Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-13
THE CHINESE EMPRESS
SUBDUED A NATION AND DEFIED
THE WORLD.
Her Personality and Force of Charac-
ter-How Sc Finally Mastered
the Entire Country.
From the I.9B.lsn Mail,

been written about this remarkable Wo-
man. butenone IL as extraordinary as the
truth. = -.
Her father waA a Manchu noble who had
held a lusratiysspost in Pekin. but lost it
through nd fal1se of his own. At Fu-Chau
Canton, where, in 1888, he found himself
without employment, or credit, and with
a wife, son and daughter to support.
Rather than starve he sold this daughter
to rich merchant. who had bought what
may be called. a 'mandaTinship."
me girl was strong, healthy and very
comedy from both the Manchurian and
Monaghan point of view. The two races
have different ideals Of female loneliness,
the Monaghan favering pfumpness and me-
ulum size, the Manchurian strength and
stature AS she was of Manchurian blood
her feet were not bound, and after being
sold her social position as a pocket daugh.
ter or family slave prevented her under
going the cruel operation of foot-binding.
f1er pocket parents to use the Chinese
phrase, were Kind and generous. She was
AMBITIOUS and highly talented. and seemed
to have vague idea of her future beauty.
She had learned to read and write before
she was eight years of age, and evinced
an aptitude for study. She was also not
confined within the walls of the yamen or
family establishment, but went about with
the older slaves and saw all the sights of
the city.
AS she grew older she was intrusted with
child manifested considerable business
ability In 1913 the emperor, Hen Fung
issued the marriage proclamation prescribed
by law. in which all eligible madens of
Manchu descent between the ages of ff-
teen and eighteen were requested to present
themselves at the imperial palace in Pekin
with a view to examination as secondary
wives OF the emperor. This is one of the
great social and political events of China,
and usually brings thousands of applicants
to the capital.
Tsi-An read the proclamation and imme
dfately announced her desire to enter the
list. Her pocket parents laughed at first.
but she made SO spirited and cogent an
argument that they finally yielded They
first changed her legal status from a slave
girl to an adopted daughter, and did all in
tteir power to prepare her for the eXamina
ton.
Her Career of Intrigue begins.
They gave her handsome outfit and
enough money to go from Canton to Pc
kin in the style becoming the rank of
Manchu princess. The court authorities
pronounced her faultless specimen of
womanhod, well brought up in ethics, and
possessing al the virtues needful to the
Sex; in the front rank of accomplishments,
in intelligence the equal of the graduate
of the first imperial examination. The eX-
animation over to her delight ALTHOUGH it
1t said. not to her surprise, she was among
the first ten of the fist of successful candi-
dates. She was taken to the palace and
there installed in one of the suites of rooms
in the womans quarter. Here began her
wonderful career of intrigue. She paid par
tcular attention to the empress, and at
the same time conducted herself with such
tact and wisdom as to make friends and
few or no enemies among the hundreds of
other women in the imperial household By
degrees she made herself indispensable to
the empress. and In this was was thrown
into the company of the emperor. After
a time his
ton, and finally presented him with a son.
AS the empress had no male issue. and as
Tsi-An's son was well beloved by the en-
perOr, she induced him to appoint her by
proclamation Empress of the West.
This action way a master stroke of dplo-
macy. The title was an ancient one, but
had ia len into allegiance; in fact. it was
wellnigh forgotten by the great lords of
the council. How she unearthed it was at
the time and has ever since been, a mys-
terry to the scholars of the empire. Under
the old law it was the highest honor and
position a secondary wife could hold. 1t
put her almost on a par with the empress,
whose legal tit e was the Empress of the
East From now on she rose until she be-
came the real power behind the throne.
Nevertheless, she never permitted her am
billions to thwart the empress proper. who
was her senior well as her legal supe-
rior. Hen Fung died in August, 1860. Ac-
cording to some reports the cause was a
broken heart on account of the great Tai
Ping rebellion; according to others he died
from poisoning.
The Reforming DOwager.
He was succeeded by Tsi-An's son, who
went to the throne under the official name
of Tung-Chi. The real governing was done
by a regency consisting of the two en-
presses and Prince kung. the boys uncle.
The new government displayed far greater
ability than its predecessor. 1t attacked
the rebels with great Ngor. engaged for
eign officers. including the Americans
Ward and Burgevine, and the more famous
Englfshrnan, "Chinese Gordon" 1t opened
relations with the European governments
and effected many reforms. The credit of
this work has been divided between Tsi-An
and Prince Kung. but it undoubtedly be-
longs to the former.
In 1874, Tung-Chi. then nineteen years of
age. began II" display some independence
There were many intrigues at the imperial
palace, and the great men of the state
were appointed and dismissed, promoted
and degraded, in manner which showed
that tremendous struggle for mastery
was going on Things looked very dark
when the emperor fell sick in a mysterious
manner and died shortly afterward, in jan
uGry, 1873. He left a wife who was about
to become a mother. Soon after her hus-
bands death she also fell sick and died.
Her death was ascribcd to a broken heart
by some and to poison by others. There
being no legal issue, the succession now
devolved upon the Manchu mobiles. There
were several cdHhlualeS ana much wire
pulling and intrigue. but the one favored
by Tsi-An. little boy of four the son of
loyal Manchurian, was selected under
the official name of kwang-Su, the old re-
gency being continued at the same time.
Supreme Over China.
The young emperor took more kindly to
the empress Of the east than to Tsi-An.
Tho attachment Depend. causing comment
at Pekin. 1t ended of course in the death
o, the empress dowager Tung- Kung, in
April, 1881. She also Is said to have been
the victim of poison. Since then Tsi-An
has been the master of Chinas destinies,
TIE Emperor kwangSu was a dociIe and
loving child. who allowed himself to be
swayed by her strong nature. Some years
ago. however. a rumnr ran through the
middle kingdom that Kwang-Su was deyel-
oping independence Of spirit. and predic-
tions were freely made that ere long he
would be deposed and die. One. II not both.
of these predictions has already come true
AS the struggle progressed the emperor
became more and more prisoner in his
own palace; his friends were attacked and
rendered powcrless. Those high in office
were degraded or bcheaded and those low
in office sent TO districts where they had
no following. and did not even know the