The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-26

pronounced TO be harmless, was not like
| ly to return to her official post without
| new ideas on the invulnerability of official
residences Whatever the bulk of Chinese
! peasantry might think touching the cow
ardice and helplessness of the foreign
! DEVILS she at least recognized on their
| side a power with which she would have
| in the future to reckon; and while she
might share with others of her race a cor
| dial distaste for white mans domination
| in China, she was equally convinced that
! the white man can be fought only with the
! white mans weapon, and that therefore
China must steadily work toward high
! er level of material, if not intellectual or
moral civilization.
To March with Her People
Her violent veto to the reform plans OF
the Emperor in 1898 sprang not so much
from her innate Chinese conversation as
from a profound statesmanlike apprecia-
tion of the fact that reform so sweeping
as had been planned would be followed by
a corresponding reaction. 1t was her duty,
she argued to march with her people; not
| too far in advance of them.
Any one who has seen the China of 1860
and has been able to compare it with the
China of to-day cannot but note the inn
| mense progress-relatively speaking. And
at the same time knowing the great
powers which have been welded by this
little Bismarck in petticoats it would be
wholly unfair not to credit her with full
share in the good work that has been done
during her reign-or dominion-or what
| ever word is best fitted to describe an as
tendency so complete.
The great power she has ever exerted Is
owing of course, mainly to her own innate
force of will and capacity for work. She
was fortunate in having no serious rivals
in her field. Prince Kung was of sloth-
full and pleasure loving nature, and cheer
fully allowed the energetic Empress
mother to indulge her passion for work-a
passion which distinguished her pre-emi-
nently.
Looking Back Over History
Looking back over Chinese history of the
past half century we can but wonder that
the vast empire held together under the re-
peated blows which it received. That it
held together even tolerably well remains
as monument to the energy and the sense
of this lady.
In 1861 the TAPPING rebellion, which had
risen in 1850, was still menace to the Pekin
Government, particularly in conjunction
with the European wars of 1858 and 1860.
The TAPPING Emperor held court at Nam
kim and his forces were plundering and
killing up and down the valley Of the
Yangtse. Even as late as 1876, when I
applied for a pass to travel in the interior
of China, I had to promise the Chinese
authorities that would have no dealings
with the rebels, and this sixteen years
after the outbreak of the rebellion!
In Yunnan, a province on the edges of
Tibet and Burmah, there had broken out
in 1856 serious Mohammedan insurrection,
which along with the TAPPING and the
foreign invasions kept the Pekin admins
tration pretty busy, at least with plans for
future residence in case any one of these
troubles should affect Pekin palace In
the general condition Of helplessness and
imbecility that permeated official China
the little Empress Regent saw her oppor-
| tunity and compelled obedience even
| among those who read in Confucius many
! paragraphs intended to discourage women
| from leaving the nursery.
| In 1864 the TAPPING rebellion closed by
the capture of Nankin and the suicide OF
the Pretender. In 1872 the Mohammedan
uprising which had spread immensely
| since 1856, came to an end. The rebellious
| Sultan Soliman poisoned himself and his
head was brought in triumph to Pek1n.
| While I was in China the last of the reb-
! els on the Turkestan border were being
| dispersed.
| Educated In Statecraft
For the first twenty-six years of her
/ life at court she had been receiving the
rare education which comes from discuss
I ing and carrying on measures for the
| safety of State in extreme danger. She
| had had ample opportunity before her
| accession to actual dominion in 1861 10
| measure the relative feebleness of the
| different officials who pretended to help
| the government, and she must have been
| weak, indeed. If she did not draw courage
| from the complete breakdown of the rem
edies proposed by legislators whose only
| knowledge of the world was represented
| bv thousands of secondhand maxims
| memorized parrot fashion from the So
| called classics.
One must have lived in China to ap-
ureciate the huge task that this HttIe
Empress has accomplishments task Of
holding the country together, Of holding
| at bay the nations of Europe who have
been persistently urging upon her reforms
| that might endanger her throne by pre-
| cipitating civil war.
In 1873. when Kwang Su was years old.
the Emperor Tung Chi ascended tha
| throne. and Immediately was made to feaI
the force of the lady's hand. Fer la isl4
ha nronosed to restore the famous 9unq-