The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-11-16
THE BISMARCK OF CHINA.
A Character sketch OF Ii Hung Chang
the Famed Viceroy.

the Famed Viceroy.
In December, 1891, the London Chron.
cle printed character sketch of Ii
lung Chang. dated Tientsin, from the
pen of its special correspondent who
had just interviewed the Chinese mag
nate, who is, to all intents and pifr-
poses, the ruler of China. The repro
iuction of this pen portrait is oppor-
tune now that the relations between
this country and the Chinese empire
are getting somewhat strained. The
correspondent writes:
Iii Hung Chang resides at Tientsin,
which is about ninety miles from the
capital, and is cut off from the south
by the ice barrier of winter from the
middle of December to the middle of
March. His highness, or grace, or
lordship, for Ii is a nobleman of the
new Chinese peerage, with the elastic
rank of baron or an earl, or a duke
or prince, is, or was, a remark
ably f1ne-lool1ing man, big of frame,
bold of mien and of an almost
handsome cast of countenance. He
is not old and wrinlled, with
| u ipiEf cbldR ithR RIdy huStdClle,
and what the Chinese call a whisker on
the chin, or what is known more gen.
orally as an imperial, which Ii iS.fond
of stroling. Bad teeth and dirty1fn-
gernails do not, however, add to his
personal charms or commend him to
European visitors. His voice is harsh,
his glance too often being sentence
of decapitation. His excellcncy, final
ly, is a man of typhoon passions, and
he swears like the proverbs trooper.
He might pass for a soldier, even now
when age has dimmed the ire of his
eye and sickness has generally inn
paired his frame. This famous heather
Chiuese is n teetotaler. In fixing his
official residence at flemish, LII Hung
Chang showed strain O that tact
which throughout long life has dis
tinguished his excellencyin the Guilt
walton and management, so to speak,
of his reputation.
Little, however, is really known to
the world of this ambitious Chinese
minister. He may lack al the powers
which he is careful to claim. He is
strong because of his Office, but he is
stronger still because o. his self-con-
cealment lie has his rivals at court
The very able lady who is the power
behind the throne is pretty well aware
that Ii as an enemy would be as dam
gerous as he is powerful as a friend.
The leaders of what may be called the
nationalist party look to Lii to lead
them when the hour to strike shall
have arrived. They hold some con-
ditional promise of the sort. Years
ago Iii Hung Chang was asked to place
himself at the head of new Chinese
party. The object of this party was
then, as it is to-day, to replace the
Manghu or Tartar dynasty by one dis
tinctlv Chinese Ii, while protesting
every sympathy with progress, pointed
out that the two factions, the court
faction and the popular faction were
too evenly balanced to justify revolu-
ton, If you failed he said, my rep
utation would be destroyed, and I
should die sullied with the name of
traitor
"But though this master stroke of
opportunism is twenty-year-old
story, Ii Hung Chang has never ceased
to be looked upon as tho national
leader of the revolutionary party. On
the other hand, he has never done any
thing openly and officially to justify
suspicion of his loyalty. lie has served
the empire faithfully. He is a China
man Of the Chinese. He is, in fact,
China. The missionaries sometimes
look upon him as friendly towards
their propaganda, but at heart he is
nothing of the sort. He hates foreign
ers, and merely uses them as means
to an end. His motto is, China for the
Chinese" He would not openly quar-
rel with Europeans, but he steadily
picks their brains and urges his subor-
dinates to do the same. He cares moth
ing for religion, either native or for
eign, and would live at peace with the
missionaries, solely because he does
not want to be bothered with the
troubles of native fanaticism so long
as it does not suit his purpose to have
quarrels The new nationalism itself
is not especially friendly to foreigners.
Hi Hung Chang favors the intro
duction of western customs just to this
extent. lie believes in using the for
eigners. while despising them like any
good Chinaman. He is favorable to
the introduction of railways and tele-
graphs and telephones and other new
inventions, and grants concessions for
the employment of European capital
and ingenuity. But he will do this
only SO long as it may take the natives
to do the work for themselves. Then
he would drive the foreigners, English,
French and German, into the sea. II
may be interesting as an illustration
of his understanding of European char
acteristics to state that his army was
oflicered by Germans, his navy by En-
glishmen, and his public works were
engineered by Frenchmen.-N. Y.
World.
| Black Dress Coats.
Lord Lytton's novel of Pelham
was written with the idea of counter
| ~ e