The face of Manchuria, Korea, & Russian Turkestan

by E. G. Kemp

CHAPTER II
Moukden

The story of the rise of the Manchu dynasty is like a romance, and no parallel to it is to be found in the pages of history. In the middle of the sixteenth century there was no Manchu Empire, and the Manchus themselves were wild, uncultured barbarians without any written language, living in caves which they hollowed in the earth, and engaged in constant warfare with other tribes living like themselves in the northern part of that country which we call Manchuria, the central and southern part being inhabited by the Chinese. In the year 1559 Noorhachu was born, with the prospect of becoming ruler over six little hamlets; by the year 1616 he had conquered all the adjacent tribes and founded the Manchu kingdom, receiving from the “great Ministers” the title of Ying Ming—“brave and illustrious.” Noorhachu’s military conquests and singular political sagacity alarmed the Chinese, whose frequent attacks and whose murder of his father and grandfather had roused his deep-seated enmity. He prepared an army of picked men, and drew up a paper of “seven hates,” addressed to the Emperor of China. Instead of despatching it to the Emperor, he addressed it to Heaven, burning the document with full sacrificial rites, after which he started his campaign (1617) by attacking the Chinese in the territory east of Moukden. In the midst of this campaign he was recalled to his capital, Hingking, by the news that a Chinese army of 200,000 men was approaching. On reaching Moukden this force divided into four armies of equal size: they were all in turn defeated by the smaller forces of Noorhachu within the space of five days, the number of killed being computed at 45,000. After one month’s rest he led his victorious troops to the conquest of Moukden and Liao Yang, and at the latter place he built a palace for himself and made it the seat of government.

Noorhachu, or as he was afterwards styled, Taidsoo = the Great Ancestor, was far-sighted enough to recognise that his only means of holding the large territory which he had won was by wise and good administration, and in this he was successful. In 1625 he retired to Moukden and made it his capital; in the following year he died there, after an unsuccessful campaign against the Chinese. They were led by a determined general who brought (for the first time) “terrific western cannon” against him, which had been cast by Jesuit missionaries.

FOO LING TOMB, MOUKDEN

Noorhachu was buried in the Foo Ling tomb, east of Moukden, a fitting resting-place for the great founder of the Manchu dynasty. It was during his son’s reign that the Manchu dynasty was firmly placed upon the throne of China in the person of Noorhachu’s grandson, a boy of five years old (1644). His father had been summoned by the Chinese to aid them against several hordes of rebels who had devastated the empire, and he sent a powerful army led by his brother. The Manchus, after defeating the rebel army, marched on Peking, where Li Dsuchung, the most noted rebel leader, had entrenched himself, and where the last of the Ming Emperors had in consequence committed suicide. Li Dsuchung had indeed proclaimed himself Emperor in his stead, but after a reign of one day he fled from the city at the approach of the Manchus, was pursued by them, and severely defeated. The Manchu general at once sent for his nephew—the ninth son of the reigning monarch, a child of five years old—and placed him upon the throne, himself acting as Regent. The new Emperor received the title of Ta-tsing, or “Great Pure”—the name of the present dynasty. The Regent was an able ruler, and soon succeeded in dispersing the rebels and restoring order throughout the empire. At the end of six months comparative peace had been established, and the Regent issued a proclamation that all who submitted to the new rule would enjoy the same rank, position, and emoluments, as they had done under the Ming dynasty.[2] He ordered sacrifices to be offered at the Ming tombs, and that a tomb should be erected for the last of them, where sacrifices should also be offered. He postponed the enforcement of the humiliating law requiring change of dress, the shaving of the head, and wearing of the queue and Manchu cap, and he promised those who complained of the neglect of etiquette and music among officials, that proper attention should be given to this matter as soon as war was at an end. It is an interesting fact that the Manchus should afterwards have so completely succeeded in imposing their dress on the Chinaman, the wearing of the queue becoming universal; but equally interesting is it to observe that the women never could be made to adopt it. The Manchu woman’s dress is to this day quite different from the Chinese, from its wonderful wing-like head-dress down to its large shoes. The Chinese woman refused to unbind her feet, and was in consequence never admitted within the precincts of the palace at Peking. In fact it may be stated that whereas it is impossible to distinguish between a Chinaman and a Manchu, there is no part of a Chinese woman’s dress which is quite the same as a Manchu’s. The latter have different styles of arranging their hair from the spreadeagle style, so commonly seen in Peking, to the curious one shown in the sketch (see next chapter), and also wear different kinds of shoes—some with a heel attached to the centre of the sole, others with a flat white sole some two inches thick.

The foregoing historical details are mainly drawn from Dr. Ross’s book, “The Manchus, or the Reigning Dynasty of China.” The uniqueness of the story lies in the fact that when the Manchus conquered China they were merely a horde of savages attacking a highly educated people, infinitely their superiors in number and resources. They not only conquered them, but for centuries they imposed their yoke upon them, always hated, yet always obeyed. As the centuries elapsed the Manchus grew weaker in their own country, and never fused with the conquered race. In China proper they still live apart; walled Manchu cities may be found within many walled Chinese cities; and it is only last year that the stringent rule forbidding Manchu women to marry Chinese husbands has been rescinded. It needs no explanation to see why the opposite rule held with regard to Manchu men marrying Chinese wives, who, ipso facto, lost their nationality.

I have tried to show in the foregoing pages how the Manchus won their position in China, and also how the southern part of Manchuria, including Moukden, was originally Chinese. Those who wish to wrest it from China are seeking to take an integral part of the empire. No one who visits Moukden can fail to see that it is a thoroughly Chinese city, with its magnificent walls and gateways, and the big drum tower and bell, like the one at Peking. Alas for the modern utilitarian spirit! Already they are beginning to pull down the fine old gateways, and to replace the inimitable shop fronts with shabby imitations of European ones.

It was cold weather when we walked through those fascinating streets, and in the fish shops we saw quantities of frozen as well as dried comestibles. Game was plentiful and cheap, and the frozen deer had quite a life-like appearance, standing waiting for a customer. In one street nothing but boots was being sold, and the fact was evident from afar, for outside the shops were hung gaily painted effigies of boots, some two feet in length. Above some shops were dragons, over others tigers, or the phœnix, or lotus blossoms all painted in every colour of the rainbow, and hanging from them signboards bearing the name of the shopkeepers. The cash shops have almost a screen of strings of gigantic cash dependent from the eaves. The curio shops still contain things to charm the soul of the artist, though every day sees their treasures diminishing, to be replaced by modern imitations. The glorious jade that used to be obtainable is scarcely to be found, and the bronzes have mostly been carried off to the West; still one hopes for the best, and carries off a few things, which if not so old as they boast to be, have at least an air of antiquity and some noble suggestion of the glory of the art of the Ming dynasty.