The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-20
ANCIENT TALE
OF ARDENT LOVE AND OF RUTH.
 LESS WOE.
Why Chinanfan Wears Queue China's Sacrifice to a Lover's
 Rage Gave Manchuria Sway. Romance in "0pen Door.D

1omauce III 'Open Ooor. Manchuria has been a fateful poses l sion of China, and the move of Russia toward its aqulremtnt is likely to be fateful for that power, too. Even If | China should be deprived of 1t, and the l tombs of the Manchu Emperors should | pass to a foreign sovereignty. the Man l chus are likely to continue to bear sway in China.
 The queue that every Chinaman wears Is the badge of his servitude to
 the Manchus. for they, in the conquest | of Pekin and the replacement Of the | dynasty of the Mings with their own princely house. imposed their own na-
 tional headdress on the people of China. Bound up with this conquest is one of the finest and fiercest love stories ever told. This story Is related in ex-
 Consul General Rounseville wildham's 6
 book, "China's Open Door,
 It all happened in the years 16$s and
 1894 The Ming Emperor. Chwang Ldch IT. had two rebellions on his hands then mot very unusual condition in China. One of the rebel chiefs, u had proclaim ed himself Emperor and was marching victoriously on Pekin. At his approach the Emperor went out and hanged him. self on tree in his garden. EvertMng seemed propitioas for LIS triumph and
 his assumption of the imperial crown. But in the north there was a power l which was greater than that of L. It l was that of Wu Sankwei. 9 mighty
 fortress of Ning-Yuen, and who had
 long held at bay the Manchu tribes in that quarter. Wu Sankei, with an army
 of veterans, was on his way to the capi-
 tai to fight for the lawful uthortty when he received a letter from his fatehr, Wu urging him to submit to H.
 It is every Chinaman's duty to obey his father at whatever cost; and Wu Sankei would certainly have obeyed In this case. and kept Chinese dynasty on the throne, if a stronger love than the f1lial had not dominated his heart. Sankwei was on the point of rendering his allegiance to u when he heard that a beautiful slave girl belonging to him. to whom he was wholly devoted. had been seized and presented to one of Li's officers. Then his fury against the vic- torious rebel chieftain rose and knew no bounds.
 In his love for this girl, says the his torian. Wu Sankwei forgot flial obedi- ence. his own future. the safety of his family and every consideration of patriot ism. He was possessed only by e mighty passion of grief and anger. He wrote one letter to his father. upbralding him for not protecting the girl, and another to Dorgun, the Prince Regent of the Manchus, inviting him to join him (Sankwei) in the subjugation of the em- pIre.
 The Manchus did not hesitate a mo- ment They pushed their army forward by forced marches to a junction with .kk hA A.xv. nN afairs and determined to crush the man who dared dispute his title, advanced rapidly with 100000 picked infantry and 2OO0o cavalry. In the front line he marched Wu, the aged father of Sankwei, who, by all the decrees of Confueius, Sankwei was bound to obey, even to the sacrifice of his own life and honor.
 The father not only ordered him, but pleaded with him. to submit; but the vision of the outraged girl steeled the heart of his son and he stood helpless while the father was being murdered be- fore his eyes.
 The battle that followed was one of the most fercely contested as well as one of the most noted in history. Sank wei was outmatched and outnumbereds but not outgeneraled. He fought with his troops like the very spirit of the foar- full storm that ragged during the battle, but in spite of his terrific charges he would have been compelled to confess de- feat had not the Manehu advance guard of 10000 veteran cavalry thrown them selves into the breach with a rush that was irresistible.
 The fight. which commenced as a duel, ended in a slaughter. For fourteen miles Sankwei pursued the usnrper's disorgon- ized forces and butehered them by the hundreds. u stayed in Pekin long enough to strip the palace of its treasures and mercilessly to execute all the family of Wu and set fire to the Government build ings.
 Sankwei, however, was close on his heels He left the empire to the Manchus. the sacking of the city to the troops, and the bodies of his family unburied; but he swept on, tireless, remorseless bent solely on revenge. His mistress was dead, his father murdered. his family obliterated, but Li still lived.
 Battle succeeded battle. u, deserted by his followers. hunted like a mad dog, with all doors shut to him, and even the necessities of life becoming impossible, 1 was killed by the rustics whom he was plunderlng for food. and Sankwei arrived only to claim the corpse of the rebel ana l murderer who for a few hours had dared 1 to sit on the sacred dragon throne.
 Leaving Sankwei to avenge the death | of his mistress, Dorgun entered Pekln in l January, 1644. He proclaimed his youth | ful charge, his 6-year-old nephew, Elm peror, and formally transferred the Man l