Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-13
HE FAV0RS REFORM
Remarkable Letter From Ii Hung
Chang to a Friend.
CHINA MUST CHANGE her WAYS
Advises the Reformers to Persist
in Their Course.
ALONE IN HIS VIEW S

CHICAGO, June ia special dispatch
to the Record from Honolulu, June (via
San Francisco CALI says: Leung Chi Tso,
the Chinese reformer, has received most
remarkable letter purporting to have been
dictated by Ii Hung Chang. the grand old
man of China. in which the objects sought
by the reformers are commended and they
are advised to continue their efforts with
patience, but with carefulness. The letter
is signed by a grandson of Lii Hung Chang
and bears the grandson's private seal. 1t
is in answer to an open letter to the great
yiceroy written some months ago by Lee
ung Chi Tso.
In his letter Leung Chi Tso reminded Ii
Hung Chang that less than two years ago,
when the reformer was sent into exile, Ii
Hung Chang sent word to him, through
Count Ito. bidding him look on his exile as
an opportunity to study occidental ways
and modern ways of government as the
time might soon come when China, under
happier conditions, would recall the sons
she was sending into exile to help reform
and remodel her ancient institutions.
Ii Hung Chang was reminded that IN con-
GLIDING his message he bade Leung Chi Tso
to be faithful to the ideas for which he had
been exiled. Leung Chi Tso asked Ii Hung
Chang if he had been faithful to the senti-
ments of that message; if he had done all
in his power to bring about that happiest
time for China. The refcrmer said he
would not upbraid him for the efforts he
was now making in the province of Canton
to hunt down and execute the reformers,
for in that he was only obeying his sover-
eign's orders, but he wanted to be assured
that he was not himself inspired with the
spirit of those orders.
Letter il a Long One.
The letter received by the last steamer.
purporting to be Lii Hung Chang's reply to
this open letter, contains about 1000 words.
Some of the most important portions of the
letter are as follows:
For over thirty years Ii Hung Chang
has been a believer in opening China to
foreign influences, but he has stood all
alone. In the days of the Ping rebellion.
which Lii Hung Chang helped to suppress.
he learned that the foreigners We're more
Skillful than his countrymen. and he came
to the conclusion that China should learn
from the outside world. But no one else
held these views. and one man could do
nothing.
Then fifteen years ago came the war
with France. Before the war Ii Hung
Chang spoke for peace. He told his coun-
trymen that France was too powerful for
them, and tried to point out that her SOL
diers Were more skillful, but the mandarins
wanted war. and the result was lot of
territory and a lot of gunboats were
taken The same thing happened before
the war with Japan, which Ii Hung Chang
tried TO prevent
''All this time Ii Hung Chang has be-
lieved In educating Chinese in foreign ways
but he has been alone among the nanda-
rims. and could do nothing. Now he is old
and cannot do what the young reforners
are doing for their country. lie has only
sympathy for them in their work. 1t is rot
Ii Hung Chang who has ordered reformers
beheaded. nor has his ;.srn.s after them
1t is the empress. and Ii Hung Chang can
not stop it. The prosecutor of the reform