Instalment 30 (1903)
Scene 1: General Assembly of Cixi and the high court officials (1) (in a Western-style decorated room)
Qu Hongji reports that Kang Youwei’s teachings contain the following central points: 1. political reforms, 2. modernisation (in the realms of the military, education and industry). Cixi complains that these reforms would lead to their becoming a toy of the Western powers. What role would be left for the Qing Court to play in all this? Moreover, she believes Kang was merely aiming at being appointed the most important court official in the Palace. She contends that the Guangxu emperor acted hastily in his attempts to carry out reforms. Yuan Shikai is therefore now vested with the following tasks: He is to carry out further modernisations in the Beiyang provinces (Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong) and make these provinces more successful than the Westerners have been. Finally, Cixi inquires if Kang has finally been captured…(no reply; cut)!
Scene 2: An opera performance in Chinatown, Honolulu (1)
Kang Youwei is sitting in the audience: the play on stage deals with the 1898 reforms. When Cixi calls the figure Kang Youwei a “traitor” in the play, the real Kang raises his voice in objection in the middle of the performance; everybody laughs. Finally, Liang Qichao enters onto the stage holding a banner with the slogan „Feng yi dai zhao” 奉衣帶詔 (Appointed [by the emperor], vested with a [secret] edict) – Kang’s legitimisation. Kang thanks the actors and holds a speech on how Sun Yatsen’s and his teachings do not differ all that much. He adds that the emperor is an outstanding person and that all societies fighting for the strengthening of the Chinese nation have to unite in order to found a new China with the Guangxu emperor as head of a constitutional monarchy. Then he collects donations for his reforms. Two of the actors who ask for a small wage after the performance are shrugged off coolly. (The entire performance including Kang’s speech appears to have been designed beforehand). Kang decides to travel to California in order to gather further support. The opera troop is to accompany him. But Liang Qichao is supposed to remain where he is in order to keep a close eye on the actions of the revolutionary party, i.e. Sun Yatsen’s party.
Scene 3: In the editorial department of Sun Yatsen’s „New Honolulu Newspaper”
Sun is upset that the revolutionary newspaper, which is actually supposed to only represent his view point, also reports on the reformers and royalists Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, and on their opera performance. Sun personally dictates an article that clarifies the differences between revolution on the one hand and reforms together with the emperor on the other.
Liang Qichao tells Sun Yatsen that his own opinion by now diverges from that of his teacher Kang Youwei.
Liang states that he has become more radical and that he is sympathetic to Sun’s ideas. Sun tries to convince Liang that both
parties could really work together if Kang’s party was to distance itself from its emotional connection and loyalty to the
emperor, and from the idea that the emperor’s reign must be preserved though a constitutional monarchy. Sun claims that
those who speak of revolution cannot also be royalists, and those who are royalists should not speak of revolution.
Sun even offers to appoint Kang to a high office in his future government. He himself does not need to be the number one.
Although Sun detests the royalists he nevertheless favours a rational decision.
Liang nonetheless is not ready to distance himself totally from his teacher. Sun hopes
to continue debating such matter publicly in his newspaper for Sun is very taken by
Liang’s analytical abilities and his excellent compositions. He believes that if one
does not debate such matters, then there will be no clarification of positions. Liang, however, declines this offer.
The play depicts a dispute between Kang Youwei and Sun Yatsen. The audience is divided in support for both parties. This time, Sun is sitting in the audience; he laughs about his pendant on stage. Finally, Sun runs onto stage enthusiastically and thanks all the actors. He even calls them “revolutionary comrades”. Sun also tries to collect money from the audience for his cause, the revolution. The actors, represented by the actor playing Kang Youwei (!), ask Sun for money if he wants them to stop advocating Kang’s ideas in their play. Sun himself carries no money with him. Thus, he hands all the money he has just collected and his watch to the actors and apologises that it is such a little sum. The actors are impressed by Sun’s generosity and the actor Kang says that as long as there is money involved, he is happy to consider himself a “revolutionary comrade”! The group is supposed to do public information work for the preparation of the revolution from now on.
Police forces from Tianjin are publicising the Empress Dowager’s commands to her people regarding new traffic security measures. Just then, a carriage approaches the group of people with a very high speed and is abruptly halted. In the carriage sits the Chun Prince Zaifeng, the emperor’s brother. Zhao Bingjun, head of the police forces, argues with the prince about the laws. He demands that the imperial family, which has promulgated the law, should also keep to it. Without more ado, the prince, though, has his palace guards arrest the policemen.
Cixi complains about the wastefulness and extravagance of the imperial sons and grandsons. She orders Yuan Shikai to have
a school set up in the Beiyang Region catering for these sons and grandsons: an academy for aristocrats (Guizhou xuetang). Cixi believes that
the imperial offspring is entitled to receive a modern education, but that it is also necessary that they learn the laws and regulations.
The Chun Prince Zaifeng comes running in, in the middle of Yuan’s report on his achievements in the Beiyang region. (Yuan had reported that after the destruction of Tianjin by the eight allied Western powers, the overhead cable bus line has been repaired; electrical light has been installed; the postal office has been completed; the Kaiping coal mine is producing coal; the railway line [Bei-]Jing-Zhang[jiakou] is now running under control; the current three garrisons of the army have been divided into six garrisons; and only in the questions of the trade commission – which is being led by Sheng Xuanhuai – Yuan admits to not having completed the task as yet). Zaifeng reports that police forces from Tianjin are “causing unrest” in the city. Yuan explains that he himself has ordered them to impose the new traffic regulations. He also states that the new laws have to be observed by everyone. While Cixi retires for a moment, Yuan and the prince argue over the question of law and the individual areas of responsibility. Moreover, Zaifeng also mentions the chopped queues of the policemen: according to old Qing law, they should all be beheaded!
When Cixi returns, she asks Yuan to continue with his report, thereby completely disregarding the argument. Yuan now talks about the educational system. He and Zhang Zhidong had offered a joint petition on the questions of the abolition of official examinations. In this petition, they recommended that conventional military examinations be abolished first, followed by literary exams, in which stead, “Western learning” ought to be introduced. Cixi asks Qu Hongji for his opinion, and he agrees that it is important to have different forms of education, since different abilities are tested. However, he contends that such changes should not result in simply abolishing the entire set of Chinese roots, i.e. the traditional official examinations. The Qing Prince Yikuang, however, supports Yuan. Cixi is surprised since she does not know about their brotherhood. Qu, though, contradicts the prince, saying that teaching only Western learning would lead to the moral component of education falling away. He contends that, in this case, tactics and warfare would be the only subjects taught, and he therefore argues that – in the spirit of Zhang Zhidong – Chinese learning should be taken as substance, and Western learning only as application. Thus, Qu elegantly pulls Zhang Zhidong on his own side. Furthermore Qu accuses Yuan of disloyal behaviour, an accusation that delights Zaifeng in turn.
Ultimately, Cixi decides that the problem cannot be solved at this stage. She thus puts a halt to Qu’s accusations against Yuan and contends that China has already learnt enough from the West in many aspects. However, there still remain areas where China has to continue learning more, such as the question of female education. Thus, Cixi encourages Yuan to set up schools for women as well. Before leaving the room, Cixi orders Zaifeng to have the policemen released since they are after all only trying to protect the empire. She thereby ultimately takes Yuan’s side.
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