Evening star., 1909-02-14

the career Of the imperial concubine
whose disastrous rule so nearly wrecked
that empire in which women have al
ways been despised and subordinated
since Confucian slurs upon the sex were
accepted as gospel, religious creed and
principle.
Death Of Hsi-An.
Tsze Hsi-An. the Huang Tai Hou (em-
press dowager), suffered a first stroke of
paralysis about four years ago. a second
one last winter. and for the last six
months had been rapidly failing, to the
great CONSERVATION of the court. AS her
ailments increased. her temper grew dai-
ly more terrific. her whims and caprices
passed all belief, and her chronic irrita-
bility and frequent bursts of rage kept
the whole palace atremble, and upper
Manchu personages as far and as much
away from her presence as possible. The
attendants were beaten. the doctors were
beaten. the eunuchS We're beaten-even
that eunuch who saved her great pearl
cape and her favorite jewels by putting
them down a we'll when the court fled TO
Shansi after the Boxer collapse In 1901.
In that happy summer of 1893
kwangssu. with the great Confucian
scholar. kang Yu-Wei, an impractical re-
former who had never been outside of
China at that time. planned the reforma-
ton of every branch of the government
at once. He issued a se-'>s Of reform
edfcts which, dismissing some five thou
sand useless officials at one stroke. threat
ened twice as many more. The very
foundations of the government were
shaken by the decree ordering modern
sciences to be included in the subjects at
the great examinations.
Even then he had to 60 out to the sum-
mer palace every fifth day to ketou to
the empress dowager, who. when she had
permitted him to assume the fiction of
ruling. retained the great seal herself. the
ment and authority over all ofiicials OF
the first and second ranks.
Emperor's Plot Defeated.
1t was plainly necessary to obtain the
great seal and retire the empress dow
sger to some place far from the scene of
their activities. II the emperor was to ac-
compiish the needed reforms. The order
was given for Yuan Shih-K to bring his
troops up from Tientsin and help spirit
the dowager away to the quiet Of the
mountain palace of Jehol.
Yuan Shih-kai. suspicious of what the
future might have in store for himself.
distrusting all the new-fangled ideas that
were bursting In air every day. revealed
the plot TO Jung Lu. generalissimo of the
Manchu forces, who at once informed the
empress dowager. The emperor had
warning In time to write to Kang Yu-
Wei to fly for his life that hot Saturday
in September In 1898.
BY English aid he was spirited away
taken to Tientsih. and put on board an
outgoing British steamer. to remain
fugitive with the price of 500. 600 on his
head as long as the dowager lived.
The emperor realized that he. too. mus,
escape from the high-walled palace, and
quickly. It was the end of the week. an6
all foreign Peking had gone to the hills
over Sunday.
The emperor's emissary went first &c
the British legation to sound the way an6
secure an asylum. The minister and al
who could comprehend and appreciate the
situation were at the hills, and a new
secretary just arrived from Europe-that
handy'-impatienuy bade his visitor pu