China under the Empress Dowager

by J. O. P. Bland; Sir E. Backhouse

“On the 19th I conveyed my mother’s remains to the temple; I found all quiet there, but my progress through the city gate was very slow because of the crowd. On the 23rd there were but few people abroad, and these clustering together in small groups and speaking in low voices. Suddenly, a little after mid-day, an immense blaze was seen to the north-west, and speedily it was reported that the barbarians had seized Hai-tien and the Summer Palace. Our army is said to number half a million men, and yet it seems that not one of them dare oppose the barbarians’ advance. They have about a thousand of cavalry, yet they move about at will in our midst as if in an uninhabited wilderness! ’Tis passing strange! The troops of Prince Seng and General Sheng have retreated to the Te-sheng gate.

“On the 24th all the shops were closed, and the higher the price of vehicles, the greater the number of people to wish to engage them. The poorer class were using wheelbarrows, on which they packed their most valuable moveables for flight.

“Prince Kung sent an Envoy to the barbarians’ camp with a despatch asking for an armistice. On arriving in the vicinity of the camp, however, the messenger saw the barbarians pointing rifles at him, so that he turned and fled.

“On the afternoon of the 24th, vast columns of smoke were seen rising to the north-west, and it was ascertained that the barbarians had entered the Summer Palace, and after plundering the three main halls, leaving them absolutely bare, they had set fire to the buildings. Their excuse for this abominable behaviour is that their troops got out of hand, and had committed the incendiarism. After this they issued notices, placarded everywhere, in very bad Chinese, stating that unless terms of peace had been arranged before mid-day on the 29th, they would then bombard Peking, in which case all inhabitants who did not wish to share the fate of the city had better remove themselves to a safe distance.

“On this day it was reported that The Sacred Chariot had reached Jehol in safety, but His Majesty had been greatly alarmed, and had issued a Decree expressing regret for his failure to commit suicide on the approach of the invaders. The Emperor is reported to be ill, and it is said that the Princes Tsai Yüan and Tuan Hua are trying to get themselves appointed to the Grand Council. Should the Emperor die (lit. ‘when ten thousand years have passed’) the Yi concubine will be made Empress Dowager, but at present she is reported to be at variance with the Princes, who are endeavouring to prejudice the Emperor against her.

“I learnt that all was quiet at the temple where my mother’s coffin rests. Troops were passing there daily, but, so far, none had occupied it. On the 29th, my servant-boy, Yung ’Erh, came to tell me that troops from Tientsin in the pay of the barbarians had occupied the temple, but on proceeding thither I found them to be General Sheng’s men. Prince Seng’s troops were also near at hand, so that, if a bombardment had taken place, what could have prevented the destruction of the temple, and what would then have become of my mother’s remains? I therefore decided to engage wheelbarrows and handcarts, at six taels apiece, to take my family to Pao-ting fu, and I arranged with the undertakers to hire bearers for the coffin.

“At 11 A.M. of the same day the barbarians entered the city by the Anting gate, occupying its tower and the wall adjoining. One large cannon and four small ones were placed in position on the wall, and a five-coloured flag hoisted there. With the exception of the officials entrusted with the duty of negotiating, not one remained in the city. Two days ago the prisoner Parkes, and his companions, were sent back to the enemy with every mark of courtesy. Scarcely had they reached their camp when a special Decree, post-haste from Jehol, ordered Prince Kung to decapitate them all forthwith as a warning to the bandits who had dared to invade the sacred precincts of the Palace. As the Yi concubine had urged their execution from the very first, it would seem as if her influence were again in the ascendant.

“On the 1st of the 9th Moon, the ‘Chang-yi’ gate was closed, but I managed to leave the city by the Hsi-pien Men, where I was nearly crushed to death in the enormous crowd. Upon my arrival at the temple, I had a nice wadded cover made to put over the coffin, and then hurried back to the city to arrange for the cortège leaving next morning. The President of the Board of Finance, Liang Hai-lou, was hiding in the temple precincts with his family and chief concubine, all wearing common clothes and unshaven. This is a good example of the condition to which the very highest had been reduced.

“Next morning, on reaching the temple, I found the coffin-bearers and transport coolies on the spot. But, unfortunately, in my hurry, I failed to notice that the undertakers had supplied the frame, on which the coffin is carried, of a size smaller than had been agreed upon, so that instead of sixteen bearers there were but eight. We started, however, and the procession’s appearance of panic-stricken fugitives was most distressing to contemplate. But what could I do? The first and only object in my mind was to protect my mother’s coffin. I have omitted to state that my small servant-boy, Yung ’Erh, had started to accompany the coffin on foot. But, after they had started, it occurred to me that the lad could never stand so long a journey, and that should my mother be aware of it, she would be extremely anxious about him. Therefore, I quickly engaged another wheelbarrow for Yung ’Erh, and bade the coolies hurry after the procession.

“On returning home I felt uneasy about the jolting which my mother’s coffin must have experienced on the undersized frame. I went, therefore, to the undertakers and expostulated with them for having cheated me. After much altercation they agreed to change the frame, but I was to pay two taels more for the larger size. I subsequently learned that they failed to keep their promise, but there was no good to be got by suing them for breach of faith. They are sordid tricksters. Yung ’Erh wrote, however, to assure me that the party had reached Pao-ting fu in safety, and that the coffin had not been jolted in the least. On removing the wrappings the lacquer was found to be undamaged.