DIARY OF LI HUNG CHANG.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1617, 7 December 1912, Page 6

DIARY OF LI HUNG CHANG.

STORY OF HIS WORLD-TOUR. AN ORIENTAL'S; V,lEW. OF EUROPE. CANDID COMMENTS. The London "Observer" of October- 27 publishes the first instalment of a, translation of the diary of the late Li Hung Chang, the most famous of modem Chinese statesmen, and the first-to command the attention," . arid receive the. honours, of Western ■ nations."''His - journey to Europe and America in ISUO was an event ■unique in itself, and peculiarly interesting from the relations their existing between China and the outer world.

It is to this journey that the translated portions of the diary mainly relate. During the tour the Viceroy wrote ceaselessly, but without much order or method. Though a confirmed, he was not ' a careful diarist, and the jottings of his earlier years seein to have,been left about haphazard ill vaiious places with'a casualnessnot to be expected of so important a personage. Some two years ago his ■writings, were collected • from ' different quarters by his,nephew, a Provincial .Governor in China;-and, with' the consent of the Imperial Government and the trustees and heirs of' Li'HHug'ng' Chang's. estate, they have been carefully examined, and, in part, translated by a secretary of tho lato Viceroy, assisted by Drs. Wang and Hsiu-Tsai. of Canton, and Captain William Manning. •

Over 70,000 Words Translated. Of the immense mass of the diaries, over 70,000 words have' been translated, and from this' portion these notes~-tho only writings of the Viceroy that .have ever been rendered into English—are now for the first time offered to the public. Li Hung Chang, who died in 1901 at the age of 78, had been a person of importance in China, ever since in. 1863, as Governor of i£iang-su,' he, with l the assistance of General Gordon, quelled the laipmg rebellion. - For his services he received the Yellow Jacket and Peacock s leather, and was made an hereditary noble ot the third class.' In 1872' he became GovernorGeneral of Senior Secretary. He founded the 'Chinese Navy, and.promoted amative mercantile marine. He was in, command of tlie Chinese forces in Korea during , the war with Japan (1891-5),; as the .result of which he was; deprived of his honours. His sagacity, and knowledge of afiairs proved, however/ to be indispensable to the Throne,-and he was soon'reinstated; and for some years longer found scope lor his unrivalled faculty- of 'intrigue in his relations with the European; Powers,-

•Account of Visit to St. Petersburg. ■ The "Observer" 'selects first some remarks in the diary. after Li Hung; Chang's return to China,from his tour in 1896:- ■ : . ~ "I am back once more,, and my spirit is pleased, for it best fits an old man to be at home and among his kind. Old men-at least so'l think-are not taken •up with the sights of strange'things or other lands," for they are. at such an age preparing for the sights oi' tho Place- oi Seven Springs, , of which they-have been told so much, and know so little. ■ "I wonder why Russia asked the .Throne to send mo (to the Coronation). It was most certainly a .great compliment, and I have a right 1 to feel'flattered. . . . But the' Russians have for long tried to impress me .with the idea that they hold me in the highest esteem. Perhaps they do: Anyway,, they may havr their, motive's for all this. And I have ho doubt they- have-; , but- 1 1 could tell them that my .own country's interests are above all other considerations, and if j i show favour to Russia in any; matter I do so because I -believe China will, be the ultimate gainer. I, have tried in _years past to make Russia realise that Korea could not be. taken ; fromus, but _ the standing of.'.;.tha.t' country has been changed of late, and the. isar can hope to gain nothing by flattering me .with honours or 'preferences. ' , , "Still, the Coronation . was a wonderful sight, even if I must gay. this after having been told that I was the centre of attraction; more so, the Tsar told me,; than himself. But all this is Western .flattery, for could > I not see that tho beaUtiful Tsaritsa 'was the . 'eye' of the peacock'? When she spoke gracious things to me and lifted her c*up of wine towards me and smiled, I could well believe that such was a 1 compliment to remember. "When T told the' Empress and her ladies upon my return about the beautics of the Russian Tsar's, wife, they, all said she must'be even as lovely' as the pictures of her which I had brought to them as tokens from- the Russian Court. ; "The Dowager asked me many tmng questions about the Russian..Court, which. 1 tried as best I .could to answer inte li-. gently. -M answered that the Tsaritsa was raising a family of her own. She was not at. all old (only half my own age) and a very careful, woman. _ j- ■ "I did' not' intend to , offend her Majesty in any way, hilt, she told me that she would question me about Russia some later time,' and she announced_that she must speak with her ladies. This was her Majesty's way of telling me the vi.it was at an end.

,The "Offended" Empress. 21st Day of the Twelfth . "I- have received notification that I am to forfeit one year's pay for a breach of ceremony at the Palace. This w a small matter, the fine, but I would be pleased to know in what respect I otfended Tzu Hsi (the Empress Dowager). 21st Day of the Twelfth Moon, Later..

"Messengers from the Throne have just arrived bringing a copy of the edict conferring npon ma the Order of the Golden Dragon. Tile original edict was written, says the copy, by. Tzu ,;llsi herself. I am inclined to .think my breach _ot Court etiquette iva's not serious to her private mind, although her' official mind fined me 37,000 taels for it! "The Order of-the..Golden Dragon! I am {rvjly well pleased,. 'although . I had • expected it before , I went on the long journey to the capital of Russia. - "If 'I was not a plain man • I would quite think I'was;. a' member of the Imperial Family, for ithe Golden Dragon is conferred (except i n-' eivtraordi nary cases) only upon those of' tho'.'blood. Perhaps her Majesty conferred it upon me so I. could not oifend in her presence again, for wearing the Golden Dragon .1 am privileged to kneel '.as. I pleaso. But T. shall always W attentive to matters of ceremony and regard" to those above me, just, as I expect like evidences of respect from thoso who aTe not upon an equality with me." , !A Note on Liars. A few days later the Viceroy writes :— "Liars are the worst people ..in all classes, I believe. . . • Tseng (Li's .sec-. 1 Tetary) tells mo that he has been approached by a number of' very common people and asked if it is true that I told the Empress that our Imperial Princesses would have more and better children if they followed the Tsaritsa's example. What lies! What vicious, monkey-faced ■ lie's! Any one with sense would know that even if I dared I never would address such language to her Majestj ot tho ladies of the blood. I interest myself not at all in the inner doing of the Court,' for it is enough that any man shall keep his own household in'order. . . . "I said not ono word which might, seen either through a mountain gapway or the eye of a needle, reflect at all upon the ladies of tho Court. I did praise tbe Russian Tsaritsa, but I dispraised lio one else." He Decides to See the World. . Writing in his diary at St. Petersburg Li Hung Chang says, among other things:— "It has been urged upon me bo return. • to China by way of Constantinople and the Suez Canal, but I cannot agree to this plan. Now that I have traversed all Asia, I want to go to Germany and France; then to England and the United States. There are wonders for me to lay eyf.s upon in 'all these great countries, niul besides that there are official duties to. I.Y! carried out. • "J am told here that I will not be received very woll in. England, but it is certain they will not harm me there, nor I do them any injury. If the honse is cold and the table not eet, I need not Tomain. for the road is long and the traveller who has money can turn, up his ncso at. town oonstables. "To-night I .am, to attend, MWtfICTK PaPf

quot given by the Tsar, which I 'hope will not continue as long as the ono of .lost night. It is true they prepare foods especially for me, but they do not taste like the food 9 at home or thoso of our own cooks which wo have along. The tea, however, is the best; I brought it myself and made it a present (o the Tsar and .Tsaritsa, and Tu (his chef) tello them how ,to malw it." The British Empire's "Barnyard." Shortly before leaving Russia for Berlin Li Hung Chang wrote:— "On Monday we will leave tho capital of the Tsar and travel toward tho land of the Germans. They tell me it is many hours' ride from here to tho frontier on the west and that if we went south it would be three times as far. Going north tho Tsar's dominions reach to the top of the earth, where mountains and lakes of ioo are seen for ever throughout all tho moons. "Often and of ten I had studied over the maps of, the countries of the world, and I knew, of course, that Russia , was a far-reaching Empire, but I had to travel it to know fully now immense and solid it is. There are vast plains and tremendous mountains, but thero are no seas nor oceans coming in between, and I cannot help thinking how much more solid and substantial this Empire must bo than the jßritish Empire, with its islands and possessions scattered like fowl over a large barnyard. . "China is much like Russia in this respect, too, and it is sad that our nation has not yet learned how to make all parts of it stand together as one against the outsider. There is this difference between China and Russia: Many of the nations agree to harass China, but not any of them will bother Russia. If Russia did not want to control us in all our home affairs, what a strong alliance would bo possible between us. 1 " - :

Church and Tsar, . Sunday Night. "All the party attended a long church service this afternoon, and when the time came for my final audience with the Tsar I was very fatigued. Dr. Morniff, the household physician who has been attached to our party here by courtesy of the Government, gave me a hypodermic of something and a large bottle of white wine,, so that when we reached the castle I was feeling like 'a boy. I told his Majesty that the long service and the smoke of tho incense nearly sickened mo, at which he laughed heartily, showing his fine teeth, and said I was about the healthiest-looking man about, j " 'When are your Majesties coming to ChinaF I asked him. . ' "Again he laughed, and said that maybe some time he would like to arrange for his wife to meet the Dowager Empress and the ladies'of the latter's Qourt somewhere in the Far East. . . "Nicholas is himself not a very healthy man, I think. I believe he stays indoors too much, or that worry about, his life keeps; him pale and listless. -He is a small man to rule a great Empire, but Napoleon, they tell me,.was even'emaller in stature. But there are many big men in this capital. The Tsar is surrounded by them;, and his soldiers, especially thoso regiments which are of_his household, are a magnificent lot of men. ! I believe the Japanese soldiers would run fast from these regiments. Tho Error of Early .Rising. ; "I have learned .that we. start early to-morrow morning.' This is not to my taste. I would much, prefer to begin the •journey now and sleep on tho train going. To arise' eo early in the morning soems to be a foolish Western practice, foolish" especially among men of State, v who could so much, better transact their affairs at night when all is quiet and the mind is most alert. But from what I can learn these statesmen and law-givers look for their pleasure at night, going to banquets, theatres, and fancy parties, often staying until the light of dawn comes on again. To this I-attribute much of the intrigue that is known to all these Courts. Tho women cannot enter the council chambers nor make speeches in the Parliaments, but they work their wiles at the parties and operas." Anarchists; and a Reminiscence. On the Train, Monday. "This train is travelling at a much slower pace than any of thoso before. I asked why, and was .told that the Government would not run any risks when so many big foreign officials were ' aboard. Soldiers are everywhere along the line, and whenever the train stops the ■ common people aro kept at. a distance. "It is bad enough to be an official in China and. put up with lies, abuse, and misrepresentation, . but here in Russia they till their big officials whenever they can. lam fold that a great secret band exists all over the Empire, and that the members thereof find their chief occupation and amusement in the killing of men of State and others in high position. "I do not think I would like to exchange positions with the TsaT, even to have the fine Tsaritsa' as wife and. my choice of the rarest tea! Especially in these later years I have had no fear of my life being taken, unless it would be by some crazy fanatic like the fellow who shot me in the eye at Shimonoseki. Several times in Hankow, in the days of my first Vice-royalty, low fellows sought to take my life, .and once in Tientsin a low fellow came into my courtyard and told the banner captain in charge that he intended taking my, life. He had a long piece of wire and said, he was going to hang me to my own gate post. I had to have his head cut off before he would <ftop talking." Tonsorial. Nearing the German Frontier! Hour of the Sheep. "P'lo has just finished shaving my head and I feel fine. I think I would bo insane if I wore all the hair some of these Russians do. Many of- my people have chaffed me about my beard, but I wish tliey could see the hairy ' faces' of the St. Petersburg. Court.' They tire 'hairy devils' in. truth! "My mother eaid ; that as e. little baby I I hail evidences of a.stro% beard later in life. ' She averred that it was a sign that I would be a great man in my country, and many 'times since affairs , have gone eo well with me has she asked, 'Was not my prophecy correct?' Always I have been compelled-to answer her that I did not know, but if 6he thought I-was a great man, I was. .