The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-11-18
A Struggle with Chinese Etiquette.

The American Minister at Pekin seems to
have been overcome more by Chinese etiquette
than Chinese diplomacy. a long squabble
took place over Mr.. Wards refusal to Is touch
the ground" before the +" Brother of the Sum-
either with his head or knees. The last expe-
dieht is thus described:
The Chinese Commissioners We're obliged 10
go cut twelve miles to the summer residence
of uen ming yuen to report tUAiis Majesty,
who was passing the hot weather there, and
40 reply was expected from them till the 4th;
but the next morning the judge, with coun-
tenance anything but joyful, unexpectedly
appeared. He had come from the summer
palace, where he and the commissioners had
been all night, with plan which he thought
would succeed This was that they should
address Mr.. Ward letter, stating that the
Emperor in tended to honor him with an audi
ence To receive the Presidents letter; he
should then reply that he was willing, If
granted the honor, TO make his respects
10 his Maies ty in the same manner that he
would before the President, neither diminis h
ing or adding thereto. There was OF course
no obiectio TO this procedure, and the drafts
of both documents were made out, and the
j udge took copies away with him. The detail
OF the eXpedient to be observed was also eX-
planned which was, that when the Minister
came towards the throne, the table on which
the Presidents letter was to be placed stand
ing between the two, he should bow as low as
he had represented, and then two cham ber
fains would approach and raise Gim up, with
the exclamation, Don't kneeI' lie would
then present the letter by placing ii on the ia
BILE from whence it would be taken by another
cham beriaIn, VINO, on Lis knees, WouIu nunu
ii to the Emperor.
The Judge went away with happier visage
than he came, and the next dispatch from
KWelliang was looked for with impatience.
Instead of The expected document, Sleh him.
self returned next morning to tell us that the
Commissioners mad been out-vOted: and his
Majesty ty's decision was, that unless the Ameri-
can Minister would either touch one knee or
his fingers to the ground, he would not see
him. While this concession was refused, as be-
ing much more than an American representa-
ttye ever performed before his own or any other
ruler, it again declared that in this persist
ence in our own usages there was no dlSre-
spect intended to the Emperor, who must o1
course be the final Judge of what he deemed
suitable 10 his own dignity. The question ol
an audience was thus settled, so far as
the American embassy was interested
after five days earnest discussion. During the
whole of it the Chinese Commissioners made
use of nothing but lair argument
They never even alluded TO the helpless po-
sition of twenty foreigners as n reason for
their complying with a ceremony, which
seemed 10 them doubtless the extreme OF llbe-
rality. 1t is impossible 10 decide the question
satisfactorily, but the final obstacle to the an
dience seems TO have been the conFlctlon IN
the minds OF the Chinese that MIR. Ward would
not do what was really done at European
courts, and what they declared the English
Minister had promised last year he would do,
viz: perform the same ceremony before the
Emperor which he would before the Queen.
The Judge remarked once that he was certain
that the Ministers had come to an Understand
ing at Tientsin last year respecting the proper
ceremony at an audience, but he was ssured
that Mr.. Reed had never come to an agreement
on the subject with any ybody IL is unfair TO
the Chinese, in reporting this discussion, TO
take up the idea that they were insincere or
dogmatic in all their assertions, aud had no
scrupls in what they said for in their posi-
tion erroneous ideas might easily be firmly be-
IieYed. and it was known to us that Lord Am
herst did agree to kneel before the Emperor as
he did before his King; but neither We nor
the Chinese alluded to that embassy.