2I4 THE MILITARY CHALLENGE moment,a delegation from British India,under Captain Edward B. Sladen,was at Bhamo,on the upper Irrawaddy,preparing for the overland journey to western Yunnan.A high Panthay official received Sladen very politely at a border town and talked about commerce with Burma.Yet Sladen's request for a visit to Ta-li was rejected. The extant documentation on Tu's administration shows that he was lording it over a Chinese-style bureaucracy,having declared that the three religions of Yunnan-Islam,Confucianism and the primitive cults of the Yunnanese tribes-were all to be honoured.Tu's forces dominated,at one time,nearly half of Yunnan's territory.He appointed Han Chinese to most civil offices and to at least one-third of the military positions.By 1871, however,his forces were pressed by the armies of the able new Chinese governor,Ts'en Yu-ying,who had modern weapons and even French drillmasters.In that year,Tu authorized a bizarre tribute mission to England.In April 1872,his envoy Liu Tao-heng offered to the Queen,in the name of the Panthay sultan,four large boxes containing pieces of Yunnan marble,symbolizing the land Tu ruled and his submission to Britain as a vassal.By then,Tu's cause was all but lost,and the Duke of Argyll,the secretary of state for India,could only suggest that the gift be deposited in a London museum,with a statement that it had no political significance.3 Shensi and Kansu In any overview of the Muslim revolts in the Ch'ing empire of this period, the rebellions in Shensi and Kansu must be regarded as of crucial impor- tance.For this mountainous loessland with its river valleys and caravan routes commanded Peking's principal gateway to Sinkiang,the frontier area which the Ch'ing emperors had worked so hard to win.Through the windblown Kansu corridor,moreover,the Chinese Muslims enjoyed com- paratively easy contact with the vast Islamic world beyond,and could especially have some influence on the events in Sinkiang.An excess of population over resources,high taxes and the transfer of many of the select Green Standard forces to meet urgent needs in eastern China,had all weakened the two provinces of Shensi and Kansu in the 186os as bastions of defence in China's north-west.Moreover,since the late eighteenth century Kansu had been the centre of a vigorous,activist Chinese school of 3 Huang Chia-mu,Tien-bsi bui-min cbeng-cb'iian fi lien-Ying wai-cbiao (The diplomacy of the Muslim regime in Yunnan towards a British alliance),25-37,88-113. 34 Pai Shou-i,ed.Hui-min cb'i-i(The Muslim uprisings;hereafter HMCI),1.8;2.106,111-31. Wang Shu-huai,Hrien-T'song,118,n.22.Huang Chia-mu,Tien-bsi,164-89,citing India Office archives.Cf.Tien Ju-k'ang,Yu-kuan Tu Wen-hsiu tui-wai kuan-hsi ti chi-ko wen-t'i' (A few problems regarding Tu Wen-hsiu's foreign relations),Li-sbib yen-cbin,1963.4,pp. i41-5o. Cambridge Histories Online O Cambridge University Press,2008214 TH E MILITARY CHALLENGE moment, a delegation from British India, under Captain Edward B. Sladen, was at Bhamo, on the upper Irrawaddy, preparing for the overland journey to western Yunnan. A high Panthay official received Sladen very politely at a border town and talked about commerce with Burma. Yet Sladen's request for a visit to Ta-li was rejected.33 The extant documentation on Tu's administration shows that he was lording it over a Chinese-style bureaucracy, having declared that the three religions of Yunnan - Islam, Confucianism and the primitive cults of the Yunnanese tribes - were all to be honoured. Tu's forces dominated, at one time, nearly half of Yunnan's territory. He appointed Han Chinese to most civil offices and to at least one-third of the military positions. By 1871, however, his forces were pressed by the armies of the able new Chinese governor, Ts'en Yii-ying, who had modern weapons and even French drillmasters. In that year, Tu authori2ed a bizarre tribute mission to England. In April 1872, his envoy Liu Tao-heng offered to the Queen, in the name of the Panthay sultan, four large boxes containing pieces of Yunnan marble, symbolizing the land Tu ruled and his submission to Britain as a vassal. By then, Tu's cause was all but lost, and the Duke of Argyll, the secretary of state for India, could only suggest that the gift be deposited in a London museum, with a statement that it had no political significance.34 Shensi and Kansu In any overview of the Muslim revolts in the Ch'ing empire of this period, the rebellions in Shensi and Kansu must be regarded as of crucial impor￾tance. For this mountainous loessland with its river valleys and caravan routes commanded Peking's principal gateway to Sinkiang, the frontier area which the Ch'ing emperors had worked so hard to win. Through the windblown Kansu corridor, moreover, the Chinese Muslims enjoyed com￾paratively easy contact with the vast Islamic world beyond, and could especially have some influence on the events in Sinkiang. An excess of population over resources, high taxes and the transfer of many of the select Green Standard forces to meet urgent needs in eastern China, had all weakened the two provinces of Shensi and Kansu in the 1860s as bastions of defence in China's north-west. Moreover, since the late eighteenth century Kansu had been the centre of a vigorous, activist Chinese school of " Huang Chia-mu, Tien-hti bui-min cbeng-cb'iian ti litn-Ying wai-cbiao (The diplomacy of the Muslim regime in Yunnan towards a British alliance), 25-57, 88-: 1}. 34 Pai Shou-i, ed. Hui-min ch'i-i(The Muslim uprisings; hereafter HMCI), 1.8; 2.106, HI—JI. Wang Shu-huai, Hsien-T'ung, 118, n. 22. Huang Chia-mu, Tien-bsi, 164-89, citing India Office archives. Cf. T'ien Ju-k'ang, 'Yu-kuan Tu Wen-hsiu tui-wai kuan-hsi ti chi-ko wen-t'i' (A few problems regarding Tu Wen-hsiu's foreign relations), Li-sbibyen-cbiu, 196}. 4, pp. 141-50. Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008