The Last Years of Manchu Rule (1899-1912)

No sooner had the Empress Dowager resumed the throne than she abolished all the reforms that had been introduced by Kuang-Hsu. She dismissed almost all the Chinese officials of high rank, and replaced them with men of her own race (Manchurian) or with conservative Chinese whom she considered "sedate and discreet." Believing that all the troubles in the country had been caused by foreigners residing there, she advised with her councilors concerning the best method of removing the root of these troubles, in other words, of ridding the country of these "meddlesome foreigners." The result was a series of schemes conducted by the government under the guise of "routine work," the significance of which both China and the outside world failed to realize.

Just at this juncture (in the fall of 1899), the "Yi-ho-Ch'üan," or Society of Righteous United Boxers, began to show a hostile attitude toward the people "from Beyond the Ocean-sea," and especially toward the Germans. This Boxer Society, as it is commonly called, was a brotherhood for mutual aid which had originated, some time previously, in the province of Shan-tung. The cause of their bitter hatred of foreigners is easily explained. It was this: European residents in China were not always gentlemanly and sympathetic in their intercourse with the natives. Not only did they assume an insolent and brutal manner toward the Chinese in general, but they frequently interfered unduly with Chinese laws and customs and even with the ethics of the country. Added to this was the voracious encroachments upon Chinese territory by the several European Powers, and the repeated economic concessions exacted by European merchants. These acts of injustice and tyranny caused the helpless and simple-minded natives to look upon all foreigners with suspicion, fear, and hatred. In the end it remained only for the Germans at Ts'ing-Tao (Kiao-Chao) to apply the spark which produced the long-delayed explosion; for it was by the high-handed acts of the Germans in uniform that the blood of the Chinese people was finally stirred to the point of resistance.

Legation Street, Peking.

One of T'sze-Hsi's most trusted men (a Manchu) was at that time governor of Shan-tung. Being very ignorant, he was betrayed into the belief that the Boxer Brotherhood really possessed magic powers and could practice incantations that would defy the foreigners' machine guns. "Friends and countrymen"—so he must have reasoned to the officials at the court of T'sze-Hsi,—"hearken to me. We have been discussing plans to rid the country of the cause of all its troubles. Now what can be of greater service as an ally of the Court than this Brotherhood whose loyalty has never been doubted?" And then he proceeded to induce the other officials of the empire to share his faith in the magic power of the Boxers.

In the end, ignorance prevailed, and T'sze-Hsi consented to the employment of the Brotherhood as her aids in driving the hated Europeans out of the country.

Openly, therefore, the Shan-tung authorities were directed to watch and see that the Boxers did not cause any unnecessary trouble to the people, native or foreign, throughout that province. Secretly, however, the Court through its representatives gave much encouragement to the Boxers, so that the local authorities did not dare to interefere with their operations.

The Boxers began their open attack on "things foreign" by robbing and killing the native Christian converts in Shan-tung; then they attacked the foreign missionaries themselves. Not much was done to check the disturbance,

and it soon spread like wildfire into the two provinces of Chih-li and Shan-si, as well as to parts of Manchuria.

Approach to the Second Palace in the Forbidden City

In May and June, 1900, Peking and most of the adjoining districts came under the control of the Boxers, who were now strongly but secretly supported by T'sze-Hsi and her trusted officials. It is reported that thousands of innocent Chinese, who had never had anything to do with foreigners, fell victims to the murderous rage of the Boxers and their helpers.

To aid in making her schemes successful, T'sze-Hsi endeavored to remove every obstacle in her way. In January, 1900, she forced the reform-loving Kuang-Hsu to resign. In his place she installed a child of fourteen, P'u Chun, under her own regency. Soon afterward, she put the child's father (another Manchu friend), at the head of the Chinese Foreign office. Three days later, to the indignation and shame of all educated and enlightened Chinese, an organized attack was made on the foreigners in Peking, and the siege of the international legations was openly inaugurated by the imperial troops (75,000 Manchus), with perhaps hundreds of thousands of Boxers as their confederates. All sorts of lawlessness prevailed throughout Peking and its outlying districts.

It was not until after sixty-five days of anarchy that the allied forces, composed mostly of British, Japanese, Russian, American, and German troops, arrived at Peking and took it by storm. This was on the fifteenth of August, 1900. T'sze-Hsi and the child-emperor, P'u Chun, accompanied by poor Kuang-Hsu, fled from the capital and finally established the Court at Hsi-An-Fu, in Shen-si, leaving Peking wholly in the hands of the Allies for almost a year.

Finally, Prince Ch'ing and Li Hung-Chang were appointed plenipotentiaries, to negotiate peace with the Allies. Months passed, however, before all parties concerned could agree upon the terms of peace. A treaty was at length signed in September, 1901. By its terms, Peking should thereafter be occupied by soldiers of all nations serving as permanent guards of their respective legations, and the Chinese people, as a whole, were to indemnify the foreign Powers for the crime committed by their hated rulers, the Manchus, and their unprincipled friends. The amount of indemnity was fixed at 450 'million taels.

Peace having been completely restored, T'sze-Hsi with her court returned to Peking (1902). She could not but see how futile her policy in trying to drive out the foreigners had been; how hopelessly ignorant the people in general were; and how inferior China's methods of warfare had proved compared with those of Western nations. So, on her return to power, her views regarding reforms and "things foreign" seem to have changed to a remarkable extent. Indeed, the period from 1902 to the close of roll may well be called the "Reconstruction-Period" in the history of Manchu rule in China.

At first, however, T'sze-Hsi's attempts at reform seemed to promise but little. She urged the establishment throughout China of schools of modern learning; she commanded the provincial governments to send suitable youths to America and Europe to study the arts and sciences; she also recommended the adoption of modern laws and legal methods in the courts of justice. All these acts were commendable and led in the right direction but it would require time for them to produce great results.

It was not until the Dowager Empress found that the diminutive Japan could win astounding victories over the giant Russia (1904-1905) that she endeavored to introduce movements of greater magnitude. Russia, be it remembered, had long been ambitious to dominate eastern Asia. She realized that the occupation of Manchuria was perhaps the only road to the attainment of her desired end, and while the Boxer disturbance was at its height she took military possession of that vast and rich territory. China at that time was in a state of the utmost helplessness; but Japan saw the menace to her own position, and in the negotiation of the Peking peace protocol, she, with the support of the other Western Powers, compelled Russia to agree to evacuate Manchuria as soon as possible.

Almost three years passed by, and the indications were that Russia was determined to disregard her promise. After a long series of negotiations which had come to nothing, Japan lost her patience and, early in 1904, declared war on Russia. The outcome of that war was that, on both land and sea, Japan proved herself superior to Russia in military strength; and the Russian menace, at least in eastern Asia, was swept away for an indefinite period, if not forever.

No other people in the world were so surprised at the Japanese successes as were the Chinese. What! Only half a century ago Japan was in the same condition as China in her relations with the Western nations. But she was skillful in adopting Western ways; and, behold, she could now actually beat the Westerners at their own game! And now, there was China, with her ancient civilization and her vast resources—What could China not do if only she would also imitate those Western nations?

With a vigor that was most amazing when we consider what sort of woman she was only three or four years previously, T'sze-Hsi inaugurated numerous reforms calculated to put China in the front rank of nations. She prefaced her new liberal policy by granting amnesty to all political offenders, except a few prominent leaders of the Kuang-Hsu period. She sent (1905) the first special mission to Europe and America to study governmental methods. She urged the provincial officials (1906) to prepare the people for a constitutional government. She prohibited opium smoking (1906-1908), and took effective measures to reduce gradually opium culture. She ordered (1907) preparations for the adoption of a National Constitution, the establishment of Provincial Assemblies and the National Assembly, and the diffusion of knowledge concerning representative governments. She promulgated new mining laws. She appointed a special mission to negotiate loans for railways and for the industrial development of China along various lines.

While yet these various movements towards reform were in their infancy, news came of the sudden death of poor Kuang-Hsu. This must have been a great shock to T'sze-Hsi, for, on the following day, she too passed away. The whole world united in doing her honor; for indeed she was a most remarkable woman.

Without delay, Kuang-Hsu's nephew, a two-year-old child, was chosen to succeed to the throne, with the child's father, Prince Ch'un, acting as regent. This may be reckoned as the beginning of the end of Manchu rule in China. For Prince Ch'un soon found that the sovereign power which the Chinese had for the last three hundred years recognized in the Manchus, was now suddenly denied them. The regent realized that the Ch'ing dynasty was tottering; and he found that everywhere in China the ruling Manchus were regarded with contempt, distrust, and defiance. The Chinese people had awakened to a desire to manage their own business. They no longer had any use for a foreign steward, especially when that steward had brought nothing but infamy, disgrace, and shame upon the entire country.

Already, in the last years of T'sze-Hsi, one or two revolutionary demonstrations had been made by rash and incompetent young men. In 1905 a bomb had been thrown among a number of high officials as they were leaving Peking on a special mission to Europe and America. In 1907 the governor of the An-hui province had been assassinated by the revolutionists, one of whom was a woman, the principal of a well-known school. Furthermore, direct opposition and open rebellions had occurred at various times and in several provinces within the past few years. Now, for the Manchu ruler, represented by a baby and an elderly man who knew nothing about China or the world, to face a people who was awakening to a national consciousness, there was little hope of success.

The final breakdown of the Manchu dynasty came with the formal opening of the Provincial Assemblies in 1909, followed by the opening of the National Assembly in 1910, and the violent opposition by the provinces to the government's policy of contracting foreign loans for railways and industrial development. In October, 1911, a revolution broke out in Wu-chang, Hu-peh; and the next day the revolutionists proclaimed war on the Manchu government. From that day, town after town and province after province passed to the revolutionists until finally the Manchu government was left very little territory to govern. Even Manchuria itself declared autonomy and severed connection with Peking. Li Yuan-hung, the revolutionary leader, was proclaimed the first president of the Republic of China.

For more than four months the death struggle between the revolutionists and the Manchus continued. Then the latter gave up the game as lost, and in February, 1912, the power of sovereignty was declared to have become the "public property of the whole Chinese nation." The ancient absolute monarchy of Ta-Ch'ing had passed away, and in its place was established the Republic of China.