Kweiliang, the good secretary, who had signed the treaties at Tientsin.
His daughter
[Page 273]
was Prince Kung's principal wife, and though too old to take a
leading part in the Court revolutions, it was he who prompted Prince
Kung, who was young and inexperienced, to strike for his life.
The reigning title of the infant Emperor was changed from
_Kisiang_, "good luck," to _Tung-chi_, "joint government";
and the Empire acquiesced in the new régime.
One person there was, however, who was not quite satisfied with
the arrangement. This was the restless, ambitious young Dowager.
The Empire was quiet; and things went on in their new course for
years, Prince Kung all the time growing in power and dignity. His
growing influence gave her umbrage; and one morning a decree from
the two Dowagers stripped him of power, and confined him a prisoner
in his palace. His alleged offence was want of respect to their
Majesties; he threw himself at their feet and implored forgiveness.
The ladies were not implacable; he was restored to favour and clothed
with all his former dignities, except one. The title of
_Icheng-wang_, "joint regent," never reappeared.
In 1881 the death of the senior Dowager left the second Dowager
alone in her glory. So harmoniously had they coöperated during
their joint regency, and so submissive had the former been to the
will of the latter, that there was no ground for suspicion of foul
play, yet such suspicions are always on the wing, like bats in
the twilight of an Oriental court.
On the death of Tung-chi, the adroit selection of a nephew of three
summers to succeed to the throne as her adopted son, gave the Dowager
the prospect of another long regency. Recalled to power by the
[Page 274]
reactionaries, in 1898, after a brief retirement, the Empress Dowager
dethroned her puppet by a second _coup-d'état_.
During the ruinous recoil that followed she had the doubtful
satisfaction of feeling herself sole aristocrat of the Chinese
Empire. Was it not the satisfaction of a gladiator who seated himself
on the throne of the Cæsars in a burning amphitheatre? Was she
not made sensible that she, too, was a creature of circumstances,
when her ill-judged policy compelled her a second time to seek
safety in flight? A helpless fugitive, how could she conceive that
fortune held in reserve for her brighter days than she had ever
experienced?
Accepting the situation and returning with the Emperor, the Empire
and the world accepted her, and, taught by experience, she engaged
in the congenial task of renovating the Chinese people. Advancing
years, consciousness of power, and willing conformity to the freer
usages of European courts, all conspired to lead her to throw aside
the veil and to appear openly as the chief actor on this imperial
stage.
Six years ago her seventieth birthday was celebrated with great
pomp, although she had forbidden her people to be too lavish in
their loyalty. At Wuchang, Tuan Fang, who was acting viceroy, gave
a banquet at which he asked me to make a speech in the Dowager's
honor. The task was a delicate one for a man who had borne the
hardships of a siege in 1900; but I accepted it, and excused the
Dowager on the principle of British law, that "The king can do no
[Page 275]
wrong." Throwing the blame on her ministers, I pronounced a eulogy
on her talents and her public services.
The question arises, did we know her in person and character? Have
we not seen her in that splendid portrait executed by Miss Carl,
and exhibited at St. Louis? If we suspect the artist of flattery,
have we not a gallery of photographs, in which she shows herself
in many a majestic pose? Is flattery possible to a sunbeam? We
certainly see her as truly as we see ourselves in a mirror!
As to character, it is too soon to express an opinion. _Varium
et mutabile semper femina_.
To pencil and sunbeam add word-pictures by men and women from whose
critical eyes she did not conceal herself; and we may confidently
affirm that we knew her personal appearance as well as we knew that
of any lady who occupies or shares a European throne. A trifle
under the average height of European ladies, so perfect were her
proportions and so graceful her carriage that she seemed to need
nothing to add to her majesty. Her features were vivacious and
pleasing rather than beautiful; her complexion, not yellow, but
subolive, and her face illuminated by orbs of jet, half-hidden
by dark lashes, behind which lurked the smiles of favour or the
lightning of anger. No one would take her to be over forty. She
carried tablets on which, even during conversation, she jotted
down memoranda. Her pencil was the support of her sceptre. With it
she sent out her autograph commands; and with it, too, she inscribed
those pictured characters which were worn as the proudest decorations
[Page 276]
of her ministers. I have seen them in gilded frames in the hall
of a viceroy.
The elegance of her culture excited sincere admiration in a country
where women are illiterate; and the breadth of her understanding
was such as to take in the details of government. She chose her
agents with rare judgment, and shifted them from pillar to post,
so that they might not forget their dependence on her will. Without
a parallel in her own country, she has been sometimes compared
with Catherine II. of Russia. She had the advantage in the decency
of her private life; for though she is said to have had favourites
they have never dared to boast of her favours, nor was a curious
public ever able to identify them.
Her full name, including honorific epithets added by the Academy,
was Tse Hi Tuanyin Kangyi Chaoyu Chuangcheng Shoukung Chinhien
Chunghi. A few hours before her death, which occurred on the day
after the Emperor's, she named his nephew as successor, and the
present ruler, Hsuan-Tung, who was born in 1903, began to reign
November 14, 1908.
Let the Dowager be taken as a type of the Manchu woman. The late
Emperor, though handsome and intelligent, was too small for a
representative of a robust race. Tuan Fang, the High Commissioner,
is a more favourable specimen. The Manchus are in general taller
than the Chinese, and both in physical and intellectual qualities
they prove that their branch of the family is far from effete.
Prince Kung, who for fifteen years presided over the imperial cabinet,
was tall, handsome and urbane.
[Page 277]
Despite the disadvantages of an education in a narrow-minded court,
he displayed a breadth and capacity of a high order. Prince Ching,
who succeeded him in 1875, though less attractive in person, is not
deficient in that sort of astuteness that passes for statesmanship.
What better evidence than that he has kept himself on top of a
rolling log for thirty years? To keep his position through the
dethronement of the Emperor and the convulsions of the Boxer War
required agility and adaptability of no mean order. Personally I
have seen much of both princes. They are abler men than one would
expect to find among the offshoots of an Oriental court.
Wensiang, who from the opening of Peking to his death in 1875 bore
the leading part in the conduct of foreign affairs, showed great
ability in piloting the state through rocks and breakers. His mental
power greatly impressed all foreigners, while it secured him an easy
ascendency among his countrymen. Such men are sure to be overloaded
with official duties in a country like China. Physically he was not
strong; and on one occasion when he came into the room wheezing
with asthma he said to me: "You see I am like a small donkey, with
a tight collar and a heavy load." The success of Prince Kung's
administration was largely due to Wensiang. Paochuin, minister
of finance, and member of the Inner Council, was distinguished
as a literary genius. Prince Kung delighted on festive occasions
to call him and Tungsuin to a contest in extempore verse. To enter
the lists with a noted scholar and poet like Tung, showed how the
Manchus have come to vie with the Chinese in the
[Page 278]
refinements of literary culture. I remember him as a dignified
greybeard, genial and jocose. On the fall of the Kung ministry,
he doffed his honours in three stanzas, which contain more truth
than poetry:
"Through life, as in a pleasing dream,
Unconscious of my years,
In Fortune's smile to bask I seem;
Perennial, Spring appears.
"Alas! Leviathan to take
Defies the fisher's art;
From dreams of glory I awake,--
My youth and power depart.
"That loss is often gain's disguise
May us for loss console.
My fellow-sufferers, take advice
And keep your reason whole."
In more than one crisis, the heart of the nation has cleaved to
the Manchu house as the embodiment of law and order. The people
chose to adhere to a tolerably good government rather than take
the chance of a better one emerging from the strife of factions.
Three things are required to confirm their loyalty: (1) the abolition
of tonsure and pigtail, (2) the abandonment of all privileges in
examinations and in the distribution of offices, (3) the removal
of all impediments in the way of intermarriage.
This last has been recently authorised by proclamation. It is not
so easy for those who are in possession of the loaves and fishes to
admit others to an equal share. If to these were added the abolition
of a degrading
[Page 279]
badge, the Manchu dynasty might hope to be perpetual, because the
Manchus would cease to exist as a people.
CONCLUSIONS
1. More than once I have demanded the expulsion of the Manchus,
and the partition of China. That they deserved it no one who knows
the story of 1900 will venture to deny. It was not without reason
that _Mene tekel_ and _Ichabod_ were engraved on the
medal commemorating the siege in Peking. If I seem to recant, it
is in view of the hopeful change that has come over the spirit of
the Manchu Government. Under the leadership of Dowager Empress
and Emperor, the people were more likely to make peaceful progress
than under a new dynasty or under the Polish policy of division.
2. The prospect of admission to the full privileges of a member of
the brotherhood of nations will act as an incentive to improvement.
But the subjection of foreigners to Chinese jurisdiction ought
not to be conceded without a probation as long and thorough as
that through which Japan had to pass. In view of the treachery
and barbarism so conspicuous in 1900--head-hunting and edicts to
massacre foreigners--a probation of thirty years would not be too
long. During that time the reforms in law and justice should be
fully tested, and the Central Government should be held responsible
for the repression of every tendency to anti-foreign riots.
A government that encourages Boxers and other rioters as patriots
does not merit an equal place in the
[Page 280]
congress of nations. The alternative is the "gunboat policy," according
to which foreign powers will administer local punishment. If the
mother of the house will not chastise her unruly children, she
must allow her neighbours to do it.
3. Prior to legal reform, and at the root of it, the adoption of a
constitution ought to be insisted on. In such constitution a leading
article ought to be not toleration, but freedom of conscience. As
long as China looks on native Christians as people who have abjured
their nationality, so long will they be objects of persecution;
self-defence and reprisals will keep the populace in a ferment, and
peace will be impossible. If China is sincere in her professions
of reform, she will follow the example of Japan and make her people
equal in the eye of the law without distinction of creed.
4. All kinds of reform are involved in the new education, and to that
China is irrevocably committed. Reënforced by railroad, telegraph,
and newspaper, the schoolmaster will dispel the stagnation of remote
districts, giving to the whole people a horizon wider than their
hamlet, and thoughts higher than their hearthstone. Animated by
sound science and true religion, it will not be many generations
before the Chinese people will take their place among the leading
nations of the earth.
[Page 281]
APPENDIX
I.
THE AGENCY OF MISSIONARIES IN THE DIFFUSION OF SECULAR KNOWLEDGE
IN CHINA[*]
[Footnote *: This paper was originally written for Dr. Dennis's
well-known work on The Secular Benefits of Christian Missions.
As it now appears it is not a mere reprint, it having been much
enlarged and brought down to date.]
While the primary motive of missionaries in going to China is, as
in going to other countries, the hope of bringing the people to
Christ, the incidental results of their labours in the diffusion
of secular knowledge have been such as to confer inestimable benefit
on the world at large and on the Chinese people in particular.
This is admitted by the recent High Commission.[**]
[Footnote **: See page 263.]
It was in the character of apostles of science that Roman Catholic
missionaries obtained a footing in Peking three centuries ago,
and were enabled to plant their faith throughout the provinces.
Armed with telescope and sextant they effected the reform of the
Chinese calendar, and secured for their religion the respect and
adherence of some of the highest minds in the Empire. So firmly
was it rooted that churches of their planting were able to survive
a century and a half of persecution. Their achievements, recorded
in detail by Abbé Huc and others, fill some of the
[Page 282]
brightest pages in the history of missions. I shall not enlarge
on them in this place, as my present task is to draw attention
to the work of Protestant missions.
A CENTURY OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS.
It is not too much to claim for these last that for a century past
they have been active intermediaries, especially between the
English-speaking nations and the Far East. On one hand, they have
supplied such information in regard to China as was indispensable
for commercial and national intercourse, while on the other they
have brought the growing science of the Western world to bear on
the mind of China. Not only did Dr. Morrison, who led the way in
1807, give the Chinese the first translation of our Holy Scriptures;
he was the very first to compile a Chinese dictionary in the English
language.
THE PIONEER OF AMERICAN MISSIONS
It was not until 1838 that America sent her pioneer missionary
in the person of Dr. Bridgman. Besides coöperating with others in
the revision of Morrison's Bible, or, more properly, in making a
new version, Bridgman won immortality by originating and conducting
the _Chinese Repository_, a monthly magazine which became a
thesaurus of information in regard to the Chinese Empire.
THE PRESS--A MISSIONARY FRANKLIN
The American Board showed their enlightened policy by establishing
a printing-press at Canton, and
[Page 283]
in sending S. Wells Williams to take charge of it, in 1833. John
R. Morrison, son of the missionary, had, indeed, made a similar
attempt; but from various causes he had felt compelled to relinquish
the enterprise. From the arrival of Williams to the present day the
printing-press has shown itself a growing power--a lever which,
planted on a narrow fulcrum in the suburb of a single port, has
succeeded in moving the Eastern world.
The art of printing was not new to the Chinese. They had discovered
it before it was dreamed of in Europe; but with their hereditary
tendency to run in ruts, they had continued to engrave their characters
on wooden blocks in the form of stereotype plates. With divisible
types (mostly on wood) they had indeed made some experiments; but
that improved method never obtained currency among the people. It
was reserved for Christian missions to confer on them the priceless
boon of the power press and metallic types. What Williams began at
Canton was perfected at Shanghai by Gamble of the Presbyterian
Board, who multiplied the fonts and introduced the process of
electrotyping.
Shut up in the purlieus of Canton, it is astonishing how much Dr.
Williams was able to effect in the way of making China known to the
Western world. His book on "The Middle Kingdom," first published in
1848, continues to be, after the lapse of half a century, the highest
of a long list of authorities on the Chinese Empire. Beginning like
Benjamin Franklin as a printer, like Franklin he came to perform a
brilliant part in the diplomacy of our country, aiding in the
[Page 284]
negotiation of a new treaty and filling more than once the post
of chargé d'affaires.
EXPANSION OF THE WORK
The next period of missionary activity dates from the treaty of
Nanking, which put an end to the Opium War, in 1842. The opening
of five great seaports to foreign residence was a vast enlargement
in comparison with a small suburb of Canton; and the withdrawal
of prohibitory interdicts, first obtained by the French minister
Lagrené, invited the efforts of missionary societies in all lands.
In this connection it is only fair to say that, in 1860, when the
Peking expedition removed the remaining barriers, it was again
to the French that our missionaries were indebted for access to
the interior.
MEDICAL WORK
From the earliest dawn of our mission work it may be affirmed that
no sooner did a chapel open its doors than a hospital was opened
by its side for the relief of bodily ailments with which the rude
quackery of the Chinese was incompetent to deal. Nor is there at
this day a mission station in any part of China that does not in
this way set forth the practical charity of the Good Samaritan.
This glorious crusade against disease and death began, so far as
Protestants are concerned, with the Ophthalmic Hospital opened
by Dr. Peter Parker at Canton in 1834.
MEDICAL TEACHING
The training of native physicians began at the same date; and those
who have gone forth to bless their
[Page 285]
people by their newly acquired medical skill may now be counted
by hundreds. In strong contrast with the occult methods of native
practitioners, neither they nor their foreign teachers have hidden
their light under a bushel. Witness the Union Medical College, a
noble institution recently opened in Peking under the sanction
and patronage of the Imperial Government. A formal despatch of the
Board of Education (in July, 1906) grants the power of conferring
degrees, and guarantees their recognition by the state. For many
years to come this great school is likely to be the leading source
of a new faculty.
THE SEEDS OF A NEW EDUCATION
Not less imperative, though not so early, was the establishment of
Christian schools. Those for girls have the merit of being the first
to shed light on the shaded hemisphere of Chinese society. Those for
boys were intended to reach all grades of life; but their prime
object was to raise up a native ministry, not merely to coöperate
with foreign missions, but eventually to take the place of the
foreign missionary.
THE EARLIEST UNION COLLEGE
One of the earliest and most successful of these lighthouses was
the Tengchow College founded by Dr. C. W. Mateer. It was there
that young Chinese were most thoroughly instructed in mathematics,
physics, and chemistry. So conspicuous was the success of that
institution that when the Government opened a university in Peking,
and more recently in Shantung,
[Page 286]
it was in each case to Tengchow that they had recourse for native
teachers of science. From that school they obtained text-books,
and from the same place they secured (in Dr. Hayes) a president
for the first provincial university organised in China.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL UNIVERSITY IN PEKING
The missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church have of late taken
up the cause of education and carried it forward with great vigour.
Not to speak of high schools for both sexes in Fukien, they have a
flourishing college in Shanghai, and a university in the imperial
capital under the presidency of H. H. Lowry. Destroyed by the Boxers
in 1900, that institution has now risen phoenix-like from its ashes
with every prospect of a more brilliant future than its most sanguine
friends ever ventured to anticipate.
AMERICAN BOARD COLLEGE AT TUNGCHOW
A fine college of the American Board at Tungchow, near the capital,
met the same fate and rose again with similar expansion. Dr. Sheffield,
its president, has made valuable contributions to the list of
educational text-books.
These great schools, together with the Medical College of the London
Mission, above referred to, and a high school of the United States
Presbyterians, have formed a system of cöoperation which greatly
augments the efficiency of each. Of this educational union the
chief cornerstone is the Medical College.
A similar coöperative union between the English
[Page 287]
Baptists and American Presbyterians is doing a great work at Weihien, in
Shantung. I speak of these because of that most notable feature--union
international and interdenominational. Space would fail to enumerate
a tithe of the flourishing schools that are aiding in the educational
movement; but St. John's College, at Shanghai (U. S. Episcopal),
though already mentioned, claims further notice because, as we
now learn, it has been given by the Chinese Government the status
of a university.
PREPARATION OF TEXT-BOOKS
Schools require text-books; and the utter absence of anything of
the kind, except in the department of classical Chinese, gave rise
to early and persistent efforts to supply the want. Manuals in
geography and history were among the first produced. Those in
mathematics and physics followed; and almanacs were sent forth
yearly containing scientific information in a shape adapted to
the taste of Chinese readers--alongside of religious truths. Such
an annual issued by the late Dr. McCartee, was much sought for.
A complete series of text-books in mathematics was translated by
Mr. Wylie, of the London Mission; and text-books on other subjects,
including geology, were prepared by Messrs. Muirhead, Edkins, and
Williamson. At length the task of providing text-books was taken
in hand by a special committee, and later on by the Society for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, now under the direction of the
Rev. Dr. Richard.
[Page 288]
So deeply was the want of text-books felt by some of the more
progressive mandarins that a corps of translators was early formed
in connection with one of the government arsenals--a work in which
Dr. John Fryer has gained merited renown. Those translators naturally
gave prominence to books on the art of war, and on the politics
of Western nations, the one-sided tendency of their publications
serving to emphasise the demand for such books as were prepared
by missionaries.
Text-books on international law and political economy were made
accessible to Chinese literature by Dr. W. A. P. Martin, who, having
acted as interpreter to two of the American embassies, was deeply
impressed by the ignorance of those vital subjects among Chinese
mandarins.
On going to reside in Peking, in 1863, Dr. Martin carried with him
a translation of Wheaton, and it was welcomed by the Chinese Foreign
Office as a timely guide in their new situation. He followed this
up by versions of Woolsey, Bluntschli and Hall. He also gave them
a popular work on natural philosophy--not a translation--together
with a more extended work on mathematical physics. Not only has
the former appeared in many editions from the Chinese press, but
it has been often reprinted in Japan; and to this day maintains
its place in the favour of both empires. To this he has lately
added a text-book on mental philosophy.
A book on the evidences of Christianity, by the same author, has
been widely circulated both in China and in Japan. Though distinctly
religious in aim, it
[Page 289]
appeals to the reader's taste for scientific knowledge, seeking to
win the heathen from idolatry by exhibiting the unity and beauty
of nature, while it attempts to show the reasonableness of our
revealed religion.
THREE PRESIDENTS OF GOVERNMENT COLLEGES
It is not without significance that the Chinese have sought presidents
for their highest schools among the ranks of Protestant missionaries.
Dr. Ferguson of the Methodist Episcopal Mission was called to the
presidency of the Nanyang College at Shanghai; Dr. Hayes, to be
head of a new university in Shantung; and Dr. Martin, after serving
for twenty-five years as head of the Diplomatic College in Peking,
was, in 1898, made president of the new Imperial University. His
appointment was by decree from the Throne, published in the Government
_Gazette_; and mandarin rank next to the highest was conferred
on him. On terminating his connection with that institution, after
it was broken up by Boxers, he was recalled to China to take charge
of a university for the two provinces of Hupeh and Hunan.
CREATORS OF CHINESE JOURNALISM
In the movement of modern society, no force is more conspicuous
than journalism. In this our missionaries have from the first taken
a leading part, as it was they who introduced it to China. At every
central station for the last half-century periodicals have been
issued by them in the Chinese language.
[Page 290]
The man who has done most in this line is Dr. Y. J. Allen, of the
Methodist Episcopal Church South. He has devoted a lifetime to
it, besides translating numerous books.
Formerly the Chinese had only one newspaper in the empire--the
_Peking Gazette_, the oldest journal in the world. They now
have, in imitation of foreigners, some scores of dailies, in which
they give foreign news, and which they print in foreign type. The
highest mandarins wince under their stinging criticisms.
THEY LEAD A VERNACULAR REVOLUTION
It is one of the triumphs of Christianity to have given a written
form to the language of modern Europe. It is doing the same for
heathen nations in all parts of the earth. Nor does China offer
an exception. The culture for which her learned classes are noted
is wholly confined to a classic language that is read everywhere,
and spoken nowhere, somewhat as Latin was in the West in the Middle
Ages, save that Latin was really a tongue capable of being employed
in speech, whereas the classical language of China is not addressed
to the ear but to the eye, being, as Dr. Medhurst said, "an occulage,
not a language."
The mandarin or spoken language of the north was, indeed, reduced
to writing by the Chinese themselves; and a similar beginning was
made with some of the southern dialects. In all these efforts the
Chinese ideographs have been employed; but so numerous and disjointed
are they that the labour of years is required to get a command of
them even for reading in a vernacular
[Page 291]
dialect. In all parts of China our missionaries have rendered the
Scriptures into the local dialects. so that they may be understood
when read aloud, and that every man "may hear in his own tongue the
wonderful works of God." In some places they have printed them in
the vernacular by the use of Chinese characters. Yet those characters
are clumsy instruments for the expression of sounds; and in several
provinces our missionaries have tried to write Chinese with Roman
letters.
The experiment has proved successful beyond a doubt. Old women
and young children have in this way come to read the Scriptures
and other books in a few days. This revolution must go forward
with the spread of Christianity; nor is it too much to expect that
in the lapse of ages, the hieroglyphs of the learned language will
for popular use be superseded by the use of the Roman alphabet, or
by a new alphabet recently invented and propagated by officials
in Peking.
In conclusion: Our missionaries have made our merchants acquainted
with China; and they have made foreign nations known to the Chinese.
They have aided our envoys in their negotiations; and they have
conferred on the Chinese the priceless boon of scientific text-books.
Also along with schools for modern education, they have introduced
hospitals for the relief of bodily suffering.
W. A. P. M.
PEKING,
Aug. 4. 1906.
[Page 292]
II.
UNMENTIONED REFORMS[*]
[Footnote *: Written by the author for the _North-China Daily
News_.]
The return of the Mission of Inquiry has quickened our curiosity
as to its results in proposition and in enactment. All well-wishers
of China are delighted to learn that the creation of a parliament
and the substitution of constitutional for autocratic government are
to have the first place in the making of a New China. The reports
of the High Commissioners are not yet before the public, but it
is understood that they made good use of their time in studying
the institutions of the West, and that they have shown a wise
discrimination in the selection of those which they recommend for
adoption. There are, however, three reforms of vital importance,
which have scarcely been mentioned at all, which China requires
for full admission to the comity of nations.
1. A CHANGE OF COSTUME
During their tour no one suggested that the Chinese costume should
be changed nor would it have been polite or politic to do so. But I
do not admire either the taste or the wisdom of those orators who,
in welcoming the distinguished visitors; applauded them for their
graceful dress and stately carriage. If that indiscreet flattery
had any effect it merely tended
[Page 293]
to postpone a change which is now in progress. All the soldiers
of the Empire will ere long wear a Western uniform, and all the
school children are rapidly adopting a similar uniform. To me few
spectacles that I have witnessed are so full of hope for China as
the display on an imperial birthday, when the military exhibit
their skilful evolutions and their Occidental uniform, and when
thousands of school children appear in a new costume, which is
both becoming and convenient. But the Court and the mandarins cling
to their antiquated attire. If the peacock wishes to soar with
the eagle, he must first get rid of his cumbersome tail.
This subject, though it savours of the tailor shop, is not unworthy
the attention of the grand council of China's statesmen. Has not
Carlyle shown in his "Sartor Resartus" how the Philosophy of Clothes
is fundamental to the history of civilisation? The Japanese with
wonderful foresight settled that question at the very time when
they adopted their new form of government.
When Mr. Low was U. S. Minister in Peking some thirty years ago,
he said to the writer "Just look at this tomfoolery!" holding up
the fashion plates representing the new dress for the diplomatic
service of Japan. Time has proved that he was wrong, and that the
Japanese were right in adopting a new uniform, when they wished to
fall in line with nations of the West. With their old shuffling
habiliments and the cringing manners inseparable from them, they
never could have been admitted to intercourse on easy terms with
Western society.
[Page 294]
The mandarin costume of China, though more imposing, is not less
barbaric than that of Japan; and the etiquette that accompanies
it is wholly irreconcilable with the usages of the Western world.
Imagine a mandarin doffing his gaudy cap, gay with tassels, feathers,
and ruby button, on meeting a friend, or pushing back his long
sleeves to shake hands! Such frippery we have learned to leave
to the ladies; and etiquette does not require them to lay aside
their hats.
Quakers, like the mandarins, keep their hats on in public meetings;
and the oddity of their manners has kept them out of society and
made their following very exiguous. Do our Chinese friends wish
to be looked on as Quakers, or do they desire to fraternise freely
with the people of the great West?
Their cap of ceremony hides a shaven pate and dangling cue, and
here lies the chief obstacle in the way of the proposed reform
in style and manners. Those badges of subjection will have to be
dispensed with either formally or tacitly before the cap that conceals
them can give way to the dress hat of European society. Neither
graceful nor convenient, that dress hat is not to be recommended
on its own merits, but as part of a costume common to all nations
which conform to the usages of our modern civilisation.
It must have struck the High Commissioners that, wherever they
went, they encountered in good society only one general type of
costume. Nor would it be possible for them to advise the adoption
of the costume of this or that nationality--a general conformity
is all that seems feasible or desirable. Will the Chinese
[Page 295]
cling to their cap and robes with a death grip like that of the
Korean who jumped from a railway train to save his high hat and
lost his life? As they are taking passage on the great railway of
the world's progress, will they not take pains to adapt themselves
in every way to the requirements of a new era?
2. POLYGAMY
We have as yet no intimation what the Reform Government intends
to do with this superannuated institution. Will they persist in
burning incense before it to disguise its ill-odour, or will they
bury it out of sight at once and for ever?
The Travelling Commissioners, whose breadth and acumen are equally
conspicuous, surely did not fail to inquire for it in the countries
which they visited. Of course, they did not find it there; but, as
with the question of costume, the good breeding of their hosts would
restrain them from offering any suggestion touching the domestic
life of the Chinese.
The Commissioners had the honour of presentation to the Queen-Empress
Alexandra. Fancy them asking how many subordinate wives she has
to aid her in sustaining the dignity of the King-Emperor! They
would learn with surprise that no European sovereign, however lax
in morals, has ever had a palace full of concubines as a regular
appendage to his regal menage; that for prince and people the ideal
is monogamy; and that, although the conduct of the rich and great
is often such as to make us blush for our Christian civilisation,
it is true this day that the crowned heads of Europe are in general
setting a worthy example of
[Page 296]
domestic morals. "Admirable!" respond the Commissioners; "our ancient
sovereigns were like that, and our sages taught that there should
be '_Ne Wu Yuen Nu, Wai wu Kwang-tu_' (in the harem no pining
beauty, outside no man without a mate). It is the luxury of later
ages that keeps a multitude of women in seclusion for the pleasure
of a few men, and leaves the common man without a wife. We heartily
approve the practice of Europe, but what of Africa?"
"There the royal courts consider a multitude of wives essential to
their grandeur, and the nobles reckon their wealth by the number
of their wives and cows. The glory of a prince is that of a cock
in a barn-yard or of a bull at the head of a herd. Such is their
ideal from the King of Dahomey with his bodyguard of Amazons to
the Sultan of Morocco and the Khedive of Egypt. Not only do the
Mahommedans of Asia continue the practice--they have tried to transplant
their ideal paradise into Europe. Turkey, decayed and rotten, with
its black eunuchs and its Circassian slave girls, stands as an
object-lesson to the whole world."
"We beg your pardon, we know enough about Asia; but what of
America--does polygamy flourish there?"
"It did exist among the Peruvians and Aztecs before the Spanish
conquest, but it is now under ban in every country from pole to
pole. Witness the Mormons of Utah! They were refused admission
into the American Union as long as they adhered to the Oriental
type of plural marriage."
"Ah! We perceive you are pointing to the Mormons as a warning to
us. You mean that we shall not be admitted into the society of
the more civilised nations
[Page 297]
as long as we hold to polygamy. Well! Our own sages have condemned
it. It has a long and shameful record; but its days are numbered.
It will do doubt be suppressed by our new code of laws."
This imaginary conversation is so nearly a transcript of what must
have taken place, that I feel tempted to throw the following paragraphs
into the form of a dialogue. The dialogue, however, is unavoidably
prolix, and I hasten to wind up the discussion.
With reference to the Mormons I may add that at the conference
on International Arbitration held at Lake Mohonk last July, there
were present Jews, Quakers, Protestants and Roman Catholics, but
no Mormons and no Turks. Creeds were not required as credentials,
but Turk and Mormon did not think it worth while to knock at the
door. Both are objects of contempt, and no nation whose family
life is formed on the same model can hope to be admitted to full
fraternity with Western peoples.
The abominations associated with such a type of society are inconsistent
with any but a low grade of civilisation--they are eunuchs, slavery,
unnatural vice, and, more than all, a general debasement of the female
sex. In Chinese society, woman occupies a shaded hemisphere--not
inaptly represented by the dark portion in their national symbol the
_Yinyang-tse_ or Diagram of the Dual principles. So completely
has she hitherto been excluded from the benefits of education that
a young man in a native high school recently began an essay with
the exclamation--"I am glad I am not a Chinese woman. Scarcely
one in a thousand is able to read!"
[Page 298]
If "Knowledge is power," as Bacon said, and Confucius before him,
what a source of weakness has this neglect of woman been to China.
Happily she is not excluded from the new system of national education,
and there is reason to believe that with the reign of ignorance
polygamy will also disappear as a state of things repugnant to
the right feeling of an intelligent woman. But would it not hasten
the enfranchisement of the sex, and rouse the fair daughters of
the East to a nobler conception of human life if the rulers would
issue a decree placing concubinage under the ban of law? Nothing
would do more to secure for China the respect of the Western world.
3. DOMESTIC SLAVERY
Since writing the first part of this paper, I have learned that
some of the Commissioners have expressed themselves in favour of
a change of costume. I have also learned that the regulation of
slavery is to have a place in the revised statutes, though not
referred to by the Commissioners. Had this information reached
me earlier, it might have led me to omit the word "unmentioned"
from my general title, but it would not have altered a syllable
in my treatment of the subject.
Cheering it is to the well-wishers of China to see that she has
a government strong enough and bold enough to deal with social
questions of this class. How urgent is the slave question may be
seen from the daily items in your own columns. What, for example,
was the lady from Szechuen doing but carrying on a customary
[Page 299]
form of the slave traffic? What was the case of those singing girls
under the age of fifteen, of whom you spoke last week, but a form
of slavery? Again, by way of climax, what will the Western world
think of a country that permits a mistress to beat a slave girl
to death for eating a piece of watermelon--as reported by your
correspondent from Hankow? The triviality of the provocation reminds
us of the divorce of a wife for offering her mother-in-law a dish
of half-cooked pears. The latter, which is a classic instance, is
excused on the ground of filial duty, but I have too much respect
for the author of the "Hiaoking," to accept a tradition which does a
grievous wrong to one of the best men of ancient times. The tradition,
however unfounded, may serve as a guide to public opinion. It suggests
another subject, which we might (but will not) reserve for another
section, viz., the regulation of divorce and the limitation of
marital power. It is indeed intimately connected with my present
topic, for what is wife or concubine but a slave, as long as a
husband has power to divorce or sell her at will--with or without
provocation?
Last week an atrocious instance, not of divorce, but of wife-murder,
occurred within bow-shot of my house. A man engaged in a coal-shop
had left his wife with an aunt in the country. The aunt complained
of her as being too stupid and clumsy to earn a living. Her brutal
husband thereon took the poor girl to a lonely spot, where he killed
her, and left her unburied. Returning to the coal-shop, he sent
word to his aunt that he was ready to answer for what he had done,
if called to account. "Has he been called to account?"
[Page 300]
I enquired this morning of one of his neighbours. "Oh no! was the
reply; it's all settled; the woman is buried, and no inquiry is
called for." Is not woman a slave, though called a wife, in a society
where such things are allowed to go with impunity? Will not the new
laws, from which so much is expected, limit the marriage relation
to one woman, and make the man, to whom she is bound, a husband,
not a master?
Confucius, we are told, resigned office in his native state when
the prince accepted a bevy of singing girls sent from a neighbouring
principality. The girls were slaves bought and trained for their
shameful profession, and the traffic in girls for the same service
constitutes the leading form of domestic slavery at this day--so
little has been the progress in morals, so little advance toward
a legislation that protects the life and virtue of the helpless!
But the slave traffic is not confined to women; any man may sell
his son; and classes of both sexes are found in all the houses of
the rich. Prædial servitude was practised in ancient times, as it
was in Europe in the Middle Ages, and in Russia till a recent day.
We read of lands and labourers being conferred on court favourites.
How the system came to disappear we need not pause to inquire. It
is certain, however, that no grand act of emancipation ever took
place in China like that which cost Lincoln his life, or that for
which the good Czar Alexander II. had to pay the same forfeit.
Russia is to-day eating the bitter fruits of ages of serfdom; and
the greatest peril ever encountered by the United States was a
war brought on by negro slavery.
[Page 301]
The form of slavery prevailing in China is not one that threatens
war or revolutions; but in its social aspects it is worse than
negro slavery. It depraves morals and corrupts the family, and
as long as it exists, it carries the brand of barbarism. China
has great men, who for the honour of their country would not be
afraid to take the matter in hand. They would, if necessary, imitate
Lincoln and the Czar Alexander to effect the removal of such a
blot.
It is proposed, we are told, to limit slavery to minors--freedom
ensuing on the attainment of majority. This would greatly ameliorate
the evil, but the evil is so crying that it demands not amelioration,
but extinction. Let the legislators of China take for their model
the provisions of British law, which make it possible to boast that
"as soon as a slave touches British soil his fetters fall." Let
them also follow that lofty legislation which defines the rights
and provides for the well-being of the humblest subject. Let the
old system be uprooted before a new one is inaugurated, otherwise
there is danger that the limiting of slavery to minors will leave
those helpless creatures exposed to most of the wrongs that accompany
a lifelong servitude.
The number and extent of the reforms decreed or effected are such
as to make the present reign the most illustrious in the history
of the Empire. May we not hope that in dealing with polygamy and
domestic slavery, the action of China will be such as to lift her
out of the class of Turkey and Morocco into full companionship
with the most enlightened nations of Europe and America.
[Page 302]
III.
A NEW OPIUM WAR
The fiat has gone forth--war is declared against an insidious enemy
that has long been exhausting the resources of China and sapping
the strength of her people. She has resolved to rid herself at
once and forever of the curse of opium. The home production of
the drug, and all the ramifications of the vice stand condemned
by a decree from the throne, followed by a code of regulations
designed not to limit, but to extirpate the monster evil.
In this bold stroke for social reform there can be no doubt that
the Government is supported by the best sentiment of the whole
country. Most Chinese look upon opium as the beginning of their
national sorrows. In 1839 it involved them in their first war with
the West; and that opened the way for a series of wars which issued
in their capital being twice occupied by foreign forces.
Their first effort to shake off the incubus was accompanied by
such displays of pride, ignorance and unlawful violence that Great
Britain was forced to make war--not to protect an illegal traffic,
but to redress an outrage and to humble a haughty empire. In this
renewed onslaught the Chinese have exhibited so much good sense
and moderation as to show that they have learned much from foreign
intercourse during the sixty-seven years that have intervened.
[Page 303]
Without making any appeal to the foreigner, they courageously resolved
to deal with the evil in its domestic aspects. Most of the mandarins
are infected by it; and the licensed culture of the poppy has made
the drug so cheap that even the poor are tempted to indulge.
The prohibitory edict asserts that of the adult population 30 or
40 per cent. are under the influence of the seductive poison. This,
by the way, gives an enormous total, far beyond any of the estimates
of foreign writers.
Appalled by the signs of social decadence the more patriotic of
China's statesmen were not slow to perceive that all attempts at
reform in education, army, and laws must prove abortive if opium
were allowed to sap the vigour of the nation. "You can't carve a
piece of rotten wood," says Confucius. Every scheme for national
renovation must have for its basis a sound and energetic people. It
was this depraved taste that first made a market for the drug; if
that taste can be eradicated the trade and the vice must disappear
together, with or without the concurrence of Great Britain.
Great Britain was not, however, to be ignored. Besides her overshadowing
influence and her commercial interests vast and varied, is she not
mistress of India, whose poppy-fields formerly supplied China and
are still sending to the Chinese market fifty thousand chests per
annum? No longer an illegal traffic, this importation is regulated
by treaty. Concerted action might prevent complications and tend
to insure success. The new British Government was approached on the
[Page 304]
subject. Fortunately, the Liberals being in power, it was not bound
by old traditions.
A general resolution passed the House of Commons without a dissentient
voice, expressing sympathy with China and a willingness to adopt
similar measures in India. "When asked in the House what steps had
been taken to carry out the resolution for the abolition of the
opium traffic between India and China, Mr. Morley replied, that
he understood that China was contemplating the issue of regulations
restricting the importation, cultivation, and consumption of opium. He
had received no communication from China; but as soon as proposals were
submitted he was prepared to consider them in a sympathetic spirit.
H. B. M.'s minister in Peking had been instructed to communicate
with the Chinese Government to that effect."
The telegram containing these words is dated London, October 30.
The imperial edict, which initiated what many call "the new crusade,"
was issued barely forty days before that date (viz., on September
20). Let it also be noted that near the end of August a memorial
of the Anti-Opium League, suggesting action on the part of the
Government, was sent up through the Nanking viceroy. It was signed
by 1,200 missionaries of different nations and churches. Is it
not probable that their representations, backed by the viceroy,
moved the hand that sways the sceptre?
The decree runs as follows:
"Since the first prohibition of opium, almost the whole of China
has been flooded with the poison. Smokers of opium have wasted
their time, neglected their employment, ruined their constitutions,
and impoverished their households. Thus for several decades China
has presented a
[Page 305]
spectacle of increasing poverty and weakness. It rouses our indignation
to speak of the matter. The Court is now determined to make China
powerful; and it is our duty to urge our people to reformation
in this respect.
"We decree, therefore, that within a limit of ten years this harmful
muck be fully and entirely wiped away. We further command the Council
of State to consider means for the strict prohibition both of
opium-smoking and of poppy-growing."
Among the regulations drawn up by the Council of State are these:
That all smokers of opium be required to report themselves and to
take out licenses.
Smokers holding office are divided into two classes. Those of the
junior class are to cleanse themselves in six months. For the seniors
no limit of time is fixed. Both classes while under medical treatment
are to pay for approved deputies, by whom their duties shall be
discharged.
All opium dens are to be closed after six months. These are places
where smokers dream away the night in company with the idle and
the vicious.
No opium lamps or pipes are to be made or sold after six months.
Shops for the sale of the drug are not to be closed until the tenth
year.
The Government provides medicines for the cure of the habit.
The formation of anti-opium societies is encouraged; but the members
are cautioned not to discuss political questions.
The question no doubt arises in the mind of the reader, Will China
succeed in freeing herself from bondage to this hateful vice? It
is easy for an autocrat to issue a decree, but not easy to secure
obedience. It
[Page 306]
is encouraging to know that this decisive action is favoured by
all the viceroys--Yuan, the youngest and most powerful, has already
taken steps to put the new law in force in the metropolitan province.
A flutter of excitement has also shown itself in the ranks of Indian
traders--Parsees, Jews, and Mohammedans--who have presented a claim
for damages to their respectable traffic.
On the whole we are inclined to believe in the good faith of the
Chinese Government in adopting this measure, and to augur well
for its success. Next after the change of basis in education, this
brave effort to suppress a national vice ranks as the most brilliant
in a long series of reformatory movements.
W. A. P. M.
PEKING, January, 1907.
[Page 307]
INDEX
[Page 309]
INDEX
Adams, John Quincy, on the Opium War, 153
Albazin, Cossack garrison captured at, 57
Alphabet, a new, invented by Wang Chao, 217
Amherst, Lord, declines to kneel to Emperor, 168
Amoy, seaport in Fukien province, 14
its grass cloth and peculiar sort of black tea, 15
Anhwei, province of, home of Li Hung Chang, 49
Anti-foot-binding Society, supported by Dowager Empress in an edict, 217
Anti-foreign Agitation, 244-266
American influence in the Far East and, 245-251
"Appeal from the Lion's Den," 176
Army, the Chinese, 200-202
_Arrow_ War, the, 162-169
allied troops at Peking, 168
Canton occupied by British troops, 164
China abandons her long seclusion, 169
crew of the _Arrow_ executed without trial, 163
negotiations of the four powers with China, 165
seizure of the lorcha _Arrow_, 162
Bamboo tablets, writings of Confucius engraved on, 106
Battle of the Sea of Japan, 191-192
Bell-tower, boy's soul supposed to be hovering in, 21
Black-haired race, Chinese style themselves the, 151
Bowring, Sir John, Governor of Hong Kong, and the _Arrow_ case,
162-163
Boxer War, the, 172-180
a Boxer manifesto, 175
Boycott, the, 247, 252, 253, 259
Bridges, 16, 41, 42
Bridgman, Dr., pioneer missionary to China, 282
founds the Chinese Repository, 282
Buddhism, introduction of, into China, 95
"Apotheosis of Mercy," a legend of Northern Buddhism, 108
number of Buddhist monasteries, 108
rooted in the minds of the illiterate, 108
Burden, Bishop, of the English Church Mission. Hang-chow, 23
Burlingame, Hon. Anson, U. S. Minister to China, 212
Cambalu, Mongol name for Peking, 59
[Page 310]
Camöens, tomb of, at Macao, 9
Canton, the most populous city of the Empire, 9-12
American trade suffers most in Canton from boycott of 1905, 13
averts bombardment by payment of $6,000,000 ransom, 154
Christian college, 10
cock-fighting the popular amusement, 10
crowds of beggars, 12
excellence of tea and silk produced in the vicinity, 13
"flower-boats," 9
historical enigma contests, 11
narrowness of streets, 12
passion for gambling, 11
Canton (Kwangtung), province of, 7-13
Viceroy of, has also Kwangsi under his jurisdiction, 13
Caravan Song, 61
Chang Chien, legend of, 63
Chang-fi, rescues son of Liu Pi from burning palace, 114
Chang Tien-shi, arch-magician of Taoism, 109
Chang Chi-tung, Viceroy of Hukwang, his life and public career, 219-241
first to start the Emperor on the path of reform 213
case of Chunghau, 223-224
his commercial developments at Wuchang, 231
official interviews with, 238-241
Chang Yee, an able diplomatist of the Chou period, 99
Chao, Prince of, is offered fifteen cities for a Kohinoor belonging to
him, 98
Chau-siang subjugates Tung-chou-Kiun, last monarch of the Chou dynasty, 99
Chefoo (Chifu), port in Shantung province, 32
Chéhkiang, province of, smallest of the eighteen provinces, 17-24
Cheng-wang, "the completer," a ruler of the Chou dynasty, 86-87
his successors, 87-88
Chentung, Liang, Sir, interview with Dr. Martin with reference to the
Exclusion Laws and the boycott, 252
Chin, one of the Nan-peh Chao, 117
China, probable derivation of name, 101
agency of missionaries in diffusing secular knowledge in, 281-291
American exclusion laws, 253
anti-opium edict, 304-305
boycott, 247, 252, 253, 259
condition after five wars, 181
displays of barbarity during the Boxer War, 180
effect of her defeat by Japan, 171
effects of Russo-Japanese War, 193
eighteen provinces, 6
[Page 311]
five grand divisions, 3
Grand Canal, 31
Great Wall, 4, 31, 32, 101
interference in Tongking, 62
interference in Korea, 62
physiographical features, 4
reforms in, 196-218
rivers, 19, 15, 18, 25, 41, 52
sincerity of reformatory movements, 306
China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, 200
Chingtu-fu, capital of the state of Shuh, 113
Chinhai, city at the mouth of the Ningpo, 18
Chosin, Prince of, 196
Chou dynasty, founded by Wen-wang, 84
annals of, 84-88, 96, 99
form of government praised by Confucius, 96
term _Chung Kwoh_, "Middle Kingdom," originates in, 85
Chou-sin, brings ruin on the house of Shang, sets fire to his own palace,
and perishes in the flames, 81
Christians, attitude of Chinese Government towards, 261
newspapers and the Christian faith, 263
Chu Fu-tse, the philosopher, 128
Chu Hi, the Coryphæus of Mediæval China, 128
Chu-koh Liang, a peasant who became minister to Liu Pi, 114-115
_Chuang Yuen_, Chinese term for senior wrangler; his importance
and privileges 123
Chungchen, last of the Mings, hangs himself after stabbing his daughter,
139
Chunghau and the restoration of Ili, 223
accused by Chang Chi-tung, 224
Chunking, city on the Yangtse, 51
Chusan, Archipelago and Island, 17
Chu Yuen Chang, Father of the Mings, 135
Chwan-siang, exterminates the house of Chou, 99
Confucius, birth and parentage of 89, 90
account of his education, 90
describes himself as "editor, not author," 91
edits the Five Classics, 92
Golden Rule the essence of his teaching, 92
number of his disciples, 90
passion for music, 91
search for lost books by Liu-Pang, 106
tomb of, 30-31
worshipped by his people, 92-93
writings burned and disciples persecuted by Shi-hwang-ti, 102-103
Control of Chinese over foreigners throughout Empire, 258
_Corvée_, myriads of labourers drafted by, for construction of
the Grand Canal, 32
[Page 312]
Corvino, missionary, 133
his church at Peking perishes in the overthrow of the Mongols, 137
Cotton produced in all the provinces, 3
Cue, abolition of, requisite to confirm loyalty to Manchus, 278
Degrees, literary, 122-123
Diaz and da Gama, voyage to India, 136
Diplomacy, becomes an art under the Chou dynasty, 97
Diplomatic College, 209
Dr. Martin president of, 209
"Drinking Alone by Moonlight," poem by Lipai, 120
Eclectic Commission, the, 197-198
Educational reforms, 210
the Imperial University, 210
Elgin, Lord, and the Tai-pings, 161, 166
Elliott, Captain Charles, and the Opium War, 154
Empress Dowager, and the Boxer War, 172-174, 179-180
celebrates her seventieth birthday with great pomp, 274
convert to the policy of progress, 197
_coup d'état_, 272
full name, 276
parentage, 271
personal description of, 275
reactionary clique and, 174
type of the Manchu woman, 276
England takes lease of Wei-hai-wei, 174
Eunuchism, 112, 297
Examinations, system of civil service, instituted by the Hans, 109
continued for twelve centuries, 121
details of, 122-124
developed under the T'angs, 121
reforms in, 213
Exclusion laws, the, Chinese resentment of, 253
most feasible way to deal with, 255
President Roosevelt on, 251
Factories, the, at Canton, 150,152
Favier, Bishop, defends his people in the French Cathedral, Peking, 176
Fishing, queer methods of, 19
Five dynasties, the, factions contending for the succession on the fall
of the house of T'ang, 126
the later Liang, T'ang, Ts'in, Han, and Chou are united after fifty-three
years in the Sung dynasty, 126-127
Foochow (Fuchau), on the River Min, 15
fine wall and "bridge of ten thousand years," 16
Kushan, its sacred mountain, 15
Manchu colony, 16
[Page 313]
Formosa, Island of, colonised by people of Fukien, 14
France takes lease of Kwang-chou-wan, 174
France, war with, 169
allowed to retain Tong-king, 170
French seize Formosa, 170
Fraser, Consul, and Viceroy Chang in the Boxer War, 227
Fuchau (Foochow), province of Fukien, 15
large and prosperous missions in, 16
Fuhi, mythical ruler, teaches his people to rear domestic animals, 72
Fukien (Fuhkien), province of, 14-16
derivation of name, 15
dialect, 14
inhabitants bold navigators, 14
Fungshui, a false science, 202
Fungtao, inventor of printing, 116
Gabet and Huc, French missionaries, reach Lhasa in Tibet, 63
Gama, da, voyage to India, 136
Gaselee, General, and his contingent relieve the British Legation,
Peking, 177
Genghis Khan, splendour of his court eclipsed by that of his grandson,
Kublai Khan, 131
Gods, the numerous, of the Chinese, 82
worship of many of them referred to the Shang dynasty, 82
Gordon, General, victorious over the Tai-pings, 161
Grand Canal, journey down from Tsi-ning, 31
as useful to-day as six hundred years ago, 31
constructed by Kublai Khan, 31-32
its object, 32
Grand Lama, the Buddhist pope, 62, 109
Great Wall, the, origin of, 4
an effete relic, 31
built by Ts'in, 101
its construction overthrows house of its builder, 32
Gunpowder, early known to the Chinese, but not used with cannon, 115
spoken of by Arabs as "Chinese snow," 115
Han dynasty, founded by Liu-pang, 105
annals, 105-111
civil service examinations inaugurated, 109
marked advance in belles-lettres, 109
Hangchow, capital of Chéh-kiang province, its streets first trodden
by white men in 1855, 22
its "bore", 24
its magnificent West Lake, 22
"The Japanese are coming," 23
Hanlin Academy, contest before the Emperor for seats in, 123
[Page 314]
Han Yu, eminent writer of the eighth century, ridicules the relics of
Buddha, 107
Hart, Sir Robert, his opportune services in the war with France, 170
development of the maritime customs, 206-208
father of the postal system, 206
many honours of, 207
Hayes, Dr., president of first provincial university in China, 286
Helungkiang, province of Manchuria, 56
Hia dynasty, founded by Ta-Yü, 78
together with the Shang and Chou dynasties, known as the San Tai
or San Wang, 78
Hien-feng, Emperor, escapes to Tartary and dies there, 168
Himalayas, a bulwark to China, 4
_Hiao Lien_, literary degree, now _Chu-jin_, equivalent to
A. M., 122
Hiunghu, supposed ancestors of the Huns, 111
Honan province of, 41-44
agricultural resources, 42
bridge over the Hwang Ho,41
Hong Kong, "the Gibraltar of the Orient," ceded to Great Britain, 7
British make it chief emporium of Eastern seas, 8
rapid development of, 8
Huc and Gabet, French missionaries, make their way to Lhasa, 63
Hung Siu-tsuen, leader of the Tai-pings, 157
his aid Yang, 158
invites his first instructor, Rev. Issachar Roberts, to visit his
court, 160
new method of baptism 160
raises the flag of rebellion in Kwangsi, 157
Huns, supposed ancestors were the Hiunghu, 111
Hupeh, province of, 45-49
Hankow, Hupeh province, a Shanghai on a smaller scale, 45
Hanyang, Hupeh province, a busy industrial centre, 46
Wuchang, capital of Hupeh, 45
Hwai, Prince, regent during minority of Shunchi, 141
called Amawang by the Manchus, 141
effects the subjugation of the eighteen provinces, and imposes the
tonsure and "pigtail," 141
Hwan, Duke, of western Shan-tung, convokes the States-General nine
times, 96
_Hwang-ti_, term for "Emperor," first used by the builder of the
Great Wall, 78
Hwei-ti, a ruler of the Han dynasty, 106
Ichang, city on the Yang-tse, 15
[Page 315]
Ili, Chunghau and the restoration of, 223-224 Ito, Marquis, 196
I-yin, a wise minister who had charge of the young ruler T'ai-kia,
80-81
Japan, war with, provoked by China's interference in Korea, 170
Japanese expel Chinese from Korea, and take part of Manchuria, 171
Japan left in possession of Port Arthur and Liao-tung, 171
Russia is envious and compels her to withdraw, 171
having defeated Russia unreservedly restores Manchuria to China, 195
Jews, of K'ai-fung-fu, 43
ancestors of, reach China by way of India, 43
Shanghai, help their K'ai-fung-fu brethren, 44
Jin-hwang, Tién-hwang, and Ti-hwang, three mythical rulers, 71
K'ai-fung-fu, formerly the capital under Chou and Sung dynasties, 42
visit to the Jews of, 43
Kairin, province of Manchuria, 56
Kalgan, Mongolia, a caravan terminal, 58, 61
Kanghi, the greatest monarch in the history of the Empire, 142
alienated by the pope, 144
patron of missionaries, 142
Kanghi, progress of Christianity during his reign, 143
Kang Yuwei, urges reform on the Emperor, 213
Kansuh, province of, comparatively barren, and climate unfavourable to
agriculture, 55
Kao-tsung, son of Tai-tsung, raises Wu, one of his father's concubines,
to the rank of empress, 121
Ketteler, Baron von, killed during siege in Peking, 176
Kiachta, a double town in Manchuria, 58
Kiak'ing, succeeds on the abdication of his father, Kienlung, 144
a weak and dissolute monarch, 145
Kiangsu province, 25-29
derivation of name, 25
Kiao-Chao (Kiau-Chau), port occupied by Germans, 30, 165
Kiayi, an exiled statesman, dates a poem from Changsha, 110
Kié, last king of the Hia dynasty, his excesses, 80
Kien Lung, emperor poet, lines inscribed by him on rock at Patachu, 35
abdicates, after a reign of sixty years, for the reason that he did
not wish to reign longer than his grandfather, 144
adds Turkestan to the empire, 144
dynasty reaches the acme of splendour in his reign, 144
[Page 316]
Kin Tartars, obtain possession of Peking, and push their way to
K'ai-fung-fu, the Emperor retiring to Nanking, 129
Kin Tartars, the, 140
Kingdoms, the three, Wei, Wu, and Shuh, 112-113
King Sheng Tau, annotator of popular historical novel, 113
Kinsha, "River of Golden Sands," 52
Komura, Baron, and Portsmouth treaty, 193
Korea, the bone of contention between Japan and Russia, 182, 183, 186, 192
Kuanyin Pusa, a legend of, "The Apotheosis of Mercy," 108
Kublai Khan, absorbs China, 131
Kung, Prince, and the Empress Dowager, 273
disgraced and confined in his palace, 273
personal characteristics, 277
restored to favour but not to joint regency, 273
Kuropatkin, General, and the Russo-Japanese War, 185-192
Kwangsi, province of, subordinate to Canton, 13
in an almost chronic state of rebellion, 13
Kwangsu, Emperor, and the Empress Dowager, 172, 173
his desire for reforms, 197
imprisoned in a secluded palace, 173, 174
influenced by Kang Yuwei 173
Kwangtung (Canton), province of, 7-13
Kweichau, province of, the poorest province of China, 52
one-half its population aborigines, 52
Kweilang, secretary to the Empress, 272
prompts Prince Kung to strike for his life, 273
Lao-Tse, founder of Taoism, his life and influence, 94
Lhasa, treaty of, 62
Li and Yu, two bad kings of the house of Chou, 88
Liang, one of the Nan-peh Chao, 116
Liang Ting Fen, letter to Dr. Martin requesting his good offices with
President Roosevelt, 252-253
Liaoyang, battle of, 187
Lienchow, attack on Americans at, 248, 255
Lien P'o, a general of Chao, who threatens to kill the envoy Lin at
sight, 98
makes friends with his adversary, 99
Li Hung Chang, a native of Anhwei, 49
preëminent in the work of reform, 212
sent to Japan to sue for peace he is shot by an assassin, 171
wins earldom through Gordon's victory, 161
[Page 317]
Li Ling, a commander for whom Sze-ma Ts'ien stood sponsor, and who
surrendered to the enemy, 110
Lin, Commissioner, and the opium traffic, 152
Lin Sian Ju, a brave envoy, 98
Lineivitch, General, and the Russo-Japanese War, 190-192
Lipai, the Pope of Chinese literature, 119
Li-Sze, chancellor of Shi-hwang-ti, denounces the works of Confucius to
that ruler, and causes them to be burned, 102
Little, Mrs. Archibald, and the Anti-foot-binding Society, 217
Liu-pang founds the Han dynasty, 105
Liu Pi founds the state of Shuh, 113
Li Yuen, assassinates Yang-ti and sets up the T'ang dynasty, 118
Lo Kwan-chung, author of a popular historical novel, 113
Lo-yang, capital of the state of Wei, 112
Lu, Empress, holds the Empire in absolute subjection for eight years, 106
Macao, Portuguese town of, 8
burial place of Camöens and Robert Morrison, 8
McCartee, Dr., annual issued by, 287
Manchuria, 3
consists of three regions or provinces under one governor-general, 56
home of the Manchus, 56
ignorance of Manchus in their original habitat, 57
Japan takes possession of parts of, 171
population and products, 57
restored by Japan to China, 195
Russia occupies the very positions from which she compelled Japan to
withdraw, 171
sacred city of Mukden, 56
Manchus, the, ignorance of those remaining in Manchuria, 57
give to China a better government than any of her native dynasties, 142
the Normans of China, 267-280
they settle at Mukden and await an opportunity to descend on China, 140
Marco Polo. See Polo
Maritime customs, the, 206-208
Sir Robert Hart's long and valuable services, 206-209
Martin, Dr. W. A. P., head of the Tung-wen College, 209
in siege at Peking, 176, 177
president of the Imperial University, 210
Mateer, Dr. C. W., founds Teng-chow College, 285
[Page 318]
Meadows, Consul T. T., reports in favour of the Tai-pings, 159
Medhurst, Dr., his description of the Chinese Classical language, 290
Mencius, more eloquent but less original than Confucius, 93
his tribute to Confucius, 94
owed much to his mother's training, 93
Merchant marine, the, 200
Mings, last of, stabs daughter and hangs himself, 139
Ming-ti, sends embassy to India to import Buddhist books and bonzes, 107
Mining enterprises, 202
Min River, 15
Missions, development of, 264
Minister Rockhill's address upon, 266
Missionaries, attacks on, 40, 180, 248, 260, 261, 262
agency of, in the diffusion of secular knowledge, 263-291
apostles of science, 263
creators of Chinese journalism 290
medical work, 284
lead a vernacular revolution, 290
preparation of text-books, 287
presidents of government colleges, 289
teaching and preaching, 263
Mongolia, the largest division of Tartary, 57, 61
contribution to the luxuries of the metropolis, 50
inhabitants nomadic, 58
has only three towns, 58
Russians "came lean and went away fat," 58
Russians granted privilege of establishing an ecclesiastical mission, 57
Mongols, liable to military service, but prohibited from doing garrison
duty in China, 59
dress, 60
forty-eight Mongolian princes, 59
Mongol monks at Peking, 60
nomadic wanderings, 58
princes visit Cambalu (Peking), in winter, 59
their camel, 60
victorious over the Sungs, 130
Yuen or Mongol dynasty, 131-134
Morrison, John R., son of Dr. Morrison the missionary, attempts to
establish a printing-press, 283
Morrison, Robert, pioneer of Protestant missions to China, tomb of, at
Macao, 9, 282
Moule, Bishop, makes Hang-chow seat of his diocese, 23
Mukden, city of, sacred to every Manchu, 56
battle of, 189
Mu-wang, a Chou ruler, who seeks relief from ennui in foreign travel, 87
[Page 319]
Nanking, chief city of Kiangsu province, 25, 26
called _Kiangning_ by the Manchus, 26
pillaged by Tartars, 129
Nanking, treaty of, 7
Nan-peh Chao, "Northern and Southern Kingdoms" four factions arising on
the fall of the Tsin dynasty, 116
Napier, Lord, appointed superintendent of British trade in China, 153
arrives at Macao and announces his appointment by letter to the prefect
of Canton, who "tosses it back," 153
dies of chagrin at Macao, 153
Napoleon, Louis, and Annam, 165
Navy, the Chinese, 199-200
"Nest-builder, The," 71
Nevius, Rev. J. L., missionary at Hangchow, 23
at Chefoo, where he plants a church and a fruit garden, 32
Nevius, Mrs., at Chefoo, 32
Newspapers, reforms in, 215
covertly criticise Government and its agents, 215
Ningpo, province of Chéhkiang, 19
its handsome people and their literary and commercial prominence, 20
residence of the author for ten years, 20
Ningpo River, 18
Nogi, General, and the Russo-Japanese War, 188-192
O'Connor, Mr., British chargé d'affaires, 179
Omesham Mountains, 51
Opening of China, the, a drama in five acts, 149
result of collisions between Oriental conservatism and Occidental
progress, 149, 150
Opium, extent of trade in, 303
20,000 chests destroyed at request of Captain Charles Elliott, 154
Opium traffic, Commissioner Lin directed by Emperor Tao Kwang to abolish
it, 152
attitude of British Government, 304
decree ordering its total abolition, 304
regulations of Council of State, 305
Opium War, the, its causes, precipitation, and effects, 150-162
Oyama, Field-marshal, in the Russo-Japanese War, 187-192
P's, the three--pen, paper, and printing, invention of, 116
Palmerston, Lord, invites cooperation of France, Russia and the United
States concerning the _Arrow_ case, 164
P'an-keng, of the house of Shang, moves his capital five times, 81
P'anku, the "ancient founder," 71
[Page 320]
Paoting-fu, in Chihli province, scene of martyrdom of missionaries, 40
Parker, Dr. Peter, missionary at Canton, 284
Parkes, Consul and the _Arrow_ case, 162, 163, 164
Patachu, summer resort near Peking, 34-35
its eight Buddhist temples, 35
Pearl River, 9
Peking, northern capital of China, 34
approaches to new foreign quarter fortified, 37
Byron's lines on Lisbon applied to Peking, 39
climate and low death-rate, 38
Empress Dowager's summer residence, 34
"Forbidden City," 37
French Cathedral defended by Bishop Favier and marines, 176
Legation Street, 36
Prospect or Palatine Hill, 38
siege of legations, 175
summer palaces, 34
Tai-ping expedition against, 159
Tartar and Chinese cities, 35
Temples of Agriculture, Heaven and Earth, 35, 36
Peking Gazette, the, oldest journal in the world, 290
Philosophers of the Sung period, Cheo, Cheng, Chang, and Chu, 127-128
Philosophers:
Chu Hi, 128
Wang Ngan-shi, economist, 128
Pirates, attacks of, on Mr. Russell and the author, 18
Rev. Walter Lowrie is drowned by, 18
Police, reforms in, 218
Polo, Marco, Mattei, and Nicolo, 132
sojourn in China, 132
Port Arthur and Liao-tung, 171, 174, 182, 184, 186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192
Ports, five, opened to great Britain at close of the Opium War, 155
Portsmouth (N. H.), treaty of, 192
Portuguese, first ships of the, appear at Canton, 136
disapprove missions, 137
obtain a footing at Macao, 137
secretly oppose Dutch traders, 137
Postal system, 206
Pottinger, Sir Henry, moderate conditions imposed by, at close of Opium
War, 155, 156
his action compared with that of Commodore Perry, 156
Psychology, Chinese, its recognition of three souls, 22
Punishments, barbarous, abolished, 214
Putu, the sacred island of, 18
its monasteries, 18
prevalence of piracy in adjacent waters, 18
[Page 321]
Railways, King-Ran road completed to Hankow, 39
first grand trunk road, 39
good work of Belgian constructors, 39
influence of, on people and government, 40
questionable action of American company, 40
reforms in, 203
Rankin, Rev. Henry, with the author, the first white man to enter
Hang-chow, 22
Reading-rooms (not libraries, but places for reading) a new
institution, 216
Red-haired, the, a vulgar designation for Europeans, 151
Reed, Hon, W. B., American Minister to China, and the _Arrow_
case, 165
Reforms in China, 196-218
Anti-foot-binding Society, 217
army, 201
customs, 206
educational, 213
Hart, Sir Robert, and, 206
legal, 204
merchant marine, 200
mining enterprises, 202
newspapers, 215
post office, 205
railways, 203
streets, 218
telegraph, 214
Tung-wen College and The Imperial University, 209-210
writing, 216
Reforms, unmentioned, 292, 301
a change of costume, 292
domestic slavery, 298
polygamy, 295
Religions, the three, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, their
characteristic features, 107
each religion has a hierarchy, 109
"Hall of the Three Religions," 108
Ricci, after twenty years of effort, effects an entrance to Peking, 138
Rice, grown in all the provinces, 3
Richard, Dr. and the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 287
Richthofen, explorer, 58
River traffic, junks drawn by hundreds of coolies, 50
Rivers, the Yang-tse Kiang, 25
Hwang Ho, 41
Hingpo, 18
Pearl, 9
Kinsha, the "river of golden sands," 52
Min, 15
Roberts, Rev. Issachar, and the leader of the Tai-pings, 160
is invited to visit their court, 160
Rockhill, Mr., the American Minister, and missionary institutions, 266
Roman Catholic missionaries, dissensions in the ranks of, 143
Roosevelt, President, his efforts to end Russo-Japanese War, 193
[Page 322]
awarded Nobel peace prize, 193
interview with Dr. Martin on the subject of the Exclusion Laws and the
boycott, 251
Rozhesvenski, Admiral, and the relief squadron for Port Arthur, 190-192
Russell, Mr., and the author captured by pirates, 18
Russia, compels Japan to evacuate Manchuria and occupies the same districts
herself, 171
designs on Korea, 182
increases her forces in Manchuria during Boxer War, 182
obtains lease of Port Arthur, 174
schemes for conquest, 182, 183
surprised by Japan's commencement of the war, 184
Russo-Japanese War, the, 181-195
Sages of China, the, Confucius, 89-93
Lao-tse, 94
Mencius, 93-94
Saghalien, Island of, Japan and Russia to divide possession of, 192
Schaal, Father, is president of Astronomical Board, casts cannon, and
builds churches in Peking, 143
Sea of Japan, Battle of, 191-192
Seng Ko Lin Sin (nicknamed "Sam Collinson" by British), Lama prince who
heads northern armies against Tai-ping rebels, 59, 159
defeated by British and French before Peking, 59
Shang dynasty, founded by Shang-tang, 80
annals of, 80, 82
"made religion the basis of education," 82
Shanghai, one of the five treaty ports, 26
colleges and schools, newspapers and translation bureaux, 28
foreign Concessions, opulent business houses, and luxurious mansions, 27
leading commercial emporium, 26
_Shang-ti_ and _Tien_, Roman Catholics and the terms, 143
Shangyang, a statesman of the Chou dynasty, converts the tenure of land
into fee simple, 85
Shansi, province of, 54
prolific of bankers, 54
rich in agricultural and mineral resources, 54
Shantung, province of, 30-32
apples, pears, and peaches grown, 30
railway built by Germans from the sea to Tsinan-fu,30
Shanyu, a forerunner of the Grand Khan of Tartary, 111
[Page 323]
Shaohing, city, in Chéhkiang province noted for its rice wine and
lawyers, 23
Sheffield, Dr., president of Tung-chow College, 286
Shengking, province of Manchuria, 56
Shensi, province of, earliest home of the Chinese, 55
monument at Si-ngan commemorating the introduction of Christianity by
Nestorians, 55
Shi-hwang-ti, real founder of the Chinese Empire, 102
devout believer in Taoism, 104
sends a consignment of lads and lasses to Japan, 103
though one of the heroes of history he is execrated for burning the
writings of Confucius, 102
Shin-nung, "divine husbandman," mythical ruler, worshipped as the Ceres
of China, 72
_Shu-king_, the, or "Book of History," one of the Five Classics edited
by Confucius, 76
Shun, successor of Yao, rejects his own son and leaves throne to Ta-yü, 74
Shunteh-fu, American mission at, 40
Shun-ti, last monarch of the Yuen dynasty, 133
Si-ngan, city in Shensi, 55
capital of the Chous, 55
capital of the T'angs, 121
Empress Dowager takes refuge there, 42
monument commemorating the introduction of Christianity by Nestonans, 121
_Sing Su Hai_, "Sea of Stars," cluster of lakes in Tibet, 63
Siun Kien founds the state of Wu, 112
_Siu-tsai_, literary degree equivalent to A. B., 122
Smith, Dr. Arthur, and thanksgiving service at raising of siege of British
Legation, Peking, 178
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 266
Solatium to encourage honesty in public officials, 208
Spaniards, the, trade and relations with China, 137
St. John's College, Shanghai, 287
Stoessel, General, and his defence of Port Arthur, 188
"Strange Stories of an Idle Student," a popular work in Chinese depicting
conditions prior to Opium War, 150-151
Streets, improvement in construction and protection of, 218
Sü of Shanghai, baptised by the name of Paul by Ricci, 138
his daughter Candida also baptised, 138
Suchow, in Kiangsu, the Paris of the Far East, 25
musical dialect, of, 26
Su Ts'in, the patient diplomat, whose reputation is ruined by his own
passions, 99
[Page 324]
Sui dynasty, the, founded by Yan Kien, lasts less than thirty years, 117
Sundius, Mr., British consul at Wuhu, 227
Sung, one of the Nan-peh Chao, 116
Sung dynasty, founded by Chao-kwang-yun, 127
annals, 127-128
encroachment of the Tartars, 127
rise of a great school of philosophy, 127-129
Southern Sungs, 127
Superstitions of the Chinese, concerning wandering spirits, 21
Sven Hedin, explorer, 58
Swatow, Canton province, American Baptists' Mission at, 15
Szechuen, province of, 50-51
fratricidal wars under Ming dynasty, 51
great variety of climate, 51
Szema Ts'ien, the Herodotus of China, 110
barbarously treated by his people, 110
T'ai-kia, successor of Shang-tang, 80
Tai-ping Rebellion, the, a result of the Opium War, 156
details of, 157-162
Tai-pings, the, try to establish a new empire, the _Tai-ping
Tien-kwoh_, 158
commonly called "Chang-mao," long-haired rebels, owing to their rejection
of the tonsure and cue, 161
defeated by Gordon, 161
descend into the plains of Hunan, pillage three cities, and capture
Nanking, massacring its garrison of 25,000 Manchus, 158-159
go into winter quarters, and, dividing their forces, are cut off in
detail, 159
hold Nanking for ten years, 159
loose morals and travesty of sacred things horrify Christian world, 161
missionaries attracted by their profession of Christianity, 160
queer titles adopted by, 161
sympathy for their cause by Consul Meadows, 159
unsuccessfully attempt to drive the Manchus from Peking, 159
Tai-tsung, second emperor of the T'ang dynasty, 120
Taiyuan-fu, missionaries murdered at by the governor, 180
Ta-Ki, a wicked woman by whom Chou-sin is said to have been led into his
evil courses, 81
_Ta Kiang_, "Great River," the Chinese name for the Yang-tse Kiang, 28
Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho, 33
capture of forts by British and French, repulse of allied forces in
following year, 33
[Page 325]
Tamerlane, Mongolian origin of, 61
born in Turkestan, 61
Tanao, a minister of Hwang-ti, author of the cycle of sixty, 77
T'ang dynasty, founded by Li Yuen, 118
an Augustan age, 119
annals, 119-125
Tang Shao-yi, a Chinese, one of two ministers appointed to take charge of
the entire customs service, 208
Tao Kwang, Emperor, resolves to put a stop to opium traffic, 152
Tartars, encroach on the Flowery Land, 117
suspicious of other foreigners, 151
Tartary, Grand Khan of, 111
Tatnall, Commodore, his kind action at Taku, 167
Ta-ts'ing dynasty, the, its annals, 140-145
Ta-yü, or Yu the Great, early emperor, subdues the waters of a deluge, 75
casts 9 brazen tripods, 79
departs from practice of his predecessors and leaves throne to his
son, 76
devotes nine years to the dredging and diking of rivers, 75
his acts and reign, 78-79
monuments commemorating his labours, 75
Telegraph and telephone, introduction of, 204-205
Temples of Heaven, Earth and Agriculture, 36
Teng-chow College, founded by Dr. C. W. Mateer, 285
Tenney, Dr., and the University of Tientsin, 213
Text-books, prepared by missionaries--Edkins, Martin, Muirhead, Williamson
and Wylie, 287-288
Theatre, the Chinese, 114
Three Kingdoms, the, states of Wei, Wu and Shuh, 112
Lo Kwan-chung, author of a historical novel, 113
Tibet, the land of the Grand Lama, 62
called by the Chinese "the roof of the world," 63
Chinese influence in is nearly _nil_, 62
explored by Huc and Gabet, 63
mother of great rivers, 63
polyandry prevalent, 63
Tieliang, a Manchu, one of two ministers appointed to take charge of the
entire customs service, 208
_Tien_ and _Shang-ti_, question among Catholics concerning the
terms, 143
_Tien Chu_, substitution of, for _Shang-ti_ repulsive to pious
Chinese, 144
_Tien Ho_, "River of Heaven," Chinese term for the Milky Way, 63
Tién-hwang, Ti-hwang, and Jin-hwang, three mythical rulers who reigned
eighteen thousand years each, 71
[Page 326]
_Tiensheng_, Chinese name for province of Yünnan 52
Tientsin, province of Chihli, rises anew from its half-ruined condition, 33
ranks as third of treaty ports, 34
treaties of, 166
Ti-hwang, Jin-hwang, and Tién-hwang, three mythical rulers, 71
Togo, Admiral, in Russo-Japanese War, 184, 185, 188, 191, 192
Tongking, French left in possession of, 170
Translators, corps of, Dr. John Fryer's prominent connection with, 288
Tsao Tsao founds the state of Wei, 112
Tsai Lun, inventor of paper 116
Ts'ang-Kié, the Cadmus of China, author of its written characters, 77
Ts'in dynasty, Yin Cheng brings the whole country under his sway and
assumes title of _Shi-Hwang-ti_ "Emperor First," 101
annals of, 101-104
builds Great Wall, 101
lasts for a century and a half, 116
Ts'in, Prince of, offers fifteen cities for a kohinoor, 98
Tsinan-fu, railway from the sea to, built by the Germans, 30
_Tsin-shi_, "Literary Doctor," degree of, 123
Tsungming, Island of, formed by the waters of the Yang-tse Kiang, 28
and Tunking coupled in popular proverb, 28
Tsushima, Battle of, 191-192
Tuan Fang, governor of Hupeh, 242-243
favourable specimen of a Manchu, 276
Tuan, Prince, father of the heir apparent, 174
Tufu, poet of the T'ang dynasty, 119
Tung-chi, Emperor, death of, 273
Tung-chou-kiun, last monarch of the Chou dynasty, 99
Turkestan, 3, 61
majority of the inhabitants Mohammedans, 61
most of the khanates absorbed by Russia, 61
Union Medical College, Peking, 285
Urga, Mongolia, a shrine for pilgrimage, 58
Uriu, Admiral, in Russo-Japanese War, 184
Verbiest, the Jesuit, made president of Board of Astronomy, 143
Wall, Great, see Great Wall Wang Chao, invents new alphabet, 217
Ward, Frederick G., the American, and the Tai-ping rebellion, 160
Ward, Hon. J. E., American minister, proceeds to Peking by land, 167
[Page 327]
declines to kneel to Emperor, 168
Wei, one of the Nan-peh Chao, 116
Weihien, in Shantung, destined to become a railway centre, 30
Weihwei-fu, city on the border of Chihli and Honan, 41
Wensiang, success of Prince Kung's administration largely due to him, 277
contests with Tungsuin in extemporaneous verse, 277
Wen-ti, "patron of letters," a ruler of the house of Han, 107
Wen-wang, the real founder of the Chou dynasty, 84
encourages letters, 84
known as a commentator in the _Yih-king_, 84
Whales, the river near Hang-chow a trap for, 23
Wheat, produced in all the provinces, 3
Williams, Dr. S. Wells, takes charge of American Board printing press at
Canton, 283
labours, 283
"The Middle Kingdom," 283
Witte, Count, and Portsmouth treaty, 193
Women in China, considered out of place in attempting to govern, 82
Writing, reform in, 216
new alphabet invented, 217
Wu, Empress, succeeds Kao-tsung and reigns for twenty-one years, 121
Wu Pa, the five dictators, 96
Wu San-kwei, a traitorous Chinese general, makes terms with the
Manchus, 140-141
Wu Ti, Liang emperor, who became a Buddhist monk, 117
Wu-ti, "the five rulers," 71
Wu-ting-fang, Chinese minister at Washington, and legal reforms, 214
Wu-wang, the martial king, rescues the people from the oppression of the
Shangs, 83
Xavier, St. Francis, arrives at Macao, is not allowed to land, and dies
on the Island of St. John, 138
Yang, chief supporter of the leader of the Tai-pings, 157-158
Yang Chia Kow, called by foreign sailors "Yankee Cow," at the mouth of
the Yellow River, 29
Yang-tse Kiang, possible Tibetan source of, 63
new islands made by, 28
Yan Kien, a Chinese general sets up the Sui dynasty, 117
Yao, type of an unselfish monarch, 73
astronomical observations, 76
passes by son in naming his successor, 73
Yeh, Viceroy, and the _Arrow_ War, 162
[Page 328]
Yellow River, source of, 63
forsakes its old bed, 29
"Yellow ruler, the," reputed inventor of letters and the cycle of sixty
years, 72
Yellow Sea, why so called, 28
Yermak, 182
Yu and Li, two bad kings of the house of Chou, 88
Yuen or Mongol dynasty 131-134
Yuen Shi Kai, Viceroy, preeminent in the work of reform, 212
Yungcheng, succeeds Kanghi and reigns fourteen years, 144
Yungloh, emperor of the Ming dynasty, 136
"Thesaurus of," 136
Yünkwei, viceregal district of, 15, 52
Yünnan, province of, 52, 53
coal measures and copper mines, 52
hundred tribes of aborigines within its borders, 52
unhealthful climate, 52