{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_31571/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_31571","id":"gutenberg_31571","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31571","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","China -- History","Japan -- History"],"text":"Produced by Christine Aldridge and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\nTranscribers Notes:\n\n1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.\n2. 4 minor spelling corrections have been made. See list at end of text.\n\n\n\n\n Edition d'Elite\n\n\n\n\n Historical Tales\n\n The Romance of Reality\n\n\n By\n\n CHARLES MORRIS\n\n _Author of \"Half-Hours with the Best American Authors,\" \"Tales from\n the Dramatists,\" etc._\n\n\n IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES\n\n Volume XII\n\n\n Japanese and Chinese\n\n\n J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON\n\n\n Copyright, 1898, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n Copyright, 1904, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n Copyright, 1908, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.\n\n\n[Illustration: GREAT GATE NIKKO.]\n\n\n\n\n _CONTENTS._\n\n\n PAGE\n\n THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS 5\n\n HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN 12\n\n YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE 19\n\n JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN 27\n\n THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS 35\n\n HOW THE TAIRA AND THE MINAMOTO FOUGHT FOR POWER 41\n\n THE BAYARD OF JAPAN 51\n\n THE HOJO TYRANNY 59\n\n THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN 67\n\n NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS 73\n\n HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER 80\n\n THE FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM 86\n\n THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 97\n\n THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 106\n\n THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN 113\n\n THE OPENING OF JAPAN 123\n\n THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN 133\n\n HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW 142\n\n CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE 150\n\n THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE 156\n\n KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS 172\n\n THE EMPRESS POISONER OF CHINA 180\n\n THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES 186\n\n THE \"CRIMSON EYEBROWS\" 192\n\n THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA 197\n\n THE SIEGE OF SINCHING 202\n\n FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE 205\n\n THREE NOTABLE WOMEN 212\n\n THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT 217\n\n A FEMALE RICHELIEU 223\n\n THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN 228\n\n HOW THE FRIARS FARED AMONG THE TARTARS 236\n\n THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG 242\n\n THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF CHINA 249\n\n THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN 255\n\n THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS 264\n\n THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS 272\n\n THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA 281\n\n THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF 290\n\n THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS 299\n\n HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA 306\n\n THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE 315\n\n A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE 323\n\n COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS 330\n\n THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS 339\n\n PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA 347\n\n\n\n\n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n JAPANESE AND CHINESE.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n GREAT GATE, NIKKO _Frontispiece._\n\n FUJIYAMA 10\n\n SHUZENJI VILLAGE, IDZU 36\n\n FARMERS PLANTING RICE SPROUTS, JAPAN 52\n\n LETTER-WRITING IN JAPAN 63\n\n KARAMO TEMPLE, NIKKO 78\n\n RETURNING FROM MARKET, JAPAN 98\n\n MAIN STREET, YOKOHAMA 108\n\n CHUSENJI ROAD AND DAIYA RIVER 132\n\n A CHINESE IRRIGATION WHEEL 165\n\n AN ITINERANT COBBLER, CANTON, CHINA 180\n\n A CHINESE PAGODA 197\n\n WATER CART, PEKIN, CHINA 210\n\n SHANGHAI, FROM THE WATER-SIDE 222\n\n MARKET SCENE IN SHANGHAI 255\n\n CHINESE GAMBLERS 281\n\n CHAIR AND CAGO CARRIERS 306\n\n STREET SCENE, PEKIN, CHINA 318\n\n A BRONZE-WORKER'S SHOP 330\n\n THE PEKIN GATE 347\n\n * * * * *\n\n\n\n\n_THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS._\n\n\nThe year 1 in Japan is the same date as 660 B.C. of the Christian era,\nso that Japan is now in its twenty-sixth century. Then everything began.\nBefore that date all is mystery and mythology. After that date there is\nsomething resembling history, though in the early times it is an odd\nmixture of history and fable. As for the gods of ancient Japan, they\nwere many in number, and strange stories are told of their doings. Of\nthe early men of the island kingdom we know very little. When the\nancestors of the present Japanese arrived there they found the islands\noccupied by a race of savages, a people thickly covered with hair, and\ndifferent in looks from all the other inhabitants of Asia. These in time\nwere conquered, and only a few of them now remain,--known as Ainos, and\ndwelling in the island of Yezo.\n\nIn the Japanese year 1 appeared a conqueror, Jimmu Tenno by name, the\nfirst of the mikados or emperors. He was descended from the goddess of\nthe Sun, and made his home at the foot of Kirishima, a famous mountain\nin the island of Kiushiu, the most southerly of the four large islands\nof Japan. As to the smaller islands of that anchored empire, it may be\nwell to say that they form a vast multitude of all shapes and sizes,\nbeing in all nearly four thousand in number. The Sea of Japan is truly\na sea of islands.\n\nBy way of the sailing clouds, and the blue sky which rests upon\nKirishima's snowy top, the gods stepped down from heaven to earth. Down\nthis celestial path came Jimmu's ancestors, of whom there were four\nbetween him and the mighty Sun goddess. Of course no one is asked to\naccept this for fact. Somewhat too many of the fathers of nations were\nsons of the gods. It may be that Jimmu was an invader from some foreign\nland, or came from a band of colonists who had settled at the mountain's\nfoot some time before, but the gods have the credit of his origin.\n\nAt any rate, Hiuga, as the region in which he dwelt was called, was not\nlikely to serve the ends of a party of warlike invaders, there being no\npart of Japan less fertile. So, as the story goes, Jimmu, being then\nfifty years old, set out to conquer some richer realm. He had only a few\nfollowers, some being his brothers, the others his retainers, all of\nthem, in the language of the legends, being _kami_, or gods. Jimmu was\nrighteous; the savages were wicked, though they too had descended from\nthe gods. These savages dwelt in villages, each governed by a head-man\nor chief. They fought hard for their homes, and were not easily driven\naway.\n\nThe story of Jimmu's exploits is given in the _Kojiki_, or \"Book of\nAncient Traditions,\" the oldest book of Japan. There is another, called\nthe _Nihongi_, nearly as old, being composed in 720 A.D. These give us\nall that is known of the ancient history of the island, but are so full\nof myths and fables that very little of the story is to be trusted.\nHistories of later times are abundant, and form the most important part\nof the voluminous literature of Japan. The islanders are proud of their\nhistory, and have preserved it with the greatest care, the annals of\ncities and families being as carefully preserved as those of the state.\n\nJimmu the conqueror, as his story is told in the _Kojiki_, met strange\nand frightful enemies on his march. Among them were troops of spiders of\ncolossal size and frightful aspect, through whose threatening ranks he\nhad to fight his way. Eight-headed serpents had also to be dealt with,\nand hostile deities--wicked gods who loved not the pious\nadventurer--disputed his path. Some of these he rid himself of by\nstrength of arm and sharpness of sword, some by shrewdness of wit. His\nline of march lay to Usa, in the district of Buzen; thence to Okada,\nwhere he took ship and made his way through the windings of the Suwo\nNada, a part of the Inland Sea of Japan.\n\nLanding in Aki, Jimmu built himself a palace, and dwelt there for seven\nyears, after which he sought the region of Bizen, where for eight years\nmore he lived in peace. Then, stirred once more by his in-dwelling love\nof adventure, he took to the sea again with his faithful band and sailed\nto the eastward. Rough waves and swift currents here disputed his way,\nand it was with difficulty that he at length landed on Hondo, the main\nisland of Japan, near where the city of Osaka now stands. He named the\nspot _Nami Haya_ (\"swift waves\").\n\nJimmu Tenno, the name of the conqueror, means \"spirit of war,\" and so\nfar victory had perched upon his banners as he marched. But now defeat\ncame. The people of the great island fought fiercely for their homes and\nliberties, a brother of Jimmu was wounded, and he and his band of\nfollowers were driven back with loss.\n\nThe gods surely had something to do with this,--for in those days the\ngods were thought to have little to do besides busying themselves with\nthe affairs of men,--and the cause of the defeat was sought by means of\nsacred ceremonies and invocations. It proved to be an odd one. The\nlegend states they had offended the Sun goddess by presuming to travel\nto the east, instead of following the path of the sun from east to west.\nThis insult to the gods could be atoned for only by a voyage to the\nwest. Taking to their ships again, they sailed westward around Kii, and\nlanded at Arasaka.\n\nJimmu had expiated his fault, and was again in favor with the gods. The\nchief whom he now faced surrendered without a blow, and presented the\nconquering hero with a sword. A picture of this scene, famous in the\nearly history of Japan, is printed on one of the Japanese greenback\nnotes issued in 1872.\n\nThe victor next sought the mountain-defended land of Yamato, which was\nto be reached only by difficult mountain-passes, unknown to the chief\nand his followers. But the gods had taken him in charge and came to his\naid, sending a giant crow, whose wings were eight feet long, to guide\nhim to the fertile soil of Yamato. A crow with smaller spread of wing\nmight have done the work as well, but would have been less satisfactory\nto the legend-makers.\n\nFierce was the conflict now impending, and stern the struggle of the\nnatives for life and liberty. Here were no peaceful chiefs, like the one\nmet at Arasaka, and only by dint of trenchant blows was the land to be\nwon. On went the fight, victory now inclining to one side, now to the\nother, until in the midst of the uncertain struggle the gods sent down a\ndeep and dark cloud, in whose thick shadow no man could see his foe, and\nthe strife was stayed. Suddenly, through the dense darkness, a bird in\nthe shape of a hawk came swooping down from the skies, enveloped in a\nflood of golden light, and, dispersing the cloud, rested upon the hero's\nbow. The light shed by his refulgent wings struck like the glare of\nlightning upon the eyes of the enemy, so dazzling them with its radiance\nthat they broke into panic flight.\n\nA victory gained in such a fashion as this does not seem quite\nsatisfactory to modern ideas. It is not fair to the other side. Yet it\nwas in this way that the Greeks won victory on the plains of Troy, and\nthat many other legendary victories were obtained. One cannot help\nwishing that the event of battle had been left to the decision of brave\nhearts and strong hands, instead of depending upon the interposition of\nthe gods. But such was the ancient way,--if we choose to take legend for\ntruth,--and we must needs receive what is given us, in default of\nbetter.\n\nAt any rate, Jimmu was now lord of the land, and built himself a capital\ncity at Kashiwabara, near the site of the modern Kioto, from which he\ngoverned the wide realms that the sword had made his own. The gods were\nthanked for their aid by imposing religious ceremonies, and the people\nrejoiced in the peace that had come upon the land. The soldiers who had\nfollowed the hero to victory were amply rewarded, and his chiefs made\nlords of provinces, for the control over which they were to pay in\nmilitary service. Thus early a form of feudal government was established\nin Japan.\n\n[Illustration: FUJIYAMA.]\n\nAll being now at peace within the realm, the weapons of war were hung up\nin home and temple, sacrifices were offered to the goddess of the Sun,\nand the three sacred emblems of the new kingdom, the mirror, the sword,\nand the ball, were deposited with solemn ceremonies in the palace of the\nemperor.\n\nThe remainder of Jimmu's story may be briefly told. He took for bride\nthe princess Tatara, the daughter of one of his chiefs, and the most\nbeautiful woman in all the land. The rest of his life was spent in\nstrengthening his rule and extending the arts of civilization throughout\nhis realm. Finally he died, one hundred and thirty-seven years old, as\nthe _Kojiki_ states, leaving three children, one of whom he had chosen\nas the heir of the throne.\n\nThat there was an actual Jimmu Tenno is more than any one can say. Of\ncourse the crow and kite, serpents and spiders, are myths, transformed,\nperhaps, from some real incidents in his career, and the gods that\nhelped and hindered were doubtless born in men's fancies in later days.\n\nThe Chinese have their story of how Japan was settled. Taiko,\ngrandfather of the first emperor of the Shu dynasty, had three sons,\nand, loving the youngest most, wished to leave him his title and estate.\nThese by law and custom belonged to the eldest, and the generous young\nprince, not wishing to injure his brother, secretly left home and sailed\nto the south. Leaving Southern China with a colony, he landed in Japan.\nThis took place about forty-six years before the beginning of Jimmu's\nconquering career, so that the dates, at least, agree.\n\nWhether there ever was a Jimmu or not, the Japanese firmly believe in\nhim. He stands on the list as the first of the mikados, and the reigning\nemperor claims unbroken descent from him. April 7 is looked upon as the\nanniversary of his accession to the throne, and is the Japanese national\nholiday, which is observed with public rejoicings and military and naval\nsalutes. The year 1 was the year in which Jimmu ascended the throne.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN:_\n\n\nThere is not much of absorbing interest in early Japanese history. For a\nperiod of some twelve hundred years nearly all that we know of the\nmikados is that they \"lived long and died happy.\" No fewer than twelve\nof these patriarchs lived to be over one hundred years old, and one held\nthe throne for one hundred and one years. But they were far surpassed in\nlongevity by a statesman named Takenouchi, who served five mikados as\nprime minister and dwelt upon the earth for more than three hundred and\nfifty years. There was not much \"rotation in office\" in those venerable\ntimes.\n\nWe must come down for six hundred years from the days of Jimmu to find\nan emperor who made any history worth the telling. In truth, a mist of\nfable lies over all the works of these ancient worthies, and in telling\ntheir stories we can never be sure how much of them is true. Very likely\nthere is sound history at the bottom, but it is ornamented with a good\ndeal that it is not safe to believe.\n\nThe first personage after Jimmu upon whom we need dwell was a wise and\nworthy mikado named Sujin, who spent his days in civilizing his people,\nprobably no easy task. The gap of six centuries between Jimmu's time\nand his had, no doubt, its interesting events, but none of particular\nimportance are upon record.\n\nAs a boy Sujin displayed courage and energy, together with the deepest\npiety. As a man he mourned over the sinfulness of his people, and\nearnestly begged them to give up their wicked ways and turn from sin to\nthe worship of the gods. He was not at first very successful. The people\nwere steeped in iniquity, and continued so until a pestilence was sent\nto change the current of their sinful thoughts.\n\nThe pious monarch called upon the gods to stay the plague, doing penance\nby rising early, fasting, and bathing,--possibly an unusual ceremony in\nthose days. The gods at length heard the voice of the king, and the\npestilence ceased. It had done its work. The people were convinced of\nthe error of their ways and turned from wantonness to worship, and\neverywhere religious feeling revived.\n\nAs yet Japan possessed no temples or shrines, all worship being\nconducted in the open air. The three holy emblems of the nation, the\nmirror, the sword, and the ball, had thus far been kept within the\npalace. Wherever they were the divine power dwelt, and the mikado,\nliving within their influence, was looked upon as equal to a god.\n\nBut the deities taught Sujin--or at least he thought they did--that this\nwas not the proper place for them. A rebellion broke out, due,\ndoubtless, to the evil spirit of men, but arising, in his opinion, from\nthe displeasure of the gods, who were not pleased with his keeping these\nsacred objects under his own roof, where they might be defiled by the\nunholiness of man. He determined, therefore, to provide for them a home\nof their own, and to do so built the first temple in his realm. The\nsacred symbols were placed under the care of his daughter, who was\nappointed priestess of the shrine. From that day to this a virgin\nprincess of imperial blood has been chosen as custodian of these emblems\nof deific power and presence.\n\nThe first temple was built at Kasanui, a village in Yamato. But the\ngoddess Amaterasu warned the priestess that this locality was not\nsufficiently holy, so she set off with the mirror in search of a place\nmore to the taste of the gods, carrying it from province to province,\nuntil old age overtook her, yet finding no spot that reflected the clear\nlight of holiness from the surface of the sacred mirror. Another\npriestess took up the task, many places were chosen and abandoned, and\nfinally, in 4 A.D., the shrine of Uji, in Ise, was selected. This\napparently has proved satisfactory to the deities of Japan, for the\nemblems of their divinity still rest in this sacred shrine. Sujin had\ncopies made of the mirror and the sword, which were kept in the \"place\nof reverence,\" a separate building within the palace. From this arose\nthe imperial chapel, which still exists within the palace bounds.\n\nWe speak of the \"palace\" of the mikado, but we must warn our readers not\nto associate ideas of splendor or magnificence with this word. The\nEmperor of Japan dwells not in grandeur, but in simplicity. From the\nearliest times the house of the emperor has resembled a temple rather\nthan a palace. The mikado is himself half a god in Japanese eyes, and is\nexpected to be content with the simple and austere surroundings of the\nimages of the gods. There are no stateliness, no undue ornament, no\ngaudy display such as minor mortals may delight in. Dignified simplicity\nsurrounds the imperial person, and when he dies he is interred in the\nsimplest of tombs, wonderfully unlike the gorgeous burial-places in\nwhich the bodies of the monarchs of continental Asia lie in state.\n\nWhen Sujin came to the throne the people of Japan were still in a state\nof barbarism, and there was scarce a custom in the state that did not\ncall for reform. A new and better system of arranging the periods of\ntime was established, the year being divided into twenty-four months or\nperiods, which bear such significant names as \"Beginning of Spring,\"\n\"Rain-water,\" \"Awakening of the Insects,\" \"Clear Weather,\" \"Seed-rain,\"\netc. A census was ordered to be taken at regular intervals, and by way\nof taxation all persons, men and women alike, were obliged to work for\nthe government for a certain number of days each year.\n\nTo promote commerce, the building of boats was encouraged, and regular\ncommunication was opened with Corea, from which country many useful\nideas and methods were introduced into Japan. Even a prince of one of\nthe provinces of Corea came to the island empire to live. Agriculture\nwas greatly developed by Sujin, canals being dug and irrigation\nextensively provided for. Rice, the leading article of food, needs to\nbe grown in well-watered fields, and the stealing of water from a\nneighbor's field is looked upon as a crime of deepest dye. In old times\nthe water-thief was dealt with much as the horse-thief was recently\ndealt with in some parts of our own country.\n\nSujin's work was continued by his successor, who, in 6 A.D., ordered\ncanals and sluices to be dug in more than eight hundred places. At\npresent Japan has great irrigating reservoirs and canals, through which\nthe water is led for miles to the farmers' fields. In one mountain\nregion is a deep lake of pure water, five thousand feet above the sea.\nMany centuries ago a tunnel was made to draw off this water, and\nmillions of acres of soil are still enriched by its fertilizing flood.\nSuch are some of the results of Sujin's wise reforms.\n\nAnother of the labors of Sujin the civilizer was to devise a military\nsystem for the defence of his realm. In the north, the savage Ainos\nstill fought for the land which had once been all their own, and between\nthem and the subjects of the mikado border warfare rarely ceased. Sujin\ndivided the empire into four military departments, with a shogun, or\ngeneral, over each. At a later date military magazines were established,\nwhere weapons and rations could be had at any time in case of invasion\nby the wild tribes on the border or of rebellion within the realm. In\ntime a powerful military class arose, and war became a profession in\nJapan. Throughout the history of the island kingdom the war spirit has\nbeen kept alive, and Japan is to-day the one nation of Eastern Asia\nwith a love of and a genius for warlike deeds. So important grew the\nshoguns in time that nearly all the power of the empire fell into their\nhands, and when the country was opened to foreign nations, one of these,\ncalling himself the Tai Kun (Tycoon), posed as the emperor himself, the\nmikado being lost to sight behind the authority of this military chief.\n\nAt length old age began to weigh heavily upon Sujin, and the question of\nwho should succeed him on the throne greatly troubled his imperial mind.\nHe had two sons, but his love for them was so equally divided that he\ncould not choose between their claims. In those days the heirship to the\nthrone seems to have depended upon the father's will. Not being able to\ndecide for himself, he appealed to fate or divination, asking his sons\none evening to tell him the next morning what they had dreamed during\nthe night. On their dreams he would base his decision.\n\nThe young princes washed their bodies and changed their\nclothes,--seemingly a religious rite. Visions came to them during the\nstill watches of the night, and the next morning they eagerly told their\nfather what dreams the gods had sent.\n\n\"I dreamed that I climbed a mountain,\" said the elder, \"and on reaching\nits summit I faced the east, and eight times I cut with the sword and\nthrust with the spear.\"\n\n\"I climbed the same mountain,\" said the younger, \"and stretched snares\nof cords on every side, seeking to catch the sparrows that destroy the\ngrain.\"\n\nThe emperor listened intently, and thus sagely interpreted the visions\nof his sons.\n\n\"You, my son,\" he said to the elder, \"looked in one direction. You will\ngo to the east and become its governor. You looked in every direction,\"\nhe said to the younger. \"You will govern on all sides. The gods have\nselected you as my heir.\"\n\nHis words came true. The younger became ruler over all the land; the\nelder became a warrior in the east and governor over its people.\n\nAnd Sujin the civilizer, having lived long and ruled wisely, was\ngathered to his fathers, and slept death's dreamless sleep.\n\n\n\n\n_YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF ROMANCE._\n\n\nWe have now to deal with the principal hero of Japanese legend,\nYamato-Dake, the conqueror. His story is full of myth and fable, but\nthere is history in it, too, and it is well worth the telling. Every\nancient nation has its legendary hero, who performs wonderful feats,\ndares fearful perils, and has not only the strength of man but the power\nof magic and the wiles of evil spirits to contend against. We give the\nstory as it stands, with all its adventures and supernatural incidents.\n\nThis Japanese hero of romance, born 71 A.D., was the son of Keiko, the\ntwelfth in line of the mikados. In form he was manly and graceful, fair\nof aspect, and of handsome and engaging presence. While still a youth he\nled an army to Kiushiu, in which island a rebellion had broken out. In\norder to enter the camp of the rebel force, he disguised himself as a\ndancing-girl, a character which his beardless face and well-rounded\nfigure enabled him easily to assume. Presenting himself before the\nsentinel, his beauty of face and form disarmed the soldier of all doubt,\nand he led the seeming damsel to the presence of the rebel chief, from\nwhom he hoped for a rich reward.\n\nHere the visitor danced before the chief and his guests with such\nwinning grace that they were all captivated, and at the end of the dance\nthe delighted chief seized his prize by the hand and drew the seemingly\ncoy damsel into his own tent. Once within its folds, the yielding girl\nsuddenly changed into a heroic youth who clasped the rebel with a\nvigorous embrace and slew him on the spot. For this exploit the youthful\nprince received his title of Yamato-Dake, or \"Yamato the Warlike.\"\n\nThirteen years later a revolt broke out among the wild tribes of Eastern\nJapan, and the young hero marched with an army to subdue them. His route\nled him past the shrine of the Sun goddess, in Ise, and here the\npriestess presented him with the sacred sword, one of the holy emblems\nof the realm. His own sword was left under a neighboring pine.\n\nArmed with this magical blade, he continued his march into the wilds of\nSuruga, the haunt of the insurgent Ainos. But he found it no easy matter\nto bring these savage foes to an open fight. Fleeing before his army\ninto the woods and mountains, they fought him from behind rocks and\ntrees, it being their policy of warfare to inflict damage upon the enemy\nwith as little loss as possible to themselves. Like the American\nIndians, these savages were used to all the forest wiles, quick to avail\nthemselves of every sound or sign, able to make their way with ease\nthrough tangled thickets and pathless forests, and adepts in all the\nlore of wood and wild.\n\nAs the army of Yamato pressed them too closely, they set fire to the dry\nunderbrush which densely surrounded their lurking-place. The high wind\ncarried the flames in roaring waves towards the Japanese army, which\nwas in the most serious danger, for it was encamped amid tall, dry\ngrass, which quickly became a sea of soaring flame. With yells of\ndelight the Ainos gazed upon the imminent peril of their foes; but\nsuddenly their exultation was changed to dismay. For at this moment of\ndanger the Sun goddess appeared to Yamato, and at her suggestion he drew\nthe sacred sword--Murakumo, or \"Cloud Cluster\"--and cut the grass that\nthickly rose around him. Before the magic of the blade fire itself was\npowerless, and the advancing flames turned and swept towards the enemy,\nmany of whom were consumed, while the others fled in panic fear.\nGrateful to the gods for this timely aid, the hero changed the name of\nthe sword, decreeing that thenceforth it should be known as Kusanagi, or\n\"Grass-Mower.\"\n\nHis route now led, by a mountain pathway, into the great plain of\nEastern Japan, afterwards known as the Kuanto, which extends from the\ncentral ranges to the Pacific coast. Reaching the shores of the Bay of\nYedo, he looked across from its southern headland to the opposite\npeninsula of Awa, whose hills seemed very close at hand.\n\n\"It will be easy to cross that channel,\" he said: \"it is but a trifle.\nLet the army embark.\"\n\nHe did not know how treacherous was the navigation of this strait, whose\nweather is never to be trusted, and whose winds, tides, and currents are\nbaffling and perilous. Embarking with his followers, he looked for an\neasy and rapid progress; but a terrible storm arose, tossing the boats\nso frightfully that death seemed their sure fate.\n\nYamato was not at a loss to know what was amiss. He was familiar with\nthe ways of the gods, and knew that some hostile deity was at work to\nruin him. His contemptuous remark about the ease of the passage had\ngiven deep offence to the Japanese Neptune, the god of the Sea, who was\npunishing him for his lack of reverence. There was only one way by which\nthe angry deity might be appeased,--the sacrifice of a victim to his\nwrath. But who among them was ready to yield life for duty? The question\nwas answered by Tachibana, the youthful wife of the chief, who was in\nthe boat with her lord. With a hurried farewell, the devoted woman\nsprang into the wild waves, which in a moment swept her far away. It was\nan acceptable sacrifice. The winds fell, the waves went down, the clouds\nbroke, and soon the sun was serenely shining on ruffled sea and tranquil\nshore.\n\nAll that Yamato saw again pertaining to his wife was her perfumed wooden\ncomb, which floated ashore and was dedicated by him as a precious relic\nin a shrine which he built to the gods. A shrine still stands on the\nspot, which is within the modern city of Tokio, and there to-day\nfishermen and sailors worship the spirits of Yamato and his sainted\nwife.\n\nThence the hero sailed along the shore, subduing the tribes as he went,\nuntil the northern boundary of the empire was reached. Here the leaders\nof the Ainos had gathered a great army to repel the invader. But on\nseeing the ships, which were new objects to their eyes, awe and\nconsternation overwhelmed them.\n\n\"They are living things,\" they said,--\"strange moving monsters who glide\nover the sea and bring our foes to our undoing. The gods must have sent\nthem, and will destroy us if we draw bow against these works of their\nhands.\"\n\nThrowing down their arms, they surrendered to Yamato when he sprang\nashore, and agreed to pay tribute to the state. Taking their leaders as\nhostages for their good conduct, the hero turned homeward, eager to\nreach again the capital from which he had been so long away. His route\nwas now overland, and to entertain himself on the long journey he\ninvented a form of poetic verse which is still much in use by the poets\nof Japan.\n\nAs yet all his work had been done on the plain near the shores of the\nsea. Now, marching inland, he ascended to the great table-land of\nShinano, from twenty-five hundred to five thousand feet above the sea,\naround and within which lie the loftiest mountains of Japan. From this\nheight could be obtained a magnificent view of the Bay of Yedo, the\nleafy plains surrounding, and the wide-extending ocean. Japan has no\nmore beautiful scene, and Yamato stood silently gazing over its broad\nexpanse, the memory of his beloved wife, who had given her life for his,\ncoming back to him as he gazed. \"Adzuma, adzuma\" (\"my wife, my wife\"),\nfell in sad accents from his lips. These words still haunt that land. In\nthe poet's verse that broad plain is to-day called Adzuma, and one of\nthe great ships of the new navy of Japan is named Adzuma-kuan.\n\nIt was no light task which now lay before the army and its chief. Even\nto-day the mountains of Shinano are far from easy to cross. Then they\nwere unknown, and their crossing was a work of the greatest difficulty\nand risk. There were rocky defiles and steep ascents to climb, river\ntorrents to pass, rugged paths to mount, without a road to follow or a\nguide to conduct, and with clouds and fogs to double the dangers of the\nway. Here, to their fancy, in caves and ravines hostile spirits lurked;\nevery mountain had its tutelary god; at every step the deities of good\nand evil seemed to be at strife for their destiny, and with all the\nperils of the way the gods were thought to have something to do.\n\nThus on one day the god of the mountain came to Yamato in the form of a\nwhite deer, with purpose to work him evil. The hero, on the alert\nagainst the hostile spirits, threw wild garlic in the animal's eyes,\ncausing so violent a smarting pain that it died. At once a dense mist\ndescended upon the hill-slopes and the path vanished, leaving the army\nto grope onward in danger and dismay. But at this moment of dread a\nwhite dog appeared--a god again, but a friendly one this time--who led\nthe bewildered soldiers in safety to the plains of Mino.\n\nBut they were not yet free from the wiles of the white deer. Its spirit\nnow appeared, discharging among them poisonous gases, before whose\nstupefying influence they fell helpless to the ground. The wild garlic\nagain was their salvation. Some one ate of it with happy effect, and\ngave it to all the men and animals, so that all got well again. Wild\ngarlic is still looked upon in Japan as a specific against disease and\nas a safeguard against witches. For this purpose it is hung up before\ngates and doorways in times of epidemic or superstitious fear.\n\nThe hero next came to Ibuki yama, a cone-shaped mountain whose flattened\nsummit seemed to pierce the skies. Here too dwelt a hostile spirit, who\ndisputed the way, and against whom Yamato advanced unarmed, leaving his\nsword, \"Grass-Mower,\" under a tree at the mountain's foot. The gods of\nJapan, perhaps, were proof against weapons of steel. Not far had the\nhero gone before the deity appeared upon his path, transformed into a\nthreatening serpent. Leaping over it, he pursued his way. But now the\nincensed deity flung darkness on the mountain's breast, and the hero,\nlosing his path, swooned and fell. Fortunately, a spring of healing\nwater bubbled beside him, a drink from which enabled him to lift his\nhead. Onward he went, still feeble, for the breath of the serpent god\nwas potent for ill, and at length reached Otsu, in the district of Ise,\nwhere, under the pine-tree, he found the sword which he had left there\non setting out, three years before. His gladness found vent in a poem\ncomposed of these words: \"O pine, if you were a man, I should give you\nthis sword to wear for your fidelity.\"\n\nThe conquering prince was now near the end of his career. Still sick\nunto death from his adventure upon the mountain, he told before the\nshrine of the gods the tale of his victories and perils, offered to\nthem his weapons and prisoners, and thanked them piously for their care.\nThen he sent a report of his doings to his father, the mikado, and\nbegged to see him. Keiko, the father, sent a messenger with words of\ncomfort, but when he arrived the heroic Yamato-Dake was dead.\n\nHe was buried near where he died, and from his tomb a white bird was\nseen to fly. On opening the tomb nothing was found but the dead hero's\nchaplet and robes. The place where the bird was seen to alight bears\nstill a name signifying Imperial Tomb of the White Bird. Thus ended the\ncareer of the leading Japanese hero of romance. His story sounds like a\nfairy-tale, though it may well be that Yamato-Dake was a real person and\nthat many of the things told of him actually occurred.\n\n\n\n\n_JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN._\n\n\nTo-day the women of Japan are kept in seclusion and take no part in\naffairs of state. This does not seem to have been always the case. In\nthe far past, we are told, women often rose to posts of honor and\ndignity, and some even filled the mikado's throne. Nor is this all. To a\nwoman is given the glory of the greatest event in the history of ancient\nJapan, the conquest of Corea, from which land civilization, literature,\nand a new religion subsequently came to the island realm.\n\nThe name of this Japanese heroine was Okinaga Tarashi hime, but she is\nbest known under the title of Jingu, or \"warlike deed.\" The character\ngiven her in tradition is an attractive one, combining beauty, piety,\nintelligence, energy, and valor. The waves of the sea, the perils of the\nbattle-field, and the toils or terrors of war alike failed to fill the\nsoul of this heroine with fear, and the gods marched with her and aided\nher in her enterprises. Great as she was in herself, the Japanese give\nher higher honor still, as the mother of their god of war.\n\nThis imperial Amazon was the wife of the mikado Chinai, who in 193 A.D.\nset out at the head of his army for Kiushiu, a rebellion having broken\nout at Kumaso, in that island. His courageous wife took ship and\nfollowed him to the seat of war. On her voyage thither she stopped at\none of the islands of the Inland Sea to offer worship to the gods. And\nas she did so the voice of the deity of the shrine came to her ears.\n\n\"Why do you trouble yourself to conquer Kumaso?\" spoke the mysterious\nvoice. \"It is but a poor and barren spot, not worth your labor nor the\nwork of your army. There is a country, larger and richer by far, a land\nas lovely as the face of a fair virgin, dazzlingly bright with gold,\nsilver, and rare colors, and rich with treasures of every kind. Such a\nnoble region is Shiraki [Corea]. Continue to worship me, and this rich\nland shall be yours without the shedding of blood. As for Kumaso, my\nhelp and the glory of your conquest will cause it to yield.\"\n\nOn joining the emperor, Jingu repeated to him the words of the god, but\nshe found in him a doubting listener. There was a high mountain near the\ncamp, and to the summit of this he climbed and looked far out over the\nwestward sea. No land was visible to his eyes where she had declared the\nrich realm of Shiraki lay, and he was confirmed in his doubts. On\nreturning to her he said,--\n\n\"I looked everywhere, and saw water alone; no land was to be seen. Is\nthere a country in the sky? If not, your words are false. And my\nancestors worshipped all the gods; or if there are any they did not\nworship, I know them not. Why, then, should they not speak to me?\"\n\n\"If you credit only your doubts,\" answered the god through the lips of\nthe empress, \"and declare that there is no country where I have said a\ncountry exists, you blaspheme, and shall never see this land, but the\nempress, your wife, shall have the glory of its conquest.\"\n\nEven this was not enough to overcome the doubts of the emperor. He was\nnot ready to believe that a god could speak through a woman, and refused\nto risk his army on an unknown sea. On the contrary, he led it against\nKumaso, from which the rebels drove him back in defeat. Soon after he\ndied suddenly in camp, or, as some declare, was slain in battle by an\narrow. Takenouchi, his minister, kept his death a secret from the\nsoldiers, while the valiant Jingu continued the war and soon brought the\nrebellion to an end.\n\nThe death of the mikado had left the power of the state and the command\nof the army in the hands of his wife, who had shown her valor and\nability in the conquest of Kumaso. Her mind was now filled with the\npromise of the god and the hope of new glory to be won beyond the sea.\nBut first she deemed it wise to obtain further signs from the celestial\npowers.\n\nGoing to the shore of the sea, she baited a hook with a grain of rice\nand threw it into the water, saying, \"If a fish be caught with this\ngrain of rice, then the conquest of a rich country shall indeed be\nmine.\"\n\nWhen she drew up the line, to her delight she saw a fish on the hook.\n\"_Medzurashiki mono!_\" (\"wonderful thing!\"), she exclaimed, viewing the\nmarvel as a sure signal that the gods approved her design. Her words\nhave been corrupted into Matsura, which is the name of the place to this\nday, and here, every year, at the opening of the fourth Japanese month,\nthe women of the vicinity go fishing, no men being permitted to cast in\ntheir lines on that day.\n\nThe pious empress, as if some of the doubts of the mikado had clung to\nher mind, sought still another sign from the gods. She now let her long\nhair fall into the water, saying that if the gods favored her design her\ntresses would come out of the water dry and parted in two divisions.\nAgain the celestial powers heard. Her abundant black locks left the\nwater dry and neatly parted as by a comb.\n\nDoubt no longer troubled her soul. She at once ordered the generals of\nthe army to recruit new forces, build ships, and prepare for an ocean\nenterprise.\n\n\"On this voyage depends the glory or the ruin of our country,\" she said\nto them. \"I intrust its details to you, and will hold you to blame if\nanything goes amiss through lack of care. I am a woman, and am young.\nBut I shall undertake this enterprise, and go with you disguised as a\nman, trusting to you and my army, and, above all, to the gods. If we are\nwise and valiant, a wealthy country shall be ours. If we succeed, the\nglory shall be yours; if through evil fortune we fail, on me shall lie\nall the guilt and disgrace.\"\n\nThe enthusiasm of the empress infected the commanders, who promised her\ntheir full support in her enterprise, which was by far the greatest that\nJapan had ever ventured upon. The ships were built, but the perils of\nthe voyage frightened the people, and the army increased but slowly.\nImpatient at the delay, but with no thought of giving up her task, the\nempress again appealed to the gods. A shrine of purification was built,\nlustrations were made, sacrifices offered, and prayers for speedy\nsuccess sent up to the celestial hosts. The Kami, or gods, proved\nfavorable still. Troops now came rapidly in. Soon a large army was\nassembled and embarked, and all was ready for the enterprise. It was the\nyear 201 A.D., the first year of the third Christian century.\n\nJingu now issued her final orders, to the following effect:\n\n\"There must be no plundering.\n\n\"Despise not a few enemies, and fear not many.\n\n\"Give mercy to those who yield, but no quarter to the stubborn.\n\n\"The victors shall be rewarded; deserters shall be punished.\"\n\nThen through her lips the gods spoke again: \"The Spirit of Peace will\nalways guide and protect you. The Spirit of War will guide your ships\nacross the seas.\"\n\nIt must here be remarked that the annals of Japan do not seem to be in\nfull harmony. In the days of Sujin the civilizer, a century and a half\nearlier, we are told that there was regular communication between Corea\nand Kiushiu, and that a prince of Corea came to Japan to live; while the\nstory of Jingu seems to indicate that Corea was absolutely unknown to\nthe islanders. There were none to pilot the fleet across the seas, and\nthe generals seemed ignorant of where Corea was to be found, or of the\nproper direction in which to steer. They lacked chart and compass, and\nhad only the sun, the stars, and the flight of birds as guides. As Noah\nsent out birds from his ark to spy out the land, so they sent fishermen\nahead of the fleet, and with much the same result. The first of these\nmessengers went far to the west, and returned with the word that land\nwas nowhere to be seen. Another messenger was sent, and came back with\ncheering news. On the western horizon he had seen the snowy peaks of\ndistant mountains.\n\nInspired by this report, the adventurers sailed boldly on. The winds,\nthe waves, the currents, all aided their speed. The gods even sent\nshoals of huge fishes in their wake, which heaped up the waves and drove\nthem forward, lifting the sterns and making the prows leap like living\nthings.\n\nAt length land was seen by all, and with shouts of joy they ran their\nships ashore upon the beach of Southern Corea. The sun shone in all its\nsplendor upon the gallant host, which landed speedily upon the new-found\nshores, where it was marshalled in imposing array.\n\nThe Coreans seem to have been as ignorant of geography as the Japanese.\nThe king of this part of the country, hearing that a strange fleet had\ncome from the east and a powerful army landed on his shores, was lost in\nterror and amazement.\n\n\"Who can these be, and whence have they come?\" he exclaimed. \"We have\nnever heard of any country beyond the seas. Have the gods forsaken us,\nand sent this host of strangers to our undoing?\"\n\nSuch was the fear of the king that he made no resistance to the\ninvaders. Corean envoys were sent to them with the white flags of peace,\nand the country was given up without a fight. The king offered to\ndeliver all his treasures to the invading host, agreed to pay tribute to\nJapan, and promised to furnish hostages in pledge of his good faith. His\nnobles joined with him in his oath. The rivers might flow backward, they\ndeclared, or the pebbles in the river-beds leap up to the stars, but\nthey would never break their word.\n\nJingu now set up weapons before the gate of the king in token of her\nsuzerainty and of the peace which had been sworn. The spoils won from\nthe conquered land consisted of eighty ships well laden with gold and\nprecious goods of every kind the country possessed, while eighty noble\nCoreans were taken as hostages for the faith of the king. And now, with\nblare of trumpet and clash of weapons, with shouts of triumph and songs\nof praise to the gods, the fleet set sail for home. Two months had\nsufficed for the whole great enterprise.\n\nNine empresses in all have sat upon the throne of Japan, but of these\nJingu alone won martial renown and gained a great place in history. The\nJapanese have always felt proud of this conquest of Corea, the first war\nin which their armies had gone to a foreign country to fight. They had,\nto use their common phrase, made \"the arms of Japan shine beyond the\nseas,\" and the glory of the exploit descended not only on the Amazon\nqueen, but in greater measure upon her son, who was born shortly after\nher return to Japan.\n\nThe Japanese have given more honor to this son, still unborn when the\nconquest was achieved, than to his warlike mother. It was in him, not in\nhis mother, they declare, that the Spirit of War resided, and he is now\nworshipped in Japan as the God of War. Ojin by name, he became a great\nwarrior, lived to be a hundred and ten years old, and was deified after\nhis death. Through all the centuries since he has been worshipped by the\npeople, and by soldiers in particular. Some of the finest temples in\nJapan have been erected in his honor, and the land is full of shrines to\nthis Eastern Mars. He is represented with a frightful and scowling\ncountenance, holding in his arms a broad, two-edged sword. In all\nperiods of Japanese art a favorite subject has been the group of the\nsnowy-bearded Takenouchi, the Japanese Methuselah, holding the infant\nOjin in his arms, while Jingu, the heroic mother, stands by in martial\nrobes.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS._\n\n\nOur journey through Japanese history now takes us over a wide leap, a\nperiod of nearly a thousand years, during which no event is on record of\nsufficient interest to call for special attention. The annals of Japan\nare in some respects minute, but only at long intervals does a hero of\nimportance rise above the general level of ordinary mortals. We shall,\ntherefore, pass with a rapid tread over this long period, giving only\nits general historical trend.\n\nThe conquest of Corea was of high importance to Japan. It opened the way\nfor a new civilization to flow into the long isolated island realm. For\ncenturies afterwards Corea served as the channel through which the arts\nand thoughts of Asia reached the empire of the mikados. We are told of\nenvoys bearing tribute from Corea of horses, and of tailors, and finally\na schoolmaster, being sent to Japan. The latter, Wani by name, is said\nto have introduced the art of writing. Mulberry-trees were afterwards\nplanted and silk-culture was undertaken. Then came more tailors, and\nafter them architects and learned men. At length, in the year 552, a\nparty of doctors, astronomers, astrologists, and mathematicians came\nfrom Corea to the Japanese court, and with them a number of Buddhist\nmissionaries, who brought a new religion into the land.\n\nThus gradually the arts, sciences, letters, and religions of Asia made\ntheir way into the island kingdom, and the old life of Japan was\ntransformed. A wave of foreign civilization had flowed across the seas\nto give new life and thought to the island people, and the progress of\nJapan from the barbarism of the far past towards the civilization of the\npresent day then fairly began.\n\n[Illustration: Shuzenji Village, Idzu]\n\nMeanwhile, important changes were taking place in the government. From\nthe far-off days of Jimmu, the first emperor, until a century after\nBuddhism was introduced, the mikados were the actual rulers of their\npeople. The palace was not a place of seclusion, the face of the monarch\nwas visible to his subjects, and he appeared openly at the head of the\narmy and in the affairs of government. This was the golden age of the\nimperial power. A leaden age was to succeed.\n\nThe change began in the appointment by Sujin of shoguns or generals over\nthe military departments of the government. Gradually two distinct\nofficial castes arose, those in charge of civil affairs and those at the\nhead of military operations. As the importance of these officials grew,\nthey stood between the emperor and his subjects, secluding him more and\nmore from the people. The mikado gradually became lost to view behind a\nscreen of officialism, which hid the throne. Eventually all the military\npower fell into the hands of the shoguns, and the mikado was seen no\nmore at the head of his army. His power decayed, as he became to the\npeople rather a distant deity than a present and active ruler. There\narose in time a double government, with two capitals and centres of\nauthority; the military caste became dominant, anarchy ruled for\ncenturies, the empire was broken up into a series of feudal provinces\nand baronies, and the unity of the past was succeeded by the division of\nauthority which existed until far within the nineteenth century. The\nfact that there were two rulers, in two capitals, gave the impression\nthat there were two emperors in Japan, one spiritual and one secular,\nand when Commodore Perry reached that country, in 1853, he entered into\na treaty with the shogun or \"tycoon,\" the head of the military caste,\nunder the belief that he was dealing with the actual ruler of Japan. The\ntruth is, there has never been but one emperor in Japan, the mikado. His\npower has varied at times, but he is now again the actual and visible\nhead of the empire, and the shoguns, who once lorded it so mightily,\nhave been swept out of existence.\n\nThis explanation is necessary in order that readers may understand the\npeculiar conditions of Japanese history. Gradually the mikado became\nsurrounded by a hedge of etiquette which removed him from the view of\nthe outer world. He never appeared in public, and none of his subjects,\nexcept his wives and his highest ministers, ever saw his face. He sat on\na throne of mats behind a curtain, even his feet not being allowed to\ntouch the earth. If he left the palace to go abroad in the city, the\njourney was made in a closely curtained car drawn by bullocks. To the\npeople, the mikado became like a deity, his name sacred and inviolable,\nhis power in the hands of the boldest of his subjects.\n\nBuddhism had now become the official religion of the empire, priests\nmultiplied, monasteries were founded, and the court became the chief\nsupport of the new faith, the courtiers zealously studying the sacred\nbooks of India, while the mikado and his empress sought by every means\nto spread the new belief among their people.\n\nAn emperor thus occupied could not pay much attention to the duties of\ngovernment, and the power of the civil ministers and military chiefs\ngrew accordingly. The case was like that of the Merovingian monarchs of\nFrance and the Mayors of the Palace, who in time succeeded to the\nthrone. The mikados began to abdicate after short reigns, to shave off\ntheir hair to show that they renounced the world and its vanities, to\nbecome monks and spend the remainder of their days in the cloister.\nThese short reigns helped the shoguns and ministers in their ambitious\npurposes, until in time the reins of power fell into the hands of a few\ngreat families, who fought furiously with one another for the control.\nIt is with the feuds of these families that we have now to do. The\nmikados had sunk out of sight, being regarded by the public with awe as\nspiritual emperors, while their ministers rose into power and became the\nleaders of life and the lords of events in Japan.\n\nFirst among these noble families to gain control was that of the\nFujiwara (Wistaria meadow). They were of royal origin, and rose to\nleading power in the year 645, when Kamatari, the founder of the family,\nbecame regent of the empire. All the great offices of the empire in time\nfell into the hands of the Fujiwaras: they married their daughters to\nthe mikados, surrounded them with their adherents, and governed the\nempire in their name. In the end they decided who should be mikado,\nruled the country like monarchs, and became in effect the proprietors of\nthe throne. In their strong hands the mikado sank into a puppet, to move\nas they pulled the strings.\n\nBut the Fujiwaras were not left to lord it alone. Other great families\nsought a share of the power, and their rivalry often ended in war and\nbloodshed. The most ancient of these rivals was the family of the\nSugawara. Greatest in this family was the renowned Sugawara Michizane, a\npolished courtier and famous scholar, whose talents raised him to the\nhighest position in the realm. Japan had no man of greater learning; his\nhistorical works became famous, and some of them are still extant. But\nhis genius did not save him from misfortune. His rivals, the Fujiwara,\nin the end succeeded in having him banished to Kiushiu, where, exposed\nto dire poverty, he starved to death. This martyr to official rivalry is\nnow worshipped in Japan as a deity, the patron god of literature and\nletters. Temples have been erected to him, and students worship at his\nshrine.\n\nAt a later date two other powerful families became rivals for the\ncontrol of the empire and added to the anarchy of the realm. The first\nof these was the Taira family, founded 889 A.D., whose members attained\nprominence as great military chiefs. The second was the Minamoto family,\nfounded somewhat later, which rose to be a powerful rival of the Taira,\ntheir rivalry often taking the form of war. For centuries the\ngovernmental and military history of Japan was made up of a record of\nthe jealousies and dissensions of these rival families, in whose hands\nlay war and peace, power and place, and with whose quarrels and\nstruggles for power our next tales will be concerned.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW THE TAIRA AND THE MINAMOTO FOUGHT FOR POWER._\n\n\nIn the struggle of the great families of Japan for precedence, the lords\nof the Fujiwara held the civil power of the realm, while the shoguns, or\ngenerals, were chosen from the Taira and Minamoto clans. Bred to arms,\nleading the armies of the empire in many a hard-fought war, making the\ncamp their home, and loving best the trumpet-blast of battle, they\nbecame hardy and daring warriors, the military caste of Japan. While war\ncontinued, the shoguns were content to let the Fujiwara lord it at\ncourt, themselves preferring the active labors of the field. Only when\npeace prevailed, and there were no enemies to conquer nor rebels to\nsubdue, did these warriors begin to long for the spoils of place and to\nenvy the Fujiwara their power.\n\nChief among those thus moved by ambition was Kiyomori, the greatest of\nthe Taira leaders. As a boy he possessed a strong frame and showed a\nproud spirit, wearing unusually high clogs, which in Japan indicates a\ndisposition to put on lordly airs. His position as the son of a soldier\nsoon gave him an opportunity to show his mettle. The seas then swarmed\nwith pirates, who had become the scourge alike of Corea and of Japan and\nwere making havoc among the mercantile fleets. The ambitious boy, full\nof warlike spirit, demanded, when but eighteen years of age, to be sent\nagainst these ocean pests, and cruised against them in the Suwo Nada, a\npart of the Inland Sea. Here he met and fought a shipload of the most\ndesperate of the buccaneers, capturing their vessel, and then attacking\nthem in their place of refuge, which he destroyed.\n\nFor years afterwards Kiyomori showed the greatest valor by land and sea,\nand in 1153, being then thirty-six years of age, he succeeded his father\nas minister of justice for Japan. Up to this time the families of the\nTaira and the Minamoto had been friendly rivals in the field. Now their\nfriendship came to an end and was succeeded by bitter enmity. In 1156\nthere were rival claimants for the throne, one supported by each of\nthese great families. The Taira party succeeded, got possession of the\npalace, and controlled the emperor whom they had raised to the throne.\n\nKiyomori soon attained the highest power in the realm, and in him the\nmilitary caste first rose to pre-eminence. The Fujiwara were deposed,\nall the high offices at court were filled by his relatives, and he made\nhimself the military chief of the empire and the holder of the civil\nauthority, the mikado being but a creature of his will.\n\nHistory at this point gives us a glimpse of a curious state of affairs.\nGo-Shirawaka, the emperor whom Kiyomori had raised to the throne in\n1156, abdicated in 1159, shaved off his hair, and became a Buddhist\nmonk, professing to retire from the world within the holy cloisters of a\nmonastery. But nothing was farther from his thoughts. He was a man of\nimmoral desires, and found his post on the throne a check to the\ndebaucheries in which he wished to indulge. As a monk he exercised more\npower than he had done as a mikado, retaining the control of affairs\nduring the reigns of his son and his two grandsons. The ranks and titles\nof the empire were granted by him with a lavish hand, and their\ndisposition was controlled by Kiyomori, his powerful confederate, who,\nin addition to raising his relatives to power, held himself several of\nthe highest offices in the realm.\n\nThe power of the Taira family increased until sixty men of the clan held\nimportant posts at court, while their lands spread over thirty\nprovinces. They had splendid palaces in Kioto, the capital, and in\nFukuwara, overlooking the Inland Sea. The two sons of Kiyomori were made\ngenerals of high rank, and his daughter became wife of the emperor\nTakakura, a boy eleven years of age. The Taira chief was now at the\nsummit of power, and his foes in the depths of distress. The Fujiwara,\nwho had no military power, were unable to contend with him, and his most\ndangerous rivals, the Minamoto, were slain or driven into exile.\nYoshitomo, the head of the house, was assassinated by a traitor bribed\nby Kiyomori, his oldest son was beheaded, and the others--whom he\nthought to be the last of the Minamoto--were either banished or immured\nin monasteries. All the reins of power seemed to be in the regent's\ngrasp.\n\nThe story is here diversified by a legend well worth repeating. One of\nthe Minamoto, Tametomo by name, was an archer of marvellous powers. His\nstrength was equal to that of fifty ordinary men, and such was the power\nof his right arm, which was shorter than his left, that he could draw a\nbow which four common archers could not bend, and let fly a shaft five\nfeet long, with an enormous bolt as its head. This Japanese Hercules was\nbanished from the court at the instigation of the Taira, the muscles of\nhis arm were cut, and he was sent in a cage to Idzu.\n\nEscaping from his guards, he fled to one of the smaller islands, and\nremained in concealment until his arm had healed. Here the great archer\nbecame governor of the people, and forbade them to pay tribute to the\nthrone. A fleet of boats was despatched against him, but, standing on\nthe strand, he sent an arrow hurtling through the timbers of the nearest\nvessel and sunk it beneath the waves. Then, shouting defiance to his\nfoes, he shut himself up in his house, set fire to it, and perished in\nthe flames. But another legend relates that he fled to the Loochoo\nIslands, where he became ruler and founder of their dynasty of kings. On\nthe Japanese greenback notes is a picture of this mighty archer, who is\nshown grasping his bow after sinking the ship.\n\nIt was the purpose of Kiyomori to exterminate the family of his foes. In\ntwo instances he was induced to let sons of that family live, a leniency\nfor which the Taira were to pay bitterly in the end. The story of both\nthese boys is full of romance. We give one of them here, reserving the\nother for a succeeding tale. Yoritomo, the third son of Yoshitomo, was\ntwelve years of age at the date of his father's defeat and death. During\nthe retreat the boy was separated from his companions, and fell into the\nhands of an officer of the opposite party, who took him as prisoner to\nKioto, the capital. Here the regent sentenced him to death, and the day\nfor his execution was fixed. Only the tender heart of a woman saved the\nlife of one who was destined to become the avenger of his father and\nfriends.\n\n\"Would you like to live?\" the boy's captor asked him.\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied; \"my father and mother are both dead, and who but I\ncan pray for their happiness in the world to come?\"\n\nThe feelings of the officer were touched by this reply, and, hoping to\nsave the boy, he told the story to the step-mother of Kiyomori, who was\na Buddhist nun. The filial piety of the child affected her, and she was\ndeeply moved when the officer said, \"Yoritomo is much like Prince Uma.\"\n\nUma had been her favorite son, one loved and lost, and, her mother's\nheart stirred to its depths, she sought Kiyomori and begged him to spare\nthe boy's life. He was obdurate at first, worldly wisdom bidding him to\nremove the last scion of his foes, but in the end he yielded to his\nmother's prayer and consented to spare the child, condemning him,\nhowever, to distant exile. This softness of heart he was bitterly to\nregret.\n\nYoritomo was banished to the province of Idzu, where he was kept under\nclose guard by two officers of the Taira. He was advised by a friend to\nshave off his hair and become a monk, but a faithful servant who\nattended him counselled him to keep his hair and await with a brave\nheart what the future might bring forth. The boy was shrewd and\npossessed of high self-control. None of the remaining followers of his\nfather dared communicate with him, and enemies surrounded him, yet he\nrestrained all display of feeling, was patient under provocation,\ncapable of great endurance, and so winning in manner that he gained the\nesteem even of the enemies of his family.\n\nThe story of Yoritomo's courtship and marriage is one of much interest.\nHojo Tokimasa, a noble with royal blood in his veins, had two daughters,\nthe elder being of noted beauty, the younger lacking in personal charms.\nThe exiled youth, who wished to ally himself to this powerful house and\nwas anxious to win the mother's favor in his suit, was prudent enough to\nchoose the homely girl. He sent her a letter, asking her hand in\nmarriage, by his servant, but the latter, who had ideas of his own and\npreferred the beauty for his master's wife, destroyed the letter and\nwrote another to Masago, the elder daughter.\n\nThat night the homely sister had a dream. A pigeon seemed to fly to her\nwith a box of gold in its beak. She told her vision to her sister, whom\nit deeply interested, as seeming to be a token of some good fortune\ncoming.\n\n\"I will buy your dream,\" she said. \"Sell it to me, and I will give you\nmy toilet mirror in exchange. The price I pay is little,\" she repeated,\nusing a common Japanese phrase.\n\nThe homely sister willingly made the exchange, doubtless preferring a\nmirror to a dream. But she had hardly done so when the messenger arrived\nwith the letter he had prepared. Masago gladly accepted, already being\nwell inclined towards the handsome youth, but her father had meanwhile\npromised her hand to another suitor, and refused to break his word. The\nmarriage was solemnized. But an understanding had been reached between\nthe lovers, and early on the wedding-night Masago eloped with the\nwaiting youth. In vain the husband sought for the fleeing pair. The\nfather, seemingly angry, aided him in his search, though really glad at\nthe lovers' flight. He much preferred Yoritomo, though he had been bound\nby his word, and in later years he became one of his ablest partisans.\nMasago rose to fame in Japanese history, aided in the subsequent triumph\nof her spouse, and did much to add to the splendor and dignity of his\ncourt.\n\nDuring this period Kiyomori was making enemies, and in time became so\ninsolent and overbearing that a conspiracy was formed for his overthrow.\nAt the head of this was one of the royal princes, who engaged Yoritomo\nin the plot. The young exile sent out agents right and left to rouse the\ndiscontented. Many were won over, but one of them laughed the scheme to\nscorn, saying, \"For an exile to plot against the Taira is like a mouse\nplotting against a cat.\"\n\nBut a conspiracy cannot be killed by a laugh. Yoritomo was soon in the\nfield at the head of a body of followers. A fierce fight took place in\nthe mountains, in which the young rebel fought bravely, but was\ndefeated and forced to flee for his life. Pursuit was sharp, and he\nescaped only by hiding in a hollow log. He afterwards reached a temple\nand concealed himself in the priests' wardrobe. At length he succeeded\nin crossing the Bay of Yedo to Awa, on its northern side. Here he found\nfriends, sent out agents, and was not long in gathering a new army from\nthe old friends of the Minamoto and those who hated the tyrant. In a few\nmonths he was at the head of a large and well-drilled force, with many\nnoted generals in command. The country was fertile and food abundant,\nand day by day the army became larger.\n\nBut the Taira were not idle. Kiyomori quickly gathered a large army,\nwhich he sent to put down the rebellion, and the hostile forces came\nface to face on opposite sides of the Fuji River, the swiftest stream in\nJapan. Between them rolled the impetuous flood, which neither party\ndared to cross in the face of the foe, the most they could do being to\nglare at one another across the stream.\n\nThe story goes that one of the Taira men, knowing that the turn of the\ntide would favor their enemies, went to the river flats at night and\nstirred up the flocks of wild fowl that rested there. What he hoped to\ngain by this is not very clear, but it told against his own side, for\nthe noise of the flocks was thought by the Taira force to be due to a\nnight attack from their foes, and they fled in a sudden panic.\n\nAfter this bloodless victory Yoritomo returned to his chosen place of\nresidence, named Kamakura, where he began to build a city that should\nrival the capital in size and importance. A host of builders and\nlaborers was set at work, the dense thickets were cleared away, and a\nnew town rapidly sprang up, with streets lined with dwellings and shops,\nstore-houses of food, imposing temples, and lordly mansions. The anvils\nrang merrily as the armorers forged weapons for the troops, merchants\nsought the new city with their goods, heavily laden boats flocked into\nits harbor, and almost as if by magic a great city, the destined capital\nof the shoguns, rose from the fields.\n\nThe site of Kamakura had been well chosen. It lay in a valley facing the\nopen sea, while in the rear rose a semicircle of precipitous hills.\nThrough these roadways were cut, which might easily be defended against\nenemies, while offering free access to friends. The power of the\nMinamoto had suddenly grown again, and the Taira saw fronting them an\nactive and vigorous foe where a year before all had seemed tranquil and\nthe land their own.\n\nTo the proud Kiyomori this was a bitter draught. He fell sick unto\ndeath, and the high officials of the empire gathered round his bed, in\nmortal fear lest he to whom they owed their power should be swept away.\nWith his last breath the vindictive old chief uttered invectives against\nhis foes.\n\n\"My only regret is that I am dying,\" he said, \"and have not yet seen the\nhead of Yoritomo of the Minamoto. After my decease do not make offerings\nto Buddha on my account; do not read the sacred books. Only cut off the\nhead of Yoritomo of the Minamoto and hang it on my tomb. This is my\nsole command: see that it be faithfully performed.\"\n\nThis order was not destined to be carried out. Yoritomo was to die\npeacefully, eleven years afterwards, in 1199, with his head safe on his\nshoulders. Yet his bedchamber was nightly guarded, lest traitors should\ntake his life, while war broke out from end to end of the empire.\nKiyomori's last words seemed to have lighted up its flames. Step by step\nthe forces of Yoritomo advanced. Victory followed their banners, and the\nfoe went down in death. At length Kioto, the capital of the mikado, was\nreached, and fell into their hands. The Taira fled with the young mikado\nand his wife, but his brother was proclaimed mikado in his stead, and\nall the treasures of the Taira fell into the victors' hands.\n\nThough the power of Yoritomo now seemed assured, he had a rebellion in\nhis own ranks to meet. His cousin Yoshinaka, the leader of the\nconquering army, was so swollen with pride at his success that he forced\nthe court to grant him the highest military title, imprisoned the old\nex-mikado Go-Shirakawa, who had long been the power behind the throne,\nbeheaded the Buddhist abbots who had opposed him, and acted with such\nrebellious insolence that Yoritomo had to send an army against him. A\nbattle took place, in which he was defeated and killed.\n\nYoritomo was now supreme lord of Japan, the mikado, for whom he acted,\nbeing a mere tool in his hands. Yet one great conflict had still to be\nfought by the shogun's younger brother, whose romantic story we have\nnext to tell.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BAYARD OF JAPAN._\n\n\nYoritomo was not the only son of the Minamoto chief whom the tyrant let\nlive. There was another, a mere babe at the time, who became a hero of\nchivalry, and whose life has ever since been the beacon of honor and\nknightly virtue to the youth of Japan.\n\nWhen Yoshitomo fled from his foes after his defeat in 1159, there went\nwith him a beautiful young peasant girl, named Tokiwa, whom he had\ndeeply loved, and who had borne him three children, all boys. The chief\nwas murdered by three assassins hired by his foe, and Tokiwa fled with\nher children, fearing lest they also should be slain.\n\nIt was winter. Snow deeply covered the ground. Whither she should go or\nhow she should live the poor mother knew not, but she kept on, clasping\nher babe to her breast, while her two little sons trudged by her side,\nthe younger holding her hand, the older carrying his father's sword,\nwhich she had taken as the last relic of her love. In the end the\nfleeing woman, half frozen and in peril of starvation, was met by a\nsoldier of the army of her foes. Her pitiable condition and the\nhelplessness of her children moved him to compassion, and he gave her\nshelter and food.\n\nHer flight troubled Kiyomori, who had hoped to destroy the whole family\nof his foes, and had given strict orders for her capture or death. Not\nbeing able to discover her place of retreat, he conceived a plan which\nhe felt sure would bring her within his power. In Japan and China alike\naffection for parents is held to be the highest duty of a child, the\nbasal element of the ancient religion of both these lands. He therefore\nseized Tokiwa's mother, feeling sure that filial duty would bring her to\nKioto to save her mother's life.\n\nTokiwa heard that her mother was held as a hostage for her and\nthreatened with death unless she, with her children, should come to her\nrelief. The poor woman was in an agony of doubt. Did she owe the\ngreatest duty to her mother, or to her children? Could she deliver up\nher babes to death? Yet could she abandon her mother, whom she had been\ntaught as her first and highest duty to guard and revere? In this\ndilemma she conceived a plan. Her beauty was all she possessed; but by\nits aid she might soften the hard heart of Kiyomori and save both her\nmother and her children.\n\n[Illustration: Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums.\nFARMERS PLANTING RICE SPROUTS. JAPAN.]\n\nSuccess followed her devoted effort. Reaching the capital, Tokiwa\nobtained an audience with the tyrant, who was so struck with her great\nbeauty that he wished to make her his mistress. At first she refused,\nbut her mother begged her with tears to consent, and she finally yielded\non Kiyomori's promise that her children should be spared. This mercy did\nnot please the friends of the tyrant, who insisted that the boys should\nbe put to death, fearing to let any one live who bore the hated name of\nMinamoto. But the beauty of the mother and her tearful pleadings won\nthe tyrant's consent, and her sacrifice for her children was not in\nvain.\n\nThe youngest of the three, the babe whom Tokiwa had borne in her arms in\nher flight, grew up to be a healthy, ruddy-cheeked boy, small of\nstature, but fiery and impetuous in spirit. Kiyomori had no intention,\nhowever, that these boys should be left at liberty to cause him trouble\nin the future. When of proper age he sent them to a monastery, ordering\nthat they should be brought up as priests.\n\nThe elder boys consented to this, suffering their black hair to be\nshaved off and the robes of Buddhist neophytes to be put on them. But\nYoshitsune, the youngest, had no fancy for the life of a monk, and\nrefused to let the razor come near his hair. Though dwelling in the\nmonastery, he was so merry and self-willed that his pranks caused much\nscandal, and the pious bonzes knew not what to do with this young ox, as\nthey called the irrepressible boy.\n\nAs Yoshitsune grew older, his distaste at the dulness of his life in the\ncloister increased. The wars in the north, word of which penetrated even\nthose holy walls, inspired his ambition, and he determined in some way\nto escape. The opportunity to do so soon arose. Traders from the outer\nworld made their way within the monastery gates for purposes of\nbusiness, and among these was an iron-merchant, who was used to making\nfrequent journeys to the north of the island of Hondo to obtain the fine\niron of the celebrated mines of that region. The youth begged this\niron-merchant to take him on one of his journeys, a request which he at\nfirst refused, through fear of offending the priests. But Yoshitsune\ninsisted, saying that they would be glad enough to be rid of him, and\nthe trader at length consented. Yoshitsune was right: the priests were\nvery well satisfied to learn that he had taken himself off.\n\nOn the journey the youthful noble gave proofs of remarkable valor and\nstrength. He seized and held prisoner a bold robber, and on another\noccasion helped to defend the house of a man of wealth from an attack by\nrobbers, five of whom he killed. These and other exploits alarmed a\nfriend who was with him, and who bade him to be careful lest the Taira\nshould hear of his doings, learn who he was, and kill him.\n\nThe boy at length found a home with the prince of Mutsu, a nobleman of\nthe Fujiwara clan. Here he spent his days in military exercises and the\nchase, and by the time he was twenty-one had gained a reputation as a\nsoldier of great valor and consummate skill, and as a warrior in whom\nthe true spirit of chivalry seemed inborn. A youth of such honor,\nvirtue, courage, and martial fire Japan had rarely known.\n\nIn the war that soon arose between Yoritomo and the Taira the youthful\nBayard served his brother well. Kiyomori, in sparing the sons of the\nMinamoto chief, had left alive the two ablest of all who bore that name.\nSo great were the skill and valor of the young warrior that his brother,\non the rebellion of Yoshinaka, made Yoshitsune commander of the army of\nthe west, and sent him against the rebellious general, who was quickly\ndefeated and slain.\n\nBut the Taira, though they had been driven from the capital, had still\nmany adherents in the land, and were earnestly endeavoring to raise an\narmy in the south and west. Unfortunately for them, they had a leader to\ndeal with who knew the value of celerity. Yoshitsune laid siege to the\nfortified palace of Fukuwara, within which the Taira leaders lay\nintrenched, and pushed the siege with such energy that in a short time\nthe palace was taken and in flames. Those who escaped fled to the castle\nof Yashima, which their active enemy also besieged and burned. As a last\nrefuge the Taira leaders made their way to the Straits of Shimonoseki,\nwhere they had a large fleet of junks.\n\nThe final struggle in this war took place in the fourth month of the\nyear 1185. Yoshitsune had with all haste got together a fleet, and the\ntwo armies, now afloat, met on the waters of the strait for the greatest\nnaval battle that Japan had ever known. The Taira fleet consisted of\nfive hundred vessels, which held not only the fighting men, but their\nmothers, wives, and children, among them the dethroned mikado, a child\nsix years of age. The Minamoto fleet was composed of seven hundred\njunks, containing none but men.\n\nIn the battle that followed, the young leader of the Minamoto showed the\nhighest intrepidity. The fight began with a fierce onset from the Taira,\nwhich drove back their foe. With voice and example Yoshitsune encouraged\nhis men. For an interval the combat lulled. Then Wada, a noted archer,\nshot an arrow which struck the junk of a Taira chief.\n\n\"Shoot it back!\" cried the chief.\n\nAn archer plucked it from the wood, fitted it to his bow, and let it fly\nat the Minamoto fleet. The shaft grazed the helmet of one warrior and\npierced the breast of another.\n\n\"Shoot it back!\" cried Yoshitsune.\n\n\"It is short and weak,\" said Wada, plucking it from the dead man's\nbreast. Taking a longer shaft from his quiver, he shot it with such\nforce and sureness of aim that it passed through the armor and flesh of\nthe Taira bowman and fell into the sea beyond. Yoshitsune emptied his\nquiver with similar skill, each arrow finding a victim, and soon the\ntide of battle turned.\n\nTreason aided the Minamoto in their victory. In the vessel containing\nthe son, widow, and daughter of Kiyomori, and the young mikado, was a\nfriend of Yoshitsune, who had agreed upon a signal by which this junk\ncould be known. In the height of the struggle the signal appeared.\nYoshitsune at once ordered a number of captains to follow with their\nboats, and bore down on this central vessel of the Taira fleet.\n\nSoon the devoted vessel was surrounded by hostile junks, and armed men\nleaped in numbers on its deck. A Taira man sprang upon Yoshitsune, sword\nin hand, but he saved his life by leaping to another junk, while his\nassailant plunged to death in the encrimsoned waves. Down went the Taira\nnobles before the swords of their assailants. The widow of Kiyomori,\ndetermined not to be taken alive, seized the youthful mikado and leaped\ninto the sea. Munemori, Kiyomori's son and the head of the Taira house,\nwas taken, with many nobles and ladies of the court.\n\nStill the battle went on. Ship after ship of the Taira fleet, their\nsides crushed by the prows of their opponents, sunk beneath the reddened\nwaters. Others were boarded and swept clear of defenders by the sword.\nHundreds perished, women and children as well as men. Hundreds more were\ntaken captive. The waters of the sea, that morning clear and sparkling,\nwere now the color of blood, and the pride of the Taira clan lay buried\nbeneath the waves or were cast up by the unquiet waters upon the strand.\nWith that fatal day the Taira vanished from the sight of men.\n\nYoritomo gave the cruel order that no male of that hated family should\nbe left alive, and armed murderers sought them out over hill and vale,\nslaying remorselessly all that could be traced. In Kioto many boy\nchildren of the clan were found, all of whom were slain. A few of the\nTaira name escaped from the fleet and fled to Kiushiu, where they hid in\nthe lurking-places of the mountains. There, in poverty and pride, their\ndescendants still survive, having remained unknown in the depths of\ntheir covert until about a century ago.\n\nThe story of Yoshitsune, which began in such glory, ends in treachery\nand ingratitude. Yoritomo envied the brother to whose valor his power\nwas largely due. Hatred replaced the love which should have filled his\nheart, and he was ready to believe any calumny against the noble young\nsoldier.\n\nOne Kajiwara, a military adviser in the army, grew incensed at\nYoshitsune for acting against his advice, and hastened to Yoritomo with\nlies and slanders. The shogun, too ready to believe these stories,\nforbade Yoshitsune to enter the city on his return with the spoils of\nvictory. The youthful victor wrote him a touching letter, which is still\nextant, recounting his toils and dangers, and appealing for justice and\nthe clearance from suspicion of his fair fame.\n\nWeary of waiting, he went to Kioto, where he found himself pursued by\nassassins. He escaped into Yamato, but was again pursued. Once more he\nescaped and concealed himself, but spies traced him out and the son of\nhis host tried to murder him.\n\nWhat finally became of the hero is not known. The popular belief is that\nhe killed himself with his own hand, after slaying his wife and\nchildren. Some believe that he escaped to Yezo, where for years he dwelt\namong the Ainos, who to-day worship his spirit and have erected a shrine\nover what they claim to be his grave. The preposterous story is even\nadvanced that he fled to Asia and became the great Mongol conqueror\nGenghis Khan.\n\nWhatever became of him, his name is immortal in Japan. Every Japanese\nyouth looks upon the youthful martyr as the ideal hero of his race, his\nform and deeds are glorified in art and song, and while a martial\nthought survives in Japan the name of this Bayard of the island empire\nwill be revered.\n\n\n\n\n_THE HOJO TYRANNY._\n\n\nUnder the rule of Yoritomo Japan had two capitals and two governments,\nthe mikado ruling at Kioto, the shogun at Kamakura, the magnificent city\nwhich Yoritomo had founded. The great family of the Minamoto was now\nsupreme, all its rivals being destroyed. A special tax for the support\nof the troops yielded a large revenue to the shoguns; courts were\nestablished at Kamakura; the priests, who had made much trouble, were\ndisarmed; a powerful permanent army was established; a military chief\nwas placed in each province beside the civil governor, and that military\ngovernment was founded which for nearly seven centuries robbed the\nmikado of all but the semblance of power. Thus it came that the shogun,\nor the tycoon as he afterwards named himself, appeared to be the emperor\nof Japan.\n\nWe have told how Yoritomo, once a poor exile, became the lord of the\nempire. After conquering all his enemies he visited Kioto, where he\nastonished the court of the mikado by the splendor of his retinue and\nthe magnificence of his military shows, athletic games, and ceremonial\nbanquets. The two rulers exchanged the costliest presents, the emperor\nconferred all authority upon the general, and when Yoritomo returned to\nhis capital city he held in his control the ruling power of the realm.\nAll generals were called shoguns, but he was _the_ shogun, his title\nbeing Sei-i Tai Shogun (Barbarian-subjugating Great General). Though\nreally a vassal of the emperor, he wielded the power of the emperor\nhimself, and from 1192 until 1868 the mikados were insignificant puppets\nand the shoguns the real lords of the land. Such was the strange\nprogress of political evolution in Japan. The mikado was still emperor,\nbut the holders of this title lay buried in sloth or religious\nfanaticism and let their subordinates rule.\n\nAnd now we have another story to tell concerning this strange political\nevolution. As the shoguns became paramount over the mikados, so did the\nHojo, the regents of the shoguns, become paramount over them, and for\nnearly one hundred and fifty years these vassals of a vassal were the\nvirtual emperors of Japan. This condition of affairs gives a curious\ncomplication to the history of that country.\n\nIn a previous tale it has been said that the father of Masago, the\nbeautiful wife of the exiled prince, was named Hojo Tokimasa. He was a\nman of ability and was much esteemed and trusted by his son-in-law.\nAfter the death of Yoritomo and the accession of his son, Tokimasa\nbecame chief of the council of state, and brought up the young shogun in\nidleness and dissipation, wielding the power in his name. When the boy\nreached manhood and began to show ambition to rule, Tokimasa had him\nexiled to a temple and soon after assassinated. His brother, then twelve\nyears old, succeeded as shogun. He cared nothing for power, but much for\nenjoyment, and the Hojo let him live his life of pleasure while they\nheld the control of affairs. In the end he was murdered by the son of\nthe slain shogun, who was in his turn killed by a soldier, and thus the\nfamily of Yoritomo became extinct.\n\nFrom that time forward the Hojo continued preeminent. They were able\nmen, and governed the country well. The shoguns were chosen by them from\nthe Minamoto clan, boys being selected, some of them but two or three\nyears old, who were deposed as soon as they showed a desire to rule. The\nsame was the case with the mikados, who were also creatures of the Hojo\nclan. One of them who had been deposed raised an army and fought for his\nthrone. He was defeated and exiled to a distant monastery. Others were\ndeposed, and neither mikados nor shoguns were permitted to reign except\nas puppets in the hands of the powerful regents of the realm.\n\nNone of the Hojo ever claimed the office of shogun. They were content to\nserve as the power behind the throne. As time went on, the usual result\nof such a state of affairs showed itself. The able men of the Hojo\nfamily were followed by weak and vicious ones. Their tyranny and\nmisgovernment grew unbearable. They gave themselves up to luxury and\ndebauchery, oppressed the people by taxes to obtain means for their\ncostly pleasures, and crushed beneath their oppressive rule the emperor,\nthe shogun, and the people alike. Their cup of vice and tyranny at\nlength overflowed. The day of retribution was at hand.\n\nThe son of the mikado Go-Daigo was the first to rebel. His plans were\ndiscovered by spies, and his father ordered him to retire to a\nmonastery, in which, however, he continued to plot revenge. Go-Daigo\nhimself next struck for the power of which he possessed but the name.\nSecuring the aid of the Buddhist priests, he fortified Kasagi, a\nstronghold in Yamato. He failed in his effort. In the following year\n(1331) an army attacked and took Kasagi, and the emperor was taken\nprisoner and banished to Oki.\n\nConnected with his exile is a story of much dramatic interest. While\nGo-Daigo was being borne in a palanquin to his place of banishment,\nunder a guard of soldiers, Kojima, a young noble of his party, attempted\nhis rescue. Gathering a party of followers, he occupied a pass in the\nhills through which he expected that the train would make its way. But\nanother pass was taken, and he waited in vain.\n\nLearning their mistake, his followers, disheartened by their failure,\ndeserted him. But the faithful vassal cautiously followed the train,\nmaking various efforts to approach and whisper hope to the imperial\nexile. He was prevented by the vigilance of the guard, and finally,\nfinding that either rescue or speech was hopeless, he hit upon a plan to\nbaffle the vigilance of the guards and let the emperor know that friends\nwere still at work in his behalf.\n\nUnder the shadows of night he secretly entered the garden of the inn\nwhere the party was resting, and there scraped off the outer bark of a\ncherry-tree, laying bare the smooth white layer within. On this he\nwrote the following stanza:\n\n \"O Heaven, destroy not Kosen\n While Hanrei still lives.\"\n\nThe next morning the soldiers noticed the writing on the tree. Curious\nto learn its meaning, but unable to read, they showed it to their\nprisoner, who, being familiar with the quotation, caught, with an\nimpulse of joy, its concealed significance. Kosen was an ancient king of\nChina who had been deposed and made prisoner, but was afterwards\nrestored to power by his faithful follower Hanrei. Glad to learn that\nloyal friends were seeking his release, the emperor went to his lonely\nexile with renewed hope. Kojima afterwards died on the battle-field\nduring the war for the restoration of the exiled mikado.\n\n[Illustration: LETTER-WRITING IN JAPAN.]\n\nBut another valiant soldier was soon in the field in the interest of the\nexile. Nitta Yoshisada, a captain of the Hojo forces, had been sent to\nbesiege Kusunoki, a vassal of the mikado, who held a stronghold for his\nimperial lord. Nitta, roused by conscience to a sense of his true duty,\nrefused to fight against the emperor, deserted from the army, and,\nobtaining a commission from Go-Daigo's son, who was concealed in the\nmountains, he returned to his native place, raised the standard of\nrevolt against the Hojo, and soon found himself at the head of a\nconsiderable force.\n\nIn thirteen days after raising the banner of revolt in favor of the\nmikado he reached the vicinity of Kamakura, acting under the advice of\nhis brother, who counselled him to beard the lion in his den. The\ntyranny of the Hojo had spread far and wide the spirit of rebellion, and\nthousands flocked to the standard of the young general,--a long white\npennant, near whose top were two bars of black, and under them a circle\nbisected with a zone of black.\n\nOn the eve of the day fixed for the attack on the city, Nitta stood on\nthe sea-shore in front of his army, before him the ocean with blue\nislands visible afar, behind him lofty mountain peaks, chief among them\nthe lordly Fusiyama. Here, removing his helmet, he uttered the following\nwords:\n\n\"Our heavenly son [the mikado] has been deposed by his traitorous\nsubject, and is now an exile afar in the west. I have not been able to\nlook on this act unmoved, and have come to punish the traitors in yonder\ncity by the aid of these loyal troops. I humbly pray you, O god of the\nocean waves, to look into the purposes of my heart. If you favor me and\nmy cause, then bid the tide to ebb and open a path beside the sea.\"\n\nWith these words he drew his sword and cast it with all his strength\ninto the water. For a moment the golden hilt gleamed in the rays of the\nsetting sun, and then the blade sank from sight. But with the dawn of\nthe next day the soldiers saw with delight that there had been a great\nebb in the tide, and that the dry strand offered a wide high-road past\nthe rocky girdle that enclosed Kamakura. With triumphant shouts they\nmarched along this ocean path, following a leader whom they now believed\nto be the chosen avenger of the gods.\n\nFrom two other sides the city of the shogun was attacked. The defence\nwas as fierce as the assault, but everywhere victory rested upon the\nwhite banner of loyalty. Nitta's army pressed resistlessly forward, and\nthe Hojo found themselves defeated and their army destroyed. Fire\ncompleted what the sword had begun, destructive flames attacked the\nframe dwellings of the city, and in a few hours the great capital of the\nshoguns and their powerful regents was a waste of ashes.\n\nMany of the vassals of the Hojo killed themselves rather than surrender,\namong them a noble named Ando, whose niece was Nitta's wife. She wrote\nhim a letter begging him to surrender.\n\n\"My niece is the daughter of a samurai house,\" the old man indignantly\nexclaimed. \"How can she make so shameless a request? And why did Nitta,\nwho is himself a samurai, permit her to do so?\" Wrapping the letter\naround his sword, he plunged the blade into his body and fell dead.\n\nWhile Nitta was winning this signal victory, others were in arms for the\nmikado elsewhere, and everywhere the Hojo power went down. The people in\nall sections of the empire rose against the agents of the tyrants and\nput them to death, many thousands of the Hojo clan being slain and their\npower utterly destroyed. They had ruled Japan from the death of\nYoritomo, in 1199, to 1333. They have since been execrated in Japan, the\nfeeling of the people being displayed in their naming one of the\ndestructive insects of the island the Hojo bug. Yet among the Hojo were\nmany able rulers, and under them the empire was kept in peace and order\nfor over a century, while art and literature flourished and many of the\nnoblest monuments of Japanese architecture arose.\n\nGo-Daigo was now recalled from exile and replaced on the imperial\nthrone. For the first time for centuries the mikado had come to his own\nand held the power of the empire in his hands. With judgment and\ndiscretion he might have restored the old government of Japan.\n\nBut he lacked those important qualities, and quickly lost the power he\nhad won. After a passing gleam of its old splendor the mikadoate sank\ninto eclipse again.\n\nGo-Daigo was ruined by listening to a flatterer, whom he raised to the\nhighest power, while he rewarded those who had rescued him with\nunimportant domains. A fierce war followed, in which Ashikaga, the\nflatterer, was the victor, defeating and destroying his foes. Go-Daigo\nhad pronounced him a rebel. In return he was himself deposed, and a new\nemperor, whom the usurper could control, was raised to the vacant\nthrone. For three years only had the mikado remained supreme. Then for a\nlong period the Ashikagas held the reins of power, and a tyranny like\nthat of the Hojo existed in the land.\n\n\n\n\n_THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN._\n\n\nIn all its history only one serious effort has been made to conquer the\nempire of Japan. It ended in such dire disaster to the invaders that no\nnation has ever repeated it. During the thirteenth century Asia was\nthrown into turmoil by the dreadful outbreak of the Mongol Tartars under\nthe great conqueror Genghis Khan. Nearly all Asia was overrun, Russia\nwas subdued, China was conquered, and envoys were sent to Japan\ndemanding tribute and homage to the great khan.\n\nSix times the demand was made, and six times refused. Then an army of\nten thousand men was sent to Japan, but was soon driven from the country\nin defeat. Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China, now sent nine\nenvoys to the shogun, bidding them to stay until they received an answer\nto his demand. They stayed much longer than he intended, for the Hojo,\nwho were then in power, cut off their heads. Once again the Chinese\nemperor sent to demand tribute, and once again the heads of the envoys\nwere severed from their bodies.\n\nActs like these could have only one result, and the Japanese made rapid\npreparations to meet the great power which had conquered Asia. A large\narmy was levied, forts and defences were put in order, stores gathered\nin great quantities, and weapons and munitions of war abundantly\nprepared. A fleet of junks was built, and all the resources of the\nempire were employed. Japan, though it had waged no wars abroad, had\namply learned the art of war from its frequent hostilities at home, and\nwas well provided with brave soldiers and skilful generals. The khan was\nnot likely to find its conquest an easy task.\n\nWhile the islanders were thus busy, their foes were as actively engaged.\nThe proud emperor had made up his mind to crush this little realm that\nso insolently defied his power. A great fleet was made ready, containing\nthirty-five hundred vessels in all, in which embarked an army of one\nhundred thousand Chinese and Tartars and seven thousand Corean troops.\nIt was the seventh month of the year 1281 when the expectant sentinels\nof Japan caught the glint of the sun's rays on the far-off throng of\nsails, which whitened the seas as they came on with streaming banners\nand the warlike clang of brass and steel.\n\nThe army of Japan, which lay encamped on the hills back of the fortified\ncity of Daizaifu, in the island of Kiushiu, and gathered in ranks along\nthe adjoining coast, gazed with curiosity and dread on this mighty\nfleet, far the largest they had ever seen. Many of the vessels were of\nenormous size, as it seemed to their unaccustomed eyes, and were armed\nwith engines of war such as they had never before beheld. The light\nboats of the Japanese had little hope of success against these huge\njunks, and many of those that ventured from shelter were sunk by the\ndarts and stones flung from the Mongol catapults. The enemy could not be\nmatched upon the sea; it remained to prevent him from setting foot upon\nshore.\n\nYet the courage and daring of the island warriors could not be\nrestrained. A party of thirty swam out and boarded a junk, where their\nkeen-edged swords proved more than a match for the Tartar bows and\nspears, so that they returned with the heads of the crew. A second party\ntried to repeat a like adventure, but the Tartars were now on the alert\nand killed them all. One captain, with a picked crew, steered out in\nbroad daylight to a Chinese junk, heedless of a shower of darts, one of\nwhich took off his arm. In a minute more he and his men were on the deck\nand were driving back the crew in a fierce hand-to-hand encounter.\nBefore other vessels of the fleet could come up, they had fired the\ncaptured junk and were off again, bearing with them twenty-one heads of\nthe foe.\n\nTo prevent such attacks all advanced boats were withdrawn and the fleet\nwas linked together with iron chains, while with catapults and great\nbows heavy darts and stones were showered on approaching Japanese boats,\nsinking many of them and destroying their crews. But all efforts of the\nTartars to land were bravely repulsed, and such detachments as reached\nthe shore were driven into the sea before they could prepare for\ndefence, over two thousand of the enemy falling in these preliminary\nattempts. With the utmost haste a long line of fortifications,\nconsisting of earthworks and palisades, had been thrown up for miles\nalong the shore, and behind these defences the island soldiers defied\ntheir foes.\n\nAmong the defenders was a captain, Michiari by name, whose hatred of the\nMongols led him to a deed of the most desperate daring. Springing over\nthe breastworks, he defied the barbarians to mortal combat. Then,\nfilling two boats with others as daring as himself, he pushed out to the\nfleet.\n\nBoth sides looked on in amazement. \"Is the man mad?\" said the Japanese.\n\"Are those two little boats coming to attack our whole fleet?\" asked the\nMongols. \"They must be deserters, who are coming to surrender.\"\n\nUnder this supposition the boats were permitted to approach unharmed,\ntheir course being directed towards a large Tartar junk. A near approach\nbeing thus made, grappling-irons were flung out, and in a minute more\nthe daring assailants were leaping on board the junk.\n\nTaken by surprise, the Tartars were driven back, the two-handed\nkeen-edged swords of the assailants making havoc in their ranks. The\ncrew made what defence they could, but the sudden and unlooked-for\nassault had put them at disadvantage, and before the adjoining ships\ncould come to their aid the junk was in flames and the boats of the\nvictors had put off for land. With them as prisoner they carried one of\nthe highest officers in the invading fleet.\n\nYet these skirmishes did little in reducing the strength of the foe, and\nhad not the elements come to the aid of Japan the issue of the affair\nmight have been serious for the island empire. While the soldiers were\nfighting the priests were praying, and the mikado sent a priestly\nmessenger to the shrines at Ise, bearing his petition to the gods. It\nwas noonday, and the sky perfectly clear, when he offered the prayer,\nbut immediately afterwards a broad streak of cloud rose on the horizon,\nand soon the sky was overcast with dense and rolling masses, portending\na frightful storm.\n\nIt was one of the typhoons that annually visit that coast and against\nwhose appalling fury none but the strongest ships can stand. It fell\nwith all its force on the Chinese fleet, lifting the junks like straws\non the great waves which suddenly arose, tossing them together, hurling\nsome upon the shore, and forcing others bodily beneath the sea. Hundreds\nof the light craft were sunk, and corpses were heaped on the shore in\nmultitudes. Many of the vessels were driven to sea, few or none of which\never reached land. Many others were wrecked upon Taka Island. Here the\nsurvivors, after the storm subsided, began cutting down trees and\nbuilding boats, in the hope of reaching Corea. But they were attacked by\nthe Japanese with such fury that all were slain but three, whose lives\nwere spared that they might bear back the news to their emperor and tell\nhim how the gods had fought for Japan.\n\nThe lesson was an effective one. The Chinese have never since attempted\nthe conquest of Japan, and it is the boast of the people of that country\nthat no invading army has ever set foot upon their shores. Six centuries\nafterwards the case was to be reversed and a Japanese army to land on\nChinese soil.\n\nGreat praise was given to the Hojo then in control at Kamakura for his\nenergy and valor in repelling the invaders. But the chief honor was paid\nto the gods enshrined at Ise, who were thenceforward adored as the\nguardians of the winds and the seas. To this day the invasion of the\nMongols is vividly remembered in Kiushiu, and the mother there hushes\nher fretful babe with the question, \"Little one, why do you cry? Do you\nthink the Mogu are coming?\"\n\nIt may be well here to say that the story of this invasion is told by\nMarco Polo, who was at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol conqueror of\nChina, at the time it took place, and that his tale differs in many\nrespects from that of the Japanese historians. Each party is apparently\nmaking the best of its side of the affair.\n\nAccording to Marco Polo's account, the failure of the expedition was due\nto jealousy between the two officers in command. He states that one\nJapanese fortification was taken and all within put to the sword, except\ntwo, whose flesh was charmed against the sword and who could be killed\nonly by being beaten to death with great clubs. As for those who reached\nTaka Island, they contrived by strategy to gain possession of the boats\nof the assailing Japanese, by whose aid, and that of the flags which the\nboats flew, they captured the chief city of Japan. Here for six months\nthey were closely besieged, and finally surrendered on condition that\ntheir lives should be spared.\n\n\n\n\n_NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS._\n\n\nFor more than two centuries the Ashikaga lorded it over Japan, as the\nHojo had done before them, and the mikados were tools in their strong\nhands. Then arose a man who overthrew this powerful clan. This man,\nNobunaga by name, was a descendant of Kiyomori, the great leader of the\nTaira clan, his direct ancestor being one of the few who escaped from\nthe great Minamoto massacre.\n\nThe father of this Taira chief was a soldier whose valor had won him a\nlarge estate. Nobunaga added to it, built himself a strong castle, and\nbecame the friend and patron of the last of the Ashikaga, whom he made\nshogun. (The Ashikaga were descendants of the Minamoto, who alone had\nhereditary claim to this high office.) But Nobunaga remained the power\nbehind the throne, and, a quarrel arising between him and the shogun, he\ndeposed the latter, and became himself the ruler of Japan. After two\nhundred and thirty-eight years of dominion the lordship of the Ashikaga\nthus came to an end.\n\nOf this great Japanese leader we are told, \"He was a prince of large\nstature, but of weak and delicate complexion, with a heart and soul that\nsupplied all other wants; ambitious above all mankind; brave, generous,\nand bold, and not without many excellent moral virtues; inclined to\njustice, and an enemy to treason. With a quick and penetrating wit, he\nseemed cut out for business. Excelling in military discipline, he was\nesteemed the fittest to command an army, manage a siege, fortify a town,\nor mark out a camp of any general in Japan, never using any head but his\nown. If he asked advice, it was more to know their hearts than to profit\nby their advice. He sought to see into others and to conceal his own\ncounsel, being very secret in his designs. He laughed at the worship of\nthe gods, being convinced that the bonzes were impostors abusing the\nsimplicity of the people and screening their own debauches under the\nname of religion.\"\n\nSuch was the man who by genius and strength of will now rose to the head\nof affairs. Not being of the Minamoto family, he did not seek to make\nhimself shogun, and for forty years this office ceased to exist. He\nruled in the name of the mikado, but held all the power of the realm.\n\nThe good fortune of Nobunaga lay largely in his wise choice of men.\nUnder him were four generals, so admirable yet so diverse in military\nability that the people gave them the distinctive nicknames of \"Cotton,\"\n\"Rice,\" \"Attack,\" and \"Retreat.\" Cotton, which can be put to a multitude\nof uses, indicated the fertility in resources of the first; while the\nsecond made himself as necessary as rice, which people cannot live a day\nwithout. The strength of the third lay in the boldness of his attacks;\nof the fourth, in the skill of his retreats. Of these four, the first,\nnamed Hideyoshi, rose to great fame. A fifth was afterwards added,\nTokugawa Iyeyasu, also a famous name in Japan.\n\nIt was through his dealings with the Buddhists that Nobunaga made\nhimself best known in history. He had lived among them in his early\nyears, and had learned to hate and despise them. Having been educated in\nthe Shinto faith, the ancient religion of Japan, he looked on the\npriests of Buddhism as enemies to the true faith. The destruction of\nthese powerful sectaries was, therefore, one of the great purposes of\nhis life.\n\nNobunaga had other reasons than these for destroying the power of the\nbonzes. During the long period of the Ashikagas these cunning\necclesiastics had risen to great power. Their monasteries had become\nfortresses, with moats and strong stone walls. Internally these were\nlike arsenals, and an army could readily be equipped from them with\nweapons, while many of the priests were daring leaders. During the civil\nwars they served the side that promised them the most spoil or power.\nRivals among them often fought battles of their own, in which hundreds\nwere killed and towns and temples burned. So great were their authority,\ntheir insolence, and their licentiousness that their existence had\nbecome an evil in the land, and Nobunaga determined to teach them a\nlesson they would not soon forget.\n\nOf the monasteries, the most extensive was that of Hiyeizan, on Lake\nBiwa. Within its territory lay thirteen valleys and more than five\nhundred temples, shrines, and dwellings, the grounds of which were\nadorned in the highest style of landscape art. The monks here were\nnumbered by thousands, with whom religious service was a gorgeous\nceremonial mockery, and who revelled in luxury, feasted on forbidden\nviands, drank to inebriety, and indulged in every form of\nlicentiousness. They used their influence in rousing the clans to war,\nfrom which they hoped to draw new spoils for their unrighteous\nenjoyments, while screening themselves from danger behind the cloak of\nthe priesthood.\n\nIt was against this monastery that the wrath of Nobunaga was most\nstrongly aroused. Marching against it in 1571, he bade his generals set\nit on fire. The officers stood aghast at the order, which seemed to them\nlikely to call down the vengeance of Heaven upon their heads. With\nearnest protests they begged him not to do so unholy an act.\n\n\"Since this monastery was built, now nearly a thousand years ago,\" they\nsaid, \"it has been vigilant against the power of the spirits of evil. No\none has dared in all that time to lift a hand against these holy\nbuildings. Can you design to do so?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Nobunaga, sternly. \"I have put down the villains that\ndistracted the country, and I intend to bring peace upon the land and\nrestore the power of the mikado. The bonzes have opposed my efforts and\naided my enemies. I sent them a messenger and gave them the chance to\nact with loyalty, but they failed to listen to my words, and resisted\nthe army of the emperor, aiding the wicked robbers. Does not this make\nthem thieves and villains? If I let them now escape, this trouble will\ncontinue forever, and I have allowed them to remain on this mountain\nonly that I might destroy them. That is not all. I have heard that these\npriests fail to keep their own rules. They eat fish and the\nstrong-smelling vegetables which Buddha prohibited. They keep\nconcubines, and do not even read the sacred books of their faith. How\ncan such as these put down evil and preserve holiness? It is my command\nthat you surround and burn their dwellings and see that none of them\nescape alive.\"\n\nThus bidden, the generals obeyed. The grounds of the monastery were\nsurrounded, and on the next day the temples and shrines were set on fire\nand the soldiers remorselessly cut down all they met. The scene of\nmassacre and conflagration that ensued was awful to behold. None were\nspared, neither young nor old, man, woman, nor child. The sword and\nspear were wielded without mercy, and when the butchery ended not a soul\nof the multitude of inmates was left alive.\n\nOne more great centre of Buddhism remained to be dealt with, that of the\nmonastery and temple of Houguanji, whose inmates had for years hated\nNobunaga and sided with his foes, while they made their stronghold the\nhiding-place of his enemies. Finally, when some of his favorite captains\nhad been killed by lurking foes, who fled from pursuit into the\nmonastery, he determined to deal with this haunt of evil as he had dealt\nwith Hiyeizan.\n\nBut this place was not to be so easily taken. It was strongly fortified,\nand could be captured only by siege. Within the five fortresses of which\nit was composed were many thousands of priests and warriors, women and\nchildren, and a still more frightful massacre than that of Hiyeizan was\nthreatened. The place was so closely surrounded that all escape seemed\ncut off, but under cover of the darkness of night and amid a fierce\nstorm several thousand of the people made their way from one of the\nforts. They failed, however, in their attempt, being pursued, overtaken,\nand slaughtered. Soon after a junk laden with human ears and noses came\nclose under the walls of the castle, that the inmates might learn the\nfate of their late friends.\n\nVigorously the siege went on. A sortie of the garrison was repelled, but\na number of Nobunaga's best officers were killed. After some two months\nof effort, three of the five fortresses were in the assailants' hands,\nand many thousands of the garrison had fallen or perished in the flames,\nthe odor of decaying bodies threatening to spread pestilence through\ncamp and castle alike.\n\nIn this perilous condition of affairs the mikado sent a number of his\nhigh officials to persuade the garrison to yield. A conference was held\nand a surrender agreed upon. The survivors were permitted to make their\nway to other monasteries of their sect, and Nobunaga occupied the\ncastle, which is still held by the government. These two great blows\nbrought the power of the bonzes, for that age, to an end. In later years\nsome trouble was made by them, but Nobunaga had done his work so\nthoroughly that there was little difficulty in keeping them under\ncontrol.\n\n[Illustration: KARAMO TEMPLE, NIKKO.]\n\nThere remains only to tell the story of this great captain's end. He\ndied at Kioto, the victim of treason. Among his captains was one named\nAkechi, a brave man, but proud. One day, in a moment of merriment,\nNobunaga put the head of the captain under his arm and played on it with\nhis fan, saying that he would make a drum of it. This pleasantry was not\nto the taste of the haughty captain, who nursed a desire for\nrevenge,--behind which perhaps lay a wish to seize the power of the\nchief.\n\nThe traitor did not have long to wait. Nobunaga had sent most of his\nforces away to quell a rebellion, keeping but a small garrison. With\npart of this Akechi was ordered to Kiushiu, and left the city with\nseeming intention to obey. But he had not gone far when he called his\nofficers together, told them of his purpose to kill Nobunaga, and\npromised them rich booty for their assistance in the plot. The officers\nmay have had reasons of their own for mutiny, for they readily\nconsented, and marched back to the city they had just left.\n\nNobunaga resided in the temple of Hounoji, apparently without a guard,\nand to his surprise heard the tread of many feet and the clash of armor\nwithout. Opening a window to learn what this portended, he was struck by\nan arrow fired from the outer darkness. He saw at once what had\noccurred, and that escape was impossible. There was but one way for a\nhero to die. Setting fire to the temple, he killed himself, and before\nmany minutes the body of the great warrior was a charred corpse in the\nashes of his funeral pile.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER._\n\n\nIn the history of nations there have been many instances of a man\ndescended from the lowest class of the populace reaching the highest\nrank. Kings, conquerors, emperors, have thus risen from the ranks of\npeasants and laborers, and the crown has been worn by men born to the\nbeggar's lot. In the history of Japan only one instance of this kind\nappears, that of one born a peasant who supplanted the noble families\nand became lord of the people and the emperor alike. Such a man was\nHideyoshi, the one of Nobunaga's generals who bore the popular nickname\nof \"Cotton,\" from his fertility of resources and his varied utility to\nhis chief.\n\nBorn in 1536, the son of a peasant named Yasuke, as a baby he had almost\nthe face of a monkey, while as a boy he displayed a monkey-like cunning,\nrestlessness, and activity. The usual occupations of the sons of\nJapanese peasants, such as grass-cutting and rice-weeding, were not to\nthe taste of young Monkey-pine, as the villagers called him, and he\nspent his time in the streets, a keen-witted and reckless young truant,\nwho feared and cared for no one, and lived by his wits.\n\nFortune favored the little vagrant by bringing him under the eyes of the\ngreat soldier Nobunaga, who was attracted by his wizened, monkeyish\nface and restless eyes and gave him occupation among his grooms. As he\ngrew older his love of war became pronounced, he took part in the\nnumerous civil turmoils in which his patron was engaged, and manifested\nsuch courage and daring that Nobunaga rapidly advanced him in rank,\nfinally making him one of his most trusted generals. No man was more\nadmired in the army for soldierly qualities than the peasant leader, and\nthe boldest warriors sought service under his banner, which at first\nbore for emblem a single gourd, but gained a new one after each battle,\nuntil it displayed a thick cluster of gourds. At the head of the army a\ngolden model of the original banner was borne, and wherever it moved\nvictory followed.\n\nSuch was the man who, after the murder of Nobunaga, marched in furious\nhaste upon his assassin and quenched the ambition of the latter in\ndeath. The brief career of the murderer has given rise to a Japanese\nproverb, \"Akechi ruled three days.\" The avenger of the slain regent was\nnow at the head of affairs. The mikado himself dared not oppose him, for\nthe military power of the empire lay within his grasp. There was only\none man who ventured to resist his authority, and he for no long time.\n\nThis was a general named Shibata, who took the field in defence of the\nclaim of Nobutaka, a son of the slain regent. He did not realize with\nwhom he had to deal. The peasant general was quickly in the field at the\nhead of his veteran army, defeated Shibata at every encounter, and\npursued him so hotly that he fled for refuge to a fortified place now\nknown as Fukui. This stronghold Hideyoshi besieged, establishing his\ncamp on the slope of a neighboring mountain, from which he pushed his\nsiege operations so vigorously that the fugitive gave up all hope of\nescape.\n\nIn this dilemma Shibata took a resolution like that of the Epicurean\nmonarch of Assyria, the famed Sardanapalus. He gave a grand feast in the\npalace, to which all the captains and notables of his party were\ninvited, and at which all present danced and made merry as though\nvictory hung over their banners. Yet it was their funeral feast, to be\nfollowed by a carnival of death.\n\nIn the midst of the banquet, Shibata, rising cup in hand, said to his\nwife,--\n\n\"We are men, and will die. You are a woman, and have the right to live.\nYou may gain safety by leaving the castle, and are at liberty to marry\nagain.\"\n\nThe brave woman, the sister of Nobunaga, was too high in spirit to\naccept this offer. Her eyes filled with tears, she thanked her lord for\nhis kindness, but declared that the world held no other husband for her,\nand that it was her sole wish to die with him. Then, reciting a farewell\nstanza of poetry, she calmly stood while her husband thrust his dirk\ninto her heart.\n\nAll the women and children present, nerved by this brave example,\nwelcomed the same fate, and then the men committed _hara-kiri_, the\nJapanese method of suicide, Shibata having first set fire to the castle.\nSoon the flames curled upward round the dead and the dying, and the\nconqueror found nothing but the ashes of a funeral pile upon which to\nlay hand.\n\nHideyoshi, all resistance to his rule being now at an end, set himself\nto tranquillize and develop Japan. Iyeyasu, one of Nobunaga's favorite\ngenerals, became his friend and married his sister; Mori, lord of the\nWest, came to the capital and became his vassal, and no man in the\nempire dared question his power. His enemies, proud nobles who were\nfurious at having to bend their haughty heads before a peasant,\nprivately called him Sava Kuan ja (\"crowned monkey\"), but were wise\nenough not to be too open in their satire. Their anger was especially\naroused by the fact that the mikado had conferred upon this parvenu the\nlofty office of kuambaku, or prime minister of the empire, a title which\nhad never before been borne by any one not a noble of the Fujiwara clan,\nfor whom it had been expressly reserved. He was also ennobled under the\nfamily name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.\n\nThe new premier showed as great an activity in the works of peace as he\nhad shown in those of war, putting his soldiers to work to keep their\nminds employed. Kioto was improved by his orders, splendid palaces being\nbuilt, and the bed of the river Kamo paved with flat stones. Ozaka was\ngreatly developed, an immense fortress being built, the river widened\nand deepened, and canals dug in great profusion, over which were thrown\nmore than a thousand bridges. Various other cities were improved, great\ntowers and pagodas built, and public works erected in many parts of the\nrealm. In addition Hideyoshi won popularity by his justice and mercy,\npardoning his opponents, though the rule had hitherto been to put the\nadherents of opposite parties to death, and showing no regard for rank,\ntitle, or service to himself in his official duty as judge.\n\nHe had married a peasant girl while a peasant himself, but as he rose in\nrank he espoused new wives of increasingly high station, his last being\nof princely descent. In the end he had as many wives as the much-married\nHenry VIII., but not in the same fashion, as he kept them all at once,\ninstead of cutting off the head of one to make room for the next.\n\nHideyoshi had one great ambition, born in him when a boy, and haunting\nhim as a man. This was to conquer Corea, and perhaps China as well. He\nhad begged Nobunaga to aid him in this great design, but had only been\nlaughed at for his pains. Now that he was at the head of affairs, this\nplan loomed up in large proportions in his mind. Corea had long ceased\nto pay tribute, and Corean pirates ravaged the coast. Here was an excuse\nfor action. As for China, he knew that anarchy ruled there, and hoped to\ntake advantage of this state of affairs.\n\nPatting the back of a statue of Yoritomo in a patronizing fashion, he\nhumorously said, \"You are my friend. You took all the power in Japan, a\nthing which only you and I have been able to do. But you came from a\nnoble family, and were not, like me, the son of a peasant. I propose to\noutdo you, and conquer all the earth, and even China. What say you to\nthat?\"\n\nTo test the feeling of the gods about his proposed expedition, he threw\ninto the air before a shrine a hundred \"cash,\" or Japanese small coin,\nsaying, to translate his words into the American vernacular, \"If I am to\nconquer China, let these come up head.\"\n\nThey all came up \"head,\" or what in Japan answers to that word, and\nsoldiers and ruler were alike delighted, for this omen seemed surely to\npromise success.\n\nNearly fourteen hundred years had elapsed since the previous conquest of\nCorea by the famous empress Jingu. Now an army said to have been five\nhundred thousand strong was sent across the ocean channel between\nKiushiu and the Corean coast. Hideyoshi was at this time sixty years of\nage and had grown infirm of body, so that he felt unable to command the\nexpedition himself, which was therefore intrusted to two of his ablest\nleaders, Kato, of noble birth, and Konishi, the son of a druggist, who\ndisgusted his proud associate by representing on his banner a paper\nmedicine-bag, the sign of his father's shop.\n\nNotwithstanding the ill feeling between the leaders, the armies were\neverywhere victorious, Corea was overrun and the king driven from his\ncapital, and the victors had entered into serious conflict with the\narmies of China, when word came from Japan (in 1598) that Hideyoshi was\ndead. A truce was at once concluded and the army ordered home.\n\nThus ended the second invasion of Corea, the second of the events which\ngave rise to the claim in Japan that Corea is a vassal state of the\nisland empire and were used as warrants to the nineteenth century\ninvasion.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM._\n\n\nThe death of the peasant premier left Iyeyasu, the second in ability of\nNobunaga's great generals, as the rising power in Japan. Hideyoshi, in\nthe hope of preserving the rule in his own family, had married his son,\na child of six, to Iyeyasu's granddaughter, and appointed six ministers\nto act as his guardians. He did not count, in cherishing this illusory\nhope, on the strength of human ambition. Nor did he give thought to the\nbitter disgust with which the haughty lords and nobles had yielded to\nthe authority of one whom they regarded as an upstart. The chances of\nthe child's coming to power were immeasurably small.\n\nIn truth, the death of the strong-willed premier had thrown Japan open\nto anarchy. The leaders who had returned from the Corean war, flushed\nwith victory, were ambitious for power, and the thousands of soldiers\nunder their command were eager for war and spoils. Hidenobu, a nephew of\nNobunaga, claimed the succession to his uncle's position. The five\nmilitary governors who had been appointed by the late premier were\nsuspicious of Iyeyasu, and took steps to prevent him from seizing the\nvacated place. The elements of anarchy indeed were everywhere abroad,\nthere was more than one aspirant to the ruling power, and armies began\nto be raised.\n\nIyeyasu keenly watched the movements of his enemies. When he saw that\ntroops were being recruited, he did the same. Crimination and\nrecrimination went on, skirmishes took place in the field, the citadel\nof Ozaka was successively taken and retaken by the opposing parties, the\nsplendid palace of Hideyoshi at Fushimi was given to the flames, and at\nlength the two armies came together to settle in one great battle the\nfate of Japan.\n\nThe army of the league against Iyeyasu had many leaders, including the\nfive governors, most of the generals of the Corean war, and the lords\nand vassals of Hideyoshi. Strong as it was, one hundred and eighty\nthousand in all, it was moved by contrary purposes, and unity of counsel\nwas lacking among the chiefs. The army of Iyeyasu, while far weaker, had\nbut one leader, and was inspired by a single purpose.\n\nOn the 1st of October, 1600, the march began, over the great highway\nknown as the Tokaido. The white banner of Iyeyasu was embroidered with\nhollyhocks, his standard a golden fan. \"The road to the west is shut,\"\nprophesied the diviners. \"Then I shall knock till it opens,\" the bold\nleader replied.\n\nAs they marched onward, a persimmon (_ogaki_ in Japanese) was offered\nhim. He opened his hand to receive it, saying, as it fell into his palm,\n\"Ogaki has fallen into my hand.\" (The significance of this remark lies\nin the fact that the camp of the league lay around the castle of Ogaki).\n\nLearning of the near approach of Iyeyasu's force, the opposing army\nbroke camp and marched to meet him through a sharp rain that wet them to\nthe skin. Their chosen field of battle, Sekigahara (\"plain of the\nbarrier\") by name, is in Omi, near Lake Biwa. It is an expanse of open,\nrolling ground, bisected by one of the main roads between Tokio and\nKioto and crossed by a road from Echizen. On this spot was to be fought\none of the greatest battles Japan had ever known, whose result was\ndestined to settle the fate of the empire for two hundred and fifty\nyears.\n\nIn the early morning of the eventful day one of the pickets of Iyeyasu's\nhost brought word that the army of the league was in full march from the\ncastle of Ogaki. This important news was soon confirmed by others, and\nthe general joyfully cried, \"The enemy has indeed fallen into my hand.\"\nThrowing aside his helmet, he knotted a handkerchief over his forehead,\nsaying that this was all the protection he should need in the coming\nbattle.\n\nHis army was seventy-five thousand strong. That opposed to him exceeded\nhis in strength by more than fifty thousand men. But neither as yet knew\nwhat they had to encounter, for a fog lay heavy on the plain, and the\ntwo armies, drawn up in battle array, were invisible to each other. To\nprevent surprise, Iyeyasu sent in front of his army a body of guards\nbearing white flags, to give quick warning of an advance.\n\nAt length, at eight o'clock, the fog rose and drifted away, revealing\nthe embattled hosts. Hardly had it vanished before the drums beat their\nbattle peal and the martial conchs sounded defiance, while a shower of\narrows from each army hurtled through the opposing ranks. In a short\ntime the impatient warriors met in mid field, and sword and spear began\ntheir deadly work.\n\nThe great weight of the army of the league at first gave it the\nadvantage, and for hours the result was in doubt, though a corps of the\nleague forces deserted to the ranks of Iyeyasu. At length unity and\ndiscipline began to prevail, the intrepidity of Iyeyasu and his skill in\ntaking advantage of every error of his enemy giving confidence to his\nmen. By noon they were bearing back the foe. Ordering up the reserves,\nand bidding the drummers and conch-blowers to sound their most\ninspiriting appeal, Iyeyasu gave order for the whole army to charge.\n\nBefore the impetuous onset that followed, the enemy wavered, broke, and\nfled, followed in hot pursuit by the victorious host. And now a\nfrightful scene began. Thousands of heads of the flying were cut off by\nthe keen-edged blades of their pursuers. Most of the wounded and many of\nthe unhurt killed themselves upon the field, in obedience to the\nexaggerated Japanese sense of honor. The defeat became a butchery. In\nJapanese battles of the past quarter was a mercy rarely craved or\ngranted, and decapitation the usual mode of death when the sword could\nbe brought into play, so that the triumph of the victors was usually\nindicated by the dimensions of the ghastly heap of heads. In this\nfrightful conflict the claim was made by the victors (doubtless an\nexaggeration) that they had taken forty thousand heads of the foe,\nwhile their own loss was only four thousand. However that be, a great\nmound of heads was made, one of many such evidences of slaughter which\nmay still be seen in Japan.\n\nThroughout the battle a knotted handkerchief was the only defence of\nIyeyasu's head. The victory won, he called for his helmet, which he put\non, carefully tying the strings. As all looked on with surprise at this\nstrange action, he, with a smile, repeated to them an old Japanese\nproverb, \"After victory, knot the cords of your helmet.\"\n\nIt was a suggestion of vigilance wisely given and alertly acted upon.\nThe strongholds of the league were invested without delay, and one by\none fell into the victors' hands. The fragments of the beaten army were\nfollowed and dispersed. Soon all opposition was at an end, and Iyeyasu\nwas lord and master of Japan.\n\nThe story of the victor in the most decisive victory Japan had ever\nknown, one that was followed by two and a half centuries of peace, needs\nto complete it a recital of two important events, one being the founding\nof Yedo, the great eastern capital, the other the organization of the\nsystem of feudalism.\n\nFor ages the country around the Bay of Yedo, now the chief centre of\nactivity and civilization in Japan, was wild and thinly peopled. The\nfirst mention of it in history is in the famous march of Yamato-Dake,\nwhose wife leaped here into the waves as a sacrifice to the maritime\ngods. In the fifteenth century a small castle was built on the site of\nthe present city, while near it on the Tokaida, the great highway\nbetween the two ancient capitals, stood a small village, whose chief use\nwas for the refreshment and assistance of travellers.\n\nOta Dagnan, the lord of the castle, was a warrior of fame, whose deeds\nhave gained him a place in the song and story of Japan. Of the tales\ntold of him there is one whose poetic significance has given it a fixed\nplace in the legendary lore of the land. One day, when the commandant\nwas amusing himself in the sport of hawking, a shower of rain fell\nsuddenly and heavily, forcing him to stop at a house near by and request\nthe loan of a grass rain-coat,--a _mino_, to give it its Japanese name.\n\nA young and very pretty girl came to the door at his summons, listened\nto his polite request, and stood for a moment blushing and confused.\nThen, running into the garden, she plucked a flower, handed it with a\nmischievous air to the warrior, and disappeared within the house. Ota,\nangrily flinging down the flower, turned away, after an impulse to force\nhis way into the house and help himself to the coat. He returned to the\ncastle wet and fuming at the slight to his rank and dignity.\n\nSoon after he related the incident to some court nobles from Kioto, who\nhad stopped at the castle, and who, to his surprise, did not share his\nindignation at the act.\n\n\"Why, the incident was delightful,\" said one among them who was\nspecially versed in poetic lore; \"who would have looked for such wit and\nsuch knowledge of our classic poetry in a young girl in this\nuncultivated spot? The trouble is, friend Ota, that you are not learned\nenough to take the maiden's meaning.\"\n\n\"I take it that she meant to laugh at a soaked fowler,\" growled the\nwarrior.\n\n\"Not so. It was only a graceful way of telling you that she had no\n_mino_ to loan. She was too shy to say no to your request, and so handed\nyou a mountain camellia. Centuries ago one of our poets sang of this\nflower, 'Although it has seven or eight petals, yet, I grieve to say, it\nhas no seed' (_mino_). The cunning little witch has managed to say 'no'\nto you in the most graceful way imaginable.\"\n\nHere, where the castle stood, Iyeyasu started to build a city, at the\nsuggestion of his superior Hideyoshi. Thus began the great city of\nYedo,--now Tokio, the eastern capital of Japan. In 1600, Iyeyasu, then\nat the head of affairs, pushed the work on his new city with energy,\nemploying no less than three hundred thousand men. The castle was\nenlarged, canals were excavated, streets laid out and graded, marshes\nfilled, and numerous buildings erected, fleets of junks bringing granite\nfor the citadel, while the neighboring forests furnished the timber for\nthe dwellings.\n\nAn outer ditch was dug on a grand scale, and gates and towers were built\nwith no walls to join them and no dwellings within many furlongs of\ntheir site. But to those who laughed at the magnificent plan on which\nthe young city had been laid out, the founder declared that the coming\ntime would see his walls built and the dwellings of the city stretching\nfar beyond them. Before a century his words were verified, and Yedo had\na population of half a million souls. To-day it is the home of more than\na million people.\n\nIt is for his political genius that Iyeyasu particularly deserves fame.\nOnce more, in 1615, he was forced to fight for his supremacy, against\nthe son of the late premier. A bloody battle followed, ending in victory\nfor Iyeyasu and the burning of the castle of Ozaka, in whose flames the\naspirant for power probably met his doom. No other battle was fought on\nthe soil of Japan for two hundred and fifty-three years.\n\nIyeyasu had the blood of the Minamoto clan in his veins. He had\ntherefore an hereditary claim to the shogunate, as successor to the\ngreat Yoritomo, the founder of the family and the first to bear the\ntitle of Great Shogun. This title, Sei-i Tai Shogun, was now conferred\nby the mikado on the new military chief, and was borne by his\ndescendants, the Tokugawa family, until the great revolution of 1868,\nwhen the mikado again seized his long-lost authority.\n\nBefore this period, civil war had for centuries desolated Japan. After\n1615 war ceased in that long distracted land and peace and prosperity\nprevailed. What were the steps taken by the new shogun to insure this\nhappy result? It arose through the establishment of a well-defined\nsystem of feudalism, and the bringing of the feudal lords under the\nimmediate control of the shogun.\n\nJapan was already organized on a semi-feudal system. The land was\ndivided between the great lords or daimios, who possessed strong\ncastles and large landed estates, with a powerful armed following, and\ninto whose treasuries much of the revenue of the kingdom flowed. These\npowerful princes of the realm were conciliated by the conqueror. Under\nthem were daimios of smaller estate, many of whom had joined him in his\ncareer; and lower still a large number of minor military holders, whose\ngrants of land enabled them to bring small bodies of followers into the\nfield.\n\nIyeyasu's plan was one of conciliation and the prevention of hostile\nunion. He laid his plans and left it to time to do his work. Some of the\nrichest fiefs of the empire were conferred upon his sons, who founded\nseveral of its most powerful families. The possessions of the other\nlords were redistributed, the land being divided up among them in a way\nto prevent rebellious concentration, vassals and adherents of his own\nbeing placed between any two neighboring lords whose loyalty was in\ndoubt. To prevent ambitious lords from seizing Kioto and making prisoner\nthe mikado, as had frequently been done in the past, he surrounded it on\nall sides with strong domains ruled by his sons or friends. When his\nwork of redistribution was finished, his friends and vassals everywhere\nlay between the realms of doubtful daimios. A hostile movement in force\nhad been rendered nearly impossible.\n\nBelow the daimios came the _hatamoto_, or supporters of the flag, direct\nvassals of the shogun, of whom there were eighty thousand in Japan,\nmostly descendants of proved warriors and with a train of from three to\nthirty retainers each. These were scattered throughout the empire, but\nthe majority of them lived in Yedo. They formed the direct military\ndependence of the shogun, and held most of the military and civil\npositions. Under them again were the _gokenin_, the humbler members of\nthe Togukawa clan, and hereditary followers of the shogun. All these\nformed the _samurai_, the men privileged to wear two swords and exempted\nfrom taxes. Their number and readiness gave the shogun complete military\ncontrol of the empire, and made him master of all it held, from mikado\nto peasant.\n\nSuch was the method adopted by the great statesman to insure peace to\nthe empire and to keep the power within the grasp of his own family. In\nboth respects it proved successful. A second important step was taken by\nIyemitsu, his grandson, and after him the ablest of the family. By this\ntime many of the noted warriors among the daimios were dead, and their\nsons, enervated by peace and luxury, could be dealt with more vigorously\nthan would have been safe to do with their fathers.\n\nIyemitsu suggested that all the daimios should make Yedo their place of\nresidence for half the year. At first they were treated as guests, the\nshogun meeting them in the suburbs and dealing with them with great\nconsideration. But as the years went on the daimios became more and more\nlike prisoners on parole. They were obliged to pay tribute of respect to\nthe shogun in a manner equivalent to doing homage. Though they could\nreturn at intervals to their estates, their wives and children were kept\nin Yedo as hostages for their good behavior. When Iyemitsu died, the\nshoguns had cemented their power beyond dispute. The mikados, nominal\nemperors, were at their beck and call; the daimios were virtual\nprisoners of state; the whole military power and revenues of the empire\nwere under their control; conspiracy and attempted rebellion could be\ncrushed by a wave of their hands; peace ruled in Japan.\n\nIyemitsu was the first to whom the title of Tai Kun (Tycoon), or Great\nKing, was ever applied. It was in a letter written to Corea, intended to\ninfluence foreigners. It was employed in a larger sense for the same\npurpose at a later date, as we shall hereafter see. Suffice it here to\nsay that the Tokugawas remained the rulers of Japan until 1868, when a\nnew move in the game of empire was made.\n\n\n\n\n_THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN._\n\n\nThe fact that such a realm as that of Japan existed remained unknown in\nEurope until about six centuries ago, when Marco Polo, in his famous\nrecord of travel and adventure, first spoke of it. He knew of it,\nhowever, only by Chinese hearsay, and the story he told contained far\nmore of fable than of fact. The Chinese at that time seem to have had\nlittle knowledge of their nearest civilized neighbor.\n\n[Illustration: Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums.\nRETURNING FROM MARKET. JAPAN.]\n\n\"Zipangu\"--the name he gives it--is, he says, \"an island in the Eastern\nOcean, about fifteen hundred miles [Chinese miles] from the mainland.\nIts people are well made, of fair complexion, and civilized in manner,\nbut idolaters in religion.\" He continues, \"They have gold in the\ngreatest abundance, its sources being inexhaustible. To this\ncircumstance we are to attribute the extraordinary richness of the\nsovereign's palace according to what we are told by those who have\naccess to the place. The entire roof is covered with a plating of gold,\nin the same manner as we cover houses, or more properly churches, with\nlead. The ceilings of the halls are of the same precious metal; many of\nthe apartments have small tables of pure gold, of considerable\nthickness; and the windows have also golden ornaments. So vast, indeed,\nare the riches of the palace that it is impossible to convey an idea of\nthem. In this island there are pearls also, in large quantities, of a\npink color, round in shape and of great size, equal in value to, or even\nexceeding, that of the white pearls. There are also found there a number\nof precious stones.\"\n\nThis story is as remote from truth as some of those told by Sindbad the\nSailor. Polo, no doubt, thought he was telling the truth, and knew that\nthis cascade of gold and pearls would be to the taste of his readers,\nbut anything more unlike the plainness and simplicity of the actual\npalace of the mikado it would be hard to find.\n\nFor the next European knowledge of Japan we must step forward to the\nyear 1542. Columbus had discovered America, and Portugal had found an\nocean highway to the spice islands of the East. A Portuguese adventurer,\nMendez Pinto by name, ventured as far as China, then almost unknown,\nand, with two companions, found himself on board a Chinese junk, half\ntrader, half pirate.\n\nIn a sea-fight with another corsair their pilot was killed, and soon\nafter a fierce storm blew them far off shore. Seeking to make the\nLoochoo Islands, they lost them through lack of a pilot, and were tossed\nabout at the ocean's will for twenty-three days, when they made harbor\non Tane, a small island of Japan lying south of Kiushiu. Pinto, after\nhis return to Europe, told so many marvellous stories about Japan that\npeople doubted him as much as they had doubted Marco Polo. His very\nname, Mendez, was extended into \"mendacious.\" Yet time has done justice\nto both these old travellers, who either told, or tried to tell, the\ntruth.\n\nThe Portuguese travellers were well received by the islanders,--who knew\nnot yet what firebrands they were welcoming. It took a century for\nEuropeans to disgust the Japanese so thoroughly as to force the\nislanders to drive them from the land and put up the bars against their\nreturn. What interested the Japanese even more than their visitors were\nthe new and strange weapons they bore. Pinto and his two comrades were\narmed with arquebuses, warlike implements such as they had never before\nseen, and whose powers filled them with astonishment and delight. It was\nthe era of civil war in Japan, and the possession of a new and deadly\nweapon was eagerly welcomed by that martial people, who saw in it\nvisions of speedy success over their enemies.\n\nPinto was invited to the castle of the daimio of Bungo, whom he taught\nthe arts of making guns and gunpowder. The Japanese, alert at taking\nadvantage of the discoveries of other people, were quick to manufacture\npowder and guns for themselves, and in the wars told of in our last few\ntales native cannon were brought into use, though the razor-edged sword\ncontinued the most death-dealing of their weapons.\n\nAs for the piratical trader which conveyed Pinto to Japan, it sold its\ncargo at an immense profit, while the three Portuguese reached China\nagain rich in presents. This was not Pinto's only visit to Japan. He\nmade three other voyages thither, the last in 1556, as ambassador from\nthe Portuguese viceroy in the East. On this occasion he learned that\nthe islanders had made rapid progress in their new art of gun-making,\nthey claiming to have thirty thousand guns in Fucheo, the capital of\nBungo, and ten times that number in the whole land of Japan.\n\nThe new market for European wares, opened by the visit of Pinto, was\nquickly taken advantage of by his countrymen, and Portuguese traders\nmade their way by hundreds to Japan, where they met with the best of\ntreatment. Guns and powder were especially welcome, as at that time the\npower of the Ashikaga clan was at an end, anarchy everywhere prevailed,\nand every local chief was in arms to win all he could from the ruins of\nthe state. Such was the first visit of Europeans to Japan, and such the\ngift they brought, the fatal one of gunpowder.\n\nThe next gift of Europe to Japan was that of the Christian faith. On\nPinto's return to Malacca he met there the celebrated Francis Xavier,\nthe father superior of the order of the Jesuits in India, where he had\ngained the highest reputation for sanctity and the power of working\nmiracles. With the traveller was a Japanese named Anjiro, whom he had\nrescued from enemies that sought his death, and converted to\nChristianity. Xavier asked him whether the Japanese would be likely to\naccept the religion of the Christians.\n\n\"My people will not be ready to accept at once what may be told them,\"\nsaid Anjiro, \"but will ask you a multitude of questions, and, above all,\nwill see whether your conduct agrees with your words. If they are\nsatisfied, the king, the nobles, and the people will flock to Christ,\nsince they constitute a nation that always accepts reason as a guide.\"\n\nThus encouraged, Xavier, whose enthusiasm in spreading the gospel was\ndeterred by no obstacle, set sail in 1549 for Japan, accompanied by two\npriests and Anjiro, the latter with a companion who had escaped with him\nin his flight from Japan.\n\nThe missionary party landed at Kagoshima, in Satsuma. Here they had\nlittle success, only the family and relatives of Anjiro accepting the\nnew faith, and Xavier set out on a tour through the land, his goal being\nKioto, the mikado's capital. Landing at Amanguchi, he presented himself\nbefore the people barefooted and meanly dressed, the result of his\nconfessed poverty being that, instead of listening to his words, the\npopulace hooted and stoned him and his followers. At Kioto he was little\nbetter received.\n\nFinding that a display of poverty was not the way to impress the\nJapanese, the missionary returned to the city of Kioto richly clothed\nand bearing presents and letters from the Portuguese viceroy to the\nemperor. He was now well received and given permission to preach, and in\nless than a year had won over three thousand converts to the Christian\nfaith.\n\nNaturally, on reaching Kioto, he had looked for the splendor spoken of\nby Marco Polo, the roof and ceilings of gold and the golden tables of\nthe emperor's palace. He was sadly disenchanted on entering a city so\ndesolated by fire and war that it was little more than a camp, and on\nbeholding the plainest and least showy of all the palaces of the earth.\n\nReturning to the port of Fucheo for the purpose of embarking for India,\nwhence he designed to bring new laborers to the virgin field, Xavier\npreached with such success as to alarm the Buddhist bonzes, who made\nfutile efforts to excite the populace against him as a vagabond and an\nenchanter. From there he set out for China, but died on the way thither.\nHe had, however, planted the seed of what was destined to yield a great\nand noble harvest.\n\nIn fact, the progress of Christianity in Japan was of the most\nencouraging kind. Other missionaries quickly followed the great Jesuit\npioneer, and preached the gospel with surprising success. In less than\nfive years after the visit of Xavier to Kioto that city possessed seven\nChristian churches, while there were many others in the southwest\nsection of the empire. In 1581, thirty years after Xavier's death, there\nwere in Japan two hundred churches, while the number of converts is\ngiven at one hundred and fifty thousand. Several of the daimios were\nconverted to the new faith, and Nobunaga, who hated and strove to\nexterminate the Buddhists, received the Christians with the greatest\nfavor, gave them desirable sites for their churches, and sought to set\nthem up as a foil to the arrogance of the bonzes.\n\nThe Christian daimios went so far as to send a delegation to the pope at\nRome, which returned eight years afterwards with seventeen Jesuit\nmissionaries, while a multitude of mendicant friars from the Philippine\nIslands and elsewhere sought the new field of labor, preaching with the\ngreatest zeal and success. It is claimed that at the culminating point\nof proselytism in Japan the native Christians numbered no less than six\nhundred thousand, among them being several princes, and many lords, high\nofficials, generals, and other military and naval officers, with\nnumerous women of noble blood. In some provinces the Christian shrines\nand crosses were as numerous as the Buddhist shrines had been before,\nwhile there were thousands of churches, chapels, and ecclesiastical\nedifices.\n\nThis remarkable success, unprecedented in the history of Christian\nmissionary work, was due in great measure to certain conditions then\nexisting in Japan. When Xavier and his successors reached Japan, it was\nto find the people of that country in a state of the greatest misery,\nthe result of a long era of anarchy and misrule. Of the native\nreligions, Shintoism had in great measure vanished, while Buddhism,\nthough affecting the imaginations of the people by the gorgeousness of\nits service, had little with which to reach their hearts.\n\nChristianity came with a ceremonial more splendid than that of Buddhism,\nand an eloquence that captivated the imaginations of the Japanese.\nInstead of the long series of miseries of Buddhist transmigration, it\noffered admission to the glories of heaven after death, a doctrine sure\nto be highly attractive to those who had little to hope for but misery\nduring life. The story of the life and death of Christ strongly\nimpressed the minds of the people, as compared with the colder story of\nBuddha's career, while a certain similarity between the modes of\nworship of the two religions proved of the greatest assistance to the\nadvocates of the new creed. The native temples were made to serve as\nChristian churches; the images of Buddha and his saints were converted\ninto those of Christ and the apostles; and, aside from the more\nattractive doctrines of Christianity, there were points of resemblance\nbetween the organization and ceremonial of the two religions that aided\nthe missionaries in inducing the people to change from their old to the\nnew faith.\n\nOne of the methods pursued in the propagation of Christianity had never\nbeen adopted by the Buddhists, that of persecution of alien faiths. The\nspirit of the Inquisition, then active in Europe, was brought to Japan.\nThe missionaries instigated their converts to destroy the idols and\ndesert the old shrines. Gold was used freely as an agent in conversion,\nand the Christian daimios compelled their subjects to follow them in\naccepting the new faith. In whole districts the people were ordered to\naccept Christianity or to exile themselves from their homes. Exile or\ndeath was the fate of many of the bonzes, and fire and the sword lent\neffect to preaching in the propagation of the doctrine of Christianity.\n\nTo quote a single instance, from Charlevoix's \"History of the\nChristianizing of Japan,\" \"In 1577 the lord of the island of Amacusa\nissued his proclamation, by which his subjects--whether bonzes or\ngentlemen, merchants or traders--were required either to turn\nChristians, or to leave the country the very next day. They almost all\nsubmitted, and received baptism, so that in a short time there were\nmore than twenty churches in the kingdom. God wrought miracles to\nconfirm the faithful in their belief.\"\n\nMiracles of the kind here indicated and others that might be quoted were\nnot of the character of those performed by Christ, and such methods of\nmaking proselytes were very likely to recoil upon those that indulged in\nthem. How the result of the introduction of European methods manifested\nitself in Japan will be indicated in our next tale.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN._\n\n\nWe have described in the preceding tale the rise of Christianity in\nJapan, and the remarkable rapidity of its development in that remote\nland. We have now to describe its equally rapid decline and fall, and\nthe exclusion of Europeans from Japanese soil. It must be said here that\nthis was in no sense due to the precepts of Christianity, but wholly to\nthe hostility between its advocates of different sects, their jealousy\nand abuse of one another, and to the quarrels between nations in the\ncontest to gain a lion's share of the trade with Japan.\n\nAt the time when the Portuguese came to Japan all Europe was torn with\nwars, civil, political, and religious. These quarrels were transferred\nto the soil of Japan, and in the end so disgusted the people of that\nempire that Europeans were forbidden to set foot on its shores and the\nnative Christians were massacred. Traders, pirates, slave-dealers, and\nothers made their way thither, with such a hodge-podge of interests, and\nsuch a medley of lies and backbitings, that the Japanese became incensed\nagainst the whole of them, and in the end decided that their room was\nfar better than their company.\n\nThe Portuguese were followed to Japan by the Spaniards, and these by the\nDutch, each trying to blacken the character of the others. The\nCatholics abused the Protestants, and were as vigorously abused in\nreturn. Each trading nation lied with the most liberal freedom about its\nrivals. To the seaports of Hirado and Nagasaki came a horde of the\noutcasts of Europe, inveterately hostile to one another, and indulging\nin quarrels, riots, and murders to an extent which the native\nauthorities found difficult to control. In addition, the slave-trade was\neagerly prosecuted, slaves being so cheap, in consequence of the poverty\nand misery arising from the civil wars, that even the negro and Malay\nservants of the Portuguese indulged in this profitable trade, which was\ncontinued in spite of decrees threatening all slave-dealers with death.\n\nThis state of affairs, and the recriminations of the religious sects,\ngave very natural disgust to the authorities of Japan, who felt little\nrespect for a civilization that showed itself in such uncivilized\nshapes, and the disputing and fighting foreigners were rapidly digging\ntheir own graves in Japan. During the life of Nobunaga all went on well.\nIn his hatred to the Buddhist bonzes he favored the Jesuits, and\nChristianity found a clear field. With the advent of Hideyoshi there\ncame a change. His early favor to the missionaries was followed by\ndisgust, and in 1587 he issued a decree banishing them from the land.\nThe churches and chapels were closed, public preaching ceased, but\nprivately the work of conversion went actively on, as many as ten\nthousand converts being made each year.\n\nThe Spanish mendicant friars from the Philippines were bolder in their\nwork. Defying the decree, they preached openly in the dress of their\norders, not hesitating to denounce in violent language the obnoxious\nlaw. As a result the decree was renewed, and a number of the priests and\ntheir converts were crucified. But still the secret work of the Jesuits\ncontinued and the number of converts increased, among them being some of\nthe generals in the Corean war.\n\n[Illustration: MAIN STREET, YOKOHAMA.]\n\nWith the accession of Iyeyasu began a rapid downfall of Christianity in\nJapan. In the great battle which raised him to the head of affairs some\nof the Christian leaders were killed. Konishi, a Christian general, who\nhad commanded one division of the army in Corea, was executed. On every\nside there was evidence of a change in the tide of affairs, and the\nChristians of Japan began to despair.\n\nThe daimios no longer bade their followers to become Christians. On the\ncontrary, they ordered them to renounce the new faith, under threat of\npunishment. Their harshness resulted in rebellion, so new a thing among\nthe peasantry of Japan that the authorities felt sure that they had been\nsecretly instigated to it by the missionaries. The wrath of the shogun\naroused, he sent soldiers against the rebels, putting down each outbreak\nwith bloodshed, and in 1606 issued a decree abolishing the Christian\nfaith. This the Spanish friars defied, as they had that of his\npredecessor.\n\nIn 1611, Iyeyasu was roused to more active measures by the discovery of\na plot between the foreigners and the native converts for the overthrow\nof the government. Sado, whose mines were worked by thousands of\nChristian exiles, was to be the centre of the outbreak, its governor,\nOkubo, being chosen as the leader and the proposed new ruler of the\nland.\n\nIyeyasu, awakened to the danger, now took active steps to crush out the\nforeign faith. A large number of friars and Jesuits, with native\npriests, were forcibly sent from the country, while the siege and\ncapture of the castle of Ozaka in 1615 ended the career of all the\nnative friends of the Jesuits, and brought final ruin upon the Christian\ncause in Japan.\n\nDuring the reigns of the succeeding shoguns a violent persecution began.\nThe Dutch traders, who showed no disposition to interfere in religious\naffairs, succeeded in ousting their Portuguese rivals, all foreigners\nexcept Dutch and Chinese being banished from Japan, while foreign trade\nwas confined to the two ports of Hirado and Nagasaki. This was followed\nby a cruel effort to extirpate what was now looked on as a pestilent\nforeign faith. Orders were issued that the people should trample on the\ncross or on a copper plate engraved with the image of Christ. Those who\nrefused were exposed to horrible persecutions, being wrapped in sacks of\nstraw and burnt to death in heaps of fuel, while terrible tortures were\nemployed to make them renounce their faith. Some were flung alive into\nopen graves, many burned with the wood of the crosses before which they\nhad prayed, others flung from the edge of precipices. Yet they bore\ntortures and endured death with a fortitude not surpassed by that of\nthe martyrs of old, clinging with the highest Christian ardor to their\nnew faith.\n\nIn 1637 these excesses of persecution led to an insurrection, the native\nChristians rising in thousands, seizing an old castle at Shimabara, and\nopenly defying their persecutors. Composed as they were of farmers and\npeasants, the commanders who marched against them at the head of veteran\narmies looked for an easy conquest, but with all their efforts the\ninsurgents held out against them for two months. The fortress was at\nlength reduced by the aid of cannon taken from the Dutch traders, and\nafter the slaughter of great numbers of the garrison. The bloody work\nwas consummated by the massacre of thirty-seven thousand Christian\nprisoners, and the flinging of thousands more from a precipice into the\nsea below. Many were banished, and numbers escaped to Formosa, whither\nothers had formerly made their way. The \"evil sect\" was formally\nprohibited, while edicts were issued declaring that as long as the sun\nshould shine no foreigner should enter Japan and no native should leave\nit. A slight exception was made in favor of the Dutch, of whom a small\nnumber were permitted to reside on the little island of Deshima, in the\nharbor of Nagasaki, one trading ship being allowed to come there each\nyear.\n\nThus ended the career of foreign trade and European residence in Japan.\nIt had continued for nearly a century, yet left no mark of its presence\nexcept the use of gunpowder and fire-arms, the culture of tobacco and\nthe habit of smoking, the naturalization of a few foreign words and of\nseveral strange diseases, and, as an odd addition, the introduction of\nsponge-cake, still everywhere used as a favorite viand. As for\nChristianity, the very name of Christ became execrated, and was employed\nas the most abhorrent word that could be spoken in Japan. The Christian\nfaith was believed to be absolutely extirpated, and yet it seems to have\nsmouldered unseen during the centuries. As late as 1829 seven persons\nsuspected of being Christians were crucified in Ozaka. Yet in 1860, when\nthe French missionaries were admitted to Nagasaki, they found in the\nsurrounding villages no fewer than ten thousand people who still clung\nin secret to the despised and persecuted faith.\n\nThe French and English had little intercourse with Japan, but the career\nof one Englishman there is worthy of mention. This was a pilot named\nWill Adams, who arrived there in 1607 and lived in or near Yedo until\nhis death in 1620. He seems to have been a manly and honest fellow, who\nwon the esteem of the people and the favor of the shogun, by whom he was\nmade an officer and given for support the revenue of a village. His\nskill in ship-building and familiarity with foreign affairs made him\nhighly useful, and he was treated with great respect and kindness,\nthough not allowed to leave Japan. He had left a wife and daughter in\nEngland, but married again in Japan, his children there being a son and\ndaughter, whose descendants may still be found in that country. Anjin\nCho (Pilot Street) in Yedo was named from him, and the inmates of that\nstreet honor his memory with an annual celebration on the 15th of June.\nHis tomb may still be seen on one of the hills overlooking the Bay of\nYedo, where two neat stone shafts, set on a pediment of stone, mark the\nburial-place of the only foreigner who in past times ever attained to\nhonor in Japan.\n\n\n\n\n_THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN._\n\n\nJapan was persistent in its policy of isolation. To its people their\ngroup of islands was the world, and they knew little of and cared less\nfor what was going on in all the continents outside. The Dutch vessel\nthat visited their shores once a year served as an annual newspaper, and\nsatisfied their curiosity as to the doings of mankind. The goods it\nbrought were little cared for, Japan being sufficient unto itself, so\nthat it served merely as a window to the world. Once a year a delegation\nfrom the Dutch settlement visited the capital, but the visitors\ntravelled almost like prisoners, and were forced to crawl in to the\nmikado on their hands and knees and to back out again in the same\ncrab-like fashion. Some of these envoys wrote accounts of what they had\nseen, and that was all that was known of Japan for two centuries.\n\nThis state of affairs could not continue. With the opening of the\nnineteenth century the ships of Europe began to make their way in large\nnumbers to the North Pacific, and efforts were made to force open the\nlocked gates of Japan. Some sought for food and water. These could be\nhad at Nagasaki, but nowhere else, and were given with a warning to move\non. In some cases shipwrecked Japanese were brought back in foreign\nvessels, but according to law such persons were looked upon as no longer\nJapanese, and no welcome was given to those who brought them. In other\ncases wrecked whalers and other mariners sought safety on Japanese soil,\nbut they were held strict prisoners, and rescued only with great\ndifficulty. The law was that foreigners landing anywhere on the coast,\nexcept at Nagasaki, should be seized and condemned to perpetual\nimprisonment, and that those landing at Nagasaki must strictly abstain\nfrom Christian worship.\n\nMeanwhile the Russians had become, through their Siberian ports, near\nneighbors of Japan, and sought to open trade with that country. In 1793\nLieutenant Laxman landed at Hakodate and travelled overland to Matsumai,\nbringing with him some shipwrecked Japanese and seeking for commercial\nrelations with Japan. He was treated with courtesy, but dismissed\nwithout an answer to his demand, and told that he could take his\nJapanese back with him or leave them as he pleased.\n\nIn 1804 the Russians came again, this time to Nagasaki. This vessel also\nbrought back some shipwrecked Japanese, and had on board a Russian\ncount, sent as ambassador from the czar. But the shogun refused to\nreceive the ambassador or to accept his presents, and sent him word that\nJapan had little need of foreign productions, and got all it wanted from\nthe Dutch and Chinese. All this was said with great politeness, but the\nambassador thought that he had been shabbily treated, and went away\nangry, reproaching the Dutch for his failure. His anger against the\nJapanese was shown in a hostile fashion. In 1805 he sent out two small\nvessels, whose crews landed on the island of Saghalien, plundered a\nJapanese settlement there, carried off some prisoners, and left behind a\nwritten statement that this had been done to revenge the slights put\nupon the Russian ambassador.\n\nThis violence was amply repaid by the Japanese. How they did so we have\nnow to tell. In 1811 Captain Golownin, an intelligent and educated\nofficer of the Russian navy, was sent in command of the sloop-of-war\nDiana to explore the Kurile Islands. These belonged to Japan, and were\npartly settled. At the south end of Kunashir, one of these islands, was\na Japanese settlement, with a garrison. Here Golownin, having landed\nwith two officers, four men, and an interpreter, was invited into the\nfort. He entered unsuspectingly, but suddenly found himself detained as\na prisoner, and held as such despite all the efforts of the Diana to\nobtain his release.\n\nThe prisoners were at once bound with small cords in a most painful way,\ntheir elbows being drawn behind their backs until they almost touched,\nand their hands firmly tied together, the cords being also brought in\nloops around their breasts and necks. A long cord proceeded from these\nfastenings and was held by a Japanese, who, if an attempt were made to\nescape, had only to pull it to bring the elbows together with great pain\nand to tighten the loop around the neck so as nearly to strangle the\nprisoner. Their ankles and knees were also firmly bound.\n\nIn this condition they were conveyed to Hakodate, in the island of\nYeso, a distance of six or seven hundred miles, being carried, on the\nland part of the route, in a sort of palanquin made of planks, unless\nthey preferred to walk, in which case the cords were loosened about\ntheir legs. At night they were trussed up more closely still, and the\nends of their ropes tied to iron hooks in the wall. The cords were drawn\nso tight as in time to cut into the flesh, yet for six or seven days\ntheir guards refused to loosen them, despite their piteous appeals,\nbeing fearful that their prisoners might commit suicide, this being the\nfavorite Japanese method in extremity.\n\nThe escort consisted of nearly two hundred men. Two Japanese guides,\nchanged at each new district, led the way, carrying handsomely carved\nstaves. Three soldiers followed. Then came Captain Golownin, with a\nsoldier on one side, and on the other an attendant with a twig to drive\noff the gnats, from whose troublesome attacks he was unable to defend\nhimself. Next came an officer holding the end of the rope that bound\nhim, followed by a party carrying his litter or palanquin. Each of the\nprisoners was escorted in the same manner. In the rear came three\nsoldiers, and a number of servants carrying provisions and baggage.\n\nAside from their bonds, the captives were well treated, being supplied\nwith three meals a day, consisting of rice gruel, soup made of radishes\nor other roots, a kind of macaroni, and a piece of fish. Mushrooms or\nhard-boiled eggs were sometimes supplied.\n\nGolownin's bitter complaints at length had the effect of a loosening of\ntheir bonds, which enabled them to get along more comfortably. Their\nguards took great care of their health, making frequent halts to rest,\nand carrying them across all the streams, so that they should not wet\ntheir feet. In case of rain they furnished them with Japanese quilted\ngowns for protection. In all the villages the inhabitants viewed them\nwith great curiosity, and at Hakodate the street was crowded with\nspectators, some with silk dresses and mounted on richly caparisoned\nhorses. None of the people showed any sign of malice or any disposition\nto insult the prisoners, while in their journey they were cheered by\nmany displays of sympathy and piety.\n\nAt Hakodate they were imprisoned in a long, barn-like building, divided\ninto apartments hardly six feet square, each formed of thick spars and\nresembling a cage. Outside were a high fence and an earthen wall. Here\ntheir food was much worse than that on the journey. While here they were\nseveral times examined, being conducted through the streets to a\ncastle-like building, where they were brought into the presence of the\ngovernor and several other officials, who put to them a great variety of\nquestions, some of them of the most trivial character. A letter was also\nbrought them, which had been sent on shore from the Diana along with\ntheir baggage, and which said that the ship would return to Siberia for\nreinforcements, and then would never leave Japan till the prisoners were\nreleased.\n\nSome time afterwards the captives were removed to Matsumai, being\nsupplied with horses on the journey, but still to some extent fettered\nwith ropes. Here they were received by a greater crowd than before,\nMatsumai being a more important town than Hakodate. Their prison was\nsimilar to the preceding one, but their food was much better, and after\na time they were released from their cage-like cells and permitted to\ndwell together in a large room. They were, as before, frequently\nexamined, their captors being so inquisitive and asking such trifling\nand absurd questions that at times they grew so annoyed as to refuse to\nanswer. But no display of passion affected the politeness of the\nJapanese, whose coolness and courtesy seemed unlimited.\n\nThus the first winter of their captivity was passed. In the spring they\nwere given more liberty, being allowed to take walks in the vicinity of\nthe town. Soon after they were removed from their prison to a dwelling\nof three apartments, though they were still closely watched.\n\nThis strict confinement, of which they could see no end, at length\nbecame so irksome that the prisoners determined to escape. Their walks\nhad made them familiar with the character of the surrounding country,\nand enabled them also to gain possession of a few tools, with which they\nmanaged to make a tunnel to the outer air. Leaving their cells at night,\nthey succeeded in reaching the mountains back of the town, whence they\nhoped to find some means of escaping by sea.\n\nBut in the flight Golownin had hurt his leg severely, the pain being so\ngreat that he was scarcely able to walk. This prevented the fugitives\nfrom getting far from the town, while their wanderings through the\nmountains were attended with many difficulties and dangers. After a week\nthus spent, they were forced to seek the coast, where they were seen and\nrecaptured.\n\nThe captives were now confined in the common jail of the town, though\nthey were not treated any more harshly than before, and no ill will was\nshown them by the officials. Even the soldier who was most blamed for\ntheir escape treated them with his former kindness. They were soon sent\nback to their old prison, where they passed a second winter, receiving\nwhile there visits from a Japanese astronomer and others in search of\ninformation. One old officer, who was very civil to them, at one time\nbrought them portraits of three richly dressed Japanese ladies, telling\nthem to keep them, as they might enjoy looking at them when time hung\nheavy on their hands.\n\nMeanwhile their countrymen were making earnest efforts to obtain their\nrelease. Some months after their capture the Diana, now under Captain\nRikord, returned to Kunashir, bringing one of the Japanese who had been\ntaken prisoner in the descent on Saghalien. The other had died. Six\nother Japanese, who had been lately shipwrecked, were brought, in the\nhope of exchanging these seven for the seven prisoners. Efforts were\nmade to communicate with the Japanese, but they refused to receive the\nRussian message, and sent back word that the prisoners were all dead.\nTwo of the Japanese sent ashore failed to return.\n\nRikord, weary of the delay and discourtesy shown, now resolved to take\nmore vigorous action, and seized upon a large Japanese ship that\nentered the bay, taking prisoner the captain, who seemed to be a person\nof distinction, and who told them that six of the Russians were in the\ntown of Matsumai. Not fully crediting this, Rikord resolved to carry his\ncaptive to Kamchatka, hoping to obtain from him some useful information\nconcerning the purposes of the Japanese government. At Rikord's request\nthe merchant wrote a letter to the commander of the fort at Kunashir,\ntelling him what was proposed. No answer was returned, and when the\nboats tried to land for water they were fired upon. The guns were also\nturned upon the Diana whenever she approached the shore, but with such\nwretched aim that the Russians only laughed at it.\n\nIn the following summer the Diana returned to Kunashir, bringing Kachi,\nthe merchant, who had been seriously ill from homesickness, and two of\nhis attendants, the others having died. The two attendants were sent on\nshore, Kachi bidding them to tell that he had been very well treated,\nand that the ship had made an early return on account of his health. On\nthe next day Rikord unconditionally set free his captive, trusting to\nhis honor for his doing all he could to procure the release of the\nprisoners.\n\nKachi kept his word, and soon was able to obtain a letter in the\nhandwriting of Golownin, stating that he and his companions were all\nalive and well at Matsumai. Afterwards one of the Russian sailors was\nbrought to Kunashir and sent on board the Diana, with the understanding\nthat he would return to the fort every night. Despite the watchfulness\nof the Japanese, he succeeded in bringing a letter from Golownin, which\nhe had sewed into his jacket. This advised Rikord to be prudent, civil,\nand patient, and not to send him any letters or papers which would cause\nhim to be tormented with questions or translations. In truth, he had\nbeen fairly tortured by the refinements of Japanese curiosity. Finally\nan ultimatum was obtained from the Japanese, who refused to deliver up\ntheir prisoners until they received from the authorities at Okhotsk a\nformal written statement that they had not ordered the hostile\nproceedings at Saghalien. The Diana returned for this, and in October\nmade her appearance at Hakodate, bearing the letter required and another\nfrom the governor of Irkutsk.\n\nThe ship had no sooner entered the harbor than it was surrounded by a\nmultitude of boats, of all kinds and sizes, filled with the curious of\nboth sexes, many of whom had never before set eyes on a European vessel.\nThey were in such numbers that the watch-boats, filled with soldiers,\nhad great ado to keep them back.\n\nKachi came on board the next morning, and was given the letter from the\ngovernor of Okhotsk. The other Rikord would not deliver except in\nperson, and after much delay an interview with the governor was\narranged, at which Rikord was received with much state and ceremony. The\nletter of the governor of Irkutsk was now formally delivered, in a box\ncovered with purple cloth, its reception being followed by an\nentertainment composed of tea and sweetmeats.\n\nMeanwhile Golownin and his companions, from the time the Diana set out\nfor Okhotsk, had been treated rather as guests than as prisoners. They\nwere now brought to Hakodate and delivered to Rikord, after an\nimprisonment of more than two years. With them was sent a paper\nreiterating the Japanese policy of isolation, and declaring that any\nships that should thereafter present themselves would be received with\ncannon-balls instead of compliments.\n\nIn all this business Kachi had worked with tireless energy. At first he\nwas received with reserve as having come from a foreign country. He was\nplaced under guard, and for a long time was not permitted to see\nGolownin, but by dint of persistence had done much in favor of the\nrelease of the prisoners.\n\nHis abduction had thrown his family into the greatest distress, and his\nwife had made a pilgrimage through all Japan, as a sort of penitential\noffering to the favoring gods. During his absence his business had\nprospered, and before the departure of the Diana he presented the crew\nwith dresses of silk and cotton wadding, the best to his favorites, the\ncook being especially remembered. He then begged permission to treat the\ncrew.\n\n\"Sailors are all alike,\" he said, \"whether Russian or Japanese. They are\nall fond of a glass; and there is no danger in the harbor of Hakodate.\"\n\nSo that night the crew of the Diana enjoyed a genuine sailors' holiday,\nwith a plentiful supply of saki and Japanese tobacco.\n\n\n\n\n_THE OPENING OF JAPAN._\n\n\nOn the 8th of July, 1853, the Japanese were treated to a genuine\nsurprise. Off Cape Idsu, the outer extremity of the Bay of Yedo,\nappeared a squadron of war-vessels bound inward under full sail, in bold\ndisregard of the lines of prohibition which Japan had drawn across the\nentrance of all her ports. Rounding the high mountains of the promontory\nof Idsu, by noon the fleet reached Cape Sagami, which forms the dividing\nline between the outer and inner sections of the Bay of Yedo. Here the\nshores rose in abrupt bluffs, furrowed by green dells, while in the\ndistance could be seen groves and cultivated fields. From the cape a\nnumber of vessels put out to intercept the squadron, but, heedless of\nthese, it kept on through the narrow part of the bay--from five to eight\nmiles wide--and entered the inner bay, which expands to a width of more\nthan fifteen miles. Here the ships dropped anchor within full view of\nthe town of Uragawa, having broken through the invisible bonds which\nJapan had so long drawn around her coasts.\n\nDuring the period between the release of the Russian captives and the\ndate of this visit various foreign vessels had appeared on the coast of\nJapan, each with some special excuse for its presence, yet each\narbitrarily ordered to leave. One of these, an American trading vessel,\nthe Morrison, had been driven off with musketry and artillery, although\nshe had come to return a number of shipwrecked Japanese. Some naval\nvessels had entered the Bay of Yedo, but had been met with such vigorous\nopposition that they made their visits very short, and as late as 1850\nthe Japanese notified foreign nations that they proposed to maintain\ntheir rigorous system of exclusion. No dream came to them of the\nremarkable change in their policy which a few decades were to bring\nforth.\n\nThey did not know that they were seeking to maintain an impossible\nsituation. China had adopted a similar policy, but already the\ncannon-balls of foreign powers had produced a change of view. If Japan\nhad not peaceably yielded, the hard hand of war must soon have broken\ndown her bars. For in addition to Russia there was now another civilized\npower with ports on the Pacific, the United States. And the fleets of\nthe European powers were making their way in growing numbers to those\nwaters. In a period when all the earth was being opened to commercial\nintercourse, Japan could not hope long to remain a little world in\nherself, like a separate planet in space.\n\nIt was the settlement of California, and the increase of American\ninterests on the Pacific, that induced the United States to make a\nvigorous effort to open the ports of Japan. Hitherto all nations had\nyielded to the resolute policy of the islanders; now it was determined\nto send an expedition with instructions not to take no for an answer,\nbut to insist on the Japanese adopting the policy of civilized nations\nin general. It was with this purpose that the fleet in question had\nentered the Bay of Yedo. It was under command of Commodore Matthew C.\nPerry, who bore a letter from the President of the United States to the\nEmperor of Japan, suggesting the desirability of commercial relations\nbetween the two countries, requesting the supply of American vessels\nwith coal and provisions, and demanding the kind treatment and prompt\nreturn of shipwrecked mariners. This letter, splendidly engrossed, was\nenclosed in a golden box of a thousand dollars in value, and was\naccompanied by numerous presents. The fleet consisted of the\nsteam-frigates Susquehanna and Mississippi and the sloops-of-war\nPlymouth and Saratoga, being the most imposing armament that had ever\nentered a Japanese port. Perry was determined to maintain his dignity as\na representative of the United States, and to demand as a right, instead\nof soliciting as a favor, the courtesies due from one civilized nation\nto another.\n\nThe ships had no sooner dropped anchor in the bay than several guns were\nfired from a neighboring point and a number of boats put off from the\nshore. In the stern of each were a small flag and several men wearing\ntwo swords, evidently persons in authority. These boats were stopped at\nthe ships' sides, and their inmates told that no person could be\nadmitted on board except the principal official of the town, the high\nrank of the commodore forbidding him to meet any lesser dignitary. As\none of the visitors represented that he was second in rank in the town,\nhe was finally received on board the flag-ship, but the commodore\ndeclined to see him, turning him over to Mr. Contee, the flag\nlieutenant.\n\nA long interview followed, in which the official was made to understand\nthat the expedition bore a letter from the President of the United\nStates to the emperor, a message of such importance that it could be\ndelivered only to an officer of high rank. He was also told, through the\ninterpreters, that the squadron would not submit to be placed under\nguard, and that all the guard-boats must withdraw. The official\ndisplayed much of the inquisitive curiosity for which the Japanese had\nmade themselves notable on former occasions, and asked a variety of\nunimportant questions which the lieutenant refused to answer, saying\nthat they were impertinent.\n\nThe Japanese officer had brought with him the ordinary notifications,\nwarning all ships against entering their ports, but these the lieutenant\nrefused to receive. Returning to the shore, in about an hour the officer\ncame back, saying that his superior could not receive the letter\naddressed to the emperor, and stating that Nagasaki was the proper place\nfor foreign ships to stop. As for the letter, he doubted if it would be\nreceived and answered. He was at once given to understand that if the\ngovernor of the town did not send for the letter, the ships would\nproceed up the bay to Yedo and deliver it themselves. At this he\nwithdrew in a state of great agitation, asking permission to return in\nthe morning.\n\nDuring the night watch-fires blazed at points along the coast, and bells\nsounded the hours. The watch-boats remained around the fleet, but kept\nat a respectful distance from the perilous intruders. The next morning\nthe highest official of the town came on board, but did his utmost to\navoid receiving the letter. In the end he offered to send to Yedo for\npermission, and was granted three days for this purpose.\n\nWhile awaiting an answer the ships were not idle. Surveying parties were\nsent four miles up the bay, sounding, and finding everywhere a depth of\nfrom thirty to forty fathoms. As they approached the forts armed\nsoldiers came out, but retired again when the boats drew nearer. The\nforts, five in number, were very feeble, their total armament consisting\nof fourteen guns, none larger than nine-pounders. Many of the soldiers\nwere armed with spears. Canvas screens were stretched from tree to tree,\nas if with the idea that these would keep back cannon-balls. In truth,\nthe means of defence were so slight that Yedo lay at the mercy of the\nAmerican fleet.\n\nVillages seemed to line the shores in an unbroken series, and numerous\nsmall craft lay in the harbor, while trading vessels came in and out\nwith little regard to the presence of the foreign ships. Every day there\npassed up and down the bay nearly a hundred large junks and a great\nnumber of fishing and other boats.\n\nYezaimon, the governor of the town, protested earnestly against the\nsurvey of the waters by the ships, saying that it was against the laws\nof Japan. He was told that it was commanded by the laws of America, and\nthe soundings went steadily on. On the second day the surveying party\nproceeded some ten miles up the bay, the Mississippi steaming in their\nwake. This roused new agitation in the Japanese, government boats\nmeeting them at every point and making earnest signs to them to return.\nBut no notice was taken of these gestures, and the survey was continued,\ndeep soundings and soft bottom being found throughout.\n\nIn the evening Yezaimon came on board with a cheerful countenance,\nsaying that he expected good news from Yedo, though he protested still\nagainst the doings of the boats. One of the officers speaks of him as a\n\"gentleman, clever, polished, well informed, a fine, large man, about\nthirty-four, of most excellent countenance, taking his wine freely, and\na boon companion.\"\n\nOn the 12th word came that the emperor would send a high officer to\nreceive the letter. No immediate answer would be given, but one would be\nforwarded through the Dutch or the Chinese. This offer the commodore\nrejected as insulting. But, fearing that he might be detained by useless\ndelay, he agreed to withdraw for a proper interval, at the end of which\nhe would return to receive the answer.\n\nOn the 14th the reception of the letter took place, the occasion being\nmade one of much ceremony. The commodore landed with due formality,\nthrough a line of Japanese boats, and with a following of three hundred\nand twenty officers and sailors from the fleet. Passing through a large\nbody of soldiers, behind whom stood a crowd of spectators, the building\nprepared for the reception was reached. It was a temporary structure,\nthe reception-room of which was hung with fine cloth, stamped with the\nimperial symbols in white on a violet background. The princes of Idsu\nand Iwami awaited as the envoys of the shogun, both of them splendidly\nattired in richly embroidered robes of silk.\n\nA large scarlet-lacquered box, on gilded feet, stood ready to receive\nthe letter, which, after being shown in its rich receptacle, was placed\non the scarlet box, with translations in Dutch and Chinese. A formal\nreceipt was given, ending with the following words: \"Because the place\nis not designed to treat of anything from foreigners, so neither can\nconference nor entertainment take place. The letter being received, you\nwill leave here.\"\n\n\"I shall return again, probably in April or May, for an answer,\" said\nthe commodore, on receiving the receipt.\n\n\"With all the ships?\" asked the interpreter.\n\n\"Yes, and probably with more,\" was the reply.\n\nThis said, the commodore rose and departed, the commissioners standing,\nbut not another word being uttered on either side. As if to indicate to\nhis hosts how little he regarded the curt order to leave, the commodore\nproceeded in the Susquehanna up the bay to the point the Mississippi had\nreached. Here he dropped anchor, the spot being afterwards known as the\n\"American anchorage.\" On the following day he sent the Mississippi ten\nmiles higher up, a point being reached within eight or ten miles of the\ncapital. Three or four miles in advance a crowded mass of shipping was\nseen, supposed to lie at Sinagawa, the southern suburb of Yedo. On the\n16th the vessels moved down the bay, and on the following day they stood\nout to sea, no doubt greatly to the relief of the Japanese officials.\n\nIn consequence of the death of the shogun, which took place soon after,\nPerry did not return for his answer until the following year, casting\nanchor again in the Bay of Yedo on February 12, 1854. He had now a\nlarger fleet, consisting of three steam-frigates, four sloops-of-war,\nand two store-ships. Entering the bay, they came to anchor at the point\nknown as the \"American anchorage.\"\n\nAnd now a debate arose as to where the ceremonies of reception should\ntake place. The Japanese wished the commodore to withdraw to a point\ndown the bay, some twenty miles below Uragawa. He, on the contrary,\ninsisted on going to Yedo, and sent boats up to within four miles of\nthat city to sound the channel. Finally the village of Yokohama,\nopposite the anchorage of the ships, was fixed upon.\n\nOn the 8th of March the first reception took place, great formality\nbeing observed, though this time light refreshments were offered. Two\naudiences a week were subsequently held, at one of which, on March 13,\nthe American presents were delivered. They consisted of cloths,\nagricultural implements, fire-arms, and other articles, the most\nvaluable being a small locomotive, tender, and car, which were set in\nmotion on a circular track. A mile of telegraph wire was also set up and\noperated, this interesting the Japanese more than anything else. They\nhad the art, however, of concealing their feelings, and took care to\nshow no wonder at anything displayed.\n\nIn the letter of reply from the shogun it was conceded that the demands\nin relation to shipwrecked sailors, coal, provisions, water, etc., were\njust, and there was shown a willingness to add a new harbor to that of\nNagasaki, but five years' delay in its opening were asked. To this the\ncommodore would not accede, nor would he consent to be bound by the\nrestrictions placed on the Dutch and Chinese. He demanded three harbors,\none each in Hondo, Yezo, and the Loochoo Islands, but finally agreed to\naccept two, the port of Simoda in Hondo and that of Hakodate in Yezo. An\nagreement being at length reached, three copies of the treaty were\nexchanged, and this was followed by an entertainment on the fleet to the\nJapanese officials, in which they did full justice to American fare, and\nseemed to be particularly fond of champagne. One of them became so merry\nand familiar under the influence of this beverage that he vigorously\nembraced the commodore, who bore the infliction with good-humored\npatience.\n\nAt the new treaty ports the restrictions which had been thrown around\nthe Dutch at Nagasaki were removed, citizens of the United States being\nfree to go where they pleased within a limit of several miles around the\ntowns.\n\nThe success of the Americans in this negotiation stimulated the other\nmaritime nations, and in the same year a British fleet visited Nagasaki\nand obtained commercial concessions. In 1858 the treaties were extended,\nthe port of Yokohama replacing that of Simoda, and the treaty ports\nbeing opened to American, British, French, and Dutch traders.\nSubsequently the same privileges were granted to the other commercial\nnations, the country was made free to travellers, and the long-continued\nisolation of Japan was completely broken down. A brief experience of the\nadvantages of commerce and foreign intercourse convinced the\nquick-witted islanders of the folly of their ancient isolation, and they\nthrew open their country without restriction to all the good the world\nhad to offer and to the fullest inflow of modern ideas.\n\n[Illustration: CHUSENJI ROAD AND DAIYA RIVER.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN._\n\n\nThe visit of Commodore Perry to Japan and the signing of a treaty of\ncommerce with the United States formed a great turning-point in the\nhistory of that ancient empire. Through its influence the mikado came to\nhis own again, after being for seven centuries virtually the vassal of\nthe shogun. So long had he vanished from sight that the people looked\nupon him as a far-off spiritual dignitary, and had forgotten that he was\nonce the supreme lord of the land. During all this time the imperial\ncourt had been kept up, with its prime minister, its officials and\nnobles,--with everything except authority. The court dignitaries ranked,\nin their own conceit and their ancient titles, far above the shogun and\ndaimios, the military leaders, but they were like so many actors on the\nstage, playing at power. The shogun, with the power at his command,\nmight have made himself the supreme dignitary, but it was easier to let\nthe sleepy court at Kioto alone, leaving them the shadow of that power\nof which the substance was in the shogun's hands.\n\nYet there was always a risk in this. The sleeping emperor might at any\ntime awake, call the people and the army to his aid, and break through\nthe web that the great spider of military rule had woven about his\ncourt. Some great event might stir Japan to its depths and cause a vital\nchange in the state of affairs. Such an event came in the visit of the\nAmerican fleet and the signing of a treaty of commerce and intercourse\nby the Tai Kun, or great sovereign of Japan, as the shogun signed\nhimself.\n\nFor two centuries and a half Japan had been at peace. For nearly that\nlength of time foreigners had been forbidden to set foot on its soil.\nThey were looked upon as barbarians, \"foreign devils\" the islanders\ncalled them, the trouble they had caused long before was not forgotten,\nand throughout the island empire they were hated or despised.\n\nThe visit of the American fleet was, therefore, sure to send a stir of\ndeep feeling throughout the land. During this period of excitement the\nshogun died, and the power was seized by Ii, the regent, a daring and\nable man, who chose as shogun a boy twelve years old, imprisoned,\nexiled, or beheaded all who opposed him, and was suspected of an\nintention to depose the mikado and set up a boy emperor in his place.\n\nAll this aroused new excitement in Japan. But the opposition to these\nacts of the regent would not have grown to revolution had no more been\ndone. The explosion came when Ii signed a treaty with the foreigners, a\nright which belonged only to the mikado, and sent word to Kioto that the\nexigency of the occasion had forced him to take this action.\n\nThe feeling that followed was intense. The country became divided into\ntwo parties, that of the mikado, which opposed the foreigners, and that\nof the shogun, which favored them. \"Honor the mikado and expel the\nbarbarians,\" became the patriot watchword, and in all directions excited\npartisans roamed the land, vowing that they would kill the regent and\nhis new friends and that they were ready to die for the true emperor.\nTheir fury bore fruit. Ii was assassinated. At the moment when a strong\nhand was most needed, that of the regent was removed. And as the feeling\nof bitterness against the foreigners grew, the influence of the shogun\ndeclined. The youthful dignitary was obliged by public opinion to visit\nKioto and do homage to the mikado, an ancient ceremony which had not\nbeen performed for two hundred and thirty years, and whose former\nexistence had almost been forgotten.\n\nThis was followed by a still more vital act. Under orders from the\nmikado, the shogun appointed the prince of Echizen premier of the\nempire. The prince at once took a remarkable step. For over two\ncenturies the daimios had been forced to reside in Yedo. With a word he\nabolished this custom, and like wild birds the feudal lords flew away.\nThe cage which had held them so long was open, and they winged their way\nto their distant nests. This act was fatal to the glory of Yedo and the\npower of its sovereign lord. In the words of the native chronicler, \"the\nprestige of the Tokugawa family, which had endured for three hundred\nyears, which had been as much more brilliant than Kamakura in the age of\nYoritomo as the moon is more brilliant than the stars, which for more\nthan two hundred and seventy years had forced the daimios to take their\nturn of duty in Yedo, and which had, day and night, eighty thousand\nvassals at its command, fell to ruin in the space of a single day.\"\n\nIn truth, the revolution was largely completed by this signal act. Many\nof the daimios and their retainers, let loose from their prison,\ndeserted the cause of their recent lord. Their place of assemblage was\nnow at Kioto, which became once more populous and bustling. They\nstrengthened the imperial court with gold and pledged to it their\ndevotion. Pamphlets were issued, some claiming that the clans owed\nallegiance to the shogun, others that the mikado was the true and only\nemperor.\n\nThe first warlike step in support of the new ideas was taken in 1863, by\nthe clan of Choshiu, which erected batteries at Shimonoseki, refused to\ndisarm at the shogun's order, and fired on foreign vessels. This brought\nabout a bombardment, in the following year, by the ships of four foreign\nnations, the most important result of which was to teach the Japanese\nthe strength of the powers against which they had arrayed themselves.\n\nMeanwhile the men of Choshiu, the declared adherents of the mikado,\nurged him to make a journey to Yamato, and thus show to his people that\nhe was ready to take the field in person against the barbarians. This\nsuggestion was at first received with favor, but suddenly the Choshiu\nenvoys and their friends were arrested, the palace was closely guarded,\nand all members or retainers of the clan were forbidden to enter the\ncapital, an order which placed them in the position of outlaws. The\nparty of the shogun had made the mikado believe that the clan was\nplotting to seize his person and through him to control the empire.\n\nThis act of violence led to civil war. In August, 1864, the capital was\nattacked by a body of thirteen hundred men of the Choshiu and other\ndisaffected clans. It was defended by the adherents of the shogun, now\nthe supporters of the mikado. For two days the battle raged, and at the\nend of that time a great part of the city was a heap of ashes, some\nthirty thousand edifices being destroyed by the flames. \"The Blossom\nCapital became a scorched desert.\" The Choshiu were defeated, but Kioto\nlay in ruins. A Japanese city is like a house of card-board, easily\ndestroyed, and almost as easily rebuilt.\n\nThis conflict was followed by a march in force upon Choshiu to punish\nits rebellious people. The expedition was not a popular one. Some\npowerful feudal lords refused to join it. Of those mustered into the\nranks many became conveniently sick, and those who marched were\ndisorganized and without heart for the fight. Choshiu, on the contrary,\nwas well prepared. The clansmen, who had long been in contact with the\nDutch, had thrown aside the native weapons, were drilled in European\ntactics, and were well armed with rifles and artillery. The result was,\nafter a three months' campaign, the complete defeat of the invading\narmy, and an almost fatal blow to the prestige of the shogun. This\ndefeat was immediately followed by the death of the young shogun, who\nhad been worn out by the intense anxiety of his period of rule.\n\nHe was succeeded by the last of the shoguns, Keiki, appointed head of\nthe Tokugawa family in October, 1866, and shogun in January, 1867. This\nposition he had frequently declined. He was far too weak and fickle a\nman to hold it at such a time. He was popular at court because of his\nopposition to the admission of the foreigners, but he was by no means\nthe man to hold the reins of government at that perilous juncture of\naffairs.\n\nIn fact, he had hardly accepted the office when a vigorous pressure was\nbrought upon him to resign, in which a number of princes and powerful\nnoblemen took part. It was their purpose to restore the ancient\ngovernment of the realm. Keiki yielded, and in November, 1867, resigned\nhis high office of Sei-i Tai Shogun. During this critical interval the\nmikado had died, and a new youthful emperor had been raised to the\nthrone.\n\nBut the imperial power was not so easily to be restored, after its many\ncenturies of abrogation. The Aidzu, the most loyal of all the clans to\nthe shogun, and the leaders in the war against the Choshiu, guarded the\npalace gates, and for the time being were masters of the situation.\nMeanwhile the party of the mikado was not idle. Gradually small parties\nof soldiers were sent by them to the capital, and a quiet influence was\nbrought to bear to induce the court to take advantage of the opportunity\nand by a bold movement abolish the office of shogun and declare the\nyoung emperor the sole sovereign of the realm.\n\nThis _coup-d'etat_ was effected January 3, 1868. On that day the\nintroduced troops suddenly took possession of the palace gates, the\nnobles who surrounded the emperor were dismissed and replaced by others\nfavorable to the movement, and an edict was issued in the name of the\nmikado declaring the office of shogun abolished, and that the sole\ngovernment of the empire lay in the hands of the mikado and his court.\nNew offices were established and new officials chosen to fill them, the\nclan of Choshiu was relieved from the ban of rebellion and honored as\nthe supporter of the imperial power, and a completely new government was\norganized.\n\nThis decisive action led to civil war. The adherents of the Tokugawa\nclan, in high indignation at this revolutionary act, left the capital,\nKeiki, who now sought to seize his power again, at their head. On the\n27th of February he marched upon Kioto with an army of ten thousand, or,\nas some say, thirty thousand, men. The two roads leading to the capital\nhad been barricaded, and were defended by two thousand men, armed with\nartillery.\n\nA fierce battle followed, lasting for three days. Greatly as the\ndefenders of the barriers were outnumbered, their defences and\nartillery, with their European discipline, gave them the victory. The\nshogun was defeated, and fled with his army to Ozaka, the castle of\nwhich was captured and burned, while he took refuge on an American\nvessel in the harbor. Making his way thence to Yedo in one of his own\nships, he shut himself up in his palace, once more with the purpose of\nwithdrawing from the struggle.\n\nHis retainers and many of the daimios and clans urged him to continue\nthe war, declaring that, with the large army and abundant supplies at\nhis command, and the powerful fleet under his control, they could\nrestore him to the position he had lost. But Keiki had had enough of\nwar, and could not bear the idea of being a rebel against his liege\nlord. Declaring that he would never take up arms against the mikado, he\nwithdrew from the struggle to private life.\n\nIn the mean time the victorious forces of the south had reached the\nsuburbs of Yedo, and were threatening to apply the torch to that\ntinder-box of a city unless it were immediately surrendered. Their\ncommander, being advised of the purpose of the shogun, promised to spare\nthe city, but assailed and burned the magnificent temple of Uyeno, in\nwhich the rebels still in arms had taken refuge. For a year longer the\nwar went on, victory everywhere favoring the imperial army. By the 1st\nof July, 1869, hostilities were at an end, and the mikado was the sole\nlord of the realm.\n\nThus ended a military domination that had continued for seven hundred\nyears. In 1167, Kiyomori had made himself military lord of the empire.\nIn 1869, Mutsuhito, the one hundred and twenty-third mikado in lineal\ndescent, resumed the imperial power which had so long been lost. Unlike\nChina, over which so many dynasties have ruled, Japan has been governed\nby a single dynasty, according to the native records, for more than\ntwenty-five hundred years.\n\nThe fall of the shogun was followed by the fall of feudalism. The\nemperor, for the first time for many centuries, came from behind his\nscreen and showed himself openly to his people. Yedo was made the\neastern capital of the realm, its name being changed to Tokio. Hither,\nin September, 1871, the daimios were once more summoned, and the order\nwas issued that they should give up their strongholds and feudal\nretainers and retire to private life. They obeyed. Resistance would have\nbeen in vain. Thus fell another ancient institution, eight centuries\nold. The revolution was at an end. The shogunate and the feudal system\nhad fallen, to rise no more. A single absolute lord ruled over Japan.\n\nAs regards the cry of \"expel the barbarians,\" which had first given rise\nto hostilities, it gradually died away as the revolution continued. The\nstrength of the foreign fleets, the advantages of foreign commerce, the\nconception which could not be avoided that, instead of being barbarians,\nthese aliens held all the high prizes of civilization and had a thousand\nimportant lessons to teach, caused a complete change of mind among the\nintelligent Japanese, and they quickly began to welcome those whom they\nhad hitherto inveterately opposed, and to change their institutions to\naccord with those of the Western world.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW._\n\n\nFrom the history of Japan we now turn to that of China, a far older and\nmore extensive kingdom, so old, indeed, that it has now grown decrepit,\nwhile Japan seems still in the glow of vigorous youth. But, as our tales\nwill show, there was a long period in the past during which China was\nfull of youthful energy and activity, and there may be a time in the\nfuture when a new youth will come to that hoary kingdom, the most\nvenerable of any existing upon the face of the earth.\n\nWho the Chinese originally were, whence they came, how long they have\ndwelt in their present realm, are questions easier to ask than to\nanswer. Their history does not reach back to their origin, except in\nvague and doubtful outlines. The time was when that great territory\nknown as China was the home of aboriginal tribes, and the first\nhistorical sketch given us of the Chinese represents them as a little\nhorde of wanderers, destitute of houses, clothing, and fire, living on\nthe spoils of the chase, and on roots and insects in times of scarcity.\n\nThese people were not sons of the soil. They came from some far-off\nregion. Some think that their original home lay in the country to the\nsoutheast of the Caspian, while later theorists seek to trace their\norigin in Babylonia, as an offshoot of the Mongolian people to whom that\nland owed its early language and culture. From some such place the\nprimitive Chinese made their way by slow stages to the east, probably\ncrossing the head-waters of the Oxus and journeying along the southern\nslopes of the Tian-Shan Mountains.\n\nAll this is conjecture, but we touch firmer soil when we trace them to\nthe upper course of the Hoang-ho, or Yellow River, whose stream they\nfollowed eastward until they reached the fertile plains of the district\nnow known as Shan-se. Here the immigrants settled in small colonies, and\nput in practice those habits of settled labor which they seem to have\nbrought with them from afar. Yet there is reason to believe that they\nhad at one time been nomads, belonging to the herding rather than to the\nagricultural races of the earth. Many of the common words in their\nlanguage are partly made up of the characters for sheep and cattle, and\nthe Chinese house so resembles the Tartar tent in outline that it is\nsaid that the soldiers of Genghis Khan, on taking a city, at once pulled\ndown the walls of the houses and left the roof supported by its wooden\ncolumns as an excellent substitute for a tent.\n\nHowever that be, the new-comers seem to have quickly become farmers,\ngrowing grain for food and flax for their garments. The culture of the\nsilk-worm was early known, trade was developed, and fairs were held.\nThere was intellectual culture also. They knew something of astronomy,\nand probably possessed the art of hieroglyphic writing,--which, if they\ncame from Babylonia, they may well have brought with them.\n\nThis took place five thousand years or more ago, and for a long time the\nhistory of the Chinese was that of the conquest of the native tribes.\nThey name themselves the \"black-haired race,\" but their foes are classed\nas \"fiery dogs\" in the north, \"great bowmen\" in the east, \"mounted\nwarriors\" in the west, and \"ungovernable vermin\" in the south. Against\nthese savages war was probably long continued, the invaders gradually\nwidening their area, founding new states, driving back the natives into\nthe mountains and deserts, and finally so nearly annihilating them that\nonly a small remnant remained. The descendants of these, the Meaou-tsze,\nmountain-dwellers, still remain hostile to China, and hold their own in\nthe mountain strongholds against its armies.\n\nSuch was the China with which history opens. Ancient Chinese writers\namuse themselves with a period of millions of years in which venerable\ndynasties reigned, serving to fill up the vast gap made by their\nimagination in the period before written history began. And when history\ndoes appear it is not easy to tell how much of it is fact and how much\nfiction. The first ruler named, Yew-chaou She (the Nest-having), was the\nchief who induced the wanderers to settle within the bend of the Yellow\nRiver and make huts of boughs. After him came Suy-jin She (the\nFire-maker), who discovered the art of producing fire by the friction of\ntwo pieces of dry wood, also how to count and register time by means of\nknots tied in cords. Fuh-he discovered iron by accident, and reigned one\nhundred and fifteen years. Chin-nung invented the plough, and in one day\ndiscovered seventy poisonous plants and as many antidotes. Under\nHoang-ti the calendar was regulated, roads were constructed, vessels\nwere built, and the title of _Ti_, or Emperor, was first assumed.\nHoang-ti means \"Yellow Emperor,\" and became a favorite name with the\nfounders of later dynasties. His wife, Se-ling-she, was the first to\nunravel silk from cocoons and weave it into cloth. Several others\nfollowed, all partly or wholly fabulous, until Yao ascended the throne\nin 2356 B.C. With this emperor history begins to throw off some little\nof the mist of legend and mythology.\n\nWith the reign of Yao the historical work of Confucius begins. His\nnarrative is not trustworthy history, but it is not pure fable. Yao and\nShun, his successor, are two of the notable characters in the ancient\nannals of China. Under them virtue reigned supreme, crime was unknown,\nand the empire grew in extent and prosperity. The greatest difficulty\nwith which they had to contend was the overflow of the Hoang-ho, an\nunruly stream, which from that day to this has from time to time swept\naway its banks and drowned its millions. Yu, the next emperor, drained\noff the waters of the mighty flood,--which some have thought the same as\nthe deluge of Noah. This work occupied him for nine years. His last\nnotable act was to denounce the inventor of an intoxicating drink made\nfrom rice, from which he predicted untold misery to the people.\n\nAll this comes to us from the Confucian \"Book of History,\" which goes on\nwith questionable stories of many later emperors. They were not all good\nand wise, like most of those named. Some of the descendants of Yu became\ntyrants and pleasure-seekers, their palaces the seats of scenes of\ncruelty and debauchery surpassing the deeds of Nero. Two emperors in\nparticular, Kee and Chow, are held up as monsters of wickedness and\nexamples of dissoluteness beyond comparison. The last, under the\ninfluence of a woman named Ta-Ke, became a frightful example of\nsensuality and cruelty. Among the inventions of Ta-Ke was a cylinder of\npolished brass, along which her victims were forced to walk over a bed\nof fire below, she laughing in great glee if they slipped and fell into\nthe flames. In fact, Chinese invention exhausts itself in describing the\ncrimes and immoral doings of this abominable pair, which, fortunately,\nwe are not obliged to believe.\n\nOf the later emperors, Mou Wang, who came to the throne about 1000 B.C.,\nwas famed as a builder of palaces and public works, and was the first of\nthe emperors to come into conflict with the Tartars of the Mongolian\nplains, who afterwards gave China such endless trouble. He travelled\ninto regions before unknown, and brought a new breed of horses into\nChina, which, fed on \"dragon grass,\" were able to travel one thousand\n_li_ in a day. As this distance is nearly four hundred miles, it would\nbe well for modern horsemen if some of that dragon grass could yet be\nfound.\n\nIt is not worth while going on with the story of these early monarchs,\nof whom all we know is so brief and unimportant as not to be worth the\ntelling, while little of it is safe to believe. In the \"burning of the\nbooks,\" which took place later, most of the ancient history disappeared,\nwhile the \"Book of History\" of Confucius, which professes to have taken\nfrom the earlier books all that was worth the telling, is too meagre and\nunimportant in its story to be of much value.\n\nYet, if we can believe all we are told, the historians of China were at\nany time ready to become martyrs in the cause of truth, and gave the\nstory of the different reigns with singular fidelity and intrepidity.\nMailla relates the following incident: \"In the reign of the emperor Ling\nWang of the Chow dynasty, 548 B.C., Chang Kong, Prince of Tsi, became\nenamoured of the wife of Tsouichow, a general, who resented the affront\nand killed the prince. The historians attached to the household of the\nprince recorded the facts, and named Tsouichow as the murderer. On\nlearning this the general caused the principal historian to be arrested\nand slain, and appointed another in his place. But as soon as the new\nhistorian entered upon his office he recorded the exact facts of the\nwhole occurrence, including the death of his predecessor and the cause\nof his death. Tsouichow was so much enraged at this that he ordered all\nthe members of the Tribunal of History to be executed. But at once the\nwhole literary class in the principality of Tsi set to work exposing and\ndenouncing the conduct of Tsouichow, who soon perceived that his wiser\nplan would be to reconstitute the Tribunal and to allow it to follow\nits own devices.\"\n\nOther stories to the same effect are told. They are very likely\nexaggerated, but there is good reason to believe that the literary class\nof China were obstinate to the verge of martyrdom in maintaining the\nfacts and traditions of the past, and that death signified to them less\nthan dishonor. We shall see a striking instance of this in the story of\nHoang-ti, the burner of the books.\n\nIn the period to which we have now come, China was far from being the\ngreat empire it is to-day. On the south it did not extend beyond the\ngreat river Yang-tse-Kiang, all the region to the south being still held\nby the native tribes. On the north the Tartar tribes occupied the\nsteppes. At the fall of the Chow dynasty, in 255 B.C., the empire\nextended through five degrees of latitude and thirteen of longitude,\ncovering but a small fraction of its present area.\n\nAnd of this region only a minor portion could fairly be claimed as\nimperial soil. The bulk of it was held by feudal princes, whose\nancestors had probably conquered their domains ages before, and some of\nwhom held themselves equal to the emperor in power and pride. They\nacknowledged but slight allegiance to the imperial government, and for\ncenturies the country was distracted by internal warfare, until the\ngreat Hoang-ti, whose story we have yet to tell, overthrew feudalism,\nand for the first time united all China into a single empire.\n\nThe period that we have so rapidly run over embraces no less than two\nthousand years of partly authentic history, and a thousand or more years\nof fabulous annals, during which China steadily grew, though of what we\nknow concerning it there is little in which any absolute trust can be\nplaced. Yet it was in this period that China made its greatest progress\nin literature and religious reform, and that its great lawgivers\nappeared. With this phase of its history we shall deal in the succeeding\ntale.\n\n\n\n\n_CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE._\n\n\nIn the later years of the Chow dynasty appeared the two greatest\nthinkers that China ever produced, Laoutse, the first and ablest\nphilosopher of his race, and Confucius, a practical thinker and reformer\nwho has had few equals in the world. Of Laoutse we know little. Born 604\nB.C., in humble life, he lived in retirement, and when more than a\nhundred years old began a journey to the west and vanished from history.\nTo the guardian of the pass through which he sought the western regions\nhe gave a book which contained the thoughts of his life. This forms the\nBible of the Taouistic religion, which still has a large following in\nChina.\n\nConfucius, or Kong-foo-tse, born 551 B.C., was as practical in intellect\nas Laoutse was mystical, and has exerted an extraordinary influence upon\nthe Chinese race. For this reason it seems important to give some\naccount of his career.\n\nThe story of his life exists in some detail, and may be given in\nepitome. As a child he was distinguished for his respect to older\npeople, his gentleness, modesty, and quickness of intellect. At nineteen\nhe married and was made a mandarin, being appointed superintendent of\nthe markets, and afterwards placed in charge of the public fields, the\nsheep and cattle. His industry was remarkable, and so great were his\nimprovements in agriculture that the whole face of the country changed,\nand plenty succeeded poverty.\n\nAt twenty-two he became a public teacher, and at thirty began the study\nof music, making such remarkable progress in this art that from the\nstudy of one piece he was able to describe the person of the composer,\neven to his features and the expression of his eyes. His teacher now\ngave him up. The pupil had passed infinitely beyond his reach. At the\nnext important epoch in the life of Confucius (499 B.C.) he had become\none of the chief ministers of the king of Loo. This potentate fell into\na dispute with the rival king of Tsi, and an interview between the two\nkings took place, in which a scheme of treachery devised by the king of\nTsi was baffled by the vigilance and courage of the learned minister of\nLoo.\n\nBut, the high precepts of Confucius proving too exalted for the feeble\nvirtue of his kingly employer, the philosopher soon left his service,\nand entered upon a period of travel and study, teaching the people as he\nwent, and constantly attended by a number of disciples. His mode of\nillustrating his precepts is indicated in an interesting anecdote. \"As\nhe was journeying, one day he saw a woman weeping and wailing by a\ngrave. Confucius inquired the cause of her grief. 'You weep as if you\nhad experienced sorrow upon sorrow,' said one of the attendants of the\nsage. The woman answered, 'It is so: my husband's father was killed here\nby a tiger, and my husband also; and now my son has met the same fate.'\n'Why do you not leave the place?' asked Confucius. On her replying,\n'There is here no oppressive government,' he turned to his disciples and\nsaid, 'My children, remember this,--oppressive government is more cruel\nthan a tiger.'\"\n\nOn another of their journeys they ran out of food, and one of the\ndisciples, faint with hunger, asked the sage, \"Must the superior man\nindeed suffer in this way?\" \"The superior man may have to suffer want,\"\nanswered Confucius, \"but the mean man, when he is in want, gives way to\nunbridled license.\" The last five years of his life were spent in Loo,\nhis native state, in teaching and in finishing the works he had long\nbeen writing.\n\nConfucius was no philosopher in the ordinary sense. He was a moral\nteacher, but devised no system of religion, telling his disciples that\nthe demands of this world were quite enough to engage the thoughts of\nmen, and that the future might be left to provide for itself. He cared\nnothing about science and studied none of the laws of nature, but\ndevoted himself to the teaching of the principles of conduct, with\nmarked evidence of wisdom and practical common sense.\n\nOf all the great men who have lived upon the earth, conquerors, writers,\ninventors, and others, none have gained so wide a renown as this quiet\nChinese moral teacher, whose fame has reached the ears of more millions\nof mankind than that of any other man who has ever lived. To-day his\ndescendants form the only hereditary nobility in China, with the\nexception of those of his great disciple Mencius, who proved a worthy\nsuccessor to the sage.\n\nIt is to Confucius that we owe nearly all we possess of the early\nliterature of China. Of what are known as the \"Five Classics,\" four are\nby his hand. The \"Book of Changes,\" the oldest classic, was written by a\nmystic named Wan Wang, who lived about 1150 B.C. It is highly revered,\nbut no one pretends to understand it. The works of Confucius include the\n\"Book of History,\" the \"Book of Odes,\" the \"Book of Rites,\" and the\n\"Spring and Autumn Annals,\" all of them highly esteemed in China for the\nknowledge they give of ancient days and ways.\n\nThe records of the early dynasties kept at the imperial court were\nclosely studied by Confucius, who selected from them all that he thought\nworth preserving. This he compiled into the _Shoo King_, or \"Book of\nHistory.\" The contents of this work we have condensed in the preceding\ntale. It consists mainly of conversations between the kings and their\nministers, in which the principles of the patriarchal Chinese government\nform the leading theme. \"Do not be ashamed of mistakes, and thus make\nthem crimes,\" says one of these practical ministers.\n\nThe _Le-ke_, or \"Book of Rites,\" compiled from a very ancient work, lays\ndown exact rules of life for Chinamen, which are still minutely obeyed.\nThe _Chun Tsew_, or \"Spring and Autumn Annals,\" embraces a mere\nstatement of events which occurred in the kingdom of Loo, and contains\nvery little of historical and less of any other value. The \"Book of\nOdes,\" on the contrary, possesses a great literary value, in preserving\nfor us the poetic remains of ancient China.\n\nLiterature in that country, as elsewhere, seems to have begun with\npoetry, and of the songs and ballads of the early period official\ncollections of considerable value were made. Not only at the imperial\ncourt, but at those of the feudal lords, there were literati whose duty\nit was to collect the songs of the people and diligently to preserve the\nhistorical records of the empire. From the latter Confucius compiled two\nof the books already named. There also fell into his hands an official\ncollection of poems containing some three thousand pieces. These the\nsage carefully edited, selecting such of them as \"would be serviceable\nfor the inculcation of propriety and righteousness.\" These poems, three\nhundred and eleven in number, constitute the _She King_, or \"Book of\nOdes,\" forming a remarkable collection of primitive verses which breathe\nthe spirit of peace and simple life, broken by few sounds of war or\nrevelry, but yielding many traces of family affection, peaceful repose,\nand religious feeling.\n\nThese are not the only remains of the ancient Chinese literature. There\nare four more books, which, with the five named, make up the \"Nine\nClassics.\" These were written by the pupils and disciples of Confucius,\nthe most important being the _Mang tsze_, or \"Works of Mencius.\" They\nare records of the sayings and doings of the two sages Confucius and\nMencius, whose remarkable precepts, like those of the Greek sage\nSocrates, would have been lost to the world but for the loving diligence\nof their disciples.\n\nAll this is not history in the ordinary sense. But the men described,\nand particularly Confucius, have had so potent an influence upon all\nthat relates to Chinese life and history, that some brief account of\nthem and their doings seemed indispensable to our work.\n\n\n\n\n_THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE._\n\n\nIn the year 246 B.C. came to the throne of China the most famous of all\nthe monarchs of that ancient empire, the celebrated Hoangti,--Tsin Chi\nHoang-ti, or \"first sovereign emperor of the Tsins,\" to give him his\nfull title. Various stories are told by Chinese historians of the origin\nof this great monarch, they denying that he was of royal blood. They say\nthat he was the son of a woman slave who had been bought by the emperor,\nand that the boy's real father was a merchant, her former master. This\nstory, whether true or false, gave the young emperor much trouble in\nlater years. His mother, after he came to the throne, grew so dissipated\nthat he was forced to punish her lover and banish her. And the merchant,\nhis reputed father, being given a place at court, became eager for a\nhigher position, and sought to influence the emperor by hints and\nwhisperings of the secret hold he possessed over him. Hoangti was not\nthe man to be dealt with in such a fashion, and the intriguing merchant,\nfinding a storm of vengeance coming, poisoned himself to escape a worse\nfate.\n\nSuch are the stories told of the origin of the famous emperor. They may\nnot be true, for the historians hated him, for reasons yet to be given,\nand made the most of anything they could say against him. All we are\nsure of is that he ascended the throne at the youthful age of thirteen,\nand even at that age quickly made his influence widely felt. What lay\nbefore him was practically the conquest of China, whose great feudal\nlords were virtually independent of the throne, and had, not long\nbefore, overwhelmed the imperial armies.\n\nFortunately for the young emperor, the great princes, having no fear of\na boy, either disbanded their forces or quarrelled among themselves, two\nof the most powerful of them declaring war upon each other. Taking\nadvantage of these dissensions, Hoangti gained, step by step, the\ndesired control of his foes. Ouki, a great general in the interest of\nthe princes, was disgraced by the aid of bribery and falsehood, several\nof the strong cities of the princes were seized, and when they entered\nthe field against the emperor their armies, no longer led by the able\nOuki, were easily defeated. Thus steadily the power of the youthful\nmonarch increased and that of his opponents fell away, the dismembered\nempire of China slowly growing under his rule into a coherent whole.\n\nMeanwhile war arose with foreign enemies, who appeared on the western\nand northern boundaries of the empire. In this quarter the Tartar tribes\nof the desert had long been troublesome, and now a great combination of\nthese warlike nomads, known as the Heung-nou,--perhaps the same as the\nHuns who afterwards devastated Europe,--broke into the defenceless\nborder provinces, plundering and slaughtering wherever they appeared.\nAgainst this dangerous enemy the emperor manifested the same energy\nthat he had done against his domestic foes. Collecting a great army,\nthree hundred thousand strong, he marched into their country and\noverthrew them in a series of signal victories. In the end those in the\nvicinity of China were exterminated, and the others driven to take\nrefuge in the mountains of Mongolia.\n\nThis success was followed by a remarkable performance, one of the most\nstupendous in the history of the world. Finding that several of the\nnorthern states of the empire were building lines of fortification along\ntheir northern frontiers for defence against their Tartar enemies, the\nemperor conceived the extraordinary project of building a gigantic wall\nalong the whole northern boundary of China, a great bulwark to extend\nfrom the ocean on the east to the interior extremity of the modern\nprovince of Kan-suh on the west. This work was begun under the direct\nsupervision of the emperor in 214 B.C., and prosecuted with the\nsleepless energy for which he had made himself famous. Tireless as he\nwas, however, the task was too great for one man to perform, and it was\nnot completed until after his death.\n\nThis extraordinary work, perhaps the greatest ever undertaken by the\nhand of man, extends over a length of twelve hundred and fifty-five\nmiles, the wall itself, if measured throughout its sinuous extent, being\nfully fifteen hundred miles in length. Over this vast reach of mountain\nand plain it is carried, regardless of hill or vale, but \"scaling the\nprecipices and topping the craggy hills of the country.\" It is not a\nsolid mass, but is composed of two retaining walls of brick, built upon\ngranite foundations, while the space between them is filled with earth\nand stones. It is about twenty-five feet wide at base and fifteen at\ntop, and varies from fifteen to thirty feet in height, with frequent\ntowers rising above its general level. At the top a pavement of\nbricks--now overgrown with grass--forms a surface finish to the work.\n\nHow many thousands or hundreds of thousands of the industrious laborers\nof China spent their lives upon this stupendous work history does not\ntell. It stands as a striking monument of the magnificent conceptions of\nHoangti, and of the patient industry of his subjects, beside which the\nbuilding of the great pyramid of Egypt sinks into insignificance. Yet,\nas history has abundantly proved, it was a waste of labor so far as\nanswering its purpose was concerned. In the hands of a strong emperor\nlike Hoangti it might well defy the Tartar foe. In the hands of many of\nhis weak successors it proved of no avail, the hordes of the desert\nswarming like ants over its undefended reaches, and pouring upon the\nfeeble country that sought defence in walls, not in men.\n\nWhile this vast building operation was going on, Hoangti had his hands\nso full with internal wars that he adopted the custom of sitting on his\nthrone with a naked sword in his hand, significant of his unceasing\nalertness against his foes. Not until his reign was near its end was he\nable to return this emblem of war to its scabbard and enjoy for a few\nyears the peace he had so ably won.\n\nNo sooner had the great emperor finished his campaign of victory\nagainst the Heung-nou Tartars than he found himself confronted by\nenemies at home, the adherents of the remaining feudal princes whose\nindependent power was threatened. The first with whom he came in contact\nwas the powerful prince of Chow, several of whose cities he captured,\nthe neighboring prince of Han being so terrified by this success that he\nsurrendered without a contest. In accordance with Hoangti's method, the\nprince was forced to yield his power and retire to private life in the\ndominions of the conqueror.\n\nChow still held out, under an able general, Limou, who defied the\nemperor and defeated his armies. Hoangti, finding himself opposed by an\nabler man than any he had under his command, employed against him the\nsame secret arts by which he had before disposed of the valiant Ouki. A\ncourtier was bribed to malign the absent general and poison the mind of\nthe prince against the faithful commander of his forces. The intrigue\nwas successful, Limou was recalled from his command, and on his refusing\nto obey was assassinated by order of the prince.\n\nHoangti had gained his end, and his adversary soon paid dearly for his\nlack of wisdom and justice. His dominions were overrun, his capital,\nHantan, was taken and sacked, and he and his family became prisoners to\none who was not noted for mercy to his foes. The large province of Chow\nwas added to the empire, which was now growing with surprising rapidity.\n\nThis enemy disposed of, Hoangti had another with whom to deal. At his\ncourt resided Prince Tan, heir of the ruler of Yen. Whether out of\nsettled policy or from whim, the emperor insulted this visitor so\nflagrantly that he fled the court, burning for revenge. As the most\ndirect way of obtaining this, he hired an assassin to murder Hoangti,\ninducing him to accept the task by promising him the title of \"Liberator\nof the Empire.\" The plot was nearly successful. Finding it very\ndifficult to obtain an audience with the emperor, Kinkou, the assassin,\nsucceeded in an extraordinary way, by inducing Fanyuki, a proscribed\nrebel, to commit suicide. In some unexplained way Kinkou made use of\nthis desperate act to obtain the desired audience. Only the alertness of\nthe emperor now saved him from death. His quick eye caught the attempt\nof the assassin to draw his poniard, and at once, with a sweeping blow\nof his sabre, he severed his leg from his body, hurling him bleeding and\nhelpless to the floor.\n\nHoangti's retribution did not end with the death of the assassin.\nLearning that Prince Tan was the real culprit, he gave orders for the\ninstant invasion of Yen,--a purpose which perhaps he had in view in his\ninsult to the prince. The ruler of that state, to avert the emperor's\nwrath, sent him the head of Tan, whom he had ordered to execution. But\nas the army continued to advance, he fled into the wilds of Lea-vu-tung,\nabandoning his territory to the invader. In the same year the kingdom of\nWei was invaded, its capital taken, and its ruler sent to the Chinese\ncapital for execution.\n\nOnly one of the great principalities now remained, that of Choo, but it\nwas more formidable than any of those yet assailed. Great preparations\nand a large army were needed for this enterprise, and the emperor asked\nhis generals how many men would be required for the task of conquest.\n\n\"Two hundred thousand will be abundant,\" said Lisin; \"I will promise you\nthe best results with that number of men.\"\n\n\"What have you to say?\" asked the emperor of Wang Tsein, his oldest and\nmost experienced commander.\n\n\"Six hundred thousand will be needed,\" said the cautious old general.\n\nThese figures, given in history, may safely be credited with an\nallowance for the exaggeration of the writers.\n\nThe emperor approved of Lisin's estimate, and gave him the command,\ndismissing the older warrior as an over-cautious dotard. The event told\na different tale. Lisin was surprised during his march and driven back\nin utter defeat, losing forty thousand men, as the records say, in the\nbattle and the pursuit. What became of the defeated braggart history\nfails to state. If he survived the battle, he could hardly have dared to\npresent himself again before his furious master.\n\nHoangti now sent for the veteran whom he had dismissed as a dotard, and\nasked him to take command of the troops.\n\n\"Six hundred thousand: no less will serve,\" repeated the old man.\n\n\"You shall have all you ask for,\" answered the emperor.\n\nThis vast host collected, the question of supplies presented itself as a\nserious matter.\n\n\"Do not let that trouble you,\" said the emperor to his general. \"I have\ntaken steps to provide for that, and promise you that provisions are\nmore likely to be wanting in my palace than in your camp.\"\n\nThe event proved the soundness of the old warrior's judgment and his\nwarlike skill. A great battle soon took place, in which Wang Tsein,\ntaking advantage of a false movement of the enemy, drove him in panic\nflight from the field. This was soon followed by the complete conquest\nof the principality, whose cities were strongly garrisoned by imperial\ntroops, and its rulers sent to the capital to experience the fate of the\npreceding princely captives. The subjection of several smaller provinces\nsucceeded, and the conquest of China was at length complete.\n\nThe feudal principalities, which had been the successors of the\nindependent kingdoms into which the Chinese territory was originally\ndivided, were thus overthrown, the ancient local dynasties being\nexterminated, and their territories added to the dominion of the Tsins.\nThe unity of the empire was at length established, and the great\nconqueror became \"the first universal emperor.\"\n\nHoangti the Great, as we may justly designate the man who first formed a\nunited Chinese empire, and to whom the mighty conception of the Great\nWall was due, did not exhaust his energies in these varied labors.\nChoosing as his capital Heenyang (now Segan Foo), he built himself\nthere a palace of such magnificence as to make it the wonder and\nadmiration of the age. This was erected outside the city, on so vast a\nscale that ten thousand men could be drawn up in order of battle in one\nof its courts. Attached to it were magnificent gardens, the whole being\nknown as the Palace of Delight. Within the city he had another palace,\nof grand dimensions, its hall of audience being adorned with twelve\ngigantic statues made from the spoils of his many campaigns, each of\nthem weighing twelve thousand pounds.\n\nThe capital was otherwise highly embellished, and an edict required that\nall weapons should be sent to the arsenal in that city, there being no\nlonger danger of civil war, and \"peace being universal.\" This measure\ncertainly tended to prevent war, and \"the skilful disarming of the\nprovinces added daily to the wealth and prosperity of the capital.\"\n\nThe empire of China thus being, for the first time in its history, made\na centralized one, Hoangti divided it into thirty-six provinces, and set\nout on a tour of inspection of the vast dominions which acknowledged him\nas sole lord and master. Governors and sub-governors were appointed in\neach province, the stability of the organization adopted being evidenced\nby the fact that it still exists. The most important result of the\nimperial journey was the general improvement of the roads of the empire.\nIt was the custom, when a great man visited any district, to repair the\nroads which he would need to traverse, while outside his line of march\nthe highways were of a very imperfect character. Hoangti was well aware\nof this custom, and very likely he may have convinced himself of the\ntrue condition of the roads by sudden detours from the prescribed route.\nAt all events, he made the following notable remarks:\n\n\"These roads have been made expressly for me, and are very satisfactory.\nBut it is not just that I alone should enjoy a convenience of which my\nsubjects have still greater need, and one which I can give them.\nTherefore I decree that good roads shall be made in all directions\nthroughout the empire.\"\n\nIn these few words he set in train a far more useful work than the Great\nWall. High-roads were laid out on a grand scale, traversing the empire\nfrom end to end, and the public spirit of the great emperor is attested\nby the noble system of highways which still remain, more than two\nthousand years after his death.\n\n[Illustration: A CHINESE IRRIGATION WHEEL.]\n\nHaving said so much in favor of Hoangti, we have now to show the reverse\nof the shield, in describing that notable act which has won him the\nenmity of the literary class, not only in China but in the whole world.\nThis was the celebrated \"burning of the books.\" Hoangti was essentially\na reformer. Time-honored ceremonies were of little importance in his\neyes when they stood in the way of the direct and practical, and he\nabolished hosts of ancient customs that had grown wearisome and\nunmeaning. This sweeping away of the drift-wood of the past was far from\nagreeable to the officials, to whom formalism and precedent were as the\nbreath of life. One of the ancient customs required the emperors to\nascend high mountains and offer sacrifices on their summits. The\nliterary class had ancient rule and precedent for every step in this\nceremony, and so sharply criticised the emperor's disregard of these\nobservances that they roused his anger. \"You vaunt the simplicity of the\nancients,\" he impatiently said; \"you should then be satisfied with me,\nfor I act in a simpler fashion than they did.\" Finally he closed the\ncontroversy with the stern remark, \"When I have need of you I will let\nyou know my orders.\"\n\nThe literati of China have always been notable for the strength of their\nconvictions and the obstinate courage with which they express their\nopinions at all risks. They were silenced for the present, but their\nanger, as well as that of the emperor, only slumbered. Five years\nafterwards it was reawakened. Hoangti had summoned to the capital all\nthe governors and high officials for a Grand Council of the Empire. With\nthe men of affairs came the men of learning, many of them wedded to\ntheories and traditions, who looked upon Hoangti as a dangerous\niconoclast, and did not hesitate to express their opinion.\n\nIt was the most distinguished assembly that had ever come together in\nChina, and, gathered in that magnificent palace which was adorned with\nthe spoils of conquered kingdoms, it reflected the highest honor on the\ngreat emperor who had called it together and who presided over its\ndeliberations. But the hardly concealed hostility of the literati soon\ndisturbed the harmony of the council. In response to the emperor, who\nasked for candid expressions of opinion upon his government and\nlegislation, a courtier arose with words of high praise, ending with,\n\"Truly you have surpassed the very greatest of your predecessors even at\nthe most remote period.\"\n\nThe men of books broke into loud murmurs at this insult to the heroes of\ntheir admiration, and one of them sprang angrily to his feet,\ndesignating the former speaker as \"a vile flatterer unworthy of the high\nposition which he occupied,\" and continuing with unstinted praise of the\nearly rulers. His oration, which showed much more erudition than\ndiscretion, ended by advocating a reversal of the emperor's action, and\na redivision of the empire into feudal principalities.\n\nHoangti, hot with anger, curtly reminded the speaker that that point was\nnot open to discussion, it having already been considered and decided.\nHe then called on Lisseh, his minister, to state again the reasons for\nthe unity of the empire. The speech of the minister is one of high\nimportance, as giving the ostensible reasons for the unexampled act of\ndestruction by which it was followed.\n\n\"It must be admitted,\" he said, \"after what we have just heard, that men\nof letters are, as a rule, very little acquainted with what concerns the\ngovernment of a country,--not that government of pure speculation, which\nis nothing more than a phantom, vanishing the nearer we approach to it,\nbut the practical government which consists in keeping men within the\nsphere of their practical duties. With all their pretence of knowledge,\nthey are, in this matter, densely ignorant. They can tell you by heart\neverything which has happened in the past, back to the most remote\nperiod, but they are, or seem to be, ignorant of what is being done in\nthese later days, of what is passing under their very eyes. Incapable of\ndiscerning that the thing which was formerly suitable would be wholly\nout of place to-day, they would have everything arranged in exact\nimitation of what they find written in their books.\"\n\nHe went on to denounce the men of learning as a class uninfluenced by\nthe spirit of existing affairs and as enemies of the public weal, and\nconcluded by saying, \"Now or never is the time to close the mouths of\nthese secret enemies, to place a curb upon their audacity.\"\n\nHe spoke the sentiments of the emperor, who had probably already\ndetermined upon his course of action. Having no regard for books\nhimself, and looking upon them as the weapons of his banded foes, he\nissued the memorable order that all the books of the empire should be\ndestroyed, making exception only of those that treated of medicine,\nagriculture, architecture, and astronomy. The order included the works\nof the great Confucius, who had edited and condensed the more ancient\nbooks of the empire, and of his noble disciple Mencius, and was of the\nmost tyrannical and oppressive character. All books containing\nhistorical records, except those relating to the existing reign, were to\nbe burned, and all who dared even to speak together about the Confucian\n\"Book of Odes\" and \"Book of History\" were condemned to execution. All\nwho should even make mention of the past, so as to blame the present,\nwere, with all their relatives, to be put to death; and any one found,\nafter thirty days, with a book in his possession was to be branded and\nsent to work for four years on the Great Wall. Hoangti did not confine\nhimself to words. The whole empire was searched for books, and all found\nwere burned, while large numbers of the literati who had disobeyed the\nedict were arrested, and four hundred and sixty of them were buried\nalive in a great pit dug for that purpose.\n\nIt may well be that Hoangti had his own fame largely in view in this\nunprecedented act, as in his preceding wall-building and road-making. He\nmay have proposed to sweep away all earlier records of the empire and\nmake it seem to have sprung into existence full-fledged with his reign.\nBut if he had such a purpose, he did not take fully into account the\ndevotion of men of learning to their cherished manuscripts, nor the\npowers of the human memory. Books were hidden in the roofs and walls of\ndwellings, buried underground, and in some cases even concealed in the\nbeds of rivers, until after the tyrant's death. And when a subsequent\nmonarch sought to restore these records of the past, vanished tomes\nreappeared from the most unlooked-for places. As for the \"Book of\nHistory\" of Confucius, which had disappeared, twenty-eight sections of\nthe hundred composing it were taken down from the lips of an aged blind\nman who had treasured them in his memory, and one was obtained from a\nyoung girl. The others were lost until 140 B.C., when, in pulling down\nthe house of the great philosopher, a complete copy of the work was\nfound hidden in its walls. As for the scientific works that were spared,\nnone of them have come down to our day.\n\nWe shall now briefly complete our story of the man who made himself the\nmost thoroughly hated of all Chinese monarchs by the literati of that\nrealm. Organizing his troops into a strong standing army, he engaged in\na war of conquest in the south, adding Tonquin and Cochin China to his\ndominions, and carrying his arms as far as Bengal. In the north he again\nsent his armies into the desert to chastise the troublesome nomads, and\nthen, conceiving that no advantage was to be gained in extending his\nempire over these domains of barbarism, he employed the soldiers as aids\nin the task of building the Great Wall, adding to them a host of the\nindustrial population of the north.\n\nIn 210 B.C. Hoangti was seized with some malady which he failed to treat\nas he did his enemies. Neglecting the simplest remedial measures, he\ncame suddenly to the end of his career after a reign of fifty-one years.\nWith him were buried many of his wives and large quantities of treasure,\na custom of barbarous origin which was confined in China to the chiefs\nof Tsin. Magnificent in his ideas and fond of splendor, he despised\nformality, lived simply in the midst of luxury, and distinguished\nhimself from other Chinese rulers by making walking his favorite\nexercise. While not great as a soldier, he knew how to choose soldiers,\nand in his administration was wise enough to avail himself of the\nadvice of the ablest ministers.\n\nYet with all his greatness he could not provide for the birth of a great\nson. Upon his death disturbances broke out in all quarters of the realm,\nwith which his weak successor was unable to cope. In three years the\nreign of his son was closed with assassination, while the grandson of\nHoangti, defeated in battle after a six weeks' nominal reign, ended his\nlife in murder or suicide. With him the dynasty of the Tsins passed away\nand that of the Han monarchs succeeded. Hoangti stands alone as the\ngreat man of his race.\n\n\n\n\n_KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS._\n\n\nAfter the death of the great Hoangti, two of his generals fought for the\nthrone of China,--Lieou Pang, who represents, in the Chinese annals,\nintellect, and Pa Wang, representing brute force, uninspired by thought.\nDestiny, if we can credit the following tale, had chosen the former for\nthe throne. \"A noted physiognomist once met him on the high-road, and,\nthrowing himself down before him, said, 'I see by the expression of your\nfeatures that you are destined to be emperor, and I offer you in\nanticipation the tribute of respect that a subject owes his sovereign. I\nhave a daughter, the fairest and wisest in the empire; take her as your\nwife. So confident am I that my prediction will be realized that I\ngladly offer her to you.'\"\n\nHowever that be, the weak descendants of Hoangti soon vanished from the\nscene, Pa Wang was overcome in battle, and the successful general seized\nthe imperial throne. He chose, as emperor, the title of Kaotsou, and\nnamed his dynasty, from his native province, the Han. It was destined to\ncontinue for centuries in power.\n\nThe new emperor showed himself a worthy successor of the builder of the\nGreat Wall, while he made every effort to restore to the nation its\nbooks, encouraging men of letters and seeking to recover such\nliterature as had survived the great burning. In this way he provided\nfor his future fame at the hands of the grateful literati of China.\nAmnesty to all who had opposed him was proclaimed, and regret expressed\nat the sufferings of the people \"from the evils which follow in the\ntrain of war.\"\n\nThe merit of Kaotsou lay largely in the great public works with which he\nemulated the policy of his energetic predecessor. The \"Lofty and August\nEmperor\" (_Kao Hoangti_), as he entitled himself, did not propose to be\nthrown into the shade by any who had gone before. On taking the throne\nhe chose as his capital the city of Loyang (now Honan), but subsequently\nselected the city of Singanfoo, in the western province of Shensi. This\ncity lay in a nest of mountains, which made it very difficult of\napproach. It was not without advantages from its situation as the\ncapital of the empire, but could not be reached from the south without\nlong detours. Possibly this difficulty may have had something to do with\nits choice by the emperor, that he might display his genius in\novercoming obstacles.\n\nTo construct roads across and to cut avenues through the mountains an\narmy of workmen, one hundred thousand in number, became necessary. The\ndeep intervening valleys were filled up to the necessary level by the\nspoils rent from the lofty adjoining mountains, and where this could not\nbe done, great bridges, supported on strong and high pillars, were\nthrown across from side to side. Elsewhere suspension bridges--\"flying\nbridges,\" as the Chinese call them--were thrown across deep and rugged\nravines, wide enough for four horsemen to travel abreast, their sides\nbeing protected by high balustrades. One of these, one hundred and fifty\nyards long, and thrown over a valley more than five hundred feet deep,\nis said to be still in perfect condition. These suspension bridges were\nbuilt nearly two thousand years before a work of this character was\nattempted in Europe. In truth, the period in question, including several\ncenturies before Christ, was the culminating age of Chinese\ncivilization, in which appeared its great religious reformers,\nphilosophers, and authors, its most daring engineers, and its monarchs\nof highest public spirit and broadest powers of conception and\nexecution. It was the age of the Great Wall, the imperial system of\nhighways, the system of canals (though the Great Canal was of later\ndate), and other important works of public utility.\n\nBy the strenuous labors described Kaotsou rendered his new capital easy\nof access from all quarters of the kingdom, while at frequent intervals\nalong the great high-roads of the empire there were built post-houses,\ncaravansaries, and other conveniences, so as to make travelling rather a\npleasure than the severe task it formerly had been.\n\nThe capital itself was made as attractive as the means of reaching it\nwere made easy. Siaho, at once an able war minister and a great builder,\nplanned for the emperor a palace so magnificent that Kaotsou hesitated\nin ordering its erection. Siaho removed his doubts with the following\nargument: \"You should look upon all the empire as your family; and if\nthe grandeur of your palace does not correspond with that of your\nfamily, what idea will it give of its power and greatness?\"\n\nThis argument sufficed: the palace was built, and Kaotsou celebrated its\ncompletion with festivities continued for several weeks. On one occasion\nduring this period, uplifted with a full sense of the dignity to which\nhe had attained, his pride found vent in the grandiloquent remark,\n\"To-day I feel that I am indeed emperor, and perceive all the difference\nbetween a subject and his master.\"\n\nHis fondness for splendor was indicated by magnificent banquets and\nreceptions, and his sense of dignity by a court ceremonial which must\nhave proved a wearisome ordeal for his courtiers, though none dared\ninfringe it for fear of dire consequences. Those who had aided him in\nhis accession to power were abundantly rewarded, with one exception,\nthat of his father, who seems to have been overlooked in the\ndistribution of favors. The old man, not relishing thus being left at\nthe foot of the ladder, took prompt occasion to remind his son of his\nclaims. Dressing himself in his costliest garments, he presented himself\nat the foot of the throne, where, in a speech of deep humility, he\ndesignated himself as the least yet the most obedient subject of the\nrealm. Kaotsou, thus admonished, at once called a council of ministers\nand had the old man proclaimed \"the lesser emperor.\" Taking him by the\nhand, he led him to a chair at the foot of the throne as his future\nseat. This act of the emperor won him the highest commendation from his\nsubjects, the Chinese looking upon respect to and veneration of parents\nas the duty surpassing all others and the highest evidence of virtue.\n\nSiaho, the palace-builder and war minister, had been specially favored\nin this giving of rewards, much to the discontent of the leading\ngenerals, who claimed all the credit for the successes in war, and were\ndisposed to look with contempt on this mere cabinet warrior. Hearing of\ntheir complaints, Kaotsou summoned them to his presence, and thus\nplainly expressed his opinion of their claims:\n\n\"You find, I am told, reason to complain that I have rewarded Siaho\nabove yourselves. Tell me, who are they at the chase who pursue and\ncapture the prey? The dogs.--But who direct and urge on the dogs? Are\nthey not the hunters?--You have all worked hard for me; you have pursued\nyour prey with vigor, and at last captured and overthrown it. In this\nyou deserve the credit which one gives to the dogs in the chase. But the\nmerit of Siaho is that of the hunter. It is he who has conducted the\nwhole of the war, who regulated everything, ordered you to attack the\nenemy at the opportune moment, and by his tactics made you master of the\ncities and provinces you have conquered. On this account he deserves the\ncredit of the hunter, who is more worthy of reward than are the dogs\nwhom he sets loose upon the prey.\"\n\nOne further anecdote is told of this emperor, which is worth repeating,\nas its point was aptly illustrated in a subsequent event. Though he had\nwon the empire by the sword, he was not looked upon as a great general,\nand on one occasion asked Hansin, his ablest officer, how many men he\nthought he (the emperor) could lead with credit in the field.\n\n\"Sire,\" said the plain-spoken general, \"you can lead an army of a\nhundred thousand men very well. _But that is all._\"\n\n\"And how many can you lead?\"\n\n\"The more I have the better I shall lead them,\" was the self-confident\nanswer.\n\nThe event in which the justice of this criticism was indicated arose\nduring a subsequent war with the Tartars, who had resumed their inroads\ninto the empire. The Heung-nou were at this period governed by two\nleading chiefs, Mehe and Tonghou, the latter arrogant and ambitious, the\nformer well able to bide his time. The story goes that Tonghou sent to\nMehe a demand for a favorite horse. His kinsmen advised him to refuse,\nbut Mehe sent the horse, saying, \"Would you quarrel with your neighbor\nfor a horse?\" Tonghou soon after sent to demand of Mehe one of his\nwives. Mehe again complied, saying to his friends, \"Would you have me\nundertake a war for the sake of a woman?\" Tonghou, encouraged by these\nresults of his insolence, next invaded Mehe's dominions. The patient\nchief, now fully prepared, took the field, and in a brief time had\ndispersed Tonghou's army, captured and executed him, and made himself\nthe principal chief of the clans.\n\nThis able leader, having punished his insolent desert foe, soon led his\nwarlike followers into China, took possession of many fertile\ndistricts, extended his authority to the banks of the Hoang-ho, and sent\nplundering expeditions into the rich provinces beyond. In the war that\nfollowed the emperor himself took command of his troops, and, too\nreadily believing the stories of the weakness of the Tartar army told by\nhis scouts, resolved on an immediate attack. One of his generals warned\nhim that \"in war we should never despise an enemy,\" but the emperor\nrefused to listen, and marched confidently on, at the head of his\nadvance guard, to find the enemy.\n\nHe found him to his sorrow. Mehe had skilfully concealed his real\nstrength for the purpose of drawing the emperor into a trap, and now, by\na well-directed movement, cut off the rash leader from his main army and\nforced him to take refuge in the city of Pingching. Here, vastly\noutnumbered and short of provisions, the emperor found himself in a\ndesperate strait, from which he could not escape by force of arms.\n\nIn this dilemma one of his officers suggested a possible method of\nrelease. This was that, as a last chance, the most beautiful virgin in\nthe city should be sent as a peace-offering to the desert chief. Kaotsou\naccepted the plan,--nothing else presenting itself,--and the maiden was\nchosen and sent. She went willingly, it is said, and used her utmost\narts to captivate the Tartar chief. She succeeded, and Mehe, after\nforcing Kaotsou to sign an ignominious treaty, suffered his prize to\nescape, and retired to the desert, well satisfied with the rich spoils\nhe had won. Kaotsou was just enough to reward the general to whose\nwarning he had refused to listen, but the scouts who had misled him paid\ndearly for their false reports.\n\nThis event seems to have inspired Kaotsou with an unconquerable fear of\nhis desert foe, who was soon back again, pillaging the borders with\nimpunity and making such daring inroads that the capital itself was not\nsafe from their assaults. Instead of trusting to his army, the emperor\nnow bought off his enemy in a more discreditable method than before,\nconcluding a treaty in which he acknowledged Mehe as an independent\nruler and gave him his daughter in marriage.\n\nThis weakness led to revolts in the empire, Kaotsou being forced again\nto take the field against his foes. But, worn out with anxiety and\nmisfortune, his end soon approached, his death-bed being disturbed by\npalace intrigues concerning the succession, in which one of his favorite\nwives sought to have her son selected as the heir. Kaotsou, not heeding\nher petition, chose his eldest son as the heir-apparent, and soon after\ndied. The tragic results of these intrigues for the crown will be seen\nin the following tale.\n\n[Illustration: Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums.\nAN ITINERANT COBBLER. CANTON, CHINA.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE EMPRESS POISONER OF CHINA._\n\n\nAbout two centuries before Christ a woman came to the head of affairs in\nChina whose deeds recall the worst of those which have long added infamy\nto the name of Lucretia Borgia. As regards the daughter of the Borgias\ntradition has lied: she was not the merciless murderess of fancy and\nfame. But there is no mitigation to the story of the empress Liuchi,\nwho, with poison as her weapon, made herself supreme dictator of the\ngreat Chinese realm.\n\nThe death of the great emperor Kaotsou left two aspirants for the\nthrone, the princes Hoeiti, son of Liuchi, and Chow Wang, son of the\nempress Tsi. There was a palace plot to raise Chow Wang to the throne,\nbut it was quickly foiled by the effective means used by the ambitious\nLiuchi to remove the rivals from the path of her son. Poison did the\nwork. The empress Tsi unsuspiciously quaffed the fatal bowl, which was\nthen sent to Chow Wang, who innocently drank the same perilous draught.\nWhatever may have been the state of the conspiracy, this vigorous method\nof the queen-mother brought it to a sudden end, and Hoeiti ascended the\nthrone.\n\nThe young emperor seemingly did not approve of ascending to power over\nthe dead bodies of his opponents. He reproved his mother for her cruel\ndeed, and made a public statement that he had taken no part in the act.\nYet under this public demonstration secret influences seem to have been\nat work within the palace walls, for the imperial poisoner retained her\npower at court and her influence over her son. When the great princes\nsought the capital to render homage to the new emperor, to their\nsurprise and chagrin they found the unscrupulous dowager empress at the\nhead of affairs, the sceptre of the realm practically in her hands.\n\nThey were to find that this dreadful woman was a dangerous foe to\noppose. Among the potentates was Tao Wang, Prince of Tsi, who, after\ndoing homage to the young emperor, was invited to feast with him. At\nthis banquet Liuchi made her appearance, and when the wine was passed\nshe insisted on being served first. These unpardonable breaches of\netiquette--which they were in the Chinese code of good manners--were\nlooked upon with astonishment by the visiting prince, who made no effort\nto conceal his displeasure on seeing any one attempt to drink before the\nemperor.\n\nLiuchi, perceiving that she had made an enemy by her act, at once\nresolved to remove him from her path, with the relentless and terrible\ndecision with which she had disposed of her former rivals. Covertly\ndropping the poison, which she seems to have always had ready for use,\ninto a goblet of wine, she presented it to the prince of Tsi, asking him\nto pledge her in a draught. The unsuspicious guest took the goblet from\nher hand, without a dream of what the courtesy meant.\n\nFortunately for him, the emperor, who distrusted his mother too deeply\nto leave her unobserved, had seen her secret act and knew too well what\nit meant. Snatching the fatal bowl from the prince's hand, he begged\npermission to pledge his health in that wine, and, with his eyes fixed\nmeaningly on his mother's face, lifted it in turn to his royal lips.\n\nThe startled woman had viewed the act with wide eyes and trembling\nlimbs. Seeing her son apparently on the point of drinking, an\ninvoluntary cry of warning burst from her, and, springing hastily to her\nfeet, she snatched the fatal cup from his hand and dashed it to the\nfloor. The secret was revealed. The prince of Tsi had been on the very\npoint of death. With an exclamation of horror, and a keen invective\naddressed to the murderess, he rushed from that perilous room, and very\nprobably was not long in hastening from a city which held so powerful\nand unscrupulous a foe.\n\nThe Chinese Borgia's next act of violence found a barbarian for its\nvictim. The Tartar chief Mehe sent an envoy to the capital of China,\nwith a message which aroused the anger of the empress, who at once\nordered him to be executed, heedless of the fact that she thus brought\nthe nation to the brink of war. Four years afterwards Hoeiti, the\nemperor, died, leaving vacant the throne which he had so feebly filled.\n\nIt is not to be supposed that Liuchi had any hand in this closing of a\nbrief and uneventful reign. Her son was in no sense in her way, and\nserved as a useful shield behind which she held the reins of\ngovernment. But she was in no haste to fill the vacant throne,\npreferring to rule openly as the supreme power in the realm. In order to\nconsolidate her strength, she placed her brothers and near relations in\nthe great posts of the empire, and strengthened her position by every\nmeans fair and foul.\n\nIt soon became evident, however, that this ambitious scheme could not be\ncarried through. Throughout the land went up a cry for a successor to\nthe dead emperor. In this dilemma the daring woman adopted a bold plan,\nbringing forward a boy who she declared was the offspring of her dead\nson, and placing this child of unknown parents upon the vacant throne.\nAs a regent was needed during the minority of her counterfeit grandson,\nshe had herself proclaimed as the holder of this high office.\n\nAll this was very little to the taste of the ministers of the late\nemperor. Never before had the government of China been in the hands of a\nwoman. But they dared not make an effort to change it, or even to speak\ntheir sentiments in too loud a tone. Liuchi had ways of suppressing\ndiscontent that forced her enemies to hold their peace. The only one who\nventured to question the arbitrary will of the regent was the mother of\nthe nominal emperor, and sudden death removed her from the scene.\nLiuchi's ready means of vengeance had been brought into play again.\n\nFor years now the imperious empress ruled China unquestioned. Others who\nventured on her path may have fallen, but the people remained content,\nso that the usurper seems to have avoided any oppression of her\nsubjects. But these years brought the child she had placed on the throne\nwell on towards man's estate, and he began to show signs of an intention\nto break loose from leading-strings. He was possessed of ability, or at\nleast of energy, and there were those ready to whisper in his ear the\nbitter tale of how his mother had been forced to swallow Liuchi's\ndraught of death.\n\nStirred to grief and rage by these whispers of a fell deed, the youthful\nruler vowed revenge upon the murderess. He vowed his own death in doing\nso. His hasty words were carried by spies to Liuchi's ears, and with her\nusual promptness she caused the imprudent youth to be seized and\nconfined within the palace prison. The puppet under whom she ruled had\nproved inconvenient, and there was not a moment's hesitation in putting\nhim out of the way. What became of him is not known, the prison rarely\nrevealing its secrets, but from Liuchi's character we may safely surmise\nhis fate.\n\nThe regent at once set to work to choose a more pliant successor to her\nrebellious tool. But her cup of crime was nearly full. Though the people\nremained silent, there was deep discontent among the officials of the\nrealm, while the nobles were fiercely indignant at this virtual seizure\nof the throne by an ambitious woman. The storm grew day by day. One\ngreat chief boldly declared that he acknowledged \"neither empress nor\nemperor,\" and the family of the late monarch Kaotsou regained their\nlong-lost courage on perceiving these evidences of a spirit of revolt.\n\nDangers were gathering around the resolute regent. But her party was\nstrong, her hand firm, her courage and energy great, and she would\nperhaps have triumphed over all her foes had not the problem been\nunexpectedly solved by her sudden death. The story goes that, while\nwalking one day in the palace halls, meditating upon the best means of\nmeeting and defeating her numerous foes, she found herself suddenly face\nto face with a hideous spectre, around which rose the shades of the\nvictims whom she had removed by poison or violence from her path. With a\nspasm of terror the horrified woman fell and died. Conscience had\nsmitten her in the form of this terrific vision, and retribution came to\nthe poisoner in the halls which she had made infamous by her crimes.\n\nHer death ended the hopes of her friends. Her party fell to pieces\nthroughout the realm, but a strong force still held the palace, where\nthey fiercely defended themselves against the army brought by their\nfoes. But their great empress leader was gone, one by one they fell in\nvain defence, and the capture of the palace put an end to the power\nwhich the woman usurper had so long and vigorously maintained.\n\n\n\n\n_THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES._\n\n\nMany as have been the wars of China, the Chinese are not a warlike\npeople. Their wars have mostly been fought at home to repress rebellion\nor overcome feudal lords, and during the long history of the nation its\narmies have rarely crossed the borders of the empire to invade foreign\nstates. In fact, the chief aggressive movements of the Chinese have been\nrather wars of defence than of offence, wars forced upon them by the\nincessant sting of invasions from the desert tribes.\n\nFor ages the Tartars made China their plunder-ground, crossing the\nborders in rapid raids against which the Great Wall and the frontier\nforces proved useless for defence, and carrying off vast spoil from the\nindustrious Chinese. They were driven from the soil scores of times,\nonly to return as virulently as before. Their warlike energy so far\nsurpassed that of their victims that one emperor did not hesitate to\nadmit that three Tartars were the equal of five Chinese. They were\nbought off at times with tribute of rich goods and beautiful maidens,\nand their chief was even given the sister of an emperor for wife. And\nstill they came, again and again, swarms of fierce wasps which stung the\ncountry more deeply with each return.\n\nThis in time became intolerable, and a new policy was adopted, that of\nturning the tables on the Tartars and invading their country in turn. In\nthe reign of Vouti, an emperor of the Han dynasty (135 B.C.), the Tartar\nking sent to demand the hand of a Chinese princess in marriage, offering\nto continue the existing truce. Bitter experience had taught the Chinese\nhow little such an offer was to be trusted. Wang Kue, an able general,\nsuggested the policy \"of destroying them rather than to remain\nconstantly exposed to their insults,\" and in the end war was declared.\n\nThe hesitation of the emperor had not been without abundant reason. To\ncarry their arms into the wilds of Central Asia seemed a desperate\nenterprise to the peaceful Chinese, and their first effort in this\ndirection proved a serious failure. Wang Kue, at the head of an army of\nthree hundred thousand men, marched into the desert, adopting a\nstratagem to bring the Tartars within his reach. His plan failed, the\nTartars avoided an attack, and Wang Kue closed the campaign without a\nshred of the glory he had promised to gain. The emperor ordered his\narrest, which he escaped in the effective Eastern fashion of himself\nputting an end to his life.\n\nBut, though the general was dead, his policy survived, his idea of\naggression taking deep root in the Chinese official mind. Many centuries\nwere to elapse, however, before it bore fruit in the final subjection of\nthe desert tribes, and China was to become their prey as a whole before\nthey became the subjects of its throne.\n\nThe failure of Wang Kue gave boldness to the Tartars, who carried on in\ntheir old way the war the Chinese had begun, making such bold and\ndestructive raids that the emperor sent out a general with orders to\nfight the enemy wherever he could find them. This warrior, Wei Tsing by\nname, succeeded in catching the raiders in a trap. The Tartar chief,\narmed with the courage of despair, finally cut his way through the\ncircle of his foes and brought off the most of his men, but his camp,\nbaggage, wives, children, and more than fifteen thousand soldiers were\nleft behind, and the victorious general became the hero of his age, the\nemperor travelling a day's journey from the capital to welcome him on\nhis return.\n\nThis, and a later success by the same general, gave the Chinese the\ncourage they so sadly needed, teaching them that the Tartars were not\nquite beyond the power of the sword. A council was called, a proposal to\ncarry the war into the enemy's country approved, and an army, composed\nmostly of cavalry, sent out under an experienced officer named\nHokiuping. The ill fortune of the former invasion was now replaced by\ngood. The Tartars, completely taken by surprise, were everywhere driven\nback, and Hokiuping returned to China rich in booty, among it the golden\nimages used as religious emblems by one of the Tartar princes. Returning\nwith a larger force, he swept far through their country, boasting on his\nreturn that he had put thirty thousand Tartars to the sword. As a\nresult, two of the princes and a large number of their followers\nsurrendered to Vouti, and were disarmed and dispersed through the\nfrontier settlements of the realm.\n\nThese expeditions were followed by an invasion of the Heung-nou country\nby a large army, commanded by the two successful generals Wei Tsing and\nHokiuping. This movement was attended with signal success, and the\nTartars for the time were thoroughly cowed, while the Chinese lost much\nof their old dread of their desert foe. Years afterwards (110 B.C.) a\nnew Tartar war began, Vouti himself taking command of an army of two\nhundred thousand men, and sending an envoy to the Tartar king,\ncommanding him to surrender all prisoners and plunder and to acknowledge\nChina as sovereign lord of himself and his people. All that the proud\nchief surrendered was the head of the ambassador, which he sent back\nwith a bold defiance.\n\nFor some reason, which history does not give, Vouti failed to lead his\nall-conquering army against the desert foe, and when, in a later year,\nthe steppes were invaded, the imperial army found the warlike tribes\nready for the onset. The war continued for twenty years more, with\nvaried fortune, and when, after fifty years of almost incessant warfare\nwith the nomad warriors, Vouti laid down his sword with his life, the\nTartars were still free and defiant. Yet China had learned a new way of\ndealing with the warlike tribes, and won a wide reputation in Asia,\nwhile her frontiers were much more firmly held.\n\nThe long reign of the great emperor had not been confined to wars with\nthe Tartars. In his hands the empire of China was greatly widened by\nextensions in the west. The large provinces of Yunnan, Szchuen, and\nFuhkien were conquered and added to the Chinese state, while other\nindependent kingdoms were made vassal states. And \"thereby hangs a tale\"\nwhich we have next to tell.\n\nFar west in Northern China dwelt a barbarian people named the Yuchi,\nnumerous and prosperous, yet no match in war for their persistent\nenemies the Tartars of the steppes. In the year 165 B.C. they were so\nutterly beaten in an invasion of the Heung-nou that they were forced to\nquit their homes and seek safety and freedom at a distance. Far to the\nwest they went, where they coalesced with those warlike tribes of\nCentral Asia who afterwards became the bane of the empire of Rome.\n\nThe fate of this people seemed a bitter one to Vouti, when it was told\nto his sympathetic ear, and, in the spirit in which King Arthur sent out\nhis Round Table Knights on romantic quests, he turned to his council and\nasked if any among them was daring enough to follow the track of these\nwanderers and bring them back to the land they had lost. One of them,\nChang Keen, volunteered to take up the difficult quest and to traverse\nAsia from end to end in search of the fugitive tribes.\n\nThis knight of romance was to experience many adventures before he\nshould return to his native land. Attended by a hundred devoted\ncompanions, he set out, but in endeavoring to cross the country of the\nHeung-nou the whole party were made prisoners and held in captivity for\nten long years. Finally, after a bitter experience of desert life, the\nsurvivors made their escape, and, with a courage that had outlived their\nyears of thraldom, resumed their search for the vanished tribes. Many\nwestern countries were visited in the search, and much strange knowledge\nwas gained. In the end the Yuchi were found in their new home. With them\nChang Keen dwelt for a year, but all his efforts to induce them to\nreturn were in vain. They were safe in their new land, and did not care\nto risk encounter with their old foes, even with the Emperor of China\nfor their friend.\n\nFinally the adventurous envoy returned to China with two of his\ncompanions, the only survivors of the hundred with whom he had set out\nyears before. He had an interesting story to tell of lands and peoples\nunknown to the Chinese, and wrote an account of his travels and of the\ngeography of the countries he had seen. Chang Keen was subsequently sent\non a mission to the western kingdom of Ousun, where he was received with\nmuch honor, though the king declined to acknowledge himself a vassal of\nthe ruler of China. From here he sent explorers far to the south and\nnorth, bringing back with him fresh information concerning the Asiatic\nnations.\n\nOf the Yuchi later stories are told. They are said to have come into\ncollision with the Parthians, whom they vanquished after a\nlong-continued struggle. They are also credited with having destroyed\nthe kingdom of Bactria, a far-eastern relic of the empire of Alexander\nthe Great. Several centuries later they may have combined with their old\nfoes to form the Huns, who flung themselves in a devastating torrent\nupon Europe, and eventually became the founders of the modern kingdom of\nHungary.\n\n\n\n\n_THE \"CRIMSON EYEBROWS.\"_\n\n\nWith the opening of the Christian era a usurper came to the Chinese\nthrone. In the year 1 B.C. the emperor Gaiti died, and Wang Mang, a\npowerful official, joined with the mother of the dead emperor to seize\nthe power of the state. The friends and officials of Gaiti were ruined\nand disgraced, and in the year 1 A.D. a boy of nine years was raised to\nthe throne as nominal emperor, under whose shadow Wang Mang ruled\nsupreme. Money was needed for the ambitious upstart, and he obtained it\nby robbing the graves of former monarchs of the jewels and other\nvaluables buried with them. This, from the Chinese point of view, was a\nfrightful sacrilege, yet the people seem to have quietly submitted to\nthe violation of the imperial tombs.\n\nFive years passed away, and the emperor reached the age of sixteen. He\nmight grow troublesome in a year or two more. Wang Mang decided that he\nhad lived long enough. The poisoned cup, which seems to have been always\nready in the Chinese palace, was handed to the boy by the usurper\nhimself. Drinking it unsuspiciously, the unfortunate youth was soon\nlying on the floor in the agonies of death, while the murderer woke the\npalace halls with his cries of counterfeit grief, loudly bewailing the\nyoung emperor's sad fate, and denouncing heaven for having sent this\nsudden and fatal illness upon the royal youth.\n\nTo keep up appearances, another child was placed upon the throne. A\nconspiracy against the usurper was now formed by the great men of the\nstate, but Wang Mang speedily crushed plot and plotters, rid himself of\nthe new boy emperor in the same arbitrary fashion as before, and,\nthrowing off the mask he had thus far worn, had himself proclaimed\nemperor of the realm. It was the Han dynasty he had in this arbitrary\nfashion brought to an end. He called his dynasty by the name of Sin.\n\nBut the usurper soon learned the truth of the saying, \"uneasy lies the\nhead that wears a crown.\" The Tartars of the desert defied his\nauthority, broke their long truce, and raided the rich provinces of the\nnorth, which had enjoyed thirty years of peace and prosperity. In this\njuncture Wang Mang showed that he was better fitted to give poison to\nboys than to meet his foes in the field. The Tartars committed their\nravages with impunity, and other enemies were quickly in arms.\nRebellions broke out in the east and the south, and soon, wherever the\nusurper turned, he saw foes in the field or lukewarm friends at home.\n\nThe war that followed continued for twelve years, the armies of\nrebellion, led by princes of the Han line of emperors, drawing their net\ncloser and closer around him, until at length he was shut up within his\ncapital city, with an army of foes around its walls. The defence was\nweak, and the victors soon made their way through the gates, appearing\nquickly at the palace doors. The usurper had reached the end of his\ntroubled reign, but at this fatal juncture had not the courage to take\nhis own life. The victorious soldiers rushed in while he was hesitating\nin mortal fear, and with a stroke put an end to his reign and his\nexistence. His body was hacked into bleeding fragments, which were cast\nabout the streets of the city, to be trampled underfoot by the rejoicing\nthrong.\n\nIt is not, however, the story of Wang Mang's career that we have set out\nto tell, but that of one of his foes, the leader of a band of rebels,\nFanchong by name. This partisan leader had shown himself a man of\nstriking military ability, bringing his troops under strict discipline,\nand defeating all his foes. Soldiers flocked to his ranks, his band\nbecame an army, and in the crisis of the struggle he took a step that\nmade him famous in Chinese history. He ordered his soldiers to paint\ntheir eyebrows red, as a sign that they were ready to fight to the last\ndrop of their blood. Then he issued the following proclamation to the\npeople: \"If you meet the 'Crimson Eyebrows,' join yourselves to them; it\nis the sure road to safety. You can fight the usurper's troops without\ndanger; but if you wish for death you may join Wang Mang's army.\"\n\nThe end of the war was not the end of the \"Crimson Eyebrows.\" Fanchong\nwas ambitious, and a large number of his followers continued under his\nflag. They had aided greatly in putting a Han emperor on the throne, but\nthey now became his most formidable foes, changing from patriots into\nbrigands, and keeping that part of the empire which they haunted in a\nstate of the liveliest alarm.\n\nAgainst this thorn in the side of the realm the new emperor sent his\nablest commander, and a fierce campaign ensued, in which the brigand\nband stubbornly fought for life and license. In the end they suffered a\ncrushing defeat, and for the time sank out of sight, but only to rise\nagain at a later date.\n\nThe general who had defeated them, an able prince of the Han family,\nfollowed up his victory by seizing the throne itself and deposing the\nweak emperor. The latter fled to the retreat of the remnant of the\nbrigand band, and begged their aid to restore him to the throne, but\nFanchong, who had no idea of placing a greater than himself at the head\nof his band, escaped from the awkward position by putting his guest to\ndeath.\n\nSoon after the \"Crimson Eyebrows\" were in the field again, not as\nsupporters of an imperial refugee, but as open enemies of the public\npeace, each man fighting for his own hand. While the new ruler was\nmaking himself strong at Loyang, the new capital, Fanchong and his\nbrigands seized Changnan, Wang Mang's old capital, and pillaged it\nmercilessly. Making it their head-quarters, they lived on the\ninhabitants of the city and the surrounding district, holding on until\nthe rapid approach of the army of the emperor admonished them that it\nwas time to seek a safer place of retreat.\n\nThe army of the brigand chief grew until it was believed to exceed two\nhundred thousand men, while their excesses were so great that they were\neverywhere regarded as public enemies, hated and execrated by the\npeople at large. But the career of the \"Crimson Eyebrows\" was near its\nend. The emperor sent against them an army smaller than their own, but\nunder the command of Fongy, one of the most skilful generals of the age.\nHis lack of numbers was atoned for by skill in manoeuvres, the\nbrigands were beaten in numerous skirmishes, and at length Fongy risked\na general engagement, which ended in a brilliant victory. During the\ncrisis of the battle he brought up a reserve of prisoners whom he had\ncaptured in the previous battles and had won over to himself. These,\nwearing still the crimson sign of the brigands, mingled unobserved among\ntheir former comrades, and at a given signal suddenly made a fierce\nattack upon them. This treacherous assault produced a panic, and\nFanchong's army was soon flying in disorder and dismay.\n\nTerms were now offered to the brigand chief, which he accepted, and his\narmy disbanded, with the exception of some fragments, which soon\ngathered again into a powerful force. This Fongy attacked and completely\ndispersed, and the long and striking career of the \"Crimson Eyebrows\"\ncame to an end.\n\n[Illustration: A CHINESE PAGODA.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA._\n\n\nThe Chinese are the most practical and the least imaginative of the\npeoples of the earth. During their whole four thousand years and more of\nhistorical existence the idea of military glory seems never to have\ndawned upon their souls. They have had wars, abundance of them, but\nthese have nearly all been fought for the purpose of holding on to old\npossessions, or of widening the borders of the empire by taking in\nneighboring lands. No Alexander, Caesar, or Napoleon has ever been born\non Chinese soil; no army has ever been led abroad in search of the\nwill-of-the-wisp called glory; the wild fancy of becoming lords of the\nworld has always been out of touch with their practical minds.\n\nIf we consider closely the wars of China the truth of what is here said\nwill appear. The great bulk of them have been fought within the limits\nof the empire, for the purposes of defence against invasion, the\nsuppression of revolt, the overthrow of the power of feudal lords, or in\nconsequence of the ambition of successful generals who coveted the\nthrone. The wars of external conquest have been singularly few,\nconsisting principally in the invasion of the domain of the Tartars, to\nwhich the Chinese were driven by the incessant raids of the desert\nhordes. In addition, there have been invasions of Corea and Indo-China,\nbut merely as passing incidents in the long era of Chinese history, not\nas inaugurating a career of conquest. The great invasion of Japan in the\nthirteenth century, the only pure war of conquest of China, was made by\nKublai Khan, a Tartar emperor, and largely with Tartar troops. In brief,\nthe Chinese have shown themselves in disposition one of the most\npeaceful of nations, only asking to be let alone, and are very unlikely\nto begin the war of conquest which some modern military writers fear.\n\nYet there is one instance in Chinese history which seems to contradict\nwhat has here been said, that of the career of a great conqueror who\ncarried the arms of China over the whole width of Asia, and who seemed\nactuated by that thirst for military glory which has inspired most of\nthe great wars of the world and brought untold misery upon mankind. This\nwas the great leader Panchow, who lived under three emperors of the Han\ndynasty, and whose career is full of interest and event.\n\nPanchow first appears in the reign of the emperor Mingti, who came to\nthe throne in 57 A.D. His victories were won in the west, in the region\nof Kokonor, where he brought to an end the invasions of the Tartar\ntribes. Under Changti, the succeeding emperor, Panchow continued his\nwork in the west, carrying on the war at his own expense, with an army\nrecruited from pardoned criminals.\n\nChangti died, and Hoti came to the throne, a child ten years of age. It\nwas under his reign that the events to be described took place. During\nthe preceding reigns Panchow had made the power of China felt in regions\nfar west of that realm, bringing several small kingdoms and many tribes\nunder subjection, conquering the city of Kashgar, and extending the\nwestern borders of China as far into the interior of Asia as the great\nupland region of the Pamir. The power of his arms had added Eastern\nTurkestan to the Chinese empire, a region which it continues to hold\nto-day.\n\nBut these conquests were not enough to satisfy the ambition of the\nveteran general. Under the boy emperor Hoti he was free to carry out his\ndesigns on a much larger scale. With a powerful army he set out on the\nonly campaign of ambitious warfare in which China ever indulged. His\nprevious victories had carried the terror of his name far over the\nkingdoms of the west, and he now led his army to conquest after conquest\nin the great oases of Western Turkestan, subduing kingdom after kingdom\nuntil no less than fifteen had submitted to the power of his arms, and\nhis victorious army stood on the far-distant shores of the Caspian\nSea,--the Northern Sea, as it is named in Chinese annals.\n\nTo cross this sea would have brought him into Europe, which continent\nhad never dreamed of invasion from the mysterious land of Cathay, on the\neastern horizon of the world. Panchow's ambition was not yet satiated.\nThere came to his mind the idea of crossing this seeming great barrier\nto his victorious career. He had, with his army, overcome innumerable\ndifficulties of waterless deserts, lofty mountain ranges, great rivers,\nand valiant enemies. Thus far his progress had been irresistible, and\nshould a mere expanse of water put an end to his westward march?\n\nHe was checked by dread of perils in the unknown land beyond. The people\non the borders of the Caspian represented that salt sea as being far\nmore formidable than it really was. They dilated on its width, the vast\nmountains which lay beyond, the fierce tribes who would render a landing\ndifficult and dangerous, and the desert regions beyond the mountains,\nuntil Panchow reluctantly gave up his scheme. He had already been for\nseveral years warring with savage nature and barbarous man, and had\nextended the dominions of his emperor much farther than any Chinese\ngeneral had ever dreamed of before. It was time to call a halt, and not\nexpose his valiant followers to the unknown perils beyond the great\ninland sea.\n\nThe army remained long encamped on the Caspian, coming into\ncommunication through its envoys with the Roman empire, whose eastern\nborders lay not far away, and forming relations of commerce with this\nrich and powerful realm. This done, Panchow led his ever-victorious\nwarriors back to their native land, to tell the story of the marvels\nthey had seen and the surprising adventures they had encountered.\n\nThat Panchow was moved by the mere thirst for military fame may well be\ndoubted in view of what we know of the character of the Chinese. His\npurpose was perhaps the more practical one of opening by force of arms\nnew channels of trade, and overcoming the obstacles placed by the\nParthians and other nations of Asia in the way of freedom of commerce.\nOn his return to China he found himself the idol of the people, the\ntrusted friend of the emperor, and the most revered and powerful subject\nof the empire. He died in his eightieth year, enjoying a fame such as no\ngeneral of his race had ever before attained.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SIEGE OF SINCHING._\n\n\nWhen the great dynasty of the Hans, which had held supreme rule in China\nfor more than four hundred years, came to an end, it left that country\ndivided up into three independent kingdoms. The emperors who had once\nruled over all China found themselves now lords of its smallest\ndivision, while the kingdom of Wei included the largest and most\npopulous districts in the realm. A war for supremacy arose between these\nthree kingdoms, which ended in the kings of Wei becoming supreme over\nthe whole empire and establishing a new dynasty, which they named the\ndynasty of Tsin. Of this war we have only one event to relate, an\ninteresting example of Chinese fortitude and valor.\n\nShortly after 250 A.D. an army of the Han emperor, led by a general\nnamed Chukwoko, settled down to the siege of a small walled town named\nSinching, held by three thousand men under the command of a leader named\nChangte, whose fortitude and energy alone saved this place for the king\nof Wei.\n\nFor ninety days the siege went on, the catapults of the besieging force\nplaying incessantly upon the walls, which, despite the activity of the\ngarrison, were in time pierced in many places, while several gaping\nbreaches lay open to the foe. Changte had defended the place\nvigorously, no commander could have done more, and, as no sign of a\nrelieving force appeared, he could with all honor have capitulated,\nthrown open the gates, and marched out with such dignity as the\nvictorious enemy would permit.\n\nBut this was not the view of his duty held by the valorous soldier. He\nwas one of the kind who die but do not surrender, and in his extremity\nhad recourse to the following ruse. He sent word to Chukwoko that, as\nthe place was clearly untenable, he was willing to surrender if he were\ngranted ten days more of grace.\n\n\"It is a law among the princes of Wei,\" he said, \"that the governor of a\nplace which has held out for a hundred days, and then, seeing no\nprospect of relief, surrenders, shall not be held guilty of dereliction\nof duty.\"\n\nChukwoko gladly accepted this offer, being weary of his long delay\nbefore this small post, and quite willing to save his men from the\nperils of an assault. But, to his astonishment, a few days later he saw\nfresh bulwarks rising above those which had been ruined by his engines,\nwhile the breaches were rapidly repaired, new gates replaced those that\nhad been destroyed, and Sinching seemed suddenly to regain the\nappearance it had presented three months before. Inside the walls a new\nspirit prevailed, the courage of the bold commander reanimating his\ntroops, while the sentinels on the ramparts shouted messages of disdain\nto the besieging force.\n\nIndignant at this violation of the terms of the agreement, Chukwoko sent\na flag of truce to the gate, demanding angrily what these proceedings\nmeant, and if this was Changte's way of keeping his word.\n\n\"I am preparing my tomb,\" replied the bold commander. \"I propose to bury\nmyself under the ruins of Sinching.\"\n\nThe tomb remained untenanted by the daring commandant. The long-delayed\nrelief appeared, and Chukwoko was obliged to make a hasty retreat, with\nthe loss of half his army. It is safe to say that in the pursuit Changte\nand his faithful three thousand played a leading part.\n\n\n\n\n_FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE._\n\n\nAt the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era China had\nfallen into a state of decrepitude. The second dynasty of the Tsins was\nnear its end. For a century and a half it had held the imperial power,\nbut now it had fallen a prey to luxury, one of its latest emperors dying\nfrom prolonged drunkenness, another being smothered in bed by his wife,\nwhom he had insulted while intoxicated.\n\nThe empire which the founder of the dynasty had built up showed signs of\nfalling to pieces. In the south the daring pirate Sunghen was making the\ngreat rivers the scenes of his merciless activity, spreading terror\nalong their banks, and extending his desolating raids far over the\nsurrounding provinces. In the north had arisen a new enemy, the Geougen\nTartars, whose career had begun in the outbreak of a hundred rebels, but\nwho had now become so powerful that their chief assumed in the year 402\nthe proud title of Kagan, or Great Lord. Falling upon the northern\nboundaries of the empire, these dangerous foes made daring inroads into\nthe realm. As for the provinces of the empire, many of them were in a\nrebellious mood.\n\nAt this critical period in Chinese history a child of the people came\nforward as the savior of his country. This was a poor boy for whom his\nparents had done little more than give him his name of Lieouyu, having\nbeen forced by poverty to desert him to the cold comfort of charity. He\nwas cared for by a kind woman, as poor as they, and as he grew older\nlearned the humble trade of shoemaking, which he followed for some time\nas an occupation, though he chafed in spirit at its wearisome monotony.\nThe boy had in him the seeds of better things, showing in his early\nyears a remarkable quickness in learning, and an energy that was not\nlikely to remain content with a humble position.\n\nSeeing that his only chance of advancement lay in the military career,\nand burning with spirit and courage, the ambitious boy soon deserted the\nshoemaker's bench for the army's ranks. Here he showed such valor and\nability that he rapidly rose to the command of a company, and was in\ntime intrusted with a small independent body of troops. It was against\nthe pirate Sunghen that the young soldier was pitted, and during three\nyears he vigorously opposed that leader in his devastating raids. In\nthis field of duty he was repeatedly victorious, breaking the reputation\nof the corsair, and so weakening him that his overthrow became easy.\nThis was performed by another leader, the defeat of Sunghen being so\nsignal that, despairing of escape, he leaped overboard and was drowned.\n\nLieouyu, having abundantly proved his ability, was now rapidly promoted,\nrising in rank until he found himself in command of an army, which he\nhandled with the greatest skill and success. His final victory in this\nposition was against a formidable rebel, whom he fought both on land and\non water with a much smaller force, completely defeating him. The\nemperor showed his sense of gratitude for this valuable service by\nraising the shoemaker's boy to the rank of commander-in-chief of all the\narmies of the empire.\n\nIn this exalted position Lieouyu displayed the same energy and ability\nthat he had shown in humbler commands. Marching from province to\nprovince and from victory to victory, he put down the rebels whom the\nweakness of the government had permitted to rise on every side. He had\nnot only rebellious bands, but disloyal princes of the empire, to\ncontend with. In one of his marches it was necessary to cross the great\nprovince of Wei, north of the Hoang-ho, a movement to which Topa, prince\nof the province, refused permission. Lieouyu, indignant at this\ndisloyalty, forced the passage of the stream, routed the army of the\nprince, and pursued his march without further opposition, sending one of\nhis generals, named Wangchinon, against the city of Changnan, the\ncapital of the prince of Chin, who had hoisted the flag of rebellion\nagainst the emperor.\n\nLieouyu had chosen his substitute well. Conveying his army by water as\nfar as possible, Wangchinon, on leaving his ships, ordered them to be\ncast adrift. To the soldiers he made the following Napoleonic oration:\n\n\"We have neither supplies nor provisions, and the swift waters of the\nWeiho bear from us the ships in which we came. Soldiers of the empire,\nonly two things lie before us. Let us beat the enemy, and we will\nregain a hundredfold all we have lost, besides covering ourselves with\nglory. If the enemy beat us, there is no escape; death will be the lot\nof us all. To conquer or to die,--that is our destiny. You have heard;\nprepare to march against the enemy.\"\n\nWith so resolute a commander victory was almost assured. Changnan,\nvigorously assailed, quickly surrendered, and the captive prince of Chin\nwas executed as a rebel taken in arms. Lieouyu, who had been winning\nvictories elsewhere, now arrived, having marched in all haste to the aid\nof his valorous lieutenant. Praising Wangchinon for the brilliancy of\nhis achievement, the commander was about putting his forces on the march\nfor new victorious deeds, when peremptory orders recalled him to the\ncapital, and his career of conquest was for the time checked. The\nabsence of the strong hand was quickly felt. The rebels rose again in\nforce, Changnan was lost and with it all the conquests Lieouyu had made,\nand the forces of the empire were everywhere driven back in defeat.\n\nMeanwhile Lieouyu, at the capital, found himself in the midst of\npolitical complications that called for decisive measures. The weakness\nof the emperor troubled him, while he felt a deep resentment at what he\nconsidered ill treatment on the part of the throne. He had, as Prince of\nSong, been raised to the third rank among the princes of the realm, but\nhe thought his deeds entitled him to rank among the first; while the\nsuccess of the rebels in the absence of his master had redoubled his\nreputation among the people.\n\nGanti, the emperor, was destined to experience the dangerous\nconsequences of raising a subject to such a height and yet leaving him\nbelow the rank to which he aspired. Lieouyu, now all-powerful in\nmilitary circles, and virtually master of the realm, caused the emperor\nto be strangled, and named his brother Kongti as successor to the\nthrone. But the ambition of the shoemaker's boy had not reached its\nsummit. This was but a provisional step, and the throne itself lay\nbefore him as an alluring prize. Having skilfully laid his plans,\nLieouyu, at the end of two years, gave the weak Kongti to understand\nthat his reign was at an end, and that he must step down from the throne\nwhich a stronger than he proposed to ascend.\n\nKongti made no resistance to this arbitrary demand. He knew that\nresistance would be useless, and resigned his imperial dignity in favor\nof the peasant who by his sword had carved his way to the throne. The\nceremony was an interesting one. A broad scaffold was erected in a field\nadjoining the capital, and on it was placed a gorgeously decorated\nimperial throne, which Kongti occupied, while Lieouyu, attired in royal\ngarb, stood below. In the presence of the assembled thousands of\nKienkang, the capital, Kongti descended from the seat which he had so\nfeebly filled, while his strong successor seated himself on the throne\namid the plaudits of the approving multitude. In the presence of the\ngreat officials of the realm Kongti paid homage to Lieouyu, thus\ncompleting a ceremony which was without parallel in the history of the\nChinese empire. With this act the dynasty of the Tsins came to an end,\nand was replaced by that of the Songs, of which Lieouyu was the first\nand worthiest representative.\n\nOf the ceremony of investiture the principal feature was the assumption\nof the imperial cap or crown, which has long been the chief mark of\nroyalty worn by the Chinese emperor. This is a cap of peculiar shape,\nround in front and straight behind, and ornamented with one hundred and\nforty-four precious stones. From it hang twelve pendants consisting of\nstrings of pearls, of which four are so arranged as to hang over the\nemperor's eyes. This is done, it is said, in order that the emperor may\nnot see the accused who are brought before him for trial.\n\n[Illustration: Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums.\nWATER CART. PEKIN, CHINA.]\n\nIt was in the year 420 A.D. that Lieouyu ascended the throne, assuming\nwith the imperial dignity the name of a former emperor of renown,\nKaotsou, and naming his dynasty the Song, from his princely title.\n\nAs for the deposed emperor, the new monarch had no thought of leaving\nany such dangerous element in his path, and Kongti was called upon \"to\ndrink the waters of eternal life,\" the Chinese euphuism for swallowing\npoison. Kongti, a devoted Buddhist, declined the fatal draught, on the\nground that self-murder was in opposition to his religious sentiments.\nThis is the only instance in Chinese history in which a deposed ruler\nrefused to accept the inevitable fate of the unfortunate. To quaff the\npoisoned cup is the time-honored way of getting rid of an inconvenient\nex-monarch. This refusal of the deposed emperor led to sterner\nmeasures, and he was murdered by the guard which had been placed over\nhim in his palace.\n\nLieouyu was not destined long to occupy the throne which he had thus\nsecured. He was already growing old, and a short reign of three years\nended his career. As a monarch and a man alike he displayed sterling and\nadmirable qualities. His courage on the field of battle, his frugality\nand earnest devotion to duty in every position which he reached, won him\nthe widest commendation, while he was still more esteemed by his\nsubjects for his kindness and devotion to the foster-mother who had\nnourished him when deserted by his own parents, and who had the\nremarkable fortune of seeing the poor child who had been abandoned to\nher charitable care seated on the imperial throne of the realm.\n\n\n\n\n_THREE NOTABLE WOMEN._\n\n\nIn the year 503 began a long war between the princes of Wei and the\nemperors of China, which continued for nearly half a century. Of this\nprotracted contest we have only three incidents to relate, in which,\nwithin a few years, three heroines rose to prominence and in various\nways showed an ability surpassing that of the men of their age. It is\nthe story of these three women that we propose to tell.\n\nChanyang, a stronghold of Wei, had been placed in charge of Ginching,\none of the ablest soldiers of that kingdom. But the exigencies of the\nwar obliged that officer to make an excursion beyond its walls, taking\nwith him the main body of the garrison, and leaving the place very\nweakly defended. Taking advantage of this opportunity, one of the\nChinese generals marched quickly upon the weakened stronghold,\nsurrounded it with a large army, and made so rapid and vigorous an\nassault that all the outer defences fell into his hands without a blow\nin their defence.\n\nAt this perilous juncture, when the place was almost in the hands of its\nfoes, and the depressed garrison was ready to yield, Mongchi, the wife\nof the absent commander, appeared upon the ramparts, called upon their\ndefenders to make a bold and resolute resistance to the enemy, and by\nher courage and animation put new spirit into the troops. Inspired by\nher, they bravely resisted the further advance of the assailants and\nheld the walls, which, but for the valor of the heroine, must inevitably\nhave been lost.\n\nHaving thus checked the first onslaught of the enemy, Mongchi went\nvigorously to work. The inhabitants of the place were armed and sent to\nreinforce the garrison, the defences of the gate were strengthened, and\nby promises of reward as well as by her presence and inspiriting appeals\nthe brave woman stirred up the defenders to such vigorous resistance\nthat the imperial forces were on every side repelled, and in the end\nwere forced to abandon the prize which they had deemed safely their own.\nNot till after Chanyang was saved did Ginching return from an important\nvictory he had won in the field, to learn that his brave wife had gained\nas signal a success in his absence.\n\nThe second woman whom we shall name was Houchi, wife of the king of Wei,\nwhose husband came to the throne in 515, but became a mere tool in the\nhands of his able and ambitious wife. After a short period Houchi was so\nbold as to force her husband to vacate the throne, naming her infant son\nas king in his place, but exercising all the power of the realm herself.\nShe went so far as to declare war against the empire, though the contest\nthat followed was marked by continual disaster to her troops, except in\none notable instance.\n\nAs in the case above cited, so in this war a stronghold was\nsuccessfully held by a woman. This place was Tsetong, whose commandant\nwas absent, leaving the command to his wife Lieouchi, a woman of the\nhighest courage and readiness in an emergency. As before, the imperial\ntroops took advantage of the occasion, and quickly invested the town,\nwhile Lieouchi, with a valor worthy of a soldier's wife, made rapid\npreparations for defending it to the last extremity.\n\nHer decisive resolution was shown in an instance that must have\nredoubled the courage of her men. Discovering, after the siege had gone\non for several days, that one of the officers of her small force was\nplaying the traitor by corresponding with the enemy, she called a\ngeneral council of the officers, with the ostensible purpose of\ndeliberating on the management of the defence. The traitor attended the\ncouncil, not dreaming that his proposed treason was suspected. He was\nthunderstruck when Lieouchi vehemently accused him before his\nfellow-officers of the crime, showing such knowledge of his purpose that\nhe was forced to admit the justice of the charge. The energetic woman\nwasted no time in this critical state of affairs, but, drawing her\nsword, severed the head of the traitor from his body with one vigorous\nblow. This act put an end to all thoughts of treason in the garrison of\nTsetong.\n\nThe courage of Lieouchi was not greater than her judgment and decision\nin an emergency. There was but a single well to supply the garrison with\nwater, and this the enemy succeeded in cutting off. The ready wit of the\nwoman overcame this serious loss. It was the rainy season, and she\nsucceeded in collecting a considerable supply of rain-water in vases,\nwhile linen and the clothes of the soldiers were also utilized as\nwater-catching devices. In the end the imperial forces, baffled in their\nevery effort by this heroic woman, abandoned the siege in disgust.\n\nAs for Houchi, the ruler of Wei, her ability was of a different kind,\nyet in her ambitious designs she displayed unusual powers. Deposed and\nimprisoned on account of the failure of the war, she soon overthrew her\nenemies and rose to the head of affairs again, and for several years\ncontinued to wage war with the emperor. But the war went against her,\nand trouble arose within her kingdom. Here and there were movements of\nrebellion, and the generals of the realm were at daggers' points to\nsupplant one another.\n\nAmid these distractions the queen balanced herself with marked skill,\nplaying off one enemy against another, but her position daily grew more\ninsecure. Her power was brought to an end by her final act, which was to\ndepose her son and place herself in sole control of the realm. Erchu\nJong, a general of ability and decision, now rose in revolt, marched on\nthe capital, made Houchi his prisoner, and in the same moment ended her\nreign and her life by drowning her in the waters of the Hoang-ho. Then,\ngathering two thousand of the notables of the city, her aids and\nsupporters, on a plain outside the walls, he ordered his cavalry to kill\nthem all. Other steps of the same stern character were taken by this\nfierce soldier, whose power grew so great as to excite official dread.\nA general sent against him by Vouti, the emperor, who boasted of having\ngained forty-seven victories, was completely defeated, and all the\nresults of his campaign were lost. Erchu Jong now formed the design of\nreuniting the empire and driving Vouti from the throne, but his enemies\nbrought this ambitious scheme to an end. Invited to the palace on some\npretence, he was cut down in the audience-hall, the Prince of Wei, whom\nhe had placed on the throne, giving his consent to this act of\ntreachery. Thus was the death of Houchi quickly avenged.\n\n\n\n\n_THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT._\n\n\nThe history of China differs remarkably from that of Japan in one\nparticular. In the latter a single dynasty of emperors has, from the\nbeginning, held the throne. In the former there have been numerous\ndynasties, most of them brief, some long extended. In Japan the emperors\nlived in retirement, and it was the dynasties of shoguns or generals\nthat suffered change. In China the emperors kept at the head of affairs,\nand were exposed to all the perils due to error or weakness in the ruler\nand ambition in powerful subjects.\n\nThe fall of the great dynasty of the Hans left the way clear for several\nbrief dynasties, of whose emperors Yangti, the last, was a man of great\npublic spirit and magnificent ideas. His public spirit was expressed in\na series of great canals, which extended throughout the empire, their\ntotal length being, it is said, more than sixteen hundred leagues,\nSeveral of these great works still remain. His magnificence of idea was\nshown in the grand adornments of Loyang, his capital, where two million\nof men were employed upon his palace and the public buildings.\n\nYangti's son was deposed by Liyuen, Prince of Tang, and a new dynasty,\nthat of the Tang emperors, was formed, which continued for several\ncenturies at the head of affairs. The new emperor assumed the name of\nKaotsou, made famous by the first emperor of the Hans. But the glory of\nhis reign belongs to his son, not to himself, and it is with this son,\nLichimin by name, that we have now to do.\n\nIt had been the custom of the founders of dynasties to begin their reign\nby the destruction of the families of their deposed rivals. The new\nemperor showed himself more merciful, by pensioning instead of\ndestroying his unfortunate foes. His only vengeance was upon inanimate\nobjects. Lichimin, on capturing Loyang, ordered the great palace of\nYangti, the most magnificent building in the empire, to be set on fire\nand destroyed. \"So much pomp and pride,\" he said, \"could not be\nsustained, and ought to lead to the ruin of those who considered their\nown love of luxury rather than the needs of the people.\"\n\nWhile his father occupied the throne the valiant Lichimin went forth\n\"conquering and to conquer.\" Wherever he went victory went with him. The\nfoes of the Tangs were put down in quick succession. A great Tartar\nconfederacy was overthrown by the vigorous young general. Four years\nsufficed for the work. At the end of that time Lichimin was able to\nannounce that he had vanquished all the enemies of the empire, both at\nhome and abroad.\n\nHis victories were followed by a triumph which resembled those given to\nthe great generals of ancient Rome. The city of Singan was the capital\nof the new dynasty, and into it Lichimin rode at the head of his\nvictorious legions, dressed in costly armor and wearing a breastplate of\ngold. His personal escort consisted of ten thousand picked horsemen,\namong them a regiment of cuirassiers dressed in black tiger-skins, who\nwere particularly attached to his person and the most distinguished for\nvalor of all his troops. Thirty thousand cuirassiers followed, with a\ncaptive king of the Tartars in their midst. Other captives testified to\nthe glory of the conqueror, being the vanquished defenders of conquered\ncities, whose abundant spoils were displayed in the train.\n\nInto the city wound the long array, through multitudes of applauding\nspectators, Lichimin proceeding in state to the Hall of his Ancestors,\nwhere he paid obeisance to the shades of his progenitors and detailed to\nthem the story of his victorious career. Unlike the more cruel Romans,\nwho massacred the captives they had shown in their triumphs, Lichimin\npardoned his. The principal officers of the army were richly rewarded,\nand the affair ended in a great banquet, at which the emperor gave his\nvaliant son the highest praise for his services to the country. The\nrejoicings ended in a proclamation of general amnesty and a reduction of\nthe taxes, so that all might benefit by the imperial triumph.\n\nYet there was poison in the victor's cup of joy. His brothers envied\nhim, intrigued against him, and succeeded in instilling such doubts in\nthe emperor's mind that Lichimin fell into disgrace and was strongly\ntempted to leave the court. The intrigues, which had first dealt with\nhis good name, were next directed against his life, a plot to murder\nhim being devised. Fortunately it was discovered in time, and the death\nthey had planned for their brother fell upon themselves, leaving him the\nemperor's unquestioned heir. The same year (626 A.D.) the emperor\nretired to private life and raised his great son to the throne.\n\nLichimin, as emperor, assumed the name of Taitsong, a title which he\nmade so famous that he fully earned the designation of Taitsong the\nGreat. The empire was surrounded with enemies, the nomads of the north,\nextending from Corea to Kokonor, and the warlike people of the south,\nfrom Thibet to Tonquin. During the remainder of his life he was engaged\nin incessant conflict with these stinging wasps, whose onslaughts left\nhim no peace.\n\nScarcely was he settled on the throne when the Tartar invasions began.\nTheir raids were repelled, but they instigated Taitsong to an important\nmeasure. It had always been evident that the Chinese troops, hitherto\nlittle more than a raw militia, were unable to cope with the sons of the\ndesert, and the shrewd emperor set himself to organize an army that\nshould be a match in discipline and effectiveness for any of its foes.\nThe new army embraced three ranks, each corps of the superior rank\nconsisting of twelve hundred, and those of the others respectively of\none thousand and eight hundred men. The total force thus organized\napproached nine hundred thousand men, of whom a large portion were used\nfor frontier duty. These troops were carefully trained in the use of the\nbow and the pike, Taitsong himself inspecting a portion of them daily.\nThis innovation roused bitter opposition from the literati, whose books\ntold them that former emperors did not engage in such work. But\nTaitsong, on the theory that in time of peace we should prepare for war,\nwent on with his reforms regardless of their cited precedents.\n\nTaitsong's new army was soon put to the proof. The Tartars were in arms\nagain, a powerful confederacy had been formed, and China was in danger.\nMarching into the desert with his disciplined forces, he soon had his\nenemies in flight, forced several of the leading khans to submit, and\nspread the dread of his arms widely among the tribes. To his title of\nEmperor of China he now added that of Khan of the Tartars, and claimed\nas subjects all the nomads of the desert.\n\nThe next great war was with Thibet, whose tribes had become subdued\nunder one chief, called the Sanpou, or \"brave lord.\" This potentate, who\ndeemed himself the peer of his powerful neighbor, demanded a Chinese\nprincess in marriage, and when this favor was refused he invaded a\nprovince of the empire. Taitsong at once put his army in motion,\ndefeated the forces of Thibet, and made the Sanpou acknowledge himself a\nvassal of China and pay a fine of five thousand ounces of gold. Then the\nprincess he had sought to win by force was granted to him as a favor.\nThe Sanpou gave up his barbarian ways, adopted Chinese customs, and\nbuilt a walled city for his princess wife.\n\nThe next act of the great emperor was to bring Eastern Turkestan,\nconquered by Panchow more than five centuries before, under Chinese\nrule. This country had admitted the supremacy of the emperor, but not\nuntil now did it become part of the empire, which it has since remained.\n\nThe last warlike act of Taitsong's life was the invasion of Corea. Here\nhe won various great battles, but was at length baffled in the siege of\na Corean town, and lost all he had gained, the gallant commandant of the\ntown wishing the troops \"a pleasant journey\" as they began their\nretreat.\n\nTaitsong did not confine himself to deeds of war. Under the advice of\nhis wife Changsungchi, a woman as great in her way as he was in his, and\ncelebrated for her domestic virtues, talent, and good sense, he founded\nthe Imperial Library and the great College, decreased the taxes, and\nregulated the finances of the realm. The death of this good woman was to\nhim a severe blow, and he ordered that she should receive the funeral\nhonors due to an emperor.\n\nHis last days were spent in drawing up for the instruction of his son a\ngreat work on the art of government, known as the Golden Mirror. He died\nin 649 A.D., having proved himself one of the ablest monarchs, alike in\nwar and in peace, that ever sat on the Chinese throne.\n\n[Illustration: SHANGHAI, FROM THE WATER-SIDE.]\n\n\n\n\n_A FEMALE RICHELIEU._\n\n\nFive years after the death of the great Taitsong, his son Kaotsong,\nEmperor of China, fell in love with a woman, a fact in no sense new in\nthe annals of mankind, but one which was in this case destined to exert\na striking influence on the history of an empire. This woman was the\nprincess Wou, a youthful widow of the late emperor, and now an inmate of\na Buddhist convent. So strong was the passion of the young ruler for the\nprincess that he set aside the opposition of his ministers, divorced his\nlawful empress, and, in the year 655, made his new love his consort on\nthe throne.\n\nIt was a momentous act. So great was the ascendency of the woman over\nher lover that from the start he became a mere tool in her hands and\nruled the empire in accordance with her views. Her first act was one\nthat showed her merciless strength of purpose. Fearing that the warm\nlove of Kaotsong might in time grow cold, and that the deposed empress\nor some other of the palace women might return to favor, she determined\nto sweep these possible perils from her path. At her command the unhappy\nqueens were drowned in a vase of wine, their hands and feet being first\ncut off,--seemingly an unnecessary cruelty.\n\nThis merciless act of the empress, and her dominant influence in the\ngovernment, soon made her many enemies. But they were to find that she\nwas a dangerous person to plot against. Her son was proclaimed heir to\nthe throne, and the opposing officials soon found themselves in prison,\nwhere secret death quickly ended their hostility.\n\nWou now sought to make herself supreme. At first assisting the emperor\nin the labors of government, she soon showed a quickness of\napprehension, a ready wit in emergencies, and a tact in dealing with\ndifficult questions that rendered her aid indispensable. Step by step\nthe emperor yielded his power to her more skilful hands, until he\nretained for himself only the rank while she held all the authority of\nthe imperial office.\n\nUnder her control China retained abroad the proud position which\nTaitsong had won. For years war went on with Corea, who called in the\nJapanese to their aid. But the allies were defeated and four hundred of\nthe war-junks of Japan given to the flames. The desert nomads remained\nsubdued, and in Central Asia the power of China was firmly maintained.\nNow was the era of a mighty commotion in Southern Asia and the countries\nof the Mediterranean. Arabia was sending forth its hosts, the sword and\nthe Koran in hand, to conquer the world and convert it to the Mohammedan\nfaith. Persia was in imminent peril, and sent envoys to China begging\nfor aid. But the shrewd empress had no thought of involving her\ndominions in war with these devastating hordes, and sent word that\nPersia was too far away for an army to be despatched to its rescue.\nEnvoys also came from India, but China kept carefully free from\nhostilities with the conquerors of the south.\n\nKaotsong died in 683, after occupying the throne for thirty-three years.\nHis death threatened the position of the empress, the power behind the\nthrone. But she proved herself fully equal to the occasion, and made\nherself more truly the ruler of China than before. Chongtsong, son of\nthe late emperor, was proclaimed, but a few days ended his reign. A\ndecree passed by him in favor of his wife's family roused Wou to action,\nand she succeeded in deposing him and banishing him and his family,\ntaking up again the supreme power of which she had been so brief a time\ndeprived.\n\nShe now carried matters with a high hand. A nominal emperor was chosen,\nbut the rule was hers. She handled all the public business, disposed of\nthe offices of state, erected temples to her ancestors, wore the robes\nwhich by law could be worn only by an emperor, and performed the\nimperial function of sacrificing to Heaven, the supreme deity of the\nChinese. For once in its history China had an actual empress, and one of\nan ability and a power of maintaining the dignity of the throne which\nnone of its emperors have surpassed.\n\nHer usurpation brought her a host of enemies. It set aside all the\nprecedents of the empire, and that a woman should reign directly,\ninstead of indirectly, stirred the spirit of conservatism to its depths.\nWou made no effort to conciliate her foes. She went so far as to change\nthe name of the dynasty and to place members of her own family in the\ngreat offices of the realm. Rebellious risings followed; plots for her\nassassination were formed; but her vigilance was too great, her measures\nwere too prompt, for treason to succeed. No matter how great the rank or\nhow eminent the record of a conspirator, death ended his career as soon\nas her suspicions were aroused. The empire was filled with her spies,\nwho became so numerous as largely to defeat their purpose, by bringing\nfalse accusations before the throne. The ready queen settled this\ndifficulty by an edict threatening with death any one who falsely\naccused a citizen of the realm. The improbable story is told that in a\nsingle day a thousand charges were brought of which eight hundred and\nfifty proved to be false, those who brought them being at once sent to\nthe block. Execution in the streets of Singan, the capital, was her\nfavorite mode of punishment, and great nobles and ministers died by the\naxe before the eyes of curious multitudes.\n\nA Richelieu in her treatment of her enemies, she displayed the ability\nof a Richelieu in her control of the government. Her rule was a wise\none, and the dignity of the nation never suffered in her hands. The\nsurrounding peoples showed respect for her power, and her subjects could\nnot but admit that they were well and ably ruled. And, that they might\nthe better understand this, she had books written and distributed\ndescribing her eminent services to the state, while the priesthood laid\nbefore the people the story of her many virtues. Thus for more than\ntwenty years after the death of Kaotsong the great empress continued to\nhold her own in peace and in war.\n\nIn her later years wars broke out, which were handled by her with\npromptness and success. But age now weighed upon her. In 704, when she\nwas more than eighty years old, she became so ill that for several\nmonths she was unable to receive her ministers. This weakening of the\nstrong hand was taken advantage of by her enemies. Murdering her\nprincipal relatives, they broke into the palace and demanded her\nabdication. Unable to resist, she, with unabated dignity of mien, handed\nto them the imperial seal and the other emblems of power. In the\nfollowing year she died. For more than forty years she had been the\nsupreme ruler of China, and held her great office with a strength and\ndignity which may well be called superb.\n\n\n\n\n_THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN._\n\n\nIn the northern section of the vast Mongolian plateau, that immense\noutreach of pasture-lands which forms the great abiding-place of the\nshepherd tribes of the earth, there long dwelt a warlike race which was\ndestined to play an extraordinary part in the world's history. The\noriginal home of this people, who at an early date had won the\nsignificant name of Mongol, or \"the brave,\" was in the strip of\nterritory between the Onon and the Kerulon, tributaries of the upper\nAmur River, the great water artery of East Siberia. In this retreat,\nstrongly protected from attack, and with sufficient herbage for their\nflocks, the Mongols may have dwelt for ages unknown to history. We hear\nof them first in the ninth century, when they appeared as a section of\nthe great horde of the Shiwei, attracting attention by their great\nstrength and extraordinary courage, characteristics to which they owed\ntheir distinctive title. For two or three centuries they were among the\ntribes that paid tribute to China, and there was nothing in their career\nof special interest. Then they suddenly broke into startling prominence,\nand sent a wave of terror over the whole civilized world.\n\nThe history of China is so closely connected with that of the nomad\ntribes that one cannot be given without the other, and before telling\nthe story of the Mongols a brief outline of the history of these tribes\nis desirable. China is on three sides abundantly defended from invasion,\nby the ocean on the east, and by mountains and desert on the south and\nwest. Its only vulnerable quarter is in the north, where it joins on to\nthe vast region of the steppes, a country whose scarcity of rain unfits\nit for agriculture, but which has sufficient herbage for the pasturage\nof immense herds. Here from time immemorial has dwelt a race of hardy\nwanderers, driving its flocks of sheep, cattle, and horses from pasture\nto pasture, and at frequent intervals descending in plundering raids\nupon the settled peoples of the south.\n\nChina in particular became the prey of these warlike horsemen. We hear\nlittle of them in the early days, when the Chinese realm was narrow and\nthe original barbarians possessed most of the land. We hear much of them\nin later days, when the empire had widened and grown rich and\nprosperous, offering an alluring prize to the restless and daring\ninhabitants of the steppes.\n\nThe stories we have already told have much to say of the relations of\nChina with the nomads of the north. Against these foes the Great Wall\nwas built in vain, and ages of warfare passed before the armies of China\nsucceeded in subduing and making tributary the people of the steppes. We\nfirst hear of Tartar raids upon China in the reign of the emperor Muh\nWang, in the tenth century B.C. As time went on, the tribes combined and\nfell in steadily greater numbers upon the southern realm. Of these\nalliances of tribes the first known was named by Chinese historians the\nHeung Nou, or \"detestable slaves.\" Under its chiefs, called the Tanjous,\nit became very formidable, and for a thousand years continued a thorn in\nthe side of the Chinese empire.\n\nThe Tanjous were dominant in the steppes for some three hundred years,\nwhen they were overthrown by a revolt of the tribes, and were succeeded\nby the Sienpi, who under their chiefs, the Topas, or \"masters of the\nearth,\" grew formidable, conquering the northern provinces of China,\nwhich they held for a century and a half. Finally a slave of one of the\nTopa chiefs, at the head of a hundred outlaws, broke into revolt, and\ngathered adherents until the power of the Sienpi was broken, and a new\ntribe, the Geougen, became predominant. Its leader, Cehelun by name,\nextended his power over a vast territory, assuming the title of Kagan,\nor Khan.\n\nThe next revolt took place in the sixth century A.D., when a tribe of\nslaves, which worked the iron forges of the Altai Mountains for the\nGreat Khan, rebelled and won its freedom. Growing rapidly, it almost\nexterminated the Geougen in a great battle, and became dominant over the\nclans. Thus first came into history the great tribe of the Turks, whose\nlater history was destined to be so momentous. The dominion of the Khan\nof the Turks grew so enormously that in time it extended from Central\nSiberia on the north to Persia on the south, while he made his power\nfelt by China on the east and by Rome on the west. Ambassadors from the\nKhan reached Constantinople, and Roman envoys were received in return\nin his tent at the foot of the Altai range.\n\nThe Turks were the first of the nomad organizations who made their power\nfelt throughout the civilized world. On the eastern steppes other tribes\ncame into prominence. The Khitans were supreme in this region from 900\nto 1100 A.D., and made serious inroads into China. They were followed by\nthe Kins, or Golden Tartars, a tribe of Manchu origin, who proved a\nterrible foe, conquering and long holding a large section of Northern\nChina. Then came the Mongols, the most powerful and terrible of all, who\noverthrew the Kins and became sole lords of the empire of the steppes.\nIt is with the remarkable career of this Mongol tribe that we are here\nparticularly concerned.\n\nThe first of the Mongol chiefs whose name is preserved was Budantsar,\nwho conquered the district between the Onon and the Kerulon, the\nearliest known home of the Mongol race. His descendants ruled over the\nclan until about the year 1135, when the first step of rebellion of the\nMongols from the power of the Kins took place. This was under Kabul, a\ndescendant of Budantsar. The war with the Kins continued under later\nleaders, of whom Yissugei captured a powerful Tartar chief named\nTemujin. On returning home he learned that his wife had given birth to a\nson, to whom he gave his captive's name of Temujin. This child, born\nprobably in 1162 A.D., afterwards became the famous conqueror Genghis\nKhan.\n\nThe birthplace of the future hero was on the banks of the Onon. His\nfather, chief over forty thousand families, died when he was still\nyoung, and many of the tribesmen, refusing to be governed by a boy,\nbroke loose from his authority. His mother, a woman worthy of her race,\nsucceeded in bringing numbers of them back to their allegiance, but the\nyoung chief found himself at the head of but half the warriors who had\nfollowed his father to victory.\n\nThe enemies of Temujin little knew with whom they had to deal. At first\nmisfortune pursued the youth, and he was at length taken prisoner by his\nenemies, who treated him with great indignity. He soon escaped, however,\nand rallied his broken forces, shrewdly baffling his foes, who sought to\nrecapture him by a treacherous invitation to a feast. In the end they\nattacked Temujin in his own country, where, standing on the defensive,\nhe defeated them with great loss. This victory brought the young chief\nwide renown, and so many allies gathered under his banner that he became\na power in the steppes. \"Temujin alone is generous and worthy of ruling\na great people,\" was the decision in the tents of the wandering tribes.\n\nThe subsequent career of the Mongol chief was one of striking\nvicissitudes. His power grew until the question of the dominion of the\nsteppes rested upon a great battle between the Mongols and the powerful\ntribe of the Keraits. The latter won the victory, the Mongols were slain\nin thousands, and the power which Temujin had gained by years of effort\nwas in a day overthrown. Nothing remained to him but a small band of\nfollowers, whose only strength lay in their fidelity and discipline.\n\nYet a man of the military ability of Temujin could not long remain at so\nlow an ebb of fortune. In a brief time he had surprised and subdued the\nKeraits, and next met in battle the powerful confederacy of the Naimans,\nwhom he defeated in a stubborn and long-contested battle. This victory\nmade him the unquestioned lord of the steppes, over all whose\ninhabitants the Mongols had become supreme.\n\nAnd now Temujin resolved to indicate his power by some title worthy of\nthe great position he had gained. All the Mongol chiefs were summoned to\nthe grand council or Kuriltai of the tribe, and around the national\nensign, composed of nine white yak-tails, planted in the centre of the\ncamp, the warriors gathered to hear the opinion of their chief. It was\nproclaimed to them that Temujin was not content with the title of Gur\nKhan, to which its former bearers had not given dignity, but would\nassume the title of Genghis Khan (Very Mighty Khan). It may be said here\nthat there are almost as many spellings of this name as there are\nhistorians of the deeds of him that bore it.\n\nGenghis made princes of his two principal generals, rewarded all other\nbrave officers, and in every available way cemented to his fortunes the\nMongol chiefs. He was now about forty-five years of age, yet, instead of\nbeing at the end, he was but little beyond the beginning of his career.\nThe Kins, who had conquered Northern China, and whose ruler bore the\nproud title of emperor, were the next to feel the power of his arms.\nThe dominions of the king of Hia, a vassal of the Kin emperor, were\ninvaded and his power overthrown. Genghis married his daughter, made an\nalliance with him, and in 1210 invaded the territory so long held by the\nKins.\n\nThe Great Wall, which had so often proved useless as a barrier of\ndefence, failed to check the march of the great Mongol host, the chief\nwho should have defended it being bribed to desert his charge. Through\nthe opening thus offered the Mongols poured into the territory of the\nKins, defeated them in every engagement in the field, overran the rich\nprovinces held by them, and obtained a vast wealth in plunder. Yet the\nwar was now waged against a settled and populous state, with strong\nwalled cities and other fortified places, instead of against the\nscattered clans of the steppes, and, despite the many victories of the\ninvading horde, it took twenty years of constant fighting to crush the\nTartar emperor of Northern China.\n\nIn truth, the resistance of the emperor of the Kins was far more\nstubborn and effective than that of the nations of the south and west.\nIn 1218 Genghis invaded Central Asia, conquered its oases, and destroyed\nBokhara, Samarcand, and other cities. He next subjected the whole of\nPersia, while the westward march of the armies under his lieutenants was\narrested only at the mountain barrier of Central Europe, all Russia\nfalling subject to his rule. In four years the mighty conqueror, having\nestablished his rule from Armenia to the Indus, was back again and ready\nto resume his struggle with the Kins of China.\n\nHe found the kingdom of Hia in revolt, and in 1225 assembled against it\nthe largest army he had ever employed in his Chinese wars. His success\nwas rapid and complete. The cities, the fortresses, the centres of\ntrade, fell in rapid succession into his hands, and in a final great\nbattle, fought upon the frozen waters of the Hoang-ho, the army of Hia\nwas practically exterminated. This was the last great event in the life\nof Genghis Khan. He died in 1227, having by his ruthless warfare sent\nfive millions of victims to the grave. With his last words he deplored\nthe wanton cruelty with which his wars had been fought, and advised his\npeople to refrain in future from such sanguinary acts.\n\nThus died, at the age of about sixty-five years, one of the greatest\nconquerors the world has known, the area of whose conquests vastly\nexceeded those of Caesar and Napoleon, and added to the empire won by\nAlexander a still greater dominion in the north. The Chinese said of him\nthat \"he led his armies like a god;\" and in truth as a military genius\nhe has had no superior in the history of the world. The sphere of no\nother conqueror ever embraced so vast a realm, and the wave of warfare\nwhich he set in motion did not come to rest until it had covered nearly\nthe whole of Asia and the eastern half of the European continent.\nBeginning as chief of the fragment of a tribe, he ended as lord of\nnearly half the civilized world, and dozens of depopulated cities told\nthe story of his terrible career. He had swept over the earth like a\ntornado of blood and death.\n\n\n\n\n_HOW THE FRIARS FARED AMONG THE TARTARS._\n\n\nThe sea of Mongol invasion which, pouring in the thirteenth century from\nthe vast steppes of Asia, overflowed all Eastern Europe, and was checked\nin its course only by the assembled forces of the German nations, filled\nthe world of the West with inexpressible terror. For a time, after\nwhelming beneath its flood Russia, Poland, and Hungary, it was rolled\nback, but the terror remained. At any moment these savage horsemen might\nreturn in irresistible strength and spread the area of desolation to the\nwestern seas. The power of arms seemed too feeble to stay them; the\npower of persuasion, however, might not be in vain, and the pope, as the\nspiritual head of Europe, felt called upon to make an effort for the\nrescue of the Christian world.\n\nTartar hordes were then advancing through Persia towards the Holy Land,\nand to these, in the forlorn hope of checking their course, he sent as\nambassadors a body of Franciscan friars composed of Father Ascelin and\nthree companions. It was in the year 1246 that these papal envoys set\nout, armed with full powers from the head of the Church, but sadly\ndeficient in the worldly wisdom necessary to deal with such truculent\ninfidels as those whom they had been sent to meet.\n\nAscelin and his comrades journeyed far through Asia in search of a\nTartar host, and at length found one on the northern frontier of Persia.\nInto the camp of the barbarians the worthy Franciscan boldly advanced,\nannouncing himself as an ambassador from the pope. To his surprise, this\nannouncement was received with contempt by the Tartars, who knew little\nand cared less for the object of his deep veneration. In return he\nshowed his feeling towards the infidels in a way that soon brought his\nmission into a perilous state.\n\nHe was refused an audience with the Mongol general unless he would\nperform the _ko-tou_, or three genuflections, an act which he and his\nfollowers refused as an idolatrous ceremony which would scandalize all\nChristendom. Finally, as nothing less would be accepted, they, in their\nwise heads, thought they might consent to perform the _ko-tou_, provided\nthe general and all his army would become Christians. This folly capped\nthe climax. The Tartars, whom they had already irritated, broke into a\nviolent rage, loaded the friars with fierce invectives, and denounced\nthem and their pope as Christian dogs.\n\nA council was called to decide what to do with these insulting\nstrangers. Some suggested that the friars should be flayed alive, and\ntheir skins, stuffed with hay, sent to the pope. Others wished to keep\nthem till the next battle with the Christians, and then place them in\nfront of the army as victims to the god of war. A third proposition was\nto whip them through the camp and then put them to death. But Baithnoy,\nthe general, had no fancy for delay, and issued orders that the whole\nparty should at once be executed.\n\nIn this frightful predicament, into which Ascelin and his party had\nbrought themselves, a woman's pity came to the rescue. Baithnoy's\nprincipal wife endeavored to move him to compassion; but, finding him\nobdurate, she next appealed to his interest. To violate in this way the\nlaw of nations would cover him with disgrace, she said, and stay the\ncoming of many who otherwise would seek his camp with homage and\npresents. She reminded him of the anger of the Great Khan when, on a\nformer occasion, he had caused the heart of an ambassador to be plucked\nout and had ridden around the camp with it fastened to his horse's tail.\nBy these arguments, reinforced with entreaties, she induced him to spare\nthe lives of the friars.\n\nThey were advised to visit the court of the Great Khan, but Ascelin had\nseen as much as he relished of Tartar courts, and refused to go a step\nfarther except by force. He was then desired, as he had been so curious\nto see a Tartar army, to wait until their expected reinforcements\narrived. He protested that he had seen enough Tartars already to last\nhim the rest of his life; but, despite his protest, he was detained for\nseveral months, during which the Tartars amused themselves by annoying\nand vexing their visitors. At length, after having been half starved,\nfrequently threatened with death, and insulted in a hundred ways, they\nwere set free, bearing letters to the pope ordering him to come in\nperson and do homage to Genghis Khan, the Son of God.\n\nAt the same time that Ascelin set out for the south, another party,\nheaded by John Carpini, set out for the north, to visit the Tartars then\nin Russia. Here they were startled by the first act demanded of them,\nthey being compelled to pass between two large fires as a purification\nfrom the suspicion of evil. On coming into the presence of Bathy, the\ngeneral, they, more terrified perhaps than Ascelin, did not hesitate to\nfall upon their knees. To heighten their terrors, two of them were sent\nto the court of the Great Khan, in the heart of Tartary, the other two\nbeing detained on some pretext. The journey was a frightful one. With no\nfood but millet, no drink but melted snow, pushing on at a furious\nspeed, changing horses several times a day, passing over tracts strewn\nwith human bones, and the weather through part of their journey being\nbitterly cold, they at length reached the court of the Mongols on July\n22, 1246.\n\nThey arrived at an interesting period. The election of Kujak, a new\nkhan, was about to take place, and, in addition to great Tartar lords\nfrom all quarters of the Mongol empire, ambassadors from Russia, Persia,\nBagdad, India, and China were at hand with presents and congratulations.\nThe assembled nobles, four thousand in all, dazzled Carpini with their\npomp and magnificence. The coronation was attended with peculiar\nceremonies, and a few days afterwards audience was given to the\nambassadors, that they might deliver their presents. Here the friars\nwere amazed at the abundance and value of the gifts, which consisted of\nsatin cloths, robes of purple, silk girdles wrought with gold, and\ncostly skins. Most surprising of all was a \"sun canopy\" (umbrella) full\nof precious stones, a long row of camels covered with Baldakin cloth,\nand a \"wonderful brave tent, all of red purple, presented by the\nKythayans\" (Chinese), while near by stood five hundred carts \"all full\nof silver, and of gold, and of silk garments.\"\n\nThe friars were now placed in an embarrassing position by being asked\nwhat presents they had to give. They had so little that they thought it\nbest to declare \"that they were not of ability so to do.\" This failure\nwas well received, and throughout their visit they were treated with\ngreat respect, the khan cajoling them with hints that he proposed\npublicly to profess Christianity.\n\nThese flattering hopes came to a sudden end when the great Mongol ruler\nordered the erection of a flag of defiance against the Roman empire, the\nChristian Church, and all the Christian kingdoms of the West, unless\nthey would do homage to him; and with this abrupt termination to their\nembassy they were dismissed. After \"travailing all winter long,\"\nsleeping on snow without shelter, and suffering other hardships, they\nreached Europe in June, 1247, where they were \"rejoiced over as men that\nhad been risen from death to life.\"\n\nCarpini was the first European to approach the borders of China, or\nCathay, as it was then called, and the story he told about that\nmysterious empire of the East, gathered from the Tartars, was of much\ninterest, and, so far as it went, of considerable accuracy. He was also\nthe first to visit the court of those terrible warriors who had filled\nthe world with dismay, and to bring to Europe an account of their\nbarbaric manners and customs.\n\nShortly after (in 1253) a friar named Rubruquis, with two companions,\nwas sent to Tartary by Louis IX. of France to search for Prester John,\nan imaginary Christian potentate supposed to reign in the centre of\nAsia, to visit Sartach, a Tartar chief also reported a Christian, and to\nteach the doctrines of Christianity to all the Tartars he should find.\nRubruquis did his work well, and, while failing to find Prester John or\nto convert any of the Tartars, he penetrated to the very centre of the\nMongol empire, visited Karakorum, the capital of the Great Khans, and\nbrought back much valuable information, giving a clear, accurate, and\nintelligent account of the lands he had seen and the people he had met,\nwith such news of distant China as he could obtain without actually\ncrossing the Great Wall.\n\nAfter his visit information concerning these remote regions ceased until\nthe publication of the remarkably interesting book of Marco Polo, the\nfirst to write of China from an actual visit to its court. The story of\nhis visit must be left for a later tale.\n\n\n\n\n_THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG._\n\n\nIn the year 1268 the army of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis the famous\nconqueror, made its appearance before the stronghold of Sianyang, an\nimportant city of China on the southern bank of the Han River. On the\nopposite side of the stream stood the city of Fanching, the two being\nconnected by bridges and forming virtually a single city. Sianyang, the\ncapital of a populous and prosperous district, was the most important\nstronghold left to China, and its fall would be almost fatal to that\nrealm. Hence Kublai, who had succeeded to the empire of the Kins in\nNorthern China, and was bent on making the rest of that country his own,\nmade his first move against this powerful city, which the Chinese\nprepared with energy to defend. In all the history of its wars China\nshowed no greater courage and resolution than in the defence of this\nimportant place.\n\nThe army of Kublai consisted of sixty thousand veterans of the Mongol\nwars, with a large body of auxiliary troops, an army large enough to\noccupy all the neighboring heights and form an intrenched camp around\nthe city ten miles in length. This done, and all communication by land\ncut off, steps were taken to intercept all supplies sent by water. The\nMongols had no vessels, but they set themselves with their usual\nactivity to build a fleet, and in a short time had launched upon the Han\nfifty junks larger than those used by the Chinese.\n\nMeanwhile Lieouwen Hoan, governor of the two cities, was strengthening\ntheir works and vigorously repelling every assault of his foes. The city\nwas surrounded by thick and lofty walls and a deep fosse, was amply\ngarrisoned, and was abundantly supplied with provisions, having\nfood-supplies, it was said, sufficient \"for a period of ten years.\" Thus\nprovided, the gallant commandant, confident in his strength and\nresources, defied the efforts of the enemy. Threatened by the Mongols\nwith massacre if he should continue a vain defence, he retorted by\ndeclaring that he would drag the renegade general in command of their\ntroops in chains into the presence of the master to whom he had proved a\ntraitor.\n\nThese bold words were sustained by brave deeds. All the assaults of the\nMongols were valiantly repulsed, and, although their army was constantly\nreinforced by fresh troops, the siege made very slow progress. The\nposition of the besiegers was several times changed, their lines were\nhere extended and there withdrawn, but all their efforts proved vain,\nthey being baffled on every side, while the governor held out with\nunyielding fortitude.\n\nA flotilla of store-ships on the Han was met by the Mongol fleet and\ndriven back with serious loss, but this success was of no great service\nto the besiegers, since the cities were still well supplied. Thus for\nthree years the siege went on, and it was beginning to languish, when\nnew spirit was given it by fresh preparations on the part of the two\ncontestants. Kublai, weary of the slow progress of his armies, resolved\nto press the siege with more vigor than ever, while the Chinese minister\ndetermined to do something for the relief of the garrison.\n\nA large Chinese army was put into the field, but it was placed under the\ncommand of an incapable officer, whose dilatory movements promised\nlittle for the aid of the valiant defenders. Nothing would have been\ndone had not abler and bolder spirits come to the assistance of the\nbeleaguered host. Litingchi, governor of Ganlo, a town on the Han south\nof Sianyang, incensed by the tardy march of the army of relief, resolved\nto strike a prompt and telling blow. Collecting a force of three\nthousand men, from which he dismissed all who feared to take part in the\nperilous adventure, he laid his plans to throw into Sianyang this\nreinforcement, with a large convoy of such supplies as he had learned\nthat the garrison needed.\n\nThe attempt was made successful through the valor of the Chinese troops.\nSeveral hundred vessels, escorted by the band of devoted warriors,\nsailed down a tributary of the Han towards Sianyang. The Mongols had\nsought by chains and other obstacles to close the stream, but these were\nbroken through by the junks, whose impetuous advance had taken the\nbesiegers by surprise. Recovering their spirit, and taking advantage of\nthe high ground above the stream, the Mongols soon began to regain the\nground they had lost and to imperil the success of the expedition.\nSeeing this, and fearing the defeat of the project, Changchun, at the\nhead of one division of the escort of troops, devoted himself and his\nmen to death for the safety of the fleet, charging so vigorously as to\nkeep the Mongols fully occupied for several hours. This diversion gave\nthe other Chinese leader an opportunity to push on to Sianyang with the\nstore-ships, where they were joyfully received by the people, who for\nthree years had been cut off from communication with the outside world.\n\nSo great were the excitement and joy of the garrison that they flung\nopen the city gates, in bold defiance of their foes, or as if they\nthought that the Mongols must be in full retreat. Their enthusiasm,\nhowever, was somewhat dampened when the mutilated body of the heroic\nChangchun came floating down the stream, in evidence of the continued\npresence and barbarity of their foes. The work of reinforcement done,\nChangkone, the other leader of the party of relief, who had succeeded in\nbringing to the garrison certain needed supplies, felt that he was not\nwanted within its walls. Outside, Litingchi was hovering near the enemy\nwith a force of five thousand men, and the gallant admiral of the fleet\nresolved to cut his way out again and join this partisan band.\n\nCalling together his late followers, he extolled the glory they had won\nand promised them new fame. But in the midst of his address he perceived\nthat one of the men had disappeared, and suspected that he had deserted\nto the Mongols with a warning of what was intended. Changkone, however,\ndid not let this check him in his daring purpose. Gathering the few\nwar-junks that remained, he set sail that night, bursting through the\nchains that crossed the stream, and cutting his way with sword and spear\nthrough the first line of the Mongol fleet.\n\nBefore him the river stretched in a straight and unguarded course, and\nit seemed as if safety had been won. But the early light of the dawning\nday revealed an alarming scene. Before the daring band lay another\nfleet, flying the Mongol flag, while thousands of armed foes occupied\nthe banks of the stream. The odds were hopelessly against the Chinese,\nthere was no choice between death and surrender, but the heroic\nChangkone unhesitatingly resolved to accept the former, and was seconded\nin his devotion by his men. Dashing upon the Mongol fleet, they fought\non while a man was left to bend bow or thrust spear, continuing the\nstruggle until the blood of the whole gallant band reddened the waters\nof the stream. The Mongol leader sent the body of Changkone into the\ncity, either as a threat or as a tribute of admiration. It was received\nwith loud lamentations, and given a place in burial beside that of\nChangchun, his partner in the most gallant deed that Chinese history\nrecords.\n\nThis incident, while spurring the garrison to new spirit in their\ndefence, roused the Mongols to a more resolute pressure of the siege. As\nyet they had given their attention mainly to Sianyang, but now they drew\ntheir lines around Fanching as well. The great extent of the Mongol\ndominion is shown by the fact that they sent as far as Persia for\nengineers skilful in siege-work and accustomed to building and handling\nthe great catapults with which huge stones were flung against fortified\nplaces in the warfare of that age. By the aid of these powerful engines\nmany of the defences of Sianyang were demolished and the bridge between\nthe two cities was destroyed.\n\nThis done, the siege of Fanching was vigorously pressed, and, after a\nsevere bombardment, an assault in force was made. Despite the resolute\nresistance of the garrison, the walls were forced, and the streets\nbecame the scene of a fierce and deadly fight. From street to street,\nfrom house to house, the struggle continued, and when resistance had\nbecome utterly hopeless the Chinese officers, rather than surrender,\nslew themselves, in which they were imitated by many of their men. It\nwas a city of ruins and slaughtered bodies that the Mongols had won.\n\nThe engines were now all directed against the fortifications of\nSianyang, where the garrison had become greatly dispirited by the fall\nof Fanching and the failure of the army of relief to appear. Lieouwen\nHoan still held out, though he saw that his powers of defence were\nnearly at an end, and feared that at any moment the soldiers might\nrefuse to continue what seemed to them a useless effort.\n\nKublai at this juncture sent him the following letter: \"The generous\ndefence you have made during five years covers you with glory. It is the\nduty of every faithful subject to serve his prince at the expense of his\nlife; but in the straits to which you are reduced, your strength\nexhausted, deprived of succor, and without hope of receiving any, would\nit be reasonable to sacrifice the lives of so many brave men out of\nsheer obstinacy? Submit in good faith, and no harm shall come to you. We\npromise you still more, and that is to provide all of you with honorable\nemployment. You shall have no grounds for discontent: for that we pledge\nyou our imperial word.\"\n\nThis letter ended the struggle. After some hesitation, Lieouwen Hoan,\nincensed at the failure of the army to come to his relief and at the\nindifference of the emperor to his fate, surrendered, and thenceforth\ndevoted to the service of Kublai the courage and ability of which he had\nshown such striking evidence in the defence of Sianyang.\n\n\n\n\n_THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF CHINA._\n\n\nNever in its history has China shown such unyielding courage as it did\nin its resistance to the invasion under Kublai Khan. The city of\nSianyang alone held back the tide of Mongol success for full five years.\nAfter its fall there were other strongholds to be taken, other armies to\nbe fought, and for a number of years the Chinese fought desperately for\ntheir native land. But one by one their fortified cities fell, one by\none their armies were driven back by the impetuous foe, and gradually\nthe conquest of Southern China was added to that of the north.\n\nFinally the hopes of China were centred upon a single man, Chang Chikie,\na general of unflinching zeal and courage, who recaptured several towns,\nand, gathering a great fleet, said to have numbered no fewer than two\nthousand war-junks, sailed up the Yang-tse-Kiang with the purpose of\nattacking the Mongol positions below Nanking. The fleet of the Mongols\nlay at that point where the Imperial Canal enters the Kiang on both\nsides. Here the stream is wide and ample and presents a magnificent\nfield for a naval battle.\n\nThe attack of the Chinese was made with resolution and energy, but the\nMongol admiral had prepared for them by sending in advance his largest\nvessels, manned with bowmen instructed to attach lighted pitch to their\narrows. The Mongol assault was made before the Chinese fleet had emerged\nfrom the narrow part of the river, in which comparatively few of the\nhost of vessels could be brought into play. The flaming arrows set on\nfire a number of the junks, and, though the Chinese in advance fought\nbravely, these burning vessels carried confusion and alarm to the\nthronging vessels in the rear. Here the crews, unable to take part in\nthe fight and their crowded vessels threatened with the flames, were\nseized with a fear that soon became an uncontrollable panic. The result\nwas disastrous. Of the great fleet no less than seven hundred vessels\nwere captured by the Mongols, while a still greater number were burnt or\nsunk, hardly a fourth of the vast armament escaping from that fatal\nfield.\n\nThe next events which we have to record take us forward to the year\n1278, when the city of Canton had been captured by the Mongol troops,\nand scarcely a fragment of the once great empire remained in the hands\nof the Chinese ruler.\n\nThe incompetent Chinese emperor had died, and the incapable minister to\nwhose feebleness the fall of Sianyang was due had been dismissed by his\nmaster and murdered by his enemies. The succeeding emperor had been\ncaptured by the Mongols on the fall of the capital. Another had been\nproclaimed and had died, and the last emperor of the Sung dynasty, a\nyoung prince named Tiping, was now with Chang Chikie, whose small army\nconstituted his only hope, and the remains of the fleet his only\nempire.\n\nThe able leader on whom the last hopes of the Chinese dynasty now rested\nselected a natural stronghold on an island named Tai, in a natural\nharbor which could be entered only with a favorable tide. This position\nhe made the most strenuous efforts to fortify, building strong works on\nthe heights above the bay, and gathering troops until he had an army of\nnearly two hundred thousand men.\n\nSo rapidly did he work that his fortifications were completed before the\nMongol admiral discovered his locality. On learning what had been done,\nthe Mongols at once hurried forward reinforcements and prepared for an\nimmediate and vigorous assault on this final stronghold of the empire of\nChina. The attack was made with the impetuous courage for which the\nMongols had become noted, but the works were bravely held, and for two\ndays the struggle was maintained without advantage to the assailants. On\nthe third day the Mongol admiral resumed his attack, and a fiercely\ncontested battle took place, ending in the Chinese fleet being thrown\ninto confusion. The result would have been utterly disastrous had not a\nheavy mist fallen at this opportune moment, under cover of which Chang\nChikie, followed by sixteen vessels of his fleet, made his way out to\nsea.\n\nThe vessel which held the young emperor was less fortunate. Caught in\nthe press of the battle, its capture was inevitable, and with it that of\nthe last emperor of the Sung dynasty. In this desperate emergency, a\nfaithful minister of the empire, resolved to save the honor of his\nmaster even at the sacrifice of his life, took him in his arms and\nleaped with him into the sea. This act of desperation was emulated by\nmany of the officers of the vessel, and in this dramatic way the great\ndynasty of the Sung came to an end.\n\nBut the last blow for the empire had not been struck so long as Chang\nChikie survived. With him had escaped the mother of the drowned prince,\nand on learning of his loss the valiant leader requested her to name\nsome member of the Sung family to succeed him. But the mother,\noverwhelmed with grief at the death of her son, was in no mood to listen\nto anything not connected with her loss, and at length, hopeless and\ninconsolable, she put an end to her own existence by leaping overboard\nfrom the vessel's side.\n\nChang Chikie was left alone, with the destinies of the empire dependent\nsolely upon him. Yet his high courage sustained him still; he was not\nready to acknowledge final defeat, and he sailed southward in the double\nhope of escaping Mongol pursuit and of obtaining means for the renewal\nof the struggle. The states of Indo-China were then tributary to the\nempire, and his small fleet put in to a port of Tonquin, whose ruler not\nonly welcomed him, but aided him to refit his fleet, collect stores, and\nenlist fresh troops.\n\nThus strengthened, the intrepid admiral resolved to renew the war\nwithout delay, his project being to assault Canton, which he hoped to\ntake by a sudden attack. This enterprise seemed desperate to his\nfollowers, who sought to dissuade him from what might prove a fatal\ncourse; but, spurred on by his own courage and a hope of retrieving the\ncause of the Sungs, he persisted in his purpose, and the fleet once more\nreturned to the seas.\n\nIt was now 1279, a year after Tiping's death. The Mongols lay in fancied\nsecurity, not dreaming that there was in all China the resolution to\nstrike another blow, and probably unsuspicious that a fleet was bearing\ndown upon one of their captured ports. What would have been the result\nhad Chang Chikie been able to deliver his attack it is impossible to\nsay. He might have taken Canton by surprise and captured it from the\nenemy, but in any event he could not have gained more than a temporary\nsuccess.\n\nAs it was, he gained none. Fate had destined the fall of China, and the\nelements came to the assistance of its foes. A sudden and violent\ntempest fell upon the fleet while near the southern headland of the\nKwantung coast, hurling nearly or quite all the vessels on the shore or\nsinking them beneath the waves. The bold leader had been counselled to\nseek shelter from the storm under the lee of the shore, but he refused,\nand kept on despite the storm, daring death in his singleness of\npurpose.\n\n\"I have done everything I could,\" he said, \"to sustain the Sung dynasty\non the throne. When one prince died I had another proclaimed. He also\nhas perished, and I still live. Should I be acting against thy decrees,\nO Heaven, if I sought to place a new prince on the throne?\"\n\nIt appeared so, for the winds and the waves gave answer, and the last\ndefender of China sank to death beneath the sea. The conquest of China\nwas thus at length completed after seventy years of resistance against\nthe most valorous soldiers of the world, led by such generals as\nGenghis, Kublai, and other warlike Mongol princes. In view of the fact\nthat Genghis had overrun Southern Asia in a few years, this long and\nobstinate resistance of China, despite the incompetence of its princes\nand ministers, places in a striking light the great military strength of\nthe empire at that period of its history.\n\n[Illustration: MARKET SCENE IN SHANGHAI.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN._\n\n\nIn the middle of the thirteenth century two eminent Venetian merchants,\nNicolo and Matteo Polo, of noble birth and adventurous spirit, left\ntheir native city for a long journey to the East, their purposes being\nthose of ordinary travel and also of barter, for which they took with\nthem a stock of jewels, as the commodity of most worth with least\nweight. Visiting Constantinople and several Russian cities, they\njourneyed to the capital of the khan of Kaptchak, where they remained\nthree years, trading and studying the Mongol language. Subsequently they\nmet in Bokhara a Persian ambassador on the way to the court of Kublai\nKhan, and were persuaded to keep him company as far as Kambalu (the\nmodern Peking), the capital of the Mongol emperor of Cathay, or China.\n\nTheir journey led them through Samarcand, Cashgar, and other cities of\nthe far East, a whole year passing before they reached the capital of\nthe great potentate, by whom they were graciously received. Kublai asked\nthem many questions about their country, and was very curious about the\npope, to whom he in the end sent them as ambassadors, bidding them\nreturn to him with a hundred Europeans learned in the arts and sciences,\nfor the instruction of his people. They reached Venice in 1269, after\nan absence of fifteen years.\n\nIn 1271 they set out again for China, bearing despatches from the pope,\nbut without the learned Europeans they were to bring. Marco, the young\nson of Nicolo, accompanied them on their journey, which occupied three\nand a half years. Kublai, though he had nearly forgotten their\nexistence, received them as graciously as before, and was particularly\npleased with young Marco, giving him a high office and employing him on\nimportant missions throughout the empire. In truth, he took so strong a\nfancy to his visitors that they were not suffered to leave China for\nyears, and finally got away in 1291 only as escort to a Mongol princess\nwho was sent as a bride to Persia.\n\nTwenty-four years had elapsed from the time they left Venice before they\nappeared in that city again. They were quite forgotten, but the wealth\nin precious stones they brought with them soon freshened the memory of\ntheir relatives, and they became the heroes of the city. Marco took part\nin a war then raging with Genoa, was taken prisoner, and long lay in a\ndungeon, where he dictated to a fellow-prisoner the story of his\nadventures and the wonderful things he had seen in the dominions of the\nGreat Khan of Cathay. This was afterwards published as \"Il Milione di\nMesser Marco Polo Veneziano,\" and at once gained a high reputation,\nwhich it has preserved from that day to this. Though long looked on by\nmany as pure fable, time has proved its essential truth, and it is now\nregarded as the most valuable geographical work of the Middle Ages.\n\nWe cannot undertake to give the diffuse narrative of Marco Polo's book,\nbut a condensed account of a few of his statements may prove of\ninterest, as showing some of the conditions of China in this middle\nperiod of its existence. His description of the great palace of Kublai,\nnear his capital city of Kambalu, much the largest royal residence in\nthe world, is of sufficient interest to be given in epitome. The palace\ngrounds included a great park, enclosed by a wall and ditch eight miles\nsquare, with an entrance gate midway of each side. Within this great\nenclosure of sixty-four square miles was an open space a mile broad, in\nwhich the troops were stationed, it being bounded on the interior by a\nsecond wall six miles square. This space, twenty-eight square miles in\narea, held an army of more than a hundred thousand men, nearly all\ncavalry.\n\nWithin the second wall lay the royal arsenals and the deer-park, with\nmeadows and handsome groves, and in the interior rose a third wall of\ngreat thickness, each side of which was a mile in length, while its\nheight was twenty-five feet. This last enclosure, one square mile in\narea, contained the palace, which reached from the northern to the\nsouthern wall and included a spacious court. Though its roof was very\nlofty, it was but one story in height, standing on a paved platform of\nseveral feet elevation, from which extended a marble terrace seven feet\nwide, surrounded by a handsome balustrade, which the people were allowed\nto approach.\n\nCarved and gilt dragons, figures of warriors and animals, and\nbattle-scenes ornamented the sides of the great hall and the\napartments, while the roof was so contrived that only gilding and\npainting were to be seen. On each side of the palace a grand flight of\nmarble steps ascended to the marble terrace which surrounded the\nbuilding. The interior contained an immense hall, capable of serving as\na banqueting-room for a multitude of guests, while the numerous chambers\nwere all of great beauty and admirably arranged.\n\nThe roof on the exterior was painted red, green, azure, and violet, the\ncolors being highly durable, while the glazing of the windows was so\nneatly done that they were transparent as crystal. In the rear of the\npalace were arranged the treasure-rooms, which contained a great store\nof gold and silver bullion, pearls and precious stones, and valuable\nplate. Here also were the family apartments of the emperor and his\nwives. Opposite the grand palace stood another, very similar in design,\nwhere dwelt his eldest son, the heir to the throne.\n\nOn the north side, between the palace and the adjoining wall, rose an\nartificial mound of earth, a hundred paces high and a mile in circuit at\nits base. Its slopes were planted with beautiful evergreen trees, which\nhad been transported thither, when well grown, by the aid of elephants.\nThis perpetual verdure gave it the appropriate name of the Green Mount.\nAn ornamental pavilion crowned the summit, which, in harmony with the\nsides, was also made green. The view of the mount, with its ever-verdant\ntrees and the richly decorated building on its summit, formed a scene\ndelightful to the eyes of the emperor and the other inmates of the\npalace. This hill still exists, and is yet known by its original title\nof Kinshan, or the Green Mount.\n\nThe excavation made to obtain the earth for the mount was filled with\nwater from a small rivulet, forming a lake from which the cattle drank,\nits overflow being carried by an aqueduct along the foot of the Green\nMount to fill another great and very deep excavation, made in the same\nmanner as the former. This was used as a fish-pond, containing fish in\nlarge variety and number, sufficient to keep the table of the emperor\nconstantly supplied. Iron or copper gratings at the entrance and exit\nprevented the escape of the fish along the stream. The pond was also\nstocked with swans and other aquatic birds, and a bridge across its\nwidth led from one palace to the other.\n\nSuch was the palace. The city was correspondingly great and prosperous,\nand had an immense trade. A thousand pack-horses and carriages laden\nwith raw silk daily entered its gates, and within its workshops a vast\nquantity of silk and gold tissues was produced. As Hoangti made himself\nfamous by the Great Wall, so Kublai won fame by the far more useful work\nof the Great Canal, which was largely due to his fostering care, and has\never since been of inestimable value to China, while the Wall never kept\nout a Tartar who strongly desired to get over its threatening but\nuseless height.\n\nHaving said so much about the conditions of palace and capital, it may\nbe of interest to extract from Polo's narrative some account of the\nmethod pursued in war during Kublai's reign. The Venetian attended a\ncampaign made by the emperor against one of his kinsmen named Nayan, who\nhad under him so many cities and provinces that he was able to bring\ninto the field an army of four hundred thousand horse. His desire for\nsovereignty led him to throw off his allegiance, the more so as another\nrebel against the Grand Khan promised to aid him with a hundred thousand\nhorsemen.\n\nNews of this movement soon reached Kublai, and he at once ordered the\ncollection of all the troops within ten days' march of Kambalu,\namounting in all to four hundred and sixty thousand men. By forced\nmarches these were brought to Nayan's territory in twenty-five days,\nreaching there before the rebel prince had any warning of their\napproach. Kublai, having given his army two days' rest, and consulted\nhis astrologers, who promised him victory, marched his army up the hill\nwhich had concealed them from the enemy, the great array being suddenly\ndisplayed to the astonished eyes of Nayan and his men.\n\nKublai took his station in a large wooden castle, borne on the backs of\nfour elephants, whose bodies were protected with coverings of thick\nleather hardened by fire, over which were spread housings of cloth of\ngold. His army was disposed in three grand divisions, each division\nconsisting of ten battalions of horsemen each ten thousand strong, and\narmed with the great Mongol bow. The right and left divisions were\ndisposed so as to outflank the army of Nayan. In front of each battalion\nwere stationed five hundred infantry, who, whenever the cavalry made a\nshow of flight, were trained to mount behind them, and to alight again\nwhen they returned to the charge, their duty being to kill with their\nlances the horses of the enemy.\n\nAs soon as the order of battle was arranged, wind instruments of various\nkinds and in great numbers were sounded, while the host of warriors\nbroke into song, as was the Tartar practice before engaging in battle.\nThe battle began with a signal from the cymbals and drums, the sound of\nthe instruments and the singing growing deafening. At the signal both\nwings advanced, a cloud of arrows filling the air, while on both sides\nnumbers of men and horses fell. Their arrows discharged, the warriors\nengaged in close combat with lances, swords, and iron-shod maces, while\nthe cries of men and horses were such as to inspire terror or rouse all\nhearers to the battle-rage.\n\nFor a long time the fortune of the day remained undecided, Nayan's\npeople fighting with great zeal and courage. But at length their leader,\nseeing that he was almost surrounded, attempted to save himself by\nflight. He was made prisoner, however, and brought before Kublai, who\nordered him to be put to death on the spot. This was done by enclosing\nhim between two carpets, which were violently shaken until the spirit\ndeparted from the body, the dignity of the imperial family requiring\nthat the sun and the air should not witness the shedding of the blood of\none who belonged to the royal stock.\n\nThese extracts from the narrative of the Venetian traveller may be fitly\nfollowed by a portion of Coleridge's remarkable dream-poem on the\nsubject of Kublai's palace. The poet, having been reading from\n\"Purchas's Pilgrimage\" a brief description of the palace of the Great\nKhan,--not the one above described, but a pleasure-retreat in another\nsection of his dominions,--fell asleep, and his dreams took the form of\nan extended poem on the subject. On waking he hastened to write it down,\nbut was interrupted by a visitor in the midst of his task, and\nafterwards found himself unable to recall another line of the poem, only\na shadowy image of which remained in his mind. The part saved is\nstrangely imaginative.\n\n In Xanadu did Kubla Khan\n A stately pleasure-dome decree,\n Where Alph, the sacred river, ran\n Through caverns measureless to man\n Down to a sunless sea.\n So twice five miles of fertile ground\n With walls and towers were girdled round;\n And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills,\n Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;\n And here were forests ancient as the hills,\n Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.\n\n But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted\n Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!\n A savage place! as holy and enchanted\n As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted\n By woman wailing for her demon lover!\n And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,\n As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,\n A mighty fountain momently was forced,\n Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst\n Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,\n Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail;\n And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever\n It flung up momently the sacred river.\n Five miles meandering with a mazy motion\n Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,\n Then reached the caverns measureless to man,\n And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:\n And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far\n Ancestral voices prophesying war.\n\n\n\n\n_THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS._\n\n\nWhile the descendants of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, still held the\nreins of power in China, there was born in humble life in that empire a\nboy upon whose shoulders fortune had laid the task of driving the\nforeigners from the soil and restoring to the Chinese their own again.\nTradition says that at his birth the room was several times filled with\na bright light. However that be, the boy proved to be gifted by nature\nwith a fine presence, lofty views, and an elevated soul, qualities sure\nto tell in the troubled times that were at hand. When he was seventeen\nyears of age the deaths of his father and mother left him a penniless\norphan, so destitute of means that he felt obliged to take the vows of a\npriest and enter the monastery of Hoangkiose. But the country was now in\ndisorder, rebels were in the field against the Mongol rule, and the\npatriotic and active-minded boy could not long endure the passive life\nof a bonze. Leaving the monastery, he entered the service of one of the\nrebel leaders as a private soldier, and quickly showed such enterprise\nand daring that his chief not only made him an officer in his force but\ngave him his daughter in marriage.\n\nThe time was ripe for soldiers of fortune. The mantle of Kublai had not\nfallen on the shoulders of any of his successors, who proved weak and\ndegenerate monarchs, losing the firm hold which the great conqueror had\nkept upon the realm. It was in the year 1345 that Choo Yuen Chang, to\ngive the young soldier his full name, joined the rebel band. Chunti, one\nof the weakest of the Mongol monarchs, was now upon the throne, and on\nevery side it was evident that the empire of Kublai was in danger of\nfalling to pieces under this incapable ruler. Fortune had brought its\nprotege into the field at a critical time.\n\nChoo was not long in proving himself \"every inch a soldier.\" Wherever he\nfought he was victorious. In a year's time he had under him seven\nhundred men of his own enlistment, and was appointed the lieutenant of\nhis chief. Soon after the latter died, and Choo took his place at the\nhead of the rebel band. In it enlisted another young man, Suta by name,\nwho was before many years to become China's greatest general and the\nbulwark of a new dynasty.\n\nChoo was now able to prove his powers on a larger scale. One of his\nfirst exploits was the capture of the town of Hoyan, where he manifested\na high order of courage and political wisdom in saving the inhabitants\nfrom rapine by his ill-paid and hungry soldiers. Here was a degree of\nself-restraint and power of command which none of the Chinese leaders\nhad shown, and which seemed to point out Choo as the man destined to win\nin the coming struggle for a rejuvenated China.\n\nMeanwhile a rival came into the field who for a time threw Choo's\nfortunes into the shade. This was a young man who was offered to the\npeople as a descendant of the dynasty of the Sungs, the emperors whom\nthe Mongol invaders had dethroned. His very name proved a centre of\nattraction for the people, whose affection for the old royal house was\nnot dead, and they gathered in multitudes beneath his banner. But his\nclaim also aroused the fear of the Mongols, and a severe and stubborn\nstruggle set in, which ended in the overthrow of the youthful Sung and\nthe seeming restoration of the Mongol authority. Yet in reality the war\nhad only cleared the way for a far more dangerous adversary than the\ndefeated claimant of the throne.\n\nMasked by this war, the strength and influence of Choo had steadily\ngrown, and in 1356 he made a daring and masterly move in the capture of\nthe city of Nanking, which gave him control of some of the wealthiest\nprovinces of the land. Here he showed the same moderation as before,\npreserving the citizens from plunder and outrage, and proving that his\nonly purpose was to restore to China her old native government. With\nremarkable prudence, skill, and energy he strengthened his position.\n\"The time has now come to drive the foreigners out of China,\" he said,\nin a proclamation that was scattered far and wide and brought hosts of\nthe young and daring to his ranks. Elsewhere the so-called Chinese\npatriots were no better than brigands, all the horrors of war descending\nupon the districts they occupied and the cities which fell into their\nhands. But where Choo ruled discipline and security prevailed, and as\nfar as his power reached a firm and orderly government existed.\n\nMeanwhile the Mongols had a host of evils with which to contend. Rebel\nleaders had risen in various quarters, some of them making more progress\nthan Choo, but winning the execration rather than the love of the people\nby their rapine and violence. On the contrary, his power grew slowly but\nsurely, various minor leaders joining him, among them the pirate Fangkue\nChin, whose exploits had made him a hero to the people of the valley of\nthe Kiang. The events of the war that followed were too many to be here\ndetailed. Suffice it to say that the difficulties of the Mongol emperor\ngradually increased. He was obliged to meet in battle a Mongol pretender\nto his throne; Corea rose in arms and destroyed an army sent to subdue\nit; and Chahan Timour, Chunti's ablest general, fell victim to an\nassassin. Troubles were growing thick around his throne.\n\nIn the year 1366, Choo, after vanquishing some leaders who threatened\nhis position, among them his late pirate ally Fangkue Chin, saw that the\ntime had arrived for a vigorous effort to expel the foreign rulers, and\nset out at the head of his army for a general campaign, at the same time\nproclaiming to the people that the period was at hand for throwing off\nthe Mongol yoke, which for nearly a century had weighed heavily upon\ntheir necks. Three armies left Nanking, two of them being sent to subdue\nthree of the provinces of the south, a result which was achieved without\na blow, the people everywhere rising and the Mongol garrisons vanishing\nfrom sight,--whether by death or by flight history fails to relate. The\nthird army, under Suta, Choo's favorite general, marched towards Peking,\nthe Mongol garrisons, discouraged by their late reverses, retreating as\nit advanced.\n\nAt length the great Mongol capital was reached. Within its walls reigned\nconfusion and alarm. Chunti, panic-stricken at the rapid march of his\nenemies, could not be induced to fight for his last hold upon the empire\nof China, but fled on the night before the assault was made. Suta at\nonce ordered the city to be taken by storm, and though the Mongol\ngarrison made a desperate defence, they were cut down to a man, and the\nvictorious troops entered the Tartar stronghold in triumph. But Suta,\ncounselled by Choo to moderation, held his army firmly in hand, no\noutrages were permitted, and the lives of all the Mongols who submitted\nwere spared.\n\nThe capture of Peking and the flight of Chunti marked the end of the\nempire of the Mongols in China. War with them still went on, but the\ncountry at large was freed from their yoke, after nearly a century of\nsubmission to Tartar rule. Elsewhere the vast empire of Genghis still\nheld firm. Russia lay under the vassalage of the khans. Central and\nSouthern Asia trembled at the Mongol name. And at the very time that the\nChinese were rising against and expelling their invaders, Timour, or\nTamerlane, the second great conqueror of his race, was setting out from\nCentral Asia on that mighty career of victory that emulated the deeds\nof the founder of the Mongol empire. Years afterwards Timour, after\nhaving drowned Southern Asia in a sea of blood, returned to Samarcand,\nwhere, in 1415, he ordered the collection of a great army for the\ninvasion of China, with which he proposed to revenge the wrongs of his\ncompatriots. The army was gathered; it began its march; the mountains of\nKhokand were reached and passed; threats of the coming danger reached\nand frightened China; but on the march the grim old conqueror died, and\nhis great expedition came to an end. All that reached China to represent\nthe mighty Timour was his old war-horse, which was sent as a present\nfour years afterwards when an embassy from Central Asia reached Peking.\n\nWith the fall of the Mongols in China the native rule was restored, but\nnot with it the old dynasty. Choo, the conqueror, and a man whose\nability and nobleness of mind had been remarkably displayed, was\neverywhere looked upon as the Heaven-chosen successor to the throne, the\nboy who had begun his career as a penniless orphan having risen through\npure power of intellect and loftiness of soul to the highest position in\nthe realm. He was crowned emperor under the title of Hongwou, and\ninstituted the Ming dynasty, which held the throne of China until three\ncenturies afterwards, when another strange turn in the tide of affairs\nagain overthrew Chinese rule and brought a new dynasty of Tartar\nemperors to the throne.\n\nAs regards the reign of Hongwou, it may here be said that he proved one\nof the ablest monarchs China ever knew, ruling his people with a just\nand strong hand, and, by the aid of his able general Suta, baffling\nevery effort of the Mongols to regain their lost dominion. Luxury in the\nimperial administration was brought to an end, the public money was used\nfor its legitimate purpose, and even some of the costly palaces which\nthe Mongol emperors had built were destroyed, that the people might\nlearn that he proposed to devote himself to their good and not to his\nown pleasure. Steps were taken for the encouragement of learning, the\nliterary class was elevated in position, the celebrated Hanlin College\nwas restored, and the great book of laws was revised. Schools were\nopened everywhere, orphanages and hospitals were instituted, and all\nthat could be was done for the relief of the sick and the poor.\n\nAll this was performed in the midst of bitter and unceasing wars, which\nfor nearly twenty years kept Suta almost constantly in the field. The\nMongols were still strong in the northwest, Chungti continued to claim\nimperial power, and the army was kept steadily employed, marching from\nvictory to victory under the able leadership of Suta, who in his whole\ncareer scarcely learned the meaning of defeat. His very appearance on\nthe field on more than one occasion changed the situation from doubt to\nvictory. In time the Mongols were driven beyond the Great Wall, the\nex-emperor died, and the steppes were invaded by a great army, though\nnot a successful one, Suta meeting here his first and only reverse. The\nwar ended with giving the Chinese full control of all the cultivated\ncountry, while the Tartars held their own in the desert. This done,\nSuta returned to enjoy in peace the honors he had won, and soon after\ndied, at the age of fifty-four years, thirty of which had been spent in\nwar.\n\nThe death of the great general did not leave China free from warlike\ncommotion. There were rebellious risings both in the south and in the\nnorth, but they all fell under the power of Hongwou's victorious arms,\nthe last success being the dispersal of a final Mongol raid. The closing\neight years of the emperor's reign were spent in peace, and in 1397 he\ndied, after an administration of thirty years, in which he had freed\nChina from the last dregs of the Mongol power, and spread peace and\nprosperity throughout the realm.\n\n\n\n\n_THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS._\n\n\nTwice had a Tartar empire been established in China, that of the Kin\ndynasty in the north, and that of their successors, the Mongols, over\nthe whole country. A third and more permanent Tartar dynasty, that of\nthe Manchus, was yet to come. With the striking story of the rise and\nprogress of these new conquerors we are now concerned.\n\nIn the northeast of China, beyond the Great Wall and bordering on Corea,\nlies the province of Liautung. Northward from this to the Amur River\nextends the eastern section of the steppes, known on modern maps as\nManchuria. From these broad wilds the Kins had advanced to their\nconquest of Northern China. To them they fled for safety from the Mongol\narms, and here lost their proud name of Kin and resumed their older and\nhumbler one of Niuche. For some five centuries they remained here\nunnoticed and undisturbed, broken up into numerous small clans, none of\nmuch strength and importance. Of these clans, which were frequently in a\nstate of hostility to one another, there is only one of interest, that\nof the Manchus.\n\nThe original seat of this small Tartar clan lay not far north of the\nChinese border, being on the Soodsu River, about thirty miles east of\nthe Chinese city of Moukden. Between the Soodsu and Jiaho streams, and\nsouth of the Long White Mountains, lies the valley of Hootooala, a\nlocation of rugged and picturesque scenery. This valley, protected on\nthree sides by water and on the fourth by a lofty range of mountains,\nthe whole not more than twelve miles long, formed the cradle of the\nManchu race, the narrow realm from which they were to emerge to victory\nand empire. In a certain respect it resembled the native home of the\nMongols, but was far smaller and much nearer the Chinese frontier.\n\nIn this small and secluded valley appeared, about the middle of the\nfourteenth century, when the emperor Hongwou was fighting with the\nMongols, a man named Aisin Gioro. Tradition attributes to him a\nmiraculous birth, while calumny asserts that he was a runaway Mongol;\nbut at any rate he became lord of Hootooala and ancestor of its race of\nconquerors. Five generations from him came a chief named Huen, who ruled\nover the same small state, and whose grandson, Noorhachu by name, born\nin 1559, was the man upon whom the wonderful fortunes of the Manchus\nwere to depend. Like many other great conquerors, his appearance\npredicted his career. \"He had the dragon face and the phoenix eye; his\nchest was enormous, his ears were large, and his voice had the tone of\nthe largest bell.\"\n\nHe began life like many of the heroes of folk-lore, his step-mother,\nwhen he was nineteen years of age, giving him a small sum of money and\nturning him out into the world to seek his fortune. She repented\nafterwards, and bade him come home again or accept further aid, but the\nproud youth refused to receive from her any assistance, and determined\nto make his own way in the world.\n\nNoorhachu first came into notice in 1583. In that year Haida, chief of a\nsmall district south of Hootooala, made an attack, assisted by the\nChinese, on some neighboring clans. One of these was governed by a\nrelative of the old Manchu chief Huen, who, with his son and a small\nforce, hurried to his aid and helped him to defend his town. Haida and\nhis allies, finding the place too strong for them, enticed a part of the\ngarrison outside the walls, and then fell upon and treacherously\nmassacred them. Among the slain were Huen and his son.\n\nThis brutal murder left Noorhachu chief of his clan, and at the same\ntime filled him with a fierce desire for revenge, both upon Haida and\nupon the Chinese. He was forced to bide his time, Haida gaining such\ninfluence with his allies that he was appointed by them chief of all the\nNiuche districts. This act only deepened the hatred of Noorhachu, who\nfound himself made one of the vassals of the murderer, while many of his\nown people left him and attached themselves to the fortunes of Haida.\n\nFortunately for the youthful chief, the Chinese did not strongly support\ntheir nominee, and Noorhachu pursued his rival so persistently that the\nassassin did not feel safe even within his stockaded camp, but several\ntimes retreated for safety into Liautung. The Chinese at length, tired\nof supporting a man without the courage to defend himself, seized him\nand handed him over to Noorhachu, who immediately put him to death.\n\nThe energy and success of Noorhachu in this scheme of vengeance gave him\na high reputation among the Niuche. He was still but twenty-seven years\nof age, but had probably laid out his life-work, that of making himself\nchief of a Niuche confederacy, and employing his subjects in an invasion\nof Chinese soil. It is said that he had sworn to revenge his father's\ndeath by the slaughter of two hundred thousand Chinese.\n\nHe began by building himself a stronghold. Selecting a site in the plain\nwhere water was abundant, he built a town and surrounded it with a\ntriple wall. This done, he began the work of uniting the southern clans\nunder his sway, a task which proved easy, they being much impressed by\nhis victory over Haida. This peaceful progress was succeeded by a\nwarlike movement. In 1591 he suddenly invaded the district of\nYalookiang, which, taken by surprise, was forced to submit to his arms.\n\nThis act of spoliation roused general apprehension among the chiefs.\nHere was a man who was not satisfied with petty feuds, but evidently had\nhigher objects in view. Roused by apprehension of danger, seven of the\nneighboring chiefs gathered their forces, and with an army of thirty\nthousand Niuche and Mongols invaded the territory of the daring young\nleader. The odds against him seemed irresistible. He had but four\nthousand men to oppose to this large force. But his men had been well\nchosen and well trained, and they so vigorously resisted the onset of\nthe enemy that the principal Niuche chief was killed and the Mongol\nleader forced to flee. At this juncture Noorhachu charged his foes with\nsuch vigor that they were broken and put to flight, four thousand of\nthem being slain in the pursuit. A number of chiefs were taken\nprisoners, while the spoils included several thousand horses and plaited\nsuits of armor, material of great value to the ambitious young victor.\n\nEight years passed before Noorhachu was ready for another move. Then he\nconquered and annexed the fertile district of Hada, on the north. In\n1607 he added to this the state of Hwifa, and in the following year that\nof Woola. These conquests were preliminary to an invasion of Yeho, the\nmost powerful of the Niuche states. His first attack upon this important\ndistrict failed, and before repeating it he deemed it necessary to show\nhis strength by invading the Chinese province of Liautung. He had long\nbeen preparing for this great enterprise. He had begun his military\ncareer with a force of one hundred men, but had now an army forty\nthousand strong, well drilled and disciplined men, provided with engines\nof war, and of a race famed for courage and intrepidity. Their chief\nweapon consisted of the formidable Manchu bow, while the horsemen wore\nan armor of cotton-plaited mail which was proof against arrow or spear.\nThe invasion was preceded by a list of grievances drawn up against the\nChinese, which, instead of forwarding it to the Chinese court, Noorhachu\nburnt in presence of his army, as an appeal to Heaven for the justice of\nhis cause.\n\nThe Chinese had supinely permitted this dangerous power to grow up among\ntheir tributaries on the north. In truth, the Ming dynasty, which had\nbegun with the great Hongwou, had shared the fate of Chinese dynasties\nin general, having fallen into decadence and decay. With a strong hand\nat the imperial helm the Manchu invasion, with only a thinly settled\nregion to draw on for recruits, would have been hopeless. With a weak\nhand no one could predict the result.\n\nIn 1618 the Manchus crossed their southern frontier and boldly set foot\non the soil of China, their movement being so sudden and unexpected that\nthe border town of Fooshun was taken almost without a blow. The army\nsent to retake it was hurled back in defeat, and the strong town of\nTsingho was next besieged and captured. The progress of Noorhachu was\nchecked at this point by the clamor of his men, who were unwilling to\nmarch farther while leaving the hostile state of Yeho in their rear. He\ntherefore led them back to their homes.\n\nThe Chinese were now thoroughly aroused. An army of more than one\nhundred thousand men was raised and sent to attack Noorhachu in his\nnative realm. But it was weakly commanded and unwisely divided into\nthree unsupported sections, which the Manchus attacked and routed in\ndetail. The year's work was completed by the conquest and annexation of\nYeho, an event which added thirty thousand men to Noorhachu's resources\nand completed the confederation of the Niuche clans, which had been his\noriginal plan.\n\nThe old Chinese emperor was now near his life's end. But his last act\nwas one of his wisest ones, it being the appointment of Tingbi, a\nleader of skill and resolution, to the command in Liautung. In a brief\ntime this energetic commander had placed the capital and the border\ntowns of the province in a state of defence and collected an army of one\nhundred and eighty thousand men on the frontier. Two years sufficed to\nmake the province impregnable to Manchu attack. During this period of\nenergy Noorhachu wisely remained quiet. But the Chinese emperor died,\nand was succeeded by his son, who quickly followed him to the grave. His\ngrandson, a boy of sixteen, succeeded, and the court enemies of Tingbi\nnow had him recalled and replaced by a man who had never seen a battle.\n\nThe result was what might have been expected. Noorhachu, who had been\nwaiting his opportunity, at once led his army across the borders (1621),\nmarching upon the strong town of Moukden, whose commandant, more brave\nthan wise, left the shelter of his walls to meet him in the field. The\nresult was a severe repulse, the Manchus entering the gates with the\nfugitives and slaughtering the garrison in the streets. Three armies\nwere sent to retake Moukden, but were so vigorously dealt with that in a\nfew weeks less than half Tingbi's strong army remained. Liauyang, the\ncapital of the province, was next besieged and taken by storm, the\ngarrison falling almost to a man, among them Tingbi's incapable\nsuccessor meeting his death. No further resistance was made, the other\ntowns, with one exception, opened their gates, and in a brief time\nNoorhachu completed the conquest of the province of Liautung.\n\nOnly one thing kept the Manchus from crossing the Great Wall and\ninvading the provinces beyond. This was the stronghold of Ningyuen,\nwhich a Chinese officer named Chungwan had reinforced with a small\nparty, and which resolutely resisted all assaults. Noorhachu, not daring\nto leave this fortified place in his rear, besieged it with a strong\narmy, making two desperate assaults upon its walls. But Chungwan,\nassisted by some European cannon, whose noise proved more terrible to\nthe Manchus than their balls, held out so vigorously that for the first\ntime in his career the Manchu chief met with defeat. Disappointed and\nsick at heart, he retraced his steps to Moukden, then his capital, there\nto end his career, his death taking place in September, 1626.\n\nSuch was the adventurous life of the man who, while not conquering China\nhimself, made its conquest possible to his immediate successors, who\nacknowledged his great deeds by giving him the posthumous title of\nEmperor of China, the Manchu dynasty dating its origin back to 1616. His\nson, Taitsong, who succeeded him, renewed the attack on Ningyuen, but\nfound the heroic Chungwan more than his match. A brilliant idea brought\nhim final success. Leaving the impregnable stronghold in his rear, he\nsuddenly marched to the Great Wall, which he crossed, and was far on the\nroad to Peking before Chungwan knew of his purpose. At once abandoning\nthe town, the Chinese general hurried southward, and, having the best\nroad, succeeded in reaching the capital in advance of the Manchus. But\nhe came only to his death. Tingbi, the one man feared by Noorhachu, had\nbeen executed through the machinations of his enemies, and now Chungwan\nsuffered the same fate, Taitsong, not being able to defeat him in the\nfield, having succeeded in forming a plot against him in the palace.\n\nBut Peking, though in serious peril, was not taken. A truce was\narranged, and Taitsong drew off his troops--for reasons best known to\nhimself. He was soon back in China, but did not again attack Peking,\ndevoting himself to raids through the border provinces. In 1635 he\nassumed the title of Emperor of China, in consequence of the seal of the\nMongol dynasty, which had been lost in Mongolia two centuries before,\nbeing found and sent to him. But Ningyuen still held out, under an able\nsuccessor to Chungwan, and in September, 1643, this second of the Manchu\nleaders came to his death. The conquest of China was reserved for a\nlater leader.\n\n[Illustration: CHINESE GAMBLERS.]\n\n\n\n\n_THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA._\n\n\nLong years of misgovernment in China produced their natural result.\nEvils stalked abroad while worthless emperors spent their days in luxury\nat home. The land ceased to be governed, local rebellions broke out in a\ndozen quarters, and the Manchu invasion was but one event in the series\nof difficulties that environed the weakened throne. From the midst of\nthese small rebellions emerged a large one before which the Ming dynasty\ntrembled to its fall. Its leader, Li Tseching, was a peasant's son, who\nhad chosen the military career and quickly gained renown as a daring\nhorseman and skilful archer. In 1629 he appeared as a member of a band\nof robbers, who were defeated by the troops, Li being one of the few to\nescape. A year afterwards we hear of him as high in rank in a rebel band\nalmost large enough to be called an army. The leader dying after a few\nyears, Li succeeded him in command.\n\nHis progress to power was rapid, cunning and duplicity aiding him, for\noften when in a dangerous situation he escaped by pretending a desire to\ncome to terms with the authorities. Other rebels rose, won victories,\nand sank again; but Li held his own and steadily grew stronger, until,\nin 1640, he was at the head of an army of nearly half a million of men\nand in a position to aspire to the throne of Peking itself. Town after\ntown fell into his hands, frightful outrages being perpetrated in each,\nfor Li was a brigand in grain and merciless at heart. The efforts of the\nemperor to overthrow him proved futile, the imperial army being sent\nagainst him in four divisions, which he attacked and defeated in detail.\nThe court had learned nothing from the failure of similar tactics in the\nwar with Noorhachu. After this pronounced success Li laid siege to\nKaifong, an important city which had once been the capital of China. He\nwas twice repulsed, but a third time returned to the siege, finally\nsucceeding through a rise in the Hoang-ho, which washed away the\ndefences of the city, drowned thousands of its people, and left it at\nthe mercy of the besieging troops.\n\nLi's next effort was made against the city of Tunkwan, the most\nformidable of Chinese fortresses. Situated in the mountains between the\nprovinces of Honan and Shensi, it was strong by position, while the\nlabor of centuries had added enormously to its strength. Here fortune\naided him, his army following into the city a fugitive force which had\nbeen beaten outside. By this time the rebel chief had made himself so\ndreadful a record by the massacres and outrages committed in conquered\ncities that terror began to fill the minds of garrisons, and towns and\ncities opened their gates to him without venturing resistance.\n\nNo longer a mere rebel chief, but master of more than a third of China,\nand feared through all the rest, Li now assumed the title of emperor,\nand, capturing every stronghold as he advanced, began his march upon\nPeking, then a scene of unimaginable terror and confusion. The emperor,\nwho had hesitated to flee, found flight impossible when Li's great army\ninvested the capital. Defence was equally impossible, and the unhappy\nweakling, after slaying all the women of the palace, ended the career of\nthe Ming dynasty by hanging himself. Li was quickly master of the city,\nwhere the ancestral temple of the Mings was plundered and levelled with\nthe ground, and all the kinsmen of the royal family he could seize were\nsummarily put to death. Thus was completed the first phase of a\nremarkable career, in which in a few years the member of a band of\nrobbers became master of the most populous empire of the earth. The\nsecond phase was to be one of a decline in fortune still more rapid than\nhad been the growth of the first. And with it is connected the story of\nthe Manchu invasion and conquest of China.\n\nWe have seen in the preceding tale how the heroic Chungwan held the\nfortress of Ningyuen against all the efforts of Noorhachu, the Manchu\nchief. After his death Wou Sankwei, a man of equal valor and skill,\nrepelled Taitsong and his Manchus from its walls. This city, with the\nsurrounding territory, was all of Northern China that had not submitted\nto Li, who now made earnest efforts by lavish promises to win Wou over\nto his side. But in the latter he had to deal with a man who neither\nfeared nor trusted him, and to whose mind it seemed preferable that even\nthe Tartars should become lords of the empire than that it should be\nleft to the mercy of a brutal robber like Li Tseching.\n\nWou's position was a delicate and difficult one. The old dynasty was at\nan end. Those loyal to it were powerless. He had no means of his own\nenabling him to contend against the great force of Li. He must surrender\nor call in foreigners to his aid. In this dilemma he made overtures to\nthe Manchus, asking their aid to put down the rebellion and restore\ntranquillity to the empire,--seemingly with the thought that they might\nbe dispensed with when no longer of use.\n\nNot for a moment did the Manchu leaders hesitate to avail themselves of\nthe promising offer. The man who for years had stood resolutely in the\nway of their invasion of China was now voluntarily stepping from their\npath, and even offering them his aid to accomplish their cherished\nproject. The powerful fortresses which had defied their strength, the\nGreat Wall which in Wou's hands might have checked their progress, had\nsuddenly ceased to be obstacles to their advance, and throughout the\ncamps and towns of the Tartars an enthusiastic response was made to the\ninspiriting cry of \"On to Peking!\"\n\nWou Sankwei did not wait for their coming. Li had sent a strong force to\nmeet him, with instructions either to negotiate or to fight. Wou chose\nthe latter, and delivered battle with such energy and success that more\nthan twenty thousand of the opposing force were laid in death upon the\nfield, no quarter being given to the flying host. News of this perilous\nreverse roused Li to vigorous action. Knowing nothing of the approach\nof a Tartar army, he imagined that he had only Wou with whom to deal,\nand marched against him in person with sixty thousand men, the pick of\nhis victorious army.\n\nThis large force, perhaps three times the number that the loyal leader\ncould put in the field, reached Wou's station on the river Lanho before\nthe vanguard of the Manchus had appeared. It was obviously Wou's policy\nto defer the action, but Li gave him no opportunity, making at once an\nimpetuous attack, his line being formed in the shape of a crescent, with\nthe design of overlapping the flanks of the foe. Skilled and experienced\nas Wou was, the smallness of his force made him unable to avoid this\nmovement of his enemy, who, from a hill where he had taken his station\nto overlook the battle, had the satisfaction of seeing the opposing army\ncompletely surrounded by his numerous battalions. Wou and his men fought\nwith desperate courage, but it was evident that they could not long hold\nout against such odds. Fortunately for them, at this critical moment a\nstrong Manchu corps reached the field, and at once made a furious charge\nupon the nearly victorious troops. This diversion caused a complete\nchange in the situation. Li's troops, filled with terror at the vigorous\nand unexpected assault, broke and fled, pursued by their foes with such\nbloodthirsty fury that thirty thousand of them were slain. Li escaped\nwith a few hundred horsemen from the disastrous field which was to prove\nthe turning-point in his career.\n\nThe delayed Manchus soon after appeared in numbers, and Wou lost no time\nin following up his signal success. Peking was quickly reached, and\nthere, on the eastern ramparts, the victor was greeted with the\nspectacle of his father's head on the wall, Li having thus wreaked what\nvengeance he could upon his foe. It was an unwise act of ferocity, since\nit rendered impossible any future reconciliation with his opponent.\n\nLi made no effort to defend the city, but fled precipitately with all\nthe plunder he could convey. Wou, marching round its walls, pressed hard\nupon his track, attacking his rear-guard in charge of the bulky\nbaggage-train, and defeating it with the slaughter of ten thousand\ntroops. Li continued to retreat, collecting the garrisons he had left in\nvarious cities as he fled, until, feeling strong enough to hazard\nanother battle, he took his stand near the city of Chingtung. Wou did\nnot hesitate to attack. Eighty thousand Manchus had joined him, and\nabundant Chinese levies had raised his forces to two hundred thousand\nmen. The battle was fierce and obstinate, Li fighting with his old skill\nand courage, and night closed without giving either party the victory.\nBut under cover of the darkness the rebel leader, having lost forty\nthousand men, including some of his ablest officers, deemed it necessary\nto resume his retreat.\n\nThe remainder of Li's career may be briefly told. Wou followed him with\nunyielding persistency, fighting at every opportunity and being always\nthe victor in these encounters. This rapid flight, these repeated\ndefeats, at length so discouraged the rebel troops that on Li's making a\nfinal stand they refused to fight, and insisted on coming to terms with\ntheir pursuer. Finding that all was at an end, Li fled to the\nneighboring mountain region with a small body of men, and there returned\nto the robber state from which he had emerged. But his foe was\nimplacable; pursuit was kept up, his band lost heavily in various\nencounters, and at length, while on a foraging trip in search of food,\nhe was surprised in a village by a superior force. A sharp combat\nfollowed, in which Li was the first to fall, and his head was carried in\ntriumph to the nearest mandarin.\n\nThus ended the career of a remarkable man. Whatever the Chinese thought\nof the Manchus, they could not but detest the cruel bandit whom they\nsupplanted, and who, but for their aid and the courage of a single\nopponent, would have placed himself upon the throne of China.\n\nWou Sankwei, having rid himself of his great enemy, now became anxious\nfor the departure of his allies. But he soon found that they had no\nintention of leaving Peking, of which they were then in full control. At\ntheir head was Taitsong's young son, still a child, yet already giving\nevidence of much sagacity. His uncle, Prince Dorgan,--or Ama Wang\n(Father Prince), as his nephew called him,--was made regent, and\nhastened to proclaim the youth emperor of China, under the name of\nChuntche. Every effort was made to obtain the support of Wou Sankwei:\nhonors and titles were conferred upon him, and the new government showed\nsuch moderation and sound judgment in dealing with the people as to win\nhim to its support,--especially as no Chinese candidate for the throne\nappeared whose ability promised to equal that of the young Manchu\nprince.\n\nThe Manchus, indeed, were far from being rulers of the kingdom as yet.\nThey held only a few provinces of the north, and a prince of the late\nnative dynasty had been set up in the south, with his capital at\nNanking. Had he been a capable ruler, with qualities suited to call Wou\nSankwei to his support and enlist the energies of the people, the tide\nof Manchu conquest would very probably have been stayed. But he proved\nworthless, and Nanking was soon in the hands of his foes, its officials\nbeing spared, but required to shave their heads,--the shaved head and\nthe pigtail of the modern Chinaman being the badge of submission to\nTartar supremacy.\n\nA succession of new emperors was set up, but all met the same fate, and\nin the end the millions of China fell under the Manchu yoke, and the\nancient empire was once more subjected to Tartar rule. The emperor\nChuntche died young, and his son, Kanghi, came to the throne when but\nnine years of age. He was destined to reign for more than sixty years\nand to prove himself one of the best and greatest of the emperors of\nChina.\n\nWe cannot close without a mention of the final events in the career of\nWou Sankwei, to whom China owed her Manchu dynasty. Thirty years after\nhe had invited the Manchus into the country, and while he was lord of a\nlarge principality in the south, he was invited by the emperor to visit\nPeking, an invitation which he declined on the plea of old age, though\nreally because he feared that Tartar jealousy of his position and\ninfluence lay behind it.\n\nEnvoys were sent to him, whom he treated with princely courtesy, though\nhe still declined to visit the court, and plainly stated his reasons.\nThe persistence of the emperor at length drove him into rebellion, in\nwhich he was joined by others of the Chinese leaders, and for a time the\nunwisdom of Kanghi in not letting well enough alone threatened his\nthrone with disaster. One by one, however, Wou's allies were put down,\nuntil he was left alone to keep up the war. The Manchus hesitated,\nhowever, to attack him, knowing well his great military skill. But\ndisunion in his ranks did what the Tartar sword could not effect. Many\nof his adherents deserted him, and the Chinese warrior who had never\nknown defeat was brought to the brink of irretrievable disaster. From\nthis dilemma death extricated him, he passing away at the head of his\nmen without the stigma of defeat on his long career of victory. In the\nend his body was taken from the tomb and his ashes were scattered\nthrough the eighteen provinces of China, to testify that no trace\nremained of the man whom alone the Manchus had wooed and feared.\n\n\n\n\n_THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF._\n\n\nIn looking upon a modern map of the empire of China, it will be seen to\ncover a vast area in Asia, including not only China proper but the wide\nplains of Mongolia and the rock-bound region of Thibet. Yet no such map\ncould properly have been drawn two hundred years ago. Thibet, while a\ntributary realm, was not then a portion of China, while the Mongolian\nherdsmen were still the independent warriors and the persistent enemies\nof China that they had been from time immemorial. It is to the Manchu\nemperors that the subjection of these countries and their incorporation\nin the Chinese empire are due. To-day the far-reaching territory of the\nsteppes, the native home of those terrible horsemen who for ages made\nEurope and Asia tremble, is divided between the two empires of China and\nRussia, and its restless hordes are held in check by firm and powerful\nhands, their period of conquest at an end.\n\nIt was to two of the Manchu monarchs, Kanghi and Keen Lung,--whose\ncombined reigns covered more than a hundred and twenty years,--that the\nsubjection of these long turbulent regions was due, enabling China to\nenter the nineteenth century with the broad territorial expanse now\nmarked on our maps. The story of how the subjection of the nomads came\nabout is a long one, much too long for the space at our command, yet a\nbrief synopsis of its leading events will prove of interest and\nimportance to all who desire to follow the successive steps of Chinese\nhistory.\n\nKanghi, the second Manchu emperor, and one of the greatest of the rulers\nof China, having completed the conquest of the Chinese themselves,\nturned his attention to the nomadic hordes who threatened the\ntranquillity of his reign. He was one of their own race, a man of Tartar\nblood, and many of the desert tribes were ready to acknowledge his\nsupremacy, among them the Khalkas, who prided themselves on direct\ndescent from Ghengis and his warriors, but had lost all desire to rule\nthe earth and were content to hold their own among the surrounding\ntribes. They dwelt on those streams which had watered the birthplace of\nthe Mongol tribe, and their adhesion to the Manchu cause kept all the\nMongols quiet.\n\nBut west of these dwelt another nomad race, the Calmucks, divided into\nfour hordes, of which the Eleuths were by no means content to yield to\nChinese or Manchu control. Their independence of spirit might have been\nof little importance but that it was sustained by an able and ambitious\nleader, who not only denied Kanghi's supremacy but disputed with him the\nempire of the steppes.\n\nGaldan was the younger son of the most powerful chief of his tribe. Full\nof ambition, and chafing at the subordinate position due to his birth,\nhe quarrelled with some of his brothers and killed one of them. Being\nforced to flee, he made his way to Thibet, where he sought to obtain\nadmission to the ranks of the Buddhist clergy, but was refused by the\nDalai Lama on account of his deed of blood. But on his return to the\ntents of his tribe he found himself in a new position. His crime was\nforgotten or condoned, and the fact that he had dwelt in the palace and\nunder the holy influence of the Dalai Lama, the supreme religious power\nin Buddhist Asia, gave him a high standing among his fellow-tribesmen.\nThe influence thus gained and his boldness and ruthlessness completed\nthe work he had in mind. The ruling khan was deposed, all members of his\nfamily whose hostility was feared by Galdan were slain, and he found\nhimself at the head of the tribe, whose members were terrified into\nsubmission.\n\nHis thirst for power now showed itself in encroachments upon the lands\nof neighboring clans. The Manchus were at that time embarrassed by the\nrebellion of Wou Sankwei, and the opportunity seemed excellent for an\ninvasion of the district of the Khalkas, firm friends of the Manchu\npower. He also sent troops towards the Chinese frontier, fear of whom\nforced many of the tribesmen to cross the border and seek the emperor's\naid. Kanghi could then only give them lands within his realm, being too\nmuch occupied at home to be able to do more than send spies into the\nsteppes. From these he learned that Galdan had built up a formidable\npower and that he evidently had in view the subjection of all the\ntribes.\n\nKanghi, anxious to settle these difficulties amicably, spent a number\nof years in negotiations, but his rival showed as much ability in\ndiplomacy as in the field, and succeeded in masking his designs while he\nwas strengthening his position and preparing for open hostilities.\nFinally, with an army of thirty thousand men, he invaded the country of\nthe Khalkas, and in 1690 took his first open step of hostility against\nChina, by arresting the envoys who had been sent to his camp. This\ninsult put an end to all Kanghi's efforts to maintain peace. The\ndiplomatic movements were followed by a display of military energy and\nactivity, and the whole northern army, consisting of the eight Manchu\nBanners, the forty-nine Mongol Banners, and a large force of Chinese\nauxiliaries, was set in motion across the steppes.\n\nMeanwhile Galdan, alarmed by the hostility he had provoked, sought to\nmake an alliance with the Russians, an effort which brought him hollow\npromises but no assistance. Without waiting for the coming of all his\nfoes, he made a vigorous attack on the Chinese advance force and drove\nit back in defeat, remaining master of the field. Yet, recognizing that\nthe enemy was far too strong for him, he sent an envoy to Peking,\noffering concessions and asking for peace. The emperor listened, but the\narmy pushed on, and an attack in force was made upon the Eleuth camp,\nwhich was located at the foot of a mountain, between a wood and a\nstream. The post was a strong one, and the Eleuths fought stubbornly,\nbut they were too greatly outnumbered, and in the end were put to\nflight, after having inflicted severe loss on their foes, an uncle of\nthe emperor being among the slain. Galdan now, finding that the war was\ngoing against him, offered fealty and obedience to the emperor, which\nKanghi, glad to withdraw his army from its difficult position in the\ndesert, accepted, sending the chieftain a letter of forgiveness. Thus\nended the campaign of 1690.\n\nIt was a truce, not a peace. Galdan's ambition remained unsatisfied, and\nKanghi put little confidence in his promises. He was right: the desert\nchief occupied himself in sowing the seeds of dissension among the\nhordes, and in 1693, finding the Dalai Lama his opponent, took the step\nof professing himself a Mohammedan, in the hope of gaining the\nassistance of the Mussulman Tartars and Chinese. Yet he kept up\nnegotiations with the Dalai Lama, with the purpose of retaining the\nBuddhist support. Meanwhile conflicts between the tribes went on, and in\n1695 Kanghi, incensed at the constant encroachments of the ambitious\nchief, which failed to sustain his peaceful professions, resolved to put\nan end to the trouble by his complete and irretrievable overthrow.\n\nThe despatch of a large army into the recesses of Central Asia was a\ndifficult and hazardous enterprise, yet it seemed the only means of\nending the strained situation, and by 1696 a large force was got ready\nfor a protracted desert war, the principal command being given to a\nfrontier soldier named Feyanku, who in the preceding troubles had shown\nmarked ability.\n\nOn the eve of the great national holiday of China, the Feast of\nLanterns, the imperial court reviewed a section of the army, drawn up in\nmilitary array along the principal street of Peking. The emperor,\nsurrounded by the principal functionaries of the government, occupied a\nthrone on a raised platform from which the whole scene could be\nsurveyed, while strains of martial music filled the air. The culminating\nscene in the ceremony took place when Feyanku approached the throne,\nreceived on his knees from the emperor's hand a cup of wine, and retired\ndown the steps, at whose foot he quaffed the wine amid the shouts of\nthousands of spectators. This ceremony was repeated with each of the\nsubordinate generals, and then with the lower officers of the army, ten\nat a time. Success being thus drunk to the army, Feyanku left the\ncapital to assume the active command in the field, while Kanghi, bent on\ncomplete success, set to work to recruit in all haste a second army,\nwhich he proposed to command himself.\n\nThe whole force raised was an immense one, considering the character of\nthe country to be traversed and the limited resources of the enemy. It\nmarched in four divisions, of which that under Feyanku numbered about\nthirty-five thousand men. Despite the great distance to be traversed,\nthe desert-like condition of much of the country, and the fact that\ndeficiency of resources cost thousands of lives and forced many\ndetachments to retreat, a powerful force at length reached the borders\nof Galdan's territory. After a march of more than three months' duration\nFeyanku pitched his camp near the sources of the Tula, his army being\nreduced to twelve thousand available men. These were placed in a\nfortified position within the Mongol camping-ground of Chowmodo.\n\nMeanwhile how was Galdan engaged? He had sought, but in vain, to win the\nalliance of a powerful Mongol tribe, and had conducted fruitless\nnegotiations with the Russians of Siberia. His only remaining hope lay\nin the desert barrier which lay between him and his great enemy, and\nthis vanished when the Chinese army made its appearance in his\nterritories, though its success had been gained at a frightful loss of\nlife. The situation of the desert chief had become desperate, his only\nhope lying in an attack on the advance body of the Chinese before it\ncould be joined by the other detachments, and while exhausted by its\nlong march across the desert of Gobi. He therefore made a rapid march\nand vigorously assailed the Chinese intrenchments at Chowmodo.\n\nIn the interval the Chinese commanders had found themselves in a\nperilous position. Their supplies had run low, they could not be\nreplenished in that situation, farther advance had become impossible,\nand it seemed equally impossible to maintain their position. Retreat\nseemed their only means of extricating themselves from their dilemma,\nand the question of doing so was under discussion when the sudden\nassault of Galdan happily relieved Feyanku from a situation which\nthreatened the loss of his military renown. Of the battle that followed\nwe know only that Feyanku remained on the defensive and sustained\nGaldan's attacks for three hours, when he gave the signal for a charge.\nThe wearied Eleuths soon broke before the determined onset, a disordered\nflight began, and Galdan, seeing that the day was lost, fled with a\nsmall body of followers, leaving his camp and baggage to the victors and\ntwo thousand of his men dead on the field.\n\nThis victory ended the war. Kanghi, on hearing of it, returned to\nPeking, having sent word to Feyanku to pursue Galdan with unrelenting\nvigor, there being no security while he remained at large. The recent\npowerful chief was now at the end of his resources. He fled for safety\nfrom camp to camp. He sent an envoy to Peking with an abject offer to\nsurrender. He made new overtures to the Russians, and sought in a dozen\nways to escape from his implacable enemies. But Feyanku kept up the\npursuit, ceasing only when word came to him that the fugitive was dead.\nAnxiety, hardships, chagrin, or, as some say, the act of his own hand,\nhad carried off the desert chief, and relieved the emperor of China from\nthe peril and annoyance which had so long troubled him.\n\nIn Galdan died a man who, under more fortunate circumstances, might have\nemulated some of the famous Tartar chiefs, a warrior of the greatest\nskill, courage, and daring, a \"formidable enemy\" to the Chinese empire,\nand one who, had the government of that empire been as weak as it proved\nstrong, might have gathered all the nomads under arms and overthrown the\ndynasty.\n\nA few words must suffice to end the story of the Eleuths. The death of\nGaldan did not bring them to submission, and years afterwards we find\nthem hostile to Chinese rule, and even so daring as to invade Thibet,\nwhich Kanghi had added to his empire, they taking its central city of\nLhassa, and carrying to the steppes a vast wealth in spoil. Eventually\nthey were subjected to Chinese rule, but before this took place an event\nof much interest occurred. The Tourguts, an adjoining Kalmuck tribe,\nwere so imperilled by the enmity of the Eleuths that they took the\nimportant resolution of migrating to Russia, marching across the Kirghiz\nsteppes and becoming faithful subjects of the czar, who gave them a new\nabiding-place on the banks of the Volga. Many years afterwards, in 1770,\nthis tribe, inspired by a strong desire to return to their own home,\nleft the Volga and crossed Asia, despite all efforts to check their\nflight, until they reached again their native soil. For the interesting\nstory of this adventurous flight see Volume VIII.\n\n\n\n\n_THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS._\n\n\nDuring the past two and a half centuries the great empire of China has\nbeen under foreign rule, its emperors, its state officials, its generals\nand trusted battalions, being of Tartar blood, and the whole nation\nbeing forced to wear, in the shaved head and pigtail of every man from\nthe highest to the lowest, a badge of servitude. The firm position\ngained by the Manchu dynasty was largely due to the ability of two\nemperors, Kanghi and Keen Lung, who stamped out the spirit of rebellion\nin China, added Thibet to the empire, and conquered Mongolia, subduing\nthose restless tribes which for so many centuries had been a sword in\nthe side of the great empire of the East. Their able administration was\naided by their long reigns, Kanghi being on the throne for sixty-one\nyears, while Keen Lung abdicated after a reign of sixty years, that he\nmight not take from his esteemed grandfather the honor of the longest\nreign. Keen Lung died three years afterwards, in 1799, thus bringing up\nthe history of China almost to the opening year of the nineteenth\ncentury. His eventful life was largely devoted to the consolidation of\nthe Tartar authority, and was marked by brilliant military exploits and\nzeal in promoting the interests of China in all directions. It is our\npurpose here to tell the story of one of the famous military exploits of\nhis reign.\n\nThe conquest of Thibet had brought the Chinese into contact with the\nbold and restless hill-tribes which occupy the region between China and\nIndia. South of the Himalaya range there existed several small mountain\nstates, independent alike of Mogul and of British rule, and defiant in\ntheir mountain fastnesses of all the great surrounding powers. Of these\nsmall states the most important was Nepal, originally a single kingdom,\nbut afterwards divided into three, which were in frequent hostility with\none another. West of Nepal was a small clan, the Goorkhas, whose people\nwere noted for their warlike daring. It is with these that we are here\nconcerned.\n\nIn 1760 the king of Bhatgaon, one of the divisions of Nepal, being\nthreatened by his rival kings, begged aid from the Goorkha chief. It was\nreadily given, and with such effect as to win the allies a signal\ntriumph. The ease of his victory roused the ambition of Narayan, the\nleader of the Goorkhas, and by 1769 the three kings of Nepal were either\nslain or fugitives in India and their country had fallen under the\ndominion of its recently insignificant and little-considered neighbor.\n\nThe Goorkhas differed essentially from the Nepalese in character. They\ndespised commerce and disliked strangers. War was their trade, and their\naggressions soon disturbed conditions along the whole Himalaya range.\nThe flourishing trade which had once existed between India and Thibet by\nway of Nepal was brought to an end, while the raids of the dominant\nclan on neighboring powers excited general apprehension. Twenty years\nafter their conquest of Nepal the incursions of the Goorkhas into Thibet\nbecame so serious as to demand the attention of the Chinese emperor,\nthough no decided action was taken for their suppression. But in 1790 an\nevent occurred that put a sudden end to this supine indifference.\n\nThe temples and lamasaries of Thibet were widely believed to contain a\ngreat store of wealth, the reports of which proved highly alluring to\nthe needy and daring warriors of the Goorkha clan. The Chinese had shown\nno disposition to defend Thibet, and this rich spoil seemed to lie at\nthe mercy of any adventurous band strong enough to overcome local\nopposition. In consequence, the Goorkhas prepared for an invasion in\nforce of the northern state, and, with an army of about eighteen\nthousand men, crossed the Himalayas by the lofty passes of Kirong and\nKuti and rapidly advanced into the country beyond.\n\nThe suddenness of this movement found the Thibetans quite unprepared.\nEverything gave way before the bold invaders, and in a short time\nDegarchi, the second town of the state, fell into their hands. This was\nthe residence of the Teshu Lama, ranking next to the Dalai in authority,\nand possessed the vast lamasary of Teshu Lumbo, rich in accumulated\nwealth, which fell into the hands of the invaders. A farther advance\nwould undoubtedly have given them the chief city of Lhassa, since the\nunwarlike population fled in terror before their advance, but their\nsuccess at Degarchi had been so great as to check their march, many\nweeks being spent in counting their spoil and subduing the surrounding\ncountry.\n\nMeanwhile urgent petitions were sent to Peking, and the old emperor,\naroused to the necessity for prompt and decisive action, gave orders\nthat all available troops should at once be despatched to Lhassa and\nvigorous preparations made for war. Within a few months a Chinese army\nof seventy thousand men, armed with several pieces of light artillery,\nhad reached Thibet, where the Goorkhas, alarmed by the numbers of their\nopponents, made hasty preparations for a retreat. But their spoil was so\nabundant and bulky as to delay their march, and the Chinese, who were\nwell commanded, succeeded in coming up with them before they had crossed\nthe mountain passes. The movements of the Chinese commander were so\nskilfully made that the retreat of the Goorkhas without a battle for the\nsafety of their treasures became impossible.\n\nSund Fo, the Chinese general, according to the usual practice of his\npeople, began by the offer of terms to the enemy, these being the\nsurrender of all their spoil and of a renegade lama whose tale of the\nwealth of Thibet had led to the invasion. Probably also pledges for\nbetter conduct in future were demanded, but the proud chief of the\nGoorkhas haughtily refused to accept any of these conditions and defied\nhis foes to do their worst. Of the battle that followed nothing is known\nexcept its result, which was the defeat and hasty retreat of the\ninvaders, much of whose baggage was left behind.\n\nThe Chinese do not seem to have suffered greatly, to judge from the\npromptness of their pursuit, which was made with such rapidity that the\nGoorkhas were overtaken and again defeated before they had reached the\nKirong pass, they being now obliged to abandon most of their baggage and\nspoil. The pursuit continued with an energy remarkable for a Chinese\narmy, the Goorkhas, bold as they were by nature, growing demoralized\nunder this unlooked-for persistence. Every encounter resulted in a\ndefeat, the forts which commanded the mountain passes and defiles were\ntaken in succession by Sund Fo's army, and he still pressed relentlessly\non. At a strong point called Rassoa the Goorkhas defended for three days\na passage over a chasm, but they had grown faint-hearted through their\nsuccessive defeats, and this post too fell into the hands of their\nenemy.\n\nThe triumphs of the Chinese had not been won without severe loss, both\nin their frequent assaults upon mountain strongholds and a desperate\nfoe, and from the passage of the snow-clad mountains, but they finally\nsucceeded in reaching the southern slopes of the Himalayas with an\neffective force of forty thousand men. Khatmandu, the Goorkha capital,\nlay not far away, and with a last effort of courage and despair the\nretreating army made a stand for the defence of the seat of their\ngovernment.\n\nTheir position was a strong one, their courage that of desperation, and\ntheir valor and resolution so great that for a time they checked the\nmuch stronger battalions of their foes. The Chinese troops,\ndisheartened by the courage with which the few but brave mountaineers\nheld their works, were filled with dismay, and might have been repulsed\nbut for the ruthless energy of their leader, who was determined at any\ncost to win. Turning the fire of his artillery upon his own troops, he\ndrove them relentlessly upon the foe, forcing them to a charge that\nswept them like a torrent over the Goorkha works. The fire of the guns\nwas kept up upon the mingled mass of combatants until the Goorkhas were\ndriven over a precipice into the stream of the Tadi that ran below. By\nthis decisive act of the Chinese commander many of his own men were\nslain, but the enemy was practically annihilated and the war brought to\nan end.\n\nThe Goorkhas now humbly solicited peace, which Sund Fo was quite ready\nto grant, for his own losses had been heavy and it was important to\nrecross the mountains before winter set in. He therefore granted them\npeace on humiliating terms, though these were as favorable as they could\nexpect under the circumstances. Any further attempt at resistance\nagainst the overwhelming army of their foes might have ended in the\ncomplete destruction of their state. They took an oath to keep the peace\nwith Thibet, to acknowledge themselves vassals of China, to send an\nembassy with tribute to Peking every five years, and to restore all the\nplunder taken from Teshu Lumbo.\n\nOf the later history of the Goorkhas some words may be said. Their raids\ninto India led to a British invasion of their country in 1814, and in\n1816 they were forced to make peace. The celebrated Jung Bahadur became\ntheir ruler in 1846 through the summary process of killing all his\nenemies, and in 1857, during the Indian mutiny, he came with a strong\nforce to the aid of the British, whose friend he had always remained. In\nmore recent wars the Goorkhas have proved themselves among the bravest\nsoldiers in the Indian army, and in the late war with the hill-tribes\nshowed an intrepidity which no part of the army surpassed. The\nindependence of their state is still maintained.\n\n[Illustration: CHAIR AND CAGO CARRIERS.]\n\n\n\n\n_HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA._\n\n\nFor four or five thousand years China remained isolated from the rest of\nthe civilized world, its only relations being with the surrounding\npeoples of its own race, notably with the Tartars of the steppes. Then,\nin the nineteenth century, the wall of isolation suddenly broke down,\nand it was forced to enter into relations of trade and amity with Europe\nand America. This revolution did not come about peacefully. The thunder\nof cannon was necessary to break down the Chinese wall of seclusion. But\nthe result seems likely to prove of the greatest advantage to the\nso-called Celestial Kingdom. It has swung loose from its moorings in the\nharbor of conservatism, and it is not safe to predict how far it will\ndrift, but it is safe to say that a few years of foreign war have done\nas much for it as hundreds of years of peace and isolation.\n\nFrom time to time in the past centuries Europeans made their way to\nChina. Some were priestly envoys, some missionaries, some, as in the\ncase of the Polos, traders. Afterwards came the Jesuit missionaries, who\ngained an important standing in China under the early Manchu emperors,\nand were greatly favored by the emperor Kanghi. After his death a change\ntook place, and they were gradually driven from the land.\n\nThe first foreign envoy reached China from Russia in 1567. Another came\nin 1653, his purpose being to establish freedom of trade. A century\nlater a treaty was made establishing a system of overland trade between\nRussia and China, and since then a Russian missionary station has\nexisted in Peking. In 1516 came the first vessel to China under a\nEuropean flag, a Portuguese trader. Others followed, and trade began\nthrough Canton and other ports. But the foreign traders soon began to\nact rather as pirates than as peaceful visitors, and in the end the\nChinese drove them all away. About the middle of the sixteenth century a\nforeign settlement was begun at Macao, on an island near the southeast\nboundary of the empire, and here the trade grew so brisk that for a time\nMacao was the richest trading-mart in Eastern Asia. But so hostile were\nthe relations between the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch, and so\nbrigand-like their behavior, that the Chinese looked upon them all as\npiratical barbarians, and intercourse did not grow.\n\nThe English had their own way of opening trade relations. A fleet under\nCaptain Weddell came to Canton in 1637, and, as the Chinese fired upon a\nwatering boat, attacked and captured the forts, burnt the council-house,\ncarried off the guns from the forts, and seized two merchant junks.\nAbout fifty years afterwards they were accorded trading privileges at\nCanton and Ning-po.\n\nTo England, indeed, is due the chief credit of opening up China to the\nworld, though the way in which it was done is not much to England's\ncredit. This was by the famous--or infamous--opium war. But in another\nway England was the first to break through the traditional ceremonies of\nthe Chinese court. All who approached the emperor's throne, foreign\nambassadors as well as Chinese subjects, were required to perform the\n_kotow_, which consisted in kneeling three times before the emperor, or\neven before his empty throne, and each time bowing the head until the\nforehead three times touched the marble flooring. This was done by the\nRussians and the Dutch, but the Earl of Macartney, who came as English\nambassador in 1792, refused to perform the slavish ceremony, and was\ntherefore not permitted to see the emperor, though otherwise well\nreceived.\n\nThe first event of importance in the nineteenth century, that century so\nvital in the history of China, was the hoisting of the American flag at\nCanton in 1802, which marked the beginning of American trade with the\nCelestial empire. From this time the trade of Canton rapidly grew, until\nit became one of the greatest commercial cities of the world, while its\nmercantile activity gave employment to millions of natives in all parts\nof the empire in preparing articles of commerce, particularly tea. It\nwas also of great importance to the imperial government from the revenue\nit furnished in the way of duty and presents. It is of interest to note,\nhowever, that the emperor and his court looked upon these presents as\nthe payment of tribute, and the nations that sent them, unknown to\nthemselves, were set down as vassals of the Chinese crown.\n\nWe have now an important feature of the Chinese trade to record. Opium\nwas a favorite article of consumption in China, and its use there had\ngiven rise to an important industry in British India, in the growth of\nthe poppy. In the year 1800 the emperor, perceiving the growing evil in\nthe use of opium by his people, issued an edict forbidding its\nintroduction into China. This did not check the trade, its only effect\nbeing to convert legitimate into smuggling traffic. The trade went on as\nbriskly as before, the smugglers being openly aided by venal officials\nnot only at Canton but at other points along the coast. By 1838 the\ndisregard of the law, and the quantity of opium smuggled into the empire\nby small boats on the Canton River, had become so great that the Peking\ngovernment determined to take more active steps for the suppression of\nthe illicit trade. At this time there were more than fifty small craft\nplying on the river under the English and American flags, most of them\nsmugglers. Some of these were seized and destroyed, but as the others\nwere then heavily manned and armed the revenue officers declined to\ninterfere with them, and the contraband trade went briskly on.\n\nAt length the difficulty reached a climax. Arrests and punishments for\nthe use of opium became common throughout the empire, three royal\nprinces were degraded for this practice, a commissioner with large\npowers was sent from Peking to Canton, and the foreigners were ordered\nto deliver up every particle of opium in their store-ships and give\nbonds to bring no more, on penalty of death. As a result, somewhat more\nthan one thousand chests were tendered to the commissioner, but this was\ndeclared to be not enough, and that official at once took the decisive\nmeasure of cutting off the food-supply from the foreign settlement. This\nand other active steps brought about the desired result. Captain Elliot,\nthe British superintendent of commerce, advised a complete delivery of\nall opium under British control, and before night more than twenty\nthousand chests of the deleterious drug were surrendered into his hands,\nand were offered by him to the commissioner the next day.\n\nNews of this event was sent to Peking, and orders came back that the\nopium should be all destroyed; which was done effectively by mixing it\nwith salt water and lime in trenches and drawing off the mixture into an\nadjacent creek. Care was taken that none should be purloined, and one\nman was executed on the spot for attempting to steal a small portion of\nthe drug. Thus perished an amount of the valuable substance rated at\ncost price at nearly eleven million dollars.\n\nWe have described this event at some length, as it led to the first war\nbetween China and a foreign power. The destruction of the opium deeply\noffended the British government, and in the next year (1840) Captain\nElliot received an official letter to the effect that war would be\ndeclared unless China should pay for the goods destroyed. As China\nshowed no intention of doing so, an English fleet was sent to Chinese\nwaters in the summer of 1841, whose admiral declared a blockade of the\nport of Canton, and, on July 5, bombarded and captured the town of\nTing-hai. Various other places were blockaded, and, as the emperor\nrejected all demands, the fleet moved upon Canton, taking the forts\nalong the river as it advanced. In the end, when an attack had become\nimminent, the authorities ransomed their city for the sum of six million\ndollars.\n\nBut the emperor did not know yet the strength of the power with which he\nhad to deal, and still continued silent and defiant. The fleet now\nsailed northward, capturing in succession Amoy, Chin-hai, and Ning-po.\nCha-pu was the next to fall, and here the Manchu Tartars for the first\ntime came into conflict with the English. When defeated, great numbers\nof them killed themselves, first destroying their wives and children.\nThe forts at the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang were next taken. Here the\ngovernor-general took care to post himself out of danger, but in a\ngrandiloquent despatch declared that he had been in the hottest of the\nfight, \"where cannon-balls innumerable, flying in awful confusion\nthrough the expanse of heaven, fell before, behind, and on every side,\nwhile in the distance were visible the ships of the rebels standing\nerect, lofty as mountains. The fierce daring of the rebels was\ninconceivable; officers and men fell at their posts. Every effort to\nresist the onset was in vain, and a retreat became inevitable.\"\n\nThe result was the capture of Shanghai. The British now determined on a\nsiege of the important city of Nanking, the ancient capital of China.\nThe movement began with an attack on Chin-Kiang-fu, the \"Mart-river\ncity.\" Here a fierce assault was made, the Manchu garrison resisting\nwith obstinate courage. In the end, of the garrison of four thousand\nonly five hundred remained, most of the others having killed themselves.\nThis victory rendered the capture of Nanking certain, its food-supply\nwas already endangered by the English control of the river, and the\nauthorities gave way. The emperor was now convinced that further\nresistance was hopeless, and the truce ended in a treaty of peace, the\nChinese government agreeing to pay twenty-one million dollars indemnity,\nto open to British trade and residence the ports of Canton, Amoy,\nFoo-Chow, Ning-po, and Shanghai, and to cede to the English the island\nof Hong-Kong, with various minor stipulations.\n\nThis war, which was fought with the discreditable purpose of forcing\nupon China an injurious drug against her will, had nevertheless several\nvery useful results. Other European nations hastened to claim the same\nprivileges of trade that were given the English, and in 1844 a\ncommercial treaty was signed between China and the United States, in the\nconduct of which a favorable disposition towards Americans was shown.\nThe eventual result was the breaking down of the barriers of intolerance\nwhich had been so long maintained, that ancient and self-satisfied\ngovernment being at last forced to throw open its gates for the entrance\nof the new ideas of international amity and freedom of commerce.\n\nBut much had still to be done before these desirable results could be\nfully achieved. Hostile relations were not yet at an end, annoying\nrestrictions being placed on the promised intercourse. In 1856 a native\nvessel flying the British flag was seized by the Chinese, who refused to\napologize to the British for the act. As a result, the city of Canton\nwas bombarded and the forts were destroyed. A warlike demonstration was\ndecided upon by Great Britain and France, the first result being the\ntotal destruction of the Chinese fleet and the capture of Canton. A\nrevision of the former treaty and the concession of greater privileges\nwere demanded, which China, warned by the lesson of the opium war, found\nitself obliged to grant.\n\nThe English and French, however, refused to treat at Canton, as the\nChinese desired, but sailed to the mouth of the Pei-ho, the port of\nPeking, up which stream their fleets proceeded to the city of Tien-tsin.\nHere arrangements for a new treaty of commerce and the opening of new\nports were made, Russia and the United States taking part in the\nnegotiations. But on proceeding to the mouth of the Pei-ho in 1859 to\nratify the treaty, the river was found to be obstructed and the forts\nstrongly armed. The American and Russian envoys were willing to go to\nPeking overland, in accordance with the Chinese request, but the British\nand French determined to force their way up the stream and to take as\nmany soldiers with them as they pleased. They attacked the forts,\ntherefore, but, to their disgust, found themselves defeated and forced\nto withdraw.\n\nThis repulse could have but one result. It gave the Chinese for the\nfirst time confidence in their ability to meet the foreigner in war. It\nhumiliated and exasperated the English and French. They determined now\nto carry the war to the gates of Peking and force the Chinese to\nacknowledge the supremacy of the nations of the West.\n\nThe events of this war we can give only in outline. In the summer of\n1860 a new attack was made on the Taku forts, troops being landed to\nassail them in the rear, in which direction no arrangement for defence\nhad been made. As a result the forts fell, a large body of Tartar\ncavalry, which sought to stop the march of the allies with bows, arrows,\nand spears, being taught a lesson in modern war by the explosion of\nshells in their ranks. The capture of the forts left the way clear for a\nmarch on the capital, which was at once made, and on the 5th of October,\n1860, a European army first came within view of this long-hidden and\nmysterious city.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE._\n\n\nThe \"sublime\" emperor, the supreme head of the great realm of China and\nits hundreds of millions of people, dwells in a magnificence and\nseclusion unknown to the monarchs of other lands. His palace enclosure\nwithin the city of Peking, the \"Purple Forbidden City,\" as it is called,\ncovers over half a square mile of ground, and is surrounded by a wall\nforty feet high and more than forty feet thick. Within this sacred\nenclosure the Chinese ideas of beauty and magnificence have been\ndeveloped to the fullest extent, and the emperor resides in\nunapproachable grandeur and state. Outside the city, a few miles to the\nnorth, lies the Summer Palace, another locality on which the Celestial\narchitects and landscape artists have exhausted their genius in devising\nscenes of beauty and charm, and which is similarly walled in from the\ncommon herd. Beyond the Great Wall, on the borders of Tartary, exists\nanother palatial enclosure, the hunting and pleasure grounds of the\nemperor, in the midst of an immense forest abundantly stocked with game.\nTo the latter his supreme majesty made his way with all haste on hearing\nof the rapid approach of the English and French armies. In truth, the\ngreat monarchs of the Manchu dynasty had passed away, and the feeble\nreigning emperor lacked the courage to fight for his throne.\n\nOn the 5th of October, 1860, the allied armies of England and France\napproached the Celestial capital, the officers obtaining their first\nview of its far-stretching wall from the tops of some grass-grown\nbrick-kilns. On the next day the march was resumed, the French force\nadvancing upon the Summer Palace, where it was hoped the emperor would\nbe found, the English directing their course towards the city, where a\nTartar picket was driven in and preparations were begun for an assault\nin force.\n\nThe Summer Palace was found in charge of some three hundred eunuchs,\nwhom Prince Kung, who had left in all haste the evening before, had\nordered to make a gallant defence. But the entrance gave way before the\nimpetuous assault of the French, a few of the defenders fell dead or\nwounded, and the remainder beat a hasty retreat, leaving the grand\nentrance to the Yuen-ming-yuen, the famous imperial residence, in the\nhands of the daring and disrespectful \"barbarians.\"\n\nInto the grand reception-hall, which none had heretofore entered except\nin trembling awe, the irreverent foreigners boldly made their way, their\nspurred heels ringing on the broad marble floor before the emperor's\nsacred throne, their loud voices resounding through that spacious hall\nwhere silence and ceremony so long had reigned supreme, as the awed\ncourtiers approached with silent tread and voiceless respect the throne\nof the dreaded Brother of the Sun and Moon.\n\n\"Imagine such a scene,\" says Swinhoe. \"The emperor is seated on his\nebony throne, attired in a yellow robe wrought over with dragons in gold\nthread, his head surmounted with a spherical crown of gold and precious\nstones, with pearl drops suspended round on light gold chains. His\neunuchs and ministers, in court costume, are ranged on either side on\ntheir knees, and his guard of honor and musicians drawn up in two lines\nin the court-yard without. The name of the distinguished person to be\nintroduced is called out, and as he approaches the band strikes up. He\ndraws near the awful throne, and, looking meekly on the ground, drops on\nhis knees before the central steps. He removes his hat from his head,\nand places it on the throne floor with its peacock feather towards the\nimperial donor. The emperor moves his hand, and down goes the humble\nhead, and the forehead strikes on the step three times three. The head\nis then raised, but the eyes are still meekly lowered, as the imperial\nvoice in thrilling accents pronounces the behest of the great master.\nThe voice hushed, down goes the head again and acknowledges the\nsovereign right, and the privileged individual is allowed to withdraw.\nThe scene described is not imaginary, but warranted by the accounts of\nnatives.\n\n\"How different the scene now! The hall filled with crowds of a foreign\nsoldiery, and the throne floor covered with the Celestial emperor's\nchoicest curios, but destined as gifts for two far more worthy monarchs.\n'See here,' said General Montauban, pointing to them. 'I have had a few\nof the most brilliant things selected to be divided between the Queen\nof Great Britain and the Emperor of the French!'\"\n\n[Illustration: STREET SCENE. PEKIN, CHINA.]\n\nGeneral Montauban had declared that no looting should take place until\nthe British came up, that all might have their equal share, but the\nfierce desire of the French soldiers for spoil could not easily be\nrestrained. Even the officers were no better, and as the rooms of the\npalace were boldly explored, \"gold watches and small valuables were\nwhipped up by these gentlemen with amazing velocity, and as speedily\ndisappeared into their capacious pockets.\" Into the very bedroom of the\nemperor the unawed visitors made their way, and gazed with curious eyes\non the imperial couch, curtained over and covered with silk mattresses.\nUnder the pillow was a small silk handkerchief, with sundry writings in\nthe vermilion pencil concerning the \"barbarians,\" while on a table lay\npipes and other articles of daily use. On another table was found the\nEnglish treaty of 1858, whose terms were soon to be largely modified.\n\nMeanwhile the nimble-fingered French soldiers had not been idle, and the\ncamp was full of articles of value or interest, silks and curios, many\nof them rare prizes, watches, pencil-cases set with diamonds, jewelled\nvases, and a host of other costly trifles, chief among which was a\nstring of splendid pearls exhibited by one officer, each pearl of the\nsize of a marble and the whole of immense value.\n\nOn Sunday morning, the 7th of October, the orders against looting were\nwithdrawn, and officers and men, English and French alike, rushed\nexcitedly about the place, appropriating every valuable which it was\nwithin their power to carry. What could not be carried away was\ndestroyed, a spirit of wanton destruction seeming to animate them all.\nSome amused themselves by shooting at the chandeliers, others by playing\npitch-and-toss against large and costly mirrors, while some armed\nthemselves with clubs and smashed to pieces everything too heavy to be\ncarried, finishing the work by setting on fire the emperor's private\nresidence.\n\nThose who paid more heed to observation than to destruction have given\nus interesting accounts of the Summer Palace and its surroundings, whose\nvast enclosure extended from the place where the French entered to the\nfoot of the first range of hills north of Peking, six or seven miles\naway. Over this broad extent were scattered gardens, palaces, temples,\nand pagodas on terraces and artificial hills. Some of these were like\nthe one seen by Marco Polo in the palace enclosure of Kublai Khan, being\nfrom three hundred to four hundred feet in height, their sides covered\nwith forest-trees of all kinds, through whose foliage the yellow-tiled\npalace roofs appeared. In the midst of these hills lay a large lake,\ncontaining two or three islands, on which were picturesque buildings,\nthe islands being reached by quaint and beautiful stone bridges.\n\nOn one side of the lake ran the favorite walk of the emperor and his\ncourt, winding in and out for more than two miles among grottos and\nflower-gardens, roofed in by flowering creepers. Where palaces touched\nthe water's edge the walk was carried past on light but beautiful stone\nterraces built over the lake. Grandeur was added to the general beauty\nof the scene by the high mountains of Tartary which rose in the rear.\n\nThe work of looting was followed by a sale of the spoil under the walls\nof Peking, the auction continuing for three days, during which a large\nquantity of valuable plunder was disposed of. Many of the French\nofficers had acquired considerable fortunes, and numbers of their men\nwere nearly as well supplied. For several days intoxication and disorder\nprevailed, while the disposition to plunder was extended from the palace\nto the neighboring villages.\n\nMeanwhile the preparations for an assault on Peking had gone forward.\nThe Anting gate was the point selected, the Chinese being given until\nthe 12th for a peaceful surrender. As noon of that day drew near, the\ngunners stood by their pieces, a storming party excitedly awaited the\norder to charge as soon as a breach had been made, and General Napier,\nwatch in hand, timed the slow minutes. Five minutes to twelve arrived.\nThe general was almost on the point of giving the order, the gunners\nwere growing eager and excited, when Colonel Stephenson came galloping\nhastily up with the news that the gate had been surrendered. In a few\nminutes more it was thrown open, a party of British marched in and took\npossession, and the French followed with beating drums and flying flags,\nforcing the natives back as they advanced.\n\nThat afternoon several prisoners were restored to the allies. They\nproved to have been inhumanly treated and were in a condition of\nfearful emaciation, while the bodies of several who had died were also\ngiven up, among them that of Mr. Bowlby, correspondent of the London\n_Times_. This spectacle aroused the greatest indignation in the British\ncamp. A terrible retribution might have been inflicted upon Peking had\nnot a promise of its safety been given if the gate were surrendered. But\nthe emperor's rural retreat lay at the mercy of the troops, and Lord\nElgin gave orders that its palaces should be levelled with the ground.\nThe French refused to aid in this act of vandalism, which they strongly\ncondemned,--a verdict which has since been that of the civilized world.\nBut Lord Elgin was fixed in his purpose, and the work of destruction\nwent on.\n\nSoon flames appeared above the devoted structures, and long columns of\nsmoke rose to the sky, increasing in width and density as the day waned,\nuntil the canopy of smoke hung like a vast storm-cloud over Peking, and\nthe sorrowful eyes of those on the walls saw the flashing fire that told\nof the swift destruction of what it had taken centuries to build. For\ntwo days the work of ruin in the imperial grounds went on, the soldiers\ncarrying away what they could from the burning buildings, though a vast\namount of property was destroyed, the loss being estimated at a value of\nover ten million dollars.\n\nThreats were now made that unless compensation should be paid for the\nBritish subjects maltreated and murdered, and the treaty signed within a\nfixed period, the palace in Peking would be seized and other steps of\nviolence taken. There was no redress for the Chinese. They were in the\ngrasp of their foes and were obliged to submit. On the 24th, Lord Elgin\nwas carried in state in his green sedan-chair through the principal\nstreet of the city, attended by a force of about eight thousand\nsoldiers, while multitudes of Chinese viewed the procession with curious\neyes. Prince Kung awaited him in a large hall, and here the Treaty of\nTien-tsin, to obtain a ratification of which the allies had come to\nPeking, was formally executed. At the close of the ceremonies the prince\ntendered a banquet, but the British declined the proffered honor,\nfearing that they might be poisoned by the Chinese cooks. A similar\nbanquet offered to the French on the following day was readily accepted,\nand none of them suffered through their faith in the honor of their\nhost.\n\nSince the date of this war the process of opening China to the nations\nof the West has gone unceasingly on, the policy of exclusion of that old\nnation slowly but steadily giving way. In 1873, on the young emperor\nTung-chi attaining his majority, the long-refused audience with the\nemperor without performing the _kotow_ was granted, the ambassador of\nJapan being first received, and after him those of the United States,\nRussia, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands. For the first time\nforeigners were permitted to stand erect and gaze with uplifted eyes on\n\"the sacred countenance,\" and the equality with the emperor of the\nmonarchs of the West was acknowledged by the Celestial court.\n\n\n\n\n_A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE._\n\n\nThe Chinese are a peculiar people, and have odd ideas of the power and\nduty of their monarchs and of their own rights and duties. In their\ncountry no son has the right to resist his father, even if he be treated\nwith tyrannical cruelty. But in regard to the emperor, though they look\nupon him as the father of his people, they claim the right to depose him\nand put him to death if he plays the tyrant. So long as he rules with\njustice and wisdom both man and nature acknowledge his authority, but if\nhe violates the principles of justice and goodness the Chinaman claims\nthe right to rebel, while such evils of nature as pestilence and famine,\ndestructive storms and earthquakes, are held as proofs that Heaven is\nwithdrawing from the weak or wicked emperor the right to rule.\n\nThe history of the empire is full of instances of popular rebellions\nagainst offending rulers, some quelled, others hurling the monarch from\nhis throne, and in this way most of the old dynasties ended and new ones\nbegan. The course of events brought about such a state of affairs in the\nnineteenth century. Though the Chinese have never been content with\ntheir Manchu rulers, they submitted to them as long as they were just\nand public-spirited. But in time this dynasty suffered the fate of all\nothers, weak emperors following the strong ones, and in the reign of the\nincompetent Kea-king, who succeeded Keen Lung, rebellions broke out in a\ndozen quarters, pirates ravaged the coast, and the disaffection extended\nthroughout the realm.\n\nIn 1820 this weak emperor died, and was succeeded by Taou-kwang, who\nproved even less fit to rule than his father, devoting himself to the\npursuit of pleasure and leaving the empire to take care of itself. Soon\nnew rebels were in the field, whom the armies proved unable to put down,\nand the disorganization of the empire made rapid progress. Even the\nMeaou-tsze, or hill-tribes, the descendants of the first inhabitants of\nthe country, rose in arms and defeated an army of thirty thousand men.\nWar with the English added to the discontent, which grew greater until\n1850, when the emperor died and his son Heen-fung ascended the throne.\n\nThis was going from bad to worse. The new emperor was still more selfish\nand tyrannical than his father, and under the control of his craving for\nsensual pleasures paid no heed to the popular cry for reform. The\ndiscontent was now coming to a head. In the south broke out a revolt,\nwhose leaders proclaimed as emperor a youth said to be a descendant of\nthe Ming dynasty, who took the royal name of Teen-tih, or \"Heavenly\nVirtue.\" But he and his followers soon vanished before another and abler\naspirant to the throne, the first man with a genius for command who had\nheaded any of these rebel outbreaks.\n\nThe leader of this remarkable movement sprang from the lowest ranks of\nthe people, being the son of a peasant dwelling in a village near\nCanton. Hung Sew-tseuen was a man of ardent imagination and religious\nenthusiasm. Strange visions came to him, and held him captive for some\nforty days, in which the visitors of his dreaming fancy urged him to\ndestroy the idols. Some years afterwards he read a Christian pamphlet\ncontaining chapters from the Scriptures, and found it to correspond\nclosely with what he had seen and heard in his vision. Inspired by these\nvarious influences, he felt himself divinely commissioned to restore his\ncountry to the worship of the true God, and set out on a mission to\nconvert the people to his new faith.\n\nFung-Yun-san, one of his first converts, ardently joined him, and the\ntwo traversed the country far and wide, preaching the religion of the\nChristian God. Their success was great, their converts all giving up the\nworship of Confucius and renouncing idolatry. Some of them were arrested\nfor destroying idols, among them Fung-Yun-san, but on the way to prison\nhe converted the soldiers of his guard, who set him free and followed\nhim as disciples. Many of the converts were seized with convulsions,\nsome professed to have the gift of healing, and the movement took on the\nphase of strong religious ecstasy and enthusiasm.\n\nIt was in 1850 that this effort assumed a political character. A large\nforce of pirates had been driven by a British fleet from the sea, and on\nshore they joined the bandits of the south, and became rebels against\nthe Manchu rule. Hung's converts were mostly among this people, who soon\ntook a strong stand against the misrule of the Tartars. The movement\ngrew rapidly. From all sides recruits came to the rebel ranks, among\nthem two women chiefs, each at the head of about two thousand men. Hung\nnow proclaimed himself as sent by Heaven to drive out the Tartars--whom\nhe declared to be examples of all that was base and vile--and to place a\nChinese emperor on his country's throne.\n\nPutting his forces in march, Hung made a remarkable progress of about\none thousand miles to Woo-chang on the Yang-tse-Kiang and down that\nstream, the army fighting its way through all opposition. When towns and\ncities submitted their people were spared. Slaughter awaited those who\nresisted. Food and clothing were obtained by requisition on the people.\nThe imperial troops were hurled back in defeat wherever met. Before\nbattle it was the custom of the insurgents to kneel down and invoke the\nprotection of God, after which they would charge their enemies with\nresistless zeal. City after city fell before them, and the whole empire\nregarded their march with surprise and dismay.\n\nThe converts professed faith in the Christian Scriptures, of which an\nimperfect translation was distributed among them. Hung announced that in\ncase of success the Bible would be substituted for the works of\nConfucius. The Sabbath was strictly observed among them, forms of prayer\nto the Supreme Being were in constant use, and Englishmen who came among\nthem spoke in the highest terms of their pious devotion and their great\nkindliness of feeling. They welcomed Europeans as \"brethren from across\nthe sea\" and as fellow-worshippers of \"Yesu.\"\n\nFrom Woo-chang Hung led his army in 1852 down the river towards Nanking,\nwhich he had fixed upon as the capital of his new empire. The\ndisaffection of the people of Nanking was so great that little\nresistance was made except by the Tartar garrison, who were all put to\ndeath when the city fell. Being now in possession of the ancient capital\nof the kingdom, Hung proclaimed himself emperor under the name of Teen\nWang, or \"Heavenly King,\" giving to his dynasty the title of the\nTai-ping.\n\nAnd now for a number of years victory followed every movement of the\nTai-ping army. Four leading cities of Central China were quickly\noccupied, and a brilliant march to the north was begun, in which,\ncutting loose from its base of supplies, the rebel host forced its way\nthrough all obstacles. The army penetrated as far north as Tien-tsin,\nand Peking itself was in imminent peril, being saved only by a severe\nrepulse of the rebel forces. The advance of the British and French upon\nPeking aided the cause of the insurgents, and fear of them had much to\ndo with the prompt surrender of the city to the foreign invaders.\n\nAfter the war the tide of the insurrection turned and its decline began,\nmainly through the aid given by the English to the government forces.\nIgnoring the fact that the movement was a Christian one, and might have\ngone far towards establishing Christianity among the Chinese, and\nfriendly relations with foreign peoples, the English seemed mainly\ngoverned by the circumstance that opium was prohibited by the Tai-ping\ngovernment at Nanking, the trade in this pernicious drug proving a far\nstronger interest with them than the hopeful results from the missionary\nmovement.\n\nOperations against the insurgents took place through the treaty ports,\nand British and French troops aided the imperial forces. The British\ncruisers treated the Tai-ping junks as pirates, because they captured\nChinese vessels, and the soldiers and sailors of Great Britain took part\nin forty-three battles and massacres in which over four hundred thousand\nof the Tai-pings were killed. More than two millions of them are said to\nhave died of starvation in the famine caused by the operations of the\nChinese, British, and French allies.\n\nGeneral Ward, an American, led a force of natives against them, but\ntheir final overthrow was due to the famous Colonel Gordon, \"Chinese\nGordon,\" as he was subsequently known. He was not long in organizing the\nimperial troops, the \"Ever-Victorious Army,\" into a powerful force, and\nin taking the field against the rebels. From that day their fortunes\ndeclined. City after city was taken from their garrisons, and in July,\n1864, Nanking was invested with an immense army. Its fall ended the\nhopes of the Tai-ping dynasty. For three days the slaughter continued in\nits streets, while the new emperor avoided the sword of the foe by\nsuicide. Those who escaped fled to their former homes, where many of\nthem joined bands of banditti.\n\nThus came to a disastrous end, through the aid of foreign arms, the most\nremarkable insurrectionary movement that China has ever known. What\nwould have been its result had the Chinese been left to themselves it is\nnot easy to say. The indications are strong that the Manchu dynasty\nwould have fallen and the Chinese regained their own again. And the\nChristian faith and worship of the rebels, with their marked\nfriendliness to foreigners, might have worked a moral and political\nrevolution in the Chinese empire, and lifted that ancient land into a\nfar higher position than it occupies to-day. But the interests of the\nopium trade were threatened, and before this all loftier considerations\nhad to give way.\n\n[Illustration: A BRONZE-WORKER'S SHOP.]\n\n\n\n\n_COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS._\n\n\nWe have thus far followed the course of two distinct streams of history,\nthat of Japan and that of China, flowing near each other, yet touching\nat very few points in their course. Near the end of the nineteenth\ncentury these two streams flowed together, and the histories of the two\ncountries became one, in the war in which their difference in military\nskill was so strikingly displayed. Japan made use of the lessons which\nit had well learned in its forty years of intercourse with Europe. China\nfought in the obsolete fashion of a past age. As a result, the\ncumbersome mediaeval giant went down before the alert modern dwarf, and\nthe people of Eastern Asia were taught a new and astounding lesson in\nthe art of war.\n\nBetween China and Japan lies the kingdom of Corea, separated by a river\nfrom the former, by a strait of the ocean from the latter, claimed as a\nvassal state by both, yet preserving its individuality as a state\nagainst the pair. It has often been invaded by China, but never\nconquered. It has twice been invaded by Japan, as described in preceding\ntales, and made tributary, but not conquered. Thus it remained until the\nend of the nineteenth century, when it was to become the cause of a war\nbetween the two rival empires.\n\nDuring the long history of China and Japan these countries very rarely\ncame into conflict with each other. Only once has China invaded Japan,\nwhen Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, attempted its conquest with a\ngreat fleet, the fate of which we have already told. This effort had its\ninfluence upon Japan, for during the succeeding three centuries pirates\nfrom the island empire boldly raided the coast of China, devastating the\nmaritime provinces and causing immense loss and suffering. They often\nbuilt forts on the shore, from which they sallied forth to plunder and\nburn, keeping their ships at hand ready to fly if defeated. Thus they\nwent on, plundering and destroying, their raids reaching a ruinous stage\nin 1553 and the succeeding years. They defeated the Chinese troops in\nseveral battles, ravaged the whole surrounding country, carried off\nimmense quantities of spoil, sold multitudes of prisoners into slavery,\nand in seven or eight years slaughtered over one hundred thousand\nsoldiers and citizens of China. The raids resembled those made at an\nearlier date by the Normans on the coast of France and the Danes on that\nof England, the sea-rovers pouncing down at unexpected times and places\nand plundering and burning at will.\n\nThese forays of the pirates, in which the government took no part, were\nfollowed in 1592 by an invasion in force of the kingdom of Corea. In\nthis the invaders rapidly swept all before them, quickly overrunning the\nsouthern half of the kingdom and threatening China. The Chinese then\ncame to the aid of their helpless neighbors, and for six years the war\nwent on, the Japanese being usually successful in the field, but\ngradually forced back from want of supplies, as the country was\ndevastated and their own land distant. In the end Hideyoshi, the shogun,\ndied, and the army was withdrawn, Japan holding the port of Fusan as the\nsole result of its costly effort. This Corean port it still retains.\n\nAnd now three hundred years passed away in which Corea remained free and\nisolated from the world. It wanted no more intercourse with foreigners.\nOnce a year a fair was held in the neutral zone between China and Corea,\nbut any Chinaman found on Corean soil after the fair ended was liable to\nbe put to death. The Japanese were kept out by laws as severe. In fact,\nthe doors of the kingdom were closed against all of foreign birth, the\ncoasts carefully patrolled, and beacon-fires kindled on the hill-tops to\nwarn the capital whenever any strange vessel came within sight. All\nforeigners wrecked on the coast were to be held as prisoners until\ndeath. Such was the threatened fate of some Dutch sailors wrecked there\nduring the seventeenth century, who escaped after fourteen years'\nconfinement. Dread of China and Japan induced the king to send envoys\nwith tribute to Peking and Yedo, but the tribute was small, and the\nisolation was maintained, Corea winning for itself the names of the\nHermit Nation and the Forbidden Land.\n\nIt was not until within recent years that this policy of isolation was\noverthrown and Corea opened to the world. How this was done may be\nbriefly told. In spite of the Corean watchfulness, some French\nmissionaries long ago penetrated into the land and made many converts,\nwho were afterwards severely persecuted. French fleets were sent there\nin 1866 and later, and a fight took place in which the French were\nrepulsed. In consequence the persecution of the Christians grew more\nsevere. War-ships were sent by different nations to try to open trade,\nbut in vain, and finally an American trading vessel was destroyed and\nits crew massacred.\n\nThis affair brought a fleet from the United States to the coast of Corea\nin 1871, which, being fired on from the shore, attacked and captured\nfive Corean forts. The opening of Corea was finally due to Japan. In\n1876 the Japanese did what Commodore Perry had done to themselves\ntwenty-two years before. A fleet was sent which sailed up within sight\nof Seoul, the capital, and by a display of men and guns forced the\ngovernment to sign a treaty opening the country to trade through the\nport of Fusan. In 1880 Chemulpo was also made an open port. Two years\nafterwards a United States fleet obtained similar concessions, and\nwithin a short time most of the countries of Europe were admitted to\ntrade, and the long isolation of the Hermit Kingdom was at an end.\n\nThese events were followed by a rivalry between China and Japan, in\nwhich the latter country showed itself much the more active and alert.\nImposing Japanese consulates were built in Seoul, flourishing\nsettlements were laid out, and energetic steps taken to make Japan the\nparamount power in Corea. As a result, the Coreans became divided into\ntwo factions, a progressive one which favored the Japanese, and a\nconservative one which was more in touch with the backwardness of China\nand whose members hated the stirring islanders.\n\nIn 1882 a plot was formed by the Min faction, the active element in the\nconservative party, to drive the Japanese out of Seoul. The intruders\nwere attacked, a number of them were murdered, and the minister and\nothers had to fight their way to the sea-shore, where they escaped on a\njunk. Two years afterwards a similar outbreak took place, and the\nJapanese were once more forced to fight for their lives from Seoul to\nthe sea. On this occasion Chinese soldiers aided the Coreans, an act\nwhich threatened to involve Japan and China in war. The dispute was\nsettled in 1885 by a treaty, in which both countries agreed to withdraw\ntheir troops from Corea and to send no officers to drill the Corean\ntroops. If at any future time disturbances should call for the sending\nof troops to Corea, each country must notify the other before doing so.\nAnd thus, for nine years, the rivalry of the foreign powers ceased.\n\nMeanwhile internal discontent was rife in the Corean realm. The people\nwere oppressed by heavy taxes and the other evils of tyranny and\nmisgovernment, excited by the political questions described, and stirred\nto great feeling by the labors of the Christian missionaries and the\npersecution of their converts. One outcome of this was a new religious\nsect. At the same time that the Tai-ping rebels were spreading their new\ndoctrines in China, a prophet, Choi-Chei-Ou by name, arose in Corea, who\ntaught a doctrine made up of dogmas of the three religions of China,\nwith some Christian ideas thrown in. This prophet was seized as a Roman\nCatholic in 1865 and executed, but his followers, known as the\nTong-Haks, held firm to their faith. In 1893 some of them appeared with\ncomplaints of ill usage at the king's palace, and in March, 1894, they\nbroke out in open revolt, and increased in numbers so rapidly that by\nMay they were said to be twenty thousand strong.\n\nThe government troops drove them back into a mountain region, but here\nthe pursuers were cunningly led into an ambuscade and routed with severe\nloss. This victory of the rebels filled the government with\nconsternation, which became greater when the insurgents, on June 1, took\nthe capital of the province of Choella. It was now feared that they would\nsoon be at the gates of Seoul.\n\nThis insurrection of the Tong-Haks was the inciting cause of the war\nbetween China and Japan. The Min faction, then at the head of affairs,\nwas so alarmed that aid from China was implored, and a force of about\ntwo thousand Chinese troops was sent to the port of Asan. Some Chinese\nmen-of-war were also despatched. This action of China was quickly\nfollowed by similar action on the part of Japan, which was jealous of\nany Chinese movement in Corea. The Japanese minister, who had been\nabsent, returned to Seoul with four hundred marines. Other troops\nquickly followed, and in a short time there were several thousand\nJapanese soldiers stationed around the Corean capital.\n\nThe sending of troops to Corea was succeeded by disputes between the two\nforeign powers. China claimed to be suzerain of Corea, a claim which\nJapan sternly denied. On the other hand, the Japanese government\ndeclared that the Tong-Hak movement was a natural result of the\nprevailing misgovernment, and could not be overcome unless radical\nreforms were carried out. China was asked to take part in instituting a\nseries of reforms, but declined.\n\nThe situation quickly grew serious. The Mins, who controlled the\ngovernment, declared that the Japanese troops must be withdrawn before\nthe reforms could be instituted. The Japanese refused. Neither China nor\nJapan would yield, but the latter held the capital and had the\ncontrolling position.\n\nIt was not long before a crisis came. On July 20, Otori, the Japanese\nminister, made certain demands on the Corean government, and stated that\nthe presence of the Chinese soldiers was a threat to the independence of\nthe country, their general having proclaimed that Corea was a vassal\nstate. On the 22d the officials answered that the Chinese had come at\ntheir request and would stay until asked to leave. The next step of the\nJapanese was a warlike one. On the early morning of the 23d two\nbattalions marched from their camp, stating that they were going to\nattack the Chinese at Asan. But they quickly changed the direction of\ntheir march, advanced upon the palace, drove out the Corean guard, and\ntook possession both of the palace and of the king. They declared they\nhad come to deliver him from an obnoxious faction and restore his\nfreedom of action.\n\nThe Min party was at once driven out and replaced by new officials\nchosen from the progressive faction. With a feeble resistance, in which\nonly two men were killed and a few wounded, a revolution had been\naccomplished and a government which favored Japan established. The new\nauthorities at once declared the Chinese at Asan to be intruders instead\nof defenders, and requested the aid of the Japanese to drive them out.\nWar between China and Japan was at hand.\n\nHostilities were precipitated by a startling event. On July 25 three\nJapanese men-of-war, cruising in the Yellow Sea, sighted two ships of\nthe Chinese navy convoying a transport which had on board about twelve\nhundred troops. They were a portion of a large force which was being\nsent to Corea with the purpose of reinforcing the troops at Asan and\nexpelling the Japanese.\n\nThe Chinese ships were cleared for action, and, though the Japanese were\nignorant of the late event at Seoul, they at once accepted the wager of\nbattle, and attacked the ships of the enemy with such effect that they\nwere quickly crippled and put to flight. The Naniwa, the Japanese\nflag-ship, now approached the transport, a chartered British vessel\nnamed the Kowshing and flying the British flag. A boat was sent from the\nJapanese cruiser to the steamer, her papers were examined, and orders\ngiven that she should follow the Naniwa. This the Chinese generals\nrefused to do, excitedly declaring that they would perish rather than be\ntaken prisoners. Their excitement was shared by the troops, who ran\nwildly about the deck, threatening the officers and the Europeans on\nboard with death if they attempted to obey the order of the enemy.\n\nThey trusted to the protection of the British flag, but it proved of no\navail, for the captain of the Naniwa, finding his orders defied, opened\nfire on the transport, with such effect that in half an hour it went to\nthe bottom, carrying down with it over one thousand souls. The officers,\nthe Europeans, and many of the Chinese sprang overboard, but numbers of\nthese were shot in the water by the frantic soldiers on board. In all\nonly about one hundred and seventy escaped.\n\nThis terrible act of war at sea was accompanied by a warlike movement on\nland, the Japanese forces leaving Seoul on the same day to march on Asan\nand expel the Chinese. On the 29th they attacked the enemy in their\nworks and quickly drove them out, little resistance being made. These\nevents preceded the declaration of war, which was made by both countries\non August 1, 1894.\n\nThe story of the war that followed was one of unceasing victory for the\nJapanese, their enemy making scarcely an effort at resistance, and\nfleeing from powerful strongholds on which they had expended months of\nhard labor with scarcely a blow in their defence. Such was the case with\nPort Arthur, which in other hands might have proved a Gibraltar to\nassailing troops. The war continued until April 17, 1895, when a treaty\nof peace was signed, which remarkably changed the relative positions of\nthe two powers before the world, China having met with utter and\nirretrievable defeat. The war yielded but a single event of novel\ninterest, the famous naval battle of Hai-yang, which we shall describe\nmore at length.\n\n\n\n\n_THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS._\n\n\nIn these latter days the world seems overturned. Events of startling\ninterest are every year taking place, new discoveries are made, new\ninventions produced, new explorations completed, peoples and tribes\nformerly not even known by name are becoming prominent in daily history,\nand nations which seemed sunk in a death-like slumber are awakening and\nclaiming a place among the leading powers of the world. And of all these\nevents perhaps the most astounding is that which took place in\nSeptember, 1894, the battle of iron-clads in the Yellow Sea.\n\nAbout forty years before there had begun among Western nations a\nremarkable revolution in naval warfare, the substitution of the\niron-clad for the wooden man-of-war. During the interval this evolution\nof the iron-clad had gone briskly on, until by 1894 the nations of\nEurope and America possessed fleets of such wonderful powers of\nresistance that the naval artillery of the past would have had no more\neffect upon them than hailstones upon an iron roof. But a revolution in\nartillery had also taken place. The old smooth-bore guns had been\nreplaced by great rifled cannon capable of sending a heavy ball for ten\nor twelve miles and of piercing through steel plates of moderate\nthickness as through so much paper. With these came the quick-fire guns,\nfrom whose gaping mouths cannon-balls could be rained like the drops of\na rapid shower, and the torpedoes, capable of tearing ruinous holes in\nthe sides and bottoms of the mightiest ships.\n\nSuch was the work that was doing in the West while the East slept calmly\non. But no occasion had arisen for putting to the proof these great\nfloating engines of war. Theories in abundance were offered of the\nprobable effect upon one another of two modern fleets, but the dread of\nterrible results had a potent influence, and fear of the destructive\npowers of modern ships and armies had proved the strongest of arguments\nin keeping the nations of the world at peace.\n\nThe astounding event spoken of is the fact that the iron-clad\nbattle-ship of the present day was first put to proof in the waters of\nthe Yellow Sea, in a war between two nations which half a century before\nwere hardly beyond the bow-and-arrow stage of warfare, and were still\nnovices in the modern art of war. The naval inventions made in Europe\nand America had their first trial in a conflict between China and Japan,\nand the interest with which maritime nations read of the doings of these\npowerful engines of war in those far-off waters was intense.\n\nJapan had been alert in availing itself of all the world knew about war,\nproviding its army with the best modern weapons and organizing them in\nthe most effective European method, while purchased iron-clads replaced\nits old fleet of junks. China, though doing little for the improvement\nof its army, had bought itself a modern fleet, two of its ships, the\nTing-yuen and Chen-yuen, having fourteen inches of iron armor, and\nsurpassing in size and strength anything that Japan had to show. These\nvessels were all armed with the most effective of modern weapons, were\nhandled by men trained in the theories of European war, and seemed\ncapable of the most destructive results.\n\nOn the 17th of September, 1894, an epoch-making battle of these\niron-clads took place. It was a remarkably different event from the\nfirst engagement of this sort, that between the Monitor and the Merrimac\nin Hampton Roads, for the guns now brought into play would have pierced\nthe armor of those vessels as if it had been made of tin. The Japanese\nsquadron had just convoyed a fleet of transports, bearing ten thousand\ntroops and thirty-five hundred horses, to Chemulpo, near the Corean\ncapital. The Chinese squadron had similarly convoyed four thousand\ntroops to the Yalu River. These were landed on the 16th, and on the\nmorning of the 17th the fleet started on its return. On the same morning\nthe Japanese fleet reached the island of Hai-yang, leaving their\ntorpedo-boats behind, as there was no thought of fighting a battle.\nAbout nine o'clock smoke was seen in the distance, and at eleven-forty\nthe Chinese fleet came into sight.\n\nThe Japanese fleet consisted of ten vessels, the First Flying Squadron,\nconsisting of four fine cruisers of high speed, and the Main Squadron,\ncomposed of six vessels of lower speed. There were two smaller ships,\nof no value as fighting vessels. The Chinese fleet was composed of\ntwelve vessels and six torpedo-boats, though two of the vessels and the\ntorpedo-boats were at a distance, so that the effective fighting force\non each side was composed of ten ships-of-war. The Chinese fleet\nincluded the two great ships already named, the Ting-yuen and Chen-yuen.\nThe latter, as has been said, were heavily armored. The other Chinese\nships were lightly protected, and some of them not at all. None of the\nJapanese vessels had external armor, their protection consisting of\nsteel decks and internal lining down to the water-line.\n\nOn perceiving the enemy's ships, Admiral Ito, of the Japanese fleet, at\nonce gave orders to his captains to prepare for action. Ting, the\nChinese admiral, did the same, drawing up his fleet in a single line,\nwith the large ships in the centre and the weaker ones on the wings.\nIto, who proposed to take advantage of the superior speed of his ships\nand circle round his adversary, drew up his vessels in a single column\nwith the Flying Squadron at the head.\n\nThe action began at 1 P.M., the Chinese opening fire at about six\nthousand yards, the Japanese reserving their fire until at half that\ndistance. Ito headed his ships straight for the centre of the Chinese\nline, but on drawing near they swerved so as to pass the Chinese right\nwing, their speed being at the same time increased. As the Yoshino,\nwhich led the movement, came up, she became a target for the whole\nChinese fleet, but her speed soon carried her out of danger, the Flying\nSquadron sweeping swiftly past the Chinese right wing and pouring a\ndeadly fire on the unprotected vessels there posted as they passed. The\nstream of shells from the rapid-fire guns tore the wood-work of these\nvessels into splinters and set it on fire, the nearest ship, the Yang\nWei, soon bursting into flames.\n\nThe Japanese admiral, keeping at a distance from the large central\nvessels with their heavy guns, and concentrating his fire on the smaller\nflanking ships, continued his evolution, the Main Squadron following the\nFlying Squadron past the Chinese right wing and pouring its fire on the\nsecond ship in the line, the Chao-yung, which, like its consort, was\nsoon in flames. This movement, however, proved a disadvantage to the\nslower vessels of the Japanese fleet, which could not keep pace with\ntheir consorts, particularly to the Hiyei, which lagged so far in the\nrear as to become exposed to the fire of the whole Chinese fleet, now\nrapidly forging ahead. In this dilemma its commander took a bold\nresolve. Turning, he ran directly for the line of the enemy, passing\nbetween the Ting-yuen and the King-yuen at five hundred yards' distance.\nTwo torpedoes which were launched at him fortunately missed, but he had\nto bear the fire of several of his antagonists, and came through the\nline with his vessel in flames. The Akagi, a little Japanese gunboat,\nhurried to his aid, though seriously cut up by the fire of the Lai-yuen,\nwhich pursued until set on fire and forced to withdraw by a lucky shot\nin return. Meanwhile the Flying Squadron had wheeled to meet the two\ndistant Chinese ships, which were hastily coming up in company with the\ntorpedo-boats. On seeing this movement they drew back and kept well out\nof reach. Somewhat later these vessels took part in the action, though\nnot an important one. At 2.23 P.M. the Chao-yang, which had been riddled\nby the fire of the Main Squadron, sank, the cries of the drowning men\nsounding above the roar of the cannon as she went down.\n\nAs a result of the Japanese evolution, the two squadrons finally closed\nin on the Chinese fleet on both sides and the battle reached its most\nfurious phase. The two flag-ships, the Japanese Matsushima and the\nChinese Ting-yuen, poured the fire of their great guns upon each other\nwith terrible effect, the wood-work of the Chinese iron-clad being soon\nin flames, while a shell that burst on the Matsushima exploded a heap of\nammunition and killed or wounded eighty men. Fire broke out, but it was\nsoon extinguished. Almost all the Japanese gunners were killed, but\nvolunteers pressed forward to take their place, among them even the\nband-players.\n\nOn the Chinese flag-ship the flames drove the gunners from their pieces,\nand she would probably have been destroyed had not the Chen-yuen come\nbravely to her aid. The fire was finally extinguished by the aid of some\nforeigners who were on board. It may be said here that the fire-drill of\nthe Japanese was far superior to that of their foes.\n\nThe Japanese continued their circling movement around their slower\nantagonists, pouring a concentrated fire upon the weaker vessels, of\nwhich the Chih-yuen was sunk at about 3.30 P.M. and the King-yuen at\n4.48. By this time the Chinese fleet was in the greatest disorder, its\nline broken, some of its vessels in full flight, and all coherence gone.\nThe fire of the Japanese fleet was now principally directed against the\ntwo large iron-clads, but the fourteen-inch armor of these resisted the\nheaviest guns in the Japanese fleet, and, though their upper works were\nriddled and burnt, they were able to continue the battle.\n\nIn the fight here described the Japanese had shown a discipline and a\nskill in naval tactics far superior to those of their foes. They had\nkept at a distance of about four thousand yards from their antagonists,\nso as to avoid their heavy fire and make the most advantageous use of\ntheir larger number of rapid-fire guns and also of their much better\nmarksmanship. The result of the battle was not due to greater courage,\nbut to superior skill and more effective armament.\n\nAt nightfall, as the torpedo-boats had now joined the Chinese fleet, the\nJapanese drew off, not caring to risk the perils of a battle at night\nwith such antagonists, both sides being also exhausted by the long\nfight. The next morning the Chinese fleet had disappeared. It had lost\nfour vessels in the fight, and a fifth afterwards ran ashore and was\nblown up. Two of the Japanese ships were badly damaged, but none were\nlost, while the total loss in killed and wounded was two hundred and\neighteen, nearly half of them on the flag-ship. The Chinese lost far\nmore heavily, from the sinking of a number of their ships.\n\nThus ended the typical battle of modern naval warfare, one whose result\nwas mainly due to the greater speed and rapid evolutions of the Japanese\nships and the skill with which they concentrated a crushing fire on the\nweak points of the enemy's line. The work of the quick-firing guns was\nthe most striking feature of the battle, while the absence of\ntorpedo-boats prevented that essential element of a modern fleet from\nbeing brought into play. An important lesson learned was that too much\nwood-work in an iron-clad vessel is a dangerous feature, and naval\narchitects have since done their best to avoid this weak point in the\nconstruction of ships-of-war. But the most remarkable characteristic of\nthe affair is that the battle was fought by two nations which, had the\nwar broken out forty years before, would have done their naval fighting\nwith fleets of junks.\n\nIt may be said in conclusion that the Chinese fleet was annihilated in\nthe later attack on the port of Wei-hai-wei, many of the vessels being\ndestroyed by torpedo-boats, and the remainder, unable to escape from the\nharbor, being forced to surrender to the Japanese. Thus ended in utter\ndisaster to China the naval war.\n\n[Illustration: THE PEKIN GATE.]\n\n\n\n\n_PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA._\n\n\nWe have in the preceding tales brought down from a remote period the\nhistory of the two oldest nations now existing on the face of the earth.\nThere are peoples as old, but none others which have kept intact their\nnational organization and form of government for thousands of years.\nInvasion, conquest, rebellion, revolution, have kept the rest of the\nworld in a busy stir and caused frequent changes in nations and\ngovernments. But Japan and China lay aside from the broad current of\ninvasion, removed from the general seat of war, and no internal\nconvulsion or local invasion had been strong enough to change their\npolitical systems or modes of life. And thus these two isolated empires\nof the East drifted down intact through the ages to the middle of the\nnineteenth century, when their millennial sleep was rudely broken and\ntheir policy of isolation overthrown.\n\nThis was due, as has been shown, to the coming of the navies of Europe\nand America, bent on breaking down the barriers that had been raised\nagainst the civilization of the West and forcing these remote empires to\nenter the concert of the nations and open their ports to the commerce of\nthe world. Concerning all this we have no tales to tell, but a brief\naccount of the effect of foreign intercourse upon China and Japan will\nfitly serve to close our work and outline the recent history of these\ntwo great powers of the East.\n\nThere are marked differences of character between the Chinese and the\nJapanese, and these differences have had a striking effect upon their\nrecent history. In the Japanese we find a warlike and aggressive people,\na stirring and inquisitive race, not, like their neighbors on the\ncontinent, lost in contemplation of their ancient literature and\ndisdainful of any civilization but their own, but ready and eager to\navail themselves of all that the world has to offer worth the having. In\nthe Chinese we find a non-aggressive people, by nature and custom\ndisinclined to war, asking only, so far as outer nations are concerned,\nto be let alone, and in no sense inquisitive concerning the doings of\nthe world at large. Of their civilization, which goes back beyond the\nreputed date of the Deluge, they are intensely proud, their ancient\nliterature, in their conception, is far superior to the literatures of\nall other nations, and their self-satisfaction is so ingrained that they\nstill stand aloof in mental isolation from the world, only the most\nprogressive among them seeing anything to be gained from foreign arts.\nThese differences in character have given rise to a remarkable\ndifference in results. The Japanese have been alert in availing\nthemselves of all things new, the Chinese torpid and slow, sluggishly\nresisting change, hardly yielding even to the logic of war.\n\nThere is nothing in the history of the world to match the phenomenal\nprogress of Japan since the visit of Commodore Perry in 1853. If it had\nbeen the people of the United States, instead of those of that\narchipelago of the Eastern seas, that in this way first gained a\nknowledge of the progress of the outer world, they could not have been\nreadier in changing their old institutions and ideas and accepting a new\nand strange civilization offered them from afar than have been the alert\nislanders of the East.\n\nWhen the American fleet entered the Bay of Yedo it found itself in the\nheart of a civilization and institutions a thousand years and more of\nage. The shogun, the military chief, was the actual ruler of Japan, as\nhe had been for many centuries before, the mikado, the titular ruler,\nbeing still buried in that isolation into which he had long since\nwithdrawn. It was only a dim tradition with the people that the mikado\nhad ever been emperor in fact, and they looked on him as a religious\npotentate to be worshipped, not as a ruler to be obeyed. The feudal\nsystem, established in the past centuries, was still intact, the\nprovincial lords and princes being held in strict vassalage by the\nshogun, or tai-kun (great king), as he then first termed himself. In\ntruth, Japan was still in its mediaeval state, from which it showed\nscarcely a sign of emerging.\n\nThe coming of the foreigners made a sudden and decided change in the\nsituation. Within less than twenty years the whole condition of affairs\nhad been overturned; the shogun had been deposed from his high estate,\nthe mikado had come to his own again, the feudal system had been\nabolished, and the people beheld with surprise and delight their\nspiritual emperor at the head of the state, absolute lord of their\nsecular world, while the military tyranny under which they so long had\ngroaned was irremediably annulled.\n\nSuch was the first great step in the political revolution of Japan. It\nwas followed by another and still greater one, an act without a parallel\nin the history of autocratic governments. This was the voluntary\nrelinquishment of absolutism by the emperor, the calling together of a\nparliament, and the adoption of a representative government on the types\nof those of the West. In all history we can recall no similar event. All\npreceding parliaments came into existence through revolution or gradual\ngrowth, in no other instance through the voluntary abdication of\nautocratic power and the adoption of parliamentary rule by an emperor\nmoved alone by a desire for the good of his people and the reform of the\nsystem of government.\n\nJapan had learned the lesson of civilization swiftly and well, her\nablest sons devoting themselves to the task of bringing their country to\nthe level of the foremost nations of the earth. Young men in numbers\nwere sent abroad to observe the ways of the civilized world, to become\nfamiliar with its industries, and to study in its universities, and\nthese on their return were placed at the head of affairs, industrial,\neducational, and political. No branch of modern art and science was\nneglected, the best to be had from every nation being intelligently\nstudied by the inquisitive and quick-witted island youth.\n\nThe war with China first revealed to the world the marvellous progress\nof Japan in the military art. Her armies were armed and disciplined in\naccordance with the best system of the West, and her warlike operations\nconducted on the most approved methods, though only native officers were\nemployed. The rapidity with which troops, amounting to eighty thousand\nin all, and the necessary supplies were carried across the sea, and the\nskilful evolution, under native officers, of a fleet of vessels of a\ntype not dreamed of in Japan thirty years before, was a new revelation\nto the observing world. And in another direction it was made evident\nthat Japan had learned a valuable lesson from the nations of\nChristendom. Instead of the massacres of their earlier wars, they now\ndisplayed the most humanitarian moderation. There was no ill treatment\nof the peaceful inhabitants, while ambulances and field hospitals were\nput at the disposal of the wounded of both sides, with a humane kindness\ngreatly to be commended.\n\nBut the lessons taught in this war were of minor interest and importance\nin comparison with those of a much greater war ten years later. In those\nten years the progress of Japan had been proceeding with accelerated\nrapidity. There was little of leading value in the arts and industries\nof the West which had not been introduced into this island empire, the\nequipment of her army vied with that of the most advanced powers, her\nnavy possessed a number of the most powerful type of steel-clad\nbattle-ships, she had been admitted into the family of the great nations\nby a compact on equal terms with Great Britain, and she had become\nadapted to cope with powers vastly more capable in the arts of war than\nChina, to deal, indeed, with one of the greatest and much the most\npopulous of European nations.\n\nThis was soon to be shown. The Boxer outbreak of 1900 in China ended\nwith Manchuria practically possessed by Russia, a possession which that\nnation seemed disposed to maintain in defiance of treaty obligations to\nChina and of the energetic protest of Japan. As a result, to the\nsurprise, almost to the consternation of the world, Japan boldly engaged\nin war with the huge colossus which bestrode Asia and half of Europe,\nand to the amazement of the nations showed a military aptitude and\npreparation and a command of resources which enabled her to defeat the\narmies of Russia in every engagement, to capture the great stronghold of\nPort Arthur, to win victories on the sea as notable as those on the\nland, and in the end to impose upon Russia a treaty of peace humiliating\nin its provisions to the proud Muscovite court. This victorious war\nsettled the status of Japan so far as the decision of the nations was\nconcerned. The island empire was definitely accepted as one of the great\npowers of the world. Its standing in war had been established, and was\nrapidly being matched by its standing in peace, its progress in\ncommerce, industry, and science promising to raise it to the plane of\nthe most advanced nations.\n\nWhile little Japan was thus forging swiftly ahead, great China was\nstolidly holding back. This was not from lack of intelligence or the\ndisposition to avail itself of material advantages, but from the pride\nof its people and scholars in their own civilization and their belief in\nthe barbarism of the outer world. This sentiment was so deeply ingrained\nas to make it hard to eradicate.\n\nChina was not without its reformers, and such progressive men as Li Hung\nChang had their influence. Steamships made their appearance upon the\ninland waters of the empire, the telegraph was widely extended, and a\nnavy of modern war-ships was bought abroad. But the army, organized on\nmediaeval principles, went to pieces before that of Japan, while the\nships, though their crews fought with courage and resolution, proved\nunable to bear the impact of the better handled Japanese fleet.\n\nAside from its shipping and the telegraph, China at that time showed\nlittle disposition to accept modern improvements. The introduction of\nthe railroad was strongly resisted, and commerce, industry, mining,\netc., continued to be conducted by antiquated methods. Nothing of value\nseemed to have been learned from the war with Japan, and even the\nseizure of parts of its territory by the powers of Europe and the threat\nto dismember and divide it up among these powers seemed insufficient to\narouse it from its sluggish self-satisfaction.\n\nYet thought was stirring in the minds of many of the statesmen of China,\nand the small band of reformers began to grow in numbers and influence.\nThe events of the twentieth century--the Boxer insurrection, the capture\nof Peking by foreign armies, the retention of Manchuria by Russia, and\nabove all the mighty lesson of the Manchurian war, which demonstrated\nadmirably the revolution which modern methods had made in Japan--proved\nmore than even the conservatism of China could endure. Within the few\nyears since the dawn of the twentieth century the torpid leviathan of\nthe East has shown decided signs of awakening. Most prominent among\nthese indications is the fact that the ruling empress, but recently a\nmainstay of the conservative party, has entered the ranks of reform and\ngiven her imperial assent to radical changes in Chinese methods and\nconditions.\n\nEverywhere in China are now visible indications of the dawning of a new\nera. The railroad is making its way with encouraging rapidity over the\nsoil of the celestial realm. New and improved methods in mining and\nmanufacture are being adopted. Other evidences of progress in material\nthings are seen in various directions. But most promising of all is the\nfact that the time-honored method of restricting education to the\nethical dogmas of Confucius has been overthrown and modern science is\nbeing taught in the schools and made part of the requirements of the\nannual examinations for positions in the civil service of the empire. A\nnew race of scholars is being made in China, one which cannot fail to\nuse its influence to bring that old empire into the swing of modern\nprogress.\n\nEqually significant with this revolution in the system of education is\nthe seemingly coming change in the system of government. Statesmen of\nChina are now engaged, under the sanction of the empress, in studying\nthe governmental systems of other nations, with a view of a possible\nadoption of representative institutions and the overthrow of the\nabsolutism which has for ages prevailed. And this is being done at the\ninstance of the government itself, not in response to the demands of\ninsistent reformers. Back of the study of Western methods lies the power\nto introduce them, and the probability is that before another generation\nhas passed China will be classed among the limited monarchies of the\nworld, even if it be not admitted to the circle of the republics.\n\nThese radical changes are of very recent introduction. They are results\nof the developments of the past few years. But when we see the ball of\nprogress rolling so swiftly and gathering new material so rapidly, we\nmay well conjecture that before many years the China of the past will be\nburied under its mass and modern China, like modern Japan, take rank\namong the most progressive nations of the world.\n\n\n\n * * * * *\n\nTranscribers Notes:\n\n1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.\n\n2. \"Tenno\" on pg's 5, 8 and 10 in original text appears with an macron\n (straight line) over the \"o\".\n\n3. An oe ligatgure appears in the original text in the words\n \"manoeuvres\" (pg. 196) and \"phoenix\" (pg. 273).\n\nSpelling: 4 corrections made based on (multiple) correct spellings\nelsewhere in text.\n\npg. 12 \"Takenouchi\" to \"Takenouchi\" (2) (statesman named Takenouchi)\n\npg. 148 \"Yang-tsze Kiang\" to \"Yang-tse-Kiang\" (3) (river\n Yang-tse-Kiang,)\n\npg. 280 \"sufered\" to \"suffered\" (now Chungwan suffered)\n\npg. 337 \"flagship\" to \"flag-ship\" (4) (the Japanese flag-ship,)","title":"Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 12 (of 15), Japanese and Chinese","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":88875}