China under the Empress Dowager

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

Yüan Ch’ang’s First Memorial against the Boxers, Dated 20th June, 1900.

“Ever since the 16th day of the Moon (June 12th), when the Boxers first burst into Peking, your Majesties have been giving audience daily to all the Princes and Ministers of State. The weight of the nation’s sorrow has afflicted your Sacred Persons, and you have sought the advice of us, your humble servants, in your anxious desire that a policy may be devised whereby peace should be restored to the shrines of your ancestors and to the Chinese people. But we have failed so far to avert calamity, and thus to bring comfort to our sorrowing Sovereigns; grievous indeed are our shortcomings, which fill us with shame and dismay.

“Humbly I recall to your Majesties’ memories a Decree which was issued in the 7th Moon of the 13th year of Chia-Ch’ing. Therein it is recorded that, in the provinces of Shantung and Honan, a dangerous conspiracy had been organised by evil-doers under the name of the ‘Eight Diagram’ Society. These latter day Boxers are, in fact, merely the descendants of the ‘White Lily’ sect, and your Majesties have already decreed their extermination. It was only last year that the District Magistrate of Wu Chiao, in Shantung, drew up a memorandum giving a very full account of this sect, and two months ago the Governor of Shantung (Yüan Shih-k’ai), replying to your Majesties’ enquiries, reported that these Boxers were in no way deserving of Imperial favour, and could never be enrolled as Government troops. No statement could be more explicit. Furthermore, the ex-Governor, Yü Hsien, reporting in connection with the case of a leader of this sect named Chu Hung-teng, or ‘Chu of the Red Lamp,’ stated that this impostor claimed to be a descendant of the Ming Dynasty; he had so worked upon the ignorant people that the whole district was in a state of unrest, and these treasonable proceedings increased and spread until the Imperial forces arrested and executed the ringleaders. Their purely mythical claims to invulnerability were clearly disproved by the fact that their execution presented no difficulties.

“When seeking information on this subject last year, I was informed by General Ch’eng Wen-ping that five years ago (in 1895) he was stationed at a post on the Chihli frontier, infested by robbers, who there went by the name of the ‘Golden Bell’ Society, and were brothers of the ‘Golden Lamp.’ On one occasion some fifty of these men desired to join General Ch’eng’s forces, but upon his putting their alleged powers to the test, by firing bullets at them and stabbing them with swords, blood flowed in the most natural manner, so that these magic workers died. I mention the fact to show the absurdity of this superstition; it proves, beyond doubt, that the organisers of these Societies are dangerous and treasonable rogues, harbouring evil designs against the Dynasty, especially when they claim to be descendants of the Mings. They have, however, collected an enormous following, and should be dealt with as rebels, which they undoubtedly are.

“Last year, in the 11th Moon, 13th day, your Majesties granted me audience, and I reported the above facts, adding that the alleged anti-Christian propaganda of these Boxers was merely a pretext, and that their treasonable aims justified their immediate extermination. Subsequently Yüan Shih-k’ai, then newly appointed Governor, did his duty in suppressing the movement, so that several Boxer societies were broken up or destroyed. Once more peace reigned, so that the gentry and literati of the province, who for a time had believed in the Boxers and had accused the Governor of ruthless methods, were forced to admit that he had acted rightly and that they had been misled. Who could have supposed that the suppression of the movement in Shantung would be followed by its spreading and increasing in Chihli? The Viceroy (Yü Lu) must undoubtedly be blamed for this; he has allowed the canker to grow without check, playing the part of an indifferent spectator. Latterly, after these Boxers had murdered the Magistrate of Lai Shui, the Viceroy appeared to realise, for the first time, that their professed campaign against the Christians was merely a cloak for rebellion. He telegraphed, therefore, recommending their suppression. But there were differences of opinion at Court, and nothing was decided. Other districts became speedily affected with the evil, and for no other reason than that the rebels of Lai Shui had escaped without punishment. They grew bolder and bolder, until finally they tore up the railway lines and destroyed the telegraphs throughout the province, although both are Government property, upon which vast sums of the public money have been spent. Deplorable, indeed, that one morning’s work of rebels should witness the loss of millions of taels! They have also destroyed many Christian churches, for which the State will have to pay heavily hereafter.

“I humbly submit that this fierce outbreak of the Boxers against Christians is a matter of deadly peril to the Empire. By our laws, Magistrates are expected to administer justice without fear or favour; there is no distinction to be made between Christians and non-Christians, and it should certainly not be permitted that evil-doers should pursue their ends on any plea of religious zeal. And now, within the last few days, these rebels have even dared to invade our Capital, and their armed mob profanes the very chariot wheels of the Throne. Arson and murder are their work; they have burned the churches and attacked the Legations. Your Majesties’ Palace is shaking to its foundations, as by an earthquake. For such deeds there is no penalty but death; clemency in such a case were folly.

“On the 20th day of this Moon they set fire to more than a thousand shops outside the Main Gate, so that the wealthiest quarter of the city is now a hideous desert. Nine out of every ten inhabitants are fleeing from the city, and hardly a shop remains open. There is no money forthcoming from the provinces wherewith to pay our troops. Words cannot describe the utter desolation prevailing on all sides. In allowing these rioters to stalk through the land, breathing slaughter and plunder, we were making ourselves a byeword and an object of derision throughout the civilised world. The ministers of the foreign Powers, alarmed by the Boxers’ wild threats, have been compelled, by the necessities of their situation, to bring up Legation guards, but these only amount to four hundred and ten men altogether, and the object of their coming is clearly not offensive, but defensive only.

“On the 16th day (June 12th) Ch’i Hsiu and other members of the Grand Council were instructed by your Majesty (the Empress Dowager) to have compliments and expressions of sympathy sent to the foreign Ministers and their wives. This act of benevolent courtesy was gratefully recognised. They were fully alive to the bountiful measure of protection thus extended to them in your Majesty’s clemency; it penetrated to their very marrow. The Ministers then informed your Majesty that their Legation guards have been brought up solely as a precaution, and they have no thought of interfering in the domestic affairs of our country. They give the most solemn assurances, invoking the sun as witness and pointing to heaven, that, so soon as these disturbances are at an end, their troops will immediately be withdrawn. There is no reason to suspect them of any treachery or evil purpose. It should be our immediate aim to rid the Tartar city of the presence of these rebels, in order not only to reassure the minds of our own people, but to relieve the anxiety of the foreigners. If we do this, there will be no further talk of the foreign Powers sending more troops; if we crush the rebellion ourselves, there would be no need of foreign co-operation to that end. Surely the wisdom of this course is self-evident.” (Here follow certain suggestions for Police and military measures.)

“If it be objected that the destruction of so vast a number of Boxers is impracticable, I venture to reply that the present situation has been entirely brought about by a few ringleaders, and that the majority of the Boxers are simply ignorant peasantry. If, on the other hand, it be maintained that these rebels are in possession of magical secrets which confer upon them supernatural powers, I would venture to remind your Majesties of Chang Chio’s ‘Yellow Turban’ sect, which flourished towards the end of the Han Dynasty, and of the historic case of P’an Kuang, the ‘head-breaker’ of the Yuan Dynasty; both of these men, though possessing supernatural powers, nevertheless lost their heads. One of the principal reasons for the alleged invulnerability of these Boxer bandits is that in the day time they lie low; it is at night that they display activity, and call upon their deities to succour them. All the magical arts which they profess—their incantations, charms, invocations of spirits, table-turning, and the ‘five demon’ trick—are merely cheap devices of useless sorcery. Let them encounter any lethal weapon, let them be struck by cannon or rifle bullet, and they fall dead upon the spot. Can it be seriously maintained that they are really safe from bullets when it is notorious that a large number of them were shot by the foreign troops on the 17th day of this Moon (June 13th), when they began their attack upon the Legations? Only yesterday over forty Boxers were shot dead in Shuai Fu lane,[99] and their altar was destroyed.

“The population of Peking numbers close upon a million, and, with the exception of these wretched mobs or Boxers, they are all loyal to the Throne and law-abiding. The capture and execution of these Boxers would vindicate the majesty of the law, and tranquillise the minds of the people; the courage of the rebels would wane as that of the respectable community increased. Once rid Peking of the Boxers, and the Legations will gratefully recognise the efficacy of your Majesty’s divine protection, and their feelings towards you will be as towards a second Creator. The reinforcements of the foreign guards could then reasonably be stopped, or withdrawn, at an early date, there being clearly no further necessity for their presence.