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PREFACE
PREFACE
Until within the past ten years a study of Chinese court life would have been an impossibility. The Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the court ladies were shut up within the Forbidden City, away from a world they were anxious to see, and which was equally anxious to see them. Then the Emperor instituted reform, the Empress Dowager came out from behind the screen, and the court entered into social relations with Europeans. For twenty years and more Mrs. Headland has been physician to the family
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I The Empress Dowager—Her Early Life
I The Empress Dowager—Her Early Life
All the period since 1861 should be rightly recorded as the reign of Tze Hsi An, a more eventful period than all the two hundred and forty-four reigns that had preceded her three usurpations. It began after a conquering army had made terms of peace in her capital, and with the Tai-ping rebellion in full swing of success.... Those few who have looked upon the countenance of the Dowager describe her as a tall, erect, fine-looking woman of distinguished and imperious bearing, with pronounced Tartar
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I THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—HER EARLY LIFE
I THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—HER EARLY LIFE
One day when one of the princesses was calling at our home in Peking, I inquired of her where the Empress Dowager was born. She gazed at me for a moment with a queer expression wreathing her features, as she finally said with just the faintest shadow of a smile: "We never talk about the early history of Her Majesty." I smiled in return and continued: "I have been told that she was born in a small house, in a narrow street inside of the east gate of the Tartar city—the gate blown up by the Japane
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II The Empress Dowager—Her Years of Training
II The Empress Dowager—Her Years of Training
The kindness of the Empress is as boundless as the sea. Her person too is holy, she is like a deity. With boldness, from seclusion, she ascends the Dragon Throne, And saves her suffering country from a fate we dare not own. —"Yuan Fan," Translated by I. T. C....
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II THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—HER YEARS OF TRAINING
II THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—HER YEARS OF TRAINING
The year our little Miss Chao entered the palace was a memorable one in the history of China. The Tai-ping rebellion, which had begun in the south some three years earlier (1850), had established its capital at Nanking, on the Yangtse River, and had sent its "long-haired" rebels north on an expedition of conquest, the ultimate aim of which was Peking. By the end of the year 1853 they had arrived within one hundred miles of the capital, conquering everything before them, and leaving devastation a
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III The Empress Dowager—As a Ruler
III The Empress Dowager—As a Ruler
That a Manchu woman who had had such narrow opportunities of obtaining a knowledge of things as they really are, in distinction from the tissue of shams which constitute the warp and the woof of an Oriental Palace, should have been able to hold her own in every situation, and never be crushed by the opposing forces about her, is a phenomenon in itself only to be explained by due recognition of the influence of individual qualities in a ruler even in the semi-absolutism of China.—Arthur H. Smith
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III THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A RULER
III THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A RULER
In considering the policy pursued by the Empress-mother after her accession to the regency, one cannot but feel that she was fully aware of the fact that she had been the wife of an emperor, and was the mother of the heir, of a decaying house. Of the 218 years that her dynasty had been in power, 120 had been occupied by the reigns of two emperors, and only seven monarchs had sat upon the throne, a smaller number than ever ruled during the same period in all Chinese history. These two Emperors, K
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IV The Empress Dowager—As a Reactionist
IV The Empress Dowager—As a Reactionist
The most interesting personage in China during the past thirty years has been and still is without doubt the lady whom we style the Empress Dowager. The character of the Empress's rule can only be judged by what it was during the regency, when she was at the head of every movement that partook of the character of reform. Foreign diplomacy has failed, for want of a definite centre of volition and sensation to act upon. It had no fulcrum for its lever. Hence only force has ever succeeded in China.
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IV THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A REACTIONIST
IV THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A REACTIONIST
It was between November 1, 1897, and April 16, 1898, that Germany, Russia, France and England wrested from the weak hands of the Emperor Kuang Hsu the four best ports in the Chinese empire, leaving China without a place to rendezvous a fleet. The whole empire was aroused to indignation, and even in our Christian schools, every essay, oration, dialogue or debate was a discussion of some phase of the subject, "How to reform and strengthen China." The students all thought, the young reformers all t
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V The Empress Dowager—As a Reformer
V The Empress Dowager—As a Reformer
Taught by the failure of a reaction on which she had staked her life and her throne, the Dowager has become a convert to the policy of progress. She has, in fact, outstripped her nephew. "Long may she live!" "Late may she rule us!" During her lifetime she may be counted on to carry forward the cause she has so ardently espoused. She grasps the reins with a firm hand; and her courage is such that she does not hesitate to drive the chariot of state over many a new and untried road. She knows she c
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V THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A REFORMER
V THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS A REFORMER
In June, 1902, soon after the return of the court from Hsian to Peking, a company of ladies from the various legations in Peking who had received invitations to an audience and a banquet with the Empress Dowager were asked to meet at one of the legations for the purpose of consultation. The meeting was unusual. Many of those who were present had no higher motive than the ordinary tourist who goes sightseeing. With the exception of one or two who had been in once before, none of these ladies had
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VI The Empress Dowager—As an Artist
VI The Empress Dowager—As an Artist
There is no genre that the Chinese artist has not attempted. They have treated in turn mythological, religious and historical subjects of every kind; they have painted scenes of daily familiar life, as well as those inspired by poetry and romance; sketched still life, landscapes and portraits. Their highest achievements, perhaps, have been in landscapes, which reveal a passionate love for nature, and show with how delicate a charm, how sincere and lively a poetic feeling, they have interpreted i
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VI THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS AN ARTIST
VI THE EMPRESS DOWAGER—AS AN ARTIST
One day the head eunuch from the palace of the Princess Shun called at our home to ask Mrs. Headland to go and see the Princess. While sitting in my study and looking at the Chinese paintings hanging on the wall, two of which were from the brush of Her Majesty, he remarked: "You are fond of Chinese art?" "I am indeed fond of it," I answered. "I notice you have some pictures painted by the Old Buddha," he continued, referring to the Empress Dowager by a name by which she is popularly known in Pek
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VII The Empress Dowager—As a Woman
VII The Empress Dowager—As a Woman
The first audience given by Her Imperial Majesty to the seven ladies of the Diplomatic Corps was sought and urged by the foreign ministers. After the troubles of 1900 and the return of the court, Her Majesty assumed a different attitude, and, of her own accord, issued many invitations for audiences, and these invitations were accepted. Then followed my tiffin to the court princesses and their tiffin in return. This opened the way for other princesses and wives of high officials to call, receive
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VII THE EMPRESS DOWAGER-AS A WOMAN
VII THE EMPRESS DOWAGER-AS A WOMAN
Although the great Dowager has passed away, it may be interesting to know something about her life and character as a woman as those saw her who came in contact with her in public and private audiences. In order to appreciate how quick she was to adopt foreign customs, let me give in some detail the difference in her table decorations at the earlier and later audiences as they have been related by my wife. "At the close of the formalities of our introduction to the Empress Dowager and the Empero
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VIII Kuang Hsu—His Self-Development
VIII Kuang Hsu—His Self-Development
The Emperor Kuang Hsu is slight and delicate, almost childish in appearance, of pale olive complexion, and with great, melancholy eyes. There is a gentleness in his expression that speaks rather of dreaming than of the power to turn dreams into acts. It is strange to find a personality so etherial among the descendants of the Mongol hordes; yet the Emperor Kuaug Hsu might sit as a model for some Oriental saint on the threshold of the highest beatitude.—Charles Johnston in "The Crisis in China.".
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VIII KUANG HSU—HIS SELF-DEVELOPMENT
VIII KUANG HSU—HIS SELF-DEVELOPMENT
On the night that the son of the Empress Dowager "ascended upon the dragon to be a guest on high," two sedan chairs were borne out of the west gate of the Forbidden City, through the Imperial City, and into the western part of the Tartar City, in one of which sat the senior Empress and in the other the Empress-mother. The streets were dimly lighted, but the chairs, each carried by four bearers, were preceded and followed by outriders bearing large silk lanterns in which were tallow-candles, whil
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IX Kuang Hsu—As Emperor and Reformer
IX Kuang Hsu—As Emperor and Reformer
In 1891 the present Emperor Kuang Hsu issued a very strong edict commanding good treatment of the missionaries. He therein made the following statement: "The religions of the West have for their object the inculcation of virtue, and, though our people become converted, they continue to be Chinese subjects. There is no reason why there should not be harmony between the people and the adherents of foreign religions."—Hon. Charles Denby in "China and Her People."...
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IX KUANG HSU—AS EMPEROR AND REFORMER
IX KUANG HSU—AS EMPEROR AND REFORMER
AS a man, there are few characters in Chinese history that are more interesting than Kuang Hsu. He had all the caprices of genius with their corresponding weakness and strength. He could wield a pen with the vigour of a Caesar, threaten his greatest viceroys, dismiss his leading conservative officials, introduce the most sweeping and far-reaching reforms that have ever been thought of by the Chinese people, and then run from a woman as though the very devil was after him. He has been variously r
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X Kuang Hsu—As a Prisoner
X Kuang Hsu—As a Prisoner
Kuang Hsu deserves a place in history as the prize iconoclast. He sent a cold shiver down the spine of the literati by declaring that a man's fitness for office should not depend upon his ability to write a poem, or upon the elegance of his penmanship. This was too much. The literati argued that at the rate at which the Emperor was going, it might be expected that he would do away with chop-sticks and dispense with the queue.—Rounsevelle Wildman in "China's Open Door."...
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X KUANG HSU—AS A PRISONER
X KUANG HSU—AS A PRISONER
The year that Kuang Hsu ascended the throne a great calamity occurred in Peking. The Temple of Heaven—the greatest of the imperial temples, the one at which the Emperor announces his accession, confesses his sins, prays and gives thanks for an abundant harvest, was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. When the Emperor worships here it is as the representative of the people, the high priest of the nation, and his prayers are offered for his country and not for himself. There are no idols
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XI Prince Chun—The Regent
XI Prince Chun—The Regent
Prince Chun the Regent of China gave a remarkable luncheon at the Winter Palace to-day to the foreign envoys who gathered here to attend the funeral ceremonies of the late Emperor Kuang Hsu. The repast was served in foreign style. Among the Chinese present were Prince Ching, former president of the Board of Foreign Affairs and now adviser to the Naval Department; Prince Tsai Chen, a son of Prince Ching, who was at one time president of the Board of Commerce; Prince Su, chief of the Naval Departm
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XI PRINCE CHUN—THE REGENT
XI PRINCE CHUN—THE REGENT
The selection of Prince Chun as Regent for the Chinese empire during the minority of his son, Pu I, the new Emperor, would seem to be the wisest choice that could be made at the present time. In the first place, he is the younger brother of Kuang Hsu, the late Emperor, and was in sympathy with all the reforms the latter undertook to introduce in 1898. If Kuang Hsu had chosen his successor, having no son of his own, there is no reason why he should not have selected Pu I to occupy the throne, wit
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XII The Home of the Court—The Forbidden City
XII The Home of the Court—The Forbidden City
The innermost enclosure is the Forbidden City and contains the palace and its surrounding buildings. The wall is less solid and high than the city wall, is covered with bright yellow tiles, and surrounded by a deep, wide moat. Two gates on the east and west afford access to the interior of this habitation of the Emperor, as well as the space and rooms appertaining, which furnish lodgment to the guard defending the approach to the dragon's throne.—S. Wells Williams in "The Middle Kingdom."...
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XII THE HOME OF THE COURT—THE FORBIDDEN CITY
XII THE HOME OF THE COURT—THE FORBIDDEN CITY
During the past ten years, since the dethronement of the late Emperor Kuang Hsu, I have often been asked by Europeans visiting Peking: "What would happen if the Emperor should die?" "They would put a new Emperor on the throne," was my invariable answer. They usually followed this with another question: "What would happen if the Empress Dowager should die?" "In that case the Emperor, of course, would again resume the throne," I always replied without hesitation. But during those ten years, not on
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XIII The Ladies of the Court
XIII The Ladies of the Court
I love to talk with my people of their Majesties, the princesses, and the Chinese ladies, as I have seen and known them. Your friendship I will always remember. Her Majesty, your imperial sister, found a warm place in my heart and is treasured there. Please extend to the Imperial Princess my cordial greetings and to the other princesses my best of good wishes.—Mrs. E. H. Conger, in a letter to the Princess Shun....
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XIII THE LADIES OF THE COURT
XIII THE LADIES OF THE COURT
The leading figure of the court is Yehonala, wife of the late Emperor Kuang Hsu. She has always been called the Young Empress, but is now the Empress Dowager. After the great Dowager was made the concubine of Hsien Feng, she succeeded in arranging a marriage, as we have seen, between her younger sister and the younger brother of her husband, the Seventh Prince, as he was called, father of Kuang Hsu and the present regent. The world knows how, in order to keep the succession in her own family, sh
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XIV The Princesses—Their Schools
XIV The Princesses—Their Schools
The position accorded to woman in Chinese society is strictly a domestic one, and, as is the case in other Eastern countries, she is denied the liberty which threatens to attain such amazing proportions in the West. There is no reason to suppose that woman in China is treated worse than elsewhere; but people can of course paint her condition just as fancy seizes them. They are rarely admitted into the domestic surroundings of Chinese homes, therefore there is nothing to curb the imagination. The
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XIV THE PRINCESSES—THEIR SCHOOLS[1]
XIV THE PRINCESSES—THEIR SCHOOLS[1]
[1] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. One day while making a professional call on the Princess Su our conversation turned to female education in China. I was deeply interested in the subject, and was aware that the Prince had established a school for the education of his daughters and the women of his palace, and was naturally pleased when the Princess asked: "Would you care to visit our school when it is in session?" "Nothing would please me more," I answered. "When may I do so?" "Could you
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XV The Chinese Ladies of Rank
XV The Chinese Ladies of Rank
Though your husband may be wealthy, You should never be profuse; There should always be a limit To the things you eat and use. If your husband should be needy, You should gladly share the same, And be diligent and thrifty, And no other people blame. —"The Primer for Girls," Translated by I. T. H....
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XV THE CHINESE LADIES OF RANK[2]
XV THE CHINESE LADIES OF RANK[2]
[2] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. The Manchu lady's ideal of beauty is dignity, and to this both her deportment and her costume contribute in a well-nigh equal degree. Her hair, put up on silver or jade jewelled hairpins, decorated with many flowers, is very heavy, and easily tilted to one side or the other if not carried with the utmost sedateness. Her long garments, reaching from her shoulders to the floor, give to her tall figure an added height, and the central elevation of from four
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XVI The Social Life of the Chinese Woman
XVI The Social Life of the Chinese Woman
The manners and customs of the Chinese, and their social characteristics, have employed many pens and many tongues, and will continue to furnish all inexhaustible field for students of sociology, of religion, of philosophy, of civilization, for centuries to come. Such studies, however, scarcely touch the province of the practical, at least as yet, for one principal reason—that the subject is so vast, the data are so infinite, as to overwhelm the student rather than assist him in sound generaliza
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XVI THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CHINESE WOMAN
XVI THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CHINESE WOMAN
The home life of a people is too sacred to be touched except by the hand of friendship. Our doors are closed to strangers, locked to enemies, and opened only to those of our own race who are in harmony and sympathy with us. What then shall we say when people of an alien race come seeking admission? They must bring some social distinction,—letters of introduction, or an ability to help us in ways in which we cannot help ourselves. In the case of a people as exclusive as the Chinese this is especi
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XVII The Chinese Ladies—Their Ills
XVII The Chinese Ladies—Their Ills
My home is girdled by a limpid stream, And there in summer days life's movements pause, Save where some swallow flits from beam to beam, And the wild sea-gull near and nearer draws. The good wife rules a paper board for chess; The children beat a fish-hook out of wire; My ailments call for physic more or less, What else should this poor frame of mine require? —"Tu Fu," Translated....
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XVII THE CHINESE LADIES—THEIR ILLS[4]
XVII THE CHINESE LADIES—THEIR ILLS[4]
[4] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. One day a eunuch dashed into the back gate of our compound in Peking, rode up to the door of the library, dismounted from his horse, and handed a letter in a red envelope to the house servant who met him on the steps. "What is the matter?" asked the boy. "The Princess is ill," replied the servant. "What Princess?" further inquired the boy. "Our Princess," was the reply. "Oh, you are from the palace near the west gate?" "Yes," and the boy and the servant
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XVIII The Funeral Ceremonies of a Dowager Princess
XVIII The Funeral Ceremonies of a Dowager Princess
There are five degrees of mourning, as follows:—For parents, grandparents and great-grandparents; for brothers and sisters; for uncles and aunts; and for distant relatives. In the first sackcloth without hem or border; in the second with hem or border; in the third, fourth and fifth, pieces of sackcloth on parts of the dress. When sackcloth is worn, after the third interval of seven days is over the mourners can cast it off, and wear plain colours, such as white, gray, black and blue. For a pare
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XVIII THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF A DOWAGER PRINCESS[5]
XVIII THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF A DOWAGER PRINCESS[5]
[5] Taken from Mrs. Headland's note-book. One day I received a large sheet of white paper on which was written in Chinese characters the announcement of the death of the Dowager Princess Su, and inviting me to the "third-day exercises." The real meaning of this "chieh san" I did not comprehend, but I knew that those who were invited sent presents of cakes or fruit, or baskets of paper flowers, incense, gold and silver ingots made of paper, or rolls of paper silk, all of which were intended for t
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XIX Chinese Princes and Officials
XIX Chinese Princes and Officials
In any estimate of the forces which lead and control public opinion in China, everywhere from the knot of peasants in the hamlet to the highest officers of state and the Emperor himself, the literati, or educated class, must be given a prominent position. They form an immense body, increased each year by the government examinations. They are at the head of the social order. Every civil officer in the empire must be chosen from their number. They constitute the basis of an elaborate system of civ
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XIX CHINESE PRINCES AND OFFICIALS
XIX CHINESE PRINCES AND OFFICIALS
One day while the head eunuch from the palace of one of the leading princes in Peking was sitting in my study he said: "It is drawing near to the New Year. Do you celebrate the New Year in your honourable country?" "Yes," I replied, "though not quite the same as you do here." "Do you fire off crackers?" "Yes, in the matter of firecrackers, we celebrate very much the same as you do." "And do you settle up all your debts as we do here?" "I am afraid we do not. That is not a part of our New Year ce
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XX Peking—The City of the Court
XX Peking—The City of the Court
The position of Peking at the present time is one of peculiar interest, for all the different forces that are now at work to make or mar China issue from, or converge towards, the capital. There, on the dragon throne, beside, or rather above, the powerless and unhappy Emperor, the father of his people and their god, sits the astute and ever-watchful lady whose word is law to Emperor, minister and clown alike. There dwell the heads of the government boards, the leaders of the Manchu aristocracy,
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XX PEKING—THE CITY OF THE COURT
XX PEKING—THE CITY OF THE COURT
In the place where Peking now stands there has been a city for three thousand years. Five centuries before Christ it was the capital of a small state, but was destroyed three centuries later by the builder of the great wall. It was soon rebuilt, however, and has continued from that time until the present, with varied fortunes, as the capital of a state, the chief city of a department, or the dwelling-place of the court. It is the greatest and best preserved walled city in the empire, if not in t
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XXI The Death of Kuang Hsu and the Empress Dowager
XXI The Death of Kuang Hsu and the Empress Dowager
Who knows whether the Dowager Empress will ever repose in the magnificent tomb she has built for herself at such a cost, or whether a new dynasty may not rifle its riches to embellish its own? Tze-Hsi is growing old! According to nature's immutable law her faculties must soon fail her; her iron will must bend and her far-seeing eye grow dim, and after her who will resist the tide of foreign aggression and stem the torrent of inward revolt?—Lady Susan Townley in "My Chinese Note Book."...
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XXI THE DEATH OF KUANG HSU AND THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
XXI THE DEATH OF KUANG HSU AND THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
During mid-November of 1908 the Forbidden City of Peking was a blind stage before which an expectant world sat as an audience. It had not long to wait, for on the fifteenth and sixteenth it learned that Kuang Hsu and the Empress Dowager, less than twenty-four hours apart, had taken "the fairy ride and ascended upon the dragon to be guests on high." The world looked on in awe. It expected a demonstration if not a revolution but nothing of the kind happened. But on the other hand one of the most d
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XXII The Court and the New Education
XXII The Court and the New Education
Abolish the eight-legged essay. Let the new learning be the test of scholarship, but include the classics, history, geography and government of China in the examinations. The true essay will then come out. If so desired, the eight-legged essay can be studied at home; but why trouble the school with them, and at the same time waste time and strength that can be expended in something more profitable?—Chang Chih-tung in "China's Only Hope."...
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XXII THE COURT AND THE NEW EDUCATION
XXII THE COURT AND THE NEW EDUCATION
The changes in the attitude of the court towards a new educational system began, as do many great undertakings, in a very simple way. We have already shown how the eunuchs secured all kinds of foreign mechanical toys to entertain the baby Emperor Kuang Hsu; how these were supplemented in his boyhood by ingenious clocks and watches; how he became interested in the telegraph, the telephone, steam cars, steamboats, electric light and steam heat, and how he had them first brought into the palace and
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