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CHAPTER XVIII.

THE REIGN OF TUNGCHE.

Tungche's Difficulties.-Close of the Nienfei Rebellion.-Foreign Relations. Their inherent Danger.-Local Outrages.-A Chinese Ambassador.- Views of the Tsungli Yamen.Mr. Burlinghame's Mission. Its true Significance. Not wholly useless."Enthusiastic Fictions."-Mr. Burlinghame's Death. Sir Rutherford Alcock at Pekin.-"Missionaries and Opium."-Riot in Szchuen.-Murder of Missionaries.Revision of Treaty of Tientsin.-The Duke of Edinburgh at Pekin. - Mr. Thomas Wade becomes Minister. - Serious Occurrence.-Outbreak at Tientsin.-The Roman Catholic Colony. Popular Agitation.-Gross Charges.--An American Opinion. Neither Concert nor Decision.-Chung How.-The French Consul.-Murder of the latter.-Brutal Massacre.Great Alarm.-Apprehended Spread of the Movement.Precautions. Prince Kung's Attitude. "Death-blow to Corrupt Doctrine."-Mission of Apology to Europe.-Chung -How chosen.-M. Thiers accepts Apology.-The Audience Question.-Tungche growing up.-His Marriage.-Ahluta"Wise, virtuous, and accomplished."-The Marriage Ceremony.-Tungche assumes Personal Authority.-The Question of receiving the Foreign Ministers.-The Point at last surrendered. The first Audience.-Death of Tseng Kwofan.Tso Tsung Tang recovers Shensi.-Pacifies Kansuh.-Siege of Souchow.-Its Details.--Execution of Rebels.-Preparations for Campaign against Kashgar.-China and Japan.-The Island of Formosa.-The two Neighbours on the Verge of War. -Mr. Wade secures Peace.-Piracy on the Canton River.The "Spark" Outrage.-Mr. Walter Mundy.-The Question of

China's Liability.-Tungche's Character.-His Impatience of Restraint.-Prince Kung degraded.-"Language in very many respects unbecoming."-Prince Kung reinstated.—Ill-health of Emperor. Tungche attacked with Small-pox.-Apparent Improvement. His Death.--Sinister Rumours. —A suspicious Circumstance.-Ahluta's Treatment.-Her Death.-A Breach of the Constitution.-The first Break in the Succession.— Prince Chun's Son.-Tsai Tien.-The Midnight Council.Prince Chun retires.-Tsai Tien becomes Kwangsu.

THE young Emperor Tungche grew up amidst continual difficulties, although the successes + of his principal lieutenants afforded good reason to believe that it was only a question of time before they would be finally removed. It would have been unreasonable to suppose that the relations between the foreign merchants and residents and the Chinese would become, after the suspicion and dangers of generations, as cordial as those fortunately established in the diplomatic world at Pekin. The commercial and missionary bodies, into which the foreign community was naturally divided, had objects of trade or of religion to advance, which rendered them apt to take an unfavourable view of the progress made by the Chinese Government in the paths of civilisation, and to be ever sceptical even of its good faith. Everyone wished and expected the Chinese to throw themselves as impetuously as their neighbours the Japanese had done into the work of imitating the excellences,

** Tungche was born on a date corresponding to our 27th April

1856.

In the year 1867 Li Hung Chang and Tso Tsung Tang headed a combined movement of troops against the Nienfei insurgents in Shantung. They succeeded in hemming in their main body, and in inflicting immense loss upon them, prevented as they were from escaping by opportune foods.

real or assumed, of Europe; and not the smallest consideration was paid to the prejudices of a proud people or to the necessities of a Government charged with a task of peculiar and increasing difficulty. The main object with the foreign diplomatic representatives became not more to obtain justice for their countrymen than to restrain their eagerness and to confine their pretensions to the rights conceded by the treaties.

A clear distinction had to be drawn between undue coercion of the Government on the one hand, and the effectual compulsion of the people to evince respect towards foreigners and to comply with the obligations of the treaty on the other. Instances repeatedly occurred in reference to the latter matter when it would have been foolish to have shown weakness, especially as there was not the least room to suppose that the Government possessed at that time the power and the capacity to secure reparation for, or to prevent the repetition of, attacks on foreigners. Under this category came the riot at Yangchow in the year 1868, when some missionaries had their houses burnt down, and were otherwise maltreated. A similar outrage was perpetrated in Formosa; but the fullest redress was always tendered as soon as the Executive realised that the European representatives attached importance to the occurrence.

The recurrence of these local dangers and disputes served to bring more clearly than ever before the minds of the Chinese Ministers the advisability of taking some step on their own part towards an understanding with European Governments and peoples. The proposal

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to depute a Chinese ambassador to the West could hardly be said to be new, seeing that it had been projected after the Treaty of Nankin, and that the minister Keying had manifested some desire to be the first mandarin to serve in the novel capacity. But when the Tsungli Yamen took up the question it was decided that in this as in other matters it would be expedient to avail themselves in the first place of foreign mediation. The favourable opportunity of doing so presented itself when Mr. Burlinghame retired from his post as Minister of the United States at Pekin. In the winter of 1867-68 Mr. Burlinghame accepted an appointment as accredited representative of the Chinese Government to eleven of the principal countries of the world, and two Chinese mandarins and a certain number of Chinese students were appointed to accompany him on his tour.

The importance of the Burlinghame Mission was certainly exaggerated at the time, and the speculations to which it gave rise as to the part China was about to take in the movement of the world were no doubt based on erroneous data; but still it would be a mistake to say that it failed to produce all the beneficial effect which had been expected. It was something for the outer world to learn, in those days when the Chinese presented to the mind of foreigners ideas only of weakness and falseness, that they had better characteristics, and that they contained the elements of great power. Mr. Burlinghame was sanguine, and the expectations of his audiences both in America and in Europe overleapt all difficulties and spanned at a step the growth of

years; but only the most shallow-minded observers will deny that Mr. Burlinghame's widest stretches of fancy were supported by an amount of truth which events are making clearer every year. Of course those who only looked on the surface, who saw the difficulties under which China staggered, and the dogged pride with which she refused the remedy forced upon her by foreigners, who had at least as much their own interests as hers in view, declared that Mr. Burlinghame's statements were "enthusiastic fictions." The Chinese themselves did not attach as much importance as they might have done to his efforts, and Mr. Burlinghame's mission will be remembered more as an educational process for foreign opinion than as signifying any decided change in Chinese policy. His death at St. Petersburg in March 1870 put a sudden and unexpected close to his tour, but it cannot be said that he could have done more towards the elucidation of Chinese questions than he had already accomplished, while his bold and optimistic statements after awakening public attention had already begun to produce the inevitable reaction.

Sir Rutherford Alcock's tenure of the residency at Pekin, without being marked by any decisive matter similar to those which had occurred during the critical years of the war and the subsequent negotiations, witnessed many minor disturbances and differences which required his constant and unrelaxed attention. The outrages at Yangchow and in Formosa were followed by others at Swatow and Foochow. In all these cases redress was exacted in the promptest and most effectual manner by the nearest gun-boat. It was only when

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