"'What part will the Manchus of all kinds play in China under a Constitutional or Republican Government?'
"'Maybe many people will not agree with me, but I know. The Republican party is so strong; the Manchus will go somewhere and just keep quiet. They haven't the nerve to fight; they will go. Who wants to protest against this thing? It is supposed to be the ex-Regent and his two brothers. They make so much noise but do not dare to do anything. There is no strong character in the family. They are all great cowards. That is why I doubt about the little Emperor.'
"'What kind of Government do you think is better for the present?"
"'My idea is certainly not a Republic. I prefer a sort of Limited Monarchy—a Constitutional Monarchy—for the present. The only objection I would have to a Republic is that there are so many parties—so many provinces. They are all together now, but after they get what they want they will split and fight against each other. That is the character of the Chinese. By and by after the people, the younger generation, are all educated, the time will be ripe for a Republic.'
"'Will you kindly give me the genealogy of the baby Emperor, showing what part of Chinese blood he has.'
"'He is the son of the ex-Regent. The ex-Regent is half Chinese, because his mother was not a Manchu. The little Emperor's mother is about three-fourths Chinese; the little Emperor's mother's mother was full Chinese; her father was half Chinese. So that would make her three-quarters. So the little Emperor has more Chinese blood in him than Manchu blood. The blood has been mixed terribly the last forty years or so, because they all bought concubines. The ex-Regent's brother was the Emperor Kwang Hsu. He was the only son of the proper wife of Prince Chung, the late Empress Dowager's sister.'
"'Has Yuan Shih K'ai any reason to love the Manchus?'
"'No. I do not say he loves the Manchus. He is a very smart man and he sees the situation. He knows what is best for the country. I cannot say he loves the Manchus, although he was the late Empress-Dowager's favourite. She always trusted him. She could see that he was a capable man. The late Emperor wanted reform, but did not know how to go at it. Yuan Shih K'ai knows how to go about it; he is one of the progressive men.'
"'If the Monarchy is retained, what reforms should be made in the social life of the Court?'
"'They are not trying for such a purpose. The Empress-Dowager should take lessons. She is a fairly well-informed woman. She has read some of the foreign histories translated into the Chinese. She is willing to learn and to bring up the Emperor. My idea is to bring him up like a foreigner. You see, in China they do not teach the Emperor to love his people and his country. They do not do that. My idea is to teach him to love his people and his country, and make him know that he is responsible for this great nation and that he must do justice to everybody. Of course, that is a hard thing, but it is as should be. Teach him his duty to his people. Then it depends much upon the sort of wife he marries. I begin to think there is not a suitable girl to marry him. He has to marry a Manchu, and the Manchu girls have no education. Any Manchu girl would be out of place as Empress. My idea is that no matter how they change they must keep their little old-fashioned law. They cannot remove that at once. I know Manchus who lived in America for years and they even after that thought that the customs in their own country were best. How can they think that? I am a Manchu, and see things in a different light, and have since I was ten or twelve years old. I made up my mind then that I would not be under anybody. My father always said to me, "You are just as good as anybody."