equipped in ships and arms, and more formidable on sea than on land, Koshinga braced his mind to the struggle; for the law of safety demanded that he should without delay obtain a secure place of refuge from the pursuit of the Manchus. Koshinga, partly out of sheer necessity, and partly, no doubt, in the hope of founding a new kingdom beyond the sea, resolved upon the conquest of Formosa, and concentrated all his strength for the undertaking.

The Dutch attempted to come to a friendly arrangement with Koshinga, whose designs on their possessions had been revealed by a preliminary revolt on the part of the many Chinese immigrants who had come across from Fuhkien. That insurrection had been repressed, although not without some difficulty, as was shown by the assistance of the aboriginal clans having to be enlisted. But Koshinga represented a more formidable antagonist, and while the Dutch were flattering themselves that he would not prove a very disagreeable neighbour, he was really drawing the toils round them and restricting their power to the fort and district of Taiwan. When openly assailed the Dutch made a valiant defence, but they appear to have taken few precautions against the determined attack of their opponent. Fort Zealand was carried by storm, the Dutch lost their possessions, and Koshinga was proclaimed King of Formosa. The relics of the national party gathered round this champion, who for a time enjoyed, in his own person and in that of two generations of his children, the dignity of a semi-regal and independent position. He did not himself long retain the position to which he had won his way by remarkable energy and force of character. Rage at the excesses and insubordination of his eldest son, who had been left in command at Amoy, which still remained in his possession, aggravated a slight indisposition; and this formidable and much-feared naval leader died when it seemed that his matured career was only just beginning. Koshinga was no more than thirty-eight years old at the time of his death, and, although the Tartar yoke was not imposed upon Formosa for another twenty years, it very soon became clear that with him the spirit of his party had been destroyed. His death came opportunely to relieve the apprehensions of the

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Pekin Government, which had just given orders for the devastation of the country for a distance of more than twenty miles from the coast. Not only was he a remarkable partisan leader, but, without exception, Koshinga may be pronounced to have been the foremost naval hero throughout the whole of the annals of his country.

Kanghi had not been long upon the throne when a great agitation, fanned by popular ignorance and fanaticism, was got up by a few of the more bigoted courtiers, against the Christian priests who had done no harm to anybody, and who had conferred some substantial benefits on the country. The anger of this extreme party was augmented by the favour with which the Emperor Chuntche had regarded these strangers, and by the fact that they had been raised to offices of marked honour and importance. It was not so much. religious zeal as personal jealousy that instigated the Chinese official classes in raising this outcry against the foreigners, for they perceived that a charge of propagating "a false and monstrous religion" afforded the simplest and, in the eyes of the people, the most intelligible form of indictment. The Abbé Schaal was deposed from his presidentship, and the other Christian strangers were conveyed as prisoners to Pekin, where they were all found guilty and sentenced to a common death. So heinous was their crime held to be, that many councils met to decide what form of execution would be adequate to their offence. The delay that thus arose, which was intended to enhance their punishment, ensured, as a matter of fact, their safety. It gave Sony, one of the Regents, time to exercise all his influence on the side of justice and mercy; and, thanks to his measures and to the support of the Empress Mother, the sentences were quashed and the prisoners released. Such, however, were the bodily sufferings they had undergone, that the principal of these innocent victims, the Abbé Schaal, died shortly after his release.

Whether the act must be attributed to this cause-for the question of the foreign missionaries roused much attention at the time and divided the political world into rival camps-or whether the capital was disturbed by the cabals and intrigues. of ministers, it was very shortly after this episode that Kanghi,

on the death of the Regent Sony, determined to abolish the regency and to rule for himself. The act was one betokening no ordinary vigour on the part of a youth of less than fourteen years, and was fully in accordance with the greatness to which Kanghi established his claims. Kanghi seems to have been impelled to take this step by his disapproval of the tyranny and overbearing conduct of the Baturu Kong, another member of the Board of Regency. This minister had taken the most prominent part in the persecution of the Christians; and when death removed Sony, the only one of the regents whose reputation and moral courage rendered him his match, he eagerly anticipated a period of unrestrained power and privilege. The vigilance and resolution of the young Emperor thwarted his plans. By an imperial decree the Board of Regency was dissolved, and Baturu Kong became the mark for the accusation of all over whom he had tyrannized. He was indicted on twelve charges, each sufficient to entail a punishment of death. The indictment was made good; and the first act of Kanghi's reign as responsible sovereign was to decree the death of the unjust minister Kong, or Sucama. The execution of his family was in accordance with the law, and marked the heinousness of the offence.

The overthrow of the Ming prince Kwei Wang and the pacification of Yunnan had set the seal to the fame of Wou Sankwei, the general who, thirty years before, had invited the Manchus into the country to put down the robber Li, and whose military skill had contributed so greatly to their triumph. The Pekin authorities had endeavoured to keep him in the shade; but the splendour of his achievements defeated their plans, and obliged them to reward his services. The title of Prince was conferred upon him, and he was left to exercise uncontrolled authority in Yunnan and its dependent provinces. The Chinese rapidly settled down under his rule, and by a number of wise measures he promoted their welfare and increased his own revenue. His rule was rendered still less irksome by the fact that the majority of his soldiers were native Chinese and not Manchus. Although he does not appear to have nursed any schemes of personal aggrandisement, the measures he took and the reforms instituted under

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his guidance were of a character to make his authority independent of Manchu control. The Manchu rulers may have silenced their apprehensions on the score of this influential Chinese leader with the argument that the death of Wou Sankwei would remove the ground upon which they subsisted; but Wou Sankwei lived on until these hopes became fainter, and to the eye of Kanghi it seemed that he was establishing the solid foundations of a formidable power. Wou Sankwei had been for many years the object of jealousy; and it needed but slight encouragement from the ruler to raise up numerous evil tongues to declare that the independence of Wou Sankwei dwarfed the dignity of the Manchu throne, and constituted an element of danger to its stability.

In the year 1671 Kanghi, either from the conviction of the necessity of establishing his undisputed authority throughout the country, or in deference to the representations of his officials, resolved to so far take action in the matter as to invite Wou Sankwei to pay him a visit at Pekin. The request was reasonable, for many years had elapsed since he had visited the capital, and his expression of fealty to Kanghi had been made only informally and by deputy. The custom of the country and the time was that the great governors should leave behind them at the capital one of their sons as hostage for their fidelity and good conduct. A son of Wou Sankwei resided in this character at Pekin, where he had been admitted, with the title of a royal duke, into the family circle of the dynasty after his marriage with a half-sister of Kanghi, He was of course aware of the intrigues against his father, and believing that his person would not be safe from the machinations of his enemies, sent off a special messenger to warn him of the danger, and to advise him not to come. The act was creditable to his heart, but it showed little knowledge of affairs. The excessive affection of his son proved the ruin of Wou Sankwei, for he adopted his counsel and declined to proceed to Pekin to establish the innocence of his conduct.

Wou Sankwei excused himself on the ground of his old age, and of his desire to end his days in peace, and sent his son the necessary powers to perform the required act of

allegiance. But the Emperor was not a man to be put off with so transparent an excuse, and Wou Sankwei's conduct soon exposed the hollowness of his own protestations. Kanghi, still resolute on carrying his point, but loth to lightly embark upon a hazardous enterprise, and anxious to make the most of his case, then sent two of his most trusted officials to represent to Wou Sankwei the absolute necessity there was for exact compliance with his demand, and the grave consequences that would ensue from persistence in refusal. We may also suppose that they were instructed to see how far his statement was true that he was borne down with the weight of years and that his thoughts were only of a peaceful end.

Wou Sankwei met them with a magnificent reception, and treated them with all the courtesy and regard due to distinguished guests. Nothing in his attitude betrayed any hostile feeling until they came to discuss the main object of their mission. There is no reason to believe that they failed to discharge their task with discretion; but the instant Wou Sankwei perceived their drift, and that the Emperor would not accept his allegiance by deputy, he interrupted them, and, casting aside further reserve, declared that henceforth he repudiated the Tartar yoke. "Do they think at the court," he exclaimed, "that I am so blind as not to see the motive in this order of summons? I shall, indeed, present myself there, if you continue to press me, but it will be at the head of twice forty thousand men. You may go on before, but I hope to follow you very shortly with such a force as will speedily remind those in power of the debt they owe me." Thus openly did Wou Sankwei throw down the glove of defiance to the race which he had so long supported. The military arrangements which he had never relaxed, and the considerable sum of money which he had collected in his coffers, both served him now in good stead. When he refused to wear the Manchu tail any longer and proscribed its calendar, the people of the West recognized that the time had come for another trial of strength with their Tartar lords. Wou Sankwei met with nothing but cordial welcome and promises of support in establishing his authority in Kweichow and the