Nanjing! Nanjing! (2008)

I watched the film 'Nanjing!Nanjing!' made by the Chinese director Lu Chuan last weekend after being urged to watch it by my friends.In fact, I felt quite reluctant to watch such a visual adaption of the most brutal massacre in Chinese history happened in my hometown Nanjing (the place where I was born and lived until 18) in 1937 conducted by the military extremist Japanese armies. Nanjing was the capital city of China then, the atrocities within one week following the Japanese invasion on Dec.13th is beyond description. I didn't believe that a film could reflect the painful facts of that disaster. As a child, I used to visit the massacre memorial many times and by seeing those scattered piles of skeletons, I can imagine the mass murder committed by an extremist pretentious nation upon its neighbour. A film is just a way too frivolous for such a heavy event in history.





The result, as I expected, turned out to be disappointing, Lu Chuan indeed made an effort to make this adaptation, trying to show the hope of humanity by the end of the film. He tried to see the Nanjing massacre through the eyes of a Japanese soldier who had conscience, which was a good try but not innovative, for similar perspectives had been used in films such as 'Schindler's list', 'The Pianist', and were used better. Lu Chuan himself said that he wanted to depict Japanese soldiers as human beings rather than devils, for the latter would do no good but exempt them from their guilt. However, while the Germans have totally made the atonement of the Nazi conduct in WWII when their chancellor knelt down before the Jewish tombs,the Japanese PM Koizumi still paid tribute to the Yekusuni shrine where Class A war criminals were still enshrined

The 13th Dalai Lama and Guangxu Emperor

Memorial to Emperor Guangxu by the 13th Dalai Lama

During last week's Europe-Asia Conference, we showed the participants ' Seven Years in Tibet' on the cinema night. As a great many of them were Chinese, some felt very much offended by the tune of the film that the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was depicted almost as a saint while the Chinese communists were depicted as brutal invaders. The film, though based on facts, has over dramatized the story and sanctified Dalai Lama. A much better alternative is 'Kundun', in which the early life of the 14th Dalai Lama has been illustrated more authentically. (Both films were made in 1997).

Mao Zedong was the last Chinese leader so far to meet the Dalai Lama in Beijing in 1954, after the latter signed the 'Seventeen Points Agreement' under pressure of the PLA. (However, later, as we all know, Dalai Lama was forced into exile in 1959).

Tenzin Gyatso's predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso in fact led an equally turbulent life of confronting invasions, consolidating with China and being forced into exile sometimes. Towards the end of Qing Dynasty, as China's political grip on Tibet weakened, Britain first sought to invade Tibet by military means in 1904. As a result, the Dalai Lama, then 29 years old, was obliged to flee to outer Mongolia. He returned to Tibet one year later at the urge of Qing government, who threatened to deprive him of his holy title if he stayed in exile. After failing to conquer Tibet by military means, the British began to bribe Dalai Lama and gradually inserted several anglophiles serving by his side.

It was in 1908 when Dalai Lama was called to Beijing to meet Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi. During the meeting, it is said that the Qing court insisted on the Dalai Lama's kneeling down before the Emperor, which in turn irritated him that he finally declined. Guangxu Emperor, on his part, kept on emphasizing on the subservient role played by the Tibetan Lama. He very much worried about the British colonial influence on Tibet, which might finally encourage this region to proclaim independence, just as what outer Mongolia did under the influence of Russia.

Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi both died during Thubten Gyatso's stay. Therefore the Dalai Lama performed budhhist rituals for both of them in their funerals. Afterwards, he soon returned to Tibet, but was forced into exile again in 1910, when the Qing army invaded Tibet in the name of 'eliminating colonial influence'. However, he would return to Tibet again after the downfall of Qing Dynasty. During Republic of China, Tibet gained de facto independence.

Like his contemporary Guangxu Emperor, while resisting colonial influence, the 13th Dalai Lama also sought to reform Tibet by eliminating void posts and implementing modern technologies and institutions. They were both granted great responsibilities as young children and both confronted insidious political rivals (it is said that the regent once sought to curse the Dalai Lama to death in his youth). However, while Guangxu Emperor considered Tibet as an inseparable part of the Chinese realm, the 13th Dalai Lama sought more independence for Tibet.

Random thoughts

My initial intent of creating this blog, besides expressing my love and reverence towards Guangxu Emperor, was to share my knowledge on Chinese history and traditional culture with readers around the world. According to my own experience here in France,a large number of Europeans really know little about Chinese history. However, it seems that Japanese history is more well-known to Westerners. After some reflections, I concluded that it might have been due to the lack of Chinese materials translated into foreign languages. For example, I could find little information on Guangxu Emperor if I use the English search engine.

My history presentation this week was 'Brotherhoods and Secret Societies in Qing China', some people may argue that I always choose topics concerning China, about which they consider is unfair. However, I took this one really out of good intent that it would be extremely hard for Europeans to find enough sources. This topic was also presented by Europeans in the two other groups. I heard that one group presented the photo of Consort Zhen in their ppt, saying that she was Empress Dowager Cixi, and worst of all, our most knowledgable history teacher did not find out this ridiculous mistake.

From all these experiences, I reached the conclusion that Chinese sources have been poorly translated and thus hardly available to those who donot understand the language. Besides, it's extremely hard and takes so many years to learn Chinese, especially for those who start late.

Finally, I want to talk about why I admire Guangxu Emperor. In my childhood, I liked him only because I sympathized with him and was extremely interested in his enigmatic life. Now, the image of the Emperor has become ever nobler in my eyes. He seems to have really been the 'Son of Heave', carrying its mandate to save the Chinese people, however, failed disastrously due to resistance from both inside and outside the court.

But what I like most about the Emperor is that he connected the Chinese tradition with the modern world. On the one hand, he revered the Chinese traditional culture and the Confucian legacy, regarding it as the basis of our country; on the other hand, he embraced western ideologies with an open mind to enrich and modernize China. Unlike him and his supporters, the revolutionists and later the communists sought to save China by the means of cutting her completely from the past, to 'smash the school of Confucianism',etc, and then to transplant something completely foreign on the Chinese soil, which resulted in the consequence that China has learnt little from the essence of Western liberal democratic thinking, while having lost almost everything precious of her own tradition. In recent years, there has been a revival of Confucianism in mainland China, it seems that we have finally turned towards the right path gradually, which has been embodied by Guangxu Emperor and the reformists more than one century ago.

Women in Power---Empress Wu and Cixi

Empress Dowager Cixi accompanied by Princess Der ling on a snowy day

Today, a Malaysian friend Krystle sent me dozens of photos of Cixi, which inspired me to write sth. on women and politics.

The most well-known women who ever held power in Chinese history were Empress Wu Zetian in Tang Dynasty and Empress Dowager Cixi. Both women were professional in political intrigues and grabbing power in their own hands. They were both ruthless in oppressing their political rivals, even when they were their sons.

The difference between these two women, was that firstly, Empress Wu was a real Emperor, which title Cixi never managed to attain for herself. Secondly, Empress Wu's time was one of the most prosperous period in Chinese history while Cixi's time was one of the worst ones. Thirdly, Tang Dynasty is more than 1000 years away from now so that we don't know and can never find out many details concerning court intrigues, however, as Qing's fall is only one century away, we know more or less of many details happened in the court. As a result, Cixi's reputation today is somehow 'notorious' compared to the generally well-recognized 'sage Empress Wu'. However, in my opinion, if these two women shift their eras, Empress Wu might become exactly someone like Cixi, while Empress Dowager Cixi would become someone like Empress Wu. Empress Wu was accused of murdering her own daughter and son because of the desire for power, however, as it was so long ago, no one can testify if they had been actually assasinated or not. In the case of Cixi, as it's been only 100 years, we are still allowed to dig out Guangxu Emperor's bones to examine the percentage of arsenic in his corpse to prove our assumption.

I've seen feminists argue for Empress Dowager Cixi, saying that she wrongly carries all the blames upon her only because she was a woman.The French philosopher Montesquieu, being a very open-minded man of his time, said in his great work 'L'esprit des Lois' that women should be granted equal rights with men in every sphere of life, including the possibility of becoming ruler of a country. Indeed, we see this truth uttered by Montesquieu well-recognized in a great part of the world today, that women are equally qualified to become political leaders as men do. However, I can hardly agree with what he said later on: As women are more tender than men in nature, they are even more qualified than men to become rulers as they suit every political institution i.e, they would remain moderate even in a despot state and not abuse the power. But from the experience in history, women despots who ran a country were more or less the same with their male counterparts, i.e they did abuse their power. Empress Dowager Cixi was a good example. Being a woman ruler should never be an excuse for commiting atrocities when in power. If this positive discrimination is not adjusted, women can never seek to be really equal with men.

I have always being curious to know what Guangxu Emperor would think of Empress Wu Zetian, as in history, opinions upon her were generally negative for not only that she was a woman, but that she usurped power from her sons and the legitimate Li clan. Yesterday, I found something on this which shocked me: On commenting on whether Li Xian, Wu's son should rebel against his 'tyrannic' mother, Guangxu expressed: Wu is the Prince and Li the Vassal, Wu is the Mother and Li the Son. How can a Vassal rebel against his Prince and a Son rebel against his Mother? Guangxu must well know that it was possible that Wu murdered her own son (history books at that time all suggested this), however, even in this case, he said that the son should not rebel. See how he had been brainwashed by Cixi with the Confucian virtue of 'filial piety! I would really like to know what he thought of his 'Imperial Biological Father' when he was struggling on deathbed, knowing that the arsenic had been most likely sent by Cixi.

Le Roman de la Cité Interdite (Tale of the Forbidden City) by Asada Jirô

I went to visit Le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen today to see the special exhibition for Japanese art. After the visit, I bought a novel written by a Japanese author called Asada Jirô in the gift shop. The novel `Le Roman de la Cité Interdite`(Tale of the Forbidden City) has been translated into French in 2008. It recounts the intrigues in the Qing court during the Guangxu era, roughly from 1886 to 1898, told from the perspective of an intellectual from the low class named Wen-sieou, who aided Guangxu Emperor with his reform in 1898. The novel is divided into two volumes, `Le Mandat du Ciel`(The Mandate of Heaven) and `Le Dragon à Deux Têtes` (The Dragon of two heads).

It cost me 20 Euros, however, after searching on the internet, I found that there is neither Chinese nor English version for this book, thus it`s worth the money. But later, a French friend who is learning Chinese as well as a fan of China told me that he has the book and is currently reading it. Anyway, it`s always nice to have your own, especially for one like me who needs to improve the level in French.

I browsed a few pages of the book and would like to share one exerpt.

A scene in 1889, when Cixi was about to `hand over` power to Guangxu:

(Guangxu)-Mère, j`ai maintenant dix-neuf ans, l`âge qu`avait votre fils quand il a quitté ce monde. Je vous entourerai de piété filiale, puisqu`il n`a pu le faire.

(-Mother, I'm now nineteen years old, the age when your son left the world. I will revere you with filial piety as he could no longer do it)

Quel enfant innocent, songea Cixi. Il portait à merveille son titre de 'Fils du Ciel'.

(What an innocent child, thought Cixi. He wore the title ' Son of Heaven' marvellously.)

-Quand j`étais tout petit, vous m`appeliez Zaichun. Je trouvais cela étrange. Et quand j`en ai compris la raison, j`ai décidé de devenir le sosie de mon cousin.

(-When I was very young, you used to call me Zaichun. I found it strange. However, ever since I understood the reason, I had decided to become the resemblance of your son)

(Cixi) -Pourtant, je te battais. Je t`ai traité brutalement depuis ta tendre enfance, et hier encore, avant-hier même, je t`ai frappé. Pourquoi me dis-tu cela？

(-But still, I used to beat you. I have been treating you brutally since your fagile childhood. Both yesterday and the day before yesterday, I punched you. Why do you still speak to me like this? )

-Vous me frappiez sans doute parce que je ne parvenais pas à ressembler à votre fils. Tout est de ma faute. C`est à cause de mon manque de piété filiale que vous me maltratiez.

(-Undoubtedly, you punched me because I didn't manage to resemble your son. It's all my fault. It's my lack of filial piety that led to your mistreating me. )

-Non, non. J`étais seulement énervée de te voir si bon. Hier encore, quand tu m`as apporté ces magnifiques pivoines, je te les ai arrachées des mains et je t`ai frappé...Jamais mon propre fils n`aurait fait une chose pareille. Il était stupide, grossier, chaque nuit il quittait le palais en cachette pour se rendre chez les grues des bas quartiers de la capitale, tant et si bien qu`il est mort de la vérole.

(-No, no. I was only nervous to see you looking so good. Yesterday, when you brought me those magnificent peonies, I scratched your hands and punched you...My own son would never do such a thing. He was stupid and gross. Every night he left the palace in secret for the prostitutes' in the filthy districts of the capital, that's how he died of syphilis.)

-Mère! fit l`empereur en serrant Cixi contre son coeur. Arrêtez! Je suis un disciple de Confucius, il est normal que je manifeste un dévouement filial envers vous. Si vous m`ordonniez de mourir, je le ferias avec joie. Ne pleurez plus!

(-Mother! Exclaimed the emperor while holding Cixi against his heart. Stop! I'm a disciple of Confucius, thus it's normal that I show filial loyalty towards you. If you order me to die, I would be willing to die with joy. Please do not cry!

Here is the link of the book on amazon.

http://www.amazon.fr/roman-Cit%C3%A9-interdite-Jir%C3%B4-Asada/dp/2877305805

Yixin---A Legendary Prince

As June asked something about Prince Gong, I would like to illustrate a little on him today. Indeed, despite Guangxu Emperor, Prince Gong might well be the most enigmatic figure among all members of the late Qing imperial clan.

Here is an exerpt from Wikipedia:

Prince Gong (1833~1898) was the sixth son of the Daoguang Emperor (1782-1850). His mother was the Imperial Consort Jing (1812-1855), who later became the Imperial Dowager Consort Kang-Ci, and was made posthumously Empress Xiao Jing Cheng. She was the daughter of a Mongol official in the government, from the Borjigid clan (the descendants of Genghis Khan).

In February 1850, Emperor Daoguang was dying, so he ordered to reveal the secret edict of succession:Yixin was made Prince of the First Rank Gong while his older half-brother Yizhu was proclaimed heir to the throne, which he ascended the following month as the Xianfeng Emperor. Prince Gong did not play a major role during the reign of Xianfeng, as his brother was suspicious of him and kept him at bay. His mother, the concubine Jing, the highest ranking surviving concubine of Emperor Daoguang (whose empresses were all dead already), was not made an Empress Dowager, but merely a Dowager Concubine, which Prince Gong bitterly resented.

Prince Gong's disgrace actually became his good fortune when, in 1860, in the middle of the Second Opium War, Emperor Xianfeng left him behind in Beijing to negotiate with the approaching British and French armies who had invaded northern China, while the court was fleeing to the Rehe Traveling Palace, 230 km./140 miles northeast of Beijing. Prince Gong negotiated the Convention of Peking and thus obtained a position of great influence due to his newly acquired credit with the Western Powers and his control of the militia in Beijing. On August 22, 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor died in Rehe. His only heir, a 5-year-old son of the Noble Consort Yi, ascended to the throne as the Tongzhi Emperor. Xianfeng, on his deathbed, had designated a group of eight senior Manchu officials, led by Sushun, to be regents in the new emperor's minority.

However, Noble Consort Yi was deeply suspicious of Sushun and the influence he had over the late emperor and conspired with Prince Gong to launch a coup. Prince Gong played the essential role in the ensuing struggle, as he had the troops capable of tilting the balance in favor of the Noble Consort Yi and her party or in favor of the eight regents. In November 1861, after secretly meeting the Noble Consort Yi and deciding to side with her, he carried out the Xinyou Coup. The regents, who were accompanying the Xianfeng Emperor's body back to the Forbidden city, were intercepted upon arrival. Palace guards arrested the regents. The two opposing princes among the regents were forced to commit suicide, Sushun was beheaded, and the other five regents were stripped of their titles.

The Noble Consort Yi became co-regent under the name Empress Dowager Cixi, along with the less politically involved Empress Dowager Ci'an, ruling behind the curtain (a court official required that the two co-regents, both women, attend imperial audiences behind a curtain). Prince Gong was named prince-regent and appointed to a variety of important posts in the government, including the powerful Grand Council.

In 1861, Prince Gong established the Zongli Yamen, which functioned as the Qing Empire's de facto foreign ministry. As the long-time head of the Zongli Yamen, Prince Gong was responsible for much of the reforms of the early Self-Strengthening Movement. He founded the Tongwen Guan in 1862 for Chinese scholars to learn foreign languages and technology.

Prince Gong, with the support of the two dowagers, remained the central power figure in China until the 1880s, but he was demoted after being accused of being rude in front of the dowagers.Under this was actually a more profound reason: his relations with Cixi deteriorated since 1869, when he caused the execution of a favorite eunuch of Cixi. Besides, Gong had himself aspired to be the sole regent, in the mold of Dorgon, but Empress Dowager Cixi was unwilling to give up power. He lost considerable prestige and his title of prince-regent after the two chastisements by Cixi, before finally being discredited during the Qing defeat in the Sino-French War (1884-85). He was then overshadowed by his younger half-brother the 1st prince Chun, who had closer ties with Empress Dowager Cixi (for being father of Guangxu Emperor).

In 20th century China, Prince Gong was for a long time vilified as the man who sold the country to the Western powers.In recent years, however, he has been rehabilitated and is now recognized as a great statesman, on par with Li Hongzhang, especially when compared to his brother the hapless Xianfeng Emperor. Alive, he was admired by Westerners with whom he had close contacts, and still keep much of this credit in Western historical circles.

Prince Gong was somehow a tragic figure. He was by every means much more competent than his brother Yizhu, yet, Yizhu was made Emperor instead of him and there is a popular story about why this could happen. It is said that their father, the Daoguang Emperor, decided to test these two sons when his health was shattering. Yizhu (the later Xianfeng Emperor)'s tutor taught him that as he was far more inferior than Yixin in competence, it would be better for him to show more 'benevolence and love' (a notion required for rulers by Confucianism). One day, Daoguang Emperor took these two boys for hunting, Yixin managed to kill and capture a lot of preys while Yizhu began to weep. When asked why by his father, Yizhu replied, 'It's the mating season for deers, I feel it such a cruel conduct to kill female deers. ' Daoguang was greatly impressed. On another occasion, Daoguang Emperor first called Yixin and asked him how he would run the country after the passing away of his father, Yixin answered comprehensively and intelligently with great eloquence; when Yizhu was called and being asked the same question, however, he began to weep again. This time he said that he could not bear the thought of his Emperor father dying, that he hoped that his father could live a life of longevity. Daoguang Emperor was genuinely moved. Though that he knew Yixin was more intelligent and capable, he still passed the throne to Yizhu, whom he thought to be affectionate and loving, while in fact Yizhu was to some extent a hypocrite and by no means fit to become Emperor.

Prince Gong devoted the rest of his life modernizing China and negotiating with foreign powers. Yet he was judged unfairly by both comtemporaries and posterity for quite a long time, saying that he had been 'kowtowing' to foreign powers. However, his mild attitudes towards the foreigners are perfectly understandable when taken into consideration that China was in such a backward state and thus was no military rivalry to foreign powders.

Besides implementing industrialization with the support of Cixi, Prince Gong would also establish the Imperial Translator's College, subject to Zong Li Ya Men (equivalent to Foreign Ministry, also established by him) which marked the beginning of formal foreign language teaching in China.

His political influenced shattered during his later life due to suspicion from Cixi. Before his death in May, 1898, it is said that he transmitted these words to Guangxu Emperor, half self life experience and half warning, 'It's not easy to push forward reform in China.' The impulsive and naive Guangxu Emperor, however, didn't seem to care about what his uncle said. Only several days after Yixin's death, the edict for thorough reform was promulgated.

Guangxu Emperor and the founding of University of Beijing

campus of University of Beijing today

Imperial Capital University with its banner

The former name of Beijing University before 1912 was Imperial Capital University (Chinese:京师大学堂). It was founded in 1898 during the Hundred Days' Reform by an imperial edict promulgated by Guangxu Emperor, who accepted the suggestion of opening modern universities by reform leaders Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.

Guangxu Emperor embraced the idea of establishing a modern university as early as in 1895, right after China's defeat by Japan. However, at that time, this idea was repeatedly frustrated by conservatives led by Prince Gong. It was only when the Reform took place in 1898, did Guangxu Emperor hardened his determination in sponsoring the establishment of the Imperial Capital University. He was aware that in order to push forward the reform as well as to refresh China completely, the most fundamental measure was to establish new schools and the education system on western models, as the youth would be the future of China. Unlike the old schools, besides learning Confucian classics, new schools would also teach science and mathematics , foreign languages and basic knowledge of the western world.

After announcing the establishment of Imperial Capital University, Guangxu Emperor constantly guided the organization of the university during the 103 days, illustrating details in 15 subsequent edicts covering every sphere of the founding of the new school: its principles, its status and scale, its students and faculties, its costs and construction, its textbooks and prospects. Guangxu Emperor also appointed Liang Qichao to initiate the preamble of the university, by referring to the Japanese model; and Sun Jiading, who used to be Guangxu's tutor, was appointed the first president of the university. In order to solve the problem of the lack of textbooks, Guangxu Emperor also accepted the suggestion of opening a 'Translation House' and appointed Liang Qichao to enforce it. Later, Liang Qichao would reaffirm the indispensable role played by Guangxu Emperor in the founding of the University.

After the oppression of the Hundred Days' Reform, all the new policies were crushed. However, the Imperial Capital University was miracly kept, presumably with some efforts done by Sun Jiading. A contemporary Chinese newspaper commented that, 'Amid the total darkness in Beijing, the only beam of light left comes from the University.' Indeed, education of the young generation always represents hope, even in the darkest moments of a country's history.