Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1913-07-05
TO PAY old LOAN
Japan to Settle 27O-Year-OId
Claim.
Peculiar VIII Of self-Exlled Rich and
Powerful Chinese Made II Imposai-
BILE to Llquldate the Debt at
Earlier Date.

uc SNpduHbe BoNGTnmSut pIopOoco
10 repay the poor descendant of a
rich Chinaman loan which has been
standing unpaid for go years. Pecu-
liar circumstances concerning It
placed the japanese government In
such a position that 1t could not pay
1t earlier. The story of the loan is
like a legend, and almost unbelievable,
but there are documents which make
II historically authentic.
During the days of the last Ming
emperor of China there lived an edu-
Gated. wealthy and powerful man, Chu
Shanghai. The Manchus. coming
down from the northern hills. con-
Quered the Ming dynasty and killed
Ts'ung-cheng. the last Ming emperor.
That was 270 years ago.
The fall OF the Ming dynasty and
the succession of the Manchu con-
querors was bitter blow to Chu
Shanghai, who was a loyal adherent
OF the overthrown dynasty, and de-
spairing OF re-establishing II he he'd
to Japan.
The self-exiled Chu was learned in
the classics and was wise In the anal
ects of Confucius. He carried with
him his Confucian wisdom to Japan.
and there he preached to the people
from the knowledge of the Shu King.
or Book of Historical Documents;
from the Ii XII, or Book Of Ancient
Rites. and from the Shih King, or
Book Of Ancient Poems. His wisdom
brought him a large number of fol-
lowers and students. And he was
comfortably established in Japan
among the people, who respected him
for his wonderful knowledge OF the
Confucian classics.
Chu was wealthy and there came a
time when he could be of service to
the provinces through a loan OF
money. Three thousand taels of gold
were turned over by him for the use
of the Japanese government. One
tael of gold at that time was equal
approximately to one ounce and a
quarter. Today this would mean a
sum of about $4,000, but of course at
that time the value of gold was more
than It is today.
Chu. the exile. died in Japan. and
he left win which is still in exist
ence in Japan. In this win he re-
quested that until the Chinese re-
gained the power and crushed the
Manchu dynasty the debt should not
be repaid to his descendants in China.
And he also devised that he should
be buried In Japan and that his bones
should not be sent back to China I'M
til the sons Of Hans regained the
power in China.
The Japanese government recorded
the details of the ancient loan and
the will of the dead exile And upon
the fall of the Manchu dynasty and
the establishment Of the Chinese re-
public. number of the Japanese
scholars and university students were
sent to discover the heirs of Chu.
The investigation. which, although IL
seemed impossible at the beginning.
disclosed that Chu Shanghai Hankow
is the direct descendant of the self
exiled Chu Shanghai
When the identity of the present
Chu Shanghai was thoroughly estab-
lished copies of the records were pre-
sented to him, together with the old
swords. garments and historical docu-
ments left by his ancestor. And some
time in June Chu will visit Japan to
present his case and claim the money
left to him by his ancestor
1t Is said that no difficulty will be
experienced in getting an appropria-
ton to repay the ancient debt, but
there is doubt as to whether the spirit
Of the second provision of the Will
can be carried out. Even should II
be determined that Chu's bones could
be returned now with propriety to his
native land, the dihiculty would then
arise of finding where his bones now
lie. There is no record of the place
where Chu's body was buried, and
scholars In Japan commissioned to
find his burial place have thus far
failed
Chu, the heir. ID poor man, and
the equivalent of the 5000 taels OF
gold will make him rich. 1t is not
known as yet whether the government
proposes to pay interest on the debt.
Some say that the provisions of the
will relieve the government from the
obligation of paying interest. The
computation Of compound interest
upon $4,000 for 270 years would be
a gigantic task, If not compounded
the interest at 2 per cent. would be
s6o7.5o0.