Chapter V: History (3)

On the accession of Hien-feng in 1850, a demand was raised for the
reforms which had been hoped for under Tao-kwang, but Hien-feng
possessed in an exaggerated form the selfish and tyrannical nature of
his father, together with a voluptuary's craving for every kind of
sensual pleasure. For some time Kwang-si had been in a very disturbed
state, and when the people found that there was no hope of relief from
the oppression they endured, they proclaimed a youth, who was said to
be the representative of the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, as
emperor, under the title of T'ien-te or "Heavenly Virtue." From
Kwang-si the revolt spread into Hu-peh and Hu-nan, and then languished
from want of a leader and a definite political cry. When, however,
there appeared to be a possibility that, by force of arms and the
persuasive influence of money, the imperialists would re-establish
their supremacy, a leader presented himself in Kwang-si, whose energy
of character, combined with great political and religious enthusiasm,
speedily gained for him the suffrages of the discontented. This was
Hung Siu-ts'uean. He proclaimed himself as sent by heaven to drive out
the Tatars, and to restore in his own person the succession to China.
At the same time, having been converted to Christianity and professing
to abhor the vices and sins of the age, he called on all the virtuous
of the land to extirpate rulers who were standing examples of all that
was base and vile in human nature. Crowds soon flocked to his
standard. T'ien-te was deserted; and putting himself at the head of
his followers (who abandoned the practice of shaving the head), Hung
Siu-ts'uean marched northwards and captured Wu-ch'ang on the
Yangtsze-kiang, the capital of Hu-peh. Then, moving down the river, he
proceeded to the attack of Nanking. Without much difficulty Hung
Siu-ts'uean in 1853 established himself within its walls, and
proclaimed the inauguration of the T'ai-p'ing dynasty, of which he
nominated himself the first emperor under the title of T'ien Wang or
"Heavenly king." During the next few years his armies penetrated
victoriously as far north as Tientsin and as far east as Chin-kiang
and Su-chow, while bands of sympathizers with his cause appeared in
the neighbourhood of Amoy. As if still further to aid him in his
schemes, Great Britain declared war against the Tatar dynasty in 1857,
in consequence of an outrage known as the "Arrow" affair (see PARKES,
SIR HARRY SMITH). In December 1857 Canton was taken by the British,
and a further blow was struck against the prestige of the Manchu
dynasty by the determination of Lord Elgin, who had been sent as
special ambassador, to go to Peking and communicate directly with the
emperor. In May 1858 the Taku Forts were taken, and Lord Elgin went up
the Peiho to Tientsin _en route_ for the capital. At Tientsin,
however, imperial commissioners persuaded him to conclude a treaty
with them on the spot, which treaty it was agreed should be ratified
at Peking in the following year. When, however, Sir Frederick Bruce,
who had been appointed minister to the court of Peking, attempted to
pass Taku to carry out this arrangement, the vessels escorting him
were treacherously fired on from the forts and he was compelled to
return. Thereupon Lord Elgin was again sent out with full powers,
accompanied by a large force under the command of Sir Hope Grant. The
French (to seek reparation for the murder of a missionary in Kwang-si)
took part in the campaign, and on the 1st of August 1860 the allies
landed without meeting with any opposition at Pei-tang, a village 12
m. north of Taku. A few days later the forts at that place were taken,
and thence the allies marched to Peking. Finding further resistance to
be hopeless, the Chinese opened negotiations, and as a guarantee of
their good faith surrendered the An-ting gate of the capital to the
allies. On the 24th of October 1860 the treaty of 1858 was ratified by
Prince Kung and Lord Elgin, and a convention was signed under the
terms of which the Chinese agreed to pay a war indemnity of 8,000,000
taels. The right of Europeans to travel in the interior was granted
and freedom guaranteed to the preaching of Christianity. The customs
tariff then agreed upon legalized the import of opium, though the
treaty of 1858, like that of 1842, was silent on the subject.

Great Britain and France were not the only powers of Europe with whom
Hien-feng was called to deal. On the northern border of the empire
Russia began to exercise pressure. Russia had begun to colonize the
lower Amur region, and was pressing towards the Pacific. This was a
remote region, only part of the Chinese empire since the Manchu
conquest, and by treaties of 1858 and 1860 China ceded to Russia all
its territory north of the Amur and between the Ussuri and the Pacific
(see AMUR, province). The Russians in their newly acquired land
founded the port of Vladivostok (q.v.).

T'ung-chi emperor; dowager empress regent.

Hien-feng died in the summer of the year 1861, leaving the throne to
his son T'ung-chi (1861-1875), a child of five years old, whose
mother, Tsz'e Hsi (1834-1908), had been raised from the place of
favourite concubine to that of Imperial Consort. The legitimate
empress, Tsz'e An, was childless, and the two dowagers became joint
regents. The conclusion of peace with the allies was the signal for a
renewal of the campaign against the T'ai-p'ings, and, benefiting by
the friendly feelings of the British authorities engendered by the
return of amicable relations, the Chinese government succeeded in
enlisting Major Charles George Gordon (q.v.) of the Royal Engineers in
their service. In a suprisingly short space of time this officer
formed the troops, which had formerly been under the command of an
American named Ward, into a formidable army, and without delay took
the field against the rebels. From that day the fortunes of the
T'ai-p'ings declined. They lost city after city, and, finally in July
1864, the imperialists, after an interval of twelve years, once more
gained possession of Nanking. T'ien Wang committed suicide on the
capture of his capital, and with him fell his cause. Those of his
followers who escaped the sword dispersed throughout the country, and
the T'ai-p'ings ceased to be.

With the measure of peace which was then restored to the country trade
rapidly revived, except in Yun-nan, where the Mahommedan rebels, known
as Panthays, under Suleiman, still kept the imperial forces at bay.
Against these foes the government was careless to take active
measures, until in 1872 Prince Hassan, the adopted son of Suleiman,
was sent to England to gain the recognition of the queen for his
father's government. This step aroused the susceptibilities of the
imperial government, and a large force was despatched to the scene of
the rebellion. Before the year was out the Mahommedan capital Ta-li Fu
fell into the hands of the imperialists, and the followers of Suleiman
were mercilessly exterminated. In February 1873 the two dowager
empresses resigned their powers as regents. This long-expected time
was seized upon by the foreign ministers to urge their right of
audience with the emperor, and on the 29th of June 1873 tne privilege
of gazing on the "sacred countenance" was accorded them.

Accession of Kwang-su, 1875.

The emperor T'ung-chi died without issue, and the succession to the
throne, for the first time in the annals of the Ts'ing dynasty, passed
out of the direct line. As already stated, the first emperor of the
Ts'ing dynasty, Shih-tsu Hwangti, on gaining possession of the throne
on the fall of the Ming, or "Great Bright" dynasty, adopted the title
of Shun-chi for his reign, which began in the year 1644. The legendary
progenitor of these Manchu rulers was Aisin Gioro, whose name is said
to point to the fact of his having been related to the race of
Nue-chih, or Kin, i.e. Golden Tatars, who reigned in northern China
during the 12th and 13th centuries. K'ang-hi (1661-1722) was the third
son of Shun-chi; Yung-cheng (1722-1735) was the fourth son of
K'ang-hi; K'ien-lung (1736-1795) was the fourth son of Yung-cheng;
Kia-k'ing (1796-1820) was the fifteenth son of K'ien-lung; Tao-Kwang
(1821-1850) was the second son of Kia-k'ing; Hien-feng (1851-1861) was
the fourth of the nine sons who were born to the emperor Tao-kwang;
and T'ung-chi (1862-1875) was the only son of Hien-feng. The choice
now fell upon Tsai-t'ien (as he was called at birth), the infant son
(born August 2, 1872) of Yi-huan, Prince Chun, the seventh son of the
emperor Tao-kwang and brother of the emperor Hien-feng; his mother was
a sister of the empress Tsz'e Hsi, who, with the aid of Li Hung-chang,
obtained his adoption and proclamation as emperor, under the title of
Kwang-su, "Succession of Glory."

Imperial family nomenclature and rank.

In order to prevent the confusion which would arise among the princes
of the imperial house were they each to adopt an arbitrary name, the
emperor K'ang-hi decreed that each of his twenty-four sons should have
a _personal_ name consisting of two characters, the first of which
should be _Yung_, and the second should be compounded with the
determinative _shih_, "to manifest," an arrangement which would, as
has been remarked, find an exact parallel in a system by which the
sons in an English family might be called Louis _Edward_, Louis
_Edwin_, Louis _Edwy_, Louis _Edgar_ and so on. This device obtained
also in the next generation, all the princes of which had _Hung_ for
their first name, and the emperor K'ien-lung (1736-1795) extended it
into a system, and directed that the succeeding generations should
take the four characters _Yung_, _Mien_, _Yih_ and _Tsai_
respectively, as the first part of their names. Eight other
characters, namely, _P'u_, _Yu_, _Heng_, _K'i_, _Tao_, _K'ai_,
_Tseng_, _Ki_, were subsequently added, thus providing generic names
for twelve generations. With the generation represented by Kwang-su
the first four characters were exhausted, and any sons of the emperor
Kwang-su would therefore have been called _P'u_. By the ceremonial law
of the "Great Pure" dynasty, twelve degrees of rank are distributed
among the princes of the imperial house, and are as follows: (1)
Ho-shih Tsin Wang, prince of the first order; (2) To-lo Keun Wang,
prince of the second order; (3) To-lo Beileh, prince of the third
order; (4) Ku-shan Beitsze, prince of the fourth order; 5 to 8, Kung,
or duke (with distinctive designations); 9 to 12, Tsiang-keun, general
(with distinctive designations). The sons of emperors usually receive
patents of the first or second order on their reaching manhood, and on
their sons is bestowed the title of _Beileh_. A _Beileh's_ sons become
_Beitsze_; a Beitsze's sons become _Kung_, and so on. (R. K. D.; X.)

(D)--_From 1875 to 1901._

The two dowager-empresses.

The accession to the throne of Kwang-su in January 1875 attracted little notice outside China, as the supreme power continued to be vested in the two dowager-empresses--the empress Tsz'e An, principal wife of the emperor Hien-feng, and the empress Tsz'e Hsi, secondary wife of the same emperor, and mother of the emperor T'ung-chi. Yet there were circumstances connected with the emperor Kwang-su's accession which might well have arrested attention. The emperor T'ung-chi, who had himself succumbed to an ominously brief and mysterious illness, left a young widow in an advanced state of pregnancy, and had she given birth to a male child her son would have been the rightful heir to the throne. But even before she sickened and died--of grief, it was officially stated, at the loss of her imperial spouse--the dowager-empresses had solved the question of the succession by placing Kwang-su on the throne, a measure which was not only in itself arbitrary, but also in direct conflict with one of the most sacred of Chinese traditions. The solemn rites of ancestor-worship, incumbent on every Chinaman, and, above all, upon the emperor, can only be properly performed by a member of a younger generation than those whom it is his duty to honour. The emperor Kwang-su, being a first cousin to the emperor T'ung-chi, was not therefore qualified to offer up the customary sacrifices before the ancestral tablets of his predecessor. The accession of an infant in the place of T'ung-Tchi achieved, however, for the time being what was doubtless the paramount object of the policy of the two empresses, namely, their undisturbed tenure of the regency, in which the junior empress Tsz'e Hsi, a woman of unquestionable ability and boundless ambition, had gradually become the predominant partner.

Murder of Mr Margary.

The first question that occupied the attention of the government under the new reign was one of the gravest importance, and nearly led to a war with Great Britain. The Indian government was desirous of seeing the old trade relations between Burma and the south-west provinces, which had been interrupted by the Yun-nan rebellion, re-established, and for that purpose proposed to send a mission across the frontier into China. The Peking government assented and issued passports for the party, which was under the command of Colonel Browne. Mr A.R. Margary, a young and promising member of the China consular service, who was told off to accompany the expedition as interpreter, was treacherously murdered by Chinese at the small town of Manwyne and almost simultaneously an attack was made on the expedition by armed forces wearing Chinese uniform (January 1875). Colonel Browne with difficulty made his way back to Bhamo and the expedition was abandoned.

Chifu convention 1876.

Tedious negotiations followed, and, more than eighteen months after the outrage, an arrangement was come to on the basis of guarantees for the future, rather than vengeance for the past. The arrangement was embodied in the Chifu convention, dated 13th September 1876. The terms of the settlement comprised (1) a mission of apology from China to the British court; (2) the promulgation throughout the length and breadth of the empire of an imperial proclamation, setting out the right of foreigners to travel under passport, and the obligation of the authorities to protect them; and (3) the payment of indemnity. Additional articles were subsequently signed in London relative to the collection of likin on Indian opium and other matters.

Revolt in Central Asia.

Imperial consolidation.

Simultaneously with the outbreak of the Mahommedan rebellion in Yun-nan, a similar disturbance had arisen in the north-west provinces of Shen-si and Kan-suh. This was followed by a revolt of the whole of the Central Asian tribes, which for two thousand years had more or less acknowledged the imperial sway. In Kashgaria a nomad chief named Yakub Beg, otherwise known as the Atalik Gh[=a]zi, had made himself amir, and seemed likely to establish a strong rule. The fertile province of Kulja or Ili, lying to the north of the T'ianshan range, was taken possession of by Russia in 1871 in order to put a stop to the prevailing anarchy, but with a promise that when China should have succeeded in re-establishing order in her Central Asian dominions it should be given back. The interest which was taken in the rebellion in Central Asia by the European powers, notably by the sultan of Turkey and the British government, aroused the Chinese to renewed efforts to recover their lost territories, and, as in the case of the similar crisis in Yun-nan, they undertook the task with sturdy deliberation. They borrowed money--L1,600,000--for the expenses of the expedition, this being the first appearance of China as a borrower in the foreign markets, and appointed the viceroy, Tso Tsung-t'ang, commander-in-chief. By degrees the emperor's authority was established from the confines of Kan-suh to Kashgar and Yarkand, and Chinese garrisons were stationed in touch with the Russian outpost in the region of the Pamirs (December 1877). Russia was now called upon to restore Kulja, China being in a position to maintain order. China despatched Chung-how, a Manchu of the highest rank, who had been notoriously concerned in the Tientsin massacre of 1870, to St Petersburg to negotiate a settlement. After some months of discussion a document was signed (September 1879), termed the treaty of Livadia, whereby China recovered, not indeed the whole, but a considerable portion of the territory, on her paying to Russia five million roubles as the cost of occupation. The treaty was, however, received with a storm of indignation in China. Memorials poured in from all sides denouncing the treaty and its author. Foremost among these was one by Chang Chih-tung, who afterwards became the most distinguished of the viceroys, and governor-general of Hu-peh and Hu-nan provinces. Prince Chun, the emperor's father, came into prominence at this juncture as an advocate for war, and under these combined influences the unfortunate Chung-how was tried and condemned to death (3rd of March 1880). For some months warlike preparations went on, and the outbreak of hostilities was imminent. In the end, however, calmer counsels prevailed. It was decided to send the Marquis Tseng, who in the meantime had become minister in London, to Russia to negotiate. A new treaty which still left Russia in possession of part of the Ili valley was ratified on the 19th of August 1881. The Chinese government could now contemplate the almost complete recovery of the whole extensive dominions which had at any time owned the imperial sway. The regions directly administered by the officers of the emperor extended from the borders of Siberia on the north to Annam and Burma on the south, and from the Pacific Ocean on the east to Kashgar and Yarkand on the west. There was also a fringe of tributary nations which still kept up the ancient forms of allegiance, and which more or less acknowledged the dominioi of the central kingdom. The principal tributary nations then were Korea, Lu-chu, Annam, Burma and Nepal.

Korea and Japan.

Korea was the first of the dependencies to come into notice. In 1866 some Roman Catholic missionaries were murdered, and about the same time an American vessel was burnt in one of the rivers and her crew murdered. China refused satisfaction; both to France and America, and suffered reprisals to be made on Korea without protest. America and Japan both desired to conclude commercial treaties for the opening up of Korea, and proposed to negotiate with China. China refused and referred them to the Korean government direct, saying she was not wont to interfere in the affairs of her vassal states. As a result Japan concluded a treaty in 1876, in which the independence of Korea was expressly recognized. This was allowed to pass without protest, but as other nations proceeded to conclude treaties on the same terms China began to perceive her mistake, and endeavoured to tack on to each a declaration by the king that he was in fact a tributary--a declaration, however, which was quietly ignored. Japan, however, was the only power with which controversy immediately arose. In 1882 a faction fight, which had long been smouldering, broke out, headed by the king's father, the Tai Won Kun, in the course of which the Japanese legation was attacked and the whole Japanese colony had to flee for their lives. China sent troops, and by adroitly kidnapping the Tai Won Kun, order was for a time restored. The Japanese legation was replaced, but under the protection of a strong body of Japanese troops. Further revolutions and riots followed, in which the troops of the two countries took sides, and there was imminent danger of war. To obviate this risk, it was agreed in 1885 between Count Ito and Li Hung-Chang that both sides should withdraw their troops, the king being advised to engage officers of a third state to put his army on such a footing as would maintain order, and each undertook to give the other notice should it be found necessary to send troops again. In this way a _modus vivendi_ was established which lasted till 1894.

Domestic affairs, 1875-1882.

We can only glance briefly at the domestic affairs of China during the period 1875-1882. The years 1877-1878 were marked by a famine in Shan-si and Shan-tung, which for duration and intensity has probably never been equalled. It was computed that 12 or 13 millions perished. It was vainly hoped that this loss of life, due mainly to defective commumcations, would induce the Chinese government to listen to proposals for railway construction. The Russian scare had, however, taught the Chinese the value of telegraphs, and in 1881 the first line was laid from Tientsin to Shanghai. Further construction was continued without intermission from this date. A beginning also was made in naval affairs. The arsenal at Fuchow was turning out small composite gunboats, a training ship was bought and put under the command of a British officer. Several armoured cruisers were ordered from England, and some progress was made with the fortifications of Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei. Forts were also built and guns mounted at Fuchow, Shanghai, Canton and other vulnerable points. Money for these purposes was abundantly supplied by the customs duties on foreign trade, and China had learnt that at need she could borrow from the foreign banks on the security of this revenue.

In 1881 the senior regent, the empress Tsz'e An, was carried off by a sudden attack of heart disease, and the empress Tsz'e Hsi remained in undivided possession of the supreme power during the remainder of the emperor Kwang-su's minority. Li Hung-Chang, firmly established at Tientsin, within easy reach of the capital, as viceroy of the home province of Chih-li and superintendent of northern trade, enjoyed a larger share of his imperial mistress's favour than was often granted by the ruling Manchus to officials of Chinese birth, and in all the graver questions of foreign policy his advice was generally decisive.

Tongking and Hanoi.

While the dispute with Japan was still going on regarding Korea, China found herself involved in a more serious quarrel in respect of another tributary state which lay on the southern frontier. By a treaty made between France and Annam in 1874, the Red river or Songkoi, which rising in-south-western China, flows through Tongking, was opened to trade, together with the cities of Haiphong and Hanoi situated on the delta. The object of the French was to find a trade route to Yun-nan and Sze-ch'uen from a base of their own, and it was hoped the Red river would furnish such a route. Tongking at this time, however, was infested with bands of pirates and cut-throats, many of whom were Chinese rebels or ex-rebels who had been driven across the frontier by the suppression of the Yun-nan and Taiping rebellions, conspicuous among them being an organization called the Black Flags. And when in 1882 France sent troops to Tongking to restore order (the Annamese government having failed to fulfil its promises in that respect) China began to protest, claiming that Annam was a vassal state and under her protection.

Troubles with France.

France took no notice of the protest, declaring that the claim had
merely an archaeological interest, and that, in any case, China in
military affairs was a _quantite negligeable_. France found, however,
that she had undertaken a very serious task in trying to put down the
forces of disorder (see TONGKING). The Black Flags were, it was
believed, being aided by money and arms from China, and as time went
on, the French were more and more being confronted with regular
Chinese soldiers. Several forts, well within the Tongking frontier,
were known to be garrisoned by Chinese troops. Operations continued
with more or less success during the winter and spring of 1883-1884.
Both sides, however, were desirous of an arrangement, and in May 1884
a convention was signed between Li Hung-Chang and a Captain Fournier,
who had been commissioned _ad hoc_, whereby China agreed to withdraw
her garrisons and to open her frontiers to trade, France agreeing, on
her part, to respect the fiction of Chinese suzerainty, and guarantee
the frontier from attack by brigands. No date had been fixed in the
convention for the evacuation of the Chinese garrisons, and Fournier
endeavoured to supplement this by a memorandum to Li Hung-Chang, at
the same time announcing the fact to his government. In pursuance of
this arrangement the French troops proceeded to occupy Langson on the
date fixed (21st June 1884). The Chinese commandant refused to
evacuate, alleging, in a despatch which no one in the French camp was
competent to translate, that he had received no orders, and begged for
a short delay to enable him to communicate with his superiors. The
French commandant ordered an attack, which was repulsed with severe
loss. Mutual recriminations ensued. From Paris there came a demand for
a huge indemnity as reparation for the insult. The Peking government
offered to carry out the convention, and to pay a small indemnity for
the lives lost through the misunderstanding. This was refused, and
hostilities recommenced, or, as the French preferred to call them,
reprisals, for the fiction was still kept up that the two countries
were not at war. Under cover of this fiction the French fleet
peaceably entered the harbour of Fuchow, having passed the forts at
the entrance to the river without hindrance. Once inside, they
attacked and destroyed the much inferior Chinese fleet which was then
quietly at anchor, destroying at the same time a large part of the
arsenal which adjoins the anchorage (23rd August 1884). Retracing its
steps, the French fleet attacked and destroyed with impunity the forts
which were built to guard the entrance to the Min river, and could
offer no resistance to a force coming from the rear. After this
exploit the French fleet left the mainland and continued its reprisals
on the coast of Formosa. Kelung, a treaty port, was bombarded and
taken, October 4th. A similar attempt, however, on the neighbouring
port of Tamsui was unsuccessful, the landing party having been driven
back to their ships with severe loss. The attempt was not renewed, and
the fleet thereafter confined itself to a semi-blockade of the island,
which was prolonged into 1885 but led to no practical results.
Negotiations for peace, however, which had been for some time in
progress through the mediation of Sir Robert Hart, were at this
juncture happily concluded (April 1885). The terms were practically
those of the Fournier convention of the year before, the demand for an
indemnity having been quietly dropped.

Increased prestige of China.

China, on the whole, came out of the struggle with greatly increased prestige. She had tried conclusions with a first-class European power and had held her own. Incorrect conclusions as to the military strength of China were consequently drawn, not merely by the Chinese themselves--which was excusable--but by European and even British authorities, who ought to have been better informed. War vessels were ordered by China both from England and Germany, and Admiral Lang, who had withdrawn his services while the war was going on, was re-engaged together with a number of British officers and instructors. The completion of the works at Port Arthur was taken in hand, and a beginning was made in the construction of forts at Wei-hai-wei as a second naval base. A new department was created for the control of naval affairs, at the head of which was placed Prince Chun, father of the emperor, who since the downfall of Prince Kung in 1884 had been taking a more and more prominent part in public affairs.

1885-1894.

From 1885 to 1894 the political history of China does not call for extended notice. Two incidents, however, must be recorded, (1) the conclusion in 1886 of a convention with Great Britain, in which the Chinese government undertook to recognize British sovereignty in Burma, and (2) the temporary occupation of Port Hamilton by the British fleet (May 1885-February 1887). In 1890 Admiral Lang resigned his command of the Chinese fleet. During a temporary absence of Lang's colleague, Admiral Ting, the Chinese second in command, claimed the right to take charge--a claim which Admiral Lang naturally resented. The question was referred to Li Hung-Chang, who decided against Lang, whereupon the latter threw up his commission. From this point the fleet on which so much depended began to deteriorate. Superior officers again began to steal the men's pays, the ships were starved, shells filled with charcoal instead of powder were supplied, accounts were cooked, and all the corruption and malfeasance that were rampant in the army crept back into the navy.

War with Japan, 1894.

European intervention.

The year 1894 witnessed the outbreak of the war with Japan. In the spring, complications again arose with Japan over Korea, and hostilities began in July. The story of the war is told elsewhere (see CHINO-JAPANESE WAR), and it is unnecessary here to recount the details of the decisive victory of Japan. A new power had arisen in the Far East, and when peace was signed by Li Hung-Chang at Shimonoseki on the 17th of April 1895 it meant the beginning of a new epoch. The terms included the cession of Liao-tung peninsula, then in actual occupation by the Japanese troops, the cession of Formosa, an indemnity of H. taels 200,000,000 (about L30,000,000) and various commercial privileges.

The signature of this treaty brought the European powers on the scene. It had been for some time the avowed ambition of Russia to obtain an ice-free port as an outlet to her Siberian possessions--an ambition which was considered by British statesmen as not unreasonable. It did not, therefore, at all suit her purposes to see the rising power of Japan commanding the whole of the coast-line of Korea. Accordingly in the interval between the signature and the ratification of the treaty, invitations were addressed by Russia to the great powers to intervene with a view to its modification on the ground of the disturbance of the balance of power, and the menace to China which the occupation of Port Arthur by the Japanese would involve. France and Germany accepted the invitation, Great Britain declined. In the end the three powers brought such pressure to bear on Japan that she gave up the whole of her continental acquisitions, retaining only the island of Formosa. The indemnity was on the other hand increased by H. taels 30,000,000. For the time the integrity of China seemed to be preserved, and Russia, France and Germany could pose as her friends. Evidence was, however, soon forthcoming that Russia and France had not been disinterested in rescuing Chinese territory from the Japanese grasp. Russia now obtained the right to carry the Siberian railway across Chinese territory from Stryetensk to Vladivostok, thus avoiding a long detour, besides giving a grasp on northern Manchuria. France obtained, by a convention dated the 20th of June 1895, a rectification of frontier in the Mekong valley and certain railway and mining rights in Kiang-si and Yun-nan. Both powers obtained concessions of land at Hankow for the purposes of a settlement. Russia was also said to have negotiated a secret treaty, frequently described as the "Cassini Convention," but more probably signed by Li Hung-Chang at Moscow, giving her the right in certain contingencies to Port Arthur, which was to be refortified with Russian assistance. And by way of further securing her hold, Russia guaranteed a 4% loan of L15,000,000 issued in Paris to enable China to pay off the first instalment of the Japanese indemnity.

Mekong valley dispute, 1895.

The convention between France and China of the 20th of June 1895 brought China into sharp conflict with Great Britain. China, having by the Burma convention of 1886 agreed to recognize British sovereignty over Burma, her quondam feudatory, also agreed to a delimitation of boundaries at the proper time. Effect was given to this last stipulation by a subsequent convention concluded in London (1st of March 1894), which traced the boundary line from the Shan states on the west as far as the Mekong river on the east. In the Mekong valley there were two semi-independent native territories over which suzerainty had been claimed in times gone by both by the kings of Ava and by the Chinese emperors. These territories were named Meng Lun and Kiang Hung--the latter lying partly on one side and partly on the other of the Mekong river, south of the point where it issues from Chinese territory. The boundary line was so drawn as to leave both these territories to China, but it was stipulated that China should not alienate any portion of these territories to any other power without the previous consent of Great Britain. Yielding to French pressure, and regardless of the undertaking she had entered into with Great Britain, China, in the convention with France in June 1895, so drew the boundary line as to cede to France that portion of the territory of Kiang Hung which lay on the left bank of the Mekong. Compensation was demanded by Great Britain from China for this breach of faith, and at the same time negotiations were entered into with France. These resulted in a joint declaration by the governments of France and Great Britain, dated the 15th of January 1896, by which it was agreed as regards boundary that the Mekong from the point of its confluence with the Nam Huk northwards as far as the Chinese frontier should be the dividing line between the possessions or spheres of influence of the two powers. It was also agreed that any commercial privileges obtained by either power in Yun-nan or Sze-ch'uen should be open to the subjects of the other. The negotiations with China resulted in a further agreement, dated the 4th of February 1897, whereby considerable modifications in favour of Great Britain were made in the Burma boundary drawn by the 1894 convention.

Kiaochow, Port Arthur, Wei-hai-wei.

While Russia and France were profiting by what they were pleased to call the generosity of China, Germany alone had so far received no reward for her share in compelling the retrocession of Liao-tung; but, in November 1897, she proceeded to help herself by seizing the Bay of Kiaochow in the province of Shan-tung. The act was done ostensibly in order to compel satisfaction for the murder of two German missionaries. A cession was ultimately made by way of a lease for a term of ninety-nine years--Germany to have full territorial jurisdiction during the continuance of the lease, with liberty to erect fortifications, build docks, and exercise all the rights of sovereignty. In December the Russian fleet was sent to winter in Port Arthur, and though this was at first described as a temporary measure, its object was speedily disclosed by a request made, in January 1898, by the Russian ambassador in London that two British cruisers, then also anchored at Port Arthur, should be withdrawn "in order to avoid friction in the Russian sphere of influence." They left shortly afterwards, and their departure in the circumstances was regarded as a blow to Great Britain's prestige in the Far East. In March the Russian government peremptorily demanded a lease of Port Arthur and the adjoining anchorage of Talienwan--a demand which China could not resist without foreign support. After an acrimonious correspondence with the Russian government Great Britain acquiesced in the _fait accompli_. The Russian occupation of Port Arthur was immediately followed by a concession to build a line of railway from that point northwards to connect with the Siberian trunk line in north Manchuria. As a counterpoise to the growth of Russian influence in the north, Great Britain obtained a lease of Wei-hai-wei, and formally took possession of it on its evacuation by the Japanese troops in May 1898.

"Open door," and "spheres of influence."

After much hesitation the Chinese government had at last resolved to permit the construction of railways with foreign capital. An influential official named Sheng Hsuan-hwai was appointed director-general of railways, and empowered to enter into negotiations with foreign capitalists for that purpose. A keen competition thereupon ensued between syndicates of different nationalities, and their claims being espoused by their various governments, an equally keen international rivalry was set up. Great Britain, though intimating her preference for the "open door" policy, meaning equal opportunity for all, yet found herself compelled to fall in with the general movement towards what became known as the "spheres of influence" policy, and claimed the Yangtsze valley as her particular sphere. This she did by the somewhat negative method of obtaining from the Chinese government a declaration that no part of the Yangtsze valley should be alienated to any foreign power. A more formal recognition of the claim, as far as railway enterprise was concerned, was embodied in an agreement (28th of April 1899) between Great Britain and Russia, and communicated to the Chinese government, whereby the Russian government agreed not to seek for any concessions within the Yangtsze valley, including all the provinces bordering on the great river, together with Cheh-kiang and Ho-nan, the British government entering into a similar undertaking in regard to the Chinese dominions north of the Great Wall.[50]

In 1899 Talienwan and Kiaochow were respectively thrown open by Russia
and Germany to foreign trade, and, encouraged by these measures, the
United States government initiated in September of the same year a
correspondence with the great European powers and Japan, with a view
to securing their definite adhesion to the "open door" policy. The
British government gave an unqualified approval to the American
proposal, and the replies of the other powers, though more guarded,
were accepted at Washington as satisfactory. A further and more
definite step towards securing the maintenance of the "open door" in
China was the agreement concluded in October 1900 between the British
and German governments. The signatories, by the first two articles,
agreed to endeavour to keep the ports on the rivers and littoral free
and open to international trade and economic activity, and to uphold
this rule for all Chinese territory as far as (_wo_ in the German
counterpart) they could exercise influence; not to use the existing
complications to obtain territorial advantages in Chinese dominions,
and to seek to maintain undiminished the territorial condition of the
Chinese empire. By a third article they reserved their right to come
to a preliminary understanding for the protection of their interests
in China, should any other power use those complications to obtain
such territorial advantages under any form whatever. On the submission
of the agreement to the powers interested, Austria, France, Italy and
Japan accepted its principles without express reservation--Japan first
obtaining assurances that she signed on the same footing as an
original signatory. The United States accepted the first two articles,
but expressed no opinion on the third. Russia construed the first as
limited to ports actually open in regions where the two signatories
exercise "their" influence, and favourably entertained it in that
sense, ignoring the reference to other forms of economic activity. She
fully accepted the second, and observed that in the contingency
contemplated by the third, she would modify her attitude according to
circumstances.

Meanwhile, negotiations carried on by the British minister at Peking
during 1898 resulted in the grant of very important privileges to
foreign commerce. The payment of the second instalment of the Japanese
indemnity was becoming due, and it was much discussed how and on what
terms China would be able to raise the amount. The Russian government,
as has been stated, had made China a loan of the sum required for the
first portion of the indemnity, viz. L15,000,000, taking a charge on
the customs revenue as security. The British government was urged to
make a like loan of L16,000,000 both as a matter of friendship to
China and as a counterpoise to the Russian influence. An arrangement
was come to accordingly, on very favourable terms financially to the
Chinese, but at the last moment they drew back, being overawed, as
they said, by the threatening attitude of Russia. Taking advantage of
the position which this refusal gave him, the British minister
obtained from the Tsung-Li-Yamen, besides the declaration as to the
non-alienation of the Yangtsze valley above mentioned, an undertaking
to throw the whole of the inland waterways open to steam traffic. The
Chinese government at the same time undertook that the post of
inspector-general of customs (then held by Sir Robert Hart) should
always be held by an Englishman so long as the trade of Great Britain
was greater than that of any other nation. Minor concessions were also
made, but the opening of the waterways was by far the greatest advance
that had been made since 1860.

Of still greater importance were the railway and mining concessions
granted during the same year (1898). The Chinese government had been
generally disposed to railway construction since the conclusion of the
Japanese War, but hoped to be able to retain the control in their own
hands. The masterful methods of Russia and Germany had obliged them to
surrender this control so far as concerned Manchuria and Shan-tung. In
the Yangtsze valley, Sheng, the director-general of railways, had been
negotiating with several competing syndicates. One of these was a
Franco-Belgian syndicate, which was endeavouring to obtain the trunk
line from Hankow to Peking. A British company was tendering for the
same work, and as the line lay mainly within the British sphere it was
considered not unreasonable to expect it should be given to the
latter. At a critical moment, however, the French and Russian
ministers intervened, and practically forced the Yamen to grant a
contract in favour of the Franco-Belgian company. The Yamen had a few
days before explicitly promised the British minister that the contract
should not be ratified without his having an opportunity of seeing it.
As a penalty for this breach of faith, and as a set-off to the
Franco-Belgian line, the British minister required the immediate grant
of all the railway concessions for which British syndicates were then
negotiating, and on terms not inferior to those granted to the Belgian
line. In this way all the lines in the lower Yangtsze, as also the
Shan-si Mining Companies' lines, were secured. A contract for a trunk
line from Canton to Hankow was negotiated in the latter part of 1898
by an American company.

The reform movement, 1898

There can be little doubt that the powers, engrossed in the diplomatic conflicts of which Peking was the centre, had entirely underrated the reactionary forces gradually mustering for a struggle against the aggressive spirit of Western civilization. The lamentable consequences of administrative corruption and incompetence, and the superiority of foreign methods which had been amply illustrated by the Japanese War, had at first produced a considerable impression, not only upon the more enlightened commercial classes, but even upon many of the younger members of the official classes in China. The dowager-empress, who, in spite of the emperor Kwang-su having nominally attained his majority, had retained practical control of the supreme power until the conflict with Japan, had been held, not unjustly, to blame for the disasters of the war, and even before its conclusion the young emperor was adjured by some of the most responsible among his own subjects to shake himself free from the baneful restraint of "petticoat government," and himself take the helm. In the following years a reform movement, undoubtedly genuine, though opinions differ as to the value of the popular support which it claimed, spread throughout the central and southern provinces of the empire. One of the most significant symptoms was the relatively large demand which suddenly arose for the translations of foreign works and similar publications in the Chinese language which philanthropic societies, such as that "for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge amongst the Chinese," had been trying for some time past to popularize, though hitherto with scant success. Chinese newspapers published in the treaty ports spread the ferment of new ideas far into the interior. Fifteen hundred young men of good family applied to enter the foreign university at Peking, and in some of the provincial towns the Chinese themselves subscribed towards the opening of foreign schools. Reform societies, which not infrequently enjoyed official countenance, sprang up in many of the large towns, and found numerous adherents amongst the younger _literati_. Early in 1898 the emperor, who had gradually emancipated himself from the dowager-empress's control, summoned several of the reform leaders to Peking, and requested their advice with regard to the progressive measures which should be introduced into the government of the empire. Chief amongst these reformers was Kang Yu-wei, a Cantonese, whose scholarly attainments, combined with novel teachings, earned for him from his followers the title of the "Modern Sage." Of his more or less active sympathizers who had subsequently to suffer with him in the cause of reform, the most prominent were Chang Yin-huan, a member of the grand council and of the Tsung-Li-Yamen, who had represented his sovereign at Queen Victoria's jubilee in 1897; Chin Pao-chen, governor of Hu-nan; Liang Chichao, the editor of the reformers' organ, _Chinese Progress_; Su Chiching, a reader of the Hanlin College, the educational stronghold of Chinese conservatism; and his son Su In-chi, also a Hanlin man, and provincial chancellor of public instruction in Hu-nan.

It soon became evident, that there was no more enthusiastic advocate of the new ideas than the emperor himself. Within a few months the vermilion pencil gave the imperial sanction to a succession of edicts which, had they been carried into effect, would have amounted to a revolution as far-reaching as that which had transformed Japan thirty years previously. The fossilized system of examinations for the public service was to be altogether superseded by a new schedule based on foreign learning, for the better promotion of which a number of temples were to be converted into schools for Western education; a state department was to be created for the translation and dissemination of the standard works of Western literature and science; even the scions of the ruling Manchu race were to be compelled to study foreign languages and travel abroad; and last, but not least, all useless offices both in Peking and in the provinces were to be abolished. A further edict was even reported to be in contemplation, doing away with the _queue_ or pigtail, which, originally imposed upon the Chinese by their Manchu conquerors as a badge of subjection, had gradually become the most characteristic and most cherished feature of the national dress. But the bureaucracy of China, which had battened for centuries on corruption and ignorance, had no taste for self-sacrifice. Other vested interests felt themselves equally threatened, and behind them stood the whole latent force of popular superstition and unreasoning conservatism.

The Empress's coup d'etat.

The dowager-empress saw her opportunity. The Summer Palace, to which she had retired, had been for some time the centre of resistance to the new movement, and in the middle of September 1898 a report became current that, in order to put an end to the obstruction which hampered his reform policy, the emperor intended to seize the person of the dowager-empress and have her deported into the interior. Some colour was given to this report by an official announcement that the emperor would hold a review of the foreign-drilled troops at Tientsin, and had summoned Yuan Shihkai, their general, to Peking in order to confer with him on the necessary arrangements. But the reformers had neglected to secure the goodwill of the army, which was still entirely in the hands of the reactionaries. During the night of the 20th of September the palace of the emperor was occupied by the soldiers, and on the following day Kwang-su, who was henceforth virtually a prisoner in the hands of the empress, was made to issue an edict restoring her regency. Kang Yu-wei, warned at the last moment by an urgent message from the emperor, succeeded in escaping, but many of the most prominent reformers were arrested, and six of them were promptly executed. The _Peking Gazette_ announced a few days later that the emperor himself was dangerously ill, and his life might well have been despaired of had not the British minister represented in very emphatic terms the serious consequences which might ensue if anything happened to him. Drastic measures were, however, adopted to stamp out the reform movement in the provinces as well as in the capital. The reform edicts were cancelled, the reformers' associations were dissolved, their newspapers suppressed, and those who did not care to save themselves by a hasty recantation of their errors were imprisoned, proscribed or exiled. In October the reaction had already been accompanied by such a recrudescence of anti-foreign feeling that the foreign ministers at Peking had to bring up guards from the fleet for the protection of the legations, and to demand the removal from the capital of the disorderly Kan-suh soldiery which subsequently played so sinister a part in the troubles of June 1900. But the unpleasant impression produced by these incidents was in a great measure removed by the demonstrative reception which the empress Tsz'e Hsi gave on the 15th of October to the wives of the foreign representatives--an act of courtesy unprecedented in the annals of the Chinese court.

The Boxer movement, 1900.

The reactionary tide continued to rise throughout the year 1899, but it did not appear materially to affect the foreign relations of China. Towards the end of the year the brutal murder of Mr Brooks, an English missionary, in Shan-tung, had compelled attention to a popular movement which had been spreading rapidly throughout that province and the adjoining one of Chih-li with the connivance of certain high officials, if not under their direct patronage. The origin of the "Boxer" movement is obscure. Its name is derived from a literal translation of the Chinese designation, "the fist of righteous harmony." Like the kindred "Big Sword" Society, it appears to have been in the first instance merely a secret association of malcontents chiefly drawn from the lower classes. Whether the empress Tsz'e Hsi and her Manchu advisers had deliberately set themselves from the beginning to avert the danger by deflecting what might have been a revolutionary movement into anti-foreign channels, or whether with Oriental heedlessness they had allowed it to grow until they were powerless to control it, they had unquestionably resolved to take it under their protection before the foreign representatives at Peking had realized its gravity. The outrages upon native Christians and the threats against foreigners generally went on increasing. The Boxers openly displayed on their banners the device: "Exterminate the foreigners and save the dynasty," yet the representatives of the powers were unable to obtain any effective measures against the so-called "rebels," or even a definite condemnation of their methods.[51]

Four months (January-April 1900) were spent in futile interviews with the Tsung-Li-Yamen. In May a number of Christian villages were destroyed and native converts massacred near the capital. On the 2nd of June two English missionaries, Mr Robinson and Mr Norman, were murdered at Yung Ching, 40 m. from Peking. The whole country was overrun with bands of Boxers, who tore up the railway and set fire to the stations at different points on the Peking-Tientsin line. Fortunately a mixed body of marines and bluejackets of various nationalities, numbering 18 officers and 389 men, had reached Peking on the 1st of June for the protection of the legations. The whole city was in a state of turmoil. Murder and pillage were of daily occurrence. The reactionary Prince Tuan (grandson of the emperor Tao-kwang) and the Manchus generally, together with the Kan-suh soldiery under the notorious Tung-fu-hsiang, openly sided with the Boxers. The European residents and a large number of native converts took refuge in the British legation, where preparations were hastily made in view of a threatened attack. On the 11th the chancellor of the Japanese legation, Mr Sugiyama, was murdered by Chinese soldiers. On the night of the 13th most of the foreign buildings, churches and mission houses in the eastern part of the Tatar city were pillaged and burnt, and hundreds of native Christians massacred. On the 20th of June the German minister, Baron von Ketteler, was murdered whilst on his way to the Tsung-Li-Yamen. At 4 P.M. on the afternoon of the 20th the Chinese troops opened fire upon the legations. The general direction of the defence was undertaken by Sir Claude Macdonald, the British minister.

International expedition.