The Absurdity of 'Qing Dramas' for a Decade--continued

The alternative name for Qing dramas is 'pigtail' dramas. As it is universally known that all men during Qing Dynasty were obliged to shave their front heads and braid the hair at back into a long pigtail like the Manchus. The slogan for changing hairstyle when the Manchus first entered China was 'Keep your hair and lose your head, or keep your head and shave your hair'. The traditional Chinese ideology held that every string of hair was given by parents and should not be hurt. However, the Manchu invaders violently imposed their dressing and hairstyle codes, massacring thousands of Han ethnic Chinese if this rule were not observed.

Such a fact is well-known, yet it was until recently when I get to know the evolution of the pigtail. I was so surprised to find out how ugly the pigtail was during the early stage of Qing Dynasty.(See picture) Moreover, it is said that the style in the first picture was kept until the end of Qianlong era (1796)! After Qianlong, the style evolved into what is shown in the second picture, more hair was allowed to be kept but was still inelegant. Only during the late Qing Dynasty did the most well-known type in the third drawing became popular, which allowed men to keep half of their hair at back.

However, all the Qing dramas featuring on the early and middle eras lied to the audience by letting the actors only wear the pigtails of late Qing Dynasty. Perhaps because if the real fact was shown, the audience would either laugh their tears out or be irritated by such repressive policies imposed by Manchu rulers.

Sadly, I also bumped into a Qing drama made in 2006 which tells the story of an ordinary man living between Ming and Qing Dynasties and was obliged to shave his head when the new rulers arrived. The drama was more than offensive as well as reactionary for Han ethnic Chinese, for it beautified Manchu invaders and distorted the heroic rebellion by Han Chinese against their oppressive rulers. The drama condemned the latter as 'bandits', justifying the massacre done by the Manchu army.

Some say that Han ethnic Chinese have become used to being invaded and tamed by periphery ethnics. I would say that China is a multi-ehnic country and that every ethnic group contributes their culture to the melting port of Chinese culture. That's why we have adopted the Manchu dressing code as the standard Chinese dressing code nowadays. However, concerning pigtails, such a drama is far to much for it really hurts the basic dignity of being a Han ethnic Chinese. We can acquiesce in glorifying Kangxi and Yongzheng Emperors, but we cannot remain silent on such an issue!

Now I consider that if Qing Dynasty could last, it might be possible that they would finally get rid of pigtails according to the evolution depicted in the picture. Guangxu Emperor once might have considered abolishing the pigtail during the Hundred Days' Reform, however, he was obliged to give up this idea due to too much opposition from the conservatives. It was equally sad, however, that the revolutionaries at that time also wrongly condemned Guangxu Emperor as being the enemy of the whole Han ethnic by embodying narrow Han nationalism. The fact was that, though being a Manchu himself, Guangxu Emperor believed in the equality of all ethnics in the Chinese realm. He went as far as to deprive the priviledges enjoyed by Manchu nobles during the reform. Guangxu definitely considered himself as a Chinese first and Manchu second, it is said that he never managed to learn the Manchu language well while being quite accomplished in Chinese literature. But still, Manchus like Guangxu Emperor were rare, and that is why he was sent to his doom mainly by people from his own ethnic---conservative Manchu nobles. But due to his Manchu blood, he was also repelled by a certain number of Han Chinese, poor him!

The Absurdity of 'Qing Dramas' for a Decade

poster for 'The Yongzheng Dynasty (1999) '

I remeber myself growing up watching the so-called 'Qing dramas', which means the TV dramas set in the era of the Qing Dynasty. They were extremely popular after the 90s till the first several years of the new century. I used to watch everything ranging from the most ridiculous 'Princess Huanzhu' (the story of how a slum girl became the adoptive daughter of Qianlong Emperor and was in the end married to his son) to the so-called true historical drama 'Kangxi Dynasty'. However, as my intellectual consciousness grew, I gradually realized how poisonous these dramas can be, for no matter whether they were 'serious historical dramas' or simply vulgar comedies, they all sanctified authoritarianism by blindly worshipping those 'sage' emperors. Here is an excerpt on Qing dramas from an article on New York Times:

The Confucian idea of sage leadership is particularly relevant in this regard, and Chinese television has not missed the point. A wave of dramatic serials featuring the legendary figures of China's bygone dynasty glory began to dominate dramatic programming in Chinese primetime television in the mid-1990s. The trend climaxed in the late 1990s and the early 2000s with saturation programming of palace dramas set in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), what Chinese critics termed "Qing drama." Dramas set in the Qing palace had also appeared in the late 1980s, with shows like The Last Emperor (1988) and Kang-Liang Reformation (1989) earning popular and critical acclaim. Interestingly, though, while the Qing dramas of the 1980s focused on the corruption and cultural decline of the late Qing, the Qing dramas of the 1990s and the early 2000s, what I term the revisionist Qing dramas, shifted gears, paying tribute to the sage leaders of early Qing who oversaw a period of prosperity and national unity.

Revisionist Qing dramas -- Yongzheng Dynasty (1999), Kangxi Dynasty (2001), and Qianlong Dynasty (2003), among others -- feature the emperors and patriots who struggled against internal corruption and social injustice as well as external threats, feeding the public's fantasy for a time of heroic figures and events. Mesmerized by the palace politics and nostalgic for an era of upright rule that never was, the Chinese public genuinely welcomed such dramas, delighting in their contemporary relevance. Subjects and themes that would invite censorship in contemporary settings -- government corruption, political infighting and power struggles, moral cynicism, and public unrest, etc. -- get a primetime airing in revisionist Qing dramas.

Leading the charge of the revisionist Qing drama is the 44 episode primetime blockbuster Yongzheng Dynasty (YD). YD features one of the most controversial Qing Dynasty emperors, Yongzheng. In portraying a moralistic emperor who forcefully fends off his political opponents, attacks corruption, and fights to protect ordinary people, the show covertly insinuates a critical commentary on the state of affairs in contemporary Chinese society and politics. Yongzheng is deftly made to epitomize integrity and inner strength in a leader. In an era of rampant political corruption and moral cynicism, Yongzheng naturally appeals to Chinese audiences. To some, Yongzheng is suggestive of former Chinese Premier, Zhu Rongji, whose efforts to curb government corruption have earned him a reputation as a contemporary graft-buster. Zhu himself was reportedly an ardent follower of the show.

Sarcastically, an anti-authoritarian TV drama 'Towards the Republic' in 2003 was soon banned after its debut on the channel. Even in its only broadcast, its final scene, the speech by China's first republican President Dr. Sun Yat-sen on the ideals of a democratic republic was deleted.

However, I would not oppose but rather support shooting Qing dramas on Guangxu Emperor as well as his era. For his personal story as well as his era tells the horrors of authoritarianism and inspires hope for a more democratic government and liberal society. But interestingly, the Chinese media never featured Guangxu as the protagonist of a drama. Instead, he has often been depicted as a weak and incapable secondary figure. Such a depiction is strongly linked with the Chinese mentality of worshiping power while alienating those who do not have power. Sometimes, I really worry that how a civil society based on rule of law could develop if the young generation continue to enjoy watching those 'emperor worship' dramas.

Indeed, I agree that Kangxi Emperor was a sage ruler, but despite his own wisdom, the system of government was bad, as it had no checks and balances against possible tyranny. Most Chinese people nowadays are still on the thinking level of desiring a 'sage ruler' , which can partly explain why they mock at the 'stupid' French people electing such a 'terrible' president as Nicolas Sarkozy and then regretting the decision by waging nation-wide strikes. Being a Chinese myself, I cannot argue with them but only bury these words in my heart: At least they have the right to elect a president while we do not, at least they can wage strikes while we are never allowed.

Guangxu Emperor in 'Two Years in the Forbidden City'

'Two Years in the Forbidden City' is an authentic account of the Chinese imperial life in last several years of Qing Dynasty. It was written by Princess Der ling (1885~1943), elder daughter of the Chinese ambassador to France Yugeng. She served as private secretary of Empress Dowager Cixi for from 1903 to 1905, helping her with diplomatic affaires. Brought up in Japan and European countries, Princess Der ling and her sister Rong ling received a western education. She spoke English, French, Spanish and Japanese and used to learn western dancing from Isabella Duncan. During her two years' stay in the Imperial City, young Der ling observed the people around her as well as the customs of her age-old motherland carefully. Her writings have provided us with an interesting insight into life at the Qing Imperial Court.

Among all the people she had encountered, Der ling showed a particular empathy towards Emperor Guangxu, as she recounted the following:

I saw Emperor Kwang Hsu (Guangxu) every morning, and whenever I had the time he would always ask some words in English. I was surprised to learn that he knew quite a bit of spelling, too. I found him extremely interesting. He had very expressive eyes. He was entirely a different person when he was alone with us. He would laugh and tease, but as soon as he was in the presence of Her Majesty he would look serious, and as if he were worried to death. At times he looked stupid. I was told by a great many people who were presented to him at the different audiences that he did not look intelligent, and that he would never talk. I knew better, for I used to see him every day. I was at the Court long enough to study him, and found him to be one of the most intelligent men in China. He was a capital diplomat and had wonderful brains, only he had no opportunities. Now a great many people have asked me the same question, if our Emperor Kwang Hsu had any courage or brains. Of course outsiders have no idea how strict the law is, and the way we have to respect our parents. He was compelled to give up a great many things on account of the law. I have had many long talks with him and found him a wise man, with any amount of patience. His life was not a happy one; ever since his childhood his health was poor. He told me that he never had studied literature very much, but it came natural to him. He was a born musician and could play any instrument without studying. He loved the piano, and was always after me to teach him. There were several beautiful grand pianos at the Audience Hall. He had very good taste for foreign music, too. I taught him some easy waltzes and he kept the time beautifully. I found him a good companion and a good friend, and he confided in me and told me his troubles and sorrows. We talked a great deal about western civilization, and I was surprised to learn he was so well informed in everything. He used to tell me, time after time, his ambitions for the welfare of his country. He loved his people and would have done anything to help them whenever there was famine or flood. I noticed that he felt for them. I know that some eunuchs gave false reports about his character, -- that he was cruel, etc. I had heard the same thing before I went to the Palace. He was kind to the eunuchs, but there was always that distinction between the master and the servants. He would never allow the eunuchs to speak to him unless they were spoken to, and never listened to any kind of gossip. I lived there long enough, and I know just what kind of cruel people those eunuchs were. They had no respect for their master. They came from the lowest class of people from the country, had no education, no morals, no feeling for anything, not even between themselves. The outside world has heard so many things against His Majesty, the Emperor Kwang Hsu's character, but I assure my readers that these things were told by the eunuchs to their families, and of course they always stretched it out as far as possible in order to make the conversation interesting. The majority of the people living in Peking get all kinds of information through them. I have witnessed the same thing many a time during my stay at the Palace.

--- Chapter 9, Two Years in the Forbidden City, by Princess Der ling

Der ling finally left the imperial palace partly because Cixi wanted her to go, partly because she realized that it was impossible for her to persuade Cixi to implement real reform in China. Being a member of the Manchu noble clan, it is not hard to understand that Der ling personally regretted for the fall of Qing dynasty, as she went so far as to claim later in her life that 'If Guangxu Emperor were able to implement his reforms, I believe that China would still be a strong Empire by now'. However, history wouldn't be allowed for a second chance.

After leaving the Imperial court in 1905, Princess Der ling married an American dentist and moved to live in the US. She had two sons but they both died young. Afterwards, she might have divorced with her husband. Princess Der ling died in 1943 in Canada, after being mortally injured in a car accident.

'Two Years in the Forbidden City' is Der ling's most authentic work while the others were more or less forged.

Reflections on the 1948 film 'Sorrows of the Forbidden City'

Ok, I managed to watch the 1948 film 'Sorrows of the Forbidden City' online. It was quite a good adaptation considering the fact that it was made 60 years ago. The actress in leading role, Consort Zhen, was played by Zhouxuan, one of the most famous Chinese actresses and singers of all times. Despite the simplified settings and plot, the only defect I could find in the film is that it beautified the character of Consort Zhen in boasting her as a sort of national hero. She was shown more determined and patriotic than her husband, Guangxu Emperor. That in the end, she declined the offer by Empress Dowager Cixi of taking her with them to flee and finally jumped into the well herself by Cixi's order. Such a scene is really artificial. From historical records and my own intepretations, Consort Zhen, though a worthy woman in terms of her independent and amiable character, is far from being perfection and even further from a 'national martyr' like Qiujin (a feminist as well as revolutionist during Guangxu era) as being depicted in the film. In history, Consort Zhen also used to practice corruption by selling official posts to illiterate men only to earn her own spendings, which much resembled what her mother-in-law Cixi did, though on a much smaller scale. However, she shouldn't be blamed too much on this issue as the whole court was thoroughly corrupt. (for instance, Guangxu Emperor also had his own bank account in order bribe eunuchs in court for sending them on errands)

The most authoritative version of death of Consort Zhen goes like this: Before fleeing Beijing in 1900, Cixi ordered Consort Zhen, who had been confined in the cold palace for two years come to see her. By that time, she already had the intention of killing her. Cixi said to Consort Zhen, 'We are getting out of Beijing to take refugee for some time as the foreign devils are coming. However, it's not convenient for you to come with us as you are young and pretty, thus likely to be raped by foreign soldiers and humiliate the ancestors.' Consort Zhen knew that Cixi want her to die. She defied by saying, 'Your Majesty can go but the Emperor should stay in Beijing to negotiate with the foreigners.' Cixi became irritated and ordered eunuchs to push her into well. On her way to death, Consort Zhen still yelled, 'I'm not willing to die! The Emperor didn't order me to die! ' Before being thrown into the deep, small well, it is said that her last words were, ' We shall meet again in the other world, YOUR MAJESTY(Guangxu Emperor)! ' This version, though less patriotic, is undoubtedly more real and thus more touching.

But I like this film as a whole. It depicted the Boxers' Rebellion objectively, condemning it as a mob uprising based on extremist nationalism and superstitions, then used by Machiavellian politicians. For the Communist depiction today still glorifies the massacre done by the Boxers.(The main reason why the film was banned soon after the founding of PRC) I also like the assumption that Cixi lured Guangxu Emperor onto the carriage, cheating him that Consort Zhen had been persuaded to go with them. For many adaptations today show that Guangxu was present when his beloved concubine was forced to die, leaving an impression on the audience that the Emperor was a coward. In history, Guangxu Emperor learnt of the death of Consort Zhen only on his way to Xi'an, which devastated him immediately.

We should really remake this wonderful story for the new generation as well as audience around the world. Chinese films do not lack good materials, for China had such a long history full of intriguing stories. The only thing the directors and screenplay writers have to do is to discover and interpret them in a proper way.

The Tragic Life of Guangxu Emperor----Part V.'I can't die before HIM!'

Guangxu Emperor's Mausoleum, Hebei Province

Empress Dowager Cixi managed to return to Beijing in 1901 after truce negotiated by Li
Hongzhang came into effect. However, the cost for peace was enormous: not only did China have to pay the largest amount of money ever since the first Anglo-Chinese War, but much of her sovereignty had to be ceded to foreigners, while giving more prerogatives to the Concessions, even foreign troops were allowed to settle in Beijing. The Qing government became bankrupt after the invasion of the Eight Allies, since then, more and more people began to sympathize with the revolutionists, seeking to overthrow the Qing Dynasty altogether.

However, foreign powers couldn’t agree on the issue of who would be the sovereign of China. As Cixi had always been allying with the Russians, Russia and France supported the Emrpess Dowager. Japan and Britain, however, supported Guangxu Emperor. Finally, they made a compromise on this issue: Guangxu Emperor would always retain his nominal title of the Emperor of China, while Empress Dowager Cixi still held on to power.

Cixi seemed to become another person for the last 7 years of her life. She became open-minded to the world and friendly to foreigners. She would accept modern technologies such as photography and took dozens of photos of herself; she would receive wives of foreign ambassadors in the Summer Palace and exchange gifts with them; she would ask the American portrait painter Ms. Carl to paint an oil painting of herself; she would invite Princess Derling and Rongling, daughters of Chinese ambassador to France to come to live in the Summer Palace for two years to be her sectaries during meetings with foreigners. Above all, the conservative Cixi became a reformist by issuing reform measures even more radical than those once promulgated by her nephew! For instance, she ordered to abolish the imperial exams altogether in 1905 and she even set a calendar that China would become a constitutional monarchy after 12 years. We cannot tell the reason for Cixi to reform was out of her sincere will or was merely seeking a way to preserve her power, however, even if it were the former reason, it was already too late as the Chinese people no longer had faith in the Qing government since 1900.

As for Guangxu Emperor, the only thing he could do was to wait: wait for his aunt to die before him so that he could once again resume power. The only thing Cixi wouldn’t change was that she would always remain hostile to Guangxu, seeking means to abuse him mentally and physically from time to time. She still kept him in Yingtai and often searched through all his personal belongings, making sure that he was not plotting against her. Guangxu Emperor, on the other hand, remained modest and humble in the presence of his aunt. However, he was also preparing to regain power for a future day, no matter how vague this day seemed to be. He eagerly continued his study in the English language and ordered new political and economical books to read, most of which concerning constitutionalism. In his spare time, he would mend clocks, watches and music boxes as a way to release himself from all the miseries of life.

Guangxu Emperor was delighted when Princess Der ling and Princess Rongling became guests of the imperial family. In order to show her generosity and kindness in front of foreigners, Cixi allowed Guangxu to move to live in the Summer Palace during the stay of the two daughters of the ambassador. She would also permit Princess Der ling to teach Guangxu Emperor English. During private conversations, Guangxu would also confide some of his wishes, both concerning himself and China, to Princess Der ling. He expressed that he wished to continue with his reform and make China a more powerful country (while expressing the doubt if Cixi had the real intent to reform), however, in the meantime, he sighed that ‘ real reform in China could be still a long time from now’ . Guangxu also didn’t hide his personal wishes that he wished to Princess Derling (1885~1944) in a European outfit travel around Europe and the US, to see how the people of western countries work and live. Princess Der ling, on the other hand, showed great empathy towards the Emperor and in her 1936 novel ‘Son of Heaven’, she would praise Guangxu even with some exaggerations. Some have even speculated that the princess might had fallen in love with the Emperor, but that his constraint status impeded a love affaire. (Der ling would later

marry an American dentist).

After Princess Der ling left (some say expelled by Cixi) the Summer Palace, little was known about Guangxu Emperor until 1908, when he departed his miserable life on the 14th of November at the 37th year of his life, merely 20 hours before the death of his life-long rival Cixi. Guangxu had always been sick (he carried all kinds of sickness too numerous to be named here, in one word, though beautiful and elegant, he was frail in constitution) while Cixi had remained relatively healthy, making people believe for a long time that such an event was merely a coincidence. Referring to Qing official records, experts were once made to believe that Guangxu Emperor died of tuberculosis (for he always had chronic tuberculosis).

However, there have always been unofficial records saying that Guangxu Emperor had been poisoned to death. The 2008 scientific report justified this, but the assassinator remains unknown. The three main suspects are Empress Dowager Cixi; Yuan Shikai, who once betrayed Guangxu and the court eunuch Li Lianying, who used to abuse the Emperor during his youth.
The first suspect that can be excluded is Li Lianying, as it is a cliché to think that Li had always been bad to Guangxu Emperor. In fact, after 1900, Li had begun to reconcile with Guangxu by concrete actions, preparing in case that he outlived Cixi and resumed power. While Yuan Shikai and Empress Dowager Cixi both had motives enough to commit the regicide.

Some people suggest that it could not have been Cixi for she had not enough motives to murder her nephew: She was dying, how would she care for things after her death? Again, we have to consider her motives not for practical reasons like what Yuan Shikai had (he would very much likely be executed once Guangxu resumed power), but from her personality and beliefs (or rather superstitions).

The reason why I insist that Cixi was the main sponsor behind this plot was simple enough: The fact that Guangxu was poisoned to death had been covered for a whole century, why? Because the imperial medical records had been cheating historians, indicating that Guangxu’s health was worsening day by day before his death.

However, we can infer that those records were fake ones forged by imperial physicians if Guangxu really died of arsenic poisoning. Who had the power to order physicians to cheat? Only the Empress Dowager did. Guangxu Emperor could not have been murdered by anyone else without a trace in history book other than his ruthless aunt. Additionally, Cixi lived very close to Guangxu at that time in order to supervise his every action (both died in Zhongnanhai), she knew the best of his daily life, no one else could reach the Emperor without her consent.
It is said that, about ten days before Guangxu Emperor’s death, when Cixi fell very sick, someone who had been hostile to Guangxu told Cixi, ‘The Emperor seems happy after hearing that Your Majesty is sick.’ Cixi yelled ferociously, ‘I can’t die before HIM!’ After hearing the news of the Emperor’s death, she was reported to have ‘looked relieved rather than saddened’.
Of course, the truth could be that some conservative ministers and nobles (maybe including Yuan Shikai) together persuaded Cixi to eliminate Guangxu before she herself died, a situation much similar to the ones before Cixi’s repression of Hundred Days’ Reform and her determination of deposing Guangxu Emperor.

But from Cixi’s inner heart and mind, what could have led a woman to murder the son of her own sister, a boy meant to substitute her lost son and she had seen grown up to be a man? The easy answer, of course, is a personality distorted and corrupted by the desire for power.
But there are several points worth to be looked into. Firstly, Cixi once said, ‘Whoever makes me unhappy for a day will spend the rest of his life in misery.’ And she had also always considered herself as being the most powerful woman above all men, which could be reflected through the sculpture on her tombstone, on which a phoenix is above two dragons. Her nephew Guangxu once Death of Guangxu and Cixi on cover of ‘Le Petit Journal’ disobeyed her will and disgraced her in front of almost the whole civilized world (in her point of view), plus the fact the she considered herself ever superior than Guangxu, so that she would consider the idea of Guangxu Emperor resuming his power and doing whatever he wished after her death as outrageous. She would make every effort to prevent such a thing from happening, even it would mean murdering the son of her own sister.

Another factor that contributed to Cixi’s motive could be even more absurd seeing from a modern point of view: Guangxu Emperor failed to produce an heir. Cixi’s own son Tongzhi Emperor, whom she loved and almost spoiled, died young before producing an heir. In accordance with Confucian values, one of the most indecent things is to die without a male heir. Guangxu, who was Tongzhi’s cousin, could not succeed Tongzhi but rather succeeded the Emperor before him (Cixi’s husband). When Guangxu was made Emperor at 3 years old, an edict was promulgated by Cixi that the first male heir to throne produced by Guangxu Emperor should be the ‘son’ and successor of Tongzhi. So it could be perceived from the beginning that there would be no Emperor to succeed Guangxu and his aunt Cixi didn’t care about it. I believe that Guangxu Emperor would end up being better if only he were able to produce a male heir to succeed Cixi’s son. Slowly discovering that her nephew seemed to be sterile, Cixi became more and more resentful towards him. Indeed, one of the excuses that she held Guangxu under house arrest was that he could not produce an heir.

'Sorrows of the Forbidden City' (1948)

I happenned to bump into a film called 'Qing Gong Mi Shi' (Sorrows of the Forbidden City) made in 1948, one year before the founding of the PRC. It recounts the story I have stated so far: Guangxu Emperor made up his mind to reform after the humiliation of Sino-Japanese War. But the reform was crushed by Cixi and her desciples. The film ends when the Eight-Allied forces invading Beijing, and Consort Zhen ordered to be pushed into the well while Cixi escaped from the capital, taking the Emperor with her.

It is said to be the first Qing court film ever made in China and received good feedback after it was shown in cinemas. It was also shown in foreign countries like Japan and the US. However, not long after the founding of PRC, Jiangqing, Mao's wife, said that it was a bad film that promotes the values of a traitor to one's country, instead of those of a patriotic one. Mao agreed and commented in his essay why this film is bad: First, it distorts the glorious patriotic figure of the Boxers, who are supposed to represent the power of the people according to Mao; Second, it sanctifies the reformists, notably Guangxu Emperor, who in essence still belonged to the ruling class and thus exploited the people, according to Marxist-Leninist values. Soon, this film was banned in mainland China.

During the Cultural Revolution, 'Sorrows of the Forbidden City' was condemned along with many other early films. My father told me that they were asked to watch this film in order to write an essay to condemn it. However, they all used the condemnation as an excuse to enjoy those films, as there was nothing worthy to be watched made during the Cultural Revolution. Liu Shao Qi, the Chinese president who was persecuted to death in that movement, was accused of praising this film as a patriotic one.

The Tragic Life of Guangxu Emperor---Part V 'Reign of Terro' and aftermath

It is said that Consort Zhen was pushed into this well...

The two years between 1898 and 1900 in China can be defined as a period of the ‘reign of terror’. For not only did Cixi staged several purges which executed, imprisoned and expelled nearly all the reform-minded officials in China, but that she and her supporters also plotted to force Guangxu Emperor abdicate the throne, and then probably, simply make him ‘perish’ in the palace. For some time, the outside world did not know whether the Emperor was still alive, for some, including several foreign embassies to China, believed that he had already died, either from disease or from assassination.
Fearing that the Empress Dowager would implement anti-foreign measures, foreign embassies in China urged the Chinese government to publish an authentic report on Guangxu Emperor. When this failed, they demanded to do a physical examination on the Emperor to see how sick he really was. Cixi had to acquiesce this time. Physicians from several foreign countries, including a French doctor, were permitted to check the physical condition of Guangxu Emperor. The results were both within and out of expectation: Not only was the Emperor alive, but that he had no serious illness (though not totally healthy either, as the Emperor had always had a weak constitution since childhood). Several foreign powers, especially Japan and Britain, began to urge that Guangxu Emperor should come back to the throne.
But Cixi had made up her mind this time that she would no longer put up with her nephew. Some Manchu imperial members had been persuading her to replace Guangxu Emperor for some time. The most vicious among them was Prince Duan, who managed to win Cixi’s heart by flattery and made his own son Pujuan, a playboy much like Prince Harry, the successor to the throne after Guangxu’s abdication. (Another convenience for Cixi to appoint a new Emperor was that Guangxu had produced no issues). However, this announcement aroused not only domestic, but also international resentment. Many entrepreneurs and intellectuals appealed that the current Emperor should not be deposed and that they were willing to die with the Emperor. These appeals, though useless, showed the popularity of Guangxu Emperor to Cixi, which not only irritated her but also made her aware that Guangxu was indeed a threat to her authority that should be eliminated.
However, Cixi could not ignore foreign resistance against her decision, thus she found herself not able to depose Guangxu Emperor immediately as she wanted. While she was wondering how to solve this problem, Prince Duan presented her with a devastating idea: sponsor the Boxers’ Rebellion to get rid of the ‘foreign devils’ once and for all.
I have mentioned in the earlier stage that Empress Dowager Cixi, though a shrewd woman in Machiavellian politics, was by no means intelligent or apprehensive. She was so drunk with power that she would sacrifice everything else to grip on to it. This time, she acted like a desperate political gambler, though already had experienced the foreign power herself in 1860 when the Anglo-French allies sacked Beijing, she was still determined to gamble at all costs. Thus she approved of the suggestion by Prince Duan and ‘The Boxers’, which was originally an anti-foreign and anti-government rebellion, turned into an anti-foreign but pro-government one overnight.
Based on extreme nationalism and dim superstitions, and used by malicious politicians, the Boxers sought to destroy whatever was foreign and modern. Their premier target was western missionaries, however, they ended up killing far more Chinese Christians than foreigners. They also set other standards for the so-called ‘foreign devils’ friends’: the Chinese who could speak foreign languages, who owned foreign appliances and who did chores for foreigners. They also denounced the Hundred Days’ Reform and condemned Kang Youwei as the enemy of the whole Chinese nation. On one occasion, Prince Duan even led a mob of Boxers to surround the house occupied by Guangxu Emperor, with an intention to assassinate him, declaring the Guangxu was ‘foreign devil’s friend’ and the head of Christianity in China. (of which scene I’ve found strikingly similar with the scene of Marie-Antoinette being surrounded by a mob led by Duke of Orleans during the French Revolution. Mobs and political opportunists are more or less the same anytime and anywhere).
The most ferocious wave of the Rebellion came when the Boxers set fire on the Belgian, Austrian, Dutch and Italian embassies, supported by the Empress Dowager. Foreign powers were irritated and began to dispatch troops to China. Again, Cixi had to gamble. However, in order to show that she really had no other way, she opened a conference to discuss this urgent issue. Surprisingly, Guangxu was allowed to participate in the conference.
Several Manchu nobles led by Prince Duan urged Cixi to declare war on the foreign powers. In order to let her make up her mind, Prince Duan even forged a foreign report in which it said that the foreign troops would force Cixi off her throne and return power to Guangxu. Cixi became immediately in favor of war after knowing this. However, Guangxu Emperor, unaware of his own dangerous position, spoke indignantly against war with the foreign powers, he addressed that his own life didn’t matter, but once the battle were on, millions of innocent Chinese people would lose their lives as the Boxers were no adversaries against the well-equipped foreign troops. He stated his own opinion that it would be best to first negotiate, and if that didn’t work, they could remove the centre government from Beijing. Though having nothing to say against Guangxu, Cixi certainly could not approve him. Guangxu Emperor felt desperate, though being in the real status of a prisoner, he made every hopeless effort to restore peace in China. He would write letters to several foreign heads of states, including the Japanese Emperor Meiji and US President McKinley, to beg them not to wage war on China. At most times, those foreign leaders would only reply that China should retreat its troops first and stop being hostile to foreigners, as Guangxu had no power, he certainly could not realize the conditions required.
Empress Dowager Cixi would soon pay her price for waging war on 11 foreign countries simultaneously. The Eight-Allied Forces, led by Britain and Germany, sacked Tianjin in July, 1900 and were approaching Beijing on Aug. 14th. Cixi could do nothing else but flee. Guangxu Emperor intended to stay in Beijing to negotiate with the foreign powers, but Cixi insisted on that he flee with her, fearing that he would regain power with support of foreigners. Before running away from Beijing, Cixi didn’t forget to execute Consort Zhen by ordering to push her into a well in the Forbidden City, after two years of her confinement in a cold palace, without seeing the Emperor but on some occasions when Guangxu fled Yintai at night to see her. (However, the death of Consort Zhen was controversial, for the official record was ambiguous while some believed that Consort Zhen jumped into the well herself. But what makes the above version believable was that before dying, Consort Zhen protested against Cixi that the Emperor should remain in Beijing to negotiate with foreign powers, corresponding to what the Emperor thought himself).
It was only some time after, perhaps on their way west to Xi’an, when Guangxu Emperor learnt of the death of the love of his life. The terrible news broke his heart, nearly crushed his mind, but didn’t shatter his faith. Until the very last moment of his life, despite his ‘forced confessions’ in the presence of Cixi, he would sincerely believe what he had done was right and beneficial to his country and people.

The Tragic Life of Guangxu Emperor---Part IV. Hundred Days Reform

Kang Youwei Empress Dowager Cixi Liang Qichao

For some time after the signing of ‘Treaty of Shimonoseki’, Guangxu Emperor sank into a period of deep depression. Just as he said, ‘People’s faith in the government has all gone with the ceding of Taiwan, how can I still be qualified to be the sovereign of China?’ Guangxu Emperor wanted change in the old system, however, he didn’t know where to start and how to get rid of the fetters set by Empress Dowager Cixi, his omnipresent aunt. While he was pondering, a flow of reformist thoughts among civilian intellectuals gave him inspiration.
Kang Youwei was the leading Confucian intellectual in this movement of thoughts. He not only wrote a treatise in which he declared that the real Confucian philosophy is in favor of reforms, but also established the ‘Society for the Study of National Strengthening’. Kang was a scholar in favor of the rights of civilians and constitutional monarchy. He believed that China could only be saved if she learnt from the model of Japan. After knowing of the ceding of Taiwan, he waged the ‘Gongche Shangshu Movement’ among intellectuals, presenting long letters of ways to reform China to Guangxu Emperor. However, the first four letters had been blocked by the conservative bureaucrats and only the fifth letter managed to reach the Emperor, again, through the efforts of Weng Tonghe.
The role of Weng in the reform movement was tricky. Indeed, Weng had always been the leader of the Emperor’s party, however, he might not necessarily be a man with reformist thoughts. In fact, some evidence shows that there was a considerable tension and disagreement between Weng and Kang Youwei. But despite this, Weng still recommended Kang Youwei to Guangxu for the interest of the Emperor’s party. Unfortunately, Weng was dismissed by Cixi the next day after the formal promulgation of ‘Hundred Days’ Reform’, with a clear intent to weaken the power of Guangxu Emperor.
Guangxu Emperor read and studies carefully the documents presented by Kang Youwei, notably ‘The Reform of Japan’ and ‘The Partition of Poland’. Apparently, Kang would like the Emperor to know that if China would not reform like Japan did, she would be partitioned by colonial powers like Poland by Prussia and Russia. Guangxu Emperor was profoundly affected and his determination to reform strengthened.
It is not correct to say, however, that Guangxu Emperor promulgated the edict to reform China on June 11th, 1898 merely out of youth impulse. Guangxu had always been an open-minded man, indeed, Philip. W. Sergeant, author of ‘The Great Empress Dowager of China’ described Guangxu as an iconoclast and perhaps the most pro-foreign among his Manchu and Han peers. This description is partially right and partially wrong. Guangxu was pro-foreign in aspects such as that he encouraged missionaries to preach in China not long after his formal reign, addressing that there is no difference between various kinds of teachings on love and charity, whether it be Confucian or Christian. (He himself studies the Bible for some time). However, the wrong side of this statement was that Guangxu did all these merely for the well-being of the Chinese people. He considered being open-minded and doing good to his people as coherent rather than contradictory notions.
Kang also recommended his disciples to Guangxu to assist him with the reform, most notably Liang Qichao, another important thinker in late Qing Dynasty. Though Liang was never given any important post in the reform, he was another spiritual leader. Compared to Kang Youwei, Liang was more radical in deeds and more conservative in thoughts, overall, more realistic and less contradictory. (Kang Youwei was a self-contradicting figure to a great extent. His thoughts went so radical as to advocate ‘quasi-communism’ in his work ‘Da Tong Shu’ while he became a typical conservative after the republican revolution in 1911, still supporting the Manchu monarch and participated in a failed restoration in 1917). Guangxu also appointed four ministers (the most important being Tan Sitong) to help him implement the reform measures, ignoring the opposition in the Grand Council appointed by the Empress Dowager.
The measures to reform include: to encourage commerce and industry; to establish a new school which would later become Beijing University and to add western sciences into the content of education; to abolish the eight-legged style writing in the imperial exams; to grant the freedom of speech in general (publication of books, newspapers, and that anyone can report discontent directly to court); to sponsor talented students to study abroad; to reform the military system thoroughly and to strengthen naval power.
Chinese high school textbooks nowadays widely argue that the reform measures promulgated by Guangxu Emperor only touched superficial issues such as education and economics, but did not mention political reforms at all, which indicated that Guangxu Emperor himself was still a representative of the ruling class and was not willing to share power with the people. However, this is a great misconception. In fact, Guangxu believed in constitutional monarchy to the extent that he was willing to give in his own power (just like the British monarchy) if necessary. (This corresponds to his words I quoted on the cover page) However, at a time when even those ‘superficial measures’ were being frustrated by the conservatives, how could he manage to establish constitutional monarchy in China so soon?
The reform immediately confronted opposition: Some Manchu officials who held vacant posts had been dismissed and deprived of privileges; traditional Confucian scholars were furious when hearing of the abolition of the ‘eight-legged’ literary style; conservatives in general were irritated by the fact that even the ‘meanest’ peasants could now directly report to the Emperor.
During the first meeting between Kang Youwei and Guangxu Emperor, knowing that the Emperor held no significant power, Kang suggested only to add new ministers but not to remove the strong conservatives. However, as the reform progressed, Guangxu Emperor found himself in a dilemma: that if he didn’t dismiss some ministers belonging to the Empress Dowager’s party, the reform would come to a standstill. Thus, the Emperor determinately deprived six conservative ministers of their posts against the will of Empress Dowager Cixi, of which action would prove to be disastrous soon after.
Cixi’s motivation in suppressing the reform is highly controversial. In another word, what sparked the coup d’état on the 21st of September, 1898, 103 days after the promulgation of this abortive reform? Indeed, from a general perspective, the reform was due to fail due to the weakness of the Chinese new civil class and the powerful orthodox opposition. The Manchu minister whose interest had been undermined by the reform all turned to the Empress Dowager for help, expecting that she would come to the political front stage again and handle the situation. Cixi didn’t oppose Guangxu Emperor’s reform at first, however, she grew more and more vigilant later on, partly because of the appeals from conservative Manchu ministers. She felt that her authority would be threatened by the sweeping reform initiated by her ‘unfilial’ and ‘heretic’ nephew. When Guangxu Emperor met with Ito Hirobumi, the Japanese Prime Minister at that time, hoping to seek advice of reform from him, Cixi became very suspicious of her nephew’s real intentions and supervised his whole conversation with Hirobumi.
But what is the exact event behind the coup d’état? The most popular version is that the reformists, desperate to push on the reform, were aching to get rid of Cixi and her conservative peers. So that they plotted a coup d’état to surround the Summer Palace (Cixi’s residence) with an army and hold Cixi under house arrest. Tan Sitong was sent for the task of negotiating with General Yuan Shikai, hoping that Yuan could remove his army for this mission. But Yuan the sly opportunist betrayed the reformists and the Emperor by leaking this confidential information to Ronglu, the most important figure in the Empress Dowager’s party and rumored to be Cixi’s lover. Ronglu, in turn, immediately transferred this plot to Cixi.
Such is the standard version, but the historical fact could be far more complicated. Firstly, Guangxu Emperor denied that he ever participated in such a plot. Shall we suppose that he was lying? Probably no. As we know of his character, that he had always been honest and upright (even Ronglu didn’t deny this fact, declaring that, ‘The Empress Dowager’s character is calm but insidious and unfathomable; while the Emperor’s character is impulsive but straightforward and simple.’) Plus, Guangxu Emperor had always been a filial son as he believed in Confucian teachings, so that it’s hard to imagine that he would do anything so unfilial to Cixi intentionally. In recent years, scholars speculate that Kang Youwei might take a great responsibility for the failure of reform as it was certainly him who initiated such a plot. More repulsively, Kang might have counterfeited an order from the Emperor to carry on his plot to imprison and even assassinate Cixi. Indeed, Kang’s role in the Hundred Days’ Reform had been exaggerated later by himself; the fact is that later in the reform, Guangxu Emperor became skeptical about his ability to ease the tensions between the reformists and the conservatives (As Kang was so pretentious that he despised all the opposition) that he sent Kang out of Beijing, with the intention of not having him cause trouble. But Kang regarded this as a sign of the Emperor’s giving up the reform, so that he hastily planned everything about the plot to sack the Summer Palace and imprison Cixi, thinking that he could save the reform but actually ruining it.
An even more controversial point of view has been raised in recent years, that Kang was planning a federation of China with Japan, Britain and the USA with the British missionary Timothy Richard, under which federation China would share fiscal, military and diplomatic powers with these three countries in order to push forward the reform. This might seem extremely unrealistic but we could infer that such a dreamer like Kang Youwei could have done this. Kang suggested the idea of a world united under one country in his utopian ‘Da Tong Shu’ , so that he might had tried to put it into practice. Later, the British and the US authorities claimed that they knew nothing of the federation while the Japanese might be aware of it, with an intent to relinquish the sovereign power of China. Though there is not much source to support this, we can infer this from the events that happened later: Japan increased its power in China after the Hundred Days’ Reform and soon substituted the status of Britain to become the top foreign power in China (which decades later proved to be distatrous). If seeing from this light, the repression of the Gapsin coup in Korea by Queen Min could somehow be compared to the repression of the Hundred Days’ Reform by Empress Dowager Cixi, making the coup d’état by Cixi seem less evil.
However, Guangxu’s intent to ally with the Japanese was no other than learning from their reform experience. It might also be possible that he wanted to ally the Japanese to resist Russian’s influence as well as the pro-Russian party in China led by Li Hongzhang and backed by Cixi. While the Japanese government backed this special Sino-Japanese relationship mainly to increase their own interest in China.
Whatever happened that prompted Cixi’s reactions was not important, for after the coup d’état on 21st of September, the reformists that supported Guangxu Emperor were captured and executed, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao fled to Japan, and Guangxu Emperor himself held under house arrest by Cixi in Yintai, an island within Zhongnanhai, declaring to the outside that the Emperor was seriously ill. At first, Cixi didn’t want to abolish all reform measures, however, some ministers suggested that if they were not all abolished, the legitimacy of repressing the reform would be lacking. Cixi agreed and all reform achievements except for the new school in Beijing were eliminated. Then, Cixi began to stage a series of reactionary measures against the previous reform.