The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-21

OF CHINA


had some vogue in London dozen or fif-
teen years ago declared, nightly, that he
was at his thirty-seventh conspiracy. The
Empress Dowager Tze-hsi-tuan-yu has
not yet rivalled that record but she is
getting on. When persons have attained
to the position of Empress, moreover,
they no longer conspire; they make coups
d'etat. The Empress Tze-hsi has made
several. The llrst was in 1851 when she
combined with Prince Kung and her Sis
ter Empress, TZe An, to seize .ue reins
of power after the death of their con-
Sort the Emperor Hien Flung. The next
was in 1875. Having graspeo the reins in
1851 the two ladies succeeded in holding
them and governing, as regents, during
the long minority of Hen Fung's son and
for a While when the latter came of age,
III 1878; but his death, two years later,
gave them another opportunity, which
they were prompt to seize. Tung Che died
chlldlesS, but leaving widow, Ah-lu-te,
who might hope to give h m a posthumous
heir. The Impress An-lu-te'S claims We're
ignored and shortly obliteTs-.vu by death
declared to be suicidal, but so convent
ent that it was SPOKEN of with Shrug.
The selection of an Emperor, under such
circumstances, devolves really upon the
heads of the Imperial Clan. 1t was upon
Su was originally named, who was at
that time only 31s years old, that the
4 choice of the Imperial Clan court fell.
Tung Che died on January II, 1875. On
January Is, the Expresses formally ac-
icepted the regency which they had prac-
tically assumed. A decree of the 18th
announced that the designation "Kwane
/ SUI had been chosen as the style of the
I new reign.
Waters which had been so violently dis
| turbed were not likely to subside at once
1t was felt that the natural course OF
succession had been diverted, to serve the
ambition of the oowagers: but they were
| able to make good their position. The
death of the young Empress Ah-lu-te. two
1 months after her husband, cleared the
way. All passed without external dis
/ turbance, and the august ladies entered
upon a second regency winch laSted-if
the case of TIE An, til her death In 1881
and in the case of her Still surviving col
league, till kwang Su came of age, il
1859.
The Empress Dowager retired avowed
ly, from the regency On Kwang Su's com
ing of age, in~1SS9; .ut her continued in
fiuence was repeatedly made manifest Il
edicts which the Emperor admitted hav
ing received her instructions to issue 0
, indorse. Dowager Expresses are tradi
. | tionally a power in Peking. We ind, TO
instance, the Emperor Tao Kwang, VIII
was by no means faineant, paying eS
, traordinary respect to the lady who ot
cupied that position an his day, and tn
tradition of prolonged tutelage woul
. combine with the prestige of position [
= give exceptional influence to an able, dc
termined and ambitious woman like TIE
hsi. 1t would be superfiuous to recap.tt
/ late at length the circumstances of tn
Emperor's revolt against that infiuenc'
and practical suppression In 1893; nc
: need we attempt to ascertain the precis
: measure of his individual capacity an
force What is certain is that he stoo
for reform, and that the Empress Dows
ger stands for reaction. He had SUI
:, rounded himself with reforming auviser
= and had issued number OF edicts d
e signed to get the State carriage out
the ancient ruts into which it had sun
u Such attempts have excited antagons
+ enough, upon occasion, in the compari
/ lively young countries of the West. Inc
q excited something akin to horror amor
n moss grown scholars who saw their We
Il cradle curriculum in danger of chang
n among palace creatures and place ms
& who saw their SinecureS in danger; al
d among the whole host of permanent OF
n Gals who saw their perquisites and Il
s stereotyped routine of things likely to
IS thrown into the crucible. The Emper
e was backed by thousands of the young
e iterati, mandarins, and merchants In t
n provinces, and by some of the highest c
g ficials in the Empire. But the coup Diet
q was effected in Picking, where the rea
"a tionaries practically held the field. !
that they wanted was a leader; and
,s norance of the forces really at work COZ
+, bined with personal fears and person
- ambition to throw the Empress Dowag
:, into their hands. On September % s
- openly seized the reins of power, in pu
=. suance of an edct issued in the Emperor
re name declaring his lack of capacity a
Vi begging her to assume the guidance
X affairs Six of the men who had prom
l. nently supported him In his schemes
ar reform were put to death without fol
ed of trial. Kang Yu-wei, the most prom
nent of all, escaped to Hongkong, a
of thence to japan: leaving behind him. no
lis ever, an open letter addressed to the f.