Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-27

hands of two women. one of whom was tie
empress dowager, while the other was Isl
An, who, since the death of her feminine
co-regent has, practically, been the sole
mistress of the middle kingdom.
1t is true that in 1873 Tung Che attained
his majority and began ostensibly to rule
but two years later he died without issue,
under suspicious circumstances. As by the
organic law of the dynasty an emperor's
heir must be younger than he from whom
the inheritance comes, Tung Che, having
no younger brothers, had to be succeeded
by one of the sons of his fathers younpar
brothers. The choice of the two expresses
regent fell on the infant son of Prince
Chung, seventh son of Tao Kwang, which
infant son became ostensibly emperor
under the name of Kwang Su.
Ruling Kwang Su.
After minority which, on various pre-
texts, was unusually protracted, Kwang Su
was permitted by the empress-regent, who
for some time has been the exclusive DOS
SCISSOR of authority, to assume the SOW
ereignty. No sooner did he evince, however,
an inclination to reor2anize the Chinese
system of education by the adoption of
western methods and ideals than he was
Isl An to leave her retirement and to CO.
operate with him in his imperial functions
This compulsory invitation was regarded as
tantamount to abdicatlOn, and Isl An was
kwang Su's accession, the virtual ruler of
China. 1t was, for a time, supposed that
she would feel Insecure 80 long as Kwang
Su should live, and it was predicted that
we should soon hear of his DEATH AS a
matter of fact his poor health and alleged
inability to conduct the business of state
was the pretext assigned for the designation
of the nne-year-old son of Prince Tuan as
the heir-apparent 1t Is well known that
this appointment has been Cancelled since
the suppression of the Boxer rebellion.
Whether the empresS-regent connived at
the Boxer uprising against foreigners and
was implicated In the attack on the lega-
tons at Peking is a question to which not
even dplomatists who were residing at the
time in the Chinese capital seem prepared
to give positive answer. There are those
disposed to think that the empress-regent
countenanced, If she didsnot fncite the at
tack upon the legations, but that after the
capture of Tientsin she wayered and was
not unwilling to see the consequences of
the crime averted by the pro- foreign party,
of which Prince Ching sand the great
Yangtse viceroys Liu Kum WI and Chang
Chih Tung were regarded as representa-
tives. To what extent, II an ALL she should
be held accountable for the second reaction,
exemplified in the murder 5of two pro-fOr-
eign members of the TsuAgsi Yamen (board
OF foreign affairs), is not osven yet deter
mined
Prince Tuan'ss Influence.
According to another theory. Prince Tuan,
father Of the child whos then was heir-ap-
parent, used the influence derived from his
official position at the head of the Tsung-
n-Yamen. a place to which he had been
raised in the spring of 19O9 to depress the
pro-foreign party and to compel the en-
press regent to encourage the Boxer upris-
ing and authorize the attack on the lega-
| TONS According to the latter theory, which
at the time was accepted by the United
States, Great Britain France and Japan,
and which has since been adopted by ali
the powers as a working hypothesis, Prince
Tuan was usurper and the empress regent
was victim Of duress and coercion
This hypothesis was convenient, fori II
warranted the assertion that the powers
F! that took part in the expedition for the re-
| lief of the legations were not technically at
war with the Picking government, but that
!, their military operations in the province of
Chill would, If successful. have the effect
of delivering the empress-regent from UNI
lawful pressure It is well known that, act
ing on the well-grounded assumption that
the theory Of her innocence would be ac-
cepted, ISL An returned from Singanfu to
Picking and had since treated the represent
tatives of foreign powers with extreme cor
diaity.