China 



473 



Not only did they refuse to obey our 

 orders to exterminate the Boxers, but 

 they have gone so far as to believe in 

 them, and stupidly they began to at- 

 tack the legations. So it was that this 

 evil fire spread abroad, and circum- 

 stances did not permit of its being 

 stopped, several thousands of evil-doers 

 having assembled at the elbow and the 

 armpit (that is to say, at the most im- 

 portant points) . Furthermore, the lead- 

 ers forced generals and ignorant soldiers 

 to attack the legations, and so it befell 

 that inconceivable evils existed for sev- 

 eral months. 



"The tutelar deities of the Empire 

 have been in danger, the imperial tombs 

 and the temples of ancestors have trem- 

 bled, the country has been devastated, 

 the inhabitants are plunged in misery. 

 No words can express the dangers to 

 which we and Her Majesty the Empress 

 Dowager have been exposed. Our 

 heart and our head are still in pain ; 

 our tears and our resentment are con- 

 founded. It is to you, princes and 

 ministers, who, by believing in evil 

 words and allowing evil-doers free hand, 

 have put in danger in heaven our an- 

 cestors and our gods, and who here be- 

 low have caused the people to endure 

 these calamities." 



The protocol contained the following 

 provisions : Prince Chun, of the impe- 

 rial family, was to make a journey to 

 Berlin to convey to the Emperor of Ger- 

 many the expression of the regrets of 

 the Emperor of China and the Chinese 

 government for the assassination of 

 Baron von Ketteler, the German min- 

 ister. The Chinese government fur- 

 ther agreed to erect a memorial monu- 

 ment, in the shape of an arch, covering 

 the entire width of the street, on the 

 spot where the assassination occurred, 

 with inscriptions in the Latin, German, 

 and Chinese languages, expressing the 

 regrets of the Emperor of China for the 

 murder ; and to make reparation for the 

 assassination of the chancellor of the 



Japanese legation, the Emperor, by im- 

 perial edict, sent an official of high rank 

 as his plenipotentiary to Tokio to ex- 

 press to the Emperor of Japan his regret 

 at that assassination. 



Punishments of various kinds were to 

 be inflicted on the officials guilty of com- 

 plicity in the Boxer movement. Some 

 of the imperial princes, cabinet minis- 

 ters, and generals were ordered to com- 

 mit suicide, others to be beheaded, a 

 number deprived of their honors and 

 degraded, and some of the leaders closely 

 connected with the imperial family sent 

 into perpetual banishment and impris- 

 onment. The edict ordering these pun- 

 ishments has some expressions pecu- 

 liarly Oriental. Of Prince Tuan it is 

 said "he led away with him several 

 princes. He foolishly gave heed to the 

 Boxers and stupidly advised fighting. 

 So all these troubles broke out. ' ' Duke 

 Fu Kuo ' ' foolishly published procla- 

 mations contrary to the treaties. He 

 should also be punished for his faults. 

 We deprive them of their titles of no- 

 bility, but considering that they belong 

 to our family, we order, as a special act 

 of grace, that they be sent to Ili, where 

 they shall be condemned to prison for 

 life." 



Tu Hsien ' ' foolishly believed in the 

 charms of the Boxers. Arriving at Pe- 

 kin, he extolled them so highly that 

 several princes and ministers fell under 

 his evil influence. Being governor of 

 Shansi, he massacred a great number 

 of missionaries and Christians. He is 

 worse than an imbecile, than a fool, than 

 a murderer; he is the chief culprit and 

 author of all these calamities. . . . We 

 order that he shall be at once beheaded. ' ' 



Prince Chuang, "already degraded, 

 allowed the Boxers to attack the lega- 

 tions. He, on his own authority, pub- 

 lished proclamations contrary to the 

 treaties; he lightly believed the state- 

 ments of evil-doers ; he unlawfully 

 caused to be decapitated a great number 

 of persons; he has shown himself, of a 



