The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-23
THE DoWAGER EMPRESS TzE-HsI
Pen Picture of the She Devil Who
Rules aud Has Ruined China.

Rules and Has Ruined China.
ueegiRaId ,iaingny in Eyefybody's Magazine)
The Dowager Empress of China rejoices
in the name of Tszehi-Toanyu Kangi-
oyu-Chuangeheng-S hokung ChinhieE-
Chungsih but such a name being clumsy,
they call her simply Tze-hsi. She is lady
of middle height. with black hair, dark
eyes and feet shaped according TO nature
A witty journalist described her as the
only man in the Celestial Empire. Such
is the Empress Dowager of China.
II has been frequently stated that Tee
hsis parents were of the lowest social
grade-actors according to some. small
merchants according TO others. Botn
statements are erroneous Tze-hsi's father,
Li-Tzun, was a Mancbu noble who held.
some years before the birth OF his daughter.
an important Government post at Pekin.
The DOOR man fell upon evil days; he lost,
through no fault of his, both wealth and
position, and left Pekin to try his luck at
Fu-Chau. But at Fu-Chau he was equally
| unfortunate, and the year 1S43 found him
| almost in a state of utter restitution at
Canton.
But as far as his domestic affairs were
| concerned fate had dealt generously with
| Li-Tzun His wife seems to have been
an exemplary person. who bore her many
| and grievous afiiictions with patience ana
| fortitude. and presented her husband with
n healthy son and daughter, both of whom
were destined for great things-the son to
a generalship in the Chinese army; the
daughter Yia-Ling as she was called in
those days. to reign In solitary grandeur
over a quarter OF the worlds inhabitants.
But the future is closed book: and in
1915 the unhappy Li-Tzun knew only that
his affairs had reached a crisis, and that
starvation stared him in the face. In such
dire straits. what IS man to do? He
must, Of course. sell his children; but LII
Tzun. whose parental affections appear to
| have been strong, was 10th to Go SO until
Yin Ling. with commendable unselfish-
| ness, suggested il herself. She could not
bear TO be a drag on her parents.
And now the girls lucky star made its
| first peep over the horizon. At Canton
had arrived a few weeks previously fine
! parsonage. General Ti-Du, to wit, dis
| tant relative OF the Emperor; him the af-
! ficted Li-Tzun had known in happier days,
| and to him he now repaired, daughter and
ALL He told his tale and made his offer.
Would Ti-Du buy the girl? She was
strong and healthy and fair. Ti-Du could
have her for a song-merely fifty taels.
| Surely the money was well laid out-the
girl would amply repay him!
Well. tho upshot of the matter was that
| the general planked down the~money, and
| Yin-Ling changed hands.
Almost from the commencement of her
| career as slave she found favor in tho
| ewes of the general and his wife. In the
| fest place, General Ti-Du and his wife
were uncommonly worthy and generous,
| and had nc children of their own; in the
second place, Yin-Ling was remarkably
beautiful charming according to Chinese
| ideals. be it remarked), talented. ambi-
tious. and. above all, diplomatic Such was
| the situation, and it followed logically that
| she soon became her pocket parents -
prime favorite. She was not immured in
the yamen or family establishment, as
was the fate of domestic slaves in general,
but was permitted a certain amount of
freedom. Her singular intelligence soon
attracted the generals notice; he hired
| teachers for her; she learned reading.
| ting, ethics. astronomy and other
| female accomplishments. and before she
| was fifteen years Of age she was known as
one of the cleverest and most desirable
young women in Canton.
Il was in 1850 that Hsien- Fung who had
just succeeded his father. Taokwang. on
the imperial throne of China. issued
proclamation requesting all girls of Man.
chu descent to present themselves at tho
imperial palace at Pekin. that they might
be examined with a view to becoming
secondary wives of the "Son Of Heaven
For such is the custom in China wife
is selected for the Emperor; she is the
| shares with her husband the throne; after
her follow a bevy of wives OF the second
| grade, and from these, should the Empress
| die. the Emperor chooses a substitute:
then come an unlimited number of wives
Of the third grade. who have but slender
chance of promotion.
Many went to that examination: few
passed ii successfully. or some 600 Man
chu virgins 800 were disqualified; but
among the lucky ten was Yin-Ling. She
| had passed so to speak. with honors. The
Empress Dowager OF the time, who is. in
| these cases. the chief examiner declared
in so many words that any virtues OF
| which Yin-Ling was not the possessor
were hardly worth having. She was vir-
tuous. she was accomplished perfect from
| heel 10 head and from heel to head ex-
| qrisitely turned! Ia was marvellous leap
"a slave girl one day, among the highest
ladies in the land the next; but Yin-Ling
showed no unbecoming exultation. II re-
port is to be trusted. she took her promo
| ton with admirable calm. and certainly
| without the least establishment.
Winnings career was now beginning;
it's prologue, so to speak. had come to an
end with her entry into the imperial
palace. where for the next fifty years she
was to become the centre of all the cabals
and conspiracies with which one naturally
associates China and its wonderful capital
| Her first desire was to gain the notice OF
| Esien- Fung-no easy matter. for the En-
peror may pass a whole lifetime without
| ever knowing the names of three-quarters
| of his wives. But Yin-Ling was not the
woman TO let difficulties of any kind daunt
her and she set about gaining her object
| in a manner eminently worthy of her sim
| gular genius. With the utmost humility
| she besought Tze-An. the Empress. to
take her as a maid, expressing a: the same
time the deepest admiration for ....=-
| tress' virtues and charms. Tze-An was no
| fool. and received these advances coldly
ut first, suspecting. no doubt. some hidden
| motive behind the honeyed speech and
| adoring glance But Yin-Ling stuck to
! her guns. despite snubs and frigid glances
| and managed at the same time to make
| herself popular with the other wives.
| Tze-An'A suspicious were = gradually
| lulled to rest and almost imperceptibly
| with such skill did the intriguer go to
! work Yin-Ling became indispensable to
| her. and was never away from her side.
| 1t was thus that she came to the notice
! OF Hsien-F ung a man, if report errs not.
who appreciated pretty face when he saw
| it. Becoming holder, Yin-Ling included
| the Emperor in her maneuvres; he became
! in course of time. deeply enamored of her.
ard five years after her entry into the i'm
perial palace the ex-siave girl presented
her husband with an heir to the throne OF
China for Tze-An was childless.
This was Winnings great opportunity.
Was the mother OF the future Emperor to
| remain a secondary wife? Surely such a
state Of affairs would be against all prece-
dent, Hsien-Fung admitted as much, but
was at loss to find remedy. Then Yin
/ Y rrr1x da1 kar I'D thak