Rega ee reGene po ba Ream pe) PASSR TEES SELES University of Virgi DS778.W4 A2 1926 A girl from China Soumay Tche Hy i L L98ZZL LOOK UA= i pepe Stiee Teeerecees Bere S pea : Ssecr ri * 2 i eer oes : “ 3 : - Sree Ke aoe = = = ee NES See eee nrine eee Bee eran cnernee - ie aLIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESENTED BY ra . oT i —~7 Onn NicolsonA GIRL FROM CHINA (Soumay Tcheng )A. GIRL FROM CHINA (Soumay Tcheng) BY B. VAN VORST Author of “A Popular History of France” a NIFH WA FY CHIN NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY MCMXXVIttes of AmericaCONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ORE WORD! 220 keels hence telecce oitier Gum ete aA LX lee @wur RAUAGEH IN CANTON (0-6 6) oi ee II My First DREAMS OF FREEDOM 6 Pile A CHINESE ELEROINE 45 ole @ ores ore ck eli IVecl ASsern .VMiy PERSONALITY © se 960 GD Vi SICDEARNING [O READ) CHINESE. 4 25... 19 VI THE SEVENTH Day OF THE SEVENTH IMIOON Sc ee le ee ee a ees Vil My CHINESE GODMOTHER 5.5.45 0.2. 20 VA "Wir START FOR (PEKING) «05 = esis seen OF EXE |OUR Goop WAND! «5 5 ear shee oy hele X My First RESTAURANT DINNER IN PEKING 4/7 ICA TAEIVIOW! & foe aes Eo ioe Bee LS XII How to Keep My FatTHer at HomMeE?...: 5/ CIT a; Biunipy Ave Wray oe i jee lee ch ee 00) XIV Ar FourTEEN J] BECOME ENGAGED..... 64 IOV. (AKCHINESEV SCANDAL 6.15) 4 bees oe eee OF XVI AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JTIENTSIN...... // -AAVILI AAIA AAA AAAI AAALI AAAILLI AAAILV AAAV AAAV] AAAV II AAAV III AAAIA AL ‘\ SO \\ |)CHAPTER XLI ALII XALIITI XLIV ALV XLVI XLVII XLVIII ALIX L CONTENTS PAGE (DHE OVA: SERVANT < (1a ee 199 GAINING! (LIM Ee ii 4 eo hee eee 206 I Am ASKED To Fix My Price.... 214 Dan DIENTSIN: EXPRESS 6G 3 0). 3. 218 BacK IN Our CANTON PaLaAce.... 221 WEST WARD-HOly fee a ey 226 - VWIHER ERS PROGRESS We i ee rere 229 SHIR WRECKS) PIRES) sn oe eee 233 ‘Two MILLION WomMeEN Back oF ME 238 G@ONCEUSION |) 282 ee ee 242FOREWORD I: JULY, 1925, the first Chinese girl, Soumay Tcheng, passed her examinations at the Sor- bonne and received her degree as a lawyer. The scene was historic, marking a date when a woman of the East came as a winning equal into the arena of Occidental learning. In honor of this event the Dean of the Faculty reserved the largest hall in the University of Paris—bare except for its tapestried walls and vast center table, on one side of which sat the three examiners in red gowns and ermine, on the other Soumay Tcheng—how small she looked !— in a pale blue Chinese dress of crépe de Chine cut in the latest Shanghai fashion, her cheeks and lips properly rouged, a touch of black about the eyes, and, quite in the style of her western sisters, her hair bobbed. To pass an examination at the Sorbonne, to re- ceive a ““Doctorat En Droit,” these are wonderful achievements, but Soumay Tcheng is more re- markable through her personality, because of what she is rather than of what she knows. Her character shows a rare combination of sound in- 1XREWORD . ee s - , : * . telligence, strong will-power, and keen sensibil- of See ' | ; r mar mm * + + rv 7 . . ry ® , + > \ ‘ ‘ LS 5 L OT CJL \ 7 . 4 ' a } ~ ’ s ¥ ” ‘ ” | ' ; ; ! 1 4 T 4 * i * * ’ 4 ; one * + , } 4 ioe. ae i¥Vee SOLIC ICLUustu J y is 2 eG MUTI 1 - 1 ; 4 % cy ~~ ¥ ‘ o> + . i ; . ' ry cor | + ’ > a ER O} Ourteen sne ae edad tO ma . ; | : , a ' ry + ‘yr? ry a. ry 1 + 4 4 ~~ © ‘5 7 € (>) Vv i CI i\ i¢] ey | f ~ * ‘ e \ \ ,7y . ’ x ; + > } . * , + - ' lL yvouny woman OT Sixte¢ e TiSK O a y , , \ 4 a : ’ a Tyr} ' ‘ , + : ry ve. { ; . ‘ . r ’ y ' ry 4 vy Si ic | 8 CUYvCC Src \ Bay F \ iF DQ . } ' ' ery ’ f - \ + ; “7 , . ; “ - . CCl C TYG i} ( \ i \ CS 4 ah as ’ "vy / ! * ( . , : ry 7 rd - ; yy ry + rT) t* | ied Pe | ese vovernm m np “ , ‘ * . j ' er ry ' m— ry , | * \ 4 ' ‘ rm t +7 3 j : i I Cs | / | : 1 -_ ge - | + 1] 1 ’ ) f T vy y ’ ry y ’ , ? rr ' ' ry * + - / At | » we a 5 . i : ij A 7. 1 , " . a { + , , + 1 ¢ + " r | r ps ALIOLIL il OT] ; yh « vA . 1 frat | d | | a: , 4 r ; * os ry ais } Teh Li » LOW ‘ A i ‘ x ‘ ALi d i ‘ J } - “ 1 1 Hor the last ten years Souma’ [cheng | iS UCCTI ‘ ; ~ ‘% cy . 4 ¥ - 7 , ' ' + 4 + tne leading >} I C a NOnLYy \ 4 eye 5 + a [ 5 * * + } r | ’ 5 ‘Try , ry : ’ . ' women and bv the most eminent Chinese states- men. scholars, and < Paris. 7 | ' 2 7 7 } i } 4 rwy , l rue tO tne precepts OT ( ontfuCius., Soumay ~ ' [cheng has proved that wisdom and will-power are incomplete rorces without the hum in toucn, ® ‘ : . + . j ‘ 9 h ' ¥ s> . j " -~ “y + + ‘ss > > witnout the vVivifying appeal OF tenderness. Het ey,FOREWORD XI heart is as deep and as open as her mind, as steady and as unfailing as her will. The interest of her story as she related it to me and as I have transcribed it here, lies in the promise it holds for her Chinese sisters. A nation, to be sure, is no greater than its women, but whatever drawbacks to progress the Chinese women’s education may have hitherto presented, Soumay Tcheng’s ex- ample illuminates the future way. Is she going to practise law? Not immediately. The State Department has offered her a position on her return to Peking in November. She hopes to go into Parliament, to found a women’s party, a women’s bank, etc., and at the same time she will continue to collaborate with the young statesmen of China, who patiently, determinedly, are rous- ing the Chinese to a sense of national unity, in- spiring an old people with a new and modern spirit.A GIRL FROM CHINA -(Soumay Tcheng)A GIRL FROM CHINA CHAPTER [I Our PALACE IN CANTON WAS born in an old house which had been I built by my father’s father, in Canton. We belonged to the aristocracy of China, which is composed of one hundred families. ‘The con- stant recurrence of the names Lee, Cheng, Wang, Woo, Hoo, etc., is explained by this fact that we have narrowed our genealogies down to a cycle. Yet, paradoxical as it may seem, we are the most democratic people in the world, as I shall en- deavour to make clear, and, at the same time, there are certain prejudices still extant among us which must astonish Americans. In my grandfather’s days, for example, there was a general contempt for any money which was not inherited. Grandfather had _ been brought up in the belief that a mandarin, such as his own father, who had served his country faith- fully, ought not to acquire a fortune. This theory, however, seemed absurd to him. He was full of energy, and he had the sort of creative ability which is bound to make money. His 12 A GIRL FROM CHINA dream was to rebuild the city of Hong Kong. The day he ventured to inform his father of this rather pretentious project he was told that he could thereafter look out for himself, that no further allowance would be granted him from the abundant patrimony of his indignant parent. He managed to get on without it. He was a born financier. He had the instinct and the au- dacity necessary to undertake any venture. [here are whole quarters of Hong Kong which owe their existence to his initiative. It was he who built the palace in which I was born and brought up, and which, even today, is an object of inter- est to all foreigners who visit Canton. In true Chinese fashion we were a very large family under the parental roof; with grand- mother, my mother with her children, her broth- ers and sisters, the cousins, the uncles and aunts, we numbered about sixty people in all, without counting the servants, who amounted to another forty. To reach the entrance of our house you cross first a large courtyard surrounded by grey stone walls, and then a garden full of trees and flowers and sweet-scented shrubs, always in bloom, for the mildness of the air in Canton is like a per- petual springtime. [he four seasons with us are noticeable only because of the changes in colour and perfume—the leaves never fall, winter is un- known.OUR PALACE IN CANTON 3 The main entrance of the house, at the top of a flight of stone steps, between two columns, is at the other side of the garden. Before the door there is a screen in carved wood. This is one of the many treasures of our household. My grandfather was particularly proud of this screen; he had the wood brought from a forest where every tree is at least a hundred years old, and he himself chose the subjects which he wished to have cut into this splendid material, and then gilded. They relate episodes of our national his- tory. Back of this screen there is a large vesti- bule where the men-servants, when we come in from an outing, draw up our sedan-chairs. It is only very recently that people in Canton have be- gun to go about on foot, or in carriages. In my childhood well-to-do families went out only in sedan-chairs. But to continue with the visit of the house: When you have crossed the vestibule, you find yourself in another courtyard which is like the scenery of some sylvan play: there are Prottoes, artificial rocks, miniature mountains, old stone bridges, all reflected in a tiny lake where the lotus flowers grow high in summer-time. Beyond this glimpse into fairyland, another staircase leads into an immense hall paved in marble. This is the reception-room, with its altar, where the fam- ily marriages and births and all religious festiv- ities are celebrated. Only on such exceptional; Two dist e ‘ men OT Ti >} » Liic , rry TT “ y *} : Liat iC SC tren jc. : ; +} ’ = , . > rat ic] ae. ‘ , i. « 17 -] : | | A ] CliOT! ah \\ WOOG 5 ; , | | rut mcy ‘ I ‘ Wi CYCI (ie want, As a recog! ; - ' poor people of the t ' 1} - 1 . . —T snow some pubDlic Ta +} ar ’ , | i if SCV C 4 - Ly | | ‘ | “ . - CT | ICTeTS y | i\. 5 I< Til’ it). i } * , 7 7 —* ¥ *% | he } aAricl i} ] \\V ‘ ' . ry | - i CIA i} > 4 ' iw. | I i , 4 i 7* £> } : StTaANUS LIICIC aod Lit 1} | . { > OTF ali tne actS OF Ou tr «cre Ty) on 7 C rr If a he J . ' »s & Miv (wo bh ry yt | | ‘ ' , +r { * ’ ‘ » LITMOS ( l USL U J . y } ] ‘ | . ry , } Ty ; | . | coe Gen ( ) a Liit YY GALIOSs | . ’ a - rTPr ' : . 7% ’ ‘ r cl CLC >. { ic SL y ' 4 . - ' > ‘ie | 1 a 4 “ ae he 1 ° a 6 ’ . ‘ 4 » + rr . yy : cy ' i r as eA4 > CL Ly y wee , ‘ - f ‘ , | ' - i} + ( erered: i . y ; } . : 7? co arm FT ; . > ¢ 1é LD] . STUTILA ‘ \ 7 - , , nec) ri ri me : + r* nes o 4 ; ‘Al . . 1 ’ ‘ i , - 7. a t , , ’ ~}) _ r lat m t keep em » , rr , t ry cy ms 2 7 ’ ‘ J A iwi SUL \ om \. ' } 4 - 4 F‘,\arrrrTe 4 ry , ' 5 ' ’ WT) perved ‘ . i 5 . oe Tis - 1 } im f .7 ~ Pil (4) Lill € iX 4 ; , . 4 o . ‘ + s { * , ‘ 7y + : 1 r f —™ &§ + i | & i . ; ’ C + d ner rr a c \. ‘ ls ‘1 ® 5 ; , 1 ( + = *) roy! Cc 1 \ c | . ' * , - ‘ = ~~ * ‘ ry 4 + so 7 , 7 » c / cS ( yO] ah i < ‘ J : * = * ’ ~ ’ i I ‘ .. _ ’ « 1 + YY 7 r r ,vT) 7 yy { ‘ iad Shee +4} ‘ J} La is ' e* ~ ‘ f r* 1? © + : : ry + eT RD Js 4 i WA . : : . | ] ] } | > : ’ { ; ;rT i r P \ rT 7’) > ‘) | Ls yy 4 , 4 é , 1} ’ yr) 7 rv r WC SS it tae ‘ . ; , . 4 , ¢ i} ; ; \ 7 * reCc cf) J} 4 » I dil SL} 1 . 4 # ] 7 ; + + » \ j + 2 Y) ) f ‘ ic (iudi A > WALLY .} ~~ LA ‘ ’ Ss 4 A 1} . . ’ 1 7 -) s 7 ry) 7 ' \ \ LOSC whe X i . yy VU it j :OUR PALACE IN CANTON 5 hours, when all the cousins, boys and girls, played together for a time. I was the youngest of the family. I hardly ever left my mother’s side.[I CHAPTER My Frrst DREAMS OF FREEDOM [ the time of which I am writing, when | was a little child. my mother was about * , r | twenty-five years old. We were the clos- est possible friends. As for the other members of the family—my grandmother and my uncles especially—they did not attract me. I could not care for them much because I felt they did not understand me. I| was always doing things for which they felt called upon to scold me. I did not have patience enoug! to sit quietly, like my little cousins, and be taugh how to embroider. I liked to run around the gardens and climb trees with the boys. I was quite an expert at marbles, and could spin a top | better than my brothers. Another game | liked was one totally unknown in the women's quarters; we played it with the big pieces of Chinese money, trying to see how far we could roll them along the ground. One day when I was busy with one of my boy cousins building a mud house, my uncle discovered me and punished me severely. He struck me. His anger made me determined that 1 would ¢FIRST DREAMS OF FREEDOM 7 not yieldto him. Seeing my obstinacy, he dragged me off to my mother. He begged her to chastise me in a manner befitting such misdemeanours. As soon as I was alone with my beloved mother, my dear, great friend, I felt that I could speak out my heart. “Why,” I said to her, “do they want to prevent me from building mud houses? It’s such fun! Where’s the harm?” My mother answered with a slight tone of re- proach: “Girls are meant to be very gentle, quiet little people. They must learn to obey.” Convinced that I had done nothing wrong, I answered in all sincerity: “Tf I am not allowed to go and play with the boys in the garden, then I shall have to stay in the house with the servants. What will they teach me? I shall see them helping themselves to the food, and I shall hear them repeating all the gossip.” My mother did not scold me. JI remember now the tenderness in her eyes as she looked at me. She was displeased with me for my disobedience, but she quite understood my reasons as | gave them to her. I was only about six years old at this time, and as I was often the companion of my mother, I now became, in a way, her confidante. She was constantly alone. My father, who was then aboutFROM CHINA . y - * | or ty -*“o ry “2p } 4 - ied , +i } " Tn rty, remained absent for months atatime. In- ' 7 ‘ . . - . * . leed, he lived al] intirely ; Pek , "ste > XY . Vi 5 eae # Vet LiTTié St . Til ; \ i\ iT} c KI tT) SJ " ( | a Ge ~ | = had f I] , r ; ’ ery + ry » ‘ ; ; , + ‘ OUY L ch ( iJ fun, yi Ulli us Ail se [ . Leh cat ‘ i« r ‘ ‘ 1 - . * 5 rt - } 4 1 + * > . > \ . . { + OWdl Gd ' X c 4 J 4 x 2 \ rT" mot CI \ 5 ) oe ' ; 1 + + i . + + Li AC C aown to rest on the ¢ ici m me } ! 41} c ‘ ¥ . i * * * « 6 * * ( I \ I } Li \ iS . 2, Ll ; ° i f f . ; : r + + 5 . ) \V I ve ri¢ C J C rs T ~ 7 1 . ry es , ' - — 4 : . ' ' ¥ ’ 5 77 \ Me > * + V4 ‘ = ’ , , . + ~ } ’ 4 r . , 1¢ >. j " : t ‘ i ' i ' -_ ' { ‘ 1 | + ; q | . > ¢ , : ‘ ‘ . : { \ , tei ‘ , 4 1 ) sw a > “ e ' , + - ™ se F ~ + 1 * 4 - OT os - LC r¢ C ( 16) + j [ Y i , ’ ’ ry 4 ‘ ’ + ry ; 7 + +? JIC TiC F 4 i} t * if } \ } - | } ' 1} . ' . ‘ . ¢ ‘ a; ‘ ¢ crys ; ‘Ba _ ' . J \. J it I } 5 I 7 I i ( \ i ' ' | * mys re, + ry vy ¢ r* y > mf aa 1 | = no one y motner ever € ered siaered , } 1} j 1} it ad SUDTeITIE mMmour tO De iowed To ¥ vit } +] a ae ' 1] Tv : yyy = ' 7 + 77 15> \ . + 2 rT} ' CT } \ TT) ' } J C i Vs ( [ . Q 4 ' 1] , ' ' ’ . . i ' rr 7 2 . = , PLS »¢ \ Lit itl TOT] | US \s -- a st) ‘5 4 7 tet , - - ye changed, one saw peonies, or roses, or chrysan- , 4 - ' * y y* . : , > ‘ -*+ - = tnemums, or sometimes dwarf trees of maple o . : j ~) .* + \ , . + v= ‘ p ne \i ( Tave € impress n of a tiny c , 7 1 . . + + * m™ so ry ; re} = ‘ 7 ’ a , ' \ } 1 p | on At one end of this garden, which was no b roe! | } : ¥ 1 7 rt * ‘ \ >) <> * cs a : than a medium-sized room, there was a stone al- roy X &4 4 > . | > a eeey . . . ' . ' . oo A ' . - — very morning my mother, as soon as she was to conhde to the great God of Gods the sorrows which made her heart heavy. The place seemedFIRST DREAMS OF FREEDOM 9 a refuge and a sacred spot, on account of this daily communion with the Infinite, so precious to her. There was something very sweet to me in this melancholy which seemed to envelop my mother with an atmosphere of gentleness. I longed to be able to console her. I did not know what it was that made her sad, and I did not venture to ask. I felt it was her secret. So we contented our- selves with talking about her childhood. She loved to tell me about her father, whose memory was sacred to her. She had loved him above everyone. This grandfather of mine, my mother’s father, was named Liou Chang Wha. te had been a great general in his time. My mother was his favourite child, and as, in those days, there was not much chance for girls to amount to anything, he always hoped that his daughter might be brought up as a boy. This wish was violently opposed by his wife, my moth- er’s mother, who was very conventional in her way of looking at life. She was a firm believer in the old tradition that a girl whose feet have not been tied and crippled will not find a man will- ing to marry her when the time comes to seek a husband. She reminded her daughter, also, that in China marriage is the principal object in life for a girl who respects her parents, and who wishes to follow the divine plan of existence. My grandfather did not have the heart to with-Li A GIRL FROM CHINA Stand such crushj f a mother used to hold out her little foot, broken like the wing of a wounded bird. “The legend is,’ she said, “that hundreds and arguments. So my dear hundreds of years ago, the king of one of our great provinces of the South one day saw on the dust the fresh footprints of some woman who had passed that way. The traces were of a foot so exceedingly small that the king at once cried out: ‘Il wish to make a queen of the girl who has walked in this path.” She was found, and he we married her, and so all the women of the province were jealous of her good fortune. longing to meet with an equally happy fate, they began to mutilate their feet in the hope of diminishing their size. Such was the origin of the cruel cus- tom—so the story goes. Like thousands of others, | have been its victim.”’ My mother then went on to tell me how she regretted such a false ideal: while it caused a woman to suffer, it did not in any way make her a better companion for her husband. She longed that my future might be more free than her past had been. “soumay,” she said to me, “you must strike out for yourself. Develop your intelligence first, and then perhaps you may be able to help others and be of use to them. There have been many women in our history who have done great things for their country.”FIRST DREAMS OF FREEDOM II One day, when she had been talking to me of her thoughts and her hopes, and when she seemed to me sadder and more depressed than usual, she told me the story of our national heroine, Moulan.S| und 1 ] oir] S SODS COU! he ~** A Liivl . Hier father. efore Moulan answered: you, | She dressed er If] Ul it | She fastened - ae on her rat S alms. Sh ees ited herself be-A CHINESE HEROINE 13 fore the governor of the province. He did not perceive that this young woman was a woman, and he let her pass. In order to join the army, Moulan had to cross over the river Hoang Hoa. She lingered a mo- ment on the shores of this beautiful stream. Her thoughts were turned toward the father she had left, and her heart was sorrowful. “Never shall I pass this way again,” she said to herself. “I shall never hear the murmur of these waters. I have chosen to do my duty. Perhaps I shall fallin combat. If I am victorious I shall be able to return on the opposite side of the Hoang Hoa.”’ Moulan showed the qualities of a great chief. She put the enemy to rout. No one suspected her secret. The Emperor called her to him, in order to reward her according to her merits. He wanted to keep her among his followers. She refused everything he offered—gifts and position. ‘‘[ have won the battle,” she declared to him. “I have served my country. But I have still my filial duty to accomplish. J must return to my father, who waits for me.” She did accordingly. Now, one day, a short time after she had reached her father’s house, a gallant officer came rapping at the door. He wanted to ask news of14 A GIRL FROM CHINA his valiant brother-in-arms, who had won the ad- miration of all. lt was Moulan herself who greeted him on the threshold. She had resumed the dress of the young girls of her time; she was clad, and her hair was arranged, with grace. The visitor did not recognise her. “Beautiful young girl,’ he asked, “where is my proud companion who led us to victory ?”’ "It Wank.CHAPBER LV I Assert My PERSONALITY REMEMBER the day when, for the first I time, life seemed to me too cruel. My orandmother had given orders that one of her slaves was to be beaten. Thanks to the political and social progress which I have been fortunate enough to assist in bringing about, our laws no longer allow such abuses, but when I was a child the great Chinese families still kept slaves. This was what happened: We were all playing together, all the little girls of the household, in the quarter reserved for the women. Each one of us had her at- tendant, a child of about ten years old who was appointed to follow her little mistress wherever she went, never letting her out of sight. Al- though trained at a very tender age to practise a vigilance such as would require all the virtues of a grown woman, these little girls were in reality no more serious than we ourselves. Needless to say we often fought together, but generally the disputes ended without any disastrous conse- quences. 15| am speaking, one of my FS ) Siadve vot into } ‘ verita le Youn? > Vi yked aI ASSERT MY PERSONALITY 17 Like a flash, so quickly that no one had time to put her hand over my mouth, I cried out: “This cannot be! The child who has done wrong is taken into its mother’s arms, fondled and comforted. This little slave has a mother too! Where is she? Why has her child been beaten? Oh! this is all too unjust!” At the same time I rushed over to my little cousin. “T shall beat you!” I declared. Then I ran back to the little servant and put my arms around her neck. Everyone looked on amazed. They all tried to restrain me, to calm me, but in vain. Il only shouted the louder: “You are all leagued together against one little girl. It is outrageous!” My grandmother grew as white as a sheet. She belonged to a much less noble family than my mother. This inequality of origin was a con- stant cause of jealousy on her part. She never let a chance go by to criticize the way we were being educated. “Your child,” she said now to my mother, “is very badly brought up. She should have been born in the lower classes! She has such sympathy with them. She is scarcely prepared to appreciate the privileges which have been handed down to her from our side of the house!” To say to a Chinese mother that she has13 1 GIRL FROM CHINA brought up her child badly is to inflict upon her the worst possible insult. I felt the arrow drive into my mother’s heart, and I knew that she suf- fered cruelly. In an instant it brought me to my senses. I would rather have died than to have heard my mother publicly blamed on account of something I had done. since then I have often lived over that sce weighing the impressions which it left in my memory. All too young I learned that no precautions are too great to take for those who wish to be- COme the dispensers of justice in this world. To be sure, I had been quite right in taking up the cudgels to defend a little slave, but this very same impulse, good as it was, had been the means of bringing condemnation upon the being I[ loved the most in the world.CHAPTER V LEARNING TO READ CHINESE HE girls of our family all took their lessons together. We had a tutor who came to the house for school hours. We were drawn up before him in lines, each one of us seated on a little chair before a miniature table, about twenty in all. The schoolmaster was an old man. He wore a round skull cap and big spectacles with tortoise-shell rims. His mous- tache, long and scraggly, hung down on either side of his mouth. He taught us how to write. We rubbed the fne brushes on tablets of ink before we attempted to draw the Chinese characters, so intricate, so decorative to look at, and which tell such wonder- ful stories. For example, to make the letter which means a “‘house,”’ you draw an open door. To write the word which means to “listen,” you put an ear against this door, and so on. I had never forgotten the conversation I had had one evening with my mother, when she had told me how barbarous she thought it was to maim the feet of little Chinese girls, under pre- text of following a fashion considered beautiful. IQlesso oh Wwe ha a having my feet bound. patience did not hold out long. At nioht night | un- rolled the bandages which 1 hurt me so fearfully. In the morning I ra protest TO - ' 1 to school on my own free | was already seated and deep in my little toes.LEARNING TO READ CHINESE 21 work when the other pupils began to arrive, sway- ing along on the backs of their slaves, and suffer- ing so that they were ready for anything rather than to pay attention to the schoolmaster. My grandmother was of course told of my dis- obedience. She considered it with rigid severity. When she saw how badly my mother felt to think of my being made to suffer in this way, and when the pain was so great that I could eat nothing, she realised that my mother wanted my poor feet to esrow as nature intended they should. Then she repeated the same words as my mother’s grand- mother had said of my mother: ‘So much the worse for this child. If she won't accept the laws laid down for women, no one will marry her.” I hasten to add that my grandmother, before her death, had the satisfaction of knowing I had received several proposals of marriage! She for- gave me in the end for my rebellion, for she had come at last to condemn the old Chinese custom which obliged parents to crush and break the feet of their poor little girls. Our schoolmaster did not. teach us only how to form the beautiful Chinese characters; he gave us lessons also in reading the maxims of Confucius and Monfucius. These reflections, so fine in spirit, upon the duties of man toward himself and toward his neighbour, formed rather an arid sub- ject for children of about six to eight years old.FROM CHINA A GIRL Yet it was this very instruction which trained our minds along the lines of thought which are at the base of all moral teaching in China, namely, that human kindness is the most precious of all qual- ities, that man understands better through his heart than by his mind, and that intelligence which is devoid of tenderness is a poor thing. Slowly and laboriously we spelt out these noble lessons of the Master. We sang them in a mo- notonous and melancholy tone. I must confess that I tried to lift my voice above the others! Not because I had any special predilection for work, but because I suffered at being shut up in this way. | kept saying to myself that the sooner I had fin- ished repeating my lesson tO the professor, the sooner I could run out again and play in the gar- den. We continued our lesson-hours through all the four seasons, in summer as well asin winter. Ihe only exception was made at New Year's, when we had a two weeks’ vacation. For this holiday we each received a present and a new dress. It was the custom for us young girls all to wear red silk gowns embroidered with butterflies and flowers. In these costumes we formed a long procession and marched in to wish a “Happy New Year” to our grandparents and parents, our uncles and aunts, and all the tmpor- tant personages of the family. Then everybody in the entire household went to the temple. WeLEARNING TO READ CHINESE 23 paid our respects to the dead, we burnt incense in honour of their memory. I loved this holiday. In my long red robe I could quite easily imagine that I was already grown up. And yet, as soon as we had entered the mysterious shadows of the temple, I nestled close against my mother’s knees. It seemed to me there that she could protect me from all harm, even from death.THE SEVENTH DAY 25 over with real pearls. We cultivated seven sorts of flowers, and each sort had to be presented in seven different vases. Seven varieties of fruit were set out upon the table which was laid for the angels. Indeed, nothing was forgotten—there were drinking-cups, dishes, and food sufficient for a banquet which was to last for seven days. Each year, all these preparations, enveloped as they remained in mystery, were the occasion of cruel disappointments, as far as I was personally concerned. [ was full of excitement and curiosity, and of course the older girls always imposed upon us little ones. We ran errands for them, and waited on them, but they never let us into their secrets. In the middle of a conversation on a palpitatingly interesting subject, they sent us oft to find something in another part of the house. When we got back, the story, of course, was fin- ished, and we never heard the end of it. I learned finally what was perhaps more use- ful than any childish story—how to make the little coloured rice mosaics and the pearl and silk embroideries, and how to prepare the fruit and flowers, so that, now in these days of progress when the young girls of Canton might perhaps abandon these old customs, I have been able to keep up the tradition so precious to us Chinese. At last the great day arrived and then all the little annoyances were forgotten, and for the space2t A GIRL FROM CHINA of a few hours we lived a magic existence in an enchanted world. 7 ' ’ [he setting of this ceremony was the mag- nificent hall of our ancestors. Just as the clock struck midnight, the doors were thrown open to admit the most exquisite procession. The men and the older women and the boys of the house- hold were not allowed LO take part even as spcc- tators in this celebration. This sacred spot, from which we were generally excluded, belonged for this one night to us girls alone, and we were ar- raved with the sole longing to please the spirits of the angels, themselves invisible. On the pale background of our gowns, whicl Were of blue. nink. PrTecfni. vellow., there Were the most beautiful embroideries—the fingers of fairies seemed to have traced the forms of the rarest flowers and plants, and the most gorgeous birds and butterflies. Our dark hair was wonder- - 4 oy a eet 8 | fully ornamented with pins and combs of jade and gold. ()ver our wl re stockings we WOTe little slippers brilliant in colour. Thus clad and decked in splendour, rejoicing, and yet timid, we advanced very slowly into the great hall, scarcely moving one foot before the other, in the hope that we might prolong forever this happiness which it had taken a whole year to prepare. The hall was lighted by lanterns hung at difter- ent heights from the ceiling. They cast about them a soft glow; their lights flickered and movedTHE SEVENTH DAY 27 like something living as the air gently set them in motion. They cast big circles of gold down upon the table where our treasures and offerings were spread out. On the red coals, which had been placed in flaring vases of bronze, we burned little sticks of sweet-scented wood. The air was full of these perfumes, and above our heads there were clouds of smoke as light as some floating veil. All the emotion of those never-to-be-forgotten evenings are present in my memory among the wonderful pictures which form part of my child- hood’s vision. No doubt I am in favour of prog- ress, and I shall always work for what is modern. Yet I cannot help regretting that, in spite of all we do to preserve these traditions, they have al- ready lost much of their precious beauty of long ago.world of which I knew so l¢ road wound upward throughMY CHINESE GODMOTHER 29 fields. In the autumn sunlight they looked like a moving sea of green. Sometimes we took a short- cut, striking across the meadows, following a nar- row path. Then, as I no longer feared to be seen, I leaned out of the pretty sort of box in which we travelled, and I loved to just touch with the tips of my fingers the heavy sheaves of grain. Ai little higher up we could see a horizon of distant moun- tains and now and then through a breach in these hillsides we caught sight of the sea. My thoughts sped on far beyond the beauty of all that was vis- ible to the eye, and which was so new to me. | was thinking of my country and of how China stretched out further than anything we could per- ceive to an almost unlimited distance. J dreamed of the ships which I had never seen, and which night and day were plying upon the ocean, bound for some port in Europe where they would finally come to anchor. My mother was troubled by my silence. “You must be a happy child,” she said to me, “my little Soumay. You will have time later to reflect and to sufter.”’ The thought of travelling turned my mind in another direction. It recalled my father. It was such a long time since he had left us—about four years now—that at moments I almost forgot him. One day, when I was leaning on my mother’s shoulder, in her sedan-chair, feeling more than ever loving, I suddenly asked:ace ane ee A GIRL FROM CHINA ‘Where is my father ?”’ My mother sighed, and I saw that there were tears in hereyes. I begged her to answer me. “If he cannot return here to be with us, why may we not go to find him?” My mother drew me into her arms. “Your fatl er, she said with SOTTOW in her voice. ‘‘is in Peking.”’ I nsti ncti vely I or} ance tOWarlr< t] te f iT-away mountains which stood out, a dark blue line against the sky. sé ' = ' : 1 : —— Pekine 4 aSsSKeC. Is (nat verv tar away fr + ‘4 it was my mother’s turn to grow silent now, nd tel? 4.1 . i 1 i c | rvorvirvey 17 tr , y . a Ti¢ iit \ i | iit Was LIVI away rom me. } ! } ' } } - | would SO have ioved to console ner ror all her c ] } 1 SOTTOWS. telt lis thou?! had the power to do 4 j +} 4 + | ° ;¥ , _ re ae — > | it, aS Thougn must and could comfort ner. ' j ie. : ! . oa. Bs took her hand in mine. | held it tight. | “What does it matter,’ I said very decidedly, “how long we are on the way? We must go to Peking.” ‘*Dearest.. 5% ‘ [he sun’s rays as they shone now into our car- riage lighted up the tears on my mother’s cheeks so that they sparkled like crystals. We did not speak again until we had reached the top of the hill. Ihere our men stopped before a high doorway, roofed over with blue tiles which followed its upward curving lines. It looked likeMY CHINESE GODMOTHER 31 a little piece of heaven which had dropped down upon the earth to warn visitors that they were about to enter a place of refuge for those who love to meditate. We got out of our chair, and on foot we crossed an immense garden. At the end of it we came to a temple. The tiles of which it, too, was built were as blue as the sky and as brown as the earth. Under a small pavilion we could see a tombstone, standing upright. My mother paused there and bade me pay tribute to the dead; for, she ex- plained, under this stone rested the ashes of an ancestress of ours who, for some reason no one could explain, had never married. She was known as ‘‘Miss Angel,’ and this name was a true ex- pression of the really divine qualities which she had shown through her acts of loving kindness during her years upon earth. Touched and impressed by her infinite sweet- ness and charm, my grandfather had built for her, in this retired place, a temple and a sort of convent. Miss Angel had lived there, surrounded by the other women of our family who had never married. She had left such an exquisite memory, and the souvenir of all the good she did continued to seem so real, that she had finally come to be considered with the reverence due to a saint. Thanks to my grandfather’s extreme gener- osity, and in spite of the hostility of the Chinese Government toward any plan which encouragesrn ii conhdence. Her smile was sufficient. * She smiled with tl gaiety of a child. { felt sure that she was happy. I loved to see how glad my mother was to talk with her. This especial ten- derness which she affected for the house on the hill was, it seemed to me, tinged with a shadow ofMY CHINESE GODMOTHER 33 regret. My mother would have liked to remain there, I felt. In the monotonous routine of this existence of prayer and solitude, she might have been able to forget the sorrows which had come to her in her married life. At noon exactly the doors of the refectory were opened. I bounded with joy at the sight of the table laden with the most delicate and wonderful dishes. Only vegetables and fruits and desserts were al- lowed, but what a feast for the eyes as well as for the mouth! There were hors d’euvres such as I had never seen before, salads which looked like bouquets of flowers, egg-plant stuffed with rice, steamed mushrooms, croquettes no bigger than a’ Lima bean, luscious pastries, cakes made out of rice-flour, salted almonds, watermelon seed grilled and sugared. Whatnot? Everything was prepared in such dainty quantities, as though to tempt the appetite of a fairy, and served in bowls of rare porcelain, or in cups of incomparable colours. When the time came to set out again on our homeward way toward Canton, my arms were filled with the toys which my godmother had made for me. I clasped these treasures close to my heart, and cradled by the gentle swaying of our chair, I fell asleep, blissfully happy.CHAPTER VIII We START FOR PEKING N China, when a woman 1S jealous of her hus- band, everyone makes fun of her. She is not taken seriously. It is true that, at the time of which I am writing, the marriage laws of China admitted the existence of several wives in the life of every man. There was, of course, only one legal companion: the union with her, for better, tor worse, lasted until death. But, aside from this unique responsibility, the head of a family, if it so pleased him, had the right to protect more than one member of the weaker sex. Thus my mother’s melancholy, which daily in- creased, met at the hands of my grandmother with ironical disapprobation. Nor was this lack of sympathy wholly disinterested. My grandmother was growing old; the idea that her daughter-in-law might set out for Peking and leave her the entire care of our big house in Canton distressed her. Fortunately, my mother did not give up to her grief; back of her outward sorrow she concealed the will and energy of a man. She formed this resolution deliberately, weighing all the risks and disadvantages, and 4WE START FOR PEKING 36 then, when her plan was completed in detail, she announced very simply that, without further de- lay, she wished to start for Peking, taking with her her three children—my sister, my brother, and myself. Our eldest brother had remained with my father; it was now almost five years since we had seen either of them. So my mother and my grandmother entered into a long discussion, the most serious they had ever had, and in which both spoke the truth. My mother blamed herself for not having gone with her husband when he left Canton for Peking; my grandmother admitted that she had retained her daughter-in-law almost by force. She declared that she was ready to make tardy reparation by giving her consent now to our leaving her. We set out upon our journey escorted by sev- eral of the most faithful of our servants. One of my uncles, who did not want to let his sister-in- law venture upon such a long voyage alone, de- cided to accompany us. Everyone was weeping as we said good-by to our old home, and started for the river where we were to take a boat for Hong Kong. There was a throng of cousins and friends and servants to see us off. I was sad at the thought of leaving, and yet thrilled at the idea of this journey. My dear godmother had come down from the hilltop to say farewell. She begged me not to shed any tears, but to think only that I was soonal A GIRL FROM CHINA to find my father, and that we would bring him hack with us to Canton. The little steamboat in which we set out was ' : ONE os. : OUT OWN? property. Canton IS ONLY aN hour Ss dl a S. tance from Hong Kong, yet | was to sec a\} thi i * landscape of sky and earth for the first time. i f Often in looking out of the window of our house I had noticed a beautiful island in the ry ] 1] a . 1 . rp ry | | } } . r ] »7 a it t} ere : *% ic {} \ c >» | CATT}. (ict WOTUCI CU i a 4 6iTs,P TP ry 1/7 | iren lik . ’ 1} rae (TF iT} lar | a reef; WeTEe ally Ciilicii Cll KC US IViny UNUCI | USC ICC! > ' | 4 * | i + ; * , ; : a ry f r . + trees. Now here we were, gliding alot ty Dy the : ww" | co | ‘ —- y ry : — } rT) 17 ry) +} very snores OT this Gream-iSiand, afi my motner Bat See AE =" told me that it belonged to our family. | was | ’ amed on down the river we met a — f — o t -— > vo - \f 1] T Pe ae number of little sail-boats. [he hshermen in s , 7 - . ese barks all knew who we were and where we +) were going. They greeted us, and we waved tO them in return. acl en they called ONE tO wes. ‘Peking! Peking!’ If I had been on the way Mt ane | tO heaven, could not nave deen MmOr;re overjoyed. The sun was setting over the sea as we reached the harbor of Hong Kong. I had never seen any- ‘ul as these gorgeous colours in the sky at the dav’s end. And when the electric a » lights began one by one to shine out, it seemed to me that all the stars of the firmament were re- flected on earth. I remember also that as we went into the Eng- lish Customs House on the Hong Kong docks, I 5 &WE START FOR PEKING 37 saw for the first time a European. He looked strange to me, of course, but everything now at every turning was so extraordinary! I could not count the astonishing things I saw. We were in an entirely new world, and J was ready for any surprise. Some of our relations who live in Hong Kong, and whom I had never seen, came to meet us. Even they seemed different and peculiar to me, and I kept wondering if it were they who were queer, or if it were we who now looked like the European man at the Customs House. I fell asleep that night before I found an answer to the problem. I was just nine years old at that time. During the three weeks we stayed in Hong Kong I be- came an entirely new person. There was no limit to the things I wanted to know. My curiosity finished by attracting the attention of our friends and relations. They became interested, and they showed me all that I wanted to see. Our first visit was to the race-course, the fash- ionable rendezvous of Hong Kong society. There I saw thoroughbreds and jockeys. I mingled with the crowd of Europeans, made up of English, French, and American men and women, all very elegantly dressed. Even the Chinese people who passed us in their little two-wheeled rickshas, fol- lowed fashions in clothes and in the way of doing their hair, unknown to us in Canton. Everything38 A GIRL FROM CHINA was different to all I had seen before. All was new, all was wonderful. Mey brother and sister were not consumed, as [ was, with curiosity. This unknown world frightened them. They preferred to remain in- doors. I got into conversation with everyone. | made friends on all sides. As we owned a number of houses and factories in Hong Kong I obtained permission from my mother to go with our compradores, or commis- sioners, on their rounds. They showed me the machines. They answered all my questions and explained all until [ understod how it could be . that these metal engines could move and act as though they were alive, accomplishing tasks of which a man would be incapable. These compradores could speak many lan- guages, so they interpreted for me when | wanted to talk with the foremen or the directors of our factories, who were generally ! nelish. I told them that we were on our way to Peking to join my father. They gave me presents for him. They offered me some of the objects I had seen made by the machines. I held them in my hands very cautiously, a little afraid they might come to pieces. Then these foreigners said: “Fere’s a little girl who seems to take an in- terest in everything. This was, of course, the first time I had heard English spoken. The compradores translatedWE START FOR PEKING 30 these remarks for me. I could not describe my amazement to think that these curious sounds could be put into Chinese, and that they not only meant something, but that it was something that had been said about me! I visited the big stores where, in the Orient, all sorts of English goods are sold: clothes, plum- cakes, shoes, tennis-racquets, teapots, letter paper ...Wwhat-not? ‘She is the granddaughter of our great Tcheng,” I heard our compradores explain. They took me through the streets which my famous ancestor had built. All these houses were due to his enterprising spirit. It seemed to me as though the whole world belonged to us. [ fairly danced with joy and pride. One evening two very old gentlemen came to make us a visit. They had known my grand- father when he was a young man. Their hands were as hard and as yellow as ivory. When they lifted up the little cups in which my aunt had of- fered them tea, their arms shook and trembled. They spoke of the old days with a certain rever- ence, and, as I listened to them, my heart was overflowing. Suddenly, in the midst of these recollections, so intimate, so sweet, they began, with an accent of regret, to allude to certain memories concerning their comrade of long ago.10 A GIRL FROM CHINA ‘Ah!’ they said, “if only he had not done this if only he had not done that. . These insinuations greatly disturbed me. As soon as our visitors had gone I hastened to ques- ' rion mv motner. - - } | - 1. | + > ie . ’ = . SPCCUl ted recklessly. | i e SLOLG Ks h6e oreat . re . a ‘ erin | } } ry) thro oh ov r) J J 1 } ih . | ( > { ic \ ii Uj \ \ Sy ‘ i ; ] . personal etl t was lost ’ 7 4 ‘ | ’ = But the | asked, Lponized, rnose Nnouses | ~ } - + e t they snowed me SE BSLFCeLsS saw ! | | . - © mil eo » MO iJ) FC | Cc I } ) J ‘ A I I . " i ¥ ° ‘% ~) > 7 * J ; ’ ird th ‘ce r >. + ‘ L i‘ i ot ‘ = 1 Cal 4 Liit c L % , | YCIsSCs a lat tO it seemed to me tft Lt WaS da ' ; ‘ ‘ ' ‘ . : c ' i } . “mest 9 4 \ + * > ¥ “+ 5 2 queen dethroned, and that this misfortune na f y : = * ,* , \ i s> ' >) ’ ' i. 1 r ) ’ | cy) '* Pp inrPoaorrge | \ l } Cc . ) - Lvl s ‘ . ‘ Pri ' h i is A | piri at i< 7 | as of joy. Now I was aCHAPTER IX Our Goop WIND N the steamer which took us from Hong Kong to Shanghai there were more Euro- peans than Chinese people. ‘The captain was English, but he spoke Chinese, and my aston- ishment at everything amused him greatly. He asked me if I liked his ship. I thought that I must answer him quite frankly, so I confessed that this was the first time I had smelt European smells, that the oil of the machinery, and other odours, seemed to me less pleasant than the per- fumes of our garden in Canton. During our stop in the port of Shanghai I wrote my first letter; it was to my dear godmother. | felt I must tell her about all the things I had been discovering. he elegant ladies, even the women servants whom we passed in the streets of the city, were of a type entirely different to any I had seen. | rubbed a quantity of ink into my little brush in order to transcribe upon paper all these impressions. I felt that I was a great traveller —in fact, that I had discovered the world. Though our cabins on the ship were very small, I greatly enjoyed sleeping in this floating house. 4I42 A GIRL FROM CHINA ] ] om As soon as the day dawned my nose was flattened against the port-hole to see if the ocean were still there. The throbbing of the engines made my 1°] Ll temples beat; it was so unlike the sounds | was —the sounds oft nature—vet it ‘ accustomed fo ‘ :s . . ‘ 2 seemed to hold a promise tor the future. At last we reached lientsin. i; rom tnat port, here » lefe the ehin Pekino. it is a three where we ieit the ship, to CKing?. 15 18 a three hours’ journey in the train. I had no thoughts ies | 4 for Peking now, but only for my father. I longed so to see him. He knew the day and hour, and by what boat we were to arrive at Lientsin, yet he had not come to meet us. He had only sent a servant to help "us in case of need. This man did not look at all ke our Canton servants. He was dressed difter- \ 4 * i] ently, and he Was much more Ceremonious. He bows and with a respectful we were not accustomed in the 1 preeted us with low gravity to which South. My mother, her three children, and the two old servants who had come with us on our jour- ney, had never set foot in a railroad-train. We were all of us quite dizzy atfirst. I felt half crazy myself. My surprise was not that such a distance could be covered in so short a time. I was only surprised to think that we did not reach heaven at once. As we were dressed in Canton fashion, with special colours and styles to our clothes, peopleOUR GOOD WIND 43 came to the door of our compartment to stare at us. My mother did not even notice them. She was absorbed in the thought of the union she had looked forward to and hoped for, so long, and which was now so near. I saw that she was trembling, and I felt the colour come and go in my cheeks, as J flushed or grew pale with im- patience. I was beginning to find the express too slow when at last we pulled into the station at Peking. All our heads were thrust out of the car win- dows. We were searching for someone, but how could we ever find him in such a crowd? I turned around, disheartened, when there, in our com- partment, I saw a tall man. I was too over- whelmed to speak, but I knew in a flash that it was my father, and that I loved him. He smiled at us. His manner was most kindly and he seemed very happy. He took me in his arms, and he too loved me from that moment. My father did not kiss my mother; indeed, they did not speak. They seemed to be embarrassed, and I believed that my father in this meeting was glad to show me, since he could not show my mother, all the emotion he felt. So I clung to him. A number of friends had gathered to meet us in my father’s house. Among them were people my mother had known when she was a child. She was so glad to see them again that, for the firstA GIRL FROM CHINA > eo time since we had left home, I thought she seemed happy. The Peking house was far more modest than ome in Canton. Indeed, if it had not be- od * - ? | : 7 : a a longed to my father, I should not have liked to . ,* . . liy : | » * Rut a i> rPTrpP hy cy » Ti lont Besse . 1, * C : 1 i t ; C ° ! Js 4 \\ x \ , c \ C \ } : a jam c \ ' ) a \ ' , . SERGE AS . \ a> "Ff is + | . ‘ + rw) f + | rif ‘life ‘- re T T \ lan i ateiv the customs Of this new ire we were CO icad, + + ‘ My mother ino aimcuity in SO GOIN? one knew | k the Pel lect and al » ‘ a ' 4 - Vy ‘ \ l } SV a" \ = TY A I {Fy i iw if) isU | \ | | ' a i. ,y | . I + : ~ + FC Vi » ic rectiy i} la Z' | | ; . | » | y | ’ } 4 ry , 7 ¥ - - + 4 . \ . h . ~ Ly \ t | CT) iS a + ‘ q using St reco W is not one OF Wi COULG : a \. ’ ’ X , | e | ¢ - y ‘ - - -} _— 4 -) I +7 | Cil [ [ \ VN LF Lie lt . iS ¥\ 1 ’ ! ’ = e ' 1. ‘ , . ' ' ° ree OW WI | looks ke tne wings OF a D rd, * ’ } ] ; and Wi miitters With DI eiess stones p eces OT ] * 1 ' ] ] , ’ + | ' 1} ] ¢ O ments Of pearis iv reatners, all 1 . ¢ ‘ - t . . iTranyveced 1 tne LOS| POrYCOUS designs and , son who is the oldest friend of the newcomers. ‘Thus. in Our own house, t| C supper served Of) the first night was ottered by a lady who lived in Peking, but who was a native of Canton. No matter how old friends the Chinese people may , , . . he. whatever they do on such occasions is allOUR GOOD WIND 45 planned out in advance with the solemnity of a religious rite. My mother’s friend said to her: ‘What good wind brings you here ?”’ ‘The south wind,’’ we answered. Then our hostess declared: ‘The south wind brings luck.”’ She had sent over from her house all sorts of marvellous things to eat. They were set out on two tables. Around one of them the men of the family and their friends and the young boys gath- ered; around the other there were assembled the women and the little girls. Now that I had at last found my father I did not want to leave him for a moment. Throwing all ceremony aside, I ran over to the men’s table and nestled close against him. He did not push me away. He let me taste the food he was eat- ing—something which I had never tasted before. He was smiling and happy. “You must excuse this little peasant,” he said to his friends; ‘‘she has just arrived from her vil- lage.”’ After supper the guests all took leave, and everyone withdrew to their apartments. I was much too excited to think of sleeping. I wanted to tell my father everything that was in my mind or on my heart. Although it was very late, he said that I might sit up a little longer to talk with him. What I really wanted was for him to46 A GIRL FROM CHINA stay for a time with my mother, so that she might at last be happy. I could hear her steps in the courtvard where she was walking slowly back and forth. I ran to kiss her goodnight. After this long, long separation, | was overjoyed to see my parents together.CHAPTER X My First REsTAURANT DINNER IN PEKING N PEKING, as early as the month of De- | cember the snow begins to fall in big flakes. [I could not help admiring this beautiful whiteness which covered everything, even though I was shivering with cold. I thought often re- gretfully of our gardens in Canton, where the Howers were always in bloom. If not of climate, there were other advantages in the way we were allowed to live in the north. I was no longer kept with a troop of children, all under one roof, and subjected to the rigid dis- cipline of our grandmother. I was sent to a girls’ school, and there I began to study really serious- ly the Chinese classics which we are obliged to know thoroughly in China if we wish to have any position in the world of letters or among the in- tellectual or official classes. It was my father who, to my joy, decided that I should go to this school. When I think of him now it seems to me that he loved life in a wonder- ful way. He had no patience with things that bored him, and he found me very diverting. My 47RL FROM CHINA curiosity and my energy were always equal to inything he had to propose. So my first year in Peking passed in the follow- nner: in the morning | went to school; in the afternoon | went with my mother CO pay calls. The ceremony observed during these visits was wearisome for a child. My mother’s friends al- ' ,* q . ‘ ways CIS¢ ussed tne same sublects—the weather, or , | . | i >a in ane | . Bet ae | aT * ZS > course then ciothes, and the trouoie they were | sales ph ris A ne on : ; Ln na an mel : > having with their servants, tnel!l eaitn, ane the | car i te) } nig Cost O] Ving [| Cy pala c LCI tner tne made part or the soc | etiquette whnicn all Well- hred Chinese women are expected to observe. In no from one of these houses to another I did . . - * - * , not even have the satisfaction of seeing the amus- won ; — ; oe yp ks g sights in the streets ol CKInNg. We went ’ } . 7 ' + a about like prisoners, in a Carriage te Si ades ot which were always drawn down. This box on wheels was suffocating in summer-time, whereas n the winter Our toes were frost-bitten. Our ne occasion IC=- rc ae : ae ea . Ee i oes Ls quired, not ror anvtnhing in the worid would he : , , ‘wed hie dionita hu nor taeter + nave compromised nis dignity Dy POY raster than te ath $17 > y marie ~ as | was impatient for progress. 7 , : When we were about to enter upon our second winter in Peking, I begged my father to let me . ~ go with him as often as possible on his rounds. oen- => At school I had already acquired a certainMY DINNER IN PEKING 49 eral notion of the history of our country. This enabled me to ask my father all sorts of questions which he was only too happy to answer. Soon when he went to call upon a friend he even per- mitted me to stay with him during the visit. The conversation generally was about matters of cur- rent interest. As soon as we were alone together again | asked my father to explain all that I had not been able to understand. In this way we soon came to be the greatest of friends. One day he announced that he was going to show me the most extraordinary sight in Peking: the Ya-men. In Chinese, ya-men means a mouth. He explained that this mouth was a sort of de- vouring tusk; that it ate up money, intelligence; that it crushed the very soul of the people. I was consumed with curiosity, and at the same time I was rather apprehensive, for my father was vague and somewhat terrifying in his description of the ya-men. Our rickshas rolled on for what seemed an in- terminable length of time—about a quarter of an hour, I suppose—through the Tartar or Chinese city, and suddenly stopped before the door of the Minister of Finance. Ya-men also means ‘“‘Min- istry” in Chinese, and I had been completely taken in by this pun! I could have wept with shame and humiliation to have behaved like such a child. I had really thought that we were going to discoverA GIRL FROM CHINA ps . , : some sort of a yawning jaw, with terrible teeth, like those of the monsters in stone which one sees before the temples in China. I wondered if my father had done this to try my temper, or if he - was simply amusing himself by teasing me. What o { - . | ie y | feared was that he might think me too silly to be a fit companion for him. - ° . ' ° [his was, however, not the case; quite the con- trary, in fact. Inthe first place, he was delighted at tLVIT) ; nlaved such cl successful LTICK (CT) Tic, fone ' and. in the second place, when he saw how truly distr ssed was, e un lersto dd t| at had cl heart, wh CI 5 | VC exp! ned CI Na iS COTLS le red the virtue ol! ll virtues. ihe man ol leep feel- = ng 1s placed above him who merely thinks. arable. VW here eT he went was to be seen by . . r 1 1 : - 7 ] = his S de. it«= only Diace where he lett me at tne door to keep cuard was at the Council of the Mi in- isters of State, where he generally spent part ot every morning or arternoon. , ove ; ', As my oirl S clothes attracted attention when sha. it was decided that 5° went about in an open ric 4 e a | aoe , . l should have mv hair cut short and thrown back d +> * from ny forehead, and that | should be dressed ina long silk coat, trousers such as the little boys of my age wore, and boots of soft leather which came part way up the leg and then turned over at the top. I was eleven years old at this time. Dis- suised in this way, with a little round cap on the —MY DINNER IN PEKING 51 top of my head, I could roll about to my heart’s content in the streets of Peking without exciting any criticism. In my divers peregrinations I was always followed by our faithful retainer, Tung Ur. Later, under very tragic circumstances, he more than once risked his life for me. But, in those early days, he was delighted to see the joy I took in being allowed to accompany my father, whom he was proud to serve. One evening my father took me to dine with him in a fashionable restaurant. Ladies in China are never seen in such places. This was a house several stories high, contrary to the usual build- ings in Peking, which seldom reach above the ground floor. So for the first time in my life I climbed up a flight of stairs. I brought my little boots down with a thud on every step, and I im- agined that I was a great giant mounting up to heaven. The table reserved for us was in a room where several other people were already dining. There were electric lights everywhere, and European dishes, and the most delicious food I had ever tasted. When we got home I told my mother all about our evening, and she was rather scandalized. Though she said very little, I could feel that she did not approve of these rather extraordinary ex- peditions. The very fact that she did not openly oppose them, and that she seemed so resigned,2 A GIRL FROM CHINA ~ made me think that perhaps I was making her suffer. She was perhaps wondering if I, too, were going to abandon her, little by little, as my father _ ad done, and if, so like my father in my way of thinking, and in my nature, I was going to add anxiety to the sorrow already in her heart. | could noc endure the idea that she should pcr- =, haps be tormenting herself with such fears, so for several days | pretended to be ill. 1 did not PO [ wanted tO Stay close to my beloy ed mother OUL, } 1 1 and TO Teassu®re her. wanted ner EO understand what did not Know how to express to her—that ' ~ ad Ri ) 8. could never take any Nnappiness In anvthing which : I ) - ‘ iJCHAPTER XI A Vow Y mother’s heart was heavy, that I knew, M and for a reason which all my childish tenderness could not serve to dispel. Someone who had lived for a long time in Peking had told her a very distressing piece of news—my father had another home in the city where we had come to live with him. I overheard the servants talking about this in the pantry one day. What I could understand made me utterly miserable. Just about at this time, too, there were frequent discussions, some- times very painful in tone, between my parents. My father’s voice was scarcely recognizable, it trembled so with rage. I could not hear the words that were exchanged, but I felt that my mother and father were drifting apart, and I was alarmed. Sometimes in the midst of these disputes my father got up. In a few moments the sound of the house door as it closed heavily behind him could be heard. All night long he did not retyrn. Then I used to say to myself : eee “Will he ever come back ?” What could we do or say to keep him with us? 93was onl V } ~ ] ' ¢ i Babi , } } iet | WI | recaiuiead tie inton NOuUuscC., ’ ’ , * ’ ry +} r ' ; (Vi ry) (7) raen T ¢ 5 ( ‘ i ’ i , | L i Vi i . —. > & | ‘ ‘ | +} . . Y vi nh oO] out oO} er apartments 1 the 2 - ‘ ' 17 4] ; # i ? " TFatete =. , ~ T ! rT | ‘ | tf, 4h 3 Tuli () POUL oe oS 4 \ c UG —,, + ‘ a * ,¥ +} eQry mc The narns i] 1] ‘ \ { ( \ y ‘ A he ~ vt + f irc \\ ¢ [ Tt . Wh ( re¢ ve ry i a.) = | : ’ i+ i avi «> ’ 5 , ect , sto } \ ChG ZEAy 4 ’ = ' - C ~ r father had ( )rne f emen : en my frathe a 1 , ' . 1 , ur | > , left the house in anger, | lay awake on my bed un- ; , ror ry r 1 rift T¢) \ ‘ I \ CYCS yi > SLI ‘iow 9 . VW LYS ct; ry ‘ , . ! * 17 : | : | | } rd + i. ’ + \ ' » Suddenty. in the stiliness or the nignt, iea©re . ‘ . - mnnar Le 7 . ' very sort step. tf seemed to De coming rrom ‘ . . ‘ . | i | r '* . > . ta ©. x * . ’ . the direction of the quarter wiiecre tne men or the : a is : nm - hin r nw . family lived, and it was approaching my room. For just a moment I imagined that it might be my er, who wanted to see me, as I| longed to see oo ’ z hes nim, He had come to tel] me, per! ADS, tnat evervthing had been explained between him and my mother, and that I would never, never again The door opened. It was not my father, but : hethreshold. Ple war my brother who stood on tne thresnold. € was in his nightgown, bare-footed. . ‘“Soumay. listen!’ he said to me. [went with him out on the gallery which passes before the doors ot the hedrooms. | could hear someone sobbing.A VOW 55 “Our mother is weeping,” my brother whis- pered. “We must watch.” Hand in hand, very softly, very timidly, we went toward my mother’s room. It was empty, we found, but the door was open on to the garden. We could see her on her knees before the altar. Her head was bent forward, resting on her folded arms. She was all dressed in white, as people are in China when they mourn some loved one who is dead. Her whole body was trembling, and she wept as though her heart knew no hope. We did not dare go nearer, for fear of alarm- ing her, but my brother expressed what was in my thoughts. “Perhaps,” he said, ‘“‘she thinks of taking her own life.” We glided across the room and into the garden. There we fell on our knees by my mother’s side, and for a long time we wept with her. I felt that our tears could not help her, that we must offer her greater strength than this tender pity, which seemed only to overwhelm her. I got up reso- lutely. I begged her to return with us to her room, so that we might talk there. She murmured again and again that life was cruel, and that she wanted to die. This idea was too terrible to en- dure. It gave me the energy necessary to plead with her. “You think of no one but our father!” I said. So softly that I could scarcely hear her, she answered:A GIRL FROM CHI]CHAPTER XII How To Keep My Farue_r ar Home? 4 hae discussions which had been so painful to hear between my mother and father were now followed by a silence between them which seemed almost more unbearable than the sharpest words. Whole weeks passed during which they never exchanged a remark. When my father came home from his work he kissed us children, and then he went straight to his own rooms without even stopping to speak to my mother. We saw him at lunch-time, which was our principal meal. But as we always observed our Chinese custom of setting two tables in the dining-room, one for the women and the other for the men of the family, my sister, my mother, and I ate at the same time my father did, but not actually with him. At our evening meal he never appeared. How I regretted our former separation, when he was in Peking and we in Canton! Then, it seemed to me, distance only kept us apart, and in all voluntary absence there is a certain poetry. We dreamed that we might all be united and happy together some day. We hoped that when o/sé A GIRL FROM CHINA nd each other again we would know e same joy as of old, which had been only in- terrupted for a time, but which had not vanished forever. Now, all illusion was dispelled. These daily meetings, passed in an oppressive silence, seemed to emphasize the fact that the situation aCe e 4 lowever, to accept any such idea. | kept going over and over in my mind what means | mi1cr} | mp] FY i. re +] y lL. » 7 ’ f .+h a; tae i iil eat Till} iy Ai SK CeETLY tO MaKe een’ ALIICI sii : derstand how we were sufrering, to toucn his P y q + .- » 1 : + “ > oe 7°47 . . “ \fter a few davs | had grown ver\ pale and | = ' - ' » ’ ae iS VISIDI los no strenot;tn. My ratner noticed s and. as he loved me dearly. he was anxious cs 1 ’ . ibout me. He asked me a great many questions b ¢ Tr. a? } : let ar : 7 ] that ¥ rr -_ . ~ ¢t AUOUL TNY fiCal tll. inswered Lila t Was perrect- 1. : io pion a Sia. a ae : 1} well, but wnat | nad Gee ded not TO WOrTK any , : . 7% ; more. My father was delighted with the progress oo ‘ ' i ; a cc ieee i had made in SCNOO!, and ne was Ver©ry ambitious ‘So, you dont want to go on with your ,* ofyyscit ea 7: ° rort SLUCIICS I he ad@onCU. ‘“What is the use?” I answered. ‘You will be a little ninny.” , “T don’t care. I want to have some fun.’HOW TO KEEP FATHER HOME? 59 “You don’t need diversion at your age!’’ he said. “Oh yes, I do,” I replied. “Why?” He seemed astonished. “Because I am very unhappy.” “Who has been treating you badly?” He put the question with a swift movement of tenderness which touched me. “I am unhappy,” said I, “because I never see you any more in the evening.” My father laughed at this. He put his hand gently on my head and looked at me lovingly. “I work very late, little daughter,” he said. “I spend the evening at the Finance Department with my friends. Then we have supper together.” ‘Why not take supper at home ?” I knew what a gourmet my father was. Noth- ing could be too delicate, nor too well prepared to suit his fastidious palate. Our chef was one of the very best in Peking, but he was much too grand a personage to be asked to stay in the kitchen after our dinner had been served. Knowing this, I had been making my plan of campaign. “We could have some supper prepared in ad- vance for you,” I explained. ‘‘As soon as you came in it could be served. I could keep you com- pany while you were eating. Come in as late as you like, but come... Please do. ..oh, please!” My father answered neither yes nor no. That evening he returned to the house.L | CHAPIER ND A VW = XII] F | y 1] | + Trs % { +] TY wo | KNEW well enoug my tather woul “ .* ¥ 3 41 i —— soon weary OT ¢ ring’ COLIG SUVDDVCTS, sO Cc yely ‘ ! a | : F next Gay | began to take COOKINY i€ssOMms VO} 1 | = “= . ie | . ¥ . UT él] rea4»rn nov V Cy re Tite. Ui oF ao =" . } | 1. | 5 oa rr7rr ( r* ‘ »? ’ ,cri iV vy f nC it T] \ | [ i VC \ ‘ \ | YC [ 3 UU? LI y : } | } t ae yy late . ' | l OKC ow tO make a IOUSLEC omeiette, Wil ¢ ; “ ® 1 } | . ; C} on on * } Ow rd) Tc) ST 4 mS] 4 TT) Trius i~ | } ! | | : rooms: now to make a 7 issé@ OTF CNICKEN, NOW LU ° ' . , ‘ | * ay | | lel} fry shrimps in a ignt Datter—all the special Qcil- . ' ‘ e r oe yl r* a . ire Ti les rTri\ rati ey p ITT] Li | \ Cl Ve ] ' - * * ri * a was D€aminv W th pride the nignt when, not in 4 | . a : | ] lL, . ry | * ook | > SUSPC\ | t7 i ‘ ‘ 4 v\ ‘» VV ‘ % ‘ \ “ee Liic _ rs ~ ; = ; a ] ’ ~e | : lL, | | i tasted *+* Really. OUT ( fig f ~ iT] i] io a , ‘ ee } ; 7 » ‘ ‘ 7 9 > F , rry ° 1 . | ater on even let tne servant wno waited On | led - detail - . ‘ Ff rT * ree yr » | us iF) tO bed 4 iri\ and attende< as CVC! ) get al mvself. Two rooms were reserved for my specia ’ ol } ct +? rt 2 oe ‘2 cyT the merits Lien and WO AC A away. —' L\ i (oe J I il ‘ i Rite 2 . . ' ! ! ; . » * r ; ' > ' | ' ; j ‘ ’ ,¥ ‘ rT OT wnat een" ningers | (VWUULCU, DECCaus ] Tis itdadit = . + - 1 ] ; ’ y * | > ‘sa + 4 =| r ] } > ry > | was alwavs longing that we might all be united n. tired from hisI FIND A WAY 61 day's work, I was ready. It does not take long to set a table in China, for everything is arranged in the pantry on a large round tray exactly the size of the table-top. On it, among other things, is a lighted spirit lamp to keep things hot, small por- celain bowls which we use as plates, ivory chop- sticks, silver spoons, and cups into which a sort of wine, served hot, is poured. At every course this tray is lifted off with everything on it, and a fresh tray all set with the next course is brought in. What a lot I learned in those midnight talks with my father! He told me of all he was doing. He explained to me the organisation of our De- partment of the Interior. He showed me just how each province was governed. Thus, as we chatted together, I was given the clearest possible lessons on the most serious subjects. My father made me see how, in all countries, the Govern- ments are always in the control of a privileged few, while the people everywhere are made up of the masses whose lot in life is labour and sacrifice. He often insisted on the fact, that, in order to govern well, a man must be a good man. “If,” he said, “ a man loves only the privileges which his position gives him, he deceives others. If he has no real taste for his profession it will prove a deception to him. Imposition and indif- ference are both signs of weakness. If you want to be a force, my little girl, love your work, what- ever it is, and you will be sure to do it well.”’62 A GIRL FROM CHINA 7 When my father talked to me in this way I was so exhilarated, so uplifted, and so confident, that | would have liked to set out at once on some Im- portant m ssion. 1 longed to succeed because l had followed his advice. ag I was not so absorbed in my own dreams, how- et that. while our delightful talks ewer. S to TOTrve , ° % + = ] * lasted on into the small hours of the night, my 1 = ~ “ } } 1 motner was in other part or tne nouse, aione. ()ne evening when we |! d tnishe 1 our rice, | a q , + F | ry F { > VN | ni) we eal througn tne me al. | rice-how! was still almost half full. I did not tell ¥ e , q a m tnat r was on purpose nad prepared this ‘ 1’ 4 , * 7 . xtra quanticy., | merely remarked in atone which 4 ‘ , * P , sea Ce . ’ 4 - : triéGg tG ce sol rerent Rice isn’t good when it’s heated over. What \ x. ~ \ a * \ » La | Ove. #4 4 ’ | , - ‘ shall we dor + ] e ‘ « an } | + 74 ed ni » See 17 ne grasped Wiiat } . } i oe ] ] Bu was in mv mind re ¢ OKE€dG displeased rut } + 7 17 is ne did not seem oved Said, timlidaly ‘% ! 1? , f 7 aan Shall I go and get Mother: iow le did not Sav no, — ; ‘ 7 ] t r : _* } soe ’ | : = a * With one bound I| had dashed across to my ‘ ? 1. he les + | f motner s room. spoKe SO QUICKLY t t at nrst ha ld ry 7 r lar tT ,* } | + ry | r ake wn sSiic COU TIOt UTidiC tT StaliiG W at it Was VW antec. oy i ‘ . ' + ry > ) > \ . arr eZ > Sne hnesitatedad to go with me In this unexpected . . ; | . way To 40In Her husband. 1rom whom. in her | 7 “ thoughts, she was surely never separated forI FIND A WAY 63 long. I drew her toward the door. When at last she stood before my father, I called out: “Something 1s burning in my kitchen! I shall be back in a moment.”’ At a time so stirring for them, I did not want to let them see how moved I was. When I returned they were sitting opposite each other. I took my place between them. We were all three embarrassed, and happy. Little by little we drew my mother into conversation, and after that night | always prepared supper for three instead of two.CHAPTER XIV AT FourTEEN I BEcoME ENGAGED HUS we had again become a united, peace- > - ——e *« ~* oe m" a wt = ; . ° : ™ } . “ errTrect armony 1s doubtle SS LOO MUCI tO expect apeie Saag le Was soon . = >, - > ‘ 7. to aiscover this fact. ttarly in the winter. w hen | was nearing my rourteenthn birt idayv. my crandmother intormed us th it Sne€ was weary of} ire in ( anton. and that she ‘ . on, ee : Ds tore de eo d decided to come and join us in Peking. She — 2 ; } tae | ¥ : 1] . > 1) . aT I + ~s iVCGd avOoUT Tne MmIadadie o;T Ccemuer, accom- é * ’ } - - se re : Danica by a Whole retinue of Servants. 17 At first she was in wonderfully good spirits, for, | 7. | om according to tne ( hinese ¢ ustom, she was made a great fuss over by us and by all her friends, who ‘ quite outdid themsely es in welcoming her. But all things have an ending, and when at last the excitement was over, and our existence re- sumed its daily routine, my grandmother began to show signs of her usual dissatisfaction. She thought that my mother did not keep up sufficient style, nor observe enough ceremony in our estab- lishment. The simplicity with which we lived did not seem to her suited to the high office which my father occupied in the Government. She insinv- O4AT; FOURTEEN I AM ENGAGED 65 ated that her daughter-in-law, my mother, did not treat her husband with sufficient formality. If the truth must be told, she was jealous of our little midnight suppers, to which, very naturally, we did not invite her. In order to avenge herself, she made terrible scenes. The result was easy to fore- see. My father, irritated by all these petty an- noyances, too respectful, however, of his mother to show that he disapproved of her attitude, grad- ually resumed his former liberty. All that I had tried to build up crumbled to naught. My brothers, at the time of which I write, were also often away from home. The older of the two had a position in one of the northern prov- inces of which my uncle was Governor; the younger one was in a European college at Shang- hai. Our family life had lost all its charm. Fourteen is the age at which Chinese girls be- come engaged. More than once during the spring my hand was asked in marriage of my father. [| had no aversion to marrying, nor had I any especial desire to marry. ‘The truth is, I had never given the matter any serious thought. [| saw that my grandmother, on the contrary, had all her expectations centred in this hope; the idea delighted her. I imagined that, while she was busy hunting for a husband for me, she would leave everyone in the household more in peace. My wisdom was the shortsightedness of a child. I little dreamed that my silent resignation, which66 A GIRL FROM CHINA ai alates wala ) vs awit, ER aos a in reality was only a superficial docility, would end 1 . 1 } 2 } ’ “a4 i , | - | » rere ee ' — ble IY CAUSINY US lil The oreatest DOSSIVIC LIOUDILC. ' j | An ne ric 8 rors FOr yr nan TS ratner, : 1 ' ‘ mr ri? ' Ky mY ry ry / TT PT ; | t ‘ are ¥ i) ’ it i; ¥ —_ 4 i Tif ‘. 4 ic | | » \. ‘ ec ’ T} xX Li? , . ’ \ LI \ r TY ry VV Se ’ rT 7 ( - .e . j ‘ »y*y * + * rr ’ \ * + 4 (yOVE! I ( (} t{ S I] S DOSILION, | ‘ 1] tt«a al ; . - t ; ec TO , uy / f eC i (riy TiL)©) \ | 1] if Cae , 7 = * > 7s > t y “ s, » 7 * > (Jul “use. and home tre, which dDecame more ; 4 ‘ { . 9 ' — + rr , » a ; 1 | Mor I ¢ \ iS ( Went Of, Serr He ifl a i ‘ = * q = * rather desolate state of mind which, | must con- ress rae tga OT rourt ] VV Ss SOTTI yt Lt @Cn- ‘ , + * 1 ’ + - ' } ¢ 7 i + + , . .* ry ' vened Dy\ ug O eing engage ind Of 4 + c 7 ] * <> . . - : + i rr ) vy 7 rTiIVING | PSs 2 | CPCeLY Oo presents 1 WO 4} © ’ . ] j + . . | : } ry) eri Try “2 he excitement appealed to my L1LdIS nagina- . or 7” t if , aT ‘ | *. SO, as did not show myself hostile to their | atl | | | 1 tl | j * r * * rye) 5 |. J -_— ‘7 , * 5 » 1 . 5 Didfi, imi lat A cl tt Ly | iA . ri) ic] accepted Liic cL - a ' ° : } wr 4 vances OF this young man. Vi y enoagcement was celebrated in the month of Mav. That is the season in Peking when the ; | . 1] i peonies D100mM |! ! — —~ — . 1 . an. [It will seem strange to | uropeans that in Chin everyone comes to an engagement party except | : the two people tor whom the party is given! We were neither or us to appear, nor, 1nageeqd, had | ever seen this young man who was destined to be- come mv husband. He was still in Canton, where he was to remain until the time of our marriage, which had not yet been set, nor even discussed. lust the same, I was determined to lose as littleAT’ FOURTEEN I AM ENGAGED 67 as possible of these spectacular ceremonies which were to be given in honour of my engagement. So, posted in my room, hidden behind the curtain, as I peered out into the courtyard of our house, I saw a procession which advanced with creat solemnity. A blast of trumpets sounded as the so-called ‘“‘delegates’’—those who represented the future husband and his parents—fell into line. Then followed the plaintive notes of the flutes as eight white horses appeared; their harnesses of scarlet leather were studded with gold, and across their breasts red satin scarves were fastened. They were led by valets in a livery richly em- broidered, surmounted by caps with long plumes. Between these horses, which advanced in pairs, were hung baskets overflowing with fruits and with gifts of every sort. I could not restrain myself any longer. I rushed down into the reception-room. It was hung on all sides with red silk embroidered in gold characters. My grandmother was enthroned in a large armchair, raised on a small platform, around which a crowd of friends had assembled. One by one they greeted her, they “kowtowed,”’ which is to say they prostrated themselves before her, touching their foreheads to the ground. She was radiant at being treated and adulated as though she were an empress. She was far too ab- sorbed and much too rejoiced at her own impor- tance even to notice my presence.62 A GIRL FROM CHINA a The gifts which had been sent for me were magnificent. [here were jewels and ornaments in gold and jade, and hairpins of pearls, and pres- ents to bring luck. Our custom is that each one of the guests must eat a piece of the engagement cake, which is sup- posed to ensure a long life. \ i That night, as I fel had been the real heroine of the occasion! asleep, I wondered who ‘ vy * (Grandmother or ifCHAPTER XV A CHINESE SCANDAL HEN, at last, one day, my grandmother \ \ declared to my parents that my fiancé was eager to have our marriage cele- brated before the end of the year, and that he had written to ask us to set the date, it seemed to me as though an arrow had been driven through my heart. The idea of marrying had remained perfectly vague in my mind: it seemed unreal that such a thing could be. What was to become of me? The little I knew of the young man who had been picked out for me did not attract me. On the contrary, they said he was a spoiled child. Although he was only just eighteen, he already had a Government position. Such a privilege, granted to a person so young, could not possibly be a reward of merit: it meant simply that, fear- ing he might fail in his examinations, his father had quietly paid the necessary amount of money to provide him with the place he coveted. My fiancé did not owe his present rank either to his own efforts or to his personal ability. Moreover, I had never met his parents, his 69A GIRL FROM CHINA sisters, or his brothers. My brother, who came home from time to time on vacation, and who had just spent the holidays with us, looked upon this marriage for me with neither confidence nor favour. As my fiancé was a Government official, he was supposed to spend most of his time at the City Fall. As a matter of fact, he was to be seen irections. His parents, worried about his constant comings and goings, y had employed a servant whose especial duty it , 4 iT + ; 1] yy? hit } v7" 4 re (ih - vy ry 7¢< 1 orl was to follow him wherever he went, as tnougn if trerTe ] 1 rmnrn¢er | 1] \ |} thy red , veak ie were a young cCniid. All this snowed a WCdarh- ee : 7 ness tor convention | for superannu ited CuS- q , , ‘ +" > Mv brother told me about another prejudice of rv Lr = } q 1] renee * . zl sie } » TTL | : ¥\ \ >» | | ru . Overy CimicU cL , 7 7 \ s | ' In OU! CKINY houst we had a teic yhone VL y oo n rather used it const intly. Sometimes he let me telep! one to nis omce, 7UuSt tO Say that | loved him id ee ae coe Speers ile soca and was thinking OF Nim Willie fie was at WOTrkK. id mv future husband that such Someone had to : were our habits. He declared that he considered this imitation of European customs greatly mis- placed in a young Chinese girl. As far as he was concerned, never would he think of tolerating in his house such a modern instrument of progress aSa telephoneA CHINESE SCANDAL 71 Of course, I was quite aware of the narrow- mindedness of the old Chinese families who have never travelled, or who have never visited even the important cities of their own country. Ona matter like that of having or not having a tele- phone, which could not radically modify my exist- ence, I was quite ready to sacrifice my “‘advanced”’ ideas, but, to cap the climax, I was told that my future father-in-law did not admit the idea that I should go on with my studies. “She knows too much already,” he had been heard to say. ‘‘She spends most of her time out of her parents’ house. A woman of our rank in society should not run after learning.” Fortunately, this remark scandalized my father as much as it distressed me. I began to suspect that perhaps I might find in him the support I needed now to help me carry out the opposition I had decided to make to such an unbearable union. My mind was absolutely made up. I fully realised the extreme gravity of such an audacious move. Ever since China has had a his- tory there had never been a case known of a broken engagement. In spite of that fact, I had determined—no matter what the consequences might be—that I would not be forced into a mar- riage with a young man who had no personal merits whatever, and who intended that my life should end before it had even begun. The situation was greatly complicated by the72 A GIRL FROM CHINA — 7 fact that the family to which my fiance belonged was one of greater standing than our own. L[hese people boasted of CW enty horses in their stables— a rare luxury in China. The collection they pos- sessed of ancient costumes which had been handed down from one generation to another was of un- paralleled splendour. The rank th ey occupied at Court. owing to the functions confidec 1 to my fu- ture father-in-law, was superior to our own. ‘Lak- ing all these reasons into consideration, it was most desirable that the breaking off of my en- gvagement should be as discreet and as much en- veloped in mystery as possible. Every effort should be made to conciliate those whom we were very probably going to mortally offend. | knew what my father’s delicacy would be about such a matter. and I was afraid that the decision at which l had arrived would never be carried out. I wanted to bring things to an abrupt ending. This was the way I stated my point of view to my father “You can force me to light a fire, but you can't make me throw myself into the flames.’ While my poor parents were wearing them- selves out trying to find an intermediary who would undertake to carry out this difficult negotta- tion, I persuaded my brother to write to my fiancé directly and tell him exactly what my feelings were on this important subject. My father, to whom of course I showed theA CHINESE SCANDAL 73 letter, did not disapprove of it. The substance of what I wrote was that I could find no happiness unless the man who was one day to become my husband had first been either to Europe or to America to finish his education. If the long jour- ney which this necessarily implied seemed impos- sible, then I insisted that this young man should at least come to Peking and follow the courses at the University which is run on entirely European principles. In this way he would be able to ac- quire from his professors some knowledge of modern progress. I planned, of course, by such a proposition, to put an end to any engagement between us. The pride of my fiancé could not be wounded by my suggestion, as it made things appear as though the aftair had been ended by mutual consent. With a very diplomatic touch, he wrote my brother the following answer: “Your dear sister’s ideas are most excellent. Unfortunately, I cannot do as she wishes. It is quite impossible. Europe, you admit yourself, is really too far away to be thought of. I could not dream of leaving my parents to undertake such a perilous voyage. On the other hand, could I really, in my position, go back now to school? You have forgotten that I occupy an official posi- tion. I could scarcely permit myself to abandon the responsibilities which I have assumed, and which are heavy indeed.”’tisfactory to me be- 1 ncerned, noth- stood justA CHINESE SCANDAL 75, bearing your name. My way lies clear before me, and I shall not stop nor turn back now.”’ When I had inscribed my name at the end of this letter I had the firm conviction that I was no longer a child, but that I had become a real per- son. Words fail to describe the scandal which fol- lowed this strike for freedom! The parents of the young man were absolutely horrified. ‘They thought any misfortune would be preferable to the disgrace of seeing their son married to such a frightfully badly brought up young person as I was. My grandmother declared that I had plunged our family honour into shadow. My par- ents did not openly reproach me, but they were miserable. My mother did not conceal her tears: like mine, they were of true emotion, for she re- alised as well as I did that this marriage, had I been forced into it, would have been the end of all my dreams. According to a very old Chinese custom, once in so often, the important families assemble in order to deliberate in private upon all that has occurred of interest to each. Everything is dis- cussed in these reunions—the behaviour of the children, the conduct of the husbands and wives, the general situation, and the trend of affairs. In this way a sort of personal code of family honour is established, and perpetuated, in an almost sacred manner.76 A GIRL FROM CHINA The entirely unheard-of way in which I had broken off my engagement was of course made the subject of the severest criticism. My father was bitterly reproached for this open rebellion of his daughter. Rumours of all this, of course, reached even the women’s quarters of our household. Everything was in a state of turmoil and confu- sion, but in the midst of all I felt relieved. 1 was free again. I begged to be allowed to go to lurope. [It was decided, as I hoped, that it would be better for me to leave Peking for a time, but | was still too young, my parents thought, to under- take a very long journey. The plan adopted was that I should go to Tientsin. here | was to con- tinue my studies in a girls’ boarding-school kept by some American ladies.CHAPTER XVI AMERICAN SCHOOL IN TIENTSIN HUS the programme which I had laid out af for myself in my letter to my fiance was realised much sooner than I could have dreamed. My brother, who held a Government position in the North, had come to Peking to be present at the family gathering to decide upon my fate. He was about to return to Kirin now, so it was ar- ranged that he should take me to Tientsin. The storm through which we had just passed, the excitement and emotion, had stirred me to the depths of my soul. I had caused my parents em- barrassment and anxiety. Now | felt it was my duty to honour them if I could. This was the resolution I made as I entered the girls’ boarding-school at Tientsin directed by these fine American ladies. I was most favourably im- pressed both by the plan of study and by the sub- jects taught. I only hoped that some day I might see the Chinese schools as perfectly organised and directed throughout our country. We were about forty pupils in all. There were some American, some English, and some Chinese 77IRL FROM CHINAAMERICAN SCHOOL IN TIENTSIN 79 We used to go every day for a long walk, some- thing unheard of for Chinese women. I worked so intensely that for the time being I did not seem able to think much or to receive any new impressions. It seemed to me that all this effort I was making was only preparation for the things that I might undertake later on. I wanted first to learn as much as I could in the shortest time possible. The American ladies who kept the boarding- school were exceedingly pious. Every morning and every evening we all had prayers together. On Sundays there were two services in the chapel to which we were all taken. At first I complied with these rules regarding church, as I wanted to show proper respect for the discipline in the school. When I believed that I had proved my spirit of submission, I asked the directress to receive me, as | had something to talk over with her. I requested that she allow me to be excused from attending these religious serv- ices. She explained that she considered it my duty to follow them, and she could not therefore give the permission I desired. In turn I answered very gravely that | wanted seriously to do my duty, that my conscience told me clearly where it lay, and that I tried to live up to what I believed was right, and do what I knew I should, each day. I also emphasized the fact that I deeply and truly respected the religious convictions of my com-SO A GIRL FROM CHINA rades. All I asked was that the same considera- tion be shown me for my own point of view; and my conviction was that at present my surest way of honouring God was to consecrate as many hours as possible of my time to mv studies. 7 _ ae | was rejoiced to see that my appeal put in this wav seemed reasonable to the directress. krom then on | was not forced to close my books on Sunday.CHAPTER XVII A PRESENTIMENT WO whole years passed thus in the Tientsin 4) boarding-school. I was completely ab- sorbed by my studies. I had learned Eng- lish well enough to be able not only to follow the classes, but even to enjoy English literature. | preferred the English novels, as by reading them I got a direct impression of life as it goes on in Europe. The letters I received from Peking kept me in close touch with all that was happening at home. My grandmother, unable to endure the blow to her pride of my broken engagement, had decided ‘that nothing could keep her from returning to Canton. My father had given up his work tem- porarily to accompany her. My mother and sis- ter were alone in Peking. At just about this time I was awakened one night with a start, as though some strange appre- hension were clutching at my heart. I seemed to feel some invisible force impelling me to start at once for Peking to join my mother. It was clear to me that she was in distress. I fell asleep, but was awakened again with the same presentiment. SIIRL FROM CHINA hg as et [his happened a number of times with an ever- increasingly intense feeling that | must go home n the morning I concluded that | must have a — c \ : | ae e “i : had a nightmare which I would try to rorget, but . * | . . what | could not dispel was the sensation OT an- suish—it haunted me. It was impossible to con- hts. I could not work. At last centrate my tnougnts. coutd not Work. AT last ’ ’ » ’ ’ ‘ , wenf to tne airectress my Tene scnoo!l | SK eC ] ) | * a , . . et ’ Yi ‘ ‘Tf | . permission to leave for Peking. Of cours¢ did ! | lL. l- ncgfr T ¢ 1] i { r OT T | i ‘ eT \ Ww Cn We L? \ NU ! 4 } © ’ " —e : ] | + | + ry if AA l] Ol) Thy Ca Wadd \ . SLL § BS . ‘ , : : ; * .% + 4 » | >} | ro ry is CO oue me out O! nd explain { was nery } seal } . } | haae vwarnnrrindg (OU . 4 | 4 . x \ \ . & Li) C Cc ‘ & ee 5 — 4 4 Wt . ] J) Cl v4 ‘ } . ™ >_—_ * ? ’ | . iP ry > ] * . = r + 7" ‘ ) 4 [ 4 3 | VN i > is | \4 L \ ‘» ‘J \ ¢ + . [ ‘ 4 M i | \ C I \ c i [ [ ‘ S \ 4 > ’ - | + | | ;* + , < +} t Tr1\ TT} } ' \" S ‘ i » ‘Af Vi ‘ » | V4 » . » ¥ i L ‘ iA , ; | te ( vi ¢ made up regarding the necessity of going to 1 . . 7 ° ] , ; ’ a rry) ry ; (ri ry) 1 Za. CAINY, Lic pec MmissioO \ S Vive . eo GiI€SiIiICU + + ' ** . ‘ + + * -- + + | sent announ rm rriy came to the s yn } , * | fy ‘ * | | | . 7_< ro meet me ut ON e wav tO i@é nouse e was | : hicl id panlay ' . ry % , not able to give me news which could explain ° 1 , 1 = 1 » 5 »o* *“s9 % > = + ~ , - + \ i myVY UNCASLIIICSS. He MmeETCLY TCIIaALTAC 1 t AT TOr Loc 2 } 4 ’ »y i ' ? 7? 7o r last few days my mother had seemed to be worry- : ’ , i » ins i ing about something. * 7 . + * My mothers joy at secing me, and her evident * + L distress . _~ easv for loving eyes to read on her tac —__were heartbreaking. She was waiting for me, with my sister, in the big drawing-room.A PRESENTIMENT 83 “What misfortune has befallen us?’ I cried at once. My mother did not want to answer at first. ‘“Soumay dear,” she said evasively, “you are too young to hear sad things talked about...” “Anything,” I cried, “is better than this un- certainty in which I have been living. You see yourself that I know nothing, and yet I felt that you were in trouble and that I must fly to you.” Touched, overcome, my mother then confessed that my brother, who was at Kirin in a Govern- ment position, had been speculating. He had been reckless, and he had lost about $20,000. Obliged to pay up the money at once, he had taken this amount from the funds entrusted to his keep- ing by the Government. He was at the mercy of the first inspector who chanced to present himself. My father was in Canton. My mother did not know to whom she could turn in order to save while it was still time such a serious situation. She did not dare confide in our uncles—much less in any friend. She had worn herself out trying in vain to think of some way whereby she might get the money to my brother and yet keep abso- lutely secret this most unfortunate affair which, were it known, would throw dishonour not only upon my brother, but upon our name forever. As my mother related this, helpless, she wrung her hands. To be obliged to greet me on my homecoming with such a confession was more than84 A GIRL FROM CHINA she could bear, and yet, at the same time, I felt that, in an obscure sort of way, she counted upon me to do something. The thought that once more the blame would come back upon her, and that she would be held responsible for her son's misdeeds, was crucifying tO me, [I explained to her that at the Tientsin board- ing-school I had learned many details about Gov- ernment organisation in the North, and that, as | remembered it, the State inspectors allowed officials ten days before turning over any public rundas which they might have collected in the dis- trict where they were named. We still had time to reach my brother with the amount of this cruel debt. Mv mother listened to me as though | were bringing salvation. Yet the thing was not clear enough to relieve her agony of mind. “Granted,” she said, ‘“‘that we have time enough to reach your brother, to whom could we confide this sum? Who could take it to him in Kirin? We cannot tell our secret to anyone.” “T shall go to Kirin myself,” I replied with absolute composure. My mother greeted this announcement with a smile of indulgent compassion. I appeared to her as full of good-will, no doubt, but like a child whose remarks cannot always be taken seriously. She explained to me all the complications and theA PRESENTIMENT 85 difficulties of such a journey, as they appeared to her. “Kirin is a long way from Peking, my dear child,” she said; ‘“‘at least a day and a night in the train. You have to pass through a part of the country controlled by very bad people, brigands who behave in such a lawless manner that even men feel some uneasiness in travelling there. A girl of sixteen could scarcely undertake such a voy- age alone. You see, Soumay, there is no hope mm aVWe are lost. . .” “No,” I answered. ‘I can take with me as many servants as you like, but I am going. I must go. Nothing can stop me.”’ My mother’s objections were finally overcome. She gave in, and I spent the rest of the day getting ready for the journey. My first errand was to the bank where my mother kept an account. I cashed an order from her for $10,000. They gave me the money in bills—an enormous roll of them—and yet not nearly enough to cover my brother’s indebtedness. I gave this first amount to the faithful Tung Ur to carry. We went back then to the house. I ex- plained to my mother that she must give me some of her jewels, and that I could take them to a pawnshop. All Chinese ladies have part of their fortune in gold bracelets, which are extremely heavy, and which they never wear—they keep them as a hidden treasure, sometimes even buried,86 A GIRL FROM CHINA but always accessible in case of sudden need. The time had come now tor my mother to part with co a ee | i aa fs = aie some o! these obtects which had a real intrinsic | al as el - . ; ] . eg ; . YalllCc. and whnich, WETC PreciOus AiSO aS SOUY Sri . | ] : ' | they had belonged first to her great-grandmother, oo ne fe. oe 3 nt Wack an onlahs ) ano Ur wi [ got back into my ricksha which lung Ur was Ale. ea, a ae) pulling. As soon as it began to grow dark he drove me to the obscure, narrow little streets where the money-lenders hide a S , om these dear old family treasures weighed betore my “ —— [ emselves. | Saw eves. I stifled all emotion. I would not allow my- self to think for a moment of the reason which had brought me to such a place. Perhaps my lack of experience courted imposition. However that might be, could not discuss prices. accepted what was offered. It was enough for our needs.CHAPTER XVIII I SAVE THE Famity Honour HE next day I took the train for Mukden, on my way to Kirin. The money was stowed away in a valise. I was dressed in European clothes. I paid especial attention to all the details of my toilet, which was very elegant. I fancied that if I looked like a person in luxuri- ous circumstances the people whom I chanced to meet on my journey would think I was travelling merely for pleasure. My suite was composed of Tung Ur and an elderly woman servant whom we had brought with us all the way from Canton. When we arrived at Mukden, it was already night, and we went at once to the hotel in the railroad-station. This was the first time I had ever been in a house of the kind, entirely Euro- pean. All I saw was exactly like the descriptions I had read in the English novels, and I ended by imagining that I was the heroine in one of these stories. The manager of the hotel inquired politely about my journey, and I told him that I wished to go directly on to Kirin by the midnight train. 8788 A GIRL FROM CHINA Then he asked me if I had any of the Kirin pro- vincial money, or if I would like to have him change my Peking money. This he said he could do for me. The offer sent a chill of terror through me. It came over me like a flash that my brother could not put | he had taken Kirin bank-notes. This would yack Peking money in the safe from which arouse suspicion at once. In an instant | saw what must be done. I would have to spend the nioht at Mukden and wait until the next day in order LO chan re my money at a bank. could continue my journey to Kirin the following night, with a delay of twenty-four hours. So what had seemed at first a great annoyance was really a most fortunate occurrence. Before getting into the train the following night I bought for Tung Ur and my maid two third-class tickets. | rot into a first-class car alone. I put my valise behind me, and, in order to seem perfectly at ease, | opened an English book and tried to appear absorbed in what | was reading. At that time the day cars in the Mukden rail- road were built with two long seats facing each other as they do in a street-car or an omnibus. At the opposite end of the car from where | was sitting a European had settled himself. He bh looked like an Englishman and seemed to be a oa a ee. gentleman. At first his presence did not inspireI SAVE THE FAMILY HONOUR 89 me with any anxiety. I noticed, however, after a time, that he had put a monocle in his eye and had begun to stare at me in the most persistent man- ner. What disturbed me especially was the fact that I had never seen anyone before making use of a single eye-glass and that I had not really the slightest idea what such a thing could be for. As the night wore on my astonishment changed to uneasiness. Every time that I glanced up from my book, which by now I think I was holding upside-down, I found this man with his eyes fixed upon me, scrutinizing me. I decided that he had undoubtedly been in the bank when I changed my money at Mukden, that he had seen me, and that, for reasons easy to imagine, he had followed me. This new apprehension did not shake my firm resolution. This man was perhaps a thief, but of one thing I was sure—he could not rob me of the money I was carrying with me. Oh, how I re- gretted my stupidity in having bought third-class tickets for my servants! I had been afraid that if I travelled with them both first-class I might attract too much attention. The train rushed on, making a deafening noise. If I had called for help no one could have heard me. Moreover, on such long stretches the stops are very few and far between. Finally the arrival of two Chinese officers who got in at one of the stations greatly comforted me. The relief to my mind was so great after90 A GIRL FROM CHINA the intense strain that I let my head drop on my precious valise and I fell heavily asleep. The awakening was too horrible. I suddenly felt that my rug, which I had placed across my knees, was being snatched away. Ina flash I was on my feet, my valise behind me. The two Chi- ~* ‘ F z : . nese otncers ha d OT on the traln while | was sleeping. I was alone now, in the middle of the BEe, Pliyl He put his hand on my shoulder. It was ob- 1t. face to face with this unknown man. Ous that he was strong enough to lay hold oO! tm, r} throw me out oO! the train. -~ — a fo — — co wt “ — _" > (tee cml oe it was entirely useless to trv to show violence. | oh. the dear, sweet little oir, he leered at was sh ikKen at this rrom head FO TOOL. + at xe . an was not tne moneyv ne wanted! | had been afraid Pt ae T te See eee 1 L i Littl vy I ii Lica NV SUP} (OSC (ic VW as a nigoway robber. All my courage returned when I realised -* = a Pay 5 + that he was a vulgar brute, drunk perhaps, and who did not distinguish the sort of person to whom he was addressing himself. \ h * . ry leo . s Ty ] a Ty « | >} } J As ne now arew even cioser to me pusnec ‘ ad : . | a E - ‘ ! . + 3 : him back with all my strength, and indeed with - ' - > , . = such force that he fell over in the middle of the car. At the same time I cried out: ' r 1. c -~ a . cae ¥ You had better look out for yourself! My husband is coming to meet me at the next station.I SAVE THE FAMILY HONOUR QI He will give you the good thrashing you de- serve!” He wiped his forehead, which was cut and bleeding. ‘All right, all right,’ he mumbled. ‘How could I know that a young lady running about all alone would be so ferocious ?”’ The man was a coward, as | had supposed. He did not move from his corner again, and the moment the train pulled into the Kirin station he jumped off the car and took to his heels. This disgusting adventure at least had one ad- vantage. It made the meeting with my brother easier. I could scarcely wait to tell him what had happened. The loathsome manner of the man had already begun to seem like a nightmare which I could hardly believe myself. But on the floor of the car we found a proof of its reality in the shape of a gold button, a sleeve link, or some- thing of the kind, which had dropped off when I pushed this tipsy creature over. We picked up the little object, and my brother, terribly over- whelmed, declared he would keep it always as a souvenir. ‘The tears gushed from his eyes when I told him what I had undertaken for love of him, and the success with which I had met. It all seemed to him like some unbelievable miracle. He confided to me that in his distress he had told all to his director. So we went together to find this personage who92 A GIRL FROM CHINA was a true friend of my father. For the honour of our name I entreated him never to speak tO a } living soul of this sad story. He was surprised at my enterprising spirit, and he promised to do as | asked. He added that he could scarcely believe | had never been to Europe. I must confess that in the midst of all my tribulation this remark lieved when | heard him declare Iso | Also V4 LS I oe L ’ ims : ' i. tcnat, if ne nad know n what l was going to do he } ‘ ‘ , « would not Nave allowed me to take such risks. tie would have arranged matters for my brother. | | iccomp| S| ed what | ad set out to do. and it was with joy in my heart that I asked my brother now to take me to see our uncle, who was the (yO\ CTno©r of Kirin. When I told him that I had come with two of Our servants to spens a tew days with my brother, ; } ' . ' ’ " . ; | . > ‘ my uncie thougnt that | was slightly insane, but 5 . | } - snl » de i ; . . he could not help remarking that he found me - 4 a } ? = . - ~ 9* r >» ZS very energetic! I didnt care how crazy he thought me, if only he never found out the real reason for my presence in Kirin. Whatever the opinion my uncle had formed concerning me, he presented me to all his friends. | received a great welcome and | was exceedingly happy. li was taken about everywhere, to see all the sights of the province which I had supposed to be a land of perilous adventures. Indeed,I SAVE THE FAMILY HONOUR _ 93 things went only too well, for, before I left, my brother’s director asked for my hand in marriage! There was no question of such a thing for me, so, accompanied this time by my brother, I set out again on the return journey to Peking. When my mother saw me, she looked at me a long time, tenderly, wonderingly. ‘‘Soumay, dearest,’ she said, “you are more than a daughter to me. It seems as though in you I had several sons.”’ This went straight to my heart and it gave me new strength. I had tried to help my own family, and I had succeeded in serving them. Now I longed to one day become useful to my country.CHAPTER AIA THe EMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE a 4 7 7 o_o + Dip not go DacK to SCI oo] at Lientsin. I seemed to nave been roused to a new Con- ale of ve , ta sciousness, and reit that rrom now on lite could give me greater experience than any | could ; | a . . ; Palin through books. Vi oreo\ Cle CUFICHn. CYC ‘ ih sa~lae coma @ is « inexpected at this Pparticulal time TOOK an unexpectec turn which also was tO neip In traming my career. . ; : . My ratner nad been back rrom a anton for ' y * . ‘ 5 a * * ; on at Court where part of his time was passed. RB - rt ry ry 1 } i] . ry "> ie +] ; LU | iil IT) iN Si ii \ Lit » LJ) Poult Loe LLiC set oo | : - a ey i ntmenthiae den @ +h vears. nad never Deen SUTMCIENTLY In Toucn WI1TtN . 8 . what transpired in our ;overnment or at ( ourt . to thoroughly unagerstand tne present situation. Now. however. firmly established in mv heart was ; ‘ - ; * : : ; ‘ : the conviction that | must work for mv country. [his belief, which haunted me with a persistence at the same time inspiring and absorbing, caused t ~EMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE 95 me to take a more lively interest in politics than ever before. The death of the old Empress gave me a natural opportunity to hear much of the condi- tions in which the people of China had been living for a long time. A messenger had been despatched from the Im- perial Palace to inform my father of the drama which had transpired. I waited to*see what im- pression this news would make upon one, who, since his youth, had held a high position in the Imperial Government. “This death is a deliverance,” he said very simply. ‘The grandeur of China is eternal, but it has certainly declined during the reign of the Empress.”’ This remark caused me to reflect for a long time. It was a great surprise to me and | longed to understand better just what my father meant. I knew, of course, that the Empress had the repu- tation of spending money in a recklessly extrava- gant way; the splendour of her clothes, the un- heard of magnificence of the fétes she gave at the Palace, had been severely and openly criticised. But, at the same time, everyone said she was char- itable and kind. Above all, she possessed that ir- resistible sort of charm which seems to claim for a woman indulgence and justification for her hu- man faults and weaknesses. As soon as the moment permitted I asked my96 A GIRL FROM CHINA father to tell me the truth. I was old enough now to understand all. I noticed an accent of sadness in his voice as he answered me. ‘My little Soumay,”’ he said, “‘this death of the Empress must be something more than simply the end of a long life—the old régime itself must ex- pire now. In ancient days our Emperors built the famous wall of China which you saw from the train window on your way to Kirin. This wall separated us from the outside world and pro- tected us from .our enemies. Warfare has changed its methods. The wall today remains as a monument merely, which adds to the: beauty of Our country. But between the ast and the West, between ourselves and progress, an insur- nountable barrier has arisen which has separated us for over fifty years. This time it is not a wall of masonry, it is a moral obstacle which has stood In Our way, and that moral obstacle has been the work of the old Empress. The wrong done by be righted. The contact which her vio- her must lent and extreme egoism rendered impossible, must now be established. It was the Empress who forbade the creation of schools and boarding- schools such as that you attended in Jientsin, where you studied and were taught something more than Chinese history and Chinese geogra- phy. When the Empress made important public loans, when for fabulous prices she sold conces- sions to Europeans, it was in order to obtain theEMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE 97 money required for her own personal pleasures. The fate of her people did not preoccupy her. She only asked that her subjects remain quiet, even if such tranquillity meant that they had dulled their forces in sleep, in opium...What real anxiety could she feel for the future of the vast Chinese population, she who was born of another race than ours, a Manchu, a descendant of our former conquerors! ‘‘As you know, we were vanquished over two hundred and fifty years ago by this hostile race from the North. The shock of this defeat was so unbearable for the young Chinese Emperor, that, after writing a letter in which he asked for- giveness of his people, this last representative of our Ming dynasty committed suicide by hanging himself in view of the Palace of Peking from which his enemies had driven him. The tree still stands to which he attached the rope which was to end his life. This tragedy took place in 1644. Ever since that date we have been, as I say, ex- ploited by the Manchus. They have drained our riches without developing the country, they have parcelled the land to foreigners without increas- ing our prestige. ‘Their first acts were to humili- ate the Chinese. They forced us to wear Manchu costume, they obliged our men to let their hair grow in the long tail as a sign of servitude, ‘like a horse’s tail,’ they said, and as horses they tried to drive us.08 A GIRL FROM CHINA ‘No doubt,’’ my father went on, “we consid- ered the Manchus as barbarians. for they had no culture, no literature. IThey were cruel and with- out honour. They sacked and pillaged our towns nd villages. Yet the Manchu Emperors had to \ il] Upon t| C et inese tO hold the high positions for wi ich t| ev were unhtted in t} e C,overnment. + ’ . . ; lt is easy to understand what profound antipathy ‘ ‘ ° ‘ - ‘ ’ r ry ry ‘ re “Se ‘ Sey . 1 rir Fr r >| bi f -. l . » Vl, LJ | OTL iT] iT) PA LIDS i) i eg fhe Af ut a radical opposition of ideals. “The Manchus were warriors, militarists. an army. not a nation, “We Chinese. as you know, Soumay, are not a ' .— } | r only peace-lovers, Dut democratic in our convic- tions, as our history shows. Our first Emperor Ya ul re) read | rer ir | ycnr i rear y 40, WhO Feivned OVC! rou! t(nousand years AVVO, ie lare : on ‘ : lan t itl ir ! rT > ) 7 that hj ir \ c\ aici i . is ich St Wil ana restament \ ia 4 iis » ( Tl was not to succeed him by riont of birth, but only . 7 * os in case he should prove himself worthy to be a : ruler. It is over a thousand vears since we abol- - ee - i ae ished feudalism, or the hereditary privileges of an aristocracy. For centuries all official appoint- ments have been awarded to men who have passed ' " competitive examinations with honours. ‘These examinations being free to all, many of the humblest children have risen to positions of re- sponsibility. What could be more antagonistic to these Chinese methods than the ideal of the ~aes present Manchu dynasty rfEMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE __ 99 My father paused a moment, and I dared not speak, seeing how absorbed he was. “The selfish, autocratic spirit of these Man- chus,”’ he resumed, “‘was personified in this fa- mous woman, this intelligent tyrant, the Dowager Empress who has just died. Unscrupulous and heartless, seductive and gifted, she terrorized those who did not yield to her, she corrupted with her favours those who came under the strange spell of her personality. “When, in 1878, the Emperor died, this ‘fa- vourite,, who was not even his legitimate wife, took the reins of the Government in her cunning hands. No obstacle proved of lasting resistance. She kept in shadow the veritable Dowager, the widow of the Emperor. When his heir, Kwang Siou, an adopted son, became of age, the Dowager Empress prolonged her custody and continued to rule as Regent. This young Imperial Prince, as though hypnotized by his adopted stepmother, made only one effort at reform. In 1898 he roused himself from his lethargy. Germany had seized the harbor and district of Kiao-Chau; Eng- land and France, following her example, had ex- acted certain territorial concessions from China, which inspired Kwang Siou with sudden patriot- ism. He determined to imprison the Dowager Empress and to accomplish a complete reorgani- sation of the political, social, and military system of China.ee ai — s upon whom Kwang Siou depended to seize his adopted mother. turned tr Litor. They reve iled to the Dowager Empress the plot ot which she was to } ; ea - be rne victim, and t| e reTrorms which were to be in- : stioated under the inspiration of Western science. oe ] ' oo errr Q) a The result is easy to foresee; Kwang 510u was 1] he Lake piaced sti e sma palace on tne LiKe : . > + + . | | ! ¥ 6 : ? ; } '* \ } mniard 5 i J i} . i rei . L Til Lo > ul J iT) * 4 a : , ’ } | oil and that, unabdie to rule ne nad named as 5S nell : ° ’ * . rne son oy} nis hrot er i | - «Ln ld wae 8) VEL y Fr ] \ y ond ,% = 1 + a Vt Un Ti I tI x 1), Vy LVCi WU 1G Droiony ner + * ' ~ ke i ~~ * , 4 , » AC ( i + ' = | * RR } ; * so in L9UOUO, two vears later, a Kevolution swept 1 , } ; } y 2% * over Peking with blood and hre ou are too + ad ] 1] ae | young, oouma' ae ve any Derson recollection } +] or these tragic events, Dut you Ve ( ird O} ne ; 4 \ f * ; i RB r * ry ry {+ ry F ¢ POAC mhw C POXCTS WCIC Cll iLiOQOti C * ‘ & 4 “ . » 4 | ° 7 \ ( } 7 | | Tr ry 7 .T ( ) \ \ [ s> C \ \ ry ( ; 1; } i ) c ¢ l } C } ( | Batt ¢ > ( I ( } h I i > X « ° ° - . ' . - * } ‘ ry + i es + - | : .¥ ’ roreigners VY CONCCSs ons OF territory. icy tla w , , r *% + , : ; i yy ,¥ : + > ° OTS ,yeny € mar | . . ) ry == rOrmead | i avuc it) si 4 m™ iCal “LIVI, i C OV a ‘ , : ; 3 7 rer } INpress, convinced tnNnat hel INTECOTITV aS a -* ' . ' | ' vrant would be compromised by the opening of a a | 1 : F 7 China’s door to Western science, enlisted these RB a R leesemmricte tm hear earuire OrCTT LeEyVOLULivVU | StS : i \ I i. 2 Vit Cc, MA . ’ 1 } con | _ ; i. : ;y. }* - Lena he 2 any YVOUrnY \ | nallic i, LU WC SUL, UU iin tne ten years preceding this Upfrisineg, had oone toEMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE 101 When they came back to China they could not help asking themselves why their ‘brothers,’ as they call the people, were so miserable, why noth- ing was done to help them, morally, mentally, or physically. The natural riches of our country are unlimited and easy of access, with our splendid rivers and our immense coast-line. In many places the ground is fertile enough to produce four crops in the twelve months. Then why, these students wanted to know, did thousands of la- bourers die of starvation every year? Why, since the Chinese have a scientific and an inventive turn of mind, why was it possible that every spring whole regions should be inundated by floods which destroyed houses and land, and sometimes made millions of victims? “Was it not inevitable that the blame should be thrown where it belonged? On the imperial, autocratic régime, on the Dowager Empress? ~The influence which these young students be- gan to exercise secretly made the Dowager Em- pressuneasy. She understood, and she made clear to her ministers, that such a movement could be checked only by suppressing its leaders. The necessary plan was to stir up the people to a re- action against foreigners, against Western science and progress which the Europeans and Ameri- cans bring with them wherever they go. “The Dowager Empress sent out through Peking and the suburbs popular orators who were| tne ver A GIRL FROM CHINA * ‘ ' ' ‘ aqvance as to tne speecnes tney were fo om el or. ae | ee Chere was little difhculty in persuading + : 1. ] y humble ignorant members of the popula- i 1 | ’ p ° ‘ tion that the story about the foreigners hatred 7 ‘7 ¥ , > of China was true. [he recent concessions to lh . , } 5 ] ker , . ‘ , cS vant (sermany, England, and France, gave weight to 1 ’ ' the storv that the Europeans wanted to lay hold = a ‘ . . 4 | fe = : , of Chinas! es, and litt e Dy little. of her entire sans : : ia we territory (Jnce Tear and hatrea id been sown j , * . , qs bro iCas} hy [ S sort Of propaganda Ww! ich did : not gv hortl r tl ’ } oT 1iT) + neonle 1] * @ T Li () i Va l ‘ [ & — AA} OT pcopie iA i MTOoO;re >] } ' 17 e ess devote 1 to tne Dowager mpress | CYrBeliy i ; | ae | only Cir eq tO Vive tne siLi Log » her aiies, tne y | } = S ~oxers [| € most V rent uD! S ny too} pla e. . 4 ja * tollowed by mob-riots and by acts of irreparable > a \ T\ ublic opinion in Europe is con- that this revolution was a spontaneous out- the hostility which China teels towards CTS Not! ny ¢ ld be furt! Cr from the & SS manifestation was the result of in C Wi h | been Woven UI! ler! indedly old Empress and her Manchu entourage So i Te coe ae De aes oe ee i4 Wills Wc ivc¢ © ju pC, UI U\ , -L1U LLLLIOTIS, Ow t] e news is come t| [ the Dowager as 25 Ne’ wore. wall t| [ her son Kwang mmediately after her death, has also ex-EMPIRE BEGINS TO CRUMBLE 103 upon whom he had counted for aid in establish- ing general reforms, and who had _ proved traitors to him and to his ideas. They or he had to die...He was the weakest...And now the destiny of China is in the hands of a child, a ‘Boy Emperor.’ The Regent, a decadent Man- chu Prince, is weaker and less interesting than his brother, the late Kwang Siou.”’ As my father talked I felt a growing respon- sibility which stirred me to the very depth of my soul. J was determined to act. But how? And in what manner? “These young students,” I said, “who long to see our country regenerated, where are they now?” “In exile,” my father answered. ‘A few have returned to Europe. Many have gone only as far as Japan, so that they may be on hand when the first chance offers itself to return. What will the future be for our country? Only one fact seems perfectly clear. Under the government of the Boy Emperor, this poor, weak little child who in- herits the throne, things are sure to go from bad to worse. The Manchu nobility will seize upon everything that can be turned into money or priv- ilege for them, exactly as the crows begin their ugly work on a body scarcely cold which is already helpless.” My father sank into silence. I could feel how melancholy his thoughts must be. As for myself,104 A GIRL FROM CHINA from that hour my mind was made up and [ re- alized that the unique chance of salvation for our country was in the abolition of the old régime. We must work in order to attain that end as quickly as possible. There was no time to be lost. I would go to Japan to find the exiled lead- ers. | would jOLn ith them, and follow them. whatever the cost, in their determination to save hina.CHAPTER XX I Jorn A SECRET SOCIETY EVERAL days after this conversation with my father I spoke to him about a desire I had always felt to visit Japan. He did not, of course, dream what was my real intention. Nor could I confide in him. Like a delicate veil which stretched between us, I now felt that something for the first time separated us. My father’s ideas concerning the internal and ex- ternal politics of China were exceedingly just and profound; he deplored the conditions to which our people were subjected; he suffered to see the gradual decline of his country, and yet he was still too much attached to his old conservative ways of thinking to take any part whatever, or even outwardly to approve any revolutionary en- terprise. I, on the contrary, after deliberate re- flection, had come to a decision which never al- tered. I was convinced that not only the old régime was the obstacle to all progress, but that it must be abolished. All our ambitions and hopes would remain sterile, I was sure of this, so long as China was dominated by an Imperial Manchu Government. 105ii ean A GIRL FROM CHINA < — oe -_ es —- nd pad > + — f ~ cD = — JQ ot CD —_ I In addition to the 1 1 . a+ | mn oe ‘ : } »sAlan . LU) Vall Cl run CI ri \ _ VW ‘ Cnav . I I XL LU Y wie ehh ry | ry } , 4 ry } | iWwsGee LLG I Wa Cd Lt lA Ke | i tl Boxer W a { >} . . - | Carncd f Lie i. Cl r l peen tol- . . + ¥ ; } ' . ' ’ \¢ : 4 * r¢ T] 4 Lost } } . OD WOT) } " ] . 7 ] a } i() 7 f [ o- | Vi \] ic ‘ DDOT- ome act Lhe Kwo Ming Tang Society, or ~~ ) ’ - = Y OTF tne | O] Bre LOers, the Stronvest ; ' ¥ + ] | ; . ' . 1 | oldest of the 1 n groups vith- } ‘ ' ' j j ‘ ‘ : . “ : : j | x S | i ‘ iT it LO WOTR gta . ¢ * - 4 ¢ a 7 = 1 <> oy LL STK L + i i v\ 4 I - © Cryvy [ did T : , + * * ™ ¥ \ + I ne 5 Gare to fe my parents Of ¢ . ead * — f : + ry \. tc Si i; ia ‘ . ‘ Lj ' til . é j + , * = , ho Wes ced AT totes Fadel’ Fike oe l, kdeeqd c Cd Irom making tne Fohteat all hic] io} : ¢ +) , YY! . ice ihe oO isi I i? VW \ iT] ; arOusc ' 1] ' - 7 ' , ‘ C SUSI Abi C | wanted now to go ‘ | 41 a ! + , 7% v p) ' ¢ Oo 10In the Nevolutionists 7 Sel 1] I ‘ +7 " « + > 7 TY) ’ * CAIICCd f{ CTC “ss 6h n. ' Liit ls LO | ut mvséll at +} - } Liicl Cj SpOs ] 7 = 7 My father was not at all opposed to my mak- ; ae ; ing tnis trip. He rnoucnt | was Curious to see — 5 } Ee. ] } ae something or the oufrsiae world. and that would mK i be glad to continue at the Girls’ School in Tokyo the studies | had begun in lTientsin. At Kobe we he position of Consul. had a cousin who occupied t My father knew that he would be glad to meet me when I landed, and to be of assistance to me in every way, so he pave his consent very readilyI JOIN A SECRET SOCIETY 107 to this journey which, as far as I was concerned, held infinite hopes for the future. During the voyage I met two companions, young girls like myself who had been waiting an opportunity to travel to Japan in order to go to school there. Little did they dream the tor- ments, the longings, and the almost ferocious de- termination which were hidden by my calm out- ward appearance. They saw in me a conventional Chinese girl of seventeen who had been brought up in a family of old traditions. ‘These friends were accompanied by their maid. I had with me the faithful Tung Ur. I was much too absorbed during this crossing by all that was in my mind and heart to even no- tice the flight of time, or to perceive the beauty of the wonderful Japanese landscape as it appears on the shores of the Inland Sea. From the moment my father had first spoken to me about our revolutionary leaders I had felt for them as much esteem as admiration. Yet I had no letter of introduction to any one of them, nor had I the slightest idea how I was going to discover their actual whereabouts. I was deter- mined to find out their ideas, to grasp their spirit. Personally I had no notion as to how I must be- gin action. As we drew nearer to the port of Kobe my anxiety increased. Japan seemed to become more and more vast. How could I dare count upon a108 A GIRL FROM CHINA mere chance to bring me in contact with those I wanted to know? They were only a few, scat- tered here and there among a population of mil- lions. . My cousin gave me a hearty welcome. He was, [ dare say, somewhat astonished at the curiosity of a modern Chinese oir! whose desire to see the 1 world sent her forth in this way, alone. But I explained to him my wish to follow certain courses of study which would complete the some- what superficial lessons [ had begunin China. Of my real object in coming to Japan I said, of course, not one word to my cousin. He ex- plained to me that in Japan there is no university for girls, nor even which girls can attend. My only opportunity, therefore, would be to enter the Tokyo ( irls Boarding School. The news struck terror to my heart. Shut up behind the four walls of a girls’ school in Tokyo, [ would be little more than a prisoner under con- stant surveillance, and all my hopes would go up in thin air. So I explained to my cousin, who was a kindly person, that the voyage had tired me very much, and that I would ask him to let me en- joy the hospitality of his home for a few weeks. During this time, I explained, I would be able not only to rest, but to become better acquainted with the country in which I was going to take up my temporary residence. This idea seemed very natural to the Consul.I JOIN A SECRET SOCIETY 109 He encouraged me to go about and see the sights of Kobé. Thus, accompanied by one of his serv- ants who spoke Japanese and who could interpret for me, and followed by my good Tung Ur, I set out to visit the city in a ricksha, like any tourist. Almost all the exiled Chinese revolutionists had arrived in Japan without any money. In order to subsist, many of them had taken work in the factories or banks; the more fortunate had opened small shops where they made just enough to subsist. I knew this much from what had been told me in China. So my first visit was to a store which my cousin’s servant told me was kept by a Chinese. I went into the place alone, and, after looking around a moment at the things on the counter, I suddenly asked the shopkeeper if he could give me the addresses of any compatriots who were revolutionists. Luck was with me! The merchant in disguise was one of the men in the revolutionary party. We talked together for a long time. When I left he asked me if I could come to a meeting to be held in his rooms the following day. I made a great effort to im- press upon my mind the directions he gave me as to how to reach the place where he lived. At the appointed hour I went to this rendezvous, with Tung Ur as an escort. My friend, the supposed shopkeeper, presented me to two well-known revolutionists who were7” 4 1 ” 4 - > * . ‘ - << = + ‘ j , i » . 4 } > - . Tr) 4 iit i} I 4 y 1 ' rT 3 cs‘ ii4 ‘ | c le auc 5 ‘ 4 tne Kw {) MI ng lang Society—Mr. Woo and Mr. Wang. ° . ‘ * ‘ rr Bisa * ' % \ , se > + » + - ia? | maintained ; ttituge OF extreme reserve. Thy , + "FT Sk ¢ ] 4 ( y \ V quest fc) Cc »< ae > } e } t ' ‘ ' \ { y+ ’ + ' r ¢ eT : ( : a5 y IS 1) Guu \ ‘ . I ; ‘ . + 7 , a | Ly | + ’ 2g 5 : ‘ + | ¢ c “IT\ rr) 1 , oar : € Si) / - 7 \ ed ; Bee r * ry 1 | fF a ‘ » ‘ _— . » — J - ‘ . 1 > ] ‘ ) ¢ ' ry ‘wr ry ry ' rYVij PPT ’ iF \ » ‘ ) . CV ' ] J . ~~ © ii j t ry a _ rT. { Try ' ue \ rnese ncyw ; O nded to me their plan ol + : : ] 1] ct t¢ ’ ’ + j prem se + iat , | DroVy- rCss | io pendent Upon LNeE abol t10Nn OT 14 iA iy } } + ¢ + ‘ i (Cy I SS > ' 4 j rt OULaA ric ( OTLLY Uy ¢ - =F ,Y ¢ _ 4 i 7 ~~ s t } ¢ > A. 1? \ iit . SULCUS | Su Ui i . 4 overthrowing of the Manchu dynasty- This must ) | } | t . , “4 - ; o> 4 ‘rs >> » ul. DIIS! eror¢ y ermort to regenerate : ’ i ic | CCU ‘ f * ‘* | ceed list ’ ed 1 ¢) | TT) or} | TO kne iL what th ‘1T Ge i\ i ‘ ! \ .. r a te SS { teas" lia t Liicil , _* :, 4 . : -_ iaeas were. and aiso tne methods of action wnhicn : a tney meant to adopt. [he certainty that the dream which haunted us could be realised now became firmly fixed in my mind. I signed my un- o reserved endorsement of the Kwo Ming Lang or Society of the Land of Brothers. After this step I was summoned to a reunion of a more secret nature, where I received the final initiation. I therein took the solemn engagement to remain faithful and to serve to the end, with-I JOIN A SECRET SOCIETY III out faltering, the cause which was to liberate China. I swore that if such a sacrifice might be of use, I would give my life for my country. For several months I continued to attend these secret meetings, without anyone thinking of fol- lowing me to see what I was about. When all the plans and projects of my friends had been made known to me, I explained to my charming old cousin, with a slightly weary air, that the climate of Japan was not the sort which could agree with a girl brought up in Canton and un- used to such constant rain. He protested at what he supposed to be merely a caprice. But I man- aged to hold out against all the advice he tried to give me. The truth of the matter was that in Kobé I could be of no use to my friends, whereas in Peking I could render a veritable service as inter- mediary without arousing curiosity. The daugh- ter of an official who held an important position would be the last person, under present circum- stances, to be suspected. So it was decided that I should receive mes- sages, direct or indirect, from the revolutionists — who were still in hiding in the south of China, and that I should transmit these messages to the lead- . ers of our party who were exiled from their ‘mother country. Inspired by this thought, 1 was able to overcome the affectionate protests of our Kobé cousin, the Consul, and once more to return to Peking.” + . ; 5 a mpression OT be- gy a very capricious young person. Now, *% r 1] 1) 7 a1 eer : “~ +4 e | * \\ Cil, Well} | LInA = YOU IMNuUSI lia VC Pprown 1 1 } ' YCTr \ \ TTi\ C] | Lt VaVe many ¢ IsSes, DUT NOT The Te 1] ONnCS | ; — } ' | ha said nothing whatever about the bonc ac , "FY : +4 ' ~ so - "1 ry } ; ' L, ' it i V4 u t 4 . r¢ \ ‘ Pica .)ij Sts and VA een 1) W as VrOWINY every aay stronger. IIc rely announced * . 1 . , * 17 e 4 * _ ~ as rs ' (ry s 7 ’ FS os , 7 zy + <> [ t, after thinking things well over, it seemed to rTi¢ tnat the autv or every ( hinese oir! was {O ; ' {- } Know her own country first. 1 wanted to studv Cn na t OTOULTILY, Meet SOmMmeE OT our Savanis, hnd Out the needs oOo Ou! peopie, and trv tO s@ek a2 . - | “ ] remecay IOr their sunerings. arer. tToere would il] he time Nnouwh to travel ahroad and | n ld stiii De Time enougon to travel abroad, and snoulc be better able to profit by all I saw. >. » f ' P 4 1 ‘ . Ny rather felt, pernaps, that sort of weariness | have observed in men whose ha ris beginning to + * age | ieee turn gray: he seemed indifferent to the multiple projects and pre-occupations, the changing plans and varying hopes of the rising generations. Per- | i + A ATHE KWO MING TANG 113 haps, too, he approved of what I said. The fact is he did not oppose me in my desire to stop school altogether. This granted, I was free to do what I liked, provided always that I observed sufhcient secrecy to arouse no suspicion. My brother was the only person of our family in my confidence. He knew of the double life which I was leading now. He sympathized with all my thoughts and feelings, and our mutual trust in one another was absolute. As I had to account in some way for my fre- quent absence from the house, I explained to my mother that we had founded a society, the object of which was to open schools and spread learning throughout China. This effort my mother heart- ily approved. To my father I gave no definite explanation of what I was doing. I knew that he was as anxious as | for the betterment of our country, but that he would never take the risks which I had deter- mined to run. If our enterprise succeeded I was sure that my father would rejoice with us, but if we told him in advance he might prevent us from carrying out our plan. During this period of organisation upon which we had now entered, we tried to increase as much as possible the sources from which we could ob- tain information, and at the same time we kept our secret rigidly among ourselves. We had no general place of reunion, we did nothing out-GIRL FROM CHINA ught be remarked. It was in our ne revolutionists met each other. quite ——e ‘ e 1 As sucn my ratner welcomed r IQ iy. Aas one does any youn ro > e co —w- —— © a ‘ e — — o aw a wt _ — aw cy co - eo ‘text of receiving and amusing our brother and I created a veritable ut ONnary ACTIVITIES, and we WGLG unted among its members young . ~ ] . Women, Omcers, and m llionaires. ' ‘ + 4 » ry i > } - -% . : ' . ,¥ Tit i \ OT SAaACTLIICe moved ul all, ‘ ‘ ’ ' + + b+ * \ +) 7 ¢) | we WW uy ] Spal norn- : i { j Cc {)] hi ric | or IrlOTi \ no;r 1 | q = : y 4 i». §- ( ) iT (1€ >] i. CoC | >} \ ry - | Ty 7 ’ ’ } ; : tr q } 4 ¢- ‘7 ' | — . $ XV | it ‘ uo ae. yy f | rmOny betore Tic, ‘ . 1 e grave anxieties which - hon 1] al ai é ae ‘etings were held with a calm sort ofTHE KWO MING TANG IIs solemnity. We had no discussions, for we all held exactly the same point of view. But we had to choose our leaders and decide what the apti- tudes of each were, and how to distribute our work. Little by little our Society became organ- ised like a veritable Government. There was a Secretary of State whose speciality was interior politics; a Secretary of the Treasury; a Secretary of Ways and Means; a War Department, the di- rection of which was confided to the army officers in our Society. They were entrusted with the task of recruiting soldiers for the cause. All cor- respondence which such an administration in- volved was addressed to my brother. Every week messengers were sent from Shanghai to bring us the news of how things were progressing among our members in that city. Owing to the official position my father had held for so many years, the letters which arrived from Canton were never opened by the Manchu censorship. In this way we were able to obtain all the necessary informa- tion concerning the progress of our ideas in the South. This was most important, as the centres established at Nanking—the old capital of China —and the South in general, had been from the first the cradle of revolutionary ideals. In Peking, the Manchu influence made it difficult for us to take the initiative. We therefore waited for the South to give us the signal to act. Our Department of State included still another116 A GIRL FROM CHINA Ministry which was destined to play not the least important role. What shall I call it? I scarcely dare say the ‘Department of Death,” and yet the ofhcials who presented themselves tor this pat- | | 3 | ticular service took a solemn oath to accept what- ever orders were given them, and to carry out all a ‘ . ; ) ' . % , instructions, whatever they mignt be, even though —, 1 . cis ay Ss ee 't should cost them their lives. Ihere was a rush - ‘ : , : or volunteers ready to immolate t] emselves iT) this capacity, which in China we call ““Gnan- was appointed tO t| ec State Department. We fully realised the pow erful influence of foreigners n (hina, and we did not want to alienate them from us if possible; if hostile to what we wanted to undertake, they could put a stop to our under- taking. As I could speak English, and had lived or a time in Japan and in Tientsin. where | had made a great many friends among the Europeans, , + e fr ’ ; « ' me - fi Be rne choice fell upon me ror tnis post OT omnicté? de liaison. It seemed advisable for me to begin to lead as worldly an existence aS possible in the cosmopoli- tan society formed by the diplomats of the vari- ous legations. I accepted invitations for lunch- eons at the Hotel des Wagons-Lits, which was then the rendezvous of the young group who liked to amuse themselves. I took tea every afternoon in the English fashion. I went galloping over ss 5 the hills with my European friends, a ‘gang’ 0!THE KWO MING TANG Wl boys and girls. We loved to ride out on our ponies to the hills around Peking, and have a pic- nic in one of the old, crumbling temples that are so beautiful even in ruins. No one dreamed what was really in my mind, nor how full my heart was of the secret it en- folded. I was accepted by my friends as a Chi- nese girl of a very old family, but not so conserva- tive that she could not go quite wild over Euro- pean fashions, and above all, European ways of amusing herself. This did not prevent me from having my well- established plan. I wanted to make many friends, so that I would be known everywhere, and so that everyone would have confidence in me and in my character, personally, the day I should disclose my dream...CHAPTER XXII Mr. LEE Yu YING Y life went on in this way all the summer i of 1911. Toward September we re- ceived news through our messengers that the revolution was about to break out in the South. This first rumour was almost immediately followed by more definite information—the upris- ing had become general throughout all the prov- inces of South and Central China, Wuchang being the starting-point. The Manchu general sent at once by the Re- gent, the Boy Emperor's father, to quell this out- burst, had failed to make any impression upon the violence of these manifestations. His futile at- tempts were followed by a more successful mill- tary expedition commanded by Yuan Shi Kat. A provisional Republican government had been set up at Nanking, under the presidence of Sun Yat Sen. with Lin Sun as President of the first House of Representatives, Chang Ki as first President of the Senate, C. T. Wang as Secretary of Com- merce, etc. The revolutionists were coming back in throngs from exile in order to uphold our new chief. 118MR. LEE YU YING 119 In the North, conditions were less propitious. At Peking we were living in the very heart of the Manchu Empire. Opposed as we were in prin- ciple to the idea of showing any violence, we still hoped that we might avoid all bloodshed, al- though our comrades in the South had not suc- ceeded in so doing. We did not declare open war- fare upon the Dynasty. Our intention was to im- pel the Manchus to abandon the throne more by the power of logic than by force of arms. The Imperial Family—the Boy Emperor, the Regent, and their household, who numbered sey- eral hundred Imperial Manchu princes and prin- cesses—it must be remarked, lived in fear and trembling, yet they obstinately held out against us. They vowed that we could not shake them from their established and hereditary position, and that it was they who would master us. We took comfort in the fact that the Court and those assembled about it disposed of no means to achieve our ruin, which were not, to say the least, inferior. They began, in the first place, by offer- ing us money. Then they proposed to give us titles of nobility, which, according to their per- sonal point of view, represented temptation such as a revolutionist could not possibly resist. Is it necessary to add that they did not know us very welllea.. Forced to admit after a time that our demo- cratic principles, our republican convictions, wereA GIRL FROM CHINA = “ dear to us. and that we loved them as much as tLney cher sned their antiquated Dassion ror money Herre. Siicy finally ; ; ' ; ae . changed tneir tactics. fo our Surprise, We Saw | ) ° ] ° ' y ; * Py > Taa:s. i P= * ‘> ‘ a . oF . ‘ = eet Le ¢ ri r @M1IVEe OFTQGCis il tne Boy mpecro!r 5 ‘ 1} 1 aes ) i oe name e€ TEVOLUTIONISL If ICTS WilO af : ; , 4 : 2 ; been languishing in the Peking prison fo! months, coon pt VV [ake VW . VV a , " . mc \ ' * + ‘ ‘a 4 + i .% ( SLOULG DC Ss at Liberty. ang Ul! iny ¥ Cl, ¥ ANY ,% 7 - ] i ° _* 5 , ; yy , > le rse 7" go | sth 32a iy. ch TAX OT Crs amMmOnY Our COMTPaCCs, We;re 1 7 , tnus e to resume their militant tion ror oul ry ry ; 4 , | } } . * ’ 7 . * + , , * » L rpe ou [Tia rmicd [ Li OTIC ricCc, | . ¥ b | y « 1 oat | } I > esc Dud! {7 rors would fave Only one tnougnt their minas—not to return fq tneir 7 ! * { i> | SOLt I CQO] [ ement | hey—so the ad- yvisers OT tne Regent supposed—would be SO Tas- | | } ’ . . R 1} ey would renounce their rormel ie als \Cally ‘ ! ‘a : : these men and women of the old régime could not rr PCr) » | ¢> to + 4} ,* Ww : revol ey nists r | } ‘ed Our i 4 ‘A } Lirik i Aw 4 ‘ 4 4 X is eaeg if : t Lc ‘ s* rr } \ ‘ .¥ ewentel 7 ia o ¥ ) vi re + * WO] nN 4 4 OVC 3 YCl ee | i -- iow C ist is 4 OVC Lil \W-e« 1: Fs 0a. a 2 Meanwhile the Nanking (Government was obliged to resort to measures which daily became ” e ' more and more radical. If the Manchus con- tinued tO hold Out so obst nately. it had been de- \ i cided to call out an army ol volunteers in the North to drive them out. Ihere was but one opinion on this subject; everyone was agreed; . 9 1 . ‘ . from the humblest of the people to the most 1m-MR. LEE YU YING [21 portant general, a wave of enthusiasm swept over and animated us all. Now it was just about at this time that our friend and comrade, Mr. Lee Yu Ying, arrived in Peking, to set before us his personal point of view in the matter. He is one of the men to whom China today owes the greatest debt of gratitude. He has given everything for his country: his time, his example of untiring self-sacrifice, his entire fortune—a large one—nothing has been spared. Himself the son of one of the most important personages in the entourage of the Dowager Em- press, Mr. Lee Yu Ying, in spite of this powerful influence in his early life, has been from the first one of the moving spirits of modern China. A firm pacifist, he could not make up his mind to condone the plea for overthrowing the autocratic Manchu régime by an armed intervention -of the military. He implored us to reflect well before acting, and not to adopt the Nanking policy, but to seek some other solution for our problem. To his mind the thought that innocent blood might be shed was intolerable. The project which he submitted for our con- sideration, and which he had elaborated with Mr. Wang Ching Wei, in their desire to avoid extreme measures, was this: instead of a general uprising in which a great number of Chinese would perish inevitably, we were to sacrifice a few individuals122 A GIRL FROM CHINA chosen among those whom we knew to be the lead- ers. Mr. Lee’s plan was adopted. Our Society then determined to address a peti- tion to the Regent and to the Boy Emperor and the other members of the Imperial Family, who were obviously the main obstacle to all our hopes of progress. In the petition we were to demand that they renounce their right to the throne and withdraw completely from power, playing no further active part in Chinese politics. If they refused, we were to make use of bombs. This decision required the immediate summon- ing of the recruits who had pledged to give their lives at a moment’s notice. Many fresh volun- teers offered themselves. We enrolled them in the Gnanshada, or the Department of Death, which became one of the most active branches of Our Society. Though it may seem paradoxical, if considered superficially, in reality we were convinced of the more merciful attitude of the new policy. The man who gave his own life to take that of a traitor, would at the same time save many inno- cent existences. The difficulty of procuring bombs now con- fronted us as a serious problem. We could not think of bringing them through the Customs, where everything is examined on its arrival at the Peking railroad-station. How were we to getMR. LEE YU YING 123 the materials necessary for the manufacture of these instruments of destruction? No one offered to carry them by hand. The mission was deli- cate. The police, we knew, were vigilant, clever, and difficult to deceive. Feeling convinced that a woman would arouse less suspicion than a man, I volunteered for this service. I felt absolutely sure that I could carry the effort off with success. The circumstances, moreover, were all in my favour. | had been in the habit for several years of travelling about very freely, and I knew that my faithful Tung Ur would not fail me if I wished to take new risks, whatever they might be. Then, too, everyone thought of me as the daughter of an official, and finally, it was generally known that my brother and I were in the habit of spending a great deal of our time with foreigners. Under the circum- stances, no one could for a moment suppose that Soumay Tcheng was a revolutionist.CHAPIER XXIII My STRANGE BAGGAG! _LEET at once for Tientsin. where Mr. I.ece Yu Ying and Mr. Wang Ching Wei were a XX \ ‘ting ir me | ‘Tr } werd “Tay nich * WAllillY ITOr me, ney snowed so mucn rea ’ t j ey tt . ° ry rceing that | was touched. i hey insisted with sy . 7 , : ry ’ 7 \ » as 1. al 4 ’ se? sOmMme ECMo+;°con Upon the risKS tO wh cn | Was POIN? voluntarily to ext - mvself. The eed witl yOlLUNTarily tO expose myself. ney apreed with . . Le oe aes ae | fs a ne, however, that my duty was clear and unmis- ce been be - ar ikabDle, and I ended by making them share my | d absolute confidence in our ultimate success. Ihe rooms of the Kwo Ming lang Society oc- cupied several houses in Tientsin. A meeting was held the night of my arrival in order to discuss and determine upon the details of our plan. Be- sides Mr. Lee Yu Ying and Mr. Wang Ching Wei a number of revolutionists were present, and ] was delighted CO find among them several girls whom I had known at the boarding-school I had attended for two years. lt was arranged that I should return to Peking with two valises. In one we were to put the bombs empty; in the other the dynamite which was to be used for loading them. 1 sat up almost all night, planning, packing, 124MY STRANGE BAGGAGE 125 and re-packing my strange baggage. When at last the bombs and the dynamite had been safely stowed away in the bottom of the valises, I cov- ered them over with some underclothing, and then I hid everything under my bed, and I called for Tung Ur to come to speak to me. I wanted to give him his instructions. The first thing in the morning he was to dress himself as a coolie, or porter, with a long linen blouse and a soft felt hat. Thus disguised, he was to go to the railroad-station. There he would join the usual crowd of coolies who flock around the exits waiting for travellers with hand- luggage too bulky to carry themselves. As soon as Tung Ur saw me drive up, he was to rush for- ward and to immediately seize my two valises. They were so heavy that they might have aroused disastrous suspicion if I had allowed a stranger to touch them. Moreover, I could not risk the dynamite in hands which might have nonchalantly dropped it! Two of the revolutionist comrades were to fol- low me closely without seeming to know me, and they were to get into the same train I did. In case of any unexpected complications they would be on hand to do whatever they could to help. The express for Peking left at nine forty-five. That November morning, it seemed to me, would never dawn. As soon as the sun rose, I wasup. I dressed with great care, wearing Euro-126 A GIRL FROM CHINA pean clothes. I called a carriage in due time and had my two valises placed under my feet. It was very cold and the sharp autumn wind was a good pretext for covering my knees with a big shawl which hid everything. Wishing to be as prudent as possible, I waited until the last moment before starting. Above all things, I did not want to have a long time to wait at the railroad-station. Once in the carriage, I urged the coachman to drive with all speed. Tung Ur saw me coming in the distance. He ran forward to meet me and, as had been agreed, seized the two valises. The employes in the station all knew me, and we passed hurriedly through the crowd with- out being asked for our tickets. Tung Ur settled me comfortably in my compartment and then I saw him vanish behind the long line of cars. When he reappeared, only to jump into a third- class carriage as the train was starting, he had changed his hat, taken off his coolie’s blouse. He was quite himself again, the good and faithful retainer of an honourable family. I felt wonderfully calm. I was sure nothing horrible could happen to me. All the details of this expedition had been studied out carefully. We had even found a happy solution for the most serious obstacle which threatened to obstruct our whole course of action—how to pass the Peking Customs.MY STRANGE BAGGAGE 127 Thinking in advance of all the difficulties which might present themselves on my way, I had en- listed in our cause the sympathy of a European man who was a close friend of my brother’s and of mine. I have not spoken of him hitherto, but he was indeed a precious ally and he had already rendered us inestimable services. He was a young diplomat, then Secretary in one of the European legations. He was exceedingly liberal in his opinions, and from the very outset he had been convinced that we were building our dreams for the future on the very principles which are the source of all social progress. With a courage for which we shall owe him an everlasting debt of oratitude, he had pledged himself to help us to the end with our campaign for the regeneration of China. As a diplomat, it is needless to add, he enjoyed especial privileges in the matter of Customs House regulations, being able to pass at all fron- tiers without submitting to the usual examination. Our friend had proposed that he meet me at the station and help me through this dificult moment by lending me the protection of his official posi- tion. Meanwhile, in the train, my valises were safely tucked away under the seat upon which I was sit- ting. My two revolutionist friends were walking back and forth in the corridor. Now and then they passed before the door of my compartment,128 A GIRL FROM CHINA casting an indifferent glance in mv direction. Sev- eral acquaintances of mine, who happened to be travelling by the same express, had taken the seat opposite mine, We chatted together about al] sorts of insignificant matters, and their somewhat frivolous COnversation was a oreat relief tO me, eS + ‘T cou! ’ r Tre riiy forcet nomen nV eT LOUIG NOU Teally Torget ror a moment my ‘ iy a4 ae y iWO \ i] SCS. \ ly CYCS ACDt COmInNg back to ft hem —, . 1 } with a fixed stare, and | must confess that the JOurney seemed to drag on for an interminable At last we pulled Into the Peking station. | cannot describe the relief I felt when. as | : _ y | St 1 : leaned out of tl e car window | Caugnt sight oO! fem, * * : ' ’ ,* . ° ° OUF rriend. tne diplomat. te WaS Walting for ry : : : | ‘yl , > nied re Aer ) YY yy ne, faithful to his pledge, cordial and smi ing. i ae My foot had no sooner touched the ground than } } 1 q * se e told me he had arranged a very safe hiding- © place where my brother was expecting me. _ | 1 c ; . ; , could take refuge there and stow awav my terrible bombs, where they might remain without risk until, under cOver O] night, | could join INny asso- ciates. = ythin: (iaVUCICd TUS Aas LICTi¢ La Everything happ 1 just my friend had planned. A certain group of revolutionists, both men and women, who pretended, for convenience, to be all of the same family, had rented a house in the Chinese city, near the Tchen Men. They hadMY STRANGE BAGGAGE 129 worked together for the cause, without so far arousing any suspicion. As soon as it was quite dark | went to this house, taking with me my bombs and the dyna- mite. The welcome I received was quite overwhelm- ing. In the long hours of waiting these friends had become anxious. They had agonized lest some accident had befallen their envoy. How- ever delicate this mission was, it was the first l had undertaken, and I had carried it out success- fully.CHAPTER XXIV READY FOR WorRK OR three months, once or twice every week, | made the journey between Tientsin and Peking, always with the same object. I prew more and more confident as time went on. in order to get through more quickly I decided to bring back with me on a final, farewell trip, a great quantity of dynamite and a considerable bombs. All this filled an enormous number of valise. The trains which connect Tientsin and Peking are almost all “flyers.” The port of Tientsin is the last station of any importance before Peking on the Mukden line, which corresponds directly with the [ransiberian railway and with the routes which continue by way of Korea to Japan. These trains have certain modern comforts, such as sleeping-cars, dining-cars, and first-class compart- ments connected by corridors, with “boys” in at- tendance, and Chinese “‘guards,’’ or conductors. [ had no sooner settled myself in my compart- ment, with my huge valise, which stuck way out from under the seat, than the “boy’’ who was on service stepped before the corridor door. He 130READY FOR WORK 131 leaned forward toward me, pointing at the phe- nomenally large piece of baggage I had with me. Very firmly and deliberately he explained that it would be impossible for me to travel with this veritable trunk. I could not keep it with me. I must have it checked at the next station. On my previous trips I had often tipped this same boy, as is the custom everywhere in China. My generosity had apparently made no impres- sion on him. He declared that if he did not apply the regulations rigorously he would be in danger of losing his place. Though I showed no signs of agitation, I was overwhelmed. What was I to do? I tried to explain to the boy that my valise contained some very valuable porcelains—my father owns a cele- brated collection. In the baggage-car these fragile objects would be broken inevitably. It was decided that I must have an explanation with the conductor, who would be coming along now at any moment to take up the tickets. I did not sit down again, but remained stand- ing, in order to hide as well as I could with my skirts the end of the valise which protruded be- yond the seat. As soon as I caught sight of the conductor my courage came back to me. He was an employé I chanced to know well. I was able to greet him with kindly inquiries about his wife and children. Delighted to give me news of his little family, hero meet Mm ~ °*% | oners exit without even show! notion. But the strain had been almost me, strong as I was. Once safe withinREADY FOR WORK 133 the rooms where we kept our treasures hidden, I fainted. What did it matter! That trip was the last I had to make. From then on we had as many bombs at our disposal as we needed, to begin work.CHAPTER XXV A Precious ALL’ EANWHILE the Peking population had been growing hourly more and more un- easy. Almost all the important families had left the city, and with them my grandmother, my mother, and my sister. They had taken refuge in Tientsin. A general uprising, inspired by the revolutionists, was now feared. This move of my family gave me a good pre- text for going to Tientsin as often as it might be necessary in the interests of our party. Detained by his work, my father had remained in Peking. This also facilitated my constant journeyings to and fro, which I accomplished in complete liberty. No one even asked me exactly how I spent my time; no one then was suspicious. In order to recover more completely from the emotions which I had endured while making my final voyage as bomb and dynamite carrier, | went down to spend two weeks at Tientsin with my mother. She had, of course, noticed that for some time I had not really been myself. Often she had questioned me, but I had never been able to answer her frankly. Now I considered it my L 34A PRECIOUS ALLY 135 duty to tell her exactly what my life was and what I had undertaken and was trying to accomplish. I confided to her that I had become a member of the Kwo Ming Tang Society, and that I would follow it and be faithful to it, in life and in death. Without betraying the profound emotion which such unexpected revelation caused her, my mother very gently asked me if I did not believe that, without going to such extremes, I might render great services to my country. I longed to con- vince her, to win her over to my point of view. So I told her of our hopes and added that if she saw me ailing it was because I had not taken as great a share as I could have wished in this effort we were making. I was ill because I had not sufficiently served my country. My mother was for a time plunged in thought. Then finally she said to me: “My child, do all youcan. I will help you!”’ My precious mother had suffered so much in her life that she comprehended all. She realised that if she had only been given an opportunity to work as her daughter was now working, her hus- band would not have been so negligent of her, and her mother-in-law would not have treated her with such cruel disdain. ‘You are right,’ she said to me. “You must help the Chinese women. They have been treated by their families, and by their husbands, as though they were playthings. Not only have they beenCHAPTER XXivi LIANG Py Must DIE 5 I have already said, our Society had sev- A eral houses in Peking, that near the Ichen Men Gate and others. We were obliged to rent an additional place now, where we could manufacture our bombs. When all was ready we held a reunion to con- sider the general situation. We were quite certain of the fact that the little Emperor, the Regent, and the Imperial Family, lived in fear and trembling. They did not know what step to take next. In reality they were long- ing to abandon the power and retire from their present position. The opposition we met came from another source, from a very influential Manchu general, Liang Py, who completely controlled the Manchu Army, then a very considerable force. The opinions of Liang Py were as obstinate as they were detestable. He loathed us with a deadly hatred and he was determined to fight the revo- lutionists to the end. We were quite agreed, therefore, that as long as the General exercised his baneful influence in 137138 A GIRL FROM CHINA the North, our whole effort would be paralyzed. He was the stumbling-block, the obstacle to all the progressive measures we wished to inaugurate in China. He had signed his own death-warrant. It remained for us to choose among our com- rades the one to be entrusted with the first of those acts whereby we hoped to free our coun- try from its tyrants. The offers came in great numbers, but it was still impossible for us to fix upon anyone, as we did not know exactly what our plan of action was to be. Great weight had to be attached to the fact that the General, of an extremely distrustful character, was always exceedingly closely guarded. One night, while we were in the midst of a dis- cussion, one of the young men of our Society, Mr. Pong Gia Chen, asked us to listen to him for a moment. “T am the person,” he said, “obviously desig- nated for this mission. As I am myself an ofhcer in the Army, if I ask the General for an audience he cannot refuse me.” This brought us to a resolution. We found out exactly the hours at which Liang Py was in the habit of leaving and returning to his house. The time was fixed for the following evening. In the afternoon, very late, our young volun- teer came to join us in the place where we manu- factured the bombs. He did not think that theLIANG PY MUST DIE 139 one bomb which had been given him the previous night was enough; he wanted another. He stayed a long time, talking with us. He was so hand- some in his uniform, and so serene. We were sad and downcast, whereas his determination seemed to steady him in a wonderful way. ‘We can save our people,” he said. “I am convinced of it. If this sacrifice of my life is not enough, others will, I know, follow my example.” We gave him the second bomb, and then he left us. After saying farewell to him, we did not have the courage to separate. All night we waited and watched together, in agony. At dawn the news was brought to us. Our friend had accomplished his mission. We wept.° '* > 1° ; C- + Vii } ian Yn ! Vi th » hearer CT id ‘ »* i tT OTT) 4 WALI i =! i Yas tie WUdai © I message of great military importance. At this very nent a Carriage drove into the Inner courtyard. Ihe General alighted. As our friend | ed him, Liang Py drew back Who is this man?” he cried. Who are ai “I have an important letter for you,’”’ our com- ide responded, meanwhile slipping his hand into a r Cc 4 : ' a ee sia his pocket as though he were going to take out --* he message. \n ancient custom in China places before the inner door of every dwelling two dragons carved in stone. With the half-smiling, half-threatening grimaces which have become familiar to all, they 140THE TRAGEDY I4I are supposed to drive from the threshold any evil spirits which may approach it. General Liang Py was standing now by the dragon to the right of the entrance to his house. Drawing his hand out of the pocket into which he had thrust it, our friend aimed directly at this block of carved granite. The shock of the ex- plosion killed him instantly. “The General, mor- tally wounded, lived for only a few hours.CHAPIER AXVITI THE Next Victim CHOSEN HE results brought about bv this astound- ing act surpassed hoped. all that we could have At the period of which am writing the Little | 7 /.mperor was only six years old. Fora long time, , ‘ ) | i 0 1 ] he lee] _ his tather, the Regent, had piaced what little COn- i. : ] - ; ry 2 . »7 r A hdence he had left, in one single person—Liang Py. Deprived now of his support and of the leader they had found in this general, the Im- perial Kamily were thrown into utter confusion. They made a final attempt, however, to save the dynasty. They immediately put in command of the Manchu Army, as successor to Liang Py, Yuan Shi Kai, well known later to the outside world as the first President of the new Republic , ’ to whom the outside world sent accredited diplo- mats. /\ Chinaman by birth and race, he had ac- quired a reputation among his compatriots as an able general and an intrepid soldier. He had be- gun his ofhcial career as Governor of Korea. When the Sino-Japanese War, in which he had played a leading part, was ended, he had taken an openly hostile stand toward the Japanese. 142THE NEXT VICTIM CHOSEN 143 Everyone, the revolutionists included, looked upon Yuan Shi Kai at that time as a patriot. The role of Court Counsellor to the Manchu dynasty was a position of a singularly delicate na- ture for a pure-blooded Chinaman to assume, all the more so that this particular person had be- trayed the former Emperor, Kwang Siou.. KK such was to be the rdle accepted by Yuan Shi Kat. However obstinate a soldier he may have been, however naturally gifted as an organiser, he was not scrupulous enough to withstand the tempta- tions which his new functions offered. When a young man he had already been re- ceived by the Dowager Empress into her military household. Her affection for him had been lasting; he had proved his attachment to her by his disloyalty to Kwang Siou, for whose death, in- deed, he had been supposed responsible. Yuan Shi Kai surely was placed in a unique position to serve as adviser to the tottering Manchus. He could easily have persuaded them to adopt the one course which could save them, and with them China. To be obeyed he needed to pronounce but one word: ‘‘Abdicate.”’ Such a step could scarcely have been taken by a Manchu like Liang Py. The retirement of his masters would have meant the end of his own career. Yuan Shi Kai, on the contrary, had no excuse for not serving the ideals of our republican party. A detestable character, he was controlledrnat confidence in him. * Ou betraved. We could not * is bad taith to Strew dis- provoke pernicious dis- he + - O So Tar as actually to disunite *THE NEXT VICTIM CHOSEN 145 Given all this complicated state of affairs, a so- lution had to be sought at once. Yuan Shi Kai must share the fate of Liang Py. We were thoroughly acquainted with his habits. Every morning he went to the Imperial Palace in order to confer with the Regent. We determined to station ten of our members at different places along the streets which Yuan Shi Kai always fol- lowed. These ten members were to be armed with bombs. It did not seem possible that he could escape their attacks. The minute details of this complot were settled. Nothing was neglected or overlooked. Those who were to take an active part in the affair had just left our place of reunion when two of our members from the South were an- nounced. They were Mr. Tsai, Secretary of Public Instruction, now Rector of the Peking Un1- versity, and Mr. Wang Ching Wei. ‘They had been sent by the Government of Nanking, and they asked to be received at once, as: they were bringing from Sun Yat Sen a message of extreme importance which they wished to communicate to us without delay. We held a second reunion that night which lasted into the early hours of the morning. The decision which Sun Yat Sen had determined upon was overwhelming to us. This is, in substance, what he had charged his Ministers to say: ‘The most important for us all is that we re-146 A GIRL FROM CHINA main united. No question of personal ambition should retard our action. I am now President of the Republic, but | am ready to resign in favour of Yuan Shi Kai, in the hope that, by such a meas- ure, we may join the North and the South in an indivisible China. Our personal rivalries are of no interest whatever. The great affair is that we should be rid of the Manchus!”’ in the midst of our emotion and excitement, as we discussed this great act of patriotism, we sud- denly recalled our own preparations, now under way for the following day. Instantly messengers were despatched to recall the ten members 9f the Kwo Ming Tang who had been appointed to carry out our instructions. Six of them only could be found and the inevitable transpired in conse- quence. As Yuan Shi Kai was crossing the avenue which leads to the Imperial Palace several bombs were thrown. One of the horses of his carriage was killed, but he himself escaped unscathed. The lesson, however, was not lost. It was now clear to Yuan Shi Kai that he could not continue his policy of duplicity, but that he must come definite- ly over to our side. He accepted the noble sacrifice of the rival whose position he had coveted, and Sun Yat Sen resigned in his favour. Yuan Shi Kai solemnly swore that he would force the Boy Emperor to abdicate, the Regent and the Imperial Family toTHE NEXT VICTIM CHOSEN 147 withdraw. Though he had no moral sense, he was very superstitious, and he really believed that, as his life had been spared, he was bound now to carry out this promise faithfully. He did not, however, dare to face the Regent himself and ask for the Emperor’s signature to an act of ab- dication. He compromised by sending one of his officials, who succeeded with little difhculty in ob- taining what he wanted. ‘This was in February, 1912. Asamatter of fact, these last descendants of an expiring régime really asked nothing better than to disappear from a scene where their lives were constantly in danger. The recent attack on Yuan Shi Kai had served to aggravate their im- patience. In as far as this decision regarding Yuan Shi Kai was concerned, our course of action had been determined by the members of our Society who were pacifist by conviction. Among us there was another group to which | belonged. We deplored this too lenient attitude. We thought it could augur no good for the future. We foresaw very clearly that to put Yuan Shi Kai at the head of the Government as President of the Republic, after the many proofs he had given us of his ab- solutely bad faith, was to mow down the weeds instead of pulling them up by the roots.CHAPTER XXIA Ture SouTH A DUPE OF THE NORTH HE Kwo Ming Tang felt very strongly that Yuan Shi Kai should maintain the seat of ’ ce ‘ ' (,overnment at Nanking where tne repub- licans of the South had established it. There were ti i i many reasons to explain our des re for t| all of which had their origin in present events aie in past traditions. Politics and history gave us the ne i ) : SUT port, N INAINY h Ld been tne cradle O! the Re- public, it is situated midway between Peking and Canton, and it 1s the ; cient capital of China. In 1644, after the weds of the last desc endant of the Chinese Ming dynasty, Peking passed into the tvrannous hands of the Manchu race. Today it remains penetrated by their memory. The traces are CVCr\ where visible of the late Dewager .m- press, of her brilliant and domineering personal- ity, her cruel intelligence, her narrow-mindedness which wilfully ignored the outside world, her h ae and fear of foreigners which had plotted e Boxer uprisin og with its consequent disasters. Dike souvenirs created, and even now help to maintain, the vague but unfavourable opinion re- garding China which too many people hold. 146SOUTH A DUPE OF NORTH 149 We believed that the time had come to break off once and for all, by some decisive act, with the former errors perpetrated during the Manchu dynasty. The surest way to meet our aim was to establish the capital at once in Nanking and make that city the seat of the Chinese Republic, North and South henceforward forever united. Our valued friends, Lee Yu Ying, Wang, and Tsai, with this plan in mind, now came up to Peking to confer with Yuan Shi Kai. They pre- sented their arguments in the name of Sun Yat Sen, whose desire was to see all the revolutionary forces congregated in a single body at Nanking. Yuan Shi Kai, on this occasion, as on all others, followed his usual policy. He pretended to listen with great interest to this new idea and to approve of it heartily. To be sure, it was not very difficult for a man like him to deceive such fine patriots as Lee, Wang, and Tsai. They were too high- minded to believe that Yuan could be capable of duplicity; but this sly personage had not the slight- est intention of leaving Peking. He was already harbouring ambitions which he did not care to ex- pose to the vigilance and criticism of the patriots by whom he would be surrounded in Nanking. Nor was he at all at a loss to find a pretext which made his remaining in the North, in the old Man- chu capital, seem a political necessity. He gave his soldiers secretly to understand that pillaging on their part would be tolerated in Peking. MostA GIRL FROM CHINA 150 of these men were Manchus; they did not wait for the permission to be granted twice before they set to work. Yuan Shi Kai thereupon despatched post-haste i commission to explain to his political colleagues ‘na Nanking that he was distressed to keep them waiting, but that there were very alarming dis- | turbances which detained him much against his will in Peking. His message read: I cannot forsake my army in the present critt- irs. lt were to leave now, ITly 1| state of afial! departure would undoubtedly be followed by a 3 - ; a manifestations which might present a veritable | +} danyer. Let us be patient. Lhe Chinese republicans of Nanking were We were as naive as we were honest. sent by Yuan Shi Kat were idealists. The messengers listened to as though they had brought news oO! some Tarseciny wisdom. a second time, the Government ot the South which sought the good of China, and peace, forced to make a supreme concession to Thus, was Northern ambition, which was determined to gratify its personal interests even if this meant stirring up discord and causing destruction.CHAPTER XXX We DEeEcIDE To EMIGRATE OMPARED with all that we had at first . hoped, the results obtained by the Kwo Ming Tang seemed insignificant. We had dreamed of regenerating the entire Government of our country, and we were now forced to accept a compromise, to recognise a temporary Presi- dent. No doubt he had rid us of the Imperial Family, yet we could not but wonder if perhaps he did not already cherish the secret desire of sub- stituting himself for the former occupants of the Imperial Palace. This state of affairs was far from meeting with our approval, or from truly satisfying us, yet it had cost us heavy losses. Many of our members, and among them some splendid young men, full of faith in their noble ideals, had perished during the uprisings in the South, not to speak of those who had fallen in Peking during the struggle against our adversary. The situation did not seem to call now for such a sacrifice of life. Good or bad as he might be, Yuan Shi Kai was installed as President. We ISI152 A GIRL FROM CHINA were not strong enough yet (to show ourselves ; : > Saal more republican than the Head of the Republic! Such being the situation, we were eager to nnd | ; on = rT F . ¥ j isa * 3 a new channel for our energy. We had been a revolutionary SOcIety up to this time. (ut obiect, : ; j ! 1 : which was to overthrow tne VMianchu dynasty, had been ai comp! shed. Now we must progress, OUT- \t a mee no held in Peking in order to deter- mine upon a program for future action, Mr. Lee } - I p—, Yu Ying set forth an admirable plan he had been elaborating ‘The iy » ha T) seqd.”’ id A tla ne rime fdas Dassea, Salad, Or Suc it -utal. material contention. What our country ’ of us now 1s an intellectual! etrort. We do not need to go on destroying life. ‘We must de- ' y 1 : nie vote ourseives to study. We need to broaden out! : . dais ae ne p horizon. to acquire new 1daeas and greate! experi- : eae Gere ( hina must be put in) troucn with moaern scienfinc GISCOVEeTICS. Kor rnis tnere is only one way open to us. We must emigrate to the coun- tries of Western civilisation. Then this great citizen, who had not hesitated > tO spend his entire fortune in the pursuit Or nis dream. told us of the organisation which he w: iS oc _— ninese 1 | endeavouring to create, with the help of C friends whom he had sent out as a vanguard and who had kept in touch with him by correspond- ence. Mr. Lee had arranged for the former revo-WE DECIDE TO EMIGRATE 153 lutionists to follow their studies in France, where they could live at the least possible cost. Instead of encouraging young men to congre- gate in the large cities, where they would inevita- bly spend much time together talking Chinese, and where they would meet with all sorts of tempta- tion to amuse themselves and to squander money, Mr. Lee had established his corresponding centres of instruction in the provincial universities, such as, for example, those of Grenoble, Toulouse, Dijon, Montpellier, etc. He had provided facil- ities for cheap travel, through an agreement with the French Government, and for reasonable board in French homes. Mr. Lee’s plan was greeted with enthusiastic gratitude. Many of our members did not want to wait another day before setting out upon their journey. I would have been only too happy to leave with the first group who embarked at once for France. I[ felt obliged to curb my enthusiasm. It was my duty, I knew, to make amends to my parents for the hours of anguish which I had caused them, especially my beloved mother. Be- fore leaving her again, I wanted to reassure her, to comfort her, and to make her feel my deep and constant love. Our Committee, moreover, deemed that my presence was useful in China, and that I could be of assistance to the younger revolutionists who remained at home, unable for one reason or an-154 A GIRL FROM CHINA other to follow the westward trail. So I con- sented to keep in close touch with them, and to help found a newspaper which we called The Love of Country. Yuan Shi Kai was very shortly informed of these new projects. They upset him greatly. Convinced that we were preparing fresh attacks, he surrounded us with spies. These poor hire- lings of his could discover nothing suspicious in any of our doings, as we had nothing to hide, but as they wanted to keep their comfortable salaries, they wrote out reports every day concerning Our lightest movements. Yuan Shi Kal was too clever to be deceived for Ss long. Seeing that his scheme of spying on us had failed, he determined tO iry flattery in order to corrupt us. | was to be his first victim. He sent me word that the Government wanted to give me a prize because of the way I had pursued my studies. My answer showed the astonishment I felt at such a ro yosition. pro} “A prize?” I said. “What for? Because I have done my duty? I don’t need a prize for that. If thisisa subtle way of offering me money, I beg to recall that my parents are not in need. As for myself, even if | were so poor as to be in positive distress, I would not accept money In €x- change for an effort made with the hope of help- ing my country.WE DECIDE TO EMIGRATE Ise Yuan Shi Kai no doubt found this reply rather arrogant. It did not discourage him. He soon made me a new proposition. This time | was to assume the management of a school which he was planning, to teach women how to weave cloth. | responded to him that, as I was only eighteen, I did not think I had had experience enough to assume such responsibilities. “T must devote myself to study,” I added. “I am soon leaving for Europe.” The firmness with which I refused to accept anything he offered was interpreted by Yuan Shi Kai as an act of open hostility. From this time on he considered me as an enemy. If I was eager to go to Europe, why didn’t | start at once? My presence in Peking was something he could not understand and which worried him. He had me watched more closely than ever. I could not take a step in any direction without seeing as many as three spies following close upon my heels. I did not, however, change any of my habits on this account. I continued, as formerly, to go to the meetings of our ex-revolutionists, with my brother and our friend the diplomat, of whom | have already spoken. Often I addressed the as- sembly, recalling past deeds, discussing our future line of action. I remember one night I made a declaration something like this: “Tt is to the blood shed by our friends that we owe the privilege of being able to continue ourA GIRL FROM CHINA ‘tort. Let us be worthy of their sacrifice. Let | us carry on the work started by them as they would have us. What would thev wish us to do now f lo consecrate our endeavour not to de- 4 ; ! uction, Dut to construction! ersary, Yuan Shi Kai, had an answer tie was about to put a stop to our eee UiLST) . order by committing a crime.CHAPTER XXXI THe MurRpER OF Mr. Wou MONG the revolutionists for whom I felt A the deepest friendship and the most esteem was a young man of a particularly fine spirit and of a frank, loyal character, Mr. Wou. He could not tolerate the duplicity of Yuan Shi Kai. He considered the President a dishonest man. His heart was torn when he saw the way in which our people were being deceived by all the governmental intrigues. Yuan Shi Kai had been appointed to the Presi- dency temporarily only. In the spring there were to be new elections to name a permanent Presi- dent. Mr. Wou had decided that he would do every- thing in his power to prevent Yuan Shi Kai from being elected. He prepared a campaign which he hoped to carry on by a series of articles in the most popular newspapers. He met, of course, with the immediate opposition of the censorship which Yuan had established at once, to keep con- trol of the papers. Mr. Wou was not the sort of man to be dis- couraged by the first obstacle he met. He re- 1 7 15/7 YU158 A GIRL FROM CHINA solved to print thousands of copies of his articles himself and have them bound in little pamphlets, which would relate the ungarnished truth. He ex- plained, among other things, that it was the Presi- dent himself who had prompted his soldiers to pillage Peking. ()f course, it would not be possi- ble to distribute these pamphlets openly, but Mr. Wou had decided to begin his work in a region more sympathetic to our cause than the capital. re intended to go first to Nanking. carrying with him great numbers of these tracts. From Nan- king he planned to circulate through the southern and central parts of China, where he believed that the more ignorant and less informed peas- ants would profit by this propaganda. The very day before he was to take the train for Nanking he was assassinated. One of our members came to tell us that the body of our friend had just been found in the canal. With a few of the members of our old commit- tee | set out In an automobile for the spot where the crime had been committed. We wanted to reach there before the police had time to cover up all trace of the criminals. The body of our poor friend, Wou, was lying on the ground. It had been stabbed through, eleven times; there were three knives still in the wounds. Near the edge of the canal we picked up a Chinese coat. It was stained with long streaks of blood, as though the murderers had wiped theirTHE MURDER OF MR. WOU 159 knives in the folds of the linen. A visiting card with an address on it fell from one. of the coat pockets. Our first thought was to carry the body of our friend to the place where he had been living. There we learned that for some time past Mr. Wou had received an almost daily visit from a young man who pretended to be a militant revolu- tionist. On different occasions he had urged Mr. Wou to attend a lunch which he was giving. oo trustful, Mr. Wou had ended by accepting this invitation. The two young men had set out together for a restaurant situated on the banks of the canal. The day passed and the night followed without Mr. Wou’s returning home. A search was made. It resulted in the tragic discovery of which we had been notified before the police. Unfortunately, at this time our body of police was not sufficiently well organized to conduct a proper inquest. We went first to the place indi- cated on the card which had fallen from the coat pocket. It was a hotel. The proprietor told us that he remembered having a guest of the name in his house, but that this person had gone with- out leaving his address. Among the members of the Government police there were a few fine men upon whom we knew we could rely. We asked them now to help us ‘a our search. They agreed to do so, but theyA GIRL FROM CHINA 160 worked only half-heartedly, or at least so it | felt that life would be unbear- able so long as the murderer of our beloved friend seemed to me, had not been arrested and punished.CHAPTER XXXII Tue MOotTIVE OF THE CRIME HE day we discovered the murder of Wou a. we held a meeting in the evening at the ofice of our newspaper, The Love of Country. We could no longer free ourselves from a fear which haunted us. We were almost sure that among our little group there were sev- eral spies. How they managed to work their way into our midst without our detecting them, we could not stop now to investigate. Our immediate duty was to find out what had led to the murder of Wou. Everyone was asked his opinion. After thinking for a time I offered mine. The conclu- sions I drew were about as follows: “There are four reasons which might have prompted this murder: money, jealousy, a family vengeance, politics. We all know what Wou's circumstances were. He was poor. Even sup- posing that he might momentarily have had a cer- tain sum in his keeping, and that the fact was known, the thief would have tried to find the money in Wou’s home, he would not have at- tacked him at a time when he was sure to 161162 A GIRL FROM CHINA have almost nothing in his pockets. In the same way, who could have been jealous of our friend? He did not occupy a position of any importance, and how did he live? In a temple, with the monks, whose meagre existence he shared. He had no attachment for any woman and, as for be- lieving in a family vengeance, this seemed unrea- sonable. He had left his native town in the central part of China because all of his family were dead. Jealousy, a desire for vengeance, exist in the heart of one man toward another man. Wou was not murdered by one, but by several 1. An attack made by so many knives all used the same time must mean a political crime.”’ | added that Wou had showed me the pamphlet he intended circulating widely through the south- ern and central parts of China. It was quite | sufficient to explain the hatred of Yuan Shi Kat. Some one in the assembly cried out: “Not at all! Yuan Shi Kai knows as well as we do that no matter how strict the censor is, the newspapers are constantly publishing articles at- tacking the Government. No one could suppose that he would be so-vain as to try to suppress all the journalists who are opposed to him!”’ As this interruption seemed to corroborate our anxiety regarding the presence of traitors in our midst, | thought it deserved a very firm response: ‘“Granted!”’ [ said. “Yuan Shit Kai is too clever to attempt the impossible. But Mr. WouTHE MOTIVE OF THE CRIME 163 had declared publicly that he would tell every- thing he knew, the whole truth of the situation, as soon as he found himself among our southern friends. They, | am more and more convinced, have a clearer understanding than some among us of what a Republic means. Wou was killed the very day before he was to have set out on this mission.”’ There was a movement in my favour, and the vote was cast for our investigations to be con- tinued, politics being the admitted motive of the crime.llow up what infor- ion was brought us in our melan- choly quest, but all without success. We were growing discouraged. (One evening. one of the ( yovernment police ip- peared suddenly at our house in Peking and asked r> omcers whom we counted on tO assist wus, to see me on a very urgent matter. Il thought at frst. of course, that he had come to bring some fresh data regarding the murderers of Mr. Wou. iin Such. however. was not the case. Ihis man, who ‘ had always shown a certain devotion to our party, : had come to entreat me to leave the citv at once. | ‘) ‘Pp Te . nem © ry) 7 7 hy I, . : 1] ie . was suspecte¢ or new compiots Dy tne Ttroliower:rs of Yuan Shi Kal. If | did not leave, my tate j ld oy ’ he ++ lor | TT *) + hore | " lest] . would soon De Settied. was to snare the destiny of our poor Wou. gs 3 a, : [he idea of an escape, a hasty flight, was intol- et erable tome. But this agent did not give me time to reflect. My arrest, my death, could not, he declared, be of the slightest use to our cause. | accepted this argument as convincing, and it was 164I AM SENT TO JAPAN 165 decided that I was to rejoin my mother for a time in Tientsin. Oh, how glad she seemed to have me with her again! I did not tell her that at that very particular moment I was seeking refuge from the assassins who wanted to take my life. Indeed, I forgot about them myself. I felt the wonderful sweet- ness and peace of our home like a blessed benedic- tion. I was astonished to see that existence went on in the same easy way, made up of a thousand little things which caused the days to slip quickly by. My grandmother insisted upon the usual rigorous etiquette being observed in all the minor ceremonies of our household, just as though noth- ing had taken place to change the course of events in the history of China! My sister was as gentle and lovely as ever, occupied with her painting, her music and em- broidery, and in looking after the housekeeping. She liked to dress in one of the ancient costumes and to play on her flute the old Chinese songs. Sometimes when I woke up in the morning, sur- rounded by this soothing atmosphere, I wondered what part of my life was real, what part a dream... The excitement and anxiety which I had fancied were left behind in Peking were not long in fol- lowing me. I received a visit one day from an Englishman who was employed in the Secret Sery-166 A GIRL FROM CHINA ice of the British Concession in Tientsin. He had come to give me a friendly warning. He told me that the Government held me under suspicion and that they had ordered him to get all the informa- tion he could regarding my present life. [ knew this man and was not at a loss as to how | must answer him. “Tell the Government,” I said, “that I am en- joying a rest in Tientsin. For instance, take to- day asa sample. Would you like to know how I have spent my time? I have been riding with some of my friends. We had a picnic near the sea. We had our tea under the trees, quite in English fashion, with good bread and butter!” This agent, being a true Britisher, was very fond of bread and butter. He answered me with a smile. ‘“T see,”’ said he, “you are merely amusing your- self without doing any harm to anyone.” “T need a diversion,’ was my reply. “I have been working too hard lately. . When he got up to leave, this strange caller told me in an offhand way a piece of news that dis- turbed me far more than his questions had. Lhe police had searched our house in Peking, hoping to find papers or documents of mine. Fortu- nately, I had burnt everything, but I was none the less overwhelmed because of the effect such a measure might have upon my father. That very night he arrived in Tientsin. HeI AM SENT TO JAPAN 167 seemed weary, disheartened. He demanded that my mother and all the household leave at once for Canton. His intention was, so he announced, to join them there shortly. As for me, he in- sisted that I should embark on the first ship sail- ing for Japan. In all this he made me feel very clearly that it was I, through the role I had been playing, who had momentarily compromised his career. My heart ached as I said good-by to him.= rT Tr * . | d J xsHIDING BOMBS 169 Mr. Lee Yu Ying was right when he said that henceforth China must open all her doors and windows towards the West. We had lived for too many centuries imprisoned by our own igno- rance. ‘Thousands and thousands of Chinese die of hunger every year, in the very midst of the most fertile lands in the world. This is not only because of the indifference or carelessness of our peasants; it is due chiefly to the superstitions by which they have been terrorized. Like their far- distant ancestors, they still believe that the world is peopled by invisible forces which must be pro- pitiated continually and which, if irritated, vent their evil upon man. In order to adapt the laws of nature to our needs, instead of worshipping them in fear and trembling, our first duty is to change our whole attitude toward life. Experience has proved that the people of Western civilisation protect human life more successfully with their science than we with our superstitions. It is therefore incumbent upon us to adopt their methods, and to realise that it is the privilege of man not to remain the slave of nature, but to become her master. My time was not all given to meditation during these months of exile. Even under such trying circumstances there were chances to work. Sev- eral members of our former committee had left China at the same time I did. They had come to join the pioneer revolutionists who were momen-170 A GIRL FROM CHINA / tarily living in Japan. To learn as much as we could ourselves, and afterward to help give in- struction to the Chinese people, continued to be the end and aim of all our activities. Amongst these friends with whom I found myself in Japan, some were about to embark for San Francisco, others were going as far as New York. My plan was to leave for France, where I hoped to join my comrades, Mr. Wang and Mr. Lee. [ was able to communicate with my mother through a friend who was leaving for Canton and who willingly took a letter. I begged her to come to Tientsin so that I might see her before sailing for France. When at last | was able to return to China, I found her waiting for me. It was a great joy to be united again. My grandmother, too, had come with her, all the way from Canton. There were many things to do before I could be ready for such a long journey which might keep me away from home for several years. Aside from work, I had sentimental duties to per- form. My mother wanted a good portrait of me to keep during my absence. My grandmother was having a veritable trousseau made for me, quite as though I were going to be married! Dear Grandmother! We were too radically dif- ferent for her to look upon me with absolute ap- proval. The one thing in which we resembled each other was our iron will. It was only thanksHIDING BOMBS 171 to that, that Grandmother in her heart considered me with an indulgent touch of pride. Regarding my work, there were still things to be arranged, which were of a delicate and a seri- ous nature. Several of the bombs which were destined, in case of need, for use of our members, still re- mained hidden away in the secret place which our European friend had provided for my brother and me. The Government knew that we had these explosives in our possession, but was igno- rant of the exact spot in which they were con- cealed. It was imperative that I should go to Peking*for.my passport, so I resolved to profit by this chance, while I was in the capital, to hand over to one of the revolutionist comrades for safe- keeping these terrible engines of destruction. Yuan Shi Kai seemed to have read my thoughts. He sent a messenger to me as soon as I arrived in my father’s house in Peking. This person, with the most suave and flattering manner, explained to me that the President was aware of the terri- ble responsibilities I was bearing on my young shoulders. He considered that they were beyond my strength, and he’ wished to save me if possi- ble. ‘For example,” said Yuan’s envoy, ‘“‘the bombs and the dynamite? Why should you be obliged to look out for them now? You can turn them over safely to the Secretary of War. Of course[72 A GIRL FROM CHINA the Government will be more than ready to re- ward you if you make such a wise decision.” [t was necessary to clear this matter up at once. | was, I confess, rather excited as I explained to the man that the Society to which | belonged was = C 4l me =. de ser not of the sort which takes bmbes for its POLITE al , 7 - ° . . | N ic Teé | : } ( {) \ | ()T) } OUT le Lis I reCOmpys . SY toe sun coul l tempt us. | C wn I ‘ 4 ~ | os Ty - | . ’ ‘ eL 4 OOTLL cy i ws s ; ¥Y ad it yY OF WOrK y ror ¢ > ¢ ' in } + + [hese bombs,’ | added, “‘and this dynamite ‘} VN , ‘ si Ln ‘ OT IT \ person } i - } 1] erry | ey ¢ ne TO Ou! society S l re- . -* * ry a ry) + }, 7 1 | »% ’ ' YY » Ee it Tf] pg ‘ VGis cy Will ITanKC ' Lo go , . ¢ ( + + Wi alCvc¢ thi" O] + ~ \ » \ i] 17 1 . . ) a \ ’ yy ° > i; , ’ . . ’ i ) " + " WV lS Ail | . TLOTC iT Tit LLC CI bec dust now | , hed. He had not been look t .er n Peking searche had not been looking ” ‘ ° ’ . oe » ‘ ;»y ,- , 7 | j eo — 7* cry P= \ a r * ro! Vl CUTTICTILUS. > loves WCIic Quite Ll rerentc; ! ] . he te ] 1 | they were fixed on the nnding or these bombs. “ | realised that | must not wait one nour now betore S€eCKING a sare piace ror tnese coveted obie T Ls 8 Ger Gade \ tte ho yilla a? SS | ] TAN @ ; EAR EGR LEC DPluapInge Wich mad yone On tIfl oy Bo ; Bo ee ee ae im Peking at Yuan Shi Kai's instigation, when the ,* . } : m peas : | a —— : . : soldiers helped themselves to what they wanted, : | : = Ls eran ” ; ae FF Pana while their General settled himself in the Presi- many peopie, alarmed at the turn - fg Rei and their tam-HIDING BOMBS 173 ily treasures to the Legation Quarter. This en- closure is legally considered as foreign territory. Once the walls around the quarter are passed the Chinese police have no power. Within this con- cession they can exercise no authority. I made up two parcels; in one I put the dyna- mite and in the other the bombs. I carried them one evening to our friend in the Legation Quar- ter; there they were safe and could remain with- out the Government being able to seize them, until I could give them over to one of our com- rades. For the moment this was not possible, as I was too closely watched by Yuan Shi Kai’s police. My passport for Europe was in order now, so I returned to Tientsin. This was in the month of March, of the year 1913. I had expected to sail at once. But this work, to which I had pledged myself for life and for death, again detained me at the very thres- hold of my fondest dream. Informed that my departure was imminent, several deputies who were members of our party came to see mein [ientsin. They wanted to talk over the elections which were to be held in April and which would decide whether Yuan Shi Kai was to be-appointed permanent President. All the loyal republicans were expected to stand firmly together in their opposition to Yuan as candi- date. The delay for me would be of a month174 A GIRL FROM CHINA / only. My mother entreated me not to listen to the propositions of these deputies, but to embark at once. Her heart was trembling with anxiety. ‘Why wait?” she pleaded. “If you love me, leave now!” ‘Why hurry?” my friends insisted. “If you love your country, stay!” It was to their appeal that I yielded. It was agreed that I should sail the day following the elections. How much better it would have been for me if had listened tO my mother!CHAPTER XXXV Our ENEMIES SHOOT OUR FRIEND SHALL always remember with anguish the date of March 21, 1913. A telegram brought us the news that Sung Tchow Jen, one of the most noble characters and the greatest souls in China, had been assassinated. Called to Peking to fill the important position of Prime Minister, to which he had been appointed by Parliament, he had been shot at the very mo- ment when he was about to board the train in the Shanghai railroad-station. A man had crept up beside him, the report of a pistol was heard, no one had had time to do anything, not even to stop the criminal in his flight. As soon as he had accomplished his deadly work he escaped, while Sung Tchow Jen was carried off in a dying condi- tion. We reached Shanghai too late to bid farewell forever to this grand republican. We felt as though our party had lost its right arm. We were not only grieved, but troubled; the agitation and sorrow in our hearts seemed to extend to the mul- titude. The excitement was intense. All the members of the Kwo Ming Tang who 175LOM CHINA were still in China came to Shanghai for Sung fe [chow’s funeral. I had lost a friend. But | could not dwell upon my personal grief when | . considered the disaster which had befallen ou country. oung | chow len understood better than nyone the needs of China. Hus farseeing in- tel] | ro ll hie kindne -emed iCciivence, S strong Will, Nis Kinaness, seemed to open the way to progress. At that time, too, tnere still remained among certain or the more - y -_ co : * oy} : 1 + » ¢ " ; ; > , i ; + narrow-minded \ nese men a prejudice avgvainst rr i . 4 7 ‘ ad received their education in Kurope or America. This leaning toward Western culture was a novelty even among our intellectual — , elite; it had not yet penetrated the masses, who ire still chiefly swayed by the routine of ancient lerefore most important that our party should count among its members men | ‘ * , P ’ - wno were convinced oT the need for modern prog- , - \ ; 1} ! _ } 5 —_ | >, se] a ress dal d rerorms OT all KINGS, but wno thnemseives nad never oveen OUT hina. Su {y [chow len exactly answered ill these rc- quirements. His brilliant mentality had long since grasped and understood the outside worl« never seen. A true disciple of Confucius, he was at ease with those in the highest positions and he never offended the humblest being. He had adopted as his the precept which our great Master offered his disciples. In speaking of the necessityENEMIES SHOOT OUR FRIEND 177 for being tactful and of the moral effect which good grace produces in all things, Confucius said: ‘Be an honest man, but with taste...Tell the truth, but with taste...” Sung ITchow Jen had the innate sentiment, or power of intuition, which impels a man to act be- cause he knows the moment is propitious, or warns him to wait because the time is not yet ripe. Thus in losing him, we lost hopes which we were not to see rise again. As to the direct cause of his death, there was no doubt possible in our minds, nor was it difficult to imagine who had instigated this political crime. I have already explained why we had thought best to be lenient with Yuan Shi Kai, to be patient, and to abandon our former methods of violence. Sly and ambitious, he had mistaken our modera- tion for weakness. This crime was the proof of it. The day after Sung Tchow Jen’s burial in Shanghai, we held a meeting. All our members were present. Our indignation had dried our tears and banished all our former feelings of tol- erance. We must choose a new policy for our party. When my turn came to speak I appealed to all that some immediate measure be taken which would show that we were determined, united, and strong. “A few more crimes like this,” I said, ‘‘and our party will be completely disorganised. The Man-178 A GIRL FROM CHINA / chus, the old regime will return. Our dead shall have died in vain|”’ Everyone felt as I did. Our whole assembly, the leaders, and our friends, voted a measure de- claring that without any further hesitation we must retaliate.CHAPTER XXXVI We PLAN VENGEANCE HE detectives who were sent out in search a of Sung Tchow Jen’s murderer found this wretched assassin. It was proved without doubt that he was an agent of the Peking Gov- ernment. He was imprisoned, awaiting trial. This outward pretense at justice served only to aggravate our indignation. We longed for repa- ration. We wanted to finish once and for all with these false republicans who pretended to govern China, who held out one hand to us and with the other struck us. In this troubled state of mind I left for Tient- sin. Young and intense, my friends and I dreamed of starting an uprising, and we had already studied the best methods to employ when a mes- sage was received from Sun Yat Sen. Once again he wished to curb our ardor. With his customary respect for justice, this great man informed us now that we must not under any consideration stir up disorder in Peking. “Weak people,” he said, ‘are the only ones who act when in anger. We have actually in our 179150 A GIRL FROM CHINA ‘ , * , ] | € rs Ff rf te * r g> . possession all the documents which prove that ’ ° ; } - ’ y : “< - : +} a ~ wa , . . .7 ar -~ | 7 ut LJ sCcivCcs iT) a \ WIiO 1}? by Aap JLVIT) } CTSONAILLY . ; : ] } ] ry 17 | lL, ] 1 ritT Lida fT} ) K al i> og nab re W hy rnen SrlLOULC WC } } ats ? —— he ell aeserves! In all tne ; ' } a. 6 , . 1 1 * ~ 4 ‘ rss "se CO ™ = cS rT } CC rry * o s through which we are at present passing, ule rT nT - ‘ ae ; a | rm 4% mithlic nint , We iJ. CLIVUS ali WC ia VC S VWUUVILIA UU nion. cL . ‘ 2 . | | . | st not try to startle the people, but rather to ‘ ‘ . n them over to our way of thinking. Let us 1 TO y¢ j i iw Ka trie 1 betore 1 ouprem .1 ) urt L_et S ¢ | him to ount As Preside if 1 » | 7 LI Repub eI S. EOL Gea Si cal motives, i >} t Fy 4 le ] y Y a j 4 j YY | L | ely polit | irc, © C a muraer to ( nmitt¢ lf we p 1 to accuse Nilm 5S soon e condemnation and ruin awaiting him : } 1. Was imong those Wwrhor:n tnis Opti OF) Tl- essed. But Sun Yat Sens theory was far trom \ . ‘ . e ’ obtaining the unanimous approval of all the mem- . ; 2 mae [a rr L F pers of our oociecty. it was obtected tnat Yuan ~ oo ; : knowing ne was the master or the situation, Nec hi Kai would scorn our legal procedures and that, would hold out to the end. Sun Yat Sen had been willing to give Yuan Shi os Ka! the beneht Oo! the doubt, and tO suppose that his conscience might be roused. He was not, how- ever. blind as to Yuan AH s personal dishonesty, and he well knew that he might by some new intrigue avoid our attempts to establish the truth. In such an extremity he admitted that we should have re-WE PLAN VENGEANCE 181 course to violence; even, if necessary, to a war which would bring the North and the South into conflict. He was not alarmed at such a possibil- ity. He knew that Yuan Shi Kai no longer had an army tocallupon. The Manchu soldiers hated the general who had betrayed all his old friends and who had taken the place of the former reign- ing family. They knew, moreover, that the Presi- dent’s treasury was empty. He had spent the last cent in bribes. The only thing now to replenish his coffers was for Yuan Shi Kai to launch a public loan. It was against this final expedient that all our endeavours should be directed. The loan must be a failure. Without money, Yuan would be paralyzed.CHAPTER XXXVII IFARNING Is HONOURED IN CHINA . mons, he merely shrugged his shoul- ia IE.N the President learned of our sum- ders. We could not have expected any- thing else from a man of his base character. | had been among those who had not placed much | | appeal to his conscience. Yet when we were officially informed of his ironical scorn, | ould not refrain from tears. Yuan Shi Kai did not satisfy himself by merely showing disdain: he tried to outdo us. At the same time we learned of his refusal, we heard also that the loan upon which he counted had been _— * and that it would be launched within ive days. The trial which we intended to hold eventually, in any case, could not begin without our previously observing certain formalities. They would drag on for two or three weeks. In this way we would be beaten. Once the money had poured into Yuan Shi Kai’s hands he would be the master of the en- tire situation, and the hopes of China would be Wrec ked.LEARNING IS HONOURED 183 There was no way out of it except through vio- lence. Foreigners must not be astonished that at such a time our Chinese people should have been so easily deceived. Our political opinions had, of course, evolved more rapidly than theirs. They were put in touch very slowly with the most im- portant current events; the newspapers, which have a very limited circulation, are read only by an élite. In order merely to learn the thousands of characters which a Chinese writer uses in the simplest composition, it is necessary to study read- ing for sixteen years. A boy spends all his time at school merely learning to read and write. In the face of such difficulties, the majority of our four hundred millions of inhabitants limit their knowledge to the spoken, not the written lan- guage. hey do not even try to comprehend the classic forms of Confucius who, in literature, as well as in philosophy, is our great Master. Does this mean that in China we are indifferent to learning? Not at all. Learning is the basis of our whole social system, which is profoundly democratic in its very essentials. For centuries past Peking has been the centre of competitive ex- aminations. Every year, from the far ends of China, an army of candidates assemble. These students, themselves already forming an Elite, have been chosen at the rate of one out of every ten thousand scholars who have passed prelimi-184 A GIRL FROM CHINA . nary examinations in the different provinces. Thus, in order merely to have the right to take part in the final competition in Peking, the candi- dates must have shown themselves superior to a myriad rivals. The final examinations are passed in a way sim- ilar to those at the French Beaux-Arts; they take place “‘en loge.’ The student remains, day and night, locked up in a sort of cell, built for the purpose, and which he cannot leave until he has answered in writing the questions given him. Most of the competitors are, of course, young, but among them there are always some old men. I. very year the tremendous strain of such an effort makes its victims. When, at the end of a certain time, the doors of the Joges, or stalls, are opened, sometimes a venerable head ts seen bowed forever over an open book; a hand stiftened in death has paused with brush uplifted to trace some sentence which will never be written. It is from the suc- cessful laureates that for generations all Chinese othcials have been recruited. As soon as the Republic was established, we started in our schools and in the Peking Univer- sity courses all the subjects taught in Europe. Up to that relatively recent time the Chinese had contented themselves with learning about their own country only. Young and old, the students in China are scattered throughout the land. There is not a small town, or even a village, whereLEARNING IS HONOURED 185 one does not find some cultivated man who gives his time willingly to reading aloud to the illiter- ate, or to merely relating to them the news of the day. Ihe crowd gathers around him, in some park, or public market-place, to listen and to be, of course, more or less influenced by the personal opinions of this story-teller who cannot but give his own interpretation to current events. At the time of which I am writing the Chinese people, to a man, were thoroughly informed as to the character and significance of the republican doctrine. They had endorsed it, and they were glad to have a President at the head of the Gov- ernment, but it was altogether impossible for them to know just what use the President was making of his authority. We were obliged to take this fact into consideration and to make all due allow- ance for the unavoidable ignorance of the masses. Ever since Yuan Shi Kai had actually been es- tablished as Executive in Peking (for over a year and a half), there had been no use made of dyna- mite. After this period of tranquillity the effect of a bomb would be all the more startling. We were all agreed as to this question, but it seemed to us as though we had not really ad- vanced at all on the lines of progress we wanted to follow. This melancholy impression amounted to actual desolation when we were forced to ad- mit that we must now ask for fresh volunteers to sacrifice their lives.186 A GIRL FROM CHINA Many of the members were for attacking Yuan Shi Kai directly. He was the guilty one. Why always spare him? I sided with the more moderate group who op- posed the execution of the President. If we made Yuan Shi Kai our victim the people would not understand the motives which had prompted such an act. In the eyes of the masses we would seem to be demolishing the Republic itself. Public opinion would condemn us. On the contrary, we knew that the loan, as it was about to be launched by the Secretary of the Treasury, was popularly considered as an offensive sort of autocracy, which displeased the masses. It was the Secretary of the Treasury whom we must try to reach before he was able to attain his object. Any attack made upon him personally would correspond to the feel- ings of the majority. Subsequent to such an inter- vention, Yuan Shi Kai, penniless, would be obliged to appear in Court. His condemnation would be a logical consequence. I was exceedingly impressed by one thing—it seemed practically impossible to approach the President, strictly guarded as he always was. Aside from any moral consideration which might deter us, I pleaded that our Society should not ex- pose itself to failure. ‘‘What impression,” I asked, “shall we make throughout the country if, after this prolonged hesitation, we then try to kill Yuan Shi Kai andLEARNING IS HONOURED 187 fail? If, after that, we turn our violence in still another direction, we shall acquire the reputation of being both savage and weak.”’ My argument had little effect. We continued to discuss the situation feverishly. The volun- teers who offered themselves all wanted to dis- pose of Yuan, and Yuan only. I could not deliberate any longer. I declared that, acting as my convictions compelled me, I would make the attack myself. It was decided I must set out at once for Peking with the necessary bombs.CHAPTER XXXVIII FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE T this critical point we could not take too many precautions about keeping our inten- tions secret. We planned, therefore, to en- velop in mystery the journey that lay before me, between Tientsin and Peking. It would perhaps be the last I should ever make. The most minute details were consequently discussed and arranged for with my friends. It was decided that I should travel with a young Chinese woman, disguised as a peasant. Among our members there was one whom | had known since childhood. She had not thrown herself into the mélée with the same ruthless ardor as I, but on several occasions she had given proof of her courage and rendered unquestionable service to our party. Her family owned a prop- erty in the neighbourhood of Tientsin. Her brother was employed in the service of the De- partment of War. Owing to this fact, it was natural that she should come and go frequently always on the road between her parents’ country place and the capital. On these trips she was gen- erally accompanied by one of the peasants who + 1 eeFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE 189 worked on the estate. I was to be dressed in the costume of a woman of the people, and to get into the train at the same time my friend did. In this way, we hoped I would arouse no suspicion. My arrival in Peking, in this disguise, would pass unperceived, and once there I could slip away through the crowd which was always loitering about the station. This Chinese crowd is forever on the move; it throngs the streets and the public squares of our cities and it keeps the principal avenues in a con- stant state of animation, and is a source of aston- ishment to foreigners who visit China. It seems as though our people could not be happy at home, as though they had to walk, or run, to call out and converse, to discuss and haggle, and even to eat in the streets, always with perfect good-humour. Indeed, the patience and the gaiety of our masses are seldom disturbed by ‘“‘fights’’ which so often occur in Western countries. Occasionally some cruel injustice wrings a complaint from the suf- ferer. But even then the incident transpires as though it were being enacted upon the stage. As the Justice of the Peace is an unknown personage in Chinese officialdom, the injured citizen makes his complaint directly to the police, in the street. The case is plead and judged in the open air, after due interrogation on the one hand, and contradic- tory discussion on the other, in which the onlook- ers take their liberal share, giving their opinionIgo A GIRL FROM CHINA freely on the subject of justice—or injustice—in general, and on this especial point in particular. I believed I could take advantage of this swarming, seething crowd, which does not leave the streets until long past midnight, to wend my way unperceived through the thoroughfares of Peking. Just a short time before our express was to start, my friend brought me the peasant’s clothes which I was to wear. I did my hair in two braids which hung down my back. This was a complete change forme. My forehead was uncovered and | was really not recognisable to anyone in the habit of seeing me with a European hat. The rest of my costume was composed of a pair of linen trousers, a blue linen blouse which fell over my hips. Under this blouse I wore a belt. In the belt I hid my dynamite. The bombs were packed In my valise. It was quite natural that my friend’s brother should come to the station to meet her, and that, as he held an official position, he should spare his sister and the servant who accompanied her the usual Customs inspection. In the train my friend travelled first-class. [ was in the second-class, as there is no third on the fast expresses. So I] had several hours to reflect quietly by myself. They say that a man who is drowning lives over his entire past in a few seconds. It seemed moreFOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE 191 than probable that I should be called upon to act perhaps that very night, in any case, within twenty-four hours, and that this was consequently the last day of my life. A strange sort of exalta- tion seemed to lift me above all personal consider- ations as to my own fate. I thought of my coun- try which I loved above everything in the world. My duty was clear to me. The beautiful story of Moulan, which my mother had told me when I was a child, came back to my mind. Every detail seemed to stand out in my memory. I could not but feel envious of this Chinese girl who had risked her life for the father she adored—she had parted from him with his blessing upon her; his gratitude followed her in this sacrifice she was making. Between my father and me there was not this close intimacy. We were separated by all the wide distance that lies between two generations in China, which are not only different but actually opposed to each other. The high official position which my father had held in the days of the Manchus was that of Counsellor to the State Department, or somewhat similar to that, in European countries, of Minister Plenipotentiary. In China—as elsewhere, I im- agine—such places are given to men who keep themselves aloof from current politics, and whose experience and technical knowledge make their position an established one. Yuan Shi Kai, when he assumed his duties asA GIRL FROM CHINA President, had been eager to retain in his entou- rage men like my father, who formed an élite. But my father, with the fall of the Manchus, had withdrawn trom active public lite. Chinese in ' _ Cart and soul, he yet would not have lifted a hnger to hasten the downfall of the old régime. tie believed in modifying the former autocracv. He oe {| Ose Wl 0 s| lred his convictions. formed a 2 crety. Onsery itive in principle, which fay- oured a constitutional Chinese monarchy. | suffered at this sort of diplomatic prudence, this official wisdom which thinks that progress always advances quickly enough, and that a na- on evolves inevitably, and that matters should never be precipitated by violence. Ty Cc feeling ot respect which | owed ny father was too profound to permit of my discussing with is which were nearest my heart. Yet, as | looked from the car window now at the :, : on , landscape passing swilttly before my eyes, | re- ’ . ' j : called one occasion when there had been a cruel clash in our points of view. One day, in speaking of the Manchus, he had used the expression “our masters—our former masters.”’ My eyes had flashed back what was in my mind, and | had exclaimed: “Qur masters?...Never! Our oppressors? inaack eel: Now I was preparing to sacrifice my life to pre- s 4 vent, if possible, these ‘‘oppressors’’ from ever re-FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE 193 turning to power. My will was strong, but I could not help feeling very lonely. I comforted myself with a thought which often recurred to me —it was not for our family that I was working, but for all of China, for our magnificent people, so brave and so miserable. More than once during the severe Peking win- ters, when Tung Ur had driven me back to the house in my ricksha after some meeting of our members which had lasted till dawn, we had seen by the wayside, huddled against the wall, his frozen body stiffened forever in death, some poor coolie who had fallen asleep never to wake again. His thin cotton clothes had ill protected him against the deadly chill of night, and now they seemed to envelop him like a shroud. ‘The face was drawn with hunger. Yet these men were labourers! Their muscles, in spite of their emaciated condition, showed how constantly they must have worked, and they had not earned enough in return to protect them from such a tragic fate.... “Such martyrs,’ I said to myself, “can only be accounted for by a social system wherein a priv- ileged few impose upon the masses.”’ And then I thought of the unlimited riches of our country. Such a wonderful eftort sustained by the humblest deserved a fairer reward than this anonymous death agony which passed un- noticed during the dark hours of a bitter night.194 A GIRL FROM CHINA Some new method must and would be found whereby greater comfort, both moral and ma- terial, could be spread throughout our beloved country. With this conviction in my mind, the sacrifice of my life seemed a privilege. What difference did it make that my days should be brief, if only the existence of the Chinese people could be bet- tered fCHAPTER XXXIX DYNAMITE HEN we reached the Peking station, I \ \ was met by the friend whose parents owned a large property near Tientsin, upon which I was supposedly one of the farm girls. He put me in a ricksha with my valise in front of me. I touched my belt to see if my dyna- mite cartridges were still there. Everything was sate. I could not, however, rid myself of an un- pleasant, harassing impression which wore on my nerves. In the corridor of the train I had noticed dur- ing the journey a man who seemed to me sus- picious. I saw him without looking at him. I felt him there and his presence was oppressive. Once only did his eyes and mine meet. He had a ciga- rette in his mouth, and I saw him through a cloud of smoke. Yet his glance seemed fixed upon me as though I were a prey. As soon as we reached Peking this man hur- ried out of the station. As he passed on quickly he was saluted by four Chinese men. I felt in- stinctively that this formal greeting was a signal. In addition to this, I was now arriving in Peking under entirely new circumstances to any I had 1951G A GIRL FROM CHINA reviously known. I had not wanted to impose ' i upon the kind devotion of the European diplomat | ' as . a ot whom I have often spoken, and who was such ; cee j es Se ne A areliable friend. | knew thatif I had asked him. in _2 seven | al — ne would mave Come, aS USUdad!I, TO Meet me ar tne r wr } ; ] ! ‘ > ) a ; + ¢ I ai i Dut I » VW Lil | [ cL ¥ . att] ch \ ted attention. as was in Deasant costume. I Or the same reason It * ‘ ] } “ } 7 or '" ; ! 1 + ; - “ _ : WOUIlLG h ive veen npruaent ror me to go at once — , ' ' . upONn arriving to the piace where we had so orten i ; } ) « Y ! ° ° ‘ y taken refuge. [| S adventure upon whicn had now embarked must not. telt, expose the life of | iain assured myself that the « rtridges were safe in my belt, and then gave the human pony who was pulling my ricksha the address of a res- taurant where he was to take me in Ha Ta Men Avenue. This inn was a favourite meeting-place ) proprietor and the servants h LG always shown cl discreet sympathy with our cause. I was sure, no matter what the ind some of our members there, probably on the lookout for me, and who would be able to give me my orders. As soon as my ricksha was under way and | knew that we had left the railroad-station well behind us, I turned around as though to arrange the braids which hung down my back. A glance brought relief. It was evident that my anxiety during the journey had been purely nervous. No one was following me—at least, so I believed.CHAPTER XL Must I Diz, Too? vec, is: as those who know it will remem- ber, is divided into several cities which have their own particular character, not only as to exterior appearance, but as to their inhabitants, and these towns within a town are separated one from another by high walls. Near the railroad station the Legation Quar- ter presents a very distinguished variety of inter- national architecture. This is the part of Peking reserved for the official residences of the Euro- pean representatives, each one of whom is in- stalled in his own particular enclosure. The roofs of the Legations, those of the less important houses occupied by the counsellors, the secretaries, and the various minor members of the diplomatic corps, extend beyond the surrounding walls, the doors of which are guarded night and day by sen- tinels wearing the uniforms of the different armies of the world. In striking contrast to this semi-citadel is the Chinese or Tartar city, which in turn shelters in its very heart the ancient imperial capital now fall- ing to ruins—its walls, its pavilions, its pagodas, 197198 A GIRL FROM CHINA its magnificent palaces, crumbling to dust. The dwellings, long since abandoned by their noble in- mates, stand as though gazing with astonishment upon the outside world through windows from which the glass has long since fallen. The marble bridges, the paved courtyards, the tiled roofs, clearcut in lines of grace against the Peking sky,— all this beauty has been conceived and created by the minds and the hands of the Chinese. Even these ruins are an expression of harmony which may be taken as a symbol of the very soul of our country. The Manchus, in their flight, have abandoned all that formed the frame and the shelter for the power which they had usurped. The fundamental basis still remains upon which we can build for the future. The grave preoccupations which I now faced did not so possess my mind that I could not enjoy as I saw again this vision of beauty. It com- forted me, and in the same way I enjoyed this drive in the fresh cold air through the crowd which is always swarming in the interminable Ha Ta Men Avenue, one of our broadest boulevards. Memories, not so long distant, of my childhood seemed to rise upon the way. For an instant | longed to live.CHAPTER XLI THE LoyAL SERVANT M: coolie stopped finally before the entrance of the restaurant. Before getting out of the ricksha I gave another look about me to be sure no one had followed me. Like all our Chinese houses, this inn was sep- arated from the street by an inner courtyard. The passage, or alley, leading to it was long and winding, and on this November afternoon already dark. I entered the lower floor, which was re- served for the kitchens and pantries. Every- one was busy preparing for dinner. ‘The public and private dining-rooms were on the first floor. I went up the narrow staircase, and in the hall above I met one of the waiters. He recognized me, in spite of my disguise. Without speaking a word, he led me to a room which opened on a second courtyard. ‘There I was welcomed by three of the revolutionists, who were waiting for me. I showed them my valise. “Everything is ready,” I said. ‘You need only tell me what is expected of me.”’ They explained that our associates in the South 199200 A GIRL FROM CHINA had given their hearty approval to our plan of action. Indeed, a number of volunteers had of- fered to take my place. I was infinitely touched by this generous proposition. I could not accept it. ‘To offer your life spontaneously for a cause,’ | said, “is an act which concerns only your own conscience. Io take someone's else place in mak- ing such a sacrifice would be a purely personal, not a patriotic matter. - ‘ 1 ,* ' 7 ’ ' My triends did not let me finish. “a . +,*% ‘These young volunteers of whom we speak, ; bE . 3 thev declared. ‘‘are as fanatical. as ardent lovers of their dutv as we are. There ts, however, a difference between them and you. They can give only their lives to the cause. By dying for it they will render the only real service of which they are capable, whereas your presence among us Is in- dispensable. We need your ideas, your thougnts, * far more than the sacrifice of your life.’ Deeply moved by what these comrades said, | was about to answer when the door was thrust suddenly open. The servant whom I had met in the hall rushed in. He seemed in a terrible state of excitement. Hecame over to where I was, and spoke in a very low tone, as though he were afraid of being overheard. ‘“Excuse me, Miss,” he said, ‘“‘but | have some- thing very important to say to you.” His voice shook with emotion.THE LOYAL SERVANT “What is it?” I asked. ‘There are two men downstairs,’ he whis- pered, “two Secret Service agents. They are after you. They recognized you at the railroad- station and they followed you. They have sent me up to find out if you are really Miss Tcheng. One of the men declares he has already followed you several times from Shanghai to Tientsin. He offers me $700 and a good job in the Govern- ment if I can find out for sure, in spite of your disguise, that you are really the person they want. They swear that you are a revolutionist and that you are carrying dynamite on your person.” As he said this, the poor fellow began to tremble. His sympathy for our republican ideals was not quite ardent enough to make him care to play a part in the present drama. That was evi- dent. He added a final comment to his remarks. “Oh, Miss,” he said, with an accent of pity which touched me profoundly, “if your father knew this, what a disgrace for him!”’ I thanked him for his loyalty in warning me about the two men downstairs. There was no time for discussion. I realised that I must act without losing a moment. I asked this servant to get me a ricksha. I ran into an adjoining room and dressed as quickly as possi- ble. I had put some European clothes in my valise. I undid my braids, re-arranged my hair; I put on a pair of high-heeled slippers such as IA GIRL FROM CHINA wore with Cveninyg dress: | threw Over my shoul- ders a long cloak, and pulled well down on my torehead a soft velvet toque. This hasty toilet was scarcely finished and my valise shut again when the poor “‘boy’’ came back to tell me that the ricksha was waiting. My one desire was to gain time. With a start but of a minute or two, I might have a chance of — 5 ’ , escape. I counted on the change of costume be- : oe . . me ] | 7 WW lder ng t} © policemen, if Only at the nrst clance , 1 * - i < (>) ' rT) 7 ¢ 1 er n¢F . Ll py ae vi 4 Lip’ TO OWec. + | | ] | \ . Y rm ¢ - } ; - lo the | i sery pave the rollowing ex- | planatior | , 1 , fe y ) - ’ +} + - } . ‘ ; . 1 | Cll ese l¢ YOu ve istened at tne j ‘ ; hCvOT A 4 3 ’ “Sat nat } { (j Mu ( y ‘ | Li y | i V¢ OVCT- | 7 C gd l¢ | Was POINY TO 10IN SOme OT} ] ! = 7 : | « ence and their suspicions. | counted on the fact s mmeanti< ola a Out supposedly wna le “> > (> «“ com bees « - ~ wanted to know about my movements. thev would not commit the professional error of trying to arrest me on the spot, but would content them- a selves with following me in the hope of roundingTHE LOYAL SERVANT 203 me up with the group of revolutionists they thought I was about to join. It seemed to me that I should never be able to get down that narrow staircase! As I passed along the hall my knees were shak- ing under me. Through the window I could see the winter sky. It was tinged with pink, the pink of the Peking twilight. In the courtyard the lan- terns were already lighted. They were swaying back and forth in the November wind. All this seemed infinitely sad. The hotel had only one entrance, so I had to go out by the same door on the Ha Ta Men Av- enue by which I had come in. The two men were on the lookout. The instant they caught sight of me, they shrank back into the shadows. They had recognized me, evidently, but they did not want me to see them, as they supposed they could fol- low me unperceived; more than this, they were perhaps afraid, these faint-hearted agents of Yuan Shi Kai. They knew I had bombs on my person, or in my valise. They did not doubt that I would make use of the dynamite if I felt that escape was impossible, and they had no desire to end their lives with me in an explosion. They were satisfied, consequently, to follow me at a dis- tance. One of them was in a ricksha, the other was on a bicycle. My coolie ran like the wind. I had told him to take me to the [chen Men. ‘The shortest way204 A GIRL FROM CHINA 7 from the Ha Ta Men to the Tchen Men is through the Legation Quarter. The police fol- lowing me would therefore find it natural that ] should traverse the Legation Quarter. Once there I would of course go no further. They could not touch me, as this part of Peking, in- habited by the members of the foreign Legations, is neutral territory, wherein the Chinese Govern- ment and its police have no authority. Other agents whom the police had scattered on this in- terminable avenue joined in the pursuit. We went taster and faster. They followed always at a discreet distance. The race lasted for about twelve minutes. It seemed a lifetime. At last we turned sharply through the wall »f the Legation Quarter. My pursuers even then ht — « did not rush torward to se ze me, as they m fy have done in defiance of international laws: they were deterred by the fear that my bombs might cost them their lives. | paid my coolie as we drew up before the en- trance of the Hotel des W agon-Lits. [ went into the big hall, outwardly calm, and with the air of a guest who is an habituée. I sat down at one of the tables. There were a lot of English people taking their tea. The life of leisure and luxury was going on unchanged... tow many times, in that same hall, I had come for tea myself with my European friends! WhatTHE LOYAL SERVANT 205 had I in common now with the Soumay of those days? I felt a thousand years old. A few moments later, I caught sight of the two men who had followed me. They were standing outside the big entrance door. Always in fear of sudden death, they nevertheless wanted to make sure where | was. When they heard me ask at the hotel office for a quiet room on the second floor I saw them start away just as I got into the elevator.CHAPTER XLII (SAINING I IM} I 1 | I lotel des Wagon-Lits at Peking is a Kind of international club where the most f : ‘ coer ' ; ae ! UIVCTS¢e SOrtS OF roreign customs are taken ) - + ad ad ¢ ‘ ' '* U C ds a ITlatl r OF COuUTrSE At Cignt in the morn- C , ¢ ” Ma | \ ¥ ‘ = ied + ’ rire 4 » | ‘ ~ J . LN ast 5 s¢ ¥C¢ . ¢ ’ i i 4 > > ( rwy + e ’ j | ; t ) } . + o cl Lit L i 5 i \ Wu \ ~ ILL A \ C : 1] ' | : 4 r + ) i \ +) * o . ' ' eK ©S @ (Cad-TOOM Where one might \ } ’ } } 1 | Las , ‘ I ‘ Of] People iSS¢ Vie Gre LO + - } ry . ry ti ’ } '* r ! u ‘ Vid . LJ j s4& CI SCIVCS QO ‘J SL USS b me ’ i } ; 7 ‘ T hy | . - } 1 - ] + I aT J + . i' — t . ‘ o: \ C Mie;r¢ > | : ; | , "= i; ; - a ; + ; > = x } "ca “ih d \ \ CITIOTO Cle ial Li t » ltI- | ° ’ aa ¢ . j - 4 ‘ * ) wa tnell Pa | lvS, &rcuiate With cy V1 , . os VW ( tiney nope may attract ft! e Torelione ur rt t - } ; : . + + ;% ‘ . . ( . ) 1 5 alt ' must De COnTressed, Ss a dangerous fiy\ al even for diplomacy in China. Ver since tl ec Boxer War certain unpleasant memories hay C continued TO hover in the air an 1 to rise up as a cause of embarrassment even in the ] most superh . rp iti, nehin Vi —_ _ 4 | : a \4 } iwVicdi tWULOALIV I ALDI D- s VICUOUVCT. LiiCc revolution which we had launched, the subsequent fall of the Manchu dy nasty, and the general un- certainty consequent upon such fundamental up- heavals, have made it wiser for diplomats to form 200GAINING TIME 207 no very decided opinion about Chinese politics. Nothing, on the contrary, prevents them from passionately devoting themselves to the worship of Chinese art, which has continued its harmont- ous evolution in spite of the rise and fall of mon- archs. So the foreigners who are passing through Peking, and who long to find out in this personal contact with us, if not our nation’s secrets, at least certain information regarding the political situa- tion, soon perceive that the diplomat by whom they are received, whatever his nationality, has only one preoccupation—to show his “‘collection,” to talk about his treasures. Often, as soon as the meal he has offered is finished, at the same time when coffee and cigarettes are served, the door ts thrown open and the most renowned dealers of the town enter. From the folds of their long robes they draw out, one a rare pearl, another a crystal of extraordinary purity, or a bit of jade rare in colour. These merchants of past glory are clever psychologists. They know that tea- time is a favourable hour for setting their nets. I rejoiced to think that, thanks to this usual pastime, I should be able to dress for dinner, which is a ceremonious affair in this fashionable place. The doors of the dining-room open at eight o’clock, and one sees the menservants, the Chinese “‘boys,’”’ gliding about silently in their black silk slippers, the ends of which turn up in208 A GIRL FROM CHINA the air to chase away evil spirits, the snowy white- ness of their stockings, the pretty pastel blue of their long linen blouses making a most diverting contrast with the brilliance of the European tol- lets, the di colletees dresses of the Women, and the dress-coats of the men. When I reached my room I was almost afraid to be alone. Ever since I had left Tientsin I had not found a moment to collect my thoughts and deliberate on what I should do. Events had driven me hither and thither, as the autumn wind a leaf. vet | did not want to reflect. wanted to at ; F | put my valise in the closet of my room. [| 7 ’ ’ ’ 5 * ° 7 unrastened my belt and tucKed if away ina arawer. el ! a — —, rs. Sell ." +} . \ | - »- rt , | Witt LiHeé “vnamite Still iil Lit VOCKCTS, ties in our hotels all the service is done by men. Women in China are not yet sufficiently eman- cipated to do work of any sort as servants outside of the families to which for generations their peo- ple have been attached almost as slaves. My ring brought the valet who had charge of our floor. During the two years which my brother and | frequented this hotel, I had come to know this “‘boy’”’ and many of his comrades, so | could call upon him without fear of rousing un- lecessary curiosity. lt is dificult for foreigners to realise the sort of devotion of which these humble people areGAINING TIME 209 capable in China. The faithful Tung Ur, whom I have so often and so affectionately mentioned in these pages, is married and the father of a son. But, on all occasions, the most insignificant as the most serious, he thinks of our family before he does of his own. I explained to the servant who answered my call that my baggage was still at the station, that I wanted to dine downstairs, and that I must have an evening-dress. I asked him to go as quickly as possible to Morrison Avenue, in the Legation Quarter, where he could find what I wished in one of the big stores which the English open wher- ever they go, and where you can buy everything, from a golf-stick to a ball gown. He had no sooner left me than it seemed as though the time were dragging with an intoler- able slowness. I imagined all sorts of intrigues which were about to rise up and defeat our plans. The fact that the police had found me out, that they had watched me with a persistence from which I had not been able to escape, paralysed me. I reproached myself bitterly for not having been clever enough to deceive these hirelings of Yuan Shi Kai, but admitting that momentarily I was unable to serve our party, at least the dyna- mite was there to continue the work of deliverance for which we counted upon it. I was startled from these reflections by a sudden rapping at the210 A GIRL FROM CHINA door. It was the hotel clerk to explain that some- one was calling me on the telephone. The telephone booth Was On the ground floor, near the ofhce of the hotel. I hurried down, and | confess my hand trembled as I took the receiver. Who would answer my “Hallo!” Friend or foe? Someone spoke in English and I recognised the voice of a revolutionary friend. He did not use Chinese lest the telephone “‘boys”’ might intercept our conversation. He had information to com- municate and orders to transmit. He told me that both the gates of the Legation Quarter were being guarded by Secret Service agents. Ihe 1 slightest effort to escape now would be disastrous. lt would compromise our whole plan of action. All of this was explained very cleverly in terms that were comprehensible only to the initiated. Any outsider would have supposed that we were talking about a worldly function which had been postponed for some insignificant reason. “What about the candy you brought with you in your valise’’’ my friend asked. “It will be stale if kept too long. Hai?” ‘Can you come here for it?’ I asked. ‘“T’ll come at once,’ he answered. “You will find me at the side door of the hotel, which opens at the end of the long corridor.” [ hurried back to my room. I made a parcel of the dynamite. I took the bombs out of the valise and wrapped them up carefully. [hey were soGAINING TIME 2t1 small, so insignificant, in comparison with all the good and all the harm we hoped they might ac- complish! When I went to the side door about ten min- utes later, my friend was there. His ricksha was drawn up by the curb. He was walking back and forth. We exchanged a few banal words, and he left me, carrying with him the precious charge. My heart seemed torn in two. Fate was forc- ing me to sever all the bonds which held me to my dearest friends. I could do nothing. I was powerless. I must consent to live without seeing my comrades, without hearing from them, and without even knowing what was to be the next move. On the bed where, a moment before, I had tied up the dynamite, I now saw my new gown. They say that a woman remembers all the dresses she has ever worn. In spite of my emotion, I must confess that, although I was to put this one on only once in my life, I found this toilet very be- coming. I arranged my hair with a certain co- quetry, and I finally entered the dining-room as eight was striking. How many lives I had lived since eight o’clock that morning! Seated at the tables there were the same people that one always meets in this fashionable restau- rant at the dinner hour: couples of all national- ities, Chinese people in European costume, tour-212 A GIRL FROM CHINA ists, regular habitués who had brought their friends with them. I knew many of them, and I] concluded from the way they greeted me that this trying day had not left any outward and visible marks, | found the dinner excellent. I chatted with friends at the next table, an American couple whose son, a boy about twelve years old, had a passion for Pekingese dogs. Some of the old palace servants had given him a puppy. In the days of the Dowager Empress dogs bred at the palace had been famous. When full grown they were so tiny as to be able to nestle comfortably in 7 ‘ a Chinese slipper, but, like everything at the pal- ace, they had degenerated. he young pup which enchanted my little American friend could scarce- ly have got into one of the boots of the avenging gods which stand before the temple doors. Talking on thus idly I came, as it were, back to life. JI began to wonder if it were really I—the person | saw reflected in the glass, dressed in a strange gown, eating heartily, and dissertating on Pekingese dogs. But if the puests of the Wagon-Lits Hotel little dreamed of all the turmoil within my heart, there were others who had forgotten nothing. As I was enjoying the bonbons and cakes served at the end of dinner, a card was brought to me. Someone had called, and was waiting to see me. Mr. Chin. l read the name:GAINING TIME 213 I knew this Mr. Chin. He had been a revolu- tionist in the early days, one of those weak char- acters who had succumbed to the bribes offered by Yuan Shi Kai. He had deserted us, and was now in the service of our enemy.CHAPTER XLIII tor me in one of FOUND Mr. Chin waitin : the smaller parlours. 1 did not know what he was going to say to me, but I determined | 9 s at. whatever it was, | should maintain an atti- 1 i , es. | ; in ee ude OT polite naimrerence. Attet rne usual ic hi- ’ “ + . . * 1 : + o> oo / iy . , 7 nese exchange of banal greetings, [ asked him to a“ - — - _ - Cc —" > = — —_ - at ~— rc — a ‘ a _ — —! ot 4 - : } = 7 ry _ ns He appeal i rather embarrassed at tnis GUCS- “ on Wo 1 you believe { Miss Iche ig e he iswered lt was the police who formed us of ‘Do vou find the news so thrilling?’’ I asked, as though were surprised Mmyse “We were notified, he went on, “that you were carrying explosives. ..bombs. | was playing with a fan I held in my hands. My dress had a long train, and I imagined that looked like ATL woman of the world. Glancing very squarely at Mr. Chin, I waited a moment as much astosay: “Dol really seem to be a person who is carrying bombs?!”’I AM ASKED TO FIX MY PRICE 21s His embarrassment was becoming more and more pronounced. He summoned all his courage, and without stopping for breath, he made the fol- lowing statement: “If I am here tonight, Miss Icheng, it is to offer you the protection you surely need. You were followed from Tientsin. This you cannot ignore. The President has been informed of the reasons which brought you here. He knows that you are a girl of deep feelings. He admires your splendidly patriotic spirit, but he considers—and he is quite right—that you have been misled by pernicious influences. He would be glad to see you, to talk with you. Indeed, he has a proposi- tion to make to you which may be very far- reaching in its influences, not only upon your per- sonal career, but for the good of the country.” I pretended to listen to him indifferently. In reality I was stirred to the depths with indignation at this open treachery, which not only was laying a trap for me, but which was endeavouring to force me into it, and by what means? But | re- mained faithful to the promise I had made myself, and I answered very simply: ‘The President’s agents are overzealous. I have come to Peking to get my passport, as | am about to leave for Europe.”’ Mr. Chin shook his head. ‘‘No,” he said, “don’t think you can mislead us by such state- ments. Listen to me. What is it you want to do216 A GIRL FROM CHINA for your country? Serve it, of course. How can you do this if you don’t appeal to its chief, the President who governs it? He alone can assure your success, not to speak of the reward which you so well deserve.” ‘Tell me what you mean,” I said, trying to ap- pear very natural. “Explain to me in what way [ can be most useful to China ?”’ He then set forth in detail Yuan Shi Kai’s in- tentions as far as | was concerned. I was to put myself wholly in the hands of the Government, to give myself up as a sort of hostage. Then the President was to enter into negotiations with our southern members. A committee would be ap- pointed to examine the conduct and proceedings of the Secretary of the Treasury. If he were proved guilty he would be judged at Tientsin. But, at this same time—such was the bargain ex- acted by Yuan Shi Kai—Sun Yat Sen was to ap- pear in the Peking courts to give an account of himself and to explain how it was that he had sent me to the capital charged with the mission I had undertaken. ‘*Thus,’’ Mr. Chin concluded, “‘you can pose as an interesting victim. Your reputation will be saved.” ‘Of course,’ I answered, with as much sincer- ity as I could affect. ‘Of course, | am very par- ticular about my reputation.’I AM ASKED TO FIX MY PRICE 217 But Mr. Chin was indefatigable. He stopped a moment as though to add weight to his words. “Fix your price,’ he said. ‘The money will be yours.” ‘‘May I telephone you tomorrow?” I asked. We decided upon the hour—at about five o’clock—and the place where I could communi- cate with him the next day. I was thus able to gain time for what I wanted to do. Mr. Chin and I parted, both quite delighted with the result of our conversation.; se I CKAII Fore Tihie Mir. ¢ NOur . Inger | must not the promised to Tteie- (yT capital be- , e ’ [he next mornu or. 2s ! went down for early 4 , ’ ' y “¢ iv t St. rycyt red 1 ¢ te nore} cs rr] lor. 1TnOnv’ . . ) ,% a . }, nr | a }r | > ‘“yyvysS W 2. rele ee * > . QT) cl eh ee i¢ : ' a: ‘ ] | ‘ a fT) VY ICC oon on | | { nIGCvYGL SGCIL DG ! eae | ; . ’ 7 + . ‘ : . ” “wry ioe é LJ i not weawl 1 C UIUC LICH unitorm OT ‘ ft } hay vy ! : . * + + j . ' . | ) s % - iS \ Loot . 1} . \ ALL + » | ) ] ! 1° or 1 Oug! | had not sec him, but it was not dificult ‘ s¥ ’ ’ | 7 magvine wW he was there. [he head “‘bell- . ' ' &- ‘ . xT Y hy 7) mr ePTY) Lie » ry ¢ \ yy ‘ nN . LO x ‘ Cilicil . ! . ; ° ; vr t , | ' : | I T rid i Ly ( \ (Jui ch iii ‘ 4 Lit a 5 WC & * ny rT) \ ro Frerr we ee i oe ‘ ‘ + sa i¢ .¥ ed 4 » Littl CJ) ' (i. i 4 . yy ’ } iF. Tr ry r ‘| »y ry | r) nd Lil (2) LIUCK if all} rO!] iC IILS Sliid! SUCTICI I 7 | ‘ +} ‘rT 1 + ” | ry cy t a | rey? lf VC! Ak GUid VS LLICc . WU v Scall it’ 3, U ‘ IC i ' , 1] ! VOT) aSKS Or me This Morning you Wwiil piease rt] 6 : | | Y that have gone to do some errands. snail ‘n to the hotel for lunch.” urn to tne notel tor iuncn | rss , ¢ } L. Ty 4 "4 ¥ a | \ tT > Ur L «a went DacK TO my room and PUL On my nat. again and crossed the veTHE TIENTSIN EXPRESS 219 bule, the boy in grey had disappeared. Evidently he had gone to tell Mr. Chin that I was leaving Peking before the hour appointed for our meet- ing. Once outside the hotel, I strolled along as though I were going to do errands about which there was no special hurry. As soon as I had turned the corner of the street, I started to run as fast as I could go toward the railway-station— a distance of two or three hundred yards. | had made my calculations so as to arrive at the very moment when the 9:45 aA. M. Tientsin express would be pulling out. Just as the train started, I sprang onto the platform. Three hours later I was in Tientsin; and two hours after my arrival I had sailed on an English ship for Shangha1. There I had many comrades. When I landed and found myself among them, they treated me like one who has been resuscitated. The attack which, for a moment, I had expected to make upon the Minister of Finance, had proved unsuccessful. My bombs had not done their work. The Minis- ter had escaped, but the dear friends who had re- placed me had fallen into the hands of the enemy and been put to death. As for myself, the newspapers had announced my demise. My sudden disappearance from the hotel, where I had left my valise, my pretty eve- ning-dress, and my other belongings, seemed to220 A GIRL FROM CHINA indicate some tragedy. The police, when ques- tioned, had replied that [ had been arrested and shot. It is easy to imagine my feelings. It seemed to me that, at the most critical hour, I was for- saking our Cause. My brother came from Canton to Shanghat. He told me that Mr. Lee had written to ask for help in France, and that Mr. Woo, one of the Nanking deputies, and several other ardent re- publicans, were about to sail, and that they begged me to accompany them on this pilgrimage for the land of Western science.CHAPTER XLV BACK IN Our CANTON PALACE T HONG KONG I found my family, who had all come to meet me, with the excep- tion of my grandmother. She had been too overwhelmed with the news of my death to make this short journey. She had wept, so they told me, and torn her hair; she had burnt incense before my picture and sworn by heaven and earth that she would avenge me. As for my mother, my sister, and my brothers, they looked upon me as I got off the boat like a dead person who has come to life. No one spoke for a long time. It was my mother, finally, who began to talk to me and to reason with me. She did not blame me; she merely explained very wisely that politics can- not be good when they result only in opposing one life to another. No doubt, the Peking Gov- ernment was still detestable, but at least, thanks to the efforts of our party, and in spite of all difficulties, the republic had been established. It was time now to be patient, to watch and wait. She concluded: ‘You must realize, Soumay dear, that you are not twenty. There are many long years before 221ye able to serve vour -_- penned e successfully if Wes in Hurope. a ; 7 K ( | r vourséll : 1] , .* i sne sald 7 ‘ LULU POL 1 ion in on Meare icare aa I biiit P| Lit ’ ; ' ; cy ’ \ : » \\ A ri A : ae . ; ‘ ; TT - iJ . (7 UC ce. I C . | : ‘ received ITic | | ; 1 ~ ® : “ry ,Y 7 7 } J LT TTC i} i i: e ° , a. r rs € Vas ' j - } tT } \ i & oF LO 7 | 4 ’ - } * <> go , + | j YY. & ‘ ITic¢ > ror me was tne ouse orand! ather our So TOUTN + ; 4 uring all theBACK IN OUR, CANTON PALACE = 223 and it muffled the sound of our feet as though we had been ghosts returning. One aged gardener now did the work alone which formerly had oc- cupied a score of men. The house itself was deserted. The women’s quarters, which for years had been animated by the children with their gay- coloured clothes, by the gentle comings and goings of our young mothers, our games, our songs, was now silent and empty. In the main house, where the men of the family had grown up, an old uncle now lived alone. The sight of this dilapidation made me appre- ciate for the first time at its true value the mag- nificence of our home. At Hong Kong, at Shanghai, at Peking, I had known beautiful things which: could serve as a term of comparison. I was justly proud of what I saw. I said to myself, “All I contemplate here is a symbol of the condi- tion of China itself. Those who do not know our country believe that it is decrepit. They do not realise that our soul is intact.”’ Our house had suffered from neglect. To re- store the charm of flowering gardens, the bright- ness of repainted walls, regilded woodwork, it was only necessary to call in a few workmen. | determined to do this at once, longing to add a few evidences of modern progress to all this charm of past tradition. The women, I decided, were no longer to live in the pavilion where they had formerly been se-A GIRL FROM CHINA cluded; they were to move into the large house, which was more comfortable, and which could be more readily adapted to modern existence. For my personal use | confiscated my grandfather’s lovely apartment. Using the Chinese teakwood frame of his bed, I replaced the somewhat hard boards and cushions on which he had slept by European springs and mattress. I persuaded sey- eral of my cousins to abandon the quarters where their mothers had lived, and to share with me my new kingdom. My old uncle looked upon this invasion with no little astonishment, but he re- signed himself without really opposing me. When all the house had been done over accord- ing to my ideas, we gave a banquet. Everybody was invited—the rich people of the town and the poor of the district. Families who for years had not met each other accepted our hospitality, which recalled the brilliancy of former days. As for the poor of Canton, who had been sadly neglected since my grandfather’s death, they were over- joyed. “The great Tcheng Yao has returned!” they cried. ‘His granddaughter brings him back to us | Thus our house began to revive its old gaiety, to hum with the murmur of life. Kelatives whom we had not seen for years came trom great distances to greet our return. They travelled in veritable caravans, bringing withBACK IN OUR CANTON PALACE 225 them rare products from their provinces, fruits, cakes, smoked fish, and rare gifts. The servants who accompanied them had been chosen each one because of some particular ability. One because he was an artist in cooking, another for his talent as a silk weaver, a third because of her skill as an embroiderer... I accepted with pleasure the invitation from one of my aunts. She wanted to show me her estate. We set out in a procession of eight sedan- chairs upon a journey which lasted for several days. A coolie was appointed to serve as my guide. His mission was to walk by the side of my chair and point out to me all the beauties of the country through which we passed. My aunt’s place was on the seashore. Her house, entirely built of bamboo, faced the ocean. She received us in wonderful style. She gave re- ceptions and private theatricals, and she allowed us for these occasions to dress up in the magnifi- cent old costumes of which she had a rare collec- tion. We went sailing; we tasted oysters for the first time, and fish unknown. Thus IJ passed eight days of peace and joy, during which the very thought of politics had gone out of my mind. I wondered, indeed, if it were possible that I had ever given my life so intensely to what now seemed only a dream.CHAPIER ALVI W ESTWARD—Ho! HORTLY after returning to the dear old home in Canton, | received a visit one day trom one of the most radical deputies, Mr. Woo. He insisted very earnestly on his desire, and that of our revolutionary friends, that | —- ) ee should embark tor France without further delay. Iwo other comrades, Mr. Wei and Mr. Tchang, also came to tell me that they were about to leave, and hoped that they might serve as my escort. My family felt distressed at the thought of this parting which was to separate us for an indefinite period, yet they were even more caver than | for this solution to the difficulties with which my life seemed now beset. They all came with me as far as Hong Kong, where | was to take the steamer which touched on its way from Shanghai to Eu- rope. The ship was to remain overnight and until the following day at noon in the port. | wanted to embark at once, but my mother begged me to spend our last evening and morning to- gether at the house of one of my aunts in Hong Kong, so I contented myself with sending my dear ) nyWESTWARD-HO! 227 Tung Ur to put all my baggage in my cabin. I felt that this made my departure irrevocable. My mother longed to have me take our faith- ful Tung Ur with me. She had every confidence in the devotion of the comrades who were to be my travelling companions, but she suffered to feel that I was going off alone with no member of our family, not even a servant at my side. My brother, who understood the situation, talked to her very seriously. He explained that at the other end of the world, where I was going to take up my new existence, I must lead the life of a stu- dent without servants, without any of the ease and luxury of my home-life; that I must be hid- den away in a corner with only my books and my work to protect me and keep me company. The Chinese, I know, have the reputation of not possessing a very exact idea of time. Cer- tainly our family succumbed to the national fail- ing on the day I was to embark. We lingered so long in our farewells, in our final recommenda- tions and good wishes, that at last when we ar- rived at the wharf the steamer on which all my bageage had been placed the night before ap- peared like a mere speck of charcoal on the distant horizon. My family, delightfully inconsistent, were quite rejoiced over this catastrophe, which they de- clared presented some heavenly omen; but I could see no good in this delay of five days, during which228 A GIRL FROM CHINA | fretted greatly, as I was obliged to wait for the next boat. My embarrassment in regard to my belongings was relieved by a cablegram sent by the comrades who had sailed without me. They announced with charming good-humour that they would wait for me at Singapore. My brother very kindly accompanied me as far as that port. As an envoy of the family, he wished to bid me the final fare- well, as | set out to take up my new life.CHAPTER XLVII WHERE Is PROGRESS? E LANDED at Marseilles after an un- \ \ eventful voyage and my impressions were those of a dreamer awakening to find the visions of his sleep have become a real- ity. Indeed, the many pictures I had seen of France had given me a just notion of that in- comparable country. I was surprised only at the ancient aspect of the buildings in Paris. As for the moral impressions, I was deeply moved by the thought of all that France repre- sents. I recalled details of her heroic struggle for justice in the past. This land was the very cradle of republican ideas—liberty, equality, fra- ternity—for which so many Frenchmen had given their lives. In April, 1914, I settled in one of the Paris pensions, or boarding houses, indicated by our loyal friend Mr. Lee Yu Ying. In spite of the absorbing effort to learn French, of which I did not know one word, I was very lonely and sad. It was impossible to inspire any real sympathy in people with whom I could not converse, and who, 229A GIRL FROM CHINA | felt, considered me rather as a savage than an equal. At the end of three months I was able to make myself somewhat understood and to go about alone. Kumors then began to reach us. Maany ae fellow-students came to see me to discuss politics Those who had been enghns Kurope than L foresaw a great war. Every day, as we neared the end of July, the news grew more and more alarming. On August Ist, the call ‘“‘To Arms!”’ rang out through France. As soon as the order of mobilisation had been posted Up, went over to the astern Railway station to watch the troops leaving. A great si- lence seemed to have ™ rear the cito Pe cCrice SCCTITICC iq) fla VC swept Ove! Lilt CITV. CU- ’ r ple were too sorrow-stricken to speak They } ! - Ciung Co ¢ 1 oTmel | remember one father who was parting with his boy. His black clothes told the Story of what this meant to im. | lis | i€ ad was bowed. His hand covered his eves. As the train pulled out, he looked up and tried to a in ani : t [here were thousands of Croops piling into the trains, thousands waiting in the station. thousands more ‘sagas in a steady stream through the neighbouring streets. Each soldier in uniform ne seemed CO Tin his place and what he had to do and where he had to go. Each wore on his face + Peet a : 5 the expression of dumb he sm.WHERE IS PROGRESS? 231 When I reached home, it was night. _ For three hours I sat unable to move. I had come to seek civilisation and scientific progress, to study a form of life more agreeable and more useful than what I had known. I had escaped the violence of a revolution only to be plunged into the tragedy of an international war. As the days passed the news became more and more alarming. Finally, early in September, a general exodus began. he entire well-to-do population of Paris, advised by the authorities, was fleeing before the enemy. The Government was leaving for Bordeaux, the Embassies were being evacuated. An opportunity was offered me to accompany the members of the Chinese Lega- tion. The moment was a painful one, but I had begun to understand the situation better. I de- termined that, whatever might happen, I would remain in Paris. This decision was only confirmed when my sis- ter and her husband passed through Paris on their way back to Canton in December. They begged me to leave with them. I explained that I had made a great sacrifice to come to France. This war and the present events I considered not only important, but a turning point in the history of the world. I must see the result. So I parted with my sister and my brother-in-law, remaining alone to continue my studies. By the Autumn of 1915, I had progressed suf-232 A GIRL FROM CHINA ficiently in my lessons to enter the Law School of the Paris University, the Sorbonne. In June, 1916, | passed my first examinations in Law. Though I was sure that I could succeed, I trem- bled when my turn came to be questioned. A good memory such as all Chinese possess was my precious ally. Above all I was sustained and in- spired by the longing to show the women of my country what they could do if they made the effort | had. I was the first Chinese girl who had ever presented herself at an examination in this historic university. In my eagerness to tell all I knew | became so voluble that my examining professor hnally cried out to me: “Enough, enough! Sit down, please. You ’ have already passed with double honours!’CHAPTER XLVIII SHIPWRECKS, FIRES.... HE conflict of political opinions at home continued to complicate interior politics and to influence China’s attitude toward the outside world. We alternated between futile attempts at a reaction toward imperial tendencies and outbursts of loyalty to our ancient traditions. Thus while the patriots urged the Government to take their place beside the Allies, in June, 1917, the Imperialist party succeeded in placing the Boy- Emperor on the throne. This restoration lasted for the brief space of twelve days only. China, deeply stirred by the final decision of the United States to take her stand on the battle- fields where freedom was fighting oppression, had broken off diplomatic relations with Germany in March, 1917. In July, at a mass meeting held in Paris, under the patronage of the Chinese Minister, Mr. Hoo Wei Teh, to express our sym- pathy with the Allies, I was present as the stu- dents’ delegate and I spoke in French before an assembly of two thousand people. Our recompense came in August with the news that China had declared war against the Imperial 233234 A GIRL FROM CHINA German Government. The students in Paris ap- pointed me to return to Peking and urge that some tangible expression of our goodwill be made. to afhrm our allegiance with the Allies. that some act of utility follow up the mere words of our declaration. Lhe journey home was fraught with difficulties. Uur sailing, fixed for November 27 from Mar- “ Wrinr r . OW LNY 1] ] ] + ' sea tne . ry) » 2 series, was delaved until] Dece nber 20th | tO tne extreme activitv OT t} Cc (,;erman and Aus- i 8 : , ' , - . trian submarines In the Mediterranean. Nor Was SU ution unjustihed When at last we ven- ‘ tured fort! One OT the SI DS OF Our CONVOY was + r ¢ a \ ff ry 1 = ¢ + | + 5 1. oOorpeqdoed Cr a Cruise OF aimost three weeks | ; | el of . oe | ] ? iV € CLOT VI SiiICC] LIC SLOT CTOSS ioe LriTece Gavs 17 1 . ——F TON Mears ex ir Port Said But \ id no sor cr dead | in SUTTIMONS Came to return a } | [O OU Sng 5S tne Breslau ind tne (,oeben LHe \ ct ri { rry ry rc t lara : b T al FCTIN Wa DS it LTVE id coll rt 1} : ’ Ta .% ~~ + > b ’ }, ] ) rt SIV ITIALICC aii We c CA} CLLCG tO VI Ua d A \ Said | | f 4 | ] | , ' | Juring the further de! of a month which this ’ } t ; t tT } - alse alarm necessitated, our hotel was shaken to jirTy | t » ry ’ —_ in > > ¥ » > itSs TOUNCAaTIONS One nignt DY a mysterious and ter- ble explosion in the harbor. III luck seemed to t CX} LL J Sit ii iT} J e tick i wt ke LUCK SC CITICC ae Ly este ive at eeel ike wil Se See Pursue us, >| Or;rctiy perore rPcacning Singapore, = oes s : ws ae eM i Our ship struck a rock and slowly sank. which : « ’ caused much emotion but no loss further than | that of our cargo and bagg: —_— Meanwhile, this voyage which was to haveSHIPWRECKS EIRES =... 5 lasted six weeks, had dragged on for over four months. My grandmother in Canton had fallen ill with anxiety. My mother and the various younger members of the family had come to Hong Kong to await my arrival. It was spring now and the opening of the races was fixed for the day on which my ship was due to land its pas- sengers. Two of my aunts who, not without reason, had become sceptical about the date of my reaching home, urged my mother to accom- pany them to this brilliant gathering at the race course, one of the great social events of China. Her longing to see me and her prolonged anxiety prevented my mother from accepting this invita- tion and thereby saved her life. That day both of my aunts perished in the terrible accident caused by the overturning of an alcohol lamp in the restaurant of the grand stand and which re- sulted in the burning of two thousand people. My fate seemed tragic indeed: revolutions, wars, sub- marine attacks, explosions, shipwrecks, fires... I was now to endure my first sorrow. During the short hour which transpired in our journey from Hong Kong to Canton, my grandmother, worn out, had passed on to the world beyond. Feeling that her end was near, she had dressed herself with extreme care, she had prayed for a time and then, lying down upon her bed, she had closed her eyes for ever. The shock of finding she had died before I236 A GIRL FROM CHINA could reach her and embrace her again was all the more terrible for me in that my aunts and cousins and my dear godmother, “‘Miss Angel,’ held me : . in a great measure responsible for this tragedy. My independence and my violence had caused my grandmother too many hours of anguish. . In China when any well-to-do person dies it is the custom to embalm the body and keep it in the house for forty d | ays. During this time twenty = priests are in attendance. Every two hours, night ’ (vi i * 1 © r ~ and day, they walk for half an hour around the deceased, singing, intoning prayers to drive away the evil spirits and to protect the soul which 1s supposed to hover for a time between earth and heaven. I must. it was decided, make amends in tnis way to granamotner s soul. So, for forty nights, dressed in the white linen mourning garments of the Chinese, beating a small drum, droning a chant, I turned in a circle around tl le remains of my proud ancestor. Out of deference to the traditions which she had revered and which she had suffered to feel that I did not sufficiently respect, | asked my father to especially honour her memory. This was done by preparing a series of funereal ofter- ings, made out of bamboo fibre and rice paper. They represented a house completely furnished, a retinue of almost life-size servants, dresses for every occasion, carriages, horses, sedan chairs, gardens of flowers, fruits, food of all sorts,SHIPWRECKS, FIRES ..... money, books, jewels of jade and gold and pearls, everything which could be imagined a woman might need during her lifetime. The cleverness with which these beautiful objects were prepared made it impossible to believe that they were not lasting works of art. Yet they were all burned. Slowly, hour after hour, for an entire day, a pro- cession advanced bearing these treasures which, one by one, were laid upon the fire lighted by grandmother's grave. At the end of this period of official mourning I fell ill with a fever. he contrast between the enlightened modern world in which | had been liv- ing and these strangely superstitious customs had proved overwhelming.CHAPIER ALIX Two MILLion WoMEN Back or ME dy Was late in t} C SUTTITTICT bef re could 5 - ' . 7 , - | — ! ‘ iraV¢ as |] [ iS CAIIIL. In VOY ember the \ mich . 8 LISTIC? S eiegvates to tne Attairs, M Lou Ist I's r, beloved by all who y i t} eS LL CVC of Vt rk ay YM t| IT) and of Owing his ¢ stent effort for the main- ‘ lniercece | } ] Wh e young © ese diplomats, well known in Amer- ’ oF and . - 1, j no ’ . » Lv . ‘ i HY LUT U i ay ed Ye iC cer ™ 7 7 } the intercollegiate prize for debating, then as } = . A vi SiC! () \\ S rT Or! wi ! 1 +] Lc! \ CilC¢ ~ VCUVICU ae ro ft ry | - r | , r {| + | _ } . Rw J ‘ SUV i .. » ing | rd ae CValc iblic. In 1911 he was Secretary in the first cabi- 26 he was named Minister an ~~ , > a. = a" —! —_/ —_ = | of Foreign Affairs. Toward the spring of 1919, I was sent as a delegate from the south to attend the women’s group at the Peace Conference and as a repre- 28 aTWO MILLION WOMEN BACK OF ME 2329 sentative of the Chinese press, to obtain and dis- tribute information. My own adventure during these historic hours is insignificant. I spoke a number of times before small assemblies of French lawyers and _ polli- ticians. I helped to organize a public meeting to protest against the decision regarding Shantung. I collaborated heart and soul with my compatriots In a persevering and determined effort to manifest the will of young China that its Commissioners should not sign the Treaty of Versailles. Early in July I set out with a group of interna- tional journalists to visit Belgium and Italy. Our journey northward lay across the battlefields of France and of Flanders. As I gazed at the thou- sands .of crosses which marked the soldiers’ graves [ remembered that long afternoon in August, 1914, when I had watched the troops leaving Paris. These were the men who had gone forth to fight for the freedom of the world and who now lay sleeping forever after making the supreme sacrifice of their lives for an ideal. In Brussels I spoke before a throng of people assembled to welcome our group. It was an in- finite consolation to feel that as I talked a great bond of sympathy seemed to draw China nearer than she had been to these hearts of the West. In Rome my experience was the same. I re- alised that China seemed to most Europeans as far away as Mars,—a land of old brocades and240 A GIRL FROM CHINA of crumbling temples,—inhabited by a people who eat Cats and Mice and swallow’s nests. | was only one Chinese woman, alone to speak, but two million others had sent me word from home that they were standing back of me. So my mission did not seem useless. To those with whom I talked and whom I addressed in Italy, China, her aspirations, her struggle, presented perhaps for the first time a human interest. I.very day more keenly I realised the necessity of encouraging my fellow sisters to leave their towns and villages and to come to Western capl- tals for learning. Il longed for the Chinese women to understand that there must be compatriots not only among individuals, but among nations, so that wars declared to satisfy the ambition of a minority shall no longer be possible. In October, 1919, | returned to China. Fora year | travelled through the provinces urging par- ents to encourage their daughters and to make it possible for them to continue their studies in the universities of Western Science. In December, 1920, I was able to set sail again. [ gathered about me a flock of twenty girls and brought this adopted family with me to France. Twice as many more young Chinese women stu- dents had preceded us. Graduates of the normal schools in China, some of them had been teachers in the primary schools, all were determined toTWO MILLION WOMEN BACK OF ME _2a1 stay in France until they had mastered the branches of knowledge—letters, art, law, agri- culture, industry—which would fit them to become professors on their return to their own country. Finally in June, 1925, I received my degree of Doctor of Law at the University of Paris, the first Chinese or indeed Oriental woman upon whom this recompense had been conferred.ee CHAPTER L CONCLUSION EK FORE I close this story of my childhood and girlhood | want to relate the impres- sion made upon me by my all too short visit to America. In the autumn of 1919, on my last journey home, | passed through the United States. ] had no sooner set foot in New York than my heart seemed to unfold to new hope Though | had never been in that country ari and knew no one, | was in a land of triends and | felt it. Sa [he contact, even super! ficl ial, with this preat peo- } 1 i} e was oe Their love of ei and jus- tice make them think not only of their own coun- try, but 1} hieiedtatant large. lI understood at once, by the articles in the newspapers, that they had grasped with a quick sympathy our situation. This touched and consoled ic. | felt morally at home. And what shall I say of my amazement at all those cathe- that I saw? ‘The high buildings drals of industry—the elevated roads overhead, the Hudson tubes under the rivers and the superb bridges which span their waters, the homes, the ) ' > dat hate hatCONCLUSION 243 shops, the parks...1 was dazed and enchanted. Everywhere I turned | met the same activity, everyone was busy, everyone was in a hurry, every- one was—even to a stranger like me, a girl from China,—everyone was polite. My eyes were burning, my head was swimming. To what a fairyland had I not come. That first night in New York, as I looked from the hotel window over the amazing brilliance of Broadway, with its beautiful flashing lights—the lights of industry—lI thought over all I had seen during that memorable day. This was progress. I had found it at last. As I crossed from one coast to the other, my amazement increased. All that I saw and could understand in this brief glimpse I respected and esteemed. Nor do I want to close without making an appeal. We count on America to help us. You, the scientific men, the intellectual force of our great sister Republic, we turn to you. You have risen above frontiers, you have mastered the jealousies which separate men. You will show us how to work and how to conquer. Not to con- quer land which does not belong to us, but how to conquer ideas, scientific discoveries which may be given to all. Your fine spirit uplifts all those whose aim is high. We call upon you, the mainspring of American activities, the business men. You have proved to the world a rare fact: that a man who makes mil-244 A GIRL FROM CHINA lions may be an idealist. You have demonstrated the value of money when spent in the service of others. You great financiers and manufacturers, help us to develop China! Show us how to earn money and how to spend it, as you have done, for the lasting good of humanity. We look to you American women as our ex- ample. Your encouragement will shine like a light to show us the way. We want to become like you, not only free women, but citizens of the world,—of the New W orld. And now one last word as to the present situa- tion in China and the points one must keep in mind to understand its seeming confusion. Everywhere people are asking the question: And the answer -™ > 9 ‘What is happening in Chinar that comes most frequently is: “Bolshevism.” Yet the Communistic movement, which at present attempts to ally itself with the elements of discord in all countries, cannot in any way explain, nor 1s it in the slightest measure responsible for the events now taking place in China. They are of a purely national inspiration. The Chinese are an essentially agricultural peo- ple, a people of farmers who own small tracts of land. Not only are there no great rural proprie- tors, but the general wealth is more than else- where equally divided. So, as the land is at the origin of all great fortunes, there are no capital- (fF SCONCLUSION 245 ists, properly speaking, and, as the industries are not yet developed along modern lines, the typical ‘large company” does not exist and the problem of capital and labor cannot here present even an opening for the wedge of Bolshevism. Taxation is light, the people are content with the republican form of government, but they are, and for ten years have been, agitated by a grievance which must be assuaged if the world wishes peace to be maintained in the Far East. The cause of this ferment lies in the determina- tion of modern China to obtain the complete re- vision of the antiquated treaties which over fifty years ago determined her relations with the inter- national Powers. As things now stand China, a young republic, is bound by treaties concluded dur- ing the reign of the imperialistic Manchus, de- manding an attitude toward all foreigners which makes of them a body of international aristocrats, enjoying privileges which they have not earned and avoiding responsibilities which are not made incumbent upon them. It was with the hope of seeing these antiquated Manchu treaties revised that China came into the Great War. The call to arms for her meant a final combat with imperialism and militarism; it meant the triumph of true democracy and of the self-determination of peoples. When, in 1919, the Powers gathered around246 {1 GIRL FROM CHINA the Table of Peace, China presented her hopes. The main points she claimed were a revision of the treaties. tariff autonomy, and the establish- ment of the principle of extra-territoriality. None of her demands were granted, but. in order to satisfy the Powers, it was deemed neces- sary that she could relinquish her economic con- trol of Shantung. And what is Shantung? lt is not only one of the most prosperous and easily accessible provinces of China, but it is the Holy Land of the people, the sacred birth place of Confucius. The obviously unjust reply to the legitimate pretentions of C | in L re sulted In | er ce lecates re- fusing to sign the Peace Treaty, on June 28, 1919, at Versailles. | When, in 1921, a conference was called at Washington, Chinese hopes rose again, and again the people, t} c armies, the rovernment, the work- men and the unnamed students, united in popular demonstrations to vouch that they would sustain their delegates in every effort to obtain justice. The result was a moderate, short-lived satisfac- tion—a promise that, within a few months after the ratification of the treaty drawn up at Wash- ington, an international commission would be appointed to study the Chinese problem of extra- territoriality. This all occurred almost four yearsCONCLUSION 247 ago and it was in 1926 only that in the French Chamber of Deputies the project was for the first time voted for the ratification of the Washington Treaty. So the abuses of justice have continued and so the resentment of the people has grown. It needs no Bolshevism to enforce it. Indeed the recent killing of a few workmen in Shanghai is looked upon by Chinese statesmen as a mere incident which might in itself have been arranged without difhculty. What cannot be longer tolerated is the non- revision of the treaties. ‘Their one-sided inter- pretation and the elasticity in their manner of application have given place to such abuses as these among many: the foreigners living in the concessions at Shanghai have prolonged the roads far beyond the limits fixed legally and they have assumed jurisdiction over these roads and all the adjacent lands. Again the mixed court at Shang- hai which, according to the terms of the treaty is a Chinese court, presided over by a Chinese judge, administering Chinese law and assisted by foreign assessors if foreigners are involved, since 1912, when the Republic was established, has been prac- tically turned into a foreign court without treaty sanction. To the many demands of the Chinese Government for resumption of the former status, the only answer given has been in requests for\ GIRL FROM CHINA further concessions of land. Again, the purchase by missionairies of property in the interior of China 1s regulated by a clause inserted into the ich does not appear in the Chinese foreign text wh version. foreigners are exempt from taxation by the Chinese Government, resulting from a mis- interpretation of the principles of extra-territori- Only those ignorant of their rights would con- tinue to accept such conditions. which. because of the radical change of regime alone. if for no other a a reason, should be considered as having expired. But the Chinese are now alive to their rights. G the last ren vears t| Cc have studied national . ; : \ : } e .% } questions, the V nave, t POUPTI See of their country. fanned their passionate love into flame their patriotic or. Ihe people now have a voice in national four hundred : jo 7 } | ‘ > . } . » oe : + } allairs and they are qeterminec millions of them (just as they were resolved to 1 ' . ’ \ overthrow the regime that oppressed them) to modify the deplorable policy forced upon them in their international relations. Their intention 1s to see the treaties revised, not tO the detriment of the foreigner, but with the intention of placing him on an equality with the Chinese. Their hope is to find him working in collaboration with the Chinese for the common good of China, sharing her responsibilities, and understanding her aims and ideals.CONCLUSION 249 Indeed, the sooner the Powers grasp and ap- preciate the New Spirit which animates China, the better it will be for the fate of the foreigners here resident, and for the peace of the world. THE END