The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-20
,,,pEaoR OF oHINA's TROUBLES.
"a Hates His Wife, but His Throne
Depends on Her.
Psking Letter in NetO. YORK. Herald.


;-,nerlal palace, that there was domestic
4,anble. and l set myself to investigate them
sith the aid Of trusty agent. The result
!. the disclosing of an imperial romance,
md the usual adjunct Of subsequent unhap-
Illness. In fact, the boy emperor, Kwang
Tsn is the hero of love effair and the
r,eelru of an unhappy marriage. The
-acked fairy in tne story is the empress
sowagsr, who has lately nominally retired
f-on1 the helm of state on her i'm
narial nephew attaining his majority, which
Il did in March, this year. With this
arr,1st lady, who has proven such a wise
and successful ruler, the young emperor is
1ovy at deadly feud. and there are serious
troub.es in store for the dynasty in conse-
quence.
IN hack to the time when the eligible daugh-
sars of the great Mancbu mobiles were as
ssrnbled, IN November, 1888, at the palace
IN the curious competition by which the
Chinese Book of Rites prescribes that the
occupant of the dragon throne shall pro-
vide himself with a consort l shall not
nause here to discuss the respective merits
IF the fair candidates fer the great matri-
mouial prize, who we're trotted out and put
through their PAGES by many anxious
Manchu pater famalias. But have learned
since that the emperor was deeply smitten
with the charms of the daughter of a high
Manchu military officer. and he expressed
his intention to share his throne with her.
He also selected another fair damsel, whose
beauty struck his youthful heart with ad-
miratlon, for his second wife, or first concu-
bine.
But the wary old lady who has so long
and so ably welded the scepter during his
minority, mad no intention of allowing the
tn fnllnry his hon% sv,k
matter and had already made match for
him herself, by which the throne would be
shared by one of her own family. The
lady whom she selected was her own niece,
Yeh-ehnela, the daughter of the youngest
brother of the empress dowager. She is
ANYTHING but beauty from Chinese or
Manchu point of view. and after great
many scenes" and violent alterations
between the boy emperor and the empress
dowager. she proved her authority by
having the marriage with her niece con-
summated. The emperor regards both the
empress consort and her imperial aunt with
an intense hatred, which is daily growing
stronger
Nor would the gorgon of the dragon
throne allow it's youthful occupant to con-
sole himself by bringing the fair Elvira
into his harem, but selected two strong
minded damsels, also of the imperial cIan
to form the nucleus of the seraglio, which
Chinese custom preScribes shall bs limited
to seven, but which is practically unlim-
ited.
The young emperor was urged by his
tutor. the great Ung Tung Hottie most
powerful man at the present moment in
China, and the one who really governs the
emperor's acts-to marry the lady whom
the empress dowager flouted. and the
old lady, afterward learning of Ung's part
in the business, gave him warm piece OF
her royal mind. She had already enlisted
on her side Prince Chun, the seventh
prince, who is the emperor's father.
But it is dangerous thing to fight the
empress dowager, who is a determined and
subtle antagonist to tackle, and in the end
young Kwang Hsu may be victim to the
necessities of the moment, as his prede-
cessor, Tuug-Chi, was. Tung-C Chi, it will be
recollected, died under very mysterious cir
cumstances shortly after he gavethe famous
audience to the foreign ministers in 1875,
and his death, which has never been ex-
planned, must be a warning to the present
emperor to prevent his august aunt from.
getting the upper hand.
Having thus briefly mentioned the rela-
tons between the present and ex-ruler, it
Will be necessary to state something about
the other leading members of the imperial
family. OF these the most important are
three surviving brothers of the Emperor
Hen Fung, who died in 1861. These are:
Prince Thun, or fifth prince; Prince Kupg,
or sixth prince; Prince Chun, or seventh
prince. Prince Thun has never held lead
ing position at Peking. Prince Chun has
done 80 during the last four years only,
Prince Kung having been the leading states
man in China for nearly quarter of a
century, having come into power on the
death of the Emperor HEN Fung. He
maintained his position until 1884. There
are two facts which should not be lost sight
of, though it is probably premature to
speculate upon their effect in reference to
the political situation.
The first is that the election of the present
emperor to the throne was illegal, accord
ing to Chinese law, and the second is that
Prince Chun as the father of the emperor is
strictly prohibited by Chinese law from
taking any high political post or exercising
any authority in the government of the en-
pire.
1t is we'll known that secret societies exist
10 all parts of China, the object of which is
to get rid of the alien Tartar dynasty and
to establish a pure Chinese dynasty, and
the Chinese of all classes, including officials,
are members of these societies. All that is
wanting to bring these societies into open
and united action is opportunity, and this
may arise within the next year or two, as
the full accession to power of the Emperor
AWang Hsu and the retirement of the
empress dowager may lead to a fresh
Struggle among the uncles of the emperor.
Prince Chun is the prime minister of
China. He is also president of the new ad-
milralty board, which is post of great POI
iltcal Importance. Prince Kung is to all
lhtents and purposes a prisoner, being inces-
sanity watched, and not allowed to take
any share in any business of any kind.
When the empress retired from power,
ING Tung-Ho, who is what the Chinese
call the man behind the door," became the
most powerful man in China, and he has
nltnerto worked more or less in unison with
FRINGE Chun. and has also strong influence
over the emperor, who regards him with
great affection.
but ing and Prince Chun have taken
opposite sides on the question of the mar
rage OF the young emperor, ing naturally
eeslrlng to remove his young imperial pupil
Ho 51 the influence of the empress dowager.
Inc important intrigues that took place
early In 1854 between certain members of
sue chinese imperial family in Peking pro-
uuced changes that require to be carefully
considered at the present time. Prior to
t una time Prince Kung, generally known to
Chlnese as the Sixth Prince, :" had been the
ruler OF China for q very long series of
years. He was then, however, suddenly
uIeposed from power, and Prince Chun aud
us younger brother ruled In his stead. The
senipress spent two whole days before the
issuing of the decree in Prince Cnuns house,
aus SH9 during those two days the emperor