a claimant" to the throne, in the person of a pretended son of the last emperor, appeared at court. This additional complication still further reduced the Chinese power of acting. W^hile this con- tention prevailed inside Nanking the Tartar army appeared at the walls. But there was no need for them to use force. The gates were thrown open, and they took possession of the city without shedding a drop of blood. Following the conciliatory policy they had everywhere pursued, they confirmed the mandarins in their olBfices and granted a general amnesty to all w^ho would lay down their arms. As the Tartars entered the city the emperor left it, and after wandering about for some days in great misery, he threw himself into the Yang-tsze Kiang and was drowned. Thus ended the Ming dynasty, and the empire again passed under a foreign yoke. During the time of the Ming dynasty in China, great events had transpired in other parts of the world. In England occurred the great 78 THE GROWTH OF A GREAT EMPIRE. struggle between the king and the commons, and the ultimate tem- porary establishment of the commonwealth. We have Henry IV. in Prance and Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain. In England, Shakes- peare and Bacon; in France, Eabelais and Descartes; in Germany, Luther and Copernicus; in Spain, Cervantes; and in Italy, Galileo, Machiavelli and Tasso; these names to which should be added those of the great explorers, Columbus and Vasco da Gama, serve to re- mind one of what was passing meanwhile in the West. 0; C oj a .2 o in ^ S5 t- d 9s o o u a C ma M -2 '-' as H O 9'* M 0) CO a 5" o si r:Oa ^«ti o a o S°a CO B 0) O M =1 s n 3° C C >^ ^ s| o Vaug, the uncle of Shun-che, who had acted as regent during his nephew's minor- ity, died in 1651, and the emperor then assumed the government of the state. Little is known of this monarch. lie appears to have taken a great interest in science, and to have patronized Adam Schaal, a German Jesuit, who was at that time a resident of Peking. It was during his reign (1656) that the first Russian embassy arrived at the capital, but as the envoy declined to kowtow before the emperor he was sent back without having been admitted to an audience. After an unquiet reign of seventeen years Shun-che was gathered to his fath- ers, and Kang-he, his son, reigned in his stead. The final establishment of the Manchu Tartars in Oiina is doubt- less attributable, in no small measure, to the personal character of this monarch, who is perhaps the greatest ruler that ever governed the country, and who had the singular fortune to reign for sixty years. By his hunting excursions beyond the Great Wall, when he really pro- ceeded at the head of a great army, he kept up the military of the Tartars; while at the same time his vigilant care was not wanting in the South. During the year 1689 he proceeded along tire grand canal to Nanking, and thence to the famous Qity of Suchau. At that opulent and luxurious place it is said that carpets and silk stuffs being laid along the streets by the inhabitants, the emperor dismounted, and made his train do the same, proceeding thus to the palace on foot, in order that the people's property might not be injured. His liberal and enlightened policy was strikingly displayed on two occasions of foreign intercourse. First, in the boundary and commer- cial treaty with Russia, Avhich was consequent on a dispute that oc- curred at the frontier station of Yacsa, Pere Gerbillon was sent by Kang-he to assist the negotiation as translator, the monarch thus giving another evidence of the esteem in which he held the mission- aries then at his court. The mission proceeded in 1688, but circum- stances prevented its completion until the following year; for the Eleuths or Kalmucs being then at war with the Kalka Tartars, and 86 EARLY CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN POWERS. the route of the expedition lying along the country of the latter, it was thought prudent to return. The second instance, is that embassy in 1713 to the Khan of the Tourgouth Tartars, then settled on the north bank of the Caspian, and up to that time the most remote expedition that had ever been under- taken from China. Kang-he subsequently gained considerable glory by the conquest of the above mentioned Eleuths, who had long given great trouble in the regions about Tibet. He added Tibet to the empire, which then extended from the Siberian frontier to Cochin-China, and from the China sea to Turkestan. Almost the only national misfor- tune of any moment that visited China under this ruler was an earth- quake at Peking, in which 400,000 people are said to have perished. Kang-he was succeeded by Kung-ching, who, reaping the benefits of his father's vigorous administration, enjoyed a peaceable reign, though a short one. He was remarkable for little else than his vio- lent persecution of the Catholic priests, wiio it must be confessed gave cause for complaint, by their imprudent conduct, and their persist- ence in attempting to interfere with aifairs of state. Kung-ching died in 1735, and was succeeded to the throne by his son Keen-lung. Ambitious and warlike, this monarch despised the conciliatory measures by which his father had maintained peace with his neigh- bors. On but a slight provocation, he marched an army into Hi, which he converted into a Chinese province, and he aftei'wards added East- ern Turkestan to the far-reaching territories of China. Twice he in- vaded Burmah, and once he penetrated into Cochin-China, but in neither country were his arms successful. He is accused of great cruelty to- wards his subjects, which they repaid by rebelling against him. It was during his reign that the Mohometan standard was first raised In Kansu. But the Mussulmans were unable to stand against the im- perial troops; their armies were dispersed; ten thousand of them were exiled; and in order to effectually prevent a renewal of the outbreak for some years, a decree was issued that every Mohometan in Kansul) above the age of fifteen should be put to death. Amidst all the political calls upon his time Keen-lung still found leisure for study. He wrote incessantly, both poetry and prose, and did much to promote the cause of literature by collecting libraries and republishing works of value. His campaigns furnished him wath themes for his verses, and in the summer palace was found a hand- EARLY CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN POWERS. 87 some manuscript copy of a laudatory poem he composed on the occa- sion of his war against the Gurkhas. This was one of the most suc- cessful of his military undertakings. His generals marched 70,000 men into Nepaul to within sixty miles of the British frontiers, and having subjugated the Gurkhas they received the submission of the Xepaulese, and acquired an additional hold over Tibet. In other direc- tions his arms were not so successful. We find no poem commemor- ating the campaign against the rebellious Formosans, nor lament over the loss of 100,000 men in that island. The last years of his reign were disturbed by outbreaks among the Meaou-tsze or hill tribes, living in the mountains in the provinces of Kuai-chow and Kuang-si. Keen-lung boasted that they were subdued; but there is reason to believe that this hardy people, intrenched in the natural fortifications of their rude and precipitous mountains, lost little of the real independence that they had enjoyed for ages, and their continued acts of hostility for many years after gave serious alarm and trouble to the Peking government. Keen-lung, like his great predecessor Kang-he, had the unusual fortune to reign for sixty years, and in 1795 he abdicated in favor of his fifteenth son, who adoi)ted the title of Kea-king as the style of his reign. The first Pope who appears to have sent a mission for the conver- sion of the Tartars or Chinese to the Roman Catholic faith, was Inno- cent IV. He despatched Giovanni Carpini, a monk, through Russia, in the year 124G, to Baatu Khan, on the banks of the Volga, from whence he was conducted to the Mongol Tartar court, just as the Great Khan was about to be installed. Carpini was astonished by the display of immense treasures, and having been kindly treated, was sent back with a friendly letter. In 1253 Rubru- quis was in a like manner despatched by St. Louis, during his crusade to the Holy Land, with directions to procure the friendship of the Mongols. He reached at length the court of the Great Khan, and returned with glowing accounts of tlie wonders of the country. During the reign of the Mongol conqueror of China, Nicholas and Matthew Polo, two noble Venetians who reached his court, were ex- tremely well received, and on their departure were invited to return. In 1274 they accordingly came back, bearing letters from Pope Greg- ory X., and accompanied by young Marco, son to one of them. The youth, by his talents and good conduct, became a great favorite at 88 EARLY CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN POWERS. the court, and was employed there for seventeen years, after which he with some difficulty obtained permission to return to his own coun- try. The accounts which he gave at Venice of the vast wealth and re- sources of the Chinese empire appeared so incredible to- Europeans in those days, that his tale was most undeservedly discredited. Another account of China was sometime afterwards written by Hayton, an Ar- menian, and translated into Latin. According to him, the Chinese considered the rest of the world blind, or seeing with only one eye; while they themselves alone were blessed with a perfect vision. John D. Corvino, despatched to Asia in 1288 by Pope Nicholas IV., was the first successful promoter of the Eoman Catholic faith in China; he arrived at Cambalu (as Peking was called by the Tartars) and met Avith a kind reception from the emperor. He was allowed to build a church, furnished with a steeple and bells, and is said to have bap- tized some thousands of converts, as well as to have instructed num- bers of children in the Latin language. The news of his progress reached Clement V. on his accession to the popedom, and he was im- mediately appointed Bishop of Cambalu, with a numerous body of priests, who were despatched to join him in his labors. On the death of Corvino, however, it is probable that no successor possessed of the same enterprise and industry was ready to succeed him; for the es- tablishment which he had founded appears to have ceased, or at least sunk into insignificance. Abundant evidence is afforded by Chinese records^ that a much more liberal as well as enterprising disposition once existed in respect to foreign intercourse than prevails at present. It was only on the conquest of the empire by the Manchus that the bitter hatred that these barbarians have shown to progress and Western civilization placed every obstacle possible in the way of commercial intercourse with other nations. Even before the seventh century it appears from native books that missions were sent from China to the surrounding peoples, with a view to inviting mutual intercourse. The benefits of industry and trade have always been extolled by the Chinese; the contempt, therefore, with which the Tartar government affects to treat foreign commerce must be referred entirely to the fears which it en- tertains regarding the influence of increased knowledge on the sta- bilitv of its dominion. .2 a) c8 O to" O ii m t. a t- Qi^°-Sc aS c S H ogsSoS S«-S5^ CO ^^ — (0-13 O o * iSS ,„-« ^o; . . * -^ — fl o " 5 t; «-° » -=^-g=i M 0) o a ra-ti ., M M .S P » a "O % 2 t.i2 O m 3 a j2 y — to *^ "S a to 'S, a o o B a ^'-' o 330 (u m to CO Zi a h-l a ■"■ _^ X .0) ^ 04.^ "S '"■^■° M I* S •- "o a ^ o < •«i3 « a 0, ■V a cj =3 " ja 1 «-^ a » „ to to ti g _j 4) ^ i^ IliisI a •■>-' to a a -0 .'S sS =j m -^ OS 5l*o^§ 0) rf >>M «i Pi Sh 2 _~ X w a; a > /^ 0« B « t^ W 3 Ph D- bi "/< o .n a> ■a ra cd a> o a 01 -*-' a u as H J3 ^ers of Suleiman at that place and throughout the province were mercilessly exterminated. On February 23, 1873, Tung-che, eldest son of Heen-fung, attained his majority, and assumed the throne. The government since his fath- er's death had been in the hands of his mother, who had appointed Jih- su, Prince of Kong, the head of the council of ministers and regent of the empire. A great concession to the foreign ministers was made by Tung-che, for when they gave notice of their desire for an audience, without being compelled to undergo the servile ceremonies which had been demanded in the past, the request was granted, the Kowtow was done away with, and a ceremonial was agreed upon to which they took no exception. The Japanese minister was honored by a private audi- ence; and after him came the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, and the Netherlands in a body. Formal addresses were made by the Russian minister, representing the diplo- matic corps, and by the emperor, in the presence of some 800 mandarins. Thus for the first time the representatives of the treaty nations were allowed to gaze upon the "sacred countenance," and one more barrier that stood in the way of a thorough understanding between China and the world was removed. In 1875, the dreaded small-pox made great ravages in Peking, and among the victims was the Emperor Tung-che, who died on January 12. The empress survived him but a short time, and in the following March she died. The Shanghai Courier and Gazette said that her early death was entirely in accordance with the national idea of what is most fit- ting for a wife so bereaved, and that her memory would possibly acquire a sanctity in Chinese eyes from the fact of her having followed her lord within so short a period; the event being already attributed to her regrets, as it was said that she suffered from no definite disease. An- other report stated that the circumstances of her death aroused gen- eral suspicion concerning its cause, and that there was but little at- tempt to conceal the fear of complications in case her expected child should be a son led to the sacrifice of her life. For the first time in the history of the Ching dynasty the throne was left without a direct heir. Tsai-teen, a child less than four years of age, a cousin of the late emperor, was enthroned on February 25, under the FOREIGN WAR AND INTERNAL REBELLION. 127 reigning name of Kwang-seu, or "Succession of Glory." The regency remained to Prince Kiing and the two empress-dowagers, and Li Hung Chang was made the prime minister of the government. Four additional ports were opened to foreign commerce during the 3^ear 1876, namely: Kuing-chau, on the island of Hainan; Wanchau; Wuhu, on the Yang-tsze Kiang river, above Nanking; and Ichang, on the upper Yang-tsze Kiang, 360 miles further into the interior of China than the trading vessels had been allowed to come prior to this time., On June 30, 1876, occurred the inauguration of the first railway line in the "Flowery Kingdom." On that date trains were run between Shanghai and Wusung, a distance of eleven miles, and in spite of oppo- sition both from the government and from the people, it gradually grew in popularity, and soon became a profitable investment. But the author- ities at Peking would not be forced to accept innovations of this char- acter, and finally succeeded in having the line abandoned. During the year 1877 a terrible famine prevailed in the north and east parts of the empire. A severe drought in the previous summer destroyed the crops in those sections, and the people were soon reduced to absolute want. As the year advanced the suffering increased and countless thousands died from starvation and the famine fever which followed in its wake. The foreigners at the treaty ports contributed liberally for the alleviation of the unfortunate people, and the govern- ment showed its appreciation of this humane action by sending the fol- lowing acknowledgment to the resident foreign ministers: "We have recently noticed a statement in the newspapers that the foreigners of all nationalities have raised contributions, which have been sent for distribution to the famine districts of Shan-tung, to the relief of the suiferers, thus manifesting their delight to do good and grant aid to all men without regard to race. We have been exceedingly gratified at what we have heard, and now beg to return to them, through you, our expression of appreciation and thanks." A horrible accident occurred at Tien-tsin in January, 1878, when a hospital for the shelter of refugees from the famine stricken districts was burned to the ground, and 1,400 women and children lost their lives in the conflagration. In May, 1879, General Grant reached China, during the course of his journey around the world. He was received as no other foreigner has been either before or since. He was the honored guest at banquets 128 FOREIGN WAR AND INTERNAL REBELLION. given by the leading officials, and all seemed delighted to do him honor. The claim of the Chinese government to suzerainty over the Anna- mite dominion, and especially over the province of Tonkin, was disputed in 1882 by France, the latter nation claiming a protectorate under the terms of a former treaty. This led to a diplomatic war between the two nations, and a military campaign followed, in which the French suffered great losses through sickness, brought on by bad water and exposure. By the beginning of 1884, the two countries were in a state of "unofficial war." The capture of Bacninh by the French produced a sweeping change in the Chinese administration of the affairs of the war, and en- abled Li Hung Chang to convince the empress of the advisability of coming to terms with the French, who were preparing for a blow at Canton, and the occupation of Formosa or Hainan, as a pledge for the payment of an enormous indemnity. Negotiations were informally begun and the Chinese were given to understand that France would not press her claims for the indemnity if the protectorate over Tonkin were acknowledged, and the Chinese gar- rison withdrawn. Just as these negotiations were about to be brought to a. successful issue, the trouble broke out anew, each army claiming bad faith on the part of the other. The following year saw several engagements between the opposing forces, both on land and sea. China, in the improved state of her army and coast defences, was better prepared to continue the struggle, not- withstanding the emptiness of the imperial treasury, than was the gov- ernment of France at this time. The treaty which was finally signed by the representatives of the two nations left the historical claim of China to suzerainty over Tonkin exactly where it was, and gave France a free hand in the establishment of her protectorate. The ten years following possess little historic interest in China. The people continued to hold strong prejudices against the missionaries, and attacks upon the "foreign devils" were frequent and often serious. Bands of rebels in the northern and western provinces, and in Formosa, gave the amry considerable trouble, but there were no general uprisings. While the government still seemed determined to prevent, as far as possible, the building of railroads in the empire, the objection to tele- graph lines was not so pronounced, and a number of lines were con- structed, notably one from Shanghai to Peking, thus connecting the capital of the kingdom with the western civilized world. nj >i a-o a m <" .~ i. u >. OJ'— •as .«_* O) o > . m^ CO x: a) in u> C3 (fi a a; al « 35 0*^ etfft xia 5^ < ^^ r< S5 5^ St X)t ^ -«-) ^ O O (U i ^ s: CJ ^ - -o ■a o a a o a: ^ °°^§ ■5=«tH O ^ 0) -K-Q = o a ^ t- ai cl t. JC Oi O o --^"C „ ° 5- tu— ' £ J5 iJ ii) 1 /h 1«S"g « M "^-,c Ph .— a £a,«S H ^ .- oiS to eacb pro e placed, open ecu down, is >^ a is^ 2 one ates jer to <(i isai; y^ sigfi 5 ts c 42 O m S ft .»-. 2 to m O "O o ■£ «! re o = .S '^ CSJ 0) o " = a£ '— dj s is S » <= c fr r^ i^ Qj C £ s- ■Mb eS THE QOVEBNMENT OF CHINA. 161 it is surprising what attention is paid to etiquette, and the formation of the moral powers according to the mould prepared for them in an- tiquity. Were the same degree of attention devoted to the cultivation of useful branches of science, what prodigious results might accrue to so numerous a people, whose minds might then soon become, as they express the idea, "saturated with useful knowledge." The national district schools, intended for graduates of the lowest rank, are so ill-conducted that until the period of public examination arrives they are seldom or never attended. Public examinations, pre- paratory to the attainment of degrees, were instituted during the dy- nasty of T'ang, for the purpose of selecting persons to fill the offices of government, the principle of which, with slight modification, continues to the present day. It is not the object of the government to create a class of learned men who shall enlarge the boundaries of human knowledge, and consequently extend the empire of the mind; but only to impart the few general principles and maxims already possessed to talented men who will faithfully employ them in ruling the mass of the people, according to the favorite adage, "the man who seeks exten- sive learaing must study ancient principles." To this end the government prescribes what books shall be studied, which consist only of those friendly to despotic principles; forbids the reading and writing of all others supposed to be adverse to its rights; and disallows all innovations but such as originate with itself, which being of imperceptible progress, and confined to the modification of a few elementary moral truths propagated by the ancients, discoveries in science and increase of useful knowledge are forcibly obstructed. Hence an entire stagnation of mental power, otherwise sufficient to have created incalculable resources of improvement, must continue to curse the largest and fairest portion of the globe, until the time comes when the latest improvements in science and literature gain entrance from the Western world. The national literary examination for those who have attained the lowest degree, takes place at each district once in three years, and is conducted by its own magistrates and professors of literature. The general examination of recommended persons, those of the second de- gree from every province of the empire, must take place at Peking also once in three years. All the candidates enter the court yard to have their names enrolled on the list on the day preceding the examination, 162 THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. and remain until the day after it is over, so tliat they are compelled to pass two nights without regular rest or food; and when death occurs, which is not infrequent, the body must be conveyed out of the area through a hole dug for the purpose in the wall, to avoid the infelicity of defiling the imperial gateway with a corpse. None is admitted as a candidate for this degree unless he shall have attained the first, which is conferred at the district college by the resident provincial principal. There are two other degrees, the Tsin-sze and Han-lin, which are conferred in the capital, the last in the presence of the emperor. The Chinese think no gentleman's education is complete without traveling to visit the most remarkable regions, lakes and mountains in their own empire, to which allusions are constantly made in their lighter literature, and for whose guidance they have a specific directory. No admission is made, however, of the benefit that would accrue from a visit to foreign countries, in the removal of prejudice and the illum- ination of the mind. There are separate schools for youths between ten and twenty years of age, where the collateral branches of the imperial family are taught Manchu Tartar and Chinese literature, with horsemanship and archery. These two last are indispensable; for as the present dynasty obtained the empire by the sword and bow, it ordains the same means to be used for the preservation of it. Within the past few years, however, the necessity of more modern methods of warfare has been brought home with such force to the Chinese government that considerable study has been devoted to the armaments of the nations of the West. CHAPTER IX. DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. Ceremonies Attending tlie Marriage Rite in Ancient Times — "The Moon-light Old Gentle- man" — Manner of Courtship — Proposals by Proxy — Wedding Gifts — Literary Attainments Recognized as an Equivalent for Wealth — Power of the Husband over the Wife — Women Placed Under Many Disadvantages — Stories of Infajiticide Greatly Exaggerated — Funeral Rites — Human Sacrifices at One Time General— The Period of Mourning — Constant Antic- ipation of Death — Disposition of Property — How the Chinese are I^amed. THE marriage covenant has ever been considered as most im- portant all over the East, the rites of which have from the earliest times been celebrated with every demonstration of joy and splendor befitting the rank of the parties. The peculiar reserve of the sexes towards each other, which so strikingly character- izes oriental manners, has originated usages of a description totally alien from those to which we of the Western world are accustomed. The influence of climate is doubtless the principal cause of early marriages; but many customs, independent of physical causes, are pe- culiar to the quarter of the globe which human population is supposed to have first occupied. So faithfully and continuously have remote customs been handed down, that, by comparing the oldest records of the world with practices observed at this day, we seem borne back- wards to the very period in which the patriarchs and fathers of human kind existed. The peculiar form of the ceremonial in the primitive ages of the world does not appear, except in the congregation of friends at the nuptial feast; but if there were any other it was doubtless of the sim- jjlest and most expressive kind. The parents of the parties always formed the contract; and if we on some points except the Hebrews, we are struck with the entire surrender by children of their future destiny, with whatever predilection they might have, to the guidance of parental judgment. Though sons and daughters of respectable families in the West seek the approval of their parents, still, excepting the royal fam- ilies of Europe, nothing occurs similar to the constant practice in the East of parties seeing each other for the first time on the evening of their nuptials. 163 164 DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. This arrangement, which to us seems absurd, is based on the custom of prohibiting interviews between the sexes before marriage. In China, both parties are usually very young, and while it is customary for the parents or guardians to choose for them their life companions, yet some regard is shown for their desires, and a marriage is seldom forced on a son or a daughter expressly against their will. A go-between, who may be of either sex, is essential to the forma- tion of the marriage union. The title and office are derived from a per- sonage called "the moon-light old gentleman," who was seen in ancient times by an aspirant to the conjugal relation reading the marriage book of fate by moonlight, and bending over a bag in which were the red strings to bind together the feet of man and wife; a bond, he said, which could not be severed though the individuals lived ever so widely apart, and the families cherished against each other ever so desperate an enmity. A writer on Chinese folk-lore gives the following version of this legend: During the period of the Tang dynasty (618-907), a man named Hwuy Ko, while staying at the town of Sung, saw one evening an old man reading a book by the light of the moon, who addressed him thus: "This book is the register of the engagements of marriage for all places under heaven, and in my pockets I have red cords with which I tie together the feet of those who are destined to become man and wife. When this cord has been tied, though the parties are of unfriendly families, or of different nations, their fates are fixed. Your future wife," said he, "is the child of the old woman who sells vegetables in yonder shop on the north." Upon hearing this Hwuy Ko started off in search of the old woman, and found her possessed of such a hideous little infant, about twelve months old, that in despair he hired a man to kill the child. Years after the prefect of a neighboring district gave Hwuy Ko in marriage to a beautiful young lady whom he affirmed to be his own daughter. Seeing that his bride always wore an artificial flower over her eyebrow, Hwuy Ko asked her reason for doing so. "I am the daughter," she replied, "of the prefect's brother who died at Sung when I was an infant, leaving me to the care of an old woman who sold vegetables. One day, when I was out with her in the street a ruffian struck me on my eye- brow, and made such a scar that I am obliged to wear this flower to conceal it." On hearing this Hwuy Ko recognized the immutability of DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. 165 fate, and from that time fon\^ard red silken cords have been entwined in the marriage cards of every pair in China. Hence the expression "silken strings," vi^hich bind the nuptial cups, and perhaps also the origin of the proverb, "whether a wife shall be a treasure, and children a source of emolument, is previously fixed by fate." After the parents of a young man have resolved to procure a wife for him, the first person employed is the diviner, who, having ascer- tained the name of the young lady, the day and hour of her birth, from the go-between, by whom she is seen and described to the youth's friends, proceeds on the principles of his art — astrology, the flight of birds, or some other natural phenomenon — ^to determine whether the consummation of such a marriage would prove felicitous. If it would, the go-between is sent by the friends of the youth to announce the joyful tidings to the lady's parents, and request them to give a written promise of marriage, the reception of which is acknowledged by costly gifts of silk, silver, gold, sheep, wine, fruit and other presents, accord- ing to his circumstances, which are made by the young man to the maiden to ratify the espousals. The next step in the process requires that a messenger be sent to the parents of the bride-elect to ask them to fix a day for the solemni- zation of the marriage, after which the preparatory ceremonies are concluded by the bridegroom's going out in the evening to meet his bride. But although the preliminary arrangements are thus extended to six divisions, these are practically comprehended in three: writing the marriage settlement, sending the previous presents, and solemnizing the nuptials. This is the Chinese ceremony. The Tartar ceremony differs from it, in that a matron is sent from the bridegroom with a pin of gold, silver, wood or copper, to braid the young lady's hair, which is considered as fixing the espousals. The preliminary customs in use with Chinese youth are, to wear a scarlet scarf in token of Joy, together with a bonnet, formally placed on the head by his father, and to take another name in addition to those he already has. The young Chinese female changes the mode of braid- ing her hair, assisted by her friends, who shave her face, and attend to other ceremonies, one of which is to sit and weep with her until the day that she leaves the parental abode to serve a husband. On the day of marriage relatives and friends send their congratu- lations and good wishes, accompanied with presents; some suitable to 166 DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. the toilet, others of a more important character, among which are tab- lets bearing felicitous inscriptions, and geese. Wild geese have been recotrnized from the most ancient times in China as an emblem of con- jugal harmony, by reason of their proceeding in company north or south, agreeably to the dictates of nature; that is, in compliance with the requirements of the season. Domestic geese are honored as an emblem of fidelity, which is sym- bolized by a goose made of wood or tin, and carried before the marriage procession, consisting of the bridegroom and his friends or attendants, who in the evening of the marriage day go with music, lanterns, an ornamented chair, and an artificial pavilion, to the home of the bride to take her to her husband's abode. When she arrives at the gate, various musical instruments are played, and the bride's attendants carry her on their shoulders over a pan of coals placed within the door into her chamber. Afterwards the bride and groom sit at a table and eat together for the first time in their lives, and perform the ceremonj- of joining cups, by drinking a little of "the wine of the decorated candle." The bridegroom drinks a small quantity of it; and the bride places the cup to her lips, while she covers her face with one hand, under the pretence of drinking, this act being considered as sealing the marriage covenant, is an indispensable part of the ceremony. There are various other ceremonies, very trivial in themselves, but of vast importance in the estimation of the Chinese to the future well- being of the newly married pair. A matron who has reared a numerous family must prepare the sleeping room, and pronounce a benediction on the parties. The day after the marriage the husband and wife enter the hall to worsliip the family deities, and pay their respects to their parents and other relatives. On the third day, the female visits her parents in a decorated chair provided by her husband, who gives an entertainment on the occasion. The nuptial ceremonies are kept up for a month, at the end of which the bride's parents send her a head- dress, and provide a feast for their son and daughter, which concludes the whole series of ceremonial rites. It is customary in China for sons after their marriage to live in their father's house w4th their wives and families. This custom is some- times the source of inconveniently large households, which has given rise to singular practices, and to peculiarities in the code of ethics and ceremonies; such as that a brother and sister-in-law should not be per- DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. 167 mitted to converse together, an ancient rule whicli would probably never have been adopted had the parties occupied separate abodes. Poor parents who seek a wife for their sons frequently calculate on the services of their daughter-in-law during their declining years and advancing infirmities; for as, on the same principle, their own daugh- ters immediatelv on their marriage are located in other families, so they themselves would be destitute of female aid if not provided for by this means. It is the custom in China for the husbands to pay an equivalent to the wife's parents for her services, which are to be transferred to the husband's relatives; hence the proverb, "if you can obtain a virtuous son-in-law, do not exact large sums of money." In matrimonial alli- ances great regard is had to the probability of hartaiony and peace between the two families, and care is taken to adjust the wealth of one to the literary attainments of the other. A person possessed of a higher education may reasonably expect to obtain an alliance with a family distinguished for its respectability and wealth. But in such cases an incongruous elevation of a son to a union with a lady of superior man- ners necessarily brings his wife down to a level with the habits of his own family, perhaps poor and mean in its domestic establishment, though he himself may be distinguished by literary honors. Inconveniences often arise from such inharmonious combinations, and cases are frequent where the members of the two households come to blows. Severe punishment is decreed against a woman who shall strike or maltreat her husband; but the husband's beating the wife, providing he does not maim or seriously injure her, is only to be con- sidered in the light of wholesome discipline, of which the law takes no cognizance. The laAvs of China place the female sex under many disadvantages, and the legal discrimination is borne out in the every-day life of the people. The birth of a son is a source of gladness and delight, which excites the kindliest feelings of the husband towards the wife; that of a daughter, one of mingled disappointment and sorrow, not merely because hopes have been blighted, but because it is looked upon as a ca- lamity, and is often the cause of harsh treatment of the mother. The husband's relatives, too, may increase her troubles and greatly annoy her without any recourse, except in the degree of merit awarded her in the scale of virtues by moral philosophers. Everything on the 168 DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. part of the wife must be conducted with becoming gravity and humility, especiall}^ towards her husband, whatever his conduct may be to her. It was the ancient custom for the woman, three months previous to marriage, to be conducted to an altar dedicated to deceased ancestors, that she might be taught the virtues of a wife, which consist of chastity and obedience; the words of a wife, which should be of a soothing na- ture; the manners of a wife, which should be mild and amiable; and the duties of a wife, which then consisted chiefly in preparing silk and flax. The ceremony was concluded with sacrifices of fish and water- plants, which were offered as pledges of submission to her husband. It may seem surprising that with all the additional toils and pri- vations of married life in China, that it should be so readily and gen- erally preferred. Yet the fact remains that it is regarded as a boon by all classes, and the laws of the nation provide a punishment for the master of a slave who shall neglect to procure her a husband at the proper time if she desires one. On the other hand, if a daughter, from attachment to her parents, voluntarily chooses celibacy, so that she may serve them as long as they live, the merit of such conduct is con- sidered by moral writers to be of the highest kind. Similar conduct in a female slave attached to her master is also highly honored; but such acts must he uncontrolled by superior authority. The many accusations which have been brought against the people of China regarding the infanticide of female children have naturally rendered them the objects of severe censure, and the presumed extent of the practice has been brought up as an argument against the prevalence of parental feeling. But there is no question that the extent of this crime has been greatly exaggerated. No doubt but in occasional in- stances of female births infanticide does exist; but these cases certainly occur in the overpopulated centers, where the difiBculty of subsistence takes away all hope from the poorest people of being able to rear their offspring. The Chinese are in general peculiarly fond of their children, and the attachment seems to be mutual. The instances at Canton of the bodies of infants being seen floating are not frequent, and may reasonably in some cases be attributed to accident, where such multi- tudes are brought up from their births in small boats. There was never a more absurd blunder than to charge to infanticide those instances in which infants are found floating with a hollow gourd about their persons, as if the gourd were a part of the system of ex- DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. 169 posure! The very object of attaching these gourds to the children living in boats is to save them from the risk of being drowned, and to float them until they can be pulled out of the water. That children should sometimes be found drowned in spite of this precaution is pos- sible enough; but to consider the gourds as part and parcel of their fate is about as reasonable and correct as if somebody should attribute all the deaths in the United States from drowning to the exertions of the Humane Societies. A man's sons may or may not be instrumental, by their success in learning, in reflecting honor on their parents, or advancing them in worldly rank and prosperity, but the mere chance of this, joined to the heavy responsibility for their conduct, is a great inducement to fathers to bring them up with care, and may serve to account for the universal prevalence of a certain degree of education throughout the empire. Such is the demand on every individual for exertion in a coun- try so thickly peopled, that the children of the very lowest classes, whom extreme indigence precludes from the hope of rising by learn- ing, are trained to labor and to the cares of life almost from the time they can first walk. With a slight stick or pole, proportioned to their size, across their shoulders, young children are constantly seen trudging along with weights, sometimes much heavier than they ought to carry, or busily engaged in other serious employment as assistants to their parents. In a country where the youngest cannot afford to be idle and where, as the proverb expresses it, "to stop the hand is the way to stop the mouth," there is an air of staid gravity about some of the children quite un- suited to their years. But it is not during his life only that a man looks for the services of his sons. It is his consolation in declining years to think that they will continue the performance of the prescribed rites in the Hall of Ancestors, and at the family tombs, when he is no more; and it is the absence of this prospect that makes the childless doubly miserable. The superstition derives influence from the importance attached by the government to this species of posthumous duty; a neglect of which is severely punished by the laws. Indeed, of all the subjects of their care, the tombs of their ancestors are the most religiously attended to, as they believe that any neglect is sure to be followed by worldly misfortune. It is almost the only thing lYO DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. tbat approaches to the character of a "religious sense" among them; ^or, throughout their superstitious worship there is a remarkable ab- sence of reverence towards the idols and priests of the Buddha and Taou sects. When the parent of a family dies, a messenger is despatched to an- nounce the fact to relatives and friends; and a tablet is suspended at the door of wealthy persons, inscribed with the name and age of the de- ceased. White being used in mourning by the Chinese, pieces of white paper are pasted on each side of the door, to indicate the occurrence among individuals of ordinary rank. Children and grandchildren of the deceased, clothed in white, with a white bandage around their heads, sit on the ground weeping over the corpse, which is covered with white cloth or silk. The eldest son puts two small copper coins in an earthen bowl, which he carries to the moat which surrounds the city, or to the well at the gate of the village, where he deposits the money and takes some water. He returns home with the water thus purchased, and the ceremony is performed of washing the face and body of the corpse, which is then put into a coffin of state. A tablet is erected bearing the name of the deceased; an eulogy on his character as a probationary being, and the designation of the dynasty under which he has lived. These tablets vary in form and inscription in different parts of the empire. The first inscription on paper is burnt and substituted by wood, before which, morning and evening for seven successive days, incense matches are lighted, and the children of the family prostrate them- selves. At the end of three weeks the funeral takes place, attended by friends and relatives, who weep aloud. The tablet is carried in a sedan chair, and placed at the head of the grave, where oblations are ren- dered and prostrations again performed. After interment the tablet is brought back, and sacrifices of pigs roasted whole, three or four differ- ent kinds of animal food, fruits and pastry are offered with accompany- ing prostrations. Instead of seven days, a period of seven weeks is ob- served by some rich families, who also defer interment many years. Booms of paper supplied with furniture and domestics are burnt and passed into the invisible state for the use of the deceased. In more barbarous ages, slaves, attendants and domestic animals were slaughtered; and the wardrobe, furniture and other thiups belonsfino; to the deceased were consumed by fire to supply the wants of the dis- DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. 171 embodied spirit. This cruel custom originated in tlie following man- ner: In remote antiquity when rich persons died, imperfect representa- tions of human beings, made of straw and supplied with springs, were entombed with them as their future attendants; but subsequently, about the age of Confucius, images for this purpose were made of wood, and bore a more striking resemblance to living persons than those ancient forms which they superseded. The Sage, foreseeing that such a practice would eventually lead to the sacrifice of human life, severely reprehended the inventor as an enemy to his species, and declared him to be justly deprived of posterity for his offence; one of the heaviest calamities with which, in Chinese estimation, he could be visited. The horrible usage, introduced not long after, verified the prediction of Confucius, whose benevolent appre- hensions respecting the waste of human life were realized to a fearful extent. For when Woo-king of the state of Tsin died, sixty-six persons were put to death and interred with him. One hundred and seventy- seven ordinary individuals, together with three persons of superior rank, were devoted by death to the service of Muh-kung in another world. Ctie Ilwang-te, the first universal monarch of China, commanded that his household females and domestics should be put to death and interred with him. The custom survived this period for some time; and when persons offered themselves voluntarily to die, from attachment to their masters or friends, such sacrifices were esteemed most noble and disinterested; but moral writers of a later age alike condemn the exactors and the victims of such barbarity. Modern times are satisfied with consecrating by fire silver paper, and representations of earthly enjoyments, accompanied by sacrifices, offerings and libations. Judging by what is seen at these seasons, a stranger must be im- pressed by the humanity of the national disposition, as the object is so evidently to serve progenitors and supply their supposed wants. Nor is the service confined to those by whom relative obligations have been conferred on earth, for there is a public institution, supported by voluntary subscriptions, which professes to supply the necessities of orphan spirits, who have no surviving relatives to care for them. There is a story, on which this practice is founded, of a young man named Muh-leen, to whom the epithet Honorable is now attached. His mother was a very wicked woman, and after death consigned to punishment 172 DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. in Tartarus, whither her pious and devoted son repaired to rescue her from torment. When the gates of "earth's prison," the Chinese term for hell, were opened, many of the imprisoned spirits escaped from the regions of darkness; and hence the custom of preparing garments of paper, and burning them for the use of the dead, spreading carpets on the floor, reciting numerous prayers, and covering tables with rich viands of varied descriptions, to remove from the abodes of darkness disconsolate spirits who have left no relatives on earth, for the purpose of elevating them to regions of light and purity. The period of mourning prescribed for parents by Confucius is three years; the ground of which is the peculiarly helpless state of infancy and its entire dependence on parental care during that time. This system designs that obligations incurred by children towards their parents should be discharged in their own maturity, when their parents are descended into second childhood: The care of parents on earth was worthy the legislative ability and benevolence of the Sage, but he en- dangered his reputation for practical wisdom when he ordained rites of worship for them after death. The constant anticipation of death is present with the Chinese, as shown in the practice adopted in many sections of the country of al- waj'S having a coffin placed outside the door to receive the adult in- habitant who may first require it. The motive for this singular act is ascribed to the requirements of filial piety, which cannot be satisfied without coffins of prescribed thickness, sufficiently seasoned to resist premature decay. In regard to the succession to paternal property, the disposal of it by will is restricted except to the legal heirs; and there is a law of primogeniture, inasmuch as the eldest son, or he who "buys water" at the funeral rites has a double portion. More correctly speaking, per- haps, the property may be said to descend to the eldest son in trust for all the younger brothers, over whom he has considerable authority, and who commonly live together and club their shares, by which means families in the over-peopled country are more easily subsisted than they would otherwise be, and every man's income is made to go the farthest possible. To this usage, and the necessity for it, may be at- tributed the constant exhortations in the book of "Sacred Edicts," rela- tive to the preservation of union and concord among kindred and their families. DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. 173 Yan Phon Lee, one of the leaders of the Chinese colony in New York, gives the following interesting account of the manner of giving names among his people: "The majority of the names that you see on the signs of laundries or tea stores kept by Chinamen are simply fancy names adopted for their auspicious significance; for instance, 'Hop Sing' means 'deserving of prosperity,' 'Woh Loong' means 'success through concord,' 'Nee Wah' means 'integrity and harmony.' They are simply mottoes, having no reference to the proprietor or the members of a firm whatsoever. To call the proprietor of a laundry 'Nee Wah' is as absurd as calling the members of a Sixth avenue dry goods firm 'nemo me impune lacessit.' "Every properly constituted Chinaman has five names besides his surname or cognomen. The last is fixed and handed down from one generation to another. There are more than 300 patronymics in China, not counting those of naturalized subjects who originated from Tartary. Their derivation is various and instructive, and they embody in the curious hieroglyphic shapes many an historic truth and reference to dynastic changes. The family names of the first Chinese ambassador to this country, Chin and Jum, were at one time, about 500 B. C, the names of two principalities under the Chow kings. The descendants great Shun, the ideal ruler in the golden age of China, were lords of Chin. The descendants of one of the younger brothers of Wu, founder of the Chow dynasty, were the petty sovereigns of Jum. It is from this family that the present minister to the United States is descended. "The family of Wu comes from the feudal system of China, which existed for 2,000 years. It was abolished by the first Eimperor of Tsin dynasty. He it was who built the Great Wall. "Some names denote certain mental or personal peculiarities of those who first bore them. Others were adopted on certain occasions, as some grand events in the lives of those who assumed them. Patro- nymics were known at the dawn of the Chinese authentic history, but were not extensively used in company with the praenomen in desig- nated until Confucius' time. Confucius' family name of Kung was only in existence three generations before he did it the honor of bearing it. Kung means an aperture. Some men, born near certain rivers and certain places, took their names from them. "The name Lee, which you think has been assumed by me, is merely my Chinese surname spelled with English letters. Lee in Chinese 174 DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE FAMILY. means *a plum/ and is identical with Li, the surname of Li Hung Chang. But I prefer the long sound in double e to the short, to which some may by mistake give the long sound and make the name sound like lie. I have not the honor of being the great minister's relation. I haven't the claim of even a forty-fifth cousin. For Lee, or Li, is as common in China as Smith is here, and is borne by a larger number of persons than any other name. "Every male child born in China is first called by his 'milk name.' When he grows old enough to attend school he takes a 'book name.' When he has learned the mysteries of composition he competes for lit- erary honors under an assumed name, which is finally adopted. When he successfully passes his examinations and obtains his degree his equals address him by another, either coined by them or adopted by him. At his marriage he adopts still another, called 'style.' "In addition to those enumerated, nicknames are also common. They are all fanciful. We do not have any conventional 'Thomas,' 'Richard,' or 'Henry.' All our names are words which mean something and are taken from the dictionary. For example, Yan means 'by imperial favor,' and Phou or Foo, signifies wealth — that is, wealth by the emperor's favor. Girls generally have only the 'milk name,' and oftentimes, es- pecially when they have grown to be women, they are simply designated by numbers according to the order of their birth." CHAPTER X. CUSTOMS AND COSTUMES OF THE CHINESE. Peculiar Customs of the Chinese Race — Life On the Rivers and Lakes — Opium Eating a Common Practice — Rice Their Staff of Life — Restaurant Bills of Fare — An Aristocratic Menu — Fish in Abundance in the Rivers of the Empire — Modes of Catching Them— Duck Breeding a Profitable Industry — How the Chinese Dress — Costumes of Officials — What the Women Wear— How They Treat Their Faces and Their Feet— Origin of the Queue. URNING to the every-day customs and manners of the Chinese, it is passing strange to find how diametrically opposed they are to what we have been familiar with. In a country "where/ T X. as has been said by Wingrove Cook, "the roses have no fra- grance, and the women no petticoats; where the laborer has no Sabbath, and the magistrate no sense of honor; where the needle points to the south, and the sign of being puzzled is to scratch the antipodes of the head; where the place of honor is on the left hand, and the seat of intellect is in the stomach; where to take off your hat is an insolent gesture, and to wear white garments is to put yourself in mourning," it would at first sight seem useless to seek for any point of similarity with ourselves. But it is extremely probable, for instance, that the choice of the left as the seat of honor is in principle entirely at one with our custom of considering the right hand as the place due to the most highly hon- ored guest, and that both are survivals of the ancient and almost uni- versal adoration of the sun. The needle of the Chinese compass points towards the south, and every house in China of any pretensions faces the same way, as well as the state seats in all reception rooms. The place on the left of the host, therefore, is that nearest to the light- bringing, life-producing East, and hence its title to honor; and in the same way the opposite custom among ourselves is susceptible of a like interpretation. In daily life the Chinese are frugal, sober and industrious. Their wants are few, and they are easily satisfied. The poorer classes live almost entirely on rice and vegetables, to which they sometimes add small pieces of fish or meat. Their clothes are of the cheapest kind, and 175 176 CUSTOMS AND COSTUMES OF THE CHINESE. they are so accustomed to crowded apartments that house rent forms an insignificant item in a Chinaman's expenditure. Thus a Chinaman can live where an American or a European would starve, and it is on account of the advantages which he thus possesses, combined with sobriety and frugality, that he is able to underbid the workman in our western states, and the English colonist in Australia, in almost every branch of industry. The over-populated condition in which China has been for so many centuries has had a powerful influence in thus moulding the Chinese character. Vast as China is it cannot contain all those who call them- selves her sons and daughters, and in many sections a great number of the inhabitants are driven to live in boats on the rivers and lakes. It would be very difficult to say how the boat population provide food for themselves and families; indeed, were it not for the extreme cheap- ness of their ordinary daily food, and for their sober habits, they could not do so. Spirits appear to have no great attraction for the Chinese. They drink them occasionally, and sometimes to excess, but a reeling China- man is rarely to be seen in the streets. Drunkenness is not a national vice, but, unfortunately, their abstinence does not extend to opium, a drug which seems to have a greater attraction for them than for any other people on the face of the earth. They take to it greedily, and when once the habit of smoking it becomes confirmed, the difficulty of relinquishing it is exceedingly great. The staff of life in China is rice. It is eaten, and always eaten, from north to south, and from east to west, except among the very jjoor people in some of the northern non-rice-producing provinces, where millet takes its place. In all other parts the big bowl of rice forms the staple of the meals eaten by the people, and it is accompanied by vege- tables, fish or meat, according to the circumstances of the household. Among some people there is a disinclination to eat meat owing to the influence of Buddhism, which teaches the doctrine of the transmigra- tion of souls, and devout followers of that sect naturally avoid partak- ing of the flesh of any animal which might possibly have been their dearest deceased friend or relation in another form of existence. But the more general reason for the preference of vegetables to meat is that they are chieaper. At the cottage meal a basin is placed opposite each person, and S CO •r ca C8 5 o C oiXI ^ ft o 0/ ■^ J3 ^ ft*" M '!) o C W on: u .2 3 'S « ^'h itj'" Cd . X o o (>^ D > a o a

> n ca 'S ti ^ cc c o ^ O Is Bo ft) .CI ^ u a o O I- ° n H 1^ M o n <^ M 1-5 s " ^ >^ O 5i « » .5- 0,2 HOLIDAYS, 8P0BT8 AND GAME 8. 197 Connected with the commencement of spring is the turning of the first sod by the emperor. On the appointed day, attended by his court and all the high officials of the capital, the emperor again goes out of the east gate to the temple of Earth, in the grounds of which, with his own hand, he ploughs up nine furrows, while officials follo'^^ at his heels casting seed into the newly turned earth. As soon as his allottee! task is finished, the imperial princes, holding yellow ploughs, go through the same formality, and following on these the accompanying high officials perform the like duty, but with red in place of the imperial yellow ploughs. Similar ceremonies are performed in the provinces, and Archdeacon Gray gives the following account of the ceremonies witnessed by him on one such occasion at Canton: "The governor-general, the governor, the treasurer, the commissioner of customs, the literary chancellor, and the criminal judge of that city repair at an early hour, on the fifth day of the ploughing season * * * to the temple in honor of Shin-nung, the god of agriculture. This temple is situated at an English mile beyond the eastern gates of the city. Its principal shrine is two stories high. In the court-yard, enclosed by walls of brick, there are three chambers, in the first of which certain implements of husbandry are kept; in the second, grain for seed and offerings; in the third, stalled sheep or swine, intended victims in honor of the god. "The officials, having arranged themselves before the altar, proceed to perform the kotow. The governor-general then offers to the god, as expiatory sacrifices, a sheep and a pig. Nine kinds of grain and vege- tables are also presented as thank-offerings. The kotow is then per- formed once more, the officials knocking their heads upon the earth nine times. Upon rising to their feet a letter addressed by them to the idol of the god of agriculture is read aloud in the hearing of all assembled, the reader looking towards the idol. "The letter, which is written according to a form prescribed by the Board of Ceremonies, runs thus: 'Upon this auspicious day, we, the principal officials of this city and province stand, O god, before thy altar, and render to thee, as is just, heartfelt homage. We depend upon thee, O god, to grant speed to the plough, and to give food sufficient for the wants of the people over whom we rule. As high as the heaven is above the earth, so great are thy virtues. The ploughing season has this day begun, and all agriculturists are now prepared to prosecute 198 HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. their labors with diligence. Nor is his imperial majesty, the emperor, though so high his rank, at all behind in his preparations for the dis- charge of such important duties. We therefore, the officials of this city, pray to thee as in duty bound, to grant us favorable seasons. Grant us then, we fervently beseech thee, five days of wind, and afterwards ten days of rain, so that each stem may bear two ears of grain. Accept our offerings, and bless us, we pray thee.' "When they have again performed the kotow, knocking their heads nine times upon the ground, the officials put off their tunics, and pro- ceed to certain government lands, which are adjacent to the temple, for the purpose of ploughing nine furrows each. Here each official, having been presented with a whip, is escorted to a plough to which a buffalo is yoked; and when the word is given by a conductor of cere- monies, the ploughs are set in motion. At the head of each buffalo, to direct its course, a peasant is stationed, w^ho is permitted on this occa- sion to wear a yellow jacket. "Behind each of the illustrious ploughmen walk three or four officers of the civil service, whose duty it is to sow, at each step, seeds of grain in the newly made furrows. While the governor-general and his colleagues are engaged in ploughing, j^ouths in gay dresses, stationed at each side of the field, sing, at the very top of their voices, paens in praise of the god of agriculture. In a long line at the south end of the field stand aged husbandmen, wearing gay garments suited to the oc- casion; while at the north end are a body of graduates." At the period of "clear brightness," which falls generally at the beginning of April, the rite of worshipping at ancestral tombs is per- formed. This is regarded as a most sacred duty, and he who would wilfully fail in performing it would be looked upon as an outcast. On the morning of the day in question the male members of each house- hold repair to the family graveyard, and, having weeded and swept the tombs, light incense, and arrange in front of the graves sacrificial offerings consisting of boiled pork, fish, poultry, cakes and tea, Tlie family representative then performs the kotow in honor of the deceased, and each, in turn follows his example. Crackers are then fired and paper money is burnt, on the ashes of which is poured out a libation of wine, A second time the kotow is performed, and this brings to a close the ancestral worship, which is a mixture of homage and prayer, and HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. 199 which by their due observance are supposed to secure the protection and support of the dead. Having reached this stage it is considered necessary, for the com- fort of the spirits, to propitiate the local deity by the presentation of offerings consisting of meat, wine and paper money. With a strange mixture of superstition and materialism, they further follow in imagina- tion the ancestral spirits into Hades, and picture them seated at a table enjoying the viands presented to them as sacrificial offerings, but subject to annoyance from the numbers of beggars who haunt the un- seen regions. To relieve the spirits from the importunities of these unfortunates, they offer to them sacrifices of cakes, paper clothing and paper money. The immediate and prospective well-being of the ances- tral spirits having thus been provided for, the living worshippers seat themselves on the ground and make a hearty meal of the sacrificial meats, from which the spirits are supposed to have extracted only the essential and immaterial elements. If it were not that Buddha's birthday is commemorated during the fourth month, no distinctive festivals would mark that period. As it is, the rites are confined to the Buddhists, and are more especially to the confraternities of priests and monks. On the eighth, the day on wliich it is said that Buddha was taken from the side of his mother, the ceremony of "bathing Buddha" is performed. A small image of the god is placed in a vessel, partly filled with water, in each temple de- voted to his worship, and on the head of this image devotees are ex- pected to pour a handful of copper cash, and several ladles of the surrounding water. These acts are accompanied by adoration and prayer, and at least have the effect of adding to the revenues of the temples. On the same day novitiates are admitted to the priesthood, and, as a sign of their new office, submit to have their heads burned in the X)rescribed manner. Dried leaves of the artemisia. are rolled up into small balls, and placed on the head on the places to be burnt. The balls are then ignited, and the fire burns away the skin. This ceremony having been performed, the presiding priest gives the new brother his credentials as a member of the priesthood, and from that time forth he enjoys immunity from punishment for past offences against the law, should he have committed any, and all the privileges and perquisites of his order. 200 HOLIDAYS, SPOBTS AND GAMES. The fifth month opens with the festival called by the Chinese, King, or "Cautious searching," and which is known among foreigners as the dragon-boat festival. On the fifth of that month, in the year 298 B. C, a faithful minister of the state of Tsoo, named Kiu Yuen, drowned himself in the Me-lo river to avoid witnessing the disasters which he saw were coming upon his country, and which the fatuity of his sover- eign, Hwai wang, rendered him powerless to prevent. By the people his death was regarded as a national calamity, more especially as the misfortunes which he had predicted befell the state in rapid succession. With pious zeal the inhabitants near the spot where he plunged into the Me-lo offered sacrifices, while boatmen traversed the river in search of his body. With that respect for virtue and reverence for tradition which char- acterizes the Chinese, the anniversary of his death has since been strictly observed throughout the empire. On the day in question, on most rivers, especially in the neighborhood of large towns, boatmen traverse the rivers backwards and forwards, as though in the act of searching, in long boats which, from their shape, are called dragon- boats. Each boat holds about twenty rowers, who regulate the speed of their stroke by the beat of a drum placed in the center. At the bow stands a man waving a flag, who is supposed to be on the lookout for the body of Kiu Yuen, and throughout its length the boat is decor- ated with flags. No doubt, at first, the progress of the boats was merely a procession; but before long the presence of numbers, and the desire to excel which is instinctive everywhere, caused it gradually to develop into a series of races. At the present time a keen rivalry exists between the owners of the several boats in a district, more especially when they are the property of different clans, and intense interest is excited in the results of the races. At first starting, the drum is beaten to a slow and regular beat, but as the men warm to their work the beat becomes faster, and with an accompaniment of clashing gongs, deafening shouts and waving flags, the men, with their short paddles, send the boats along at a rapid rate. Not unfrequently disputes arise out of the contests, and end in fights, in preparation for which sticks and stones, as w^ell as gongs and flags, are shipped before starting. In cities remote from large rivers, all obvious reference to the origin of the observance has, speaking generally, disappeared, and the racing HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. .201 alone remains. At Peking, for example, the day is celebrated by horse and cart races, which are held in an open space in the outer city. But throughout the empire the day is kept as a holiday, and after mid-day all shops and places of business are, as a rule, closed. The sixth month, like the fourth, is without any marked observance of interest; but with the beginning of autumn, in the seventh month, superstition again proclaims itself in the customs of the people. On the seventh day is commemorated a curious legend. A certain star, called by the Chinese "the spinning damsel," was, many centuries ago, sent on a mission to earth. There she fell in love v/ith a cowherd, whom she ultimately married. Before long, however, she was recalled to her place in the heavens, and on her way thither her grief at leaving her husband found vent in bitter tears, which fell upon the earth as rain. Unable to bear his separation from his wife, the cowherd died of grief, and as a reward for his exemplary life was transformed into a star, but was separated from his wife by the milky way. Once a year since that time, namely on the seventh day of the seventh month, magpies form themselves into a bridge across the milky way, over which the "spinning damsel" crosses to the cowherd. On the evening of this day Chinese women offer sacrifices, consist- ing of melons and fruits, to the "spinning damsel," and pray that she will vouchsafe to them skill in needlework. Then they go to the upper story, if there be one, of the house, and thread seven needles with col- ored thread, by the light of the moon. If they succeed, it is understood as a favorable omen from the goddess. Water drawn from wells on this evening is supposed to impart clearness and purity to the com- plexion, and is consequently much used by the devotees of the "spin- ning damsel." Legend says that many centuries ago, on the fourteenth of the eighth month, a certain doctor was gathering medical herbs on the side of a mountain, when he saw a youth take from a bag of many colors a bunch of herbs, which he dipped in dew, and with which he anointed his eyes. On being asked his reasons for doing so, he explained that it was to keep his eyes bright. Having said this, he disappeared, and the doctor returned, wondering at what he had seen and heard. The prescription thus communicated was regarded by the people as being something more than human, and ever since, on the anniversary of this day, they anoint their eyes with dew applied with herbs kept in bags of gay 202 HOLIDAYS, 8 PORTS AND GAMES. colors. On the same daj' children's heads are marked with red paint, known in superstitious language as "Heaven's cauterization," as a pre- ventative against disease. On the next evening falls the festival of the moon, which is accom- panied with a display of illuminations second only in brilliancy to the Feast of Lanterns in the first month. Every house is lighted up, and the inhabitants crowd on to the upper verandas and roofs to gaze on the object of their adoration. At intervals they worship before the ancestral altars, and feast on cakes, some made round to^ imitate the moon, and others shaped after all sorts of fantastic designs, among which representations of pagodas find a prominent place. The ninth month is fruitful in curious observances. It is the end of autumn, and on the ninth occurs one of the divisions of the year, upon which the Chinese lay such stress. At court, the emperor opens the hunting season on this day, and goes to cover dressed in white, driving white horses, and surrounded with white flags. If he follow the rules laid down for his guidance in the book of rites, his meals at this time will consist of a preparation of hemp and dog's flesh. By his subjects the ninth is spent on the highest bit of ground or the loftiest roofs within their reach, and is employed in flying kites and drinking wine in which the petals of chrysanthemums have been soaked. The approach of cold weather at the beg"inning of the tenth month suggests the necessity of providing for the dead suitable covering for the coming winter, and the ancestral tombs again witness assemblies of survivors eager to pay their respects and to consider the comfort of the departed. On this occasion paper clothes are carried to the graves, and burnt before them, in the belief that through the flre they reach the dead. Food is also as at the spring festival offered up, and as a matter of fact is, as then, eaten by the sacriflcers. The twelfth of the month is a day of great festivity in the palace of the emperor. For days beforehand preparations are made for a great theatrical display, the results of which are that the court is kept amused "from morn to dewy eve." First of all, the high officials of the palace present themselves before their imperial master disguised as birds and beasts, and dance and pose in a somewhat monotonous ballet. In suc- cession to these disguised mandarins come conjurers, dancers and acrobats, whose skill is wonderful, and who, if native records are to be HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. 203 trusted, realize to the full the extraordinary accounts current of the legerdemain and activity of Eastern magicians. The winter solstice, which generally falls in the eleventh month, is one of the most noted sacrificial periods of the year. The night before the shortest day the emperor is supposed to spend in watching and meditation at "the Hall of Fasting," adjoining the sacrificial altar known as the Yuen kiu, or "Round mound," outside the southern gate of the capital. On his return to his palace the emperor receives in audience all the high officials of his court, who congratulate him on their knees on the return of the winter solstice, and express the wish which has greeted the ears of Oriental sovereigns through all time, that he may live forever. The eighth of the last month in the year is set apart as a solemn day of thanksgiving for the mercies received during the year. From time immemorial it has been customary for the emperor to proceed in state to an altar to the south of the capital, and there offer up sacrifices and thanksgivings for the mercies vouchsafed the empire. An ancient prayer used on these occasions ran thus: "May the earth remain at rest, and the rivers return to their beds. May the myriad insects forget to be harmful, and trees and shrubs grow only in waste places." Preparations are made at this time for the new year, and rites are performed exorcising evil influences. Processions march through the streets of the cities formed of townspeople, divided into companies, and dressed and painted in all kinds of grotesque disguises. The distortions of form and feature thus produced, coupled with the beating of drums, the clashing of gongs, and the shouts of the people, are supposed to frighten away evil demons. On the twentieth of the month the ceremony of sealing up the seals of all offices is performed. Unlike the opposite rite, when in the first month the seals are opened, those of the highest officials are sealed up first. Towards the end of the month, generally on the twenty-third, the festival in honor of the kitchen-gods is celebrated. It is the popular belief that these deities ascend to heaven on this day, to report to the supreme ruler on the conduct of the households over which they have presided, and the desire is general to propitiate them on the eve of their departure. To this intent, sacrificial meats, fruits and wine are placed on a table in the kitchen, before a picture of the particular deity to be worshipped, and are offered up to him with prayer and thanksgiving. 204 HOLIDAYS, SPORTS AND GAMES. Each member of the family i>rostrates himself before the god, while crackers are exploded to frighten off evilly disposed spirits. The ceremony over, the picture which has done duty during the past year is torn down and burnt, together with the paper money presented to the god, and the toy horse which is provided to carry the god heaven- ward. On the following evening a new picture of the deity is pasted up in the kitchen, and a congratulatory sacrifice of vegetables is offered up to him. This, it is thought, will secure his good will and favorable countenance towards the household for the coming year. CHAPTER XI!. THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Peculiarities of tlie Language— The Chinese Possess No Alphabet— Beautiful Inscriptions for Ornamental Purposes— (xrammatical Construction— Language Not Difficult to Acquire —A Literary People— Books of Antiquity— Destruction of Literary Treasures— How Many of Them Were Sayed- The Book of Rites— Spring and Autumn Annals— Works of History— Encyclopaedias— Poetry and Song— Maxims and Wise Saws. THE Chinese language is the chief among that small class of languages which includes the Tibetan, Cochin-Chinese, Bur- mese, Korean and Chinese, and which is usually described as monosyllabic. It is language in its most archaic form. Every word is a root, and every root is a word. It is without inflection or even agglutination; its substantives are indeclinable, and its verbs are not to be conjugated; it is destitute of an alphabet, and finds its expression on paper in thousands of distinct symbols. It is then a language of monosyllabic roots, which, as regards the written character, has been checked in its growth and crystallized in its most ancient form by the early occurrence of a period of great literary activity, of which the nation is proud, and to the productions of which every Chinaman even of the present day looks back as containing the true standards of literary excellence. The characters of the language form the medium which speaks to the eye, and may be described as the equivalents of the written words of other languages; but unlike these, instead of being composed of letters of an alphabet, they are either symbols intended to represent images, or are formed by a combination of lines, or of two or more such symbols. All characters, say the Chinese lexicographers, had their origin in single strokes, or in hieroglyphics, and this, no doubt, is a correct view of the case. Legends differ as to who was the first inventor of writing in China. One attributes the invention to Fuh-he, who caused the knotted cords, which had been up to that time in use, to be superseded by characters founded on the shapes of his celebrated diagrams. Another record states that Tsang Ki, who lived 2700 B. C, was the Cadmus of China. Accord- in;? to received native accounts, Tsang Ki was a man of extraordinary 205 206 TEE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. ability, and was acquainted with the art of writing from his birth. While wandering in the neighborhood of his house at Yang-woo, he one day met a tortoise, and obser\'ing its shell distinctly and beautifully spotted, he took it home, and thus formed the idea of representing objects around him. Looking upwards he carefully observed the figures presented by the stars and the heavenly bodies; he then attentively considered the forms of birds, of mountains and rivers, etc., and from them at length originated the written character. The Chinese attach much consideration to the graphic beauty of their penmanship, and make use of inscriptions for ornamental pur- poses, as may be often seen on specimens of porcelain brought to this country. The advantage of simplicity (and a very great advantage it is) constitutes the merit of our alphabetic writing; but that of variety and picturesque effect may fairly be claimed by the Chinese. Nothing can excel the neatness and beauty of Chinese notes and letters, which are generally written on ornamental paper of various colors, called by them "flowered leaves." They sign with a cipher, which every man adopts for himself, being a few characters combined in a complicated manner into one. It would be an error to suppose that the language, however calcu- lated from its structure for durability, has not changed to a certain degree in the course of time. Some characters or words have become obsolete, others have been gradually adopted ; and, above all, the whole is much more copious than in ancient times. In their earlier works there is a much greater economy of words than in their later literature. A portion of the difficulty or obscurity of ancient authors arises from the same word being used, for example, in different senses, or as a different part of speech, a defect which time, and the multiplication of the symbols of ideas, have tended to supply. A great increase especially has taken place in those particles of speech, which become the more neces- sary in a language in proportion as there is less inflexion, and which therefore abound more in the modern tongues than in the ancient sources whence they are derived. In Chinese there is no inflexion what- ever, and therefore these particles become the more indispensable; indeed native writers call them by the express terms of tsoo-yu, "assist- ants of speech." As we cannot go far into this subject in a work of this description, it may suffice to observe, generally, that the grammar of the language is THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 207 extremely limited. In the absence of all inflexion the relation of words to each other in a sentence can only be marked by their position. The verb, for instance, must always precede its object, and follow its agent. The plural number is denoted by the affix of mun to nouns — jin-mun, "men;" t'ha-mun, "they;" or by repeating the noun, as jin jin, "men." Either of these is rendered unnecessary when a specific number is pre- fixed, as san jin, "three men." The genitive or possessive case is gen- erally denoted by the affix che, succeeding the noun, like our 's, as T'hien che gen, "Heaven's favor." The comparison of adjectives is marked by affixes, as haou, "good;" keng haou, "more good;" ting haou, "most good." The structure of Chinese phrases is often discoverable in the broken English of Canton, which is a Chinese idiom in English words. The tense of verbs is denoted by auxiliaries or expletives, as t'ha lae, "he comes;" t'ha yaou lae, "he shall come." The cases of nouns and pronouns are determined by prepositions, as yu ne, "to thee," which sometimes become pos (positions, as ty-hea, "the earth below" — under the earth. They have a species of numeral adjuncts which they join onto nouns for the sake of perspicuity in speech, as ye pun-shoo, "a volume book;" san kuan-peih, "three reed pencils," etc. The collocation of words must upon the whole be considered as of more importance in this, than in those other languages where the relations of different words to each other are marked by the infallible distinctions of number, gender, case and person, as shown by inflexion. The Chinese themselves divide their words into three great classes: first, "live words," or verbs, denoting action or passion; secondly, "dead words," or nouns substantive and adjective — the names and qualities of things; thirdly, "auxiliaries of speech," or particles that assist ex- pression. However crude the Chinese language may seem to the average reader, the fact remains that by carefully following their laws of syntax, it is possible to express in their tongue as exactly as in any other lan- guage, all the parts of speech in all their variety of number, gender, ease, mood, tense and person, and therefore every possible shade of meaning which it is possible to convey by word of mouth. The diffi- culties of acquiring a knowledge of Chinese have hitherto shared that exaggeration which surrounds the unknown. It is time the language was better understood, for at this period of the world's history we can- not afford to leave unnoticed a language so ancient as to dwarf into 208 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. insignificance the antiquity of western tongues, and one wliich is the solitary means of communication between over 400,000,000 of our fellow men. The Chinese are eminently a literary people. The system of making competitive examinations the only royal road to posts of honor and emolument and the law which throws these open, to everybody whoi chooses to compete, have caused a wider diffusion of book learning among the Chinese than is probably to be found among any other people. As to the date when literature first took its rise, it is impossible to speak with any certainty. The vicissitudes which attended the early manu- scripts, and books which were collected by private individuals and in the imperial libraries have been such as to render the preservation of any ancient record a matter of wonder. Constant references are found in books to works which are said to have existed at early dates, but of many of these the titles are all that remain to us now. One of the earliest published works on which we can lay our hands is the Book of Changes, the first, and the most revered, because the least understood, of the nine classics. This book first saw the light within a prison's walls. In the year 1150 B. C. its author, Wan Wang, was, we are told, imprisoned for a political offense, and sought to while away the tedium of his confinement by tracing out a system of general philosophy from the eight diagrams and their sixty-four combinations invented by the Emperor Fuh-he. These diagrams have been likened to the mystical numbers of Pythagoras, and the leading idea of Wan Wang's sj^stem seems to have been founded upon the Chinese notions of the creation of the world, according to which all material things proceed from two great male and female vivifying elements, the Yin and the Yang, which in their turn owe their existence to the Tai Keih, or the first great cause. The Chinese maintain that when from the union of the Yang and the Yin all existences, both animate and inanimate, had been produced, the sexual principle was conveyed to and became inherent in them all. Hence heaven, the sun, day, etc., are considered of the male gender; earth, the moon, night, etc., of the female. This notion pervades every department of knowledge in China. It exists in their theories of anatomy and medicine, and is constantly referred to on every subject. The style and matter of Wan Wang's writings were so cramped and vague that Confucius among others attempted the task of elucidating their dark places. He spent many years in endeavors to make straight THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 209 that which was so crooked ; and the only result attained has been to add some inexplicable chapters to an incomprehensible book. But the fact that it gave rise to a system of divination saved it from sharing the fate which befell all books except those on medicine, divination and hus- bandry, at the hand of the Emperor Ohe Hwang-ti of the Tsin dynasty. As spoken of in a previous chapter, this emperor ordered the destruction of all the books to be found within the empire, except those on the subjects just mentioned. Fortunately, no monarch, however powerful, is able to carry out to the letter an order of so inquisitorial a nature; and the roofs of houses, the walls of dwellings and even the beds of rivers, became the receptacles of the literary treasures of the nation. The works of Confucius, the Book of History, The Book of Odes, the Spring and Autumn Annals, together with the Book of Rites and the Four Books by the disciples of Confucius and of Mencius, were all alike condemned to the flames. How all these were preserved we know not, but history tells us that, when in after years efforts were made to restore the Book of History, twenty-eight sections out of the one hundred com- posing the entire work were taken down from the lips of a blind man who had treasured them in his memory. One other was recovered from a young girl in the province of Ho-nan. And these are all that would probably have come down to us, had not a complete copy been found secreted in the wall of Confucius' house, when it was pulled down in the year 140 B. C. This Book of History consists of a number of records of the Ku, Hea, Shang and Chow dynasties, embracing the period from the middle of the twenty-fourth century B. C. to 721 B. C. These, and a number of other manuscripts, attracted the attention of Confucius when he was at the court of Chow, and selecting those which he deemed of value, he compiled them into a work which he called the Shoo King, or Book of History. This work, as Mr. Wells Williams says, "contains the seeds of all things that are valuable in the estimation of the Chinese; it is at once the foundation of their political system, their history, and their religious rites, the basis of their tactics, music and astronomy." For the most part it consists of conversations between kings and their ministers, in which are traced out the same patriarchal principles of government as guide the rulers of the empire at the present day. "Virtue," said the minister Kih, addressing the emperor, "is the basis of good government; and this 210 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. consists first in procuring for the people the things necessary for their sustenance, such as water, fire, metals, wood and grain. The ruler must also think of rendering them virtuous, and of preserving them from whatever can injure life and health. When you would caution them, use gentle words, when you would correct, employ authority." "Do not be ashamed of mistakes, and thus make them crimes," was another piece of wholesome advice offered to the emperor by his advisers, the effect of which is still observable in the outspoken confessions of ofiflcial incom- petence which are daily to be met with in the columns of the Peking Gazette. The Book of Rites, Le Ke, which is the next in order, may be con- sidered as the foundation of the present state of Chinese manners, and one of the causes of their uniform unchangeableness. Exterior forms were highly esteemed by the earliest teachers of the country, on the ground of their being calculated to soften men's manners, and to re- strain their natural proneness to excess and violence. They observed that the tempers and dispositions of all being different, the Le (or rules of propriety in relation to external conduct) became necessary in order to harmonize such opposite characters, and reconcile their differences. Hence it has always been the constant endeavor of Chinese moralists and rulers to stifle everything like passion in its birth, and to reduce all to a tranquil dead level. The ceremonial usages of the country are commonly estimated to amount to 3,000, as prescribed in this ritual, and one of the six boards of tribunals at Peking, called Le-poo, is especially charged with the guardianship and interpretation of these important matters, which really form a portion of the religion of the Chinese. Spring and Autumn Annals, the Chun Tsew of Confucius^ and strictly speaking, the only one of the classics that was entirely his own work, has for this reason a more than usual interest attached to it. Speaking of the time when it appeared, Mencius says: "The world was fallen into decay, and right principles had dwindled away. Perverse discourses and oppressive deeds were again waxen rife. Cases were occurring of ministers who murdered their rulers, and of sons who mur- dered their fathers. Confucius was afraid, and made the Chun Tsew." As soon as it appeared we are told that rebellious ministers quaked with fear and undutiful sons were overcome with terror. The title of the book was given it, we are informed, because its com- mendations were life-giving like spring, and its censures life-withering THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 211 like autumn. The work commences about 750 years before our era, and concludes with the events which immediately preceded the death of the philosopher. The Four Books referred to in a preceding paragraph comprise the Ta-heo, or "Great learning," the Chung-yung, or the "Doctrine of the Mean," the Lun-yu, or "Confucian Analects," and the Mang-tsze, the lat- ter the work of Mencius, a disciple of the Sage. All of these represent the views of Confucius, and if we ask what those views point to, we find that they may be summed up in the admonition: "»Walk in the trodden paths." For as Confucius said of himself, he came not to origi- nate, but to fulfill, and the primary object of his teaching was to revive in a dissolute age the purity, or supposed purity, of former generations; to quote against the depraved of his day the examples of the ancients, whom he believed to have been scrupulous in fulfilling the universal obligations existing between sovereign and minister, between father and son, between husband and wife, and between friend and friend. He regarded the empire as one family; and as it was the part of the emperor to cherish and guard his people as a. father does his child, so it was the duty of the people to render willing and submissive obedience to their sovereign. It is due to these political opinions that Confucius has become such an object of respect to both rulers and the ruled. The former see in his teachings a ready argument for the maintenance of their authority, and the people, believing that heaven has constituted for them rulers and teachers, w^hose duty it is to extend favor and maintain tranquillity throughout the empire, have at the same time learned that when a ruler ceases to be a minister for good, he forfeits the title by which he holds the throne. Confucius was ambitious, and was a courtier as well as a philosopher, and beyond this point he avoided in any shape or way indicating the manner in which an oppressive ruler should be induced to abdicate. No such consideration influenced his disciple Mencius, who, being superior to the ordinary ambitions of man, was superior also to their common; timidities, and who with much boldness of utterance freely taught that the people were the most important element in the nation, and the sovereign was the lightest; and he did not scruple to admit the conclusion that an iniquitous ruler should be dethroned, and, if circumstances required it, that he should be put to death. The Confucian Analects and the Works of Mencius differ in their con- 212 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. struction from the Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean, both of which are continuous treatises by individual authors; whereas, the two first named are records of the sayings and doings of the two philoso- phers, compiled from memory by their faithful disciples, and somewhat resemble in construction the plan of the Gospel narrative. Perhaps there is no portion of Chinese literature so little interesting to us as its barren annals, in which the principal events recorded are the successions of long lists of sovereigns, and the mere domestic chronicles of a. country which has always had less connection with the rest of the world than any other empire of the same extent. Each dynasty has its official annals, and the celebrated collection of twenty-one histories, which forms a well-nigh unbroken record of the nation, by contem- porary authors, from the third century B. C. down to the middle of the seventeenth century, forms a notable monument of the indefatigable industry of their authors. These include the Imperial Records, which consist of the purely political events which occurred in each reign ; then follow the Memoirs, including articles on mathematical chronology, rites, music, jurisprudence, political economy, state sacrifices, astron- omy, elemental influences, geography, literature, biographies, and records of the neighboring countries. Allied to these annals are the topographical works of China, which for breadth of scope and for minuteness of detail are scarcely to be equalled in the literature of any other country. The most generally com- prehensive of these is the Ta Tsing yih tung chi, which forms a geog- raphy of the empire, together with the Chinese districts of Mongolia and Manchuria as existing since the accession of the present dynasty. This work, which consists of 356 books, was published at Peking in the year 1744. In it each province, each prefecture, each department and each district is separately dealt with; and all are severally treated of under the following twenty-four headings : 1. A table of the changes which the district to be described has undergone during the successive dynasties from the Han downwards; 2. Maps; 3. A list of the dis- tances from the various places to the chief towns of the department; 4. Its astronomical bearings; 5. Its ancient geography; G. Its geographi- cal position and its notable localities; 7. The manners and customs of the inhabitants; 8. Its fortified places; 9. Its colleges and schools; 10. The census of the population; 11. The taxes on land; 12. Its mountains and rivers; 13. Its antiquities; 14. Its means of defense; 15. Its bridges; y^ T3 -1 H O % 1^ < 3 (J <1) «« cS A A d) < :^ ^ ss PI N O H c 0) a o 0) — — o y^ . ffi Tl u o tn ^ c. M . K 0/ ;s w A u DS QD K-l « Ph o H ^ ;« s h) ;- u CJ TEE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 215 16. Its dykes; 17. Its tombs and monuments; 18. Its temples and an- cestral halls; 19. Its Buddhist and Taouist temples; 20. Patriotic native officials from the time of the Han dynasty downwards; 21. Celebrated men and things; 22. Illustrious women; 23. Saints and immortals; 24. The product of the soil. It would not be dealing fairly by Chinese literature were we to leave this part of our subject without referring to the historical and literary encyclopaedias which form so very notable a feature in every library throughout the country. The best known of these compilations, and the one which may be taken as a specimen of the class, is the Wan heen tung kaou, by Ma T^\'an-lin. This work has been more largely drawn upon by Western writers than has any other Chinese book of reference, and those who are best acquainted with it are those who speak most highly in its praise. "It elevates our opinion," says Wells Williams, "of a nation whose literature can boast of a work like this exhibiting such patient investigation and candid comparison of authorities, such varied research and just discrimination of what is truly important, and so extensive a mass of facts and opinions upon every subject of historical interest." In point of size and importance, however, this encyclopaedia yields place to one other, entitled Koo kin too shoo tseih ching, or "A Complete Collection of Ancient and Modem Books." During the reign of the Em- peror Kang-he it occurred to that monarch that, in view of the gradual alterations which were being introduced into the texts of works of inter- est and value, it would be advisable to reprint such from the old edi- tions. He therefore appointed a commission, and directed them to re- print in one huge collection all such works as they might deem worthy of preservation. A complete set of copper type was cast for the under- taking, and when the commissioners brought their labors to a close, they were able to lay before the emperor a very palpable proof of their dili- gence in the shape of a compilation consisting of 6,109 volumes. The contents they divided under thirty-two heads, embracing works on every subject contained in the national literature. Only a small edition was printed in the first instance, and before long the government, yielding to the necessities of a severe monetary crisis, ordered the copper type em- ployed to print it to be melted down for cash. In China, as elsewhere, the first development of literary talent is found in poetry. The songs and ballads which form the Book of Odes 216 TEE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. date back to a time long antecedent to the production of any works of which we have knowledge. In those early days, before China was China, the empire was divided into a number of feudal states, all of which, how- ever, acknowledged fealty to the ruling sovereign, at whose court were a number of music-masters and historiographers, whose duty it was to collect and set to music the songs of the people, and to preserve the his- torical records of the empire. In strict imitation of the surroundings of their liege lord the feuda- tory princes numbered among their retinues officers of like position and professing similar functions. At stated intervals these princes, accom- panied by their followers, were in the habit of meeting the king at cer- tain recognized places to take orders for the future and to receive credit or blame as the case might be for their past conduct. On such occasions the music-masters would carry with them the ballads and songs col- lected in their principalities, and present them to their superior at the royal court. Thus it happened that at the time of Confucius there existed an official collection of some 3,000 songs. On these the Sage set to work, and, in the words of the historian Sze-ma Tseen, "he rejected those which were only repetitions of others, and selected those which would be serviceable for the inculcation of propriety and righteousness." Such he arranged to the number of 311 under four heads, namely, "National Airs," the "Lesser" and the "Greater Eulogies," and the "Songs of Homage," and gave the title of She King, or "Book of Odes," to the collection. If we can imagine ourselves seated in the study of the royal minister, searching with him into the ballads thus laid before us for an indication of the temper and mind of the people among whom they had their birth, we should be inclined to congratulate him on the easy task entrusted to him of governing such a population. Through most of them there breathes a calm and patriarchal simplicity of thought and life. There are few sounds of war, little tumult of the camp, but, on the contrary, a spirit of peaceful repose, of family love, and of religious feeling. We have brought before the mind's eye the lowly cottage, where dwell a family united by the bonds of affection and duty. Their food is the product of the soil and the spoils of the chase. The highest ambition of themen is to excel as archers and charioteers, and their religious worship is the same as that which, untainted by Buddhism or any other form of philosophical teaching, is now practiced THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 217 at the imperial temples of heaven and earth, by the emperor only as high priest. Their wives are objects of affection and respect, and though in one song we find the belief expressed that "a wise woman will ruin a city," yet there seems to have been an abundance of regard for honest housewives who did their duty, who shared the toils of their husbands, and enjoyed with them the simple pleasures within their reach. More serious by far are the wailing complaints of misrule and tyr- anny under which the subjects of certain princes groan. But even here there are no signs of insubordination or tumult; the remedy which sug- gests itself to a people patient and long-suffering to a degree is to emi' grate beyond the reach of the tyrant, not to rise in rebellion against him. In the following lines, for instance, the writer begs his friends to fly with him from the oppression and misery prevailing in his native state, which he likens to the north wind and thickly falling snow; Cold blows the north wind; Thickly falls the snow. Oh, come, all ye that love me, Let's join hands and go. Can we any longer stay, Victims to this dire dismay? Foxes and crows were looked upon as creatures of evil omen, and so, giving play to his imagination, he tells us that the only variations no- ticeable in the monotony of the present distress were these prognostics of future evil, in these words: Nought red is seen but foxes, Nor aught else black but crows. Oh, come, all ye that love me, Let's fly before our foes. Can we any longer stay, Victims to this dire dismay? Though the style and diction of these songs are of the simplest de- scription, yet through some of them runs a rich vein of sentiment, and in forming a judgment on them it is necessary to remember that they are not studied poems, but simply what they profess to be, songs of the people. One other we will quote, taken from the songs of homage, or hymns which were sung either by or before the emperor when he sacrificed as 218 • TEE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. high priest to God. We are told that this one was sung by King Seuen on the occasion of a great drought in the eighth century B. C. In it he expostulates with God for bringing this misery upon him, and ex- presses his belief that he had a right to expect succor instead of disaster from the Most High. Brightly resplendent in the sky revolved The milky way. The monarch cried, Alas: What crime is ours, that Heaven thus sends on us Death and Disorder, that with blow on blow Famine attacks us? Surely I have grudged To God no victims; all our store is spent Of tokens. Why is it I am not heard? Kages the drought. The hills are parched, and dry The streams. The demon of the drought Destroys like one who scatters fiery flames. Terrified by the burning heat my heart, My mourning heart, seems all consumed with fire. The many dukes and ministers of the past Pay me no heed. Oh God : from Thy great Heaven Send me permission to withdraw myself Into seclusion. Fearful is the drought. I hesitate, I dread to go away. Why has the drought been sent upon my land? No cause for it know I. Full early rose My prayers for a good year; not late was I In offering sacrifices unto the Lords Of the four quarters and the land. Afar In the high Heaven God listens not. And yet Surely a reverent man as I have been To all intelligent Spirits should not be The victim of their overwhelming wrath. (The Book of Odes, pt. III., bk. III., Ode 4) Such is the poetry of the Book of Odes, and such we should have expected to find it, since the earliest specimens of poetry in every land partake of a simple and religious nature, are crude in their measure, and are wanting in that harmony which is begotten of study and culti- TEE CHINESE LANGUAGE AMD LITERATURE. 219 vation. Certainly the change that came over the poetry of the nation after the time of Confucius is very marked. Instead of the peaceful odes of his day, we find pieces reflecting the unsettled condition of political and social affairs. Songs breathing fire and sword, mingled with wild fancies, the offspring of Taouist teaching, take the place of the domestic ballads of the Book of Odes. As a specimen of the poetry of this period, we may quote the following "Lament of a Soldier on a Cam- paign," by Sun Tze-King, of the Wei dynasty: On the hilly way blows the morning breeze ; the Autumn shrubs are veiled in mist and rain. The whole city escorts us far on our way, providing us with rations for a thousand li. Their very worst have the three Fates done. Ah me! how can I be saved? There is naught more bitter than an early death. Do not the Gods desire to gain perpetual youth? As Sorrow and Happiness, so are Fortune and Misfortune intermingled. Heaven and Earth are the moulds in which we are formed, and in them is there nothing which does not bear significance. Far into the future looks the sage, early striving to avert calamity. But who can examine his own heart, scrutinize it by the light of heaven, regulate it for his present life, and preserve it for the old age which is to come? Longer grows the distance from what I have left behind me: my trouble is greater than I can bear. With other poets this new phase of belief encouraged a contempt for life, and an uncertainty of all beyond it; and these during the first two centuries gave vent to their indifference in odes advocating the Epi- curean philosophy, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." Eight short dynasties, times of confusion and disorder, followed after the Hans, and then came the Tang dynasty, a period which is looked back upon as being the golden age of literature, as, indeed, it was in every field which marks a nation's greatness. It was a time of prosperity and peace. Literature flourished, and skill and art were employed to soften and add harmony to the national poetry. Le Tai-pih, the greatest poet of his time, turned his lyre to notes on the pleasures of wine and of beauty. Evening feasts amid gardens rich 220 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. with the bloom of a thousand flowers furnished themes upon which he and his imitators were never tired of dilating. Such sonnets are some- times pretty, and occasionally the ideas they contain are striking; bill the disadvantages of the language and of education weigh heavily upon their authors, and they seldom rise above the level of mediocrity. The following is taken from the writings of the poet just mentioned, and is a literal translation of the verse: A SOLITARY CAROUSE ON A DAY IN SPRING. The east wind fans a gentle breeze, The streams and trees glory in the brightness of the Spring, The bright sun illuminates the green shrubs. And the falling flowers are scattered and fly away. The solitary cloud retreats to the hollow hill. The birds return to their leafy haunts. Every being has a refuge whither he may turn. I alone have nothing to which to cling. So, seated opposite the moon shining o'er the cliff, I drink and sing to the fragrant blossoms The Chinese have many aphorisms, of which they are extremely fond, and for the expression of which their language is singularly well adapted. Pairs of these sentences, displaying a parallelism of construc- tion as well as of meaning, and written in a fine character on ornamen- tal labels, are a frequent decoration of their dwellings and temples. There is a work in a single volume called Ming-sin paou-kien, "A precious Mirror to throw light on the Mind," being in fact a dictionary' of quotations, filled with such extracts from various works, and there- fore very useful to a learner. The favorite sayings and proverbs of all nations are among the best sources of information respecting their real character and condition; and with this view the reader is presented below with a collection, which has been made without any regard to arrangement or order: A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it. The error of one moment becomes the sorrow of a whole life. When the tree is felled its shadows disappear. (Desertion of the great by their parasites.) If the roots be left, the grass will grow again. (Reason given for ex- terminating a traitor's family.) THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, 221 The gem cannot be polished without the friction, nor man perfected without adversity. Ivory is not obtained from rat's teeth. (Said in contempt.) Riches come better after poverty than poverty after riches. A bird can roost on but one branch; a mouse can drink no more than its fill from a river. (Enough is as good as a feast.) Who swallows quick, can chew but little. (Applied to learning.) The gods cannot help a man who loses opportunities. Eggs are close things, but the chicks come out at last. (Murder will out.) When Yen-wang (the king of Hell) has decreed a man to die at the third watch, no power will detain him till the fifth. To win a cat and lose a cow. (Consequences of litigation.) Old age and faded flowers, no remedies can revive. Something is learned every time a book is opened. Great wealth comes by destiny; moderate wealth by industry. Large fowls will not eat small grain. (Great mandarins are not con- tent with little bribes.) Lookers on may be better judges of the game than the players. The best thing is to be respected, and the next to be loved; it is bad to be hated, but worse still to be despised. While at their ease men burn no incense; but when trouble comes they clasp the feet of Fo. A good action does not go beyond the doors; a bad one is carried a hundred leagues. He who does not soar high will suffer less by a fall. The fish dwell in the depth of the waters, and the eagles in the sides of heaven; the one, though high, may be reached with the arrow, and the other, though deep, with the hook; but the heart of a man, at a foot distance, cannot be known. Let every man sweep the snow from before his own doors, and not busy himself about the frost on his neighbor's tiles. In a field of melons, do not pull up your shoe; under a plum tree, do not adjust your cap. (Be careful of your conduct under circumstances of suspicion.) By nature all men are alike, but by education widely different. A careful study of the literature of China in the past offers very little encouragement for its future. Already every subject within the 22^ TEE cmM8:B LAmUACfE AND LITMAWBS. scope of Chinese authors has been largely treated of and infinitely elab- orated. Every grain of wheat has long ago been beaten out of it, and any further labor expended on it can be but as thrashing out of straw. The only hope for the future of the literature is that afforded by the importation of foreign knowledge and experience into the country. For many years these can only be introduced in the shape of translations of books. But the time must come when Chinese authors will think for themselves; and when that period arrives, they will learn to estimate their present literature at its true value, and appreciate the fact that creditable as it is in many particulars, it is not to be compared with the works of the great writers of Western lands. CHAPTER Xlll. RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. The Three Religions of China — The Doctrines of Confucius — Influence of Confucianism on Succeeding Ages — Worship of Shang-te — Lao-tsze, the Founder of Taoism — The Princi- ples of the Sect — Introduction of Buddhism — The Dream of an Emperor — Mohammedanism, and Its Few Followers in China — The Chinese Nation Founded on and Governed by Super- stitions — Interpretation of Dreams — Fortune Tellers, and Their Methods— A Buddhist Story — How Horoscopes are Cast. THE Chinese describe themselves as possessing three religions, or more accurately three sects, namely Joo keaou, the sect of Scholars; Fuh keaou, the sect of Buddha, and Tao keaou, the sect of Tao. Both as regards age and origin, the sect of Schol- ars, or, as it is generally called, Confucianism, represents pre-eminently the religion of China. It has its root in the worship of Shang-te, a deity which is associated with the earliest traditions of the Chinese race. Huang-te (2697 B. C.) erected a temple to his honor, and succeeding emperors worshipped before his shrine. The very uncertain light that history throws on the condition of the empire during the Hea dynasty and the preceding centuries, makes it impossible to predicate anything of the relations in which the sovereigns and the people stood to Shang-te; but with the rise to power of the Shang dynasty, we find a belief prevailing in the personal interference of Shang-te in the affairs of men. It was due to him that, as a reward for virtuous and godly living, men were raised to the throne, and, on the other hand, his was the avenging power which drove into obscurity those sovereigns who had deserted the paths of rectitude. Thus we read in the Shoo-king that, "moved with indignation at the crime of King Show, Great Heaven (Shang-te) charged King Wan (the twelfth century B. C.) to display his majesty, and to destroy the tyrant." . But during the troublous times which followed after the reign of the first few sovereigns of the Chow dynasty, the belief in a personal deity grew indistinct and dim, until, when Confucius began his career, there appeared nothing strange in his atheistic doctrines. He never in any way denied the existence of Shang-te, but he ignored him. His concern was with man as a member of society, and the object of his teaching S23 224 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. was to lead him into those paths of rectitude which might best con- tribute to his own happiness, and to the well-being of that community of which he formed a part. Man, he held, was born good, and was endowed with qualities which, when cultivated and improved by watchfulness and self-restraint, might enable him to acquire godlike wisdom and to become "the equal of Heaven." He divided mankind into four classes, viz., "those who are born with the possession of knowledge; those who learn, and so readily get possession of knowledge; those who are dull and stupid, and yet succeed in learning; and, lastly, those who are dull and stupid, and yet do not learn." To all these, except those of the last class, the path to the climax reached by the "Sage" is open. Man has only to watch, listen to, understand and obey the moral sense implanted in him by Heaven and the highest perfection is within his reach. The self-cultivation of each man was the root of the system, which is thus epitomized in the "Great Learning," by Tsang, one of Confucius' disciples: "The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their own states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such ex- tension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things. When things were investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts became sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their per- sons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states were rightly gov- erned. Their states being rightly governed, the whole empire was made tranquil and happy." Like the widening ripple caused by dropping a stone into a pool, all these consequences were to flow from self-cultivation, the effect of which finds its expression in words and conduct. Principally, however, in the exercise of filial piety, which is the cornerstone of the Confucian edifice. But in this system there is no place for a personal God. The imper- sonal Heaven, according to Confucius, implants a pure nature in every RELIGIONS OF TEE CHINESE EMPIRE. 225 being at liis birth, but, having done this, there is no further super- natural interference with the thoughts and deeds of men. It is in the power of each one to perfect his nature, and there is no divine influence to restrain those who take the downward course. Man has his destiny in his owm hands, to make or to mar. Neither had Confucius any induce- ment to offer to encourage man in the practice of virtue, except virtue's self. He was a matter-of-fact, unimaginative man, who was quite con- tent to occupy himself with the study of his fellow-men, and was disin- clined to grope into the future or to peer upwards. No wonder that his system, as he enunciated it, proved a failure. Eagerly he sought in the execution of his official duties to effect the regeneration of the empire, but beyond the circle of his personal disciples he found few followers, and as soon as the princes and statesmen had satisfied their curiosity about him they turned their backs on his precepts and would have none of his reproofs. Succeeding ages, recognizing the loftiness of his aims, eliminated all that was impracticable and unreal in his system, and held fast to that part of it that was true and good. They were content to accept the logic of events, and to throw overboard the ideal "Sage," and to ignore the supposed potency of his influence; but they clung to the doctrines of filial piety, brotherly love, and virtuous living. It was the admiration for the emphasis which he laid on these and other virtues which has drawn so many millions of men unto him; which has made his tomb the Mecca of Confucianism, and has adorned every city of the empire with temples built in his honor. Twice a year the emperor goes in state to the Kwo-tsze-keen temple at Peking, and having twice knelt and six times bowed his head to the earth, invokes the presence of the Sage in these words: "Great art thou, O perfect Sage! Thy virtue is full; thy doctrine is complete. Among mortal men there has not been thine equal. All kings honor thee. Thy statutes and laws have come gloriously down. Thou art the pattern of this imperial school. Reverently have the sacrificial vessels been set out. Full of awe we sound out drums and bells." On the same dates, in the spring and autumn, the officials in every city go to the local temples, and there imitate the reverence and worship of their imperial master. But concurrently with the lapse of pure Con- fucianism, and the adoption of those principles which find their earliesl expression in the pre-Confucian classics of China, there is observable a 226 RELiOWNS OP THE CHINESE EMPlBE. return to the worship of Shang-te. The most magnificent temple in the empire is the Temple of Heaven at Peking, where the highest object of Chinese worship is adored with the purest rites. The emperor, as repre- sentative of the empire, alone worships at this sacred shrine, where no trace of idolatry finds a place. The evening before the day of sacrifice he goes in an elephant carriage, and accompanied by his princes and ministers, to the Palace of Fasting adjoining the temple, and there spends the night in meditation. At dawn of day he ascends to the Altar of Heaven, which consists of three round marble terraces, and which is reached by twenty-seven steps. Here he prostrates himself before the tablet of Shang-te, and, having presented the sacrifices pre- scribed in the rituals, he offers up a prayer, in which he humbles himself before the deity, and beseeches him to bestow his blessings on the land. What is popularly understood in Western countries as Confucianism is, therefore, Confucianism with the distinctive opinions of Confucius omitted; and is far more correctly described by the Chinese denomination of Joo keaou, or sect of Scholars, since it finds its expression in those ancient classical works from which alone the scholars of the empire draw their faith and wisdom. But this worship of Shang-te is confined alone to the emperor. The people have no lot or heritage in the sacred acts of worship at the Altar of Heaven. Their part in the Joo keaou is to reverence their parents, to love their brothers, to obey their rulers, to be content with the knowl- edge placed within their reach, to live peaceably with their neighbors, and to pay their taxes. These are the main points insisted on in the sixteen maxims of the Emperor K'ang-he, and they are the popular outcome of an impossible system, which appealed only to the intellects of a small body of scholars. Side by side with the revival of the Joo keaou, under the influence of Confucius, grew up a system of a totally different nature, and which, when divested of its esoteric doctrines, and reduced by practically minded Chinamen to a code of morals, was destined in future ages to become affiliated with the teachings of the Sage. This was Taoism, which was founded by Lao-tsze. Of his parentage we know nothing, and the historians, in their anxiety to conceal their ignorance of his earlier years, shelter themselves behind the legend that he was bom an old man. He certainly first appears on the stage when past middle age, and in this he affords a marked contrast to his great rival, about whose BELIGI0N8 OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 227 birth, childhood and youth we have abundant detail. His appearance also was unusual. His ears were large, his eyebrows were handsome, he had large eyes, a double-ridged nose, and a square mouth. These are very un-Chinese features, and, coupled with the fact that nothing is known either of his early days nor of his declining years, they suggest the possibility that he was a foreigner, or perhaps a member of an aboriginal frontier tribe. This supposition finds some countenance in the name of Le, which he assumed, that being the name of one of the most powerful tribes in ancient China. By some it is said that he was born at the village of Keuh jin ("op- pressed benevolence"), in the parish of Le ("cruelty"), in the district of K'oo ("bitterness"), in the state of Ts'oo ("suffering"). This K'oo is com- monly identified with an ancient city of that name, which stood near the modern Kwei-tih Foo, in the province of Ho-nan. This is all that his biographers have to tell us of him until he ap- pears as Keeper of the Archives at the Court of Chow. Here we find him, suiTounded by a band of disciples, teaching a system which em- bodied so many of the leading doctrines of the Indian philosophers, that the question suggests itself, whether or no he might not have become, in some way, imbued with the tenets of those men. We know that com- munication with India was open, even at that period, and it might be that he was either a native of that country or of one of the intervening states. The object of his teaching was to induce men, by the practice of self- abnegation, to arrive at being absorbed in something which he called Tao, and which bears a certain resemblance to the Nirvana of the Buddhists. The primary meaning of Tao is "The way," "The path," but in Lao-tsze's philosophy it was more than the way, it was the way- goer as well. It was an eternal road; along it all beings and things walked; it was everything and nothing, and the cause and effect of all. All things originated from Taou, conformed to Tao, and to Tao at last returned. "Tao is impalpable. You look at it, and you cannot see it; you listen to it, and you cannot hear it ; you try to touch it, and you cannot reach it; you use it, and you cannot exhaust it. It is not to be expressed in words. It is still and void; it stands alone and changes not; it circulates everywhere and is not endangered. It is ever inactive, and yet leaves nothing undone. * * ♦ Formless, it is the cause of form. * * * 228 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. It is the ethical nature of the good man, and the principle of his action. If, then, we had to express the meaning of Tao, we should describe it as the Absolute; the totality of Being and Things; the phenomenal world and its order; and the ethical nature of the good man, and the principle of his action." The teachings of Lao-tsze having familiarized the Chinese mind with philosophical doctrines, which, whatever were their direct source, bore a marked resemblance to the musings of the Indian sages, served to pre- pare the way for the introduction of Buddhism. The exact date at which the Chinese first became acquainted with the doctrines of Buddha was, according to an author quoted in K'ang-he's Imperial Encyclopedia, the thirtieth year of the reign of She Hwang-te, that is, B. O. 216. The Western Shaman, Le-fang, with seventeen others, arrived, we are told, at Loyang, in the year mentioned, bringing with them original sutras in Brahma's characters. Being foreigners, they were examined by the officials, and by the emperor's orders were thrown into prison as "strange customers." But Le-fang and his comrades continued chanting the Maha Prajna Paramita, when suddenly a brilliantly bright and shining light, accompanied by an auspicious halo, permeated into and filled the prison. And at the same time appeared a deity, bright as gold, holding in his hand a sceptre with which, with exceeding majesty, he struck the prison walls, which shivered to atoms at his blow. Le-fang and his companions then came forth, and the emperor, alarmed at the miracle, repented of his sin, and treated his quondam prisoners with every sign of marked respect. The reader will notice that this story is strangely suggestive of the narrative of St. Peter's imprisonment, over two hundred years later. What became of Le-fang and his missionaries we are not told. It is evident, however, that they left no mark on the minds of the people, and the next reference to Buddhism, or what is claimed as Buddhism, is found in the history of the reign of Woo-te, who, in B. C. 120, sent an army against the Heung-noo Tartars. The commander returned vic- torious, and brought with him among other trophies a golden image which had been an object of worship among the enemy. But, even if the image was that of Buddha, no instruction in the religion was received with it, and it was reserved for the Emperor Ming-te, 182 years later, to introduce a knowledge of the pure and lofty system of religion knowp to the world as Buddhism. RELIGIONS OF TEE CHINESE EMPIRE. 229 This emperor had a dream in which a monster golden image ap- peared to him, and addressing him, said: "Buddha bids you send to the Western countries to search for him, and to get books and images." Ming-te obeyed, and sent an embassy to India, which returned after an absence of eleven years, bringing back images, drawings, and the Sutra of forty-two Sections, and, what was more important, the mission Avas accompanied by the Indian, Kasyapa Matanga, who, on his arrival at Loyang, translated the Sutra into Chinese. Other teachers soon fol- lowed, other books of the faith were translated, and from this time Buddhism grew and prevailed in the land. But, besides books and images, relics of Buddha were brought to China, and were received with every token of honor. Bits taken from Buddha's chain and bones of the saint aroused the rapture of the Chi- nese converts, and pagoda after pagoda was erected to cover a scrap of flesh, a bone, or a hair of the head of Buddha. Like the Jews of old, they were eager after signs, and self-interest made the teachers of the religion nothing loth to grant them their desire. By the exercise of their super- natural powers they rescued souls from hell, and arrested pain and death. In the sendees of the church they added ritual to ritual, and surrounded with tawdry ceremonial the worship of their multiplied images. By such means they won their way among the people, and even sternly orthodox Confucianists to this day make use of their services to chant the liturgies of the dead. But while that inexorable taskmaster. Superstition, compels even the wise and the learned to pay their homage to folly, there is scarcely an educated Chinaman who would not indignantly repudiate the imputa- tion of being a follower of Buddha; and, though the common people throng the temples to buy charms and consult astrology, they yet thor- oughly despise both the priests and the religion they profess. But Buddhism has after all been a blessing rather than a curse to China. It has, to a certain extent, lifted the mind of the people from the too exclusive consideration of mundane affairs, to the contemplation of a future state. It has taught them to value more highly purity of life ; to exercise self -constraint and to forget self; and to practice love and char- ity towards their neighbors From what has been said it will be seen that no clearly defined line of demarcation separates the three great sects of China. Each in its i;urn has borrowed from the others, until at the present day it may be 230 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. doubted whether there are to be found any pure Oonfucianists, pure Buddhists, or pure Taouists. Confucianism has proved the moral basis on which the national character of the Chinese rests, and Buddhism and Taouism have supplied the supernatural elements wanting in that system. Speaking generally, the religion of China is a medley of the three great sects, which are now so closely interlaced that it is impos- sible either to classify, localize or enumerate the members of each creed. The only other religion that has made any perceptible headway in China is Mohommedanism, which is confined to the southwestern and northwestern provinces of the empire. In this faith, also, the process of absorption into the national mixture of beliefs is making way, and since the suppression of the Panthay rebellion in Yunnan, there has been a gradual decline in the number of the followers of the Prophet. The Chinese are excessively addicted to superstitious practices, which arise from alternately prevailing hopes and fears, excited by eclipses, comets, meteors, earthquakes, inundations, drouth, famine, locusts and other natural phenomena ; all of which are regarded as indi- cations of the displeasure of Heaven, and of the necessity of repentance and reformation. Their early cultivation of astronomy, without the light of kindred sciences to conduct them to logical conclusions, has been the means of bewildering their minds in the entanglements of astrolog3^, by the principles of which they interpret every physical phe- nomenon as a supernatural token of their own inevitable destiny. Chinese historians have recorded numerous earthquakes, inunda- tions of rivers, rushing down of mountains, storms and tempests of rain and hail, and have mentioned rain and wind appearing to them as blood; all of which were viewed as portentous omens of national and moral evil, but were permitted to pass away without any attempt to explore the physical principles of their phenomena. On one occasion the hailstones, which, from the description of them, must have been of enormous size, killed those on whom they fell. A comet and a dark spot on the sun were observed at the beginning of the fourth century, in two different reigns; and about the middle of the ninth century two falling stars, or meteors, shot across the heavens in directions by which each frequently intersected the course of the other. Their appearance, it is said, was similar to that of threads inter- woven, and as large as a bowl. The Egyptians represent the moon by the head of a dog, with which o H < w ;:q £ 00 fC 0) 3 o .-(DO ■1} I •* I ^ Ph B 2 O 5 K M ►^ 0) RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 233 animal it is said to possess a certain sympathy, especially at the time of its conjunction with the sun. The Chinese attribute an eclipse to the circumstance of a dog eating part of the sun or moon; and from this superstitious impression, whenever an eclipse takes place, loud noises are made by the people with gongs, drums and other noisy instruments to frighten away the supposed monster. The Chinese term for eclipse — "eaten sun or moon" — evinces the superstitious notions prevalent re- specting the phenomena of the heavens when this term originated. Although there is no weekly period of worship known to the Chinese, they have stated holidays in commemoration of traditional customs, the great clianges of nature, fabled heroes of antiquity, the interment of their dead, in addition to stated seasons consecrated to the worship of divinities, which are of all degrees of rank, from the originator of the universe to the god of the pigstye. New Year's day, which is the first day of the moon, about the middle of our February, is esteemed of much importance with the Chinese as a day of feasting, mutual congratulations, and worship of deities. Crowds of people repair to the different temples early in the morning, and pre- sent their offerings. Candles are lighted in the temples, and if the people succeed in carrying them home lighted, they are assured of a happy and prosperous year. If by any accident they lose the light on the way, however frequently, they return to the temple and persevere in lighting it until they finally carry the candle home burning. The Chinese are greatly addicted to times and seasons. So much is the commencement of any season honored, that some deem it unlucky to offer thanksgivings for recovery from sickness near the close of the month, and prefer waiting until the beginning of the next moon, before they dedicate their pious offerings for convalescence. Great attention is paid to dreams, which the Chinese profess to interpret, from their connection with astrology, in accordance with the following passage: "By the sun, moon, stars and hours, divine the felicitous or infelicitous import of the six dreams, which are, a correct dream, an alarming dream, a thinking dream, one that resembles rational thoughts, a waking dream, a joyful dream, and a fearful or perturbed dream." Those dreams, however, which come under the rules of divination are reduced to three classes : "Such as arise from some ap- parent cause, are strange and monstrous, and beyond all that had been anticipated." 234 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. That a people like the Chinese, who are avowedly in close intercourse with the shades of deceased human beings, should refer the solution of their doubts to departed sages, and other deified mortals, affords no cause for surprise. One method of seeking supernatural counsel is to suspend over a quantity of sand a pencil or reed which, under the guidance of some invisible being, forms symbols containing answers to questions proposed by the applicant. The government, however, seri- ously discourages this practice. Not many years ago, a deposed civilian was condemned to death for publishing an answer alleged to have been received in this way from Confucius, the purport of which was that the emperor of China, discon- tinuing his annual visits to the tombs of his ancestors, should perform the necessary ceremonies of worship by deputy; "and that a deified war- rior of the Han dynasty, who is generall}^ worshipped by the military, and highly honored by the reigning family, should be deprived of the title of emperor. These sentiments were declared to indicate the most daring impiety. The Imperial Board of Astronomers so far gives its sanction to in- quisitorial astrology as to publish annually an almanac, in which are given the lucky and unlucky days throughout the year, and the kind of business which may be undertaken with advantage on those days which are described as luckj'-. For instance, the first day of the first month is appropriate for sacrificing, beginning to learn, and bathing. The second is an unlucky day, and nothing of importance should be done upon it. The third, on the other hand, is suitable for meeting friends, marrying, asking names, cutting out clothes, putting up pillars, trad- ing, opening granaries and burying. The fourth is lucky for cutting toe and finger nails, shaving the head, sending for doctors, taking medicine, receiving appointments, entering on official posts, starting on journeys, etc. And just as certain doings are appropriate to certain lucky days, so other specific undertakings should on no account be begun on such days which may not be otherwise unlucky. The prognostics for each day are carefully set out, and are eagerly studied by the educated among the people. Those who have not this invaluable source of information readj^ at hand have recourse to the professional fortune tellers, of whom there is no lack in every city in the empire. Some of these mystery men occupy shops, but a great majority of them are possessed of only a small RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 235 portable table and the usual stock in trade of their calling, and with these they daily establish themselves in the outer courtyards of much frequented temples, or by the sides of crowded thoroughfares. Their modes of procedure are various. The most ancient and ap- proved methods of divining the future, and reading the will of the gods, are by means of the Kwei, or Tortoise, the She, or Millfoil, and the Sha, or a kind of Mayweed. The questions put through the instrumentality of these media are as multifarious as are the wants of man. Whether the enquirer should embark in trade or no, whether he will be able to catch the thieves who have left him destitute, whether he should follow the bent of his wishes in some matter or not, whether he should take office, whether he should live in his father's house, whether his matri- monial project will turn out favorably or not, whether he will gather in good crops or bad, whether disease will be rife, whether war be at hand ; these and a host of other questions, when incense has been duly burnt, and prayers offered to the god, find their answers in the attitude of the divining tortoise. The direction of the animal's gaze, the extent to which he stretches his neck, the attitudes which he assumes with his feet and toes, and other indications of the same kind, serve to guide the fortune-teller to sure and ready answers to any question that he may be asked. Not less ancient is the system of enquiring into the future by means of stalks of Millfoil. This process is complicated by an application of the lots to the diagrams of Fuh-he, in connection with which, by ob- serving the various combinations of whole and parts of lines which they form when cast from the hand, the diviner finds as certain a response as in the attitude of the tortoise. The Mayweed is used in the same way, but has especial efficacy attached to it as coming from the grave of Con- fucius. The stalks from the shrubs growing around the tomb of the Sage are gathered and made up into parcels of sixty-four, the number of Fuh-he's diagrams, and are sold for divinatory purposes. The following description of one of the many modes in vogue of in- terviewing departed shades is translated from a work describing vari- ous customs of the people of the Chinese empire: "When the people of Tse are sick, females have recourse to divina- tion of spirits. The ceremony is performed by a venerable sorceress, who, beating an iron drum covered at one end with leather, and with her garments tucked up, makes a variety of postures called dancing to the 236 RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. gods. But this ceremony, though general, is most frequent in respect- able families, where the younger married women perform it by observ- ing the following rites: A wooden frame bearing flesh and goblets filled with wine is placed on a table in the hall, together with candles burning to make the room as light as day. The female binds up her short silk petticoat, bends one foot, and makes the figure of the Shang sheep dance. Two men support her, taking hold of each arm. She talks incessantly, and minutely repeats things over and over, as if singing songs, or offer- ing supplicatory forms of prayers, with different and irregular intona- tions. "Many drums strike up in the house, which assail the ears like thun- der. The sides of her mouth open and shut during this confused sound of the drums, and the noise makes it almost impossible to distinguish the words she utters. Now her head hangs down, and her eyes roll about obliquely from side to side. While standing she must be sup- ported by a person on either side; the moment support fails, she falls prostrate to the ground. Then suddenly stretching forth her neck, she takes a great leap from the floor. Immediately all the females, petrified with horror, cry out, 'Our ancestor is come to partake of the feast.' The lights are extinguished, the blackness of Hades reigns within and with- out; the spectators sob and tremble; no one presumes to speak; not a sound is heard during the darkness. In the time a meal may be eaten, the female, with a stern voice, calls upon relations and kindred, old and young, to light the candles ; she bends forward to solve doubts, and avert calamities; shows all the vessels on the tables to be empty. Her friends observe her countenance, to see whether it be smiling or sorrowful, and solemnly propound a series of questions, to which she returns answers with the accuracy of an echo." "A certain cloth merchant traveling on the borders of the district Tsing, unexpectedly approached a temple in a state of dilapidation. Whilst deeply lamenting its affecting circumstances, a priest came and stood by his side, and thus accosted him: 'If you this moment exercise faith, in a short time the mountain you now see will rend asunder, and discover the splendor of Buddha's countenance.' The stranger, with a noble elevation of mind, undertook the responsibility. The priest re- joiced, invited his guest to enter the monastery and behaved to him with the greatest politeness. Having introduced his friend to the different suites of apartments in the upper and lower stories of the temple, the RELIGIONS OF TEE CHINESE EMPlM. 237 priest importuned him for a subscription towards the repairs of the edi- fice. The stranger refused, on account of his poverty. The priest in- sisted on his compliance with menacing language and an angry counte- nance. "The stranger was alarmed and asked permission to empty his purse, the entire contents of which he gave to the priest, and was about to take his departure. The priest stopped him and said : 'Though you gave us the whole of your property, sir, this is not what we want. If you would in good earnest save your mother from purgatory, there is nothing like your preceding her to Hades,' and immediately the priest seized a knife. The stranger implored mercy. The priest for a time would not listen to him ; at length he acceded to his importunity, and forced him into a dark room, where he tyrannically imprisoned him. ^'It happened that, from an embankment rising from the sea, and some part of the wall having fallen down, a young military officer passing outside the temple saw at a distance a young girl in red apparel enter the priest's cottage. His suspicions were excited; he alighted from his horse, entered the temple, and searched carefully its front and back apartments, but without finding anything to justify his suspicions, until he came to a dark chamber with two folding doors, bolted, and strictly guarded, which the priest would not open, from a pretended fear of fairies and monsters. The officer was enraged, broke down the bars and went into the room, where he saw a stranger sus- X)ended from a beam by his neck. He cut him down, and in a short time the individual revived. "Investigating further into the circumstances, he examined the priest by torture, to ascertain where the young woman was. It was discovered that she was a crow, which the divine Buddha had manifestly trans- formed into a young female to attract the officer's attention. "The priest was slain, and the stranger's property restored to him again. The grateful merchant joined in a public subscription for the repair of the temple, in which a cloud of incense evermore ascended, and a long course of filial piety with uncorrupted generosity was faithfully preserved. The origin of this statement is fully and accurately known." Such tales as these are circulated partly to ridicule Buddhism through its agents, and partly to show how suffering innocence is often rewarded, and its oppressors punished, even in life; while some counte- P.S8 EELlGIONS OF THt) CHINESE EMPIEE. nance is given to the superstitious notion that Buddha manifests his benevolence by miraculous interventions in favor of the distressed. Among the many classes of professional fortune-tellers in China, one of the most popular is that which uses the inquirer's own person to sup- ply the materials from which the horoscope is cast. Not only are the face and head, as among ourselves, studied to afford answers as to the mental capacity and leading characteristics of the seeker for knowledge, but from the features of the whole body are deduced symptoms of the destiny of the individual, as well as the nature of his disposition. Masters of this art proclaim their profession to passers-by by a sign bearing representations of the human countenance, which may be seen suspended over stalls in the streets of the cities. Books for their guid- ance are numerous, and are minut:e in their details. The following gleanings have been gathered from one of the best known native work» on this curious subject: The face of a man favored by fortune should be long and square; but for a man with a face pointed at each end like a date stone, poverty is in store. High cheek bones are a sign of a cruel disposition, and a matron so distinguished is likely to prove a husband-killing wife. A broad chin belongs to a man born to wealth, and a pointed chin to a man whose lot it is to be poor. A man whose jawbone is so wide as to be seen from, behind the ears has a heart full af poison. The possessor of high forehead will be held in esteem, and will live to an old age; but he whose nose is long is a man devoid of a fixed purpose. If you cannot see the ears of a man when meeting him face to face, ask who he is, for he is a somebody. If you cannot see the jawb'ones of a man under like circumstances, ask where he comes from, that you may avoid him. A large face and a small body are signs of happiness,' and the re- verse is an omen of evil. He who has no vestige of hair on the bone above the neck is unrighteous, and will be destitute of relations. A man who does not move his head when walking, nor bend it when sit- ting, will come to poverty, and the possessor of a small head and long hair will leave no traces behind him. A man with a narrow head and long hair will encounter diflSculties, and death and starvation will over- take him whose hair grows long down to his ears. He who^ie hair turns white at an early age will not be fortunate; but for him whose hair after turning white should recover its original color, great happiness is in store. RELIGIONS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 239 History asserts that in antiquity no instance was known of a man with thick hair becoming prime minister. Women with ultra-marine colored hair, like Buddha's, will marry men of distinction, and she who is the owner of glistening hair and a round and sleek face will enter the emperor's harem. People with dimples, both men and women, will marry more than once. Long hair in the eyebrows indicates long life, but thick and coarse eyebrows mean poverty; while a man who has the misfortune to have eyebrows which are unruly as well as coarse is a man not to be spoken of. The possessor of eyebrows widely separated will be rich and prosperous; but if they be thin and yellow in color, though he may be fortunate at first, misfortune is sure to overtake him. The eyes, we are told, are to the body what the sun and moon are to the ^arth. They are also the resting-places of wandering spirits. Long, deep and brilliant eyes belong to men of consideration. A woman with much white in her eyes will probably murder her husband, and a boy so disfigured will be stupid. Noses are also important features, and are distinguished as cows' noses, monkeys' noses, dogs' noses, hawks' noses, etc. A man with a dog's nose will live long, and the marrow of the heart of the man whose nose is like a hawk's beak will be evil. The growth of the hair inside the ear holds out a promise of longevity, and the ears broad and large belong to men of ability and wealth. The mouth is "the door of the heart, and out of it proceed blessings and cursings ;" its shape, therefore, is an important indicator of the individual. A man with a mouth shaped like a horned bow will enjoy the sweets of office, and he who is blessed with a. broad and full mouth will attain to riches and honor. The possessor of an even-shaped mouth with lips which are neither thick nor thin, will have through life enough to eat and drink, but a man with a horse's mouth will die of stai-vation. And among the many animal-like mouths, possessing peculiar charac- teristics, is noted that like a mouse's, which, we are told, belongs to an envious and jealous man, and is the channel for vilifying words which scorch like fire. Such are a few of the points of feature particularly observed by Chinese physiognomists. The art at the present day is a very popular one, and though it cannot claim the sanction of antiquity which belongs to the practice of divination by the Tortoise and the Millfoil, it can boast of an ancestry which, to us, seems far-reaching. We read, for example, in history, that on one occasion, KaiOu-tsoo, the first emperor of the Han 240 RELIGIONS OF TEE CHINESE EMPIRE. dynasty (B. C. 206-25 A. D.), when a young man, and before he had at- tained to any eminence, was met on the road by a physiognomist, who fell on his knees before him and thus addressed him : "I see by the ex- pression of your features that you are destined to ascend the throne, and I offer you in anticipation the tribute of respect that a subject owes to his sovereign. I have a daughter, the fairest and the wisest in the empire; take her as your wife." The man's prescience was justified by the event, and had its reward. Kaou-tsoo rapidly acquired fame, and before long the prophet's daughter was proclaimed empress. Clairvoyance, mesmerism, and palmistry are commonly practiced to discover that which is beyond the reach of man's knowledge, and, in fact, it may be said, that there is no magical art which is not known to the grossly superstitious people of China. CHAPTER XIV. ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Origin of Music — Different Kinds of Drums— Musical Bells, and the Chinese Mode of Using Them — The Big Bell of Peking — Gong Fire Alarms — The Chinese Organ — Music Held in High Esteem in China — The Chinese Drama — Ancient Pantomimes — Domestic Plays the Most Popular with the People — Lack of Scenic Accessories — The Chinese as Artists — Architecture — The Homes of the People — How They Are Furnished— Beauty of the Temples. nUSIO is one of the arts which is said to have been invented by the Emperor Fuh-he (B.C. 2852-2837). He it was, we are told, who made the first She, a sort of lute. At first this instru- ment had twenty-five strings, but, according to the legend, a damsel was one day playing on it before the Etnperor Hwang-te, who became so affected to melancholy by the music, that he ordered that, from that time, the number of the strings should be reduced one-half. To Fuh-he belongs also the credit of being the inventor of the K'in, an- other form of lute, and which stands in popular estimation at the head of Chinese instruments. The name which was originally given it of Lung K'in points to the fact, which we have abundant evidence to prove, that the aborigines of China were musicians before the arrival of the Chinese. The Lung were a powerful tribe occupying a portion of south- western China, and judging from the name, it is reasonable to suppose that the knowledge of the K'in was first brought to the court of Fuh-he by men of that race. The K'in was known also among the ancients as "a reminder of dis- tant affairs," which would seem to indicate a geographically remote origin for it. History tells us further that, during this reign, men of the greater Pung (Fung) tribe, which at that time occupied a large tract of country south of the Yang-tsze-kiang, arrived at court and made music. Stringed and reed instruments, such as are used by the aboriginal tribes of China at the present day, were the first known. Next in order, probably, came drums, which seem, in the first instance, to have been used to excite warriors in the battlefield to deeds of prowess. Of these 241 242 AltT, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. there are eight kinds, distinguished by names indicating their size and use. Stone seems also to have preceded metal as a musical substance. In the earliest classics we have mention of musical stones, which were sixteen in number, and were hung from a frame by cords. They were cut somewhat in the shape of a carpenter^s square, one side being twice the length of the other. The stones played upon by the emperors are said to have been of jade, the use of which, for this purpose, was for- bidden to subjects. In most parts of the world the trumpet has held the first place among metal instruments, but in China the bell had the priority, and at the present day it still holds its own against the louder tongued horn, which is used only as a military call, and in processions. Bells were originally made of six parts of copper to one of tin. Tongues were never used, but sound was emitted by striking the rim with a stick, or, in after- times, the knobs with which the bell was studded, and which were so arranged as to give out the different musical notes when struck. The form of the most ancient bells was square, but in subsequent ages they assumed the round shape, and at the present day are universally so made. Bells are moulded in every size, from the little Fung ling, or "Wind- bell," which swings on the eaves of pagodas, to the huge bells which hang in some of the most notable temples. One of the largest of these is in a temple in Peking, and forms a wonderful example of the mechanical ingenuity of the Chinese. It is about fifteen feet in diameter, twenty feet in height, and weighs about fifty-three tons. The lower rim is nearly a foot thick, and the whole bell is covered inside and out with the Chinese text of a long Buddhist liturgical work. This bell is one of a set of five which were cast by order of the Emperor Yung-loh (A. D. 1403-1425). One of its companions hangs in the Drum-tower at Peking, and, "in the stillness of the midnight hour, its deep mellow tone is heard at four miles distance throughout Peking as it strikes the watch." As musical instruments bells are principally used at religious serv- ices and in processions. In ancient times they seem to have been gen- erally sounded with drums. In the She king we have constant mention of bells and drums being used on the occasions of bringing home brides, or in royal processions. Sometimes we hear of them concerted with other instruments, as when speaking of the expedition of King Yew to the Hwai the poet says: ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. U^ Kin kin peal the bells, peal on, And the lutes in the concert we hear. Deep breathes the organ tone; Sounding stones join their notes, rich and clear. The while through the vessel there ring The Ya and the Nan which they sing, And the dancers with flutes now appear. A more popular instrument than the bell is the gong, of which three kinds are in common use. The Temple gong, which, as its name implies, is used in temples; the Suchau gong, which is shaped "like a boiler;" and the Watch gong, which is a. small kind used to strike the watches. At religious services, on occasions of ceremony and at theatrical perform- ances, the gong bears a conspicuous part. But though considered an element of harmony by men, its sound strikes terror to evil spirits, and it is consequently used with pealing effect on all occasions when it is considered advisable to get rid of evil influences. When a vessel puts out to sea, when it returns to harbor, when a. house is supposed to be haunted, or when any unnatural phenomena occur, such as an eclipse, the gongs are vigorously sounded, to dispel the malign influences which are supposed to be present. On the outbreak of a fire gongs are used as signals, first of all to indicate what quarter of the town is threatened; next, by the rapidity of the beats, to make known the progress and fierceness of the fire, and again, by tolling, to show that the danger is over. Flutes, fifes, clarionets and conch shells, are, with the "reed organ," the commonest wind instruments. This last is made with a gourd, into the upper surface of which nineteen reed tubes are inserted. These reeds have holes near the base to prevent them emitting sounds, until stopped by the performer. The mouth-piece, which is not unlike the spout of a kettle, is inserted in the side of the gourd, and the instrument is played either by drawing in the breath or blowing. But the favorite musical instruments of the Chinese are those made with strings. The She and the K'in, of which mention has already been made, are the chief among these. "The K'in," says Dr. Wells Williams in his "China," "is very ancient, and derives its name from the word K'in, to prohibit, 'because it restrains and checks all evil passions, and corrects the human heart.' It is a board about four feet in length and eighteen inches wide, convex above and flat beneath, where are two 244 ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. holes opening into hollows. There are seven strings of silk, which pass over a bridge near the wide end, through the board, and are tightened by nuts beneath ; they are secured on two pegs at the smaller end. The sounding board is divided by two thirteen studs, so placed that the length of the strings is divided, first into two equal parts, then into three, etc., up to eight, with the omission of the seventh. "The seven strings enclose the compass of the ninth or two-fifths, the middle one being treated like A ujDon the violin, viz., as a middle string, and each of the outer ones is tuned a fifth from it. This interval is treated like our octave in the violin, for the compass of the K'in is made up of fifths. Each of the outer strings is tuned a fourth from the alter- nate string within the system, so that there is a major tone, an interval tone less than a minor third, and a major tone in the fifth. The Chinese leave the interval entire, and skip the half tone, while we divide it into two unequal parts. "It will, therefore, readily appear, that the mode or character of the music of the K'in must be very different from that of Western instru- ments, so that none of them can exactly do justice to the Chinese airs. One of the peculiarities of performing on the lute, is sliding the left- hand fingers along the string, and the trilling and other evolutions they are made to execute." Music has at all times held an important part in the political system of the Chinese. Its influence for good or evil on the people is regarded as potent, and, according to a celebrated saying of Confucius, it gives the finish to the character which has first been established by the rules of propriety. So marked has the impression produced by it been held to be, that Confucius, when on his way to Ts'e, recognized, in the gait and manner of a boy whom he met carrying a pitcher, the influence of the Shaou music, and hurried on to the capital of the state that he might enjoy its excellencies to perfection. On another occasion, we are told, that he perceived with delight, in the sound of stringed instruments and the singing at Woo-shing, the effect produced on a people turbulent by nature, by the rule of his disciple, Tsze-yew. But in this, as in other matters, Confucius only reproduced the opin- ions of those who had gone before him, and from the time that Ling-lun made the first pan-pipe, the influence of music on morals and politics has been an established creed among the Chinese. The purity of the prevailing music became the test of the virtues of the sovereign, and ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. 245 one of the gravest charges brought against the dissolute Chow Sin, the last emperor of the Yin dynasty (B. C. 1154-1122), was that, to gratify his consort, the notoriously vicious T'an-ke, he substituted licentious airs for the chaste music of his ancestors. Time has done little to change the opinions of the Chinese on this subject, and at the present day a care- ful watch is kept over the efforts of composers by the Imperial Board of Music, whose duty it is to keep alive the music of the ancients, and to suppress all compositions which are not in harmony with it. The Cliinese drama arose from the union of the arts of song and dance. To the ballets and pantomimes out of which it developed itself, and which have continued to flourish by the side of its more advanced forms, the Chinese ascribe a primitive antiquity of origin; many of them orginally had a symbolical reference to such subjects as the harvest and war and peace. A very ancient pantomime is said to have symbolized the conquest of China by Woo-Wang; others were of a humbler, and often of a very obscure character. As told in a previous chapter, some traditions declare the drama to have been invented during the reign of the Emperor Wan-te, who ruled over the central and northern portion of China B. C. 220, but the honor is also ascribed to the Emperor Heuen-tsang (720 A. D.), who is likewise remembered as a radical musical reformer. Pantomimes hence- forth fell into disrepute; and the history of the Chinese drama from this date is divided, with an accuracy we cannot profess to control, into four distinct periods, of each of which the plays composed in it are stated to bear the manifest impress. In theory, no drama could be more consistently elevated in purpose and in tone than the Chinese. Every play, we learn, should have both a moral and a meaning. A virtuous aim is imposed upon Chinese dramatists by an article of the penal code of the empire; and those who write immoral plays are to expect after death a purgatory which will last as long as these plays continue to be performed. In practice, how- ever, the Chinese drama falls far short of its ideal; indeed, according to a native critic, among ten thousand playwrights, not one is to be found in- tent upon perfecting the education of mankind by means of precept and example. The Chinese are, like the Hindus, unacquainted with the distinction between tragedy and comedy; they classify their plays according to sub- jects in twelve categories. It may be doubted whether what is supposed 246 ABT, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. to be the highest of these is such in fact; for the religious. element in the Chinese drama is often sheer buffoonery. Moreover, Chinese religious life as reflected in the drama seems one in which creed elbows creed, and superstitions are welcomed, whatever their origin. The historical drama is not unknown to the Chinese; and although a law prohibits the bringing on the stage of "emperors, empresses and the famous princes, ministers and generals of former ages," no such restriction is observed in practice. By far the greater number, however, of the Chinese plays accessible in translations belong to the domestic species, and to that sub-species which may be called the criminal drama. Their favorite virtue is piety to parents and parents-in-law; the favorite interest lies in the discovery of long-hidden guilt, and in the vindication of persecuted innocence. In the choice and elaboration of such subjects they leave little to be desired by the most ardent devotees of the literature of agony. Free in its choice of themes, the Chinese drama is likewise remarkably unrestricted in its range of characters. Chinese society, it is well known, is not based, like Indian,upon the principle of caste; rank is in China de- termined by office, and this again depends on the result of examination. These familiar facts are constantly brought home to the reader of Chinese plays. The Chwang-Yuen, or senior classman, on the list of licentiates, is the flower of Chinese society, and the hero of many a drama, and it is a proud boast that for years "one's ancestors have held high posts, which they owed to their literary successes.'' On the other hand, a person who has failed in his military examination becomes as if by a natural transi- tion, a man-eating monster. But of mere class the Chinese drama is no respecter, painting with noteworthy freedom the virtue and the vices of every phase of society. While in the north of China houses are temporarily set apart for dramatic performances, in the south these are usually confined to theaters erected in the streets. Thus scenic decorations of any impor- tance are out of the question in the Chinese theater. The costumes, on the other hand, are often magnificent ; they are traditionally those worn before the seventeenth century, in accordance with the historical color- ing in most of the plays. The actor's profession is not a respectable one in China, the managers being in the habit of buying children from slaves and bringing them up as slaves of their own. The art of drawing is held in great esteem in China, and the works ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. 247 of the most renowned artists are eagerly sought after, and are as care- fully treasured as those of Raphael or Rubens are among ourselves. The art claims for itself a great antiquity, and as is the case with some other arts, it seems to have had its origin among the aborigines. Fuh, he, who invented the celebrated eight diagrams, made drawings and plans, we are told, in imitation of the records he found at the Jung river in Ho-nan, and Hwang-te is said to have obtained a likeness of Ts'ang Hieh, the inventor of writing, from the Lo river. These and other traditions appear to prove that the inscriptions drawn on the banks of the rivers by the aborigines of that part of China, served not only as materials for the formation of new characters by the Chinese, but also as patterns for designs. From that beginning the art of drawing grefw, and though it can- not be said that the Chinese are an artistic people, it is equally impos- sible to deny that they are possessed of great skill in producing wonder- ful effects with a. few strokes of the pencil. They have never under- stood perspective, but at the same time some of their landscapes are admirable for their picturesqueness and for their lifelike representa- tions of nature. Their studies of trees, boughs and flowers are exceed- ingly accurate and tasteful, and their use of colors is highly effective. But after all there is a sameness in their drawings which suggests that the art is mechanical, and a study of the works on drawing fully con- firms the suspicion. In these we find detailed directions for represent- ing every kind of scenery and under all circumstances. In all such works mountains and streams are described as the high- est objects for the painter's skill, and the student is told how to depict their beauties under ev^ery varying circumstance of season and weather. The ideal mountain should have a cloud encircling its "waist," which should hide from view a part of the stream which should pour over rocks and waterfalls down its sides. A temple or house, shaded and half concealed by a grove, should nestle in its embrace, and a high bridge should span the neighboring torrent, over which a winding road, bordered by trees, should lead around the mountain. At intervals trav- elers should be seen mounting to the summit. Three sides of a rock, if possible, should be shown, and water should appear as though ruffled by the wind. A ford is a fitting adjunct to a precipitous bank, and smoke and trees add to the picturesqueness of a stretch of water. A large sheet of water'should always be dotted with sails. A solitary city 248 ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA in the distance and a market town at the foot of the mountain may be introduced with advantage. Houses always form part of forest scenery, and an old tree with broken and twisted roots is an appropriate finish to a rocky cliff. The boughs of trees having leaves should be supple, but if bare should be stiff. Pine bark should always be drawn as fishes' scales, and cedar bai'k is always, it should be remembered, entwining. The branches on the left side of a tree should be longer than those on the right. Such are some of the directions given for landscape drawing, and a glance at Chinese pictures of scenery is enough to show how closely the rules of the text-books are followed. Writers on art advise artists, before beginning to paint a flower, to examine it carefully from above, so as to become thoroughly acquainted with its every aspect; and to watch the shadow cast in bright moonlight by a bamboo tree on a white wall. The different aspects of the clouds in the four seasons should be carefully noted. In spring, clouds appear in harmonious concord, in summer they congregate in profusion, in autumn they are intermittent and light, and in winter they are dark and cold. With the same minuteness every branch of the art is legislated for, and young artists desiring to make themselves proficient in any direction will find full instructions in the manuals published for their guidance. Admirable, however, as some of the effects produced are, the result of drawing by rule is to produce a considerable amount of purely mechanical skill, and to reduce the exercise of the imagination to a mini- mum. The birds and flowers, mountains and streams, which seem to have been struck off in a few lines as the spirit of the artist moved him, are really the products of patient and repeated imitation, and the prob- ability is that the artist whose birds and flowers we all so much admire, would be quite unable to draw a dog or a house, if suddenly called upon to do so. The books enforce the doctrine that there is no difference between learning to write and learning to draw. It is possible, by constant appli- cation, to learn to write characters correctly and elegantly, and the same is the case with pictures. This is not art of a high order, but it produces striking and well arranged effects. So skillful was, it is said, an artist of the third century in representing insects, that having care- lesslv added the form of a fly to a picture he had painted for his sov- ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. 251 ereign, the emperor, on receiving the painting, raised his hand to brush the insect away. The rules which are laid down for landscape drawing cannot, of course, apply to portrait painting, in which the artist has to follow a fresh model in every picture; and for this reason Chinese portraits are not generally successful. Occasionally, artists have arisen who have deservedly won renown in this branch of the art. One of the earliest of these was Maou Yen-chow, who, in the words of Mr. Mayers, "having been commissioned by Yuen-te, of the Han dynasty (48-32 B. C), to paint the portraits of the beauties of his harem, is said to have falsified the lineaments of the lovely Chaou Keun on being denied a bribe, and sub- sequently, on the lady's real beauty being discovered by the emperor, to have fled with her true portrait to the Khan of the Iliung-nu. The Khan, fired by the hope of obtaining possession of so peerless a beauty, invaded China in irresistible force, and only consented to retire beyond the Wall when the lady was surrendered to him. She accompanied her savage captor, bathed in tears, until the banks of the Amur were reached, when, rather than go beyond the boundary, she plunged into the waters of the stream. Her corpse was interred on the banks of the river, and it is related that the tumulus raised above her grave remained covered with undying verdure." It is a curious circumstance that in China, a land where exists such a profound veneration for everything old, there should not be found either any ancient buildings or old ruins. While every other nation possessing a history has its monuments and remains, China has nothing which illustrates a past age, except possibly a few pagodas scattered over the land. No emperor has sought to hand down his name to gener- ations yet to come by the erection of any building, useful or ornamental. It would seem as though their original nomadic origin haunted them still, and that the recollection of old tent-homes which were pitched to-day and struck to-morrow, still dominates their ideas of what palaces and houses should be. That there is an abundant supply of the most durable materials for building in the land is certain, and that for many centuries the Chinese have been acquainted with the art of brick-making is well known, but yet they have reared no building possessing enduring stability. Neither do they possess any respect for ancient edifices, even when they have the odor of sanctity attached to them. If any house in the empire should 252 ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. have been preserved, it should have been Confucius', and yet we are told tha^t in the reign of Woo-ti (140-86, B. C), a prince of Loo pulled it down to build a larger one in its place. But not only does the ephemeral nature of the tent appear in the slender construction of Chinese houses, but even in shape they assume a tent-like form. The slope of the roof, and its up-turned corners, coupled with the absence of upper stories, all remind one irresistibly of a tent. The main supports, also, of the roof are wooden pillars, not the walls, which only serve to fill up the intervening spaces, and form no addition to the stability of the building. As etiquette provides that, in houses of the better class, a high wall shall surround the building, and that no window shall look outwards, streets in the fashionable parts of the cities have a very dreary aspect. The only breaks in the long- line of dismal walls, are the front doors, which, however, are generally closed, or if by any chance they should be left open, movable screens bar the sight of all beyond the doors of the munshang's, or door-keeper's rooms. If, however, we pass one such screen, we find ourselves in a court- yard, which may possibly be laid out as a garden, but more frequently is flagged with paving stones. On either side are rooms usually occu- pied by servants, while in front is a building to which we have to ascend by two or three steps, and through which a passage runs, having a room or rooms on either side. At the other end of the passage a descent of two or three steps lands us in another court-yard, in the rooms sur- rounding which the family live, and behind this again are the women's apartments, which not infrequently look into a garden at the back. A passage, either running along the inside of the court-yards or be- yond them, enables servants and tradespeople to pass any part of the house without trespassing on the central way, which is reserved for their betters. As has already been said, wooden pillars support the roofs of the buildings, which are a reminiscence of the earlier tent, and the intervals between these are filled up with brick work, but often so' irregularly as to point plainly to their being no integral part of the construction. The window frames are wooden, over which is pasted either paper or calico, or sometimes pieces of talc are substituted, the better to transmit the light. The doors are almost invariably folding, and turn in wooden sockets. The floors of the rooms are generally either stone or cement, ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. 253 and when laid down with wood, are so uneven and creaky, as to con- siderably mitigate its advantages. Ceilings are not often used, the roof being the only covering to the rooms. As a rule, the roof is the most ornamental part of the building. The wood-work which supports it is intricate and handsome, the shape is picturesque, and the glazed tiles which cover it give it a bright aspect. Yellow is the color commonly used, both for temples and such houses which, by the sumptuary law in force, are entitled to have glazed tiles. At the altar of Heaven in Peking a magnificent effect is produced by the use of deep blue glazed porce- lain tiles, which in hue and brightness make no bad imitation of the sky above. Carpets are seldom used, more especially in southern China, where also stoves for warming purposes are unknown. In the north, where, in the winter, the cold is very great, portable charcoal stoves are em- ployed, in addition to the heated kangs, and small chafing dishes are carried about from room to room. But the main dependence of the Chinese for personal warmth is on clothes. As the winter approaches garment is added to garment, and furs to quilted vestments, until the wearer assumes an unwieldy and exaggerated shape. Of the personal comfort obtainable in a house Chinamen are strangely ignorant. Their furniture is of the hardest and most uncom- promising nature. Chairs, made of hard, black wood, and of an angular shape, and equally unyielding divans, covered possibly with hard, red cushions, are the only seats known to them. Their beds are scarcely more comfortable, and their pillows are oblong cubes of bamboo, or other hard material. The use of paint in ornamenting the inside of the roofs and other parts of the house is subject to sumptuary laws, which regulates not only what shall be painted, but also Avhat colors shall be used. No let or hindrance, however, is placed in the way of internal ornament, and the wood carvings, representing flowers and fruit, which not infre- quently adorn the doorways and walls of the houses of the rich, are often extremely handsome, combining beauty of design with wonderful skill in execution. In every city the temples form a noticeable feature, and prominent among them are invariably those dedicated to Confucius. The law pro- vides that at least one of these sliall be built in every city and market town throughout the empire, and it is ordained with equal fixity that 254 ART, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. it shall consist of three court-yards, built one behind the other, and all facing south. The entrances are on the eastern and western faces of the outer court-yard, and only when a native of the district has won the supreme honor at the competitive examinations, viz., the title of Chwang-yuen, is the southern wall, which is always painted red, pierced for a gateway. Even when this is done, the right of passing through it is reserved only for emperors and Chwang-yuens, who alone also have the right of crossing the bridge which spans the semi-circular pond, which occupies part of the lower end of the court -yard. In the right hand corner, at the upper end, is the house where the animals for sacrifice are kept, and on the opposite side is the pavilion where the chief worshipper rests when first entering the temple, and where he dons his official clothes. Across the northern end runs a large hall, in the middle of which is the "Gate of Great Perfection," and through which only those who are privileged to enter the temple by the southern wall, and to cross the bridge, are allowed to pass into the next or principal court. On each side of this gate are covered passages, containing the tab- lets of illustrious Confucianists, famous for their piety and learning. Cypresses grow in the intervening space, and here the worshippers pros- trate themselves before the tablet, or, in some cases, image of the Sage, which rests on an altar in the "Hall of Great Perfection," which faces southward. On either side of the high altar are arranged the tablets and altars of the four principal disciples of Confucius, and of the twelve "Wise Men." In the hindermost court stands the "Ancestral Hall of Exalted Sages," which contains the tablets of the five ancestors of Con- fucius, of his half-brother, of the fathers of the principal disciples, and of other worthies. The largest Confucian temple at Peking is a very handsome struc- ture. The roof, which is painted an azure blue, is elaborately decorated, and rows of cedar trees, which are said to be five hundred years old, adorn the court-yards. The Buddhist temples differ little in general construction from those dedicated to Confucius. Like them they are built in a succession of court-yards, the minutiae of which are different, and in the objects of worship they are, of course, dissimilar. In place of the tablets of Con- fucius and his four disciples stand images of Buddha, Past, Present, and Future, and the shrines of the twelve Wise Men are exchanged for ABT, MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. 255 a number of idols representing the numerous incarnations of Buddha, Among the most ancient buildings in China are Buddhist pagodas, which were fii'st built on the introduction of Buddhism into China. Originally they were designed as depositaries of relics of Buddha, but in later years numbers have been erected to form the tombs of cele- brated Buddhist priests, or as memorials of saintly personages, or again, to secure beneficial geomantic influences for their surounding districts. Pagodas are generally built of bricks, and are made to consist of an uneven number of stories; five, seven and nine being the most common numbers. In most cases the walls are double, and between the inner and outer walls winds the staircase leading to the summit, from which, by means of doorways, access is also obtained to the chambers on each flat. The outer wall, which invariably tapers, is usually octagonal, and its surface is broken by the projecting roofs of tiles which surmount the different stories. These roofs, turned up at the corners, covered with green glazed tiles, and hung about with bells, form the most attractive features of the building. In some pagodas containing relics of Buddha, as in the case with the one at How-chow, no stories divide the interior, but in the center of the ground floor rises a marble pagoda shaped column, beneath which rests the relic, and upon the sides of which are carved 10,000 small images of Buddha. The most celebrated and magnificent pagoda ever built in China was the famous porcelain tower at Nanking, which was erected by the Emperor Yung-loh (1403-1425), to commemorate the virtues of his mother. The outer walls were built of bricks of the finest white porce- lain, and the inner walls of ordinary bricks encased in richly enamelled yellow and red tiles. In shape it was an octagon. It consisted of nine stories, and stood about 270 feet in height. The pinnacle was sur- mounted by a large gilt ball fixed to the top of an iron rod, which was encircled by nine iron rings, and on the roof were fastened five large pearls for the purpose of protecting the city from as many evils. This unique structure cost about one million dollars, and nineteen years were spent in building it. After standing for 450 years, it was destroyed by the Tai-ping rebels so completely that one brick was not left standing on another. CHAPTER XV. CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. Chinese Origin of Printing— Of Gunpowder— Of tlie Magnetic Compass— Manufacture of Paper— Work of tlie Eugrarer and Pressman — Newspapers— Cliinese Ink— Inferiority in Gunnery — Tlie Magnetic Car — Arts and Manufactures— Manner of Ginning Cotton- Silk and Porcelain — Scientific Knowledge — Practice of Medicine — Pharmacy — Ignorance of Physicians — The Medical Profession Held in Light Esteem. THERE appear to be reasonable grounds for the belief, that what are justly considered as three of the most important inventions or discoveries of modern times, the art of printing, the composition of gunpowder, and the magnetic compass, had their first origin in China. However much the people of the West may have outstripped the orientals in the use and application of these instruments or agents, the Chinese can urge claims to the priority of possession which are sufficient to convince any unprejudiced person. There cannot be the least doubt of the art of printing having been practiced in China during the tenth century of our era. The precise mode in which they operate is certainly different from ours, but the main principle, that of multiplying and cheapening books by saving time and labor of transcription, is altogether the same. Shortly previous to the commencement of the Sung dynasty, about the middle of the tenth century, a minister of state named Fung-tao is said to have introduced to the notice of the government the art of taking impressions on paper. History states that the first essay in printing was to transfer the pages from stone blocks, on which the writing had been engraved — a process by which the ground of the paper was black, and the letters white. This at length led to the improved invention of wooden stereotype blocks, on which the characters were cut in relief as at present, and the effect thereby reversed, the paper page remaining white, and the characters impressed in ink. The high estimation in which letters have been held in China may be supposed to have contributed to the invention by which books are rendered available to the greatest number of readers ; and it seems evi- dent from Chinese history, that as the period of Sung which immediately 256 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. ^57 followed, is celebrated for its writers, that invention gave an impetus to the national taste for its own peculiar learning. For all purposes of cheapness and expedition the method of printing is perfect; and a little consideration will show that the stereotype plan is more peculiarly- suited to the Chinese characters than to any other. The alphabet of the English language consists of only a few letters, whose infinite com- binations form many thousand words, but with the Chinese every word is a different character. The six-and-twenty letters of our alpha- bet are all within the reach of the compositor in setting up a page of type, and, from long practice, he moves his hand to the little cells in which they are arranged almost without looking. But in China this would be impossible, as thousands of different characters are required in the printing of a single book. The material commonly used by the Chinese for their plates is pear- tree wood, called by them ly-mo. The wooden block of a thickness cal- culated to give it strength is finely planed and squared to the shape and dimensions of two pages. The surface is then rubbed over with a paste or size, occasionally made from boiled rice, which renders it quite smooth, and at the same time softens and otherwise prepares it for the reception of characters. The future pages, which have been finely transcribed by a professional person on thin transparent paper, are delivered to the block-cutter, who, while the above mentioned applica- tion is still wet, unites them to the block in an inverted position, the thinness of the paper displaying the writing perfectly through the back. The paper being subsequently rubbed off, a clear impression in ink of the inverted writing remains on the wood. The workman then with his sharp graver cuts away with extraordinary neatness and despatch all that portion of the wooden surface which is not covered by the ink, leaving the characters in high relief. Strictly speaking, the "press of China" would be a misnomer, as no press whatever is used in their printing. The paper is very thin, and easily absorbs the ink, and receives the impression with a gentle con- tact, while a harder pressure would break it. The printer holds in his right hand two brushes, at the opposite extremities of the same handle; with one he inks the face of the characters, and, the paper being then laid on, he runs the dry brush over it so as to make it take the im- pression. They do this with such expedition that one man can take off a couple of thousand copies in a day. The paper being so thin and 258 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCO VERY. transparent is printed on one side only, and each printed sheet (con- sisting of two pages) is folded back, so as to bring the blank sides in inward contact. The fold is thus on the outer edge of the book, and the sheets are stitched together at the other; which might lead an unin- formed person to take any Chinese book for a new work, with its leaves still uncut. In folding the sheets, the workman is guided by a black line, which directs him in the same manner that the holes, made by the points in our printed sheets, direct the binder. The date of the invention of paper seems to prove that some of the most important arts connected with the progress of civilization are not extremely ancient in China. In the time of Confucius they wrote on the bark of the bamboo with a style; they next used silk or linen, and it was not until A. D. 95 that paper was invented. The materials used by them in the manufacture are various. A coarse yellowish paper, used for wrapping parcels, is made from rice-straw. The better kinds are composed of the inner bark of a species of morus, as well as from cotton, but principally of bamboo. What is commonly known in this country under the name of Indian ink is nothing more than what the Chinese manufacture for their own writing. The writing apparatus consists of a square of this ink, a little black slab of slate, polished smooth, with a depression at one end to hold w^ater, a small brush or pencil of rabbit's hair inserted into a reed handle, and a bundle of paper. These four articles, the ink, the slab on which it is rubbed, the writing-pencil, and the paper, are called (with that respect which the Cliinese profess for letters) "the four precious elements." They are taught very early to keep them in high order and neatness, and, as men are always more or less the creatures of habit, this course has its effect in the long run. The Peking Gazette — if the title of the publication is freely trans- lated — is the oldest newspaper of the world. The date of its first publi- cation is placed somewhere during the reign of the Tting dynasty (970- 1366). The paper is not an official gazette in the strict meaning of the term, but a publication authorized by the government, which acquaints the country with imperial edicts and ordinances of the higher authori- ties, without any editorials or other comments. The latter are strictly prohibited. Moreover, they are not necessary, because the government accompanies all orders for reward or punishment with explicit argu- ments. The "leader" of this publication is always an imperial edict, CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY, 259 even if it refers solely to some petition, which invariably accompanies the imperial utterance. The Peking Gazette appears daily and is eagerly read by all intelli- gent Chinese in every part of the great empire. Thousands of scribes in the provinces find occupation in copying parts of the publication for such readers as are unable to pay the regular subscription for the entire paper. The subscription price is about |6 per annum. The paper is printed by means of wooden types, which, like the modern metal types, are distributed again for subsequent use, and consists ordinarily of from ten to twelve sheets of thin, light brown tissue. Red lines divide each page into seven columns, and each of the latter contains fourteen characters. A semi-monthly issue is devoted to orders promulgated by the man- darins. One of these issues — of January 4, 1897 — cites ten cases of higher military and civic oflficials who were guilty of glaring neglects of duty. The civil governor of Kirin placards in this issue not less than five higher officials. One of them, a general stationed near the frontier, is accused of having committed brutalities against peaceable in- habitants and of having embezzled the pay of a number of soldiers who figured only on paper and never existed in reality. A civil commis- sioner who was detailed to investigate this case never appeared upon the scene. A colonel of the same district is accused not only of having neglected to send soldiers in pursuit of robbers who pillaged a village but to have tolerated the sacking of houses by his soldiers. A third military official is charged with having appropriated repeatedly a num- ber of guns and sold them, so that his men had neither sufficient arms for drill nor for the suppression of gangs of robbers infesting the dis- trict. This same official also carried a number of men on paper and appropriated their pay. For the conduct of these three military mandarins the emperor had no stronger condemnation than that it was "undignified," and their punishment was the striking of their names from the rolls. The same issue charges a general and a major with cowardice. They were or- dered to attack a mountain stronghold of the robbers. First they de- layed the march in an altogether indefensible manner, and finally they did not dare to proceed to the attack. These two officers were also dishonorably discharged, "as a warning to others." All other Chinese newspapers besides the Peking Gazette are pub- 2^0 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND PISCOVEnT. lished in the treaty ports, for the simple reason that the publishers feel safer there than anywhere else from arbitrary prosecution by the vice- roys and other high mandarins. These publishers frequently employ, for the sake of a freer expression of opinion, Europeans at a fixed salary, who simply furnish their names as responsible editors. A num- ber of foreigners are also employed on newspapers printed in the Chi- nese language. These papers are all published in the foreign quarters of the treaty ports. The first of these provincial papers appeared about forty years ago in Shanghai, and two others followed soon afterward in Tien-tsin and Canton. They are nominally published by foreigners, but, as a matter of fact, owned by Chinese. Since that time, and particularly since the war with Japan, the number of Chinese newspapers has rapidly in- creased. The "Shen-Pao," or Shanghai Gazette, is the most important, and it has an instructive history. This leading Chinese newspaper has undertaken the task to expose and to fight oflflcial abuses. It is par- ticularly bent upon opposing the horrors of the torture inflicted by courts and officials, and more than one case is on record in which the courageous attitude of the Shanghai Gazette caused the revocation of provincial sentences by the central government in Peking. During its career of more than thirty years this newspaper has always been in the van of reform movements, and on this account it is the most influential Chinese publication. More than once the Shanghai Gazette confronted the danger of being suppressed. An energetic effort in this direction was made by the gov- ernor of Shekiang Province, who was attacked by the paper for having decreed a judicial murder. The governor applied to Prince Kung, who was then president of the Tsung-li-Yamen, for an order to suppress the paper, but Prince Kung called the governor's attention to the risk in- volved by the suppression of a newspaper published under the protec- tion of a foreign flag in a foreign settlement. Moreover, he added, much to the chagrin of the governor: "We in Peking like to read such things." Besides the Gazette there are in Shanghai twenty other Chinese newspapers and periodicals, while before the war with Japan there were but four. The influence of occidental culture is also noted in the line of purely advertising mediums. The Chinese merchant, shrewd as he is by nature, quickly realized the value of advertising, and uses this medium of success quite extensively. Advertisements appear on the CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. 2G1 front page of tlie newspapers, after the English style of such publica- tions. In regard to rapidity and extent of reporting interesting events, however, the Chinese publishers are away behind their occidental col- leagues. They content themselves with translating telegrams from English newspapers, invariably giving credit to the source. This latter creditable act, however, is probably due more to the desire for protection than to any inherent sense of honest3\ The column, "Answers to Correspondents," is one of the most im- portant features of the Chinese newspapers. It follows immediately after the exhaustive editorial leader, which is the principal feature of the paper, and its diversity of subjects speaks well for the intelligence of the readers. There is also a smattering of "foreign news," and quite a display of domestic news from various parts of the empire. The "local page" is fairly well filled with accidents, fires, personal matters, and the like, but municipal affairs are scarcely ever mentioned. Public adver- tisements are fairly plentiful, particularly in the line of "stolen chil- dren," for kidnapping seems to be the employment of many miscreants in the big cities of China. In the line of jingoism and hatred of foreigners some of the Chinese newspapers produce the most astounding things, and at least a part of the present troubles, which threaten to involve the existence of the empire, must be ascribed to this part of the press. Those Chinese papers which are rabid in the baiting of foreigners and foreign institutions are run in part or altogether with European capital. The Hu-Pau, a Chi- nese humorous newspaper, published weekly in green covers, is the leader in the agitations against foreigners. Each number contains from twelve to twenty pages of illustrations, chiefly caricatures, and a few pages of letterpress. The illustrations are designed in no mean style, and the imprint upon their rice paper is excellent. They relate mostly to scenes between Chinese and Europeans, the latter always distin- guished by the silk hat, known as "stove pipe." Of course the foreigners are invariably made the laughing stock. At the upper rim of the Qiinese newspapers is the stereotype re- quest: "Please be careful of printed paper." This appeal is pretty generally heeded by the Chinese readers. Newspapers are preserved and read and reread again until they almost fall to pieces. Then comes an employe of the publishers and carries the faded papers to the "Wen 262 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCO VERY. Miao," the literary temple, where they are cremated in ovens con- structed for this purpose. However ancient may be the discovery among this people of the composition of gunpowder, its particular application to fire-arms was probably derived from the West. The silence of the two elder Polos, who serA^ed at the siege of Siang yang-foo, about the year 1273, regard- ing cannon, and the circumstance of those persons having taught the use of balistae for hurling stones at the Tartars, seem to prove that the Chinese at that period were as little acquainted with fire-arms as the Europeans. Their history notices the use of a composition of the nature of Greek fire, which, when thrown into the ditches that surround cities, exploded in contact with the water, and proved very destructive. The invention of powder, as compounded of "sulphur, saltpeter and willow charcoal," is carried very far back by the Chinese, and was probably applied by them to fireworks (in which they excel at present), or other harmless and useful purposes, long before their unwarlike spirit could have suggested the use of guns to themselves, or they could have borrowed the notion from Europeans. The Chinese, we may remark, have always acknowledged their great inferiority in gunnery. Before the Jesuits taught them to cast cannon, there is reason to suppose that they used tubes of wrought-iron bound together by hoops. The last emperor of the Ming dynasty invited the assistance of some guns and artillerymen from the Portuguese of Macao against the Tartars; and Kang-he, after the conquest of China, employed Pere Verbiest to superintend the casting of some hundreds of guns — a union of military pursuits with clerical which brought some scandal upon the enterprising father at Rome. It remains to notice the claims of the Chinese to priority in invention in the case of the magnetic compass, and we may here refer to the saga- cious investigations of M. Klaproth, who informs us that the first dis- tinct notice in Europe of the properties of the polarized needle appeared in a satirical poem of Guyot de Provins, about the year 1190; and the next writer who referred to the same phenomenon was Cardinal de Vitry, who visited Palestine in the fourth crusade, and a second time subsequently, at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Brunetto Latini, author of a work in French called Le Treson, written about 1260, observes that the magnetic needle was calculated to be highly useful CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCO VERY. 263 at sea; but at the same time notices the ignorant prejudice by which navigators were deterred from its adoption; "for," says he, "no master mariner dares to use it, lest he should fall under the suspicion of being a magician; nor would even the sailors venture themselves out to sea under his command, if he took with him an instrument which carries so great an appearance of being constructed under the influence of some infernal spirit." From the above authorities, and one or two others, M. Klaproth in- fers that the use of the magnetic needle was known in Europe at the beginning of the thirteenth century; but none of those writers states that it was invented in Europe; they rather afford a presumption that the knowledge of it was obtained during the crusades. That the mar- iner's compass was in use likewise among the Arabs about the year 1242 is proved by a citation from Baylak, an Arabian writer, who men- tions it as a contrivance generally known to navigators in the sea of Syria. M. Klaproth then proceeds to show that the Chinese compass was, about the year 1117, made exactly in the same manner as that seen by Baylak among the pilots of Syria; and he observes: "It follows from all these facts that this species of compass was used in China at least eighty years previous to the composition of Guyot de Provins' satire; that the Arabs possessed it at nearly the same time; and that, consequently, this invention was communicated, either directly or indirectly, to the Arabs by the Chinese, and that the Arabs transmitted it to the Franks during the early crusades." The attractive power of the lodestone has been known from remote antiquity to the Chinese, but its property of communicating polarity to iron is for the first time explicitly noticed in a Chinese dictionary, finished in A. D. 121. Under the head of Lodestone appears the defin- ition: "A stone with which a direction can be given to the needle." Pere.Gaubil, in his history of the Tang dynasty, states that he found, in a work written a hundred years later than the above, the use of the compass distinctly recorded. In a dictionary published in the reign of Kang-he (not the imperial work which goes by his name), it is stated that under the Tsin dynasty ships were steered to the south by the magnet. The Chinese, however, appear to have applied the polarity of the magnet to a double purpose, and to have used it in ancient times as a guide on shore as well as on sea. This was effected by a machine called 264 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. a magnetic car, in wliicli was placed a little figure of a man turning on a point, and having its finger always directed to the same part of the horizon. A representation of the car is inserted in Klaproth's work, as copied from a Chinese encyclopaedia. It is stated in a history of the Tsin dynasty that the figure placed upon the car represented "a genius in a feather dress," and, that when the emperor went out on state occasions, this car "always led the way, and served to indicate the four points of the compass." These magnetic cars were also known in Japan about the middle of the seventh century, as is proved from the testimony of Japanese works; but they admit that the invention came from China. The ingenuity of the Chinese is best displayed in their arts and manu- factures, and it is in nothing more conspicuous than the ready and simple modes by which they contrive to abridge labor, and occasionally to avail themselves of a mechanical advantage, without the aid of ex- tensive scientific knowledge. Dr. Abel, a gentleman who has made a study of the Chinese people, in writing on this subject says: "Chance led me to the shop of a blacksmith, the manufacturer of various iron instruments, from a sword to a hoe. This man well under- stood the modifying properties of heat, and took the fullest advantage of them in all the practical concerns of his business. He was forming a reaping hook at the time of my visit. A large pair of shears, having one blade fixed in a heavy block of wood, and the other furnished with a long handle to serve as a lever, stood beside him. Bringing a piece of metal of the necessary dimensions from the forge at a white heat, he placed it between the blades of this instrument, and cut it into shape with equal ease and despatch." In exemplification of the same point, we may quote another instance from the journal of Dr. Abel, who was a very intelligent observer. "A quantity of oil, recently taken from the mill (where it had been pressed), and contained in a wide shallow vessel, was continually agitated by a large copper pestle, with v/hich a lad gently struck its surface. The fatigue which would otherwise have arisen from the weight of the pestle, and uniform motion of the arm in using it, was prevented by the following very simple contrivance: A small bow of bamboo being fastened to the ceiling immediately over the vessel containing the oil, the pestle was attached to its string, and, thus suspended, it received from the slightest touch an adequate impulse, while the elasticity of the bow gave it the necessary recoil." In this manner it was worked by a CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCO VERY. 265 young boy, who otherwise would not have had the strength to manage the pestle. With regard to some of their industrial arts, it may be a question whether they are original and indigenous, or borrowed from India; though, with the known ingenuity of the Chinese, the presumption is in favor of the former. In cleaning cotton they make use of a double process, in most respects similar to that known in India. The machine for freeing the cotton from its seed consists of two wooden cylinders, placed horizontally one above the other, and very nearly in contact. These are put in motion by a wheel and a treadle, and the cotton, being applied to one side of the crevice, is turned over by the revolution of the cylinders, or rollers, to the opposite, while the seeds, which are too large to enter between them, fall to the ground. The cotton is then freed from dirt by the same process as in Hindoostan. A very elastic bow with a tight string is held by the carder over a heap of cotton. Pulling down the string with some force under a portion of it, by means of a wooden instrument in his right hand, he suddenly allows the bow to recoil, and the vibration thus continually kept up scatters and loosens the cotton, separating it into fine white flocks, without breaking the fibre. In some other instances, and indeed in most, no doubt can exist of the originality of invention; and the chief of these are the manufacture of silk and porcelain. Could the Chinese urge no other claims to praise on account of their ingenuity, these two alone would serve to give them a high rank among the nations of the world. The tradition of the in- vention of silk manufacture is carried back into the mythological peri- ods, and dates with the origin of agriculture. These two pursuits or professions, namely, husbandry and silk manufacture, the chief sources of food and clothing, form the subject of one of the sixteen discourses to the people. It is there observed that "from ancient times the Son of Heaven himself directed the plough; the empress planted the mulberry tree. Thus have these exalted personages, not above practice of labor and exertion, set an example to all under heaven, with a view to leading the millions of their subjects to attend to their essential interests." The Chinese profess to make a general distribution of human knowl- edge under the three heads of "Heaven, Earth and Man," and this may appear to be not altogether unlike the threefold division proposed by Lord Bacon, of "God, Nature and Man." A well known encyclopaedia, 266 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. in sixty-four volumes, called San-tsae-too-lioey, which dates about the end of the sixteenth century, consists of wood-cuts, illustrated by letter- press, in the, three departments above stated. This work, however, hav- ing been the compilation of one man only, and consisting chiefly of plates, is superficial even for the Chinese, and does not contain a full account of their science, such as it is. The character of the book may be partly gathered from the following account of its contents and method of arrangement: Under the head of Heaven of course comes astronomy, and this in- cludes something of what Vv'as learned from the Arabians and Euro- peans. The department of Earth includes principally their imperfect notions of geography. The third division, that of Man, is b}^ far the most copious. It contains representations of persons famous in history, and of different tribes of men. Next come buildings; furniture; imple- ments used in husbandry, manufactures, and the arts of peace; arms and warlike weapons; wood-cuts in anatomy; costumes; games of skill; specimens of ancient inscriptions; botany and natural history, as applic- able to medicine; active sports and exercises; specimens^ of coins and money. The actual state of the sciences in China may perhaps be ranked with their condition in Europe, sometime previous to the adoption on the inductive method in philosophy. The constitutional ingenuity and industry of the people has led them to fall upon various practical re- sults, in spite, it would seem, of a feature in their character and habits which is opposed to the progress of knowledge. They profess to set no value on abstract science, apart from some obvious and immediate end of utilit}'. Among ourselves, the practical application of scientific dis- coveries is sometimes long subsequent to the discoveries themselves, which might perhaj^s never have been made, had not science been fol- lowed up through its by-paths for its own sake merely, or with a very remote view to utility in practice. Dr. Abel relates that, after satisfying a mandarin in reply to his questions concerning some of the useful manufactures of the western world, he took occasion to mention that the English had metals which on coming in contact with water burst into flame. "I had some potassium with me," he adds, "and was desirous of showing its properties to him. He immediately inquired concerning its uses, and, when these rf! ^ » ^ ci: c H s e4 « S ;^ o M g o c CD H X < ri ^ o ^ u H "St te r/) u » "^ CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. 269 could not be satisfactorily explained to him, looked too contemptuous to induce me to venture an experiment." A surprising enumeration might be made of instances in which the Chinese appear to have stumbled by mere chance upon useful inventions, without the previous possession of any scientific clue. Oases, however, occur in which it may be fairly suspected that they were indebted to the missionaries. Without knowing anything, for instance, of that theory of optics which treats of the convergence and divergence of rays of light by lenses of different shapes, they use both convex and concave glasses to assist their sight. For checking the glare of the sun, they make use of a mineral which they call Cha-she, or "tea-stone," from the resemblance of its transparent hue to a weak infusion of black tea. In some instances the Chinese have been known to attempt slavish copies of telescopes of foreign manu- facture; but their scientific knowledge of the construction of compound lenses is so slight that they have never been successful in these attempts. When, however, a few specimens of the optical toy, the Kaleidoscope, first reached Canton, these were easily imitated. The Chinese were de- lighted with them; vast numbers were immediately manufactured, and sent up the country, under the appropriate name of Wan-hua-tung, or "tubes of ten thousand flowers." The drug stores of China contain an immense list of simples, a few gums and some minerals. These are sold in small packets, each con- taining a dose enveloped in a wrapper which describes the use of the medicine. Chinese doctors paste up and distribute hand-bills, in the same manner as is customary with a certain branch of the faculty with us, and generally with reference to the same diseases. The druggists' shops are remarkable for their superior cleanliness, and not unlike those of our own country in the arrangement of jars, drawers, etc. The most considerable work on Chinese materia medica is the fam- ous Pun-tsaou, or Herbal, which is not confined to botany merely, as its name might imply, but extends to the animal and mineral kingdoms also. At the head of all remedies stands ginseng, which at one time was gold for eight times its weight in silver. Tea, in a variety of prepara- tions, is much valued as a medicine; and different parts of rare animals are included in the list, with the reputation of properties as multifarious and inconsistent as the pills of a New York quack. A physician whom Dr. Abel saw at Canton was entirely destitute of 270 CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCO VERY. anatomical knowledge. He appeared to be aware that there were such viscera as the heart, lungs and liver, but had no notion of their real situ- ation, or, like the "doctor against his will" in Moliere, placed them on the wrong side of the body. Still he appeared not to be ignorant through choice, as he eagerly examined some anatomical plates from the factory library, declaring that such delineations on a large scale would be a most valuable acquisition. It may be observed, however, that though they never either dissect or practice amputation (except that of the head), and are consequently ignorant of the structure and functions of the vital organs, they have a tolerable acquaintance with osteology. The importance which they at- tach to the remains of their deceased relatives is such, that on a change of abode, or for some other reason, they often disinter the bones, and place them in a jar for removal. The Chinese occasionally practice a species of forensic medicine, to ascertain from external indications the mode by which any person came to his death. A lad had one day been found dead in a house not far from the factories in Canton, and, as it was suspected that violence had occasioned his death, the magistrate instituted his court near to the spot. The several parties suspected were brought before him and ex- amined, some of them with torture. The body being extended upon boards, a quantity of mash, composed of some grain in a boiling hot state, was laid over it. After a time this was removed, and from the ap- pearance of the skin and muscles they appeared to form a judgment as to the cause of the individual's death. It is needless to remark in how few cases this superficial mode of examination could be of any use in ascertaining the multiform ways in which life may be extinguished. When a physician has been unsuccessful, he retires with the common Chinese adage, "there is medicine for sickness, but none for fate." The low state of the art may partly be explained by the small consideration in which the profession is held, and by there being no public schools for medicine, nor any way of acquiring their limited knowledge, except by engaging with some person already in practice. That they occasionally gain considerable reputation and profit seems clear from the success of a fashionable doctor at Canton, of whom there is some account in the Chinese Eepository, and who rose from the condition of a mere hawker of drugs to be the medical oracle of the neighborhood. This doctor's house is opened early in the morning to patients who CHINA IN SCIENCE, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY. 271 call, and they are ushered into his presence one by one. At a regular hour he sallies out to see those who send for him to come to their houses, and receives what they choose to give him. He is a man of few words, and either will not, or cannot, explain the operation of his pre- scriptions; but people are said very generally to recover under his care. CHAPTER XVI. RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. The Prize Awaiting the World in China— Necessary to Create the Wants in Order to Supply Them— Chinese Adaptability to All Climates and Conditions— Mneral Wealth of the Empire — Inadequate Transportation Facilities — Agricultural Conditions — Supply and Cost of Labor— Condition of the Workmen — Opium— Textile Industries — Execrable Roads —Railway Progress— Steamers, Telegraphs and Posts. rHKEE great influences have acted to stimulate the explora- tion, the development and the opening of the Chinese Empire by the nations of the Western World. One has been the unselfish desire of the Christian church to convert to its faith the millions of benighted Chinese whom they believed to be suffering for want of the Gospel; one has been the curiosity of those who wanted to see the strange things of a strange land, sometimes sincere students with scientific purpose, sometimes mere wandering adventurers; one has been the cupidity of energetic traders, who, hearing from missionary or scientist or adventurer of the marvelous mineral, agricultural and commercial possibilities of the populous country yearned for a share in its wealth and set to work to get it. Since the dawn of history this commercial spirit has gone hand in hahd with religion and adventure to stimulate the quest for new lands. We know that it was Cathay which Columbus was seeking, to convert the natives and acquire the gold when he blundered upon the Western hemisphere. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch or English, alike, the colonial energies of the early centuries inextricably mingled the converting of the native races with the commercial fruits of the con- quest. So it is to-day. While our faithful, hard-working missionaries are blazing the way for civilization in China, the merchants of the world have been hastening in their vessels to dig out of the Chinese earth the Chinese gold, to buy and sell and transport the Chinese crops, to build railways across China, to exploit the old new land in every way that modern commercial ingenuity can suggest, and all for their own profit. Ko land in the world offers such enticements of profit for "opening" 373 RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. 273 as does the Chinese empire. Millions upon millions of people have yet to be provided with what we consider the simplest and cheapest neces- sities. Once they are taught to realize what they lack, what we con- sider their wants, their power to purchase will be the only limit to the Chinese market for western wares. The greatest difficulty in creating the demand for American and European goods has been to induce the Chinese to want them. Satis- fled as they are that they are the truly civilized people of the world and that all the rest are "western barbarians," they can smile in superiority at the suggestion that foreigners can furnish them anything of value. They are content with inadequate transportation and primitive arts and sciences, complacent in their knowledge of the classic writings of the great Confucius. This is the prize waiting for commercial conquest by the commercial powers. The Chinese seem to be the only race of people who are equally serviceable as laborers in all parts of the world, able as they are to adapt themselves to any manner of life and to work in comfort in any climate from the severest St. Petersburg winter to the hottest summer weather in the Dutch East Indies or the Philippines. Living on a few cents a day as he can, tractable to discipline, skillful in imitation and deft with his hands, the Chinaman is a most valuable contribution to the world's force. The Chinaman himself is China's most valuable natural and industrial resource. Whether utilized elsewhere in the world or applied at home to the natural wealth of his country by the influence and under the direction of foreigners, he will be a factor to be reckoned with at all times to come. China's three zones into which division the country naturally falls, are materially different in climate, characteristics and products. North of the Hoangho or Yellow river the principal crops are barley and millet, the winters being too severe to permit the successful culti- vation of rice and tea. The central zone extends southward from the Yellow river to about latitude 26, roughly speaking, and with its much milder winters, rice and wheat are profitably grown. The better kinds of tea, too, as well as cotton, bamboo, orange and sugar cane flourish here. The chief product of Chinese silk and cotton is from the eastern part of this zone, the west abounds in valuable timber, while from the central portion come the enormous yields of grains which have given it the name of "the granary of China*" The southewi zone, extending 274 RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. to the sea and the Indo-Chinese boundary, is the warmest of all, and its products, while much the same as those of the center of the empire, are of inferior quality. No such limitation exists as to the mineral wealth of the empire, which depends not at all on climate or meteorological conditions. Through all the zones various large deposits of the useful and the precious metals are distributed, coal, iron, copper, lead, tin, mercury, gold and silver among others. It is the absolutely inadequate transportation facilities which are responsible more than any other single influence for the backwardness of all mineral industrien. Coal, for instance, which is found in rich deposits throughout the empire, and the use of which has been brought to great perfection in the household and in the arts, is not available except quite near the mines because transportation is so expensive as to put it out of reach for consumption. Both bituminous and anthracite coal deposits are found in great abundance, the veins from three to ten feet thick and easily worked. Province after province contains this val- uable fuel in enormous quantities. Shonsi alone contains a coal field far excelling that of Pennsylvania, and iron deposits quite as rich as those of that American state. It must not be thought that this wealth is entirely unutilized by the Chinese, for since the days of Marco Polo coal has been mined and burned in considerable quantities. Neverthe- less, the introduction of modern transportation and modern mining methods would multiply the value of the industry a hundred fold. Iron deposits are widely distributed and experts declare the quality and variety of ore to equal our own deposits in the United States. With limestone also generally at hand, the manufacturing of all wares dependent upon iron seems one of the certainties of China's future. Salt, zinc, sulphur, petroleum, cinnabar, and other common or rare minerals show rich deposits in China, in addition to those already named. Almost every province of the eighteen in China proper has its own mining regions, and in those remoter dependencies of the empire — Manchuria, Mongolia, Jungaria, Turkestan and Tibet — exist realms of riches hardly guessed even by the explorers. When China's resources are named, the first thought that comes to the mind of everyone is the tea of the great empire. Tea, which was given to the world by the Chinese, remains still the largest item in the foreign trade. This is true in spite of the remarkable inroads that have RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. 275 been made on the market by the introduction of Indian and Ceylonese teas. Not every one in China drinlis tea, but the habit is so general that it might almost be called universal. The Yangtse valley is the tea-producing region and all the brick tea for the Siberian, Mongolian and Tibetan markets is prepared at Hankau. The machinery and pro- cesses by which the work of compressing the tea into "bricks" is done are exceedingly interesting. The work is all done by man-power, no engines being employed. The best of the Chinese tea, which probably is the best in the world, is bought by Russian firms, who are able to outbid purchasers from any other country. The Chinese are the chief competi- tors, for they enjoy a fine cup of tea as much as anyone. The English, however, usually are far outbid in the sales. Under the influence of the tea trade and Russian power in North China, the Russians are gradually driving out the other foreign merchants from Ichang, Hankau and the other treaty ports on the river, wherever they like to go. Tobacco was introduced into China only about 300 years ago, having come from Japan by way of Korea. It came first into Manchuria and then, when the present alien dynasty conquered the empire and the Manchus came into power, they brought the new habit with them. Now it is almost universal throughout the empire, and Manchurian tobacco is the most famous of the product. The supply and cost of labor are of prime importance in considering industrial conditions in China as elsewhere. Bourne, in his report on the trade of central and southern China, says: "The truth is, that a man of good physical and intellectual qualities, regarded merely as an economical factor, is turned out cheaper by the Chinese than by any other race." Says Colquhoun, in his. noteworthy book, "China in Transr formation," in regard to this question: "A Chinese coolie can be employed for from six to eight dollars a month, and considering his greater strength and endurance, he is a cheaper servant at these rates, either in or out of his own country, than the ordinary native of India. The people are sturdy and well-built, those of North China being stronger than those of the south and more civil to foreigners. The poorer classes live almost entirely on rice and vegetables, to which they sometimes add small pieces of fish and meat. An artisau's wages vary, according to his skill, from 10 cents to 20 cents a day. As a rule they are diligent workmen, being good carpenters, slow bricklayers, 276 RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. excellent stone cutters, very fair navvies, indifferent blacksmiths, and bad at forge-work and ironwork generally. They do not appreciate the necessity of exactness or of fixing work truly in a lathe, but they have considerable powers of imitation. They are indifferent miners. When working by contract, meals are provided on the premises. They work generally nine hours a day, lunching about noon and dining after the day's work is done, usually on rice, fish and vegetables. "Workmen are divided into guilds, are turbulent unless kept in subjection, and often combine to raise their wages. The artisans of the south are superior to those of north China in skill and activity. The great bulk of the people (two-thirds) are employed in productive labor, i. e., agriculture and fisheries, one-tenth probably gaining a livelihood by the latter industry. About one-third are manufacturers, tradesmen, or are engaged in commerce. The extremely overpopulated condition of certain sections of the country has had a powerful influence in moulding the national character. Under the existing conditions China cannot support her people; hence large numbers of the inhabitants are compelled either to emigrate or to live in boats on the rivers and lakes." The opium war and its relation to international affairs between China and England were discussed in the historical chapters earlier in this work. From the industrial point of view opium is one of the most important products of the country, the source of large profits to those handling it as a merchandise. Chinese-grown opium is gradually replacing the imported article from India, much to the loss of the British-Indian treasury. Yunnan and Szechuan opium is increasing in quantity and improving in quality, the poppy is spreading over other provinces, and as the value of the crop is double that of wheat, it is in many regions fast displacing that worthier product. The textile industries of China have been famous for centuries, silk and cotton being widely produced. Chinese silks are favorites wherever they are known, even in the American and European markets. The export trade is falling more and more into the control of foreign agencies in the treaty ports and the same influences are modifying the industry itself, introducing modern machinery as rapidly as possible and directing the manufacture into the forms most popular for the export trade. All of the industries thus briefly outlined will be stimulated by the improved transportation facilities for which concessions have been RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. 277 granted and plans formed. It is impossible to believe that the astute Chinese will fail to recognize the value of railway systems when once they are built, even though the surveying of the lines and the incon- siderate actions of engineers and "promoters" were largely responsible for the outbreak of the Boxer difficulties. The Grand Canal, famous for generations, is an evidence that the Chinese themselves have been ready to promote convenient transport- ation by the means at their command. This connected series of rivers, lakes, marshes and canals, in former times before the inflow of the Hoangho failed, afforded uninterrupted communication north and south through the empire all the way between Canton and Peking. It was crowded with traffic, contributing immensely to the commerce of the Chinese people. But of late years it has fallen out of repair and no longer serves its former important place. The roads of the empire seem to be the worst in the world. Where travel by water is impossible, coolies carry passengers in sedan-chairs, sometimes covering a distance of thirty-five miles daily for weeks in succession. Baggage and freight are carried by the same bearers, who sling the burdens to poles resting on their shoulders. Ponies, mules and oxen are used as pack animals or to drag the heavy country carts over the atrocious roads. Camels, too, are used around Peking and in Manchuria, Mongolia and Turkestan. From Peking the best of the high roads radiate east, north and west toward remote parts of the empire, but even these are almost intolerable measured by our standards. They follow the natural trade routes to Manchuria, Siberia, Mongolia and Turkestan, however, and in general will be the routes of such railways as are constructed from the capital. Railways have been constructed from Peking to Tientsin, thence to Kin-chau, and around the Gulf or Pechili to Niuchuang. Here this line connects with the Russian railway starting at Port Arthur and extending northward past Niuchuang by way of Mukden to Tsitsikar and Harbin, where lines diverge east to Vladivostok and northwest to a connection with the Siberian railway for European Russia^ The hostilities in Manchuria resulted in the destruction of much of the work that had been done in the construction of these lines, but with the restoration of peace the work will be resumed and renewed promptly so that rail connection with TJurope will be assured within a short time. The established termsi of final peace are sure to confirm 278 MSOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. the railway grants made for the construction of lin>es thro-ughout China proper to English, Belgian, German, French, Russian, Italian and American capitalists so that the rapid improvement of internal com- munication is assured. Steamer lines, too, are multiplying rapidly on the great river systems with which the Chinese empire is so richly provided. The Imperial telegraph systems extend throughout the empire and connect China by land wires with India, Burmah, Siberia and European Russia. Banking systems in the commercial centers are reasonably complete. The Chinese postoffice system is slow and primitive, but surprisingly complete and safe. It is apparent that the opening of the great empire to western methods of industry and commerce will mark an important step in the progress of China and the world. A brief review of the labor question as it exists in China* follows, embodying the knowledge of one who has lived in the empire for a number of years and is thoroughly conversant with all the conditions. He writes as follows: "The ^squeeze' system is so universal in China that it has to be taken into consideration in discussing the wage question. If a man's op- portunities to squeeze are large his wages will be small. Any employe who purchases or gives contracts for his employer will have only a nominal wage, or none at all, for it is recognized that he will compen- sate himself from extortion of the people under him, or dependent upon his patronage. "The man who has no opportunity whatever to squeeze is paid only the lowest possible pittance capable of supporting life. This varies with the price of foodstuffs, and as transportation facilities are very poor often makes considerable difference in Avages within 100 miles. For instance, in Chinanfu, the capital of the province of Shantung, flour of good quality can be bought for 25 cash per catty. At cities two days distance by mule or donkey the price is nearly twice as much. "Usually employers of large numbers of men feed their employes and pay them still smaller wages. But if the laborer buys his own food the following scale may be taken as accurate for Qiina north of Shanghai. I am informed that it is much the same all over China, but have no per- sonal knowledge south of Shanghai. "This scale applies only to natives employing natives. Foreigners RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. 270 employing Chinese always have to pay higher rates. The wages are cal- culated by the day in 'United States money: Farm laborers $0.04i to $0.09 Coolies 04 to .Ou Carpenters 07^ to .22 Masons 07^ to .20 Stone cutters 05 to .10 Carters 05 to .10 Miners 05 to .10 Clerks in stores 05 to .20 Secretaries in yamens 25 to 1.00 Teachers, public 10 to .20 Teachers, private 10 to .50 Policemen 04 ta .08 Soldiers 06 to .10 Sailors 05 to .07 Cooks Nominal. "Since the incoming o-f foreigners, foreign machinery an'd railways a limited number of men have obtained employment at the ports at much higher wages, indicated as follows : Machinists |0.20 to |0.50 Engine drivers 30 to 1.00 Firemen 10 to .30 Weavers 10 to .25 Coachmen 10 to .20 "Guilds have existed from very early times and regulate in some de- gree in some places the price of labor. But as competition is Yerj great and the country in most places overcrowded, the price of food for the day's absolute need is about the price of labor. A ma-n has little or nothing left after paying for his food, so that to obtain clothing is often a matter of difficulty. The surplus after the daj^'s food is more often expended in opium or gambled away than put on the laborer's back. Misery in winter is consequently universal. "Strikes ordered by guilds occasionally occur, and they a^e generally successful, as they are never undertaken except in direct extremity and for an otherwise irremediable evil. "•The wage-earning classes of China are a patient, uncomplaining, contented people, without ambition, and truly are, as the governor of 280 RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. Peking once said to me, 'Like horses and cows and in nowise more in- telligent.' " Supplementary to this is a review of Chinese foreign trade con- tributed by John F. Bass, a well-known American correspondent, writ- ing from Peking last May, only a month prior to the outbreak of the Boxers, He says in part: "Peking, Maj 12. — China's foreign trade is divided among England, the United States, Germany and Japan. Russia, although she plays the most important part politically in China, has as yet no trade which in the least justifies her aggressive policy. This is due to the fact that as yet all industries in Siberia are undeveloped and transportation has been so difftcult as to render trade impossible except by caravans. The Siberian railroad, now rapidly nearing completion, is intended not only ais a military instrument, but also as a means of opening up Si- beria ix> the coanmerce of the east. How eagerly the Russians are push- ing their raili*oad will be understood when it is known that within a short time the Russian government entered into a contract with a large English firm in Tientsin to furnish 40,000 coolies from China to push the railroad to rapid completion. "Russian interest in China, therefore, is purely political. I believe that this policy has for its purpose the future trade necessities of Si- beria, but for the present the policy of Russia must be the acquisition of territory and governing influence, rather than the expansion of trade, which she has not got and cannot acquire for forty years. "It is for this reason that, while one meets in the east English, American and German merchants, one sees only Russian officers and officials. It is also for this reason that Russia cannot have the same interefeit in such a reform of the government in China as would enable English, German, American, Japanese and French merchants to get a permanent footing in the interior. "Of the foreign trade of China England has more than 60 per cent. She seems, however, to rest on her past efforts, content with a field won wJien there was little or no competition. Her manufacturers do not realize that goods which have held the market in former years will not answer where Germany and Japan are competing for the same market. The En.glish merchant says these goods have answered in the past, why make any changes? "Japan, from her proximity and kinship to China, ought to have the BESOUBCES AND INDU8TBIAL WEALTH. 281 advantage in competing for the trade of China, but Japanese merchants and manufacturers suffer from inexperience and also from a streak of dishonesty and unreliability which greatly impairs their credit not only in the east but also in Europe and America. For this reason Japan is doing her exporting and importing with European countries and America through foreign houses resident in Japan. "The Chinese merchant, on the other hand, is famous throughout the east for his commercial honesty. He may cheat you in making a bargain, but once his contract is made he holds to it, whether written or oral. This commercial integrity in a country where the government is so corrupt is due to the fact that in China, unlike Japan, merchants have always been near the top of the social ladder. "The United States in its efforts to meet the demands of the Chi- nese market stands between Great Britain and Germany. Not so con- servative as the English, the American manufacturer has not yet felt the pressure of competition at home which makes the German so eager to manufacture especially for the eastern market. The east is still for the American a place where surplus manufactures may be got rid of, rather than a market for which a distinct class of goods must be made. "The reason for this is that American merchants have not so much sought the markets of the east as that the trade has been found for them by others. That is to say, American goods are shipped to China in English bottoms, and for the most part pass through the hands of foreigners, especially Englishmen. There are few Americans on the spot, and orders come through foreign firms because American goods happen to suit their purpose. Thus the American manufacturer is often in ignorance of what is wanted. "There is to-day a pressing necessity for Americans who shall live in China to keep home manufacturers informed of what is really wanted. "Another reason why American manufacturers have not a wider field in the east is because they do not yet feel the necessity for such a mar- ket. This leads to a certain hand-to-mouth policy, into which dishon- esty occasionally creeps. For instance, only recently the American consul in Yokohama was called upon to certify that in a cargo of cotton sent to Japan from America there were several bales weighted in the middle with plaster of paris. Such incidents are most unfortunate, especially since American merchants here complain of Japanese dis- honesty. It is more to be regretted because American cotton has only 282 BES0UBCE8 AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. in the last few years been exported directly from America. Before that it all came through Liverpool in the hands of English merchants. It was only through the efforts of our foreign consul, Mr. McKiver, in President Cleveland's term, that the Japanese manufacturers were led to buy their cotton directly from America. Japan is no longer so far out of the world that commercial irregularity will not come home to roost on the shoulders of the wrongdoers. "Despite all this, the Chinese trade of the United States has made wonderful progress in the last decade. American engines, rails and structural iron are underselling the world. The foreign trade of Si- beria, such as it is, is American. In Port Arthur two American and one German are the only foreign firms, and much of the material with which the Russian government is provisioning Port Arthur is of American manufacture. "Foreign manufacturers of cotton yarns in Hongkong and Shanghai say that they cannot compete with Fall River yarns because their labor is so inferior to American labor. In China they have to employ three women for one frame of spindles, whereas with us one man attends to half a dozen frames. The wages of one Chinese woman may only be 25 cents, as compared with the |2 or $3 of the American workman, but the eighteen women required to run six spindles will draw |4.50 wages. "The Chinese buy this yarn and manufacture their own cloth. They will not buy the broad width made by foreigners. English manufac- turers refuse to make the narrow width, which would sell in the Chi- nese market, on account of the extra expense involved in setting up new machinery. It is reported here that next year certain American manufacturers are going to make the narrow width of cloth especially for the Chinese market. If this is true it shows a new and commendable enterprise in our merchants in the east. "In the northern portion of China our consuls complain that our merchants are not so eager to get the Chinese trade that they are will- ing to put up their goods in such packages as the Chinese merchants desire. "The conclusion that forces itself upon the observer is that American commerce has a tremendous opportunity in Cathay provided the Amer- ican merchant throws himself into the business with the same vigor and enterprise which he shows at home. "Certain dangers interfere with such a trade development. In China RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL WEALTH. 283 commerce and politics are inextricably interwoven. According to the treaties with China, foreign merchants cannot live in the interior of the country. All goods, therefore, must pass from treaty ports directly into the hands of the Chinese. This would offer no danger to foreign trade were it not for the 'octroi,' or 'likin,' system under which China suffers, and the insufferable greed of officials. The 'likin' tax is a tax on goods in transit from the port of entry to their final destination. It is the most irregular and unjust of all Chinese trade regulations, be- cause it differs in different parts of China with the individual greed of local officials. "Now, according to treaty, foreign merchandise is allowed, by pay- ing an extra duty at the port of entry, to pass untaxed from the port of entry to its final destination. Chinese officials are constantly infringing on these treaty rights, and so slow is the diplomatic machinery to re- dress that merchants prefer to submit to individual losses. The abuses of the treaty regulations in regard to 'likin' taxes in a great measure diminish the profits on trade and discourage merchants. "A further and great danger to foreign trade lies in the instability of the central government and the concomitant uprisings and revolts, which the Chinese police and army are either unable or unwilling to suppress promptly. The present hostility of the government to foreign- ers accentuates the difficulty of developing the Chinese market by any other process but slow wringing of privileges by diplomatic agents from the unwilling Manchu dynasty. If this process is found too slow for the growing desires of foreigners for Asiatic commerce then we may expect the disruption of China into 'spheres of influence,' and the pre- dictions are that such a division would inevitably lead to a great inter- national war," CHAPTER XVII. WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. Causes of the War — ^Japan's Declaration — China's Reply — Attack on the Japanese Minister — First Engagement at Sea — Alliance Between Japan and Korea — The Battle at the Yalu River — The Great Naval Engagement of the War— Invasion of the Second Japanese Army Corps — The Advance on Port Arthur — Capture of the City — Horrible Scenes ol Slaughter— The Chinese Sue for Peace — Terms of the Treaty. FOR a long time Korea had been a source of jealousy and con- tention between China and Japan. Small, weak empire as it was, it had drawn most of its civilization, art and letters from China, at the same time yielding a certain suzerainty to the Chinese emperor. In later years, however, Japanese energy and progress had begun to make themselves felt until Japan considered that Korea properly belonged in her "sphere of influence." Japan began to dominate the Korean court, the Korean finances and the Korean commerce. Friction was bound to occur among oriental potentates and magnates thus brought into opposition and the outbreak of the China- Japanese war of 1894-95 was no surprise. The war was of more consequence to the rest of the world than the magnitude of the conflicts themselves would have promised. In the first place in its naval engagements it afforded tests of the fighting capacity of modern ironclad men-of-war better than any others since naval architecture took its present forms. More important still, the end of the war and the terms of peace established conditions from which may be traced much of the trouble that has kept the Far East on the edge of war ever since, and shared in making the present Chinese complications what they are. The uninterrupted success of the Japanese arms showed to the world the weakness of Chinese preten- sions and organization, the dishonesty of Chinese oflficials and the im- potency of the government. In the limited space at our command in which to recount the story of the war it is not possible to give an extended account of the causes which led to the conflict. The disputed question of the right of the two nations to keep troops on Korean soil, a right which both countries 284 ""WR^ ^MMMP^^^^^^H ' — 1 B^^S jp^^p i -< \r "j| ^^^^3 A i, M^ F '^'^^yHl ^■^^^t'-^ [r:g k L TV ^ Y'.^^Piri ■ ' .^ ! . V - \ .^HIKj^H Ih^ O I o WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 287 had exercised more than once, gave the excuse for a war which years of hereditary animosities had made inevitable. More than 300 years ago the Japanese were routed in Korea by the soldiers of the "Son of Heaven," and time never healed the breach then made. The claims made by the two nations in justification of their action can best be expressed in their declarations of war. The Japanese was as follows: "We, by the grace of heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on a throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, do hereby make proclamation to all our loyal and brave subjects as follows: We hereby declare war against China, and we command each and all of our com- petent authorities, in obedience to our wish, and with a view to the attainment of the national end, to carry on hostilities by sea and land against China, with all the means at their disposal, consistently with the law of nations. "Over twenty years have now elapsed since our accession to the throne. During this time we have consistently pursued a policy of peace, being deeply impressed with a sense of the undesirability of being in strained relations with other nations, and have always directed our ofiicials diligently to endeavor to promote friendship with all the treaty powers. Fortunately our intercourse with the nations has con- tinued to increase in intimacy. "We were therefore unprepared for such a conspicuous want of amity and good faith, as has been manifested by China in her conduct towards this country in connection with the Korean affairs. Korea is an independent state. She was first introduced into the family of nations by the advice and under the guidance of Japan. It has, how- ever, been China's habit to designate Korea as her dependency, and both openly and secretly to interfere with her domestic affairs. At the time of the recent civil insurrection in Korea, China despatched troops thither, alleging that her purpose was to afford succor to her dependent state. We, in virtue of the treaty concluded with Korea in 1882, and looking to possible emergencies, caused a military force to be sent to that country, wishing to procure for Korea a freedom from the calamity of perpetual disturbance, and thereby to maintain the peace of the east in general. Japan invited China's co-operation for the accomplishment of that object; but China, advancing various pretexts, declined Japan's proposal. "Thereupon Japan advised Korea to reform her administration, so 288 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. that order might be preserved at home, and so that the country might be able to discharge the responsibilities and duties of an independent state abroad. Korea has already consented to undertake the task, but China has insidiously endeavored to circumvent and thwart Japan's purpose. She has further procrastinated and endeavored to make war- like preparations, both on land and at sea. When these preparations were completed, she not only sent large re-enforcements to Korea with a view to the attainment of her ambitious designs, but even carried her arbitrariness and insolence to the extent of opening fire upon our ships in Korean waters. "China's plain object is to make it uncertain where the responsi- bility resides for preserving peace and order in Korea, and not only to weaken the position of that state in the family of nations — a position obtained for Korea through Japanese efforts — but also to obscure the significance of the treaties recognizing and confirming that position. Such conduct on the part of China is not only a direct injury to the rights and interests of this empire, but also a menace to the permanent peace and tranquillity of the Orient. Judging from her action, it must be concluded that China from the beginning has been bent upon sacri- ficing peace to the attainment of her sinister objects. In this situation, ardent as our wish is to promote the prestige of the country abroad by strictly peaceful methods, we find it impossible to avoid a formal dec- laration of war against China. It is our earnest wish that by the loyalty and valor of our faithful subjects, peace may soon be permanently restored, and the glory of the empire be augmented and completed." China promptly accepted the issue thus formally raised, and pub- lished a declaration in substance as follows : "Korea has been our tributary for the last two hundred odd years. She has given us tribute all of this time, which is a matter known to the world. For the last dozen years or so Korea has been troubled by repeated insurrections; and we in sympathy with our small tributary have as repeatedly sent succor to her aid, eventually placing a resident in her capital to protect Korea's interests. In the fourth moon (May) of this year, another rebellion was begun in Korea, and the king repeat- edly asked again for aid from us to put down the rebellion. We then ordered Li Hung Chang to send troops to Korea, and they having barely reached Asan, the rebels immediately scattered, but the 'Wojen' (the ancient epithet for the Japanese expressive of contempt translated 'pig- WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 289 mies' or more strictly according to usage 'vermin'), without any cause whatever sent their troops to Korea and entered Seoul, the capital of Korea, re-enforcing them constantly until they have exceeded ten thou- sand men. '•In the meantime the Japanese forced the Korean king to change his system of government, showing a disposition in every way of bully- ing Koreans. It was found a difficult matter to reason with the 'Wojen.' Although we have been in the habit of assisting our tributaries, we have never interfered with their internal, government. Japan's treaty with Korea was as one country with another. There is no law for sending large armies to bully a country in this way and to tell it to change its system of government. Various powers are united in condemning the conduct of the Japanese, and can give no reasonable name to the army she now has in Korea. Nor has Japan been amenable to reason, nor will she listen to an exhortation to withdraw her troops and confer amicably upon what should be done in Korea. On the contrary, Japan has shown herself belligerent without regard to appearances, and has been increasing her forces there. Her conduct alarmed the people of Korea as well as our merchants there, and so we sent more troops over to protect them. Judge of our surprise then, when half way to Korea a number of the 'Wojen' ships suddenly appeared, and taking advantage of our unpreparedness opened fire on our transports at a spot on the sea coast near Asan, and damaged them, thus causing us to suffer from their treacherous conduct which could not be foretold by us. "As Japan has violated the treaties and not observed the interna- tional laws, and is now running rampant with her false and treacherous actions, beginning hostilities herself, and laying herself open to condem- nation by the various powers at large, we, therefore, desire to make it known to the world that we have always followed the paths of phil- anthropy and perfect justice throughout the whole complications, while the 'Wojen' and others have broken all the laws of nations and treaties which it passed our patience to bear with. Hence we command Li Hung Chang to give strict orders to our various armies to hasten with all speed to root the Wojen out of their lairs. He is to send successive armies of valiant men to Korea, in order to have the Koreans freed from bondage. We also command Manchu generals, viceroys, and governors of the maritime provinces, as well as the commanders in chief of the various armies to prepare for war, and to make every effort to fire on 290 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. tne Wojen ships if they come into our ports, and utterly destroy them. We exhort our generals to refrain from the least laxity in obeying our commands, in order to avoid severe punishment at our hands. Let all know this edict as if addressed to themselves individually." For some months prior to the outbreak of the war between China and Japan there had been a number of movements against the govern- ment of Korea by rebellious natives. In May, 1894, the Korean troops engaged a large band of rebels at Reisan, meeting with overwhelming defeat; and late in the same month Zenshu fell into the hands of the insurgents. Later, a plot was discovered to blow up the government building at Seoul, the capital, during an official session of the king and his ministers, and warrants were issued for over a thousand of the suspected conspirators. The Korean government appealed to Peking for assistance, and a detachment of 2,000 Chinese soldiers were at once despatched to the port of Asan. By the treaty then in force between China and Japan, neither nation could land troops on Korean soil without giving the other nation notice of the intended action; and as soon as the government at Tokio heard of this move on the part of China they retaliated by landing 6,000 Japa- nese soldiers on the western coast of Korea, and stationing a force at Seoul, for the protection of the Japanese legation. Mr. Otori, the Japanese minister to the Korean court, started to keep an appointment with the king of Korea on July 23. He was accompa- nied by an armed escort, and had nearly reached the palace when he was fired upon by the troops of the Ming dynasty, which was the pro- Chinese faction in Korea. The fire was promptly returned by the Japa- nese guard, and the skirmish resulted in the Ming forces losing eighty- seven men, killed and wounded; while the Japanese escaped with no loss of life, and but three men slightly wounded. When the affray was over the palace w^as in the possession of Mr. Otori and his guard; and the pro-Chinese element had lost all control in Korea. On July 25, one week before the declaration of war, occurred the first battle between the tw^o nations at sea. The Chinese government had chartered from the Indo-Chinese Steam Navigation company the British steamers Kow-shing, Irene, and Fei Ching, and a number of Chinese merchant steamers, for the transportation of troops to Asan to reinforce the Chinese army at that port. The Irene sailed on July 21, with 1,150 troops, and the Kow-shing followed on July 23, with 1,200 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 291 troops on board. About nine o'clock, on the morning of July 25, the Kow-shing was sighted by three Japanese war vessels, one of which, the Matsusima, had on board the Japanese admiral. The Kow-shing promptly obeyed a signal to stop, and a boarding party was sent from the man-of-war. The officer in command, after a careful examination of her papers, ordered the transport to follow. This the captain de- clined to do, for the reason that war between China and Japan had not been declared, and the Kow-shing was under the British flag. Besides, whatever his own wishes might be in the matter, the Chinese com- mander positively refused to permit such a course. The boarding party returned to the Naniwa, and the signal immediately came "Quit the ship as soon as possible." The Chinese refused to allow this, whereupon the Naniwa steamed into position at a distance of about 200 yards. The story of what followed is best told by Mr. Tamplin, the chief officer of the Kow-shing: "The Chinese were greatly excited, and kept drawing their fingers across their throats in order to show us what we might expect. The British officers, and Captain Von Hennecken, were anxiously gathered on the bridge, and the bodyguards were at the bottom of the ladder watching us like cats. Two executioners fully armed were told off to follow the captain and myself, and they dogged us everywhere with drawn scepters. About one o'clock the Naniwa opened fire, first dis- charging a torpedo at the Kow-shing, which did not strike her. The man-of-war then fired a broadside of five heavy guns, and continued firing both heavy and machine guns from deck and tops until the Kow- shing sank about an hour later. The Kow-shing was first struck right amidships, and the sound of the crashing and splintering was almost deafening. To add to the danger, the Chinese rushed to the other side, causing the ship to heel over more than ever. As soon as the Kow-shing was struck the soldiers made a rush. I rushed from the bridge, got a life-belt, and jumped overboard forward. While in the wheel house selecting a life-belt I passed another European, but I had no time to see who it was. It was a regular sauve qui pent. Mr. Wake, our third officer, said it was no use for him to take to the water, as he could not swim, and he went down with the ship. "After jumping into the water I came foul of the chain, down which the Chinese were swarming. As I came to the surface the boiler ex- ploded with terrific noise. I looked up and saw Captain Von Han- 292 WAB WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. necken striking out vigorously. Captain Galsworthy, the master of the vessel, was also close by, his face perfectly black from the explosion. All of us went in the direction of the island of Shotai-ul, which was about a mile and a half to the northeast, swimming through the swarm of dead and dying Chinamen. Bullets began to strike the water on every side, and turning to see whence they came, I saw that the Chinese herding around the only part of the Kow-shing that was then out of water, were firing at us. I was slightly hit on the shoulder, and in order to protect my head covered it with the life-belt until I got clear of the sinking vessel. When I succeeded in doing this, and got away from the swarms of Chinamen, I swam straight for the Naniwa. I had been in the water nearly an hour when I was picked up by one of the Nani- wa's boats. While in the water I passed two Chinese warriors clinging to a sheep which was swimming vigorously. As soon as I was on board the Naniwa's boat, I told the officer in* which direction the captain had gone, and he said that he had already sent another boat to pick him up. By this time only the Kow-shing's masts were visible. The water was however covered with Chinese, and there were two lifeboats, from the Kow-shing crowded with soldiers. The Japanese officer informed me that he had been ordered by signal from the Naniwa to sink these boats. I remonstrated, but he fired two volleys from the cutter, turned back, and steamed for the Naniwa. No attempt was made to rescue the Chinese. The Naniwa steamed about until eight o'clock in the eventing, but did not pick up any other Europeans." Out of the 1,200 men on the transport, less than 200 escaped with their lives. Gunboats of other nations which were n«ar took the few Chinese survivors to Chefoo. The captain of the Kow-shing was saved by a fisherman's boat, and made his way back to China. The Irene was more fortunate, as she escaped a war vessel on the night of July 23 by putting out her lights, and reached Asan early the next morning. On July 26, the cruiser Chih Yuen and her consort, the Kwang Kai, were fired upon by the Yoshino, a cruiser of the Japanese navy, and an exploding shell killed the crew serving one gun. T»he steering gear of the Chih Yuen was disabled, but as soon as she could get sea-room she manoeuvred and answered the fire with her stern gun, and succeeded in destroying the bridge of her opponent. She sent a second shell, which also proved effective, when the Japanesje ceased firing and hoisted the white flag; but the captain of the Chinese cruiser, having his bow guns WAR WITB JAPAN IN KOREA. 293 and his steering gear disabled, decided to make for Wei-hai-wei, and report to tlie admiral. A shot struck the first lieutenant of the Chih Yuen, while he was directing his men through the tube, killing him instantly. The Chinese lost forty-two killed and wounded; the Japa- nese suffering somewhat less. On July 29, the Chinese troops having left their fortifications at Asan, engaged the Japanese army under General Oshima, at Seikwan, and met with overwhelming defeat. The Chinese had 2,800 men in the battle, and lost 100 killed and 500 wounded; while the Japanese total loss was less than 100. The Chinese entrenchment at Chan Hon was taken, and during the night they evacuated Asan, leaving large quanti- ties of ammunition and other munitions of war behind them. Japan now hurried troops by the thousand to the scene of action, and soon had armies stationed wherever it appeared that they were needed to carry the conflict to a successful issue. The authorities at Tokio refused all attempts at mediation made by the European powers, and as belligerent acts were multiplying on both sides, it only remained to make a formal declaration of war. This occurred on August 3, when Japan gave to the world her statement of the justice of her cause. When the Chinese troops under General Yeh were driven out of Asan they struck towards the northeast, and, accompanied by many Koreans who had joined their forces, they broke through the Japanese lines at Chung-ju, and reached the main body of the Chinese army at Ping-Y'ang, on August 23. In the meantime the Japanese were also advancing on Ping-Yang, and the opposing forces were so near to one another that frequent skirmishes occurred, but without material advan- tage to either side. Some 6,000 Japanese troops were also on their way to Ping-'Yang on board transports, and on their arrival at the Korean coast they were landed at the mouth of the Tatong river. They began their march towards the city, when they were surprised by a party of Chinese cavalry, reinforced by a company of artillery. The Japanese loss was heavy, and they were compelled to retreat to the transports, closely followed by the cavalrymen, who were in turn compelled to retreat when they came in range of the war vessels' guns. All this time the war ships of Japan were patroling the China sea, the Gulf of Pechili, and the Korean bay, looking for the vessels of the enemy, and determined to prevent the tribute of rice going to the north. The harbors of Japan were mined to prevent an attack; a war loan of 294 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. ),000,000 was quickly raised; and nearly 100,000 men were sent across the straits and landed in Korea during August and September. It was impossible for China to equal this force on the fighting ground, as the land march was too great a distance, and the Japanese cruisers were too numerous and were patroling the routes too carefully to make transportation by water possible. It was evident that a decisive battle was close at hand, and to further strengthen the Japanese position, a treaty of alliance was signed be- tween Japan and Korea on August 26, at Seoul, the body of which consisted of the three following articles: "The object of the alliance is the strengthening and perpetuation of the independence of Korea- as an autonomous state, and the promotion of the mutual interests of Korea and Japan, by compelling the Chinese forces to withdraw from Korea, and by obliging China to abandon her claims to the right to dominate the affairs of Korea. "Japan is to carry on warlike operations against China both offen- sive and defensive; and the Korean government is bound to afford every possible facility to the Japanese forces in their movements, and to fur- nish supplies of provisions to them at a fair remuneration, so far as such supplies may be needed. "The treaty shall terminate when a treaty of peace is concluded by Japan with China." The Chinese were now strongly fortified at Ping- Yang, and here the Japanese forces, on the morning of September 13, began a series of attacks. One column of the army came from Gensan by way of the mountain passes, striking the enemy on the left flank; a center column marched to the north from Pongsan ; and a third column took a position to the west of Ping- Yang on the right flank of the Chinese troops. The Japanese had every technical advantage, for they were trained in the art of modern warfare; their arms were of the latest models; and their officers were men who had given years to the study of their profession. Thursday and Friday were spent by the Japanese in preliminary skirmishes, drawing the fire from the Chinese forts, for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the location of the defences and the disposition of the troops. Saturday morning found them in a position for a com- bined attack, and the battle opened at daybreak with a direct cannon- ade upon the Chinese works. This was kept up until late in the afternoon; the guns from the forts sent answering volleys, and the WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 295 Chinese held their own. During the night the two flanking columns drew a cordon around the Chinese forces, and early Sunday morning a simultaneous attack was made. The Hwang-ju and Gensan columns came up from the rear, and the entrenched troops suddenly found them- selves exposed not only to attacks from the forces they had fought the day before, but from new forces of unknown numbers. The Chinese lines, which were so strong in front, w^ere found com- paratively weak in the rear. The unsuspicious soldiers, taken completely by surprise, fell into panic and were cut down by hundreds. They were surrounded and at every point where they sought safety in flight they met the foe. It was of course a disgrace to the Chinese lead- ers to be completely outmanoeuvred and surprised, but it was no dis- grace to the Chinese soldiers to flee with but slight resistance when the surprise had been accomplished by an enemy outnumbering them nearly three to one. The Japanese victory was brilliant and complete. They captured immense quantities of stores, provisions, arms and ammunition in the camp, besides hundreds of battle flags. Out of a total of about 20,000 men, the Chinese lost 2,700 killed, and more than 14,000 wounded and prisoners. The Japanese had 60,000 men in the engagement, and their loss reached only thirty killed, and 269 wounded, including eleven officers. On Friday, September 14, a Chinese fleet of six transports left Tient- sin, bound for Wi-ju, on the Yalu river, and having on board 7,000 troops, guns and stores for the continuance of the campaign in Korea. These transports were convoyed by Admiral Tung, commanding the fol- lowing ships-of-war: Chen- Yuen and Ting- Yuen, speed fourteen knots, tonnage seven thousand four hundred and thirty; King- Yuen and Lai- Yuen, sixteen and one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty tons; Ping Yuen, ten and one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty tons; Chih-Yuen and Ching-Yuen, eighteen knots, two thou- sand three hundred tons; Tsi-Yuen, fifteen knots, two thousand three hundred and fifty-five tons; Choa Yung and Yang Wei, sixteen and one- half knots, one thousand three hundred and fifty tons; Kwang Kai and Kwang Ting, sixteen and one-half knots, one thousand and thirty tons. The first five vessels named were armored battle ships, the first two built in 1881-2, the third and fourth in 1887, and the fifth in 1890. The seven following were cruisers with outside armor, all of them built since 1881 296 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. and some as late as 1890. There were also in the fleet six torpedo boats and two gun boats. This fleet arrived at the mouth of the Yalu river on Sunday, and immediately began disembarking the troops and discharging the stores, the war vessels remaining about ten miles off shore while the work progressed. Monday morning a cloud of smoke was seen on the horizon which indicated the approach of a large fleet, and by noon twelve Japa- nese war ships could be distinguished. Admiral Ting steamed in the direction of the enemy and prepared to give battle. The Japanese fleet was composed as follows: The Matsusima, Itsukusima and the Hasidate, each of four thousand two hundred and seventy-seven tons displacement and seventeen and one-half knots; The Takachiho and the Naniwa, each of three thousand six hundred and fifty tons, and eighteen and seven-tenths knots; the Akitsushima, of three thousand one hundred and fifty tons, and Chiyoda, of two thousand four hundred and fifty tons, and each nineteen knots; the Yoshino, of four thousand one hundred and fifty tons and twenty-three knots; the Fuso, three thousand seven hundred and eighteen tons, and the Hiyei, two thousand two hundred tons, each thirteen knots; the Akagi, six hun- dred and fifteen tons, and twelve knots; beside the Saikio Maru, a steam packet fitted as a cruiser and four torpedo boats. It will be seen that in numbers the fleets were about equal. But in tonnage the Chinese fleet was superior, having several vessels larger than any of the Japa- nese, while on the other hand the speed of the Japanese vessels averaged very much above that of the Chinese. The armament, too, of the Japa- nese fleet was superior to that of the Chinese, being composed more largely of quickfiring guns. In type the vessels of the opposing squad- rons differed considerably. While six of the Chinese ships had side armor, only one Japanese vessel was thus protected; and while ten Chinese ships had protection of some form, only eight Japanese carried any armor. Admiral Ting signaled his ships to clear for action and then brought them into a V-shaped formation, with the flagship at the apex of the triangle. The Japanese had at first approached in a double line, but when Admiral Ito saw the formation adopted by his opponent he changed his fleet into a single line, and so went into action. The Ting- Yuen opened fire a little after noon at a range of 5,700 yards. The concussion of the first discharge threw every one off the WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 297 bridge. As they came nearer, the Japanese appeared to form in quarter lines, to which the Chinese replied by turning two points to the star- board, thus keeping their bows directed towards the enemy. The Japa- nese manoeuvred swiftly throughout the battle, and the Chinese scarcely had a chance for effective firing. Very few of the Chinese shots reached their mark, while the Japanese were constantly hitting the opposing vessels most effectively. Admiral Ting's formation was soon broken, and advancing two or three of his ships at full speed the fighting became furious. But the weight of metal told, and one of the ships, the Lai- Yuen, was crippled in this venture. Then for some unknown reason the Japanese ceased firing and cleared off, while the Chinese retired nearer the shore. The respite was a brief one, for the Japanese soon returned, renewing the battle with great vigor and upon the same effective plan. Late in the afternoon the Chinese cruiser Chih-Yuen deliberately steamed out of line and, though signaled to return to the place assigned to her, went full speed at a Japanese cruiser. The latter received a slanting blow which ripped her up below the water line and it was believed she would founder. She succeeded in pouring several broad- sides into her enemy at close quarters, and the Chih-Yuen was so injured by her fire and by the effects of the collision that she herself sank. When the Chinese resumed their line formation, the Japanese guns were directed at the disabled ships, particularly the Lai- Yuen. She had been riddled by shot and shell, and was fast sinking. The Chinese gun- ners worked to the last, until finally she went down slowly, stern first, her bows rising from the water, in which position she momentarily remained, when she disappeared in one last plunge. The battle then arranged itself into two great groups, the four Chinese cruisers becom- ing engaged with the second division, while the ironclads attacked the first division. The fighting of the second division was irregular and diflflcult to follow, and ended in the Japanese disappearing in the direc- tion of the island of Hai-yung-tao. In addition to the sinking of the Chih-Yuen, the Japanese wrought great havoc on the King- Yuen, which was badly injured by fire; the Chao Yung, which foundered in shallow water; and the Yang Wei, which was partially burned, and afterwards destroyed by a torpedo. On the Japanese side, in addition to the vessel which was rammed by the Chih-Yuen, the Yoshino and the Matsusima were badly damaged 298 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. by fire. The former of these two, after receiving a series of volleys from two Chinese vessels, was enveloped in a cloud of smoke which lay heav- ily on the water and completely covered the ship. The Chinese vessels waited for the cloud to clear away and got their port guns ready, but before the Yoshino became visible their fire was diverted by a Japa- nese ship of the Matsusima type which came on the port quarter. The guns which had been laid for the Yoshino were fired at this newcomer with the result that she too began to burn. It is evident that there remained room for each side to claim the victory in this battle. The Chinese succeeded in disembarking the troops, which was the object of the expedition. They fought brilliantly, inflicting considerable damage upon their enemy, and claim that the fight was terminated against their will by the withdrawal of Admiral Ito and his fleet. On the other hand, the Japanese destroyed several of the best ships in the Chinese navy, and inflicted great slaughter. In all probability the facts are that each fleet was so badly damaged and the men on both sides so exhausted that neither was anxious to prolong the battle. However, it is certain that the Chinese fleet was out of fighting condition for some time following the engagement, and this fact had much to do with the handing over of Korea to the Japanese army, and gave them the advantage of possession in the invaded country. When the Chinese fled from Ping- Yang towards Wi-ju they left behind them nearly a million dollars in treasure, thirty-six guns, 2,000 tents, 1,300 horses, and a large quantity of provisions. Panic stricken by the determined pursuit of the Japanese, they abandoned their re- maining four guns at An-ju, and continued their flight until they reached Kaichan. By the middle of October the two armies were facing each other on the opposite banks of the Yalu. The Chinese were work- ing night and day improving their position, and had a force of nearly 30,000 men massed along the north bank of the Yalu. On October 24 Count Yamagata, commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces in Korea, threw a small force across the river, thus invading Chinese territory. The passage was made by wading and was unop- posed. The detachment was composed entirely of riflemen, no cavalry or artillery accompanying them. An attack was immediately made on the Chinese position, and the works .were carried with a rush. The Chinese made for the batteries lower down the river, followed by the WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 299 Japanese, who easily took the fortifications at the Suckochi ferry, where they passed the night. A pontoon bridge was thrown across the river at this point during the night of the 24th, and the main body of the Japanese army passed over, and at once commenced an attack against Hu-shan, Colonel Sato's brigade coming into action simultaneously from the other side. At first the Chinese held their ground, but presently, finding their position swept by rifle and artillery fire from a hill on their right flank, on which possession had been taken by a brigade under Major-General Osako, they broke and fled across the Ai to Chiu-lien, The reserves, however, did not join the rout. Posted advantageously, they preserved their formation and maintained a resolute fire, until thrown into confusion by a flanking movement, which placed a large force under Major-Gen- eral Tachimi to the rear of their left. Then they too gave way, and retreated in confusion across the Ai, so hotly pursued that they were forced to abandon ten pieces of artillery. The Japanese had lost twenty killed and eighty -three wounded; the Chinese 250 killed and a much larger number wounded. Two divisions of the army then crossed the Ai and encamped on the east of Chiu-lien, the brigades of Major- General Tachimi and Colonel Sato posting themselves on the same side of the Ai, but further north, so as to menace the road from Chiu-lien northward to Fend-hwang. Thus with all the advantages of elevated ground, a strongly fortified position, and a force which was ample for defensive purposes, the Chinese converted into a mere skirmish what should have been a sanguinary battle, with every chance of success for their arms. A series of defeats followed, which seemed to complete the demoral- ization of the Chinese forces. With every advantage in numbers, with well built batteries and strong positions, they Avere unable to halt the determined advance of the victorious Japanese, and the continued loss of arms and ammunition, which they scattered right and left in every retreat, soon depleted their stores, and left them unable to fight, even had they so desired. The second invasion of Chinese territory was made by the second Japanese army corps, 22,000 strong, under the command of General Count Oyama, which sailed in transports from Hiroshima, and on Octo- ber 24 commenced landing in a little cove northeast of Talien-wan bay. The objective point was Port Arthur, China's proudest naval station. 300 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. the fall of which must mean the practical destruction of all Chinese hopes of ultimate success. From the landing point to Kinchow, the principal town in the peninsula, the distance is fifty-four miles, and after a hurried march, this point was captured without opposition. November 6 the Japanese fleet took a station off the Talien-wan bay, and opened a tremendous bombardment of the forts. On the 7th, cov- ered by the bombardment, the land force attacked Talien-wan by a general assault, and the success was complete. The Chinese, taken by surprise, fled panic-stricken towards Port Arthur. As in previous re- treats, the Chinese threw away their arms in their flight, and reached Port Arthur with nothing but the clothes they wore. During these days of action by the force under Oyama, General Nodzu's troops had not been idle. Immediately after the capture of ChJu-lien, the Japanese headquarters' staff moved there from Wi-ju, and two columns were sent after the flying Chinese. Colonel Sato moved upon An-tung, which was taken without a struggle. General Tachimi, with the first division, captured Feng-hwang on October 31. The enemy divided in flight from this point, some going to Mukden, others to Hai-tcheng, and others to Taku-shan. As the last fugitives left the place it was set on fire, and the flames wrecked the village before the Japanese could extinguish them. Consternation was caused in Peking by the discovery that the Pei- yang squadron was caught in a trap at Port Arthur. Li Hung Chang had made efforts to bring all the damaged war ships out of the harbor, ordering the fleet to keep within range of the guns of Wei-hai-wei; but on account of somebody's violation of orders a dozen Chinese ships of war were now within the Port Arthur harbor, hemmed in by the Japa- nese squadron. The force under Yamagata moved forward in two divisions, one towards Port Arthur and one on the road to Mukden. The right division entered the Manchoorian highlands by the Mo-thien-ling pass, and the left division marched towards Siu-Yen, at both of which points a Chi- nese force was gathered. On November 9 the Japanese attacked Namquan pass, a strongly fortified point between Society bay and Talien-wan, where the Chinese met with another defeat. Some thousands of refugees from Kinchow, who were flying towards villages in the vicin- ity, were mistaken for the enemy and were fired upon from the rear of the defenses, many being killed. WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 301 The advance was necessarily slow, and it was on the 20th of Novem- ber that the Japanese forces arrived at Dojoshu, a village at the foot of the hills near Port Arthur, and here a halt was made. Suddenly the boom of heavy guns was heard, and the Chinese were seen advancing in two columns, the right one by Suishiyeh, under the eyes of the troops who held the hill where the enemy had halted, and the left by way of the west side of the valley, out of sight behind the foothills. The Japa- nese opened the engagement with a fire of shrapnel, and the forts replied as soon as the positions were revealed. The Chinese got their fiejd guns into position, but could do no damage, for practically none of the Japa- nese was exposed to them or to the forts. The Chinese army finally marched back to their camp, and when the last streak of daylight had disappeared all was again quiet. Early the following morning, the Japanese army broke camp, and marched over the outlying hills, and before the break of day they were in battle array. The first shot was fired at about 7:00 o'clock and for an hour the Japanese guns blazed into the Table-Top forts. The answer- ing shells came close to their ears in hundreds, striking hills and boulders, but, strange to relate, not a man was killed. One by offie the Chinese guns ceased firing, and suddenly the Japanese charged the forts, singing as they went, and cheering with great cries of "Kot-ta — Victory!" The Chinese emptied their guns and small arms as the eneimy swarmed up on three sides, firing every few yards and then rushing for- ward. The Chinese, not numerous enough for hand-to-hand combat, waited no longer, but fled over the edge of the hill, down to the fortified camps before the town, and on the forts of Table-Top soon floated tiie flag of Japan. A large force of Chinese infantry marched around the hills west- ward, north of the Port Arthur lagoon, to turn the Japfinese right flank, but General Yamaji detected the attempt, and despatched Brigadier- General Nishi with the third regiment and the mountain battery to meet it. The rough and broken country rendered the movement slow, and this part of the battle dragged on until the afternoon. While Yamaji was attacking the northwest forts, Brigadier-General Hasegawa engaged the attention of the northeast forts, in order to prevent them from concentrating fire on the Japanese right. A furious fusillade was maintained on both sides for nearly two hours; but the Chinese shots got wilder and wilder as the Japanese improved, until 802 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. finally a magazine blew up and set fire to the sheds inside the forts. Then Hasegawa charged all along the line, and took the forts one by one. Not a Chinaman remained at the ramparts. They fled from fort to fort along the high wall, firing as they went, and making a stand at every point till too close for rifies. They were chased over the hills, and for many miles the ground was strewn with the dead and dying. Those who escaped got into the town and joined the main body of the Chinese army. The Japanese crept steadily forward, until nothing remained but the trenches of Boulder hill, the town itself, and the shore forts. Along the south of the parade ground runs a broad, shallow stream that comes down the Suishiyeli valley, and flows into a creek west of Hakugoku. Three times the Japanese attempted to cross the bridge over this stream, and were driven back, but at last they forced it, and spread out over the face of the hill pursuing the Chinese up to the town itself, firing volleys as they went. Not a shot was fired in reply. As far as Port Arthur was concerned, the war was over. As the Japanese troops reached the edge of the town, driving the Chinese before them, a halt was* called before the army marched in, as the force was not yet assembled in strength. When the first division was in position, with the left wing to the northeast in case the enemy should rally and try to dash out, the order was given to enter the town and storm the inner fort. The second regiment led, firing volleys file by file through the streets, past the docks, and the burning army stores, up the hill, and into Ogunsan, which was practically abandoned without an effort at defense. During the evening Hasegawa's brigade went over the hills and occupied the two eastern forts called the "Mule's Jaws." The following morning Yamaji's first regiment marched around the lagoon and occupied the peninsula forts, which had been deserted dur- ing the night. Port Arthur was in full possession of Marshall Oyama, with the fleet under Admiral Ito safe in the harbor. And now comes the story of the most revolting and horrible incident of the entire war. It seems almost incredible that a people claiming any of the attributes of civilization, whose actions up this time in regard to the treatment of their defeated enemies had been along the lines of humanity, could be guilty of such atrocities as disgraced the Japanese after the taking of Port Arthur. Yet we have positive proof that women and children were ruthlessly slaughtered by the victorious army, and WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 305 that deeds were committed with the sanction of the commanders which would only be expected from the lowest and most ignorant savages. Mr. Cowan of the London Times was an eye-witness to the capture of the city, and wrote to his paper this account of the scenes that fol- lowed: "What happened after Port Arthur fell into Japanese hands, it would have been impossible and even dangerous to report while on the spot. At the earliest possible moment, every foreign correspondent escaped from the horrifying scene to a place where freedom of speech would be safe; and as we sailed away from Port Arthur on the Nagoto Maru eight days ago, almost astonished to find ourselves escaping alive from the awful epidemic of incredible brutality, the last sounds we heard were those of shooting, of wanton murder, continued the fifth day after the great battle. When the Japanese army entered Port Arthur on the 21st, beginning a little after two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chinese had resisted desperately till the last, retreating slowly from cover to cover, until they got back among the buildings on the outskirts of the town. Then at last all resistance ceased; they were thoroughly defeated, and made a stampede through the streets trying to hide or to escape, east or west as best they might. I was on the brow of a steep hill called 'White Boulders,' in Japanese Hakugoku, commanding a close view of the whole town at my feet. When I saw the Japanese march in, firing up the streets and into the houses, chasing and killing every live thing that crossed their path, I looked hard for the cause. I saw practically every shot fired, and I swear positively that not one came from any but Japanese. I saw scores of Chinese hunted out of cover, shot down, and hacked to pieces, and never a man made any attempt to fight. All were in plain clothes, but that meant nothing for the soldiers flying from death got rid of their uniforms how they might. Many went down on their knees, supplicating with heads bent to the ground in kowtow, and in that attitude were butchered mercilessly by the conquering army. Those who fled were pursued and sooner or later were done to death. Never a shot came from a house as far as I could see, and I could hardly believe my eyes, for, as my letters have shown, the indisputable evidence of previous proceedings had filled me with admiration of the gentle Japanese. So I watched intensely for the slightest sign of cause, confident that there must be some, but I saw none whatever. If my eyes deceived me, others were in the same plight; 306 WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA, the military attaches of England and America were also on Boulder Hill and were equally amazed and horrified. It was a gratuitous ebulli- tion of barbarism they declared, a revolting repudiation of pretended humanity. "Gun shots behind us turned our attention to the north creek leading into the broad lagoon. Here swarms of boats were moving away to the west, loaded to twice their normal limit with panic-stricken fugitives, men, women and children, who had stayed too late in the beleaguered town. A troop of Japanese cavalry with an officer was at the head of the creek, firing seaward, slaughtering all within range. An old man and two children of ten and twelve years had started to wade across the creek; a horseman rode into the water and slashed them a dozen times with his sword. The sight was more than mortal man could stand. Another poor wretch rushed out at the back of a house as the invaders entered the front door, firing promiscuously. He got into a ba-ck lane, and a moment later found himself cornered between two fires. We could hear his cry for quarter as he bowed his head in the dust three times; the third time he rose no more, but fell on his side, bent double in the posture of petition for the greatly vaunted mercy of the Japanese, who stood ten paces off and exultantly emptied their guns into him. More of these piteous deaths we saw, unable to stay the hands of the murderers; more and more, far more than we can relate, until sick and saddened beyond the power of words to tell, we slowly made our way in the gathering gloom d'own the hill, picking a path through the rifle-pits thick with Chinese cartridge cases, and back to headquarters. "Robbed of our sleep on the eve of battle, and utterly exhausted, we lay long next morning until the sound of shooting roused us. To our surprise and dismay we found that the massacre of Wednesday, which might have been explained though certainly not excused on the ground of excitement in the heat of battle, the flush of victory, and the knowl- edge of dead comrades mutilated, was being continued in cold blood now. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were spent by the soldiery in murder and pillage from dawn to dark, in mutilation, in every conceivable kind of nameless atrocity, until the town became a ghastly Inferno to be remembered with a fearsome shudder until one's dying day. I saw corpses of women and children, three or four in the streets, more in the water; I stooped to pick some of them out to make WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 307 sure that there could be no possibility of mistake. Bodies of men strewed the streets in hundreds, perhaps thousands, for we could not count — some with not a limb unsevered, some with heads hacked, cross- cut, and split lengthwise, some ripped open, not by chance but with careful precision, down and across, disemboweled and dismembered, with occasionally a dagger or bayonet thrust in private parts. I saw groups of prisoners tied together in a bunch with their hands behind their backs, riddled with bullets for five minutes, and then hewn in pieces. I saw a junk stranded on the beach, filled with fugitives of either sex and of all ages, struck down by volley after volley until — I can say no more." It cannot be denied that the Japanese soldiers had terrible provoca- tion for these acts of barbarity, for the Chinese are and always have been infamous for savage massacres and indescribable tortures. A corre- spondent in Shanghai, in writing on this subject, said: "The reported inhuman atrocities of the Chinese are fully confirmed. They were guilty of barbarities too revolting to mention. A scouting party of Japanese, including an interpreter, were captured by the Chi- nese near Port Arthur just before the attack on the fortress. They were fastened to stakes by nails through their shoulders, burned alive, and then quartered and their ghastly remains stuck up on poles by the road- side. Some Japanese members of the Red Cross society were captured by the Chinese soldiers and flayed alive. During the attack on Port Arthur the defenders used explosive bullets. Is it any wonder that the Japanese generals issued the order that no quarter should be shown? The track of the retreating army has been marked by pillage, rapine, wanton destruction and outrage, so that the people welcomed the Japa- nese." The Japanese followed up the capture of Port Arthur by a succes- sion of advances where»ver detachments of the Chinese army were to be found, and met with continual success in their attacks on the enemy. The authorities in Peking were panic-stricken, and attempted to stay the Japanese victories by constantly changing the officials who were appointed to carry on the war. At last, evidently despairing of success, it was announced that the imperial government had decided to com- mence negotiations for peace, and on December 21 Chang yin-hou-an, vice-president of the Tsung-li Yamen, was ordered to Japan, with the understanding that he had authority to arrange for the termination of 308 WAB WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. hostilities. The Chinese government requested President Cleveland to send a representative to Tokio to act as an adviser to the Chinese envoy, and the Hon. John W. Foster, former United States Secretary of State, was appointed for the mission. In the meantime Japan continued her aggressive campaign, and mobilized a third army of 35,000 men at Hiroshima. This force was transported early in January to Wei-hai-wei, and made the journey with- out opposition. On their arrival they found the Chinese fleet under Admiral Ting prepared for a desperate resistance. After a struggle on sea and land which lasted for almost a month, and was really the only determined fight the Chinese made during the whole course of the war, the Japanese captured or destroyed the ships, arms and ammunition of their foe, and gained jJossession of the few remaining forts that had so long withstood the attack. Admiral Ting, the general in command of the forts, and Captains Ling and Chang, all committed suicide through grief and shame at having to surrender. This left Admiral McClure, a Scotchman who had been serving under Admiral Ting, first in command, and from him Admiral Ito received the surrender of the Chinese warships and forts. When Chang yin-hou-an arrived at Kobe he was received by Count Ito and Viscount Mutsu, who hajd been delegated by the mikado to ex- amine his credentials and state the demands of the Japanese govern- ment. Upon an examination of the credentials from the Chines© emperor it was found- that they ga;ve his envoy no power to negotiate, but commanded him to telegraph to Peking for instructions on all mat- ters of the slightest importance. The Japanese refused negotiations on these tetms, and the Chinese envoy was requested to leave Japan imme- diately. But at last China was beginning to realize the absolute necessity of concluding peace with Japan. The nation had lost so much in the war that it could not hope to long cjontinue the unequal struggle, and the sooner defeat was acknowledged the better terms Japan might be in- duced to grant. The emperor appointed Li Hung Chang, "the grand old man of China," as imperial commissioner, with complete authority to negotiate for peace, and on the morning of March 19 he and his suite touched the shore of Japan. This time the envoy's credentials were found to be satisfactory to the Japanese authorities, and the next few days were occupied with WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOBBA. S09 official deliberations, in which Li Hung Chang proved himself to be a past master in the art of diplomacy. But he was not successful in lessening the demands of the victors. A sensational occurrence marked the progi'ess of the negotiations. On March 24, as the Chinese envoy- was returning to his hotel, he was the victim of an attempted assassi- nation. A young Japanese, named Kayama Rokunosuki, shot him in the cheek, inflicting a painful though not a dangerous wound. Every- thing possible was done by the Japanese authorities to show tiieir sym- pathy for the distinguished sufferer. The Mikado sent his chief physicians, and from every quarter came expressions of grief. The following official proclamation was issued: "A state of war exists between our country and China, but she with due regard of international forms and usages sent an ambassador to sue for peace. We therefore- appointed plenipotentiaries, instrfucting them to meet and negotiate at Shimonoseki. It was consequently in- cumbent upon us, in pursuance of international etiquette, to extend to the Chines^ ambassador treatment consistent with the national honor, providing him ample escort and protection. Hence we issued special commands to our officials to exercise the utmost vigilance in all re- spects. It is therefore a source of profound grief and regret to us, that a ruffian should have been found base enough to inflict personal injury on the Chinese ambassador. Our officials will sentence the culprit to the utmost punishment provided by the law. We hereby command our officials and subjects to respect our wish, and to preserve* our country's fair name from impairment by strictly guarding against a recurrence of such deeds of violence and lawlessness." While Li Hung Chang" was in the hands o-f the physicians he was represented by his son, Li Ching Fung, who carried o-n the negotiations for peace. By April 7 th^ wound had healed, ami. the plenipotentiary was again able to resume his. work. April 15 a treaty was signed, by the terms of which the independence of Korea was- recognizee. Japan was to retain temporarily the important places she had captured, in- cluding' Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei. The island of Formosa was ceded pe>rmanently to. Japan. An indemnity was provided for to be paid by China to Japan of 200,000,000 taels in silver, which is equivalent to about $150,000,000 in American gold. China agreed to no longer impose upon foreigners the odious tax known as Likin, levied upon all goods and sales, and a uniform standard tael was required to be adopted by 310- WAB WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. China for her currency. All foreigners were to be permitted to intro- duce into China factories and machinery, and to lease warehouses in the interior. The important commercial concessions given to Japan were thus extended to all other treaty nations. The occupation of Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei and of the conquered Manchoorian territory were to be temporary, lasting only long enough to guarantee the pay- ment of the war indemnity by China. The terms of this payment pro- vided that it should be made in silver in six annual installments. Japan retained extra-territorial jurisdiction in China, that is the right to try her own subjects arrested in China on charges of crime, and on the other hand China gave up the right to extra-territoriality in Japan. The following proclamation was issued by the Japanese government shortly after the signing of the treaty : "Through peace, national prosperity is best promoted. Unfortunately, the rupture of relations with China forced upon us a war which, after a lapse of ten months, is not yet ended. During this period our minis- ters, in concert with the army, navy and diet, have done all in their power to further our aims in obedience to our instructions. Our ardent desire, with the assistance of our subjects, in loyalty and sincerity, is to restore peace and thereby attain our object — the promotion of na- tional prosperity. Now that peace is negotiated and armistice pro- claimed, a permanent cessation of hostilities is near at hand. The terms of peace fixed by our minister of state give us complete satisfaction. The peace and glory thus secured renders the present a fitting time to enlighten you as to the course of our future policy. "We are rejoiced at the recent victories which have enhanced the glory of our empire. At the same time we are aware that the end of the road which must be traversed by the empire in the march of civilization is still far distant and remains yet to be attained. We therefore hope, in common with our loyal subjects, that we shall always guard against self-contentedness, but in a spirit of modesty and humility strive to perfect our military defense without falling into extremes. In short, it is our wish that the government and the people alike shall work to a common end and that our subjects of all classes strive each in his sphere for the purpose of laying the foundation of permanent prosperity. "It is hereby definitely made known that no countenance will be given by us to such as, through conceit at the recent victories, may offer insult to another state or injure our relations with friendly powers^ WAR WITH JAPAN IN KOREA. 311 especially as regards China. After the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of peace, friendship should be restored and endeavors made to increase more than ever before the relations of good neighborhood. It is our pleasure that our subjects pay due respect to these expressed wishes." CHAPTER XVIII. FOREIGN RELATIONS SINCE THE CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. The Western World Looking for the Partition of Cliina— Encroaclinients on Cliinese Terri- tory—Russian, Englisli, German and Freneli Aggressions — Tlie Siberian Railway- Preparations of Russia and Great Britain at Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei— Foreigners in China— Treaty Ports and their Population. EVER since the signing of the treaty of peace that marked the end of the China-Japanese war the irresistible progress of events has pointed to a cataclysm in China. As never before, the Chinese have seen the integrity of their Empire threatened by the incursions of those whom they considered the Euro- pean "barbarians." The nations of Europe were hastening to take naval stations on their coasts. From these stations radiated the spheres of influence into which the commercial pioneers of the various nations pushed their undertakings, demanding concessions, franchises and privileges here and there, indifferent to the desires of the people. The Chinese saw treaties between the nations of Europe which actually portioned out China into these spheres of influence, bargaining as if no authority existed except that of the people who wanted to sell goods to the Mongolian. They saw the United States negotiating, not with China, but with these Europeans, for "the open door" to assure them equal privileges of trade in the Orient. Hardly second to these territorial encroachments and affronts were those of literature. Books and articles on "The Breakup of China," "China in Decay" and "China in Transformation" began to multiply in Europe and America. Educated Chinese read them and saw that the world was watching to see their country fall apart, hoping to be "in at the death" in order to get some of the riches that might be in reach. This did not serve to mollify their irritation. It was the Germans who made the first move toward the actual impairment of Chinese territory on the mainland of Asia after Japan's annexation of Port Arthur had been blocked by Russia. Two German missionaries were murdered by Chinese in a village of Shantung prov- ince. It is said that they were indeed missionaries who had been them- 312 CHINA-JAPANESE WAB. 813 selves expelled from Germany at the command of the Emperor. Be that as it may, a heavy indemnity had to be paid by China for the crime of the villagers. The bay and port of Kiao-chau were seized by Germany and became German territory by the terms of settlement. When after the war Russia induced a united protest of the European powers which made it impossible for Japan to take Port Arthur as one of the fruits of her victories, leaving the Japanese to see the same prize fall into the hands of the Russians themselves a few months later, an anger was implanted in Japan against Russia which ever since has threatened war between these powers. The Russo-Japanese relations may be expected to be one of the most important influences to be reck- oned with in settling the difficulties now under way. Even the powers most suspicious of Russia and most convinced that some recompense was to be paid for Russian intercession at this time of China's distress never guessed what would happen. Russia interfered to forbid Japan's taking of Port Arthur, and for a reward herself took that famous naval station as soon as national decency permitted. It is true that the Russians waited till the Germans had taken Kiao chau, and that Port Arthur was announced to be held only by a lease, but these statements impressed no one. As soon as Russia was safely settled at Port Arthur, with the whole of the peculiar peninsula known as the "Regent's Sword" in her grasp, the clutch for Chinese territory began. England demanded and obtained Wei-hai-wei, opposite Port Arthur, and therefore another guard over the Gulf of Pechili and the access by water to Peking. France at the same time secured Wang-chau-wan, far to the southward and convenient to the boundary between China and the French posses- sions of the Tonkin or Indo-China. Italy demanded, but was refused. Ran Mun Bay, not far south of Shanghai. The next spectacular step was the virtual acquisition of the whole of Manchuria by the Russians, under the guise of a treaty of trade and railway concessions. It permitted them to extend the Siberian Railway from Onon right across Manchuria to Vladivostok, with another line southward to terminate at Port Arthur, after passing through Harbin, Tsitsikar and Mukden. The terms of this "lease^' permitted the Rus- sians to fortify and garrison along the line for the protection of the rail- way, they to be the ones to judge the number of troops required. This, of course, meant a virtual military occupation of the country. 314 CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. From this moment railway concessions were forced from the Chinese authorities with great rapidity, mining privileges and other franchises accompanying them. All of these things were a constant source of irri- tation to the people, who saw their own interests little considered and always second to those of the foreigners when the foreigners were shar- ing in the matter. No authority fails to name these things first in the list of causes of the Boxer outbreak. Dr. Alexander M. Cunningham, who has been for nine years presi- dent of the Board of Foreign Missions at Peking, in discussing the gen- eral situation and the blame of the Empress Dowager for the outbreak, writes as follows : "Among the chief reasons why this anti-foreign feeling increased in bitterness are the following: First, the aggressions of Western nations. Russia has practically seized Manchuria, including Port Arthur, the Gibraltar of North China. England must be treated like Russia, so she was allowed to take Wei-hai-wei, the fortification across the strait from Port Arthur. Germany seized Kiao-Chau Bay and the land within a radius of thirty miles, with special railroad-building and mining privi- leges in the whole province of Shantung. France is not less greedy in her desires after slices of territory and strategic points in Southern China. Italy asked for a foothold, but has thus far been denied. Sec- ond, the purpose to divide up China among the nations was openly talked of even in the presence of the Chinese themselves. Third, natural antagonism to Christianity. Fourth, innate hatred against foreigners. Fifth, injustice done the Chinese by foreigners, especially by traders. Sixth, the present drought in Northern China, the cause of which these superstitious people think to be the presence of aliens who honor not, but offend, their gods and desecrate the ancestral tombs by building rail- roads or by digging mines. These things, and especially aggression, partition and drought, I regard as the causes of the present anti-foreign demonstrations in China. "China has been preparing for this struggle by laying in supplies of the munitions of war. The devout Buddhist priests are praying three hours daily for the death of all aliens in the empire. The Big Sword and Boxer bands have been arming and drilling for this mighty conflict and declare themselves 'for the Manchu dynasty, opposed to Christian- ity, and determined to keep on an awful struggle in order to drive all for- eigners from the land' and keep China sacredly for the Chinese. CHINA-JAPANESE WAE. ai5 "With these societies are strong popular sentiment, many of the skilled generals, best equipped, patriotic and brave soldiers, so that the Empress very naturally feels loath to antagonize and also fearful lest she may precipitate a rebellion, and with her army against her what can she do? The deteriorated Manchu soldiers are no match for the moun- tain and stalwart 'braves.' "When we remember the above facts and also remember the astute- ness of this Empress Dowager, who has ruled one-fourth of the world for nearly forty years, we believe that she has not willingly but of neces- sity seen the horrible deeds of massacre perpetrated by her patriotic but fantastically anti-foreign and barbarous troops." Although Great Britain was quick to demand the port of Wei-hai- wei as a compensation for the Russian acquisition of Port Arthur, the two nations have treated their prizes in very different fashion. Feodor Ivomanoff, a writer in Vladivostok, has outlined the circumstances clearly in the following letter, dated July 1 : "Now that the Chinese question has become acute, yoa will have a chance to see, before, indeed, this can reach you, the vast difference between Russian and English methods and diplomacy — I should say the difference between a policy and the entire lack of one. At the first out- break in Manchuria, along the line of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was promptly suppressed, orders were given for troops via Sibe- ria« Forty thousand were soon on the way. By the 17th of June 2,000 troops and 300 horses had left this port on the Dalny Vostok, just in from Tacoma, and others have been going since. Perhaps Russia's railroad policy may under this new light seem not so selfish as far-sighted and statesmanlike. You have not far to go to seek, for the statesman who carried out so masterfully the traditions of the empire is now our Ambassador at Washington, Count Cassini. "Recollect that it was only in December, 1897, that a Russian fleet appeared in Port Arthur. What a clatter of conjectures, fears, por- tents and opinions there was! But by March, 1898, Russian policy with regard to the port and the entire Liaotung peninsula was declared open and above board, and has been so maintained. Viewed in any light, diplomatic, business or strategic, Russia does not lose anything. In 1880 the Chinese began to improve the harbor and erect fortifications. German, French and English engineers, working for China, created the docks, workshops, storehouses, etc., and Port Arthur became a naval 316 CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. port, at an expenditure of |40,000,000. It was certainly a desirable piece of property to acquire or lease, and scarcely any European power would have hesitated to buy or rent such an advantageously situated tract. Since it has come into Russian jurisdiction nothing has been spared in the way of science, money, skill and energy to improve it, and whenever China is prepared to take it back and pay expenses she will find that Russia carefully guards whatever is intrusted temporarily or entirely to her keeping. "By way of contrast, recollect again that in May, 1898, Great Britain took possession of Wei-hai-wei. It, too, must have a port or harbor of refuge if Russia was to have one, and it was to be held so long as Russia should hold Port Arthur. Unable to prevent the occupation of Port Arthur, England eagerly grabbed at the half-loaf. Wonderful stories were told of what Wei-hai-wei would become under the civilizing touch of the magic English wand. The genius of her statesmen, the skill of her engineers, and her natural talent for overcoming difficulties of time and place and peoples were all pointed out, and great were the expecta- tions of the world at large. "It is now 1900, and what is the condition of Wei-hai-wei? Abso- lutely nothing done which by any stretch of imagination could be described as national work. Yes, the island of Lin Kung has been bought from the Chinese land-owners. There is a battalion of Chinese, officered by crack Englishmen — fine fellows, for I met two of them last fall taking a look at Vladivostok. They are, I believe, preparing to mount two heavy guns on the island. But at this writing Wei-hai-wei is of no earthly use. In the event of war it would have to be abandoned, or, on the other hand, it would take the greater part of the British fleet in China to protect it. It would take from |30,000,000 to |G0,000,000 to put it into anything like the defensive condition of Russia's only ice- free harbor. There is no British coaling station north of Hongkong, and for all docking and repairs the British fleet, as is well known, depends upon Japan. "Labor is worth about 10 cents a day at Wei-hai-wei, but no break- water has been built to secure ships from torpedo-boat attacks. Lin Kung also stands sadly in need of fortifying. In fact, in this much- vaunted British acquisition there are neither coal stores, ammunition magazines, nor dry docks. But the literature of these subjects ever CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. 317 since the occupation is simply enormous. If my memory serves, there was an ocean cable to Hongkong projected. "Evidently England doesn't think much of her concession, and since Port Arthur is so well fortified, and still larger outlays ordered, it is reasonably safe to say Wei-hai-wei will remain as it is for some years to come. At present it is a mud village only. It is not even included formally in British territory. Within six weeks, while attempting to define the limits, there was very near a serious row with the Chinese, and several were killed. Only the personal bravery and promptitude of the British officers prevented a riot and massacre. There is a police magis- trate at Wei-hai-wei paid by the British, but the place has no civil rank. The population is very small. Only one steamer calls there regularly, the Nagato-Maru, a Japanese vessel, once in two weeks. It is currently reported, with I know not how much truth, that the Chinese authorities have never publicly recognized the British occupation or the transfer of the territory for fear of exciting the people." Interesting statistics concerning foreigners in China are contained in a report in regard to the trade relations between China and the United States, made by Consul Fowler at Chefu, and dated May 7. The table of foreigners is divided into two classes — residents and firms — and includes statistics for the years 1898 and 1899. The total foreign resi- dents are stated as follows: 1898, 13,421; 1899, 17,193, and the foreign firms as follows: 1898, 773; 1899, 933. The nationality of the foreign element for 1899 is stated as follows: American — Residents, 2,335, an increase of 279; firms, 70, an increase of 27. British — Residents, 5,562, an increase of 414 ; firms, 401, an increase of 3. German — Residents, 1,134, an increase of 91; firms, 115, an increase of 8. French — Residents, 1,183, an increase of 263; firms, 76, an increase of 39. Dutch — Residents, 106, an increase of 19 ; firms, 9, an increase of 1. Danish — Residents, 128, an increase of 11; firms, 4, an increase of 1. Spanish — Residents, 448, an increase of 53; firms, 9, an increase of 5. Swedish and Norwegian — Residents, 244, an increase of 44; firms, 2, an increase of 2. 318 CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. Russian — Residents, 1,621, an increase of 1,456; firms, 19, an increase of 3. Austrian — Residents, 90, a decrease of 2; firms, 5, no change. Belgian — Residents, 234, an increase of 65; firms, 9, no change. Italian — Residents, 124, a decrease of 17; firms, 9, no change. Japanese — Residents, 2,440, an increase of 746; firms, 195, an increase of 81. Portuguese — Residents, 1,423, an increase of 339; firms, 10, a decrease of 10. Korean — Residents, 42, an increase of 2; no firms. Non-Treaty Powers — Residents, 29, an increase of 2; no firms. The total number of residents, 17,193, shows an increase of 3,772 over 1898. The total number of firms, 933, shows an increase of 160 over 1898. The figures show that Russia made the greatest gain in the number of residents and Japan in the number of firms, France coming next in the latter respect. Consul Fowler says that these figures do not include the leased ports, and that it must be remembered that in the case of Great Britain a large number of Indians and Asiatics (Chinese born in Hongkong, the Straits, etc.) are included. Consequently it is difficult to determine the true number of British in China. Moreover, by British law, every subject is compelled to reg- ister in his consulate, but with Americans this registration is optional. Consul Fowler expresses the belief that the number of American resi- dents is greatly understated. There were, in April, 1898, thirty-five treaty ports and ports of call in China. The following list was furnished by the United States Minis- ter, and gives the names of the treaties, the dates of the opening of the ports, and the estimated population of each place. Treaty of Nanking with Great Britain, August 29, 1842: Shanghai 1854 500,000 Canton 1859 2,500,000 Ningpo 1860 255,000 Fuchau 1861 650,000 Amoy 1862 96,000 Treaty of Tientsin with Great Britain, July 26, 1858: Swatow 1860 35,000 CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. 319 Niuchiiang 1861 60,000 Chefu 1861 35,000 Kiungchan 1876 40,000 Not named in treaty, but afterwards designated: Chinkiang 1861 140,000 Kiukiang 1862 55,000 Hankau 1862 80,000 Peking convention with Great Britain, October 24, 1860: Tientsin 1861 950,000 Treaty between France and China, October 25, I860* Nanking Unknown Treaty with Russia, November 2, 1860: Kashgar Unknown Chefu convention with Great Britain, September 13, 1876: Ichang 1877 34,000 Wuhu 1877 79,000 Wenchau 1877 80,000 Pakhoi 1877 20,000 Treaty with France, June 26, 1877: Lungchau .1888 22,000 Mengtsz 1888 12,000 Manhao - Unknown Additional articles to the Chefu convention with Great Britain, March 31, 1890: Chungking 1890 300,000 Regulations appended to Sikkem-Thibet convention of 1890, with Great Britain, December 5, 1893: Yatung 1894 Unknown Convention with Great Britain, March 1, 1894 : Manwyne Unknown Treaty with Japan, April 17, 1895: fehashih 1896 73,000 Chungking Suchau 1896 500,000 Hangchau 1896 700,000 Gerard supplementary convention with France, June 20, 1895: Szemao 1896 15,000 320 CHINA-JAPANESE WAR. Under special treaty with Great Britain, February 4, 1897: Samshui 1897 4,000 Wucliaii 1897 50,000 Opened by an imperial decree of March 31, 1898: Yo-chau Unknown Santuao Unknown Chinwangtao Unknown Opened by an imperial decree of April 7, 1898 : Wusung Unknown CHAPTER XIX. GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. Li Hung Chang, the Most Famous Oriental a of the Age— His Great Wealth— His Tour of the World— A Chinese Estimate of His Worth— Prince Ching, the Polished— A Friend of Foreigners — The Southern Viceroys — Not in Sympathy with the Boxer Element— Yuan Shih Kai, the Governor of Shantung— A Military Leader — His ProgressiTe Character — The Emperor and the Empress Dowager. THE yellow empire drama has brought the names of many Chinese diplomats, soldiers, and men of affairs prominently before the world, but among them all Earl Li Hung Chang occupies the most important place in the public eye. His career has been a remarkable one, and he may be considered as an excellent example of a self-made Chinaman. His family had neither fortune nor influence, and when he and his two brothers had finished their primary education, it was impossible to pay for a college train- ing for all of them. Lots were drawn to see who should be the "savant" of the family. Whether Li's strategy and cunning served him in stead on this occasion or not is not known, but at any rate he chose the lucky number, and was accordingly given a college course. In those days his intellect did not seem to startle his professors, and about all the praise they ever gave him was for his penmanship. He could, and can still, write the puzzling characters with great rapidity and precision. Li Hung Chang is said to be the richest man in the world, but of that no person is certain, as he has never divulged his financial status. The foundations of his enormous wealth were laid during the Tai-ping rebellion, where by his shrewdness he obtained the glory for "Chinese" Gordon's victories. Since that time he has gradually widened his influ- ence and increased his power in the empire, and has used his official power to add to his wealth ; so much so that a popular Chinese proverb of the time runs: "Every dog that barks for Li is fat." The family owns hundreds of thousands of acres of land, numerous silk stores, and pawnshops all over the empire. Li's crookedness after his return from his trip around the world was again seen in such an open way that the British minister was forced to denounce him for acting the part of a Judas in the tsung-li-yamen, and the British government was obliged 324 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. to demand his dismissal. He did not remain long in disgrace, however, and is now wielding a greater influence than ever. It is worth while reproducing a Chinese estimate of Li Hung Chang printed by a vernacular newspaper which was published at Hongkong, at the time when Li thought of going up to Peking to personally assist in suppressing the Boxers. This paper, the Chun Ngoi San Po, said: "The merchants and all the citizens at Canton are deeply grieved at the intelligence that his excellency Li Hung Chang has been ordered to Peking to take steps to suppress the riots in the north. It is a fact that his excellency is far the best of all the viceroys that have ever ruled the province of Kuan-tung, which suffered much from the corrupt adminis- tration by the late viceroy. Tan Chung-lin, who was useless and lazy, and whose squeezing propensities were such that he was nicknamed 'bottomless purse.' Owing to his maladministration the province of Quan-tung, as well as the neighboring one of Kuang-si, has been over- run with rebels, robbers and pirates, and all sorts of crimes have been committed. Since his excellency Li Hung Chang arrived he has dis- missed nearly all the useless officers and those of 'squeezing' habits, and has taken active measures to suppress the bad characters, robbers and pirates, many of whom have suffered the extreme penalty of the law. The notorious pirates and robbers, having been overawed by the action of the venerable viceroy, have nearly all fled away or hidden themselves in mountain fastnesses. There is a general agreement among the people that if Li Hung Chang continues to occupy the viceroyship for three years Quan-tung will be the most peaceful province of the empire." There must be some good in the man to draw forth such remarks from a Chinese journalist. Prince Ching, the gallant Manchu general who took up arms against the Boxers, and fought to save the legations and their inmates, is an educated gentleman, and a friend of the foreigners. As the lord chamberlain of the court, it has been the duty of Prince Ching to receive on behalf of both the dowager empress and the emperor all distinguished visitors. Now the cultivated Chinaman, whatever his inner nature may be, is given to the most profuse outward courtesies. The chamberlain of the purple palace has to conform to an etiquette infinitely more rigid and exacting than that which prevails at the court of St. James. Ching in this capacity ever won golden opinions from both his royal master and mistress and from the stranger within the GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. 325 gates. He was the pink of politeness, a past master in the art of flowery speech. Ching belonged to that party in Peking which favored slow reform. He was fully alive to the trend of events; he accepted the inevitable ingress of foreigners ; he realized the strength and the resources of the powers; and while seeming to bend to their demands, he exerted his energies to render every concession as empty as possible, and to dam the flowing tide as far as a mortal celestial statesman might do it with safety to himself and his position. As president of the tsung-li-yamen, the board of control over foreign affairs. Prince Ching had unrivaled opportunities of playing the part which an educated Manchu patriot should. Ever urbane, ever suave, he listened patiently to all the ministers had to say, and when they had finished displayed astute political coyness. When Lord Charles Beresford visited the tsung-li-yamen in 1898, Prince Ching was in his seat and spoke for that body. Prince Ching assured his illustrious visitor that he and his fellow-councilors were fully alive to the value of British trade and commerce. He eulogized the notable services which the late General Gordon, during the Tai-ping rebellion, and subsequently, Sir Robert Hart, as inspector general of imperial maritime customs, had rendered to China, and the Chinese administration, and he spoke warmly of feelings of friendship toward Britain. The exact degree of truth which underlay his words is impossible to gauge, but at any rate he acted in good faith toward Lord Charles Beresford, as two days later Prince Ching returned his visit, bringing assurances of the good will of the emperor and empress dowager, and announcing that, in accordance with Lord Charles* suggestion made two days previously, a special edict had been issued to the Viceroy of Hunan and Hupeh to have 2,000 troops ready to be drilled and organ- ized by a British officer. The imperial good will and special edict were undoubtedly due to the influence of Ching. During the interview with Lord Charles Beresford the question of the organization of the military forces of China was discussed, Lord Charles maintaining that the present system of provincial armies was ineffective. To this the prince replied with conservative instinct that he did not think it would be possible to alter the old established custom 326 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. and practice of having these provincial armies to maintain order in China. But the idea of a small body of regulars trained by European officers plainly appealed to Ching, who must have seen clearly into vrhat a whirlpool of disaster unrestrained rebellion might at any time plunge the administration. Liu Kun-yi is viceroy of the three provinces Kiang-su, Kiang-si, and Gan-hwuy, the viceregal yamen being in Nankin. With reference to this ruler Dr. Macklin, an authority on Chinese affairs, says: "He is the head or doyen of the revolting viceroys of China. If a government should be formed in opposition to the Peking government Liu would be the president or head. He is an opium fiend, who spends most of his time tied to his pipe or nursing his digestive trouble due to the abuse of opium. He is evidently in his second childhood, for he nurses at a woman's breast to keep up his strength. Of course his official duties are much neglected and business is carried on by his underlings. In the riots of 1891 all the yamen knew that there was going to be a riot, but Liu knew nothing of it — so I was told by a lead- ing officer. If foreigners had not appealed directly to the viceroy there would have been no protection. A few years ago the viceroy's under- lings shut off the supply of charity rice too early, and thousands died of starvation in a few days. The old gentleman, intoxicated with opium, very likely knew nothing of this. The treasurer in Nankin is a Tartar. The leading general, Yang King Lung, is a wideawake fellow, and friendly to foreigners and reform ideas. Several of the other generals have had much friendly intercourse with foreigners." The British consul and the commissioner of customs see the viceroy frequently, and he has issued many anti-Boxer proclamations. His latest runs as follows: "I, Liu, the viceroy of the Liang Kiang, again issue this proclamation to make it known to all the people within my jurisdiction that, though ruffians (Boxers) may make trouble in the north, I have done all in my power to prevent these spreading to the south. I have also repeatedly ordered all the officials under my control to take every measure for the protection of commercial affairs, as well as to look after the churches of the different religions. I have again and again wired to the officials under my control to consult with the gentry to make the best arrange- ment for protection. Now the public must beai' in mind that the pres- GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. 327 ent troubles in the north are caused solely by the actions of the ruffians (Boxers) there, and were not in the least anticipated or intended by tlie government. In fact, it is entirely unexpected. Natives and for^ eigners alike should be protected. It must be remembered that there are also Chinese in foreign countries, and that therefore it is but just that foreigners here should be protected, as are the Chinese in other countries. This is according to civilized rites and usage. Therefore ar- rangements have been made with the consuls of the various powers, through the Shanghai taotai, that the lives and property of foreigners, and especially business men and missionaries, shall be protected by the local officials, both in the interior and along the Yangtse. Here- after, no matter what may be the condition of affairs, their lives and property are to be protected at all costs. So now I notify you all that having thus explained these matters you are not to worry about affairs, but to continue your regular business as usual. If after this any one attempts to stir up trouble he will be arrested and decapitated without leniency. Let this be obeyed." Chang Chi-Tung, the viceroy of Hupeh and Hunan, has a pretty clean personal record, but is weak, and his relatives and friends im- pose on him and rob him. He is, in a sense, a reformer, but clings too much to the ancient system and has not the courage of his convictions. At one time he was a good loyal officer of the emperor, but later on meekly followed the empress dowager. He is noted for his very im- practical schemes, and buys much machinery that is allowed to rust and go to waste. He does not steal, but his relatives do so for him. Many foreigners consider Chang the great man of China, but on closer acquaintance are inclined to alter that too emphatic opinion. There can be no question that he likes foreign things. A man often spoken of in present comment on China is Yuan Shih Kai, governor of the province of Shantung. There the Boxer trouble originated and grew unchecked until, overflowing into Chili, it finally reached Peking and Tien-Tsin with all of its disastrous consequences. Yuan was appointed to his present position about the first of De- cember, 1899, the supposition being that he, with his army, was to immediately suppress the Boxers. He began in good faith to do this, but, from all reports, was at once checked by the government at Pe- king. The Peking and Tien-Tsin Times of February 17 had the follow- ing item: "It is stated that the reason General Yuan has done nothing 328 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. with the Boxers in Shantung is that the empress dowager has warned him that should any disturbances ensue from his suppression of the rioters he would be held responsible. With this pleasing prospect it is scarcely to be wondered at if he has remained quiescent." The cor- rectness of this statement was verified by the whole attitude of the Peking government toward the Boxers. Members of Yuan's household reported that he was going to wipe the Boxers out. Officers and sur- geons of the army went to Shantung expecting an aggressive campaign against them, and such a campaign was started, greatly to the joy of foreign residents in the province. Why it was not continued the above quotation indicates. Lord Charles Beresford, on his tour of the orient, remarked at Tien- Tsin, "I have met one man in China, and that man is Yuan." The Rev. Timothy Eichard, editor of Signs of Progress in China, and superin- tendent of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowl- edge Among the Chinese, one of the best known and best informed men in China, said in Tien-Tsin in 1898: "Yuan is the best man in China," referring to him of course as an official. Among Chinese and foreign- ers alike, Yuan has the reputation of being strictly honest. He has the reputation of never "squeezing," and he is certainly a man of very great ability. Such a man might be expected to be in the forefront of the re- formers, and but that he is too cautious to be rash and too wise to be radical he might be. Had the men who attempted to reform China in a day had more of a similar moderation they might not have plunged their cause into such sudden disaster. Of as advanced ideas as any man in China, and as true a patriot, he is a man who would be willing to take years to bring about what the reformers attempted to bring about in days. That party calls him "the arch traitor of China." The Chinese minister to Germany is reported as referring to him as "a devil known for his treachery." The reason for these hard names is the part he is reported to have played in connection with the dethronement of the emperor in 1898. The story is that the emperor, having decided on his well known definite and radical reform policy, called Yuan to his aid, secretly ordering him to Peking with his army as a loyal guard to protect him as he inaugurated his reform policy. Yuan, however, advised with Jung Lu, then viceroy of Chili, who in turn gave the whole scheme GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. 329 away to the empress dowager, and they two immediately accomplished the practical dethronement of Kuang Hsu. Since that time Jung Lu has been prime minister and generalissimo of all the army. Yuan was at that time made acting viceroy of Chili for ten days, after which he returned to his army at Hsiao Chan, twenty-two miles east of Tien-Tsin, where he remained until his appointment as governor of Shantung. The world at large can now see what Yuan must have seen at the time, how hopeless it would have been for him with his 7,000 fighting men to have backed up a movement that would have had the bitter opposition of the whole Manchu party, with 50,000 troops as well armed as his own, which they could have brought against him. The troops were commanded by generals, who, jealous of Yuan, would have heart- ily co-operated in a movement against him. Had the emperor's plan for Yuan carried, civil war, at least to the destruction of Yuan and his troops, would have been the result. His excellency Yuan Shih Kai is now 41 years of age. He comes of an official family of high standing in the province of Honan. In 1881 he was sent to Korea, where as a young civil officer he was con- nected with a Chinese military guard stationed at the Korean capital. In 1884 in an act of exceptionally aggressive daring he led the guard into the palace, drove out the Japanese and saved the lives of certain members of the Korean royal family. He was soon after made minister to Korea, holding the position till the breaking out of the war with Japan, when he barely escaped with his life. In Seoul he was called "a hog," because, while foreign ministers were required to walk within the palace grounds, he rode in his chair to the very palace door, his guard going before with bayonets fixed. Yuan was, however, but obey- ing orders. China at that time held Korea to be a vassal state and there is no doubt that Yuan's instructions required him to carry him- self accordingly. After the war Yuan wa^ put in command of a few thousand raw troops at Hsiao Chan, a point twenty-two miles east of Tien-Tsin, and a few miles south of Peiho, that has long been used as an army camp. Here he gave proof of his advanced ideas and of his ability. At the time Yuan was appointed governor of Shantung this branch of the army under his command consisted of 7,000 fighting men and 3,000 camp followers. In the time of war these camp followers are the trench diggers, hospital corps and the men of all work of the army; in 330 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. time of peace they are servants of the fighting force, each ten soldiers? being allowed a cook and two servants, and officers a still larger num- ber. Of the 7,000 actual soldiers the infantry numbers 5,000, the ar- tillery 1,000, the cavalry 500 and the engineer corps 500. The infantry carry one of the best modern rifles, the artillery force is equipped with forty Krupp field guns, twelve mountain guns and eighteen Maxims, while the cavalry is fully armed with light rifles, revolvers and swords. Tsou-Hsi, the rather aged woman designated in the newspapers as the mother of the emperor or the empress dowager, is not the mother of the emperor of China, and is, strictly speaking, not entitled to the title and dignity of an empress, which moreover in a country where the "lex salica" is unknown, but where the male succession is a dynastic principle nevertheless, would be politically without value were it not for the strongly marked character of the individual. Tsou-Hsi descends from the middle classes, as have many oriental woman sovereigns since the days of the renowned Teophana. Her father was a merchant on a small scale, who sold the girl, scarcely out of childhood's days, to one of the governors of a province. Miss Tsou-Hsi must have been shrewd and ambitious even in her teens. She learned to read, and attracted the attention of her lord and master to such a degree that he, in recognition of an imperial favor, made the emperor a present of the pretty and adaptable slave. Tsien-Fung, the "Son of Heaven," though sorely pressed by the Taiping revolution and the Franco-British invasion, found time to re- view the slaves of his household occasionally, and at one of these musters his eye rested with approval upon the attractions of Tsou-Hsi. She became the emperor's favorite; he bestowed upon her, immediately following his legitimate wife, the second position as one of the prin- cesses of the empire, and subsequently chose the son of his favorite his heir. The guardianship of the boy until his majority was to be jointly in the empress and the favorite, but a secret paragraph of the imperial testament directed that in critical situations the empress-widow should act according to her own individual views. When Tsien-Fung had shown in his wisdom that he preferred the illegitimate wife, but that he placed greater confidence in the legitimate sharer of his joys and sorrows, he laid himself, soon after the Peking treaty of peace, down to die. And Tsou-Hsi was then the mother of an emperor. GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. 331 This was not much, as it went— at least, not enough for the am- bition of the daughter of a bourgeois, who had learned to distinguish between power and appearance, actuality and semblance. She wanted to rule alone — unrestrictedly rule. The way to this goal had to be cleared of two formidable obstacles. The daughter of the empress- widow hated the empress-widow, but hated her more cordially since she had learned of the secret clause in the testament. Whether for- tune smiled upon the adventuress or whether the mysterious art of the palace eunuchs aided her cannot be told with any degree of cer- tainty. At any rate, the hated empress-widow died, and the guardian- ship had no longer to be divided. In the meantime some work had been done in the line of removing the other obstacle, but this work remained to be completed. Tsien- Fung had appointed three regents, who were to conduct the affairs of state during his son's minority. This did not suit Tsou-Hsi. She came to an agreement with her brother-in-law. Prince Kung; the objection- able triumvirs were beheaded without much of a trial, and Kung since that time conducted the regency with two ministers. Commercial treaties were concluded, foreign ambassadors were invited to Peking, the last Taiping followers and rebellious Mohammedans were subju- gated — and Tsou-Hsi sat in the council of the men. But in due course of time Tung-Shi came of age, and the time of the regency was passed. The mother probably would have had no trouble in ruling despite Tung-Shi, but he was weakly, and the physicians who surrounded him from morning till night made the worst prognostica- tions. Tsou-Hsi had to count on the possibility of an early death. What then? The wife of the emperor of nineteen years gave promise of presenting him with an heir. The latter might be selected by Tung- Shi as his successor and might transfer the regency to his widow. This was not to be thought of. Tsou-Hsi had always indulged the excesses of the young emperor, who consequently carried the fruitful germ of an early death in him. Was it not better for him and for the empire if he should be spared a slow withering? Tung-Shi was scarcely 20 years old when he died, and his widow soon followed him in death with- out giving birth to an heir. Tsou-Hsi then had her three year-old nephew, Kuang-Su, declared emperor. Since then twenty-five years have passed, and over the mythical Ohung-wa, the giant flower which blossoms in the center of the earth, 332 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. many a storm has raged. The misfortune began with the loss of Annam and Tonking, and the French were followed by British, Russians, Japanese and Germans, who all tore big slices from the giant body of the empire. Who is responsible for this debacle of a power that seemed unconquerable? The question is not easy to answer. Kuang-Su has the title of a Son of Heaven. He, who is said to look like a shy, sickly, but not unintelligent Tartar boy, received the highest dignitaries of the empire in the dead of the night and signed imperial edicts. Before him foreign ambassadors bent their knees when they were first permitted to penetrate into the interior of the palace. Yet never since his majority has Kuang-Su known the sensation which the possession of powder is said to vouchsafe to the strong. The poor em- peror is not strong and he was doomed to continual defeat in a fight against a character which seems to be barren of all attributes of femin- ine grace. Efforts on the emperor^s part were not lacking, but they were all without any other result than the one that Tsou-Hsi was not permitted to rule in name as she did in fact. But she was accustomed too long to despotic ruling to submit even to this, and every new poli- tical issue led to renewed conflicts between the emperor and his follow- ers on the one and Tsou-Hsi on the other side. Beneath the smooth sur- face of the two courts the animosity grew, and when the Japanese had reached the first station on their victorious march the catastrophe came. In opposition to his aunt and her advisers Li and Kung, the emperor had favored the war, and he no doubt sought, probably correctly so, the causes of the inglorious defeat in the conservative character of all Chinese institutions. A niimber of men accessible to modern ideas, headed by Chang- Yu- Wei, had won the favor of the emperor. Kuang- Su was seized with an attack of reform fever, and there was scarcely a day without an imperial edict against antiquated customs. The army should be reorganized, the civil administration simplified, and the tens of thousands of spoils politicians were to be driven from office. The intention was good, but the manner of execution was at least debatable. Even the uninitiated could see that such a measure must drive the entire horde of thievish mandarins into the camp of the em- press dowager. Tsou-Hsi smiled. But she is shrewd and she could afford to wait for a suitable occasion. It came when Kuang-Su one fine day appeared at the court of his aunt in occidental dress, a horror and a sacrilege to the Chinese. This innovation, Tsou-Hsi calculated, must &REAT MM M MODERN CHINA. 333 have its effect upon the masses. She first began to abuse her nephew and then struck him boldly in the face. The crowned weakling was completely broken up by this insult. He wanted to resign, and when the energetic Tsou-Hsi frustrated all efforts of the emperor's friends to restore him to power he consented without opposition to be deprived of all power. In his parting edict he transferred all the powers of regency to his dear aunt. Of the em- peror's life since then only the vaguest rumors are known. So far as the world's politics is concerned he is dead, and the fate of 400,000,000 of yellow people is dictated by Tsou-Hsi, the daughter of the provincial merchant! Of the inner life of China the world knows very little. The oldest civilization on earth, it is also the most secret, and its "home life" stories are largely legendary, for foreigners seldom penetrate the veil of conservatism that enshrouds the family of the almond-eyed Orien- tals. Very few Chinese hearthstones have been set up in the United States. The Chinese women who come to this country are most often slaves, stolen in youth. The few Chinese homes here are not typical of those in the Flowery kingdom, for the true Celestial simply camps when away from China. He has but one ambition, one hope — to be gathered to his ancestors under the shadow of the Chinese dragon, and, if he establishes a home under alien skies, he ruins his prospects for future happiness. The nearest to a typical high-caste home to be found in the United States is the Chinese legation in Washington, where Madame Wu Ting Fang, wife of the Chinese Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- potentiary to the United States, presides over a very much American- ized Oriental home. To all intents and purposes, the Chinese legation is Chinese soil, under the Chinese flag, which always floats over it, and a Chinaman does not make himself an alien by taking up his residence there. This is true of all the legation homes in Washington and the President never visits them because it would be a technical foray into foreign territory, and this the unwritten law of the land forbids. The Chinese Minister and his wife are charming people to meet. The Minister is a man of finished education, high culture, a wide reader, a thinker, and a philosopher. His English is perfect, and his ways and manners are those of a finished diplomat. His little wife, who weighs less than 100 pounds, is a slender, olive-skinned, girlish creature, look- 334 GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. ing for all the world like an animated doll, as she topples around on her small feet. She is always robed in the richest of Oriental stuffs, and she wears jewels worth a fortune. She is of Canton, and her feet, of course, have been bound. She wears queer shoes with soles two inches thick and a tiny heel in the middle, and might as well be on stilts, for all the grace of movement she has. Minister and Madame Wu are the most democratic of all the people who have ever been in the legations in Washington. Little madame likes to mingle with the crowd at the state receptions, and escapes from the "crush behind the line^' just as soon as possible, going into the great east room, where, in shy, girlish fashion, she greets all who speak to her with a smile and a handshake. She has a tiny hand, as char- acterless as a child's, and loaded with priceless rings. Madame Wu speaks just a little English, but is well educated in her own language, having had a governess and several tutors. She was born in Canton, and in the house where she was born and reared she was married to Mr. Wu, who is as devoted to her as though he had courted her for ages, instead of never having looked upon her face until she was his wife. When she left Canton for the first time, she came to Washington as the Minister's wife. Madame likes Washington. She comes and goes as she pleases, un- accompanied most often, takes long rides in the trolley cars, although she has half a dozen carriages, and she likes to have the front seat be- side the motorman. She and the Minister have pleasant times going to the suburban resorts. She loves the parks, and the legation being near Dupont circle she spends much of her daylight time there, playing with the babies that tumble on the grass. She has one son. Outside the Chinese legation is a big pile of highly ornate gray stone and white marble. Inside there is a peculiar mixing of Orient and Oc- cident. The newer purchases of velvet carpets and stiff-backed chairs, the imitation mahogany wood- work and the badly matched hard wood floors look so transparently bargain-storish beside the teakwood cab- inets, the rare Nankin porcelains, the rich damask draperies, and costly ivory carvings of that ancient civilization. The Minister and his wife entertain magnificently in cultured Amer- ican style, but of the inner life at the legation no American knows a bit more than if the Wu family were in the walled city of Peking. Madame Wu has no woman of her country about her. She has an GREAT MEN IN MODERN CHINA. 335 American woman as a companion, but when she sees her it is in the American part of the house. Into the privacy of the inner residence no Christian has ever pene- trated, yet Madame says smilingly that she likes the life here, and likes "being an American woman." Minister Wu says that in America his wife shall do exactly as she pleases, but in China — well that is different. In China, she is a Chinese woman and that means a nonen- tity. Minister Wu openly reviles the corset and says that women who wear them cannot bear noble sons, and he considers decollete dress indecent. Even little madame's hands are veiled in her big sleeves and rare laces. CHAPTER XX. BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. First Rumors of Outrages Perpetrated by the Society of the Righteous Fist— Two Points of View of the Boxers— The World Takes Alarm— Secret Societies in China and Their Work— Specimens of Boxer Proclamations— The Ministers in Peril— Marine Guard Arrires- The Dowager Empress— Prince Tuan in Power. rOR almost a year before the recent developments in China, Christendom had been shocked with stories of outrages upon missionaries perpetrated by the "Boxers," or "Society of the Righteous Fist." Early last spring these stories increased in number, and in April and May hardly a day passed without rumors from China of repeated atrocities. The "Boxer" movement spread rapidly until the powers were aroused by the beginning of wholesale slaughter of Christians, native and foreign, and the destruction of churches and missions of all denominations. Not until the movement had become so strong that the Chinese government proved quite inadequate to restrain or suppress it did the Western Powers realize its character and extent. When they did once realize, it was too liate to take sufficient steps for the protection of foreign lives and interests in China. Undoubtedly the "Boxers" must be looked at from two points of view — the Chinese and the foreign. To foreigners they are an organ ization of thugs, banded for evil purposes — the expulsion of all for- eigners and the destruction of every semblance of Western civilization — which they attempt to execute by the most shockingly cruel methods, killing and torturing men, women and children indiscriminately, sparing neither age nor sex, and violating every sentiment of decency, bravery, chivalry, kindness and intelligence. From their own point of view and that of the Chinese who may be in sympathy with them, they are the genuine patriots of China, the revolutionary fathers if you will, banded together like minute-men to protect their country from the raids of Invaders who seemed bent upon destroying its independence, its iden- tity and its integrity. They considered themselves the embodiment of 336 BEGINNING OF TEE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. 337 the sentiment, "China for the Chinese," and were willing to fight and die for their country, asking no quarter and giving none. Although repeatedly warned during the whole of the winter of 1899 and the spring of 1900 by their respective representatives at Peking of the undoubted danger which threatened European interests in China, and also Europeans themselves, if the Boxer movement were allowed to go unchecked, the governments of the great powers did not realize the seriousness of the situation, with the exception of the authorities of our own country. And it was not until May that the awakening of this government came. On the 25th of that month instructions were sent to Minister Conger at Peking bidding him inform the Chinese government to provide proper guarantees for the maintenance of peace and order, and for the protection of the lives and property of Ameri- cans. The danger then was impending and it was too late to avert the catastrophe. Though pugilism and wrestling are to some extent practiced, "box- ing" is entirely unknown in China. It is, therefore, a misnomer to call them "Boxers." The word employed by themselves, "ch'tin," means lit- erally "the fist," and the phrase, "ta ch'tien t'ou," means to practice pugilism. But the exercises they engage in, now notorious to residents in China, and which have been named "Boxer drill," bear little or no resemblance either to pugilism or to boxing. They consist of the repe- tition of words supposed to act as charms, and violent contortions of the body, which appear to induce a state of trance, during which the subject is supposed to deliver to the bystanders occult messages respect- ing the progress of the movement. On resuming his normal state he is said to be quite unconscious of anything he did or said during his peculiar ecstasy. The society aims at nothing less than the expulsion of all foreigners and all things foreign from China, and the restoration of the empire to its former position of exclusion and self-sufficiency. Its animus is jjeculiarly strong against foreign religions, not only because the mission- ary pervades the whole interior of the country or because his converts are now for the first time becoming a body respectable by its numbers and thoroughly imbued with an earnest desire for foreign intercourse and innovation, but also because its leaders by a true instinct are able to divine that religion is the great transforming force which, once per- mitted to permeate the very springs and secret spiritual forces of the 338 BEGINNING OF THE '"BOXER" OUTBREAK. nation's life, will "make all things new." This animus again reaches its most extreme point of intensity in its opposition to the Koman Catholic missions, these being the longest established and the most numerous, and having done more to protect and assist their converts in cases of litigation than the Protestant missions. But these distinctions are trivial. In the significant phrase often employed in their literature, they propose to "make a clean sweep" — everything foreign is to be driven off, merchant business houses, ma- chine shops, railways, telegraphs, guns, rifles, — everything. The society has been spoken of as patriotic, and it is for this reason, so it is said, that it was protected by the Empress Dowager, This, however, does not hinder it from assailing the Government as it stands, and the Em- peror himself with all the highest officials in the Empire are fiercely as- sailed in its publications. Its manifesto seems rather against individ- uals than against the dynasty itself. Its aim differs from that of former rebellions and all other secret societies previously known. It is favored by the Manchus, and a prince of the blood, the now notorious Prince Tuan, has been the leading member of its secret conclave. Altogether the most singular feature of this strange movement is the peculiar relation to it of young children. In every district and in every town it has visited it has commenced its work among young people ranging between the ages of ten and twenty. The "drill" is al- ways commenced by them. Until actual rioting commenced grown men were never heard of as appearing in the movement. This has been the principal reason why it has been treated lightly by foreign observers and perhaps has had something to do with the inactivity of the Chinese officials in dealing with it. Mandarins would not arrest, and foreigners could not take seriously the doings of very young boys and even girls until the sudden outburst of murderous and incendiary attacks proved that after all it was no mere child's play. Of course when the rebels actually appeared in arms it was men and not children who did the destructive work; but until that stage was reached it appeared for the most part an affair of children. It is not simply the case that chil- dren are aping in public the secret doings of their elders. They are an es- sential factor in the growth of the society in every place where it makes its appearance. It is they who most readily induce the strange trance characteristic of the "drill." To them the mystic messages of the im- BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. 339 pending advent of their leaders are given. They are its plastic and docile mediums. Their supposed possession of supernatural powers seems to be some» how connected with the marriage ceremony. In the placards are mys- terious allusions to the "Light of the Red Lamp," and the members in addition to wearing red turbans and red girdles, are said to carry red lamps. There is, however, a deeper meaning than this attached to the phrase "hung t^ng chao." The "hung teng" is an invariable adjunct of the bridal chamber; "chao" means to light, to illuminate, to reveal. Early marriage is practiced in China, and it is a curious fact that the marriage age exactly tallies with that of the great majority of the youths engaged in these singular exercises. It is certain that, in addition to much other mythologj^, the movement involves the idea of a revelation, and there is ground for supposing that the revelation is somehowi or other connected with the institution of marriage, and the "hung teng chao" may be translated "revelation of the bridal chamber." The society's method of procedure as it appears to the outside ob- servers is as follows: In any particular place which has been so far undisturbed by their operations the rumors become more persistent and more wonderful as to the society's doings in other districts, placards begin to appear, sometimes mysteriously pasted on the walls of build- ings by night, sometimes handed to individuals in a crowded market. A general state of mingled excitement, fear, and expectation is created, and especially the idea of the advent of invincible swordsmen armed with supernatural power, and accompanied with teachers and leaders, is instilled into the mind of a populace superstitious in the extreme and a large portion of whom are ripe for any mischief and supremely covetous of loot. Then children varying in age from ten to twenty are seen in vacant spaces and on the corners of the streets "drilling." In addition to the revelations considered to be connected with these ex- ercises they are supposed to render those who engage in them invul- nerable alike to sword thrusts and to rifle bullets. Gradually their numbers increase, older people take part, and then for the first time definite organization is proposed. Leaders are appointed, adherents are formed into what are called lu — hearths. These hearths are equiva- lent to camps. They number 500 each; and every member is sworn to obey the leaders, to sleep and take food with the rest, and to have the grain and meal necessary for his support sent from home. The next 340 BEGINNING OF THE ''BOXER" OUTBREAK. step is to commence work by firing some foreign house, railway sta- tion, mission chapel, or other obnoxious building, putting to the sword all native Christians they can find and any hapless "foreign devil" who may fall into their hands. In the performance of this part of the pro- gramme it is impossible to distinguish the rebels from the populace. Swarming in thousands, they murder, destroy, and loot till there is little left behind. And who directs this vast organization? Though very little infor- mation of a conclusive character is to be had, and there is therefore no absolute proof of its existence, everything points to the supposition that there is a very powerful Inner Council or Conclave which, working in profound secrecy, matures the plans by which the society works. It has been hatched in Buddhist monasteries and the purlieus of the yamens. Priests or monks of the Buddhist faith are among the leaders. Prince Tuan, who seized the Government during the last days of June, was said to be the High Priest of the Secret Council; Tung Fu-sliiang, a much-trusted Chinese general, and even the Empress Dowager her- self were boldly mentioned as members of it. This council concocts the mysterious placards, sends forerunners who work up the bands in various districts, and has men in it of sufficient influence to bring over to its side the gentry of each district and, above all, to silence the officials. Secrecy is the watchword of the Chinaman. There is perhaps not a grown Chinaman in the world who does not belong to at least one secret society and most of them are members of several "hui," which is the general name they give to such organizations. Wherever the Chinese go, they carry with them the practice of using deft signals whereby they may silently communicate with each other. But all secrets will come out eventually, even though they be those of the closest-mouthed people on earth. Thus it happens that a few of the more important ones used by the Boxers have become known outside of the societies using them. For instance, there is a way for a Chinaman to let a stranger know that he is a member and at the same time indicate his rank in the society, all done in an instant by a simple arrangement of his fingers. "Have you had your hand pricked?"' is the question which brings forth this finger sign. Pricking the sec- ond finger of the left hand with a sharp instrument is chief among the forms of initiation. BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. 341 When this question is put to him by a fellow countryman the mem- ber replies "Yes," and at the same time he holds out his left hand with the nail of the thumb pressed against the second finger at the spot where he received his initiation prick. The forefinger is held level with the thumb, while the other fingers are bent against the palm of the hand. The nearer to the palm the prick happens to be the higher the rank of the member. If the prick is on the palm itself it indicates that the member is of the very highest rank. In order to indicate unmistakably his identity during troublous times like the present in China the members resort to signs more readily noticed when going out into the streets. One sign of member- ship is to rolLup the right trousers leg or the right sleeve of his jacket, or, if he' gets into a crowd where these signs might not be noticed, he may indicate the same thing by holding his right hand over his head with three of the fingers spread out. Still another way is to let the corner of his jacket hang carelessly down inside at the neck by unbut- toning the top button. TJie Chinaman's queue, which he makes use of in a thousand and one ways in daily life, comes in handy for making his secret-society signals. If a Boxer should be in distress and wanted to call upon his brothers in the band for assistance, he could get it by "talking through his queue," so to speak. When he signals them for help he wears his queue hanging in a loop over his right shoulder, the end brought around the neck and tied in two loose slipknots to the loop. Heaven, "tien;" earth, "ti," and man, "jin," are words frequently used by the secret organization, and there is a "pigtail" sign for each. "Tien" is indicated by twisting the queue once around the head, cross- ing it in front and letting it hang in a loop on the left side. When he wants to represent "ti" the member twists his queue twice around his head, crossing on both sides and looping upward on the left side. The sign for "jin" is the same as for "ti," only the queue is looped downward instead of upward on the left side. One signal for assistance in a fight is to hold the right hand with the palm downward, at the same time putting the left hand on the breast, the thumb and forefinger bent and the others shut. When it is desired to stop members from fighting, the left hand is kept in the same position and the palm of the right hand is turned inward. 342 BEGINNING OF THE ''BOXER" OUTBREAK, There are al&o hand signs for "heaven," "earth" and "man." The sign for "heaven" is made by holding the right hand out with the thumb and forefinger bent, the remaining three fingers straight and the cor- responding three fingers of the left hand on the chest. For "earth" the right hand is held out, with the thumb, first and second fingers straight, the other fingers bent and the left thumb and two fingers open on the breast. In giving the sign for "man" the right hand is held out, with the thumb and little finger straight, the other fingers bent and the left hand on the breast. This sign may also stand for "the dragon's head and Phoenix tail." These three signs formed in rapid succession mean "I am of the Heaven and Earth Society," in other words, a Triad. All Chinamen are ultra-superstitious. The Triads at present, on account of the trouble in China, have nailed strips of red cloth over their doorways to keep evil spirits away. They also have green bamboo sticks in each corner of the living rooms of their houses as a protection against violence. Another interesting and complicated system is signaling with tea cups and saucers and rice bowls during meals. The dishes placed in a great variety of positions upon tables mean a lot of things. The last issue of the Peking and Tien-Tsin Times, which was printed May 5, contains translations of placards posted by the Boxers, which give an idea of their sentiments. The translations are made by edu- cated Chinese, and while the English is in many instances crude the sentiment of the placards is preserved. Two of them are as follows: The Gods assist the Boxers, The Patriotic Harmonious corps. It is because the "Foreign Devils" disturb the "Middle Kingdom." Urging the people to join their religion, To turn their backs on Heaven, Venerate not the Gods and forget the ancestors. Men violate the human obligations. Women commit adultery, "Foreign Devils" are not produced by mankind, If you do not believe, Look at them carefully. BEGINNING OF THE '"BOXER" OUTBREAK. 343 The eyes of all the "Foreign Devils" are bluish, No rain falls, The earth is getting dry, This is because the churches stop Heaven, The Gods are angry; The Genii are vexed; Both come down from the mountain to deliver the doctrine. This is no hearsay The practices of boxing will not be in vain; Reciting incantations and pronouncing magic words, Burn up yellow written prayers, Light incense sticks. To invite the Gods and Genii of all the grottoes. The Gods come out from grottoes. The Genii come down from mountains, Support the human bodies to practice the boxing. When all the military accomplishments or tactics Are fully learned. It will not be difficult to exterminate the "Foreign Devils" then. Push aside the railway tracks, Pull out the telegraph poles. Immediately after this destroy the steamers. The great France Will grow cold in her heart and downhearted. The English and Russians will certainly disperse. Let the various "Foreign Devils" all be killed. May the whole Elegant Empire of the Great Ching Dynasty be ever prosperous! Another placard reads: The relatives and friends of all round notice recently that the mem- bers of the Protestant and Roman Catholic religions poison the wells with poisonous powder, that whoever drinks the water will have their lungs and intestines rotten in eighteen days. Two men have been ar- 344 BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. rested by us at Ling Chi-chuang and we found out they have poison all over their bodies. They are silent when they are questioned and bold when tortured. Who ever smells the poison will die immediately; you must be very cautious in drinking the water. Those who have seen this notice must make it known; it will avoid the calamity of the people. It must by all means be done. Here is a specimen of the society's placards, found posted up in the district of Paotingfu. It is minatory in character and might be called "The Ten Plagues." Its style seems peculiarly calculated to fascinate and excite the public mind. The placard, judging by the style of com- position, is probably a Buddhist production: "In the presence of the revered mother the goddess of mercy. "This year being one of rapine and swordsmen being peculiarly evil, the myriad-fold holy one has descended to earth and the good and the evil are to receive speedy retribution. Since the multitude have ceased to believe in Buddha and are unfilial toward their parents, high heaven is dispatching in its anger a million spiritual soldiers to reward the good and punish the evil. By burning incense night and day and prac- ticing filial piety an entire family may escape the bitterness of the sword. But whatever family may set their hearts to revile the gods and to neglect filial behavior towards father and mother that family will be cut off and will fall into perdition. Should the people continue in unbelief, there will follow hereafter ten unescapable sorrows. "First Sorrow. "Incense burning will cease throughout the Empire. "Second Sorrow. "Blood will flow and fill the streams of all the hills. "Third Sorrow. "Grain and meal will become refuse. "Fourth Sorrow. "All the living will be involved in iniquity. "Fifth Sorrow. "The roads will be without passengers. "Sixth Sorrow. "Orphans and widows will speak of their native place. "Seventh Sorrow. "There will be none to protect from rapine. BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER"' OUTBREAK. 345 "Eighth Sorrow. "All the living will enter the Yellow Springs. "Ninth Sorrow. "Disease and distress will afflict the people. "Tenth Sorrow. "There will be no peaceful years. "Issued under the 'Light of the Red Lamp^ at Su Chiko. If those who see this paper circulate it immediately they will escape the suffering of the swords." The barbarous murder of Mr. Brooks, an Anglican missionary, late in December, was synchronous with the continued spoliation of the native Christians, Roman Catholic and Protestant, but especially the former, the burning of their houses, and in some rare instances the killing of their leaders. Arson was not very prevalent in that region at that time, but the pillage of the houses of converts and the extortion of heavy cash fines were matters of daily occurrence. The oflflcial reply to all these acts of lawlessness was the issue of more proclamations, some of them full of latent encouragement to the movement, and the posting of soldiers at various points, many of them being themselves members of the Boxer society. Soldiers and Boxers everywhere fra- ternized on terms of cordial harmony, and in no case could the pro- vincial troops be depended upon to resist the growing lawlessness, or to make a single arrest. Foreseeing the coming storm, the Roman Catholics had fortified many of their chapels, cathedrals, and villages, and in some cases suc- cessfully resisted all the force which could be brought against them. In a brief time the whole region between Paoting-Fu and Peking, a dis- tance of about a hundred miles, was filled with Boxer camps, and furious organized attacks upon all Christian communities at once be- gan. A Roman Catholic congregation were burned alive in their place of worship. Christians were attacked in their homes, or wherever they could be found, cut down at sight, and their bodies thrown into wells and streams. There were supposed to be 30,000 Boxers gathered in and about the single city of Cho Chou, practicing their magic rites by day and by night, eating the farmers of the district into poverty and ruin, capturing the magistrate and taking possession of his Yamen and compelling him to stamp their proclamations and orders with his official 346 BEGINNING OF THE ''BOXER'' OUTBREAK. seal. Many out-stations of both Catholic and Protestant missions suf- fered severely at this time, details of the numerous and often appalling occurrences reaching Peking by every messenger. This was the state of things at the end of May. Members of families of the British and the American legations were enjoying themselves at their summer places in the Western hills, twelve miles" from Peking, when the storm broke, and they were recalled in hot haste. Then, and for more than six weeks afterward, the fatal assumption seemed to have chloroformed the entire Peking community alike, that "Nothing can happen here in Peking." A series of terrible catastrophes was re- quired to dispel this inexplicable delusion. The diplomatic corps held a meeting and decided to telegraph for guards to come from the war- ships already assembled at Taku, to protect the legations — a step which should have been taken a month earlier. The Tsung-li-Yamen, of course, objected to the insult of bringing foreign troops to the Chinese capital and promised ample protection with Chinese forces. The ministers refused to consider the question of the guards an open one. The guards must come, if not with the consent of the Chinese government, then without it. The Yamen had to consult Prince Ching. Prince Ching had an audience with the Empress Dowager, and the con- sent was given rather than risk a collision with the world combined. General Tung Fuhsiang, a man of mean origin, a former rebel against the government, but at the head of an army of fierce men from the distant province of Kansu, had been for a year and a half eager to fight foreigners, being certain of his ability to drive them into the sea. On the present occasion he felt that the time had fully arrived, but he was overruled and his troops removed from the city to prevent a col- lision with the foreign guards. Even now there were many in the various legations who were opposed to bringing up a large force, since a smaller one must have the same moral effect, with less irritation to the Chinese government. As it was very uncertain, however, how the government would act, there was good reason still to fear that the arrival of 330 marines, which took place on the evening of May 31, would be a signal for a general attack upon foreigners and indiscrim- inate pillage and massacre. The American, Eussian, Japanese, French and British contingents marched from the railway station outside the south city, the railway having been temporarily repaired, to their legations with fixed bayonets BEGINNING OF THE ''BOXER" OUTBREAK. U1 through the densest crowds which some of them had ever seen, but the Chinese made no demonstration of any kind. The following day the Germans and more Russians arrived, the Governor-General at Tien- Tsin having done his best to prevent the entraining of the soldiers, yielding only when assured that otherwise they would seize the engines and cars and go without his permission. The preliminary. crisis was past, and the lives of the foreigners in Peking were for the moment once more secure. The total number of foreign troops actually introduced, including seven Cossack permanent legation guards, was only 450. It should not have been less than 1,000, with which number it would have been possible to make a defense with some prospect of success. A meeting of Americans had been called at the Methodist com- pound on the afternoon of June 8 to deliberate upon the proper steps to be taken in the present crisis. A comparison of known facts showed that the steady closing in of the net surrounding all the foreigners in and about Peking, which rendered the abandonment of T'ung Chou im- perative, also made untenable the position of the residents in Peking unless within the radius of military protection. It was decided that all Americans not already in the legation should remove to the Meth- odist compound at once for mutual defense; that the Minister should be asked for a guard of twenty marines; that in view of the presence of members of the London mission and many of their converts, the British Minister be required to furnish ten marines; and that a strong telegram be sent to the President of the United States representing the threatening aspect of affairs. The following message was accord- ingly dispatched that afternoon: "President McKinley, Washington: Boxers destroy chapels, mas- sacre hundreds Christians, threaten exterminate all foreigners. T'ung Chou abandoned; Paoting-Fu, Tsun Hua extreme danger. Chinese troops useless. Attack Peking. Tientsin daily threatened. Railways rlestroyed, telegraphs cut. Chinese government paralyzed. Imperial edicts double-faced, favor Boxers. Universal. Unless situation promptly relieved thirty Americans convened regard outlook practi- cally hopeless." After China's overwhelming defeat by the Japanese — the little de- spised neighbor — Kuang Hsu endeavored to introduce into China west- ern methods of war, learning and administration. He gathered around him some fifteen progressive men, mostly young men. Many edicts were 348 BEGINNING OF THE ''BOXER" OUTBREAK. issued giving freedom to the press, encouraging invention and study of western science and establishing a system of government schools in all the provinces, with a grand imperial university at Peking. Many use- less offices were done away with. It seems evident also that it was the purpose to have first and second ranks of officers and to conform to the customs of western nations in the matter of court dress. These reforms, though excellent in themselves, were very sweeping for China, espe- cially before the young emperor had secured the confidence of his people in his ability and wisdom. The empress dowager did not look with favor upon much that was being done and often exerted a vetoing influence which led to a plan to remove her to a place of easy confinement. This might be done with- out sacrificing her life, or if necessary at the expense of it. This plan became known to the empress, and she, who has "a genius for ruling," and who is an exceedingly strong character, having her twenty articles of power spoken of above, and backed by the conservative Manchu party, came from her quiet among the hills to the place of power. She imprisoned the emperor, beheaded six of his chief advisers and scattered the rest. This coup d'etat and a return of the old conservative methods in Chinese government is directly traceable to the young emperor's attach- ment to the reform party and its fearless and brilliant leader and tire- less worker, Kuang Yu Wai. The enlightened Chinese, almost to a man, favored the young emperor, and the reformers and Kuang the leader and Kuang the emperor during their short term of power did more for China and the common people than any other men of the coming generation. In this tragic way the empress came again to the throne. Under these conditions she very naturally would feel a sympathy for the con- servative or anti-foreign party, for by them she rules. About two years ago the man Tting Fu Siang, the great Mohammedan and anti-foreign general, was in the near vicinity of Peking with about 12,000 well- armed and well-drilled troops. This general and his "braves" were even then thirsting for the blood of the foreigners. It was said that on his knees he besought the empress dowager to allow him the privilege of massacring all the foreigners in and about Peking. At that time the different legations called for marine guards, but these were not suffi- cient, so the ministers unitedly demanded the removal of this hostile BEGINNING OF THE "BOXER" OUTBREAK. 349 force from the vicinity of the city. The empress honored the general, gave presents to his men and quietly removed them. The trouble was not cured, only postponed; the men were not disbanded, only scattered; and their foreign hatred increased rather than lessened, until the num- ber was not only 12,000, but scores of thousands. During the second week in June several changes were made in the tsung-li-yamen, or foreign office. One Chinese was retired and four Manchus, supposed to be rigidly conservative, were appointed. Prince Ching, regarded as the greatest except Li Hung Chang of all living Chinamen, the only member with a knowledge of foreign affairs, was superseded by Prince Tuan, a powerful supporter of the Boxers. It was thought at the time that Prince Tuan was a creature of the empress, but he has proved to be more cunning even than the clever dowager. Prince Tuan has always been known as one of the chief patrons of the Boxers and a representative of the most reactionary party in China. By the appointment of Prince Tuan the empress sought not only to attach the Boxers to herself, but at the same time by that to openly defy all the world. CHAPTER XXI. FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. The March of the Allies Under Admiral Seymonr— Good-Fellowship PreTails— Fighting All the Way— The American Captain McCalla Lauds the British Admiral Seymour— Battle ol the Taku Forts— Casualties in the Fight— Story of the Land Battle — Americans Nol in the Attack— Losses of the Allied Forces— Statement of Commander Wise — Shell Strikes the Monocacy— Fighting Around Tientsin— Attacking the Walled City— Colonel Meade's Report— Fighting Among Corpses for Spoil. rHE start of the international column for the relief of the for- eigners in Peking was inaugurated on June 10. Thecombined army numbered 2,078 officers and men, and was made up of eight nationalities — British, Russian, German, Austrian, Italian, Japanese, French, and American marines and blue-jackets. These forces were all acting with nominal independence, but were tacitly under command of Admiral Seymour of the British navy, and operated as one body. The United States was represented by 112 men from the Newark, under Captain B. H. McCalla. This officer's account of the expedition is a most interesting document, and describes in detail how the various commands co-operated — how the British and Russians in turn helped to shift the Newark's three-inch rifle from one position to another when the American crew was inadequate to transport it; how the Americans led the advance up the railway and protected the rear in the retreat, and how, during the repeated attacks of the Chinese on the Tientsin arsenal, British, Russians, and Americans in turn would spring into the breach to defend the hard-pressed outposts of some other nationality that was bearing the brunt of the attack. The allied force was furnished with railroad transportation by the Chinese authorities in Tientsin, although it was thought at first that it might be necessary to seize the trains required. The advance was made under constantly increasing difficulties. Whole sections of track were torn up, bridges and culverts were found wrecked, stations burned, and pumping appliances at the water tanks were destroyed. The first attacks on the column were by parties of Boxers, but these soon were joined by regular Chinese troops, and the little column had 350 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 351 to fight its way forward, repairing the track almost rail by rail, with flanking parties out to protect the construction train, while other de- tachments foraged the surrounding country for supplies. The advance continued up to the 19th, and was met by two messengers at different times bearing urgent requests from the besieged legationers for relief. Captain McCalla and his marines were finally put in charge of the construction train by Admiral Seymour's direction, and the work pushed as far as the important city of Yang Tsun. From this point the railroad was so badly crippled that evidently it was impracticable to advance further by train, and the international column scoured the countiy for horses and carts, hoping to make a forced march to Peking by road. The resistance encountered at Lang Fang amounted to a pitched battle, and resulted in the killing of seven and wounding of forty of the allied forces. That 400 Chinese were killed in this engagement was little consolation to the allies, since, with a large number of wounded on their hands and the constantly increasing force of Chinese in both front and rear, it was evidently impossible to make the forced march as contem- plated. The news from the direction of Tientsin showed that the railroad had been destroyed in their rear, and after a meeting of the commanders it was decided that a retreat must be made by way of the river. Fortunately at this point a German force from the column captured four large junks, while Ensign Wurtzbaugh and Cadet Courtney, with parties of the Newark's men, gathered in four large sampans. This little flotilla was distributed among the allied forces and the whole col- umn embarked on the 19th for the return to Tientsin. The sailors from the modern warships at first made slow work of navigating these unwieldy oriental craft, but they made fair progress. The retreat was slow, however. Every village along the thickly settled banks was a vantage point from which the Chinese hotly contested the movement of the column, both with artillery and small arms. Flanking parties had to be thrown out on each side, and town after town was cleared by the impetuous charges of Japanese, Austrians, and Germans, while the American field gun, the British nine-pounders, and the Ger- man and Russian guns shelled out the Chinese from their mud redoubts and kept at bay the squadrons of cavalry that hovered on the flanks. The strongest opposition was met at Peitsang, where a sharp fight 352 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. occurred. The casualties of the Newark's officers and men in this fight were one killed and nine wounded, while the allies also lost the services of Captain Jellico, Admiral Seymour's chief of staff, who was severely wounded. The resistance to the party increased steadily on the trip down the river, until they came in the vicinity of the Chinese arsenal, where the little column cleared out the Chinese, occupying the walled inclosure, and took shelter in positions that the Chinese had vacated. Here the American gun was mounted on a parapet commanding the road leading into the arsenal and an all-day fight occurred. Three of the Newark's men were killed and thirteen wounded, while the per- centage of loss among the British and Germans was about the same. It was here that the commander of the Kaiserin Augusta was killed while directing the defense from the western rampart. During this fight and before the allies were able to get their wounded into the protection of the arsenal grounds, the junks where the wounded were still lying were subjected to a severe fire from the Chinese, and three of the British wounded were killed. The heavy casualties of the day complicated the situation consid- erably. The column had over 200 wounded to transport and care for, and it was evidently impossible to carry these, and go forward by the main road to Tientsin, for after deducting the number of killed and wounded and the men who would be needed as bearers, the effective force of the column would have been less than 1,000 men. It was decided, therefore, to hold out in the arsenal inclosure until relief could be summoned from Tientsin. Among the many acts of conspicuous gallantry performed that day was an achievement by two seamen, one from the Centurion, the other from the Aurora. Shortly after the enemy opened fire in the morning from the arsenal grounds, one of the junks, in which were British and American wounded, drifted across the river and grounded on the Chi- nese side. The two bluejackets mentioned jumped overboard, pushed the junk afloat, and towed her out of the line of fire, where she was anchored safely on the other bank. An attempt was made at midnight of the 22d to send a party of 100 British marines through to Tientsin to summon relief. They met heavy opposition in the darkness, and were forced to retire. Therefore there was nothing to do but make a firm stand in the arsenal grounds. FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 353 The whole wall of the Inclosure was occupied, and the German cap- tain, Von Usedom, having a supply of high explosives, assisted the Americans in blowing up the trestle work roadway leading into their section of the arsenal grounds and in fortifying the American position. The supplies in the arsenal were drawn upon, as the ammunition of the column was rapidly becoming exhausted, and the defenders mounted a number of Chinese Krupp guns on the walls and prepared to withstand an extensive siege. The arsenal also supplied what was equally needed in the line of surgical instruments and appliances for the large number of wounded. Communication was opened with Tientsin, five miles distant, by means of signal rockets, and on the 25th the relief force, consisting of a mixed column under Lieut.-Col. Schrinsky of the Twelfth East Siberian regiment, came in sight, and was greeted with cheers as it scattered the masses of Chinese who were continuing the attack on the arsenal in- closure. On the 26th the march back to Tientsin began, the allies hav- ing first fired the Chinese arsenal. The total losses of the allied forces amounted to two oflflcers and fifty-five men killed, and twenty-three officers and 210 men wounded. Although the primary object of the expedition had failed, yet in the light of subsequent events the force under Admiral Seymour had done a valuable service in capturing this important arsenal and its store- houses filled with munitions of war. The force operating against Admiral Seymour's column was part of the command of General Nieh, one of the commanders of imperial troops, and was variously estimated at from 10,000 to 20,000. It was estimated by Captain McCalla that the Boxers and imperial troops lost not less than 1,000 killed between the 12th and the 26th of June. Cap- tain McCalla, in his report, says: "I hesitate somewhat to refer to the senior naval officer's admirable direction of the naval forces acting concurrently for the relief of the several legations in Peking, both while trying to reach the capital over a railway partially destroyed, and during the far more difficult and hazardous operation of falling back from Yang Tsun to Tientsin, incum- bered by wounded who could not be left to a merciless foe, and opposed by infantry, artillery, and cavalry of the imperial Chinese army, as- sisted by Boxers, who, there was evidence to show, had recently received arms from the arsenals of China. But Vice- Admiral Seymour's knowl- 354 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. edge and ability are so eminent, and his tact and consideration so great and constant, that I may say that the officers and men of the eight nationalities were only too pleased to execute his wishes, which were accepted in reality as orders, so that the 2,000 seamen and marines under his command, or associated with him, became a harmonious body actuated by but one purpose. "I should fail altogether in my duty to a brother seaman did I not call to the attention of the government the honor which Admiral Sey- mour conferred upon our navy by not hesitating to call upon the officers from the Newark to assist his own magnificent body of bluejackets and marines; the esteem which he showed for our country by assigning me to the charge of the first train and afterward of the construction train; the confidence which caused him to place officers and men from his fleet under my personal command, and his great kindness in permitting his overworked medical officers to care for our wounded, who were, I am mortified to state, without the services of one of our own surgeons. "During the almost continuous engagements with the enemy Ad- miral Seymour was constantly with the advance, and so freely exposed himself that both his own officers and men feared lest we should be deprived of his conspicuous skill in directing our movements. "It would be a source of unqualified gratification to the officers and men of the Newark who were associated with Vice- Admiral Seymour's command if our own government would offer this distinguished officer some appropriate and tangible recognition of his services to our nation." In the meantime the battle of Taku had taken place and the forts at that place had been captured by the allies. On June 15 a combined naval and military council was convened at Taku by the senior naval officer, Vice-Admiral Hildebrand, on board the first-class cruiser Rossia of the Eussian navy. The facts which they had to consider were that insurgents numbering about 2,000 showed a disposition to attack the Taku forts, to destroy the railway and to lay torpedoes in the Pei-Ho. In view of these dangers it was resolved that steps must be taken to guard the railway station and to preserve communication with Tientsin. In carrying out this resolution the allies determined to adopt a defensive attitude, and to refrain from assuming the offensive unless they were attacked, in which event they were to assault the forts and render them incapable of doing any mischief. It was further decided that a force of 300 Japanese marines should be landed and posted at Tongku station, FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 35S with orders to guard it until relieved. This was accordingly done. The ships, all small craft, lying inside the bar were: Off the north fort, the British gunboat Algerine, the British torpedo-boat destroyers Whiting and Fame, and the Russian gunboats Koreetz and Silatch; at Tongku, the German gunboat litis, the French gunboat Lion, the Japanese gunboat Atago and the American river boat Monocacy, and not far off was the Russian gunboat Bobr. The rest of the fleet were some miles away outside of the river, their deep draught preventing them from crossing the bar. On the 16th at 11 a. m. another council was held on board the Rossia. The facts before the naval commanders were that although the Chinese government had raised no objection to the foreign powers co- operating to preserve good order and secure life and property, and had undertaken to discharge its own duties in those respects, there was now every appearance that the Chinese troops were laying torpedoes to block the river and were advancing to destroy the railway in conjunction with the Boxers. The allies found themselves obliged in consequence to adopt measures for preserving communication with the men already landed from the ships and to prevent Tientsin from being isolated. Therefore, they determined that the governor of Chih-li must be called on to hand over the Taku forts, and, if he declined to do so, they must be assaulted. An intimation in that sense was forwarded to the gov- ernor, as well as to the officer in command of the Chinese troops, two o'clock a. m. on the 17th being named as the hour by which hostilities would commence in the event of the forts not being handed over. At 3:15 on the afternoon of that day (16th) a force of 180 Russians were landed; and at 4 p. m. they were followed by 250 British and 130 Germans. By 8 p. m. the situation had become very critical, and it was evident that hostilities might commence at any moment. Although every one was prepared for the worst, still it occasioned more than sur- prise when at 12:50 a. m. June 17 the forts opened fire on the little gunboats. The sailormen were not long in grasping the situation, and a fierce cannonade commenced which lasted without intermission until 4:25 a. m. Soon after the fight began the Russian gunboat Koreetz was struck by a shell and set on fire; but the tars quickly put this out. Meanwhile the tiny British torpedo-boat destroyers Whiting and Fame, each having a whale-back containing ten men in tow, proceeded to Taku dockyard, where were lying four Chinese torpedo-destroyers, 356 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. only lately arrived from Germany, and these they quickly captured, the crews offering but little opposition beyond a few rifle and pistol shots. On being boarded the Chinese crews escaped to the dockyard, and subsequently opened a hot fire from the dock on all six destroyers. This w^as quickly silenced by the destroyers' guns, but not before three Chinese on board had been killed. While this was going on the litis and Lion moved down stream to support the Algerine and other gunboats which were being hard- pressed, for the Atago, being heavily laden with ammunition and pro- visions for the allies, was prevented from taking a hand in the bombard- ment, while the American ship Monocacy also could not take part in the bombardment, as she had on board the foreign ladies and children of the settlement. The Chinese gunners soon got the range, and the German gunboat litis was struck by 8 shells. Her commander lost a leg, and the casual- ties were 1 officer and 6 men killed and 9 wounded. The Silatch (Rus- sian) was struck by 4 shells, one below the water-mark. She had 8 men killed and 2 officers and 46 men wounded. The Lion (French) was struck once and set on fire. She had 1 man killed and 46 wounded. The Koreetz (Russian) received 5 shells and, through the explosion of a shell in her magazine, as I said above, took fire. She had 5 killed and 21 wounded. The Bobr had 1 w^ounded, but the Algerine, though struck by a shell, had no casualties. Soon after the capture of the Chinese destroyers a 5-inch shell from the forts penetrated the Whit- ing's after coal bunker, injuring her No. 4 after boiler and damaging 177 tubes. There was, however, no immediate danger, the pipes simply bending, which certainly speaks well for the English builders. The plucky sailors of the Fame and Whiting, notwithstanding their previous efforts, had no mind to stay out of the fun, and as soon as they had taken their prizes across the river to Tongku, they steamed up stream again in order to shell the forts and cover the steamer Tag, bound for Tientsin with provisions for the garrison there. At 4:35 a. m. a terrible explosion occurred, one of the Chinese mag- azines having been blown up, and this caused a breach through which the land forces afterward entered. The Japanese tor{)edo-destroyer Kagero had meanwhile been steaming round and round the Chinese cruiser Hai-yuen, but, as the latter showed no sign of taking part in the hostilities, the Kagero was dispatched at 5:20 a. m, to ascertain FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 351 how matters were proceeding on shore. Owing, however, to the low state of the tide she could not cross the bar. While the fight was proceeding from the waterside things had moved equally quick on the land. The forces for the assault of the forts were marshaled, 200 Russians forming the van, 380 British and Germans the main body, and 300 Japanese, the reserve force, in the rear, the whole being under the command of the senior military officer, a Russian, Colonel de Wogack. The advance commenced in echelon of columns, but, owing to the hot fire opened by the Chinese, a command was issued to take skirmishing order. Captain Hattori, of the imperial Japanese navy, then perceived that the Russians in the van were making little progress owing to the heavy fire kept up by the Chinese, which mowed them down, and that the advance of the British and the Germans was impeded by heavy ground — paddy fields knee-to-thigh deep in mud. He himself was marching with two fieldpieces at the head of his men, but, obsersdng a short road of access to the fort, doubled his marines at each side of the guns and pushed on rapidly, leaving the rest of the allies behind. The Chinese troops still kept up a brisk fire, and Captain Hattori, seeing that a bayonet charge was the only resource, gave the necessary orders. He fell dead himself just as he reached the parapet, but Lieutenant Shi- raishi led the men on. Their charge was successful, and the rest of the troops followed immediately. At 5:45 a. m. the flag of the Rising Sun was flying over the fort on the northern bank of the river. Then the allies turned the guns of this fort on the others and the Chinese gar- risons fled. The Americans took no part in this fight. Admiral Kempff gave his reasons for refusing to participate in the attack on the Chinese for- tifications in his official report, which was as follows: "United States Flagship Newark, Taku, China, June 17, 1900.— Sir: I would state what follows in regard to the happenings previous to the resolve yesterday by the other senior foreign naval officers here to get possession of the Taku forts. "On Thursday, June 14, Rear Admiral Bruce called and asked what I thought of the matter, and I informed him that I was not authorized to initiate any act of war with a country with which my country was at peace; that my limit was to protect American interests, both by reg- 358 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. ulations and under recent instructions from both the department and from the Commander-in-Chief of the United States naval force on the Asiatic station. "On the 15th, at a consultation of the other foreign naval officers, it was agreed that the railroad station at Tong Fu should be taken — the railway is under Chinese government control — and in case any Chinese government force acted against the force of any foreign nation all should be involved and act unitedly. Under my instructions I could not join in taking possession of Chinese government property, and did not care to become a party to such an agreement without special au- thority. "Yesterday, June 16, the same foreign naval officers signed a com- pact that it was necessary to take temporary possession of the Taku forts, and notice was served on the Viceroy at Tientsin and on the commandant of the forts. Consuls at Tientsin were informed of what was contemplated. I did not join in the attack on the forts. Captain Wise of the Monocacy had orders to protect American interests, based upon department's orders, but in case of attack by a Chinese govern- ment force he was to consider it as a declaration of war and act ac- cordingly. LOUIS KEMPFF, "Rear Admiral U. S. N." "United States Flagship Newark, Taku, China, June 18, 1900.— Sir: I have the honor to report as follows: "The commanding officers of the gunboats in the river met on the afternoon of June 16 and agreed for the senior officer of the gunboats to direct the movement. This officer happened to be a Russian. The positions for the various gunboats were then assigned, taking positions in the second 'reach' of the river above the north fort. The gunboats participating were the Koreetz, Guilak, Bobr, Russian; litis, German; Lion, French; Algerine, English. The English torpedo-boat destroy- ers Fame and Whiting joined in the latter part, after securing the captured torpedo-boats near Tong Ku. The Japanese gunboat claimed that the engines were disabled, so it remained moored near Tong Ku, and was assigned charge of the railroad station at that place. "The United States steamship Monocacy, being under orders, re- mained moored at Tong Ku, and took no part in the action. Many for- eigners were afforded shelter and protection during the night. A copy FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 359 of the report of the commanding oflBcer of the Monocacy is herewith inclosed. "The vessels, except the litis, took their assigned positions early in the evening of the 16th instant, and, at about 12:55 a. m., one hour before the expiration of the time limit, all the fort guns which could be trained on the ships fired simultaneously, many shots striking the Koreetz. "The vessels returned the fire with a rapid fire from their guns, which, with the exception of the guns of six-inch caliber, were of small rapid-fire type. The guns on the north fort were chiefly 4.7 inch, while the south fort has a number of guns from six to eight inches in caliber. "The Algerine, having aboard a landing party of some 350 men, immediately put them ashore. A portion of them advanced through Taku to the navy-yard, and took by surprise four new modern torpedo boats, carrying two tubes and six three-pounders each, and, convoyed by the Fame and Whiting, took them to Tong Ku. The other landing parties and the remainder of the English, aggregating some 650 men, awaited an opportune time for the assault. The firing continued with more or less spirit until daylight, when it became rapid and active, and, it is reported, extremely disas-trous to the Chinese. "About 4:30 a shell entered the magazine of the Guilak, blowing it up, causing it to tak-e water, and burning forty-seven men more or less severely. The ship got over an awning (as a collision mat), and after a few hours' work was floating at the normal height. "At about 5 a. m., the gunboats having silenced the northwest fort, a landing force charged and occupied it, where, hoisting the flag, a few casualties occurred, notably, the captain of the Japanese landing party and one English sailor killed and several wounded. The Chinese then abandoned the north fort, which is joined to the northwest fort by a protected passage. After about two hours more the south forts were taken, after the explosion of the magazine. Most of the occupants fled, but were not pursued. So-me thirty or forty were found hiding in va- rious parts of the fort. The various nations participatijig hoisted their flags on the various flagstaffs. "The forts being of thick mud and grass adobe were but little dam- aged by the gun fire, although they received a host of projectiles. The guns and gun-shields as a rule were not damaged. Two or three of the modern guns were disabled. The dead Chinese were not counted, but 360 FROM TAKIJ TO TIENTSIN, it is estimated by eye-witnesses that some 200 dead were left in tlie fort. "The loss on the side of the allied forces wa^ as nearly as possible as follows: "Algerine — One officer badly injured; eight men wounded. "litis — Captain badly injured; three or four men killed; six or eight wounded. Korneetz — Two officers badly wounded; eight men dead; twelve wounded. "Guilak — One officer badly wounded; eight men killed; ten wounded; fortj^-seven burned by explosion of 'powder-room.' "Lion — One man killed; one badly w^ounded. "Other vessels engaged, injuries of minor importance. "The above is an account gleaned from conversation with officers engaged, but may contain minor inaccuracies. "During the engagement guns were turned on the Monocacy, which was out of the line of fire. It was struck (no casualties) and was forced to withdraw up the river. "LOUIS KEMPFF, Rear Admiral U. S. N." Following is the report of the action made by Commander Wise of the Monocacy to Rear Admiral Kempff: "United States Steamship Monocacy, Tong Ku, China, June 17, 1900. — Sir: I have the honor to report upon the occurrences since yesterday noon. I attended a meeting of officers at 6 p. m. on board the Borbora. I was shown the protocol and ultimatum as to the Taku forts. The sig- natures to the document were autographic, and, as yours was not ap- pended, I informed the senior officer that he would have to leave the Monocacy out of the plans and places for vessels of the attacking forces. "The first gun was fired at 12:45, and with the simultaneous dis- charge that followed two of the shots passed over the Monocacy, although the vessel was out of the line of fire between the forts and vessels attacking. "The litis did not leave its berth, which was a short distance from mine, until 10 :30, and the Japanese did not leave during the bombard- ment. "The fire was well sustained on both sides, and although shells con- FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 361 tinned at intervals to pass me or burst short or beyond, I attributed it to a wild firing- by the for-ts. "About 2:30 I was standing on top of pilot-house by the Gatling. I had mounted there when I heard a shell approaching, and immediately a crash. The second cutter hanging at the davits a few feet below and behind me had been struck by a shell. It entered the stern, tore out the bottom, and, ranging diagonally across the ship, struck out the after fall of the steam launch, smashing port forecast the ladder and passed through the ship's side, in which it left a clear-cut oval two feet by ten inches. There were many men on the forward main deck, and it must have gone as close to some of them as it did to me. It fortunately missed the launch's davit, as that would have caused it to explode. "It was difficult to make out how the allies were faring, but they were evidently closing in, as, after 3 a. m., discharges from guns like Gatlings or Maxims were heard. At 4 o'clock there was a tremendous explosion and a mass of flame, which I attributed to a magazine in one of the forts. "Tov/ards 4 o'clock the bursting of shell in my near vicinity in- creased to such an extent that it occurred to me that the forts might be directing some of their fire on the railroad station, as in this flat country it was a prominent mark, and a number of Japanese and Russian troops were encamped around it. In such case the iMonocacy would be in considerable danger from a fire which I had hitherto considered bad shooting. Acting upon the thought, I at once cast off everything. I steamed away from the bank and went two miles up the river, an- choring in the first bend. This move was made at 4:50, and at 5:30, the fire slackening and a Japanese flag floating over one of the forts, I returned to my berth. "I was able to render the following assistance: First, a party of thirty-seven women and children, refugees from the mission at Taku, who had fled hurriedly on notification of the bombardment. They came aboard last night at 9 p. m., and are still with me; also came two officers of H. M. S. Barfleur, who had come down from Tientsin too late to get to any English ship. As I was coming down the river at 6 a. m. met an English torpedo-boat towing a Chinese boat prize — I had no small boat to make a landing so I sent the launch to run a line ashore, for which thanks have been returned. I have taken on board and had surgical attendance for the following: A Japanese soldier with a gun- 362 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. shot wound; a Chinese coolie found close to the ship with arm torn off by fragment of shell; a Russian soldier with wound in the hand. "This place is deserted by every one; no trains, no telegraphic com- munication on shore, but I had a 'phone from Mr. Pottengill, who re- ports all quiet since first disturbance. "I know nothing of the fight except that the forts were taken. I feel a natural regret — shared, no doubt, by the officers — that duty and or- ders prevented the old Monocacy from giving its ancient smoothbores a last chance. "F. M. WISE, Commander U. S. N., Commanding." Beginning on June 21 there was almost continuous fighting in the vicinity of Tientsin between the allied forces and the Chinese troops. On that date the Chinese attacked the allies. Major Waller, with the American marines and 440 Russians, was ambushed three miles from the city and compelled to retreat after losing four killed, seventy wounded, and abandoning a three-inch rifle and a Colt gun. Two days later, on June 23, Major Waller, with 130 American ma- rines and two companies of British marines, marched on Tientsin, sup- ported by 300 additional British marines and 300 W^elsh Fusileers. A second column made up of Russian and German troops followed. In the engagement which followed the allies were driven back. After these engagements the Chinese reinforced the walled native city five miles northeast of Tientsin and made every preparation to re- sist the advance of the allies. On July 2 there was severe fighting, the Chinese developing unexpected strength. The allies numbered about 14,000, while it was estimated that 25,000 Chinese troops were brought into action during the engagement. The British losses were thirty killed and wounded. One company of Russian infantry, num- bering 125 men, had 115 of them either killed or wounded. The Ger- mans also suffered severely. The action was not decisive. On July 9 General Dorward (British), commanding 950 British, 400 Russians, and 100 American marines, with General Tukushung and 1,000 Japanese soldiers, captured the Chinese position southwest of the city, killing 350 and capturing four guns. General Dorward reported to the British war office that the honors of the day rested with the Amer- icans and Japanese. PROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 363 There were three hours of sharp fighting on July 11, the allies losing 100 killed and wounded, without gaining any decided advantage. The Ninth regiment arrived from Manila on July 11 and was im- mediately sent to the front. Two days later came the severest engage- ment so far in the campaign. The allies attacked the native walled city of Tientsin and were repulsed after an all-day battle. The Ninth regiment suffered severely, its commander, Colonel Liscum, being killed, together with eighteen of his men. Seventy-five men of the Ninth were wounded. The following day, however, the plan originally agreed upon was carried out. The Japanese engineers gallantly made a breach in the walls of the native city and it was carried by storm, the shattered Ninth regiment being one of the first to enter the town. The reports of Colonel R. L. Meade and Major L. W. T. Waller, of the United States Marine Corps, gave a graphic account of the capture of the city. Colonel Meade in describing the early fighting, in which the marines and Ninth infantry took such a gallant part, says: "We reached the advanced position about 8 a. m. I took 180 rounds per man with me — 100 rounds in the belts and eighty in the haversacks. This is not sufficient for an all-day fight, and as it grew toward night I began to be apprehensive of being left in an advance position in a fight where no prisoners were taken on either side, with only the bayonet to fight with. "On the firing line the action was especially hot, and the enemy's fire especially rapid and accurate, and at about 8:30 a. m. the enemy appeared in large numbers upon our left and among the grave mounds of the field in which we were, with the evident intention of flanking us. I made a turning movement to the left and rear, and we drove them away. Later in the day, about 2 p. m., they again made a flank- ing effort, but at this time the infantry support of the artillery company was on the mud wall of the city and aided us by a cross fire. This com- pany was commanded by Captain C. G. Long. The effort of the enemy proved a failure, and we drove them in. "We remained in the trenches until about 8 p. m., when we received an order from the brigadier-general commanding to withdraw, which was probably the most difficult action of the day, since the enemy had so well covered our position that their shots struck the crests of the trenches and threw dirt in our faces, many being hit. 364 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. "General Dorward ordered that the troops should sleep upon their arms that night, and on the following morning enter the city. The south gate had to be blown in by guncotton. The troops had had nothing whatever to eat on the 13th save the small luncheon (if it may be so called) which each man carried in his haversack. It was not ex- pected when we started that the action would prove so long, but Gen- eral Dorward, knowing the situation, kindly sent to the reservation for food and other necessaries, and the bivouac proved a success, and the men, although very fatigued, were ready for duty. "On the 14th inst., the south gate having been blown in, we moved into the walled city at about 6 o'clock a. m. We found the city filled with dead Chinamen and animals. No resistance was made to our occupation in the walled city itself, but an infantry fire was kept up by the Japanese infantry upon the enemy, who responded from the suburbs. Since then we have had undisturbed possession of all Tien- tsin." Colonel Meade inclosed the following letter from General Dorward, the commander of the British forces: "From the General Officer Commanding British Forces in China to the Officer Commanding the United States Forces: Tientsin, China, July 15, 1900. — Sir: I desire to express the high appreciation of the British troops of the honor done them in serving alongside their com- rades of the American army during the long and hard fighting of the 13th, and the subsequent capture of Tientsin city and of my own ap- preciation of the high honor accorded to me by having them under my command. "The American troops formed part of the front line of the British attack and so had more than their share of the fighting that took place. The ready and willing spirit of the officers and men will always make their command easy and pleasant, and when one adds to that the steady gallantry and power of holding onto exposed positions, which they displayed on the 13th inst., the result is soldiers of the highest class. "We all deeply sympathize with you in the heavy losses you have suffered, especially with the Mnth regiment in the loss of their gallant colonel, E. H. Liscum, while at the head of his men, and with the First regiment of marines in the death of Captain Davis, who met a soldier's death in the very front of the fight. FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 365 "I blame myself for the mistake made in the taking up of their position by the Ninth regiment, not remembering that troops wliorlly fresh to the scene of action and hurried forward in the excitement of attack were likely to lose their way. Still the position they took up and gallantly stuck to all day undoubtedly prevented a large body of the enemy from turning the right of the attacking party and inflicting serious loss on the French and Japanese. "Among many instances of personal bravery in the action I pro- pose specially to bring to notice in dispatches the conduct of First Lieutenant Smealey D. Butler, United States marine corps, in bringing a wounded man from the front under heavy and accurate fire. Lieuten- ant Butler was wounded while so doing, but I am glad to learn not seriously. The regimental adjutant, First Lieutenant Henry Leonard, as Lieutenant Butler was suffering severely, volunteered to carry him out of the firing line. This gallant feat he successfully accomplished, but I regret to say was very dangerously wounded in so doing. "The Ninth regiment was fighting somewhat outside my sphere of action, so I am to bring forward only one instance of personal gallantry in that regiment, although circumstanced as they were — fighting for about twelve hours almost alone and unsupported and never giving back a foot of ground until directed to retire under cover of night and fire of the naval guns — such instances must have been very numerous. The one I would refer to is the bringing back to me by the acting regi- mental adjutant. Captain Lawton, of the account of the position of the regiment across a wide and fire-swept space and returning with reinforcements to guide them to his regiment when he was severely wounded. "The withdrawal of the regiment was a delicate military operation finely carried out, on which I congratulate Lieutenant-Colonel Coolidge and the officers and men under his command. "I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, "A. R. F. DORWARD, Brigadier-General." Major Waller's report is of especial interest, as he had command of the marines in the fight before Tientsin was reached. The report is dated Tientsin, June 28, and says in part: "At 2 in the morning (June 19) the Russian colonel informed me that 366 FROM. TAKU TO TIENTSIN. he would push on with his 400 men and attempt to get into Tientsin and aid in the defense of the city. I objected, but was overruled in council. My reason told me that there was a slim chance for passing the Chinese force with only 530 men and no guns; the three-inch rifle proving de- fective, I disabled it and rolled it into the river and followed the Eus- sians in the twelve-mile march on Tientsin. The Russian column was in advance, 400 strong, with my Colt 6 m-m gun in their front, under the command of Lieutenant Powell. The advance continued until 7 o'clock a. m., without opposition, when we reached a point opposite the imperial arsenal. "There we met a small flank fire, which was quickly silenced by our sharpshooters. About ten minutes later we met a very heavy front and flank fire from 1,500 or 2,000 men intrenched. We deployed and my line feeling the flank fire turned to the left and rear, confronting the fiank movement, our line at that time having its front advanced and right flank refused. "The support of the Colt gun having dwindled to two men and the gun having jammed several times, all the crew being shot down but one, Mr. Powell very properly decided to abandon it, which he did, after disabling the gun. Receiving notice that the Russians would retreat to a point four miles beyond our bivouac, I began my retreat, moving by the right flank and keeping up a fight for four hours with the en- emy, who were in force, imperial troops and Boxers. We succeeded in falling back, bringing our wounded by hand. At 3 p. m. we had reached our base, having marched thirty miles and fought for four hours. I was obliged to leave the dead, but brought off the wounded. Our casualties were four killed and nine wounded. "It was agreed that we should advance in two columns on the next day at 4 a. m. My force occupied the advance of the British column and the right of the firing line. We struck the enemy at about 7 a. m. and drove them steadily until about 12:30 p. m., when we entered Tien- tsin, relieving the besieged Europeans, our losses being for the day one killed and three wounded. "At noon on the 27th the Russians, having attacked the arsenal, the scene of my repulse on the 22d, and which had not been captured, asked for reinforcements. I sent out Second Lieutenant Jolly with forty men, Mr. Harding, my adjutant, joining as a volunteer, and placed the whole under the command of Commander Craddock, R. N. This FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 367 force was about 1,800 strong and succeeded in driving the enemy from the parapets, out of their fortifications and in full flight. It was devel- oped that the enemy had about 7,000 men at this point. Our men charged over the parapet with a British company, being the first in, in this part of the fight. Our loss here was one wounded and Lieutenant Jolly overcome by the heat, but not until after he had brought his men back to their quarters. Lieutenant Harding acted as a volunteer and captured an imperial flag, which he has presented to me. "Having given you the bare facts, I wish to invite attention to the incidents of the busy week. Our men marched ninety-seven miles in the five days, fighting all the way. They have lived on about one meal a day for six days, but have been cheerful and willing always. They have gained the highest praise from all forces present and have earned my love and confidence. They are like Falstaff's army in appearance, but with brave hearts and bright weapons. "I have earnestly to recommend to your notice for such reward as you may deem .proper the following officers: Lieutenant S. D. Butler for the admirable conduct of his men in all the fights of the week, for saving a wounded man at the risk of his life and under a very heavy fire; Lieutenant A. E. Harding, for conspicuous gallantry in action, for saving wounded at the risk of his life under a heavy fire; Second Lieu- tenant W. L. Jolly, for the same risk and for leading a fine charge over the parapets in the face of a heavy fire; First Lieutenant Leonard, for saving life under fire and for admirable control and direction of the fire; First Lieutenant Powell, for working and managing the Colt gun under a fierce fire and without support after the crew had been shot down; First Lieutenant Wynne, for his steadfast courage and encour- agement of his men. "As for the men, I feel that I cannot do them justice. I shall send you the names of special instances in their cases, hoping that a suitable reward may be given them, as far as the law allows. "I have also to ask that you urge the department to thank the Brit- ish surgeons for their care, on the field and in hospital, of our wounded. Especially do I wish to recommend to the department's notice the ser- vices of Surgeon Kobley H. J. Browne, R. N., H. M. S. Alacrity. So sure was his service and search of the field that we were enabled to get all rifles on the firing line with the sure knowledge that the dead and wounded would be attended to. We had no surgeon or medical sup- 368 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. plies. The operations under Commander Craddock, R. N., were admir- ably planned and executed." Prioa* to the bombardment the commanders combined in a proclama- tion to the inhabitants of the city which was as follows: "To the Inhabitants of the City of Tientsin: In bombarding the city of Tientsin the allied forces replied only to the attack made by the rebels on the foreign settlements. At present, as your authorities, for- getting their duties, have deserted their posts, the allied forces consider it their duty to establish in the city a temporary administration, which you all have to obey. This administration will protect every one wish- ing to deal in a friendly manner with foreigners, but will punish with- out mercy every one who causes trouble. "Let the bad people tremble; but the good people should feel assured, and quietly return to their houses and begin their usual work. Thus peace will be restored. "Respect this. "Tientsin, the 16th of July, 1900. "Approved by: "Allamange — Von Usedom, Capitaine de Navire. "Aitriche Hougrie — J. Tudrak, Lieutenant de Vaisse^u. "Etats Unis d'Amerique — Colonel Meade, American Marines. "France — De Palacol, Colonel. "Grande Bretagne — Le General Dorward, Captain Bayly. "Italie — G. Sirianni, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. "Japon — Le General Fukushima. "Russie — Vice-Admiral E. Alexieff, General-Major Stessel." The ancient stone walls of the city surrounded on the day of its occupation by th.e allied troops a square mile of such filth, ruin and death, such turmoil and pillage as history could hardly duplicate. Under normal conditions the place was no better than a huge cesspool, festering with the accumulated rubbish and slops from a population of nearly 1,000,000 packed into a labyrinth of hovels around the palaces of viceroys and petty taotais, who absorbed their wealth and gave them not even sewers in return. The European soldiers, when they fought their way up to the walls, saw floating in the canals and ditches outside dojjens of Chinese slain by their own people because th**y refused to FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN. 369 fight. The bodies were headless and the hands were tied behind their backs. The heads were discovered afterward. Rows of them decorated the outer walls, hung by their pigtails. The sights inside compelled respect for the fighting qualities of the Chinese. Their dead were everywhere. Dressed in the coarse blue coolie blouse and trousers, decorated with characters guaranteed to ren- der them invulnerable to foreign bullets, they were strewn all along the top of the wall wherever they had fallen. For a quarter of a mile along the embankment the bodies averaged one in ten feet and the wall was nearly ten miles long. Throughout the city the demolished houses and hundreds of killed gave evidence of how vastly more effect- ive had been the foreign shell fire within the walls of the city than the Chinese bombardment of the foreign settlenient, which, lasting for a month, had killed only a dozen people. The living populace were utterly indifferent to their dead. They trampled them under foot without bothering to turn aside. Most remarkable of all the sights was the looting of the city. The middle of the place was like an ant hill kicked open. Chinese swarmed everywhere, thousands and thousands of them, diving into the flames of the burning shops, getting under falling walls and into choking clouds of smoke. Most of them were half naked, grimy with smoke and some- times dripping with blood. They preyed upon one another. A Chinese appearing with a prize must fight his way; other Chinese sprung upon him and clutched his plunder. They rolled among the corpses, pulling and tearing, while children being trampled down cried for help and the mob poured right along over them. The palaces, the mint, the pawnshops, the stores of silks, furs and jewelry, were the first objects of attack. Near the middle of the city was the most prosperous pawnshop. When the doors v/ere battered down crowds flowed in like a tidal wave. There were British officers, naval and military, soldiers and sailors, with a good sprinkling of Sikhs, but principally Chinese. The Chinese knew v/here the best treas- ure was to be found and the soldiers followed them. Two forces col- lided in the gateway, a rush line of Chinese struggling to enter and another line fighting to get out with great armfiils of loot. Tientsin experienced a sweeping redistribution of wealth, but on the old scheme of prizes to the strongest. The looting flourished for three days. On the first day it was en- 370 FROM TAKU TO TIENTSIN, tirely unrestrained. Many white people accumulated stacks of goods by simply standing at the city gates and holding up the best-laden Chi- nese. English officers rode with their horses concealed under dry goods and soldiers slung bundles on their bayonets. On the second day a conference of commanding officers empowered the British to seize all loot. The official statement was that all seized loot would be sold, the proceeds to be divided among the soldiers as prize money. The Japanese, so far as casual observation showed, did the least looting because of the admirable discipline under which their soldiers are held. The Americans had all to themselves one large ar- senal, which they occupied on entering the city. Munitions of war were not the only contents of the arsenal. High officers had lived there, and in flight had left stacks of clothing and other articles of great value. On the third day of the occupation the Americans seized from plunderers nearly 1,000,000 taels' worth of silver and other precious metals. CHAPTER XXII. "ON TO PEKING." Waiting for Reinforcements— On tlie Road to Peking— Bravery of the Japanese— Terrific Fire of tlie Cliinese— Duel witli Artillery— (jaudy Banners in the Breeze- Brave Charge of the Boys in Blue— Work of Reilly's Battery— Americans Killed by English Shells- Rapid Advance of the Allies— At the Gates of Peking— The Siege of the City Begun. AFTEK the capture of the walled city of Tientsin the Chinese fell back in the direction of Peking and a long delay ensued. The allies waited for reinforcements, gathered supplies, and organized the transport necessary for the final advance on the Chinese capital. When the allies marched out of Tientsin on August 4, it was the plan that the Russians should go up on the left bank of the river with the French, and the Japanese, British and Americans were to go on the right bank. Camp was made along the fringe of villages that mark the northern limit of Tientsin. Very soon after 2 o'clock in the morning the men were routed out and before daylight were on the march. The Japanese had the advance of the western column, with the British and Americans behind them. The Russians were supposed to take care of the Chinese left, across the river. The Terrible's twelve-pounders opened the action, having moved forward into position near the river north of the Hsi-Ku arsenal. They shelled the first village to the north of where the arsenal was. The Chinese replied at once with such accuracy that the first shell sent half a dozen civilians scattering for their lives. The British guns were too much for the Chinese, and the latter soon gave up the strug- gle. Then a few Japanese went into the village and cleaned it out, capturing ten guns. To the westward, under cover of the Pao-Ting-Fu road, the line was well out. The Chinese opened on it with shell fire and the first shrapnel killed two Japanese cavalrymen and their horses. The Japa- nese were ready, but the Americans and British had not yet reached their positions. The Japanese did not wait, however. They went in on 171 3Y2 "ON TO PEKING." a frontal attack against the Chinese extreme right, where it rested on the Pao-Ting-Fu road, and the line of trenches leading toward Pei- tsang. In a beautiful line and in magnificent order the little fellows went to their work, the white caps showing through the cornfields like the bullsejes of a thousand targets. The Chinese fire was terrific, but it did not check the attack. The Japanese kept on steadily, and when the Chinese stopped their guns Fukushima's men only pressed the harder, for they realized that they were nearing the goal. It was hot work, and many a man was hit, but it seemed only a few minutes before the Japanese had doubled the Chinese right back on itself and were rolling the pigtails up in their own trenches. Farther down the line the Japanese had extended into the positions originally intended for the British and Americans. The Royal artil- lery got over the Pao-Ting-Fu road and into action against the arsenal, and a Japanese battery joined them. The Chinese tried to reply, and for a little time their fire was effective, but it was soon silenced. Then the infantry went in and the Chinese retreated toward Yangtsun. When the time came to gather up the dead and wounded the Japa- nese had another example of the cost of a frontal attack against an intrenched position defended by magazine rifles. Their dead and wounded numbered more than three hundred, and four officers were among the killed. It was all over by 8:30 o'clock, and by 10 all the troops had come up even with the Chinese camp above Peit-Sang and halted. The Chi- nese had left in such a hurry that they had not destroyed their very excellent pontoon bridge. The generals decided to camp for the night, and General Gaselee sent the Bengal lancers on this afternoon to spy out the land toward Yangtsun. On the following day (August 6) the army marched sixteen miles in stifling heat along sandy, dusty roads, and then for six hours fought through fields of tall corn and over the stiff embankment of the rail- road, through half a dozen villages and over a set of trenches finer than even the Filipinos build. The fight took the Americans and part of the B^tish more than a mile beyond their camp, and evening found them with twenty miles to their credit. The first of the start was early. Bugles were going soon after 3 o'clock, and before 4 o'clock the men were crossing the bridge of boats. "ON TO PEKING." 373 The Americans and British had the advance, marching in two columns, the Americans along the railroad and the British by the river road. Two companies of the Second East Siberian regiment formed the ad- vance guard, and the main body of Russians followed the British along the river road*. The Japanese sent a large force up the right bank, and the remainder with the field batteries followed the Americans by the railroad embankment. The French followed the Japanese, and then came the interminable tangle of baggage and supply trains, stretching miles in rear of the fighting men. The march was through the usual flat country, covered with truck gardens and fields of tremendously tall broom corn. An occasional clump of trees marked the place where, on a little rise of ground, a col- lection of mud huts had been gathered into a village. The pace was rather fast and there were very few stops for rest, so that the men were well worn out when they came in sight of the village that marks the southern outskirts of Yangtsun. The Russian advance guard, swinging unconcernedly along the road, ran into a very hot rifle fire at the edge of this village, and the column was halted while Generals Gaselee and Chaffee climbed up a big sand- hill beside the road and looked over the country. From the top of the sandhill the battlefield lay out like a relief map. Yangtsun lay close north, the village on the outskirts being a mile and a half away. To the eastward, half a mile off, was t) e railroad embankment. From Yangtsun a double line of villages, Lalf a mile apart, curved away to the east and south, following the course of the railroad, and the inner line about a mile from it. The railroad crosses the river on a big bridge about a mile or more below Yangtsun. The fight began at the village just below the railroad bridge. The Chinese right was thrown across the river and had two small guns posted on the railroad embankment. The ruins of Admiral Seymour's train stand on the track where they were abandoned, and the Chinese were about the two nearest the river. As soon as the Chinese formation became apparent the dispositions to meet it were made. The first Sikhs and Twenty-fourth Punjaubis were deployed along the right of the wagon road, the Fourteenth join- ing them on the right and extending to the railroad. The Ninth and the marines crossed the track with Reilly's battery and two squadrons of the Bengal lancers were sent out to cover our extreme right. The 374 "ON TO PEKING." Royal artillery 15-pounders were posted at the west of the main road, and Reilly's guns swung into action across the railroad and well up toward Yangtsun. The Welsh fusileers were in support of the Sikhs and Punjaubis, and the Seventh Rajputs in reserve. So they went into the fight— Russians, Sikhs, Punjaubis, Welsh, Rajputs, proper English- men, and Americans, not omitting the Irish. The artillery began the real fight. The work of the Russian advance guard being merely a developer, and right at the start the Royal artil- lery missed the chance of a lifetime. When the rifle fire between the Russians and the Chinese at the angle formed by the railroad and the wagon road was at its liveliest a long line of Chinese was observed leaving Yangtsun for one of the villages to the eastward. The gaudy banners flapped in the brisk breeze and showed the position of the col- umn at every turn. There were the bright reds so much affected by the Chinese and an occasional yellow and blue imperial flag. In all, four- teen of them rose above the tall Kaolian and beckoned the Royal ar- tillery to fire. Captain Wingate, chief of the British intelligence office, hopped up and down on the sandhill and pointed them out to the commander of the Royal artillery. "There's your chance, Mr. Gunner," he said, "you'll never have such another in all your life." But Major Hay was not inclined to take it. He looked on without any show of interest for a minui e or so, and then said, w ith a wave of his hand toward the American battery down by the railroad: "There's the American battery. It's their game." Afterward he explained that the range was too great, but it was scarcely 4,000 yards. They were then waiting in the road beside the sandhill, and could have been in action in five minutes. General Gase- lee saw, but said nothing for a few minutes. Then he sent a message to General Chaffee, who had started to join his men, asking him to send Reilly against the Chinese lines. Reilly at once crossed the railroad embankment, but, by the time he had got near the proper position for opening up, another request came from Gaselee, and the Chinese got away unmolested. They swung around behind the village, and, coming back in front of it, planted their banners in the Kaolian and seemed to halt. As a matter of fact, the men left the banners there and advanced through the Kaolian clear to "ON TO PEKING." 373 the railroad embankment, where they came in ahead of and a little on the right flank of the Fourteenth. Meantime both British and American batteries had gone into ac- tion, firing at the guns the Chinese were serving from positions in their center and left. Some of the Chinese guns made very good practice, exploding their shells all around Reilly's battery. But the guns were all small and the shells did no damage. Off behind one of the villages at the east the Chinese had a small battery, two or four guns, but Reilly very quickly convinced them of the wisdom of going still farther away. Then he shelled the village and set a few fires. Two things were happening while this was going on. For one, the Chinese right was retiring through the two villages on the river bank to the railroad embankment. For the other, the Bengal lancers were missing a chance to win great distinction. The extreme left of the Chi- nese line lay in a village almost due east of the sandhill. It was held by a force of about 500 Tartar cavalry. As Keilly crossed the embank- ment this cavalry began to retire on the next village north. There was a great opportunity for the lancers to cut them off, but the lancers didn't know it. The embankment is about fifteen feet high, and the Kaolian is fully that, so that they could not see even the banners the Tartars carried. Word could have been sent to them from the hill, but the order had just been given them to report to General Chaffee to serve on his right fiank as he might direct. The General did not see the Tartars, and when the lancers reported to him they were sent in just beyond the Ninth and the extension of our line. The lancers swung forward through the tall Kaolian, a long, dark line, with only their yellow turbans and their fiuttering red lance pen- nants showing above the green. Their skirmishers were well out ahead of them. Suddenly there was a puff of blue smoke far above the long, dark line. Instantly it halted. Another puff, and then a third. The Chinese gunners had found them out. The long line wheeled, as the skirmishers did, and back through the Kaolian they ran as hard as spurs could drive their horses. General Chaffee, standing on the embankment near the battery, saw it, and a word to Reilly sent half a dozen shells on a screaming quest for the Chinese guns. Whether they found out the enemy or not, the Chinese guns ceased firing, and that was the last seen or heard of them. All this time the center was doing nothing but go forward. Its turn 376 "ON TO PEKING/' was coming now, and for a little while it was to have the hottest work of the fearfully hot day. The banners in the cornfield in front of the village had disappeared in a cloud of dust to the northeast. The Rus- sians had come up and were sending a long column in on the left to support their two companies, who were still outside the village where they had begun the day's work. One of their field batteries went in beside the Royal artillery fifteen-pounders. From road to railroad embankment was a little more than half a mile. The Sikhs and Punjaubs deployed in quincunx formation, which, against the carelessly aimed Chinese fire, seemed to the civilian ob- server on the sandhill to be the formation most likely to result in large casualties. The Fourteenth started in line of squads, a formation that surprised General Gaselee immensely, for he thought it was the way they intended to fight. But as they drew near the fighting zone they deployed into the old familiar thin brown line, a far better formation than that of their neighbors on the left. Sharply distinct from the scattering, slithering fire of the British troops were the crashing volleys of the Fourteenth. Across the em- bankment, the Ninth and the marines were meeting little opposition, Reilly's work having apparently cleared the way for them. As they swung off to the east, away from the embankment, a V-shaped gap opened up behind our right and center. It was along the left of this V that the Chinese were making their stand, and the Indians and the Fourteenth went straight against them. There the best event of the day happened, and the honor fell to the Americans. The Royal artillery and the Russian battery kept up a lively fire as the line advanced, the Royal artillery against the embank- ment and the Russians in the villages about the station and bridge, ahead of their own men. The combination of their own shells going over their heads, the Chinese shells coming among them, and the heavy Chinese rifle fire was pretty difficult for the Indian troops to stand. The Chinese ran a small gun well down the embankment and began a lively and very well-directed fire with it, shooting at the dust our line kicked up, for the khaki uniforms were invisible in the corn. As the advancing line drew nearer the Chinese and the fire grew hotter, the Sikhs and Punjaubis began to waver and show signs of having enough. They were not suffering unduly, but they developed a tendency to get behind the grave mounds that were scattered thickly "ON TO PEKING." 377 through the fields and to stay there. Colonel Daggett of the Fourteenth saw that if the embankment were to be taken it must be with a rush, and that was the time. So he called to his line, and with the old Amer- ican yell they started on the long-legged double that covers the gi'ound so fast. They were tired by the long march, and nearly exhausted by the fear- ful heat in the tall corn, where no breath of moving air could reach them, but at the word they sprang forward on the run. The British officers saw and tried to follow suit, but their men had small heart for the work. Some of the officers themselves were in the forefront of it all, but when the line, with Colonel Daggett leading, swept out of the corn and up the embankment, very few black heads and yellow turbans were in it. The embankment was won and the Chinese were in wild retreat across the field beyond it. Colonel Daggett ordered his blown, tired men to lie down against the embankment and rest. The Chinese had posted some guns well to the north of the embank- ment, out of reach of our artillery, and began shelling it heavily as soon as their men quit it. Colonel Daggett had his men get close under the embankment to take cover from this shelling. The line had gone in without carrying colors. The Royal Artillery did not know that they had reached the embankment, and pounded away with their fifteen- pounders, making excellent practice. Thus our line was between two shell fires. When the men took cover on the near side of the embankment ditch they got the Chinese shrapnel, but on the far side they got their own, which was worse. Twelve fifteen-pounder shrapnel burst among men of the Fourteenth. One shell struck within a few feet of Captain Rey- nolds and killed three men, wounding four. Captain Tillson reported officially that three shells burst among his company. The men had taken cover in a Chinese hut with some of the Sikhs and Welsh fusileers. The Sikhs ran away when the shells began to come from their own side, but the fusileers thought, as did the Amer- icans, that under such circumstances one place was as good as another. General Chaffee took the Ninth the marines, and the battery well over to the east in a wide sweep through the villages of the inner line that brought them back to the road well above the railroad station and in the rear of the Chinese first position. They met very little opposition, the Chinese making but one show of standing in the whole day. Over 378 ''ON TO PEKING." they came, under a pretty severe cross fire for a few minutes, and there, unluckily. Lieutenant Lang was wounded for the third time in his war experience — once in the Philippines and once before Tientsin. When they first got out of it the Ninth were certain they had been fired at by the French, but in point of fact the French were far in the rear all day and could not have done this firing. The Eussians pushed through on the left as soon as Colonel Dag- gett's charge drove back the Chinese center. Thereafter they advanced on the theoretical plans of the books, shelling each village and clearing it out by rifle fire as they advanced, long after all the enemy had fled, but early enough to kill many of the old men and coolie.noncombatants who could not flee or had not desired to run away. Reilly, pushed his battery far forward and hurried the Chinese retreat. And now the pushing little Japanese got into the fight by rushing forward their batteries to advanced positions. Three or four large col- umns of dust moving rapidly off to the north and eastward showed where the Chinese were running. Every column got such a pounding from Eeilly or the Japanese that it ran all the harder. The fight began about 10 o'clock. Soon after 4 the last of the columns of dust disap- peared, and the day's work was over. With this decisive victory the opposition virtually ceased, and while skirmishes were frequent, no serious conflicts marked the advance of the allies to Peking's walls. On August 8, Nan tsi-Niu, twenty-seven miles from Tientsin, was reached, where the enemy was repulsed after a brief action. August 11 found the army at Matow, twenty miles from Peking; on the following day they occupied Tung Chow, ten miles nearer the goal. On the 13th, the Ninth Japanese Brigade moved from the last-named place, with the Eleventh Regiment in the van, and the armies of the great Western powers marched close behind the soldiers of the island empire. Four hours after the start Ta Wa Chang was reached, and scouts sent out. As they approached the walls of Peking they drew the fire of the Chinese, and the siege of the city was begun, CHAPTER XXIII. THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. Relief at Last— Plan of the Attack on the City— Bad Faith Charged Against Russians- First Entrance Into the City— Fighting at the Gates— Work of the Americans— Japan- ese Brarery Admired— Feats of Daring— At the British Legation— Besieged and Res- cuers Meet— Scenes of Rejoicing — Peking in the Hands of the Allied Armies. FROM the beginning of the march of the allied armies, there never- was any doubt of their ultimate capture of the Chinese capital. Triumphal progress was the rule, the natural difficulties of the country and the climate proving far greater obstacles than the Chinese armies themselves. Finally the rescuing force reached the vicinity of Peking and on the fifteenth of August entered the mysterious city and brought joy and safety to the long-suffering captives in the British legation. Fortunate indeed is the historian of to-day in the material placed at his hands. The brilliant accounts of the taking of Peking and the events that followed, penned by the correspondents who accompanied the armies, afford graphic pictures of the scenes of great interest to every reader. It is a pleasure to acknowledge here the service rendered by these warriors of the pen who undergo all the hardships of the cam- paign in order to inform an anxious w^orld of what is going on. From some of these are obtained the descriptions which follow, clear and satisfying as none but the account of an eye-witness could be. The detailed account of the taking of the city which follows here throws light on many of the former obscurities in reports that came from Peking. Says the writer from the scene of conflict: "By this time the ncAvs is abroad in the world that the beleaguered legations have been relieved and the people in them are safe. Here in the city those of us who came Avith the relief are as perplexed by the amazing contradictions as are those who have endured it all inside the barricades. The combination of savagery and simplicity displayed by the Chinese is astounding. Now that it is over, and we have oppor- tunity to take stock of Chinese resources, it is inconceivable almost that they ever really were determined to destroy the legations, and yet from 379 3S0 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. the barbarity and ferocity of their attacks and their tactics it is incon- ceivable that they had any desire except the complete extinction of the foreigners. Men like Pethick and Hart, who have devoted their lives to the service of the Chinese, do not pretend to understand, and say that by and by, perhaps, the explanation will be forthcoming. "The suspicion of the good faith of the Russians which has been in the minds of every one ever since their actions at Tientsin in early July was justified at the last. They broke faith, simply and directly, with- out any attempt at explanation, just because there seemed for a time to be a chance for them to get through into the city, and so be the first to rdieve the legations, and get the Russian flag hoisted over anything good there might be in the way of property waiting to be seized. It resulted in the relief of the legations a day sooner than had been I)lanned, and in so far was a good thing. Also it exposed clearly the worthlessness of Russian promises. "The plan agreed upon by the commanding officers in their con- ference at Tung-Chau on the afternoon of the twelfth of August pro- vided for reconnoissances in force on four roads toward Peking on the thirteenth. Camp was to be made by each force about seven miles from Tung-Chau and contact established with the other forces. There was also to be the regular reconnoissance work for the protection of each front. The next day, the fourteenth, the entire forces were to be con- centrated along the line of these camps and reconnoissances were to be sent out about the city, probably even circling it. It was expected that there would be a hard fight before we could get in. On Wednesday, the fifteenth, at daylight, the general attack was to be made on the gates of the east wall. "It was the afternoon reconnoissance on the thirteenth that de- veloped the Russian trick. As soon as their camp was established they moved on forward with nearly all their infantry, all their Cossacks and their battery. It happened that they went almost up to the wall of the city. Just exactly what occurred probably never will be known, for it happened that there was no correspondent with the Russians that afternoon, and by the time two or three of us got around to them the next morning so much had occurred that the Russians had plenty of stories to tell. They tell a very smooth story of that afternoon. They say that they went forward, meeting no opposition, until they were in easy view of the wall, and they could see no Chinese prepared to defend TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 381 the gate or the wall. They went to within less than a hundred yards of the wall and drew no fire, and concluded that the Chinese had been so badly chased on the march up that they had run away from Peking also and meant to make no fight there. "On the strength of having such an excellent opportunity Major- General Vasselievski concluded to forget all about the agreement with the other forces for a joint attack and to go in on his own hook in the hope of getting in at once. Accordingly, about midnight, he opened on the gate, the Tung-pien, and after half an hour or so succeeded in blow- ing it open. The inner gate was badly damaged, but that required some further effort before it, too, yielded. Once inside the gates the Russians met almost no opposition, and went quite unmolested about killing the Chinese they found asleep in the buildings. There had been only a few soldiers on the Tung-pien-mun, and no re-enforcements seemed to have come up for them from anywhere. After a few minutes General Vasselievski concluded that the work was so easy that they could go on at once to the Ha-ta-mun, and so into the Tartar city and to the legations. The battery limbered up, and when all was ready, up the street they started as fast as they could go, horse, foot and artillery. "That turned out to be what the Chinese were waiting for. They were ready on the big wall above the Tung-pien-mun and as soon as the Russians came in range opened on them with a terrific fire. Ten of the eighteen battery horses were hit at the first volley, and before the driver^ and cannoneers could get them down from the road under cover of the bank, four others got it. Half the battery men were lost, and in the infantry it seemed as if everybody was hit. General Vasselievski was severely hit through the shoulder and three men were killed, one after the other, trying to help him to cover. The Russians simply could not stand such a fire with so small a force to meet it and were compelled to retreat. "It happened that Chaffee had ordered the Ninth United States reg- ulars and the marines to move out to the camp that afternoon, so that Monday night he had all his force together. The Russians were com- ing out pretty much all day, but the British and many of the Japanese did not start until Tuesday morning. This gave the British about their hardest day's marching before it was through. Early on Tuesday morn- ing, the fourteenth, according to the general plan for the day's work, 382 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. Chaffee sent bis troop of cavalry forward to scout along the road to Peking, over which he was to advance. "When the cavalry went out at 5 o'clock I went along to get a look at the Peking road. The Russians were then moving forward some of their troops on the road just north of the canal, and the French, who had been assigned to the same road as the Russians, were on cwir road, having made a mistake. They were straggling along, and just after we had started one of General Chaffee's staff came out to tell them to get across the canal to their own side. "The cavalry went about three miles toward Peking when the flank- ers on the souih w^ere fired on. Lieutenant Giney, w^ith six troopers, went up to see what it was about. The road here was cut very deep with a high bank on the south and a village on the north, just on the edge of the canal. Giney and his men ran bang onto a trench full of infantry, and the troop was dismounted and sent up to the top of the bank, with about fifteen Frenchmen, who had straggled up, and we opened fire. Immediately there was a response, very much heavier than our own fire, and it was evident that there was a considerable force of the Chinese. The firing had been going on for only a few minutes when a lively fire started from across the canal. This took us right in the small of the back, as it were, and Captain Cabell announced that he ^vas going back. We thought then that this cross-fire was from another Chinese force, but it developed afterward that it was from Russians who were coming up on that side, and came under the high over-fire of the Chinese directed at us on the bank. Of course they answered. "We got out and we' went pretty quickly for a short distance. The missionary who had gone along as a guide kept going until he got back to camp and reported to Cha/fee that the reconnoissance was cut off and in a very desperate position. That made Chaffee sen4 everything he had out on the road as fast as it could go, and the result was that by a little after 6 o'clock the whole American force, which had expected to remain quietly in camp for the greater part of the day, was in motion as fast as it could go toward Peking. "When the Russians made their attack on the Tung-pien-mun and got in, as they say, they sent a messenger to notify the Japanese that they were attacking the city and had taken a portion of the wall. The messenger did not reach Generals Yamaguchi and Fukushima until some time after daylight. They at once began to make their disposi- THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 383 tions for their own attack and sent word to the Americans and British of what was going on. The Japanese move very rapidly and in a com- paratively short time they had sent two battalions of infantry down the road in front of the Chi-hua-mun, which is the southern and bigger of the two gates in the east wall of the Tartar city. A company of en- gineers equipped with guncotton went along to blow in the gate as soon as they could get near it. The Chinese made a stubborn resistance. Tliey had established camps all along the wall on each side of the gate and were there in great numbers. "Meantime, of course, the work of posting the Japanese artillery had been going on as rapidly as possible. Along the edge of a bluff in the arc of a great circle the Japanese planted their fifty-fo-ur guns, and then for three hours there was such music as the people in Peking had not heard before. One of the correspondents down in the street with the advance guard counted twenty shells that hit the gate in one minute. Still the Chinese hung on and whenever the shelling would slacken to give the infantry a chance to get at the gate the defenders would return to their loopholes and pour in as hot a fire as ever. They were using apparently all kinds of rifles and gingals, the oldest and worst as well as the newest and best. The Japanese were suffering a great many casualties, but they never seemed to mind that, and certainly did not let it interfere with their plans. General Yamaguchi decided to stick to it all day and blow up the gate at night if he couldn't do it before, and before noon the Japanese situation had settled down to the old one of wait. "It happened that the misinformation abowt the reconnoissance got to General Chaffee some time before the neRVS of the Russians' action, so that the Americans were ready to act instantly on the news and go in with their attack at once. Colonel Daggett, with two companies of the Fourteenth, pushed straight forward to the wall, and the rest of the regiment, the Ninth, and the marines followed more slowly. The' Rus- sians finally got into their gate just before 11 o'clock and hoisted their flag above it. A few minutes later the stars and stripies, the colors of the Fourteenth United States infantry, went up on the wall where our men had climbed up by their hands. "The Americans were inside the city with their flag on the wall and were feeling very good by 11 o'clock. All we wanted now was some one to tell us where the legations were and we would go straight and relieve 384 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. them. Noon found us in the same position. Some more of the Four- teenth had come up and had forced themselves through the Tung-pien- mun by the Russian battery. There seemed a good chance for a row with the Russians when our men forced their battery aside so as to pass, but it all blew off in bad looks and language on each side which the other did not understand. Finally we got past, and then our entire force came in. "But long before that the Indian troops had entered the sluice gate under the Tartar wall and marched into the British legation, and Peking was relieved. It was very disappointing after we had marched so hard and had such a good chance to get in first to lose it in that way. When I asked a major on the staff why we were waiting he replied that he didn't know, he supposed we were going into camp. "Of course there was a great deal of excitement when the first of the troops reached the legations. The night had been a desperately hard one for the besieged. It seemed as if the Chinese realized that their chance was almost gone and they must make the utmost of the little time remaining. They blazed away with everything they had and kept it up incessantly. But through it all the foreigners heard the note of the Russian Maxims outside the Tung-pien-mun and knew that the relief column was close at hand. So they were willing to use their ammunition a little more freely and there was a pitched battle all night. In the morning when they heard the heavy firing of the Japanese there was great rejoicing. It was the old, old sound of cannon, but there was a new note in it that made it very welcome. The men work- ing on the barricades with the Chinese converts would stop now and then and ask the Chinese how they liked that sound. It put new life even into these converts and they worked cheerfully, getting the night damage repaired, for it was hardly expected that we should get in that day, and they were making ready for yet another night of it. "Finally a man came down from the wall and said he had seen a European on a house trying to signal to the wall. Soon after the first of the Sikhs came along and then there was a great turning out. All the morning every one who could get permission had been up on the wall watching the bombardment of the Chi-hua-mun. Now they swarmed down into the street of the canal and waited for the troops. The Chi- nese converts flocked out of their houses along the street and filled the bridges over the canal. THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 385 "Somehow I had expected a somewhat tearful time, but there was none of it. The only tears I saw were shed by a man who had gone into the hospital to see a friend and found him so ill and weak, after having made a splendid record for himself in the early part of the trouble, that he could not speak and could hardly shut his fingers on his friend's. That man went out into the yard and stood up under a tree and cried. "The common salutation to a white man seemed to be, 'We're glad to see you,' and the almost invariable answer was, 'We're mighty glad to get here.' And that had a twofold fervor. "A small party of American marines went down to the Chen-mun, the big center gate in the Tartar wall on the south side, and chased the Chinese away from it. They went along the wall from the part that had been held by the foreign guards just south of the legations. Soon after- ward the Russians came up with a battery and blew in the gate, which had been shut by the Chinese. That opened an easy way of getting out to the south part of the city. The sun went down with continuous firing still going on all around and bullets dropping in the legation grounds very frequently. Yet the relief had come and no one seemed to care in the least what more the Chinese tried to do. "Everybody went straight to his own kind — British to British, American to American, Russian to Russian, and so on. The ministers were bustling about as busy as they ever had been in their lives, con- sulting with the generals and trying to answer a hundred different ques- tions in a minute. The women grew steadily more cheerful, and before the evening was over one young woman who had been visiting in the American legation when the trouble began had reached the conclusion that after all she wouldn't have missed it for worlds. "Naturally, there was a good deal of confusion that first evening. Most of the British troops were marched into the British legation grounds, apparently with the expectation of camping there, a very unsatisfactory place. They finally went through the wall into the im- perial carriage park, which adjoins the legation grounds, and found an excellent place. The Americans were all paraded through the British legation also, and then there was considerable difficulty in finding a camping ground for them. A miserable place was chosen finally, sim- ply because it had got so late that something must be done. It was in the mud just outside the Tartar wall, with all the filth and slime of 386 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. the Chinese city next to them. There they camped, however, and to help things along for them it rained nearly all night steadily. "Next morning, August 15, we started off bright and early to do great things. The Americans were going into the Forbidden city. Chaffee had asked the Russians if they wanted to join, but they did not, so the Americans were going alone. The operations were to begin from the Chen-mun at 6 o'clock. It was still drizzling and disagreeable when Keilly took his guns up the steep rampart to the top of the huge gate and posted two of them to range along the Tartar wall to the west, toward the Shun-chih-mun, where many banners were still flying. All along the wall there were the tents of the Chinese soldierfe. Boxers or imperial troops, or what not, there must have been thousands of them. Every- where the wall was covered with their tents and banners. Far to the westward from the Chen-mun, near the Shun-chih-mun, we could see Chinese moving about on the wall. Reilly sent a few shells down there, but for some time evoked no response. Then from the bastion of the Shun-chih-mun there rose several small puffs of blue smoke. No report of the gnn ever reached us^ nor was thjere an indi- cation as to the character of the weapon the Chinese had fired. Cer- tainly no shell or bullet ranged near the Chen-mun at that time. "Meantime the troops had come up for the attack. They were a part of the Fourteenth, under Colonel Daggett, and so-me of the marines, under Major Waller. The Russians had finally concluded that they wanted to be in the movement, so they sent about half a company under a subordinate officer. The Japanese had plans of their own, which had not been reckoned with. They were trying to protect the Purple city and establish communication with some one there who might be made to represent the Chinese government, so as to open the way for begin- ning negotiations for the settlement. They had finally blown in the Chi-hua gate at 10 o'clock the night before and cleared the wall on both sides of it of all the Chinese. Now they were sending a battalion of infantry to each of the main gates of the Imperial city to guard them and, if possible, prevent any violation of the palace. It was apparent that Chaffee was not aware of this plan or had not agreed with it, for when he was ready he went straight at the Forbidden city with an energy and directness that cheered the hearts of his men and of the score or more of besieged ones who were out to see the beginning of the retribution. TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 387 "Reilly got two of his guns posted on the north side of the Chen-mun wall and tried to hammer the corners of the defended gate. It was very difficult shooting, requiring great care and accuracy, but two or three shells had been sent well home when Eeilly was killed. He was stand- ing by a post talking to one of the buglers when he was hit directly in the mouth by a heavy lead slug, almost like one of the old-fashioned miuie balls of civil war days. He sank down and died, practically without a word, and the army had lost one of the best men it ever had. The body was taken inside the tower over the gate and covered with the flag until it could be more properly cared for. The news of his death was received with profoundest regret by every one who had known him. "Meantime the action was going on. Two guns were taken down in fno-nt of the Chen-mun and advanced under cover of the ^go around.' The one gatling gun that had been dragged up so laboriously by a de- tachment of Sixth cavalry men also went up against this gate. Part of the Fourteeenth were held in readiness to go through when the gates were opened, and some of the Ninth were ready to support them. The opening of the gate was very simple, and it was quickly and beautifully done. One of the guns was run up to within eight feet of the gate and aimed squarely at the big bolt and the crossbar. The first shot told, and the second gave the result; the lock was smashed off, and the bar blown down, so that it was only necessary to push the gates apart. "When the gates were open our men went through. They advanced very cautiously, deployed at wide intervals, but there was absolutely no cover, and they were at the mercy of the Chinese. There were some flimsy buildings along the side walls of the inclosure, but they afforded no shelter whatever, and the men simply crawled on their bellies over the stones through the grass a foot or more tall, that gave them their only concealment. It was about three hundred yards to the gate. The Chinese waited until our men were where they wanted us, and then opened a terrible fire. It was absolutely out of the question for the men on the ground to rfeply with any efficiency to this plunging fire, and Uie two guns began to shell the parapet of the gate with great vigor. They landed some beautiful shots, and several times it seemed as if they must have cleaned the place out, but always the Chinese came back at it, firing gingals and other larg^ guns that used black powder. "More marines were sent out on the wall by the Cben-niun to help 388 THE SIEGE AND SACK OP PEKING. keep down the fire, and some of the infantrymen scrambled up on top of the wall by the 'go around' and got pretty good shooting. But it was too expensive a position to be held, and the Fourteenth were recalled, having lost five killed and a dozen or more wounded. Then the guns turned to in dead earnest, and shelled the gate until there was no more sight or sound of Chinese there. Then we went across, slowly and cau- tiously, and found the gate deserted. "Not only were we going into the Purple city, but we were going up the middle of the road, taking the center arch, that is reserved for the emperor alone. The Pekingese said they had not thought they would live to see that. As soon as the gates were pushed apart two companies were sent through to the other side to look around. Each company at once went over to the ramp at the end of the gate and climbed to the top. It was a very stiff climb, and each ramp was streaked with the blood of Chinese who had been defending there. On top there were half a dozen bodies, and it made us wonder how they could have made so stubborn a fight against our superb shell fire. Most of the Chinese seemed to have been armed with gingals. While the men were walking about the top of this gate the Chinese on the next one opened a lively fire on them. General Chaffee had come up on top of the gateway, and he took personal charge of the direction of the firing. We gave it to them very sharp for a few minutes, and then it was ended and we went down m\d strolled through the courtyards up to the next gate. "This second gate was just like the rest in general size and appear- ance. The gun was run up in front of the center arch, and in the purely impersonal fashion to which he had been getting accustomed, the gun- ner put in two shells that did their work and made the gates ready to be pushed apart. Here the Chinese gave us a lively surprise. The gates had been opened, and the whole column was moving through as coolly as if on parade when, Avith about half a company out in the open be- yond and a colonel and lieutenant colonel bunched up with the general right in the arch, they sent a very sharp fire through it. "For a. second there was some confusion. The first impulse of some of the men farthest in the rear was to get ahead where they could get into it, but the order was for those at the head to retire except those far enough forward to get out of the arch and take cover under the ramps at the ends of the gate. Finally, just as the men were nearly all clear of the arch, one fellow was hit and fell just at the far side. One of the THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. ;389 trumpeters of the Fourteenth happened to be near him and started to help him through, but got one of those minie slugs in the right hip for it. As soon as he got out and the other man was removed, the two guns were brought up, and working diagonally through the long arch, they shelled the ends of the gate ahead with tremendous effect. Once a shell burst squarely in the spot where there had just been very sharp firing. After that the firing slackened off very greatly, and it certainly seemed as if that shell had done its work. "It was the last burst of the fighting. Before the shelling had fin- ished, Chaffee had given orders that we were not to go beyond the next gate in any event, and having now apparently chased the defenders away from it, our work was ended> and we could go into camp some- where about where we were. To soldiers and civilians alike the de- cision to stop was a bitter blow. No one pretended to understantl it, and the only explanation that had any credence was that Chaffee had gone farther than the other powers thought he should, and they had stopped him. The troops sat about their camp in the gates of the Pur- ple city and growled because they were not sent straight through the palace itself. Here they were where no white men had ever beeji before. That was true; but, after all, this was not the palace; it was only the courtyard at the outer gates, and now we had taken the last of the gates and had only to push open two more big doors to be at the very heart's heart of desire. "Then at 5 o'clock Chaffee came back and said it had been decided to withdraw from our position and camp outside the wall again where we did last night. That was a sickener. It was nearly dark, and we were settled down. To get out and move back to that vile camp in the filth of the Chinese city was hard to take. But back we went. Chaffee said we had punished the Chinese sufficiently in the occupation of their gates for the day. It had been a military necessity to take them be- cause the Chinese had been sniping from them into the legation grounds, but now that it had been done, it did not seem likely that there would be any recurrence of the sniping, and the movement was deemed to have been completed. "Thus the Americans put in the whole day at hard and costly work for nothing. The British stayed in their camp in the carriage park and rested, except such detachments of them as went out early after any specially choice plants of loot. The Russians seemed to spend the 390 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. entire day in recovering from the effects of their fight for the Tung- pien-mun. Late in the evening they were wandering about in the streets with their dead and wounded as if still uncertain where to go. That was after we had had a jam in the Chen-mun with a column of them as we were coming out of the Forbidden city which nearly led to a pretty row. The Japanese, always busy, had planned to camp their men outside the Tartar city. Fukushima said it was better and health- ier for them out there, and more easy to handle them. "For the besieged it was a great day. Those of them who had gone with the American column into the Forbidden city were filled with astonishment of the thing, having walked through four of the emperor's own gates by his own royal central arch. Others had been going about among their friends and taking stock of themselves all over again, as it were. Td the women' and children it was the first opportunity to get about their own lines and see what sort of defense had been made for them. To the outsider who had come in with the relief the story of the siege was like the line of barricades about the streets and yards — an inextricable confusion that it sometimes seemed would require months to straighten out. . "Barricades filled every corner and thrust themselves across straight streets with astonishing frequency. It was impossible to tell where they led. One simply trusted to luck and the knowledge that he started in the legations to have the barricades keep him there. They were built for the most part of heavy brick, such as are used in the buildings which had been destroyed about where they were erected. On the wall and the ramp leading up to it the barricades were built of the huge bricks used by the Chinese in covering the top of the wall. They are two feet long by eight inches wide and four thick. The many-colored sandbags added greatly to the picturesqueness of the barricades. In the beginning these had been used much more than at the end, when the work was done almost entirely with the bricks. That was not because the sandbags were not better, but there were no more bags. The ladies of the legations had used up all the material in their possession in making bags. Some of it was brocaded silk worth dollars a yard. Their petticoats and curtains and all the finery they could spare they put to the good cause. It was a bright lot of sandbags that fronted the Chinese after that. "All the porches of the buildings in the British legation were bar- TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 391 ricaded with these bags, because it was necessary for people to sleep there, and the bullets came zipping in at all hours unannounced. Just think of having to build yourself. a fence of sandbags to get into to have a decent nap of an hour or so! "But still Peking had not been relieved. We had been inside the British legation thirty hours, and had been to the gate itself of the Purple Wonder, but over in the Pei-tang, the North cathedral, old Bishop Favier was still holding out against the rabble that had be- sieged him so desperately all summer. It was not until the morning of the sixteenth, the day after the American fiasco on the gates, that the British decided to send a force to the relief of the French. Then they found that the Japanese had done the same thing already. The small French force went along with the British detachment and did not arrive until the work had been done. There was very little fight left in the Chinese. They had had enough in the last few days and flew on the appearance of the Japanese. "The Pei-tang is well within the walls of the Imperial city, in its northwest quarter. It was a beautiful church, surrounded by ex- tensive grounds, where there were buildings for the shelter a-nd occu- pation of many hundreds of native converts. Father Favier was one of the men who understood the signs of the times and made prepara- tions. He it was who was responsible for the conversion of M. Pinchon, the minister, to a realization of the gravity of the situation when every other minister there was still doubtful that there would be trouble. Favier laid in supplies of his own when he found he could not move the French of the legation. He bought rifles for some of his conv.erts, and ammunition, and prepared to defend himself. Then, at last, they got thirty French guards, with two officers, and ten Italians. This was the whole band then — Favier and two o-ther priests, three nuns, and forty-two guards, with about 2,000 native converts hoiddled in the huts around the grounds. The Chinese attacked them night and day, and battered the face and east wall of the beautiful cathedral almost to pieces with their shell fire. From the north and west they could not attack so fiercely for fear of firing over into the Forbidden city just be- yond. "How the graveyard grew just behind the church! Once the Chinese exploded a mine they had laid under the corner of the lines held by the little garrison. It was a tremendous explosion and made a hole big 392 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. enough to put a good-sized ship in. It killed nearly 300 of the converts — men, women and children, and delivered the garrison the worst blow it had in the loss of both its officers and three of the guards. Still they held on so well that the Chinese could not come over the hole they had made — they had breached the line, but it did them no good. "Out in front of the cathedral the Chinese mounted an old brass gun in the beginning which the besieged promptly sallied out and took from them. After that w^henever the Chinese fire was too heavy from the front, or they were edging their barricades up too closely, the garrison would run out this old Long Tom and give it to them for a few rounds. That always had the effect of holding them off. "They were glad to be relieved, these Frenchmen and Chinese. They had had a long, hard fight of it, the real fight of Peking, .but old Father Favier simply smiled and said, yes, they had pulled through. "Since then nothing has been done except get into camp and divide up the city and loot. Peking is a sight. Every minute since the foreign troops entered its outside wall there have been fires in all directions. It makes no difference which way you go at night — the path is light. And all about the whole place is already destruction enough done by the Boxers and Chinese to justify one in saying the city had been wrecked. Wherever any foreigner or any Christian or any Chinese who sympa- thized with foreigners or converts lived or had property it was de- stroyed. The Nan-tang, Southern cathedral, was laid absolutely waste. That was only a sample. Everywhere it was the same. "Now the foreigner has laid his heavy hand on the wreck, and the condition is steadily growing much worse. The looting is going on more easily and evenly than it did at Tientsin. Here there are not so many Chinese lying around watching for their chance. They are fewer and vastly more timid. In their own quarter the Americans are supposed to stop looting entirely and the report is that there are orders to shoot. The British are going at the thing quietly and systematically, sending out their pack trains with a party in charge of each under command of an officer. All the loot goes into the big pile in the legation compound and will be put up at auction. Then, when it is all sold, Tommy will get his share of the prize money. It is a very comfortable and easy way and not liable to heart burnings like ours. "The Russians and French loot joyously and spontaneously, without effort. They gather up what they like, and as far as they can they take TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 392 it from the quarter of the city in which they happen to be. If a couple of Russkies drive along in one of their big forage carts and happen to find a. good plant, they do not stop to ask who has the guard. There being more time, and there being also the element of princely residences which was not in Tientsin, looting seems to be much more entertaining. "I hear funny stories from some of the missionaries. Three or four of the best known of them told me it was not looting to take goods that had been abandoned, but only to take them from the owner. So they have acquired some nice furs. I saw one blanket shaped like a bed- spread and as big, that came from the palace of one of the princes. The finder gave it to one of the ladies who had distinguished herself during the siege. "Here more kinds of loot came out than in Tientsin. The furs were much better. So with some of the silk, but there are bits of green stuff they call jade, and one hears of old plates and priceless vases and that sort of thing. And for sycee, if the soldiers had a way to dispose of it, probably every one of them would be paid to his satisfaction for coming to Peking. Only the Japanese stand aloof, see it all, but take no part in it, and say it is all wrong. "The main camp of the United States troops is now situated at the Temple of Agi'iculture, a vast estate of grassy pastures, graceful elm trees, and gaudy buildings in the Southern or Chinese city. On either side of the wide macadamized road which leads out of one of the south- ern gates to the railway station are the Temple of Agriculture and the Temple of Heaven, great domains shut off by high walls whose precincts were sacred to the emperor. "Potatoes and sides of bacon are piled on the high stone platform which fronts the entrance building of the main temple, and in the cool, cavernous interior among tiers of cases of hardtack and great piles of army provisions commissary sergeants are issuing rations to the Amer- ican command in Peking. Beyond the building and across a huge paved court is the main temple, and this has been cleared of its paraphernalia to make room for the cots of sick men. Between 125 and 150 men are in the hospital at present, and they are comfortably established. The flooring is of stone. Great doors fold back and leave the place almost in the open air. The great beams and rafters of the ceilings are gor- geously painted in the usual rich style of Chinese temples, with purple, red and gold dragons and figures of every description. 394 THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. "The duty men and the officers are encamped in tents on a grasti- covered area bordering on an inviting elm grove, and the tents, espe- cially those of the men, would make a study for a painter. They are mostly of looted materials, nearly all the shelter halves of the command having been lost or abandoned during the march from Tientsin to Peking. Large sections of matting have been built into tepees and ar- ranged according to the fancy of the men. Some of the tents are made of big sections of blue canvas awning. These show up gorgeously with their sides covered with large white Chinese characters, which can be read all over camp. "The strict line drawn on looting covered jewelry and valuables, but did not extend to tenting materials, bedding and camp furniture. So the American private stretches his weary limbs at night under fluffy silk coverlets intended for the couch of some slant-eyed beauty with tiny feet. His tent is floored with a tigerskin rug that would grace the hallway or drawing-room of some Chicago residence. Instead of sitting cross-legged on the ground at mess time he draws a heavy carved mahogiany chair up to a table enameled in red and gold, over which a great paper parasol has been hoisted to keep off the sun's rays, and he proceeds to consume camp hash or 'cook's mystery,' strips of bacon, hard bread and coffee from delicate porcelain dishes. He warns himself of the approach of drill hour, for drills are again required, by a gla^nce at a costly gold enameled clock he has in his tent without the knowledge of the officers, for clocks are contraband and must be g-iven up or re- turned to the place they were taken from, if it yet exists. "There is much apprehension as to the state of the food supplies during the winter if the present foraging keeps up. Flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are one of the daily sights in Peking, as they are driven in from the country to become food for the armies of occupa- tion, which aggregate probably twenty-five thousand men. It is the system of the Americans to commandeer these animals and pay for them a just price. Orders have been issued permitting no other course of acquiring mutton or beef. It might be interesting to state that the armies of certain other nations represented here do not consider pay- ment for food supplies to be necessary in all instances. "Not only the sheep and cattle in the country are suffering from these raids, but the geese and chickens as well. One countryman re- cently sold his entire poultry yard to the United States commissary *rilE 8IEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. SUo officer. The private who, with the aid of coolies, drove in 100 lioisy, slowly waddling geese from several miles outside the wall remarked he would much rather herd cattle, although his comrades, upon his ar- rival in camp, lined up and gave three cheers for the white squadron and complimented him on his ability to steer it. "Preparations are being made to make the men comfortable when the cold weather catches them. Big Shelby tents are being brought from Tientsin, and it is proposed to erect them in the Temple of Agri- culture park, using cement for flooring. The stoves for these tents will also be brought into Peking at once. Investigations are being made as to a supply of coal. A cavalry scouting party visited a colliery in the hills fifteen or twenty miles west of Peking and found it had gone through a, course of treatment the Boxers use on such modern arrange- ments as shafts and tunnels filled with labor-saving machinery. The mines are useless, but plenty of coal has been found piled up around the place." A eTapanese account of the same operations, published in a Tokio paper, offers another point of view from a Japanese correspondent: "It had been agreed among the commanding officers that the gen- eral attack on Peking should not be made until the fifteenth inst., the thirteenth and fourteenth being devoted to getting the troops into posi- tion and making reconnoissances. The Japanese Ninth brigade ac- cordingly marched from Tungchow at 6 a. m. on the thirteenth, leaving the Eleventh regiment in the van. At 10 a. m. Tawanchang was reached and a number of scouts were sent out. These drew the enemy's fire as they approached the walls of Peking, and some of them fell, whereupon the Boxers began beating their big war drum inside the city. The scouts then returned, and at 11 p. m. the sound of heavy firing was heard from the direction of the Tung-pien gate, which it had been ar- ranged that the English, Russians and Americans were to attack. But the time for that attack to be delivered had not come, and, very much troubled, the Japanese hastily sent out scouts in the direction w-hence the firing proceeded, to learn what was the matter. A strange discov- ery was then made. The Russians, in spite of the agreement not to at- tack the city till the fifteenth, had already commenced fighting. "General Yamaguchi, whose headquarters were in Tungchow, then gave an order to the effect that the cavalry should maneuver on the west and northwest of the city and that the Ninth brigade should without 396 TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. waiting for his arrival take the first opportunity of effecting an entry, At dawn on the fourteenth accordingly the advance was commenced from Tawanchang. The movement began at 4:45 a. m., the Forty-first regiment being in the van and the Eleventh regiment forming the' main body, the Tse-hwa gate being the objective point. The weather was beautiful and the troops presented a splendid appearance as they marched to the attack. Meanwhile the Twenty-first brigade, with the headquarters, moved out of Tungchow at 3:30 a. m. — the Forty-second regiment forming the main body — and marched without halting to a position 1,200 or 1,300 meters from the Tse-hwa gate. "The enemy were ranged on the walls in fighting order, and they opened a rifle fire on the advancing Japanese troops, who pushed on gradually, however, finding cover in the houses on either side of the road. On approaching the gate they found the walls and towers intact and so high that to scale them was quite out of the question. Moreover, the system of defense was very complete, so that troops advancing to attack the gate would find themselves exposed to flank and rear fire from the adjacent parapets. On the other hand, unless the gates were quickly forced and an entry effected, the troops pushing up from the rear to the attack would find themselves in a species of well with bul- lets pouring down on them from overhead. Lieutenant Yasaki, with a detachment of the First companyj and Captain Minamiyama, with the whole of the Tenth company, attempted to force the gate, but failed. Major Saiki then led the van to the gate for the purpose of blowing it up with guncotton, but the enemy, who was all the time raining down bullets from above, caused such havoc among our men that the attempt had to be abandoned. The artillery now opened fire on the enemy crowding the wall, at a distance of 1,500 or 1,600 meters from the Tse- liua gate, and for some time after Colonel Nagata's eighteen fieldpieces and thirty-six mountain guns kept up an incessant cannonade. We thoroughly searched the position of the enemy's guns on the north and south of the gate, but they took cover while we fired and came out again as soon as our troops began to move toward the gate. The men under Lieutenant Yazaki and Captain Minamiyama were all this time lying under the wall, unable to advance or retreat, and as the position had become temporarily hopeless, the infantry was gradually drawn off at 11 a, m., a strong artillery fire being now concentrated on the gate. OAving, however, to the configuration of the trace, it was almost impos- THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 397 sible for shells to reach the gate, and though several attempts were made to carry forward gun-cotton, the men could not yet cross the zone of fire. In one of these attempts Lieutenant Yazaki was killed. Colonel Ohara then reported the great difficulty of the situation to Lieutenant- General Yamaguchi, who thereupon issued orders that as the engineers would expose themselves too much if they attempted to blow up the gate in the daytime, the attempt should be postponed till between 9 and 10 o'clock on the following night. Nevertheless the bombardment was kept up throughout the rest of the day. "The task of blowing up the gate was intrusted to a detachment of engineers under Lieutenant Tesikaya, who told off a sub-lieutenant and seven sappers to guncotton the outer gate, and a corporal with seven sappers to blow up the inner gate. At a little before 9 o'clock the men began to get ready for the attempt, stripping themselves completely in order to escape the enemy's notice. It was a fine moonlight night, but fortunately a shower of rain fell just before the time for making the attempt, and the little detachments moved forward under a sky which was temporarily overcast. The enemy, evidently prepared for an attack under these circumstances, opened a heavy fire, but the engineer de- tachments pushed on resolutely, and at 9:30 p. m. the first gate was blown open, the second gate being in like manner shattered a few mo- ments after. Thereupon three battalions charged the gates, and, sweep- ing away the enemy, effected an entry. "When at 8 a. m. the Eleventh regiment, which had left Tungchow on the morning of the eleventh, reached the position opposite the Tse- hwa gate, the latter was already under attack by the Forty-first regi- ment. Major Marayama, who was in command of the leading battalion of the Eleventh regiment, disposed his men to assist the attack on the Ttee-hwa gate, but as news reached him just then that the Russians had effected an entry at the Tung-pien gate, he ordered the battalion to march thither with the object of opening speedy communication with the legations. But the battalion found on reaching the gate, that it had not been breached, and the troops were therefore marched back. At 6 p. m., however, another message was received saying that the Tung-pien gate had been breached, and the Third and First battalions marched thither at once, entering immediately after the Russian troops. The Russians had experienced unlooked-for resistance and had many killed and wounded, a number also falling into the enemy's hands. The 398 THE SIEGE AND 8ACK OF PEKING. Tung-pien gate does not give direct admittance to the Tartar city, the Hata gate, which is at a considerable distance having also to be entered. Various reports reached the Japanese to the effect that the Hata gate had been breached by the Russian troops, but on Major-General Fukushima proceeding toward it, it was found to be still standing in- tact and firmly shut. Between the gate and the ground, however, there w^as interval sufficient for a man to creep through, and through the nar- row opening Captain Hayashi immediately thrust himself, carrying a hand electric lamp. He was able to ascertain that the gate was formed of a single i)anel and that the enemy were not in sight. Accordingly, he and ten men crept under the gate, and on ascending the parapet found that it was so constructed as to be raised and lowered in a groove. They raised it sufficiently to allow of the passage of a horse and then they entered the Tartar city, the Japanese troops taking the lead, the Russians following. They reached the legation at 8:55 p. m. "The attack on the Tung-chih gate was very much the same as that on the Tse-hira gate, but was rendered remarkable by a somewhat sin- gular circumstance. After the gate was blown off the engineers who had performed the feat could not for some time draw the attention of the infantry to the fact, the explosion having been drowned by the noise of the enemy's fire, and during the interval the Japanese at the gate were exposed to all kinds of missiles, tiles and even silver being rained down on them. Their losses were ninety and those of the enemy were also heavy, several hundreds of dead and over seventy pieces of artillery being left on the field. "The measures for defense taken by the foreign community were re- markably strong. All round the concession and thence to the Chi- nese town a brick parapet had been constructed and had been rebuilt several times, the extent being reduced on each occasion, so that it tells a plain tale of how the foreigners were gradually driven back. The British legation had been regarded as the citadel. Sandbags were piled up in all the windows, and the defenses were of the most minute char- acter, these defenses having been planned chiefly by Lieutenant-Colonel Shiba. Within the legation inclosure are eight graves of Japanese who fell during the siege. The spirits of the garrison had never flagged, but their appearance indicated great exhaustion, the natural result of protracted anxiety and deficient provisions. Their morning meal had been gruel made from unhulled rice and their evening meal barley THE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 399 dumplings; the only relish seaweed soup. Occasionally they had horse flesh, which was regarded a superlative treat. Native converts in the British legation often had nothing to eat but grass; several died of hunger; the rest almost all in hopeless condition of exhaustion." One of the most graphic tales of all was that furnished by the Asso- ciated Press correspondent who described the scenes at the British Legation and thereabouts just after the relief. "In the grounds of the British Legation, where a handful of men withstood the millions of the Chinese capital for fifty-six days, a mem- orable celebration is in progress to-night in vindication of that principle. -Missionaries, assembled about Bell ToAver, are singing the Doxology. Rockets are blazing. Soldiers and civilians of all nationalities are fraternizing. The women are applauding the sound of the cannon that are smashing the yellow roofs of the Forbidden City. The tired Sikhs are planting their tents on the lawn, and the American and Russian contingents are lighting campflres along the stretch of turf extending beyond the Tartar wall. "Through the ruins of the foreign settlement an eager, cosmopolitan crowd is jostling- — Indians, Cossacks, legation ladies, diplomats, Ameri- cans from the Philippines, and French disciplinarians from Saigon, who kept discreetly to the rear while the fighting was in progress, but came conspicuously to the front when looting began. Only the Jap- anese, who have earned the first place, are absent. "Resident foreigners welcome the luxury of walking about and immunity from bullets. The newcomers are anxious to inspect the evidences of an historic defense. These barricades are, after all, the most wonderful sight in Peking. The barriers hedging the British Lega- tion are a marvel of stone and brick walls and earthworks. Sandbags shield every foot of space. The tops of the walls have niches for the riflemen, and the buildings, at their porticos and windows, have armor boxes, bags stuffed with dirt, and pillows, too. "Back of the United States legation is a work named "Fort Myers," which the marines held, completely screening both sides of the walls, with steps leading to it. There is a loop-holed barrier across the wall which faces a similar Chinese work a few yards away. Another wall bars Legation sti'eet in front of the German legation, and confronting the enemy's barricades within those limits are yet more walls, enabling the foreigners to contract the area of defense if pressed. 400 THE SIEOE AND SACK OF PEKING. "The tops of the American and British buildings were badly torn by the Chinese shells. The rest of the foreign settlement was almost demol- ished. Two thousand eight hundred shells fell there during the first three weeks of the bombardment, 400 in one day. Buckets full of bullets were gathered in the grounds. Four hundred and fourteen people lived in the compound through the greater part of the siege. Three hundred and four marines, assisted by eighty-five volunteers, commanded by the English Captain Poole, defended the place. Eleven civilians were killed and nineteen wounded. Fifty-four marines and sailors were killed and 112 wounded. Mr. Gilbert Reid, who was wounded in the feet, was the only American civilian injured. Two foreign women were wounded. "The reception which the survivors gave the army was worth the hardships the troops had undergone. The entrance was not spectacular. Sir Alfred Gaselee, with his staff and a company of Sikhs, waded up a bed of sewage in the canal under the Tartar wall. The besieged removed the barricades, and when the gates swung inward and the British colors appeared there arose a great, continuous cheer on both sides. Generals, soldiers, and correspondents scrambled up the banks through the filth, elbowing to be first. Men and women surrounded the rescuers and shook the hands of the Sikhs, patting them on the back. Everybody was hustled excitedly along into the legation grounds, where the colors were planted. The soldiers surrounded the wall which had been the salvation of the besieged. The Ministers and officers demanded the latest news on both sides. "An hour afterward General Chaffee, riding at the head of the Four- teenth United States Infantry, marched to the Tartar wall. An Ameri- can marine who was on top of the wall shouted : 'You are just in time. We need you in our business.' " 'Where can we get in?' asked General Chaffee. " 'Through the canal. The British entered there two hours ago,' was the response. The American General looked disappointed. "Although the Americans entered behind the last of the British forces, their reception was just as enthusiastic as if they had been first. When the Stars and Stripes emerged into view, Mr. Tewksbury, the missionary, cried, 'Americans, cheer your flag.' The women waved their handkerchiefs and the soldiers cheered in reply. "On entering the grounds of the British legation the American troops stared in amazement and inquired if there was a lawn party in TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. 401 progress. They had expected to find the relieved in a worse condition than themselves, whereas, the contrast between the appearance of the rescued and the rescuers was surprisingly in favor of the former. The British Minister, Sir Claude Macdonald, was shaven and dressed in immaculate tennis flannels. Mr. Conger, the United States Minister, was equally presentable. The assemblage of women was fresh and bright in summer clothing. Only a few civilians were carrying arms. On the other hand, the rescuers were haggard and rough-bearded. They dragged themselves along as if ready to drop, their khaki uniforms dripping with perspiration and black with mud. "But a second glance showed that the rescued were pathetically pale and thin. They looked like a company of invalids. Every part of the inclosure testified to their tragic experiences. There was a plot of new graves, headed with wooden crosses, including the graves of five chil- dren. The second secretary's house was the hospital and it was filled with wounded. French nuns ministered there at one time. All but four men of the Japanese contingent had been in the hospital, wounded. There were several caves, roofed with timbers heaped over with earth, which served as bombproofs. "The bulletin board was covered with significant notices. For in- stance: " ^As there is likely to be a severe dropping fire to-day women and children are forbidden to walk about the gi'ounds.' "Here is another: " ^Owing to the small supply of vegetables and eggs, the market will be open only from 9 to 10 o'clock hereafter. All horse meat is inspected by a physician.' "The Americans advanced along the left canal under cover, the Fourteenth Infantry leading, with the Ninth Infantry and the marines following. From a hill Captain Reilly shelled a pagoda over the Che- Hua gate until the infantry got close in. The Fourteenth Regiment was extended under cover before the wall, about 300 yards away, when E Company scaled the corner near the gate, under fire of sharpshooters. Lieutenant Gohn planted the regimental flag. "The regiment then crowded with the Russians through the gate until opposed, but every side of the streets leading to the Tartar wall, along which the soldiers passed, was swept by rifle fire from the wall. The companies dashed across the streets in single file. The British, 402 TEE SIEGE AND SACK OF PEKING. entering Sha.-Ho gate, about the middle of the east wall, were nearer the legations and able to enter first. "The last five days' marching was the worst. It was a terrible strain. The thermometer kept near 100 degrees and was sometimes above that figure. The country was deep with sand and the route lay through shadeless fields of tall, thin corn. The Japanese possessed the greatest endurance, and, being provided with the best transport, they made the pace. The Kussians held second place most of the time. The Americans and English were pushed to the utmost to keep up. General Fukushima said the Japanese might have reached Peking two days be- fore. He probably spoke the truth. They seemed never to rest. Their cavalry and scouting parties were thrashing the country ahead on their flanks, and their outposts kept in constant contact with the enemy, pressing the latter so closely that they threw away their pots, sleeping mats, and clothing. "Several hundred Americans dropped out from the heat each day and came straggling into camp this evening. Even the native Indian troops suffered almost as much. The army could be tracked by dead horses. The soldiers drank continually from the muddy river and wells by the wayside, with the result that an epidemic of dysentery set in. The Americans marched during the hottest hours of the day, causing great dissatisfaction among officers and men who had wished to move in the cool of the morning and evening, like the Japanese and Kussians. But with four armies following a single road the more enterprising got the right of way, and the others had to follow when they could." CHAPTER XXIV. TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. The Terrors of the Siege — The First Attack — At the Mercy of Mobs — The Japanese Chan- cellor Assassinated— Fanatics Patrol the City — Bravery of the Ministers — Dangers from Incendiaries — Appeals for Relief— Murder of Baron von Ketteler, the Crcrman Minis- ter—Children Play with Spent Cannon Balls— Sandbags of Satin— Arrival of the Allies, rHE rescue of the foreign ministers in Peking by the allied forces of the United States and the European powers after a campaign costing many lives was the closing incident in one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the centuiy. Since the early days of June the foreign ministers with their families and official households, together with a handful of marine guards, had been besieged by imperial troops in the compound of the British legation. These marine guards numbered 400 men, and were from the navies of the United States, Great Britain, France, Ger- many, Russia, Italy, and Japan. These 400 men defied and held at bay the millions of the Chinese capital for weeks. Night and day, al- most without ceasing, they were under the rifle and artillery fire of the Chinese imperial troops, and as an act of bravery the conduct of this handful of marines stands almost without a parallel in history. The treaty which closed the French and English war in 1860 first granted to the powers the right to maintain their embassies in the Chi- nese capital. In the early days, before the building of the railroad from Tientsin to Peking, the line of travel was up the river to Tung Chou, and thence into the capital through the eastern one of the southern gates of the city. Entering Peking through this gate, the Forbidden city with its imperial palaces lay to the west, and it was but natural that the first envoys should turn up the first street leading toward the palaces. It so happened that this street had been for centuries the quarter in which lodged the envoys from the tribute-paying neighbors of the Chinese empire — Koreans, Mongols, Tibetans, and Indo-Chinese, and the street which is known among the foreigners as Legation street is called by the Chinese the Street of Tributary Nations. The fact that the foreigners established themselves in this quarter has in a large 403 404 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. measure influenced the Chinese in their treatment of them, and while a mistake was made in this respect, still the early Ambassadors chose wisely in selecting for their residences the handsomest of the then un- occupied palaces belonging to the crown. The English selected a large palace which lay along the west side of a canal that drains the lakes within the Forbidden city, and lies just north of Legation street. The quaintness and Oriental magnificence of these ducal palaces have been largely preserved by the legations that have occupied them. The massive entrances stand unchanged; the open pavilions with their lacquered pillars and rich carvings are used as ballrooms. The courts and arbors and walks, with their rockeries and terraces, still stand; but the details of the dwelling-houses have been changed to suit the requirements of modern comfort, and there is little comparison be^ tween the severely simple furnishings of the former Chinese occupants and the luxuriously furnished salons of the modern Ambassadors. Glass windows and tight doors have replaced the old Chinese fretwork and paper windows, while chimneys have been built in every available corner. The winters in Peking are cold, and where the Chinese find comfort in wearing additional suits of clothes, the white man insists on his fires to keep warm, and the many chimneys built in these old palaces have so disturbed the spirits of their former occupants that they have caused more discussion than affairs of state. The heavy walls which surround these legations have proved effect- ive means of defense, while the Chinese method of building houses up against one another, and their numerous alleys and courts and narrow passages, and their many back gates offer facilities for secret communi- cation that can be found in no other city in the world. The British legation, in which a small baud of marines has been able to defy Chinese mobs numbering tens of thousands, is adjoined on both the north and south by the compounds of friendly Chinese. At the northwest corner were the imperial carriage yards; on the west were still other inclosures of friendly Chinese, while the stable gates at the southwest corner of the legation opened into a large Chinese market. The walls around the legation, almost three feet thick, have been, cut through into the com- pounds of the friendly Chinese, and through them, and from the Chinese market it was an easy matter to smuggle supplies and provisions, and also to spy on the besieging mobs around them. These legations are, TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 405 in fact, little cities within themselves. The English legation has on its premises no less than eight or ten different walls, and covers an area of about six acres. There are separate establishments for the Minister and for the first and second secretaries of legation, extensive quarters and barracks for consular students and military escorts, private stables for the Minister and general stables for others of the legation, a doctor's house and a hospital, a parsonage and a chapel, a school and homes for the teachers, besides extensive quarters for servants. The other legations, except the American, are mainly on the same general plan, though none of them on so elaborate a scale as that main- tained by the English. The American legation occupies the most hum- ble quarters of any foreign mission. On the south side of Legation street, just beyond the old marble bridge that crosses the canal, it lies in the shadow of the great wall of the Tartar city. The Chinese cannot understand and have never ceased to wonder and speculate on how one who lives as simply as the American Minister can expect such considera- tion and respect from the representatives of the other powers, who maintain court with Oriental splendor in the magnificent old palaces of the Manchu Princes. Some have complained that life in Peking is almost exile. For many years it was comparatively quiet. The Ministers had little to do looking after the interests of their governments, and there were few complaints from their citizens engaged in trade throughout the empire. The delightful summers were spent in the old temples on the famous western hills overlooking the plain surrounding Peking. Excursions and side trips to the great wall, the Ming tombs, the summer palace, the beautiful deer park, or to the royal potteries, where the beautifu- yellow, green, and blue porcelains Avhich adorn the imperial palaces are made under the direction of a descendant of the original inventor, furnished about all the excitement that was to be found. In the winter time the succession of state dinners and legation balls was varied with ice carnivals held in the skating rinks, which were made by flooding the tennis courts in the legation grounds and housing them over with sheds of bamboo matting. Ever since the outbreak of the Japanese war the moving armies of Chinese soldiers from provinces where foreigners were unknown began to make it dangerous to wander about the city as the legation people had formerly done. There have been secret treaties, waves of reform, 406 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. . and great reactions, riots, beheadings, hurried flights, rumors of uj)- rising, abdications, the coming and going of legation guards, and, at last, the deluge. The twelve days between June 8 and 20 may be regarded as an inter- lude in the attack upon foreigners in Peking. By Saturday, the 9th, practically all of them except those in the northern Koman Catholic cathedral had removed within the quadrangle under the protection of foreign guards, that quadrangle being somewhat extended to the east so as to take in the numerous courts of the Methodist mission premises. The military authorities, who had only fifty marines to guard the lega- tion, were naturally reluctant to detach twenty of them for the protec- tion of a place more than half a mile distant from the legation, and one that in case of an attack was not easily defensible. But for the seventy Americans who were crowding every corner of the Methodist dwellings there would have been in the legation itself no accommodation what- ever, not to speak of the 600 or more Chinese Christians whom the mis- sionaries refused to abandon. The ]Minister, therefore, overruled the judgment of the officers, and insisted upon furnishing the guards, ac- cording to previous promise, and they took up their new duties upon the 9th, under the charge of Captain Hall. The British Minister, instead of sending ten marines as expected, loaned in their place ten Martini rifles, which did good service. With the national instinct for organization the Americans promptly met and chose committees into whose hands was confided the co-opera- tion with the military in defensive operations, listing of Chinese for pur- I)Oses of labor and military drill, and many cognate matters of general concern. The whole premises were patrolled by civilians and by Chinese, the more important posts being reserved for the marines, all of whom had been seasoned by long experience in the Philippines^ and were fully equal to anything required of them. The long outer walls of the compound had watchmen whose view commanded the entire sur- rounding region, and in a short time the lines were greatly extended so as to take in the grounds of the Peking university, a few minutes' walk to the northwest. There were sentinels always on duty on the galvanized iron roof of the great church, glowing hot all day and slip- pery at night with the dew or rain. Every man was armed with some weapon, and each had his appointed position in time of danger. Special individuals were charged with the care of the Chinese in time of alarm, TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 407 to see that all were duly notified, and to prevent a panic. Within the rectangle commanded by the Methodist compound lived fifteen or twenty non-Christian families, some of them friendly, others hostile. Under military orders and from the Ministers, these were told to remove elsewhere, the alleys were barricaded at both ends, and a strict watch was set, especially to guard against fire. First and second lines of defense were marked out, barbed wire fences being erected behind the walls which it was thought might possibly be scaled. All the flag tiles in all the yards were used in making cross barricades, and deep trenches were dug behind them. The foreign stores were ransacked for anything which might aid in the defense, numbers of excellent foreign lanterns and shovels being secured, the lack of which was afterward severely felt in the British legation. By the time these preparations had been carried into execution it was felt that the premises could not be rushed by any attack from Boxers, however sudden or violent. To guard against a continued assault by large numbers, the large brick church had been fitted up as a citadel, its doors being reinforced by frames with galvanized iron plates, the windows barricaded and loop- holed, large stocks of provisions and water brought in, and every pre- caution taken to enable the people within to withstand a siege of several days. On June 11 Mr. Sugiyama, chancellor of the Japanese legation, while riding in a jinricksha outside the Yung Tung gate of the southern city, was assaulted and killed and his body was never recovered. An imperial edict denounced the murderers, but its authors failed to perceive that this act was a part of the harvest reaped from the dragon's teeth sown so freely by the Empress Dowager and her advisers. The following day it was reported that the imperial postofifice at Tung Ghou had been wrecked and the telegraijh poles cut down. The line to Tientsin had been destroy d some days before, the last slender link connecting Peking with the rest of the world being the single wire to Kalgan, which was now severed, thus beginning the isolation which continued for many weary weeks. It was ascertained from refugees arriving from Tung Chou that the mission premises both in the city and outside were looted by the regular Chinese troops who had been summoned to protect them, promptly followed by the hungry mob always ready for such a task. All the eight dwelling houses, the North China, college, the chapels, schools, and property of every description were utterly 408 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. destroyed either on the day after the premises were left or the day following, scarcely one brick remaining. The Taotai was said to be a virtual prisoner of the Boxers, who compelled him, as they had forced the magistrate of Cho Chou, to affix his seal to their proclamations and orders. The other officials had already openly espoused the Boxer cause. On the afternoon of June 13 word was brought that the Methodist chapel on the great street, but a few hundred yards away, was being pulled down by a Boxer mob, the sounds of demolishing being uproar- ious and continuous. A squad of marines was sent to the mouth of the alley and charged the rioters, but without firing upon them, thus for the moment checking their proceedings. The plan adopted by the Boxers was to break down a portion of the woodwork, pour over it several quarts of kerosene brought for the purpose, and then light it, no one being allowed to make any effort to arrest the flames. All that night the heavens were aglow with the glare of burning buildings in every part of the city, and in the course of the next two or three days it became known that Avith the exception of those defended by foreign troops, every place in Peking belonging to or occupied by foreigners was destroyed. Among the rest were two large Roman Catholic cathe- drals, the Eastern and Southern, many Christians losing their lives. A rescue party was one morning sent out to the Southern cathedral, and, finding the Boxers plundering and massacring the Christians, it opened fire, killing some of them and taking others prisoners. A second expedition under the lead of Dr. Morrison, correspondent of the London Times, with a band of German and French marines, brought away a large number of Christians who would otherwise have been slain. The amount of property destroyed in this vast organized attack upon foreigners in Peking cannot at present be accurately ascertained. Many private individuals owned dwellings in various parts of the city. A large compound in the Kou Lan alley belonging to the imperial mari- time customs, was fired with the rest, involving immense loss to the Chinese government. The electric-light works fared no better than the unfinished Imperial bank of China, and the new imperial mint. Among the property destroyed belonging to the seven missionary organizations in Peking were thirty-four dwelling houses, eighteen chapels, twelve boys' schools, eleven girls' schools, four training schools, eleven dispen- saries, and eight hospitals, all within the city walls. The new and T^YO MONTHS OF PERIL. 409 expensive summer house of the British legation at the Western hills, together with thirty-three others belonging to various missions, were all looted, burned, and the materials carried away to the adjacent villages. The establishment of the Greek church, nearly two hundred j^ears old, shareslight demur the gatekeeper actually brought it to the compound, escorted by the armed committee, and was himself escorted back by a squad of marines, and furnished with a pass by means of which he could come within the lines the next morning, and get again the two-foot long bar of iron wherewith to set in motion once more the wheels of Peking life. The next day the Tsung-li-Yamen sent a note to the Minister, requesting him to see that the key of the gate was restored to its proper custodians, but the process above described was repeated daily as long as the foreign premises were occupied. Not only so, but on one occasion the commander of a troop of 1,500 Chinese soldiers asked as a favor that the gate should be reopened to let his men pass through "to arrest the Boxers" in the southern city. But it was necessary to draw the line somewhere, and it was considered better not to set a precedent, so this servant of the Emperor was informed that, the gate being closed, he would not be able to get out until the jiext day — a reply which he meekly accepted as final. Each day it became more and more difficult to make purchases, owing to the fear of the country people and the^ closing of so many shops. It thus became necessary for purchasers to go out in parties, well armed, the foreign men frequently acting as an escort to the Chinese, who did the bargaining. A loaded rifle laid across his counter often had a marked effect in stimulating the memory of a shopkeeper as to the availability of an article called for, the cash value being inva- riably paid. During this period of intense excitement and imminent danger Legation street had been partly barricaded by placing logs across it, and the same was done with some of the other streets and lanes. Sentries were posted at these points, and the Italian shell gun and the American Colts automatic were kept in readiness to resist an attack. On the 17th a collision took place between Austrian and German troops on the one part and Chinese soldiers on the other, in which some of the latter were killed. On the evening of that day two members of the Tsung-li-Yamen called upon Minister Conger, giving assurances of "protection" and asking the withdrawal of our troops. They were in- formed that hereafter Americans would protect themselves, and took their leave in evident alarm. It was the cue of the Chinese authorities at first to represent the Boxer movement as the work of boys and peas- ants, and in its later stages as a great popular uprising, too extensive T^YO MONTHS OF PERIL. 411 for the government to control, and in the presence of which they were helpless. The imperial customs postoffice, the service of which had become more and more uncertain, ceased sending out messengers, even in disguise of beggars, after June 16, and several of those previously dispatched failed to reach Tientsin, and were probably killed. During this week there was great tension of feeling among all foreigners in Peking, in expectation of the speedy arrival of the relief column under Admiral Seymour, which was known to have left Tientsin about the 10th. A letter received from Captain McCalla on the 14th, dated less than twenty miles from Peking, seemed to make his arrival a question of but a few hours. Repeated and strenuous efforts were made to send couriers to the advancing party upon which so many hopes and fears hung suspended, but every messenger returned completely baffled, reporting that it was absolutely impossible to get through the network of Boxers Avho swarmed in every village. Each day the leading topic of discussion whenever one foreigner met another was the probability of some definite intelligence concerning the long-delayed relief, and each day, like the preceding, ended only in disappointment. The second letter (written by a committee appointed for the purpose) to the Ameri- can captain is worth reproducing as exhibiting in a clear light the great anxiety of those who had been so confidently looking forward to speedy succor: "Peking, June 17, 1900.— Captain B. H. McCalla— Dear Sir: On the morning of the 15th we dispatched to you the letter inclosed, giving the situation here up to that time, feeling sure that, knowing our perilous condition, it would not be long ere we should see you in the capital. To our intense disappointment all three of the couriers returned this morn- ing, saying that it was impossible to get through the Boxer lines. We are now making another attempt, which we trust may be successful. Since we wrote you last, ijrson and murders have extended. There is not a single Protestant mission building standing in Peking, except in this compound where we are. As the second of the Roman Catholic cathedrals burned, great numbers of the Christians were being killed and tortured, when rescuers were repeatedly sent out, who brought away about 100, and this has greatly exasperated the Boxers. "The beautiful establishment of the Greek church, 200 years old, is tn TWO MON'THS OF PERIL. in ruins. Yesterday morning fire was set to a sliop in the southern city and the flames soon spread, owing to the intense heat and dryness of the buildings, until a vast tract of the richest part of the southern city is in ruins, which caused intense excitement and collects all the most dangerous elements of a most inflammable time. Yesterday afternoon the southern tower of the gate of Peking (the central one, on the south- ern face) took fire and is now a mass of debris. If anything could add to the excitement, this would be the event, as it is considered ominous for the toppling dynasty. During the whole of yesterday the entire horizon was filled with smoke from the countless fires in every direction, and this most dangerous weapon the Boxers hope to use constantly and effectively against us. "Last night fires were started even in Legation street, endangering both the British and the American legations, in each of which buildings are being torn down to guard against this great danger. In our com- pound we are taking such precautions as we can, but the area to be guarded is so large, the force is so small, and the number of human lives at stake is so great, that we are greatly fatigued, and many feel the effects of the long strain. Last night Chinese soldiers fired on the outposts of the Russian and United States legations, as we learned by the fact that in the morning a gun and ammunition and part of a uniform were found there. One of the main anxieties from the first has been lest the Chinese troops as such turn against us, in which case we should hold out but a sliort time, owing to their great numbers. Yesterday a large body of them encamped near to the premises where we are, and we hear of their movements in all directions. A few days ago we received a letter from Tientsin, telling of a meeting held there to determine on a united course of action, at which it was difficult to reach any conclusion what to do. We were told that Captain McCalla, with his customary decision, remarked: 'Gentlemen, our Minister is in danger, and I am going to him. If any of the rest of you will go, come with me.' Your Minister is in more danger now than he was then, as also are all Americans in Peking, who greatly long to see you, and who pray God to speed your footsteps lest your arrival may possibly be too late." At the meeting of the diplomatic corps on the evening of June 19 Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, strongly dissented from the almost unanimous opinion of his colleagues that it was necessary for all TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 413 foreigners to leave Peking. Another adjourned meeting was held on the next morning at 8 o'clock to await the reply of the Yamen to a note which concluded by asking for an interview at the Yamen at 9 o'clock, especially with the Princes. As no answer came the Baron informed his colleagues that he himself would go in any case, having sent a noti- fication, not requiring a reply, to that effect on the evening previous. To avoid the Chinese objection that an armed escort of Germans would excite the animosity of the people, and especially of the soldiers, he had determined to go with no escort of any kind and visibly unarmed. To the numerous objections made on the ground of the danger, he replied that a Minister on his way to the Yamen was not likely to be assailed, especially when his coming was known and awaited. If the Princes and Ministers failed to come to time, or to come at all, he could aJford to outwait them, and he had provided himself with a book and cigars for the occasion. He was a man of decided opinions, and his military experience may not improbably have tinged his diplomatic history. His determination to have an interview with the Tsung-li-Yamen quite independently of his colleagues was a characteristic trait, and was due to the conviction that he had a message to the Yamen of an important nature, although not by any means new. He wished to urge upon the highest accessible officials in the empire that in driving the Ministers of eleven nations out of their capital they were taking a step which would ultimately put an end to the Manchoo dynasty. This serious warning, presented under ominous aspects, would, he hoped, be enough to give them at least a temporary pause. Immediately at the close of the morning meeting of the diplomatic corps the German Minister, accompanied by the interpreter, Mr. Cordes, proceeded to the Yamen in their usual ofiftcial sedan chairs, passing east of the French legation by the Tai Chi Chang street, to the Chang An Chieh, where they turned eastward to the Ha Ta street, which was entered just below the single memorial arch (Tan Pai-lou). For several days in passing through this street, groups of soldiers had been noticed standing about, but they had attracted no special attention at this time. A few hundred yards north of the arch at a point opposite the mouth of the Tsung Pu alley, about thirty soldiers were posted near a police station. Mr. Cordes, who was behind, noticed the officer in command, who had a white button and a feather in his cap, step a little to one side 414 TTFO MONTHS OF PERIL. of the rest and discharge a rifle at the Minister's chair. The Minister made no movement to leave the sedan, and was no doubt immediately killed. Mr. Cordes instantly arose, and as he did so received a rifle shot in his thigh, inflicting a dangerous wound. But for his rising the bullet vv^ould have penetrated his skull. The bearers immediately set down the chairs and fled. The outrider rode on rapidly to the Yamen and gave word of what had occurred, while Mr. Cordes summoned up his strength to escape, if possible. It seemed wholly out of the question, as behind him were crowds of soldiers, who at once opened fire on him. He ran toward the north, entering the first alley on the right-hand side of the street, and thence by devious lanes, pursued for some distance by Chinese spearmen, made his way to the premises of the Methodist mission, at least a third of a mile distant. Here he saw for the first time a foreign face, and lost consciousness. He was at once taken into the compound, and had his wound attended to by Dr. Ingram of Tung Chou, who happened to be near at hand, and who considered the probabilities of recovery very slight. His escape was little less than a miracle, considering the num- ber of his assailants and the severity of his injury. The shot which killed Baron von Ketteler produced effects which the authors of the international crime never intended and could not have foreseen. Almost all the foreigners in Peking were already either within the legations or the general rectangle supposed to be commanded by them, or were at the Methodist compound, so that the news of the teri'ibly significant tragedy was immediately spread and its meaning universally and instantly appreciated. All thought of leaving Peking under any kind of Chinese escort was dismissed from every mind, the absolute certainty of treachery being now clearly seen. In this respect it is literally true that the death of the German Minister was a vicarious sacrifice which saved the lives of all the other foreigners in Peking. The American refugees from the Methodist compound filed wearily into the United States legation about noon without the least idea of what disposition was to be made of them. Almost every one had come away with no opportunity to make provision for food other than what- ever happened to be at hand, but through the generous hospitality of Mrs. Squiers, wife of the first secretary, the whole large company was promptly served with an informal luncheon. Not only so, but her amply stocked storeroom was placed at the disposal of her destitute TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 415 countrymen and women, who were generously told to help themselves to whatever was in sight, a permission of which full advantage was taken, coolies and carts being loaded up repeatedly for several hours to remove as much as possible to the British legation, which had been fixed as the general headquarters for all. It was largely due to this unanticipated and unexampled liberality that the American refugees were able with some degree of success to bear the privations of the siege, and it is not too much to say that in this way several lives were in all probability saved and the comfort of scores greatly enhanced. During the entire siege Mrs. Squiers was pre-eminently the Lady Boun- tiful of the occasion, looking after the wants of many of the various nationalities with a lavish and an undiscriminating hospitality instant in season and out. After the two hours' stay in the United States legation this party was ordered to proceed to the British legation, being assigned to the church, a building centrally situated, but affording very narrow accom- modations for so many. Some of the number took the precaution to enter the Chinese shops on Legation street, taking possession of what- ever was likely to prove useful, especially provisions, giving a receipt when the owners were present, in other cases merely appropriating abandoned goods. By this prompt action much was secured that would subsequently have been unobtainable, and was ultimately invaluable. With the exception of a few, who remained at their own legations, and the company besieged already for four days in the Pei T'ang, or Northern, cathedral, the foreign community of Peking was now synony- mous with the residents of the British legation. With the exception of those living within the legation quadrangle by far the larger part of these refugees, even including the customs staff living but a few hundred yards distant, had saved very little of their possessions, some having a single trunk, others a traveling valise, and here and there one whose clothing was represented merely by what he had on at the time he entered the legation. The American party had no sooner found its appointed quarters than it was decided to return to the Methodist compound with a band of as many Chinese as were available to bring away as much as could be saved of the baggage which the military panic of the morning had needlessly sacrificed. The Streets were as quiet as when the cavalcade had passed in the morning, and the long and well-armed procession of 416 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. missionaries with rifles and Chinese with pikes was unmolested. The Manchoo guard was found duly posted at the outer doors, but some of the neighbors had apparently come in over the walls, and not a little looting had already taken place, some who were caught in the act being attacked and wounded by the indignant Chinese. By diligent use of the available means of traaisportation, and by the impressment of a few carts at good pay, a great quantity of property was rescued without which the incocivenieiices of the siege would have been greatly in- creased, yet clothing and other effects worth many thousand dollars could not be removed and were lost. There was a notion prevailing among the Chinese at this time that at 4 o'clock in the afternoon the soldiers would open fire, this being construed as the limit of time within which the legations were to have left Peking. The troops were not supposed either to know or to care what the Tsung-li-Yamen might or might not say, but would take matters into their own hands, and if the foreign Ministers would not go of their own accord they were to be driven out by force. Whence this rumor originated it is impossible now to determine, but it undoubtedly hastened as well as cut short the salvage of property, all of which might else have been brought away in safety. Promptly at the stroke of 4 the troops of General Tung Fu-hsiang opened the expected rifle fire on the Austrian legation, and soon shots began to be heard in every direction, and every one hastened to get under cover. Explicit assurance had been given from Tung Fu himself to Pro- fessor James that there should be no attack upon foreigners at this time, and implicitly confiding in this declaration the latter, after visit- ing the palace of Prince Su, in the interest of the native Christians to be quartered there, was returning by way of the bridge over the canal near the wall of the imperial city, when he was challenged by Chinese soldiers. Professor James threw up his hands to show that he was unarmed. What followed is imperfectly known, but it is certain that he was taken in charge by the soldiers and was never afterward heard of, though subsequently every effort was made to ascertain his fate. He was a man of scholarly habits, of long acquaintance with China, and with a wide knowledge of the empire and its people. He had especially interested himself in a study of the development of the Boxer movement, having for some months made a careful collection of all decrees and TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 417 other documents bearing upon the subject. The results of this labor, like so much else of value, was lost in the general welter of ruin when all foreign property was destroyed on June 13. It has already been mentioned that the process by which the palace of Prince Su was made available for the Christian refugees was a gradual one. When they began to stream in on the afternoon O'f June 20 they were for some hours kept in the wide passage in front of the outer gate under the trees, where it is not surprising that, hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them. A party of women went over from the British legation to look after them, soon after which Professor James opened the gate and let them into the outer courts, where by dint of much Occidental help rubbish was removed, sweeping and dusting executed, and a comfortable place at last provided for all the women and children. A large kitchen was furnished with every requisite for cooking, including an abundance of coal, and the expansive divans afforded accommodations of comparative luxury. It was at this juncture that fire was opened by Chinese soldiers on the Austrian legation near by and that Prince Su prudently retired to the security of the imperial city, his whole great establishment thereupon becoming the abode of the homeless Christians until they were driven out of it by an enemy more irresistible than Boxers and soldiers combined. East of the Fu, at a little distance, was the imperial maritime customs compound, which was guarded by the customs volunteers. Across the street to the east was the Austrian legation. South of the legation was the customs postoffice and other foreign buildings, and to the east of that vacant land, south of which, at no great distance, was the Italian legation. These various premises were so related to one another by contiguity, and by intercepting barricades across the streets, that they appeared to be defensible for a long time. What, then, was the surprise and alarm of the besieged company to learn that on June 21 the Austrian legation had been hastily abandoned in what, to impartial spectators, was indistinguishable from a panic, the guard retreating to the distant French legation, instead of to some of the much nearer foreign buildings. Early in the forenoon it was announced that the French and the Italians had likewise given up their legations, and their marines, as well as many from other legations, also came pouring into the British compound, to the complete bewilderment of every civilian. An hour 418 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. later it was ascertained that the French, Italians, and others had resumed their positions, the utter confusion in the meantime* showing the absence of any military headship. To a certain extent with such a cosmopolitan community, this was inevitable, especially while each legation was defending its own premises, but it left much to be desired in the item of efficiency. In the very early hours of the siege Sir Claude MacDonald applied to one of the Americans whom he knew for information as to whom among them he could depend upon for assistance in the innumerable matters requiring immediate and ceaseless attention. He was told that committees were already in existence covering every need, and that if it v/as desired thoroughly competent men could be summoned within five minutes, men who had already had considerable experience in their respective duties with marked success. The result was the appointment within an hour of about a dozen committees on* the lines suggested, the previous chairmen being retained, re-enforced by able and willing coadjutors. The general committee, of miscellaneous and comprehensive func- tions, was engineered by the indefatigable and versatile talents of Mr. Tewksbury, whose tireless energy never appeared to flag -even after the siege was raised. The other members of the body were Henry Cock- burn, Chinese secretary of the British legation; Mr. Popoff of the Rus- sian legation; Mr. Morisse of the French legation; Mr. Bredon of the customs, and Mr. Hobart, with Mr. Stelle as secretary. The work of fortification, which was independent of every other control than that of Sir Claude MacDonald, was intrusted to the Rev. F. D. Gamewell, who had enjoyed the advantage of two years of tech- nical instruction both in the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute and Cor- nell university, with considerable practice in field work, his studies having been interrupted by physical disability, which turned his atten- tion to other subjects. His long and varied experience with numerous forms of Chinese construction, with the management and adjustment of Chinese labor, and with the strength and possibilities of all forms of Chinese materials, made his services invaluable, and it is no exaggera- tion to estimate them as literally indispensable to the success of the siege defense. From the beginning to the very last hour he was, by means of a greatly overworked bicycle, endowed with a limited omni- presence so far as related to the British legation, early and late, by day TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. 419 and by night, in the heat and in tropical rains, giving undivided atten- tion to the single problem of how to render that legation as nearly impregnable as the serious natural disabilities of the situation rendered possible. Fortification of the house of the first secretary by boxes of earth and sand bags was begun with great vigor. From the very first, and to some extent throughout the entire siege, there was a marked and an impressive contrast between the conduct of the representatives of the Anglo-Saxons and many of the continentals, who. for the most part sat at ease on their shady verandas, chatting, smoking cigarettes, and sipping wine, apparently trusting for their salvation to fate, while their more energetic comrades threw off their coats, plunging into the whirl of work and the tug of toil with the joy of battle, inherited from ancestors who lived a mJllennium and a half ago. The demand for sand bags began, and work was started by all the women, greatly aided by a few rescued sewing machines, with an energy which speedily turned out vast numbers of them. Lady MacDonald pulled down and sent over almost all of the legation curtains and other articles which could be utilized for this purpose. On the supposition that sand bags would be less conspicuous to sharp-shooters if of a dark color, desperate and toilful efforts were made to dye each one in coal dust dissolved in w^ater, until after a daj^ or two the hopelessness of the undertaking was manifest and it was abandoned. Later in the afternoon there was an alarm of fire on the west and outside of the legation. The bell on the tower was rung as a signal, according to orders, and a scene of delightful confusion ensued. When the flames had been apparently subdued still another building caught fire, and it seemed then impossible to save the house of the Chinese secretary, all of whose goods and numerous books were tumbled out into the roadways and upon the tennis court, forming a very extensive public library. A line was formed from the central well to the south stable court to pass the leather water buckets, w^hich, alas! had shrunk and cracked until many of them were either leaky or had lost their handles. They were then supplemented by earthenware, graniteware, iron, and tin pitchers, pails, jars, foot-tubs, small bathtubs, teapots, and many other incongruous utensils, most of which started from the well only partly filled, and by reduplicated jerkings of excited men and women from 420 TWO MONTHS OF PERIL. hand to hand often arrived at their distant destination practically empty. But every one, of whatever nationality, worked energetically, wives of ministers and Chinese coolies side by side, upon this, as upon similar occasions, both willing and eager to help. An order which would exactly suit the Chinese temperament was issued to use as little water as possible for ablutions, lest the supply should run too low, a fear w^hich subsequent experience proved to be without grounds. During the whole time of the fire there was a con- stant fusillade on the part of the Chinese, who hoped to take advantage of the damage done to breach the legation walls. During this attack the first life was lost, a British private named Scadding being shot through the head. To prevent a successful repetition of this incendiary policy of the Chinese it was decided to pull down a temple near the southwest corner of the legation. The work was one of considerable difficulty and not a little danger. The quantity of material found there was surprising, including heaps of silk stuffs, which was ultimately transformed into sand bags. From this time many of the servants made their appear- ance daily girded with silken girdles. In the course of the afternoon one of the Christians rushed into the yard, covered with dust and glory, bringing a receipt from the secre- taries of the Tsung-li-Yamen for the dispatch Avhich the diplomatic corps had sent the afternoon before. The Yamen proposed that any further communications should be forwarded to the Ha Ta gate, but this w^as far outside the lines and was wholly inaccessible. Forty years of continuous diplomatic intercourse with the Chinese government thus achieved the triumphant possibility of securing from the foreign office, a mile or so distant, an acknowledgment of the receipt of a docu- ment a little less than thirty-six hours after its reception ! CHAPTER XXV. STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. [mpressions and Memories of the Siege of Peking by One of the Imprisoned Missionaries- Imprisonment in the British Legation — Murder of the German Ambassador — Kighl Scenes of Horror— Hardships and Dangers— Living on Horseflesh and Kice — Relief a1 Last. ALWAYS there is an impre«siveness in the account of individual experiences in times of stress and danger. Out of those two months of horror in Peking have come descriptions which will live in literature and history as simple, graphic relations of one of the most noteworthy events in the annals of nations. Penned as they Avere amid scenes of carnage and the threat of danger worse than death they are of most powerful personal interest. A most excellent account of the experiences of the foreigners dur- ing the siege is found in a letter written by Miss Nellie N. Russel to relatives in Chicago. Miss Russel was engaged in missionary work in China for eleven years, and was in Peking during all the days of terri- ble suspense. Her letter is as follows: "British Legation, Peking, China, Aug. 8. — My Dear Ones.: Now that our troops are on their way to us, I am going to begin a letter to you, trusting that when they come we can once more be put in com- munication with the outside world. For several weeks now our world has been a very small one. Bounded by the walls of this legation, with the exception of the three messengers who have managed to get through the Chinese lines to Tien-Tsin and back, we know nothing of the outer world. I hardly know where to commence, for I do not know whether the letters sent the second week in June, after we had all gathered at the Methodist mission, ever reached you or not. Since June 14 v/e have not been able to get off a line. I have written you of the terrible persecution in the country and cities near Peking last winter, but no one ever dreamed that things could ever reach such a condition in Peking. "We have here within our barricades nearly 2,000 Christians, Prot- estant and Catholic. Three miles from here at the North Catholic in 422 STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. cathedral there are 2,000 more who are also in siege. They have some French and Italian soldiers to help them, and are well fortified. We do not know whether they have held out or not. We can get no vv^ord, and there has been fierce cannonading in that direction. With the exception of these few, we know absolutely nothing about the rest of the Christians. We have every reason to fear the worst, as we have gotten hold of edicts issued during the past two months that give us little hope that any can have escaped. "Words fail me to attempt a description of the horrors of that night our homes were burned, and the awful experiences of the few Christians who managed to get to us during the next three da^^s. On Friday, June 8, we foreigners left oui* places and all got together at the Meth- odist Episcopal mission, which is about a mile from here. We had tvrenly American marines to protect us. All the missionaries were armed, and we were able to get arms for a lot of our younger Chinese men. June 13, Wednesday evening, at about 7 o'clock, some one rushed in and said that the outer chapel was all in flames. This Avas set by the Boxers, and from there they went to all the foreign places, except the legations. It was an awful night, as we saw the flames lighting up [he city in all directions. The next day our people commenced to barri- cade the place where we were. Trenches were dug, spikes driven into the ground, and barbed wire put all around the church. We expected to make a sta-nd in the church, and great care was taken to make it bullet-proof; windows were filled up, etc. We took stores into the church and brought in a lot of food for our Chinese. We had letters from Captain McCalla, and looked for him to come to our relief at least by the end of June. "Our soldiers came up, with only their winter clothes, so we went to work and made, during the twelve days we were there, twenty coats and twenty pairs of pants for our guard. The night of June 14 was horrible beyond description. For about two hours thousands of vo-ices could be heard in the southern city yelling at the top of their voices: "Kill, kill, kill!" The rest of the words we could not hear clearly, but we knew well v/hat it was. If that insane mass had had a leader and come in upon us that night, not a foreigner would have escaped. The city gate was locked between us and them, but the key v/as in the hands of the Chinese. After that night, while we were there. Captain Hal] took his men and demanded the key, locking and unlocking the gates night STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 423 and morning. June 19, about 10 o'clock, a letter came from Major Conger saying that the ministers and all foreigners had been ordered out of the city at twentj^-four hours' notice. At once we all said it was a scheme of the Chinese to massacre us all, and we prayed then and there that the ministers might not fall into the trap. Some of the men went to the legation and talked the matter over. The ministers had pointed out that we could not go, the railroad was not working, and where could we get carts for so many people? We missionaries said we could not and would not leave our Christians to fall into the hands of the enemy. Only God knows how heavy our hearts were that night. How little we knew how He would save us, or what the price was to be. "The next morning all the ministers were to go to the foreign office for a last interview. The German minister, Baron von Ketteler, with Ids first secretary, went a little earlier than the others. The next word was that he was shot on the way there, and the first secretary wounded. The first we at the Methodist Episcopal mission knew of this tragedy was when the secretary was brought in wounded, and an order came to us from Captain Hall giving us twenty minutes in which to get ready to go to the legation. We could take only what we could carry in our hands. Can you see us, that bright June morning — seventy-one men, women, and children (foreigners), followed by 700 Chinese Chris- tians, guarded by our American marines (twenty-one in all), the first secretary of the German legation on a long chair carried by a troop of German marines — walking that mile, with our arms full of our earthly belongings? We went first to the American legation and then came over here. This was about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Across the street from this place is a very large place, owned by Prince Su. This some gentlemen succeeded in getting, and there we located our Chris- tians. "That afternoon about 4 o'clock the first attack on us here was made, and the bullets fell like rain for a few moments. Just before we came here, very early one morning, Mr. Ament went in around the back way to our place and the sight made him sick. The houses, two churches, printing office, school buildings, all were in ruins. Most of the brick of the walls had been carried away, and not enough wood was left in the place to make a toothpick, he said. The homes of our Christians about us were all in the same condition. I have saved two or three 424 STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. changes of underclothes, a black skirt, two white ones, and four shirt Avaists. Some saved a little more and others less than I did. We heard from the Chinese officials of the taking of the forts at Tien-Tsin, but we did not believe it, for it did not seem possible such a thing would be done with the ministers shut in the enemy's country — and that a heathen one — ^with no possible way out. The day after we came in here the custom-houses were fired and the Austrian legation was abandoned. The Boxers, flourishing knives, approached the legation, and the ma- chine guns were turned on them, killing and wounding sixty. This only drove them awaj^ for the time. They started fires all about us. The next few days we had to fight fire. We ladies formed in line and passed back the pails and other receptacles for water. Such an olio of articles for fighting fire and for one's life — pitchers, large and small, wash bowls of all sizes, pails, tin cans, flower pots, etc. The Chinese seemed determined to burn us out, and it was not till all about us was either burnt by them, or by us as a protection, that they gave up that time. "Back of the legation are the halls of the scholars and a building that has all but been worshiped by the Chinese. Full of ancient books and papers, tablets, everything the Chinese scholars hold with venera- tion, even this they sacrificed, and now it is a mass of ruins. It was a grand old place, and it made our hearts ache to see the flames, even eating up the beautiful old trees. That place was burning all night, and at the same time we counted in front of us, on the south and west sides, six other great fires. What a sight it was and what a nightj From June 20 to July 17 we had daily and nightly attacks. Sometimes they lasted for three and four hours, and sometimes only half an hour — sometimes on all sides at once, and then again from only one side. The night attacks came between midnight and 2 a. m. Major Conger said some of them, for furious firing, exceeded anything he had experienced in the civil war. "One night we had a terrible thunder storm, and during it all we had a furious general attack. The soldiers on the wall said 'it seemed as though all hell had broken loose.' (Our American soldiers have held the wall back of the American legation.) Now, while I am writing, bul- lets are falling in our courts and striking against the wall. One just struck about ten feet from the window near where I am sitting. We have got so used to them that we don't notice them as we are working around, unless they come very fast. When the cannon were turned on STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 425 us, then, indeed, our hearts grew faint. Besides the hundreds of thous- ands, of bullets, it has been estimated that 2,800 shot and shell have fallen in our courts. Four hundred fell in one day, and yet not a man was killed by them, though many have been hit by bullets. Between sixty and seventy struck this house we are in. (I am in the ballroom at the British legation, with thirteen other ladies.) "Nights we could see the flashlight thrown on us from the Imperial city, and, as two big cannon are just back and a little east of us, we could see on the wall of the building in front and to one side of us (Sir Claude MacDonald's sleeping-rooms) the flash of the cannon before the shell struck. Some of the buildings about us are peppered by the bul- lets and shells, and some have had to be vacated. One shell came crashing into the dining-room, making a big hole right beside the Queen's picture. Two others went into the rooms where people were in bed asleep, but they did not explode. The children have little bas- kets full of the bullets and shrapnel they have picked up. Captain Halladay of the British marines is very ill. He was shot through the lungs while leading a charge on the Chinese. Captain Stroudt was killed. The Japanese have so far lost the most men. How they have fought! The plucky, daring little fellows I I never admired them till now. I have been helping in the hospital, and it has been wonderful to see the grit and cheeriness they have. Twenty-five Japanese marines came up when the trouble commenced and now only three remain who have not been killed or wounded. The Germans lost their position on the wall back of their legation and have not been able to regain it. The French legation, French hospital, and German legation have suf- fered terribly from fire, shot, and shell. I expect in a few days to go and see them, and will write later as to the condition. "Later (8:30 p. m.) — Sharp firing at present, and we can hear the bugle blowing. It may mean we are in for an attack to-night, as there has been more or less firing all day, and if you could hear the bullets whiz now in our tree tops or strike the wall, you would wonder how I could sit here quietly writing to you. After seven weeks of it you would understand. The last two nights we have had sharp attacks, and we wonder if it means that the foreign troops are nearer, or where they are. The bugle still keeps blowing. "Our men have been counter-mining for weeks and strengthening all the weak places in our walls. What we fear is the enemy being de- i26 STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, feated and driven back into tlie city. We ladies have made thousands of sandbags. They are made of cloth, silk, satin, velvet, legation cur- tains — in fact, everything, even to taking garments. Satin and silks of the most beautiful shades, some beautifully embroidered curtains, table cloths, sheets, pillow cases, etc., etc. These have saved many and many precious lives. The v^alls about the legation are about fifteen feet high, and these are now doubly strong. The firing is growing so bad I think I will stop now. "Aug. 9. — We had a fearful night. Three sharp attacks, and then incessant firing all the rest of the time. Branches and leaves are all over the ground this forenoon. It is reported that the soldiers who have been firing on us have been sent out to fight the foreign troops, and these are new ones. I suppose they thought they would see what they could do and make a record for themselves. Men were working in the trenches outside the front gate all night. The plan is to mount a cannon outside. When the legation guards came they brought ma- chine guns with them, but no cannon. So, when the Chinese cannon was mounted and turned on us, the soldiers longed for a cannon. The machine guns would not do. "One day some Chinese in searching around a Junk shop, within our lines, found an old cannon that had been used in the war in 'G4 with the French and English. Great was the rejoicing on the part of all. We felt it a special providence in our behalf. They got the cannon over here, found in the Italian legation an old gun carriage, and mounted it on that. Then the next question was what could they use in it. The Russians then let it be known that their machine gun had been left in Tien-Tsin and that they had a lot of shell. They tried the shell and it was just what they wanted. Then the question was, who would ven- ture to fire it off — thirty years and more unused ! Mitchell, the Ameri- can gunner, said, 'I will,' and great was the excitement over the first shell. Mitchell said afterward he gave up his life in thought, for he expected an explosion. Instead, the first shell went crashing through three walls and tore a great hole in the barricade at the Imperial city. With glasses, the captain could see the Chinese running in all direc- tions. Great was their astonishment, for they knew we had no cannon. This one has been named 'The International' (called Betsy by the ma- rines, for short). "The Chinese soldiers on the wall have a great fear of our American STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 427 Colt's rapid-firing gun. They made an attempt to rush it one night in the early days, but when they saw the deadly work they could not retreat fast enough. In the compound, across the street, where our Christians were first located, the}' allowed the Chinese to dig holes and enter, and then killed them to a man. They have learned some very serious lessons the past two months. It must be an eye-opener to them, that a few hundred could hold out against their thousands and an entire city. They said at first that in two days we would all be in their hands, and it is now two months. But it has not been by might or power of man, but of God. There have been as wonderful provi- dences and miracles as in the leading of the Jews out of Egypt. Can you think of what it means to feed over 3,000 people a day, and no time to prepare and stock in for such an experience as we are having? There were within our barricades two small foreign stores. These goods have all been confiscated, but they were not many. Within our boundaries were a few Chinese grain shops. Then, in some of the buildings which have been burned down food was found. There are four or five good wells of water, and no danger of their being poisoned. We have, by careful living, food enough to last three weeks longer. Of course, it is food very different from what we would have if in our homes. "The only meat has been horse meat, until yesterday, when a cow was killed. The horses belonged to the legation people, and there are enough to last ten days more. I believe they kill two a day. Then we have rice and graham bread. Our butter long ago gave out, except for use once a day. We have no milk for tea or coffee. Sugar is limited to so much a day. Now and then we open some cans of fruit or vege- tables for one meal. As a rule, people have kept up fairly well as to health. Five little children have died, and two or three more are quite ill. One of the great providences is the cool summer. I have never known anything like it since I came to China. It has been our salva- tion. Also, the lack of rain has been a blessing. There has been just enough, but not the terrible downpours day after day of the rainy season. There were many providences the day of the fires. "The morning of the day when the Hall of the Scholars was set on fire, one of the captains said: 'If they fire that building to-day, with this strong wind blowing in our direction, there is no hope for us.' About noon the wind suddenly changed, and, while we were remarking on the change, the flames and smoke from that place came up above 428 ST0RIE8 OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. our walls. Our soldiers dug a hole through our wall into the court a.i.l charged the enemy, but while driving them out could not put out the lire; and, indeed, did not care to if it did not catch us. Another time they set fires all around our Christians, and we were fearful they were going to get that place. If they did, and turned their guns on us from there, it would not take long to batter us down. The good hand of our God was upon us, and one fire went out and we managed to get the Christians all into other places. "Now, while the houses in that place have all been burned with fire brands, our soldiers still hold a part of it, and it is the part that pro- tects our front wall. The Chinese barricade came up to within four feet of ours, and the Chinese soldiers were so daring that they even threw stones and brick over. Never before in the history of the world have two opposing forces held outposts so close to each other. At last our men saw the Chinese were going to make an attack before long, and they concluded they would give them a surprise. At 3 a, m., July 3, they made a dash, and it was a grand victors^, won by the Americans, as the Russians, who were to help, failed to carry their side. "Our fellow protectors are laid to rest in the Eussian legation, and one night one of our men had to be laid in his last resting place, but things were so serious not an American could be spared from his post to dig the grave, and it was turned over to some Chinese. A Eussian soldier, seeing this, did it himself, saying, 'He was my brother; we fought together on the wall; let me.' A young Chinese man standing near, with eyes full of tears, said: 'It kills me to think these brave men have come from a foreign land to protect us against our brothers, our own countrymen.' "There are sixteen nations represented in this siege — America, Aus- tria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Eussia, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, and China, There are 414 foreigners. "August 10. — This morning at 3 o'clock we had a furious attack (rifle attack). The cannon have all been sent out of the city to meet the foreign army. Bullets struck the skylight in the hall and the glass came crashing down with a terrible noise. Our machine guns were turned on, but I have not heard whether many of the enemy were killed. In fact, we could not know, as they fight from sheltered places. lOne day, when we first came in, I had a look at the street after a serious STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 429 attack. We could see only a small part from the loop-hole, but one glance was enough for me. There were dead men and dead horses all along the bridge. Yesterday Captain von Stroudt caught men, just outside our wall, digging a mine. He drove them ofi! and succeeded in getting their bag of powder. "Sunday Night, Aug. 12. — I have been sick in bed the last two days, and so have not written on my letter. This is the third sick spell I have had within two weeks. We heard on Friday that our troops w^ere half-way to us. Had had two battles and expected to reach us either Aug. 13 or 14. Now, while I am writing, we are in the midst of a furi- ous attack. It is the fifth or sixth one we have had to-day. Our men estimate that they have killed 100 Boxers and many soldiers. To-day our men on the wall report hearing heavy cannonading to the south- east. That is where the Chinese expected to meet our troops to-day, and we expect there is a big battle on there. Our men also say they have seen thousands of soldiers leaving the city to-day, and the cavalry going out on the run. Our men fired on them, but it was a range of 1,100 yards, and they do not know how much damage they did. "Last night, about 11 o'clock, we had a fierce attack for a short time. The bullets went singing through the trees and striking walls. Just now one struck in front of this door and some of the roof tile came falling down. In the midst of the attack last night the Italian soldiers put their fingers in their mouths and whistled. The British marines took it up and shouted 'Bravo!' The sound was tremendous and the firing ceased at once, and we had quiet for over an hour, when they took it up again. One German and one Frenchman were killed in the attack; one Austrian and one Prussian wounded. I have not heard how things have gone this afternoon in the attacks. We have to stay indoors, as the bullets are too thick for any one who is not on duty to be out. The old International, the 'Betsy,' and the English machine gun are speaking now, and have been for some time. We hear a big battle was fought at Chang Chia Wan, four miles from Tung Chow, Fri- day night and yesterday. Our troops 'did not play fair,' but came in behind the enemy while the advance guard held their attention in front. It is reported 3,000 were killed. We are not ten parts certain of this story, but the fierce attacks on us to-day make us believe it is true. "It is impossible to enumerate the mercies of these awful weeks. Our 430 STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. hearts are full of thanksgiving. Twice the officials have sent word that the Christians must be given up, but they have received a fitting answer. What will be done with them and us when the troops come is a question we cannot answer. Word came last night that Li Hung Chang had been given power to settle the affairs with the natives by telegraph. It cannot be that the foreign governments will believe a word of any of the lies that have been sent to them. Twice presents of fruit have come from the Emperor, and we judge by a telegram that came to Sir Robert Hart that they have reported that they were pro- tecting and feeding us. We hear the Dowager Empress has 300 carts waiting day and night. In event of our troops coming to the city, she expects to run away to the west. A spy went out and got for one of the gentlemen the Peking Gazette for the past two months. We see that, less than a week ago, the only two officials of the reform party have lost their heads. If they don't take the head of this woman and the leaders of this conservative party there will be no help for China, "The night of July 13, beginning about 6:30 o'clock, we had for three hours a most terrific attack. Nothing in battle, as far as sound, could equal it. Three mines were exploded in the French legation, blowing up houses, killing and injuring foreigners as well as some of the enemy. A part of a shell came into the hospital and struck one of the beds, but did not injure the sick man. Several spent ones struck our porch. We rushed around in the most horrible din, making new beds, feeling around in the dark after things because the windows had been filled with sand bags. Flames burst out at the French legation, also at the German and French hotels. The shot and shell of the Chinese cannon were not good and did not fit their guns well, or we should long ago have been reduced. Our poor wounded men were so brave — helpless, and yet strong in spirit — during those awful hours of attack. "When it was found that cannon had been mounted and turned on us the men went to work, and, with the help of the Chinese, dug great pits and covered them over as a place for us to retreat in case the buildings were battered down. That was before we found that they were not good marksmen and their shells poor. How we prayed that we might not be reduced to that! And we have not been. Twice the officials have sent word in regard to our going to Tien-Tsin. The foreign representatives have declined to do so without orders from their home STOBIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, 431 governments. The morning of July 16 Captain Stroudt was killed (first captain of English marines), also another British marine. "That night, while at the funeral, a flag of truce came, and yet, while they were at the gate, shot and shell came flying over our heads, making us decidedly uneasy during the service. A shrapnel struck the tree under which five or six of us were standing, and you can imagine we moved out rather quickly. Sixty foreigners have been killed and 140 wounded during these days. More than half have been picked off by sharpshooters. One of our marines v/as a sharpshooter from Missouri, and he brought down four with seven bullets. Poor fellow! he was brave, and led an attack on the wall which saved our lives, but he lost his own life. "Prince Tuan is the one more responsible than any one else for all this trouble. He openly said he expected to line his cart with the skins of foreign devils. Then and then only would he be satisfied. If he does net find himself minus a head, then I am mistaken. "August 13 — Last night I gave up writing, the firing made me so nervous, and then we dared not have a light, it got so bad. The night was simply beyond words. All day there was firing, and several at- tacks. About 7 o'clock in the evening it was bad and simply grew worse till 3 o'clock this morning; then we had a let-up of an hour or so, and then they stai-ted in again. Thousands of bullets struck all about us. One came into our room through the window, but did not hit any one. One struck just over the window and brought down some tiles, and several struck on the roof. All our west barricades were badly injured, and it will take all day to repair them. Our three machine guns and cannon were all working. It is simply wonderful that tens of thousands of bullets could be fired and only one man killed. The French captain was instantly killed. The Chinese simply point their guns in our direction and fire. They have some fine marksmen among them, but not many. Captain Van Stroudt, the leader now of the Eng- lish marines, had been instructing the Chinese soldiers, but he said some months ago he saw v\'hat was coming and resigned his post. Our American flag, also the Russian flag, has been raised on the wall to-day. I do hope our troops will come in to-day. It does not seem as if we could endure another night like last night. Our first month here, many of us did not think of undressing. "August 14 — Last night was the most horrible of all. Can you 432 STORIES OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. imagine six or seven liours of bullets by the thousands, five machine guns, all working at one time, and with it all the cannon and bullets of an enraged enemy? About 2 a. m. we heard the distant roar of our troops, and now shells are bursting in the city on the east side, and our troops are reported within three miles. It seems almost more than we can endure, Now our relief is in sight our strength is gone — I mean our physical strength. We may have another bad night, for the troops may not be able to get in the city to-day. One shell burst in Sir Claude Macdonald's sleeping-room. One German was killed, our American gunner, Mitchell, was seriously injured, and two other marines were also injured. Our soldiers heard the Chinese officers urging on their men to rush our walls last night, but they did not get up their courage to do it. Our big guns were put on the weaker places, and sent volley after volley into their barricades, "August 15 — Yesterday afternoon the first of our relief party reached us. The newspapers will be full of all that is going on. Words fail me to tell of our joy, I cannot write more, as I have been in bed most of the day. The cannon are booming all about us, and I hear the troops are entering the imperial city this afternoon, God has more than blessed us, and wonderful has been our preservation." CHAPTER XXVI. CHRONICLES OF HORROR. Sttflferings of Isolated Missionaries Tlirougliout the Empire — Escape of the Queen Party — Torture, Starvation and Death— Seventeen Days in a Coffin— The Story of Father Fri- della— Perilous Journeys to the Coast — Russian Atrocities in Manchuria — French Cruel- ties at Tungchau— Massacres by the Germans. WHILE the besieged multitude in the British Legation was undergoing weeks of suspense, waiting for rescue, else- where in the empire other parties of missionaries, fewer in number and more helpless still because of their isola- tion, were passing through sufferings and trials of the most extreme sort. Only some of the more conspicuous pf these can be related. The whole can never be recorded. Martyrdom and Christian courage set noble examples to the barbarous mobs that tortured to death men and women who had no other purpose than to bear to them the Christian faith. When the stoiy of the period of blood and massacre in China is told few of its chapters will be as startling as the narrative of the Green party, which was found almost dead by the allied expedition. Its tale of hardship and abuse and almost miraculous preservation has leaked to the outer world in bits. Mr. and Mrs. Green, members of the China Inland Mission, with their two children, a boy and a girl, 5 and 3 years old, respectively, and Miss Greig, an assistant, were stationed at Huailu, a small town 120 miles south of Paotingfu. During the first week of July news of mas- sacres of missionaries were received in Paotingfu and also news of the destruction of the missions at Shuntifu, Chaochi and Shenyvi and of the moving of the troops from the Shansi province toward Tientsin to attack the foreigners. Hearing of the state of affairs, the little party moved away to the mountains on the advice of the mandarin to go into hiding. They took with them only a few bare necessities, carrying the children asleep in their arms, and were conducted by two or three Chinese serv- ants to a Chinese temple a short distance back in the hills. They remained two days and were informed by the villagers who 433 434 CHB0NICLE8 OF HOBBOB. used the temple that they must leave at once. They were also told that their home had been destroyed and the site made the headquarters of a Boxer camp. Some friendly Chinese showed the party a small cave a little distance from the temple, where it remained secreted for two days and three nights, suffering the utmost discomforts, the hiding place being only about six feet by four, with water dripping from the roof. While the party lay in the cave the Boxers were seen and heard searching the mountains for the "foreign devils." On the third day their servants discovered them and led them to a farmhouse, where the family lived in one small room for a month, not daring to stir from the retreat by day and only with the greatest caution by night. August 13 the Boxers discovered the hiding place, from which the host had made a tunnel to a cave a short distance away. The Boxers demanded that the little band be given up to them. Hearing that his benefactor was being beaten and tortured, Mr. Green determined to give himself up and do what he could to save his wife, his little ones and Miss Greig. As the missionary appeared at the mouth of the cave he was shot in the face with a charge of fine pellets. Wounded and bleeding, he pleaded for the women and children, but with no avail. The Boxers ordered them from the tunnel and the frightened women came forth, expecting death or worse. Knives and swords were held over their heads and all their posses- sions were taken from them, except their clothing. They were made to march to Huailu, their former home. They were met by the mandarin upon whose advice they had gone into hiding. This man beat and abused Mr. Green and reproached him for not coming to him for advice and protection. The mandarin said he would send the party to Cheng- tingfu, Avith an escort of imperial troops. He assured them they would receive ample protection at Chengtingfu. The party was placed in rough wood four-wheeled carts and started on the journey. About three miles out the travelers were overtaken by the Boxers who had originally captured them, and, reaching Cheng- tingfu, v/ere refused admission to the city because of their escort. For three days and nights, without stop except at rare intervals, to partake of native food, they were carted through the country to Paotingfu. Abused, mistreated and suffering, the place literally swarming wit]i Boxers demanding their lives, the hapless prisoners were escorted to CHRONICLES OF HORROR. 435 the yamen of the chief magistrate, Ting Yuen, who refused to receive them. Then occurred a strange incident. The chief Boxer himself pleaded for his prisoners and induced Ting Yuen to come and speak to Mr. Green. He expressed sorrow at seeing the condition of the prisoners, and said he would send them to Tientsin under an escort of imperial troops and with his official passports. He also offered to provide them with sufficient money to secure food on the journey. That morning they were taken to a boat, but found neither troops nor passports. They were, in fact, again in the hands of the Boxers, who took them some thirty miles down the river, and Wednesday after- noon landed them in a marsh covered with high reeds and informed them that Ting Yuen had ordered that they should be put to death and their bodies disposed of. At this time the children were undoubtedly the means of saving the lives of the entire party, for the same Boxer who had previously inter- ceded for them and had evidently conceived a great friendliness for the little ones, cried and told Mr. Green they must try to reach Tientsin alone. He then left them and took the boat away. The money which had been provided for their subsistence was in the copper cash of the country and was too bulky to carry; therefore, the little band was left entirely helpless in the vast swamp. To help the misery, violent storms arose, and toward evening, as they shivered in their hiding place, the Christians heard bands of Boxers scouring the swamp in search of them, their presence having been discovered by some villagers. As night fell, Mr. Green, almost helpless from his wounds, made his way, accompanied by the others, to a house and was told by the owner that a friend of his would take them to Tientsin. Then he left, ostensibly to get a boat and make arrangements for their escape. After a while the villagers returned, bringing not the promised aid, but a large party of Boxers. The mob burst in the doors of the hut and unmercifully beat with swords and staves Mr. Green, the women and children. Almost insensible, despairing and hopeless, the little party gave up, but other cruelty was in store for them. The Boxers decided to take their captives to a village a mile away and devised a means of transporting and torturing them at the same time. Mr. Green's left hand w^as bound to his left foot; Mrs. Green and Miss Greig were tied hands to feet, left hand to left foot and right hand 436 CHRONICLES OF HORROR. to right foot, and the little girl was treated the same way. fepear han- dles were then thrust under their armpits and they were carried to their destination. The little boy was slung across the back of a man. In the village of Sinan they were thrown down, bound, in the filthy mud of a courtyard and examined as to their identity. Their story was laughed at, the examiners refusing to believe that any "foreign devils" had been let go by the Boxers, and a deputation was sent to Paotingfu to ascertain the truth and determine the fate of the captives. On the third day the deputation returned and the captives were told that Ting Yuan had previously ordered their death and now repeated his sen- tence. Fortunately, there were two sections of Boxers, civil and militai^y. The civil section had heard of the defeat of the Boxers at Taku and elsewhere and ordered the prisoners to be kept alive to be used as hostages, should the allies be sent to destroy the city of Paotingfu, but should no such movement be made they would consent to the death of the foreigners. To this policy the little party owes salvation. For seventeen days Fra Fridella, an Italian musician priest, sta- tioned at Hen-Sien-Fu, in southern Hunan, hidden in a coffin, feigned death to escape from the Boxers. Ue escaped, but at bitter cost, for on his arrival at Hongkong he was a wrecked and broken man. Scarcely a chance, the physician told him, had he of recovering his bodily or mental vigor, lost in that fearful journey on a river filled with floating corpses and lined with fanatics, beyond whose watchful eyes but few Europeans were able to pass. It was not until Father Fridella had seen his Bishop and six of his fellow priests tortured by fiendish Chinese methods that he realiz^here, as he said, he had the meani of protecting them. He promised, too, if necessary, to conduct them safely over the borders into French territory. While fully appreciating the kindness and courtesy of the consul, they resolved to stay on in their houses, as they did not wish to identify themselves with this ag- gressive action of the French, seeing that for many years they had lived on good terms with the oflficials and the people. "As soon as the French party started for Tonkin, a few days after- ward, the trouble began. The mob attacked the cavalcade and stole the firearms and everything else besides. They then made for the French yamen, but were prevented from injuring it by a cordon of Chinese soldiers placed there by the mandarins. The rioters next made for the house of a French railway engineer, which they looted and destroyed. The fine Roman Catholic cathedral next engaged their attention. They carried off all they could lay their hands on, and returning in the even- ing set the cathedral on fire. It was in the afternoon that the Prot- estant missionaries other than the China inland mission made their escape to the prefect's yamen, where they were the guests of the man- darins till the time came for their departure. "The escape of the China inland missionaries (three ladies and one gentleman) was marvelous. Their house was difficult of access. The way to it lay through a narrow lane, and a precipitous flight of steps led up to the door. When the rioters forced their way into the house the missionaries took shelter on the roof. One rioter, more daring than the others, climbed up after them. A mandarin who had come v/ith the soldiers to repel the rioters saw this man on the roof and ordered him CHRONICLES OF HOBBOB. 447 down. He replied by throwing a brick, which struck the mandarin in the face. For this a terrible vengeance was taken. The soldiers dragged the man down and then and there cut off his head. By the next day the rioters had scattered, and a few days aftei*ward the French party was escorted to the borders of Tonkin by a body of Chinese sol- diers. T^,e missionaries left later on and reached French territory and then Hongkong without any trouble. "The Berlin mission property on the North river has suffered se- verely. The Rev. A. Kollecker of the Basel mission, Canton, describes the destruction of the station of Luk-Hang, Fayen, as follows: 'It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon that the inhabitants of the mission station were suddenly alarmed by the sound of gongs. They looked out and saw a great crowd of Chinese coming in their direction. " 'An attempt was made to beat off the assailants and protect the property. This proved of no avail, for in a short time the rioters beat down the doors and rushed into the compound. It was with great dif- ficulty that the people of the mission station made their escape. They owe their safety to the fact that the rioters first concerned themselves with looting the houses. This engaged their attention till nearly 6 o'clock. By that time the rioters had carried out all they deemed val- uable. When the work of looting was finished they deliberately set fire to the houses of the missionaries, the school and the church. All these buildings v/ere burned to the ground. The rioters came from the villages lying round Luk-Hang. The Christians living in these villages heard the wheelbarrows going all night as the rioters bore off, under the glare of the burning houses, their share of the plunder. " 'After the destruction of the mission station and the churches the native Christians came in for their share of attention. In addition to being deprived of their worldly goods they v/ere roughly handled by the mob. The village council offered rewards for the arrest of Chris- tians — 110 for a preacher and $2 for a member.' "The disturbances in Kv/antung are becoming more and more numerous, and for this no doubt the Triad society is responsible. In the Chung Chuin village, not far from Canton, there are some 20,000 men of the Triad society, who use this place as their basis for collecting more men preparatory to rebellion, then Sun Yat Sen and Kang-Yu-Wei are believed to be somewhere about the West river enlisting men and stirring the people to rebellion. 448 CHRONICLES OF HORROR. "Only the other day the acting viceroy of Canton sent a large num- ber of troops to the Ping Wo village, near the Maceo fort (a fort on the river leading from Maceo to Canton) to suppress a serious disturb- ance, 4,000 men being also sent to Namkong, near Whampoa (on the river between Hongkong and Canton), to restrain the inhabitants from ill-treating the natives who had begun to destroy mission proi>erty. There have also been anti-mission riots at Ying Tak, Shon Tak and else- where, but though a considerable amount of property has been de- stroyed the lives of the missionaries do not seem to have been endangered." Not all of the atrocities, however, were committed by the Chinese. The spirit of revenge seized upon the soldiers of the allied armies, and the Russians, French and Germans particularly displayed a cruelty even less excusable than that of the Chinese, if the obligations of en- lightenment be considered. As one evidence of this the following letter written from Nagasaki by Victor Collin, a Belgian correspondent, is significant and startling. He says: "I have just crossed Russia and Siberia from Moscow to Vladivostok from the 4th of August to the 8th of September (modern style), and am now bound for Tientsin and Peking. I followed the Russo-Chinese frontier of the Amur from Pokrovsk, a confluent of the Amur, to Khab- arovsk, where travelers for Vladivostok leave the boat and take the railway. This district, less than four weeks before my passage through it, was the scene of the war, about which so much has been said in the European press, but whose real character has been entirely overlooked. This I was able to confirm by the information learned here in Japan. It is not an armed struggle between two organized belligerents that has been waged on the banks of the Amur, but a cold-blooded massacre of an entire population of non-combatants and the systematic destruc- tion of their homes. "The bombardment of Blagoveshchensk, which marked the opening of hostilities, was the only combat properly called warfare that took place on the Russo-Chinese frontier. Its importance has been much ex- aggerated by the Russian press. I have searched all through the town and find scarcely any noticeable trace of the bombardment, which, ac- cording to the testimony of the inhabitants, did but insignificant dam- age, injuring a few walls and breaking a few windows. The musketry CHRONICLES OF HORROR. 449 of the Chinese was graver, though the victims were not more than three or four killed and a dozen wounded. "Nevertheless Blagoveshchensk might have been mostly destroyed and many of the inhabitants killed if the enemy's fire had been better, for toward the end of their bombardment the Chinese began to use modern guns. They took up their position in the town of Sakhalin, facing the Russian town, and their trenches covered a very considerable area. They kept up their fire twenty-one days, until the Russians took the offensive. They were badly commanded, because they made no attempt to cross the river in order to make an attack on Blagovesh- chensk, an attack that would probably have succeeded. The armed- Chinese only crossed the Amur in one spot, at a suburb known as Zeia, and there only to assist the Chinese who inhabited that suburb to get away in safety to the other side. The Chinese did not even conceive the idea of cutting the telegraph wires, and those who had charge of the signal lights on both banks of the Amur stupidly continued their service, thus guiding the transports that carried the Russian reinforce- ments. "Whether the attack on Blagoveshchensk was or not preceded by a warning, whether it was or not the result of a misunderstanding — several versions are circulating to explain the conduct of the Chinese — it has none the less the double character of brutality and clumsiness. The responsibility is incumbent on the governor of Aigun, a Chinese town situated some forty versts down the river from Blagoveshchensk. But if the attack showed fully the incompetency of the Chinese military chiefs, it certainly did not honor the Russian governor of Blagovesh- chensk, General Gribski, who, on July 2, completely stripped the gar- rison of the town. "In doing this it is possible that he acted on orders from a higher command ; however, at the moment of the attack there were at Blago- veshchensk only sixty regular soldiers under the command of a lieuten- ant, and two pieces of artillery. The inhabitants of the town quickly formed themselves into companies of volunteers, armed with old rifles found in the town hall, and hurriedly dug trenches along the bank of the river. Ammunition was rare and they were only able to respond feebly to the Chinese fire, but enough, however, to make the Chinese think there was a regular garrison on the defensive. Reinforcements arrived successively, not without great difficulty, however, on account of 450 CHRONICLES OF HOBROB. the low waters of the river, which caused several vessels to run aground, and it was not until the end of July that the Russians were strong- enough to attack the enemy's trenches. In the interval the horrible Oiinese massacre occurred. "At Blagoveshchensk there were about 6,000 Chinese — small mer- chants, clerks, shop employes, coolies, etc. About 1,000 had left the town before the beginning of hostilities. General Gribski feared an insurrection, on account of the report that emissaries of the Boxers had been seen distributing circulars. According to what the inhabitants say, the Chinese showed no agitation. Nevertheless, no sooner had the attack taken place than the chief of police, M. Batarevitch, caused every Chinese man, woman and child to be arrested, apparently to protect them. Those inhabitants who had Chinese employes gave them up to the police in all confidence. These 5,000 Chinese were then imprisoned in different buildings. "On the Gth of July the volunteers were stupefied at seeing the sur- face of the Amur covered with corpses, which floated down and piled up on the Chinese bank of the river. At first they thought them to be corpses of Russians, but soon the truth became known. The police, aided by the Cossacks, had led all the Chinese of Blagoveshchensk to a spot situated about seven versts up the river and had thrown them into the stream. Owing to their great numbers they were thrown in groups, after being stripped and robbed of all they had on their persons. The awful execution lasted up to the 10th of July, and the bloodthirsty executioners would not listen to prayers from man, woman or child. Of the 6,000 Chinese that lived in Blagoveshchensk only sixty are left, and these are the fortunate ones who succeeded in hiding themselves during the reign of terror. "It was General Gribski who gave the order to M. Batarevitch to execute the massacre. I was unable to verify the rumor that he had been absent from town and that he ordered the wholesale drowning by a telegram drawn up in a very ambiguous manner. What is a fact, however, is that from Blagoveshchensk to Vladivostok there is but one voice, and that is a condemnation of Gribski and Batarevitch for the responsibility. It is declared that Gribski has already been recalled to St. Petersburg. I did not see him, but I saw Batarevitch distributing 'handshakes' in the dining room of the hotel at which I put up. He is CHRONICLES OF HORROR. 451 still in power, and his inhabitants only dare speak of him with bated breath. "It is probable that an endeavor will be made to explain the mas- sacre by the assertion that it was most urgent to send the Chinese back to their country, and that as there were no boats to carry them across the Amur they were told to swim; as a fact the police and Cossacks did shout ironically to the unfortunate wretches to swim across the river, which at the scene of the execution is a mile wide, with a very strong current. It must not be forgotten, however, that those who were thrown into the river were pursued by strokes from heavy sticks and chopped at with hatchets, and that there floated before Blagoveshchensk in- numerable groups of human forms tied together by their pigtails. "After the massacre the police pillaged the homes and shops of the Chinese. Then a fresh series of atrocities began. The village of Sak- halina was razed to the ground; happily the population was able to flee. The same was not the case with Aigun, with its population of 20,000, the greater part of which fled with the soldiers, but those who remained behind were all killed. I cannot give the' number, as this is a secret with the officers of the expedition. I saw the ruins of Aigun, of which nothing remains to-day but an immense field of debris, patrolled by Cossack pickets and covered with a howling flock of masterless dogs. Along the entire frontier from Pokrovsk to Khabarovsk I have not seen a single Qhinese village that is not entirely burned down. The popula- tion of Mocho, for instance, was surprised and the Cossacks massacred 2,000 non-combatants, men, women and children. At Rade, where are the gold mines, 100 Cossacks literally exterminated the population to the last man, giving no quarter whatever, this being the general rule of the Cossacks. "There must have been an immense exodus of the population toward the south, principally in the direction of Tsitsikar, and no one will ever know how many corpses have been left along the route of flight through privation. "The incontestable facts of the Manchurian scandal are recounted as follows: "That the Chinese inhabitants of Blagoveshchensk to the number of from 4,000 to 5,000 were thrown into the Amur by the Russian police and Cossacks; that this execution took place at the command of M. Batarevitch acting under the orders of General Gribski; that the ex- 452 CHRONICLES OF HOBROB. ecutioners pmndere* tlieir victims and murdered those who attempted to save themselves in the water; that they tied them together before throwing them into the water by their pigtails; that the town of Aigiin, now called Fort Marie-Madeleine, was destroyed and razed to the ground; that not a single inhabitant remains; that all the Chinese villages along the banks of the Amur are razed, and that in many of them the non-combatants were massacred ; that no quarter was given to the Chinese soldiers, even when they were unable to defend themselves. "VICTOR COLLIN." For an example of French atrocities notice the following shocking account of Dr. Robert Coltman, Jr. Dr. Coltman is a resident of Peking, where he has lived for many years, a practicing physician, and the son of a famous missionary of the Presbyterian church: "The native reports of the disgraceful behavior of the allied armies' troopers stationed in Tungchau having reached headquarters in Peking, General Chaffee, fearful lest his own soldiers should be implicated, decided to have the matter fully investigated. He therefore dispatched Major Meur and an interpreter to Tungchau to inquire into the occur- rences. Before leaving Peking the belief was that Russians and Japa- nese were the principal offenders, but investigation proved the Japanese to be entirely innocent, the Russians scarcely implicated at all, but the French to be the worst offenders. "The writer was one of the besieged in Peking and for sixty days expected nothing but death and torture at the hands of the Chinese. Consequently no very tender feeling for able-bodied Chinamen of the soldier or farmer classes exists in his bosom. But the sights of wanton cruelty witnessed in Tungchau were such as to cause tears to flow in pity for the, countrymen of the people who less than a month s.ince were using every effort to deprive us of life. Shame, too, we felt that the representatives of a civilized country could perpetrate such shocking atrocities. French soldiers in full uniform entered the houses in twos and threes and murdered the quiet, peaceable merchants, carried off their valuables and set fire to their homes. In a few days the whole city so dreaded them that many women jumped down the wells or burned themselves to death in their houses to avoid meeting them. "The following cases were seen by the writer personally and are seared into his memory forever: Mrs. Yu, 45 years of age, living in the CHRONICLES OF HORROR. 453 wreck of her former comfortable home with her only living child, a little boy aged 7, related to me between her sobs the following awful story: " 'Eight days ago a party of our neighbors, consisting of twenty-two women, three men and my husband, aged 50, and married son, aged 25, were huddled together in the courtyard, fearful of the French, who had been looting and murdering people in this section of the city, when our worst fears were realized by the front door being burst open by seven soldiers dressed in blue with helmets on their heads and rifles in their hands. We all screamed as they entered, but they quickly made us understand they would shoot us if we were not quiet, upon which we be- came very still. They then ordered my husband and all the other men to go into the next courtyard, which, as they were unarmed, they were obliged to do. Three soldiers went into the yard where the men were, taking with them their guns. I apprehended they meant some harm to the men, so I followed a few feet behind them. Just as I turned the corner of the houses I saw them put up their guns and fire and my poor husband and son, Mr. Wang's two sons and Mr. Hsu all fell, to the ground. The soldiers each fired two or three shots. Then they came laughing out of the inner court, called their three comrades, and all left together. I went at once to my husband, but both he and my sou were dead as well as two sons of Wang. Mr. Hsu's leg was broken above the knee, but he was otherwise uninjured. With the help of his sister-in-law, a young woman of 23, we moved him across the street to his own home and I abandoned my house and went to live with young Mrs. Hsu. Three days later two French soldiers came into the Hsu house and packed up in boxes all the valuables of the Hsu family and made the younger Hsu carry the box. The elder Hsu called out from an inner room to his younger brother to do whatever the French told him or he would be shot. The French hearing a voice went into the inner loom and finding the elder Hsu in bed lifted their rifles and shot him dead. The younger Hsu was a weak man and could scarcely lift the heavy box, but commanded by the soldiers he staggered down the street with it; his young and pretty wife hiding inside the house, as pale as a ghost, watched him go out. When he had gone but a hundred yards he was completely exhausted and obliged to lie down panting, when he was immediately shot dead. The next day the two soldiers returned and Mrs. Hsu fled across the city with a friend's wife and is now living 454 CHRONICLES OF HORROR. in the quarter protected by the Japanese, and I returned to my own outer court. Won't you please come and see the bodies? I have covered them with a mat, as I have no one to bury them.' "Following Mrs. Yu into the next courtyard I saw several pairs of legs protruding from under a mat. She, sobbing, pointed to the mat and said: 'There lie my poor husband and my poor boy.' I raised the mat. Four bloated bodies met my gaze and I hastily dropped the mat and retreated. "Inquiring definitely where Mrs. Hsu lived across the city, I prom- ised Mrs. Yu that I would report the outrages to the French command- ant and try to secure the punishment of the men. I then visited Mrs. Hsu. She was a timid young woman of 23. She replied with eyes dropped to all ray questions. At the end of my interrogatories she begged me to have her husband's body searched for. Her story was: 'My brother-in-law was shot in Mrs. Yu's yard the day we were all hiding there. We mcTved my brother back home with a broken leg. He w^as the only man left alive; the French soldiers killed all the others. Sev^al days after this two French soldiers came into our yard, killed my wounded brother-in-law and made my husband carry a very heavy box down the street. He was not strong, and I knew he could not carry- that box. When he was gone but a few moments I heard two shots, and I felt sure they had killed him. I was told by a neighbor's boy that my husband's body was at the edge of the lake, but as French soldiers were constantly in the street I dare not go to see. All our neighbors had either fled across the city to the Japanese protection or had gone into the country across the river to the east. The next day, when only Mrs. Yu a?iid myself were in the house the two Frenchmen came back. After they left, a neighbor's wife called and brought me over here to live with her.' "I next visited a very old woman, Mrs. Pai. Her husband's dead body lay in the yard before us, and she, poor old womaji, was enduring the stench of it to keep off the dogs. Alone she had sat there for five days in the company of that stinking body. Her story was: 'I am 85 years of age. My husband was 86. Five days ago two French soldiers came into the yard and demanded watches or jewelry. My husband as- sured them by signs that we had none. They raised their guns and shot him, killing him instantly. I want to die, and will soon do so, as I have CHRONICLES OF HORROR. 455 tasted nothing since his death.' The poor old woman was very near death, evidently. "Next door I visited a Mrs. Ting, aged 71. Her story was: 'In that doorway you see the body of my husband. He was 73 years of age. We lived alone. Five days ago we heard gunshots in Mrs. Pai's yard, and shortly afterward two French soldiers came into our yard and de- manded watches and jewelry. My husband got down on his knees to them and assured them we had none. One of the men poked his gun into my husband's face and fired, tearing one side of his face off and killing him instantly. I have been here alone in the yard with the body ever since. If I could get some one to bury him I would go and search for my daughter's family.' "Two coolies in the neighborhood were impressed and Mr. Ting's body was laid to rest in the ground. "Case after case of this description met my gaze each day for three days, until, sickened by the odors of decaying flesh and having evidence enough to convince the most unbelieving, I returned to Peking con- vinced that the worst Boxer is no worse than a French soldier, or, at least, those sent to China. In one place I saw the bodies of seven young women, side by side, who had killed themselves to avoid falling into French hands. "ROBERT COLTMAN, JR." It is from the German correspondents and the German press that confirmation of the charge of German brutality is received. The cruel- ties reported are becoming alarmingly numerous. An appalling story is told in two letters sent from Peking by members of the expeditionary corps. The first one reads as follows: "At noon, while cooking our meal, we were called out to assist German marines. We captured seventy-six Chinese, all of whom we tied together by their pigtails. We then marched them to our lines. On the way our men maltreated them in such an unmerciful way that the blood oozed from their bodies. Upon arrival in our lines they were unceremoniously sentenced to death. We then, marched them to the place of execution, where these bleeding victims were first made to dig their own graves. Then, placing them close to the brink of the grave, so that they would fall backward into the excavation, we took our po- sition fifteen steps distant from them. Each Chinaman was shot at by 456 CHRONICLES OF HOBROE. four of our men. It was dreadful to hear the poor natives whine for mercy. When the oflflcer ordered ^Fire,' four bullets struck each victim. We heard heavy sighs and groans and saw the bodies tumbling into the graves; then all was over. That was on Sunday morning." The writer of the other letter says: "It is impossible for me to de- scribe to you, dear mother, how matters are now going on in this war. This murdering and butchering is simply madness. We are told that the Chinese stand outside of the law of nations, for which reason no prisoners are made, but all are shot, or, in order to economize on cart- ridges, even stabbed to death. Last Sunday afternoon we were ordered to stab seventy-four prisoners to death with our bayonets, which came about thus: The Chinese had shot one of our patrols. As a consequence our battalion was sent out in pursuit of the enemy, seventy-four of whom were captured alive. These were executed. It was cruel and im- possible to describe, and we oan only hope that this state of affairs will soon be over, for otherwise one will forget having once be^ a human being." CHAPTER XXVII. IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. After the Relief of Legations— A Visit to tlie Forbidden City— In tlie Palace of the Emperor— The Empress Dowager's Bed Chamber— Rare Curios and Priceless Decora- tions—The Siege of the Pei Tang— Brave Defense of the Catholic Headquarters— Weeks of Horror— Among Exploding Mines— The Story of Sister Angelle— Rescued at Last. IFE in Peking during the weeks immediately following the relief of the legationers was interesting in the extreme to the soldiers from America and Europe, to whom the surroundings and the people were entirely strange. There were prepara- tions to make for the severe winter of Northern China, expeditions to outlying towns and villages, and explorations amid the wonders of the capital city itself. Graphic pictures of those days are found in the letters of Ralph D. Paine, a correspondent of the Philadelphia Press, who accompanied the allied forces and remained with them in Peking. Of one of the most interesting of all the sights in that great city, Mr. Paine writes as follows: "Peking, Sept. 13. — Since first the foreigner began to write of the celestial empire, the forbidden or sacred city of the son of heaven has inspired a unique prodigality of conjecture, romance, mystery and ever- baffled curiosity. Now and then some distinguished visitor from the Occident, General Grant for example, had been escorted beyond the massive walls of the vast inclosure, but such ceremonious and brief in- vasions have not been synonymous with detailed exploration and the resulting narratives have been tantalizingly incomplete. "The forbidden city has been catalogued as one of the wonders of the world, and literary imaginations have run amuck over the unknown and guessed-at glories. "After the allied armies marched into Peking on- August 14 it was at first considered advisable to bombard the sacred city, whose people refused to surrender from behind their walls within walls. But de- struction of the historic and famous seat of the imperial government was averted by capitulation after a four-days' siege or blockade. Then 457 458 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING, by way of a demonstration, whose purpose was to show the Chinese that the allies were wholly masters of Peking, a combined force of troops, the conquering column which had fought its way from Tientsin, was marched through the grounds and more important buildings of the forbidden city. "The Chinese shook in their cloth shoes at the awful profanation, and expected that a grand carnival of looting would follow and the inclosure be thrown open and perhaps destroyed. Bat after the spec- tacular march of the conquering arms, the sacred city was closed, sealed and guarded as jealously as if the Empress Dowager had issued the orders. "American and Japanese* sentries patrolled the gates and generals pleaded in vain for permission to enter and inspect the place. Where- fore correspondents could only crane their necks at the walls and gnash their teeth. At last the powers were strangely moved by the arrival of the Russian admiral, Alexiev, who had journeyed arduously from Taku expressly to view the forbidden city. Permission was granted him and precedent established. "A few days later a similar request was made by Lieutenant-General Osaka, inspector-general of the Japanese armies and chief aid to the Emperor. He could not well be refused without treading on the toes of international amities, and the visit was made on the morning of the 10th. "When it became known that Gen. J. H. Wilson was to escort the Japanese generals on this pilgrimage of rarest privilege there was a rush of applications by American officers for temporary staff duty. But General Wilson was allowed only one personal aid. Lieutenant Reeves of his staff, and only two other American officers were permitted to accompany the party — Major Webb Hayes and Lieutenant-Colonel Coolidge of the Ninth infantry. The Japanese generals, on the other hand, were accompanied by a staff of thirty officers and a small guard of infantrymen. "It goes without saying that no cards of invitation were sent to correspondents, and the expedition was enshrouded in a notable air of secrecy. It happened, however, that two American correspondents were waiting at the north gate of the forbidden city at the hour appointed for the entrance of the official cavalcade. When General Wilson rode through, with Generals Osaka and Yamaguichi, followed by their train IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 450 of officers, the correspondents fell in line, passed within the sacred and mystery-laden inclosure and — well, they stayed there and accompanied the generals through a forenoon's tour of unique sight-seeing, General Wilson observing: " 'Remember, I did not grant you permission, but now you are in here I won't put you out.' "In many ways the forbidden city is a distinct and impressive dis- appointment. This should be recorded at the outset. Expected grand- eur, gorgeousness, vast architectural magnificence, were wanting, as a rule, while dilapddation and long-continued neglect marred many im- pressive structures. Chinese palaces, even in the sacred city, the throne rooms of the Emperor and Empress, are of only one story, alike in outline as peas in the same pod, so that there is small variety of archi- tecture. After all is said, imagination has been worked overtime in picturing the glories of the sacred city. Yet there is much to wonder at, much that is beautiful, grotesque and of incalculable value. "Across the city, from north to south, the distance is more than a mile. It is a succession of buildings, marble terraces, huge marble stairways, along the whole route, with innumerable labyrinths of courts, gardens and edifices stretching away to either side, so that without a guide the stranger would be lost at an average rate of once per minute. "There seemed to be only a handful of the imperial servants and eunuchs left behind to guard the palaces and temples, although thou- sands of them could have been tucked away in the mazes of the sacred city and the visitors would have been none the wiser. A dozen of the eunuchs met the party at the entrance to the first throne room, the first building inside the north gate. These servants were exceedingly polite, with kow-tows and offerings of tea, their bland faces impassive as a temple full of idols, but what was in their own thoughts would not be fit for publication, as a conservative guess. "The first really impressive feature of the sacred city architeacture was the style of approach to the throne rooms, which are all set on ar- tificial terraced hills in a long line. Marble steps lead up these slopes, and they flank huge monoliths, or slabs of marble set into the stairways and flush with them. These noble stones are from twelve to twenty feet long, covered with the sprawling imperial dragons, but in high relief. This amazingly grotesque and sacred monster is sculptured ev- 460 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. erywhere on stairways, terraces and pavements, or grins in bronze from every nook and corner of the throne rooms. "These buildings, five in all, were curiously dirty and neglected. Everything movable or of any value had been carried away, leaving the great gilt and canopied chairs in solitary and melancholy grandeur. Flocks of pigeons had been roosting on the arms of these symbols of sovereignty of heaven and earth. The wonderful carpets were covered with refuse and dust. The rooms suggested tawdry and fantastic poul- try sheds. It seemed as if all the imperial pigeons had made new head- quarters of the imperial throne rooms. "Between the first and second of these buildings there is a large courtyard. The grass-grown inclosure is planted thickly, in regular rows, with fan-shaped bronze tablets. This was the audience place of the princes and mandarins when received by the Emperor or Empress Dowager in these latter days. Each suppliant had his particular tablet beside which he knelt, and his relative position in the assemblage was thus marked according to his rank. The interpreter pointed out the tablet of Li Hung Chang, where that aged statesman was wont to kneel until his old bones ached and then to totter away, grumbling and half dead with fatigue, according to Peking stories. "It was not until the Emperor's temple and private house of wor- ship was reached that the effect of bare walls and dilapidation was counteracted. The temple was crammed with wonderful gods, with magnificently ornate altars and priceless art treasures in jade and cloisonne. In the deep shadows beyond the heavy silken hangings a great gold Buddha sat and looked at the impious, scoffing foreigners. There was a throne room in the temple. With so many thrones the luck- less Eknperor Kuang Hsti could not keep a hold on even one. "Near this temple throne stood a huge bronze caldron filled with water. This was used in the solemn ceremonies when the Emperor prayed for rain in time of drought. One of the treasures of this room was a bronze water clock towering to the roof. One would be afraid to say how many centuries ago this ponderous mechanism was fashioned by cunning Chinese workmen. "Beyond the last throne room of the Emperor was the state apart- ment of the Empress, when there was a real Empress of China. This was resplendent in gilt work, but sadly obscured in dust and mold. A IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 461 half-dozen of the vases in this room would bring revenue sufficient to enable the average man to live in comfort for the rest of his days. "The visitors were led through long stretches of arbors, summer houses, ihaded walks and gardens, where the eunuchs brought more tea, fruit and cakes, sickishly sweet. They seemed to think the pilgrim- age ended, but General Wilson held otherwise. He had been shown no more of interest than if he had marched through the forbidden city with the allied armies, save in the matter of quantity. He demanded through his interpreter to be shown the private or living apartments of the Etn- peror and Empress Dowager. The eunuchs turned a pale green and chat- tered shrill protest and alarm. No foreigner had ever entered these most sacred of all buildings. They foresaw certain decapitation as their fate. There was a prodigious scurrying about, while General Wilson grew the more emphatic and insistent. At last the eunuchs appeared to consent. "Here is where a reasonable doubt must be inserted. It seems prob- able that the visitors were shown through the residences of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, but if the eunuchs should have palmed off a coun- terfeit, who of the visitors would have been the wiser? The writer believes, and will maintain, that he was privileged to enter the imperial bedchamber and sitting-room; yet it cannot be denied that the eunuchs held all the cards. Certain it is that they were thoroughly frightened, particularly when they had to break the seals on the doors, which had not been violated since the flight of the imperial household. "In the Emperor's apartments none of the ornaments or bric-a-brac had been taken away. The rooms were completely furnished and fitted for occupancy, while in all the buildings previously visited there had been a wholesale sweep of everything removable. As a matter of fact, it is believed that Emperor Kuang Hsti had been for two years a pris- oner, exiled to another and distant part of the sacred city, but it may be that these apartments were kept as he left them, or against a possible reoccupation. "There was one spacious salon, furnished with massive carved tables and chairs after European fashion, and many wonderful old cabinets in lacquer and carving. Elaborately bound Chinese books, writing mate- rials, fans, smoking outfits, were strewn about as if the place had wholly escaped the cyclone of flight and panic which must have surged through the forbidden city when the guns of the allies were booming along the road to Peking. 402 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. "It began to be noticed that French, American and English made clocks were conspicuously in evidence around the walls. There were at least a dozen of them, all exceedingly costly, and some of great art value. The foreigners' clock has made a peaceful conquest of China, and later it was found in the rooms of the Empress Dowager that her im- posing array of clocks would suffice to stock a Broadway jeweler's shop. "It was in the bedchamber of the Emperor that the clock of all royal clocks was found. It was a superb exhibit in itself. The loot fever, held sternly in check, burned fiercely in the breast of every beholder. The article was a gold chariot standing nearly three feet high, to which were harnessed two gold elephants. Upon the wheels and body of the chariot or cart stood the clock. The face of it was set around with a ring of rubies and the castellated top was thickly studded with jewels. The harness of the elephants was jeweled. The whole fabric looked like a wonderful plaything, as if by pressing a spring or winding a key the elephants would pace solemnly across the floor, dragging the chariot and the resplendent clock. "Whether this treasure was overlooked in the hasty packing of the agitated imperial family, or whether all was not gold that glittered so dazzlingly, could not be decided offhand. The treasures which one was sure of as being genuine were the great stores of jade ornaments and porcelains. The watchful eunuchs let no man flock by himself. Their vigilance was painful. There was nothing at all to do in the souvenir line, and the American officers were themselves as anxious that nothing should be taken away. But it seemed a pity when one's pockets would hold so many pieces of almost priceless jade. The loot fever is both con- tagious and demoralizing, and so long as missionaries hold daily sales of loot in Peking it is hard for the layman to keep his moral vision clear. "It was when General Wilson demanded, as his final order, that the rooms of the Empress Dowager be opened for his inspection that the eunuchs showed symptoms of collapse. They could not find the keys; there was great confusion, incessant argument for ten minutes before the gates of the in*Itsure were reluctantly swung open. There was first a courtyard, some flower beds, and a long tree-shaded walk. The place seemed to be a separate compound surrounded by a massive wall fifteen feet high. "The two main buildings were connected by a covered bridge. They were of one story, with the unvarying long and sloping tiled roof curving IN TEE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 463 upward at the lower edges. One building was the throneroom of the Empress Dow^ager, and hers was a throne worth seeing. No pigeons circulated in this august apartment, which had been kept in perfect order. The elaborate gilded throne glittered as if it were rubbed and polished daily. The visitors felt a vague uneasiness, as if perchance that imperious and masterful old beldame, the bugbear and phenom- enon of modern affairs, might suddenly appear to resent this invasion of her sanctum sanctorum. "Her living rooms were in a building whose exterior suggested an American jewelry or art store. It was a sort of pavilion, whose walls were of French plate glass, huge panes set in around three sides, a little Crystal palace. There were so many beautiful and elaborately orna- mented foreign clocks ranged round the inside walls, cabinets and tables, such a profusion of jade, porcelain, bronze and ivory bric-a-brac, that this art-store effect became a seeming imitation of what Li Hung Chang may have seen in his globe trotting through Burlington arcade in London or along upper Broadway in New York, Yet while this liv- ing in a glass house seemed to lack any qualities of privacy, the impres- sion was not well founded. For the building was in a walled inclosure, which none might enter without permission or authority, and you may be sure there was no idle curiosity or unwelcome intrusion circulating within the imperial compound of the Empress Dowager when she was ruling China ft'om the forbidden city. "The room which the eunuchs declared was her sleeping chamber opened from the glittering plate-glass pavilion. The bedstead of the foreigner is unknown among the Chinese, and in the rooms both of the emperor and empress dowager the royal couches were no more than richly canopied bunks. The woven-wire cots of a field hospital would be more comfortable for the pleasures of slumber than the springless boxes on which royalty stretched itself in the palaces of the emperor of China. "The word 'palace' is a misnomer, from European standards, in any reference to the buildings of the sacred city. The imperial buildings are so many squat pavilions of from one to three rooms each. The pri- vate apartments were not even imposing in the area of them. They were no larger than a small cottage bungalow or two adjoining rooms of a fair-sized country house. The astonishing number of these pavilions and connecting courts, square miles of them in the aggregate, is a colossal! 464 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. picture of the Chinese way of building and living. The series of throne- rooms and the other buildings explored by General Wilson and party were chosen because of interesting association. Yet the extent of them, although a mile from north to south, was as only a corner of the sacred city. By far the greater part of it is laid out in parks and grotesque examples of Chinese landscape gardening and dotted with temples and pagodas. "The white marble bridge which spans the lotus-covered lake in the grounds of the sacred city is famed in song and story. From a distance it has been admired for centuries, and from the overhanging hills where profane e^^es were wont to seek birdseye views its length stretched like a white ribbon of lacework laid across the vivid green of the lotus-car- peted lake. General Wilson and party crossed this bridge in leaving the home of the son of heaven, but at such close range the general and impressive effect was lost, although the wonderful delicacy and intri- cacy of the marble carving of the balustrades could be examined in detail. "The forbidden city is about six centuries old. Its buildings, gardens and temples date from the time of the Mongols, and suffered small change when they came into possession of the Ming and Manchu emper- ors, nor does it seem likely that much money has been expended in re- pairs and maintenance through this trifling handful of centuries. The universal air of dilapidation and decay w^as astonishing. Crumbling walls in the shadow of the imperial residences, grass and weed grown pavements and courts, rotting woodwork, the dirt and dust of ages seemed with melanchol.y emphasis to typify the fate of China as a nation and a government. After all, the tower of this walled and moated sacred city was vastly impressive not for what it was a spectacle but for what it represented. The seat of a ruling power which has in its own strange fashion held sway over 400,000,000 of subjects, whose fate is nov»' trembling in the balance and whose capital is in possession of the armies of the newer and more vigorous civilization gathered from all around the world, and also because the forbidden city had been perhaps the greatest mystery of modern time, it was a day made memorable for the correspondent when he passed within its gates. "RALPH D. PAINE." From Mr. Paine's graphic letters we have, too, the account of the IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 465 siege of the Roman Catholic stronghold in Peking, even more dramatic in many details that that of the British Legation. He writes: "Peking, Sept. 11. — Through the months of tragic mystery which curtained the fate of the besieged legations, the anxious world beyond China heard almost nothing of the story of Pei Tang, nor knew that this other and even more desperate battle against odds was being fought inside the walls of Peking. For two months to a. day the French mission settlement of the Pei Tang was besieged and bombarded by the best artillery of the Chinese forces. "The defenders of the legations, only two and a half miles away across the city, could hear daily the heavy cannonading, and by this token alone knew that ^the flag was still there.' No communication was pos- sible between these two storm centers of resistance through all the weary, hopeless days. Each knew the other was still holding out only by the distant grumble of big guns. "The attack against the Pei Tang was more formidable than the fury which dashed and broke against the legations in that the defenders were a handful by comparison. The losses in killed were more than twice greater, with a unique accompaniment of horrors. The story is predominant in its qualities of tragedy and heroism, without the slight- est detraction from the splendid courage and sacrifices of those who fought inside the legation barricades. "The Pei Tang is the chief stronghold of French Catholicism in north China. It consists of an imposing gothic cathedral, a convent, found- ling asylum, schools, dwellings for the priests, the home of the arcli- bishop, and a surrounding settlement just inside the wall of the imperial city and in the shadow of the massive barriers of the forbidden or sacred city. "Proof has been heaped mountain high that the imperial government was in active co-operation with the Boxers in the anti-foreign war of extermination, although there are ministers in Peking who clung to belief in official assurances well into the siege, and when convinced against their will clutched at the ghost of the same opinion still. But the Boxers did not have to blow down or force the gates of the imperial city when they marched against the Pei Tang. The gates were opened for them and this could have been done only by direct order of the impe- rial government. This evidence is written in the wreck of the mission 466 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. settlement and the graves of 150 men, women and children who perished in the siege. "When the Boxer hordes were loosed against the foreigners in north China 3,000 residents and refugees, including native Christians, were sheltered in the buildings of the Pei Tang, the majority of them women and children. "Archbishop Fevier, a mighty man of God in these parts, and far- sighted in things militant, had judged aright the signs of gathering danger, and with long experience and a rarely intimate knowledge of the Chinese he placed no faith in the perfervid promises of government protection, and realized the magnitude of that which was about to hap- pen. He sent repeated warnings to the legations, urging the ministers to withdraw, or to persuade their governments to protect them with armies, rather than guards, before it should be too late. His own prep- arations for defense could be pitifully small at the best. He would not desert his native converts who sought protection at the Pei Tang. "After urgent appeals there was sent him a mixed handful of French and Italian soldiers, forty-two in all, from the little international force sent to Peking early in the summer. The ranking officer was Lieutenant Olieveri, an Italian, and this command was the total number bearing arms through the sixty days' siege. In this time fourteen soldiers were killed and 125 men, women and children perished in the explosion of three separate mines tunneled beneath the building from beyond the imperial city wall which protected the Chinese in their work. Eleven men and women were killed by the rifle fire which swept the compounds, making the total loss in killed 150. Of the wounded and maimed there were nearly 100 more. The Chinese sappers were digging night and day. It was only a question of days before the site of the cathedral and mission buildings would become one vast and ragged crater, a huge pit entombing thousands. "Among those killed in the explosion of the first mine were forty children at prayers in their dormitory and thirty women in an adjoining wing of the asylum. When the relief column rescued the survivors on August 16, or two days after the taking of the city, and the end of the siege of the legations, the sisters had begun voluntarily to abstain from all food, that what remained might be doled out among the children, th'- refugees and the exhausted soldiers. "On this same day, beneath the floor of the chapel, the only place of IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 467 refuge left, where there was comparative protection against shell and rifle fire, could be heard the muffled tap, tap, of the Chinese sappers. Additional mines under other buildings were making ready to be ex- ploded on that or the following day. Never in history was rescue more opportune, more providential, if you will, than that which saved the defenders of the Pei Tang from almost certain annihilation on the 16th of August. "The white cathedral would be a notably imposing structure, even were it not planted towering above the squat monotony of Chinese tem- ple and palace architecture. It was the finest target for shell fire in all north China, and the Chinese made 'good practice' with the best artillery at their disposal, including a battery of ten Krupp model field pieces, captured by the relief column and a 4.7-inch modern rifle mounted at a corner of the imperial city wall, at only 1,500 yards range from the Pei Tang. Great holes were ripped in the masonry of the upper walls, shells tore through the length and breadth of the building or dropped on the floor within, while the front is curiously tattooed with the marks of rifle bullets, like some new and freakish pattern of stucco work. "Amid this hurricane of projectiles none of the images of the saints escaped injury, from casual mutilation to the decapitation of St. Joseph. But the sisters point to the image of the Virgin, raised above all the rest, which alone remained unharmed, and talk of the miraculous, while the Chinese converts press forward to worship at the shrine with a new, vague wonder. "But war was not as kind to mortals in the Pei Tang, and the wreck caused by the mines is the most impressive and quickening re- minder of the siege days in all of burned, battered and looted Peking. A crater, fifty feet across, thirty feet deep, funnel-shaped, is where stood two rows of populous buildings. An amazing tangle of wreckage, as if a Cyclops had crushed houses in the might of his grip, marks the scene of the second explosion. The third suggests a combination of these two catastrophies, a huge excavation, fringed with shattered remnants of stone-walled and tile-roofed buildings. Twenty-five men were killed in this heart-quaking upheaval while attempting to drive a counter-mine. "It seems almost incredible that any one could have survived these rending shocks within the limits of the inclosures. Masonry, tons and tons of earth, fragments of humanity, heads, limbs, trunks, were thrown hundreds of feet at each explosion. But each time, as soon as the sur- 468 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. vivors could pull themselves together, they counted the roll of the miss- ing, rescued the wounded and returned to their posts of defense. "The explosion of a mine was the signal for a general attack by the Chinese, who hoped to rush the barricades in the confusion and shock of disaster. But so ably had Lieutenant Olieveri constructed his system of defense, and so splendidly had he inspired and disciplined his little guard that their last line of resistance was never broken, and they even made a dashing sortie and captured a Chinese cannon, which had been planted in front of the entrance gate at point-blank range. "When ammunition ran short a corporal's guard stole out at night, and, slipping through the Chinese lines, raided an imperial magazine which was less than 500 yards from the Pei Tang. They secured all the powder, bullets and caps they could carry, fought their way back and swore because they had not been able to find rifle cartridges. The sisters gathered the brass shells which had been exploded and with the material of the raid made cartridges and kept the troops supplied with ammunition. "Among the sisters of charity of the order of St. Vincent de Paul who ministered unto those so sorely beset in the Pei Tang was Sister Angelle, an Italian girl, who speaks English as to the manner born. With dra- matic vividness and an alert sense of humor, so that laughter and tears were always at odds, she told me the story of the siege and the suffering, volunteering to act as guide through the scenes of devastation. She rejoiced with militant enthusiasm over the valor of our soldiers and the losses inflicted by them; she thrilled with pride over the stubbornness and seeming hopelessness of the resistance and in the same breath re- gretted that she could not have suffered martyrdom 'as a shining prom- ise of the life that is to come.' "She was afraid of nothing save a camera and turned her back when- ever the deadly instrument was in position. Wherefore the accompany- ing photograph is eminently unsatisfactory, particularly because in ad- dition to being a heroine of rarest quality Sister Angelle is young and passing fair. "It was as follows that she told something of the story of Pei Tang: " 'When the storm broke 3,000 souls were gathered in our buildings and the archbishop was able to obtain only thirty French and twelve Italian soldiers as a guard, with a limited supply of ammunition, and no additional arms with which to equip our men residents. We had 500 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 469 children in our foundling asylum and several hundred women refugees and we knew not at all how we were going to feed all our helpless ones. The wall of the imperial city overhangs our place, as you see, only thirty yards away, and we knew that in case of attack the Chinese would have this vantage ground, so that prolonged resistance seemed utterly hopeless. " 'On the 15th of June the Boxers marched against us, but the gates of the imperial city were closed and barred against them, and, as you know, we are just inside these walls. The Boxers could not beat down the gates and retired without accomplishing anything against us. The closing of the gates showed that on that day we were still protected by edict of the imperial authorities. But on the following day the Boxer army returned and the imperial gate was thrown open so that the at- tacking force entered without opposition. Our brave soldiers had been working all night building barricades and digging trenches to strength- en the entrance gate of the Pei Tang. The enemy brought cannon with them and made a furious assault on the 16th. The street of houses around our outer gate was destroyed and our defenders driven back to the second gate of the Pei Tang, but they were pushed no further for six- ty days, so that we held all the ground of our immediate inclosure. " *A few days later we were being attacked on three sides. On the wall were hundreds of Chinese riflemen and others armed with gingals, or two-men guns. In front was the Krupp battery and a force trying to carry the gates. At the back of the cathedral and buildings we were within range of a big modern gun and menaced by mines being worked toward us from that direction. We were powerless to prevent the laying of these mines because there were not enough soldiers for a sortie be- yond the wall. In fact, we did not know anything about this devilish work until the first mine was exploded. Forty of our little children were at prayers. Every one of them was killed and the bodies of some of them are buried deep beneath the ruins. Five Italian soldiers were killed by the same explosion. Where there had been rows of buildings there was nothing to see save a huge hole in the ground. It was very, very dreadful. The shock made all the other buildings rock to their foundations. Tons and tons of earth and stone were thrown on the roofs. " 'Captain Olieveri — ah! there is a man of iron for you — was sleeping in his room more than 100 feet away from the explosion. The mass of 470 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. earth and masonry, hurled this long distance, crushed in the roof of his building and he was buried five feet deep. We rushed to look for him to take command after this disaster. We saw that his bed was buried beneath all the debris, but did not think he had been in his room at the time. A soldier went around the outposts searching for him. The brave captain could not be found. Some Chinese began digging in the ruins of his room and after a time found his iron bed all twisted and battered out of shape. No legs were sticking out from it, and the mystery deep- ened. But presently we heard a weak call for help, and, lo and behold! the captain was dug out of a corner of his room, where he had been thrown by the shock of the explosion. He was very much alive, and save for a few bruises was himself again and fit for duty the same day. The escape seemed miraculous, especially when you look at his bed yonder, such a sad wreck as it is, and made of iron. " 'The second mine was exploded a few days later very near the scene of the first. Thirty women and fifteen men were killed. Then the Chi- nese started to mine across the other side of our buildings. As soon as this was discovered Captain Olieveri set his men at work digging a coun- ter-mine. Thus it happened that the opposing forces were fighting each other underground, while we women prayed and waited and worked as best we could. The counter-mine was successful in ascertaining the line of direction of the Chinese tunnel, for the two forces could hear each other digging and picking rock deep beneath the surface. Our people were removed from the building overhead, but the Chinese mine was exploded before our workmen expected it, and twenty-five of our men v/ere blown to pieces from their counter-mine. The head of one of them was hurled clear across our compound, as if it had been a cannon ball. " 'But even amid so much discouragement our soldiers made a sortie from the gate of the Pei Tang and captured one of the cannon with which the Chinese were bombarding us. It was a brave and dashing thing to do. They dragged the gun in through the gate and there it stands in front of the cathedral. That is our trophy, and how we all cheered when it was safely in our possession. And again, when the soldiers got into the Chinese magazine and brought back the ammunition sup- plies. Ah, it was worth while suffering a little to feel the glow of victory over such an enemy. The good God was kind to us, although so many innocent ones had to die. One day, fifteen of the sisters were in the cathedral at mass. We had barely passed out of the west door in THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. 471 when a shell dropped on the floor and exploded where we had been kneeling. And when forty of our dear children were blown to pieces by the mine, it was my duty tO' have been with them at that hour, putting them to bed, but I had lingered a little to bandage a wounded man on my way from the chapel. " 'There were so many people to be fed at the last that nearly all the rice was gone and the supply of horse and donkey meat very short. It was not fitting that the sisters should take this food when those who had sought our protection were beginning to sicken and die of starvation. And our soldiers must eat to fight, and fight to live. And so the sisters decided to take no more food, beginning with the morning of the 16th of August. For two days we had heard distinctly the Chinese mining beneath our chapel. We knew that the allied armies were fighting their way into Peking on the 14th by the sound of heavy firing. But the next day came and there were no signs of relief. We thought they would go first to the legations, but it seemed as if we had been forgotten. And we feared that the relieving forces might have been repulsed. " 'Late in the forenoon of the 15th a French sentry posted on the roof of the cathedral reported that he could see several women in European garb walking on the parapet of the Chien Mien gate. Then we were sure they were from the legations. But the forces did not come to our rescue until the following day. The Chinese had expected to explode three mines that very night, and I am sure I had gained my crown of martyr- dom but for our rescue by the mercy of God.' "In what is left of the Pei Tang settlement the priests and sisters are now caring for 500 children. In the places of the little ones that per- ished the sisters have gathered the children from amid the chaos of Peking. Their blessed work goes on, framed in the ghastly wreckage of those cruel mines. "The American and English protestant mission buildings in Peking were destroyed by fire and shell. Their occupants were less fortunate, or more fortunate, if you please, in that their separate and scattered iso- lations, without any protection of troops, made any attempt at defense Vv^holly out of the question, and their people must fall back on the lega- tions for refuge. The Pei Tang was a settlement apart and proved itself an immortal 'ndividuality. "It may be believed that when the rescuing troops heard the story on the 16th of August they reproached themselves for not having started 472 IN THE IMPERIAL CITY OF PEKING. for the Pei Tang the very day the legations were relieved. But the generals did not realize the dire stress in the shadow of the shell-racked cathedral across the city. The defenders could send no anessages for help. They could only fight, wait, hope and starve. "On Sunday last I attended a solemn high mass and Te Deum in the cathedral. The autumn sunlight streamed through great gaps in walls, roofs and windows, where screaming shells had torn. When the breeze veered there came from trenches a few hundred yards away the sugges- tion of many Chinese soldiers scantily buried. High above the shat- tered facade of the cathedral in vivid array snapped and fluttered the flags of the allied powers whose armies marched to Peking at the trum- pet call of humanity. There flaunted the colors of France, Austria, Belgium, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, America, Germany and Russia. The choir, with harmonious though decimated ranks, and the patched organ swelled in the Te Deum. It was the anthem of the brotherhood of man on this memorable day. Many legation residents attended this service of thanksgiving, including nearly all of the ministers remaining in Peking. "It happened that on the return from the Pei Tang a German military band fell in with the escort. The line filed through the narrow squalid street where Baror von Ketteler had met his death on his way to the tsung-li-yamen, a sacrifice for his colleagues. As by a common impulse, the band began, in slow and dragging measure, to play a dead march, so that one tragedy after another was linked in recollection from the Pei Tang to Legation street. RAL-PH D. PAINE." CHAPTER XXVIII. FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. Diplomacy More Dilatory Thau Warfare— Various Views of the Powers— Demands Made by the United States— Count Ton Waldersee Appointed Commander-in-Chief— Li Hung Chang and His Work— Punishment of the Guilty Chinese— Terms of Settlement with China— Wu Ting Fang's Opinion — Views of a Chinese Reformer. THE military portion of the world's dealings with China proved to be simpler of solution than the diplomatic. Short, sharp and decisive as the campaign of the allied powers was, the progress of negotiation and ultimate settlement was slow and to many unsatisfactory. Points of divergence between the policies of the powers early made themselves visible and more than once relations became strained almost to the breaking-point. At one time England and the United States would be working together in entire harmony, with the other powers at variance from them. Again Germany and England would be the partners, with Russia, France and the United States united in another policy. It was the latter arrangement of friend- ships that appeared the more stable. Broadly speaking, the United States, France and Russia stood for less severe retributive measures than those advocated by Germany and approved by Great Britain, Austria and Italy. It was on this line that the powers divided almost from the start of negotiations. Even throughout the period of the siege in Peking and active hostili- ties, the United States took a position more generous to China than that of any of the other powers. This was that belief in the good faith of the Chinese authorities should be maintained to the last ; that the Boxer outbreak was against the will of the Emperor, who was powerless to stop it; that the expedition of the allied armies was really supporting the government of Cliina against an uprising which the government could not quell unaided. The United States never lost sight of this effort to accept Chinese assurances in good faith to the very end, yielding to the Chinese minister in Washington, Wu Ting Fang, an unvarying courtesy and even confidence in their relations. It was the United States that first demanded and obtained free intercourse by telegraph 473 474 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. from Washington with the beleaguered Minister Conger in Peking, thus relieving the world of much of the suspense long after shocking reports of the torture and death of all foreigners had been spread abroad. Acknowledging compliance with this demand, the government at Washington next delivered to the Chinese minister on August 8 a brief ultimatum in approximately the following terms: "1. That our minister and his family as well as other Americans and foreigners in Peking shall be protected by the imperial government and shall not be sent out of Peking unless the ministers find it agreeable and are willing to do so under instructions from their home governments. "2. That the troops of the Chinese government shall lend aid to the protection of the ministers in Peking and shall also act with the allied troops when they arrive in restoring order and putting a stop to blood- shed in Peking, thus affording all the protection possible to the legation- ers." It was on the same date that a commander-in-chief for the allied forces operating in China was chosen and appointed by the German Em- peror, who had been conceded that authority by all the powers. General Count von Waldersee, late chief of the general staff of the German army, was born in 1832. He entered the army in 1850, and served with distinction through the war of 1866 and through the Franco- German campaign. In 1882 he became quartermaster general and acted as deputy chief of the general staff on behalf of the aged Count von Moltke, upon whose resignation he succeeded to the position of the chief of the general staff. He has often been the recipient of pronounced com- mendation for marked military ability, and at one time the late King Humbert of Italy joined the German Emperor in such praise. In 1866 Count von Waldersee married the widow of Prince Frederick Schleswig- Holstein, who was the daughter of Mr. Lee, a New York grocer. At Stuttgart the New Yorker's widow met and married a German diplomat, Baron Wechter, afterward ambassador to France. In 1864 her daugh- ter, Mary Esther, married Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein, who saw her by accident in a hotel. The prince was immensely rich and seventy years old. Miss Lee was poor and twenty-seven. On the wed- ding trip to Palestine she persuaded him to make over to her his entire fortune. He did so and died six months later. Not long afterward the widowed princess was married to Count Waldersee, then a rising sol- FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 416 dier. The countess has long been the personal friend of the German Empress. The appointment of Count von Waldersee was approved everywhere, but it must be confessed that his labors did not justify the choice to the degree that was hoped. His progress from Germany toward Peking v/as slow in the extreme, marked chiefly by the social honors which he waited to receive before starting and at every possible point on the way, and long before he reached the scene of conflict the hostilities were vir- tually at an end. Very early in the controversies Earl Li Hung Chang became as con- spicuous as he always has been in Chinese affairs since China entered into relations with the Western World. Starting from Canton, the seat of his vice-royalty, he journeyed toward Peking to share the negotia- tions, at the command of his imperial master. His journey was inter- rupted for a time at Shanghai by what was almost tantamount to arrest, some of the powers choosing to discredit the purpose of the old states- man's journey and the sincerity of his motives. Unwilling to share in such action, the State Department at Washington sent the following- telegrams to the representatives of the United States in Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, Rome, Tokio, and St. Petersburg: Department of State, Washington, D. C, August 24, 1900.— The fol- lowing note was received by us from the Charge of the Russian govern- ment at this capital on August 17: "I have just received a communication from the imperial government informing me of the resolution of admirals of the allied fleets interdict- ing the plenipotentiary of the Chinese government, Li Hung Chang, from all communication with the Chinese authorities in the event of his ar- rival at Taku. "This resolution being inexplicable, in view of the fact that all powers have recognized the utility of admitting his (Li Hung Chang's) services, in the eventual negotiations for peace, and especially because it would be impossible for him to fulfill his mission in the character of Chinese plenipotentiary if this were done, it would be desirable that the inter- ested governments should give orders to countermand the above-men- tioned decision." Inquiry of Admiral Remey, commanding our fleet at Taku, was first answered that no such resolution had been adopted. He now cables that the admirals have agreed to write the dean of the legation at Pe- 4Te FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. king instructing in case Li Hung Chang should arrive at Taku, and meantime not to allow him to communicate with Chinese shore authori- ties. Bemey dissented from last proposition. We take the same view expressed in the Russian note. In interests of peace and effective presentation of just demands of all powers against China, it seems important that the Chinese plenipotentiary should be able to communicate both with his own government and its military commandant, whose action will be necessary to any suspension of hos- tilities as required in telegram to you of 22d. Chinese minister here is without power or advices. Li Hung Chang is prima facie authorized by imperial decree to negotiate, and is the only representative of responsible authority in China so far as we are advised. We have instructed our representative in China in the spirit of the Russian note. Any misunderstanding or divergent action on the subject by the representatives of the powers in China would be unfortunate, and we would be glad to learn from other powers if there are reasons not known to us which in their judgment should lead to a view different from that which we take. You will communicate this to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, await- ing early response. ADEE, Acting Secretary of State. The prompt result of this message was a change in the attitude of the powers. Li Hung Chang proceeded on the way to Peking, and ar- riving there entered into negotiations with the foreign diplomats for settlement of the terms of peace. Another complication that arose was based on the varying opinions of the powers as to how large a force should be maintained in Peking and how rapidly the troops should be withdrawn. For a time it looked as if the forces of Russia and the United States would be withdrawn irrespective of the action of the other powers, but more harmonious plans were arranged and that crisis passed. Many of the Russian and American troops were withdrawn, however, the former to Tientsin, Taku and Port Arthur, the latter to Manila. As autumn advanced, the demands upon China for terms of settle- ment and the punishment of responsible officials began to take definite form. At Peking, on November 11, the treasurer of the province of FOBMULATING TERM8 OF PEACE. 47Y Pechili, one Chinese general and a Chinese colonel, who had been found by a. court-martial to be responsible for the slaughter of seventeen American and English missionaries at Paoting-Fu and the torture of four others who were rescued alive, were shot, together with twenty prominent Boxers, with the approval of Field Marshal Count von Wal- dersee. Tien Yung was the name of the provincial treasurer executed. His high official comrades who suffered a like fate were General Wei Shung Kong and Colonel Kiu. After death the condemned men's heads were cut off and exposed on poles as a warning to the populace. Prince Ching and Li Hung Chang, in defense of their own positions as peace- makers, at the same time were pressing the Dowager Empress for the execution of the guilty princes and ministers, as demanded by foreign powers. There was great danger lest the plenipotentiaries at Peking might place themselves in an awkward predicament and create a situation that would defeat the ends arrived at if they insisted upon conditions which the imperial government could not comply with. It must be borne in mind that the present government in China was not popular with the people and was simply tolerated. If it should be overthrown chaos would follow. There would be no responsible authority with which the foreign powers could treat. It would be impossible to apply the reme- Mes proposed by the allies or bring about the reforms which they desired. To succeed in their purpose it was necessary for the plenipotentiaries to have a central power to deal with, and for that reason it was of vital importance to maintain the present Emperor and protect him from his own people. His disposition was favorable, his intentions honest and progressive, and but for the interference of the Empress Dowager with his reforms in 1898 all this trouble would not have occurred. For these and other reasons the allies could have no better authority to deal with than Kuang Hsii, although he was surrounded by unfriendly councilors. The plenipotentiaries as the first condition of peace made a per- emptory demand for the heads of eleven of the most powerful men in the empire, most of them princes of the royal blood. Two of them are nephews of the Empress Dowager and cousins of the Emperor; four are grand-nephews of the old lady and second cousins of the Emperor. Prince Tuan, whose name heads the list, is father of the heir apparent to the throne. The others are the Princes Chuang Li, Tsai-Lien, Tsai- Ting, Kang, Schiao and Schen Huao, Dukes Lan and Ying Teen, Vice- 478 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. voy Yu Hsien and General Tung Fu Hsaing. Yu Hsien is the governor of Shansi, the province to which the Emperor and the Empress Dowager fled for safety and they are absolutely in his power. He recently pretended to commit suicide by eating gold leaf. Tung Fu Hsiang is commander-in-chief of the Chinese army and all the troops are under his control. Against those two men the Emperor and Empress Dowager were absolutely impotent and it would be impossible for them to carry out the sentence even if they should agree to comply with the demands of the foreign envoys and order their execution. It might be possible for the Emperor to persuade Yu Hsien and Tung Fu Hsiang to arrest and be- head the nine princes named, but they certainly would not do so if they supposed their own heads were in danger, and they were in a position to control the situation in China. They could compel the Emperor to reject and defy the demands of the envoys, and if the latter should put them in the form of an ultimatum they would be placed in a peculiar predicament. The United States endeavored to persuade the other powers not to press the matter of punishment too hard, nor to insist upon details. Secretary Hay instructed Mr. Conger to use his influence to i)revent such complications as might prove threatening. If the Emperor should refuse to comply with the demands of the envoys the powers would be compelled to enforce their demands with an army, and that would mean the devastation of a large portion of China and the slaughter of thou- sands of innocent persons. The United States government considered it wiser to leave the method of punishment for the Emperor to deter- mine. The summary execution of three officials convicted of the murder of the missionaries at Paoting-Fu by drum-head court-martial by the Ger- man and British officers was considered an unfortunate event. It would have been much more effective upon the natives if the culprits had been executed by Chinese authorities instead of by foreigners. In the former case it would have been considered an act of justice. In the latter case it was an act of violence. From the Chinese point of view these men had done a patriotic and praiseworthy act, to which they were provoked by the aggression of the foreign devils, and when they were executed by the foreign devils their death was a martyrdom, and not a disgrace, which the people will take the first opportunity to avenge. Such summary FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 479 action on the part of the foreign military forces naturally prevented the court from, returning to Peking. The Empress Dowager was afraid of similar treatment, and every person of influence around her apprehen- sive of his own safety. Hence they kept as far away from the foreign devila as possible and communicated with them only over a telegraph wire. Dr. Morrison, the famous correspondent in Peking of the London Times, wiring to the Times from Peking on November 17, said that, pressed by the common desire for a speedy termination of existing condi- tions, the foreign envoys had finally agreed to the following terms, to be presented in a c'onjoint note which, subject to the approval of the governments, would be pressed upon China as the basis of a pfreliminary treaty: "1. China shall erect a monument to Baron von Ketteler on the site where he was murdered and send an imperial prince to Germany to convey an apology. "2. China shall inflict the death penalty upon eleven princes and officials, already named, and suspend provincial examinations for five years where the outrages occurred. "3. In future all officials failing to prevent anti-foreign outrages within their jurisdiction shall be dismissed and punished. (This is a modification of Mr. Conger's proposal.) "4. Indemnity shall be paid to the states, corporations and individ- uals. "5. The tsung-li-yamen shall be abolished and its functions vested in a foreign minister. Rational intercourse shall be permitted with the Emperor as in civilized countries. "6. The forts at Taku and the other forts on the coast of Chili shall be razed and the importation of arms and war material prohibited. Permanent legation guards shall be maintained, and also guards of communication between Peking and the sea. "7. Imperial proclamations shall be posted for two years through- out the empire suppressing Boxers." The indemnity is to include compensation for Chinese who suffered through being employed by foreigners, but not compensation for native Christians. The words missionary and Christians do not occur in the note. Commenting upon what it calls Mr. Conger's "excellent suggestion 480 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. for the dismissal of officials permitting anti-foreign outrages" the Times remarks that "this is the only considerable addition to the terms which the ministers proposed to submit to China last month." It says the "American sense of justice and humanity is too strong and American intelligence too keen to be deluded by the pitiful Chinese appeal against the execution of the Paoting-Fu officials." It was hoped by officials in Washington that the imperial Chinese decree of November 13 for the degradation and punishment of Chinese princes and leaders implicated in the Boxer uprising would be accepted as sufficient by the foreign ministers at Peking., The sentencing of Prince Tuan to life imprisonment is an unusually severe penalty to be imposed upon a high prince in China, and, in the opinion of the officials, should be a sufficient guaranty of the purpose of the Chinese govern- ment to comply with the demand of the powers for the punishment of the guilty. It is admitted, however, that certain nations may destroy harmony and prevent an agreement by insisting upon harsher punish- ment than it is within the power of the imperial government to impose. The text of the Chinese decree for the punishment of the princes was received from Sheng, the director of telegraphs in China, by Minister Wu Ting Fang in Washington, November 16. It was at once presented to Secretary of State Hay. It read as follows: "An imperial decree of November 13 deprives Prince THian and Prince Chwang of their ranks and offices and orders them to be impris- oned for life; Prince Yih and Secondary Prince Ying to be imprisoned; Secondary Prince Lien to be deprived of his rank; Lan and Ying Nien to be degraded in rank; Kang Yi, being dead, no penalty can be imposed upon him, and Chao Shu Chiao to be degraded but retained in office, and Yu Hsien to be exiled to the farthest boundary." While the administration was gratified at the action of the Chinese government toward punishing some of the guilty, Washington officials did not think the decree went far enough. The name of General Tung Fuh Siang, the commanding general of the Chinese troops, was missing from the list. An authority on China explained that this omission was due to the fact that Tung Fuh Siang is supported by his troops and that it would be extremely embarrassing to the Chinese Emperor to attempt to punish him, and it was deemed advisable in the interest of the safety of the dynasty and the prompt settlement of the Chinese question to postpone action in his case. The administration, however, believed that FORMULATING TEBM8 OF PEACE. 481 he should be promptly punished, and it was decided to instruct Minister Conger to insist that that he should suffer. The German demands were voiced by Chancellor von Bulow as fol- lows: "China will erect a monument to Baron von Ketteler on the site where he was murdered and send an imperial prince to Germany to convey an apology. She shall inflict the death penalty upon eleven princes and officials already named and suspend provincial examina- tions for five years where the outrages occurred. "In future all officials failing to prevent anti-foreign outrages within their jurisdiction shall be dismissed and punished. "Indemnity shall be paid to states, corporations and individuals. "The tsung-li-yamen shall be abolished and its functions vested in a foreign minister. Rational intercourse shall be permitted with the Emperor, as in civilized countries. "The forts at Taku and the other forts on the coast of China shall be razed, and the importations of arms and war material prohibited. "Permanent legation guards shall be maintained, and also guards of communication between Peking and the sea. "Imperial proclamations shall be posted for two years throughout the empire suppressing Boxers. "Indemnity is to include compensation for Chinese who suffered through being employed by foreigners, but not compensation for native Christians. "China shall erect expiatory monuments in every foreign or interna- tional burial ground where graves have been profaned. "The Chinese government shall undertake to enter upon negotiations for such changes in existing treaties regarding trade and navigation as the foreign governments deem advisable and with reference to other matters having in view the facilitation of commercial relations." At the time of closing this chapter with the account of conditions to the end of November it seems as if Emperor Kuang Hsu is trying to show to the world his good faith in dealing with vigor with the men more largely responsible for the Boxer outrages. Among other things he has sentenced the ringleader, Prince Tuan, to imprisonment for life, an unusually severe punishment for one occupying his social and official position. Other princes and potentates have been ordered severely punished by an edict of the Emperor, and it is hoped by the administra- 482 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. tion at Washington that this may be accepted by the European allies as a basis for peace negotiations. It is admitted, however, that certain nations may destroy harmony and prevent an agreement by insisting upon harsher punishment than it is Avithin the power of the imperial government to impose at this time. Minister Conger at Peking is exer- cising his influence with the other ministers at the Chinese capital to secure the speedy disposition of the preliminary steps of settlement with China, and may succeed in bringing the negotiations to an early conclusion. The views of the better class of Chinamen concerning the present situation is well expressed by the intelligent gentleman who represents China at Washington. Wu Ting Fang, in ah interview on the matter, said: "Prince Ching has been in Peking more than a month, and Li Hung Chang has been there for some time. These two plenipotentiaries have been waiting for the terms to be submitted to them by the allied pov/ers. Up to this moment they have received nothing, and in the meantime the country is in an unsettled state. Riots have occurred. Business is almost at a standstill. Surely it is necessary to all the par- ties that peace be restored as early as practicable. That the imperial government is anxious to meet the views of the allied powers is shown by the edict which I have received. This edict announces the punish- ment of nine princes and officials who were accused of complicity in the outrages, and who have been named by the foreign envoys. Severe pen- alties have been imposed upon those whom it is safe for the imperial government to punish at this time. In its present unfortunate position China ought not to be pressed too hard. Prince Tuan has received a sentence which is only short of death. He is deprived of his rank and offices and ordered imprisoned for life. In the eyes of some this punish- ment is worse than death. The assassin of the Empress of Austria and the assassin of the King of Italy are undergoing sentences of life imprisonment. I am in hopes that an attempt will not be made to de- stroy the Ming tombs. Such a proposition is shocking to contemplate. As works of art they are beautiful." Many evidences have come to light which indicate the remarkable ditference in point of view between the Oriental and the Occidental mind. The text of the decree of the Emperor of China concerning fun- eral sacrifices to be offered in honor of the late Baron von Ketteler has been received from China and is as follows: FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 483 "We have already expressed our deep regret and sympathy for the death of the late Baron von Ketteler, minister of the great German empire to this court, at the time of his murder by soldiers in Peking. Now, as we recall to mind the urbanity, courtesy and firmness of the late minister in his relations with our government ever since his arrival in China we feel all the more the loss we have suffered from his prema- ture death, and we, therefore, hereby bestow upon him an imperial funeral sacrifice before his remains and command the grand secretary, K'Un Kang (Manchu) to proceed on the date of his receipt of this decree at once to perform the said imperial funeral sacrifices and to pour out a libation before the remains on our behalf. Furthermore, when the late Baron von Ketteler's coffin is started on its way to his native country, we hereby command the viceroys of Chili and the Laingkiang provinces, in their capacity of imperial commissioners of the Peiyang and Nanyang administration, to take all precautions for the safe transportation of the said remains through their respective journeys. And, finally, when the late minister's remains shall have reached Germany, we further command Lu Hai-Huan, junior vice-president of the board of revenue, and our minister to the court of Berlin, to proceed forthwith and per- form another imperial funeral sacrifice before the said remains, pouring forth a libation on our behalf, as a true mark of our constant desire never to forget the duties we owe to a friendly state." A valuable contribution to the whole subject is found in an article written by Wu Ting Fang, which outlines clearly the point of view of the intelligent Chinese and who is also acquainted with the afifairs in the Western world. Minister Wu writes as follows: "In days gone by, China was well-nigh cut off from the rest of the world by natural barriers. The Himalayas shut her in effectively on the west. Communication by land could not be kept open over the lofty plateau of Pamir and the desert of Gobi, owing to the wildness of that region and the inhospitableness of the inhabitants. Communication by sea was equally difficult, owing to the small size of the vessels of those days. "Thus China was for centuries left to herself to work out her own destiny. Foreign commerce, therefore, was for a long time to her of no special consequence. But trade was by no means neglected. The whole '484 FORMULATING TERM8 OF PEACE. country was an industrial beehive. Each section had its peculiar prod- ucts and manufactures. The magnificent systems of waterways, both natural and artificial, rendered the remotest parts of the empire accessi- ble and facilitated the interchange of commodities. "An enormous internal trade was developed. China is also blessed with a coast line stretching over 2,000 miles. Vessels laden with silk, rice, and other products from the south used to proceed northward along the coast to the ports of Shantung and Chihli, and return with cargoes of furs and beans. Large junks even made frequent trips to Corea, Annam, Siam, the Philippines, and the islands of the Bast Indies. In fact, we Chinese were already known among our neighbors as traders and m.erchants of the East. "It was, however, only sixty years ago when the commercial relations between China and Western nations were first clearly defined by treaty. Since that time obstacle after obstacle to free intercourse has from time to time been removed, until now China is open to the commerce of the whole world. Perhaps few people can fully realize what this means. In the first place, China has a population of teeming millions. We need the cotton manufactures of Lowell and the food products of the West. In the next place, we have immense naturaj resources to be developed. The Province of Shansi is but a vast bed of coal and iron ore. Petroleum is found in Sze Chuen, quicksilver in Kwei-Ghow, and copper in Yunnan. We need your modern mechanical appliances to suppla-nt the slow pro- cesses of production. Again, we have thousands of miles of railroads to be built. We need your rails, locomotives, and iron bridges. It is need- less for me to go on with the enumeration. Suffice it to say that the market is vast enough for every line of American goods. "The question now before you is. What should be done to obtain a due share of the China trade? It seems to uue there are two courses open to you. The first one is that you should go* to China to show us what you have to sell. We are a practical people. In business we tjake nothing on faith. We have to see what we buy, and we buy only what we want. What is absolutely necessary for you in your mode of life may not be suitable to the condition of things in China. I have all along advocated the establishment of an exposition in Shanghai and in other treaty ports for the exhibition of American goods. This will enable Chinese buyers to find out with the least expenditure of time and labor the quality and FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 485 price of yoiir goods. I am sure that in these respects American goods need fear no competition. "Another course to be pursued for the development of the China trade is that Chinese merchants should be induced to come to your shores, and be afforded every facility to visit the great commercial centers and inspect the immense factories, mills, and other establish- ments in this country. "If Chinese merchants could come more freely to this country and see how things are done in your business establishments, it would cer- tainly give them a better idea of American enterprise and energy, and impress them with greater respect for Anuerican methods. They could also see many things which are new to them, ascertain their utility and their uses, and would then purchase them. I am compelled to say, and I say it with great reluctance, that no such facilities are afforded to Chinese customers to come to this country. Ajmerican manufacturers may have agents in China to sell their goods. But Chinese merchants certainly ought to know best what is most suitable for their home markets. If they could enter this country without unnecessary restric- tions they might be in a better position to select not only what they came to buy, but also* carry home with them a great many things which they had no intention of buying at the outset. It seems to me that self-interest alone ought to point .out the best course for the American people to follow. If you should wish to increase your trade with China every obstacle in the way of free intercourse between the two countries should be removed. As the progress of civilization has leveled one natural barrier after another in order that the peoples of the earth may be drawn together into closer relations, it is certainly contrary to the spirit of the times to erect artificial ones by means of hostile legislation. "With a growing commerce between China and the United States, the question of transportation will no doubt come more and more to the front. In days not long past, the American flag was a common sight among the shipping at Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Chinese ports. Kow it is conspicuous by its absence. If Americans are to make good their claim to a due share of the commercial advantages in China it is essential that they should revive their carrying trade on Chinese waters. I have been informed that more goods have been offered of late to the steamship companies at San Francisco than they can possibly carry with the limited facilities at their command. The result is that the 486 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. freight rates to the Orient have taken a sharp rise. The exporters from the Eastern States will suffer. "If an isthmian canal were in operation connecting the waters of the Atlantic with those of the Pacific, such congestion of traffic at any point on the Pacific coast would be at once relieved. But, unfortunately, the day is still far distant when steamers can pass from ocean to ocean across the Central American isthmus. In the meanwhile the time and tide of trade tarry for no man. Demand for American goods continues to pour in from the East. Without adequate transportation facilities how is it to be met? "After due inquiry I find that Americans do not control a single line of steamers plying between New York and Shanghai by way of the Suez Canal. I have no hesitation in saying that such a line, if estab- lished, will contribute materially to the expansion of trade between the two countries. Mr. Goodnow, your Consul General at Shanghai, reports that rates of freight from New York to China and Japan via Suez vary from 22 shillings 6 pence to 27 shillings 6 pence (|5.46 to |6.68) per ton of forty cubic feet, against 45 shillings to 50 shillings (|10.93 to |12.15) charged by steamship owners from London and Liverpool to the same destination. Thus it is apparent that British steamship companies give preferential rates to American shippers. The English are noted for their acute judgment in matters of business. If English shipowners think it worth their while for business reasons to offer cheaper freight rates to American than to English shippers, it is not to be supposed that they cherish greater love for their American cousins than for their English brethren. It is because they consider it good business policy. Such being the case, it seems strange that you enterprising Americans should so far have made no serious attempt to secure at least a share of the profits arising from carrying your own goods. "If a line of American steamers should ply regularly between China and the Atlantic seaports of the United States, there is scarcely room for doubt that a large shipping business will be done, as greater facili- ties will be afforded to exporters of goods manufactured in the Eastern States. "With the expansion of commerce, as all parts of the earth will become more and more accessible by steamer or railroad, new markets will be opened for American manufactures. Business connections will be established wherever goods find their way. Intercourse and trade FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 487 will make peoples and nations grow more and more friendly to one another, and take a common interest in the welfare of the world, thus contributing an important factor toward the preservation of universal peace." Another expression second only to the foregoing in importance comes from a widely different source. Soon after China's disastrous war with Japan, Chang Chih-Tung, the viceroy of Hupeh and Human, and one of the most influential of Chinese officials, v>^rote and published a treatise advocating sweeping reforms in Chinese conditions and methods of government. The work, which was inspired partly by the weakness of China, as disclosed in the war, and partly by the growing pressure of foreign influence in the empire, made a deep impression upon the emperor, Kuang Hsll, who immediately issued an imperial rescript, ordering that copies should be distributed to the viceroys, governors and literary examiners of China. It was the inauguration of the reform movement, following this, that led the Empress Dowager to dethrone Kuang Hsii, and indirectly provoked the anti-foreign movement which culminated with the assaults upon the legationers in Peking. A translation of this work has just been published, under the title, "China's Only Hope: An Appeal." The translation was made by Samuel I. Woodbridge, and is published by the Fleming H. Revell company of New York and Chicago. As the expression of an intelligent Chinaman's views concerning the western world and China's relations thereto, it is one of the most interesting books yet brought to the notice of English students of the oriental situation. An introductory chapter, by Griffith John of the London mission at Hankow, aflflrms that Chang Chih-Tung is a man of profound scholarship, endowed with no little courage, and singularly unlike other Chinese officials, in that he apparently cares little for the acquisition of money. At all events, th« present volume is noteworthy as evidence that the capacity for patriotic sentiment is by no means lacking among all Chinamen. Viceroy Chang has loud praises for his country's prodigious past history, but he is equally vigorous in his denunciations of what he considers to be its weaknesses. "Of all countries," he writes, "China alone for these fifty years has proved her- self irreclaimably stupid and not awake." The book, it must be remembered, is designed, not for occidental readers, but for Chinamen, and with the obvious purpose of stirring them with information which in their self-satisfax;tion or conceit they 488 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. hitherto have refused to heed. The substance of Viceroy Chang's argu- ment is, in brief, that the hope for the future of China rests on two things — namely, the renaissance of Confucianism and the adoption of western science and practical methods. As the translator interprets his mean- ing, "the old is to form the moral basis, and the new^ is to be used for practical purposes." In setting forth his belief the viceroy, after plainly stating that "the present condition of things is not due to outside nations, but to China herself," presents twenty chapters. Nine of these are grouped under the text "Radical principles a means of rectifying the heart," and are concerned with the moral regeneration of China, while eleven others, upon the text "The intercourse of nations a means of enlightenment," deal with practical affairs. The viceroy sums up his advice under the following "Five Objects of Knowledge:" "1. Know the shame of not being like Japan, Turkey, Siam and Cuba. "2. Know the fear that we will become as India, Annam, Burmah, Korea, Egypt and Poland. "3. Know that if we do not change our customs we cannot reform our methods, and if we do not reform our methods we cannot utilize the modern implements of war, etc. "4. Know what is important. The study of the old is not urgent; the call for men of attainments is useful; knowledge is pressing. Foreign education is of different kinds. Western handicraft is not in demand, but a knowledge of the methods of foreign governments is a consummation devoutly to be wished. "5. Know what is radical. When abroad, do not forget your own native country; when you see strange customs, do not forget your parents; and let not much wisdom and ingenuity make you forget the holy sages." Throughout his book the viceroy, either from conviction or as a matter of policy, speaks in friendly terms of the existing dynasty. It will surprise most western readers to learn from the viceroy that any class of Chinese insurrectionaries have favored the establishment of a republic, but the loyal viceroy opposes this vigorously, declaring that "there is not a particle of good to be derived from it" and adding that inasmuch as a parliamentary body is necessary to a republic and most "Chinese officials and people are obstructive as well as stupid" and "utterly ignorant of the details of civil government," the republic must FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. 48a fail. In addition the writer, who, together with a vast amount of real knowledge, occasionally betrays misinformation, goes even further to assert that a "republic" is not really "ming ch'uen," or "people power," for the people in western republics "only have the right to discuss measures and not to carry these measures into execution." "Americans resident in China," adds this ingenuous critic, "inform us that the ballot box in their country is greatly abused for personal ends, and Chinese admirers of the American republic have not minutely examined its defects." The keynote of Viceroy Chang's discussion of the practical phases of reform is struck in his declaration that "in order to render China power- ful and at the same time preserve our own institutions it is absolutely necessary that we should utilize western knowledge." On this point he is insistent, and he discusses the situation with a keenness of perception and a fearlessness of utterance which make the final chapters of the book well worth reading. He clings tenaciously to his plea for the maintenance of Confucianism and the old Chinese religions, but he bespeaks tolerance for western creeds and demands that travel, schools of science, newspapers, railways, political reforms and the translation of western books into Chinese be promoted constantly. Here he is as direct, practical, concise and level headed as any westerner could be. "Knowledge alone can save us from destruction," he writes. It is imperative, therefore, that Chinese officials become conversant with policy, laws, economy, commerce and science. Japan sprung into prom- inence because men like Ito, Yamagata, Yanomoto and Mutsui "visited foreign countries twenty years ago and learned a method by which to escape the coercion of Europe." China must send men to Japan, and later probably to Europe. Schools must be reformed and new educa- tional societies adopted. Schools of languages must be established that natives may study v/estern books. The anti-reformers, who are divided by the viceroy into "the conservatives, who are stuck in the mud of antiquity, the slow bellies of Chinese officialdom, befuddled, indolent, slippery nepotists, and the hypercritics," must be overcome — China must introduce its own railways. Any one who supposes that the Chinese mind is not capable of grasping the western man's point of view will find the following pas- sages of interest. Who, after reading them, can deny that the Chinaman, whatever his mental plane and point of view, may be thoroughly well 490 FORMULATING TERMS OF PEACE. aware of the meaning of the game of diplomacy as played by the more civilized powers? "There are many who place the most implicit confidence in inter- national law, but these are as stupid as the individuals" who depend on the disarmament society for peace. If countries are equally matched, then intei'uational law is enforced; otherwise, the law is inoperative. For what has international law to do with fighting issues when one country is strong and another weak? * * * China is not on an equal footing with the west. The murder of a foreigner by a Chinese is a very serious matter, but the killing of a Chinaman by a foreigner is a trivial thing. Foreign countries have no mixed courts — in fact, China is really not in the comity of nations, and it is useless to prate about international law\ Disarmament is an international joke, and international law a deception. There is nothing for it but to seek help in ourselves. "If we maintain an army, the weak countries will fear us and the strong will respect us. If we ally ourselves with Europe, then Efurope will win ; if with Asia, Asia will wun. By all means get the army first, and then consider the question of disarmament; for if we talk of dis- armament to the other countries without force to back up our words, we will become- the laughing-stock of the world. It would be like reciting the 'Filial Classic' to a band of armed rebels^, or hoisting a flag of truce to stop a street fight. "Drilling troops is better than disbanding them. With fifty war- ships on the sea and -thirty myriads of'troops on land; with daily addi- tions to both ships and troops ; with the daily strengthening of our forts and equipping them with the best engines of modern- warfare, and with the railways intersecting the land, what country would dare begin hostilities against China, or in any way infringe upon her treaty rights? We would be in a position to redress our wrongs without the fear of staking all upon minor issues. Under these conditions Japan will side with China, Europe will retire and the far east will be at rest." ' Whateve«r other conclusions may be drawn, the viceix)y's interesting volume affords a remarkable proof of the- fact that thia Chinese^ when he does awaken, may be found with an unexpectedly clear perception of the problems which confront him. RETURN MAIN CIRCULATION ALL BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO RECALL RENEW BOOKS BY CALLING 642-3405 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW Wo~f^^ HEC-MOFFlTt "^ tV 55" APR Z 6 1999 FORM NO. 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