The Range Of
Choice Was Limited; For The Son Of Prince Kung Himself, Who Seemed To
Enjoy The Prior Right
To the throne, was a young man of sufficient age to
govern for himself; and moreover his promotion would mean
The compulsory
retirement from public life of Prince Kung, for it was not possible in
China for a father to serve under his son, until Prince Chun, the father
of the present reigning emperor, established quite recently a precedent to
the contrary. The name of Prince Kung's son, if mentioned at all, was only
mentioned to be dismissed. The choice of the empresses fell upon Tsai
Tien, the son of Prince Chun or the Seventh Prince, who on January 13 was
proclaimed emperor. As he was of too tender an age to rule for himself,
his nomination served the purposes of the two empresses and their ally,
Prince Kung, who thus entered upon a second lease of undisputed power.
CHAPTER XXII
THE REIGN OF KWANGSU
Thus after a very brief interval the governing power again passed into the
hands of the regents who had ruled the state so well for the twelve years
following the death of Hienfung. The nominal emperor was a child of little
more than three years of age, to whom was given the style of "Kwangsu," or
"illustrious succession," and the empresses could look forward to many
years of authority in the name of so young a sovereign. The only
opposition to their return to power seems to have come from the palace
eunuchs, who had asserted themselves during the brief reign of Tungche and
hoped to gain predominance in the imperial councils. But they found a
determined mistress in the person of Tsi An, the Eastern Empress, as she
was also called, who took vigorous action against them, punishing their
leaders with death and effectually nipping in the bud all their projects
for making themselves supreme.
The return of the empresses to power was followed by a great catastrophe
in the relations between England and China. For the moment it threw every
other matter into the shade, and seemed to render the outbreak of war
between the two countries almost inevitable. In the year 1874 the
government of India, repenting of its brief infatuation for the Panthay
cause, yet still reluctant to lose the advantages it had promised itself
from the opening of Yunnan to trade, resolved upon sending a formal
mission of explory under Colonel Horace Browne, an officer of distinction,
through Burmah to that province. The difficulties in the way of the
undertaking seemed comparatively few, as the King of Burmah was friendly
and appeared disposed at that time to accept his natural position as the
dependent of Calcutta. The Pekin authorities also were outwardly not
opposed to the journey; and the only opposition to be apprehended was from
the Yunnan officials and people.
It was thought desirable, with the view of preparing the way for the
appearance of this foreign mission, that a representative of the English
embassy at Pekin, having a knowledge of the language and of the ceremonial
etiquette of the country, should be deputed to proceed across China and
meet Colonel Browne on the Burmese frontier.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 317 of 366
Words from 165312 to 165848
of 191255
