28 KOREA Japanese cruiser Naviwa.Two days later,the imprisoned king was THREE forced to declare war against his suzerain.On July 31,the tenno declared war against China;the Chinese emperor responded with a declaration the next day. The Army,1895-1899 China and Japan fought from July 1894 to March 1895,first in Korea and then in Manchuria and on the Yellow Sea.China was soundly defeated in all three major campaigns.Sir Robert Hart commented,"China has given no offense-has done no wrong does not wish to fight,and is willing to make sacrifices:She is a big'sick man,'convalescing very slowly from the sickening effects of peaceful centuries,and is being jumped on when down by this THE WAR and peace of 1895 ended China's suzerainty over Korea, agile,healthy,well-armed Jap-will no one pull him off?" as well as her sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu (the Pesca- Early in July 1894,after the failuire of the four-power mediation, dores).In addition,China was to pay Japan an indemnity of 200 Yuan had asked the Tsungli Yamen to recall him,since his pres- million taels of silver in eight installments,a debt that virtually ence in Seoul was no longer necessary.His request denied,the reduced her maritime customs service to a collection agency.for once powerful resident became a pathetic figure.No one called Japan.She was forced to allow Japan to build factories on her on hi,and all his servants deserted him.He soon fell ill,and soil;and by the application of the most-favored-nation clause, T'ang sil ao-i carried on the routine work of his office.Finally, many other countries gained this right as well.A period of intense through Li Hung-chang's efforts,the Tsungli Yamen summoned competition was thus inaugurated-in Lord Salisbury's words,the Yuan to report on the situation in Korea.He was to go directly to "battle of concessions."One of the war's most profound effects was Peking without stopping to see Li in Tientsin,a reversal of nor- the sense of panic that now seized the Chinese mind.The defeat mal procedure that signified Li's declining power.Yuan began had revealed serious defects in the policy of self-strengthening this melancholy journey on July 19 and arrived a week later.On that China had pursued since the 1860's. August 4,Li sent Yuan to Pyongyang as quartermaster of the Chi- Under the self-strengthening policy,new armies had been nese army.47 Before reaching the city,Yuan received news of its trained,a navy established,and arsenals and factories built.With fall.He stayed in Manchuria with Chou Fu and Hu Yi-fen,two. these as security,China had enjoyed peace and order for nearly Chinese officers,supplying provisions and equipment to the forces go years.But the peace was a precarious one.The dynasty's safety fighting there.This gave him another opportunity to witness the depended largely on the strength of the Hwai Army and the North- corruption and utter inefficiency of the Hwai Army-and its shat- ern Fleet.It was because Li Hung-chang knew the real limitations tering defeat.A provocative experience,it may have helped him of those forces that he had accepted the Japanese challenge so re- decide to resume his career as a military instructor.Indeed,even luctantly.Others with less precise knowledge blamed Li for follow- as the Chinese were retreating from Manchuria,Hu Yu-fen sug ing a weak,irresolute policy and urged him to be firmer. gested to Yuan that he organize an army of his own. After his ruin,Li was sent on a long tour.Wang Wen-shao The signing of the Shimonoseki Treaty on April 17,1895, assumed the positions of viceroy of Chihli and commissioner for marked the end of the war and the beginning of a new epoch in trade;but the real power fell into the hands of Jung-lu.Jung-lu's China,indeed in the Far East as a whole.In many ways,it was to immediate task was to secure the imperial capital,not so much be the worst period China had seen since being opened to the West. against a foreign invasion as against a possible internal uprising of those disaffected by the government's policy.Stunned by the defeat of 1895,most government officials-including Chang Chih-
THE ARMY 30 THE ARMY 31 tung,the powerful viceroy of Hupei and Hunan-saw no other reorganized and expanded maritime customs service,which pro- answer to China's problems than to intensify the efforts at self- vided more than one-third of the government's annual revenues. strengthening.They continued to regard China's traditional social Now these revenues were pledged against foreign loans raised to and political systems as nearly perfect but admitted her military pay the war indemnity.Without them,the new fighting force and technological weakness.All that she needed,they felt,was a could not be larger than the old one.Further,modernization had modern,efficient army and a developed industrial economy to to be confined to the army.China could not afford to revive her support it.Eventually,their policy led to the establishiment of the dream of becoming a maritime power,which France and Japan Newly Created Army(Hsin-chien Lu-chun). had shattered in the wars of 1884 and 1895.In fact,she could not Outside government circles,however,the self-strengthening pol- really afford to maintain her existing ground forces-the surviving icy now became an object of ridicule.There were many critics- units of the Hwai Army,plus a traditional army of some 800,000 and they did not mince words.Li had become "a laughingstock archers and lancers equipped with a few outmoded Mausers- among all barbarian peoples,"wrote one.Another was less harsh, while training new troops.But the situation at the time demanded just that. but still outspoken: The remnants of the Hwai Army included General Nieh Shih- Have we not seen Li Hung-chang's navy,foreign-style army,and military ch'eng's Tenacious Army and General Sung Ch'ing's Resolute _and medical schools?Have we not seen Chang Chih-tung's colleges,found- Army.Along with General Tung Fu-hsiang's Kansu Army,which ries,and Self-Strengthening Army?Those were the results of Li's efforts was little more than a band of brigands,these forces were respon- for 30 years and Chang's for 15.If we allow other Li's and Chang's to pur- sue the same policy for another 5o years,to proceed at the same snail's sible for the defense of the imperial capital and northern China. pace,...in the end,we shall have another crop of schools and foreign- Although the soldiers showed a certain bloodthirsty bravery,they style troops,who in another emergency will turn and run for their lives numbered only 7o,000,lacked training and discipline,and were as their predecessors did in 1895.2 ill-equipped with guns of various makes and calibers.The des- Far more radical than the official leaders,the partisans of this perate need for a new army was obvious. school of thought advocated the adoption of a constitution and a Late in 1894,at a crucial stage of the war,the German adviser thorough reform of the government.They refused to trust the cor- von Hanneken had submitted a modernization plan to both the rupt,archaic administrative machine with any modernization pro- Grand Council and the Tsungli Yamen.He proposed training gram.To them,the survival of the country was far more impor- 100,000 troops,with Sir Robert Hart in control of the funds.Weng tant than the preservation of Confucian values and imperial pre. T'ung-ho,the grand secretary and imperial tutor,favored the idea, rogatives.Their efforts culminated in the reform of 18g8. considering it "China's only way to survive."Weng's initiative .Yuan Shih-k'ai had a role in both the army modernization and here,as later in the reform movement,was a move to fill the power the reform movement,and he soon realized their incompatibility. vacuum created by Li Hung-chang's downfall.The British Min- As an important military instructor,Yuan's principal duty was to ister O'Conor put forward a similar suggestion on army train- defend the dynasty;as a sympathizer of reform,his principal duty ing;moreover,he thought that Hart was the person best suited was to protect the interests of the nation.From 1895 on,especially to take full control.Under Weng's instructions,with the Grand after 1goo,the interests of the dynasty and those of the nation Council's and Jung-lu's approval,Hu Yu-fen worked out a de- grew further and further apart.Yuan's personal fortune was caught tailed program for army modernization.His plan emphasized uni- up in this larger historical process,and he had to make choices at form equipment,established ranks,and training by foreign in- several critical points in a turbulent era.Let us look at the army structors.Northern China was to be responsible for training 50,000 first. soldiers,southern China for go,o00,and Hupei and Hunan for 20,000-at an estimated total cost of 14 million taels of silver. In the 1860's,self-strengthening had been financed by the newly
THE ARMY 32 THE ARMY 33 Other important officials memorialized the throne on this sub- ods should be adapted,after careful deliberation,to create a new system. ject,including Chang Chih-tung and Wang Wen-shao.Sheng ..At the same time,military academies to train selected cadets must be set up and staffed with foreign experts;later these cadets should be sent Hsuan-huai,Li Hung-chang's lieutenant in commercial and in- abroad for further study.On their return,they should be given a military dustrial affairs,presented a plan for training a new army.He put command according to their abilities.s the number of new troops required at goo,000,insisting that the As a result of this letter,Yuan was called to the capital in June traditional forces(the Bannermen and the Green Standard)be de- mobilized.A soldier would serve for 14 years-three in the stand- for consultation.He and Hu Yui-fen,and indeed a host of others, ing army with full pay,three in the reserves,three as a retained fully realized the meaning of the assignment,both for the nation soldier,and five in a militia unit.After the first three years,a and for the man selected.Rivalry between the two was inevitable. soldier could return to civilian life,though he would be expected In July,Hu wrote to Li Hung-tsao describing Yuan as arrogant. to take part in maneuvers;throughout the 14 years,he was to be Chang P'ei-lun,another highly placed lieutenant of Li Hung- exempted from other forms of state labor. chang,also wrote to Li Hung-tsao to criticize Yuan: The Grand Council's less ambitious program fixed the quota for I have had several talks with him and found him boastful and utterly the first four months at 4,oo0 to 5,o00 men.Hsiaochan,located unreliable.His past history shows that he is conceited,extravagant,lech- between Peking and Tientsin,was selected as headquarters for the erous,ruthless,and treacherous.Sir,you are right to treat him as the son of a friend,but gravely wrong to esteem him as a man of rare qualities new force.It was here that Li Hung-chang had maintained the I.am compelled to speak up about him;for having misled Li Hung- barracks of his Hwai Army for over 20 years.Hu Yu-fen,not Yuan chang,he may now attempt to mislead you and indeed our country. Shih-K'ai,was appointed supervisor,and von Hanneken was named the chief instructor.Hu,a competent and enlightened In spite of these personal attacks,Li Hung-tsao had formed a dis- official;could not get long with the German,because,as he said, tinctly good impression of.Yuan;so had Jung-lu and Weng Tung- Hanneken was greedy and arrogant.Before long he gave up army ho.&But one fact weighed heavily against him:Yuan had joined administration in favor of building railways,and Yuan Shih-k'ai Liang Ch'i-ch'ao's Strengthening Study Society,a reformist orga- nization. was then brought in to succeed him. Yuan's knowledge and experience made him the best qualified After Hu's resignation,Jung-lu asked Yuan to make a report on candidate of all his contemporaries.Further,he had a spotless army training.Yuan did so at great length,advocating the use of reputation and had shown considerable interest in the work.In German methods.Seconded by Jung-lu,Li Hung-tsao recom- May 1895,shortly after the end of the war,he wrote to Li Hung- mended Yuan for the position.Yuan had strong support in other tsao,a member of the Grand Council: quarters as well:both the notorious,powerful Prince Ch'ing and 1 the grand eunuch,Li Lien-ying,favored his appointment.On De- The weakness of our troops does not lie so much in quantity as in quality, cember 8,1895,the Crand Councilpresented a memorial to the not so much in their physical strength as in their lack of training.Worst of all,they lack uniform organization,a unified command,and stern dis. throne recommending that Yuan be made commander of the cipline.They are impossible to control and do not have enough spirit to Newly Created Army and supervisor of its training.Yuan was then face an enemy.... thirty-six years old. Under these circumstances,we should do our best to rectity the mis- The army at Hsiaochan was made up of ten corps and num- takes of the past-by eliminating superfuous units,cutting excessive ex- bered 3,o0o infantrymen,1,ooo artillerymen,250 cavalrymen,and penses,dismissing incompetent officers,and tightening up discipline.In addition,we should select a few highly respected generals and give them 500 engineers.The infantry was divided into two regiments,con- the freedom and the financial support necessary to reorganize our exist- ing troops into several big units;these should be stationed at strategic .The assignment was especially important in light of Chiang Kai-shek's ap- points.We ought to.employ foreign instructors to assist in the work of pointment as the director of the Whampoa Academy and Lin Piao's as the reorgai'zation.Both our own traditional methods and European meth- director of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College
34 THE ARMY THE ARMY sisting of units armed with rapid-fire guns,units with heavy artil- 35 lery,and reserve units.The engineers were divided into bridge- cated man."15 Imitating the West,as Yuan had suggested to Li building,fortification,ordnance,repair,surveying,mine-laying, Hung-tsao,meant simplifying the army's organization,concentrat- and telegraph detachments.There were also four administrative ing power in a few hands,and making discipline more stringent- bureaus:supply,ordnance,transport,and foreign affairs(intelli. all tasks he undertook at Hsiaochan. gence).According to Yuan's report to the Grand Council,foreign- He organized the new army differently from both the traditional style training should be continued,and the.number of drill in- forces and Li Hung-chang's Hwai Army.His system was soon structors increased from two (a'German and a Norwegian)to five. adopted by the other army units reorganized under Jung-lu.16 In He also proposed to expand the army from 5,o00 to 7,o0o men. firm personal control of the operations at Hsiaochan,Yuan con- According to a wage scale Yuan devised,the total monthly payroll centrated on developing professionalism and discipline among the would amount to 7o,o0o taels of silver.This and other expenses. troops.7 Just as he had established rigorous standards for his re- were to come from the Board of Revenue.10 cruits,Yuan imposed stern regulations on their conduct;theft, Yuan's chief-of-staff was his old friend Hsui Shih-ch'ang,who rape,rioting,and desertion all carried the death penalty.He also knew nothing of military affairs.*T'ang Shao-i,Yuan's assistant took special steps to discourage opium smoking.Finally,to pre- in Korea,continued on as his secretary.The German-trained Man- vent embezzlement,the soldiers were paid individually under chu General Yin-ch'ang,who was the head of the military academy Yuan's supervision,as opposed to the customary practice of issuing at Tientsin,recommended four of his best students to Yuan:Feng the money to the commanding officers.(Even so,in April 1897,a Kuo-chang,Tuan Ch'i-jui(also German-trained),Wang Shih-chen, censor wrote a memorial to the emperor charging Yuan with bru- and Liang Hua-tien.Liang later drowned during a night maneu- tality and corruption.In response to this,Jung-lu went to Hsiao- ver,but the other three assumed important positions in the army. chan to investigate in person.On his return,he paid an unquali- Feng became Yuan's aide-de-camp and headed the infantry school; fied tribute to Yuan's accomplishments.Two years later,when Tuan commanded and instructed the artillery corps;and Wang Yuan and the censor met again in Shantung,all was forgiven and held a similar post with the engineering corps. forgotten;in fact Yuan took the man into his secretariat.19) As Yuan understood it,the army's duties were "to defend the Yuan's army was equipped primarily with foreign goods-in- honor of the country and to suppress violence.on behalf of the cluding arms,tools,tunics,boots,canvas tents,raincoats,blankets, people."u By "country"(kuo),he did not mean the Chinese na- field glasses,drums,telephones,and medicine.2 The infantry was tion but the throne,the realm,the dynasty.In classical parallel armed with standardized Mauser rifles,the cavalry with both Mau- sentences,his recruitment notices stressed over and over again the sers and lances,and the artillery with Maxim machine guns and graciousness of the throne and the corresponding debt of gratitude six-gun batteries of one-to six-pounders. owed by the people.Indeed,an important goal of the soldiers' The officers came from two major sources:they were either grad- training was to "consolidate their loyalty"to the throne.1s If the uates of the Peiyang Military Academy in Tientsin or veterans army was to perform its imperial duties,Yuan felt it must emulate without much formal education.The former prided themselves on Western models.14 Like most of the Chinese who were not xeno- their scholarly knowledge,the latter on their battle experience.21 phobes,Yuan tended to idealize the West.He once remarked,for Yuan's way of reducing tension between the two groups was to example,"In the West there is not a single civilian who does not emphasize their common duty to the throne,as well as his own understand military affairs.Conversely,every soldier is an edu- expectations of them.22 Hsii hadhad a checkered career since he and Yuan had parted as young A great moment in Yuan's career came when the British rear- men.Although he held a chin-shih,the highest degree,he was not an out- standing scholar and had not-won a promising appointment.(He was also .They should be twenty to twenty-five years of age,at least 4 feet,8 inches hindered by the death of his mother,which interrupted his career.)At Hsiao- in height,able to lift 1oo pounds,and able to walk 61 miles an hour.They chan,he was actually working under a man with no degree. should not be physically deformed or addicted to opium,and should have no criminal record.Yuan Shih-k'ai,ed.,Hsin-chien lu-chin,pp.85-87
36 THE ARMY THE ARMY 37 admiral Lord Charles Beresford visited Hsiaochan in October had convinced him that a rigid adherence to tradition was re- 1896.The admiral was deeply impressed by the sturdy Shantung sponsible for the decline of China and Korea.He believed that men under Yuan's command."By Western standards,"he com- the need for reform extended beyond the military.In fact,the mented,"Yuan Shih-k'ai's troops wcre the only completely demand for thoroughgoing reforms had been growing since 1895. equipped force in the empire." In that year,K'ang Yu-wei,a commoner and a candidate in the On December 10,1896,a year after his appointment,Yuan re- metropolitan examination,had joined more than a thousand oth- ported to the throne the formation of a full-scale division,con- ers in petitioning the throne for immediate reform.K'ang and his sisting of eight infantry battalions (8,000 men),two artillery bat- comrades,including Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and T'an Ssu-t'ung,also or- talions (2,o00 men),two cavalry battalions (1,o00 men),and one ganized societies all over the country to promote their cause.To engineering battalion (1,o0o men).The force was further divided show his support,Yuan joined one of them. into two wings,or brigades.For his achievements,Yuan was pro- By June 1898,K'ang and the other reformers had presented seven moted to the rank of provincial judge of Chihli in July 1897. "letters"to Emperor Kuang-hsu,as well as essays on Peter the Great, His reputation was growing.Wu Ju-lun,a great scholar,had writ- the Meiji Restoration,and the tragedies of Poland and Turkey. ten him in January 1896:"I have heard that your troops have When this material was delivered to the Southern Study of the adopted Western military techniques.This is undoubtedly the palace,Weng T'ung-ho read it with interest and admiration. most urgent task of our time."Above all,both Jung-lu and Shortly after the 1895 treaty,the aging tutor discussed reform with Weng T'ung-ho continued to admire and trust Yuan.Their favor the young monarch.News of this leaked out to the dowager em- was especially important:Jung-lu was a firm supporter of the Dow- press,who subsequently denied Weng access to the Southern Study. ager Empress Tz'u-hsi,and Weng was the emperor's tutor. This reproof cut short the first attempt at reform;but it was pri- The Newly.Created Army continued to grow.Meanwhile, marily through Weng's advocacy that the emperor eventually de- Chang Chih-tung's Self-Strengthening Army was taking shape in cided to adopt the drastic measures K'ang proposed. Hankow and Wuchang,and General Nieh Shih-ch'eng was reor- Meanwhile,the battle of concessions was being raged ruthlessly. ganizing his Tenacious Army.Although Nieh's troops numbered In 18g8,Germany acquired a lease on the land around Kiaochow nearly 10,000,only slightly fewer than Yuan's,they were inferior Bay.As compensation,Russia seized Port Arthur and Dairen, in training and equipment.From these separate efforts,the de. which were subsequently leased to her.Similarly,Britain and fense of the empire was gradually consolidated.At the beginning France encroached on China's sovereignty in the southwest.A fear of 1898;there were five armies stationed around the capital:Gen- of dismemberment,of being"cut up like a melon or handed out eral Nieh at the entrance to Tientsin,General Sung Ch'ing at the like beans,"suddenly seized the country,giving impetus to the northeast pass to Peking,Jung-lu on the outskirts of Peking,Gen- reform movement.K'ang Yu-wei hurried to Peking to make an- eral Tung Fu-hsiang near Chichow,and Yuan himself at Hsiao- other urgent plea for reform.Weng T'ung-ho,calling K'ang a chan.Although untested in battle,the Hsiaochan troops were re- hundred times more competent than himself,suggested to the puted to be the strongest.Being a shrewd man,Yuan was fully emperor that the reformer be placed in charge of China's affairs. aware of their importance to the dynasty and to his own personal The ultimate aims of the reformers-national power and wealth career.The Newly Created Army was Yuan's power base,just as -did not differ radically from those of the self-strengtheners;nor the Hwai Army had been Li Hung-chang's.And as everyone did the economic programs of the two schools differ greatly.In one clearly understood,it was no coincidence that the loss of the major respect,however,the reformers disagreed with their prede- Hwai Army led to Li's eclipse. cessors.They believed that the West's success in the worldwide Yuan was not exclusively concerned with military matters dur- competition among nations for wealth and power was due to ing this period.His experiences in Korea,especially the 1895 war, her superior institutions and administrative methods.China must
THE ARMY 38 39 THE ARMY Russian gunboats were sailing toward Chefoo.Yuan and his secre- adopt Western institutions if she was to preserve her national tary were drafting a reply when the porter announced the arrival integrity. of an uninvited guest,T'an Ssu-t'ung.T'an was a young reformer In essence,the reform of 1898 proposed to change China's tra- and philosopher of considerable reputation.At this time,he held ditional educational and examination systems so that they would an important post in the Grand Council.A full record of this cru- produce the kind of civil servants China needed.The reformers cial meeting is found in Yuan's journal: also proposed to open channels of communication between the rulers and the people by creating societies for political discussion. I know of him as a newly appointed and trusted adviser to His Majesty. These societies would eventually lead to the establishment of a His unheralded visit at this hour must mean that he has serious matters to consult me about,so I put down the writing-brush and go out to greet parliament and a constitution:In other words,the reform meant him.Mr.T'an is in informal clothes.Having congratulated me on my no less than a total restructuring of the Confucian Empire into a promotion,he says he wants to talk to me alone.This strikes me as odd, modern nation-state with a constitutional monarch. but I lead him to a chamber at the back of the temple.Our conversation The imperial proclamation of reform was issued'on June 11, begins with the usual compliments and then turns to physiognomy.T'an 1898.K'ang was appointed head of the Office of the Constitution, sees in me the makings of a great military leader.Suddenly he asks,"Are and his power over the emperor was considerable.Five days after you going to say good-bye 'to His Majesty on the goth?"I refer to the news of British warships approaching the coast and tell him that I will? the proclamation,the emperor granted him an audience of nine request His Majesty's permission to leave tomorrow for Tientsin.T'an hours.The Hundred Days'Reform was under way.The conserva- replies,"Our worries lie at home,not abroad."I immediately ask for an tives,led by the dowager empress,were alarmed by this rapid de- explanation and he says,"Mr.Yuan,you have just been granted an ex- velopment and took steps to abort it.Weng T'ung-ho was relieved ceptional favor,for which,I am sure,you are anxious to show your grati- of all his duties and"graciously commanded to go home";Jung-lu tude.His Majesty is in grave danger,and you,Mr.Yuan,are the only one who can help!"My face turns pale and I repeat,"My family has received was appointed viceroy of Chihli and commander of the Peking imperial kindness for generations;of course I must place myself entirely police;and plans were made for the empress and emperor to in- at His Majesty's command.But I am afraid I do not understand what you spect the army at Tientsin,at a date to be determined later. mean by danger."T'an explains,"Jung-lu has recently proposed to de- Following'these moves,the conservatives transferred General throne and murder the Emperor.Did you know that?"I deny any knowl- Nieh Shih-ch'eng's Tenacious Army from Taku to Tientsin and. edge of.it,for I often see His Excellency Jung-lu at.Tientsin and know him,in both word and deed,to be an upright and loyal man.I suggest Tung Fu-hsiang's Kansu Braves from Chichow to the outskirts of that the rumor is completely groundless.But T'an says,"Mr.Yuan,you Peking.It became obvious to the reformers that their ultimate fate are a straightforward man and therefore may not be aware of his guile. depended on the attitude of the military leaders,especially on He is outwardly nice to you,but in fact he is both suspicious and jealous that of Yuan Shih-k'ai,who had previously expressed sympathy of you.Your long,hard work has won admiration from people at home with the movement.On September 14,Yuan was ordered to Pe- and abroad,and yet you have been promoted only once.Why?It is en- tirely due to Jung-lu's obstruction.The other day Mr.K'ang spoke highly king for an audience with the emperor.They met on September of you to His Majesty,but the Emperor merely said that according to the 16,and immediately afterward Yuan was promoted from provin- Empress and Jung-lu,you were arrogant and disobedient.Many people cial judge to vice-president of the Board of War,in full command can prove this.It is perfectly true....Your recent promotion did not of all military training in the empire.The next morning,Yuan come at all easily.If you really mean to help His Majesty out of the went to the palace to express his gratitude;at that time,the em- present.difficulty,I have a plan." Mr.T'an then produces a piece of paper,...on which are these words: peror informed him of the irrevocable decision to pursue the re- "Jung-lu plans to dethrone and murder H.M.Traitorl Must be done form. away with as soon as possible-else H.M.'s position is untenable.Yuan On September 18,Yuan visited Li Hung-chang and later Prince leaves for Tientsin on the goth.Give him a mandate in the Vermilion Ch'ing.At dusk,he received a telegram from Jung-lu,urging him Pencil,ordering him to arrest and execute Jung-lu.Yuan takes over the to return to Tientsin at once because of reports that British and viceroyalty and the commissionership.Make known Jung-lu's treachery
40 THE ARMY THE ARMY 41 to the public.Stop telegraph'and railway services.Yuan.and.his troops should then come to Peking to guard the Forbidden City and besiege the But T'an is insistent:"His Majesty wants this to be done quickly.We Summer Palace.Commit suicide in H.M.'s presence if plan rejected." must come to a decision tonight so that I can report back to him.In fact, I am petrified and ask why I should besiege the Summer Palace."The I can show you a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil now."When Tan old rotten- -[the Dowager Empress]must be eliminated,or our coun- shows it to me,I see it is written in black ink.The handwriting is exqui- try will perish,"T'an explains,"but that will be my job.You need not site and the style similar to the sovereign's.It reads:"We have resolved bother."I tell him,"Her Majesty's regency of over so years has seen to reform,but the old ministers are reluctant to lend their support.We China safely through many disasters.She is widely loved.My soldiers are cannot force the pace,lest Her Gracious Majesty,the Dowager Empress, taught to be loyal;I cannot tuin them into rebels."T'an goes on,"I have be displeased.We hereby command Yang Jui,Liu Kuangti,Lin Hsii, recruited scores of brave men and have sent for many more from Hunan. and T'an Ssu-t'ung to find a better approach."The overall tone of the They will be here soon.It is my job to do away with the old rotten- mandate suggests that the four men named want to quicken the pace of you need not trouble yourself.What you,Mr.Yuan,must do is first kill reform,whereas His Majesty refuses to do so.I therefore say,"This.is Tung-lu and second besiege the Summer Palace.If you refuse,I shall die not in the Vermilion Pencil,and it mentions neither the execution of here and now.My life is now in your hands just as yours is in mine.We His Excellency Jung-lu nor the siege of the Summer Palace."Tan offers must come to a decision tonight before His Majesty receives me in audi- this explanation:"The copy in the Vermilion Pencil is with Lin Hsti; ence.” this'one was made out for me by Yang Jui.There is no doubt of its The conversation continues:I:"This is a grave matter that cannot be authenticity.It was issued three days ago.I was upset that Lin Hsui did decided in haste.I would sooner die than give you my word tonight. not let me have it at once.His negligence may ave.harmful conse- Furthermore,I do not believe that His Majesty will grant his permission quences.The better approach referred to here implies both points you without due consideration."T'an:"I have ways to make sure of that. have raised."His explanation confirms my suspicion of a forgery.There I can promise that you will get a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil on seems no point in continuing the discussion,so I make my position clear: the goth."He speaks with authority and inflexibility.Since he is in the "Heaven above me,I,Yuan-Shih-k'ai,have never been ungrateful to His sovereign's trust,I am wary of refusing him outright.I fear that unpre- Majesty.I will not put my liege lord in jeopardy.The whole subject dictable harm may come my way.All I can do under the circumstances must be thought over carefully and a foolproof plan devised.I must con- is to find excuses and avoid committing myself.I explain to him,"Tien- fess that I have no courage to become a public enemy." tsin is a cosmopolitan city.The assassination of the Viceroy there is T'an remains inflexible....I have also noticed that something like a bound to arouse a great outcry among the inhabitants,Chinese and for- weapon bulges out from under his jacket.I have a feeling that he is deter- eigners alike;it may provide the foreign powers with an excuse to inter- mined not to leave empty-handed.Therefore I tell him,"There will be vene and carve China up like a melon.Moreover,the armies of Generals a military review in Tientsin next month,where all the armies will con- Sung,Tung,and Nieh each number about 40,o00 to 50,000 men.There gregate.If His Majesty cares to give us even a scrap of paper,who dares are also other-troops [near Tientsin],including 7o corps of the Hwai to disobey and what cannot be accomplished?""That is too far away," Army.Several thousand Manchu forces are stationed at the capital.Ihave T'an claims."His Majesty might be murdered before then."I say that I only 7,000 men,of.whom 6,000 can be thrown into battle.How can I do not believe anything of the kind will happen....T'an asks,"If the possibly hope to succeed in what you ask me to do?As soon as I make a ceremony is called off,what then?"I reply,"The ceremony is being pre- move,the capital will be heavily guarded.The sovereign's position will pared and thousands of taels have already been spent on it.I do not certainly become untenable.""But Mr.Yuan,"T'an argues,"I am sure think that Their Majesties will change their minds.Furthermore,I shall you can strike,a lightning blow.As soon as you act,a mandate in the request His Excellency Jung-lu to make sure that the Empress does.not Vermilion Pencil will be issued to all our armies;the foreign embassies revoke her decision.I shall see to that."T'an warns me,"It is now en- will be informed as well.No one will dare oppose you."I then note, tirely up to you either to repay the sovereign's.kindness,to help him out "Mos.of my army's supplies are stored in Tientsin;..I must have time of his predicament...or to betray him,to endanger his life in order to to accumulate ammunition and provisions before taking action.""I shall obtain power and wealth."I retort,"What sort of man do you think I ask His Majesty to give you a mandate in the Vermilion Pencil,"T'an am?My family has received imperial benevolence for three generations suggests,"while you go on with your preparations..When you are ready, now.Do you think I am so ungrateful as to turn traitor?I will risk my please et me know,sot凸hat we can act in concert.”“I am not thinking life for my Emperor and my country."Tan is visibly moved.He stands of my own safety,"I add,"but what will,we do.if news of the plan leaks up,salutes me,and calls me a good man.... out,placing His Majesty in danger?No,nothing should be put in writ- On the 2oth,I bid farewell to His Majesty....When I arrive at Tien- ing.There must be no mandate in the Vermilion Pencil.Please allow tsin,it is already dusk.I pay a visit to His Excellency Jung-lu at once me time to think.I shall let you know within two or three weeks." and report the latest developments at the palace.I say that His Majesty is loyal to the Empress,but that there are rogues forming cliques in the
42 THE ARMY THE ARMY 43 capital and endangering the throne.The blame lies with those serving His Majesty.In order to maintain peace,it is necessary to protect the of seeking Yuan's help,and it is utterly inconceivable that he sovereign.Since it is already midnight,I ask permission to leave and would attempt to induce Yuan into such an important undertak- promise to return tomorrow.The next morning,His Excellency comes ing with only a copy of the document. to see me instead.It is then that I report everything.to him in detail. Third,in both accounts above,Yuan willingly pledged his sup- Jung-lu turns pale and cries,"If I have any intention of assassinating the Emperor,Heaven may condemn me to death!..."I plead with him, port to the emperor and promised not to betray the reformers' "His Majesty had nothing to do with this at all.If anything happens to trust.According to him,he did not tell Jung-lu about the re- him,I will take poison!"28 formers'plan until the morning of September 21,after the con- servatives had staged a coup in Peking,imprisoning the emperor Liang Ch'i-ch'ao records the same incident in his biography of and ending the reform.But the question remains,what did he T'an Ssu-t'ung: and Jung-lu talk about from sunset to midnight on the zoth? On the evening of September 18,he [T'an]went to the Hua-fa Temple (One source reports that Yuan arrived at Tientsin even earlier to see Yuan.He asked him openly,"What do you think of His Majesty?" that day,on the g:oo p.M.train.30)Every account except Yuan's Yuan replied,"A great and sagacious ruler."T'an asked further,"Do you know about the plot behind the.forthcoming military ceremonies in agrees that he went to see Jung-lu right away and made a full Tientsin?"Yuan said that he did.Then Mr.T'an showed a confidential report on the activities in the capital.According to the'Shanghai edict to Yuan and said,"You,Sir,are the only man who can help our newspaper Shen pao,Jung-lu immediately telegraphed Yuan's wise Emperor.The decision is entirely yours."Mr.T'an also touched his alarming news to the empress;many other sources say that Jung- own neck with his hands and added,"If you decide against.it,please go lu left for Peking by train to appeal to the empress personally for to the Summer Palace to report to Her Majesty.You will get wealth and power there."Yuan retorted sternly,"What kind of man do you think I action.There was time for either or both. am?We both serve our sovereign and receive his favor.The duty of pro- On September 21,the empress went from the Summer Palace, tecting him is not yours alone.Tell me what to do."T'an went on, about six miles west of Peking,to the imperial palace,interned "Jung-lu's scheme will be carried out at the military ceremonies.Your the emperor,and proclaimed her second regency.With the help army and the two commanded by Tung and Nieh are under his control. of British and Japanese friends,K'ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i- He is going to use you all as instruments in his plan.But Tung and ch'ao escaped abroad,but six other reform leaders were arrested Nieh are nothing;only you,Mr.Yuan,are a strong man.You can crush the other two armies and protect His Majesty.The decision to restore and put to death.The offices that had been abolished were re- authority to His Majesty and establish order at the palace is completely stored;the changes in the examination system were reversed;all yours."Yuan declared,"At the ceremony,if His Majesty rides into my the reformers in the civil service were dismissed and punished. headquarters and gives me the order to execute the villains,I shall cer- The reform came to an end. tainly do my best,together with you and your friends...."Mr.T'an asked,"Will it be easy to deal with a cunning man like Jung-lu?"Yuan On September 25,Jung-lu was recalled to Peking.Yuan Shih- replied with anger in his eyes,"When His Majesty comes to my head- k'ai took over theviceroyalty and commissionership until Yu-lu quarters,I shall kill Jung-lu as if slaughtering a dog." was.appointed three days later.On September 29,the empress richly rewarded Yuan;he was to remain her henchman until her Yuan's account differs considerably from Liang's and from other death in 1908. records as well.Several points of interest emerge. First,although a radical,T'an Ssu-t'ung would not resort to the threats Yuan described.They were simply not in keeping with his character.Furthermore,he would have known the futility of threatening a man renowned for his bravery and physical strength. Second,the confidential mandate shown to Yuan was very likely a genuine one in the Vermilion Pencil.T'an was a strong advocate
THE GOVERNOR 45 FOUR and wipe out the foreigners,"might have won the sympathy of many reformers.One eyewitness of the movement,Sir Robert Hart,described it as "patriotic in origin and justifiable in its The Governor,1899-I9oI fundamental ideas."Another,Putnam Weale,described it as a "blight"attacking the foreigners:"We are accused by the whole population of North China."C.F.Remer was even more explicit: "The movement may be regarded as evidence of a growing feeling of national patriotism in China."a But the similarity between the Boxers and the reformers ends LIKE the Hundred Days'Reform,the Boxer Uprising was a direct here.The reformers were all scholarly gentry,well versed in China's traditional political philosophy and acquainted with result of foreign aggression.It began in the peninsular province of Shantung.Shantung had escaped much of the foreign interference Western statecraft.They argued their case in a highly literate man- suffered by the other coastal provinces since 1840.But the arrival ner.They had little trust in those in power and wanted to replace them with a new kind of official.In contrast,the Boxers were un- of missionaries to set up churches in the villages led to cultural sophisticated,crude,and violent.Their main tactics were slaugh- confrontation,resentment,property disputes,and litigations.The situation was aggravated in the spring of 1898,when Germans ter and plunder.They had little trust in the gentry,proposing instead an alliance between the court aristocrats and the peasantry. came to build railways and to mine.. The movement began to attract official attention early in 18g8, The Shantung peasants were renowned for their physical and mental toughness.(Most of Yuan Shih-k'ai's recruits at Hsiaochan but the provincial authorities took no effective steps against it. In terms of doctrine,it was regarded as no more heretical than the came from this province.)At the same time,they were superstitious Christian churches;nor was it considered politically subversive. and backward.Apart from the experience of endless hardship, their main sources of knowledge were rudimentary,often heretical From May 18g8 to March 1899,the Boxers gained substantial pop- ular support for their brutal activities.Among their victims were religious tenets preached by popular sects,and myths.During the second half of the nineteenth century,stories and myths became Christian missionaries and converts and foreign engineers.The situation took a sharp turn in March,when Germany sent troops to increasingly popular in China as an escape from ugly reality-a Ichow in southern Shantung to protect her missionaries.The development made possible by the introduction of the modern printing press.Many Chinese believed in such phenomena as Peking government,fearing unpleasant consequences,cashiered physical invulnerability,the emission of lethal lights from the the governor,Chang Ju-mei,and appointed Yui-hsien,a Manchu, eyes,the nostrils,and the fingertips,and the existence of invisible in his place.The new governor soon fell under the spell of the generals and armies far stronger than the visible ones.As the for. Boxers.Instead of suppressing them,he became an enthusiastic sponsor of the movement.The Boxers went on killing and burn- eigners'weapons became,in the words of a Chinese epithet,"in- conceivably and obscenely advanced,"the magic tricks of the Chi- ing,violence for which the central government had to pay com- pensation.The Germans demanded 100,o00 taels for the loss of nese grew more elaborate and allegedly more powerful.Although life and property at Ichow,and another 60,ooo taels for damages some considered this extreme belief in-magic absurd,it reflected to the Tsaochow churches in the summer of 1899.Toward the strong popular feelings toward the foreigners.The Boxers based their policy on these beliefs and feelings. end of the year,clashes between Boxers and Christians became The Boxer Movement and the Hundred Days'Reform had a even more frequent.On December 6,1899,Yu-hsien was recalled, similar goal:the strengthening of China's central government.If and Yuan Shih-k'ai was appointed acting governor of Shantung, phrased more elegantly,the Boxers'slogan,"Support the Ch'ing a post that soon became permanent. This important appointment was not unexpected.Yuan was
46 THE GOVERNOR THE GOVERNOR 47 already a senior official-a vice-president of the Board of Works since June 1899.After the collapse of the reform,Yuan's horizon Yuan proposed both long-range and short-range measures had widened considerably,perhaps a sign of the empress's increas- against the Boxers.In the long run,he hoped to promote under- ing reliance on him.Military training remained his primary re. standing between the common people and the Christians;more sponsibility;and in 1899 he made two major defense proposals, immediately,however,he was determined to maintain law and or- that the empire's modern forces be increased to 10,000 men,and der and to liquidate the bandit elements and the Boxer leaders. that the army be made self-sufficient in military supplies.But his He was firmly against the government's plan to organize the rebels memorials now covered an extensive range of topics,including tax into militia units: reform,coal-mining,and foreign relations.+The government had Leaving aside the impossibility of reassembling those already dispersed been consulting him for some time about the Boxer problem.In and restoring those already suppressed,it would be difficult for the gov- July 1899,he submitted a memorial on the religious incidents in ernment to find capable people to lead the militia.Qualified officials and gentry simply.would not undertake such a task.Even if they could be Shantung,suggesting that the unrest there could be stopped by persuaded,how could they understand the feelings and aims of the Box- sending a well-disciplined force to police the area.He also sug- ers,who after all practice a heresy and use magical incantations?How gested that local officials be informed of the provisions in China's could they control them?Further,the militia has always been financed treaties and agreements so they would be in a better position to by the ordinary people.To organize hundreds of thousands into new militia units would require a huge sum of money.Where would it come deal with foreign representatives.Yuan himself was the only man from if not from the people?Please allow me to speculate on the evil with the experience and the military force necessary for the job. consequences of all this.As soon as bandits can use the name of militia Further,he knew the province and its people well. and heretical sects are given legitimate authority,they will operate Two corps of Yuan's troops had been dispatched to Shantung openly;it will be impossible to disband them again.Unchecked,they in May 1899 for the ostensible purpose of a joint maneuver with will seize the opportunity to satisfy their own selfish ends.How then can the provincial garrison.On his appointment,Yuan took the rest general chaos and widespread suffering among the common people be prevented?7 of his division with him.But this does not mean he was to wield a heavy hand;on the contrary,his instructions from the throne Yuan's suppression of the movement was both severe and thor- were to proceed with caution.He was to see that conflicts between ough,prompting the anxious dowager empress to demand that he the common people and the Christians were handled fairly,and be more lenient.The situation in Shantung had quieted down, he was not to rely solely on military force,"lest the people be however,especially after the famous Pingyuan incident of October frightened into revolt."(Yuan received the opposite advice from 1899.The rebels fled to the more open province of Chihli.During a former local official in Shantung,Lao Nai-hstian,who had made the turbulent year of 1goo,Yuan laid a foundation of stability in a special study of the Boxers and felt that they should be sup- his province.As Putnam Weale recorded,"Shantung is all right, pressed at any cost.) never fear....The provincial governor is a strong Chinaman, The first thing Yuan did was to test the Boxers'claim of invul- one Yuan Shih-k'ai." nerability.A number of Boxers willing to put themselves to the To suppress the Boxers,Yuan requested that his division be ex- test were killed by his firing squad.Previous demonstrations had panded.In response,Peking instructed him to reorganize the 20 reportedly left the Boxers unscathed(proving only,'one supposes, corps of the provincial garrison into a vanguard for his army.Feng that Yuan's marksmen were more accurate than their predeces- Kuo-chang,who,like Tuan Ch'ijui and Wang Shih-chen,now sors).Yuan charged that even in force the Boxers were ineffective, held a rank equivalent to prefect,was placed in charge of this nothing that once 400 to 500 of them attacked a single church and work.The morale of the officers and men was high,thanks to their failed to take it."How can they wipe out foreigners?Even if they success against the rebels.Yuan's Right Division was far stronger could recruit millions of people and roam around everywhere, than any of the other divisions of the Imperial Guard Army- spreading like bush fires,what effect would they have?" Jung-lu's Central,Sung Ch'ing's Left,Nieh Shih-ch'eng's Front, and Tung Fu-hsiang's Rear divisions.It also had the good fortune