CHINA. 



91 



by her imperious will and talent for intrigue, 

 wielded all the authority, even independently of 

 the Manchu party which originally supported her. 

 When her son died, on Jan. 22, 1875, after a 

 nominal reign of fourteen years, she selected as 

 his successor the son of Prince Chun, who was 

 proclaimed Emperor under the designation of 

 Kwangsu, meaning continuation of splendor. 

 This infant Emperor was born Aug. 2, 1872, and 

 his aunt was continued in the regency until he 

 ascended the throne in 1887, but in ostensibly 

 resigning her powers she retained the essential 

 part of the prerogative, the great seal and the 

 right to appoint all the principal civil and mili- 

 tary officers. In 1898 the young Emperor, who 

 had come under the influence of the reform party, 

 which aimed at the regeneration of the civil and 

 military services through the adoption of Western 

 methods as the only means of rendering China 

 strong enough to resist the encroachments of the 

 European powers, called some of the reformers 

 into his council and issued a series of edicts em- 

 bodying the reform principles. The startling 

 changes that he decreed alarmed the conservative 

 element in the official world and created consterna- 

 tion among corrupt mandarins and Manchu nobles, 

 who saw their emoluments and sinecures threat- 

 ened. Combining with the Empress Dowager, they 

 compelled the Emperor to rescind his decrees, which 

 were formally rejected by the Grand Council, and 

 to resign his power once more into her hands, the 

 military commanders being all on the side of the 

 Empress. Kwangsu was punished with practical 

 imprisonment for having been undutiful to his 

 aunt, and for his attempt to inaugurate radical 

 changes for which China was not yet prepared. 



The internal government of the 18 provinces of 

 China proper is practically independent of the 

 imperial authorities. Each province maintains its 

 own civil service and collects its own revenues. 

 The maritime and riverine provinces maintain 

 separate flotillas of war vessels. Every province 

 should have an army, but in most cases this is 

 nonexistent, as the Chinese despise military serv- 

 ice, and the pay and rations of rice for the sol- 

 diers are treated as a perquisite of the governor, 

 who can collect his nominal quota of men from 

 the riffraff whenever an inspection takes place. 

 At the head of each province is a governor, and 

 in several instances two or three provinces are 

 grouped under a governor general or viceroy, such 

 as the Viceroy of Nankin, who governs the three 

 provinces of Kiangsu, Anwhei, and Kiangse; the 

 Viceroy of Wuchang, who rules over the central 



grovinces of Hupeh and Hunan; the Viceroy of 

 hengtu, whose jurisdiction is confined to the 

 great province of Szechuen; and the Viceroy of 

 Canton, who controls the two Kwang provinces. 

 Admission to official life is only obtained through 

 the study of the Chinese classics, which treat 

 largely of ethics and the principles of government, 

 the history and traditions of the Chinese people, 

 and literary refinements and forms. Examina- 

 tions are held in the provincial capitals twice in 

 three years for the lower degree necessary as a 

 passport to the public service. Although not 

 more than 1 per cent, of the candidates are 

 usually admitted to the degree, there are innu- 

 merable literati who must be excluded from office, 

 and these disappointed ones are often the leaders 

 of disaffection and promoters of disturbances. For 

 the higher degrees other examinations are neces- 

 sary. In the Pekin University, European lan- 

 guages, mathematics, and sciences are taught by 

 European, Japanese, and American professors, but 

 all such knowledge is of use to officials only as 

 supplementing Chinese education, and is seldom 



sought by those seeking a public career, but 

 young military mandarins attend the military and 

 naval colleges where the methods of European war- 

 fare are taught. The Christian mission schools give 

 instruction in the English language and the lower 

 branches of science to those who seek a career 

 outside of China or employment with Europeans. 

 Entrance to the public service and advancement 

 are free not only to Manchus, but to Chinamen 

 of the humblest origin, and until very recently no 

 preference was given to Manchus in appointments 

 to the highest offices in the provinces or in Pekin. 

 Chinese officials are expected to fulfill all admin- 

 istrative, judicial, and military duties when re- 

 quired. The lowest provincial officer is the dis- 

 trict magistrate, who is at once collector of rev- 

 enue, judge, coroner, chief of police, and public 

 prosecutor. Death sentences require in ordinary 

 circumstances to be ratified at Pekin, though the 

 viceroys and governors are armed with discretion- 

 ary powers to be used in times of danger. They 

 are charged with the duty of maintaining peace 

 and order within their boundaries, and so long 

 as they do this and carry on the government in 

 accordance with the established rules the central 

 authorities do not interfere with them. Whatever 

 dangers or disturbances occur in other provinces, 

 no governor is disposed to go to the aid of his 

 colleagues without express imperial orders, and 

 even then he often evades the duty. The great 

 body of officials constitutes the actual governing 

 force in China, from which emanate the sugges- 

 tions for the redress of grievances and the formu- 

 lation of new legislation. Advice tendered to the 

 throne by the viceroys and governors is invariably 

 heeded. Independently of the Manchu Govern- 

 ment, with which the people of the prosperous 

 central and southern provinces do not come in 

 contact, independently even of the provincial ad- 

 ministrations, the Chinese possess a very large 

 measure of municipal self-government and a de- 

 gree of individual liberty scarcely equaled else- 

 where. The principle of association in trade guilds 

 and societies for mutual aid and protection is 

 developed to a far higher degree than in the Occi- 

 dent, and through their clubs and fraternities, of 

 which only the secret organizations are inter- 

 dicted but not suppressed, they exert much influ- 

 ence in public affairs. 



All general legislation in China is enacted by 

 imperial decrees. The penal code is the only body 

 of statutory law in existence, and this is supposed 

 to contain provisions to meet every case. If, how- 

 ever, a difficulty arises for which there is no 

 precedent, it is referred to the board concerned, 

 which in turn reports to the throne, whereupon 

 a decree or rescript is issued which settles the 

 case. From time to time the code is revised, and 

 these various decrees are consolidated or incor- 

 porated, becoming part of the statute law. 



Finances. Provincial administrative auton- 

 omy is carried so far that the Imperial Govern- 

 ment has no effective money revenue of its own, 

 and must depend on the quotas that it can assess 

 on the provinces. The Maritime Customs revenue, 

 collected under European management, is now 

 pledged to the foreign bondholders who loaned 

 money to pay the Japanese war indemnity, and 

 for other needs growing out of the defenseless 

 state of the empire. The money for the support 

 of the Manchu troops, as well as for the support 

 of the imperial household itself, must be drawn 

 from the provinces. The practice has been for 

 the Board of Revenue to indent annually for the 

 sums required for the use of the central Govern- 

 ment, a certain amount being assessed on each 

 province according to its supposed means. So 



