Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-22
An Interview With Ii Hung Chang
at Canton.
DOMESTIC And FOREIGN AFFAIRS
What He Thought Of the Empress
and Her Government.
he IS FAT AND RICH
copyrighted. 1900. by Frank G. Carpenter).
1pecfal Carresr ondence of The Evening Star.

Long before this letter is published Ii
Hung Chang will have reached Pekin and
will be counseling with the representatives
of the great powers about the reorganiza-
ton of the Chinese empire. There is no
doubt as to the result of the war. The
Chinese rebellion will probably be quickly
quelled and the hornets nest which the
empress dowager has brought about
through her friends the Boxers may result
IN her being stung to death.
In the meantime Ii Hung Chang will do
what he can to help his old mistress and
his country. He is one Of the shrewdest
diplomats alive, and 1 believe he is as
tricky as he is shrewd. 1 have heard much
of him during my various visits to China,
and have had a number of long interviews
with him.
met him first in 1888 when 1 visited Tien
Tsin on my trip around the world He was
the viceroy of Chill and superintendent
of the trade of north China. His income
from this position was several hundred
thousand dollars a year, and he had al
ready amassed millions.
With LII Hung Chang In 1894.
The next time l met him was six years
later when he was richer and more power
full than ever. This was just before the
war between China and Japan. LIS wife
had died and he had given her a funeral,
the cost of which would have been for
tune to the ordinary American. He had
had a birthday which his presents had
amounted to tens of thousands of dollars,
ard he was at the top notch of prosperity.
/ took a trip in his special car to the
Chinese wall and had the honor of being
guest at a dinner which he gave to our
former Secretary of State, John w. Foster.
The dinner was of that extravagant nature
only affected by the millionaire Chinese.
1t embraced about thirty courses and many
of the viands were OF the costhest descr1p-
ton. the shark fins having cost their weight
in silver and the delicate birds nest soup
being almost as expensive as liquid goid.
At that time / spent an afternoon with his
excellency. He talked freely about all mat
tiers relating to China, including the rebel
lion in Corea, which afterward brought
about the war.
My next interview was at the Arlington
Hotel. In Washington. The great Chinese
earl had seen his forces defeated In battle
by the so-called japanese monkeys. He
had lost his yellow jacket. but he was as
proud and cocky as ever, for his trip
around the world almost a triumphaI
one.
Chat With LII Hung Chang.
My fourth and last interview with Ii
Hung Chang was held a few weeks ago,
just before the outbreak of the present
trouble in China. 1 spent a few days with
my friend Hubbard T. Smith, who was then
m charge of the consulate at Canton and
from Consul General Goodnow and letters
of Introduction from the State Department
at Washington was again able to have
long conversation with Earl Ii.
L found him living in great state In Can
ton He was getting a nominal salary of
only few thousand dollars a year. but the
actual receipts from his office were in tie
neighborhood of half million dollars, and
his personal possessions were estimated at
something like 500, 100000 / was told that
he had been sent to Canton by the empress
dowager as reward for his services, in
order that he might line his own pockets
and at the same time squeeze ten millions
or so out of south China for the mighty
old lady of Pekin.
cure an audience with Earl Ii than in the
past. His excellency was full of business
ana his age prevented him from seeing peo-
pie as he formerly did at Tien Tsin 1t
TOOK much red tape to get to him. The let
ter from Consul General Goodnow INTRODUCE
ing me was in the mandarin dialect and II
was forwarded in brown official envelope
aDmout one-fourth the size of this news
paper page. One of our consular messen-
gers in livery carried II to the palace Snd
IN reply his excellency sent back another
envelope, even bigger, incosing his Chinese
caro- and request that / would visit him
at 3 o'clock that afternoon.
had to have a Chinese card written in
order that l might be properly introduced
az the palace. and | had to go in state
Tor, Tor that afternoon, / was a man of
prominence, and no one Of rank can walk in
MIR. Carpenters Retinue.
My rettnue could l have dropped 1t down
on the streets OF your city would have
ofawn bigger crowd than a circus pro-
cession. l had the official chair of the
consulate, a gorgeous box-lke affair two
feet wide. four feet long and four feet
high slung between two poles. each of
which was about fifteen feet long The box
was covered with silk greener than any
llShnanS ribbon on st. Patrick's day
ana the seat within 1t was of satin of a
bright YermilliOn. / crawied into the box
and then four tall Cinnamon, wearing the
red. white and blue Of the American con-
suIate raised the poles 10 their shoulders
and trotted off with me. Each man had
hat Of white straw as big as bread
DoWI with red silk tasSel Of the thickness
ana length OF horses tail half bobbed.
Each wore Jacket of white trimmed with
red ana blue stripes and white pantaloons
with red and blue bands about tne ankles
Upon the arm of each bearers coat an
American nag was beautifully embroidered
and there were also stripes of red and
blue down the breasts. Ii was an !mpos-
ing livery and decidedly American.
In addition to the bearers / had the ting
CHI or native major domo of our consulate
and four Chinese soldiers The soldiers
were even more striking than the chair
men. Their pantaloons We're of black paper
muslin wide that they tapped about
their bare yellow legs. Their sacques were
of red flannel embroidered in Chinese char
acters, and they wore white straw hats
with brims big around as tub and as
Timber as the washing when first hung on
the line. The hats almost hid their heads
as they marched In front of US through the
foreign concession. AS we entered the mar
row sgn-shaded streets OF The Chinese city
the hats were pushed off and allowed to
rest hanging upon the shoulders, looking
for all the world like great shields pro-
tecttng that most vulnerable part Of the
Chinese soldier-his back.
Riding I'm State Through Canton.
1 wish you could have seen me as they
carried me through the crowded streets of
that most crowded of cities, Canton. In
many places there was hardly room for the
chair, and the people were squeezed back
against the walls to let US go through. Our
soldiers, in their paper muslin pants and
red flannel Jackets. pompously pushed their
way TO the front, yelling to the people to
stand aside for the great foreigner Babies
cried. boys stared with open mouths and
was dragged through long lines of yellow
faces, out of which black eyes gazed
through button-hole lids, in all stages of
curiosity mixed with disgust
Our way went through miles Of business
streets. and we finally came into the great
court of Ii Hung Changes palace We
Gould see the flag Doles with the bird IN ces