The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-07-11
'R|lERSA|P Of CHM
Form of The Government of
That Renighted Land.
CHOOSING AN EMPEROR
His Life Within the Myster-
i0uS Inner City.

hidden City, and not one Chinaman in a
hundred thousand has ever looked upon
| the imperial face or is even certain of his
existence Again, in spite of the absolute
character Of the monarchy, there is, &C
! cording to the Chinese law, body called
| the Tu-ch-a-yuen or board of public CEN
sors, which is Independent Of the supreme
government, and, theoretically at least,
higher in authority.
Theoretically, again, the supreme direc-
ton Of the affairs OF the empire is vested
in the Chun Chi Ch'u, otherwise known
as the privy or grand council. The prac-
teal administration of the laws is under
the charge of the Nei-Ko, or cabinet. a
body which consists of four members,
two Cinnamon AND two Tartars, with the
assistance of two, members of the great
college Of Confucius, whose duty~it is to
see that nothing is done by the cabinet
which is not in strict accordance with the
sacred books. Under the cabinet, again.
are seven boards of administrators. each
of which is presided over by a Chinaman
and a Tartar jointly. These boards have
the work Of government divided among
them as follows:
l. The board of civil appointments.
which has charge of ali the civil officers
in the empire.
q The board of revenues, which has
charge of all financial affairs
3. The board of rites and ceremonies,
which has charge Of enforcing the laws
and customs of the empire.
4. The military board.
5. The board of public works.
6. The board of criminal jurisdiction.
7. The admiralty board, which makes
its headquarters at Tien Tsin.
Equal in authority with these is the
board of foreign affairs, or Tsung-li-Ya-
men, which has as members all the men,
bers of the grand or privy council.
AS for the mysterious emperor, he
spends his life in the Forbidden City. into
the central portion of which no man may
enter. There he lives, surrounded by the
members of his harem and by the enor
nous number of of from 5000 to 10000
slaves. Massive walls and the even more
formidable barriers of oriental etiquette
shut him off entirely from the rest of the
world When on rare occasions he goes
out to worship at one ofSthe temples or
to visit one of the palaces in the vicinity.
The streets along which ne and his retirse
will pass are cleared and freshly paved
while the houses and other buildings
along the line are barricaded and the
fronts covered with huge mats, so that
no vulgar eye may look upon the great7
Lord of the Sun as he is carried along in |
a magnificent sedan chair. Only once in
a number of years, when the emperor goes
out into the country, where it is practic- |
ally impossible to barricade all the roads.
does the average Chinaman have an op- |
portunity to get even a glimpse OF hisT
imperial master.
There is no law of hereditary succession |
to the Chinese throne, it being left to !
each emperor to appoint his own sue |
cesser from among the younger. genera
ton Of the imperial family. AS the en- |
peror commonly has a number Of wives |
and children, the practice opens oppor-
tunity for an endless amount of intrigue
and chicanery. The manner in which the
present emperor, Tsait'ien, came to the
throne is an example in point.
In 1861 Tung Chi, then a mere infant.
was made emperor. During his long mi
nority the government was in the hands
Of two women, one of them the principal
wife and empress of the former emperor,
and who bore, according to the Chinese
custom, the title OF the empress of the
eastern palace. The other was the mother
Of Tung Chi and the second wife of the
late emperor, with the honorary title of
empress of the western palace. It is this
woman who still is the real head Of the
Chinese government and VINO is known to
the world as the dowager empress.
When the two women seized the reigns
Of government in 1851 they took steps to
make their hold secure by cutting off the
heads OF all the principal men who op-
posed them. In 1873 Tung Chi came OF
age and married. Then the two old en-
presses noIhinaly retired into the back
ground. But Tung Chi lived a fast life,
and in 1875 he died as the result of dissi-
patton, after having issued an imperial
srder putting the government into the
hands of the two old women. They de-
,ermined to hold the power as long as
possible. Accordingly they selected
cousin OF Tung Chi, Tsait'ien. who WIS
only years old, thus insuring that they
would remain as regents for number Of
years. In order to make the matter more
binding the baby was formally adopted as
4 child Of one Of the dead and gone en-
oerors, and the two women settled down 1
10 govern China as they pleased In 1851
he older Of the two expresses died. leav-
ns the present dowager 10 assume su-
)reme authority.
In 1889 TsaitieH. the present fgurehead
emperor, came % age, formally took 4
,harge Of the empire. and married his
cousin But nevertheless the old dowager
has never really reIinGuished her power
For forty years she has been the prac-
Zeal dictator OF Chinese affairs. though ,
FOR the first twenty years Of the period Z
She shared her authority with another I
vcmau.
Under the regulations OF Chinese court
etiquette net even the members OF the ,
grand or P-ivy council ara allowed 10 see
he emperor except under conditions most
ourdensome ana 10 the western mind rid 5
cuious. A great mandarin. fer instance. |
who wishes 10 consult with his imperial
master must leave his own palace at :
midnight or thereabou1s carried probably
4 a sedan chair. and surrounded BY =
Rowling mob Of followers At the en- {
rance OF the Purple or Forbidden City I
he great man, 10 matter how exalted !
lis rank. must dismiss his escort and de-
icend from his chair. Inside the imperial .
rates he must walk IN an altitude az :
humility. The usual hour az which audi