The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-02
CHINA'S RULING HOUSE
SUCCESS OF THE JAPANESE MEANS
IT'S PROBABLE DOWNFALL.
The Territory of the Empire Extended
During the Past $50 Years-The
Pigtail and Its Origin.
New York Times.

New York Times.
The success of Japan over China in the
war now rapidly drawing to an end is
likely to result in the disappearance Of the
Tartar-Chinese dynasty-which has con-
trolled the government of the country for
the last $50 years. 1t was in 1644 that the
victorious Tartars, having taken possession
of Picking, proclaimed Teen-ning Emperor
under the title of Shun-che and adopted
the name of Ta-tsing, or Great Pure"
for the dynasty. Tsung-ching. the last En-
peror of the Ming dynasty, committed sui
eide upon being informed that the foreign
ers had conquered the imperial city.
During the eighteen years that Shun-che
sat upon the throne he subdued most of the
northern and central portions of China, but
the maritime regions of the south held out
against the invaders, and one of the leaders,
by means of his fleet carried devastation
along the whole coast. The spirit of re-
sistance to Tartar rule was in some parts
crushed and in others exasperated by an
order that all Chinese adopt as d sign of
submission the Tartar mode of shaving the
front of the heal and braiding the hair in
a long cue. Hence the pigtail. ego :
This order was resisted by many who
preferred to lose their heads rather than
gradually inforced, and has now for more
than two centuries been one of the dis
tinguishing marks of the Chinese, though
to this day the natives of Fuh kkien. near
the seaboard. wear "a kerchief about the
head to conceal this badge of submission.
The inhabitants of this province N'uh Kien)
and of Kwangtung held out the lorgest
against the invaders. They captured Can
ton, where the adherents of the late dynas-
ty had intrenched themselves Nov. rs. 1850.
Some time after CantonS subjugation,
Ching Chi-lung harassed the Conquerors
with his feet, and his son, Ghing-Ching
Kung, or koxinga, ravaged the coast to
such extent that the Emperor Kanghi
in 1865 ordered all the people 20 retire three
leagues inland in order to prevent Ching
Ching-Kung from reaching them.
This command was generally obeyed, and,
Williams says in his middle Kingdom
affords striking instance of the singular
mixture of power and weakness seen In
many parts of Chinese legislation. 1t might
be supposed that government which could
compel its maritime subjects to cave their
homes and towns and go into the corntry
at great loss might have e.~sily armed and
homes. Koxinga, finding himself unable to
make any serious impression upon the sta
blity of the new government, went to For
mosa. drove the Dutch out of Healandia,
and made himself master of the ISLAND.
Shunchi died in 1861 and succeeded
by. his son. Kangh who was eight years
guardians until he was fourteen, when he
assumed the reins of government, and exer-
cised the power vested in his hands with
a prudence, vigor and success that have
made him more celebrated than almost
any other ASiatic monarch. 1t was In 1851
that Louis XIV had assumed the sover
eighty Of France at about the same age,
and for fifty-four years the reigns IF these
two monarchs ran parallel. $50
EXTENDING THE EMPIRE.
During Kanghis long reign OF sixty-one
years he extended his doninions to the bor-
ders of Kokand and Badakshan on the west
and to the confines of Thibet the south
west. simplifying the administration and
consolidating his power in every part of his
vast dominions. He devoted much of his
time to literary and scientific studies under
the guidance of the Jesuits. The dictionary
of the Chinese language published under
his superintendence proves him to have
been great scholar as his conquests
over the Eleuths show him to have been an
able general. In many respects he showed
himself liberal toward foreigners, and the
country was thrown open. to their COM
merce for many years. Almost the only
national misfortune that visited China while
he sat upon the throne was an earthquake
at Picking. in which 100000 are said to have
persisted.
Kanghi was succeeded in 172 by his son
Yung-Ching He endeavored to suppress
Christianity and restore the ancient usages,
which had somewhat fallen into desuetude
during his fathers reign; Yung-Ghing is
changed on the billet of nomination the
figure to II, he being the fourteenth son,
and the fourth being absent in Mongolia,
when he was soon afterward arrested and
imprisoned
and proved himself no unworthy successor
of his grandfather Kanghi. Like him he
regned sixty years and for. most of that
disturbed the general tranquility, princ-
pally among the aborigines in Fornosa and
Kweichau. and in an unprovoked attack
a a.
defeat and were obliged to retreat. IT was
during his reign that the Mohamnledan
the Mussulmans were unable to stand
against the imperial troops; their armies
exiled. and .effectually to prevent a renewal
of the outbreak every Mohammedan in
Kansuh above the age of fifteen was put
During his long reign Kien-Lung ex-
hausted the resources of his empire by
building useless ed.fces and keeping UP
large armies. He received embassies from
the Russians, Dutch and English, by which
the character of the Chinese and the nature
of their country became better known to
Western nations. These embassies greatly
strengthened an impression of the Chinese
for they looke1 upon them as acknowledge
ments on the part of the governments who
of Picking. The presents were regarded as
tribute. the ambassadors as deputies for
their masters to acknowledge the supremacy
for trade as rather another form of re-
ceiving presents in return than a mutual
ARRANGEMENT for a trade equally beneficial
TO both.
In 1895, after a reign of sixty years, KEN
Lung abdicated in favor of his son, and re-
tired with the title of Supreme Emperor,
while his son, Kia-King, had that of EN-
peror. During the reign OF Kien-Lung the
his company had been the reverse of salts
factory. All kinds of unjust exactions were
demanded from the merchants, and many
acts of gross injustice were committed on
the persons of Englishmen. So notorious
at length did these matters become that the
British government determined to send an
embassy to the court of Picking, and Lord
Mccartney was chosen to represent George
III. He was received most graciousy by the
Emperor, but the concessions he sought for
were not granted.
INTERNAL DISSENSIONs.
The character of Kai-King was absolute
and superstitious, and his reign Of twenty
five years was much disturbed by secret
combinations against the government, and
by instructions and pirates in and about