Prince Meenning's Proclamation.-His brother Hwuy Wang.Possible Rivalry.-The Question of a Name.-Meaning of Taoukwang. His Appearance.-His Early Training. His First Acts. His Edict concerning his Father.-Sung recalled. The Censors.-Favourable Impression caused by Emperor's First Acts.-His Prudent Conduct.-National Calamities. The History of the previous Reign.-False Coin. -Clemency and Moderation.- His Power not equal to his Will. His Ministers.-Keying and Keshen.-Their Characters.-General Misfortune and Mismanagement.-A Russian Embassy. Mr. Timkowski.-The Russian College at Pekin. -Dismissal of Portuguese Officials.-The Foreign Nations. - Affairs at Canton.-Complications.-Stoppage of Trade.— Naval Outrages.-The French.-Case of the "Navigateur."Heavy Dues.-Other Foreign Grievances.-Mr. James Matheson.-Dramatic Interview. - Development of Trade.Taoukwang's Vacillation.-Now for, then against Foreign Intercourse. A Lost Opportunity.

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IMMEDIATELY after his father's death, Prince Meenning was placed upon the throne and recognised as Emperor by the functionaries of the Court as well as

* For a life of this Emperor we are indebted to the late Mr. Gutzlaff, which was published shortly after his death in 1852. Although we cannot agree with many of his opinions, and notwithstanding that some of his facts are at variance with better authorities, Mr. Gutzlaff rendered, particularly in this work, much solid service towards the elucidation of Chinese questions.

by the people at large. There were not wanting those who thought that he was not the best fitted for the dignity to which a mere accident had raised him; and his brother Hwuy Wang, as son of the living Empress Mother, was strongly impressed with a sense of the superiority of his own claim. For a moment it seemed. as if these rival pretensions might lead to a conflict; but the good sense of the Empress Mother fortunately averted what might have proved a national calamity. There had been passages of arms in earlier days between the two branches of the family, and Meenning's mother had died, as it was reported, through the machinations of this Empress. But, in face of a dynastic crisis, public spirit displaced personal animosity, and Meenning's position was assured by his prompt recognition as Emperor by the Empress Mother.* Having thus made good the tranquil possession of the throne, there remained the next and highly important step to be taken of declaring what should be the name of the first year of the new reign. Momentous consequences depend on the selection made, and the records of the Hanlin are

*There are different accounts of these proceedings and of Taoukwang's relations with his father's principal widow. Mr. Gutzlaff says that Taoukwang's mother was a mere concubine.' Padre Serra, who ought to have known the facts if anybody did, having lived in Pekin the whole of this period, writes “The former Empress Mother, whose son now fills the throne, having expired in a paroxysm of rage caused by the present Empress Mother, who was then a concubine; the latter, on her elevation, ill-treated the prince, so far as to make him remain two hours prostrate, on one occasion, when, according to custom, he went in the morning to do her homage. These causes have, however, proved insufficient to prevent Taoukwang, since he has ascended the throne, from continuing the customary ceremony, at first daily and now every five days."

searched, and the positions of the starry heavens are scanned, to discover what shall be the most suitable name and the most auspicious characters. In the case of Meenning the search seems to have been one of exceptional difficulty; but at last the official announcement was made that the name of the first year of the new reign would be Taoukwang, which signifies Reason's Light, and by that name this ruler has become generally known.

The personal appearance of Taoukwang was not calculated to inspire respect or to strike the stranger with awe. He was in his thirty-eighth year when he mounted the throne, and one writer speaks of him in rather contemptuous terms as being, at that time," thin and toothless." The description of a more sympathetic writer is hardly more flattering to him, but it formed a true index to the character of the man. The early life and training of Taoukwang had not been of a nature to bring out his good points, or to quicken whatever warm sympathies and natural talent he may have possessed. Brought up in a licentious court, and surrounded by ministers of pleasure with whom unquestionably he had not the least fellow-feeling, he had always lived a retired life, as far aloof from the pursuits of the court as was possible. He had thus obtained a reputation for reserve, if not for stupidity, that secured him against the antipathy of many, if it prevented his obtaining the friendship of more than a few chosen

* Mr. Gutzlaff says, "Meenning was lank in figure and low of stature, with a haggard face, a reserved look, and quiet exterior."

companions. Taoukwang's life had been neither a very happy nor a very pleasant one. It had been one of great self-restraint, and while he had passed his leisure in reflection it seems to have increased his natural irresolution, and to have rendered him still more unfitted to assume that active part in the guidance of affairs which the condition of China at the time of his coming to the throne absolutely demanded.

Taoukwang's first acts were marked by singular moderation, and afforded an appropriate commencement for his reign. While professing the greatest esteem and veneration for the person* of his predecessor he devoted his early attention to reversing his policy, and to undoing as much of the mischief he had caused as was possible. The usual acts of clemency were granted and carried out in a spirit of wide-reaching generosity, and the prisons, which Kiaking had filled with the victims of

*His first proclamation contained the following passages:"From the late Emperor, who has now gone the great journey, I received the utmost possible kindness and care. Although his benevolent life has been continued more than six decades of years, his celestial person was still robust and his energy and spirits undiminished. I, the Emperor, who constantly waited on him in the palace, desired his days to be protracted, and hoped that he would reach his hundredth year. When he finally became ill, and a great danger to his life was apparent, I, the Emperor, beat the ground with my head, and called on Heaven to bring him back, but in vain. My sacred and indulgent father had, in the year that he began to rule alone, silently settled that the throne should devolve on my contemptible person. I, knowing the feebleness of my virtue, at first felt much afraid that I should not be competent to the office. But on reflecting that the sages, my ancestors, left to posterity their plans, that his late Majesty had laid the duty on me, and that Heaven's throne could not long be vacant, I have done violence to my feelings. A new monarch ought to confer benefits on his kindred, and bestow gracious favours extensively."-Gutzlaff.

his suspicion, were emptied by the favour of the present sovereign. Injured merit found a vindicator, as well as those who had fallen under the ban of the laws through their nearness in blood to the Emperor, or through their having refused to gratify the whims of a tyrant. The Minister Sung* was recalled to office, and many of the exiled Manchu princes were reinstated in the privileges of their rank. The strict ceremonial of the Chinese Court leaves little for the most original intelligence to devise in the way of demonstrating how completely the ruler claims to be the father of his people, or how strongly he aspires to the possession of the great virtues. The sincerity of his protestations is frequently shown by his subsequent acts to be hollow ; it was Taoukwang's distinction to prove by his conduct that with him they were not empty expressions, and that they really came from his heart.

The restoration of Sung Kun to power was a practical proof of good intentions, and meant much more than the moral platitudes enunciated in Vermilion Edicts. Sung had gained a popularity with the people that far exceeded that of the Emperor, through the lavish manner in which he had distributed his wealthconsistently refusing to accumulate treasures for the benefit of himself or his family. But his independence of mind rendered him an unpleasant monitor to those princes who see in the truth a constant reflection on their own conduct, and even Taoukwang appears to

* Mr. Gutzlaff, probably through a misprint, is made to call him Lung.