of rebellion; a State which takes adequate measures for
self-defence can never be in serious danger. By the accumulated
wisdom of six successive Sovereigns, our dynasty has succeeded
in establishing a system of government, based on absolute
justice and benevolence, which approaches very nearly to
perfection. It has been our pleasure to grant immediate relief
in times of flood and famine. When rivers burst their banks,
our first thought has ever been the safety of our people.
Never have we resorted to conscription, or to the levying
of _corvées_. We have always excluded Chinese women from
service as subordinates in the Palace. Surely such evidences
of benevolent solicitude merit the hearty co-operation of all
our subjects, and entitle us to expect that all our people,
high and low, should peacefully pursue their business in life,
so that all men, even the humblest labourers, may enjoy the
blessings of peace. Is it any wonder then, that our soul is
vexed when abominable treachery and the preaching of rebellion
have been permitted to exist and to be spread broad-cast; when
high officials, lacking all proper principles, have dared to
recommend traitors to the Throne, in furtherance of their own
evil designs? When we think of these things, our righteous
indignation almost overwhelms us; nevertheless, we have granted
a general amnesty, and will enquire no further into these base
plottings.”
The Decree concluded with the usual exhortation to the official class,
and an appeal for the exercise of ideal virtue.
Her Majesty’s next step was to reinstate certain leading reactionaries,
whom the Emperor had recently dismissed, notably Hsü Ying-kuei, who had
denounced the reformer Wang Chao. The Emperor’s party was now completely
broken up, and he was left without supporters or friends in Peking. The
Manchu Treasurer of Kansuh (Tseng Ho) was the last high official to
speak in favour of the reform movement, or rather of one of its chief
advocates, and, by so doing, to bring down upon him the wrath of the
Old Buddha. The Memorial which brought about his summary dismissal from
office, never again to be re-employed, referred in terms of regret to the
disgrace of Weng T’ung-ho, the Emperor’s tutor.
Her Majesty next turned her attention to the provinces, and administered
a severe rebuke to Liu K’un-yi, who, on grounds of ill-health, had asked
to be relieved of the Nanking Viceroyalty. Her Majesty, reminding him in
the classical phraseology of the high favours showered upon him by the
Throne, directed him to abstain from frivolous excuses and to continue
in the performance of his duties, exercising more diligence therein, and
more care in his selection of subordinate officials.
The audacity of Weng T’ung-ho continued to rankle sorely in Her Majesty’s
mind, and to allow him to continue to live in honourable retirement in
his native place without loss of rank or other punishment was not in
accordance with her ideas of fitness; nor was it likely that Jung Lu, who
had always borne a grudge against the Imperial tutor, would do anything
to mitigate her wrath against him. In a Decree, issued in the name of
the Emperor, she once more vented her spite on this aged and inoffensive
scholar, in a manner highly characteristic of her temperament. The Edict
is sufficiently interesting to justify the following quotation:—
“When Weng T’ung-ho acted as our Imperial tutor, his method
of instruction left much to be desired; he never succeeded
in explaining the inner meaning of classical or historical
subjects, but would spend his time endeavouring to gain our
favour and distract our attention by showing us curios and
pictures. He would endeavour also to ascertain our views on
current events and matters of policy by discussing questions
of general contemporary interest. During the war with Japan,
for instance, he would at one time profess to advocate peace,
and again he would be all for war, and finally he even advised
us to flee from our capital. He had a habit of exaggerating
facts in order to make them coincide with his own views, and
the result of the foolish and wrongful performance of his
duties is now to be seen in a situation almost irreparable. In
the spring of last year he was all in favour of reform, and
secretly recommended to us K’ang Yu-wei as a man whose ability,
he said, exceeded his own one hundred fold. We, being anxious
above all things to strengthen our Empire at a time of national
danger, reluctantly yielded to K’ang Yu-wei’s advice in regard
to reform. He, however, took advantage of our complaisance to
plot treason. For this Weng T’ung-ho is primarily to blame,
and his guilt is too great to be overlooked. Besides this,
he has incurred our displeasure in several other ways; for
instance, he would allow himself to show annoyance if we
disagreed with his recommendations, and would even attempt to
browbeat us. At such times his language was most improper, and
the recollection of his bullying propensities remains in our
mind most unpleasantly. In a previous Decree we ordered him to
vacate his post and return to his native place, but for his
many offences this in itself is no adequate punishment. We now
order that he be cashiered, never again to be re-employed, and
that henceforth he be held under close supervision of the local
authorities and prohibited from creating trouble, as a warning
to all double-minded officials for the future.”[64]
Weng T’ung-ho lived in his family home (Chang Shu in Kiangsu) until June,
1904, beloved and respected by all who knew him. He was by no means a
nonentity like most of the aged officials near the Throne, but rather a
person of considerable force of character, and after his dismissal lived
always in the hope that he might yet return to serve the Emperor and the
cause of reform upon the death of the Old Buddha. Meanwhile, he became a
source of considerable trouble and anxiety to the District Magistrate
of his native place, as he made it his practice to call on that official
three times a month, and, in the guise of a suppliant, to address him,
thus, on his knees: “You have orders from the Throne secretly to keep
watch over my conduct, and I therefore now attend, as in duty bound, to
assist you in carrying out these orders.” As the Magistrate could never
be certain that the once all-powerful Grand Secretary might not return to
power, his own position was evidently one of considerable embarrassment,
especially as the Weng family was the most important of the whole
neighbourhood. In the intervals of baiting local officials, the Grand
Secretary spent his time in scholarly retirement, and a volume of the
letters written by him at this period has since been published; they show
the man in a most attractive light, as a scholar and a poet; his light
and easy style, combined with a tendency to mysticism and philosophic
speculation, has always been highly appreciated by the _literati_. As his
fortune had not been taken from him, his old age was probably happier
in his native place than had it been exposed to the intrigues and hard
work of official life at the Capital; and he died in the enjoyment of a
reputation for patriotism and intelligence which extended far beyond his
native province, and which, since his death, has greatly increased.
The Empress Dowager, realising that the loyalty of the _literati_
had been greatly shaken by the Emperor’s abolition of the old system
of classical studies and public examinations, proceeded to reverse
His Majesty’s decision in a Decree which thoroughly delighted the
Conservative Party. Scholars throughout the country praised it in
unmeasured terms, as a striking example of the Old Buddha’s acute
reasoning powers. To a certain extent it may be admitted that the new
system of examinations introduced by the Emperor had led, at the outset,
to abuses which were absent under the old classical system, where the
anonymity of candidates was a cardinal principle. Her Majesty dealt with
the question as follows:—
“The ancient system whereby our Dynasty has selected the
scholars at public examinations by means of essays taken from
the Four Books, is based on the principle that the foundation
of all education lies in expounding the fundamental doctrines
of our national Sages and the Standard Commentaries on the
Confucian doctrine. For over two centuries this system has
worked most satisfactorily, and it is only quite lately that
certain meretricious tendencies have sprung up in connection
therewith, and that candidates at these examinations have
succeeded in obtaining degrees by the use of parrot-like
repetitions and empty catch-words. The fault has been wrongly
attributed to the system; it is in reality due to incapable
examiners, who have allowed these abuses to creep in. Critics
have failed to realise the truth in this matter, and have
allowed themselves to abuse the system, going as far as to
assert that the classical subjects in themselves are of no
practical value. They forget that the classical essays set
at these examinations are merely a first stage, a test for
entrance upon an official career, and that, if the candidate
is really a man of ability, the fact that he has been made to
compose verses in accordance with the time-honoured methods
of the T’ang and Sung dynasties will never prevent him from
making his way in the world. But should he be a man in whom
there exists already a tendency towards rash and unorthodox
principles, it may safely be said that to set him essays on
subjects of contemporary interest for the purposes of this
examination would only serve to aggravate the evil and further
to demoralise his nature. For these reasons, therefore, I now
definitely decree that, for the future, the old system shall
be restored, and that public examinations shall henceforward
consist of themes and extracts from the Classics. A special
examination for students of political economy, lately
authorised, has been shown to be productive of evil, and is
therefore abolished. It is the wish of the Throne that these
public examinations shall be in reality a sound test of merit.
Examiners and candidates alike should avoid meretricious
adornments of style, and endeavour to conform strictly to
the classical models. We desire, of course, that studies of
a practical nature should be continued, but these had best
be conducted under the guidance of local officials. It is
certainly desirable that agriculture, and the promotion of
industrial and commercial enterprises, should be placed on a
more effective basis of organisation, but owing to difficulties
of inter-communication and voluminous correspondence, it is
inadvisable that these matters should be centralised at Peking.
Let Bureaux be established at the various provincial capitals,
and let a beginning be made at Tientsin, as a test case and an
example for the rest of the Empire. The Peking Bureau is hereby
abolished.”
_Souvent femme varie_, and the mind of Tzŭ Hsi never ran consistently for
long in the same groove. Anxious always as to her popularity with all
parties in the State, and with a view to adjusting that nice equilibrium
of conflicting forces which constituted the pride of her statecraft and
the strength of her rule, we find her next issuing a Decree which set
forth the principles by which she professed to be guided. This Decree
reflects a certain amount of anxiety and a doubt as to whether the
punishment inflicted on the leading reformers might not be severely
criticised by the outside world. Her Majesty therefore decrees:—
“From times of remote antiquity it has always been recognised
that the perfect Government is that which is based on
consistent maintenance of the doctrines of the Sages, but, in
practice, the exigencies of any particular crisis must always
justify modification of these principles, so that there can be
no such thing as final and absolute adherence to any particular
principle or method. Recently there have been introduced
certain energetic measures of reform intended to put an end to
the many and increasing abuses which admittedly exist all over
the Empire; but certain evil-disposed persons have made these
reforms the excuse for a revolutionary movement. These we have
punished, so that the flood of treason and rebellion has been
stemmed. This does not mean, however, that we shall fail to
initiate and enforce all such measures, whether of a liberal
or conservative nature, as may be necessary in the interest
and for the welfare of our subjects. Was ever any man deterred
from eating for fear lest a mouthful should choke him? There
can surely be no real misapprehension in the public mind in the
face of all the Decrees which we have issued on this subject,
but we regret to note a marked lack of coherent opinion on the
subject amongst our official advisers, for, at the time when
these treasonable schemes were rife, we received scarcely any
Memorials alluding to this national danger, and no suggestions
for meeting it. It was only when the plot had been discovered
and suppressed that certain attempts were made to acquire
merit by those who thought they had fathomed the motives which
had actuated our action. These misguided persons overlooked
the important fact that it is the public interest, and the
public interest only, which guides the policy of the Throne in
matters of administration. The path we pursue is that of the
just mean, diverging neither to right nor left. Once more would
we admonish you, our officials throughout the Empire, bidding
you purify your hearts and get rid, once and for all, of these
false distinctions between reaction and reform. Let your
Memorials consider only the needs of each day and each case as
they come, and cease to submit haphazard schemes on the chance
of their meeting with our personal approval.”
Her Majesty next turned her attention to the necessities and distressing
condition of her people at large, and ordered that measures should once
more be taken to prevent the constant destruction of life and property
by the Yellow River in Shantung Province. She was under no delusion
as to the nature of the measures taken in the part to remedy “China’s
Sorrow” which, from time immemorial has been the happy hunting ground
of peculating officialdom; nor could she expect that her stereotyped
exhortations to virtue in this matter would afford her subjects any
particular gratification. Her Majesty alluded to the fact that “frequent
repairs to the banks of the Yellow River had not appeared to produce
any permanent results,” but the remedy which she applied, viz., a
consultation between the Grand Council and the various Ministries with
the Censorate, was not very reassuring. Nor was her subsequent decision
to send Li Hung-chang, to estimate on the spot the sum required for the
construction of effective river conservancy works, calculated to convince
the public of the sincerity of her benevolent intentions.
As in the days immediately following her first assumption of power after
the overthrow of the Tsai Yüan conspiracy in 1861, the Empress Dowager
at this period displayed remarkable activity in every direction, as is
shown by the number of her Decrees at this period. After dealing with the
Yellow River, she turned her attention to another permanent and crying
evil, which for centuries has weighed heavily upon the lower classes of
the Chinese people, viz., the interminable delay and heavy cost of legal
proceedings and the hardships thus inflicted on all who may be compelled
to seek justice at the hands of Chinese officials.
Her Majesty, in her Edict on the subject, showed a very close knowledge
of the abuses with which, indeed, all Chinese are fully acquainted,
but which official documents usually ignore. It is no doubt largely to
her frankness in cases of this kind that the Old Buddha’s widespread
reputation for good nature and tender-heartedness may be ascribed.
Throughout the country, but especially in the north, it has always
been the opinion of the peasantry and of the merchant class, that the
Old Buddha was, if anything, too tender-hearted, and that her extreme
mildness of disposition, though no doubt laudable, was on many occasions
a source of danger. To her untimely “benevolence” the populace in Peking
in 1900 undoubtedly ascribed the fact that the foreigners and native
Christians were not massacred _en masse_ before the arrival of the relief
expedition. In this Decree on the subject of lawsuits, Her Majesty states
that she has recently learned that legal proceedings are frequently hung
up for several months at a time, and that innocent persons have been
detained in custody for indefinite periods pending enquiry.
“Every sort of extortion is apparently practised in these
courts, and their gaolers deliberately obstruct the hearing
of cases unless they are heavily bribed. But if one member of
a family is thrown into prison, it is evident that his whole
household must suffer. Who would willingly enter upon legal
proceedings, unless suffering from injustice too grievous to be
borne, when the myrmidons of the law are able thus to ill-treat
claimants? At the root of the whole evil lies the fact that
the magistrates wilfully delay their business, being deaf to
the needs of the people. From our hearts we pity them, and we
now decree that regulations shall at once be drawn up for the
expediting of outstanding cases. Any delay in this matter will
involve heavy penalties.”
Again, another Edict thus reflects the benevolence of the “Divine Mother”
and her desire to conciliate public opinion:—
“In the majority of recent cases of summary executions in the
provinces, the culprits have been guilty of robbery under arms.
However heinous the offences of such criminals, they really
deserve our sincere pity. The excuse generally given for their
folly is that they have been forced into crime by starvation;
under such conditions men are apt to forget that their evil
acts will bring upon them the death penalty. These criminals
are hardy men and resolute; if they could only be turned from
their evil ways to service in our Army or to agriculture, they
might become good citizens: how preferable such a result to
seeing them cast into prison and finally dismembered? Apart
from this consideration, the crimes which they commit involve
their parents and families, a thought sufficient in itself
to disturb their conscience for ever. Here, in the remote
seclusion of our Palace, we think only of our people’s welfare,
and we long for the time when virtue may prevail and punishment
become a thing of the past. We therefore now implore you, our
children, to remember how real is our sympathy in all your
troubles; strive then to be virtuous citizens, and cease from
acts of violence which only bring trouble and misery in their
train. Let this our Decree be made known to the most remote
districts of our Empire, so that all may be aware of our
solicitude and tender regard for our people.”
The Empress Dowager was much incensed at the sympathy for the Emperor
shown by foreigners both in China and abroad, a sympathy which was
reflected for a time in the attitude of the British Minister and other
members of the Diplomatic Body at Peking. Adopting, however, that policy
of “conciliation pending a fitting opportunity for hostilities,” which
(as will be seen in another place) she had learned from study of the
classics, she invited the wives of the foreign Ministers and other
Legation ladies to an audience in the Palace at the beginning of the
winter, and treated them with such courtesy and consideration that she
won their hearts in a day. That her friendliness was entirely assumed, we
have learned from her own statements, and there is no doubt that, from
this time forward, she came more and more under the influence of the
chief reactionary Kang Yi, who, during the absence of Jung Lu on leave,
was able to persuade her that the first essential towards improving the
country’s military resources was the organisation of bands of militia
throughout the Empire. By missionaries who were close observers of events
in Shantung and other head-quarters of this patriotic movement, it was
soon realised that this military activity was directed primarily against
foreigners, and owed its origin in the first instance to the Empress
Dowager’s approval of Kang Yi’s policy of violent reaction.
The following Decree, promulgated towards the close of the year may, in a
certain sense, be regarded as the beginning and the charter of the Boxer
Movement; it was undoubtedly inspired by Kang Yi and his party.
“There has never been a time when the relations between
Sovereign and people could safely dispense with a good
understanding and certain general common objects. It is of
course for the local Magistrates to initiate measures in all
questions of local importance, but no successful national
policy can be maintained unless the gentry and the lower
classes co-operate with the Government. If we consider, for
example, the question of food-supply reserves, the organisation
of police, the drilling of militia or train-bands, and so
forth: they may seem very ordinary matters, but if they are
efficiently handled they may be made of the very greatest
value to the nation; for by making due provision against
famine, the people’s lives are protected, and similarly, by the
organisation of local police, protection is afforded against
bandits. As to the train-bands, they only require to undergo
regular training for a sufficient period to enable us to attain
to the position of a nation in arms. At any crisis in our
country’s affairs their services would then be available and
invaluable.
“We therefore decree that a beginning be now made in the
Provinces of Chihli, Mukden, and Shantung, where all the local
authorities must admonish the gentry and common people, so that
these measures may be carried out with the utmost energy. Where
any organisation already exists for the purposes mentioned, it
need only be remodelled, and brought into line with the general
system. Let steps be taken first at the provincial capitals,
and extended thence throughout the Provinces. Eventually it
is our intention that the system adopted shall be enforced
throughout the Empire, on the basis of the new regulations
adopted in these three Provinces.”
The rest of the Decree consists of the usual exhortations and warnings,
and is of no particular interest. It is not certain from this document
that the Empress herself understood clearly the forces that were about to
be let loose in these so-called military train-bands, and her subsequent
vacillation in regard to the Boxers would seem to afford an indication,
if not proof, that she acted impulsively and without full knowledge,
under the influence of Kang Yi. But the question rapidly increased in
importance, so that a few days later we find Her Majesty issuing a
second Decree, which shows that the potential power of the train-bands as
a national force was gradually impressing itself upon her mind, where,
as we know, the hope of revenge on foreigners was ever latent. In this
second Decree occurs the following passage:—
“Recent events have caused me the greatest grief and anxiety;
by day and by night, in the seclusion of my Palace, my thoughts
dwell on these matters, and my one object is now to secure the
tranquillity and prosperity of my subjects by the organisation
of adequate military forces. My purposes, set forth in numerous
Decrees, regarding the organisation of a strong army, the
improvement of communications, and the formation of train-bands
and militia, aim all at strengthening the Empire and promoting
the contentment of my people.”