The herald., 1897-02-28
THE QUEEREST LEGATION
Ambassador Ye Pom Chin From
Far Korea
HE IS A TYPICAL TARTAR
But Scholarly, Cultivated and Inter.
esting
hrs. Ye Pom IL Charming Little Lady.
the FIRST "New Woman Of
the Orient

numerous leSatloHs III WdSHAi5 loh 10
that from far Korea-which latter word,
by the way, you may spell with c or a
K, as suits your fancy; or with equal
correctness, you may call the Hermit
Kingdom, Kaole or Ch'ao-Hscien. The
first minister Plenipotentiary from the
Land of the Morning Calm" to the
United States, Mr. Pom Kwan Sob, came
over during President Arthur's admin
fetration, and was recalled a few months
ago to fill a higher position at home.
Those who enjoyed the honor Of Mr..
Soh's acquaintance speak Of him as one
of the most scholarly. cultured and in
teresting foreigners whom Washington
has seen for many a day. Under 35
years of age, of splendid height and
strength, he is typical Tartar-of the
race which has given not only to Korea,
but to China and Japan, all the great
men Of Oriental history. both ancient
and modern. His long, dark, habitually
calm face might be that of sphinx, and
the steadfast black eyes and command
ing features show the mental traits
which make the Tartar conqueror and
a master. With breadth of character
as we'll as physique, Mr.. Sob is one of the
most patriotic noblemen of the new re-
gime in Korea, identified with the pro-
gressive party of his country. Several
times in the course of his illustrious ca
reer he has been forced to flee from his
native land-but he always stuck to his
principles, and came off victorious in the
end. 1t was mainly through his in
f1uence that the Hermit Kingdom was
opened little way to the world. In
duced by him, the new government
adopted the before unheard of policy
of building railroads from the seaboard
to the interior, of setting up telegraph
lines disseminating Korean products
among other nations, and admitting
"outer barbarians" to all parts of the
country; and last, but by no means
least, as indicating the great change
that has come over Korea-of establish
ing religious liberty where for many
centuries Confucianism had reigned su-
preme-Buddhism, as we'll as Christian
ity, and all other forms Of religion hav-
ing previously been classed as heathen-
ism too rank to be tolerated within the
borders of the kingdom.
ROYAL FAVOR.
After experiencing all the vicissitudes
associate with the despotic mon
arches Of the Orient, Mr.. Sob was lucky
enough to save the life of his king, and
henceforth, during that regime, his own
life was more secure than any other
mans in the country 1t happened dur
ing the riots of 1885, in the capital city
of Seoul. The royal palace consists of
multitude of buildings covering an
area of two square miles, enclosed with
In strong, high wall Pom Kwan Sob
al other ministers had taken |
he palace when fighting ragged |
aets, and while the mob was
down the WALL intent upon |
the king, Mr.. Sob conducted |
parsonage to little Buddhist |
the vicinity, where they re-
hiding together until the
'ver, for nobody thought Of
shrine Of Buddha for a
g, who is supposed to be as
an enemy of that deity as
lower of Confucius. This
Tered the king his friend for
perhaps the queen preferred
10 pe a widow. At any rate, she was
presently persuaded that Sob had Joined
the Tong-Hak party in conspiring
against her-and never before was his
head in quite so much danger. IIa
however, to elude the assas-
sins set upon his track and to reach the
United States flagship Trenton, which
lay in the harbor, and was received on
board with the honor due to his rank
During his years of exile he sailed
around the world visited India, Paris,
London, the United States, mastered
several languages, studied political
economy, and, in short, became the
most travelled and accomplished Korean
on record.
THE AMBASSADOR.
His successor in Washington, Mr.. Ye |
Pom Chin, is also a highly educated !
man and very handsome one, after the |
Oriental standard. Properly written his |
fS Chin Poro no
Korea names like everything else, are
very ceremonious affairs, governed by |
the Book of Rites. Ye is the ancestral |
family name, shared in common with
the family clan. Pom is merely his de-
gree name, denoting the nearness of
his relationship to the common ances- |
tor; while Chin is his Individual name.
and Da Gam his title, indicating the rank
of marquis. Every one of his kinsmen
OF the same degree removed from the
aforesaid original ancestor Is given the
same cognomen for one of his three
names, and each degree has a different
cognomen from all the other degrees.
$hus, Minister Yes sons, though he has
a dozen, must all have Chin as their de- !
gree name, while his grandsons will all |
be Poms. Thank heaven for plain ple-
beian Smiths and Browns and Jones in
our infant country! No name in all the |
hermit Kingdom is more old and hon |
ored than that of Ambassador Ye. His |
rather wears the proud military insignia |
OF two lighting tigers on his left breast, |
while the ambassador himself, being |
OF the civil rank, Da Gam, or marquis,
sports plastron with two white cranes |
upon it, At home Minister Ye is what
might be termed landed baron, for the
old feudal system is still eXtant to a
large degree In the Sunrise Land He
owns immense rice fields, which are
cultivated by the peasantry belonging
TO his clan, over whose lives and desti-
MES he has absolute control His wealth
10 estimated to be somewhere in the
helghpohood of TWO millions, which
stands for more in his country than two |
hundred millions in this Physically
Marquis Ye is almost a giant, being six
feet four inches in heelless shoes and
broad in proportion. Though finely edu-
Gated in his native tongue he is wholly
unVerSed IN the ways of this newer wes-
tern CONTEMPLATING never before been
out OF his native land, which was pray
with age before our republic was born.
HIS NATIVE GARB
Unlike his predecessor Mr. Sob. he
has not yet donned American clothes |
and when in full robes of state is a sight
well worth beholding. The court dress
IS of heavy white silk embroidered all
over in bewildering designs, and on the
front and back of it two enormous white
swans embroidered in gold. AS before
mentioned the swans denote his ci,-il |
rank; were his a military title there
would be two rampant tigers instead
But the strangest part of the costume
Is the tall hat of woven horse-hair, with |