126

CHAPTER X.

THE FIRST MANCHU RULER.

WHILE the Manchu generals and armies were establishing their power in southern China the young Emperor Chuntche, under the direction of his prudent uncle, the regent Ama Wang, was setting up at Pekin the central power of a ruling dynasty. In doing so little or no opposition was experienced at the hands of the Chinese, who showed that they longed once more for a settled government; and this acquiescence on the part of the Chinese people in their authority no doubt induced the Manchu leaders to adopt a far more conciliatory and lenient policy towards the Chinese than would otherwise have been the case. Ama Wang gave special orders that the lives and property of all who surrendered to his lieutenants should be scrupulously respected. This moderation was only departed from in the case of some rebels in Shensi, who, after accepting, repudiated the Manchu authority, and laid close siege to the chief town of Singan, which held a garrison of only 3,000 Manchus. The commandant wished to make his position secure by massacring the Chinese of the town, but he was deterred from taking this extreme step by the representations of a Chinese officer, who, binding himself for the good faith of his countrymen, induced him to enrol them in the ranks of the garrison. They proved faithful and rendered excellent service in the siege; and when a relieving Manchu army came from Pekin the rebels were quickly scattered and pursued with unflagging bitterness to their remotest hiding places.

In the adjoining province of Shansi another insurrection temporarily upset Manchu authority, but it was brought about by an outrage of a Manchu prince. In 1649 Ama Wang sent an embassy to the principal khan of the Mongols, with whom it was the first object of the Manchus to maintain the closest friendly relations, in order to arrange a marriage between Chuntche and a Mongol princess. The mission was entrusted to a Manchu prince, who took up his residence at Taitong, in Shansi, a place still held by a Chinese garrison under an officer named Kiangtsai. The Manchu prince and his attendants behaved in a most arrogant and overbearing manner, and at last their conduct culminated in an outrage which roused the indignation of the Chinese populace, and converted a loyal city into a hostile centre. The daughter of one of the most influential citizens of Taitong was being led through the streets in honour of her wedding day when several of the ambassador's associates broke into the procession and carried off the bride. The Chinese were shocked at this outrage, and clamoured for the prompt punishment of its perpetrators. The governor, Kiangtsai, supported the demand of the citizens, but, unfortunately, the Manchu prince was indifferent to the Chinese indignation, and

made light of his comrades' conduct. Then the Chinese resolved to enact a terrible vengeance, and Kiangtsai organised a movement to massacre every Manchu in the place. He carried out his intention to the letter, and the Manchu prince was the only one to escape, thanks to the swiftness of his horse. The inevitable consequence of this act was that Kiangtsai passed from a loyal servant into a rebel. Ama Wang might have condoned his offence out of consideration for the provocation, but Kiangtsai, thinking of his own safety, decided that there was no course open to him save to pose as the enemy of the Manchu. He seems to have done everything that prudence suggested to strengthen his position, and he showed the grasp of a statesman when he turned to the Mongols and sought to obtain their alliance by begging them to restore the Empire, and to assert their national superiority over the Manchus. His policy at first promised to be signally successful, as the Mongol chief entered into his plans and promised to render him all the aid in his power. But his hopes on this score proved short-lived, for Ama Wang, realising the situation at a glance, nipped the alliance between Kiangtsai and the Mongols in the bud by sending a special embassy with exceptionally costly gifts to the Mongol camp. The cupidity of the Mongols prevailed, and they repudiated with scant ceremony the convention they had just concluded with Kiangtsai. Then the Manchus bore down from all sides on Kiangtsai, who had assumed the title of Prince of Han. He had gathered round him such a considerable force that he did not hesitate to march out to meet the Manchus, and he trusted for victory to a skilfully devised artifice as much as to superior numbers. He sent forward, under a small guard, a number of waggons containing canisters of gunpowder, and when the Tartar cavalry saw this baggage train approaching they at once concluded that it was a valuable prize, and pounced down upon it. The Chinese guard having fired the train took to flight, and the Manchus lost many men in the ensuing explosion, but the most serious consequence was that it threw the whole Manchu army into confusion, and thus enabled Kiangtsai to attack it at a disadvantage, and to overthrow it with a loss of 15,000 men. In a second battle he confirmed the verdict of the first, and it is almost unnecessary to add that the reputation of Kiangtsai was raised to a high point, and that the Manchus trembled on the throne. If the Mongols had only joined him it is impossible to say what might not have happened.

So grave did the possible consequences of these defeats appear that Ama Wang decided to take the field in person, and to proceed against Kiangtsai with the very best troops he could collect. Matters had reached such a pass that, if a general insurrection were to be averted, the Taitong rising would have to be put down without delay. Ama Wang resolved to strike promptly, yet he had the prudence to adopt Fabian tactics in front of an opponent whose confidence had been raised by two successes in the field. The opposing armies each exceeded 100,000 men, and Kiangtsai was as eager to force on a battle as Ama Wang was to avoid it. During two months there was much manoeuvring and counter manoeuvring, and at last Kiangtsai, apprehensive of losing Taitong by a coup de main, and finding his supplies failing, retired into that place, flattering himself that an enemy who feared to attack him in the open would never venture to assail him in a fortress. But the object of Ama Wang was accomplished, and he proceeded to invest the place on all sides. Then Kiangtsai realised his error, and saw that he had no alternative between fighting at a disadvantage to

cut his way out and remaining besieged until the want of supplies should compel him to surrender. He chose the more valiant course, and haranguing his men in the following words he led them out to assault the Manchu lines. "I will not lose a moment in exposing to you the danger which threatens us, it must be evident to yourselves. Your valour alone can avail to secure safety for us all. Success is not impossible, but it will require a great effort of valour on your part. Who have we to fight after all? Men already weakened and discouraged by two defeats, and who so much feared a third battle that all our efforts to bring them to an engagement failed. The part which alone remains for us is not doubtful. If we must perish let it be with arms in our hands. Is it not better to sell our lives like brave men than to fall ingloriously under the steel of the Tartars?" Such was the impetuosity of the Chinese onslaught that after four hours' fighting the Manchus were driven from their first entrenchments. The Chinese were as much elated as their adversaries were depressed by this initial success, and counted on victory. A single incident served to change the fortune of the day. Kiangtsai placed himself at the head of his men to lead them to the attack of the remaining Manchu positions when he was struck in the head by an arrow. The death of their leader created a panic among the Chinese troops, who, abandoning all they had won, fled in irretrievable confusion back to Taitong, where they were more closely beleaguered than before by the Manchus. The discouraged and disorganised Chinese offered but a feeble resistance, and in a very short time the Manchus were masters of Taitong; and the most formidable Chinese gathering which had, up to that time, threatened the new dynasty was broken up. The Taitong insurgents acquired all their strength from the personal genius and ascendancy of Kiangtsai, and with his death they collapsed.

In the province of Szchuen a Chinese leader of very different character and capacity from Kiangtsai, set up an administration. He distinguished himself by his brutality, and although he proclaimed himself Si Wang, or King of the West, he was execrated by those who were nominally his subjects. Among the most heinous of his crimes was his invitation to literary men to come to his capital for employment, and when they had assembled to the number of 30,000, to order them to be massacred. He dealt in a similar manner with 3,000 of his courtiers, because one of them happened to omit a portion of his full titles. His excesses culminated in the massacre of Chentu, when 600,000 innocent persons are said to have perished. Even allowing for the Eastern exaggeration of numbers, the crimes of this inhuman monster have rarely, if ever, been surpassed. His rage or appetite for destruction was not appeased by human sacrifices. He made equal war on the objects of nature and the works of man. He destroyed cities, levelled forests, and overthrew all the public monuments that embellished his province. In the midst of his excesses he was told that a Manchu army had crossed the frontier, but he resolved to crown his inhuman career by a deed unparalleled in the records of history, and what is more extraordinary, he succeeded in inducing his followers to execute his commands. His project was to massacre all the women in attendance on his army, and his motives can only be described in his own words.

"The province of Szchuen is no more than a mass of ruins and a vast desert. I have wished to signalise my vengeance, and at the same time to detach you from the wealth which it offered, in order that your ardour for the conquest of the Empire, which I have still every hope of attaining,

should not flag. The execution of my project is easy, but one obstacle which might prevent or delay the conquest I meditate disturbs my mind. An effeminate heart is not well suited to great enterprises; the only passion heroes should cherish is that of glory. All of you have wives, and the greater number of you have several in your company. These women can only prove a source of embarrassment in camp, and especially during marches or other expeditions demanding celerity of movement. Have you any apprehension lest you should not find elsewhere wives as charming and as accomplished? In a very short time I promise you others who will give us every reason to congratulate ourselves for having made the sacrifice which I propose to you. Let us, therefore, get rid of the embarrassment which these women cause us. I feel that the only way for me to persuade you in this matter is by setting you an example. Tomorrow, without further delay, I will lead my wives to the public parade. See that you are all present, and cause to be published, under most severe penalties, the order to all your soldiers to assemble there at the same time, each accompanied by his wives. The treatment I accord to mine

shall be the general law."

When the assembly took place Si Wang slew his wives coram populo, and his followers, seized with an extreme frenzy, followed his example. It is said that as many as 400,000 women were slain that day, and Si Wang, intoxicated by his success in inducing his followers to execute his inhuman behests, believed that he had nothing to fear at the hands of the Manchus. But he was soon undeceived, for in one of the earliest affairs at the outposts he was killed by an arrow. His power at once crumbled away, and Szchuen passed under the authority of the Manchus. The conquest of Szchuen paved the way for the recovery of the position that had been lost in Southern China, and close siege was laid to the city of Canton, where the Chinese leaders had collected all their forces. The Manchus adopted the astute course of giving the highest nominal commands to Chinese, and consequently many of their countrymen surrendered to them more readily than if they had been foreigners. One officer, named Kiuchessa, who is said to have been a Christian, remained faithful to the Ming prince of Southern China until his execution, and he refused to accept a pardon as the price of his apostacy. Outside Canton the Manchus carried everything before them, and that city itself at last was captured, after what passed for a stubborn resistance. Canton was given over to pillage, and the sack continued for ten days. The Ming pretender fled to Yunnan, and afterwards into Burmah, where he enjoyed shelter for seven years. At this moment of success Ama Wang, the wise regent, died. His last years had been full of anxiety from the dangers that had arisen in the path of the Manchus, but he lived long enough to see it much allayed, and the most serious perils removed. He gave all his time and energy to improving his nephew in the work of government, and to looking after his interests. Towards the Chinese he assumed an attitude of moderation, and even of studied conciliation, which produced a beneficial effect on the public mind. To this attitude, as well as to the successful measures of his government, must be attributed the success he experienced in tranquillising the country. He was not the first nor the last of the great rulers and statesmen which the present imperial family of China has produced in the last three centuries.

Some of the elder princes of the Manchu family attempted to succeed

K

to his position, but the principal ministers and courtiers combined together and insisted that the Emperor Chuntche was old enough to rule for himself, and that they would not recognise any other master. This extreme step settled the question, and Chuntche assumed the reins of government. He at once devoted his attention to administrative reforms. It is said that corruption had begun to sway the public examinations, and that Chuntche issued a special edict, enjoining the examiners to give fair awards and to maintain the purity of the service. But several examiners had to be executed and others banished beyond the Wall before matters were placed on a satisfactory basis. He also adopted the astronomical system in force in Europe, and he appointed the priest Adam Schaal head of the Mathematical Board at Pekin. But his most important work was the institution of the Grand Council, which still exists, and which is the supreme power under the Emperor in the country. It is composed of only four members -two Manchus and two Chinese-who alone possess the privilege of personal audience with the Emperor whenever they may demand it. They are far higher in rank than any member of the Six Tribunals or the Board of Censors, whose wide liberty of expression is limited to written memorials. As this act gave the Chinese an equal place with the Manchus in the highest body of the Empire it was exceedingly welcome, and explains, among other causes, the popularity and stability of the Manchu dynasty. When allotting Chuntche his place among the founders of Manchu greatness allowance must be made for this wise and far-reaching measure, the consequences of which cannot be accurately gauged.

Another interesting event in the reign of Chuntche, was the arrival at Pekin of more than one embassy from European States. The Dutch and the Russians can equally claim the honour of having had an envoy resident in the Chinese capital during the year 1656, but in neither case could the result be described as altogether satisfactory. After some delay and difficulty and on making the required concessions to the dignity of the Emperor--which means the performance of the Kotao, or making the prostration by beating the ground with the forehead-the Dutch merchants, who were sent as envoys, were admitted to audience, but although they bribed freely, the only favour they obtained was the right to present tribute at stated intervals, which was a doubtful gain. The Emperor restricted their visit to once in every eight years, and then they were not to exceed one hundred persons, of whom only twenty might proceed to the capital. The most interesting circumstance in connection with this embassy is that it provided Nieuhoff, the maître d'hôtel to the envoys, with the material for a description of Pekin at a time when it had not recovered from the effects of the wars we have described. The conquest of Siberia by the Cossack Irmak had brought the Russians into immediate contact with the Chinese, and it was held desirable to establish some sort of diplomatic relations with them. An officer was accordingly sent from Siberia to Pekin, but as he persistently refused to perform the Kotao, he was denied audience, and returned without having accomplished anything. The commencement of diplomatic relations between Russia and China was therefore postponed to a later day. With Tibet Chuntche succeeded in establishing relations of a specially cordial nature, which preserve their force to the present time. In 1653 he received a visit from the Grand Lama of Lhasa, and he conferred upon him the title of Dalai, or Ocean Lama, because his knowledge was as deep and profound as the ocean. It says much for the influence of China,