Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-08-08
PEKING HORRORS
ARE Centuries OLD
Brief Review Of Dynasties That Have Risen to Fall
History Merely Repeated in Present En-
brogIio--Peking Too Far From People Of
Empire--Staunch Men Who Warn.
ed EMPRESS

The Shanghai Mercury gives the fol.
lowing review OF the cause of China's
troubles and the horrors OF Picking:
The memories attached to pcking In
the history Of China have ever been of
N emost sinister character From the
beginning Of its political career 1t may
be said to have been an obstacle In
the path OF China to eminence.
Although from time to time 1t hal
been the capital Of one or other OF
the intruding dynasties. whose ephe.
neral rule had marked the weakness OF
the Empire, II did not rise to any great
political ascendancy till Kublai made
IL the chief seat of his Monaghan En-
pirs about A. ID. 1880. Under his two
immediate successors II became the
seat OF the powerful rule Of the Yuens.
but removed from the heart Of the
empire. and deprived of the controlling
influence of the nation at large. II
quickly fell to be a hotbed Of intrigue
and'corruption.
At last the nation rose in arms, and
under the leadership of the noble Chit
nese priest. Chu Yuen Chang. was once
more united. and the adventurer as.
cended the throne under the dynastic
title of Ia Ming: adopting for his
reign the designation of Hung WI. TO
preserve the state from those evils that
the isolated position of Picking had
during the time Of his predecessors
entailed, the new Emperor fixed his
capital at Marking, reducing Picking
10 the position Of a satrapy. Under the
wise rule Of the new Emperor, Nan
king quickly became as prosperous and
renowned as ever Picking had been in
the golden days of the Yuens.
After "a prosperous reign of some
thirty years Hungwu was gathered to
his fathers, leaving the Empire to the
care Of his son, a youth scarcely arriv-
ed at years of discretion. Taking ad.
vantage Of his youth, his uncle whom
Hungwu had made his regent in the
North raised the standard of revolt,
and having defeated the hastily raised
leYies Of his nephew, advanced on Nan.
king, where he again defeated him
with great slaughter. The young En-.
perez is supposed to have fallen on the
field Of battle, but no traces Of him
were ever discovered. In any case his
uncle Immediately assembled the throne
Under the style of Yung Lo, and at
once removed the seat of government
to Picking, where It has since remain
ed.
With the removal. and from the
the Mings: who in the end. owing to
misgoyernment and the want of inter-
course with their people, found the
whole country in arms against them.
In this dilemma the most trusted
statesman of the day, the incautious
WI Sankwei, called in the aid OF the
ManChus against the rebels. The
usual result followed. The troops who
had come to his aid found the land
pleasant to live in, and but few years
elapsed before their leader assembled
the throne. founding the new dynasty
Of the Ia Ts'ings and fixed his capital
at Picking as the nearest to his native
soil of Manchuria. But the very same
progress Of decay that had under his
predecessors brought down both Yuers
and Sings was not long in reassert-
ing itself.