Wei dynasty

Towards the end of the 2nd century the power of the Eastern Hans

declined. In 173 a virulent pestilence, which continued for eleven

years, broke out. A magical cure for this plague was said to have been

discovered by a Taoist priest named Chang Chio, who in a single month

won a sufficiently large following to enable him to gain possession of

the northern provinces of the empire. He was, however, defeated by

Ts'aou Ts'aou, another aspirant to imperial honours, whose son, Ts'aou

P'ei, on the death of Hien-ti (A.D. 220), proclaimed himself emperor,

adopting the title of Wei as the appellation of his dynasty. There

were then, however, two other claimants to the throne, Liu Pei and Sun

Ch'uean, and the three adventurers agreed to divide the empire between

them. Ts'aou P'ei, under the title of Wen-ti, ruled over the kingdom

of Wei (220), which occupied the whole of the central and northern

portion of China. Liu Pei established the Shuh Han dynasty in the

modern province of Sze-ch'uen (221), and called himself Chao-lieh-ti;

and to Sun Ch'uean fell the southern provinces of the empire, from the

Yangtsze-kiang southwards, including the modern Tongking, which he

formed into the kingdom of Wu with Nan-king for his capital, adopting

for himself the imperial style of Ta-te (A.D. 222).

"Three kingdom" period.

Western Tsin dynasty.

China during the period of the "Three Kingdoms" was a house divided

against itself. Liu Pei, as a descendant of the house of Han, looked

upon himself as the rightful sovereign of the whole empire, and he

despatched an army under Chu-ko Liang to support his claims. This army

was met by an Oppossing force under the Wei commander Sze-ma I, of

whom Chinese historians say that "he led armies like a god," and who,

by adopting a Fabian policy, completely discomfited his adversary. But

the close of this campaign brought no peace to the country. Wars

became chronic, and the reins of power slipped out of the hands of

emperors into those of their generals. Foremost among these were the

members of the Sze-ma family of Wei. Sze-ma I left a son, Sze-ma Chao,

scarcely less distinguished than himself, and when Sze-ma Chao died

his honours descended to Sze-ma Yen, who deposed the ruling sovereign

of Wei, and proclaimed himself emperor of China (A.D. 265). His

dynasty he styled the Western Tsin dynasty, and he adopted for himself

the title of Wu-ti. The most noticeable event in this reign was the

advent of the ambassadors of the emperor Diocletian in 284. For some

years the neighbouring states appear to have transferred their

allegiance from the house of Wei to that of Tsin. Wu-ti's successors

proving, however, weak and incapable, the country soon fell again into

disorder. The Hiung-nu renewed incursions into the empire at the

beginning of the 4th century, and in the confusion which followed, an

adventurer named Liu Yuen established himself (in 311) as emperor,

first at P'ing-yang in Shan-si and afterwards in Lo-yang and Chang-an.

The history of this period is very chaotic. Numerous states sprang

into existence, some founded by the Hiung-nu and others by the Sien-pi

tribe, a Tungusic clan, inhabiting a territory to the north of China,

which afterwards established the Liao dynasty in China. In 419 the

Eastern Tsin dynasty came to an end, and with it disappeared for

nearly two hundred years all semblance of united authority. The

country became divided into two parts, the north and the south. In the

north four families reigned successively, two of which were of Sien-pi

origin, viz. the Wei and the How Chow, the other two, the Pih Ts'i and

the How Liang, being Chinese. In the south five different houses

supplied rulers, who were all of Chinese descent.

Suy dynasty.

This period of disorder was brought to a close by the establishment of

the Suy dynasty (590). Among the officials of the ephemeral dynasty of

Chow was one Yang Kien, who on his daughter becoming empress (578) was

created duke of Suy. Two years later Yang Kien proclaimed himself

emperor. The country, weary of contention, was glad to acknowledge his

undivided authority; and during the sixteen years of his reign the

internal affairs of China were comparatively peaceably administered.

The emperor instituted an improved code of laws, and added 5000

volumes to the 10,000 which composed the imperial library. Abroad, his

policy was equally successful. He defeated the Tatars and chastised

the Koreans, who had for a long period recognized Chinese suzerainty,

but were torn by civil wars and were disposed to reject her authority.

After his death in 604 his second son forced the heir to the throne to

strangle himself, and then seized the throne. This usurper, Yang-ti,

sent expeditions against the Tatars, and himself headed an expedition

against the Uighurs, while one of his generals annexed the Lu-chu

Islands to the imperial crown. During his reign the volumes in the

imperial library were increased 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 on

the emperor's return from a successful expedition against the Koreans,

he found the empire divided into rebellious factions. In the troubles

which followed General Li Yuen became prominent. On the death of the

emperor by assassination this man set Kung-ti, the rightful heir, on

the throne (617) until such time as he should have matured his

schemes.

Tang dynasty.

Kung-ti was poisoned in the following year and Li Yuen proclaimed

himself as Kao-tsu, the first emperor of the T'ang dynasty. At this time

the Turks were at the height of their power in Asia (see TURKS:

_History_), and Kao-tsu was glad to purchase their alliance with money.

But divisions weakened the power of the Turks, and T'ai-tsung (reigned

627-650), Kao-tsu's son and successor, regained much of the position in

Central Asia which had formerly been held by China. In 640 Hami, Turfan

and the rest of the Turkish territory were again included within the

Chinese empire, and four military governorships were appointed in

Central Asia, viz. at Kucha, Khotan, Kharastan and Kashgar. At the same

time the frontier was extended as far as eastern Persia and the Caspian

Sea. So great was now the fame of China, that ambassadors from Nepal,

Magadha, Persia and Constantinople (643) came to pay their court to the

emperor. Under T'ai-tsung there was national unity and peace, and in

consequence agriculture and commerce as well as literature flourished.

The emperor gave direct encouragements to the Nestorians, and gave a

favourable reception to an embassy from Mahommed (see ante Sec.

_Religion_). On the accession of Kao-tsung (650) his wife, Wu How,

gained supreme influence, and on the death of her husband in 683 she set

aside his lawful successor, Chung-tsung, and took possession of the

throne. This was the first occasion the country was ruled by a dowager

empress. She governed with discretion, and her armies defeated the

Khitan in the north-east and also the Tibetans, who had latterly gained

possession of Kucha, Khotan and Kashgar. On her death, in 705,

Chung-tsung partially left the obscurity in which he had lived during

his mother's reign. But his wife, desiring to play a similar role to

that enjoyed by her mother-in-law, poisoned him and set his son,

Jui-tsung (710), on the throne. This monarch, who was weak and vicious,

was succeeded by Yuen-tsung (713), who introduced reform into the

administration and encouraged literature and learning. The king of

Khokand applied for aid against the Tibetans and Arabs, and Yuen-tsung

sent an army to his succour, but his general was completely defeated.

During the disorder which arose in consequence of the invasion of the

northern provinces by the Khitan, General An Lu-shan, an officer of

Turkish descent, placed himself at the head of a revolt, and having

secured Tung-kwan on the Yellow river, advanced on Chang-an. Thereupon

the emperor fled, and placed his son, Su-tsung (756-762), on the throne.

This sovereign, with the help of the forces of Khotan, Khokand and

Bokhara, of the Uighurs and of some 4000 Arabs sent by the caliph

Mansur, completely defeated An Lu-shan. During the following reigns the

Tibetans made constant incursions into the western provinces of the

empire, and T'ai-tsung (763-780) purchased the assistance of the Turks

against those intruders by giving a Chinese princess as wife to the

khan.

At this epoch the eunuchs of the palace gained an unwonted degree of

power, and several of the subsequent emperors fell victims to their

plots. The T'ang dynasty, which for over a hundred years had governed

firmly and for the good of the nation, began to decline. The history

of the 8th and 9th centuries is for the most part a monotonous record

of feeble governments, oppressions and rebellions. Almost the only

event worth chronicling is the iconoclastic policy of the emperor

Wu-tsung (841-847). Viewing the increase of monasteries and

ecclesiastical establishments as an evil, he abolished all temples,

closed 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 return

whence they came. Buddhism again revived during the reign of the

emperor I-tsung (860-874), who, having discovered a bone of Buddha,

brought it to the capital in great state. By internal dissensions the

empire became so weakened that the prince of Liang found no difficulty

in gaining possession of the throne (907). He took the title of

T'ai-tsu, being the first emperor of the Later Liang dynasty. Thus

ended the T'ang dynasty, which is regarded as being the golden age of

Chinese literature.

Five dynasties, viz. the Later Liang, the Later T'ang, the Later Tsin,

the Later Han and the Later Chow, followed each other between the

years 907 and 960. 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 T'ang

dynasty was tottering to its fall fostered the development of

independent states, and so arose Liang in Ho-nan and Shan-tung, Ki in

Shen-si, Hwai-nan in Kiang-nan, Chow in Sze-ch'uen and parts of

Shen-si and Hu-kwang, Wu-yu[)e] in Cheh-kiang, Tsu and King-nan in

Hu-kwang, Ling-nan in Kwang-tung and the Uighurs in Tangut.

Sung dynasty.

A partial end was made to this recognized disorganization when, in 960,

General Chao Kw'ang-yin was proclaimed by the army emperor in succession

to the youthful Kung-ti, who was compelled to abdicate. The

circumstances of the time justified the change. It required a strong

hand to weld the empire together again, and to resist the attacks of the

Khitan Tatars, whose rule at this period extended over the whole of

Manchuria and Liao-tung. Against these aggressive neighbours T'ai-tsu

(_ne_ Chao Kw'ang-yin) directed his efforts with varying success, and he

died in 976, while the war was still being waged. His son T'ai-tsung

(976-997) entered on the campaign with energy, but in the end was

compelled to conclude a peace with the Khitan. His successor, Chen-tsung

(997-1022), paid them tribute to abstain from further incursions.

Probably this tribute was not sent regularly; at all events, under

Jen-tsung (1023-1064), the Khitan again threatened to invade the empire,

and were only bought off by the promise of an annual tribute of taels

200,000 of silver, besides a great quantity of silken piece goods.

Neither was this arrangement long binding, and so formidable were the

advances made by the Tatars in the foilowing reigns, that Hwei-tsung

(1101-1126) invited the Nuechih Tatars to expel the Khitan from

Liao-tung. This they did, but having once possessed themselves of the

country they declined to yield it to the Chinese, and the result was

that a still more aggressive neighbour was established on the

north-eastern frontier of China. The Nuechih or Kin, as they now styled

themselves, overran the provinces of Chih-li, Shen-si, Shan-si and

Ho-nan, and during the reign of Kao-tsung (1127-1163) they advanced

their conquests to the line of the Yangtsze-kiang. From this time the

Sung ruled only over southern China; while the Kin or "Golden" dynasty

reign"d in the north. The Kin made Chung-tu, which occupied in part the

site of the modern Peking, their usual residence. The Sung fixed their

capital at Nanking and afterwards at Hangchow. Between them and the Kin

there was almost constant war.

Mongol invasion: 12th century.

During this period the Mongols began to acquire power in eastern Asia,

and about the beginning of the 12th century the forces of Jenghiz Khan

(q.v.) invaded the north-western frontier of China and the principality

of Hia, which at that time consisted of the modern provinces of Shen-si

and Kan-suh. To purchase the good-will of the Mongols the king of Hia

agreed to pay them a tribute, and gave a princess in marriage to their

ruler. In consequence of a dispute with the Kin emperor Wei-shao Wang,

Jenghiz Khan determined to invade Liao-tung. He was aided by the

followers of the Khitan leader Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai, and in alliance with

this general he captured Liao-yang, the capital city.

After an unsuccessful invasion of China in 1212, Jenghiz Khan renewed

the attack in 1213. He divided his armies into four divisions, and

made a general advance southwards. His soldiers swept over Ho-nan,

Chih-li and Shan-tung, destroying upwards of ninety cities. It was

their boast that a horseman might ride without stumbling over the

sites where those cities had stood. Panic-stricken, the emperor moved

his court from Chung-tu to K'ai-feng Fu, much against the advice of

his ministers, who foresaw the disastrous effect this retreat would

have on the fortunes of Kin. 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, Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai advanced into China by the

Shan-hai Kwan, and made himself master of Peking, 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 an oath which he had sworn to Jenghiz Khan. In 1216 Tung-kwan, a

mountain pass on the frontiers of Ho-nan and Shen-si, and the scene of

numerous dynastic battles (as it is the only gateway between

north-eastern and north-western China), was taken by the invaders. As

the war dragged on the resistance offered by the Kin grew weaker and

weaker. In 1220 Chi-nan Fu, the capital of Shan-tung, was taken, and

five years later Jenghiz Khan marched an army westward into Hia and

conquered the forces of the king. Two years later (1227) Jenghiz Khan

died.

With the view to the complete conquest of China by the Mongols,

Jenghiz declined to nominate either of the eldest two sons who had

been born to his Chinese wives as his heir, but chose his third son

Ogdai, whose mother was a Tatar. On hearing of the death of Jenghiz

Khan the Kin sent an embassy to his successor desiring peace, but

Ogdai told them there would be no peace for them until their dynasty

should be overthrown. Hitherto the Mongols had been without any code

of laws. But the consolidation of the nation by the conquests of

Jenghiz 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 Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai, he established custom-houses in

Chih-li, Shan-tung, Shan-si and Liao-tung; and for this purpose

divided these provinces into ten departments. Meanwhile the war with

the Kin was carried on with energy. In 1230 Si-gan Fu was taken, and

sixty important posts were captured. Two years later, Tu-le, brother

of Ogdai, took Feng-siang Fu and Han-chung Fu, in the flight from

which last-named place 100,000 persons 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-feng.

The Kin dynasty overthrown.

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 for ever. The effect of this coalition soon became

apparent. Barely had the Kin emperor retreated from K'ai-feng Fu to

Ju-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 Ju-ning Fu. The presence of the emperor gave energy to the

defenders, and they held out until 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 that the women manned the ramparts, and then the allies

stormed the walls. The emperor 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

Chang-lin, but in a tumult which broke out amongst his followers he

lost his life, and with him ended the "Golden" dynasty.

Notwithstanding the treaty between Ogdai and Sung, no sooner were the

spoils of Kin to be divided than war broke out again between them, in

prosecuting which the Mongol armies swept over the provinces of

Sze-ch'uen, Hu-kwang, Kiang-nan and Ho-nan, and were checked only when

they reached the walls of Lu-chow Fu in Ngan-hui. Ogdai died in 1241,

and was nominally succeeded by his grandson Cheliemen. But one of his

widows, Tolickona, took possession of the throne, and after exercising

rule for four years, established her son Kwei-yew as great khan. In

1248 his life was cut short, and the nobles, disregarding the claims

of Cheliemen, proclaimed as emperor Mangu, the eldest son of Tu-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, at that time divided into a number of

independent states, and having attached them to his brother's crown he

passed on into Tibet, Tongking and Cochin-China, and thence striking

northwards entered the province of Kwang-si.

Kublai Khan emperior.

On the death of Mangu in 1259 Kublai (q.v.) ascended the throne. Never

in the history of China was the nation more illustrious, nor its power

more widely felt, than under his sovereignty. During the first twenty

years of his reign Sung kept up a resistance against his authority.

Their last emperor Ping-ti, seeing his cause lost, drowned himself in

the sea. The Sung dynasty, which had ruled southern China 320 years,

despite its misfortunes is accounted one of the great dynasties of

China. During its sway arts and literature were cultivated and many

eminent writers flourished. His enemies subdued, Kublai Khan in 1280

assumed complete jurisdiction as emperor of China. He took the title of

Shit-su and founded what is known as the Yuen dynasty. He built a new

capital close to Chung-tu, which became known as Kaanbaligh (city of the

khan), in medieval European chronicles, Cambaluc, and later as Peking.

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 regularly their

tribute." It was during this reign that Marco Polo visited China, and he

describes in glowing colours the virtues and glories of the "great

khan." His rule was characterized by discretion and munificence. He

undertook public works, he patronized literature, and relieved the

distress of the poor, but the Chinese never forgot that he was an alien

and regarded him as a barbarian. 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-cheng. This monarch

died in 1307 after an uneventful reign, and, as he left no son,

Wu-tsung, a Mongol prince, became emperor. To him succeeded Jen-tsung in

1312, who made himself conspicuous by the honour he showed to the memory

of Confucius, and by distributing offices more equally between Mongols

and Chinese than had hitherto been done. This act of justice gave great

satisfaction to the Chinese, and his death ended a peaceful and

prosperous reign in 1320. At this time there appears to have been a

considerable commercial intercourse between Europe and China. But after

Jen-tsung's death the dynasty fell on evil days. The Mongols in adopting

Chinese civilization had lost much of their martial spirit. They were

still regarded as alien by the Chinese and numerous secret societies

were formed to achieve their overthrow. Jen-tsung's successors were weak

and incapable rulers, and in the person of Shun-ti (1333-1368) were

summed up the vices and faults of his predecessors. Revolts broke out,

and finally this descendant of Jenghiz Khan was compelled to fly before

Chu Yueen-chang, the son of a Chinese labouring man. Deserted by his

followers, he sought refuge in Ying-chang Fu, and there the last of the

Yueen dynasty died. These Mongol emperors, whatever their faults, had

shown tolerance to Christian missionaries and Papal legates (see _ante_

Sec. _The Medieval Cathay_).

Ming dynasty.

Chu Yueen-chang met with little opposition, 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 captured Nanking, and

proclaimed himself duke of Wu, but carefully avoided adopting any of the

insignia of royalty. Even when master of the empire, thirteen years

later, he still professed to dislike the idea of assuming the imperial

title. His scruples were overcome, and he declared himself emperor in

1368. He carried his arms into Tatary, where he subdued the last

semblance of Mongol power in that direction, and then bent his steps

towards Liao-tung. Here the Mongols defended themselves with the bravery

of despair, but unavailingly, and the conquest of this province left

Hung-wu, as the founder of the new or Ming ("Bright") dynasty styled

himself, without a foe in the empire.

All intercourse with Europe seems now to have ceased until the

Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, but Hung-wu cultivated

friendly relations with the neighbouring states. As a quondam Buddhist

priest he lent his countenance to that religion to the exclusion of

Taoism, whose priests had for centuries earned the contempt of all but

the most ignorant by their pretended magical arts and their search

after the philosopher's stone. Hung-wu died in 1398 and was succeeded

by his grandson Kien-Wen. Aware that the appointment of this

youth--his father was dead--would give offence to the young emperor's

uncles, Hung-wu had dismissed them to their respective governments.

However, the prince of Yen, his eldest surviving son, rose in revolt

as soon as the news reached him of his nephew's accession, and after

gaining several victories over the armies of Kien-wen he presented

himself before the gates of Nanking, the capital. Treachery opened the

gates to him, and the emperor having fled in the disguise of a monk,

the victorious prince became emperor and took the title of Yung-lo

(1403). At home Yung-lo devoted himself to the encouragement of

literature and the fine arts, and, possibly from a knowledge that

Kien-wen was among the Buddhist priests, he renewed the law

prohibiting Buddhism. Abroad he swept Cochin-China and Tongking within

the folds of his empire and carried his arms into Tatary, where he

made new conquests of waste regions, and erected a monument of his

victories. He died in 1425, and was succeeded by his son Hung-hi.

Hung-hi's reign was short and uneventful. He strove to promote only

such mandarins as had proved themselves to be able and honest, and to

further the welfare of the people. During the reign of his successor,

Sueen-te (1426-1436), the empire suffered the first loss of territory

since the commencement of the dynasty. Cochin-China rebelled and

gained her independence. The next emperor, Cheng-t'ung (1436), was

taken prisoner by a Tatar chieftain, a descendant of the Yueen family

named Yi-sien, who had invaded the northern Erovinces. Having been

completely defeated by a Chinese force from Liao-tung, Yi-sien

liberated his captive, who reoccupied the throne, which during his

imprisonment (1450-1457) had been held by his brother King-ti. The two

following reigns, those of Cheng-hwa (1465-1488) and of Hung-chi

(1488-1506), were quiet and peaceful.

Struggle with Japan for Korea.

The most notable event in the reign of the next monarch, Cheng-te

(1506-1522), was the arrival of the Portuguese at Canton (1517). From

this time dates modern European intercourse with China. Cheng-te

suppressed a formidable insurrection headed by the prince of Ning, but

disorder caused by this civil war encouraged the foreign enemies of

China. From the north came a Tatar army under Yen-ta in 1542, during

the reign of Kia-tsing, which laid waste the province of Shen-si, and

even threatened the capital, and a little later a Japanese fleet

ravaged the littoral provinces. Ill-blood had arisen between the two

peoples before this, and a Japanese colony had been driven out of

Ningpo by force and not without bloodshed a few years previously.

Kia-tsing (d. 1567) was not equal to such emergencies, and his son

Lung-king (1567-1573)sought to placate the Tatar Yen-ta by making him

a prince of the empire and giving him commercial privileges, which

were supplemented by the succeeding emperor Wan-li (1573-1620) by the

grant of land in Shen-si. During the reign of this sovereign, in the

year 1592, the Japanese successfully invaded Korea, and Taikosarna,

the regent 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, appeared and completely routed the Japanese army, at the

same time that the Chinese fleet cut off 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, defeated the Chinese army, 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 direction of China. Four years later the missionary Matteo Ricci

(q.v.) arrived at the Chinese court; and though at first the emperor

was inclined to send him out of the country, his abilities gradually

won for him the esteem of the sovereign and his ministers, and he

remained the scientific adviser of the court until his death in 1610.

Manchu invasion: 17th century.

About this time the Manchu Tatars, 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 defeated the force which was sent against

them. Three years later they gained possession of the province of

Liao-tung. These disasters overwhelmed the emperor, and he died of a

broken heart in 1620.

In the same year T'ien-ming, the Manchu sovereign, having declared

himself independent, moved the court to San-ku, to the east of Mukden,

which, five years later, he made his capital. In 1627 Ts'ung-cheng, the

last emperor of the Ming dynasty, ascended the Chinese throne. In his

reign English merchants first made their appearance at Canton. The

empire was now torn by internal dissensions. Rebel bands, enriched by

plunder, and grown bold by success, began to assume the proportion of

armies. Two rebels, Li Tsze-ch'eng and Shang K'o-hi, decided to divide

the empire between them. Li besieged K'ai-feng Fu, the capital of

Ho-nan, and so long and closely did he beleaguer it that in the

consequent famine human flesh was regularly sold in the markets. At

length an imperial force came to raise the siege, but fearful of meeting

Li's army, 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 (1642). From K'ai-feng Fu

Li marched against the other strongholds of Ho-nan and Shen-si, and was

so completely successful that he determined 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 Tatary, he, in an

unguarded moment, concluded a peace with the Manchus, and invited them

to dispossess Li Tsze-ch'eng. The Manchus entered China, and after

defeating a rebel army sent against them, they marched towards Peking.

On hearing of the approach of the invaders, Li Tsze-ch'eng, after having

set fire to the imperial palace, evacuated the city, but was overtaken,

and his force was completely routed.

Ta-ts'ing dynasty.

The Chinese now wished the Manchus to retire, but, having taken

possession of Peking, they proclaimed the ninth son of T'ien-ming

emperor of China under the title of Shun-chi, and adopted the name of

Ta-ts'ing, or "Great Pure," for the dynasty (1644). Meanwhile the

mandarins at Nanking had chosen an imperial prince to ascend the throne.

At this most inopportune moment "a claimant" to the throne, in the

person of a pretended son of the last emperor, appeared at court. While

this contention prevailed inside Nanking the Tatar army appeared at the

walls. There was no need for them to use force. The gates were thrown

open, and they took possession of the city without bloodshed. Following

the conciliatory policy they had everywhere pursued, they confirmed the

mandarins in their offices and granted a general amnesty to all who

would lay down their arms. As the Tatars entered the city the emperor

left it, and after wandering about for some days in great misery, he

drowned himself in the Yangtsze-kiang. Thus ended the Ming dynasty, and

the empire passed again under a foreign yoke. By the Mings, who partly

revived the feudal system by making large territorial grants to members

of the reigning house, China was divided into fifteen provinces; the

existing division into eighteen provinces was made by the Manchus.

All accounts agree in stating that the Manchu conquerors are

descendants of a branch of the family which gave the Kin dynasty to

the north of China; and in lieu of any authentic account of their

early history, native writers have thrown a cloud of fable over their

origin (see MANCHURIA). In the 16th century they were strong enough to

cope with their Chinese neighbours. Doubtless the Mings tried to check

their ambition by cruel reprisals, but against this must be put

numerous Manchu raids into Liao-tung.

The accession to the throne of the emperor Shun-chi did not restore

peace to the country. In Kiang-si, Fu-kien, Kwang-tung and Kwang-si

the adherents of the Ming dynasty defended themselves vigorously but

unsuccessfully against the invaders, while the pirate Cheng Chi-lung,

the father of the celebrated Coxinga, kept up a predatory warfare

against them on the coast. Eventually he was induced to visit Peking,

where he was thrown into prison and died. Coxinga, warned by his

father's example, determined to leave the mainland and to seek an

empire elsewhere. His choice fell on Formosa, and having driven out

the Dutch, who had established themselves in the island in 1624, he

held possession until the reign of K'ang-hi, when (1682) he resigned

in favour of the imperial government. Meanwhile a prince of the house

of Ming was proclaimed emperor in Kwang-si, under the title of

Yung-li. The Tatars having reduced Fu-kien and Kiang-si, and having

taken Canton after a siege of eight months, completely routed his

followers, and Yung-li was compelled to fly to Pegu. Some years later,

with the help of adherents in Yun-nan and Kwei-chow, he tried to

regain the throne, but his army was scattered, and he was taken

prisoner and strangled. Gradually opposition to the new regime became

weaker and weaker, and the shaved head with the pig-tail--the symbol

of Tatar sovereignty--became more and more adopted. In 1651 died Ama

Wang, the uncle of Shun-chi, who had acted as regent during his

nephew's minority, and the emperor then assumed the government of the

state. He appears to have taken a great interest in science, and to

have patronized Adam Schaal, a German Jesuit, who was at that time

resident at 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-chi died (1661). and

was succeeded by his son K'ang-hi. He came into collision with the

Russians, who had reached the Amur regions about 1640 and had built a

fort on the upper Amur; but by the Treaty of Nerchinsk, concluded in

1689 (the first treaty made between China and a European power), the

dispute was settled, the Amur being taken as the frontier. K'ang-hi

was indefatigable in administering the affairs of the empire, and he

devoted much of his time to literary and scientific studies under the

guidance of the Jesuits. The dictionary of the Chinese language,

published under his superintendence, proves him to have been as great

a scholar as his conquests over the Eleuths show him to have been

famous as a general. During one of his hunting expeditions to Mongolia

he caught a fatal cold, and he died in 1721. Under his rule Tibet was

added to the empire, which extended from the Siberian frontier to

Cochin-China, and from the China Sea to Turkestan. During his reign

there was a great earthquake at Peking, in which 400,000 people are

said to have perished.

K'ien-lung, who began to reign in 1735, was ambitious and warlike. He

marched an army into Hi, which he converted into a Chinese province,

and he afterwards added eastern Turkestan to the empire. Twice he

invaded Burma, and once he penetrated into Cochin-China, but in

neither country were his arms successful. He is accused of great

cruelty towards his subjects, which they repaid by rebelling against

him. During his reign the Mahommedan standard was first raised in

Kan-suh. (Since the Mongol conquest in the 13th century there had been

a considerable immigration of Moslems into western China; and numbers

of Chinese had become converts). But the Mussulmans were unable to

stand against the imperial troops; their armies were dispersed; ten

thousand of them were exiled; and an order was issued that every

Mahommedan in Kan-suh above the age of fifteen should be put to death

(1784).

K'ien-lung wrote incessantly, both poetry and prose, collected

libraries and republished works of value. His campaigns furnished him

with themes for his verses, and in the Summer Palace was found a

handsome manuscript copy of a laudatory poem he composed on the

occasion of his war against the Gurkhas. This was one of the most

successful of his military undertakings. His generals marched 70,000

men into Nepal to within 60 miles of the British frontiers, and having

subjugated the Gurkhas they received the submission of the Nepalese,

and acquired an additional hold over Tibet (1792). In other directions

his arms were not so successful. There is no poem commemorating the

campaign against the rebellious Formosans, nor lament over the loss of

100,000 men in that island, and the last few years of his reign were

disturbed by outbreaks among the Miao-tsze, hill tribes living in the

mountains in the provinces of Kwei-chow and Kwang-si. In 1795, after a

reign of sixty years, K'ien-lung abdicated in favour of his fifteenth

son, who adopted the title of Kia-k'ing as the style of his reign.

K'ien-lung died at the age of eighty-eight in 1798.

Trade with Europe.

During the reign of K'ien-lung commerce between Europe and Canton--the

only Chinese port then open to foreign trade--had attained important

dimensions. It was mainly in the hands of the Portuguese, the British

and the Dutch. The British trade was then a monopoly of the East India

Company. The trade, largely in opium, tea and silk, was subject to many

exactions and restrictions,[49] and many acts of gross injustice were

committed on the persons of Englishmen. To obtain some redress the

British government at length sent an embassy to Peking (1793) and Lord

Macartney was chosen to represent George III. on the occasion. The

mission was treated as showing that Great Britain was a state tributary

to China, and Lord Macartney was received with every courtesy. But the

concessions he sought were not accorded, and in this sense his mission

was a failure.

Kia-k'ing's reign was disturbed and disastrous. In the northern and

western provinces, rebellion after rebellion broke out, due in a great

measure to the carelessness, incompetency and obstinacy of the emperor,

and the coasts were infested with pirates, whose number and organization

enabled them for a long time to hold the imperial fleet in check.

Meanwhile the condition of the foreign merchants at Canton had not

improved, and to set matters on a better footing the British government

despatched a second ambassador in the person of Lord Amherst to Peking

in 1816. As he declined to _kowtow_ before the emperor, he was not

admitted to the imperial presence and the mission proved abortive.

Destitute of all royal qualities, a slave to his passions, and the

servant of caprice, Kia-k'ing died in 1820. The event fraught with the

greatest consequences to China which occurred in his reign (though at

the time it attracted little attention) was the arrival of the first

Protestant missionary, Dr R. Morrison (q.v.), who reached Canton in

1807.

Tao-kwang (1820-1850), the new emperor, though possessed in his early

years of considerable energy, had no sooner ascended the throne than he

gave himself up to the pursuit of pleasure. The reforms which his first

manifestoes foreshadowed never seriously occupied his attention.

Insurrection occurred in Formosa, Kwang-si, Ho-nan and other parts of

the empire, and the Triad Society, which had originated during the reign

of K'ang-hi, again became formidable.

War with Great Britain, 1840.

More important to the future of the country than the internal

disturbances was the new attitude taken at this time towards China by

the nations of Europe. Hitherto the European missionaries and traders in

China had been dependent upon the goodwill of the Chinese. The

Portuguese had been allowed to settle at Macao (q.v.) for some

centuries; Roman Catholic missionaries since the time of Ricci had been

alternately patronized and persecuted; Protestant missionaries had

scarcely gained a foothold; the Europeans allowed to trade at Canton

continued to suffer under vexatious regulations--the Chinese in general

regarded Europeans as barbarians, "foreign devils." Of the armed

strength of Europe they were ignorant. They were now to be undeceived,

Great Britain being the first power to take action. The hardships

inflicted on the British merchants at Canton became so unbearable that

when, in 1834, the monopoly of the East India Company ceased, the

British government sent Lord Napier as minister to superintend the

foreign trade at that port. Lord Napier was inadequately supported, and

the anxieties of his position brought on an attack of fever, from which

he died at Macao after a few months' residence in China. The chief cause

of complaint adduced by the mandarins was the introduction of opium by

the merchants, and for years they attempted by every means in their

power to put a stop to its importation. At length Captain (afterwards

Admiral Sir Charles) Elliot, the superintendent of trade, in 1839 agreed

that all the opium in the hands of Englishmen should be given up to the

native authorities, and he exacted a pledge from the merchants that they

would no longer deal in the drug. On the 3rd of April 20,283 chests of

opium were handed over to the mandarins and were by them destroyed. The

surrender of the opium led to further demands by Lin Tze-su, the Chinese

imperial commissioner, demands which were considered by the British

government to amount to a _casus belli_, and in 1840 war was declared.

In the same year the fleet captured Chusan, and in the following year

the Bogue Forts fell, in consequence of which operations the Chinese

agreed to cede Hong-Kong to the victors and to pay them an indemnity of

6,000,000 dollars. As soon as this news reached Peking, Ki Shen, who had

succeeded Commissioner Lin, was dismissed from his post and degraded,

and Yi Shen, another Tatar, was appointed in his room. Before the new

commissioner reached his post Canton had fallen into the hands of Sir

Hugh Gough, and shortly afterwards Amoy, Ning-po, Tinghai in Chusan,

Chapu, Shanghai and Chin-kiang Fu shared the same fate. Nanking would

also have been captured had not the imperial government, dreading the

loss of the "Southern Capital," proposed terms of peace. Sir Henry

Pottinger, who had succeeded Captain Elliot, concluded, in 1842, a

treaty with the imperial commissioners, by which the four additional

ports of Amoy, Fu-chow, Ningpo and Shanghai were declared open to

foreign trade, and an indemnity of 21,000,000 dollars was to be paid to

the British.

Hien-feng emperor.

T'ai-p'ing rebellion.

On the accession of Hien-feng in 1850, a demand was raised for the

reforms which had been hoped for under Tao-kwang, but Hien-feng

possessed in an exaggerated form the selfish and tyrannical nature of

his father, together with a voluptuary's craving for every kind of

sensual pleasure. For some time Kwang-si had been in a very disturbed

state, and when the people found that there was no hope of relief from

the oppression they endured, they proclaimed a youth, who was said to

be the representative of the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, as

emperor, under the title of T'ien-te or "Heavenly Virtue." From

Kwang-si the revolt spread into Hu-peh and Hu-nan, and then languished

from want of a leader and a definite political cry. When, however,

there appeared to be a possibility that, by force of arms and the

persuasive influence of money, the imperialists would re-establish

their supremacy, a leader presented himself in Kwang-si, whose energy

of character, combined with great political and religious enthusiasm,

speedily gained for him the suffrages of the discontented. This was

Hung Siu-ts'uean. He proclaimed himself as sent by heaven to drive out

the Tatars, and to restore in his own person the succession to China.

At the same time, having been converted to Christianity and professing

to abhor the vices and sins of the age, he called on all the virtuous

of the land to extirpate rulers who were standing examples of all that

was base and vile in human nature. Crowds soon flocked to his

standard. T'ien-te was deserted; and putting himself at the head of

his followers (who abandoned the practice of shaving the head), Hung

Siu-ts'uean marched northwards and captured Wu-ch'ang on the

Yangtsze-kiang, the capital of Hu-peh. Then, moving down the river, he

proceeded to the attack of Nanking. Without much difficulty Hung

Siu-ts'uean in 1853 established himself within its walls, and

proclaimed the inauguration of the T'ai-p'ing dynasty, of which he

nominated himself the first emperor under the title of T'ien Wang or

"Heavenly king." During the next few years his armies penetrated

victoriously as far north as Tientsin and as far east as Chin-kiang

and Su-chow, while bands of sympathizers with his cause appeared in

the neighbourhood of Amoy. As if still further to aid him in his

schemes, Great Britain declared war against the Tatar dynasty in 1857,

in consequence of an outrage known as the "Arrow" affair (see PARKES,

SIR HARRY SMITH). In December 1857 Canton was taken by the British,

and a further blow was struck against the prestige of the Manchu

dynasty by the determination of Lord Elgin, who had been sent as

special ambassador, to go to Peking and communicate directly with the

emperor. In May 1858 the Taku Forts were taken, and Lord Elgin went up

the Peiho to Tientsin _en route_ for the capital. At Tientsin,

however, imperial commissioners persuaded him to conclude a treaty

with them on the spot, which treaty it was agreed should be ratified

at Peking in the following year. When, however, Sir Frederick Bruce,

who had been appointed minister to the court of Peking, attempted to

pass Taku to carry out this arrangement, the vessels escorting him

were treacherously fired on from the forts and he was compelled to

return. Thereupon Lord Elgin was again sent out with full powers,

accompanied by a large force under the command of Sir Hope Grant. The

French (to seek reparation for the murder of a missionary in Kwang-si)

took part in the campaign, and on the 1st of August 1860 the allies

landed without meeting with any opposition at Pei-tang, a village 12

m. north of Taku. A few days later the forts at that place were taken,

and thence the allies marched to Peking. Finding further resistance to

be hopeless, the Chinese opened negotiations, and as a guarantee of

their good faith surrendered the An-ting gate of the capital to the

allies. On the 24th of October 1860 the treaty of 1858 was ratified by

Prince Kung and Lord Elgin, and a convention was signed under the

terms of which the Chinese agreed to pay a war indemnity of 8,000,000

taels. The right of Europeans to travel in the interior was granted

and freedom guaranteed to the preaching of Christianity. The customs

tariff then agreed upon legalized the import of opium, though the

treaty of 1858, like that of 1842, was silent on the subject.

Great Britain and France were not the only powers of Europe with whom

Hien-feng was called to deal. On the northern border of the empire

Russia began to exercise pressure. Russia had begun to colonize the

lower Amur region, and was pressing towards the Pacific. This was a

remote region, only part of the Chinese empire since the Manchu

conquest, and by treaties of 1858 and 1860 China ceded to Russia all

its territory north of the Amur and between the Ussuri and the Pacific

(see AMUR, province). The Russians in their newly acquired land

founded the port of Vladivostok (q.v.).

T'ung-chi emperor; dowager empress regent.

Hien-feng died in the summer of the year 1861, leaving the throne to

his son T'ung-chi (1861-1875), a child of five years old, whose

mother, Tsz'e Hsi (1834-1908), had been raised from the place of

favourite concubine to that of Imperial Consort. The legitimate

empress, Tsz'e An, was childless, and the two dowagers became joint

regents. The conclusion of peace with the allies was the signal for a

renewal of the campaign against the T'ai-p'ings, and, benefiting by

the friendly feelings of the British authorities engendered by the

return of amicable relations, the Chinese government succeeded in

enlisting Major Charles George Gordon (q.v.) of the Royal Engineers in

their service. In a suprisingly short space of time this officer

formed the troops, which had formerly been under the command of an

American named Ward, into a formidable army, and without delay took

the field against the rebels. From that day the fortunes of the

T'ai-p'ings declined. They lost city after city, and, finally in July

1864, the imperialists, after an interval of twelve years, once more

gained possession of Nanking. T'ien Wang committed suicide on the

capture of his capital, and with him fell his cause. Those of his

followers who escaped the sword dispersed throughout the country, and

the T'ai-p'ings ceased to be.

With the measure of peace which was then restored to the country trade

rapidly revived, except in Yun-nan, where the Mahommedan rebels, known

as Panthays, under Suleiman, still kept the imperial forces at bay.

Against these foes the government was careless to take active

measures, until in 1872 Prince Hassan, the adopted son of Suleiman,

was sent to England to gain the recognition of the queen for his

father's government. This step aroused the susceptibilities of the

imperial government, and a large force was despatched to the scene of

the rebellion. Before the year was out the Mahommedan capital Ta-li Fu

fell into the hands of the imperialists, and the followers of Suleiman

were mercilessly exterminated. In February 1873 the two dowager

empresses resigned their powers as regents. This long-expected time

was seized upon by the foreign ministers to urge their right of

audience with the emperor, and on the 29th of June 1873 tne privilege

of gazing on the "sacred countenance" was accorded them.

Accession of Kwang-su, 1875.

The emperor T'ung-chi died without issue, and the succession to the

throne, for the first time in the annals of the Ts'ing dynasty, passed

out of the direct line. As already stated, the first emperor of the

Ts'ing dynasty, Shih-tsu Hwangti, on gaining possession of the throne

on the fall of the Ming, or "Great Bright" dynasty, adopted the title

of Shun-chi for his reign, which began in the year 1644. The legendary

progenitor of these Manchu rulers was Aisin Gioro, whose name is said

to point to the fact of his having been related to the race of

Nue-chih, or Kin, i.e. Golden Tatars, who reigned in northern China

during the 12th and 13th centuries. K'ang-hi (1661-1722) was the third

son of Shun-chi; Yung-cheng (1722-1735) was the fourth son of

K'ang-hi; K'ien-lung (1736-1795) was the fourth son of Yung-cheng;

Kia-k'ing (1796-1820) was the fifteenth son of K'ien-lung; Tao-Kwang

(1821-1850) was the second son of Kia-k'ing; Hien-feng (1851-1861) was

the fourth of the nine sons who were born to the emperor Tao-kwang;

and T'ung-chi (1862-1875) was the only son of Hien-feng. The choice

now fell upon Tsai-t'ien (as he was called at birth), the infant son

(born August 2, 1872) of Yi-huan, Prince Chun, the seventh son of the

emperor Tao-kwang and brother of the emperor Hien-feng; his mother was

a sister of the empress Tsz'e Hsi, who, with the aid of Li Hung-chang,

obtained his adoption and proclamation as emperor, under the title of

Kwang-su, "Succession of Glory."

Imperial family nomenclature and rank.

In order to prevent the confusion which would arise among the princes

of the imperial house were they each to adopt an arbitrary name, the

emperor K'ang-hi decreed that each of his twenty-four sons should have

a _personal_ name consisting of two characters, the first of which

should be _Yung_, and the second should be compounded with the

determinative _shih_, "to manifest," an arrangement which would, as

has been remarked, find an exact parallel in a system by which the

sons in an English family might be called Louis _Edward_, Louis

_Edwin_, Louis _Edwy_, Louis _Edgar_ and so on. This device obtained

also in the next generation, all the princes of which had _Hung_ for

their first name, and the emperor K'ien-lung (1736-1795) extended it

into a system, and directed that the succeeding generations should

take the four characters _Yung_, _Mien_, _Yih_ and _Tsai_

respectively, as the first part of their names. Eight other

characters, namely, _P'u_, _Yu_, _Heng_, _K'i_, _Tao_, _K'ai_,

_Tseng_, _Ki_, were subsequently added, thus providing generic names

for twelve generations. With the generation represented by Kwang-su

the first four characters were exhausted, and any sons of the emperor

Kwang-su would therefore have been called _P'u_. By the ceremonial law

of the "Great Pure" dynasty, twelve degrees of rank are distributed

among the princes of the imperial house, and are as follows: (1)

Ho-shih Tsin Wang, prince of the first order; (2) To-lo Keun Wang,

prince of the second order; (3) To-lo Beileh, prince of the third

order; (4) Ku-shan Beitsze, prince of the fourth order; 5 to 8, Kung,

or duke (with distinctive designations); 9 to 12, Tsiang-keun, general

(with distinctive designations). The sons of emperors usually receive

patents of the first or second order on their reaching manhood, and on

their sons is bestowed the title of _Beileh_. A _Beileh's_ sons become

_Beitsze_; a Beitsze's sons become _Kung_, and so on. (R. K. D.; X.)

(D)--_From 1875 to 1901._

The two dowager-empresses.

The accession to the throne of Kwang-su in January 1875 attracted little

notice outside China, as the supreme power continued to be vested in the

two dowager-empresses--the empress Tsz'e An, principal wife of the

emperor Hien-feng, and the empress Tsz'e Hsi, secondary wife of the same

emperor, and mother of the emperor T'ung-chi. Yet there were

circumstances connected with the emperor Kwang-su's accession which

might well have arrested attention. The emperor T'ung-chi, who had

himself succumbed to an ominously brief and mysterious illness, left a

young widow in an advanced state of pregnancy, and had she given birth

to a male child her son would have been the rightful heir to the throne.

But even before she sickened and died--of grief, it was officially

stated, at the loss of her imperial spouse--the dowager-empresses had

solved the question of the succession by placing Kwang-su on the throne,

a measure which was not only in itself arbitrary, but also in direct

conflict with one of the most sacred of Chinese traditions. The solemn

rites of ancestor-worship, incumbent on every Chinaman, and, above all,

upon the emperor, can only be properly performed by a member of a

younger generation than those whom it is his duty to honour. The emperor

Kwang-su, being a first cousin to the emperor T'ung-chi, was not

therefore qualified to offer up the customary sacrifices before the

ancestral tablets of his predecessor. The accession of an infant in the

place of T'ung-Tchi achieved, however, for the time being what was

doubtless the paramount object of the policy of the two empresses,

namely, their undisturbed tenure of the regency, in which the junior

empress Tsz'e Hsi, a woman of unquestionable ability and boundless

ambition, had gradually become the predominant partner.

Murder of Mr Margary.

The first question that occupied the attention of the government under

the new reign was one of the gravest importance, and nearly led to a war

with Great Britain. The Indian government was desirous of seeing the old

trade relations between Burma and the south-west provinces, which had

been interrupted by the Yun-nan rebellion, re-established, and for that

purpose proposed to send a mission across the frontier into China. The

Peking government assented and issued passports for the party, which was

under the command of Colonel Browne. Mr A.R. Margary, a young and

promising member of the China consular service, who was told off to

accompany the expedition as interpreter, was treacherously murdered by

Chinese at the small town of Manwyne and almost simultaneously an attack

was made on the expedition by armed forces wearing Chinese uniform

(January 1875). Colonel Browne with difficulty made his way back to

Bhamo and the expedition was abandoned.

Chifu convention 1876.

Tedious negotiations followed, and, more than eighteen months after the

outrage, an arrangement was come to on the basis of guarantees for the

future, rather than vengeance for the past. The arrangement was embodied

in the Chifu convention, dated 13th September 1876. The terms of the

settlement comprised (1) a mission of apology from China to the British

court; (2) the promulgation throughout the length and breadth of the

empire of an imperial proclamation, setting out the right of foreigners

to travel under passport, and the obligation of the authorities to

protect them; and (3) the payment of indemnity. Additional articles were

subsequently signed in London relative to the collection of likin on

Indian opium and other matters.

Revolt in Central Asia.

Imperial consolidation.

Simultaneously with the outbreak of the Mahommedan rebellion in Yun-nan,

a similar disturbance had arisen in the north-west provinces of Shen-si

and Kan-suh. This was followed by a revolt of the whole of the Central

Asian tribes, which for two thousand years had more or less acknowledged

the imperial sway. In Kashgaria a nomad chief named Yakub Beg, otherwise

known as the Atalik Gh[=a]zi, had made himself amir, and seemed likely

to establish a strong rule. The fertile province of Kulja or Ili, lying

to the north of the T'ianshan range, was taken possession of by Russia

in 1871 in order to put a stop to the prevailing anarchy, but with a

promise that when China should have succeeded in re-establishing order

in her Central Asian dominions it should be given back. The interest

which was taken in the rebellion in Central Asia by the European powers,

notably by the sultan of Turkey and the British government, aroused the

Chinese to renewed efforts to recover their lost territories, and, as in

the case of the similar crisis in Yun-nan, they undertook the task with

sturdy deliberation. They borrowed money--L1,600,000--for the expenses

of the expedition, this being the first appearance of China as a

borrower in the foreign markets, and appointed the viceroy, Tso

Tsung-t'ang, commander-in-chief. By degrees the emperor's authority was

established from the confines of Kan-suh to Kashgar and Yarkand, and

Chinese garrisons were stationed in touch with the Russian outpost in

the region of the Pamirs (December 1877). Russia was now called upon to

restore Kulja, China being in a position to maintain order. China

despatched Chung-how, a Manchu of the highest rank, who had been

notoriously concerned in the Tientsin massacre of 1870, to St Petersburg

to negotiate a settlement. After some months of discussion a document

was signed (September 1879), termed the treaty of Livadia, whereby China

recovered, not indeed the whole, but a considerable portion of the

territory, on her paying to Russia five million roubles as the cost of

occupation. The treaty was, however, received with a storm of

indignation in China. Memorials poured in from all sides denouncing the

treaty and its author. Foremost among these was one by Chang Chih-tung,

who afterwards became the most distinguished of the viceroys, and

governor-general of Hu-peh and Hu-nan provinces. Prince Chun, the

emperor's father, came into prominence at this juncture as an advocate

for war, and under these combined influences the unfortunate Chung-how

was tried and condemned to death (3rd of March 1880). For some months

warlike preparations went on, and the outbreak of hostilities was

imminent. In the end, however, calmer counsels prevailed. It was decided

to send the Marquis Tseng, who in the meantime had become minister in

London, to Russia to negotiate. A new treaty which still left Russia in

possession of part of the Ili valley was ratified on the 19th of August

1881. The Chinese government could now contemplate the almost complete

recovery of the whole extensive dominions which had at any time owned

the imperial sway. The regions directly administered by the officers of

the emperor extended from the borders of Siberia on the north to Annam

and Burma on the south, and from the Pacific Ocean on the east to

Kashgar and Yarkand on the west. There was also a fringe of tributary

nations which still kept up the ancient forms of allegiance, and which

more or less acknowledged the dominioi of the central kingdom. The

principal tributary nations then were Korea, Lu-chu, Annam, Burma and

Nepal.

Korea and Japan.

Korea was the first of the dependencies to come into notice. In 1866

some Roman Catholic missionaries were murdered, and about the same time

an American vessel was burnt in one of the rivers and her crew murdered.

China refused satisfaction; both to France and America, and suffered

reprisals to be made on Korea without protest. America and Japan both

desired to conclude commercial treaties for the opening up of Korea, and

proposed to negotiate with China. China refused and referred them to the

Korean government direct, saying she was not wont to interfere in the

affairs of her vassal states. As a result Japan concluded a treaty in

1876, in which the independence of Korea was expressly recognized. This

was allowed to pass without protest, but as other nations proceeded to

conclude treaties on the same terms China began to perceive her mistake,

and endeavoured to tack on to each a declaration by the king that he was

in fact a tributary--a declaration, however, which was quietly ignored.

Japan, however, was the only power with which controversy immediately

arose. In 1882 a faction fight, which had long been smouldering, broke

out, headed by the king's father, the Tai Won Kun, in the course of

which the Japanese legation was attacked and the whole Japanese colony

had to flee for their lives. China sent troops, and by adroitly

kidnapping the Tai Won Kun, order was for a time restored. The Japanese

legation was replaced, but under the protection of a strong body of

Japanese troops. Further revolutions and riots followed, in which the

troops of the two countries took sides, and there was imminent danger of

war. To obviate this risk, it was agreed in 1885 between Count Ito and

Li Hung-Chang that both sides should withdraw their troops, the king

being advised to engage officers of a third state to put his army on

such a footing as would maintain order, and each undertook to give the

other notice should it be found necessary to send troops again. In this

way a _modus vivendi_ was established which lasted till 1894.

Domestic affairs, 1875-1882.

We can only glance briefly at the domestic affairs of China during the

period 1875-1882. The years 1877-1878 were marked by a famine in

Shan-si and Shan-tung, which for duration and intensity has probably

never been equalled. It was computed that 12 or 13 millions perished. It

was vainly hoped that this loss of life, due mainly to defective

commumcations, would induce the Chinese government to listen to

proposals for railway construction. The Russian scare had, however,

taught the Chinese the value of telegraphs, and in 1881 the first line

was laid from Tientsin to Shanghai. Further construction was continued

without intermission from this date. A beginning also was made in naval

affairs. The arsenal at Fuchow was turning out small composite gunboats,

a training ship was bought and put under the command of a British

officer. Several armoured cruisers were ordered from England, and some

progress was made with the fortifications of Port Arthur and

Wei-hai-wei. Forts were also built and guns mounted at Fuchow, Shanghai,

Canton and other vulnerable points. Money for these purposes was

abundantly supplied by the customs duties on foreign trade, and China

had learnt that at need she could borrow from the foreign banks on the

security of this revenue.

In 1881 the senior regent, the empress Tsz'e An, was carried off by a

sudden attack of heart disease, and the empress Tsz'e Hsi remained in

undivided possession of the supreme power during the remainder of the

emperor Kwang-su's minority. Li Hung-Chang, firmly established at

Tientsin, within easy reach of the capital, as viceroy of the home

province of Chih-li and superintendent of northern trade, enjoyed a

larger share of his imperial mistress's favour than was often granted by

the ruling Manchus to officials of Chinese birth, and in all the graver

questions of foreign policy his advice was generally decisive.

Tongking and Hanoi.

While the dispute with Japan was still going on regarding Korea, China

found herself involved in a more serious quarrel in respect of another

tributary state which lay on the southern frontier. By a treaty made

between France and Annam in 1874, the Red river or Songkoi, which rising

in-south-western China, flows through Tongking, was opened to trade,

together with the cities of Haiphong and Hanoi situated on the delta.

The object of the French was to find a trade route to Yun-nan and

Sze-ch'uen from a base of their own, and it was hoped the Red river

would furnish such a route. Tongking at this time, however, was infested

with bands of pirates and cut-throats, many of whom were Chinese rebels

or ex-rebels who had been driven across the frontier by the suppression

of the Yun-nan and Taiping rebellions, conspicuous among them being an

organization called the Black Flags. And when in 1882 France sent troops

to Tongking to restore order (the Annamese government having failed to

fulfil its promises in that respect) China began to protest, claiming

that Annam was a vassal state and under her protection.

Troubles with France.

France took no notice of the protest, declaring that the claim had

merely an archaeological interest, and that, in any case, China in

military affairs was a _quantite negligeable_. France found, however,

that she had undertaken a very serious task in trying to put down the

forces of disorder (see TONGKING). The Black Flags were, it was

believed, being aided by money and arms from China, and as time went

on, the French were more and more being confronted with regular

Chinese soldiers. Several forts, well within the Tongking frontier,

were known to be garrisoned by Chinese troops. Operations continued

with more or less success during the winter and spring of 1883-1884.

Both sides, however, were desirous of an arrangement, and in May 1884

a convention was signed between Li Hung-Chang and a Captain Fournier,

who had been commissioned _ad hoc_, whereby China agreed to withdraw

her garrisons and to open her frontiers to trade, France agreeing, on

her part, to respect the fiction of Chinese suzerainty, and guarantee

the frontier from attack by brigands. No date had been fixed in the

convention for the evacuation of the Chinese garrisons, and Fournier

endeavoured to supplement this by a memorandum to Li Hung-Chang, at

the same time announcing the fact to his government. In pursuance of

this arrangement the French troops proceeded to occupy Langson on the

date fixed (21st June 1884). The Chinese commandant refused to

evacuate, alleging, in a despatch which no one in the French camp was

competent to translate, that he had received no orders, and begged for

a short delay to enable him to communicate with his superiors. The

French commandant ordered an attack, which was repulsed with severe

loss. Mutual recriminations ensued. From Paris there came a demand for

a huge indemnity as reparation for the insult. The Peking government

offered to carry out the convention, and to pay a small indemnity for

the lives lost through the misunderstanding. This was refused, and

hostilities recommenced, or, as the French preferred to call them,

reprisals, for the fiction was still kept up that the two countries

were not at war. Under cover of this fiction the French fleet

peaceably entered the harbour of Fuchow, having passed the forts at

the entrance to the river without hindrance. Once inside, they

attacked and destroyed the much inferior Chinese fleet which was then

quietly at anchor, destroying at the same time a large part of the

arsenal which adjoins the anchorage (23rd August 1884). Retracing its

steps, the French fleet attacked and destroyed with impunity the forts

which were built to guard the entrance to the Min river, and could

offer no resistance to a force coming from the rear. After this

exploit the French fleet left the mainland and continued its reprisals

on the coast of Formosa. Kelung, a treaty port, was bombarded and

taken, October 4th. A similar attempt, however, on the neighbouring

port of Tamsui was unsuccessful, the landing party having been driven

back to their ships with severe loss. The attempt was not renewed, and

the fleet thereafter confined itself to a semi-blockade of the island,

which was prolonged into 1885 but led to no practical results.

Negotiations for peace, however, which had been for some time in

progress through the mediation of Sir Robert Hart, were at this

juncture happily concluded (April 1885). The terms were practically

those of the Fournier convention of the year before, the demand for an

indemnity having been quietly dropped.

Increased prestige of China.

China, on the whole, came out of the struggle with greatly increased

prestige. She had tried conclusions with a first-class European power

and had held her own. Incorrect conclusions as to the military strength

of China were consequently drawn, not merely by the Chinese

themselves--which was excusable--but by European and even British

authorities, who ought to have been better informed. War vessels were

ordered by China both from England and Germany, and Admiral Lang, who

had withdrawn his services while the war was going on, was re-engaged

together with a number of British officers and instructors. The

completion of the works at Port Arthur was taken in hand, and a

beginning was made in the construction of forts at Wei-hai-wei as a

second naval base. A new department was created for the control of naval

affairs, at the head of which was placed Prince Chun, father of the

emperor, who since the downfall of Prince Kung in 1884 had been taking a

more and more prominent part in public affairs.

1885-1894.

From 1885 to 1894 the political history of China does not call for

extended notice. Two incidents, however, must be recorded, (1) the

conclusion in 1886 of a convention with Great Britain, in which the

Chinese government undertook to recognize British sovereignty in Burma,

and (2) the temporary occupation of Port Hamilton by the British fleet

(May 1885-February 1887). In 1890 Admiral Lang resigned his command of

the Chinese fleet. During a temporary absence of Lang's colleague,

Admiral Ting, the Chinese second in command, claimed the right to take

charge--a claim which Admiral Lang naturally resented. The question was

referred to Li Hung-Chang, who decided against Lang, whereupon the

latter threw up his commission. From this point the fleet on which so

much depended began to deteriorate. Superior officers again began to

steal the men's pays, the ships were starved, shells filled with

charcoal instead of powder were supplied, accounts were cooked, and all

the corruption and malfeasance that were rampant in the army crept back

into the navy.

War with Japan, 1894.

European intervention.

The year 1894 witnessed the outbreak of the war with Japan. In the

spring, complications again arose with Japan over Korea, and hostilities

began in July. The story of the war is told elsewhere (see

CHINO-JAPANESE WAR), and it is unnecessary here to recount the details

of the decisive victory of Japan. A new power had arisen in the Far

East, and when peace was signed by Li Hung-Chang at Shimonoseki on the

17th of April 1895 it meant the beginning of a new epoch. The terms

included the cession of Liao-tung peninsula, then in actual occupation

by the Japanese troops, the cession of Formosa, an indemnity of H. taels

200,000,000 (about L30,000,000) and various commercial privileges.

The signature of this treaty brought the European powers on the scene.

It had been for some time the avowed ambition of Russia to obtain an

ice-free port as an outlet to her Siberian possessions--an ambition

which was considered by British statesmen as not unreasonable. It did

not, therefore, at all suit her purposes to see the rising power of

Japan commanding the whole of the coast-line of Korea. Accordingly in

the interval between the signature and the ratification of the treaty,

invitations were addressed by Russia to the great powers to intervene

with a view to its modification on the ground of the disturbance of the

balance of power, and the menace to China which the occupation of Port

Arthur by the Japanese would involve. France and Germany accepted the

invitation, Great Britain declined. In the end the three powers brought

such pressure to bear on Japan that she gave up the whole of her

continental acquisitions, retaining only the island of Formosa. The

indemnity was on the other hand increased by H. taels 30,000,000. For

the time the integrity of China seemed to be preserved, and Russia,

France and Germany could pose as her friends. Evidence was, however,

soon forthcoming that Russia and France had not been disinterested in

rescuing Chinese territory from the Japanese grasp. Russia now obtained

the right to carry the Siberian railway across Chinese territory from

Stryetensk to Vladivostok, thus avoiding a long detour, besides giving a

grasp on northern Manchuria. France obtained, by a convention dated the

20th of June 1895, a rectification of frontier in the Mekong valley and

certain railway and mining rights in Kiang-si and Yun-nan. Both powers

obtained concessions of land at Hankow for the purposes of a settlement.

Russia was also said to have negotiated a secret treaty, frequently

described as the "Cassini Convention," but more probably signed by Li

Hung-Chang at Moscow, giving her the right in certain contingencies to

Port Arthur, which was to be refortified with Russian assistance. And by

way of further securing her hold, Russia guaranteed a 4% loan of

L15,000,000 issued in Paris to enable China to pay off the first

instalment of the Japanese indemnity.

Mekong valley dispute, 1895.

The convention between France and China of the 20th of June 1895 brought

China into sharp conflict with Great Britain. China, having by the Burma

convention of 1886 agreed to recognize British sovereignty over Burma,

her quondam feudatory, also agreed to a delimitation of boundaries at

the proper time. Effect was given to this last stipulation by a

subsequent convention concluded in London (1st of March 1894), which

traced the boundary line from the Shan states on the west as far as the

Mekong river on the east. In the Mekong valley there were two

semi-independent native territories over which suzerainty had been

claimed in times gone by both by the kings of Ava and by the Chinese

emperors. These territories were named Meng Lun and Kiang Hung--the

latter lying partly on one side and partly on the other of the Mekong

river, south of the point where it issues from Chinese territory. The

boundary line was so drawn as to leave both these territories to China,

but it was stipulated that China should not alienate any portion of

these territories to any other power without the previous consent of

Great Britain. Yielding to French pressure, and regardless of the

undertaking she had entered into with Great Britain, China, in the

convention with France in June 1895, so drew the boundary line as to

cede to France that portion of the territory of Kiang Hung which lay on

the left bank of the Mekong. Compensation was demanded by Great Britain

from China for this breach of faith, and at the same time negotiations

were entered into with France. These resulted in a joint declaration by

the governments of France and Great Britain, dated the 15th of January

1896, by which it was agreed as regards boundary that the Mekong from

the point of its confluence with the Nam Huk northwards as far as the

Chinese frontier should be the dividing line between the possessions or

spheres of influence of the two powers. It was also agreed that any

commercial privileges obtained by either power in Yun-nan or Sze-ch'uen

should be open to the subjects of the other. The negotiations with China

resulted in a further agreement, dated the 4th of February 1897, whereby

considerable modifications in favour of Great Britain were made in the

Burma boundary drawn by the 1894 convention.

Kiaochow, Port Arthur, Wei-hai-wei.

While Russia and France were profiting by what they were pleased to call

the generosity of China, Germany alone had so far received no reward for

her share in compelling the retrocession of Liao-tung; but, in November

1897, she proceeded to help herself by seizing the Bay of Kiaochow in

the province of Shan-tung. The act was done ostensibly in order to

compel satisfaction for the murder of two German missionaries. A cession

was ultimately made by way of a lease for a term of ninety-nine

years--Germany to have full territorial jurisdiction during the

continuance of the lease, with liberty to erect fortifications, build

docks, and exercise all the rights of sovereignty. In December the

Russian fleet was sent to winter in Port Arthur, and though this was at

first described as a temporary measure, its object was speedily

disclosed by a request made, in January 1898, by the Russian ambassador

in London that two British cruisers, then also anchored at Port Arthur,

should be withdrawn "in order to avoid friction in the Russian sphere of

influence." They left shortly afterwards, and their departure in the

circumstances was regarded as a blow to Great Britain's prestige in the

Far East. In March the Russian government peremptorily demanded a lease

of Port Arthur and the adjoining anchorage of Talienwan--a demand which

China could not resist without foreign support. After an acrimonious

correspondence with the Russian government Great Britain acquiesced in

the _fait accompli_. The Russian occupation of Port Arthur was

immediately followed by a concession to build a line of railway from

that point northwards to connect with the Siberian trunk line in north

Manchuria. As a counterpoise to the growth of Russian influence in the

north, Great Britain obtained a lease of Wei-hai-wei, and formally took

possession of it on its evacuation by the Japanese troops in May 1898.

"Open door," and "spheres of influence."

After much hesitation the Chinese government had at last resolved to

permit the construction of railways with foreign capital. An influential

official named Sheng Hsuan-hwai was appointed director-general of

railways, and empowered to enter into negotiations with foreign

capitalists for that purpose. A keen competition thereupon ensued

between syndicates of different nationalities, and their claims being

espoused by their various governments, an equally keen international

rivalry was set up. Great Britain, though intimating her preference for

the "open door" policy, meaning equal opportunity for all, yet found

herself compelled to fall in with the general movement towards what

became known as the "spheres of influence" policy, and claimed the

Yangtsze valley as her particular sphere. This she did by the somewhat

negative method of obtaining from the Chinese government a declaration

that no part of the Yangtsze valley should be alienated to any foreign

power. A more formal recognition of the claim, as far as railway

enterprise was concerned, was embodied in an agreement (28th of April

1899) between Great Britain and Russia, and communicated to the Chinese

government, whereby the Russian government agreed not to seek for any

concessions within the Yangtsze valley, including all the provinces

bordering on the great river, together with Cheh-kiang and Ho-nan, the

British government entering into a similar undertaking in regard to the

Chinese dominions north of the Great Wall.[50]

In 1899 Talienwan and Kiaochow were respectively thrown open by Russia

and Germany to foreign trade, and, encouraged by these measures, the

United States government initiated in September of the same year a

correspondence with the great European powers and Japan, with a view

to securing their definite adhesion to the "open door" policy. The

British government gave an unqualified approval to the American

proposal, and the replies of the other powers, though more guarded,

were accepted at Washington as satisfactory. A further and more

definite step towards securing the maintenance of the "open door" in

China was the agreement concluded in October 1900 between the British

and German governments. The signatories, by the first two articles,

agreed to endeavour to keep the ports on the rivers and littoral free

and open to international trade and economic activity, and to uphold

this rule for all Chinese territory as far as (_wo_ in the German

counterpart) they could exercise influence; not to use the existing

complications to obtain territorial advantages in Chinese dominions,

and to seek to maintain undiminished the territorial condition of the

Chinese empire. By a third article they reserved their right to come

to a preliminary understanding for the protection of their interests

in China, should any other power use those complications to obtain

such territorial advantages under any form whatever. On the submission

of the agreement to the powers interested, Austria, France, Italy and

Japan accepted its principles without express reservation--Japan first

obtaining assurances that she signed on the same footing as an

original signatory. The United States accepted the first two articles,

but expressed no opinion on the third. Russia construed the first as

limited to ports actually open in regions where the two signatories

exercise "their" influence, and favourably entertained it in that

sense, ignoring the reference to other forms of economic activity. She

fully accepted the second, and observed that in the contingency

contemplated by the third, she would modify her attitude according to

circumstances.

Meanwhile, negotiations carried on by the British minister at Peking

during 1898 resulted in the grant of very important privileges to

foreign commerce. The payment of the second instalment of the Japanese

indemnity was becoming due, and it was much discussed how and on what

terms China would be able to raise the amount. The Russian government,

as has been stated, had made China a loan of the sum required for the

first portion of the indemnity, viz. L15,000,000, taking a charge on

the customs revenue as security. The British government was urged to

make a like loan of L16,000,000 both as a matter of friendship to

China and as a counterpoise to the Russian influence. An arrangement

was come to accordingly, on very favourable terms financially to the

Chinese, but at the last moment they drew back, being overawed, as

they said, by the threatening attitude of Russia. Taking advantage of

the position which this refusal gave him, the British minister

obtained from the Tsung-Li-Yamen, besides the declaration as to the

non-alienation of the Yangtsze valley above mentioned, an undertaking

to throw the whole of the inland waterways open to steam traffic. The

Chinese government at the same time undertook that the post of

inspector-general of customs (then held by Sir Robert Hart) should

always be held by an Englishman so long as the trade of Great Britain

was greater than that of any other nation. Minor concessions were also

made, but the opening of the waterways was by far the greatest advance

that had been made since 1860.

Of still greater importance were the railway and mining concessions

granted during the same year (1898). The Chinese government had been

generally disposed to railway construction since the conclusion of the

Japanese War, but hoped to be able to retain the control in their own

hands. The masterful methods of Russia and Germany had obliged them to

surrender this control so far as concerned Manchuria and Shan-tung. In

the Yangtsze valley, Sheng, the director-general of railways, had been

negotiating with several competing syndicates. One of these was a

Franco-Belgian syndicate, which was endeavouring to obtain the trunk

line from Hankow to Peking. A British company was tendering for the

same work, and as the line lay mainly within the British sphere it was

considered not unreasonable to expect it should be given to the

latter. At a critical moment, however, the French and Russian

ministers intervened, and practically forced the Yamen to grant a

contract in favour of the Franco-Belgian company. The Yamen had a few

days before explicitly promised the British minister that the contract

should not be ratified without his having an opportunity of seeing it.

As a penalty for this breach of faith, and as a set-off to the

Franco-Belgian line, the British minister required the immediate grant

of all the railway concessions for which British syndicates were then

negotiating, and on terms not inferior to those granted to the Belgian

line. In this way all the lines in the lower Yangtsze, as also the

Shan-si Mining Companies' lines, were secured. A contract for a trunk

line from Canton to Hankow was negotiated in the latter part of 1898

by an American company.