The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-09
THE coy EMpERoR,s WIVES.
Tsateen of China Now Has Three, and He
May Have Six Hundred.

New York sun.
Dispatches from Washington a few days
ago informed us that the Emperor of China
had been provided with what seemed to
Americans to be unbounded domesticity, TO
wit: One cOnsOTt, Yeh-hO-na-la, daughter
ofDeputy Northumberland knei Hsiang;
one secondary cOnsort of the first rank, Il IA
ta-la, daughter of Chang Hsii, some time
one concubine of the second rank, also
named Ta-ta-la and also daughter OF Chang
Hsii.
1t is nearly fifteen years since the present
Emperor OF China, Tsateen,- succeeded to
the throne. He was then only baby: He
Will come into possession of his royal do
nestle household ON his eighteenth BIRTH
day. He is not the son of the last Emperor,
but IS one of the numerous princes OF the
realm from whom anyone might have been
selected as the head of the Chinese relig-
ious system. and nominally of the empire.
The late Emperor was a cousin OF the
present incumbent He died of smallpox,
and the Empress soon followed him: The
seventh son of the Emperor TaOkwung,
who died in 1850. Chinese diplomacy, full
of intrigue and civil-service reform ideas.
IS responsible for the choice of Tsateen, for,
ers that We're at the time believed that they
could retain control of the government
longer in that way than by electing an older
prince. China, in spite of many ideas to
the contrary, is somewhat democratic as
regards the succession of EmperOrs to the
throne. 1t would take thousands of words
| to explain the intricate workings OF the
Chinese system. There are a good many
| members of the imperial household
body to appropriate funds for their sup
| port. The result is rather mixed, and 1T IS
well nigh hopeless to attempt to unravel
| the thread of their relations to them selves
| and to the commonwealth. The interest
fo OF inc vrhi 10 N a
that Tsateen, having arrived at his major
| lty, so to speak, has entered upon a respOn-
sible career, and may find himself III the
| course of thirty years the father of fami-
~ that will strain his imperial purse to
| supply with rice and birds nests.
Three wives may be very well for a lad OF
! eighteen, but they are moi marker to what
| grown man must have, especially an En-,
| With mysticism and intrigue that none bat
the highest officials of the state have any
| correct idea of what it is like. TheOret-
| lcally, he is invisible. Certainly he is the
| Son of God and the head of the church,
| from the Chinese point of view. AS such
he is held in the highest esteem by the
! populace, but his temporal power istre-
markably slight. \.
| One of the most patient students of CHI
| nese affairs is Mr. H. B. Mcdowell, now\f
this city. He said yesterday:
| "As the essential element of all Chinese
| life is religion, it is probable that the En-
| perOrs career IS governed by much the
same rules that apply to other men In China
| of high rank. The history of previous En-
| perOrs justifies this view. At the age of
| eighteen Chinaman energies from bOyhood
or infancy as in our customs man attalnS
| his majority at twenty -One, though the
parallel is not exact. For the Chinese
| system is closely analogous to the. an
clent Roman progression of the 1ndlvld-
| nal. At eighteen a young Roman became
'adolescens.' AT twenty. the Chinaman
| advances another step, and becomes .juven-
| tus.' according to. the Roman standard.
| From that time on his standing in the COM
munity improves with every decade. At
| thirty he is manageable, or, more plainly,
| he ought to be married, and after that time
| he selects his wives to please himself. When
| office, and at fifty he can advance a step in
| his official position. So again at sixty the
dignity of his relation increases.
| "A lad of eighteen is provided with do
| nestle helpmates by his father. From now
until the Emperor is thirty his wives and
| cOncubines will be selected for him. After
| that he may choose and bargain for him.
self. The three domestic SympathiZers with
sent the nucleus of his future harem, and the
cOnsummatiOn may be any number which
| he chooses to support. The imperial harem
| of China is the largest in the world. The
Sultan's will not compare with it. Many
Chinese Emperors have had as many as COO
! wives. Out of all these, however. tbeye =.
but one genuine wife in our understanding
of the term. She is. the first, or in this
| instance, Yeh-hO-na-la. Normally her first
born son will succeed to the throne though
events may so happen that according to
| Chinese policy some other of the EmperOr's
| offspring will be selected. The one real
| wife is at the head of the household. Be-
| sides her there may be any number of Sec
lower rank. The cOncubines correspond
nearly to the mistresses of Europeans, but
their offspring are not socially SO degraded
as they would be according to our civilza-
ton"
| ''What are the relations of the Emperor's
ITO understand that you must remember
| that the father, until his death, is the absO-
lutte head and ruler of the family. The
Chinese father is responsible for the sup
| this rule is made in favor of the Emperor.
| OF course he secures funds for his house
hold by taxation, but the Chinese taxation
! Is system of squeezing. The mandarin
| squeeZeS the people of his province, and the
Emperor squeezes the mandarins. If the
| Book of Rites according to which all
| Chinese conduct is regulated, did not COM
mand by religious law such exactions, the
| Emperor, with his numerous family, might
| find himself sadly pushed to meet his living
| expenses, for he is no absolute monarch as
most people suppose. In fact, he has less
| political power and influence than Queen
| Victoria. His sacred position as the chief
| of the Chinese religious system enables him
| to eXtOrt money for the maintenance of his
| large household. His children are in some
| senses unfortunate. There is no recognized
| place for them in the state and though
| they are highly respected because of their
| blood, they can conn Iand no income, and
| in themselves have no influence. Every one
| of them, however, to the son of the last con-
| cubine, is a most eligible parti, matrimon-
| tally considered, and great many of them
| are disposed of conveniently by marrying a
| heavily lowered daughter of an ambitious
OF unlucky family. If man has large
number of daughters it is unauspicious, and
| will break the luck. Other sons of
| through the famous examinations until
! they become literati of the highest rank.
| That makes them eligible for state posi-
| tons, and thereafter they have no great
| difficulties with life. The literary examin-
| atoms are supposed to be strictly impartial,
and in general they probably are, but it is
| nevertheless odd that sons of Emperors al
most uniformly pass with the very highest
marks
us it probable that the present Emperor
| will take any more wives to himself before
he is thirty"
| "Oh, yes, but they will be selected for
| him. His own choice will doubtless have
| weight in the selection. but formally he
| will be passive in the negotiations. There
| is another interesting point about the En-
| perOr's children. They may not be per-
| mitted to live long enough to be a serious
| burden to him. 1t is legal for a Chinese
| father to Kill his child at anv time before