The Young Emperor Tungche, Therefore, Grew Up Amid Continual Difficulties,
Although The Successes Of His Principal Lieutenants Afforded Good Reason
To Believe That, So Far As They Arose From Rebels, It Was Only A Question
Of Time Before They Would Be Finally Removed.
The foreign intercourse
still gave cause for much anxiety, although there was no apprehension of
war.
It would have been unreasonable to suppose that the relations between
the foreign merchants and residents and the Chinese could become, after
the suspicion and dangers of generations, absolutely cordial. The
commercial and missionary bodies, into which the foreign community was
naturally divided, had objects of trade or religion to advance, which
rendered them apt to take an unfavorable view of the progress made by the
Chinese government in the paths of civilization, and to be ever skeptical
even of its good faith. 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 Chinese government on the one hand, and the
effectual compulsion of the people to evince respect toward 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 burned down, and
were otherwise maltreated. A similar outrage was perpetrated in Formosa;
but the fullest redress was always tendered as soon as the executive
realized 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 toward an understanding
with European governments and peoples. The proposal to depute a Chinese
embassador 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 that 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 favorable 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.
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Page 309 of 366
Words from 161087 to 161601
of 191255
