Chapter XVIII: In Memory of Two Brave Men

The Memorial of the Censors given in the last chapter, recording the arrest and execution of the Manchu soldier who shot the German Minister defenceless in his chair, took occasion to congratulate the Empress and the nation on possessing such brave defenders; and to do the man justice, he met his end with a fine courage. But with fuller knowledge and a clearer insight, the scholars of the Empire might well put forward claims to real heroism, moral courage of the rarest kind, in the case of Yüan Ch’ang and Hsü Ching-ch’eng, the two Ministers who, as we have shown, so nobly laid down their lives for what they knew to be their country’s highest good. So long as China can breed men like these, so long as the Confucian system contains moral force sufficient to produce Stoic scholars of this type, the nation has no cause to despair of its future. We make no apology for insisting on the claims of these two men to our grateful admiration, or for reproducing their last Memorials, in which they warned the Old Buddha of her folly, and, by denouncing the Boxers, braved all the forces of anarchy and savagery which surged about the Dragon Throne. Already their good name stands high in the esteem of their countrymen. _Et prevalebit_: their courage and unselfish patriotism have been recognised by their canonisation in the Pantheon of China’s worthies, under an Edict of the present Regent.

Shortly after their execution the following circular letter _pour faire part_ was addressed by the sons of Yüan Ch’ang to the relatives and friends of the family:—

_Notice sent by the Yüan family to their relatives regarding
the death of Yüan Ch’ang, September, 1900._

After the usual conventional formulæ of grief and self-abasement, this circular letter proceeds as follows:—

“We realise that it was because of his outspoken courage in
resisting the evil tendencies of the times that our parent met
his untimely death, and we now submit the following report of
the circumstances for the information of our relatives and
friends.

“When, in the 5th Moon of this year, the Boxer madness
commenced, our late father, in his capacity as a Minister
of the Foreign Office, felt extremely anxious in regard to
the situation, and his anxiety was shared by his colleague,
Hsü Ching-ch’eng. On three occasions when the Princes and
Ministers were received in audience, my father expressed his
opinion to the Throne that the Boxers were utterly unreliable.
‘I have been in person,’ he said, ‘to Legation Street, and
have seen the corpses of Boxers lying on all sides. They had
most certainly been shot, proving that their unholy rites
availed them nothing. They should be exterminated and not used
as Government forces.’ On hearing this advice, the Emperor,
turning to Hsü Ching-ch’eng, enquired whether China is strong
enough to resist the foreigners or not, and other questions
bearing on the position of the Foreign Powers abroad. Hsü
replied without hesitation that China was far too weak to think
of fighting the whole world. His Majesty was so much impressed
by what he had heard that he caught hold of Hsü by the sleeve
and seemed much distressed. Hsü sorrowfully left the presence,
and proceeded with our father to draft the first of their joint
Memorials.

“Later on, when the bombardment of the Legations was in full
swing, our father observed to Hsü, ‘This slaughtering of Envoys
is a grave breach of all international law. If the Legations
are destroyed and the Powers then send an expedition to avenge
them, what will become of our country? We must oppose this
folly, you and I, even at the risk of our lives.’ So they put
in their second Memorial, which never appeared in the Gazette,
but which so frightened the Boxer princes and Ministers that
they slackened for a while in their attacks on the foreigners.
The preservation of the Legations on this occasion was really
due to this Memorial, and from this moment the enemies of Hsü
and our father became more than ever bent on revenge.

“In the last few days of the 6th Moon (July 15th to 25th) the
foreign armies were massing for their march on Peking, and
our father said to Hsü, ‘We are only waiting for death. Why
should we delay it any longer?’ So they handed in their third
Memorial. In this document they declared that the situation
was becoming desperate, that even the Princes of the Blood and
the Ministers of the Grand Council had come to applaud these
Boxers, and to assist in deceiving their Majesties. There was
only one way left to avoid dire peril and hold back the foreign
armies, and that was to put an end to these Boxers, and to do
this it was necessary to begin by beheading their leaders among
the Princes and Ministers. Having sent in this Memorial, our
father said to our mother ‘Things have now come to such a pass
that, whether I speak out or keep silence, my death is certain.
Rather than be murdered by these treacherous Ministers, I
prefer to die at the hands of the public executioner. If only
by my death I can convince the Throne of the peril of the
situation, I shall die gladly.’

“We all crowded round our father and wept. Calmly he spake to
us, saying, ‘I am giving my life for the State. What other
thought have I now? You must decide for yourselves whether you
will remain in Peking or return to our home in the south.’ He
then gave us a solemn admonition in regard to our duties of
loyalty and patriotism.

“On the second day of the 7th Moon, (July 27th) he was arrested
and taken to the Board of Punishments. Next day, at 1 P.M.,
‘his duty was finally consummated.’ The execution ground was
crowded with a mob of Boxers. Angrily some of them asked
him why he had borne a grudge, and spoken evil, against the
‘Patriotic Harmony Militia.’ Our father mockingly answered
‘A statesman speaks out in obedience to a sense of duty. How
should such as you understand?’

“We were informed by the gaolers that our father and Hsü had
chatted quietly and contentedly in prison. They had asked for
paper and ink, and had written over twenty sheets, but this
document was found by the Boxers and burned. Was it, we wonder,
a valedictory Memorial to the Throne, or a last mandate to
their families? We cannot say, and we shall never know. Alas,
alas, that we, undutiful sons as we are, should have to bear
this crowning sorrow! We have failed in our duty both as sons
and as men. Our mother still survives, and our father’s burial
remains to be attended to, so that we feel bound to go on,
drawing the breath of pain, so as to perform our duty to our
lamented sire. On the 8th of this Moon we propose to carry
his remains to a place of temporary sepulture in the Garden
of ‘Wide Friendship’ at Hangchow, and shall escort our mother
to her home. We shall set up the tablet of our father in a
building adjoining his temporary grave, and there weep and
lament.”

If to meet an undeserved doom with high courage is heroism, then these men were indeed heroes. In reading their Memorials—and especially the last of them—one is inevitably and forcibly reminded of the best examples in Greek and Roman history. In their high-minded philosophy, their instinctive morality and calm contemplation of death, there breathes the spirit of Socrates, Seneca and Pliny, the spirit which has given European civilisation its classical models of noble fortitude and many of its finest inspirations, the spirit which, shorn of its quality of individualism, has been the foundation of Japan’s greatness. In the last of these three Memorials, their swan-song, there rings the true heroic note, clear-seeing, earnest and fearless. The first, though forwarded in the name of Yüan alone, was drafted conjointly with Hsü Ching-ch’eng. Hsü, well-known in diplomatic circles by his having been Minister in St. Petersburg and Berlin, had not the same high reputation for personal integrity and disinterested patriotism as his friend, but whatever his former failings, he made full amends by the unflinching nobility of purpose that led to his death.

_Yüan Ch’ang’s First Memorial against the Boxers, Dated 20th June, 1900._

“Ever since the 16th day of the Moon (June 12th), when the
Boxers first burst into Peking, your Majesties have been
giving audience daily to all the Princes and Ministers of
State. The weight of the nation’s sorrow has afflicted your
Sacred Persons, and you have sought the advice of us, your
humble servants, in your anxious desire that a policy may be
devised whereby peace should be restored to the shrines of your
ancestors and to the Chinese people. But we have failed so far
to avert calamity, and thus to bring comfort to our sorrowing
Sovereigns; grievous indeed are our shortcomings, which fill us
with shame and dismay.

“Humbly I recall to your Majesties’ memories a Decree which was
issued in the 7th Moon of the 13th year of Chia-Ch’ing. Therein
it is recorded that, in the provinces of Shantung and Honan, a
dangerous conspiracy had been organised by evil-doers under the
name of the ‘Eight Diagram’ Society. These latter day Boxers
are, in fact, merely the descendants of the ‘White Lily’ sect,
and your Majesties have already decreed their extermination. It
was only last year that the District Magistrate of Wu Chiao, in
Shantung, drew up a memorandum giving a very full account of
this sect, and two months ago the Governor of Shantung (Yüan
Shih-k’ai), replying to your Majesties’ enquiries, reported
that these Boxers were in no way deserving of Imperial favour,
and could never be enrolled as Government troops. No statement
could be more explicit. Furthermore, the ex-Governor, Yü Hsien,
reporting in connection with the case of a leader of this sect
named Chu Hung-teng, or ‘Chu of the Red Lamp,’ stated that this
impostor claimed to be a descendant of the Ming Dynasty; he
had so worked upon the ignorant people that the whole district
was in a state of unrest, and these treasonable proceedings
increased and spread until the Imperial forces arrested and
executed the ringleaders. Their purely mythical claims to
invulnerability were clearly disproved by the fact that their
execution presented no difficulties.

“When seeking information on this subject last year, I was
informed by General Ch’eng Wen-ping that five years ago (in
1895) he was stationed at a post on the Chihli frontier,
infested by robbers, who there went by the name of the ‘Golden
Bell’ Society, and were brothers of the ‘Golden Lamp.’ On
one occasion some fifty of these men desired to join General
Ch’eng’s forces, but upon his putting their alleged powers to
the test, by firing bullets at them and stabbing them with
swords, blood flowed in the most natural manner, so that these
magic workers died. I mention the fact to show the absurdity of
this superstition; it proves, beyond doubt, that the organisers
of these Societies are dangerous and treasonable rogues,
harbouring evil designs against the Dynasty, especially when
they claim to be descendants of the Mings. They have, however,
collected an enormous following, and should be dealt with as
rebels, which they undoubtedly are.

“Last year, in the 11th Moon, 13th day, your Majesties granted
me audience, and I reported the above facts, adding that the
alleged anti-Christian propaganda of these Boxers was merely
a pretext, and that their treasonable aims justified their
immediate extermination. Subsequently Yüan Shih-k’ai, then
newly appointed Governor, did his duty in suppressing the
movement, so that several Boxer societies were broken up or
destroyed. Once more peace reigned, so that the gentry and
_literati_ of the province, who for a time had believed in the
Boxers and had accused the Governor of ruthless methods, were
forced to admit that he had acted rightly and that they had
been misled. Who could have supposed that the suppression of
the movement in Shantung would be followed by its spreading
and increasing in Chihli? The Viceroy (Yü Lu) must undoubtedly
be blamed for this; he has allowed the canker to grow without
check, playing the part of an indifferent spectator. Latterly,
after these Boxers had murdered the Magistrate of Lai Shui,
the Viceroy appeared to realise, for the first time, that
their professed campaign against the Christians was merely a
cloak for rebellion. He telegraphed, therefore, recommending
their suppression. But there were differences of opinion at
Court, and nothing was decided. Other districts became speedily
affected with the evil, and for no other reason than that the
rebels of Lai Shui had escaped without punishment. They grew
bolder and bolder, until finally they tore up the railway
lines and destroyed the telegraphs throughout the province,
although both are Government property, upon which vast sums of
the public money have been spent. Deplorable, indeed, that one
morning’s work of rebels should witness the loss of millions of
taels! They have also destroyed many Christian churches, for
which the State will have to pay heavily hereafter.

“I humbly submit that this fierce outbreak of the Boxers
against Christians is a matter of deadly peril to the Empire.
By our laws, Magistrates are expected to administer justice
without fear or favour; there is no distinction to be made
between Christians and non-Christians, and it should certainly
not be permitted that evil-doers should pursue their ends on
any plea of religious zeal. And now, within the last few days,
these rebels have even dared to invade our Capital, and their
armed mob profanes the very chariot wheels of the Throne. Arson
and murder are their work; they have burned the churches and
attacked the Legations. Your Majesties’ Palace is shaking to
its foundations, as by an earthquake. For such deeds there is
no penalty but death; clemency in such a case were folly.

“On the 20th day of this Moon they set fire to more than a
thousand shops outside the Main Gate, so that the wealthiest
quarter of the city is now a hideous desert. Nine out of
every ten inhabitants are fleeing from the city, and hardly
a shop remains open. There is no money forthcoming from the
provinces wherewith to pay our troops. Words cannot describe
the utter desolation prevailing on all sides. In allowing these
rioters to stalk through the land, breathing slaughter and
plunder, we were making ourselves a byeword and an object of
derision throughout the civilised world. The ministers of the
foreign Powers, alarmed by the Boxers’ wild threats, have been
compelled, by the necessities of their situation, to bring up
Legation guards, but these only amount to four hundred and ten
men altogether, and the object of their coming is clearly not
offensive, but defensive only.

“On the 16th day (June 12th) Ch’i Hsiu and other members of
the Grand Council were instructed by your Majesty (the Empress
Dowager) to have compliments and expressions of sympathy
sent to the foreign Ministers and their wives. This act of
benevolent courtesy was gratefully recognised. They were fully
alive to the bountiful measure of protection thus extended to
them in your Majesty’s clemency; it penetrated to their very
marrow. The Ministers then informed your Majesty that their
Legation guards have been brought up solely as a precaution,
and they have no thought of interfering in the domestic
affairs of our country. They give the most solemn assurances,
invoking the sun as witness and pointing to heaven, that, so
soon as these disturbances are at an end, their troops will
immediately be withdrawn. There is no reason to suspect them
of any treachery or evil purpose. It should be our immediate
aim to rid the Tartar city of the presence of these rebels, in
order not only to reassure the minds of our own people, but to
relieve the anxiety of the foreigners. If we do this, there
will be no further talk of the foreign Powers sending more
troops; if we crush the rebellion ourselves, there would be no
need of foreign co-operation to that end. Surely the wisdom of
this course is self-evident.” (_Here follow certain suggestions
for Police and military measures._)

“If it be objected that the destruction of so vast a number
of Boxers is impracticable, I venture to reply that the
present situation has been entirely brought about by a few
ringleaders, and that the majority of the Boxers are simply
ignorant peasantry. If, on the other hand, it be maintained
that these rebels are in possession of magical secrets which
confer upon them supernatural powers, I would venture to remind
your Majesties of Chang Chio’s ‘Yellow Turban’ sect, which
flourished towards the end of the Han Dynasty, and of the
historic case of P’an Kuang, the ‘head-breaker’ of the Yuan
Dynasty; both of these men, though possessing supernatural
powers, nevertheless lost their heads. One of the principal
reasons for the alleged invulnerability of these Boxer bandits
is that in the day time they lie low; it is at night that they
display activity, and call upon their deities to succour them.
All the magical arts which they profess—their incantations,
charms, invocations of spirits, table-turning, and the ‘five
demon’ trick—are merely cheap devices of useless sorcery. Let
them encounter any lethal weapon, let them be struck by cannon
or rifle bullet, and they fall dead upon the spot. Can it be
seriously maintained that they are really safe from bullets
when it is notorious that a large number of them were shot by
the foreign troops on the 17th day of this Moon (June 13th),
when they began their attack upon the Legations? Only yesterday
over forty Boxers were shot dead in Shuai Fu lane,[99] and
their altar was destroyed.

“The population of Peking numbers close upon a million, and,
with the exception of these wretched mobs or Boxers, they
are all loyal to the Throne and law-abiding. The capture and
execution of these Boxers would vindicate the majesty of the
law, and tranquillise the minds of the people; the courage of
the rebels would wane as that of the respectable community
increased. Once rid Peking of the Boxers, and the Legations
will gratefully recognise the efficacy of your Majesty’s divine
protection, and their feelings towards you will be as towards a
second Creator. The reinforcements of the foreign guards could
then reasonably be stopped, or withdrawn, at an early date,
there being clearly no further necessity for their presence.

“In conclusion it is written in the Book of Ceremonies of
the Chou Dynasty ‘that the existence of anarchy in a State
necessitates the adoption of the death penalty’; also in the
Canon of History it is written ‘that there is a time when
the infliction of capital punishment becomes a sacred duty.’
It would therefore appear to be clearly proved that these
Boxers should properly be exterminated, and that any further
continuance of procrastination or of evasive measures, such
as their enrolment in the army, will be utterly unavailing.
The foreign Powers are strong, and their indignation has
reached extreme limits. Should they now unite in measures of
retaliation, indescribable disasters await us. Instead of
allowing the foreigners to suppress the Boxers, which would
mean much fighting and bloodshed in and around Peking, the
slaughter of many innocent persons (‘jade and common stone
perishing together in one catastrophe’), let us rather suppress
the movement ourselves, and thus close the mouths of our
detractors and those who criticise our Empire. Thus only will
the ancestral shrines escape desecration, and the people enjoy
untold benefits.

“The Grand Secretary, Jung Lu, is patriotic and loyal. If your
Majesties will but grant him full powers, success will speedily
be attained. Diplomatic difficulties can easily be overcome by
careful attention to the exigencies of the moment. Urging upon
your Majesties the essential fact that in undivided control of
authority lies our only safeguard against dire catastrophe,
I now beg humbly to submit this my Memorial, laying bare my
innermost feelings, and ask that your Majesties’ divine wisdom
may consider and decide the matter.”

_The Second Memorial of Yüan Ch’ang and Hsü Ching-ch’eng, July 8th._

“Ever since, on the 24th day of last Moon, the German Minister
von Ketteler was killed by the Boxers, the latter have been
besieging the Legations, and the Kansuh troops under Tung
Fu-hsiang have been their willing accomplices in perpetrating
every kind of evil. Countless is the number of our people,
residing near the Legations, who have suffered death at their
hands. Practically every house in the eastern quarter of the
city, whether public or private property, has been mercilessly
plundered.

“The Boxers originally proclaimed that their mission was to
pay off old scores against the Christians; they then proceeded
to include the Legations in their attacks. From the Legations
they have extended their sphere of activity, directing their
operations against our officials and the common people. That
a mutinous soldiery and mobs of rebels should be permitted to
run riot over our Capital, and work their evil will upon the
people, is indeed a circumstance unparalleled in our history.

“When the siege began it was their boast that, within
twenty-four hours, not a single Legation would remain standing,
nay more, Tung Fu-hsiang has repeatedly boasted that they are
already nothing more than a heap of ashes. As a matter of fact,
however, nearly a month has passed, and whereas scarcely a
foreign soldier has been killed, the entire Legation quarter
lies strewn with the corpses of these Boxers. Where now the
proud boast, with which they deluded simple folk, that their
magic arts rendered them immune from bullet wounds? If, after a
month’s effort, fifty thousand bandits are unable to capture a
few Legations garrisoned by less than four hundred foreigners,
we can form a fairly accurate estimate of their value and
prowess. Who would ever dream of using the services of such
heroes to check foreign aggression?

“It may perhaps be suggested that genuine Boxers would show
very different results in their country’s service, and that
those who have been guilty of murder and arson are not really
Boxers at all, but outsiders and charlatans, having no
legitimate connection with the cult. But we submit that if the
society has been so disorganised as to be divided into real and
counterfeit members, and if the latter are permitted with the
tacit consent of the former, to commit every kind of atrocity,
it seems clear that the genuine Boxer himself is a thoroughly
disreputable person.

“Moreover, the Throne has expressly forbidden them to take
up arms and to continue their devastation with fire and
sword; they have been ordered to disband and leave Peking.
Nevertheless, they ignore these orders and continue in their
wicked ways. Whether genuine or counterfeit, these Boxers
vie with one another in flouting the law of the land. Their
incorrigible wickedness renders them one and all deserving
of death; the leniency shown them has but increased their
arrogance, and the number of these evil-doers has grown by
reason of the tolerance extended to them.

“In a previous Memorial we urged that the Grand Secretary Jung
Lu should be given full powers, with instructions to adopt such
severe measures as might be necessary for the suppression
of this movement, but your Majesties declined to follow our
advice. To-day the danger has grown infinitely greater, and we
feel it therefore our bounden duty to lay before your Sacred
intelligence our crude and humble views even though, in doing
so, we incur the risk of death for our temerity. We bear in
mind the words of the Spring and Autumn classic, ‘in time of
war the persons of Envoys are inviolate.’ By the international
law of European countries, foreign Ambassadors are regarded
as semi-sacred personages: whosoever treats them wrongfully
commits a wrong against the State which they represent. If
these Boxer bandits be permitted to destroy the Legations and
to slay the foreign Ministers, the Powers will undoubtedly
consider this a monstrous outrage, and will unitedly make any
sacrifice in order to avenge it. The foreign troops at present
in Peking are but few in number, but there are great armies to
take their place. That China should attempt to fight the entire
world means, in our humble opinion, not the defeat only, but
the complete annihilation of the Empire. For the past sixty
years China has made treaties with Foreign Powers, and has
permitted European missionaries to come amongst us for the
propagation of their religion. It is true that their converts
take advantage of their position to act unjustly to their
fellow-countrymen and to insult them. It is true that they
frequently rely upon missionary protection to secure their evil
ends, but it is also true that our local officials often treat
these matters with apathy and injustice. The non-Christians are
therefore filled with resentment and indignation against the
Christians, a result very largely due to lack of ability and
energy on the part of the Government officials. This is the
case at present; we are but reaping the harvest of past faults.
Your Memorialists do not venture to suggest that the cause
of this ill-feeling against the Christians lies chiefly with
the common people, but it cannot be denied that China loses
dignity in the eyes of the world while our Government remains
indifferent to these continual feuds between Christians and
non-Christians. It is inadmissible that the local officials
should excuse themselves for inaction on the plea that they
cannot maintain order. For example, if two neighbours in a
village are on bad terms, and a clan fight takes place between
their respective families and followers, and if, as the result,
property is destroyed and lives lost in the fray, reparation
will be claimed by the aggrieved party, not from the actual
fighters, but from the heads of the other clan, with whom rests
the responsibility for law and order. In matters of State the
same principle holds good.

“The religions of Europe may be divided into Catholic and
Protestant; the priests of the former sect are known as
“spiritual fathers” while the latter are called “pastors.”
These Boxer brigands class all foreign religions alike, making
no difference between sect and sect; but the Russians are of
the Greek church, while the Japanese are Buddhists. Neither of
these nations has hitherto sent missions to the interior of
China, a fact which these Boxers completely ignore. To them,
the mere sight of a foreign costume, or the hearing of words in
a foreign tongue, immediately evokes their war cry of “hairy
devils,” who must be exterminated. It is clear that all right
principles of conduct render such an attitude unjust, while our
weakness as a nation renders it inexpedient; and we would ask
your Majesties to remember that China has also sent its Envoys
on foreign missions. If the Powers, enraged by the massacre of
their Envoys, should retaliate by killing ours, will it not be
said that China has dealt the fatal blow to her own Ministers
by the hand of another? Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, has
just sent presents to the foreign Legations—fruit, vegetable,
flour and rice—in order to ‘display your beneficence to the
strangers from afar.’[100] Nevertheless these Boxer brigands,
trusting in their arrogant Commander (Tung Fu-hsiang) as a
tower of strength, continue their attacks upon the Legations.
If the foreigners come to suspect the Throne of hypocritical
displays of friendliness while secretly encouraging this
bombardment, who will hereafter believe any statement that may
be put forward as to your innocence and disapproval of all this
carnival of slaughter, however earnestly you may proclaim it to
a doubting world?

“If, on the other hand, the Legations successfully maintain
their resistance until peace is eventually restored, then the
foreign Envoys, who have received your Majesty’s bounty, will
naturally feel bound, in common gratitude, to advise their
Governments that the Boxers alone were responsible for the
siege, which no foresight could have prevented, and that your
Majesties are to be acquitted of all blame for the growth of
this movement. By a wise course of action at this juncture,
the suspicions of foreign Powers may be lulled, and a very
great advantage gained at very little trouble to ourselves. It
will thus be easy to restore harmonious relations. But if the
Legations are utterly destroyed and every foreign Minister put
to the sword, by what means can the outside world ever learn of
your Majesty’s present thoughtful generosity? It will be quite
vain to hope that, without supporting evidence, the Throne will
ever be able to persuade the foreign Powers of its innocence.
They are now pouring in troops on the plea of suppressing the
rebellion on behalf of China. There are many who believe that
this is merely an excuse for obtaining a permanent foothold
on Chinese territory; only the most credulous persons believe
in the sincerity of the professed motives of foreigners. We,
your Memorialists, have not wisdom sufficient to fathom their
real object, but we maintain that these lawless Boxer mobs
should long since have been wiped out of existence. Why should
it be necessary to wait until foreign Powers demand their
extermination, and, above all, why wait until those Powers take
in hand themselves a matter with which we should have dealt?

“Thoroughly convinced that China’s only hope of preserving her
integrity lies in the preservation of the Legations, we now ask
that a strong Decree be issued, censuring Tung Fu-hsiang and
commanding the withdrawal of his troops from Peking; he should
under no circumstances be permitted to approach the Legation
quarter any more. It should be clearly laid down that any of
these Boxers or of their followers who may continue the attack
on the Legations will at once be executed. By withdrawing
the support of the Government troops from the Boxers, the
destruction of the latter will be greatly facilitated. At the
same time we earnestly request that Jung Lu be authorised to
expel every Boxer from Peking within a given limit of time, so
as to save the State from a danger which is ‘scorching its very
eyebrows,’ and to prevent any recurrence of these troubles.

“We are aware that the clear light of Heaven is temporarily
obscured by this very plague of locusts, and that our plain
speaking may very well be our own undoing. But since, in all
humility, we realise that China is like a sick man whose every
breath may be his last, our fear in speaking weighs less
heavily with us than our sense of duty. Therefore, knowing that
we face death in so doing, we submit this our Memorial, and
humbly beg that your Majesties may honour us by perusing it.”

_Extract from the third and last of the three Memorials by Yüan Ch’ang and Hsü Ching-Ch’eng, 23rd July, 1900._

“We, your Memorialists, now humbly desire to point out that it
is more than a month since our sacred Capital was given over to
anarchy, a state of affairs which has reacted throughout the
entire Empire. We now stand confronted by the prospect of a war
with the whole civilised world, the conclusion of which can
only be an unparalleled catastrophe.

“In the reign of Hsien-Feng the Taiping and Mahomedan rebels
devastated more than ten provinces, and the uprising was not
quelled until ten years had passed. In the reign of Chia-Ch’ing
the rebellion of the ‘White Lily’ sect laid waste three or
four provinces. It is recorded in the history of these wars
that, only after the most heroic efforts, and with the greatest
difficulty, the Imperial armies succeeded in restoring order.
But these rebellions, in comparison with the present Boxer
rising, were mere trifling ailments: the State to-day stands
threatened with mortal sickness. For on the former occasions
everyone, from the Throne downwards to the lowest of the
people, was fully aware that the Taipings were rebels; but
to-day some of the highest in the land look upon the Boxers
as patriots, so that even those who know them to be rebels
are afraid to confess the truth. Our folly is bringing down
upon us the ridicule and hatred of every foreign country.
When this movement began, these men were ignorant peasants,
unversed in military matters; they drew after them large
numbers of criminals by proclaiming as their watchword ‘Prop up
the Dynasty and slay the foreigner.’ But what is the rational
interpretation of this watchword? If we are to take it as
meaning that every native of China who treads the soil of our
country and lives on its fruits should be imbued with feelings
of deep gratitude for the benevolent and virtuous rule which
the present Dynasty has maintained for over two centuries, and
would gladly repay the bounty of the Throne by fighting for its
protection, we heartily endorse the sentiment. But if it means
that, at a great crisis in our national history, it is the mob
alone that has power sufficient to ‘prop up’ our tottering
fortunes and restore tranquillity, should we not remember that
he who can ‘prop up’ can also throw down, and that the power
which ‘props up’ the Dynasty may overthrow it to-morrow? What
is this then but treasonable language, and who so greatly
daring as to utter sentiments of this kind?

“We, your Memorialists, unworthy as we are, fully realise
that the foreigners, who make their nests in the body of our
State, constitute a real danger. But the way to deal with the
situation is to reform the administration in the first place,
and in the meanwhile to deal most cautiously with all questions
of foreign policy. We must bide our time and select a weak
opponent; by this means our strength might in due course be
displayed, and old scores paid off.

“If foreign nations had gratuitously invaded our country, we
should be the first to welcome as loyal patriots everyone who
should take up arms and rush into the fray, however feeble his
efforts. But to-day, when the Throne’s relations with foreign
States were perfectly friendly, this sudden outcry of ‘Slay the
foreigner’ is nothing but a wanton provocation of hostilities
on all our frontiers. Foolishness of this kind is calculated
to destroy our Empire like a child’s toy. Besides, when they
talk of slaying the foreigner, do they mean only the foreigners
in China, or the inhabitants of every State within the five
Continents? The slaughter of Europeans in China would by no
means prevent others taking their places. But if the meaning
of this watchword is that they propose to make a clean sweep
of every non-Chinese inhabitant on the face of the earth,
any fool can see the utter impossibility of their programme.
It seems almost incredible that Yü Hsien, Yü Lu and other
Viceroys should not be capable of realising such simple facts
as these. Yü Lu in particular has gathered around him the Boxer
chiefs, and treats them as honoured guests. Thousands of the
most notorious villains throng into his official residence,
and are freely admitted on presenting a card bearing the
title of ‘Boxer.’ These men sit by the side of the Viceroy on
his judgment-seat, bringing the authority of the Throne into
contempt, and insulting the intelligence of all educated men.
Abominable scoundrels like the Boxer chiefs, Chang Te-ch’ang
and Han Yi-li, men formerly infamous throughout their province,
and now known in Peking itself as a scourge, have actually been
recommended for official posts in a public Memorial to the
Throne! Never has there been a case of a Viceroy so flagrantly
hoodwinking his Sovereign.

“In regard to Yü Lu’s Memorials reporting his military success
at Tientsin, we have caused careful inquiry to be made from
many refugees, and they one and all deny the truth of these
reports. On the contrary they unanimously assert that many
thousands of our troops have been slain by the foreigners,
and they even go so far as to say that the capture of the
Taku Forts is entirely attributable to the fact that Yü Lu
first permitted the Boxers to attack the foreign Settlements.
Their indignation against Yü Lu may possibly lead them into
some slight exaggeration in these statements, but, in our
opinion, the Viceroy’s bombastic reports are of a piece with
Tung Fu-hsiang’s braggart lies, when he tells your Majesties
that he has destroyed the Legations and annihilated their
defenders. Tung Fu-hsiang is nothing but a Kansuh robber, who,
after surrendering to the Imperial forces and obtaining some
credit in their ranks, attained his present position by the
exceptional favours of the Throne. He should have requited
your Majesty’s bounty better than by associating himself with
treasonable rogues and behaving like a common footpad. His
present actions may very well foreshadow some dastardly design
hidden in his wolf-heart.

“Yü Lu is one of the highest officials in the Empire, and very
different from military men of the Tung Fu-hsiang type. It is
hard to explain his blear-eyed stupidity. No doubt he has been
led astray by the deceitful representations of your Majesty’s
Ministers, who have even led the Throne to depart from the path
of wisdom formerly followed. It is these Ministers who are
entirely to blame.

“The Grand Secretary, Hsü T’ung, was born stupid; he knows
nothing of the needs and dangers of our times. Grand Councillor
Kang Yi, an obstinate bigot, herds with traitors and fawns
on rebels; Ch’i Hsiu is arrogant and obstinate; while Chao
Shu-ch’iao, the President of the Board of Punishments, is
crafty-hearted and a master of sycophancy.

“After the first entry of the Boxers into Peking, your
Majesties held a special audience, at which all the Princes and
Ministers were present, and our advice was asked in regard to
the adoption of a policy of encouragement or repression. Your
Memorialists replied that the Boxers were anything but patriots
and were of no use against foreigners; at the same time we
earnestly begged that war should not be lightly declared
against the whole world. It was on this occasion that Hsü
Tung, Kang Yi, and the rest of them actually dared to rebuke
us in the presence of the Throne. Now, if it were a fact that
a hundred thousand newly sharpened swords might suffice to
overcome our enemies, we, your Memorialists, by no means devoid
of natural feelings of patriotism, would welcome the day when
these foreigners might once for all be smitten hip and thigh.
But if such a result can by no means be achieved under existing
conditions, then it is not we who deserve the name of traitors,
but those Ministers who, by their errors, have led the State to
the brink of disaster.

“When, in the 5th Moon, your Majesties ordered Kang Yi and
Chao Shu-ch’iao to proceed to Cho Chou and order the Boxers
to disperse, the latter forced these Ministers to go down
upon their knees and burn incense before their altar while
they chanted their nonsensical incantations. Chao Shu-ch’iao
knew perfectly well the degrading folly of this performance,
and openly lamented his part in it; but he had not courage
sufficient to contradict Kang Yi, who believed in the Boxers’
magic, so that, upon his returning, he joined Kang Yi in
reporting to the Throne that the Boxers had all dispersed.
But if they have been dispersed, how comes it now that their
numbers have been so greatly increased? And how does the Throne
propose to deal with Ministers who dare to memorialise in this
haphazard manner?

“Tientsin has already fallen, and the foreign troops draw
nearer every day. So far, no magical arts of the Boxers have
availed us anything, and it is our deliberate opinion that,
within a month, the enemy will be knocking at the gates of
our Capital. We ask your Majesties to consider the dire
consequences of the situation, and the possibility of the
desecration of the shrines of your sacred ancestors. Our minds
are filled with horror at the thought of what may occur. But in
the meantime Hsü T’ung, Kang Yi, and the rest of them laugh and
talk together. The ship is sinking, but they remain splendidly
unconcerned, just as if they believed in the Boxers as a tower
of refuge. From such men, the State can no more derive council
than from idiots and drunkards. Even some of the highest in the
land, your Majesty’s own Ministers and members of the Grand
Council, have bowed the knee before the Boxers. Many a Prince’s
palace and a ducal mansion has been converted into a shrine
for the Boxer cult. These Boxers are fools, but they have been
clever enough all the same to befool Hsü T’ung, Kang Yi, and
their followers. Hsü T’ung, Kang Yi, and the rest of them are
fools, but they in their turn have contrived to befool the
Princes and Nobles of the Imperial clan. All our calamities
may be directly traced to these Ministers, to Hsü T’ung, Kang
Yi, and the rest of them, and unless your Majesties will order
their immediate decapitation, thereby vindicating the majesty
of the law, it is inevitable that every official in and near
the Court must accept the Boxer heresies, and other Provincial
Governors, following the lead of Yü Lu and Yü Hsien, will adopt
and spread them.

“And not only on Hsü T’ung, Kang Yi, and their followers should
the Imperial wrath fall, but also upon those in high places
whose midsummer madness has led them to protect and encourage
the Boxers. Their close relationship to your Majesties, or
their position as Imperial clansmen, should in no wise protect
them from the penalty of their guilt. Thus only can the
foreigners be led to recognise that this Boxer madness, this
challenge to the world in arms, was the work of a few misguided
officials, and in no sense an expression of the intentions or
wishes of the Throne. War will then immediately give way to
peace, and the altars of our gods will remain inviolate. And
when these things have come to pass, may your Majesties be
pleased to order the execution of your Memorialists, so that
the spirits of Hsü Tung, Kang Yi, and their associates may be
appeased. Smilingly should we go to our death, and enter the
realms of Hades. In a spirit of uncontrollable indignation and
alarm, we present this Memorial with tears, and beg that your
Majesties may deign to peruse it.”