Chinese horrors and persecutions of the Christians; containing a full account of the great insurrection in China; atrocities of the "Boxers" ..together with the complete history of China down to the present time .. . ear the Em-peror, having attained his majority, and hav-ing signalized the event by taking to himselfthree wives, accepted the reins of powerfrom the Dowager Empresses, who had gov-erned the Empire during the past twelveyears. The time had thus arrived when theaudience question had again to be consid-ered ; and, after much negotiation with theruling powers, it was arranged that th
Chinese horrors and persecutions of the Christians; containing a full account of the great insurrection in China; atrocities of the "Boxers" ..together with the complete history of China down to the present time .. . ear the Em-peror, having attained his majority, and hav-ing signalized the event by taking to himselfthree wives, accepted the reins of powerfrom the Dowager Empresses, who had gov-erned the Empire during the past twelveyears. The time had thus arrived when theaudience question had again to be consid-ered ; and, after much negotiation with theruling powers, it was arranged that theforeign ministers should be collectivelygranted a reception at such time and place as the Emperor might determine. This wasthe best that could be done. The Chinese authorities, recognizing thatthe kotow was no longer in question, directedall their efforts towards persuading the min-isters to bow the knee after the precedent setby Lord Macartney. But against this pro-position the ministers showed a determinedfront, and the Chinese, being compelled togive way on this point also, turned their at-tention to obtaining some advantages in re-turn for the concessions accorded. The Dutch and Portuguese ministers, who. A HIGH-CASTE MANDARIN. had bowed to the ground in the presence ofthe Son of Heaven, had been received in theImperial audience-chamber within the pal-ace ; and Lord Macartney, who had bent theknee, had been allowed to place his creden-tials in the hands of the Emperor. As thepresent generation of ministers had refusedeither to kotow or genuflect, it became neces-sary to emphasize the superiority of the Em-peror over the sovereigns whom they rep-resented, by refusing them admittance withinthe gates of the palace. A pavilion, known as the Tzu-Kuang Ko,was, therefore, chosen for the ceremony. 232 CHINA: PAST AND PRESENT. According to the best authorities, this build-ing is that in which the Mongol princes andCorean ambassadors are feasted at the NewYear. It is here, also, tha
Size: 1595px × 1567px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthornorthrophenrydavenpor, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900
