Chapter 2
When applicable, please select all correct answers.
1. Theprocessofconvertingfromanalogtodigitalinformationisatwo-stepprocess—samplingand quantizing.Inconvertingananalogimagetoadigitalimage,thesamplingrateaffects_____.
A.thebitdepthoftheresultingdigitalimage
B.thepixeldimensionsoftheresultingdigitalimage
2. Theprocessofconvertingfromanalogtodigitalinformationisatwo-stepprocess—samplingand quantizing.Inthequantizationstep,toconvertananalogimagetoadigitalimage,_____.
A.atwo-dimensionalgridisappliedontheimageandeachtinycellonthegridisconvertedintoapixel
B.atwo-dimensionalgridisappliedontheimagetoapplyditheringtotheimage
C.aninfinitenumberofcolorshadesandtonesinananalogimageismappedtoafinitesetofdiscretecolor values
D.theresultingdigitalimagefileiscompressedtohaveasmallerfilesize
3. Whichofthefollowingfactorswillincreasethefilesizeofadigitalimage?
A.largerpixeldimensionsoftheimage
B.highercolordepth
4. Adigitalimagecapturedatahigherresolution_____thanitwouldhaveifithadbeencapturedatalower resolution.
A.capturesmoredetails
B.hasmoredifferentcolors
C.hasahigherbitdepth
D.hasalargerfilesize
E.haslargerpixeldimensions
F.usesahighersamplingrate
5. Adigitalimagecapturedatahigherbitdepth_____thanitwouldhaveifithadbeencapturedatalowerbit depth.
A.capturesmoredetails
B.hasmoredifferentcolors
C.hasalargerfilesize
D.haslargerpixeldimensions
E.usesahighersamplingrate
6. Theterm pixel iscontractedfromthewords_____and_____.
7. True/False :Apixelisapointsample,notalittlesquare.
8. True/False :An1-bitcolordepthallowsonlyblackandwhitecolors.
9. An1-bitcolordepthallows_____colors.
10. An8-bitcolordepthallows_____colors.
11. A24-bitcolordepthallows_____colors.
12. Bitmappedimagesarecomposedof_____.
A.individualpixels,whichrepresentspatialsamplesoftheimageorscene
B.mathematicaldescriptionsofimageelements,whichincludepoints,lines,curves,andshapes
13. Vectorgraphicsarecomposedof_____.
A.individualpixels,whichrepresentspatialsamplesoftheimageorscene
B.mathematicaldescriptionsofimageelements,whichincludepoints,lines,curves,andshapes
14. Themainadvantage(s)ofbitmappedimagesovervectorgraphicsis(are)_____.
A.scalabilityorresolutionindependenceofimages
B.easeofeditingtheimagecontentpixelbypixel
C.morecompactfilesizecomparedtovectorgraphics
15. Themainadvantage(s)ofvectorgraphicsoverbitmappedimagesis(are)_____.
A.scalabilityorresolutionindependenceofimages
B.easeofeditingtheimagecontentpixelbypixel
C.morecompactfilesizecomparedtobitmappedimages
16. Sometimeswhenyoumagnifyapictureonyourcomputerscreen,linesthatshouldbestraightlines appeartobejagged.Thiseffectiscalled_____.
A.anti-aliasing
B.aliasing
C.dithering
D.indexing
17. Generallyspeaking,howdoesthefilesizechangeifthetotalnumberofpixelsofanimageisdoubled?
18. Generallyspeaking,howdoesthefilesizechangeifthenumberofpixelsofboththewidthandheightof animagearedoubled?
19. Generallyspeaking,howdoesthefilesizechangeifthebitdepthofanimageisincreasedfrom8bitsto16 bits?
20. Generallyspeaking,howdoesthefilesizechangeifthebitdepthofanimageisincreasedfrom8bitsto24 bits?
21. Giveoneexampleoftheimagefiletypethatsupportslossycompressionandonethatsupportslossless compression.
22. Whichofthefollowingarefileextensionsofpixel-basedfiles?
BMPDOCJPEGTXTPNGGIFFLA
JPGPSDTIFFEPSWMFSWFAI
23. Whichofthefollowingarefileextensionsofvectorgraphicfiles?
BMPDOCJPEGTXTPNGGIFFLA
JPGPSDTIFFEPSWMFSWFAI
24. WhataretheprimarycolorsintheRGBcolormodel?
25. WhataretheprimarycolorsintheCMYcolormodel?
26. WhataretheprimariesintheHSBcolormodel?
27. Whichofthefollowingcolormodelstakestheformofacolorcube?
A.RGB
B.CMY
C.HSB
D.CIEXYZ
28. Whichofthefollowingcolormodelstakestheformofahexacone?
A.RGB
B.CMY
C.HSB
D.CIEXYZ
29. WhichoftheprimariesintheHSBcolormodeltakestheformofacolorwheel?
A.hue
B.saturation
C.brightness
30. WhatisthecolormixingmethodfortheRGBcolormodel?
A.additive
B.subtractive
31. WhatisthecolormixingmethodfortheCMYcolormodel?
A.additive
B.subtractive
32. Forthe24-bitcolordepth,whataretheRGBvaluesfor
(i)white
(ii)black
(iii)red (iv)green
(v)blue
(vi)cyan
(vii)magenta
(viii)yellow
(Youcanusethecolorpickerinyourimageeditingprogramtoconfirmyouranswers.)
33. WhatarethetheoreticalCMYvaluesfor
(i)white
(ii)black
(iii)red
(iv)green (v)blue
(vi)cyan (vii)magenta (viii)yellow
34. WhataretheHSBvaluesfor (i)white (ii)black (iii)red (iv)green (v)blue (vi)cyan (vii)magenta
(viii)yellow
(Youcanusethecolorpickerinyourimageeditingprogramtoconfirmyouranswers.)
35. WhatistheprimaryuseoftheCMYKcolormodel?
36. Whydon’tthecolorsinaprintedimagelookexactlythesameasthoseyouseeonthe computerscreen?
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best. There are some among the older officials who affirm that the old ways are best and need no alteration, and that the new plans are not required. Such babblings are vain and useless.
"The Emperor puts the question before you thus: In the present condition of Imperial affairs, with an untrained army, with limited funds, with ignorant 'literati,' and with artisans untaught because they have no fit teachers, is there any difficulty in deciding, when China is compared with foreign nations, who is the strong and who is the weak? It is easy to distinguish between the rich and the poor. How can a man armed with a wooden stick smite his foe encased in a coat of mail? The Emperor sees that the affairs of the Empire are in an unsettled condition, and that his various Decrees have availed nothing, Diversity of opinion, each unlike another as fire differs from water, is responsible for the spread of the existing evil. It is the same evil as that which existed in the Sung and Ming dynasties (circa A. D. 1000 and 1500). Our present system is not of the slightest use. We cannot in these modern days adhere to the ways of the five Kings(circa B. C. 2500); even they did not continue exactly after the manner of their respective predecessors. It is like wearing thick clothes in summer and thin ones in winter. "Now, therefore, the Emperor orders all officials, metropolitan and provincial, from prince down to 'literati,' to give their whole minds to a real endeavour to improvement. With perseverance, like that of the saints of old, do your utmost to discover which foreign country has the best system in any branch of learning and learn that one. Your great fault is the falseness of your present knowledge. Make a special effort and determine to learn the best of everything. Do not merely learn the outside covers of the books of knowledge, and do not make a loud boast of your own attainments. The Emperor's wish is to change what is now useless into something useful, so that proficiency may be attained and handed on to posterity. The Metropolitan College will be the chief one, and must be instituted at once. The Emperor orders the Grand Councillors to consult with the
Tsung-li Yamên on the subject, and to come to a decision as soon as possible, and then to memorialize the Throne. Any of the compilers and graduates of the Hanlin College, the secretaries of the Boards, the officers of the Palace Guards, expectant Intendants, Prefects, district Magistrates, and subordinate officials, sons and brothers of officials, the hereditary officials of the Eight Banners, and the sons of the military officials of the Empire, can enter the College who wish to do so. By this means knowledge will be handed down from one generation to another. It will be strictly forbidden to members of the College to be careless or dilatory in their studies, or to introduce as students any of their friends without regard for the latter's capabilities; for such things would frustrate the benefit of this excellent plan of His Imperial Majesty."
A day later he issued the following: "The Tsung-li Yamên have reported to the Throne that in obedience to instructions they have considered the requests contained in the memorial of the Vice-President Jung Hui, for the appointment of special Ministers of Commerce, and the sending of members of the Imperial family to visit foreign nations. Commercial matters are of the highest importance, and the suggestion is one which deserves to be acted upon. As the result of a former consultation of the Tsung-li Yamên on the subject, commercial bureaus have been established at the capitals of the provinces, and the officials of each province have ordered the leading gentry and merchants to elect from their numbers managers of the bureaus, who will then draw up commercial regulations. It is to be hoped that strict conformity to these Regulations will lead to a daily improvement in trade; and the Emperor orders the Viceroys and Governors of the provinces to direct the gentry and merchants to strictly obey the official instructions, and to consult together for the most speedy and satisfactory arrangement of commercial matters; it is to be hoped that in this way the officials will be kept in touch with the merchants. We must not adhere blindly to our old
customs. Let the officials of each province memorialize the Throne, and inform the Emperor how commercial affairs are managed in their respective provinces. {92}
With regard to the suggestion that members of the Imperial Family should go abroad, this is a new departure, but is quite in accordance with modern custom. The Emperor, therefore, orders the Court of the Imperial clan to select from the Princes of the first three ranks any who are well versed in modern affairs and ideas, and who are on the side of modern improvement, and to inform the Emperor of their selection. The selected Princes will then await the Emperor's orders with regard to their journey."
On the 15th the following imperial mandate was published:
"Wêng T'ung-ho, Assistant Grand Secretary and President of the Board of Revenue, has of late made many errors in the conduct of business, and has forfeited all confidence; on several occasions he has been impeached to the Throne. At his private audiences of the Emperor he has replied to His Majesty's questions with no regard for anything except his own personal feeling and opinion, and he has made no attempt to conceal his pleasure or displeasure either in his speech or in his countenance. It has gradually become clear that his ambition and rebellious feeling have led him to arrogate to himself an attempt to dictate to the Emperor. It is impossible to permit him to remain in the responsible position of a Grand Councillor. In former days a strict inquiry would have been held, and his crime punished with the utmost rigour of the law. Taking into consideration, however, his long service as tutor to the Emperor, His Majesty cannot bring himself to mete out to him such a severe penalty. Let Wêng T'ung-ho vacate his posts, and retire into private life, as a warning that he is preserved (from a worse fate)."
In transmitting this mandate to the British Foreign Office, Sir Claude MacDonald explained that Wêng T'ung-ho was a
"reactionary," whose "influence was invariably against innovation and progress," but personally "prepossessing, courteous, and scholarly an excellent type of the Conservative Chinese statesman." But that the dismissal of Wêng T'ung-ho did not signify the triumph of the reform party was shown the same day by a decree commanding special honors to the Empress Dowager, who seemed to be losing no time in reasserting herself. "In future," said the edict, "whenever officials receive favours or gifts from the Empress Dowager, or receive promotion to the highest civil or military rank or to the Vice-Presidency of a Board, they must (after thanking the Emperor) present themselves before the Empress Dowager and thank her; and in similar cases all provincial Tartar-Generals, Lieutenant-Generals, Viceroys, Governors, and Commanders-in-chief must write their thanks to the Empress Dowager (as well as to the Emperor)."
Other radically reforming decrees that were issued by the Emperor during June and early in July were described by the British Minister in a despatch dated July 9, as follows:
"To effect a change in the agricultural methods of an ancient Eastern nation would seem a very hopeless task, but from a Decree published on the 4th instant, it appears that a censor has made proposals for the establishment of a school of agriculture, on which the Tsung-Ii Yamên were asked to report. The Decree founded on their Report states that agriculture is the basis of the States' wealth, and that measures for its revival are urgently needed. The provincial authorities are, therefore, directed to examine all methods of cultivation, whether Chinese or foreign, with a view to their adoption by the people. … The Decree proceeds to promise rewards for successful treatment of agricultural problems, and to direct the translation and circulation in provincial Colleges of foreign works on the subject.
"Two Decrees, published on the 27th June and 5th July, have
reference to reforms in the Chinese army, but they throw no light on the nature of them, and merely refer certain suggestions to various Departments for examination. The last Decree I shall mention, which appeared on the 5th instant, contains a very frank admission of the need of reforms. It states that in foreign countries commerce and industry thrive and progress, while in China, though there is no lack of ability, it is fettered in the bonds of ancient custom, and cannot free itself. As one means of assisting in its liberation it is ordained that any persons producing 'new books' (presumably books that show originality of thought), or being the first to use new methods, or to produce new instruments or appliances suitable for use, are to receive rewards from the State in the shape either of official employment, if they are fitted for it, or of some other distinction. In the case of inventions a certificate will be given, and the profits secured to the inventor for a fixed term of years in fact patent rights will be granted. Rewards will also be given to those who, with their own resources, establish colleges, open up mines, or set up arsenals for the manufacture of rifles and cannon. In conclusion, the Tsung-li Yamên are directed to draw up Regulations for effecting the above objects."
The zeal of the reforming movement was kept alive and its authors held their ground throughout the summer, and nearly to the end of September. On the 17th of that month, Sir Claude MacDonald wrote to Lord Salisbury: "Imperial Decrees intended to launch China on the path of reform continue to appear, though there are few signs of any of them taking practical effect. The Emperor is evidently learning that it is one thing to issue a reform Edict and another to get it obeyed. Not long ago a Decree was issued, the object of which was to make the Throne more accessible to the subordinate portion of the official world. At the beginning of this month a case was brought to His Majesty's notice, in which the Board of Ceremonies disobeyed this Decree by refusing to transmit a
Memorial sent in by a Secretary. He was much enraged, and forthwith cashiered the six head officials of the Board, that is to say, the two Presidents and four Vice-Presidents.
"On the 12th instant he followed this up by a fresh Decree dwelling on the circumstances and reiterating his previous instructions. Memorials were to be presented as they came in, it being of the highest importance, in the present critical state of public affairs, that all such communications should be examined as soon as possible. Obstruction and delay were to be punished with the utmost rigour, and special commands were given that the previous Edicts on reform, all of which were enumerated, were to be hung up in a public place in each Yamên throughout the Empire, so that no one should be ignorant of their contents.
{93}
Not satisfied with all this, he issued, also on the 12th instant, a long and remarkable Decree calling attention to the advantages of Western methods, and inveighing against degenerate officials and conservative Ministers, who not only could not assist him in adopting their methods, but spread reports instead calculated to disturb the minds of the people. He wanted his subjects to know that they 'could depend on their Prince,' and appealed to them to make China powerful by working for reform with 'united minds.' The previous orders were amplified, and the privilege of memorializing the Throne, which formerly stopped at officers of a high rank, is now extended to practically every soul in the Empire.
"Next day, the 13th September, another Decree repeated the terms of the above in clearer detail, and laid down precisely the procedure each class was to observe in making itself heard. The severest penalties were threatened should there be any interference with the free exercise of this privilege by the high officers of Government, who were commanded to report by telegram the steps they were taking to fulfil the Imperial wishes. The series of Decrees above quoted are naturally
creating a great commotion in the Chinese official world, and it will be interesting to note their effect."
Great Britain, Papers by Command: China, Number 1, 1899, page 179-279.
The effect was soon known. It was one which brought the reformers to grief and their reforms to an end.
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (September).
Overthrow of the Reformers.
Subjugation of the Emperor by the Empress-Dowager. His countermanding decrees.
The Imperial reformer announced the downfall of his own authority on the 21st of September, in the following significant decree:
"The affairs of the nation are at present in a difficult position, and everything awaits reform. I, the Emperor, am working day and night with all my powers, and every day arrange a multitude of affairs. But, despite my careful toil, I constantly fear to be overwhelmed by the press of work. I reverently recall that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has on two occasions since the reign of Tung Chih (1861) assumed the reins of Government with great success in critical periods. In all she did Her Majesty showed perfection. Moved by a deep regard for the welfare of the nation, I have repeatedly implored Her Majesty to be graciously pleased to advise me in government, and have received her assent. This is an assurance of prosperity to the whole nation, officials and people. Her Majesty will commence to transact business from to-day in the side Hall. On the 23rd September, I, the Emperor, will lead my princes and high officials to make obeisance in the Ch'in Chêng Hall. Let the proper officials reverently and carefully prepare the fitting programme of the ceremony."
On the 25th he announced: "Since the 4th moon, I, the Emperor, have been frequently ailing in health, and in spite of long-continued treatment there is still no great improvement. Should there be any persons, either in the capital or the provinces, who are highly skilled in the treatment of disease, let the officials at once recommend them to the throne and await our orders. Should such men be in the provinces let them be sent to the capital without the least delay."
On the 26th the unfortunate Emperor was made to send forth another decree, countermanding the greater part of the orders he had been giving, on the pretext that they had been misunderstood and badly carried out. The obstructive offices which he had abolished were restored; the permission given to scholars and people to present memorials was withdrawn. "The original purpose," said the decree, "was that we should see with the eyes and hear with the ears of everybody, but the Court has now opened wide the path of access to the throne, and if there are useful proposals for reform made in the statements of any of the different classes of officials they are bound to be observed at once and set into operation. At present, careless documents all alike in character pour in. All are full of frivolous statements, some even touch on the extravagant, and all are much wanting in order. Hereafter all officers whose duty it is to speak shall say what they have to say in fitting language. In accordance with the prescribed rules, persons or officers who are not competent to memorialize the throne are not permitted to submit sealed documents. The 'Times,' official newspaper, is of no benefit to good government and will vainly disturb men's minds: let it be abolished at once. The Imperial colleges will be ground for the cultivation of talent. Apart from those which are already being gradually established in Peking and the provincial capitals, let the local officials in all prefectures and districts where it is proposed to establish minor colleges consider the local conditions and the convenience of the people. Let the temples [which were to have been turned into
colleges] in the provinces remain as before; there is no need to make colleges of them and disturb the feelings of the people. Over and above the matters above mentioned, there are others which have been duly considered and put into operation, and others which are under consideration, such as trade, agriculture, reorganization of the army, and the development of resources, all of which are of undoubted consequence to the State and the people, and must imperatively be introduced gradually. Those measures which are of no benefit to the present system of government, and are detrimental to the Constitution, need not be discussed. Let the six Boards and the Tsung-li Yamên make an investigation of these matters, consider them with special care, and submit a report to the throne so that they may be dealt with."
The events which attended and followed these decrees were reported by Sir Claude MacDonald on September 28, as follows: "The Decree [of the 21st] naturally created much excitement in Peking, and rumours of impending disaster to the most prominent of the advocates of reform were prevalent. Subsequent proceedings justified the alarm and assumed the character of a coup d'etat. The same day the house of Chang Yin-huan was surrounded by the police in search of one K'ang Yu-wei. This K'ang Yu-wei is a Chinese scholar of high repute who was, until lately, editor of a Chinese newspaper in Shanghae known as 'Progress.' He was a strong advocate of reform, and was this year recommended to the Emperor, and on his arrival in Peking was given a position of Secretary in the Board of Works. He is said to have acquired great influence over the Emperor, and to have been his adviser in his recent reform measures. K'ang Yu-wei could not be found, and it has subsequently transpired that he has escaped and left Shanghae on the 27th in the English mail for Hong Kong. {94}
So keen was the hunt for him that on the 22nd all traffic was stopped on the Tien-tsin Railway line to prevent his passage. On the 24th instant orders were issued for the arrest of
several officials who had been in relation with him, including Chang Yin-huan and Hsü Chih-ch'ing. The latter had recommended K'ang to the throne, and had been recently appointed President of the Board of Rites. Chang Yin-huan went to the Board of Punishments and has remained a prisoner since. The precise charge against K'ang and his friends has not transpired, but it is supposed to be one of conspiracy against the liberty and even the life of the Empress Dowager.
"It was reported on the 25th that Chang was to be executed the same evening or early next morning, and I thought it advisable to make an appeal on his behalf for at least due consideration of any charge brought against him. The report reached me late in the afternoon, and it was therefore necessary to take prompt measures. It was supposed that Li Hung-chang had been consulted by the Empress Dowager in the matter. I accordingly addressed a letter to his Excellency pointing out the horror with which such sudden executions were regarded by all Western nations, and the bad effect the secret and hasty condemnation of an official of Chang's rank, who was so well known in Europe, would produce, and begged his Excellency to use what influence he possessed to prevent such hurried action. I concluded my letter by saying that I appealed to him, Li, because he was the only Statesman now in Peking who was conversant with European methods, and would, therefore, thoroughly realize the disastrous impression which such a summary execution would produce throughout the Western world. It is well known that Li Hung-chang and Chang Yin-huan are deadly enemies, and it was generally reported that Chang's imprisonment was due to Li. The Grand Secretary replied saying that he highly respected my generous and humane motives, and he assured me that no summary action would be taken."
On the 30th Sir Claude reported: "Six of the reformers referred to in my despatch of the 28th September were executed on the 28th instant. They included a brother of K'ang Yu-wei, the chief reformer, and, though subordinates, all were
graduates and men of standing. Chang Yin-huan has been banished to Chinese Turkestan, where he is to be kept under rigorous surveillance. No precise crime is charged against him. The Edict announcing his punishment accuses him vaguely of being treacherous, fickle, and a sycophant. Last night a long Decree appeared dealing with the so-called conspiracy. K'ang Yu-wei is declared to have taken advantage of the Emperor's leaning towards beneficial reforms to plot a revolution, which was to be opened by surrounding the Palace at Wan Shoushan and seizing the Empress-Dowager and the Emperor. The haste in executing K'ang's chief accomplices, for it appears that the legal formalities had not been observed, is admitted to have been caused by Memorials, whose dominant note was fear of a revolution if punishment was delayed."
Great Britain,
Papers by Command: China, Number 1, 1899, pages 291-294.
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (October).
The Empress-Dowager.
Her past career. Her character.
The Empress-Dowager, so called, who now recovered her ascendancy over the weak young Emperor, which the reformers had momentarily overcome, and who became again the real Sovereign of the Empire, as she had been for the past thirty years, "was never Empress, not even as imperial consort, having been but the secondary wife of Hsien-fêng, the Emperor who fled from his capital on the approach of the Anglo-French forces in 1860 [see, in volume 1, CHINA: A. D. 1856-1860]. But she took the title as the mother of that ill-starred monarch's heir, in which capacity she was allowed to share with the widow proper the regency during the minority of the Emperor Tung-Chih (or Che, for there is no agreement as to the transliteration of Chinese sounds). … The female duumvirate
was not what was intended was in fact an unforeseen result of the last will and testament of the Emperor Hsien-fêng, who died at his hunting lodge at Jêho, whither he himself had been hunted by the victorious invaders. …
"The fundamental law of the Ta-tsing dynasty is the Salic law. No woman and no eunuch can ever reign or rule. Conforming to the laws of his house, the Emperor in his will nominated a Council of Regency during the minority of his infant son, afterwards known as the Emperor Tung-Chih. The Council was composed of two imperial princes and the Minister Sun-che. To his two wives, the true but childless one and the secondary one who was mother of the Prince Imperial, he bequeathed the guardianship of the infant. The Emperor placed his real confidence in the first, the legal wife; but he was fond of the other, the mother of his heir. A serious dilemma thus confronted him, which he thought to evade by placing in the hands of the Empress a private and personal testament, giving her absolute authority over her colleague, only to be exercised, however, in certain emergencies. As a matter of fact, the power was never called into exercise.
"The Empress-mother was twenty-seven years old, clever, ambitious, and apparently fearless. … She conceived a scheme by which the position might be reversed, and confided it to her brother-in-law, Prince Kung. … The ambition which the Empress-mother confided to Prince Kung was nothing less than to suppress the Council of Regency, and set up in its place the authority of the two Empresses. Inasmuch, however, as they were ignorant of affairs, and women to boot, the Prince himself was to be the real executive and de facto ruler of the empire. Prince Kung yielded to the seduction, and thus became accessory to the violation of the dynastic law. … The Regents were returning from the obsequies of the deceased Emperor when Prince Kung launched trumped-up charges against them of neglect of certain funeral rites, had them arrested on the road, and executed. By this summary violence the two Empresses
were securely established as Regents, with Prince Kung as Chancellor of the empire. For a few years things went smoothly. … The two Regents seldom met. … From the relative position of the buildings in which they had their respective apartments, the ladies were known as the Eastern and Western Empresses, the former being the title commonly applied to the one whom we have termed the true Empress. …
{95}
"The 'Eastern Empress' was full of gentleness, meditation, and widowhood. … She was, therefore, unequally yoked with her sterner sister, and the pair could never have really worked together to any practical end. The eclipse of the weaker luminary was only a question of time. … The life and death of the young Emperor Tung-Chih, the son of Hsien-fêng and the present Empress-regnante, seems little more than an episode in the career of his imperial and imperious mother. He died within two years of his full accession, removed by his own mother as some would have us believe, but by quite other agencies as others no less boldly affirm. … With the disappearance of her son, the last plank in the legal platform of the Empress-mother disappeared. But her appetite had grown by what it fed upon. She had now had fourteen years' schooling in statecraft, and she resolved that, 'per fas et nefas,' reign who might, she would govern. … The story of her second coup d'etat of January, 1875, has been often related, how the Empress so-called caused her own sister's child to be snatched out of its warm bed on a bitter night and conveyed into the Palace, whence he was proclaimed Emperor at daybreak. By this stroke the Regent at once aggrandised her own family, made a friend of a younger brother-in-law, the father of the child, to replace the elder who had become an enemy, and, to sum up all, secured for herself a new lease of power. For she who could thus make an emperor could also make a regent."
The Empress-Regent of China
(Blackwood's Magazine, November 1898).
CHINA: A. D. 1898. (October-November). Outbreaks of popular hostility to foreigners. Guards for the Legations sent to Peking. Chinese troops removed.
The palace revolution which overthrew the reforming party was followed quickly by outbreaks of popular hostility to foreigners. Two messages were cabled to Lord Salisbury from Peking October 1st. One informed him: "A Chinese mob at a point between Peking and the railway station yesterday afternoon violently assaulted several foreigners who had to pass that way from the train. Among those assaulted was Mr. Mortimore of this Legation, and an English lady, who were severely attacked with mud and stones; a member of the United States' Legation had one of his ribs broken. There is a decided spirit of disturbance among the Chinese, though the fact that many bad characters were about yesterday in consequence of the mid-autumn festival may go some way towards accounting for these outrages. I have requested Admiral Seymour by telegraph to despatch a vessel to Taku, in case a guard should be required for the protection of this Legation, and I am making strong representations to the Tsung-li Yamên."
In his second despatch the British Minister announced: "I do not anticipate any danger, but a good and reassuring effect will be produced, as after the Japanese war, by the presence of a guard. The foreign Representatives decided this morning to send for a small guard to protect the respective Legations. I have asked Admiral Seymour to send me twenty-five marines with a machine-gun. The German, Russian, Japanese, and Italian Representatives had previously arranged for their guards."
On the 5th, Sir Claude MacDonald reported: "A meeting of foreign Representatives yesterday decided to notify the Chinese Government of the proposed departure from Tien-tsin
for Peking to-morrow of bodies of British, German, and Russian marines, and to ask that all facilities, including a special train, should be extended to them by the Chinese authorities; the French, American, Japanese, and Italian marines to come straight on to Peking on their arrival at Tien-tsin. The meeting was held in consequence of the refusal of the Viceroy of Chihli to permit any foreign soldiers to leave Tien-tsin for Peking without special permission from the Tsung-li Yamên. It is very likely that the Chinese Government will make a protest similar to that of 1895, but it would be very ill-advised at the present crisis to give way to their protests, and it is absolutely necessary that the decision of the foreign Representatives should be put into effect."
The Chinese government did protest, but without effect. The legation guards were insisted upon, and, as speedily as possible, they were provided from the war-ships of the several powers, and quartered in Peking. Then the Chinese authorities brought troops to the capital, and the sense of danger at the legations grew. On the 25th of October Minister MacDonald cabled to London: "A serious menace to the safety of Europeans is the presence of some 10,000 soldiers, who have come from the Province of Kansu, and are to be quartered in the hunting park, two miles south of Peking. A party of these soldiers made a savage assault on four Europeans (including Mr. C. W. Campbell, of this Legation), who were last Sunday visiting the railway line at Lukou Chiao. The foreign Ministers will meet this morning to protest against these outrages. I shall see the Yamên to-day, and propose to demand that the force of soldiers shall be removed to another province, and that the offenders shall be rigorously dealt with."
On the 29th he telegraphed again: "The Foreign Representatives met yesterday, and drafted a note to the Yamên demanding that the Kansu troops should be withdrawn at once. The troops in question have not been paid for some months, and are in a semi-mutinous state. They have declared their intention to
drive all Europeans out of the north of China, and have cut the telegraph wires and destroyed portions of the railway line between Lukouchiao and Pao-ting Fu. Some disturbances have been caused by them on the railway to Tien-tsin, but the line has not been touched, and traffic has not been interrupted. In the city here all is quiet. The presence of these troops in the immediate vicinity of Peking undoubtedly constitutes a serious danger to all Europeans. The Yamên gave me a promise that the force should be removed, but have not yet carried it into effect."
On the 6th of November he reported that the Yamên had replied to the note of the Diplomatic Body, acknowledging that the troops lacked discipline and were a source of danger, and again promising their removal, but that nothing had been done. He added: "It was decided unanimously to address a note to the Yamên, stating that if the troops in question were not withdrawn by the 11th instant, our respective Governments would adopt such measures as they considered necessary for the protection during the winter months of foreigners in Peking and Tien-tsin."
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After several more exchanges of notes between the Diplomatic Body and the Yamên, peremptory on one side, apologetic on the other, the troops were removed to Chi-chow, about 80 miles east of Peking, beginning their march November 15. A few days previously Sir Claude MacDonald had been able to report "That two of the ringleaders in the attack on Mr. Campbell and other Europeans at Lu Kow-chiao [announced in despatch of October 25] were brought into Peking and flogged in Mr. Campbell's presence at the Yamên of the Governor of the city on the 29th October. The men were sentenced to 1,000 blows each, but Mr. Campbell, after eighty blows had been inflicted, begged that the flogging might cease. It turned out that two other soldiers were struck by bullets from a small revolver, which
was used by one of the railway engineers in self-defence, and, chiefly for this reason, I did not press for more floggings.
"I attached more importance to the punishment of the officer in command, who, it appears, had been warned beforehand by the railway authorities to keep his men away from the railway bridge, but had refused to do so. I consider him the person really responsible for what happened, and at an interview on the 31st October I told the Yamên that I should not be satisfied, and the incident would not be closed, until I saw his degradation published in the official Gazette. On the 4th November an Imperial Decree was issued ordering this officer, a Colonel named Chu Wan-jung, to be handed over to the Board of War for punishment. The Ministers inform me that this is likely to mean his degradation. I have, however, again warned their Excellencies that nothing short of this punishment will be satisfactory to Her Majesty's Government."
Great Britain, Papers by Command:
China, Number 1, 1899, pages 258-279, and 332.
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (December).
Reorganization of Chinese armies. Reception by the Empress-Dowager to the ladies of the Legations.
On the 20th of December Sir Claude MacDonald reported: "The reorganization of the land forces in the north appears to be occupying the serious attention of the Central Government. In the early half of this month Edicts were issued by the Empress Dowager approving proposals made by Jung Lu, who was appointed Generalissimo of northern armies immediately after the K'ang Yü-wei conspiracy. The following are the principal features of these proposals. The armies under the command of Sung Ch'ing and others, that is to say all the brigaded troops in North China, are to be organized in four corps front, rear, right, and left to occupy different strategical points. In addition,
Jung Lu will raise a centre corps of 10,000 men, to be stationed presumably in or about Peking. … The importance of bringing the other four corps into an efficient state is dwelt upon, and the Edicts are stern in demanding the production of sufficient funds for the purpose. The Viceroy of Chihli is also instructed to closely scrutinize the condition of the Peiyang drilled troops formerly Li Hung-chang's army and bring them into order. They are to be under the orders of Jung Lu, instead of the Viceroy.
"The Viceroys responsible for the Arsenals of North and Mid China are also commanded to see to the immediate construction of quick-firing guns and Mauser rifles and other war material, and to the preparation of maps of the coast-line for military purposes. Jung Lu has done nothing yet towards raising the centre corps beyond calling in the assistance of a German-educated officer named Yin Ch'ang, who holds a post in the Tien-tsin Military Academy. He is reputedly able, and probably one of the best Chinese available for the work, but I question whether he will be given sufficient powers of control. He is now engaged in drawing up a scheme."
Bearing the same date as the above, we find a despatch from Sir Claude MacDonald descriptive of a reception given by the Empress-Dowager, on the 13th, to the wives of the foreign representatives at Peking, "to accept their congratulations on the occasion of Her Imperial Majesty's birthday." "The ceremony," said the British Minister, "passed off extremely well. The Empress Dowager made a most favourable impression by her courtesy and affability. Those who went to the Palace under the idea that they would meet a cold and haughty person of strong imperious manners were agreeably surprised to find Her Imperial Majesty a kind and courteous hostess, who displayed both the tact and softness of a womanly disposition." "Thus ended," writes Sir Claude, in closing his despatch, "the incident which may be considered to mark another step in the nearer relations of China and foreign
nations."
Great Britain, Papers by Command:
China, Number 1, 1900, pages 12-15.
CHINA: A. D. 1898-1899.
Rioting in Shanghai consequent on French desecration of a cemetery. French demand for extension of settlement ground in Shanghai. English and American protests. The outcome.
On the 18th of July, 1898, the following was reported by the British Consul-General at Shanghai:
"Serious rioting took place in the French Settlement on the 16th und the morning of 17th instant, in the course of which some fifteen natives lost their lives. The disturbance was due to an attempt of the French authorities to take possession of certain temple land known as the Ningpo Joss-house Cemetery. The ground is full of graves, and it is also used for depositing coffins until a favourable opportunity presents itself for removing them to the native districts of the deceased. The cemetery is within the limits of the French Settlement; originally it was far removed from the inhabited portion of the Settlement, but by degrees new streets have been laid out, and houses have been built, until the cemetery is surrounded by dwellings.
"Twenty-four years ago the French Municipality attempted to make a road through the cemetery, but such serious rioting broke out that the French Consul thought it prudent to abandon his claim to the ground, and gave the Ningpo Guild to understand that they would be left in undisturbed possession. As years have gone on, the nuisance of having a cemetery in the midst of a crowded Settlement has made itself more and more felt, and some months ago the French Municipal Council
decided to expropriate the owners and to pay them compensation. The Ningpo Guild and the Chinese authorities were duly apprised of the intention, and they were urged to make their own arrangements for removing the coffins to some other site.
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They would not admit that the French had any right to dispossess them, and they refused to vacate the land. The French Consuls then gave the Chinese officials notice that the Municipal Council would take possession on a certain day; and as the day drew near the Taotai became very uneasy, and appealed to the Foreign Consuls to interfere in the matter, giving hints that serious rioting and loss of life, would result if the French Consul persisted in his intentions.
"On the morning of the 16th, the day appointed for taking possession of the cemetery, a detachment from the French cruiser 'Éclaireur' and a strong body of police marched to the cemetery, and afforded protection to the workmen who were told off to make a breach in the cemetery wall by way of taking possession. An angry mob watched these operations, and, as time went on, the streets filled with crowds of men, who moved about making hostile demonstrations, but the French showed great self-restraint, and no serious collision took place on that day. All night long the crowds filled the streets, and many lamps were smashed and lamp-posts uprooted.
"Early on Sunday morning a determined attack was made by the mob on one of the French police-stations, and when the small body of men within saw that their lives were in danger, they opened fire. About the same time the police and the 'Éclaireur's' men attacked bands of rioters in other quarters, with the result that on Sunday morning, as far as can be ascertained, fifteen men were shot dead or bayoneted, and about forty were seriously wounded. After that the rioters seemed to have become intimidated for a time, and the streets were left to the police. Meanwhile many of the shops in both