Book____ 3j2Jj
stories of the Nations
A Series of Historical Studies intended to present in graphic narratives the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history.
In the story form the current of each national life is distinctly indicated, and its picturesqtie and noteworthy periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their philosophical relations to each other as well as to loniversal history.
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CHINA
IDOL AT THE RACE-COURSE, AMOY.
THE STORY OF THE NATIONS
CHINA
BY
ROBERT K. DOUGLAS
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN 1901
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PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The sudden and important developments which have recently been brought about in China have ren- dered it advisable to add a chapter to the first edi- tion of this work, bringing up the record of events to the present time (April, 1901).
It is difficult to forecast the course which matters may take in China in the immediate future, but one thing is certain. The Foreign Powers, having col- lectively intervened in the affairs of the State, are bound in honour to take under their protection the new government, under whatever ruler, which will, with their approval, be set up in place of the present maladministration. This may mean the occupation for a time of Peking and the country between that capital and the sea, but the Powers, having put their hand to the plough, cannot turn back, nor need their task be one which is impossible of accomplishment.
There is throughout China a large body of men, strong both unitedly and individually, whose repre- sentatives might fairly be constituted into a Council of State. Such men would not necessarily be of pronounced pro-foreign views, and all the more, therefore, would they be welcomed by the immense
IV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
mass of the people who hold neither with the Man- chu party nor with the extreme reformers. Such men fully recognise the backward condition of their country, and are prepared by the introduction of moderate reforms to improve the fiscal system of the Empire, and to raise the position of the people, while at the same time they would add strength to the nation by the adoption of modern arms and ap- pliances. A Council formed on these lines would save the Empire both from the excesses of the Em- press and her clique, and from the crude vagaries of K'ang Yuwei and his friends.
ROBERT K. DOUGLAS. April, 1901.
PREFACE
The antiquity of China is so great, and the history of the Empire covers so vast a period that it was plainly impossible to compress the whole subject within the limits of a single volume of this series. It was determined, therefore, to limit the record, in the present instance, to the annals of the Empire from the time of Marco Polo to the present day, leaving the earlier history of the country to appear later.
As is well known, the Chinese possess histories of their various dynasties, and they attempt to insure that these should be truthful records by ruling that the events of each dynasty should not be described by contemporary historians but by authors under the succeeding regime. It might be supposed that this system would entail the compilation of biased and ex parte chronicles. But happily Chinese historians, like the rest of their countrymen, are so entirely devoid of patriotism that they have no inducement to pervert facts, or to trim their sails to the neces- sities of party feeling.
Generally truthful as these historians are, however, their works yet labour under the defect common to
\-l PREFACE
all Oriental histories of being records of the Court and camp rather than of the life of the people ; and it is only by reference to miscellaneous works that it is possible to obtain the side-lights necessary to illus- trate the true progress of the nation.
Among the authorities I have consulted are the following : — The native dynastic histories ; the Shing Wu Ki, or the wars of the present dynasty, by Wei Yuen ; various native biographical works ; the Peking Gazette ; the Parliamentary Blue Books ; the Histories of Wells Williams, Boulger, and Macgowan ; " The Jesuits in China," by R. Jenkins ; " A Narrative of Events in China," by Lord Loch ; " The Ever Victo- rious Army," by Andrew Wilson, &c.
ROBERT K. DOUGLAS. January, 1899.
CONTENTS
The Early History of the Empire
Akkadian affinities — The reign of Yao —The Shang dynasty —The Chow dynasty — Confucius — Teachings of Confucius — The burning of the books — The reign of Kaoti — The intro- duction of Buddhism — The T'ang dynasty — The K'itan Tartars.
PAGE 1-23
II.
The Yuan and Ming Dynasties . . . 24-63
The first Catholic missionaries — Kublai Khan — Kublai's campaigns — The Burmese campaign — Kublai's tolerance — W Death of Kublai — A rebellious monk — The Hanlin College — The close of Hungwu's reign — Yunglo's administration — The Emperor a prisoner — Ricci's religious successes — A Japanese invasion — An Empress Regent — Spain and the Philippines— A rebellious son — K'anghsi and the mis- i^ sionaries — Missionary quarrels.
III.
The Rise of the Manchus
64-130
Nurhachu — Manchu victories — Chinese soldiers — Portuguese auxiliaries — A Chinese Joan of Arc — Death of the Emperor
Vlll CONTENTS
PAGE
^A treacherous plot — The first Manchu artillery — A desperate expedient — Capture of Peking — An outraged husband — A great battle — Removal of capital — The last throes of a dynasty — Sack of Yangchow — A pirate — Koxinga — Death of Kwei Wang— -/\. rebuff to Russia — A slaughter of women — K'anghsi's 'tolerance — Wu Sankwei invited to Peking — Imperial barbarities — Tartar irruptions — Defeat of the Russians — Tartar treachery — K'anghsi's Letter of Indictment — K'anghsi before his God — A diamond jubilee — Strictures on strange sects — Bishop Maigrot — ^Jesuit investments — Jesuit virtues. *^
IV.
The Reigns of Yungcheng and Ch'ienlung. 131-138
Too potent a satrap — A Portuguese envoy — Imperial disasters.
V. The Reign of Ch'ienlung (continued) . . 1 39-1 71
"Vae Victis" — A Mongol campaign — Triumphant generals — Emigration of Tourgots — "The flight of a Tartar tribe" — A Burmese war — Peace with Burma — A rebellion of aborigjpes — Imperial bad faith — Fighting in Formosa — Revolt in Cochin China — A Lama's revenge — Fall of Tashilumbo — Submission of the Gurkhas.
VI.
The Opening of Diplomatic Intercourse with China 172-18I
Opening of trade — An adventurous trader — An Englishman / strangled-^ord Macartney's presents — Lord Macartney at ^ Jehol — Ill-gotten gains — Ch'ienlung abdicates.
CONTENTS IX
VII.
PAGE
The Reign of Chiach'ing, and the First Years OF HIS Successor 189-206
Would-be assassips — China appeals for help — Russia and the K'ot'ow — Rude treatment of Lord Amherst — A reproving statesman — A filial eulogy — Russian college at Peking — A vicious prince.
VIII.
Foreign Relations with China . . . 207-253
Opposition to opium — Tyranny at Canton — Chinese im- pertinence— Insincere anti-opiumists — Lin's conditions — A statesman's career — Lin's fall — Preparations for war — British victories — Chinese inconsistencies — Peace concluded — Massacre of Englishmen — Secret societies — The Cantonese obdurate — Hung's visions — Rebel successes — An impious proclamation — The T'ienwang called to account — A march on Peking — Rebel reverses.
IX.
The Second China War .... 254-274
An ominous portent — Imperial remonstrances — Bowring and Yeh — The Arrow affair — Lord Elgin appointed — Keppel's attack on Fatshau — Capture of Yeh — The Government of Canton — The capture of the Taku forts — A reward for ^^arkes's head.
The War of i860 275-311
The defeat at Taku — Sankolinsin's tactics — Preliminary skirmishes — The Viceroy's treachery — The natives friendly — • Negotiations for peace — Parkes and Loch — A treacherous capture — Scene in the Board of Punishments — The French in Yuan-ming-yuan — Release of Parkes and Loch — Signature of Treaty — Sankolinsin degraded — Jehol and Peking- Execution of conspirators.
PAGE
X CONTENTS
XI.
The T'aip'ing Rebellion .... 312-336
The faithful prince — Imperialist disasters — Ward's force — The turn of the tide — Quarrel between Li and Burge^^ine — The Ever Victorious Army — A mutiny in the ranks — Disaffection at Soochow — Li's yellow jacket — Fall o' Nanking — The Ever Victorious Army disbanded.
XII.
The Nienfei and Mohammedan Rebellions . 337-359
Mohammedans in Yunnan — A viceregal suicide — Mo- hammedan disaffection — Treacherous murders — Massacres in Tali Fu — A Mongolian campaign — Imperial victories — The Tsungli Yamen — Foreign arsenal — A riot at Yangchow
. — Murder of a Frenchman. V
XIII.
The Close of T'ungchih's Reign and the First Years of that of Kwanghsu . . . 360-432
I^The Tientsin massacre — Wade's impeachment — Li Hung- chang at Tientsin — Execution of criminals — The missionary u-^ difficulty — The choice of an Imperial bride — Nuptial ceremonies — The audience question — In the Imperial presence — Official impertinence — A difficulty with Japan — Death of T'ungchih — The Empress's virtues — The murder of Margary — Affairs in Yunnan — A Chinese minister at St. James's — A famine — The Wusung railway — Another Korean difficulty — The Korean Regent kidnapped — Military reform s^^ — The French in Tongking — Defeat of the French — Destruction of the Chinese fleet — The conclusion of peace — Naval eccentricities — Restoration of Port Hamilton — The Dowager Empress — An Imperial exhortation — The Em- peror's marriage — A gracious edict — The audience question settled — Riots on the Yangtsze — Political insincerity.
CONTENTS XIV.
XI
The War with Japan, and Recent Events . 433-449
The battle of Asan — A naval engagement — The fall of Port Arthur — Suicide of Ting — The Dowager Empress's Jubilee — The impotence of China — Foreign aggressions — The prospect in the future.
XV.
Current Events . Index
450 469
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
idol at the race-course, aimoy .
t'a ki, chow sin's empress .
confucius with his disciples
grave of confucius
outside the walls, peking .
the old foreign factories, canton
chinese barrow-man going home
a monument at moukden
a manchu official and lady
chinese native soldiers, with officer
a street scene in moukden
a chinese general
a wanchurian theatre
travelling in manchuria
mining in shansi ....
a manchu lady ....
Frontispiece
12 13
25
49 59
65 66
69
73 75 77 82
85
XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
MANCHU WOMEN AND CHILD .
A " CAMEL-BACK " BRIDGE
DECAPITATION . . . .
A MANCHURIAN LANDSCAPE
A STREET SCENE IN PEKING .
A CHINESE BARROW RIDE
THE LAMA TEMPLE AT PEKING
A CHINESE DINNER-PARTY
A CHINESE COOLIE .
OPIUM SMOKERS
PRISONERS WEARING THE " CANGUE '
A RIVER SCENE
H.E. SIR HARRY S. PARKES, K.C.B.
ENTRANCE TO THE TSUNGLI YAMEN, PEKING
AFTER CAPTURE OF TAKU FORTS
A PEASANT WOMAN AND CHILDREN
SIR THOMAS FRANCIS WADE, K.C.B.
PAGODA AT YUAN-MING-YUAN, NEAR PEKING
ANGLO-CHINESE CONTINGENT — AR TILLERY
COURTYARD OF TSUNGLI YAMEN AT PEKING
THE COURTYARD OF AN INN IN MANCHURIA
A MANCHU SWEETMEAT-SELLER
A HOUSE IN SHANSI . . . •
A ROADWAY SCENE IN KOREA ,
A KOREAN SEDAN-CHAIR ....
92 96
99 120
147 167 179 181 209 223 229
239
256 283 286 291 299 323 354 366
372 393 397 399
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XV
INTERIOR OF THE TSUNGLI YAMEN, PEKING
THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, PEKING
CURRENT COIN
A CHINESE PROFESSOR
A HOUSE IN MANCHURIA .
A MANCHURIAN CART
A JINRIKSHA .
A DAGOBA AT MOUKDEN .
PAGE 408
420
427
437 439 441
445
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
Of all the great Empires of antiquity, China alone has preserved its existence in defiance of the dis- integrating effects of time and the assaults of her enemies. While the ancient Empires of Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria have waxed and waned, she has maintained her position in the Eastern world, and has enlarged rather than diminished her boundaries.
The earliest existing records of the people describe them as a small body of settlers dwelling in the fertile regions of North-eastern China, in the neighbourhood of the Yellow River. By degrees as they consolidated their Empire and established a definite form of government, they forced back the native tribes which had originally hemmed them in, and extended their rule over the regions lying to the west and south of their original location. As centuries went by they threw out colonies into the outer regions, and after the manner which may still be observed in their dealings with the Manchurians and Mongolians, made these colonies first centres for the spread of Chinese
2 t
2 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
influence, and then bases on which to work the lever of empire. Pushing on in this way they crossed the Yang-tsze-kiang southwards in the third century B.C., and thenceforth adding province to province they estabhshed the Empire as it now exists. Throughout their whole history they have shown a marked capacity for acquiring territory, and this rather by the peaceful method of settling on the neighbouring lands than by invasion and conquest. They have none of the characteristics of a warlike race, and their triumphs over less cultivated peoples have been gained rather by peaceful advance than by force of arms. In almost every respect we are taught by their records that they differed essentially from the tribes by whom they first found themselves sur- rounded, and hence the question naturally arises who they were, and whence they came ?
Many suggestions have been made as to the earlier habitat of this people. It has been surmised that they may have migrated from the plains of Sennaar ; that they were a colony from Egypt ; and that they possessed a Scythic origin. No proofs in support of these guesses at history have been, however, forth- coming, and it was reserved for the late Professor Terrien de Lacouperie to establish with many incon- testable proofs the theory that they had migrated eastward from a region on the south of the Caspian Sea in about the twenty-third century B.C. In support of his proposition Professor Terrien de Lacouperie was able to show a marked connection between many of the primitive written characters of the languages of Akkadia and China ; as well as
AKKADIAN AFFINITIES 3
a marked affinity between the religious, social, and scientific institutions and beliefs of the two peoples. In the twelve Pastors, among whom the Emperor Yao (2085-2004 B.C.) apportioned the Empire, he saw a reflection of the twelve Pastor Princes of Susiana. In the worship of Shang-Ti and the six Honoured Ones he recognised the supreme god and the six subordinate deities of the Susians. In the knowledge possessed by the Chinese of astronomy and medicine he recognised an identity with the condition of those sciences in Mesopotamia ; and he also drew attention to the fact which recent excavations in Babylonia have brought to our knowledge, that the canals and artificial water-ways of China suggest a striking likeness to the canals with which the whole of Babylonia must have been intersected, and which cannot but have been as characteristic a feature of that country as similar works are of China at the present day.
Vast migrations have been by no means uncommon in Asiatic history, and even as late as the end of last century we know that a body of Kalmucks, numbering six hundred thousand, journeyed from the frontiers of Russia to the confines of China. This migration, which De Quincey has made immortal, is but an example of the movements which have constantly taken place in the populations of Asia. Plague, famine, political disturbances have all had their influences in the constant distribution of the tribes and nations of the East, and there is, therefore, nothing improbable in the supposed movement of the Chinese tribes from Mesopotamia to the banks of the Yellow
4 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
River. It is unnecessary here to discuss at any further length the early habitat of the Chinese people. In this work we are mainly interested in them after their arrival in China, and for the purpose of this preliminary sketch we are not called upon to go beyond the traditional records of the nation.
In the native histories the records of the race are traced back to a period which dwarfs into insignifi- cance the antiquity of Egypt or Chaldea, and though their earlier pages rest on no better foundation than traditional fables, there is yet preserved a substratum of fact on which it is safe to rest. Like the first founders of every Imperial race the Chinese leaders of antiquity are represented as possessing the wisdom, and almost the power of the gods. One of their first leaders, Fuhsi by name, has earned eternal fame as having designed the six classes of written characters ; invented the system of horary and cyclical notation ; and established the laws of marriage, as well as having devised the celebrated eight Diagrams which are popularly supposed to be the basis of the renowned " Book of Changes." His successor, Shennung, is supposed to have instructed the people in agriculture ; to have established public markets ; and to have discovered the medicinal properties lying dormant in the herbs of the field. In the portraits common to official biographies, this ancient sage is depicted chewing a long stalk of some herb, which from the expression of his face is plainly unpleasant to the taste, however efficacious it may be as a medicine. Hwangti, the next sovereign, came to the throne, such as it was, in 2332 B.C. Like those
THE REIGN OF VAO 5
of his predecessors his reign was long, and is said to have extended over a full century. He taught his people to manufacture utensils of wood, pottery, and metal, and invented a medium of currency. Professor Terrien de Lacouperie finds a resemblance between his second name, Nai Hwangti, and the Nakhunte of Elamite history, and is of opinion that he never ruled in China. But however that may be, native historians dwell on his wisdom and virtue with untiring unction.
With the advent to power of the Emperor Yao (2085-2004 B.C.), the purely fabulous chapters of Chinese history may be said to come to a close, and at this point Confucius takes up the pen. According to that sage Yao was " all informed, intelligent, ac- complished, and thoughtful." With a godlike instinct he ruled the " black-haired " race, and by the influence of his example, as Confucius insists, he led all men to him. Under his benign administration the frontiers of the Empire were extended from 23° to 40° N., and from 6° west of Peking to 10° east of that city. On his becoming a " Guest on high," Shun was chosen to succeed him, and it was during the reign of this monarch that a great flood, which was considered by the early Jesuit missionaries to have been the flood of Noah, devastated large districts of the Chinese states. Pace the missionaries, this catastrophe was probably nothing more than one of those outbreaks of the Yellow River which periodically lay waste the country lying on its banks. In this case Yu, a certain official, was appointed to lead the waters back to their original channel. His labours, we are told, extended
6 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
over nine years, and we are asked to believe that so absorbed was he in his work that he thrice passed the door of his house without once stopping to enter. As a reward for this signal service he was raised to the throne on the death of Shun, and became the first sovereign of the Hsia dynasty (1954-1687 B.C.). Among the other exploits of this sovereign was a redivision of the Empire into nine instead of eleven Provinces, a description of which rearrangement was engraved, for the benefit of posterity, on nine brazen vessels ; and as a crowning testimony to his worth, an inscription on a stone monument, raised for the purpose on Mount Heng, recorded the benefits which he is believed to have conferred on his subjects.
Sixteen sovereigns ruled in succession to Yii, and as has been constantly the case, not only in China but in other Oriental countries, there was a woful falling off in his successors on the throne from the higher standard which the founder of the dynasty had set them. The earnestness and single-mindedness which belonged to Yii, and on which the native historians delight to linger, no longer animated his unworthy followers on the throne. Self-indulgence and cruelty became more and more accentuated as ruler after ruler accepted the sceptre of empire, until all the worst passions of his predecessors found ex- pression in the conduct of Chieh Kwei, who reigned from 1739 to 1687 B.C. According to the traditional belief of the ancient Chinese, a belief which was strongly insisted upon by the philosopher Mencius, it becomes the bounden duty of a people to raise the standard of rebellion when the ruler persistently
THE SHANG DYNASTY 7
acts in opposition to the laws of heaven. Such a crisis had now arrived. By public oppression of the people, and private outrages on their properties and persons, Chieh Kwei placed himself beyond the pale. With one consent his subjects rose against him under the leadership of a man named T'ang, " the Com- plete," who justified this epithet by dethroning the Emperor and proclaiming himself sovereign by the grace of God.
The story of the Shang or Yin Dynasty, as it is variously called, is but a repetition of that of Hsia. The virtuous impetus which placed the sceptre in T'ang's hand was gradually dissipated in the twenty- eight reigns which followed in succession to his. Historians make a distinction in favour of one or two of his descendants, but the general tendency was downwards, and like another Chieh Kwei, Chow Sin brought the dynasty to an end by his crimes and iniquities. " Wild extravagance, unbridled lust, and the most ferocious cruelty, are enumerated among his vices. To please his infamous concubine, T'aki, he constructed vast palaces and pleasure grounds where every form of wild debauchery was continually practised." As was said by a famous statesman of the time, " the house of Yin can no longer exercise rule over the four quarters of the Empire. The great deeds of our founder have enjoyed and still enjoy a wide renown, but we by being lost and maddened with wine have destroyed the effects of his virtue in these latter days. The people of Yin, both small and great, are given to highway robberies, villainies, and treachery. The nobles and officers imitate one
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
■ii-iA
another in violating the laws. Evil-doers receive no punishment, and the people rise up and commit violent outrages on one another. The dynasty of Yin is now sinking to its ruin. Its condition is like one crossing a river who can find neither ford nor bank."
To the remonstrances of his ministers Chow Sin turned a deaf ear, and, in a con- versation reported by Confucius, comforted himself with the reflec- tion that as Emperor he was under the protection of high Heaven. " Your crimes," replied the officer, " which are many, are chronicled above, and how can you speak of your fate as though it were in the charge of Heaven. Yin will shortly perish. As to your deeds they can but bring ruin on the country.'' This prophecy was soon to be ful- filled. A leader of rebellion was found in the " Warhke Prince," who drove the Emperor from his throne and urged him to suicide. This action, which has all the appearance of being revolutionary, was nevertheless strictly in accordance with Chinese morality and met with the entire approval of the philosopher, Mencius. " He who outrages benevolence," said that sage, " is called a ruffian : he who outrages righteousness is called a villain. The ruffian and the villain we call a mere fellow. I have heard of the cutting off of the fellow
t'a ki, chow sin's
EMPRESS.
THE CHOW DYNASTY 9
Chow, but I have not heard of the putting of a ruler to death."
Following the usual precedent of successful rebel leaders the " Warlike Prince " seized the Imperial sceptre with the full approval of the nation. His- torians of every class, from Confucius downwards, have poured unceasing praise on the administration of the ursurper, who, if these authorities are to be believed, was graced with every virtue that befits a monarch. By his magnanimous conduct he fulfilled the criterion of an exemplary ruler laid down by Confucius, by drawing all men to him. During his reign Embassies arrived from the Kings of Korea, Cochin China, and other distant regions. In his warlike expeditions he was uniformly successful, and he left to his successor a frontier which was respected by his enemies, and an Empire which was the envy of his allies. Happily for the State the succeeding two or three sovereigns worthily maintained the standard set them by their great predecessor. They consolidated the Empire and secured the loyalty and service of the feudal states. History does not concern itself much with the majority of the later rulers of the house of Chow, as the new dynasty was styled, but draws attention with some emphasis to Mu Wang (B.C. 1001-946), and finds food for reflection in his conduct. To his charge is laid the crime of having introduced the system of redeeming offences by the payment of fines, and of having thus set the example of bribery and corruption which has since wrought such havoc in the morals of the people and their rulers. On the other side of the shield
lO THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
there is told of him that he prosecuted successful wars against the tribes on the western frontier, a fact which has given rise to a legendary account of a journey which he is supposed to have made to the borders of the Lake of Gems, where he is said to have been hospitably entertained, with all the delights of a Mussulman's Paradise, by the " Royal Mother of the West."
Rightly to understand the condition of the country at this period, it is necessary to remember that the kingdom was formed of a congerie of states, each of which was ruled over by its own sovereign, and -each of which owed the limp and uncertain fealty common to subordinate Oriental princedoms to the elected sovereign of the predominant kingdom of Chow. No common patriotism bound these feudatories to their liege lord, and it was only by the strength of his right arm that he preserved his lordship over them. Any sign of the weakening of his authority was naturally the signal for a rising on the part of the more restless princekins against his power. As time went on apd the Chow state fluctuated in wealth and influence, the uprisings of the more ambitious feuda- tories became more threatening and frequent. The country became distracted by obscure quarrels, and open disorder, until as the philosopher Mencius graphically writes : " A host marches and stores of provisions are consumed, the hungry are deprived of their food, and there is no rest for those who are called on to toil. Maledictions are uttered from one to another with eyes askance, and the people proceed to the commission of wickedness. Then the royal
CONFUCIUS 1 1
ordinances are violated, the people are oppressed, and the supplies of food and drink flow away like water. The rulers yield themselves to the current, or they urge their way against it. They are wild, they are lost. The crime of him who connives at it and aids the wickedness of his ruler is small, but the crime of him who anticipates and excites that wickedness is great. The great officers of the present day are all guilty of this latter crime, and I say that they are sinners against the princes. Sage kings do not arise, and the princes of the states give reins to their lusts. In their stalls there are fat beasts, and in their stables there are fat horses ; but their people have the look of hunger, and in their fields there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on beasts to devour men.
It was while the country was in a condition similar to that described above that Confucius was born. We might leave the legendary accounts of his miraculous birth and early days to the recounters of fables, and it is only necessary for us here briefly to consider his influence on politics. To students of Chinese history that influence appears to be out of all proportion to the weight of his words, and the convincing force of his doctrines. He found the Empire tempest-tossed with faction and disloyalty, and he believed it to be his mission to lead back the sovereign and his people to the orthodox condition of affairs which existed when Yao meted out the heavens and the " Warlike Prince " exercised his patriarchal sway. His constant theme was the virtue of the ancient sages, and his panacea for all political
12
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
ills was a return to the traditional virtue of those great men. During his lifetime he was scouted by not a few rulers and princekins, and achieved success only when his influence was regarded as necessary for the support of some ruler or cause. It was only after his death that people turned to him as to a great leader of mankind, and for the last three and twenty centuries his teachings have been the guiding star of the nation through all its many changes and
0 COiXiFUClUS WITH tlls l>lSCiPi.Kti.
chances. Loudly he deplored the anarchy of the time, and as an illustration in point it is told of him that on one occasion as he journeyed from his native state to that of Ch'i he saw a woman weeping by a tomb at the roadside, to whom, having compassion upon her, he sent a disciple to ask the cause of her grief. " You weep," said the messenger, " as if you had experienced sorrow upon sorrow." " I have," said the woman. " My father-in-law was killed here
TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS
13
by a tiger, and my husband also ; and now my son has met the same fate." ''Why then do you not move from this place ? " asked Confucius. " Because
GRAVE OF CONFUCIUS.
here there is no oppressive government," answered the woman. Turning to his disciples Confucius remarked, " My children, remember this, oppressive government is fiercer than a tiger."
14 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
In spite, however, of the warnings of Confucius and the more philosophical teachings of Lao Tsze, the founder of Taoism, disorders increased on every side, and there were not wanting ominous signs which were regarded by native authorities as fore- telling the downfall of the Chow Dynasty. The brazen vessels which had been set up by the great Yii were seen to shake and totter as though presaging a political catastrophe ; famine and pesti- lence stalked through the land ; and on all sides men's hearts failed them for fear. It is at such times as these that an ambitious leader can find his opportunity, and in this case the ruler of the Ch'in Dynasty, seizing his advantage, made war against the Imperial state, which was already tottering to its fall. After a series of victories he claimed the throne by right of conquest, and established himself as the first sovereign of the short-lived Ch'in Dynasty. Neither this man nor his two successors on the throne were men of mark, and if it had not been for the sovereign who followed them the Imperial line would hav9 sunk into oblivion " unwept, unhonoured, and unsung." They initiated little and accomplished little, but this at least cannot be said of their successor.
The evils of the feudal system had long been patent, but no one had hitherto arisen who was bold enough so to fly in the face of precedent and history as to attempt a reform in the constitution. Ascribing all the evils under which his country had so long suffered to the system which for so many years had guided its destiny, Shih Hwangti determined once
THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS 15
and for all to put an end to the petty jealousies among the States by establishing an Empire, and proclaiming himself the first Universal Sovereign.
To this reform the literary classes offered a deter- mined opposition. All the national love for antiquity accentuated by the sayings and writings of Confucius and his followers was outraged by this draconic measure. They pointed back to the halcyon days when the "Warlike Prince" and his immediate followers ruled over the United States in peace and harmony, and quoted the works edited by Confucius as evidence of the prosperous condition which existed under those favoured circumstances. So serious was the opposition thus presented that the Emperor, who knew nothing of half measures, determined to wrest from his critics the evidences which they were so fond of producing. With this intention he issued an edict commanding that all the existing literature in the country, with the exception of works on divination and medicine, should be destroyed. From the nature of this decree it was plainly impossible that it could be carried out in its entirety. But so far as possible it was given effect to, notwithstanding the determined resistance of the Literati^ many of whom perished at the block rather than commit their cherished volumes to the flames. To a certain extent the immediate effect of the measure was successful, and the pros- perity which the new policy secured for the nation at large gained for its author very general support. With genuine zeal he also set himself to improve the material condition of the country, and recognising the importance, both political and commercial, of
lO THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
providing means of communication between the several States, he constructed roads in all directions, spanned the river with bridges, and encouraged by every method in his power the means of locomotion. At this time the Tartars were constantly threatening the northern frontier, and realising that it was as necessary to protect his subjects from foreign foes as to promote their internal prosperity, he constructed the Great Wall which, stretching from the sea at the I20th degree of longitude, and fringing the northern frontier of the Empire to the looth degree, still stands as a monument of the energetic adminis- tration of this great Sovereign. Unhappily, no hereditary instincts guided his successor into his paths, and during the short reign — three years — of this last Emperor of the Ch'in Dynasty, the country, instead of advancing toward consolidation, became the prey of constant civil war, and of every form of brigandage.
With dramatic propriety a leader arose at this troublous period who showed himself to be a man standing* head and shoulders above his compeers. The historian of the Han Dynasty tells us that, like another Macbeth, when first taking the field this man encountered a soothsayer who foretold his future great- ness. With commendable rapidity this prophecy was fulfilled, and the object of it was universally hailed as the first Emperor of a new c^ynasty, to which he gave the title of Han from the name of his native state. Time had at length accustomed the people of all classes to the abolition of the feudal States, and the new Emperor, Kaoti, felt that there was no
THE REIGN OF KAOTI 1/
longer any need to cut the nation adrift from the sheet anchor of its native hterature. The Litei'ati also were still hankering after their literary gods. Their influence was also plainly an appreciable quantity, and Kaoti determined to secure it on his behalf by resuscitating such works as it was possible to recover. Under his protecting influence the Literati undertook the congenial task of searching for any stray copies of the classics and other works which may have escaped the holocaust of the books. Phoenix-like the old literature rose from its ashes. From the sides of caves, from the roofs of houses, and the banks of rivers, volumes were produced by those who had risked their lives for their preservation, and history states that from the lips of old men were taken down ancient texts which had everywhere perished except in the retentive memories of veteran scholars. While reversing this part of the work of the first great Emperor, Kaoti followed his example in still further improving the means of communica- tion in the Empire, and to engineers employed by him belongs the credit, among other enterprises, of having constructed the first suspension bridges known to exist in the world.
The Han period is universally regarded by China- men as one of the most glorious epochs in their history. They know no prouder title than that by which they delight to be called, the Sons of Han, and this is no doubt mainly due to the extraordinary revival of letters which took place under the new line of Sovereigns. It is true that Kaoti shared to some extent the suspicions entertained of the Literati
3
1 8 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIR£
by the burner of the books, but his successors, taking a truer view of the position, did all that lay in their power to encourage the literary spirit of the nation. So keen was the zeal of the people in the cause that not only were the old texts restored, but a new and scholarly school of letters was brought into being. In every branch of literature the greatest activity was displayed, and whereas it may be said that when Kaoti ascended the throne in 206 B.C. polite literature was non-existent, the fact remains that before the dawn of the Christian era the Imperial library pos- sessed upon its shelves 3,123 works on the classics, 2,705 on philosophy, and 1,383 on poetry. But not alone in the peaceful paths of literature did the Empire make giant strides at this period. The nation's arms and diplomacy were carried far beyond the frontier into the little known region of Central Asia. In the second century B.C. the envoy Chang Ch'ien visited the Court of Eastern Turkestan, and two centuries later an army under General Pan Ch'ao marched to Khoten, and even carried their country's flag to the shores of the Caspian Sea. On the southern and north-eastern frontiers, Cochin China, and the Liaotung peninsula, which has figured so prominently of late in Eastern politics, were con- quered and reduced to the condition of feudatories, while Yunnan was incorporated into the Empire.
But by no means the least momentous event of the period was the introduction of Buddhism. The histories affirm that one night the Emperor Mingti (A.D. 58-76) saw in a vision on his bed a golden image which bade him send to the western countries
THE INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM 1 9
to search for Buddha, and for books and images to illustrate the doctrines of the holy man. In obedience to this command he, without loss of time, despatched envoys to India, who after an absence of eleven years returned, bringing with them books, images, and drawings, together with an ordained priest of the' new faith. This pioneer missionary was followed by others who, with extraordinary diligence, trans- lated a number of the Sanscrit Sutras into Chinese. But all these achievements failed to preserve the dynasty from that de,cadence which seems to be the natural fate of Chinese Imperial Houses. Towards the end of the second century of our era there occurred all those signs and symptoms of an im- pending political change to which the nation had now become accustomed. Three leaders arose. One in the state of Shuh, one in Wei, and one in Wu. Against these men Hsienti (190-221), the reigning sovereign, was unable to maintain his position, and having retired with a certain pusillanimity into private life, left his Empire to be contended for by the three chieftains. Then followed a period of bitter internecine strife, and the period is notorious in Chinese history for the more than usually savage wars which disturbed the peace and well-being of the people. Weary of the tumult under which they suffered, the nation welcomed the advent of a new dynasty, that of the Western Chin, in the year 265.
Buddhism, which had hitherto only received partial support, now gained powerful protectors in the sove- reigns of the new line, it was during this period that the Chinese Buddhist Fa-hsien, made an expe-
20 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
dition to India to examine the sites sacred to the sage, and to possess himself of such canonical works as were still unknown to his country-men. After an absence of fourteen years he returned by sea from Ceylon, bringing with him a library of books and notes which in subsequent years of leisure enabled him to write the interesting record of his travels which is known to European readers through the fascinating translations of Remusat and Beal. At the close of the Chin Dynasty in 419 the Empire again suffered division, and for a hundred and sixty years, six states fought for supremacy in the distracted provinces. A short dynasty (about thirty years) followed which was notorious only for the reign of one sovereign, Yangti, who devoted himsislf with laudable energy to the construction of canals in the eastern and central portions of the Empire where alone they were possible. On the ashes of this dynasty rose the house of T'ang whose appearance on the Imperial stage opened the period which is well described as the Augustan age of Chinese literature. The keynote of the great Emperors of this line was to restore in their fulness the ancient beliefs and traditions which had been consecrated by the approval of Confucius. In pursuance of this tendency many of them discouraged in every way in their power the foreign religion which had been introduced from India. Already monasteries had sprung up in various parts of the country, and it is possible that then, as now, these were occasionally hotbeds of treason and sedition. But however that may be, several decrees were issued commanding the
THE TANG DYNASTY 21
monks to range themselves as Benedicts, and to rejoin the ranks of civil life, which in their mistaken zeal they had deserted for the cloister.
But the chief glory of the dynasty was the litera- ture which sprung up under the fostering care of the rulers. Poets, essayists, and historians poured out from their studies volumes which charmed their contem- poraries as much as they delight students and scholars of the present day. In every library in China will now be found " The Complete Poems of the T'ang Dynasty," while numberless volumes of the polite literature of the period still hold unrivalled sway in the opinion of the Literati. In the field of battle the nation was as successful as in the arena of literature. With skill and success the districts of Hamil, Turfan, and the Ouigour country were added to the Empire, and thus brought Far Cathay with'n the cognisance of Western Asia, and even of the con- fines of Europe. The See of Rome, ever ready to extend its influence and to gain converts to the faith, took advantage of the opportunity thus offered to despatch an embassy to the Chinese Court, where to his astonishment the Papal envoy found assembled envoys from Persia and Nepaul. Already the Nestorian Christians had sent missionaries to proclaim the truth, as they had received it, and though little is said on the subject in the histories, it is plain that considerable success attended their efforts. A striking testimony to this is found in a monument which stands at the present day in the city of Hsian Fu, on which is inscribed a record of this first attempt to introduce Christianity into China.
22 THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE
As time went on, however, the domestic affairs of the Empire fell into that disorder which always accompanies the declining years of dynasties. Twenty-three sovereigns of the line of T'ang sat in succession on the throne, and the reigns of many of these were marked rather by feeble administration than by any other characteristic. One exception to this criticism was the sovereignty of the Empress Wu who held the sceptre from 684 to 710. Having set aside the rightful sovereign, she usurped the throne, and by her wisdom and energy, secured a brief space of peace with honour for her distracted countrymen. This dynasty, which began by extending religious toleration to all beliefs, in course of time inaugurated that persecution of Christians which has been intermittently carried on ever since, and even laid heavy hands on followers of Mahomet and Buddha. It was during these restless days that Tu Fu and Li T'aipo wrote those poems on the beauties of nature and the pleasures of wine, which have made their names immortal — at least, within the frontiers of the Middle Kingdom. At length, in 907, the Imperial line, with all its glories and all its disgraces, passed away, and was followed by a succession of short dynasties, which did little more than keep alive the idea of Empire, until the rise of the Sung power in 960.
At the close of the T'ang dynasty, a tribe appeared on the frontiers of China which was destined to exercise a vast influence on the fortunes of the country. The Tartars, who had constantly raided the Northern Provinces, now appeared in force, and so
THE k'iTAN tartars 23
successfully waged war on the Southern Empire that they secured for themselves the China of that day from the River Yangtsze northwards. These hardy warriors were known as K'itan, the word from which the medizEval name of Cathay is derived, and which, under the form of K'itai, is still that by which China is known to the Russian people. The supremacy of these nomads was not, however, of very long dura- tion. After a rule of less than two hundred years they yielded place to their congenitors, the Kin Tartars, the progenitors of the present ruling sove- reigns, who in their turn divided with Sung the whole Empire.
II
THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
But while constant war was being carried on between the Kin and Sung dynasties, yet another Power was rising on the MongoHan steppes destined to crush both under its iron heel. In the valley of the Oncn, in the neighbourhood of the Karakorum hills, was fostered a Mongol chief, who in the near future was to be classed among the greatest rulers the world has ever seen. The parentage of Jenghiz Khan differed little from that of those about him, but from an early age Nature had marked him out as a leader of men. • While yet young he was chosen as Khan of his tribe, and led his followers in a succession of campaigns against the neighbouring chieftains. Flaving humbled these rulers to the dust, and having swept their vanquished followers into his ranks, he braced himself up to more serious warfare.
The kingdom of Hsia, which consisted of the modern provinces of Kansu and Shensi, though not a fertile territory was, by comparison with the cold and bleak steppes of Mongolia, a land flowing with milk PXyd honey. Without much difficulty Jenghiz Khan's
26 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
hardy warriors subdued this country under them, and, aspiring to fresh conquests, invaded the territory ruled over by the Kin Dynasty (121 1). This campaign was partially successful, and at its conclusion Jenghiz, as was his wont, retired to his Ordu on the River Onon, to recruit his forces, and to collect his strength for a second onslaught. Two years later he again took the field, and, overrunning the modern province of Chihli, laid waste ninety of its fairest cities, including the Kin capital, which stood in the neighbourhood of the modern Peking. Leaving an occupying force to preserve his newly-acquired rights, Jenghiz turned his attention westward, and with marvellous speed and thoroughness, gathered within his borders the districts of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khoten. Even such vast conquests as these failed to satisfy the lust for empire which had taken possession of the Mongol chieftain. On one excuse or another, he led his troops of nomad horsemen against the kingdom of Khuarezm, and having swept over its richest provinces, advanced into Georgia and Western Europe. With irresistible force, aided n© doubt by the terror which, as the " curse of God," he inspired, he captured Moscow and Kiev, the Jerusalem of Russia, and did not draw rein until he had advanced as far as Cracow and Pesth. After having laid waste all these cities so that,, as he boasted, he could ride over their sites without meeting an obstacle sufficient to make his " horse stumble," he returned to Mongolia, and there died in the year 1227. Meanwhile his generals had not been idle in China, but had advanced his conquests to the fertile region within the eastern bend of the Yellow River,
THE FIRST CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES 2/
thus securing a rich inheritance to his successor Oghotai.
It was during the reign of this monarch that the first CathoHc missionaries carried the Hght of Christian civilisation to the dark regions of Mongolia, " It is worthy of the grateful remembrance of all Christian people," says the missionary Friar Ricold, of Monte Croce, as quoted by Colonel Yule ; " that just at the time when God had sent forth into the western parts of the world the Tartars to slay and to be slain ; He also sent into the east His faithful servants Dominic and Francis to enlighten, instruct, and build up in the Faith." Little or nothing is known of these messengers of the gospel, but in the years 1245-47 John de Piano Carpini presented himself before the great Khan, and has left us an account of his observa- tions. Though he failed to reach China he saw a number of its subjects at the Mongol Court, and describes them as " heathen men," but " having a written character of their own. They seem," he says, " indeed to be kindly and polished folks enough. They have no beard, and in character of countenance have a considerable resemblance to the Mongols, but are not so broad in the face. They have a peculiar language. Their betters as craftsmen in every art practised by man are not to be found in the whole world. Their country is very rich in corn, in wine, in gold and silver, in silk, and in every kind of produce tending to the support of mankind."
Some few years later the Franciscan Friar Rubruquis followed in Carpini's footsteps, and as a result of shrewd observation supplements the very
28 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
graphic account left us by Carpini. In great Cathay or China he recognises the land of the Ceres with which we are made familiar by the writings of the Latin poets of the Augustan age. " Those Cathayans," he adds, " are little fellows, speaking much through the nose, and as is general with all those Eastern people, their eyes are very narrow. They are first-rate artists of every kind, and their physicians have a thorough knowledge of the virtues of herbs, and an admirable skill in diagnosis by the pulse. The common money of Cathay consists of pieces of cotton paper about a palm in length and breadth, upon which lines are printed resembling the seals of Mangu Khan (the third in succession from Jenghiz Khan) ; they do their writing with a pencil such as painters paint with, and a single character of theirs comprehends several letters so as to form a whole word." These few lines describe with effective point and great accuracy the leading characteristics of the patient and laborious inhabitants of China.
But though these faithful emissaries of Pope Inno- cent saw»much to interest them in the social manners and customs of the Cathayans, they could only carry back with them a depressing account of the condition of Nestorian Christianity at the capital of the great Khan (Mangu). Rubruquis states that when he first attempted to explain the object of his mission to the Khan, his address was considerably " marred by the interpreter becoming incoherent from frequent draughts of wine supplied him by Mangu, who himself became maudlin before the friar retired, from the same cause." The effect of the religious
KUBLAI KHAN 29
services was much interfered with also by the indul- gence of this infirmity. On high days and festivals the sacred ceremonies ended in drunken orgies, and on one occasion the Empress, who had a leaning for Nestorian Christianity, " was carried home from church in a state of intoxication, escorted by priests who reeled after her, shouting out their chants and hymns."
Meanwhile Mangu was still waging war against the sovereign of the Sung Dynasty, and the enter- prise was yet incomplete when he died in 1259, leaving the still growing heritage of the Mongols to his son, the Great Kublai, a grandson of Jenghiz Khan. With indefatigable energy this sovereign took in hand the conquest of China, which had been so dear to the heart of the great founder of the race, and it was while the fate of this venture was still in the lap of the gods that the Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, presented himself at the Court of the Great Khan. Already the father and uncle of Marco had made an adventurous journey in pursuit of commerce, across Asia to the valley of the Onon, and it was on the occasion of their second visit in 1571 that they took the youthful Marco with them. " When the two brothers and Mark," writes this last named, " had arrived at that great city (the Mongol capital), they went to the Imperial Palace, and there they found the sovereign attended by a great company of barons. So they bent the knee before him, and paid their respects to him with all possible reverence, prostra- ting themselves on the ground. Then the lord bade them stand up, and treated them with great honour,
30 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
showing great pleasure at their coming, and asked many questions as to their welfare and how they sped. They replied that they had in verity sped very well seeing that they found the Khan well and safe. They then presented the credentials and letters which they had received from the Pope, which pleased him right well ; and after that they produced the oil from the sepulchre, and at that also he was very glad, for he set great store thereby. And next spying Mark, who was then a young gallant, he asked who was that in their company. ' Sire,' said his father, Messer Nicolo, ' 'tis my son and your liege man.' ' Welcome is he, too,'
quoth the Emperor There was great rejoicing
at the Court because of their arrival ; and they met with attention and honour from everybody."
The pomp and splendour of the Oriental Court struck the travellers with amazement. Never before had they dreamed of such Imperial splendour. The annual feasts and national commemorations were celebrated with a magnificence that surpassed their wildest imaginations, while the evidences of civilisa- tion which they met with on all sides led them to make comparisons as unfavourable to Europe, as changed circumstances lead us now to make to the disadvantage of China. One fact which especially attracted their attention was the existence of bank- notes at a time when as yet Europe was destined to wait four centuries for a like convenient currency. A Chinese bank-note of about a century later is now exhibited in the King's Library of the British Museum, which is noticeable from the fact that the paper on which it is printed is almost black. The
KUBLAl's CAMPAIGNS 3 1
explanation of this colour is given by Marco Polo : " The Emperor," he tells us, " makes them (his sub- jects) take the bark of a certain tree, in fact of the mulberry tree, the leaves of which are the food of the silkworm, — these trees being so numerous that whole districts are full of them. What they take is a certain fine white bast or skin which lies between the wood of the tree and the thick outer bark, and this they make into something resembling sheets of paper, but black." The Khan himself, he describes as being of a good stature, neither tall nor short, and being very shapely in all his limbs. If this were so the Chinese artists who have left us portraits of the great man have signally maligned him. According to them he was stout almost to obesity, and far from possess- ing the shapely form described by the Venetian, whose evidence, however, we should be inclined to accept rather than the products of native studios.
Meanwhile Kublai was actively engaged in the campaign against the reigning sovereign of the Sung Dynasty, and it is even said that in this enterprise he received useful help at the outset from the young Marco. It is difficult, however, to reconcile this with the dates assigned to Marco's arrival and the opening of the campaign ; but however that may be, Kublai's first advance was made across the Yellow River, and against the city of Hsiangyang, in the province of Hupeh. It is remarkable in the history of these wars to find how much stouter a resistance the Chinese offered to the invading Mongols than the inhabitants of Western Asia and Eastern Europe were able to present. It was only after a long siege that Hsiang-
32 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
yang fell into the hands of the Mongols, and it required more than one arduous campaign to subdue the cities of Hanyang, Hankow, Wuchang, Soochovv, and, finally, Hangchow, the Sung capital. With the fall of the capital the Sung Dynasty practically came to an end, though with fitful efforts the followers of the ruling house attempted to stem the tide of inva- sion, and by 1276 the whole of China acknowledged the sway of Kublai. At this time the Mongol sovereign ruled over an empire which was one of the largest of which the world's history has knowledge, and which claimed as its subjects the countless hordes occupying the vast territories which stretch from the Black Sea to the shores of the China Ocean, and from Northern Mongolia to the frontiers of Annam.
One of the most striking features of Kublai's campaigns was the ease and rapidity with which his forces Were moved over vast stretches of territory. Whether the enemy to be assailed were the people of Persia or of Cochin China, his armies straightway marched against the foe, and with surprising speed gained striking distance. Those whose fortune it has been to travel through Western China, and to cross the many mountain ranges over which the only roads are narrow pathways, fitted rather for goats than for human beings, will well understand how formidable must, for example, have been the undertaking of moving an army from Peking to the frontiers of Burma. To the Mongols, however, it was enough to know that the work had to be done, and without loss of time they overcame the difficulties of trans- port, and succeeded in placing an army in the field
THE BURMESE CAMPAIGN 33
on the plains of Yungchang. To Kublai's followers, accustomed to the warfare of northern latitudes, the Burmese arms and equipments presented new and alarming characteristics. For the first time in their experiences they were called upon to face troops of elephants — animals which they could never have seen before. Nothing daunted, the General in command dismounted his men, who fired such a storm of arrows into the huge monsters, that they turned and rushed through the Burmese ranks, causing disorder and panic among their masters. Taking advantage of the confusion thus caused, the Mongols charged home into the forces of the enemy, and gained a decisive victory. Alarmed at the swarming numbers and over- mastering power of the invaders, the King submitted himself to Kublai, and was allowed to return to his capital on the condition that he and his successors should pay a regular tribute to the Court of China. Up to the time of our taking possession of Burma this tribute was regularly paid ; and unfortunately even after we were in possession of Mandalay one or two tribute-bearing missions were allowed to carry homage to Peking.
But while in the Burmese and other land campaigns Kublai was uniformly successful, he was, in his naval warfare, eminently unfortunate. In 1266 he sent two envoys in the direction of Japan, who, however, re- turned without having ventured to cross the inter- vening sea from the coast of Korea. The object of this mission was doubtless to put an end to the Japanese piratical raids which had long been occasion- ing panic and disorder on the coasts of China and
4
34 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
Korea ; but, finally, having failed to arrive at a peaceful solution of the difficulty, Kublai despatched a fleet against the Japanese which suffered a fate similar to that which overtook the Chinese ships at the Yalu during the late war. A number of the vessels were captured, a number were destroyed, and only a remnant returned to carry back the news of the disaster. Some years later Kublai fitted out another fleet carrying 100,000 warriors in the hope of avenging the late disgrace, but no better fortune attended this second venture, and it is said that almost the whole fleet perished. Other expeditions against the islands in the China seas proved equally unsuc- cessful, and Kublai was compelled to recognise the fact that while invincible on land, his hardy warriors were no match afloat for the seafaring populations of the islands. It is not in man to command success, and Kublai the victor in so many hard fought fields could well afford to submit to these foreign rebuffs on a strange element. In matters of religion Kublai showed the sametoleration which had been conspicuous in his predecessors ; with equal favour, or perhaps one may say, indifference, he showed an impartially friendly disposition towards Christianity, Buddhism, and Mohammedanism. He listened to the teachings of Christian fathers with the same attention that he gave to Buddhist priests and Mohammedan Mullahs ; if ever he showed special favour to any one form of faith it may safely be assumed that it was with the object of hunting the trail of policy by the concession. Thus when wishing to secure supremacy over the wild and little known regions of Tibet, he affected a strong
KUBLAfs TOLERANCE 35
leaning towards Buddhism, and gained such an ascen- dancy by so doing that on a vacancy occurring in the Pontifical Priesthood he was invited to appoint a Grand Lama to superintend the destinies of the country. Having thus secured the loyalty of the Chief of the State he became virtually its ruler, and added a new but profitless province to his already unwieldy Empire.
But his toleration extended beyond religions, and embraced foreigners of all nations and degrees ; the favour with which he regarded young Marco Polo on his first arrival at the Mongol capital was consis- tently extended to him during the whole of his seventeen years' residence in China, Recognising his zeal and ability he appointed him to office, and gave him, among other employments, a roving com- mission to go through the provinces of Shansi, Shensi, Szech'uan, and Yunnan, and to report on the condition of the districts through which he passed. So well did the Venetian acquit himself on this and other occasions that he was finally appointed Governor of the city of Yangchow. There he exercised rule for three years, and might have remained indefinitely had not a wish to return to his native land possessed him with overpowering desire. His father and uncle, who were still in the country, were also anxious to return to Venice, but to their repeated requests for leave of absence Kublai had invariably returned a negative, and it was by the merest chance that they ultimately succeeded in getting away from the country of their adoption. It happened that Arghun Khan of Persia, a great,
36 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
nephew of Kublai, who had been left a widower, desired to wed, as his second venture, a lady of the Mongol tribe, of which his first wife had been a member. Kublai sanctioned the arrangement, and made choice of a young lady whom he considered to be a fit and proper person to fill the place of her deceased relative. So far matters went smoothly, but when the question came of her journey to Persia, which was to be made by sea, Kublai found it more difficult to provide a fitting escort than it had been to find the lady. The Mongol officials, unaccus- tomed to the sea, shrank from the undertaking, and as a dernier ressort, it was proposed and agreed to, that Marco with his father and uncle should have charge of the would-be bride. In 1292 they started on their adventurous voyage, in the course of which they met with not a few perils. However, at length they reached Persia in safety, and Marco tells us that the adieux on the part of the lady were more sym- pathetic than probably her future husband would have cared to witness. The lady, we are told, burst into te^rs, and bade her escort farewell with many lamentations. So long had been the voyage that it was not until 1295 that the Governor of Yangchow, with his father and uncle, appeared once more on the Rialto.
It is beyond dispute that China enjoyed an unusual share of prosperity during the reign of Kublai. With the same wisdom that he showed in most concerns, he exhibited towards the people marked consideration and justice. He adopted their institutions and looked favourably on their prejudices and leanings ; he was
DEATH OP KUBLAt 37
a patron of their national literature ; and used every effort to secure justice in the administration of the laws. But he was a foreigner, and his dynasty had never taken that hold on the country which might make people forget that he was not a Chinaman. Two years after Marco Polo had left the Great Khan was gathered to his fathers, and was carried to his tomb without any expression of regret on the part of the people over whom he had reigned for five and thirty years. His grandson Timur succeeded him on the throne, but the ability which had enabled Kublai to raise the Empire to the great height at which he had left it was wanting in his successor. Timur died in 1307, and after him followed in rapid succession seven sovereigns, of whom little can be said that is of good report, except possibly of the second, Jen Tsung, who was an ardent follower of Confucius, and who adopted the principle of distri- buting offices more equally between Mongols and Chinese than had hitherto been the case.
When Kublai Khan rose to supreme power, the Mongols, who had no writing of their own, were dependent on their more cultured neighbours for the means of corresponding on paper. An acquaintance with the cultured and literary people of China had taught the great conqueror the necessity of remedying this defect, and with the object of doing so, he appointed a scholar of the name of Bashpa to devise an alphabet which should give expression to the thoughts of native writers in a national script. Bashpa executed his task, and Kublai issued an edict ordering that for the future all official docu-
381' THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
ments should be written in the characters so invented. No sooner, however, had the Mongols entered China, than the new alphabet was discarded. As has been said, " China is a sea that salts all the waters which flow into it," and the Mongols having left their dreary steppes, and their equally dreary scraps of literature, became ardent admirers of the Chinese scholarship. Under the influence of this new life they forgot the results of Bashpa's ingenuity, and adopted the learning and writing of their conquered enemies. One branch of Chinese literature may almost be said to have been the creation of the Mongols ; before their time puppet shows and dramatic performances had been among the popular amusements of the Chinese people. The patronage which was extended to these scenic efforts by the Mongols encouraged the production of more regular plays, and the profession of playwright became in consequence a popular one with such authors as had more taste for holding the mirror up to Nature than for discussing the sterner thoughts of the philo- sophers.. The dramas which were produced during the Mongol period have never been surpassed in China, and the "Plays of the Yuan Dynasty" are still regarded as standard works in this department of literature.
During the last reigns of the Yuan Dynasty the usual precursors of revolution became prominent. Rebellions and riots broke out on all sides, and during the reign of Shunti, the last of the Mongols, the disorders came to a head. The dynasty had never been popular, and when its sovereigns ceased
A REBELLIOUS MONK 39
to be powerful, the desire for the return to the throne of a Chinese hne became intensified among the people. At the head of one of the risings in the south was one who was destined to wear the robes of sovereignty. Chu was essentially a man of the people, and his family having fallen on evil times, he was left on the death of his parents penniless and alone. To men in such a condition the cloister often offers a shelter from the storm. At all events this was Chu's anticipation when he shaved his head and took the vows of a Buddhist monk. But circum- stances were too strong for the recluse, and the military spirit that was born in him having been awakened by a rebellion which broke out in the neighbourhood of his monastery, he incontinently cast aside his cowl and took the sword. A command- ing presence, a strong will, and considerable ability, soon forced him to the head of the movement, and with such skilful tactics did he manoeuvre his men on the battlefield that he was uniformly successful in his engagements with the enemy. With scarcely a check he marched on Nanking, and having captured that most important city after a short siege, he, like the T'aip'ing Wang of forty years ago, constituted it his capital. From this point d'appuis he succeeded in driving the Mongols out of the Province of Kiangsi.
The central provinces were not the only parts of the Empire where the fortunes of war declared against the Mongols at this time. In Korea, and in the western parts of the Empire, the rebellious forces claimed to have gained victories, and it was in the
40 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
midst of these clouds of disasters that Shunti was gathered to his fathers (1370). Meanwhile Chu despatched three armies for the conquest of the still unsubdued districts. Two were commissioned to subjugate the southern provinces of Fuhkien, Kwang- tung, and Kwangsi, while the third, consisting, it is said, of two hundred and fifty thousand men, was ordered to overrun the northern portion of the country. By this time the leaven of rebellion had spread far and wide, and Chu's troops found little difficulty in executing the commissions entrusted to them. With scarcely any opposition Peking fell before the rebel forces, and as a fitting climax to that victory, Chu, at the bidding of his vast hosts, was induced to accept the Imperial purple. He was well aware, however, that the most difficult part of his task still lay before him. At the head of an enthu- siastic army, and in face of a disheartened foe, it had been comparatively easy for him to overthrow the Mongol power. He now had to justify the choice of the people in placing him on the throne, and in this trying position he displayed as far-seeing a judgment as that which had already secured him temporary success. He recognised the importance of fostering that learning of which the nation was justly proud, and one of his first public acts was directed towards re-establishing throughout the country the schools which had fallen into decay during the troublous time which had marked the decadence of the House of Jenghiz Khan.
During the halcyon period of the T'ang Dynasty an Imperial College, known as the Hanlin or "Forest
THE HANLIN COLLEGE 4I
of Pencils," had been established under Imperial patronage. Admittance to this palace of learning had always been regarded as the highest literary- honour which could be obtained by the most erudite scholars. During the many dynastic changes which had taken place since its foundation its existence had been chequered by not a few periods of misfortune, and by none greater than that which had lately over- taken it. Hungwu — for such was the Imperial title adopted by Chu — determined to rehabilitate the insti- tution. He rebuilt its shattered walls, refurnished its empty rooms, and showed his personal interest in the work by personally visiting the building, and super- intending the arrangements for its revival. It was fit and proper that the main building should be at Peking, but Hungwu could never forget that Nan- king had been the capital of his choice, and as evidence of this sentiment he built and endowed a sister institution at that city. Since the advent of power of the present Manchu Dynasty this last foundation has ceased to exist, though the college at Peking still maintains its high reputation. Like everything else, however, in the northern capital, with the exception perhaps of parts of the Imperial palace and of the foreign legations, the Hanlin Gollege is fast hastening to decay. Its halls are deserted and its archives and library are covered thick with dust. It may sound paradoxical to say that a building in such a deplorable condition can represent an institution to which all men look up. But so it is. The highest literary honour that it is in the power of his Emperor to confer is admittance
42 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
to the ranks of the chosen few who boast themselves as being Hanlin scholars, though it is probable that few of those who now bear that title have ever passed through the creaking gates of the Hanlin College.
Another great work undertaken by Hungwu was the codification of the laws of the Empire. During the Mongol Dynasty much laxity had been observed in the administration of justice. The Mongol rulers were men of action, and thought more of the weapons of their army than of the forms of the legal procedure. But an immense benefit was conferred on the nation at large by this peaceful achievement of Hungwu. History further tells us that, with the true instincts of a law-giver, he recognised that something more than forms, however excellent, was needed, and devoted much time and energy to promoting the practical administration of justice and equity in the local courts. There was unquestionably room for such an effort, but to cleanse so foul an Augean stable as the Chinese law courts was more than one man, however able and however well intentioned, could possibly accomplish, and unfortunately for the nation the officials ploughed up his good seed as soon as it was sown. More beneficial legislation in this direction would, however, undoubtedly have been effected had it not been that the Mongols, taking heart of grace after their defeat, took the field once again against their conqueror. Even in the home provinces of Shansi and Shensi they gained such victories over the Ming troops as put a considerable strain on Hungwu's resources, while in the pro- montory of Liaotung and the provinces of Szech'uan
THE CLOSE OF HUNGWU S REIGN 43
and Yunnan they completely put the enemy to rout. To meet this emergency Hungwu despatched one army against Chungk'ing, and another against Ch'engtu in Szech'uan, and having pacified those districts marched across the border into Yunnan ; and ultimately recovered that province from the Mongol yoke. In the midst of these victories, at a ripe age and full of honours, Hungwu became a guest on high (1399), leaving a rich inheritance to his successor. It is noteworthy that recently the thoughts of a large section of the Chinese people have been led back to this period. It is by a comparison between the present state of the Empire, and the condition of things which existed under the first sovereign of the Ming Dynasty, that the leaders of the Kolaohwei have been able to enlist so many recruits to their banners. Hung, the first syllable of the sovereign's name, has now been taken as the second title of this very revolu- tionary Society, Time will show what is the extent of the disaffection which is unquestionably now brewing, and how far the existence of foreigners in the country will serve as a check to any serious disturbance of the political equilibrium. Already within modern times the government has once at least been saved from its own people by foreign intervention, and it is possible that a like support may again be required to bolster up the central authority in times of future trouble.
Some years before Hungwu's death, his eldest son having already succumbed to disease, he, by his last testament devised his Empire and Throne to his grand- son, who afterwards adopted the title of Chienwen. In
44 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
Eastern countries where primogeniture is not the invariable rule, some uncertainty as to the succes- sion generally follows an Imperial demise. In this case each of the younger sons considered that he had a better claim to the Throne than his nephew, and to avoid the outburst of any unseemly violence between the disputants Hungwu before his death sent the malcontents to their provincial posts, keeping his grandson about his person at Court. The difficulty of the position was eventually accentuated by the obligation which Chienwen felt to be incumbent upon him of inviting his uncles to take part in the Imperial obsequies. With the exception of one, the Prince of Yen, they all with one consent declined to be present. Nor did the acceptance of the invitation by this prince by any means imply a feeling of loyalty towards his nephew. On the contrary, on leaving the Imperial presence he at once retired to Nanking to organise his forces of opposition. With as little loss of time as possible he took the field, and being a man of greg-t energy, determination, and courage, he gained a series of victories over his kinsman, which were chequered only by some trifling defeats. At length, in 1402, his troops had so completely gained the upper hand that Chienwen determined to give up the struggle and to abdicate. So unusual a step led to the report that he had committed suicide, but possibly with a recollection of his grandfather's religious propensities he, instead, shaved his head and sought sanctuary in a monastery in Yunnan. For forty years he remained incognito in the cloister, but at the end of that time, perhaps weary of
YUNCLO'S ADMINISTRATION 45
the monotony of his existence, he launched out into poetry, and pubHshed a volume describing his former trials and difficulties with such minute details that the authorship stood confessed. The fact of his being an Emperor's son, or possibly the fear that he might instigate a rebellion, induced the ruling sovereign to order him to Peking, where he was kept a state prisoner within the precincts of the palace until death put an end to his troublous existence. Meanwhile Yen was urged by his followers to usurp the throne. Nothing loth he accepted the crown, and for two and twenty years reigned with vigour over the Empire. During the Mongol period Peking had been the official capital, and Yunglo, as Yen had styled himself, determined so far to break the traditions belonging to his house as once again to transfer the seat of Government from Nanking to Peking. Further, for his own peace, and for the satisfaction of his followers also, he considered it wise that he should be handed down to posterity as the direct heir of Hungwu, and he therefore issued an edict commanding that Chienwen's reign should be obliterated from the annals, and that the four years during which he had held the Imperial sceptre should be added to the reign of Hungwu.
Under his able administration the country enjoyed comparative peace, and he had time to turn his attention from the " Eighteen Provinces " to the difficulties which were disturbing the political affairs of Tonquin. Compared with his predecessors' reigns his rule was in the happy position of having no history within the frontiers of the Empire. Beyond
46 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
the northern marches, however, war with the Tartars was chronic, and though his generals gained repeated victories over their restless adversaries, the system of warfare which these practised made it impossible for the Chinese to consolidate their triumphs. It is always difficult to destroy a guerilla force which has a boundless territory to which to retire. That he inflicted serious losses on them is well established ; and it was when on one of his expeditions against these nomad marauders that his fatal illness overtook him in 1425. Yunglo was more than a mere soldier. He showed a wide and intelligent interest in the literature of his country, and caused to be executed one literary task which alone should make his name famous. He appointed a commission of the leading scholars of the time to compile an exhaustive ency- clopaedia on all subjects commemorated in Chinese literature. After bestowing the labour of many years on this gigantic compilation, the editors pre- sented (1407) their Imperial Master with a work consisting of no fewer than 22,877 books, besides the table of contents, which occupied sixty volumes.
To Yunglo succeeded several sovereigns, the history of whose reigns presents a dismal picture of incompetence and anarchy. The historians, indeed, delight to tell us that envoys from Central Asia, India, and Malacca, came to pay homage at the court of these Sons of Heaven. But these glimpses of honour are set off in a background of open disorder and successful rebellion. In 1428 Tonquin threw off the Chinese yoke and the Tartars raided, almost unchecked, over the northern frontier of the Empire.
THE EMPEROR A PRISONER 47
At one great battle fought against these Mongol horsemen a hundred thousand Chinese are said to have been killed, and the victory was further empha- sised by the capture of the Emperor Chengt'ung himself. It is evidence of the abject condition to which the Empire was brought at this time, that though the Tartar chieftain offered to release his Imperial prisoner on the payment of a hundred taels of gold, two hundred taels of silver, and two hundred pieces of silk, the Chinese were unable to provide the ransom. Eight years Chengt'ung remained in captivity, and during this enforced absence from Peking his throne was vicariously occupied by his next brother. In 1465 Chengt'ung paid the great debt of nature, and made his death humanely memorable by an order that the barbarous Mongol practice of immolating slaves at the tombs of Sovereigns — a practice which had been adopted by the earlier Ming rulers — should not be followed in his case. A still more memorable record of his reign is found in the large geographical work on the Empire, entitled Ta Ming yi fung chik, or " A Complete Geographical Record of the Empire under the great Ming Dynasty." The example thus set has fortunately been followed by the rulers of the present line of sovereigns, under whose auspices the Ta CKing yi fung chiJi in five hundred books, which de- scribes in minute detail the geographical and political condition of the country, has been issued from the Press. It was during the reign of Chengt'ung's successor Ch'enghwa, that the canal from Peking to the Peiho was made. This was the only public work for which there was either time or inclination in the midst of
48 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
the brigandage and seditious risings which disturbed the Empire, more especially in the northern and western provinces, with such constant persistency that they may almost be said to have been endemic.
During the reign of Chengte (1506-22) occurred an event which led up, though at a long interval, to the Treaties which now govern the relations of China with the outer world. In 1 5 1 1 the Portuguese, Raphael Perestralo, arrived off the southern coast of China, and six years later Don Fernao Peres D'Andrade presented himself at Canton in command of a small squadron. The object of these pioneers was 1;he extension of commerce, and D'Andrade having been well received by the authorities at Canton, proceeded to Peking, where he remained some years, acting the part of an amateur ambassador. For some time his relations with the central authorities were amicable, but the outrageous action of his compatriots in other parts of the Empire unhappily brought his mission to an abrupt and unfortunate close. By order of the Emperor he was arrested and imprisoned, and after six years of confinement was summarily beheaded by order of the succeeding ruler, Chiaching. Such a reprisal was undoubtedly a high-handed measure, but the Portuguese traders on the coast, notably at Ningpo and Foochow, had rapidly filled up a large cup of iniquity. They had been guilty of every form of outrage, and at Ningpo had proceeded to such excesses that on the occasion of a difference with the people of a neighbouring village they had fallen upon and massacred their opponents. When estimating the conduct of an Oriental State in such circum-
50 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
stances, it is only fair that the opposite side of the shield should be seen, and it cannot be denied that the history of the early Portuguese settlements in China is stained by every form of iniquity.
In the Chinese histories no mention is made of D'Andrade's residence in Peking, and the first Portu- guese visit on the coast is put down to the year 1535. At this time in the neighbourhood of Foochow a general massacre of the Portuguese took place in revenge for certain nefarious acts, and thirty only out of several hundred escaped to tell the tale to their countrymen in the neighbourhood of Canton. After numerous negotiations and much filibustering, the Canton officials allowed the Portuguese to settle on the peninsula of Macao in exchange for an annual rental. To say that the lives of these men were precarious would certainly not be over-stating the case. They were constantly engaged in conflicts with the forces of the Chinese Government, as well as with the pirates who ravaged the coasts, but, though they carried their lives in their hands, so lucrative was the trade in which thgy were engaged that as many as five or six hundred Portuguese were commonly to be found within the precincts of the new settlement.
It need not be a matter of surprise that the action of these pioneers of commerce rendered the Chinese disinclined to receive within their frontiers any for- eigner whom they could conveniently keep out, and when the missionary Xavier, burning with a desire to carry a knowledge of Christianity to the people, asked for leave to be allowed to deliver this message of goodwill to all men, he was refused permission to land.
RICCI'S RELIGIOUS SUCCESSES 5 1
Unwilling to give up the enterprise he took up his residence on the island of Sanshan, within sight of the mainland, and there died in 1552 without having accomplished the yearning desire of his heart. The same inhospitality was offered to Michel Roger, the first of the Jesuit missionaries who attempted to gain a footing in the Middle Kingdom. The great Ricci who arrived at Macao in 1582 was more successful. He was a man with wide sympathies, great learning, and much Christian charity. He began his work in China by studying the language, together with the scientific and religious beliefs of the people, and he thought that he saw in the native ideas on the subject of the Supreme Being and the whole duty of man, a likeness, though deformed by superstition, but still a likeness, to the truths set forth in the gospel. He seized on all those passages in the Confucian literature which agree with the utterances of the inspired writers, and following the example of Saint Paul at Athens, he told his hearers that the God whom they ignorantly worshipped was the God whom he was sent to preach to them. The open-mindedness which thus characterised his sentiments gained for him consideration and respect among all classes alike, from the ignorant coolies to the educated mandarins. With such a reputation he was received with favour at Peking — a favour which was not diminished by his very practical knowledge of mechanics, which enabled him even to set to rights the Emperor's clocks and watches which, under the unwonted treatment to which they were subjected by the palace officials, had gone hopelessly wrong. Intent on interesting and at
52 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
the same time instructing the mandarins, he utilised his knowledge of the language to translate the first six books of Euclid into Chinese, At a later period he published in Chinese a geometrical treatise on the theory of astronomical measurement ; and not to leave the religious feelings of the people untouched, he brought out a work on the character and attributes of God. The scholarly style of these works com- mended them even to the punctilious taste of the Literati, and their author enjoyed during his residence in Peking the respect and friendship of the Court and of the highest officials of the Empire. It is note- worthy that a movement is now on foot for inaugu- rating a system similar to that of Ricci. Works of scientific and general interest are being translated into Chinese, and the attempt is thus being made to reach those members of the upper classes who have of late been so bitterly opposed to European inter- course. Ricci died in i6io, deeply regretted by all with whom he had been brought into contact.
The reign of Chiaching (1522-67), which had been disturbed from its beginning by domestic outbreaks, was destined before its close to be imperilled by the same enemy which has of late humbled Chinese pride to the dust. It will be remembered that Kublai Khan made several expeditions against Japan, and though uniformly unsuccessful these onslaughts none the less left a rankling feeling of ill-will in the minds of the Japanese. As the Mongol power declined the Japanese sought re- venge for the injuries inflicted on them, by piratical raids on the coast. Mr. Boulger, in his " History of
A JAPANESE INVASION 53
China," quotes a passage from a Chinese historian, who describes the Japanese of this period as being " intrepid, inured to fatigue, despising Hfe, and know- ing well how to face death ; although inferior in number, a hundred of them would blush to flee before a thousand foreigners, and, if they did, they would not dare to return to their country. Senti- ments such as these, which are instilled into them from their earliest childhood, render them terrible in battle." This description is as true to-day as it was then, and their prowess appeared as conspicuously off the coasts of Fuhkien and Chehkiang in the six- teenth century as it did at the battles of Pingyang and Yalu. These lawless attacks on the Chinese coast were diversified with intervals of quiet, during which Japanese merchants reaped a rich harvest from the Chinese traders. But in 1552 a more serious campaign was undertaken, and a landing having been effected on the coast of Chehkiang, the invaders established themselves in a fortified post, and for a time defended their position against all comers. Some years later they even advanced and laid siege to Nanking, and though this attempt at conquest failed, the repeated onslaughts of the invaders para- lysed the Imperial power, and kept the Eastern Provinces in a chronic state of disorder. In every naval engagement the Japanese were successful, and on land, though vastly outnumbered, they were never hopelessly defeated.
From time immemorial the pursuit of the philo- sopher's stone and of the elixir of life has been a favourite occupation with Chinese alchemists, and
54 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
though refuted over and over again by the cold hand of death, it has never lost a certain fascination for the ignorant seekers after the unknown. It is strange to find that Chiaching, whose occupation of the throne had been one long troublous struggle, should have desired to perpetuate an existence which can have afforded him so very little pleasure. But so it was, and with ceaseless diligence he sought to snatch from the professors of Taoism the secret which was to make him immortal. As the approach of death proved indisputably the folly of his ways, he owned his error, and on his death-bed wrote a confession in these words : — " Forty-five years have I occupied the throne, and there have been few reigns as long. My duty was to revere heaven, and to take care of my people ; yet, actuated by the desire to find some solace for the evils from which I have continually suffered, I allowed myself to be deceived by impostors, who promised me the secret of immortality. This delusion has led me to set a bad example to both my magnates and my people. I desire to repair the evil by this edict, which is to be published through- out the Empire after my death." In 1566 he passed into the land of shades, and his son Lungch'ing reigned in his stead.
The only event of importance which occurred in this reign was the submission of the turbulent Mongol leader Yenta, who had long defied the Chinese power. Yenta was now an old man, and wishing to end his days in peace he entered into negotiation with Lungch'ing, who, after the manner of Eastern sovereigns when dealing with submissive
AN EMPRESS REGENT 55
rebels, granted him the title of Prince, and so set at rest a feud which had been of time-honoured exist- ence. But though Lungch'ing's reign had ended in peace and quiet, the general trend of the nation's history was downwards, and it was unfortunate that at this time, when a strong hand was needed at the helm, a child should have succeeded to the throne. As is usual in such cases the young Emperor's mother was proclaimed Regent, and though for a time the legacy of peace which had descended to the Empire remained intact, it was not long before disturbances again broke out. In Szech'uan, and on the north-west frontier rebellions of considerable dimensions afflicted the Empire. The important town of Ninghsia fell into the hands of the Tartars, led by the chieftain Popai, who added ingratitude to the crime of rebellion by leading his forces against the Chinese army in which he had at one time held high rank. Fortunately the Imperialists were able to recover the city, and at the same time to crush the rebellion.
But while thus successful in the north-west, the same foe appeared on the eastern coast who had lately proved to be a formidable antagonist to the Chinese. Many years of peace and of successful raiding on the Chinese mainland had introduced an era of prosperity into Japan, and the people having waxed fat began to kick. They had long been associated with Korean politics and rivalries, and seizing on the present opportunity (1592) when Korea, as has not been uncommonly the case in her history, was distracted by internal feuds, they landed
$6 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
a force at the port of Fusan under the command of the celebrated general and subsequent Shogun, Hideyoshi. Without meeting with much opposition Hideyoshi advanced across the peninsula and made himself master of the capital, Seoul. Until the recent war the Chinese have always acted as the suzerain power in Korea, and in this emergency the King, as in duty and interest bound, appealed to the Chinese Emperor for assistance. The appeal was at once acknowledged, and a large Chinese force marched into Korea by way of the Yalu district. In anticipation of this movement the Japanese advanced northwards to meet the attack, and, as in 1894, took up their position in Pingyang, where they were received without opposition by the inhabitants. The Chinese attack was delivered in force, but Hideyoshi commanded and disposed his men so ably that they had little difficulty in beating off their assailants.
The efforts which had been made for the campaign by both nations had, however, so far weakened their resources that neither was much inclined to continue the struggle at once. The Chinese, therefore, waited for reinforcements, and the Japanese slowly retired on their base at Fusan. Desultory engagements ensued, and the Chinese gained one decided victory near Pingyang, where they succeeded in burning a depot of warlike stores on which Hideyoshi had depended for the army. Negotiations for peace followed, and it is noticeable that the Chinese adopted precisely the same tactics as those which they practised in 1895. They sent ambassadors of
SPAIN AND THE PHILIPPINES 57
inferior rank to represent the Emperor, and by this course so outraged the feeHngs of Hideyoshi, who in the meantime had become Shogun, that he prepared a fresh expedition for the renewed conquest of the country. Before, however, anything could be effected, the news reached Fusan of his death. This catas- trophe put an end to the war, and peace was once more restored between the two countries. Of the spoils carried off by the Chinese we hear nothing, but the Japanese returned to their islands laden with trophies, among which were the ears of ten thousand Koreans who had been butchered in the frays.
It was during this reign that the Spaniards reached the Philippine islands, where they found a congenial climate and a fertile soil. They, however, were not the only people who recognised these advantages. They had no sooner settled themselves on the islands than Chinese emigrants followed their example, and in the quiet, persistent way common to the race, poured into the country. At first the Spaniards were well pleased to have such willing and handy crafts- men, but as the number of them increased by leaps and bounds they soon began to fear for their dominion. Threats and persuasions were freely used to induce the intruders to return to their native land, and these proving unavailing an order was given for the massacre of the strangers. Twenty thousand Chinamen are said to have been slaugh- tered at this time, and had these been subjects of any other state than China a war would have been inevitable. But until recent years, when international law has been made a subject of study at Peking, the
58 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
Chinese Government has troubled itself very little, if at all, about the welfare of its subjects in foreign lands. In this case, however, a more immediately direct reason caused the Emperor Wanli to overlook the outrage. Disturbances had broken out within the Empire which, to hold in check, required the services of every available man at his command. To subdue these completely was plainly beyond his power, and to the day of his death, in 1620, wars and rumours of wars were endemic in the country.
Meanwhile, under the skilful guidance of Ricci, Christianity had made considerable progress, even amid the disorders which had disturbed the reign of Wanli. Hsli, one of the Literati, and a man of high scholarly attainments and standing, having been converted by Ricci's influence, threw himself heart and soul into the missionary work. It was mainly due to the help of this man that Ricci was able to publish the scholarly treatises which have made his name immortal in connection with Chinese Missions, and Hsli's granddaughter, baptized under the name of Candida, ably seconded his influence with money and energy. Thirty churches are said to have been built by her means, besides ninety buildings for the use of the missionaries. Unfortunately for the peace of the Empire, Wanli left no son by his Empress to succeed him, and at his death he was compelled, therefore, to nominate as his heir the eldest son of one of his concubines. A younger brother of this fortunate youth, being a favourite with his father, had been led to expect that in default of a son by the Empress, he would have been chosen as successor to
A REBELLIOUS SON
59
the Purple. In his anger at what he considered to be his supersession, he raised the standard of revolt, and embittered the last few months of his father's life by- creating a conflict within his own household. Three
Emperors in succession to Wanli completed the list of Ming rulers, and in 1644 the first Sovereign of the present Ta Ch'ing Dynasty ascended the throne. Though it cannot be said that science and art
/^^f
60 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
flourished under the Ming rulers, yet the artistic taste, at least, of the people was not entirely neglected. Numerous artists painted landscapes, flowers, and birds, with all the skill that had guided the pencils of the artists of the T'ang and Sung Dynasties, and to them the Japanese owe and acknowledge a deep debt of gratitude for the examples which they set to the contemporary painters of Miako and Osaka. The works of no artists are more admired in Japan than those of Sesshiu and Kano, both of whom drew their inspirations direct from China during this period. The landscapes of Ma Yuan, and the flowers and birds of Ting Yiich'uan are artistic creations which must at all times and in all places command admira- tion, and these are but two of a host of painters who delighted and still delight all connoisseurs of art. The wood-engraving of this period is famous for beauty of design and skilful treatment, and is eagerly sought after for the adornment of houses by those to whom the god of wealth has been propitious.
In several important points scientific teaching improved considerably during the same period owing to the arrival of Western missionaries in the country. Ricci, as we have seen, instructed the Literati in geometrical and astronomical knowledge, which happily was not allowed to perish with him. In 1628 John Adam Schall arrived in China, and pro- ceeded to Peking, where, under Imperial patronage, he was appointed Astronomer-Royal, and was deputed to rearrange the Imperial Calendar. Under the three last Emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and the two first of the present dynasty, Schall was
k'anghsi and the missionaries 6 1
treated with all the respect and honour to which he was entitled. But at the beginning of the reign of K'anghsi he fell on evil days. Jealousy was aroused against him, and on a charge of law-breaking brought by his enemies, he was thrown into prison and loaded with chains. From this evil strait he was liberated by death in about 1666. During the years of his ascendancy he had worked with single-hearted zeal in the cause of the faith, and it is said that between the years 1660 and 1664 a hundred thousand converts were claimed by the Church through the ihstrumen- tality of Schall and his co-workers. At one time the Emperor K'anghsi showed a disposition which tended towards conversion. But this wished-for consumma- tion was never achieved, though the Emperor's mother, wife, and son all received baptism, which rite was also sought and received by fifty ladies of the Court.
As men of science the missionaries received every consideration from the Emperor, and though they were disposed at times to consider that his attitude towards Christianity was satisfactory, it is plain that in his heart of hearts he viewed the subject with all the perfect indifference of a faithful follower of Confucius.
" Why do you so much trouble yourselves," he asked on one occasion of a spiritual adviser, " about a world which you have never yet entered ? " and adopting the, to him, canonical view, he expressed his opinion that it would be much wiser if they thought less of the world to come, and more of the present life. It is possible that when he said this he may
62 THE YUAN AND MING DYNASTIES
have had in his mind the dying word of Ferdinand de Capillas, who suffered martyrdom in 1648. " I have had no home but the world," said this priest, as he faced his last earthly judge, " no bed but the ground, no food but what Providence sent me from day to day, and no other object than to do and suffer for the glory of Jesus Christ, and for the eternal happiness of those who believe in His Name."
It is possible also that the dissensions which broke out among the Roman Catholic missionaries in China during the last half of the seventeenth century may have had something to do with the cynical attitude adopted by K'anghsi towards them. In 1651 a party of Dominicans arrived in China to supplement the work being done by the Jesuits. These latest arrivals had no sooner landed than they became shocked at the wise latitude allowed by the Jesuits in matters of religious forms. With the wisdom of the serpent, and, as it had hitherto proved, with the harmlessness of the dove, the Jesuits, in their desire to gain intellectual dominion over the people, had granted admission into their services of practices which savoured somewhat of the superstitious rites of the natives. The ancient and respectable worship of Ancestors received their approval on the plea that it was rather a civil than a religious service. They had adopted also the abstract term T'ien, or Heaven, for the Christian God, and made no objection to the exhibition in their churches of scrolls bearing the inscription, " Worship Heaven." The Dominicans, fresh from Rome, and unaccustomed to the casuistry which by long practice had become part of the Jesuit
MISSIONARY QUARRELS
63
character, at once set their faces against these practices. The Jesuits, firm in the inherited wisdom of Ricci, refused to Hsten to what they considered to be the carping criticism of their opponents, and decHned to make any alterations in their practices. The Dominicans appealed to Rome, and after much doubt and controversy, a papal decree was issued proclaiming the worship of ancestors to be a heathenish practice, and one which was not to be for a moment sanctioned by the Holy Mother Church.
Ill
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
While yet the influence of Ricci was supreme at
Peking, and while yet Wanli sat on the throne, the
Manchu power was rising in the north-east, which
was destined ultimately to bring all China under its
yoke. After the defeat of the Kin Tartars by the
Mongols in the thirteenth century, scattered bands
had made their way back to their original haunts in
the neighbourhood of Moukden. Many of these
men had added military skill to their warlike natures,
and thus formed a formidable though small body
of warriors in the midst of the various tribes of
Manchus who inhabited the surrounding territories.
Among these wandering and superstitious people a
miracle was proclaimed. While a Manchu maiden
was seated on the shores of the lake whose waters
lap the sides of the Long White Mountain, a
magpie dropped a red fruit into her lap. The
maiden ate the fruit and straightway conceived a son,
whose name was called Aisin Gioro, the Golden.
Such a birth entitled the infant to the highest honours,
64
NURHACHU
65
and with one consent he was elected to the chieftain- ship of the clan. To this chieftain succeeded in
A MONUMENT AT MOUKDEN.
course of time his son, whose grandson, Nurhachu, born in i?59, was destined to justify his miraculous
6
66
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
origin by vanquishing for himself and his successors the ancient Empire of China.
As Nurhachu reached manhood he took an active part in the affairs of his tribe, and by virtue of his
A MANCHU OFFICIAL AND LADY.
descent was, in the natural order of things, proclaimed chieftain of it. His appearance is said to have indicated the future that lay before him. Native writers love to dwell on his dragon face and phoenix
MANCHU VICTORIES 6^
eyes, his enormous chest, his large ears, and his deep- toned voice. These features, by common belief, belong to leaders of men, and if they graced the frame of Nurhachu they were certainly truer omens than are most signs and forecasts. At this time the Manchus were divided up into numberless small clans which were scattered in the wide district which divides the great wall from the Amur, and the first task to which Nurhachu devoted himself was to weld these scattered tribes into one confederacy. Good fortune attended his efforts, and the extent of his success may be estimated by the jealousy with which he was viewed by rival chieftains. At first the Chinese, who considered themselves the lords para- mount over the Manchurian tribes, regarded the movement as being too insignificant to require their attention. Besides, at this time local riots and some- what serious rebellions were disturbing the peace of several of the provinces of the Empire. At length Wanli, who still sat on the throne at Peking, was roused to action by such complaints as the defeated are always ready to bring against a successful foe, and he took up the cause of a certain Nikan, who was of all others Nurhachu's chief opponent. Like other people, the Chinese often make the mistake of despising their enemies, and in the campaign which followed they suffered the penalty of their misguided folly. In 1 591 Nurhachu had so far advanced his cause as to be able to annex the Yalu district. Such an obvious proof of his success was gall and worm- wood to those neighbouring chieftains who had held aloof from his confederacy, and seven of these dis-
68 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
contented rulers banded themselves together to rob him of the legitimate rewards of his wisdom and foresight. At the head of thirty thousand men they marched out to meet the four thousand who fought under his banners. But Nurhachu, who had all the military ability of a Napoleon, defeated the allies in detail and slew four thousand of their chosen warriors. This success tempted him to further ventures, and as a preliminary step he opened his plan of campaign by an assault on the Liaotung peninsula. This was a direct attack on the Empire of China, and to justify so extreme a measure he drew up a statement of the seven grievances which he brought against his powerful neighbour, the first of which described in general terms the grounds of his several indictments. " Though my ancestors," he wrote, " never took a straw from, nor injured an inch of earth within, the Chinese boundary, the Chinese were unceasingly quarrelling with them, and without just reason abetted my neighbours to the great injury of my ancestors."
The other six complaints described in detail the specific: acts of which he complained. In the follow- ing year (i6i8) he opened the campaign by crossing the Chinese frontier and capturing the cities of Fushun and Chingho.
The Chinese were now fully alarmed ; but as has so often happened in the history of the Empire, they had so overlooked the beginning of the evil that by the time they took the field they found themselves face to face with a large and well-equipped army, instead of the roving bands of banditti which had represented the original force of the movement. The saying that
CHINESE SOLDIERS
69
JO THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
Providence is on the side of large battalions is one of those aphorisms which does not apply to Chinese battlefields. We have lately seen how, though numerically inferior, the Japanese defeated, put to flight, and destroyed the huge masses of troops which the Chinese were able to bring against them in Korea and in those districts over which Nurhachu in his day manoeuvred. And in this instance it was as inapplicable as during the late war. A hundred thousand Chinese troops marched against the 6o,boo who followed the Niuchi chieftain, and if in executing his tactics the general commanding had desired to place himself and his men in the hollow of his adver- sary's hand, he could not have acted better than he did. With fatal consequences he divided his army into three forces, and thus gave Nurhachu the oppor- tunity which he desired. With unerring instinct he recognised his opponent's mistake, and by a series of rapid movements he fought the three armies in detail, and practically annihilated them. It is said that in these engagements 310 general officers and 45,000 soldiers were slain. The baggage of the vanquished also fell into the hands of the Manchus, who thus became possessed of welcome stores with which to replenish and supplement the very defective supplies of their men.
It so happened that just when the news of the first reverses reached Peking the Portuguese Envoy, Gon- salvo de Texeira, arrived at the capital on a mission connected with the settlement at Macao. Finding the Government in a dire strait, the Envoy, on the principle of Do ut des, offered to supply a Portuguese
PORTUGUESE AUXILIARIES
71
contingent to help the Imperial forces against the invader. Chinese pride has never been able to resist the offer of help in times of emergency. The mandarins may profess to despise the foreign barbarians and all their works, but whether against the invading Manchus or the rebellious T'aip'ings they have always shown a readiness to avail themselves of any assistance which
A stkp:et scene in moukden.
foreigners have chosen to offer. In this case they in- stantly accepted the Envoy's proposal, and a corps of two hundred Portuguese arquebusiers,with an equal number of drilled and equipped natives, were enrolled for the service. With a certain amount of parade this small force travelled from Macao to Peking. But by the time they reached the capital, however, the Emperor's
72 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
alarm had subsided, and his zeal having consequently diminished, the Portuguese commander was politely requested to leave his guns, and to march his men back to Macao. It is on record that the guns so borrowed eventually did good service against the enemy.
But though effective these weapons failed to check the march of the Manchus, who, after a difficult siege, captured the city of Moukden, and marched to the attack of Liaoyang. Here a vigorous defence was offered, and the city yielded only when the entire gar- rison had been put to the sword. After the capture of this city the native historians mention incidentally that the townspeople acknowledged allegiance to their new masters by shaving their heads. This is the first reference to be met with of the custom of shaving the head and wearing the pigtail, which is now the uni- versal custom in China. Such a subject is generally beneath the notice of Chinese writers of history, who never trouble themselves to chronicle anything but the events occurring in court and camp during the period of which they write. Their silence on this point leaves the origin of the practice obscure, and whether it was a Manchu custom or one which was only then adopted as a sign of conquest, we have no means of ascertaining.
Meanwhile disturbances of a serious nature broke out in the Province of Szech'uan, and in the existing distracted state of the country the Emperor's forces would have had great difficulty in re-establishing order in this outlying district, had not a native heroine stepped into the breach. Tsinliang, the female
A CHINESE JOAN OF ARC
73
chieftain of one of the aboriginal tribes in the Pro- vince, like another Joan of Arc, raised a large force on the outbreak of hostilities, to supplement the small army which the Emperor was able to put into the field. Success attended Tsinliang's efforts and the Province was recovered for the Imperialists. But this rising was only one symp- tom of the evil which was germinating in the body politic. In Yunnan and Kweichow leaders arose, who led the unruly and disaffected after them, and at the same time an equally serious outbreak occurred in the North-eastern Province of Shantung, where, before the prowess and skill of a chief named Shu, a number of cities yielded themselves to his arms. Shu, however, with all his ability, had not the makings of a permanent leader of men, and at his first reverse his followers deserted him.
But the cloud which was really charged with danger to the dynasty lay over the north-eastern portion of the Empire, where Nurhachu was still threatening the frontier. In his various raids and expeditions he was, with one exception, uniformly successful ; but it
A CHINESE GENERAL.
74 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
chanced that at the city of Ningyuan to the north of the Great Wall, there was stationed a general whose eminent ability and cool courage enabled him for a time, at least, to turn back the tide of war. Against this fortress Nurhachu made two vigorous attacks, and on both occasions was defeated with heavy loss. Had the defenders of the walls been dependent on native arms alone the result may possibly have been dif- ferent. But the guns which the Portuguese had brought from Macao, and which were supplemented by others cast under the superintendence of the Jesuits at Peking, stood on the battlements, and against these destructive weapons the Manchus failed even to hold their own. Nurhachu was now an elderly man, and this second failure was more than his declining energies could enable him to withstand. With a sense of his impending doom upon him, he withdrew his troops to Moukden, where in 1626 death brought to an end a great and memorable career. The mantle of the deceased warrior fell on his fourth son, T'ientsung. At first this new sovereign showed some inclination to come to terms with China ; but if his desire was genuine he, to say the least, made his advances in a most unfortunate fashion : " There is only one sun in the heavens and only one Emperor beneath the sky," is the Chinese saying, and so far as the extreme east of Asia is concerned there is some justification for the boast. When, therefore, T'ien- tsung addressed the Emperor on equal terms, the Imperial advisers were taken aback at his audacity. Nor was their irritation diminished when news reached the capital that the Manchus had invaded
DEATH OF THE EMPEROR
75
Korea, and had crushed it beneath their heels. Nego- tiations for peace, therefore, did not prosper, and T'ientsung determined, in default of successful negotia- tions, to take up arms against his foes. But the city of Ningyuan still stood between him and his prey, and his forces fared no better before its walls than had his father's legions. While the Manchus were thus
A MANCHURIAN THEATRE.
being held at arms' length by this faithful city, the Chinese Emperor, T'iench'i, became a guest on high (1627), and was succeeded by his younger brother, T'sungcheng. The renowned skill and valour of the defender of Ningyuan were, as the Manchus were well aware, rare qualities in Chinese generals, and T'ien- tsung knew with equal certainty that if he could once
J 6 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
pass this invincible fortress he might achieve easy victories in the fertile plains of Northern China. It is a common axiom of war that it is unsafe to advance into an enemy's country while leaving a strong uncon- quered fortress in the rear of the invading force. There are, however, exceptions to this dictum, and T'ientsung rightly considered that this was one. Acting on his instinctive perception, he proposed to his generals that he should mask Ningyuan and march at once on Peking. The idea was so bold that it met with oppo- sition, which, however, finally yielded to argument, and the order of march was given. Assisted by his Mongolian allies T'ientsung led his troops south- ward through the Ta-an and other passes. By these routes the Manchu army poured into the plains, leaving a small force to represent the main body before Ningyuan. Chunghwan, the defender of Ning- yuan, was not long deceived by this manoeuvre. He felt that he was out of touch with his adversary, and his suspicions were confirmed by his scouts, who brought him news of the adventurous advance of the enemy. \Yithout a moment's hesitation he deter- mined on the course to be pursued. He knew the capital was insufficiently garrisoned, and he resolved at once to march to its relief Then began a race between the two armies, and though the Manchus had some days' start the delay occasioned by the neces- sary investment of cities by the way, enabled Chung- hwan to reach Peking first. The presence of this very formidable opponent convinced T'ientsung that his chances of taking the city by fair means were very considerably diminished, and he therefore entered into
A TREACHEROUS PLOT
77
a plot to bring about the downfall of the great Chinese general. The scheme he adopted was as mean as it was successful. He induced some of his officers to hold a conversation within earshot of two of the palace eunuchs whom he had taken prisoners. The burden of their conversation was that Chunghwan had turned traitor, and had agreed to open the gates of the city
TRAVELLING IN MANCHURIA.
to the Manchus. So soon as the subtle poison had entered the ears of the eunuchs the prison doors were left unguarded, and the captives were allowed to escape to tell their Imperial master of the supposed treachery of the man in whom he trusted. Fully be- lieving the truth of the story, the Emperor summoned Chunghwan to his presence, when, without giving him
yS THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
any opportunity of defending himself against the slander, he condemned him to prison and to the exe- cution ground. But even without the strength which Chunghwan's presence had added to the garrison T'ientsung felt unable to carry the city, and being unwilling to continue engaging in the constant encounters which merely tended to harass his troops, he raised the siege and retired northwards. The Chinese, who always prefer following a retreating rather than facing an advancing enemy, hung on his line of march and recaptured several cities which had previously yielded to the Manchu attack.
In this direction the Imperial prospects had im- proved, but the advantage was only momentary. The Emperor had scarcely ceased to congratulate himself on the retreat of the Manchus when news was brought him of the outbreak of a more than usually formid- able rebellion in the province of Shensi. This revolt was headed by the two powerful rebel leaders, Chang and Li, who, at first, according to the historians, fared badly at the hands of the army sent against them. But Chinese reports from battlefields are not always to be trusted. On one occasion, however, it is certain that the Imperialists gained a victory. But this advantage they, with a folly which would be in- conceivable except on the ground of treachery, turned to their own detriment. Having driven the rebel force commanded by Li into the mountains they de- manded an unconditional surrender. To this they were plainly entitled, for so impossible did escape appear to be that Li at once agreed to lay down his arms, though with a certain effrontery he added the
THE FIRST MANCHU ARTILLERY 79
condition that he and his men should be allowed to go their way in safety. To these extravagant terms the Chinese general agreed, and the army had the mortification of seeing thirty-six thousand rebels, who had been completely at their mercy, march off scot free.
The retreat of T'ientsung into Manchuria was by no means indicative of an intention to give up his great enterprise ; rather, it was with the idea of preparing for another spring at the prize which was destined to fall into his country's hands. It was at this crisis that the Manchus, for the first time, provided themselves with artillery, having learnt by experience that the god of battles was in the habit of lending his counte- nance to the destructive guns of the foreigners. As a preliminary plan of campaign they overran the dis- tricts in Mongolia bordering on the Great Wall, and then turned their attention to the strongly-fortified city of Tungchow, which, after resisting their attack for some time, fell into their hands, together with the fortified position of Sungshan. But in T'ientsung's opinion these advantages availed him little so long as Ningyuan, which was now commanded by the cele- brated general Wu Sankwei, held out against him. With this fortress in his rear he dared not advance in force against Peking, and pending its capture he was obliged to content himself with raiding expeditions into some of the northern provinces of the Empire. But the fates were adverse to him, and in their wisdom had decreed that, though in sight of the promised land, the possession of the goodly heritage should be left to other hands than his. At the early age of
80 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
fifty-two death overtook him at Moukden, in 1643, not, however, before he had assumed the Imperial Purple and had given to his dynasty the name of Ta Ch'ing, which it still bears.
Meanwhile the Li and Chang rebellion had been making way in the provinces. In Shensi, Shansi, and Honan the first named had become all powerful, and to Chang's lot had fallen considerable success in Hupeh and Kiangnan. At Hsiangyang one of those curious coincidences which occasionally befall adven- turers occurred to Chang. On entering the city he, by chance, discovered his wife and children, who had been captured by the Imperialists some ten months before, living quietly among the people. That they had not met the common doom of the relatives of rebels is probably to be attributed less to the mercy of their captors than to the idea that they might be held as hostages to tempt Chang to return to his allegiance. Though generally victory sided with Li he met with failure before K'aifeng. What Ningyuan had been to T'ientsung, that city was to Li. His repeated attacks on the for|;ress were as vain as the washing of the waves against a rock, and after numerous assaults, in one of which he lost an eye, he determined to adopt a desperate expedient such as is happily unknown in civilised warfare. Within a short distance of the city walls flows the sluggish stream of the Yellow River between high banks which rise up at a considerable elevation above the plain. All that was necessary to effect the ruin of the city was to make a breach in the embankment so as to flood, as has often happened in the history of the Empire, the neighbouring districts.
A DESPERATE EXPEDIENT 8 1
The breach was made, and the water swept over the. plain and into the city, devastating the country and destroying both Imperialists and rebels alike. A million people are said to have perished in this fearful catastrophe, Li himself losing ten thousand men in the waters. But his object was gained, and what Li's soldiers could not effect the Yellow River accom- plished. When the breach was filled in and the flood had subsided the rebel banners floated on the ramparts of the stronghold.
Li now felt his position to be sufficiently strong to justify him in proclaiming himself king, a title which satisfied his ambition for one year. At the end of that time his taste coming with eating he took to him- self the title of Emperor and named the dynasty which he hoped to found, the T'ai Shun. Further, in imitation of the existing system of government, he appointed six Boards of office, and satisfied the crav- ings of his followers by establishing ranks of nobility to which he freely admitted them.
Having thus placed himself on the throne it only re- mained for him to make himself master of the capital, and to accomplish this object he undertook an adven- turous expedition towards Peking. By the way he cap- tured T'aiyuan, the capital of Shansi, and then led his triumphant warriors against the stronghold of Ningwu. This fortress was strongly garrisoned and valiantly held, nor was it taken until ten thousand of the besiegers had licked the dust, and the city had been 2'iven to the flames. The resistance which the Chinese had here offered gave Li a pause which, how- ever, was of short duration. Unexpectedly, while
7
82
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
musing on the possibilities of a retreat, news reached him of the surrender of the cities of Tat'ung and Hsunhwa. The road to Peking was thus open to him, and with as Httle delay as possible he presented himself before the walls of the capital.
Numerically the garrison of Peking was quite large enough to defend the city, but it is safe to assert that
MINING IN SHANSI.
no Chinese army is ever so numerous and powerful as it appears to be on paper. Even, however, with the army as it was, it is possible that a stout defence might have been made, and that the city might have been held until a relieving force had come to the rescue. But other influences were at work, and the commander of the southern gates, a man " composed and framed
CAPTURE OF PEKING 83
of treachery," opened his gate to the enemy. A faint- hearted defence of the palace was made by men who were more concerned for their own safety than for the preservation of the dynasty, and the Emperor, instead of placing himself at the head of his troops, and either losing his life or saving his throne, took to flight. From the top of a hill-which stands in the northern portion of the city, he looked down upon a scene of bloodshed and conflagration such as is the common fate of captured cities in the East. Finding that escape on the northern side was impossible he returned to the city, hoping to find a way open to him in some other direction. But the rebel forces on all sides barred his exit. Thus confronted with difficulty he returned to the hill and, having written a letter im- ploring the rebels to spare his people, he hung himself on a tree. It is a curious illustration of the Chinese reverence for a royal race that by order of the first Emperor of the present dynasty this tree was loaded with chains in token of the crime it had committed in being instrumental to the death of a Son of Heaven. Li was now in possession of Peking, and in obedience to the usual custom in such cases, the magnates of the capital who had survived the siege presented themselves at Court to pay their homage to him. Among these was a certain Wu whose son, Wu Sankwei, had succeeded Chunghwan in the command at Ningyuan, and had held that fortress with all the courage of his predecessor. On the approach of Li's army the Emperor had ordered this officer to march to the relief of the capital. While on the way thither news reached him of the fall of Peking and the death
84 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
of the Emperor. Almost simultaneously a messenger arrived bearing a letter from his father urging him to offer his submission to Li, and enforcing his entreaties by the news that the lives of himself and the other members of the family at Peking depended on his giving in his allegiance. At first Wu Sankwei was inclined to consent, but while he was yet wavering the messenger informed him of an event which at onc2 induced him to take the opposite course.
In not a few instances in the world's history a woman has changed the fates of Empires, and in this case a young slave girl was indirectly the cause of the ultimate triumph of the present Manchu dynasty in China. Before he had left Peking to take up the command of Ningyuan, Wu Sankwei had been pre- sented by a friend with a young slave girl who added great beauty to her many virtues. It was possibly with the thought of saving her from the general mas- sacre which, as a Chinaman, he knew would overtake the inhabitants of Peking if surrendered to Li, that at the first summons he had marched with alacrity to the relief of the capital.
He now learnt from the messenger that Ch'enyuan, as the lady was called, had been given as part of the spoil of the city to a rebel officer. After this outrage submission to the guilty powers was impossible, and he obviously iiad no compliments to exchange with the triumphant rebel. In his anger he wrote two notable letters, one upbraiding his father for yielding the lady to the embraces of a rebel, and another to the regent of the Manchus, inviting him to combine with him in an attack upon the new ruler of Peking.
AN OUTRAGED HUSBAND
85
This startling turn of events made it incumbent on Li to march against the alhes. At the approach of the
A MANCHU LADY.
rebel legions, Wu Sankwei, who had returned to the fortress of Shanhai Kwan, made every preparation to
86 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
oppose the advancing host. Thinking it possible that the sight of his father might cause Wu Sankwei to relent and submit, Li ordered that the old man should be led out within sight of the walls. With tears and entreaties the father implored his son to save his life by submitting. But the recollection of the slave girl at Peking was too fresh in his memory to allow him to yield, and in a few words he declared that no power on earth would induce him to surrender his command to rebels, and to rebels who had inflicted such a wrong upon him. The duty of filial obedience is the first moral law recognised by the Chinese, and in any other circumstances Wu Sankwei would doubtless have submitted. But his affections out- weighed his sense of duty, and he did not hesitate a moment in virtually sentencing his father to death. Seeing that it was hopeless to expect to win over so determined an enemy, Li gave the order for the execution of the elder Wu, and in the sight of the two contending armies the old man suffered death by decapitation.
It was plain that there was now a breach between the two commanders that nothing could bridge over, and Wu Sankwei determined to take what revenge he could by marching against the enemy. It is said that Li's force numbered 220,ocxd men. But nothing awed by these huge battalions, the Imperialist general marched out from the cover of the fortress and gave battle. So fierce was the onslaught of the Im- perialists that the rebel cavalry were driven back on their supports. These joined in the engagement, and but for the undaunted courasre of Wu and his
A GREAT BATTLE 87
men would certainly have overwhelmed them. As the day wore on it became plain that their ruin was inevitable had not the Manchu Regent, Durgun, prepared a seasonable relief. A large force of his men who had been disposed in secret and difficult passes in the mountains suddenly assailed the rebels, who were already rejoicing in the belief that the victory was won. This favourable change in the conditions was improved by the valour of Wu. He revived the courage of his troops, and pressed the rebels on every side. The Regent's manoeuvre was completely successful. The rebels, taken by surprise, reeled under the shock of the charge of the Manchu cavalry, and after a short and half-hearted stand turned and fled. For fourteen miles the allies followed the flying enemy and slaughtered them in hecatombs. To Wu was assigned the duty of following still further in pursuit, while the Manchu Regent returned to Shanhai Kwan to rest his troops, who were already exhausted by their long and hurried march from Manchuria.
Li fled to Peking, where, having possessed himself of everything valuable that was portable, and having ordered the execution of the family and dependents of Wu, he set fire to the Palace and continued his flight westwards. With the dogged tenacity of a sleuthhound Wu followed at his heels, and, strengthened by the prestige of victory, inflicted a series of defeats on the disheartened rebels. There is always a tendency to desert a falling cause, and more especially is this true in China, where success is the national test of merit. Li's men were now
68 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
suffering the dire consequences of an unsuccessful rebellion, and they deserted his banners in whole battalions. With but twenty followers, and destitute of both food and clothing, the wretched band of discomfited rebels were driven to supply their wants by plundering the poverty-stricken peasantry of Shensi. Unfortunately for them their numbers were insufficient to overawe the pillaged rustics, who, seizing the implements of their toil, turned on their oppressors, and cut them down one by one. When Wu's troops reached Li's final halting place they found nothing but the bodies of the arch rebel and his dwindled following.
Meanwhile the Regent Dorgun, who held the reins of government for his infant nephew and sovereign, entered Peking in triumph (1644). The city was well- nigh burnt to the ground, for Wu Sankwei's beautiful slave girl had, like another Helen, fired another Troy. In these circumstances Dorgun recognised that his first duties, if he was to establish a dynasty, were to reassure the people by establishing order, and to calm, so ^r as possible, the proud susceptibilities of the upper classes by showing regard to their prejudices. He therefore issued a proclamation which was more conspicuous for its policy than for its truth. He assured the people in it that his one object in marching into the capital was to save them from the pillage and violence of the rebel Li ; and he urged them to rebuild the ruined city, promising to protect their goods and property against all comers. At the same time he conferred the posthumous title of " The sedate and heroic Emperor " on the
REMOVAL OF CAPITAL
89
Sovereign who had put an end to his existence on the hill above Peking. By a stroke of the pen he
MANCHU WOMEN AND CHILD.
proclaimed the removal of the capital from Moukden to Peking, and directed that his nephew, who was
90 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
then but six years old, should join him at the latter city. The revolution was now complete, and the new Dynasty established which still holds possession of the throne. The young Emperor adopted the title of Shunchih.
During the reigns of the Ming Emperors the palace eunuchs, as has often happened in the history of the Empire, acquired additional power as the hands which held the reins of government became increasingly nerveless. The danger of such a shameful usurpation of authority is sufficiently obvious, and was fully recognised by Dorgun, who issued an order that henceforth no eunuch should be allowed to hold any official office under the crown, and to the present day this law holds force. So generally conciliatory, however, to all ranks was Dorgun's attitude that the upper classes in the neighbourhood of the capital readily gave in their adhesion to his rule. So far all was well, but in the Provinces a very different state of things prevailed. The inhabitants of the central provinces had had no knowledge of the exactions and cruelties of Li and his confederates, nor had they experienced the relief that had been felt at Peking by the substitution of a settled government for a rebel tyranny. The fact also that for the most part they were free from the taint of Manchu blood naturally inclined them to take a line against the invaders. For this last reason it has always been that among the people of the South, the Ming Dynasty has found its strongest supporters. In modern times it will be remembered that the T'aip'ing rebellion, which had for its proposed
THE LAST THROES OF A DYNASTY QI
object the restoration of the Chinese rulers, first took shape in Kwangsi, and the very powerful secret Society, the Kolaohwei, which has its strongest base on the shores of the Yang-tsze-kiang, has for its motto, " overthrow the Ch'ing and restore the Ming." At this time in the old capital of the first Sovereign of the Ming Dynasty, there arose a scholar Shih K'ofa, who adopted, in principle, the motto of the Kolaohwei, and aroused his compatriots in defence of the expiring line of Sovereigns. So formidable was the movement that the Regent Dorgun thought it wisest and best to open negotiations with the rebel. But Shih declined to listen to the appeals made to him, and declared that matters had reached such a crisis that the decision of their quarrel must be left to the arbitrament of war. Meanwhile, on the death of the Ming Emperor Ts'ungcheng, it had become necessary to elect a successor to the throne, and the choice fell on Fu Wang, a son of the prince of that name, who had been Wan Li's favourite son, and who had returned the kindness shown him by his father by rebelling against him. A more unfortunate choice could not have been made. For such an emergency a Sovereign was required who should be a man endowed with wisdom, courage, and energy. In all these qualities Fu Wang was signally wanting, and he spent in lust and riot time which should have been devoted to furthering his cause, and consolidating his forces. In the campaign which followed on the marching of the Manchu army to suppress the revolt, Fu Wang was rather an encumbrance than otherwise, and the whole conduct of the war fell upon Shih.
92
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
On the lower waters of the Yang-tsze-kiang, and close to the junction of the Grand Canal with that
river, stands the ancient city of Yangchow, which commands the approach to Nanking from the north
SACK OF YANGCHOW 93
Here Shih took his stand, and awaited the attack of the enemy. Nor was this attack long delayed. Accustomed to lengthened marches, and constant fatigues, the Manchus passed rapidly over country which represented leisurely marches to less nomadic troops, and appeared suddenly before the walls. For seven days the fighting lasted around the doomed city, and at the end of that time the Manchus rushed to the assault. The exhausted garrison failed to withstand the terrible onslaught, and in the midst of awful bloodshed the city fell. The diary of a contemporary inhabitant of Yangchow has lately been published, and from it it is easy to gather both that the arrival of the Manchus before the walls was quite unexpected, and that the slaughter of the inhabitants even after the city was taken was carried out with brutal cruelty and thoroughness. Shih was cut down as he was attempting to make his escape by way of the north gate, and his troops were slaughtered almost to a man. Leaving a garrison within the walls the Manchu leader marched on to Nanking, where the puppet Fu Wang was indulging in all the vices and follies common to Oriental sovereigns of the baser sort. In the midst of a drunken carouse the news was brought him of the approach of the Manchus. To men of Imperial calibre such a juncture would have suggested that he should place himself at the head of his troops and march against the enemy. But the only idea which occurred to Fu Wang was to fly from his capital, leaving it a prey to the advancing hosts. His flight availed him nothing, for he was speedily overtaken by
94 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
a mounted force sent in pursuit, and was brought a prisoner into Nanking, where after a short shrift he was beheaded.
For three days Ch'ang Wang, who succeeded Fu Wang, enjoyed the empty title of Emperor and held court for that brief period at Hangchow. But the valour of the early Ming Sovereigns had long exhausted itself, and instead of attempting to defend the city he opened the gates to the enemy on the understanding that they should spare the lives of himself and of the inhabitants. Oriental leaders are bad people to treat with in such emergencies, and though in this case the people were left unmolested, the first act of the Manchu leader was to order the execution of the occupier of the Ming throne. The next to assume the Imperial purple was T'ang Wang, a descendant of Hungwu, the first Sovereign of the Ming Dynasty. Though this man showed more of the royal spirit than his immediate predecessors had done, all his efforts to oppose the Manchus proved fruitless, and the whole of the rich and fertile district embracing the cities of Ningpo, Shanghai, Wenchow, and T'aicfiow fell into the hands of the invaders. At Tingchow T'ang Wang was captured, and there the usual fate of defeated sovereigns overtook him.
But though defeated everywhere on land, hopes were still entertained that the immense fleet com- manded by Cheng Chihlung might yet turn the tide of war. Admiral Cheng was a native of the maritime Province of Fuhkien, and had in early life come under the influence of the Roman Catholic missionaries who laboured in the cause of their faith
A PIRATE 95
in that province. Being of a restless disposition and probably attracted by his Portuguese fathers in God, he migrated to Macao and thence drifted to Manila, and subsequently to Japan. Like most foreign visitors to Japan he fell under the charm of the women of that country, and eventually took one to wife by whom a son was born, who was named Cheng Kung. Cheng's early years had been passed in poverty, and, following the instincts of his race, his one absorbing desire was to court the god of wealth. When, therefore, an opportunity presented itself for laying the foundation of an enormous fortune, which, however, any honourable man would have disre- garded, he seized on it without a scruple. Having wormed himself into the good graces of a Japanese merchant he induced his employer to entrust him with a rich cargo for the China markets. On arriv- ing at Foochow he, without the slightest compunc- tion, appropriated the cargo, and with the proceeds fitted out a fleet of piratical junks, with which he harried the coast and plundered the merchant ship- ping. So successful was he in these enterprises that he quickly amassed colossal wealth, and with it gained considerable power and importance. Follow- ing a time-honoured precedent, the Emperor, fearing to combat him, made overtures to the successful pirate, on whom, at his submission to the throne, he conferred the rank of Admiral. With honeyed words the new commander was invited to Peking, and once there was placed in the position of a state prisoner. So long as the Emperor Shunchih reigned he was allowed to live at ease within the city walls, for the
96
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
Emperor, like another David, had promised that no harm should befall him while under his protection. But whether with or without the treacherous message
addressed to Solomon with which David sealed Joab's fate, the Emperor had no sooner become a guest on high than the Regents appointed during the
KOXINGA 97
minority of his successor, threw the late pirate into prison, and eventually sent him to the execution ground. The son born to Cheng by his Japanese wife had at an early period attracted the attention of the Emperor. At the extraordinarily youthful age of fifteen this scion of the pirate took his degree at the competitive examinations, and as a reward for his eminent ability the Emperor conferred on him his own surname of Chu, and further honoured him by expressing a regret that he had no daughter to bestow upon him in marriage.
From the circumstance of his having received the Imperial surname he was designated Kwosingye ("Possessor of the National Surname"), which has been corrupted by foreigners into Koxinga. When Admiral Cheng was invited to Peking the Emperor hoped that Koxinga would have accompanied him. But the young man feared the Imperial messengers with their gifts, and instead of journeying with his father northwards, carried off a fleet which he had collected and sailed to the Pescadores, where he forti- fied himself against all comers.
Meanwhile the rebellion in the provinces continued with varying success. At one time Kwei Wang, who had succeeded to the Ming throne on the death of T'ang Wang, appeared to be gaining ground. In Kiangsi and Kwangtung his generals were victorious, and the great prize of Canton fell into his hands. But once more the tide turned, and the people of the provinces and cities had scarcely yet learned to pronounce again the shibboleth of the Ming Dynasty when such of them as survived again passed under
8
98 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
the Manchu rule. On the recapture of Canton, Koxinga, who had favoured the Ming cause in so far as it chimed in with his piratical instincts, gave refuge on board his ships to the fugitive population. With an immense force he subsequently attacked the Tartar detachments on the coast of Fuhkien, and gained considerable advantages over them. He then proceeded northwards, and even ventured to under- take the siege of Nanking. This, however, was a venture beyond his power, and while, as it is said, his troops were revelling in anticipation of the assault on the city, which they were to have made on the following morning, the Manchu leader delivered an attack which utterly discomfited Koxinga's host. Three thousand men of the besieging army were slain, and Koxinga, with the remnants of his fleet and army, sailed to the m.ore congenial regions of the south. The Manchus have never been good sailors. To them the sea is a foreign element, and so long as there was an effective Chinese fleet they were always subject to disaster on the coast. In other parts of the Empire victory followed their standards, and Kwei Wamg's fortunes reached their lowest ebb.
We have seen how Wu Sankwei followed the flying footsteps of the rebel Li until he ran him to earth, and now with the same ruthless tenacity he chased Kwei Wang through the Provinces of Kweichow and Yunnan, and even over the border into Burma. On arriving at the Burmese capital the Imperial fugitive had been hospitably received by the King, who, how- ever, at the sight of Wu Sankwei's large and threaten- ing army, thought it wise to forego the pleasure of
DEATH OF KWEI WANG
99
hospitality. He therefore handed his guest over to the Chinese general, in whose custody he, either by
A MANCHURIAN LANDSCAPE.
his own hands or by those of executioners, met his
fate. Hitherto the fortunes of the Manchus had been L.ofC.
100 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
guided by the Regent Dorgun, but about this time the young Emperor was by an adverse fate deprived of his counsel. During a hunting expedition which he had undertaken into Manchuria death overtook him, much to the grief of the youthful sovereign, who granted him an Imperial funeral, and eulogised his virtues in an Imperial edict. But while the memory of his services were yet green, a charge of intended rebellion was brought against him. Inquiries, the value of which may fairly be doubted, having proved to the satisfaction of the boy Emperor that this charge was well founded, the honours which had been conferred upon him were cancelled and his name consigned to oblivion. It is evidence of the supremacy which the Manchus had acquired at this time (1664) that two European embassies arrived at Peking with the design of opening diplomatic rela- tions with Shunchih. Though they came by different routes — the Dutchman by sea and the Russians over- land through Siberia — the reception which they met with was the same, and was not such as to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. As a preliminary they were told that on entering the presence of the Emperor they would be expected to " k'ot'ow." The Dutchman yielded, and got very little for his pains. After lengthy negotiations and a liberal distribution of presents the Imperial answer to his petition was couched in these words : " You have asked leave to come to trade in my country, but as your country is so far distant, and the winds on the east coast so boisterous and so dangerous to your ships, if you do think fit to send hither I desire it may be but once
A REBUFF TO RUSSIA lOI
every eight years, and no more than one hundred men in a company, twenty of whom may come up to the place where I keep my court." The Russians, as a reward for their contumacy, were not even granted these doubtful privileges, but were dismissed no richer than they came, and returned by Siberia to report their failure to the Czar. These were the first Euro- pean embassies which reached Peking (1656), and their receptions taught lessons which happily were not altogether lost upon their successors. While affairs were thus settling down in the Empire Koxinga was pursuing his piratical course with vary- ing success. That he harried the coast is conclusively proved from the fact that the Emperor thought it necessary to issue an edict commanding the natives of the littoral provinces to retire four leagues inland — a command which, strange to say, was strictly enforced.
It was while the Empire was in this unsettled state that the Emperor Shunchih was gathered to his fathers (1661) after a reign of eighteen years. Before his death he nominated his second son as heir to the throne. No choice could have been happier. K'anghsi was in every way qualified to rule. From his youth up, as it proved, he was straightforward, honest, and of good report, and after a reign of sixty-one years, during which time he ruled his subjects with firmness and justice, he died regretted by all. He was only eight years old when he ascended the throne, and his earlier years of sove- reignty were guided by the advice of four Regents appointed by his father. After the death of Kwei
I03 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
Wang the most important rebellious force in the Empire with which the Regents had to contend was that commanded by Koxinga, and they at once took steps to crush their dangerous opponent. In 1663 a Chinese fleet, in conjunction with some Dutch ships, whose co-operation had been secured, attacked the pirate in his haunts at Amoy. Victory attended the allies, and Koxinga, finding it no longer possible to retain his hold on the mainland, took ship to Formosa, where he established himself as king, and where he subsequently died in a fit of madness. The Empire may now be said to have reached a time of peace, a formidable rebellion which had broken out in Szech'uan having previously collapsed. This move- ment furnishes so apt an illustration of the fiendish cruelty which too often governs the action of Orientals when fighting for a failing cause, that it deserves mention. Being anxious to secure the support of the learned for his enterprise, PTsi Wang, the rebel chief, induced thirty thousand Literati of the province to take up their residence at his capital at Ch'engtu, On some slight provocation the tyrant ordered the slaughter of every one of these Confu- cianists, and subsequently massacred six hundred thousand of the inhabitants of the city on the bare suspicion that they were disaffected towards him. But his culminating crime was yet to come. As is the case with most rebel armies, his enormous forces had been kept together by the prospect of the plunder to which he had hitherto been able to lead them, and among the spoils taken from the conquered districts had been immense numbers of
A SLAUGHTER OF WOMEN I03
women and girls, several of whom had been given as prizes to each of the soldiers. In the easy times of success the existence of these camp followers, though burdensome, was readily sanctioned, but in the face of danger and difficulty, of rapid move- ments, and of fierce attacks, their presence was plainly inconsistent with the efficiency of the army. Hsi Wang felt therefore that they were to be got rid of, and he knew of only one way of accom- plishing his object. In pursuance of it he issued an edict commanding every soldier to bring his women on to the parade ground at a certain hour, and then at a given signal the tyrant himself set the example which he desired should be followed, by slaying his handmaids with his own hands. It is said that on that day four hundred thousand women were slaughtered. In dealing with such facts it is fortunate that we are not bound to accept the figures mentioned as being accurate. Orientals delight in round numbers, and it should in fairness be remem- bered that the accounts we have of these transactions come from the pens of Imperialist chroniclers, who certainly would not be inclined to understate the crimes of their opponents.
The position of a Regent in an Oriental country is one which is always surrounded with difficulties. Every act is liable to be misconstrued, and every mistake is apt to be visited with undue censure. If this is the case when one Regent holds the reins of power, it is easy to see that when four co-equal potentates reign supreme, there must inevitably be abundant opportunities for jealousies and heart
104 THE. RISE OF THE MANCHUS
burnings. Such was eminently the case at the present time, and to such lengths did the conse- quent disagreements go, that the Emperor by a stroke of his pen dissolved the Regency and assumed the government (1667). To no section of the com- munity was this change more welcome than to the Roman Catholic missionaries and their converts. During the reign of Shunchih every consideration had been paid them, and high honours had been conferred on their most eminent member, Pere Schaal, who had even held the lofty and responsible post of tutor to the young Emperor. No sooner, however, were Shunchih's eyes sealed in death than the Regents, who, in the true spirit of Chinese conservatism, had cherished a bitter resentment at the favour which had been shown to the foreigners and their faith, threw Schaal into prison under one of those charges which are so easily trumped up against unpopular personages in eastern countries, and sentenced him to death by LingcKih, or the slow and lingering process. Fortunately even the Regents were wise, enough to abstain from putting this cruel sentence into execution, and Schaal was left in prison until death released him in the seventy-eighth year of his age.
Unfortunately this consummation was reached before K'anghsi began to rule. But no sooner had he taken the reins than he did all in his power to redress the balance which had of late been so unfairly turned against the missionaries. It is curious to see, however, how strong the opposition was to any extension of privileges to that body. The half-
k'anghsi's tolerance ios
hearted measures of relief accorded to them by K'anghsi sufficiently mark the difficulties with which he had to contend. He issued an Imperial edict granting leave to the missionaries who had been driven into hiding by the Regents, to return to their churches, but forbade them to proselytise. "As we do not restrain the Lamas of Tartary," so ran the edict, " or the bonzes of China, from building temples and burning incense, we cannot refuse these having their own churches, and publicly teaching their religion, especially as nothing has been alleged against it as contrary to law. Were we not to do this we should contradict ourselves. We hold there- fore that they may build temples to the Lord of Heaven and maintain them wherever they will ; and that those who honour them may freely resort to them to burn incense and to observe the rites usual to Christianity."
Meanwhile Pere Verbiest, a Dutch priest, had succeeded Pere Schaal at Peking. The young Emperor, who was greatly interested in philosophy and science, and who had found the Father proficient in both subjects, appointed him his tutor, and listened with eager attention to his discourses on the intricate subjects of Christianity and philosophy. It so happened that at this time doubts arose as to the accuracy of the Calendar issued by the Astronomical Board. In this difficulty the Emperor turned to Pere Verbiest, who demonstrated to his Majesty's complete satisfaction that an egregious mistake had been made by the native astronomers. As a reward for his knowledge and sagacity the Emperor made
I06 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
the priest President of the Board, and dismissed the native Presidents from their offices, at the same time commanding the new President to issue a revised Calendar. The disgraced officials, fearful lest their ignorance should be made public throughout the Empire, begged Verbiest not to expose the mistake into which they had fallen. He, however, refused to listen to their pleadings, and possibly with a self- righteous satisfaction at the consciousness that he was right and that they were wrong, refused in any way to blink their error. The wisdom of this course was open to doubt, and in the persecutions that followed it may well be imagined that a recollec- tion of this passage of arms may have added virulence to the aspersions of the Litei^ati.
During the campaign against the Ming rebels which had ended in consolidating the Imperial power it had been deemed wise to confer the rank of Prince on the three generals who had contributed most to the success of the cause. The leader of these three was the redoubtable Wu Sankwei who by virtue of his office wa^ practically in possession of the provinces of Kweichow and Yunnan. The other two Viceroys presided over the destinies of Kwangtung and Kwangsi ; and of Fuhkien and Chehkiang. All these three were Chinamen, and, therefore, were not bound by racial ties to the new dynasty. Their careers, also, had not displayed any fixed loyalty to any given cause, and K'anghsi felt that it was dangerous to leave them in undisputed possession of their vice- royalties. Of the three he had reason to dread Wu Sankwei the most, both from his character and from
VVU SANK WEI INVITED TO PEKING lO/
the influence which he wielded, and though he held Wu's son as a hostage for his father's loyalty, he deemed it only prudent to put the views of the veteran to the test. It has always been usual for high dignitaries to visit the Court at varying intervals, and there was nothing unusual, therefore, in the summons which K'anghsi issued inviting Wu to present himself at the capital. But the younger Wu, who was connected by marriage with the Court, being aware of the course which the Imperial suspicions were taking, despatched a messenger to his father warning him not to accept the invita- tion. Acting on this hint, Wu pleaded old age and begged the Emperor to excuse his undertaking such a long journey. This implied refusal confirmed the Emperor's suspicions, but being unwilling imme- diately to drive so powerful a man into open enmity, he commissioned officials to inquire whether decrepitude really debarred Wu from presenting himself at Peking. Wu received these by no means welcome visitors with a show of cordiality, but when they broached the real object of their visit and urged him to comply with the Emperor's desire, he felt that it was time to speak plainly. " Yes, I will come to Peking," he said, " but it will be at the head of eighty thousand soldiers."
This declaration made further negotiations un- necessary, and the envoys returned to Peking to report their want of success. Meanwhile, Wu Sankwei raised the standard of rebellion, and pro- ceeded to form a separate State of the provinces under his control. He had on a former occasion
I08 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
sacrificed his father to his poHtical leanings, and now his action was destined to send his son to the exe- cution ground. The historians tell us that the younger Wu had embarked in a plot to murder the Emperor and his surroundings. This possibly may liave been so, for Oriental courts are fit scenes for " treasons, stratagems, and spoils," but the reported crime so closely synchronises with his father's rebel- lion, that there appears to be a likelihood that the charge, if ever preferred, was trumped up to justify the extreme measures which the Emperor took against him. The news of the death of his son added intensity to Wu Sankwei's hatred of the usurping dynasty, and in 1674 he killed the Governor of Yunnan, and virtu- ally conquered that province together with Kwei- chow, Szech'uan, and Hunan. Being still willing, however, to arrive at a peaceable solution K'anghsi once more attempted to open negotiations with him, but the veteran was irreconcileable, and so potent was his influence that his two fellow princes threw in their lot with his, and thus the whole of the west and south of China were in arms against the Manchus. To add to the complexity of the position an outbreak occurred within the walls of Peking, and at the same time the Mongol chieftain, Satchar, threatened the northern frontier with a hundred thousand men. The emergency was one which may well have tried the stoutest courage. But K'anghsi was equal to the occasion. By the aid of troops drawn from the Liaotung peninsula he crushed the Mongol move- ment, and brought Satchar with his family as prisoners to Peking. Having thus disposed of the
IMPERIAL BARBARITIES IO9
difficulty in his rear he marched his armies against the southern rebels. Success attended his arms. The provinces of Fuhkien and Chehkiang were recovered without striking a blow by the submis- sion of the Viceroy, and Wu was driven out of Hunan and Szech'uan. To inspire his troops with zeal K'anghsi proposed to place himself at their head, and while preparing to leave Peking for the front the welcome news reached him of the death of Wu (1678). With the disappearance from the political stage of this veteran, the back of the rebellion may be said to have been broken. Wu's grandson who succeeded to the command, though brave, failed to preserve the frontiers committed to him. By the relentless and persistent Manchu he was driven from city to city, until he reached Yunnan Fu, where he made his last stand. The city, however, was taken, and to avoid submitting to the tender mercies of the Imperialists the rebel chief committed suicide. With Oriental barbarity the Manchu leader beheaded the lifeless corpse, and sent the head as a trophy to Peking ; but even this did not satisfy his cruel humour. With an excess of brutality he disinterred the body of Wu Sankwei, and so scattered the bones over the provinces which had owned his sway in life, that no one should be able to say " this is Wu San- kwei." The year in which these events took place had been a distressful one to China. As if in sympathy with the disturbed political conditions an earthquake shook the foundations of Peking, and destroyed three hundred thousand within the city and neighbourhood.
no THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
Peace, however, having been once more restored within the " eighteen provinces " K'anghsi had an opportunity of attacking Koxinga's successor who held a rebellious sway in the Pescadores and For- mosa. At the head of three hundred ships contain- ing twelve thousand men the Manchu commander sailed to attack the island fastnesses of the rebels in the first-named group. With this imposing force he advanced to the attack, but was met by a determined resistance on the part of the pirates. The battle lasted all day, and at the close the Manchus were completely successful. Twelve thousand rebels are said to have been slain, and the majority of the survivors taking ship fled to Formosa. Thither the Manchus followed them, but their ships being of considerable draught they were, at first, unable to approach the shore. An unusually high spring tide, however, carried the vessels over the shallows in pre- cisely the same way as that, remembered by the rebels, in which Koxinga's ships had been brought within striking distance of the shore. The similarity of the twp incidents deeply impressed the super- stitious natives, who, readily accepting the superficial belief that the increased depth of water was due entirely to the interposition of providence, submitted without a struggle to the invaders. Koxinga's son was sent to Peking, where the Emperor varied the usual practice of decapitation by creating him a Duke, and, at the same time, lavished honours on the victors in the fray.
The wide extent of the Chinese Empire, and the number of peoples who are actually, or theoretically,
TARTAR IRRUPTIONS III
subject to Peking, enforce on the country an almost chronic state of war. On the north and west the Empire is bounded by mountain ranges which are inhabited by hardy and warhke tribes, to whom the Empire's difficulty is their opportunity. And thus it was not, probably, a surprise to K'anghsi to receive news of hostilities on his northern frontier, while yet he was crowning with laurels the generals who had vanquished Wu Sankwei, and had recovered For- mosa. It had always been difficult to trace the beginning of the many tribal wars outside the northern marches, and Central Asia had been so long and completely shrouded from observance that, at this time, little was known at Peking of the pro- gress of events beyond the Great Wall. The first intimation which reached K'anghsi that mischief was brewing was the irruption across the frontier of bodies of Khalka Tartars into Chinese territory. These men brought news that the Eleuths, a Kalmuck tribe occupying a territory in the neigh- bourhood of Hi, had declared war against their countrymen who, as they took pains to remind K'anghsi, owned allegiance to China. This was practically a declaration of war against the Middle Kingdom, but Galdan, the chief of the Eleuths, was not unnaturally anxious to enjoy the advantage of peace with China while he fought with his Tartar neighbours. He therefore sent ambassadors to Peking, who reached the capital just at the time when Wu Sankwei's rebellion was absorbing K'anghsi's attention. So disastrous at this crisis appeared to be the state of the Empire that the
112 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
envoys were induced to suppose and to expect, that, as had been the case in many other royal Hnes, the Ch'ing Dynasty was tottering to its fall. Galdan therefore carried on his invasion of the Khalka country free from any dread of reprisals from the suzerain State.
At this juncture a new power appeared on the banks of the Amur river. With that steady step which is characteristic of the Russians, they had been gradually extending their frontier eastward, and had erected fortifications and entrenchments at Albazin on the upper course of the Amur. Galdan recog- nising the superior weapons and organisation of the Europeans, offered them an alliance which he was quickwitted enough to see would impart strength to his ambitious designs against China. Rumours of these intrigues having reached Peking, K'anghsi despatched envoys to the Khalka country, and sent with them the two Jesuit missionaries, Gsrbillon and Pereira. These men had won the confidence of the Emperor by their straightforward conduct and scien- tific knowledge, and had secured his gratitude by, on one occasion, curing him of a severe attack of fever by the use of quinine. They possessed also the unusual qualification of a knowledge of both his Mongolian and Russian languages.
The accounts which these envoys brought back made it plain to K'anghsi that if he was to maintain his hold over the Khalka country, and check the advance of the Russians, who showed a decided tendency to encroach on the fertile lands south of the Amur river, it would be necessary for him to
DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIANS II3
send a force to overawe the Tartars and to drive the European invaders across the frontier. It may well be supposed that the Russians felt themselves secure from an attack in a region so remote from Peking, and doubtless their surprise was great when they found a Chinese army advancing against them. Though behind entrenchments and in possession of superior weapons, they were unable to withstand the attack of K'anghsi's hordes. Their fortifications were demolished, and those of the garrison who survived were taken prisoners and were marched to Peking, where a small quarter in the northern part of the city was appropriated to their use. The descendants of these men, who for the most part married Chinese wives and settled down as citizens of the capital, still occupy the same streets and houses as their ancestors did in the seventeenth century, and even now among them a European type of face is sometimes to be noticed, though the large mixture of Chinese blood which must necessarily run through their veins may well have obliterated all traces of their Caucasian origin. The ruin which had overtaken Albazin did not, however, prevent the Russians from again occupying the dismantled forts and entrenchments of that town. So long as the country was disturbed by war's alarms, Peres Gerbillon and Pereira had had no opportunity of opening negotiations, but in 1689 they succeeded in coming to terms with the repre- sentative of the Russian Government, and finally signed a treaty at Nerchinsk on the Amur by which it was arranged that Russia should be bounded as to her ambition by the river northwards, and should
9
114 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
cease to disturb the peace of its southern shores. This was the first treaty that the Chinese ever con- cluded with an European power, and was the pre- cursor of the many conventions which have since been concluded between the two Empires.
Though foiled in his endeavour to enlist the help of Russia in his ambitious career, Galdan yet felt himself strong enough to renew his campaign single- handed against the Kalkas. With a certain amount of effrontery he complained that the Chinese had accepted as subjects the Kalkas who had fled over the southern frontier to escape from his troops. As the Kalkas were already Chinese subjects the com- plaint was preposterous ; but, strange as it may seem, it met with the support of the Dalai Lama of Tibet, of whom it may be said that if his religious instincts were not truer than his political ideas the spiritual condition of the people under him must have been in a parlous state. Wisely K'anghsi refused to listen to this misguided prelate, and prepared to take the field against his northern enemy. .Meanwhile Galdan suffered a defeat which was as disastrous as it was unexpected. While yet a young man he had, after the by no means un- common manner of his countrymen, murdered his elder brother, for no other reason than that, as he rightly thought, he was a bar to his succession to the chieftainship. The son of the murdered man had, under the influence of K'anghsi, assumed the command of a portion of the Khalka territory, and between him and his uncle there was, as may well be imagined, a deathless blood feud. In an engagement
TARTAR TREACHERY II5
fought between the forces of the two relatives the son of the murdered man partly avenged the assassi- nation by inflicting a crushing defeat on his uncle's troops. But, though discomfited, Galdan was by no means vanquished, and gained respect among his compeers by an act which in Western countries would be deemed infamous, K'anghsi had sent envoys to Galdan in the vain hope that even yet further hostilities might be averted. These men Galdan arrested, and held as hostages for the peaceable action of the Chinese. So soon as the news of this outrage reached Peking, K'anghsi resigned all thoughts of peace, and marched three armies against the recalcitrant Mongol. After an arduous march through the dreary wastes which separate China proper from the Mongolian pastures the Imperial armies faced their enemy at Wulanpu- tang. After the manner of his kind, Galdan, seeing the immense forces with which he had to contend, attempted to avoid the impending evil by opening- negotiations ; but K'anghsi rating these overtures at their proper value, answered him by marching to the attack. By a most mistaken strategy Galdan sur- rounded his men by a huge lager composed of countless camels, and awaited the onslaught. It will be remembered that in Wu Sankwei's campaign against the Burmese the Burmans made the mistake of placing their elephants in the front rank, with the result that when tortured by the Manchu arrows the huge monsters turned and ran among the ranks of their masters, throwing them into hopeless confusion, A similar fate overtook Galdan's troops. The iire
Il6 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
from the Chinese guns so frightened the camels that they trampled through the Mongol soldiers, and left them an easy prey to their enemies. It often happens in Eastern warfare that an incompetent general fails to reap the full results of victory by not following up his defeated foes, and on this occasion the want of warlike energy displayed by the Chinese gave a new lease of life to Galdan, Illness had made the return of K'anghsi to Peking absolutely necessary, and his generals, deprived of his wisdom and energy, instead of pursuing the shattered forces of the enemy, withdrew their troops, and allowed Galdan to reorganise his broken forces.
For a time political and military matters remained in a state of suspended animation. War, however, was in the air, and while yet a sort of armed truce was existing Galdan committed an act of profligate wrong which precipitated action. K'anghsi desiring to be in touch with passing events in Central Asia, had sent envoys to Galdan's nephew, the Khalka chief On their way to the Khalka capital these emissari^ were attacked, robbed, and murdered by Galdan's troops. Such an act in Western countries would place the doer beyond the pale of civilisation. But in Asia events of the kind are not so uncommon as to arouse unusual indignation. K'anghsi, however, waxed wrath at the outrage ; but still being unwilling to make reconciliation impossible, he wrote the offender a letter, in which, with a certain magna- nimity, he gave him room for repentance. " I learn that, notwithstanding your oaths," he wrote, "you and Tsi Wang Rabdan cannot live at peace with
K'ANGHSfS LETTER OF INDICTMENT II/
one another ; the instant I was informed of your disagreements I took steps to remove them. I sent one of the officers of my tribunal to be the bearer of words of peace, and your people, like mere savages, have committed the inhuman act of massacring him. . . . What ought I to think of conduct which pro- claims you false to both your oath and your allegiance? I now finally desire to warn you that unless your repentance follows close upon your fault I shall come with arms in my hands to exact from you the fullest reparation for these outrages."
But though K'anghsi was placable, Galdan, with all the restless combativeness of a tribal leader, threw peace to the winds and prepared for war. To strengthen his position he sought for alliance among the neighbouring Mongol tribes, and even went the length of becoming a Mahommedan in the hope that by so doing he might the more readily enlist the sympathies of the followers of the Prophet. Distinc- tive faiths sit lightly on Orientals, and, though in earlier life he had visited Lhasa, and had formed a close alliance with the Dalai Lama, he now found no difficulty in professing to accept the Kuran as his guide to Heaven.
As soon as the news of these intrigues reached Peking, K'anghsi set his battalions in array, and appointed General Fei Commander-in-chief (1695-96). Circumstances had invested this campaign with pecu- liar importance, and to infuse enthusiasm into his army and officers K'anghsi held a high court ceremony at Peking which was intended to be as inspiriting as it was impressive. Surrounded by all the gorgeous
Il8 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS ;
trappings of the East, and, above all, in the midst of a crowd of officers of all ranks from the Commander- in-chief down to the youngest subaltern —
" Aloft in awful state The god-like hero sat On his Imperial throne."
So soon as the pageant was complete General Fei advanced and knelt before his Sovereign, who, with his own hands, presented him with a cup of wine, which the warrior drank as a pledge of his loyalty, and as an omen of future success. In due accordance with their ranks, the other officers partook of a similar honour, and from the presence of their Emperor marched to the head of their regiments. Upwards of thirty thousand men followed Fei's banners, and these had scarcely left the capital when K'anghsi put into the field two more hosts of equal number, of one of which he took the command in person. Before leaving his capital he presented himself before his God at the Temple of Heaven, and there, in the centre of the highest of the terraces which beautify those splendid precincts, he offered up a propitiatory prayer to Shangti, the supreme Deity. " Receive my homage," he prayed, "and protect the humblest of your subjects, Sovereign Heaven, Supreme Ruler ! With confidence but re- spect I invoke your aid in the war that I find myself compelled to undertake. You have already showered favours upon me. ... I admit in silence and respect your benefits. . . . My most ardent desire has ever been to see the peoples of my Empire, and even
KANGHSI BEFORE HIS GOD llQ
foreign nations, enjoy all the advantages of peace. Galdan destroys my dearest hopes ; he sows disorder everywhere ; he tramples underfoot your laws, and despises the commands of his Sovereign who holds your place here on earth ; he is both the most false and the most wicked of men. ... I hold from you the right to make war upon the wicked. In order to fulfil this duty I am about to march at the head of my troops. Prostrate before you, I implore your support, and I offer up his sacrifice animated with the hope of drawing down upon myseF some of your most marked favours. But one vow I most resolutely formed, and that is to bestow the blessing of peace throughout the vast territory over which you have placed me."
The sought-for blessing was granted in full measure. As the Chinese armies approached Galdan's lairs he retreated before them, possibly in the hope that, like Napoleon's army before the retiring Russians, they would be reduced to defeat by cold and starvation. At last, however, he made up his mind to give battle, and victory was still hanging in the balance, when, by an ingenious though inhuman artifice, Fei turned the scales in his favour. He noticed that on a neigh- bouring height a large crowd of apparently non- combatants stood watching the fight. Rightly assuming that these were the women and children of Galdan's soldiers, he opened a heavy fire upon them. The result was exactly that which he had anticipated. The Mongols, seeing their wives and children mowed down by the Chinese fire, broke their ranks and rushed to their protection. With
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THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
well-directed energy Fei charged into the disordered host, and after a short struggle gained a complete and crushing victory. Galdan escaped from the field, but his career was over, and while yet the Chinese troops were preparing to follow in pursuit the news was brought in of his death. Towards the memory of the arch- traitor K'anghsi showed no consideration. He demanded the remains of his foe as well as the
A STREET SCENE IN PEKING.
surrender of his son and daughter. With these pledges of his victory he returned to Peking. What dishonour was placed upon the bones of Galdan we are not told, but with rare generosity the Son of Heaven gave official rank to the son and an honourable marriage to the daughter. As the spoil of conquest he divided the territory lately ruled over by Galdan between himself and Tsi Wang, giving to
A DIAMOND JUBILEE 121
this chieftain all the country to the west of the Altai Range, and keeping the eastern districts in his own hands.
The benevolent desire for peace expressed by K'anghsi at the Temple of Heaven was however denied fulfilment, and the Chinese armies had scarcely returned to Peking when Tsi Wang, wax- ing fat with conquests, developed all the restless proclivities of his late uncle. On the plea of giving a safe escort to his daughter, who was betrothed to a Tibetan grandee, he marched with six thousand men against Lhasa. With little or no opposition he presented himself before the walls of that city, and, having taken it, delivered it up to the predatory instincts of his followers. This raid was an equiva- lent to a declaration of war against China, Tibet being a dependency of that Empire. For the third time, therefore, K'anghsi sent an army into Mongolia, and, though the campaign was long protracted, it ended in victory to his banners, and in the annihi- lation of Tsi Wang's forces. This much-wished-for consummation was reached in the year 1721, when K'anghsi celebrated his Diamond Jubilee on the completion of the sixtieth year of his reign, and formed a fitting climax to the gorgeous pageant with which that far-famed occasion was commemorated.
Not long after this manifestation of popular re- joicing, and before the enthusiasm of his subjects had died away, the great Emperor who had ruled his vast possessions for more than sixty years, became a guest on high (1722). His illness was short, lasting only thirteen days, but was long enough to enable
122 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
him to make arrangements for the administration of future affairs, and to appoint his fourth son, Yung Cheng, to succeed him on the throne. Few emperors have ruled the destinies of China as successfully as K'anghsi. He loved justice, and aimed at doing what appeared right in his eyes. He was learned in all the knowledge of his countrymen, and was a munificent patron of literature. He was himself an author, and his numerous writings both in prose and verse filled many portly volumes. Two works which were compiled at his instigation would alone be sufficient to make his name memorable in the annals of Chinese literature. The splendid dictionary of the language, which is known as " K'anghsi's Dic- tionary," is a monumental work, and was compiled at the order of the Emperor by a Commission of Scholars especially appointed for the purpose. It has ever since been recognised as the standard dic- tionary of the language, and in the ordinary editions fills thirty-six volumes. The other, which owes its initiative to him, is the huge encyclopedia known as the " Oiinting fushu chi cJiing',' which issued from the press in five thousand and twenty volumes. The subjects included in this publication are divided into thirty-two grand categories, with countless sub- divisions, each of which is illustrated by quotations from works of authority arranged in chronological order. So that the student has placed before him in due succession the opinions of every native scholar of weight on the subject of his study. But K'anghsi was also the author of the " Sixteen maxims " which form part of the initial studies of every Chinese boy.
STRICTURES ON STRANGE SECTS 1 23
These maxims were annotated and enlarged upon by his son and successor, Yungcheng, who considered himself at liberty, in the case of one maxim at least, to give a bias to K'anghsi's words, which probably was never intended by their author. " Avoid strange sects in order to exalt orthodox doctrines," wrote K'anghsi, and among these " strange sects " Yung- cheng chose to include Roman Catholicism, and further warned his subjects to have no relations with the followers of the " Lord of heaven," adding, for the information of the people, that the missionaries attached to the Court at Peking owed their position entirely to their very useful knowledge of mathe- matics.
The support and favour accorded to the mis- sionaries during the lifetime of K'anghsi, makes it improbable that he would have warned his people so pointedly against them, unless, indeed, he may have penned the words when vexed and perplexed by the unseemly quarrels which broke out in their ranks. It will be remembered that after the death of Ricci the arrival of Dominican and Franciscan missionaries gave rise to acute disputes and dissen- sions, the new arrivals considering that the earlier Jesuits had carried their principle of being all things to all men to an extent which bordered on sacrilege. This cleavage between the Jesuits on the one hand, and the Dominicans and Franciscans on the other, was to a great extent national as well as religious, the Portuguese representing the Jesuits, and the French and Italians their detractors. For some years the question between them took no public
124 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
shape, but in 1645 a reference was made to the Propaganda, which was answered by a decree of Innocent X. One of the main questions put in this reference was " whether, in regard to the frailty of the people, it could be tolerated, for the present, that Christian magistrates should carry a cross hidden under the flowers which were presented at the heathen altars, and secretly worship that, while they were in outward form and appearance worshipping the idol." The answer was a direct negative, as it was also to the inquiry whether the presence of Christians in the temples of the idols, and their attendance at the worship and sacrifices, were to be sanctioned.
Though disappointed the Jesuits were not crushed, and at a later date a second reference Ndjs, made to the Propaganda, which met with a different response. The congregation under Alexander VIL upheld the views of the Jesuits on the matter in dispute. They drew a distinction between the political and religious rites of the people, and included among the former the worship, of ancestors ; and added " that Chinese conv.jrts should be permitted to perform the cere- monies towards the dead even with the unconverted, superstitious objects alone being prohibited ; that they may also assist in their worship when they are performing superstitious rites, having protested their faith, and not being in peril of subversion, and when otherwise they could not avoid hatred and enmities."
The arrival in China of Bishop Maigrot added a new element of discord to the already divided bodies of missionaries. The bishop was a man with strong
BISHOP MAIGROT I25
views, and though, as events proved, no match for the Jesuits, he was yet one who could express himself with force. In a decree which he issued on the questions in dispute, he forbade the use of the ex- pressions T'ien and Shangti for God, and ordered that the Deity should always be spoken of as Tien Chu, or " Lord of Heaven," the term universally used among Roman Catholics. He condemned the questions proposed to Alexander the VHth as not having been truthfully set forth, and he prohibited missionaries from being present at the festivals or sacrifices con- nected with heathen worship, K'anghsi, who still showed symptoms of being under the influence of the Jesuits, took umbrage at the appearance of this declaration, and summoned the Bishop to an audience in the wilds of Tartary, whither he had gone on a hunting expedition. The Bishop's knowledge of the country was slight, and of the language little or nothing. These imperfections were eagerly taken advantage of by the Emperor, who, after the inter- view, thus wrote of his guest. " I have ordered Bishop Maigrot to come hither, that I might examine him. He knows a little Chinese, but cannot speak so as to be understood, he is consequently obliged to have an interpreter. Not only does he not under- stand the meaning of the books, but is even ignorant of the characters. A native who should show such ignorance would not dare to speak in public, and if he did so would move his hearers to laughter. Not understanding the sense of the books, he is not in a position to say what they contain, as he professes to do."
126 THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
The inference thus drawn by the Emperor, that the Bishop's ignorance of the language rendered him incapable of forming a right judgment on the subject of the term for God, had considerable force. In the Imperial eyes, also, it was presumption on his part to offer an opinion on the question, inasmuch as the Emperor had traced with his vermilion pencil a statement to the effect that Tien was understood by the Chinese to be both the material Heaven and the Supreme God. These differences in China were reflected at Rome, and in the exercise of his wisdom Clement XI. appointed a legate to proceed to China to settle the differences between the contending missionaries. This appointment was a rock of offence to K'anghsi, who was annoyed at the idea of a visitor being appointed when he, the Emperor, was there to superintend the conduct of the Fathers. He, however, granted the Legate, Charles Maillard de Tournon, an interview, and treated him with marked courtesy. During the audience Pereira, who was in attendance on the Emperor, showed by a variety of approving gestures that the Emperor's address had been dictated by himself, and that the entire scene had been got up rather as an exhibition of the influence of the Father than as a complimentary recognition of the Pope or of his representative.
The Legate soon found out that the friendly expressions used by K'anghsi at this interview were merely complimentary, and that an occult influence was being exercised against him. The Emperor had promised him a house at Peking, and had pre- pared complimentary gifts for presentation to the
JESUIT INVESTMENTS 12/
Pope, but on one excuse or another the house was never conveyed and the gifts were never sent. The rehgious difficulties had, as we have seen, been pro- ductive of much mischief and dissension, but a further matter was destined to emphasise the quarrel. It came to the knowledge of the Legate that the Jesuits were in the habit of lending money to the natives at a rate of interest which in Europe would be considered usurious, but which in China was less than the extreme legal rate. The Jesuits considered that they were moderate in charging 24 per cent, when native money-lenders were entitled to receive thirty-six, and from the source thus temperately utilised, it was affirmed that the three Jesuit houses at the capital derived an annual income of 180,000 taels. But this profit was " nothing in comparison with that which they drew from the commerce in manufactures, wines, clocks, and on other industries, by which these Fathers amassed enormous treasures, which rendered them richer in the Indies than the King of Portugal." These statements induced the Legate to take a strong step. He issued a solemn decree denouncing this practice of the Jesuits as being unworthy of Christians, and ordered them to suppress and annul all dealings of the kind.
An incident which occurred immediately on the promulgation of this Decree led to a serious suspicion being entertained against the Jesuit Fathers. After a solitary repast consisting of a stewed pigeon served up with broth and bread sauce, the Legate was seized with a sudden and dangerous illness, which bore some resemblance to the effects of poison. So strained
128 THE 'RISE OF THE MANCHUS
were the relations between the two sides in the con- troversy, that the friends of the Legate did not hesitate to express their belief that the Fathers had attempted to rid themselves of the visitor by violent means. But whether this suspicion was well or ill founded, certain it is that the quarrel from this time became bitterly intensified. It is always easy to find Orientals ready and willing to bring charges against unpopular per- sonages. The tide was now running against the Legate, Bishop Maigrot, and their friends. It was natural, therefore, that Chinamen should lay indict- ments against them, and that, with considerable worldly wisdom, the disregard shown to the decision of the Emperor with reference to the term for God, should be placed in the fore-front of the indictment. For this misdemeanour Bishop Maigrot and his allies were summoned to Peking, and after the form of a trial judgment was pronounced against them by the Emperor in person. The Bishop and others were sentenced to be exiled from the Empire as turbulent and disorderly men. No European was to be allowed to remain in China unless he had letters patent from his Imperial Majesty, and all coming after that date were to present themselves at Peking and to apply for the said letters.
The Legate felt now that nothing he could say or do would mitigate either the wrath of the Emperor, or the enmity of the Jesuits. He therefore felt moved to issue a decree enjoining all the missionaries who should present themselves at Peking " to give a dis- tinct negative on all the questions which formed the Imperial test, to abjure all the rights and observances
JESUIT VIRTUES I2g
which the Chinese law enjoined, . . . and to declare the incompatibility of all these doctrines and practices with the Christian law." Irritated by this opposition to his will and decisions, K'anghsi sent two Jesuits to Rome to represent to the Pope the unfortunate position to which the quarrels of the missionaries had reduced the affairs of the mission. Meanwhile, he banished the Legate to Macao, there to await the return of the envoys. On arriving at his destination De Tournon was virtually put under arrest. His house was surrounded by a guard of soldiers, who allowed no one to pass except those who carried the authorisation of the Portuguese Governor. Even food was admitted with difficulty, and his condition was aggravated by mental anxiety as to the result of the Emperor's reference to Rome. Under this cruel per- secution, his health broke down, and in 1710 death released him from the ill-will of his enemies. That the Jesuits conferred great advantages on the Chinese it cannot be denied. As engineers, architects, and surveyors they did much useful work, and by the books which they translated, they opened a door for the admittance of Western learning into the schools of the country. Gerbillon and Bouvet translated Euclid and other mathematical works, Thomas taught the people algebra, Brocart instructed them in the arts, and Pereira in music. Men learned in all the knowledge of the West gave up home and country for the good of the people ; while scientists of the first rank thought it not degrading to mend clocks and make musical boxes for the Emperor and his mandarins. But to the cause of religion the dissensions which
10
I30
THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS
they fomented did infinite harm, and exposed the Fathers to the taunt of K'anghsi, that instead of propagating the faith in China, they were ruining it.
IV
THE REIGNS OF YUNGCHENG AND CH'IENLUNG
The son to whom the Imperial purple had des- cended was the fourth among K'anghsi's numerous progeny. He was a man of fine bearing and good abilities. As his father said of him, " Yungcheng is a man of rare and precious character," and, with per- haps pardonable pride, he added, " he has a great resemblance to myself" The new Emperor was forty-four years of age when he ascended the throne, and his first care was to remove beyond the reach of temptation those of his brothers whom he considered to be politically dangerous. The fourteenth prince, who at this time held a command in Central Asia, was first attacked, as being the most prominent possible aspirant to the Throne. He was therefore ordered to Peking, where, with his son, he was im- prisoned in the garden of " Perpetual Spring." On other princes various kinds of repression were exercised, and one was banished to Hsining on the western fron- tier, where he, together with his brothers, embraced Christianity. The conversion of these banished members of his family added fuel to Yungcheng's
132 THE REIGNS OF YUNGCHENG AND CH' I EN LUNG
wrath against them, and resulted in a sentence of perpetual banishment on all members of that section of the Imperial clan.
The new Emperor's attitude towards Christianity- chimed in so naturally with the feelings of the Literati that it was plain that the new faith had fallen on evil days. A largely and influentially signed memorial was presented to the Emperor, calling upon him to banish all foreign priests from the Empire, and to permit the conversion of their churches to other and " better " uses. In accordance with the usual practice this memorial was referred to the Board of Rites, who recommended that all missionaries except those in the service of the Emperor, should be sent to Macao, and should be forbidden, on pain of death, to make any attempt to proselytise. As a result of the measures thus recommended and approved, upwards of three hundred churches were destroyed, and over three hundred thousand converts were left spiritual orphans.
The political horizon meanwhile was no clearer than the i^eligious one. The Mongols, who had kept K'anghsi in a perpetual state of warfare, again gave evidence of their turbulent disposition, and a formid- able rebellion broke out in the district of Chinghai. The duty of suppressing this revolt was entrusted to General Nien, who so well played his part that the rebels were severely punished and offered their sub- mission, pleading with every appearance of sincerity to be allowed once more to live under the benign rule of the Emperor. For this service Nien was made a Duke, and was feted by Yungcheng on his return to
TOO POTENT A SATRAP 1 33
Peking. On the occasion of this feast, Nien's officers were entertained in the outer courtyard of the Palace, while he alone was admitted into the Imperial presence. Intoxicated by their success his officers, in the enjoyment of the feast, so far forgot their respect for their surroundings as to become riotous in their cups. The Emperor repeatedly sent out to enjoin silence, and, on his orders being disregarded, his guest, jealous of the credit of his men, blew the whistle with which he had been accustomed to guide his troops to victory on the fields of battle. The effect was instantaneous. The riot ceased as by magic, and not a voice was heard. Yungcheng was greatly alarmed at this evidence of the influence which Nien had acquired over his staff, and seeing that where he was impotent Nien was all powerful, he felt that the existence of so potent a leader might constitute a danger to the State. It is possible, also, that the consciousness of his might may have made Nien self-asserting in the presence of his sovereign. At all events the decree went forth that he was to be crushed ; and instantly memorials were presented to the Throne accusing the successful general of not having even been in Chinghai, the reported scene of his triumphs, but of having amused himself at a safe distance from the field, where his soldiers were facing the enemy. It was further roundly asserted that he had adopted the emblems and insignia of royalty ; that he had worn robes which none other than the Emperor should wear ; and that he had ordered the streets of towns and cities through which he had passed to be cleared before him. Bribery and corrup-
134 '^HE REIGNS OF YUNGCHENG AND CH lENLUNG
tion on a gigantic scale were also laid to his charge, and the man who was yesterday an all-powerful general, was next day cast into prison, and after a brief trial was sentenced to be sliced to pieces. Humanity, however, induced the Emperor to mitigate this barbarous sentence, and the fallen victim was allowed by Imperial clemency to strangle himself in his prison cell.
All this time the tide had been flowing steadily against the Christians, and even the arrival of foreign embassies, instead of giving them a much needed support, gained for them nothing but disaster. In 1727 Count Sava Vladislavitche arrived at Peking at the head of a mission from the Czar, and was espe- cially deputed to arrange with the Chinese Court a revision of the treaty of Nerchinsk. Two events made this mission noticeable. One was the fact that it served to establish a permanent Russian footing in Peking in the persons, firstly of a number of youths who were destined by their Imperial master for the study of Chinese ; and secondly, of persons of authority ever the students on whom were conferred certain plenipotentiary powers, which enabled them when occasion required to act as diplomatic agents at the Chinese capital. The other was an incident which occurred when Count Sava presented his cre- dentials. Up to this time all foreigners to whom Imperial audiences had been granted, had been bidden to deposit their credentials on a table placed in front of the Emperor. Deeming this form to be derogatory, Count Sava overlooked the table and placed the documents in the hands of his Majesty.
A PORTUGUESE ENVOY 135
A little later in the course of the same year a Portu- guese Mission arrived at Peking and Don Metello Souza y Menzes, the Envoy, having heard of the action of his Russian colleague, and desiring to emulate it, informed the Court officials that it was unnecessary to place a table in front of his Majesty as he intended to hand his credentials to him in propia persona. At this avowal the Court dignitaries were much disturbed, and accused the Jesuits, who had interpreted for Count Sava, of having prompted the Portuguese to follow his example. The Em- peror, however, took a more reasonable view of the question, and gave Don Metello Souza permission to follow the course which he proposed.
In the difficulties which these and other circum- stances had brought upon them, the Jesuits deemed it wise to ask leave to appear by deputation before the Emperor. Their request was granted, but with- out listening to their representations His Majesty addressed them in a speech especially prepared for the occasion, and which at least displayed an intimate knowledge of the missionaries and their doings. " The late Emperor my father," he said, " after having instructed me during forty years, chose me ... to succeed him on the throne. I make it one of my first objects to imitate him, and to depart in nothing from his manner of government. . . . You tell me that your law is not a false one. I believe you ; if I thought that it was false what would prevent me from destroying your churches and from driving you out of the country ? . . . But what would you say if I were to send a troop of bonzes and lamas into your
136 THE REIGNS OF YUNGCHENG AND CH'IENLUNG
country in order to preach their doctrines ? How would you receive them ? . . . You wish that all the Chinese should become Christians, and indeed your creed commands it. I am well aware of this, but in that event what would become of us ? Should we not soon be merely the subjects of your kings ? The converts you have made already recognise nobody but you, and in a time of trouble they would listen to no other voice but yours. ... I permit you to reside here, and