AN EMPEROR'S SAD LIFE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 395, 2 January 1909, Page 13

AN EMPEROR'S SAD LIFE.

KWANG SU AND, HIS TYRANT RULER

few lives.; have been so profoundly. pathetic as that of Kwang Su,',Emporor of China,: whoso death was recentlyannounced, ■ He spent.tho thirty-seven years; of'his life in' oonstaut physical, mental,"vand"sentimental agony. ■■ V ' y-;v; i oil' 11 ®," P?P«w Hien . Feng - clied,l in Bt> ,' A". ■ "Ve-year-old' so»,;'Tung : .Cho; suo-i by his widow,-'th'a'Empress.'C6nsort'|"an : so-called Secondary "Empress,•■ : Tsu-'*Tsi,' :i the' . moderaiiSamiramis,; the most -remarkable l ,wo-' man of our days. Tang Oho died m 1875, Widow,, tho .'Eihpress'Ah': Lu Ta.-;, i'ho Dowager. Empress ITsu' ; Tsi placed upon'' the ::tnrone. her. : achild ' of four/who received .the' name of'-'Kwang "Su (Glorious. Continuity). •i' Needless to say, Tsu Tsi. thus-;ensured ; to .herself ;.a ; : yery.: long' .lease'pf-power. - It. was a coup .d'etat. Hencei "tao late 'Dowager .Empfess Vwas/.tho of China.,, Ah Lu'.Ta'cbinhiitted euicide—at least this was ; the official", veral?"—and - Tsil;, Tsi; was.: left ..'alone.: with' -.her; sQUppaß^'.n^d'iHbr^a^itastid' l " 0 - fl '■ -impossibip; (says the , ; Daily. ; Mail"), to give, a fair account of the-.Emperor.Kwang Su's.lifo.i' Few. have soon him, and as for-;tho. .'stories,' which , oiio bears /in -official ,and other, intriguing' circles of Pekin, it is impossible .to;', rely', on .thoir ; ; accu'racy. ';.,Yet, ; cnough is'iknoiv.n flf/th'e'vmTsV .torious Emperor.to Realise. that-'he; . was . not the cowardly ™ PP et that some tended.;he-.was, -and that,,had it not been, •for . tlio),terrible Dowager, Empress,. .. whose death ..has : followed ; so swiftly i'.upon his, Kwang Su might have achieved great :. Those/jrhoVnave visited' Peking .realise .tha absolute, and even awe-inspiring. character of that' seclusion most .forcibly;-; In = the- centro of . -tliQ great Tartar town", rise tho lofty walls'- of, tho ."Boaug-t<)heng;";''tho. imperial oit-y, . with - its' . temples,. palaces, and. : ..other buildings belonging to the court. . This city Sn is ?; : t«rn encloses another- 1 one,"called .the ~ Tsekm-tchongjthe sacred. "purple" ■ tbwri reserved -.-to; the, Emperor.- -V Tru6, ■ thisdo.and .the materials;niost:k. used:,are precious :woodsj i motheraf-fleark lacquer, ■ goltlj and ivory.' There-is. av''ro.mantio..;kkev iii i'the.'gardons'hwitK'-all^'the varieties of lotus, and tho yellow-tiled roofs of the palace? 'are of exquisite' and pictiiresquo architecture'.: cßut'; a gilt cage': is still 'a>P»ge.;THe , "purple'.'; city, which- 'is ; ' ; only 3000 ft. -by 2400 ft., -is separated 'froni tho outer world by a' crenellated wall .'of . twentytwo .feet and 'ditch siarfcy" feet broad and full of water. iv -r:-. : >

1389,.- Kwang Sa; was'tarried''to: tho •daughter •of Kwei ■ Siang, a 1 Manchti • dukb;' Tho ohoico was not tho Emperor's, but that of Tsu Tsi. ; '<,K - It is 'known that Kwang Su ones loved, but the" woman disappeared.-Likewise-his •friends -wore mysteriously' removed.V It is known that ever -since his majority—that 1 is, t«ni» ilßS9—he' did 'his- litmost • to'. lelid v 'the -Reform' party 'and• ensure; its' victory.- Ho started - a wise and- enthusiastic- 'campaign against-- corruption, favouritism,:'- aiid antiquated methods, -Ho wished to employ young officials; to; do away 'with the. obsolete Educational system, to start agricultural schools, 1 to form' and train.an army.bn;\Ves.tern lihes.'Tho climax camo ten'years 'when Kwaiig Su,. reforming' .too ; suddenly, went- too : far. without having ensured tho support of tho troops, and without waiting,; until the Reform party was strong .and practical endugh.' .The- wily. Dowager Empress, ..backed by all the old conservative and anti-foreign .': officials—at: their head, the' shrewd, arid.-power-ful Li \Hung. Chang—took drastic measures. The Emperor.: was .imprisoned,. some, at .-the time even said deposed; As for Kwang Su's friends and supporters, ;th'ey,. were' either killed, or. pitilessly tromoved;, .I*' yi ■; . Two years ago.he-tried'.to put an ; eni to his -life. In spite,.of. official denials,:it is quite certain that iii .Novemberl9o(3 ' Kwang Su attempted to oommit suicide by throwing himself - into the lake ; of. the-: Purple City. He was,, however, rescued in time.t • Only on • two occasions did the Chinese Emperor escape from his. prison. The. first time-was. when he "ran away" from,^tho palace with only one attendant.-The second time % was during the Boxer' revolt, -when- ho ■'wits••hurriedly' taken- 'to safety by the; Empress Dowager,'' and enjoyed an 1800-mile journey. '(• ' '•■ ; - And now tho Emperor, "Glorious Continuity," has escapcd for over. 1 " . .