The Historical Record for July 17, 2008: Happy Birthday, Xianfeng

Today is the birthday of Aisin-Gioro I Ju, the Xianfeng 咸丰 Emperor, born this day in 1831.  He was the last of the Qing Emperors to take the throne after reaching the age of majority, but his short reign was nothing less than disastrous, a perfect embodiment of the Chinese phrase 内乱外患 (internal turmoil, external threats/calamity). Under his watch, the country became embroiled in the Taiping Rebellion which exposed the weakness of the central government to maintain order internally, and the emperor and his court were forced to flee in 1860 when the Anglo-French Expedition invaded the city of Beijing, seizing the capital and razing the palaces at Yuanmingyuan (Coincidentally, Xianfeng’s birthplace). 

Xianfeng never returned to the city.  He left the mess to be settled by his younger brother Yixin (Prince Gong) while the emperor stayed in the Qing palaces at Chengde, drinking and partying and…by the by…coming down with pneumonia. Xianfeng died in Chengde on August 22, 1861.

If that were all, Xianfeng would still be considered a crappy emperor, but to pile on: the man had terrible taste in women.  Xianfeng was besotted by his concubine, the Lady Yehenara, who gave birth to his only son, Zaichun in 1856.  Upon the death of Xianfeng, Zaichun was installed as the Tongzhi

Voices from China’s Past: Zhang Zhidong on the republic

Zhang Zhidong (張之洞 1837-1909) was a leading scholar and official in the late-19th century. His most famous work, An Exhortation to Learn (quanxuepian劝学篇) published in 1898, tackled a range of issues facing the Fin de siècle Qing Empire.  In his chapter on government and the centralization of power, Zhang offered his opinion on the increasingly vocal demands for a republican government in China based on European and American models.

“If this republic is inaugurated, only the ignorant and foolish will rejoice.  For rebellion and anarchy will come down upon us like night, and massacre will seal our eternal grave.  Even those who establish the republic will not escape.  Murder and rapine will hold sway in city and village.  The burning of churches will follow, and under the pretext of protection, the foreigners will send troops and men-of-war to penetrate the far interior of our country and slice off our territory to be foreign dependencies, which we, perforce, submissively grant.  This talk about a republic is very agreeable to the adversaries of China.”

Years ago the Government of France was changed from a monarchy to a republic. The common people rose up against the upper class, because the rulers were vicious and the

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