The Washington times., 1901-11-08
LII HUNG CHANG.

| from China the man upon whom more
than all others. the hopes of the Powers
rested during the past eighteen months
to bring order out OF chaos and restore
the Government in the Celestial Empire
Whatever his'faults. II Is conceded that
he made for civilization in the Far East
and was for half century the most In
iiuential of practical reformers in China
He served under four Emperors, and dur
ing the period of his service he gained
something more of the confidence and re-
spect of the West than any before him.
and this not only because his attitude
toward the stranger was less reserved
and less distrustful than that of any
other in such place. but also because OF
certain progressive spirit and a recog
milton of the possibility OF reform in his
own mind.
Ii Hung Chang was born about 1923. in
the Province of Nganhwei. on the north
ern side of the Yangtse- Kiang. He was
pure-bred Chinaman, without trace
| or Manchu or other blood His father
was of the Literau and he received the
| highest education according to Chinese
| standards. While the TAPPING rebellion
was at its height, Ii was appointed mag
| istrate UaotaD In one OF the most dis
| turbed provinces. He saw his opportuni-
! ty and at once set to work at organizing
| the Imperial forces which seemed at the
time to be in an almost hopeless state of
confusion. That quick understanding of
| the value of Western methods which al
ways distinguished him from the great
body of his countrymen, came to him
then and by calling on such men as Chi
nese" Gordon, Sir Halliday Mccartney,
and Giquel he succeeded in crushing COM
| pletely the rebels who for years had been
! doing srICh da but
! even now after nearly forty years the
| country has scarcely regained its old
prosperity.
In 1866 Ii was appointed Minister Plent-
potentiary. in the following year Viceroy
of Hu-kwang, and in 1870 VicerOy of
Chihli. In the meantime he had been en-
gagged in the suppression of other upris
ings in other places, and, although he had
failed in the case of the Mohammedans
in the northwest, his prestige by this time
was well established. Since then. notwith-
standing the arduous duties attending the
office of Viceroy, he had served al the
same time as Imperial Commissioner for
trade and coast defence, as Vice Presi-
dent of the Board of Admiralty, and
Director General of Railroads. Incident
ally. he took the posts of Foreign Minister
and Chief Adviser, though these cannot
be regarded as regular offices.
Soon after he took office as Viceroy, |
Ii fell into temporary disgrace for not
having relieved ming-chang who |
was overcome by the rebels. His titles |
and decorations were for the time taken |
away from him, but two years later he |
was restored to power. He was capable |
of doing the work of a dozen men of aver |
age gifts. The amount of unceasing Ia |
bor involved in these duties. says one |
authority, speaking Of his multifarious |
duties, considering the minutiae required |
by Chinese official routine, il is almost |
impossible for Westerner to realize. II |
is a marvel how the work was got |
through. And all the time Ii found leis- |
ure to receive any foreigner, from a pleni- /
potentiary to bagman, who wanted to |
see him on any reasonable preteXt.
"A marked feature in Lii, and one to |
his credit, has been this readiness to re-
celve foreigners and assimiliate Western
ideas. Always tolerant, always accessi-
BILE always urbane, his association with !
foreigners had helped him to beat down
the deep-rooted, colossal objection of the
Chinese official world to any such inter- |
course. And thereby Ii rendered the
Western world and his own country a
very considerable service"
He had not long been restored to power !
when he had a chance to prove himself
worthy OF the confidence placed in him
He concluded important treaties with
Japan and Peru and. in many other
ways, he proved himself valuable ser
want of the Empire. For many years he
was the most powerful member of the
Tsung-ii-famen, and hardly since he
came into office had any negotiations
been conducted between China and for
eign countries in which he had not played
leading part. Frequently, indeed, he
had done all the real work in the con-
clusion of treaties, etc.
In 1880 ii negotiated with the American
Commission, presided over by President
Angel, for the treaty regulating Chinese
immigration. Three years later he was
allowed to resign his Office as Viceroy
and First Secretary, but he took office
again in the autumn Of the same year.
During the whole period of his service
he was constantly burdened with a thou
sand tasks besides those involved by the
performance OF his immediate duties
in question, he was quite Indifferent to
the traditions respected so much by his
countrymen; but he was too clear-sight-
ed 10 tread roughly on Wel1-established |
prejUdices by making sudden changes |
without planning out clearly beforehand |
a course of action. In his clear. practical |
outlook he was 50 far removed as could |
well be from The average Chinese.
He did his best to introduce railways. |
telegraph lines, hospitals and modern ma
chinery, but old prejudiceS were against |
him and what he accomplished was small |
in comparison with what he planned. In |
regard to military and naval defence, he !
frequently insisted on the necessity of in
Producing modern Western appliances. but |
his proposals excited little interest among
the influential men in China. He succeed
ed, however, in founding the China Mer-
|
TO introduce European methods, and it !
has been partially successful. He estab- {
lished many schools OF a special kind ,
naval, and medical.
The utter defeat of the Chinese in the |
war with Japan in 1894 was the most mel /
ancholy event in the EarIs career. He I
was one of the few who foresaw the un- {
fortunate consequences. He was too old | c
TO take the field. but he called on the best
men he could think of in China to take c
They, however pleaded sick I
ness. and were excused. So the leader | q
ship fell into the hands Of raw and mex I
officers. The whole blame of | Il
iefeat was laid on LIS shoulders. and he | I
was once more divested of his honors and | n
But, as usual he was called |
1n again soon as his loss was felt.
This time ii was to carry out the nego-
iations of peace with Japan, and so in
did he work that he succeeded
n depriVing the japanese of a great part | 5
II the fruits Of their victorious campaign. | L
In the following year Ii Hung Chang | .
eft Shanghai for Russia to represent the | d
'htnese Emperor at the Cars coronation. | II
lie arranged beforehand a grand tour, Il
including Germany, Frlnce, Brussels. +,
england, the United States, and Canada, ! :
lis avOwed purpose being to pick up hints =
or certain practical reforms in China | y
During his sojourn in the great cities OF -
europe he visited every place worth visit u
ng and made careful enquiry into rctters | -
4 all sorts without giving any hint of | -
What he purpOsed to do with his informa- | a.
ion. In August he left England. after -
aying visited Gladstone. and paid mis- re 81
poets to the Queen and set out for this
Ountry, returning 10 China by way OF
.okohama.
He proceeded at once to Peking and was
ppointed Minister for Foreign Affairs,
nut at the same time Imperial edict | a
ras issued ordering him to be punished | "
or entering the precincts of the ruined | u