Instalment 26 (1901)
Scene 1: In Xi’an
Cixi is surprised to find that Ronglu is not named among the officials whom the foreign powers listed for execution. She assumes that he has secretly managed to form an alliance with the foreigners. But Ronglu tells her about a foreigner whom he helped during the Boxer rebellion and who wishes to show his gratitude in this way. Cixi thereupon angrily calls him a traitor. But he explains to her that his sole intention was to demonstrate to the foreigners that she, Cixi, was not in support of the war, but rather, that she had been unable to avoid it. Cixi immediately seizes the opportunity and asks Ronglu to shift all blame onto the warmongers Gangyi and Xu Tong when he next speaks to the foreigners. She thus hopes to be relieved of her own responsibility. (This scene highlights that Cixi is only looking to push away all responsibility out of fear of personal consequences.) Ronglu, however, feels assured that it will not come to this. Li Hongzhang, Ronglu holds, will certainly prevent this during the peace negotiations. If not, Ronglu promises to offer himself up for her!
Scene 2: At the Imperial Palace
During the peace negotiations, Li Hongzhang claims in the presence of the foreign generals under the lead of General von Waldersee, that there will be further rebellions such as that of the “Boxers” if China was to be divided by the foreigners. He states that the reparations after the lost war against Japan in 1895 have left the Qing dynasty with massive financial deficits. Thus, China is not able to pay any more reparations. He threatens that China will fall apart if the reparation demands are too high. Li appears very determined in front of the allied forces and demands to have Cixi taken off the list of war criminals, to keep the reparations at a minimum level on account of the empty treasuries, and to not cut apart the Qing empire. Then he leaves the room of negotiations together with the Qing Prince.
Scene 3: At the Imperial Palace
The foreign generals continue their discussion. General von Waldersee argues for keeping a stable Qing government in order to be able to profit from the Chinese market in the future (an insertion seeming very modern and rather a-historical). He proposes to have the reparations sum fixed at 450 million Liang silver – one Liang silver for every Chinese citizen. During the discussion he makes clear that China’s future depends on the Western powers. But he also takes up Li Hongzhang’s argument when he states that it would be better for the foreign powers to support a stable country with which one can have trade relations, instead of leaving a broken-up country behind which is falling into chaos.
Cixi is pleased with the manner in which Li Hongzhang tackled his task – China does not have to cede any territories and she herself will not have to abdicate, nor will she be executed. Ronglu, however, is worried about the reparations; all of the state’s income over the next 39 years will have to be spent on repaying reparations. But Cixi is only worried about her personal belongings – she is thinking about her dress (her anniversary present) and her gramophone which were left back in Beijing. As if there was nothing more important at hand that moment, she orders Li to send her the dress.
Gangyi, who is aware that his name appears on the allies’ death list, is desperately stuffing himself with one melon after another until he dies of it. (The melons allude to China’s being cut up).
The two warmongers, the old scholar Xu Tong and his son Xu Chengyu, are supposed to hang themselves (a privilege of high officials). Xu Chengyu, apparently out of filial piety, lets his father go first (which his father acknowledges, morally moved), and kicks the chair on which his father is standing aside; his father hangs. After that, however, Xu Chengyu attempts to escape from the prison, but he is shot by soldiers during his dishonourable attempt.
The Prefect Yuxian, who supported the Boxers in Shandong, invites his friends and students to a restaurant to commemorate his farewell. There, in front of his guests, he commits suicide with a sword.
The concubine Hong’er reminds Li Hongzhang that the Qing Prince has already been waiting outside for a long while and demands entry. Li, however, has him wait longer and instead composes a document. (Later, one will find that he was composing his testament and that it was for this that he declined to be disturbed).
The peace treaty has to be signed. Instead of the Qing Prince, Li Hongzhang places his signature under the treaty. He thus demonstrates himself as an outstanding personality, for he knows that his name will forever be bound to this peace treaty which symbolises the greatest humiliation in China’s history. (In historical fact, however, treaties had to be signed by two representatives).
The Manchu officials have to hunt down food for Cixi. Some of them are trying to catch a chicken. (The hunt for the chicken provides a striking contrast to the previous luxurious life at the Imperial Court.)
In their simple lodgings in Xi’an, Cixi, Ronglu and the emperor are studying the conditions of the peace treaty. One section of the treaty states that the foreign powers are permitted to station troops in Tianjin, but the Chinese are not. This denotes are great source of danger for the capital since Tianjin is the gateway to Beijing. Cixi, however, is only worried about her personal fate. After having had to escape the capital already twice in her life, [1] she is now worried that she may never be permitted to return to Beijing. Pitying herself, she complains about her restless sleep, whereas Ronglu faints after learning the bad news of the treaty demands. When he awakens, he advises Cixi to appoint Yuan Shikai as military head in Tianjin. Ronglu also believes that Li Hongzhang would agree with his advice to choose Yuan. The emperor, however, falls back into his passive state after an initial spell of freedom which the escape from his golden cage seemed to have provided for him. He remains in ostentation in the background.
Yuan Shikai has come to Cixi’s private quarters in the Imperial Palace. With fascination, he listens to the Western music on Cixi’s gramophone. He likes the military music that the gramophone plays, and he seems little bothered by the treaties.
Yang Shiqi, the Shandong official who is now serving Yuan Shikai, visits a bank under the pretext of wanting to deposit money for Yuan Shikai. In order to get to look through the accounts of the bank owner, Yang pretends that he wants to prove Yuan that the other important customers of the bank are not receiving higher interests than Yuan. In fact, however, Yang wishes to inform himself of the details of the accounts of local officials in order to blackmail them later on.
[1] The first time the court had to flee was when the British and French attacked Beijing in 1860 and destroyed the old Summer Palace in retaliation for the Qing government’s ongoing hesitation to comply with the Treaty of Tianjin, signed in 1858.
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