Chapter V: History (2)

The period of this general struggle is spoken of by Chinese historians
as that of "The Contending States." Like that of the "Five Leaders" it
is full of romance; and the examples of heroism, cowardice, diplomatic
skill and philosophical equanimity which fill the pages of its history
have become the subject of elegant literature in prose and poetry. The
political development of the Chou dynasty is the exact counterpart of
that of its spiritual life as shown in the contemporaneous literature.
The orthodox conservative spirit which reflects the ethical views of
the emperor and his royal partisans is represented by the name
Confucius (551-479 B.C.). The great sage had collected old traditions
and formulated the moral principles which had been dormant in the
Chinese nation for centuries. His doctrines tended to support the
maintenance of central power; so did those of other members of his
school, especially Mencius. Filial love showed itself as obedience to
the parents in the family and as loyalty to the emperor and his
government in public life. It was the highest virtue, according to the
Confucian school. The history of the nation as taught in the
_Shu-king_ was in its early part merely an illustration of
Confucianist ideas about good and bad government. The perpetual advice
to rulers was: "Be like Yau, Shun and Yue, and you will be right."
Confucianism was dominant during the earlier centuries of the Chou
dynasty, whose lucky star began to wane when doctrines opposed to it
got the upper hand. The philosophical schools built up on the
doctrines of Lau-tzi had in the course of generations become
antagonistic, and found favour with those who did not endorse that
loyalty to the emperor demanded by Mencius; so had other thinkers,
some of whom had preached morals which were bound to break up all
social relations, like the philosopher of egotism, Yang Chu, according
to Mencius disloyalty personified and the very reverse of his ideal,
the duke of Chou. The egotism recommended by Yang Chu to the
individual had begun to be practised on a large scale by the
contending states, their governments and sovereigns, some of whom had
long discarded Confucian rites under the influence of Tatar
neighbours. It appears that the anti-Confucian spirit which paved the
way towards the final extinction of Wu-wang's dynasty received its
chief nourishment from the Tatar element in the population of the
northern and western boundary states. Among these Ts'in was the most
prominent. Having placed itself in the possession of the territories
of nearly all of the remaining states, Ts'in made war against the last
shadow emperor, Nan-wang who had attempted to form an alliance against
the powerful usurper, with the result that the western part of the
Chou dominion was lost to the aggressor.

Nan-wang died soon after (256 B.C.), and a relative whom he had
appointed regent was captured in 249 B.C., when the king of Ts'in put
an end to this last remnant of the once glorious Chou dynasty by
annexing its territory. The king had already secured the possession of
the Nine Tripods, huge bronze vases said to have been cast by the
emperor Yue as representing the nine divisions of his empire and since
preseryed in the treasuries of all the various emperors as a symbol of
Imperial power. With the loss of these tripods Nan-wang had forfeited
the right to call himself "Son of Heaven." Another prerogative was the
offering of sacrifice to Shang-ti, the Supreme Ruler, or God, with
whom only the emperor was supposed to communicate. The king of Ts'in
had performed the ceremony as early as 253 B.C. (F. H.*)

(C)--_From the Ts'in Dynasty to 1875._

Ts'in dynasty 249-210 B.C.

Shi Hwang-ti.

Shi Hwang-ti.

After the fall of the Chou dynasty a kind of interregnum followed during which China was practically without an emperor. This was the time when the state of Ts'in asserted itself as the leader and finally as the master of all the contending states. Its king, Chau-siang, who died in 251 B.C., though virtually emperor, abstained from adopting the imperial title. He was succeeded by his son, Hiao-wen Wang, who died after a three days' reign. Chwan-siang Wang, his son and successor, was a man of no mark. He died in 246 B.C. giving place to Shi Hwang-ti, "the first universal emperor." This sovereign was then only thirteen, but he speedily made his influence felt everywhere. He chose Hien-yang, the modern Si-gan Fu, as his capital, and built there a magnificent palace, which was the wonder and admiration of his contemporaries. He abolished the feudal system, and divided the country into provinces over whom he set officers directly responsible to himself. He constructed roads through the empire, he formed canals, and erected numerous and handsome public buildings.

Having settled the internal affairs of his kingdom, he turned his
attention to the enemies beyond his frontier. Chief among these were
the Hiung-nu Tatars, whose attacks had for years disquieted the
Chinese and neighbouring principalities. Against these foes he marched
with an army of 300,000 men, exterminating those in the neighbourhood
of China, and driving the rest into Mongolia. On his return from this
campaign he was called upon to face a formidable rebellion in Ho-nan,
which had been set on foot by the adherents of the feudal princes whom
he had dispossessed. Having crushed the rebellion, he marched
southwards and subdued the tribes on the south of the Nan-shan ranges,
i.e. the inhabitants of the modern provinces of Fu-kien, Kwang-tung
and Kwang-si. The limits of his empire were thus as nearly as possible
those of modern China proper. One monument remains to bear witness to
his energy. Finding that the northern states of Ts'in, Chao and Yen
were building lines of fortification along their northern frontier for
protection against the Hiung-nu, he conceived the idea of building one
gigantic wall, which was to stretch across the whole northern limit of
the huge empire from the sea to the farthest western corner of the
modern province of Kan-suh. This work was begun under his immediate
supervision in 214 B.C. His reforming zeal made him unpopular with the
upper classes. Schoolmen and pedants held up to the admiration of the
people the heroes of the feudal times and the advantages of the system
they administered. Seeing in this propaganda danger to the state Shi
Hwang-ti determined to break once and for all with the past. To this
end he ordered the destruction of all books having reference to the
past history of the empire, and many scholars were put to death for
failing in obedience to it. (See _infra Sec. Chinese Literature, Sec.Sec.
History._) The measure was unpopular and on his death (210 B.C.)
rebellion broke out. His son and successor Erh-shi, a weak and
debauched youth, was murdered after having offered a feeble resistance
to his enemies. His son Tsze-yung surrendered to Liu Pang, the prince
of Han, one of the two generals who were the leaders of the rebellion.
He afterwards fell into the hands of Hiang Yu, the other chieftain,
who put him and his family and associates to death. Hiang Yu aspiring
to imperial honours, war broke out between him and Liu Pang. After
five years' conflict Hiang Yu was killed in a decisive battle before
Wu-kiang. Liu Pang was then proclaimed emperor (206 B.C.) under the
title of Kao-ti, and the new line was styled the Han dynasty.

Han dynasty 206 B.C.

Kao-ti established his capital at Lo-yang in Ho-nan, and afterwards removed it to Chang-an in Shen-si. Having founded his right to rebel on the oppressive nature of the laws promulgated by Shi Hwang-ti, he abolished the ordinances of Ts'in, except that referring to the destruction of the books--for, like his great predecessor, he dreaded the influence exercised by the _literati_--and he exchanged the worship of the gods of the soil of Ts'in for that of those of Han, his native state. His successor Hwei-ti (194-179 B.C.), however, gave every encouragement to literature, and appointed a commission to restore as far as possible the texts which had been destroyed by Shi Hwang-ti. In this the commission was very successful. It was discovered that in many cases the law had been evaded, while in numerous instances scholars were found to write down from memory the text of books of which all copies had been destroyed, though in some cases the purity of the text is doubtful and in other cases there were undoubted forgeries. A period of repose was now enjoyed by the empire. There was peace within its borders, and its frontiers remained unchallenged, except by the Hiung-nu, who suffered many severe defeats. Thwarted in their attacks on China, these marauders attacked the kingdom of the Yueh-chi, which had grown up in the western extremity of Kan-suh, and after much fighting drove their victims along the T'ien-shan-nan-lu to the territory between Turkestan and the Caspian Sea. This position of affairs suggested to the emperor the idea of forming an offensive and defensive alliance with the Yueh-chi against the Hiung-nu. With this object the general Chang K'ien was sent as an ambassador to western Tatary. After having been twice imprisoned by the Hiung-nu he returned to China. Chang K'ien had actually reached the court of the Yueh-chi, or Indo-Scythians as they were called owing to their having become masters of India later on, and paid a visit to the kingdom of Bactria, recently conquered by the Yueh-chi. His report on the several kingdoms of western Asia opened up a new world to the Chinese, and numerous elements of culture, plants and animals were then imported for the first time from the west into China. While in Bactria Chan K'ien's attention was first drawn to the existence of India, and attempts to send expeditions, though at first fruitless, finally led to its discovery. Under Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.) the power of the Hiung-nu was broken and eastern Turkestan changed into a Chinese colony, through which caravans could safely pass to bring back merchandise and art treasures from Persia and the Roman market. By the Hans the feudal system was restored in a modified form; 103 feudal principalities were created, but they were more or less under the jurisdiction of civil governors appointed to administer the thirteen _chows_ (provinces) into which the country was divided. About the beginning of the Christian era Wang Mang rose in revolt against the infant successor of P'ing-ti (A.D. 1), and in A.D. 9 proclaimed himself emperor. He, however, only gained the suffrages of a portion of the nation, and before long his oppressive acts estranged his supporters. In A.D. 23 Liu Siu, one of the princes of Han, completely defeated him. His head was cut off, and his body was torn in pieces by his own soldiery.

Eastern Han dynasty, A.D. 23.

Liu Siu, was proclaimed emperor under the title of Kwang-wu-ti, reigned from A.D. 58 to 76. Having fixed on Lo-yang in Ho-nan as his capital, the line of which he was the first emperor became known as the Eastern Han dynasty. It is also known as the Later Han dynasty. During the reign of his successor Ming-ti, A.D. 65, Buddhism was introduced from India into China (see ante Sec. _Religion_). About the same time the celebrated general Pan Ch'ao was sent on an embassy to the king of Shen-shen, a small state of Turkestan, near the modern Pidjan. Before long he added the states of Shen-shen, Khotan, Kucha and Kashgar as apanages to the Chinese crown, and for a considerable period the country enjoyed prosperity. The Han dynasty (including in the term the Eastern Han dynasty) has been considered the first national dynasty and is one of the most famous in China; nor has any ruling family been more popular. The Chinese, especially the northern Chinese, still call themselves "the sons of Han." The wealth and trade as well as the culture of the country was greatly developed, and the competitive examinations for literary degrees instituted. The homogeneity of the nation was so firmly established that subsequent dissensions and conquests could not alter fundamentally the character of the nation.

Wei dynasty

Towards the end of the 2nd century the power of the Eastern Hans
declined. In 173 a virulent pestilence, which continued for eleven
years, broke out. A magical cure for this plague was said to have been
discovered by a Taoist priest named Chang Chio, who in a single month
won a sufficiently large following to enable him to gain possession of
the northern provinces of the empire. He was, however, defeated by
Ts'aou Ts'aou, another aspirant to imperial honours, whose son, Ts'aou
P'ei, on the death of Hien-ti (A.D. 220), proclaimed himself emperor,
adopting the title of Wei as the appellation of his dynasty. There
were then, however, two other claimants to the throne, Liu Pei and Sun
Ch'uean, and the three adventurers agreed to divide the empire between
them. Ts'aou P'ei, under the title of Wen-ti, ruled over the kingdom
of Wei (220), which occupied the whole of the central and northern
portion of China. Liu Pei established the Shuh Han dynasty in the
modern province of Sze-ch'uen (221), and called himself Chao-lieh-ti;
and to Sun Ch'uean fell the southern provinces of the empire, from the
Yangtsze-kiang southwards, including the modern Tongking, which he
formed into the kingdom of Wu with Nan-king for his capital, adopting
for himself the imperial style of Ta-te (A.D. 222).

"Three kingdom" period.

Western Tsin dynasty.

China during the period of the "Three Kingdoms" was a house divided
against itself. Liu Pei, as a descendant of the house of Han, looked
upon himself as the rightful sovereign of the whole empire, and he
despatched an army under Chu-ko Liang to support his claims. This army
was met by an Oppossing force under the Wei commander Sze-ma I, of
whom Chinese historians say that "he led armies like a god," and who,
by adopting a Fabian policy, completely discomfited his adversary. But
the close of this campaign brought no peace to the country. Wars
became chronic, and the reins of power slipped out of the hands of
emperors into those of their generals. Foremost among these were the
members of the Sze-ma family of Wei. Sze-ma I left a son, Sze-ma Chao,
scarcely less distinguished than himself, and when Sze-ma Chao died
his honours descended to Sze-ma Yen, who deposed the ruling sovereign
of Wei, and proclaimed himself emperor of China (A.D. 265). His
dynasty he styled the Western Tsin dynasty, and he adopted for himself
the title of Wu-ti. The most noticeable event in this reign was the
advent of the ambassadors of the emperor Diocletian in 284. For some
years the neighbouring states appear to have transferred their
allegiance from the house of Wei to that of Tsin. Wu-ti's successors
proving, however, weak and incapable, the country soon fell again into
disorder. The Hiung-nu renewed incursions into the empire at the
beginning of the 4th century, and in the confusion which followed, an
adventurer named Liu Yuen established himself (in 311) as emperor,
first at P'ing-yang in Shan-si and afterwards in Lo-yang and Chang-an.
The history of this period is very chaotic. Numerous states sprang
into existence, some founded by the Hiung-nu and others by the Sien-pi
tribe, a Tungusic clan, inhabiting a territory to the north of China,
which afterwards established the Liao dynasty in China. In 419 the
Eastern Tsin dynasty came to an end, and with it disappeared for
nearly two hundred years all semblance of united authority. The
country became divided into two parts, the north and the south. In the
north four families reigned successively, two of which were of Sien-pi
origin, viz. the Wei and the How Chow, the other two, the Pih Ts'i and
the How Liang, being Chinese. In the south five different houses
supplied rulers, who were all of Chinese descent.

Suy dynasty.

This period of disorder was brought to a close by the establishment of
the Suy dynasty (590). Among the officials of the ephemeral dynasty of
Chow was one Yang Kien, who on his daughter becoming empress (578) was
created duke of Suy. Two years later Yang Kien proclaimed himself
emperor. The country, weary of contention, was glad to acknowledge his
undivided authority; and during the sixteen years of his reign the
internal affairs of China were comparatively peaceably administered.
The emperor instituted an improved code of laws, and added 5000
volumes to the 10,000 which composed the imperial library. Abroad, his
policy was equally successful. He defeated the Tatars and chastised
the Koreans, who had for a long period recognized Chinese suzerainty,
but were torn by civil wars and were disposed to reject her authority.
After his death in 604 his second son forced the heir to the throne to
strangle himself, and then seized the throne. This usurper, Yang-ti,
sent expeditions against the Tatars, and himself headed an expedition
against the Uighurs, while one of his generals annexed the Lu-chu
Islands to the imperial crown. During his reign the volumes in the
imperial library were increased to 54,000, and he spent vast sums in
erecting a magnificent palace at Lo-yang, and in constructing
unprofitable canals. These and other extravagances laid so heavy a
burden on the country that discontent began again to prevail, and on
the emperor's return from a successful expedition against the Koreans,
he found the empire divided into rebellious factions. In the troubles
which followed General Li Yuen became prominent. On the death of the
emperor by assassination this man set Kung-ti, the rightful heir, on
the throne (617) until such time as he should have matured his
schemes.

Tang dynasty.

Kung-ti was poisoned in the following year and Li Yuen proclaimed himself as Kao-tsu, the first emperor of the T'ang dynasty. At this time the Turks were at the height of their power in Asia (see TURKS: _History_), and Kao-tsu was glad to purchase their alliance with money. But divisions weakened the power of the Turks, and T'ai-tsung (reigned 627-650), Kao-tsu's son and successor, regained much of the position in Central Asia which had formerly been held by China. In 640 Hami, Turfan and the rest of the Turkish territory were again included within the Chinese empire, and four military governorships were appointed in Central Asia, viz. at Kucha, Khotan, Kharastan and Kashgar. At the same time the frontier was extended as far as eastern Persia and the Caspian Sea. So great was now the fame of China, that ambassadors from Nepal, Magadha, Persia and Constantinople (643) came to pay their court to the emperor. Under T'ai-tsung there was national unity and peace, and in consequence agriculture and commerce as well as literature flourished. The emperor gave direct encouragements to the Nestorians, and gave a favourable reception to an embassy from Mahommed (see ante Sec. _Religion_). On the accession of Kao-tsung (650) his wife, Wu How, gained supreme influence, and on the death of her husband in 683 she set aside his lawful successor, Chung-tsung, and took possession of the throne. This was the first occasion the country was ruled by a dowager empress. She governed with discretion, and her armies defeated the Khitan in the north-east and also the Tibetans, who had latterly gained possession of Kucha, Khotan and Kashgar. On her death, in 705, Chung-tsung partially left the obscurity in which he had lived during his mother's reign. But his wife, desiring to play a similar role to that enjoyed by her mother-in-law, poisoned him and set his son, Jui-tsung (710), on the throne. This monarch, who was weak and vicious, was succeeded by Yuen-tsung (713), who introduced reform into the administration and encouraged literature and learning. The king of Khokand applied for aid against the Tibetans and Arabs, and Yuen-tsung sent an army to his succour, but his general was completely defeated. During the disorder which arose in consequence of the invasion of the northern provinces by the Khitan, General An Lu-shan, an officer of Turkish descent, placed himself at the head of a revolt, and having secured Tung-kwan on the Yellow river, advanced on Chang-an. Thereupon the emperor fled, and placed his son, Su-tsung (756-762), on the throne. This sovereign, with the help of the forces of Khotan, Khokand and Bokhara, of the Uighurs and of some 4000 Arabs sent by the caliph Mansur, completely defeated An Lu-shan. During the following reigns the Tibetans made constant incursions into the western provinces of the empire, and T'ai-tsung (763-780) purchased the assistance of the Turks against those intruders by giving a Chinese princess as wife to the khan.

At this epoch the eunuchs of the palace gained an unwonted degree of
power, and several of the subsequent emperors fell victims to their
plots. The T'ang dynasty, which for over a hundred years had governed
firmly and for the good of the nation, began to decline. The history
of the 8th and 9th centuries is for the most part a monotonous record
of feeble governments, oppressions and rebellions. Almost the only
event worth chronicling is the iconoclastic policy of the emperor
Wu-tsung (841-847). Viewing the increase of monasteries and
ecclesiastical establishments as an evil, he abolished all temples,
closed the monasteries and nunneries, and sent the inmates back to
their families. Foreign priests were subjected to the same repressive
legislation, and Christians, Buddhists and Magi were bidden to return
whence they came. Buddhism again revived during the reign of the
emperor I-tsung (860-874), who, having discovered a bone of Buddha,
brought it to the capital in great state. By internal dissensions the
empire became so weakened that the prince of Liang found no difficulty
in gaining possession of the throne (907). He took the title of
T'ai-tsu, being the first emperor of the Later Liang dynasty. Thus
ended the T'ang dynasty, which is regarded as being the golden age of
Chinese literature.

Five dynasties, viz. the Later Liang, the Later T'ang, the Later Tsin,
the Later Han and the Later Chow, followed each other between the
years 907 and 960. Though the monarchs of these lines nominally held
sway over the empire, their real power was confined to very narrow
limits. The disorders which were rife during the time when the T'ang
dynasty was tottering to its fall fostered the development of
independent states, and so arose Liang in Ho-nan and Shan-tung, Ki in
Shen-si, Hwai-nan in Kiang-nan, Chow in Sze-ch'uen and parts of
Shen-si and Hu-kwang, Wu-yu[)e] in Cheh-kiang, Tsu and King-nan in
Hu-kwang, Ling-nan in Kwang-tung and the Uighurs in Tangut.

Sung dynasty.

A partial end was made to this recognized disorganization when, in 960, General Chao Kw'ang-yin was proclaimed by the army emperor in succession to the youthful Kung-ti, who was compelled to abdicate. The circumstances of the time justified the change. It required a strong hand to weld the empire together again, and to resist the attacks of the Khitan Tatars, whose rule at this period extended over the whole of Manchuria and Liao-tung. Against these aggressive neighbours T'ai-tsu (_ne_ Chao Kw'ang-yin) directed his efforts with varying success, and he died in 976, while the war was still being waged. His son T'ai-tsung (976-997) entered on the campaign with energy, but in the end was compelled to conclude a peace with the Khitan. His successor, Chen-tsung (997-1022), paid them tribute to abstain from further incursions. Probably this tribute was not sent regularly; at all events, under Jen-tsung (1023-1064), the Khitan again threatened to invade the empire, and were only bought off by the promise of an annual tribute of taels 200,000 of silver, besides a great quantity of silken piece goods. Neither was this arrangement long binding, and so formidable were the advances made by the Tatars in the foilowing reigns, that Hwei-tsung (1101-1126) invited the Nuechih Tatars to expel the Khitan from Liao-tung. This they did, but having once possessed themselves of the country they declined to yield it to the Chinese, and the result was that a still more aggressive neighbour was established on the north-eastern frontier of China. The Nuechih or Kin, as they now styled themselves, overran the provinces of Chih-li, Shen-si, Shan-si and Ho-nan, and during the reign of Kao-tsung (1127-1163) they advanced their conquests to the line of the Yangtsze-kiang. From this time the Sung ruled only over southern China; while the Kin or "Golden" dynasty reign"d in the north. The Kin made Chung-tu, which occupied in part the site of the modern Peking, their usual residence. The Sung fixed their capital at Nanking and afterwards at Hangchow. Between them and the Kin there was almost constant war.

Mongol invasion: 12th century.

During this period the Mongols began to acquire power in eastern Asia, and about the beginning of the 12th century the forces of Jenghiz Khan (q.v.) invaded the north-western frontier of China and the principality of Hia, which at that time consisted of the modern provinces of Shen-si and Kan-suh. To purchase the good-will of the Mongols the king of Hia agreed to pay them a tribute, and gave a princess in marriage to their ruler. In consequence of a dispute with the Kin emperor Wei-shao Wang, Jenghiz Khan determined to invade Liao-tung. He was aided by the followers of the Khitan leader Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai, and in alliance with this general he captured Liao-yang, the capital city.

After an unsuccessful invasion of China in 1212, Jenghiz Khan renewed
the attack in 1213. He divided his armies into four divisions, and
made a general advance southwards. His soldiers swept over Ho-nan,
Chih-li and Shan-tung, destroying upwards of ninety cities. It was
their boast that a horseman might ride without stumbling over the
sites where those cities had stood. Panic-stricken, the emperor moved
his court from Chung-tu to K'ai-feng Fu, much against the advice of
his ministers, who foresaw the disastrous effect this retreat would
have on the fortunes of Kin. The state of Sung, which up to this time
had paid tribute, now declined to recognize Kin as its feudal chief,
and a short time afterwards declared war against its quondam ally.
Meanwhile, in 1215, Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai advanced into China by the
Shan-hai Kwan, and made himself master of Peking, one of the few
cities in Chih-li which remained to Kin. After this victory his nobles
wished him to proclaim himself emperor, but he refused, being mindful
of an oath which he had sworn to Jenghiz Khan. In 1216 Tung-kwan, a
mountain pass on the frontiers of Ho-nan and Shen-si, and the scene of
numerous dynastic battles (as it is the only gateway between
north-eastern and north-western China), was taken by the invaders. As
the war dragged on the resistance offered by the Kin grew weaker and
weaker. In 1220 Chi-nan Fu, the capital of Shan-tung, was taken, and
five years later Jenghiz Khan marched an army westward into Hia and
conquered the forces of the king. Two years later (1227) Jenghiz Khan
died.

With the view to the complete conquest of China by the Mongols,
Jenghiz declined to nominate either of the eldest two sons who had
been born to his Chinese wives as his heir, but chose his third son
Ogdai, whose mother was a Tatar. On hearing of the death of Jenghiz
Khan the Kin sent an embassy to his successor desiring peace, but
Ogdai told them there would be no peace for them until their dynasty
should be overthrown. Hitherto the Mongols had been without any code
of laws. But the consolidation of the nation by the conquests of
Jenghiz Khan made it necessary to establish a recognized code of laws,
and one of the first acts of Ogdai was to form such a code. With the
help also of Yeh-lue Ts'u-ts'ai, he established custom-houses in
Chih-li, Shan-tung, Shan-si and Liao-tung; and for this purpose
divided these provinces into ten departments. Meanwhile the war with
the Kin was carried on with energy. In 1230 Si-gan Fu was taken, and
sixty important posts were captured. Two years later, Tu-le, brother
of Ogdai, took Feng-siang Fu and Han-chung Fu, in the flight from
which last-named place 100,000 persons are said to have perished.
Following the course of the river Han in his victorious career, this
general destroyed 140 towns and fortresses, and defeated the army of
Kin at Mount San-feng.

The Kin dynasty overthrown.

In 1232 the Mongols made an alliance with the state of Sung, by which,
on condition of Sung helping to destroy Kin, Ho-nan was to be the
property of Sung for ever. The effect of this coalition soon became
apparent. Barely had the Kin emperor retreated from K'ai-feng Fu to
Ju-ning Fu in Ho-nan when the former place fell into the hands of the
allies. Next fell Loyang, and the victorious generals then marched on
to besiege Ju-ning Fu. The presence of the emperor gave energy to the
defenders, and they held out until every animal in the city had been
killed for food, until every old and useless person had suffered death
to lessen the number of hungry mouths, until so many able-bodied men
had fallen that the women manned the ramparts, and then the allies
stormed the walls. The emperor burned himself to death in his palace,
that his body might not fall into the hands of his enemies. For a few
days the shadow of the imperial crown rested on the head of his heir
Chang-lin, but in a tumult which broke out amongst his followers he
lost his life, and with him ended the "Golden" dynasty.

Notwithstanding the treaty between Ogdai and Sung, no sooner were the
spoils of Kin to be divided than war broke out again between them, in
prosecuting which the Mongol armies swept over the provinces of
Sze-ch'uen, Hu-kwang, Kiang-nan and Ho-nan, and were checked only when
they reached the walls of Lu-chow Fu in Ngan-hui. Ogdai died in 1241,
and was nominally succeeded by his grandson Cheliemen. But one of his
widows, Tolickona, took possession of the throne, and after exercising
rule for four years, established her son Kwei-yew as great khan. In
1248 his life was cut short, and the nobles, disregarding the claims
of Cheliemen, proclaimed as emperor Mangu, the eldest son of Tu-le.
Under this monarch the war against Sung was carried on with energy,
and Kublai, outstripping the bounds of Sung territory, made his way
into the province of Yun-nan, at that time divided into a number of
independent states, and having attached them to his brother's crown he
passed on into Tibet, Tongking and Cochin-China, and thence striking
northwards entered the province of Kwang-si.

Kublai Khan emperior.

On the death of Mangu in 1259 Kublai (q.v.) ascended the throne. Never in the history of China was the nation more illustrious, nor its power more widely felt, than under his sovereignty. During the first twenty years of his reign Sung kept up a resistance against his authority. Their last emperor Ping-ti, seeing his cause lost, drowned himself in the sea. The Sung dynasty, which had ruled southern China 320 years, despite its misfortunes is accounted one of the great dynasties of China. During its sway arts and literature were cultivated and many eminent writers flourished. His enemies subdued, Kublai Khan in 1280 assumed complete jurisdiction as emperor of China. He took the title of Shit-su and founded what is known as the Yuen dynasty. He built a new capital close to Chung-tu, which became known as Kaanbaligh (city of the khan), in medieval European chronicles, Cambaluc, and later as Peking. At this time his authority was acknowledged "from the Frozen Sea, almost to the Straits of Malacca. With the exception of Hindustan, Arabia and the westernmost parts of Asia, all the Mongol princes as far as the Dnieper declared themselves his vassals, and brought regularly their tribute." It was during this reign that Marco Polo visited China, and he describes in glowing colours the virtues and glories of the "great khan." His rule was characterized by discretion and munificence. He undertook public works, he patronized literature, and relieved the distress of the poor, but the Chinese never forgot that he was an alien and regarded him as a barbarian. He died unregretted in 1294. His son had died during his lifetime, and after some contention his grandson Timur ascended the throne under the title of Yuen-cheng. This monarch died in 1307 after an uneventful reign, and, as he left no son, Wu-tsung, a Mongol prince, became emperor. To him succeeded Jen-tsung in 1312, who made himself conspicuous by the honour he showed to the memory of Confucius, and by distributing offices more equally between Mongols and Chinese than had hitherto been done. This act of justice gave great satisfaction to the Chinese, and his death ended a peaceful and prosperous reign in 1320. At this time there appears to have been a considerable commercial intercourse between Europe and China. But after Jen-tsung's death the dynasty fell on evil days. The Mongols in adopting Chinese civilization had lost much of their martial spirit. They were still regarded as alien by the Chinese and numerous secret societies were formed to achieve their overthrow. Jen-tsung's successors were weak and incapable rulers, and in the person of Shun-ti (1333-1368) were summed up the vices and faults of his predecessors. Revolts broke out, and finally this descendant of Jenghiz Khan was compelled to fly before Chu Yueen-chang, the son of a Chinese labouring man. Deserted by his followers, he sought refuge in Ying-chang Fu, and there the last of the Yueen dynasty died. These Mongol emperors, whatever their faults, had shown tolerance to Christian missionaries and Papal legates (see _ante_ Sec. _The Medieval Cathay_).

Ming dynasty.

Chu Yueen-chang met with little opposition, more especially as his first care on becoming possessed of a district was to suppress lawlessness and to establish a settled government. In 1355 he captured Nanking, and proclaimed himself duke of Wu, but carefully avoided adopting any of the insignia of royalty. Even when master of the empire, thirteen years later, he still professed to dislike the idea of assuming the imperial title. His scruples were overcome, and he declared himself emperor in 1368. He carried his arms into Tatary, where he subdued the last semblance of Mongol power in that direction, and then bent his steps towards Liao-tung. Here the Mongols defended themselves with the bravery of despair, but unavailingly, and the conquest of this province left Hung-wu, as the founder of the new or Ming ("Bright") dynasty styled himself, without a foe in the empire.

All intercourse with Europe seems now to have ceased until the
Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, but Hung-wu cultivated
friendly relations with the neighbouring states. As a quondam Buddhist
priest he lent his countenance to that religion to the exclusion of
Taoism, whose priests had for centuries earned the contempt of all but
the most ignorant by their pretended magical arts and their search
after the philosopher's stone. Hung-wu died in 1398 and was succeeded
by his grandson Kien-Wen. Aware that the appointment of this
youth--his father was dead--would give offence to the young emperor's
uncles, Hung-wu had dismissed them to their respective governments.
However, the prince of Yen, his eldest surviving son, rose in revolt
as soon as the news reached him of his nephew's accession, and after
gaining several victories over the armies of Kien-wen he presented
himself before the gates of Nanking, the capital. Treachery opened the
gates to him, and the emperor having fled in the disguise of a monk,
the victorious prince became emperor and took the title of Yung-lo
(1403). At home Yung-lo devoted himself to the encouragement of
literature and the fine arts, and, possibly from a knowledge that
Kien-wen was among the Buddhist priests, he renewed the law
prohibiting Buddhism. Abroad he swept Cochin-China and Tongking within
the folds of his empire and carried his arms into Tatary, where he
made new conquests of waste regions, and erected a monument of his
victories. He died in 1425, and was succeeded by his son Hung-hi.

Hung-hi's reign was short and uneventful. He strove to promote only
such mandarins as had proved themselves to be able and honest, and to
further the welfare of the people. During the reign of his successor,
Sueen-te (1426-1436), the empire suffered the first loss of territory
since the commencement of the dynasty. Cochin-China rebelled and
gained her independence. The next emperor, Cheng-t'ung (1436), was
taken prisoner by a Tatar chieftain, a descendant of the Yueen family
named Yi-sien, who had invaded the northern Erovinces. Having been
completely defeated by a Chinese force from Liao-tung, Yi-sien
liberated his captive, who reoccupied the throne, which during his
imprisonment (1450-1457) had been held by his brother King-ti. The two
following reigns, those of Cheng-hwa (1465-1488) and of Hung-chi
(1488-1506), were quiet and peaceful.

Struggle with Japan for Korea.

The most notable event in the reign of the next monarch, Cheng-te
(1506-1522), was the arrival of the Portuguese at Canton (1517). From
this time dates modern European intercourse with China. Cheng-te
suppressed a formidable insurrection headed by the prince of Ning, but
disorder caused by this civil war encouraged the foreign enemies of
China. From the north came a Tatar army under Yen-ta in 1542, during
the reign of Kia-tsing, which laid waste the province of Shen-si, and
even threatened the capital, and a little later a Japanese fleet
ravaged the littoral provinces. Ill-blood had arisen between the two
peoples before this, and a Japanese colony had been driven out of
Ningpo by force and not without bloodshed a few years previously.
Kia-tsing (d. 1567) was not equal to such emergencies, and his son
Lung-king (1567-1573)sought to placate the Tatar Yen-ta by making him
a prince of the empire and giving him commercial privileges, which
were supplemented by the succeeding emperor Wan-li (1573-1620) by the
grant of land in Shen-si. During the reign of this sovereign, in the
year 1592, the Japanese successfully invaded Korea, and Taikosarna,
the regent of Japan, was on the point of proclaiming himself king of
the peninsula, when a large Chinese force, answering to the invitation
of the king, appeared and completely routed the Japanese army, at the
same time that the Chinese fleet cut off their retreat by sea. In this
extremity the Japanese sued for peace, and sent an embassy to Peking
to arrange terms. But the peace was of short duration. In 1597 the
Japanese again invaded Korea, defeated the Chinese army, destroyed the
Chinese fleet and ravaged the coast. Suddenly, however, when in the
full tide of conquest, they evacuated Korea, which again fell under
the direction of China. Four years later the missionary Matteo Ricci
(q.v.) arrived at the Chinese court; and though at first the emperor
was inclined to send him out of the country, his abilities gradually
won for him the esteem of the sovereign and his ministers, and he
remained the scientific adviser of the court until his death in 1610.

Manchu invasion: 17th century.

About this time the Manchu Tatars, goaded into war by the injustice they were constantly receiving at the hands of the Chinese, led an army into China (in 1616) and completely defeated the force which was sent against them. Three years later they gained possession of the province of Liao-tung. These disasters overwhelmed the emperor, and he died of a broken heart in 1620.

In the same year T'ien-ming, the Manchu sovereign, having declared himself independent, moved the court to San-ku, to the east of Mukden, which, five years later, he made his capital. In 1627 Ts'ung-cheng, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, ascended the Chinese throne. In his reign English merchants first made their appearance at Canton. The empire was now torn by internal dissensions. Rebel bands, enriched by plunder, and grown bold by success, began to assume the proportion of armies. Two rebels, Li Tsze-ch'eng and Shang K'o-hi, decided to divide the empire between them. Li besieged K'ai-feng Fu, the capital of Ho-nan, and so long and closely did he beleaguer it that in the consequent famine human flesh was regularly sold in the markets. At length an imperial force came to raise the siege, but fearful of meeting Li's army, they cut through the dykes of the Yellow River, "China's Sorrow," and flooded the whole country, including the city. The rebels escaped to the mountains, but upwards of 200,000 inhabitants perished in the flood, and the city became a heap of ruins (1642). From K'ai-feng Fu Li marched against the other strongholds of Ho-nan and Shen-si, and was so completely successful that he determined to attack Peking. A treacherous eunuch opened the gates to him, on being informed of which the emperor committed suicide. When the news of this disaster reached the general-commanding on the frontier of Manchu Tatary, he, in an unguarded moment, concluded a peace with the Manchus, and invited them to dispossess Li Tsze-ch'eng. The Manchus entered China, and after defeating a rebel army sent against them, they marched towards Peking. On hearing of the approach of the invaders, Li Tsze-ch'eng, after having set fire to the imperial palace, evacuated the city, but was overtaken, and his force was completely routed.

Ta-ts'ing dynasty.

The Chinese now wished the Manchus to retire, but, having taken possession of Peking, they proclaimed the ninth son of T'ien-ming emperor of China under the title of Shun-chi, and adopted the name of Ta-ts'ing, or "Great Pure," for the dynasty (1644). Meanwhile the mandarins at Nanking had chosen an imperial prince to ascend the throne. At this most inopportune moment "a claimant" to the throne, in the person of a pretended son of the last emperor, appeared at court. While this contention prevailed inside Nanking the Tatar army appeared at the walls. There was no need for them to use force. The gates were thrown open, and they took possession of the city without bloodshed. Following the conciliatory policy they had everywhere pursued, they confirmed the mandarins in their offices and granted a general amnesty to all who would lay down their arms. As the Tatars entered the city the emperor left it, and after wandering about for some days in great misery, he drowned himself in the Yangtsze-kiang. Thus ended the Ming dynasty, and the empire passed again under a foreign yoke. By the Mings, who partly revived the feudal system by making large territorial grants to members of the reigning house, China was divided into fifteen provinces; the existing division into eighteen provinces was made by the Manchus.

All accounts agree in stating that the Manchu conquerors are
descendants of a branch of the family which gave the Kin dynasty to
the north of China; and in lieu of any authentic account of their
early history, native writers have thrown a cloud of fable over their
origin (see MANCHURIA). In the 16th century they were strong enough to
cope with their Chinese neighbours. Doubtless the Mings tried to check
their ambition by cruel reprisals, but against this must be put
numerous Manchu raids into Liao-tung.

The accession to the throne of the emperor Shun-chi did not restore
peace to the country. In Kiang-si, Fu-kien, Kwang-tung and Kwang-si
the adherents of the Ming dynasty defended themselves vigorously but
unsuccessfully against the invaders, while the pirate Cheng Chi-lung,
the father of the celebrated Coxinga, kept up a predatory warfare
against them on the coast. Eventually he was induced to visit Peking,
where he was thrown into prison and died. Coxinga, warned by his
father's example, determined to leave the mainland and to seek an
empire elsewhere. His choice fell on Formosa, and having driven out
the Dutch, who had established themselves in the island in 1624, he
held possession until the reign of K'ang-hi, when (1682) he resigned
in favour of the imperial government. Meanwhile a prince of the house
of Ming was proclaimed emperor in Kwang-si, under the title of
Yung-li. The Tatars having reduced Fu-kien and Kiang-si, and having
taken Canton after a siege of eight months, completely routed his
followers, and Yung-li was compelled to fly to Pegu. Some years later,
with the help of adherents in Yun-nan and Kwei-chow, he tried to
regain the throne, but his army was scattered, and he was taken
prisoner and strangled. Gradually opposition to the new regime became
weaker and weaker, and the shaved head with the pig-tail--the symbol
of Tatar sovereignty--became more and more adopted. In 1651 died Ama
Wang, the uncle of Shun-chi, who had acted as regent during his
nephew's minority, and the emperor then assumed the government of the
state. He appears to have taken a great interest in science, and to
have patronized Adam Schaal, a German Jesuit, who was at that time
resident at Peking. It was during his reign (1656) that the first
Russian embassy arrived at the capital, but as the envoy declined to
_kowtow_ before the emperor he was sent back without having been
admitted to an audience.

After an unquiet reign of seventeen years Shun-chi died (1661). and
was succeeded by his son K'ang-hi. He came into collision with the
Russians, who had reached the Amur regions about 1640 and had built a
fort on the upper Amur; but by the Treaty of Nerchinsk, concluded in
1689 (the first treaty made between China and a European power), the
dispute was settled, the Amur being taken as the frontier. K'ang-hi
was indefatigable in administering the affairs of the empire, and he
devoted much of his time to literary and scientific studies under the
guidance of the Jesuits. The dictionary of the Chinese language,
published under his superintendence, proves him to have been as great
a scholar as his conquests over the Eleuths show him to have been
famous as a general. During one of his hunting expeditions to Mongolia
he caught a fatal cold, and he died in 1721. Under his rule Tibet was
added to the empire, which extended from the Siberian frontier to
Cochin-China, and from the China Sea to Turkestan. During his reign
there was a great earthquake at Peking, in which 400,000 people are
said to have perished.

K'ien-lung, who began to reign in 1735, was ambitious and warlike. He
marched an army into Hi, which he converted into a Chinese province,
and he afterwards added eastern Turkestan to the empire. Twice he
invaded Burma, and once he penetrated into Cochin-China, but in
neither country were his arms successful. He is accused of great
cruelty towards his subjects, which they repaid by rebelling against
him. During his reign the Mahommedan standard was first raised in
Kan-suh. (Since the Mongol conquest in the 13th century there had been
a considerable immigration of Moslems into western China; and numbers
of Chinese had become converts). But the Mussulmans were unable to
stand against the imperial troops; their armies were dispersed; ten
thousand of them were exiled; and an order was issued that every
Mahommedan in Kan-suh above the age of fifteen should be put to death
(1784).

K'ien-lung wrote incessantly, both poetry and prose, collected
libraries and republished works of value. His campaigns furnished him
with themes for his verses, and in the Summer Palace was found a
handsome manuscript copy of a laudatory poem he composed on the
occasion of his war against the Gurkhas. This was one of the most
successful of his military undertakings. His generals marched 70,000
men into Nepal to within 60 miles of the British frontiers, and having
subjugated the Gurkhas they received the submission of the Nepalese,
and acquired an additional hold over Tibet (1792). In other directions
his arms were not so successful. There is no poem commemorating the
campaign against the rebellious Formosans, nor lament over the loss of
100,000 men in that island, and the last few years of his reign were
disturbed by outbreaks among the Miao-tsze, hill tribes living in the
mountains in the provinces of Kwei-chow and Kwang-si. In 1795, after a
reign of sixty years, K'ien-lung abdicated in favour of his fifteenth
son, who adopted the title of Kia-k'ing as the style of his reign.
K'ien-lung died at the age of eighty-eight in 1798.

Trade with Europe.

During the reign of K'ien-lung commerce between Europe and Canton--the only Chinese port then open to foreign trade--had attained important dimensions. It was mainly in the hands of the Portuguese, the British and the Dutch. The British trade was then a monopoly of the East India Company. The trade, largely in opium, tea and silk, was subject to many exactions and restrictions,[49] and many acts of gross injustice were committed on the persons of Englishmen. To obtain some redress the British government at length sent an embassy to Peking (1793) and Lord Macartney was chosen to represent George III. on the occasion. The mission was treated as showing that Great Britain was a state tributary to China, and Lord Macartney was received with every courtesy. But the concessions he sought were not accorded, and in this sense his mission was a failure.

Kia-k'ing's reign was disturbed and disastrous. In the northern and western provinces, rebellion after rebellion broke out, due in a great measure to the carelessness, incompetency and obstinacy of the emperor, and the coasts were infested with pirates, whose number and organization enabled them for a long time to hold the imperial fleet in check. Meanwhile the condition of the foreign merchants at Canton had not improved, and to set matters on a better footing the British government despatched a second ambassador in the person of Lord Amherst to Peking in 1816. As he declined to _kowtow_ before the emperor, he was not admitted to the imperial presence and the mission proved abortive. Destitute of all royal qualities, a slave to his passions, and the servant of caprice, Kia-k'ing died in 1820. The event fraught with the greatest consequences to China which occurred in his reign (though at the time it attracted little attention) was the arrival of the first Protestant missionary, Dr R. Morrison (q.v.), who reached Canton in 1807.

Tao-kwang (1820-1850), the new emperor, though possessed in his early years of considerable energy, had no sooner ascended the throne than he gave himself up to the pursuit of pleasure. The reforms which his first manifestoes foreshadowed never seriously occupied his attention. Insurrection occurred in Formosa, Kwang-si, Ho-nan and other parts of the empire, and the Triad Society, which had originated during the reign of K'ang-hi, again became formidable.

War with Great Britain, 1840.

More important to the future of the country than the internal disturbances was the new attitude taken at this time towards China by the nations of Europe. Hitherto the European missionaries and traders in China had been dependent upon the goodwill of the Chinese. The Portuguese had been allowed to settle at Macao (q.v.) for some centuries; Roman Catholic missionaries since the time of Ricci had been alternately patronized and persecuted; Protestant missionaries had scarcely gained a foothold; the Europeans allowed to trade at Canton continued to suffer under vexatious regulations--the Chinese in general regarded Europeans as barbarians, "foreign devils." Of the armed strength of Europe they were ignorant. They were now to be undeceived, Great Britain being the first power to take action. The hardships inflicted on the British merchants at Canton became so unbearable that when, in 1834, the monopoly of the East India Company ceased, the British government sent Lord Napier as minister to superintend the foreign trade at that port. Lord Napier was inadequately supported, and the anxieties of his position brought on an attack of fever, from which he died at Macao after a few months' residence in China. The chief cause of complaint adduced by the mandarins was the introduction of opium by the merchants, and for years they attempted by every means in their power to put a stop to its importation. At length Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir Charles) Elliot, the superintendent of trade, in 1839 agreed that all the opium in the hands of Englishmen should be given up to the native authorities, and he exacted a pledge from the merchants that they would no longer deal in the drug. On the 3rd of April 20,283 chests of opium were handed over to the mandarins and were by them destroyed. The surrender of the opium led to further demands by Lin Tze-su, the Chinese imperial commissioner, demands which were considered by the British government to amount to a _casus belli_, and in 1840 war was declared. In the same year the fleet captured Chusan, and in the following year the Bogue Forts fell, in consequence of which operations the Chinese agreed to cede Hong-Kong to the victors and to pay them an indemnity of 6,000,000 dollars. As soon as this news reached Peking, Ki Shen, who had succeeded Commissioner Lin, was dismissed from his post and degraded, and Yi Shen, another Tatar, was appointed in his room. Before the new commissioner reached his post Canton had fallen into the hands of Sir Hugh Gough, and shortly afterwards Amoy, Ning-po, Tinghai in Chusan, Chapu, Shanghai and Chin-kiang Fu shared the same fate. Nanking would also have been captured had not the imperial government, dreading the loss of the "Southern Capital," proposed terms of peace. Sir Henry Pottinger, who had succeeded Captain Elliot, concluded, in 1842, a treaty with the imperial commissioners, by which the four additional ports of Amoy, Fu-chow, Ningpo and Shanghai were declared open to foreign trade, and an indemnity of 21,000,000 dollars was to be paid to the British.

Hien-feng emperor.

T'ai-p'ing rebellion.