[20] Chinese pamphleteers in Canton record the event with much detail, and state that this son is alive to-day under the name of Chiu Min.
[21] A fantastic account of this mission is contained in an imaginative work recently published (La Vie Secrète de la Cour de Chine, Paris, 1910), where the Chief Eunuch’s name is given as “Siao.” This curious blunder is due to the fact that the Eunuch’s nickname, on account of his stature, was “Hsiao An’rh” (little An), just as Li hien-Ying’s is “P’i Hsiao” Li all over China.
[22] The Phœnix flag signified that he was sent by the Empresses Regent.
[23] The same expression is used of a novice taking the vows of Buddhist priesthood.
[24] Tzŭ Hsi was fond of masquerading with her favourite, till well advanced in years. One photograph of her is on sale in Peking, wherein she is posing as the Goddess of Mercy (Kuanyin) with Li in attendance as one of the Boddhisatvas.
[25] A term of humility.
[26] This Kuei Ching was an uncle of Tuan Fang, recently Viceroy of Chihli, and a man generally respected.
[27] This disease is regarded amongst the Chinese as one of good omen, especially if the symptoms develop satisfactorily.
[28] The annual and seasonal sacrifices at the ancestral Temple and at the Imperial tombs involve “kowtowing” before each tablet of the sacred ancestors, and this cannot be done in the presence of one of the same generation as the last deceased, much less by him.
[29] Prince Kung was the sixth, Prince Ch’un the seventh, in order of seniority.