five million taels, the quota from each Province being kept separate.
The chief eunuch was assisted in the supervision of the tribute accounts
by another favourite of the Old Buddha, a eunuch named Sun, whose
covetousness and bullying methods of “squeeze” were almost equal to
those of his chief. On one occasion the deputy in charge of the tribute
from Hupei was paying in bullion to the Imperial Household, and Sun was
tallying the amounts with a steelyard. He said there was a shortage.
“That cannot be so,” said the deputy, “for every shoe of Hupei silver
weighs fifty taels exactly, so that there can be no mistake.” The
eunuch looked at him insolently, and said, “How many times have you
brought tribute, and what do you know about the customs of the Court?”
The frightened deputy persisted that all was in order. Sun then said
angrily: “I suppose, then, you mean that the Old Buddha’s scales are
false?” He was just proceeding to assault the unfortunate deputy, when
the Old Buddha herself, overhearing the argument (the court-yards of her
residence being very small) came out and directed the eunuch to bring
the silver into her own apartments, where she would weigh it herself. “I
believe there has been a great deal of leakage lately,” she said; “it is
the business of my eunuchs to see that I am not cheated.” The deputy took
his departure, looking extremely crestfallen, but on his way out he was
met by Chi Lu, the Controller of the Household, who said to him, “We all
know you have been having a bad time of it, but you must not mind. These
eunuchs have been making very little money of late, for the Old Buddha
has been keeping a very sharp watch on them; you must therefore excuse
them. And they have lost a great deal in Peking.”
Tribute of twenty-four kinds was received from Canton, but the eunuchs on
their own initiative, and in order to compel _largesse_, rejected nine
different kinds of articles, so that the official in charge was greatly
alarmed, fearing that the Old Buddha would accuse him of having stolen
the things which the eunuchs refused to receive. This was one of their
commonest methods of levying tribute on their own account; another was to
make large purchases in the name of the Empress, and refuse to pay for
them. Much hardship was inflicted on the people of Hsi-an, and indeed of
the entire province, from their depredations, especially because at the
time Shensi was already suffering from the beginnings of famine, caused
by the prolonged drought. It is recorded in the accounts of the Governor
Ts’en, that flour cost 96 cash a pound, eggs 34 cash apiece, and pork
400 cash a pound, while fish was almost unobtainable; these prices being
about six times as high as those ruling in southern China.
Many of the eunuchs appeared to take pleasure in humiliating the Emperor,
and subjecting him to petty annoyances, which often roused him to
petulant outbursts of temper. In one letter from the Court at Hsi-an it
was reported that His Majesty appeared to be a little wrong in the head,
for he would spend his time playing foolish games, such as hide-and-seek,
with the younger eunuchs, until interrupted by the Empress Dowager, when
he would immediately get into a corner and assume a sullen demeanour. At
other times, when irritated, he would give way to violent fits of rage
and throw the household crockery at the heads of his attendants. These
reports must be received with caution, as they were frequently spread
abroad by the chief eunuch and members of the reactionary party in order
to damage His Majesty in the eyes of the outside world.
As above stated, after the return of the Court from its journeying in
the wilderness (1902) Li’s influence with the Empress Dowager was, if
anything, greater than before, all the internal affairs of the Palace
being under his supreme control. Following Her Majesty’s example,
however, he professed his complete conversion to the necessity of reform,
and even gave his approval, after certain amendments had been made by
the Grand Council and by himself, to her programme for the granting of
a Constitution. Jesting with Her Majesty in his usual familiar manner,
he was heard on more than one occasion to predict her conversion to
Christianity. “We are only sham devils now, Old Buddha,” he said.
Nevertheless, and in spite of advancing years and infirmity, he has
clung, and still clings, tenaciously to the perquisites and privileges
of his stewardship, fiercely defending the eunuch system and his own
post by all the means (and they are many) in his power. When, in 1901,
T’ao Mo, late Viceroy of Canton, sent in his famous Memorial urging
that, in view of the greatly reduced number of the Imperial concubines,
the eunuchs should be replaced by female attendants, Li successfully
intrigued to prevent this document reaching Her Majesty until he had
taken effective steps to prevent her being advised in favour of the
suggestion. T’ao Mo’s Memorial was as follows:—
“The prosperity of the State depends absolutely upon the
virtue of the ruler. Where the sovereign surrounds himself
with wise and just men, the country must benefit; where he
chooses time-servers to advise him, rebellion and chaos will
be the inevitable result. If one human being be called upon to
attend to the multifarious duties of the State, in addition
to managing the internal affairs of the Palace, his position
may be glorious indeed, but the responsibilities thereof are
too great for any man to bear. Even a sovereign, surrounded by
men of the sternest integrity, might well pause and falter at
the dread chances of failure. But how can a nation possibly
escape dire misfortune when, between sovereign and subjects is
set up a barrier composed of men of the most contemptible and
degraded kind? These creatures are not necessarily all traitors
or notorious scoundrels; it is sufficient, for the undoing of
a sovereign, that he be surrounded at all hours by illiterate
persons, lacking in moral perception, who pander to his moods
and minister to his caprices. Even the worst Minister of State
has not the same opportunity of influencing his Emperor for
evil: but these eunuchs are for ever about and around him.
Intimacy with eunuchs necessarily brings about a sapping of
the moral fibre; any ruler exposed to their influences cannot
possibly keep in touch with his people.
“But if we wish to root out these influences, we must proceed
as if we were weeding out tares in a field. If we leave the
roots in the ground, they will sooner or later spring up again
to fresh life. Complete eradication is the only cure. His
Majesty is come of age and his character is daily developing;
how deeply he must deplore the fact that he is compelled
to associate with this class of men at a time when he is
doing his best to introduce a policy of reform! If previous
Dynasties employed eunuchs it was because of the large number
of concubines in the Palace, but his present Majesty’s harem
is small, and he might therefore preferably employ female
attendants to minister to his personal wants, while the
official duties of the Household might be discharged by men of
good birth and education. Why should it be necessary to employ
eunuchs for such posts?
“At the present time, the Court at Hsi-an employs an enormous
number of eunuchs; a favourable opportunity therefore presents
itself for reducing their number, retaining only some twenty
or thirty of the more respectable among them. Orders should be
given, after the Court’s return, that for the future no more
eunuchs shall be engaged, and the Palace administration should
be thoroughly reorganised. By this means, long-standing abuses
will be removed, and the glory of your Majesty’s reign will be
enhanced for all time.
“At this moment, many reforms are being projected, in regard to
which Your Majesties have received numerous suggestions from
many high officials. But in my opinion, this question of the
employment of eunuchs, though apparently of minor importance,
transcends all others, and the possibility of reform depends
largely on their removal. The system has been abolished in
all foreign countries and persists only in China. It exposes
us to much adverse criticism and contumely, and by abolishing
it we should gain the respect of civilised nations. As an
official holding a provincial post, I am prohibited by law from
criticising the administration of the Palace; nevertheless, I
hold it to be my duty at this juncture to offer my suggestions,
however humble and worthless, in token of my gratitude to Your
Majesties for your generous favours.”
Since that day, there have been repeated denunciations of the eunuch
system, and rumours of their impending removal, but their influence shows
little sign of diminution, and officials of the courage and integrity
of T’ao Mo are a small minority in the Mandarinate. Reform measures on
paper are numerous enough, measures forecasting self-denial and zeal
for the common good at some future and undetermined date, but it is
significant of the existing condition of affairs and the strong hold of
the powers of reaction, that the native Press has lately passed from its
former robust independence under complete official control, and that the
voice of Young China, which formerly denounced the eunuchs and other
causes of national degeneration, is but faintly heard in the land.
VII
A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE
The following secret Memorial, submitted by the Censor Wu K’o-tu, in
1873, casts no direct light on the life and character of the Empress
Dowager; it is of permanent interest nevertheless, and valuable, in that
it enables us to realise something of the unbounded arrogance of the
Chinese official class and the childish ignorance of that Court in which
Tzŭ Hsi lived and moved and had her being. Documents like these—their
number is legion for those who look for them—throw into strong relief
the futility of western diplomacy confronted by a national sentiment of
contempt for the barbarian so deep-rooted and far-reaching; and they
make one wonder at the persistence of those comfortable delusions,
those facile lines of least resistance, which the foreign Powers and
their Legations have cherished to this day in spite of many humiliating
experiences. And if, from the general, one returns to particular study
of the remarkable woman whose personality dominated the destinies of men
and the foreign relations of her country for half a century, the state of
affairs revealed by documents like these must compel unstinted admiration
for a mind so obviously superior to its environment. Finally, there lurks
in this Memorial a certain quality of (possibly unconscious) humour which
may justify its inclusion, in the nature of an _entremets_, at this stage
of our narrative:—
“_A Secret Memorial urging the Throne to put a stop to official
wrangling and to excuse the Ministers of foreign nations from
kneeling at audiences, in order that our magnanimity may be
proved and our prestige exalted. A prayer based, moreover, on
the fact that our demands in this matter cannot be successfully
pressed and that protracted discussion has so far resulted in a
hopeless deadlock._
“From the day when first the foreign Ministers asked to be
permitted to present their credentials, nearly six months ago,
our statesmen have discussed the question, without arriving at
any solution of its difficulties. First, they debated whether
the Ministers should be granted audience at all, and having
agreed upon this, they proceeded to discuss whether they should
be compelled to kneel.
“In discussing this matter with certain minor officials, it has
occurred to me to wonder wherein really lies the gravity of the
question sufficient to justify all this bother and excitement?
As Mencius remarks, ‘Why should the Superior Man engage in
altercation with birds and beasts?’
“I have heard, and believe, that the rulers of foreign nations
are deposed by their subjects for all the world like pawns on
a chess board. I have seen with my own eyes the foreigners
who live in Peking walking abroad, preceded by the females
of their household either on foot or in sedan chairs; the
men folk following meekly in their rear, like servants—all
unashamed. They have made some score of treaties with China,
containing at least ten thousand written characters. Is there
a word in any one of them concerning reverence for parents,
or the cultivation of virtue and respect for the nine canons
of rightful conduct? No! Is there one word in any one of them
as to the observance of ceremony, as to duty, integrity and
a proper sense of shame, the four cardinal principles of our
nation? Again, no! All that they speak of is material profit.
‘Such and such a clause implies benefits or profits for China.’
They think only of profit, and with the meretricious hope
of profit they beguile the Chinese people. These men know
not even the meaning of duty and ceremony, wisdom and good
faith, yet we profess, forsooth, to expect them to act as if
they were endowed with the five cardinal virtues! They know
not the meaning of the Heaven-ordained relationship between
Sovereign and Minister, between father and son, husband and
wife, elder and younger brother, friend and friend—yet we
propose to require them to conform to the five principles of
duty! It seems to me that one might as well bring together dogs
and horses, goats and pigs, in a public hall and compel these
creatures to perform the evolutions of the dance!
“If we insist upon their reverently kneeling, in what manner
will it increase the lustre of the Throne’s prestige? If we
excuse them from kneeling, how can this possibly affect the
Sovereign’s majesty?
“But our statesmen hold that long and careful deliberation
before assenting to the foreigners’ wishes in this matter will
cause the latter to say: ‘If so great pressure be required to
extract even this trifling concession from China, how small
must be our hopes of future success in dealing with great
matters.’ In this way, it is thought, we may cause their
everlasting demands on China to cease, and we should thus gain,
while they lose, prestige. But, in my humble opinion, our
nation’s prestige depends not on any foreigners’ estimate of
us, nor is their humiliation to be brought about in this way.
If once they perceive that we attach a real importance to their
kneeling at audience, and that we are loth to exempt them from
this ceremony, while at the same time they are fully aware that
we dare not go to war with them, they will simply insist the
more firmly on their demands and threaten us with war if we
fail to comply. Our weakness once exposed, they will stick at
nothing.
“I have heard that, in their despatches and treaties, the
puny hobgoblin or petty monsters whom they have the audacity
to call ‘Emperors’ are placed on a level of equality with His
Sacred Majesty! If our statesmen can brook an outrage like this
and feel no shame, why should they trouble themselves about
the foreign Envoys’ refusal to kneel? Two years ago, when the
Russian barbarians were pressing in upon China from Ili and
all the North-west, when they were seizing vast stretches of
our territory, and carrying out their policy of aggression on
a scale unparalleled in all the history of our relations with
barbarians; when their crafty and deep-laid plans threatened
the Empire with the gravest dangers—our statesmen showed
no sense of shame. But now, we are to believe that there is
humiliation to China in the Ministers’ unwillingness to kneel!
Our statesmen appear to imagine that if foreign nations decline
to comply with the formalities of Chinese etiquette, China will
thereby be disgraced, but in my humble opinion, compliance on
their part would jeopardise our country. From ancient times
immemorial the policy of the Government has been guided by
two main factors, viz., the exigencies of the moment and the
amount of force available to carry out a given line of action.
At the present moment China’s position does not justify her in
contending for this point and our national forces are quite
inadequate to impose our will upon any other nation. China
should therefore seek to develop efficiency and in the meantime
resort to compromises.
“A disciple of Confucius once asked the Sage in what lay the
art of government. The Master replied that the three first
requisites were, a sufficiency of food, a sufficiency of
troops and the confidence of the people. The disciple then
asked which of these three could be dispensed with, in case of
urgent necessity? Confucius replied, ‘Dispense first with the
troops and next with the food supply.’ From this we may learn
that the Sage, aiming at perfection in the art of government,
would approve of no rash or ill-considered action in deciding
a matter of this kind. A clear course of action should be
definitely pre-arranged by careful thought; there should be
no question of any hasty or immature decision, calculated
only to involve the country in difficulties. Our statesmen
ought, in the first instance, to have examined this Audience
question in all its bearings, weighing carefully the issues
involved, and should have considered whether, in view of the
relative strength of China and foreign nations, resistance was
advisable. If China were not well aware of her own weakness,
she would insist upon her rights, and without weighing the
relative importance in each case; but as, in the present
instance, she does not feel strong enough to insist, the
Ministers should have been told at once that the Throne would
waive the question of their kneeling at audience, and that His
Majesty would dispense in their case with the formalities and
ceremonies required by the etiquette of the Chinese Court.
By so doing we should have avoided the outward and visible
manifestations of weakness, and foreigners would have been led
to perceive how small is the importance we attach to them as
individuals. Would not this be an example of enlightenment and
statesmanship to impress Chinese and barbarians alike?
“But no; we must needs begin by raising objections to receiving
the foreign Envoys, and then, having been compelled to yield
this point, we proceeded to require them to kneel at audience.
The only possible result of this will be that we shall finally
have to yield to their protest; but our acquiescence will
perforce be performed with bad grace and with every appearance
of an act performed under compulsion. It was precisely in this
way that we blundered when we made the Treaty of Tientsin. I am
convinced that the Throne’s position will be an unenviable one
if the views of these statesmen be adopted, and would suggest
as a solution of the difficulty, that His Majesty should decide
for himself, and inform his Councillors that the question is
really one of minor importance. The foreign Ministers are
not Chinese subjects; why, then, should they conform to a
Chinese ceremony? If they were to do so, and if the ceremonial
were slovenly or awkwardly performed, might it not become a
burlesque? And if the foreign Ministers were thus made to look
ridiculous, would not China be violating the principle which
lays down that we must ‘treat strangers from afar with courtesy
and consideration’? If it should happen—as well might be—that
the spectators should be unable to control their mirth at so
ridiculous a spectacle, might not the humiliation felt by the
foreigners at their discomfiture, and their consequent rage,
lead them to declare war against China? It seems, therefore,
advisable that the Throne should issue a Decree excusing the
Envoys from performing the ceremonies of our Court, and, in
the event of their ignorantly offending against any of the
rules of etiquette, that we should exercise a wise forbearance.
Our statesmen should refrain from querulous arguments; they
should bear in mind that to dispute with these foreigners is
unworthy of us. In this they will display the perfection of
magnanimity. At the same time it should be carefully explained
that this Decree is an act of clemency, of the Emperor’s own
initiative, and contrary to the advice of his Ministers. It
must not serve as a precedent by reason of which foreigners may
be led to demand other concessions from China, or to coerce
her in other directions. By these means we shall preserve our
self-respect, and at the same time prevent all possibility of
our people attempting reprisals against foreigners, to avenge
what they might regard as an insult to China. And for the rest,
let us proceed to develop our strength, biding our time.
“One word only would I add, of warning. It is possible that the
audacious and treacherous foreigners may endeavour to address
His Majesty at audience. Our statesmen should be prepared in
advance with the proper reply to make in such a case, so that
they may avoid being put to sudden confusion.
“I, the writer of this worthless Memorial, am but an ignorant
inhabitant of a wild and remote district, and know nothing
of affairs of State. Greatly daring and of rash utterance, I
present this my Memorial, knowing the while that in so doing I
risk the penalty of death.”
To this Memorial the following Rescript was issued by the Empresses
Dowager:—
“We have perused this Memorial and find it not lacking in
point. The foreign Ministers are hereby permitted to appear
at Audience and to act thereat in accordance with their own
national Court ceremonies. Thus the Throne will display its
benevolent indulgence to the strangers from afar and make a
proper distinction between Chinese and barbarians.”
It is worthy of note that the author of the Memorial was the same upright
and fearless Censor, Wu K’o-tu, whose name became a household word upon
his committing suicide at the grave of T’ung-Chih, as an act of protest
against the illegality of the succession ordained by Tzŭ Hsi. If such
were (and are) the views held by China’s bravest and best, can we wonder
at the absurdities that have led the ignorant masses to sudden uprisings
and deeds of violence against the foreigners? Wu K’o-tu’s trenchant scorn
of the sordid commercialism that marks the foreigners’ Treaties, is
typical of the attitude of the orthodox Chinese scholar.
VIII
MAJORITY AND DEATH OF THE EMPEROR T’UNG-CHIH
In the eleventh year of T’ung-Chih (November 1872) the Empresses Dowager,
as Co-Regents, issued a Decree, recounting the circumstances which had
led to the Regency (which they once more described as having been thrust
upon them), and announced the fact that His Majesty’s education having
been completed, they now proposed to hand over to him the reigns of
government; they therefore directed that the Court of Astronomers should
select an auspicious day upon which His Majesty should assume control.
The astrologers and soothsayers having announced that the 26th day of
the 1st Moon was of fortunate omen (wherein, as far as the Emperor was
concerned, they lied), the Co-Regents issued on that day the last Decree
of their first Regency, which is worth reproducing:—
“His Majesty assumes to-day the control of the Government, and
our joy at this auspicious event is in some degree blended
with feelings of anxiety as to the possible results of this
change; but we bear in mind the fact that his sacred Ancestors
have all feared the Almighty, and endeavoured to follow in the
sacred traditions of their predecessors. At the moment, peace
has not been completely restored throughout the Empire, for
rebellion is still rife in Yünnan, Shensi and the North-West
region. It behoves the Emperor to bear steadily in mind the
greatness of the task which God and his ancestors have laid
upon him alone, and carefully to obey the House laws of the
Dynasty in all things. When not actually engaged on business of
State, he should employ his time in studying the classics and
the precedents of history, carefully enquiring into the causes
which have produced good or bad government, from the earliest
times down to the present day. He should be thrifty and
diligent, endeavouring to make perfect his government. This has
been our one constant endeavour since we took upon ourselves
the Regency, the one ideal that has been steadily before our
eyes.”
The Decree concludes with the usual exhortation to the Grand Council and
the high officers of the Provincial administration, to serve the Throne
with zeal and loyalty.