Instalment 32 (1904/05)
Scene 1: At the Palace; in front of the Imperial Academy
The Empress Dowager Cixi is granting an audience to the candidates who have passed the imperial examination
for Western sciences. She is bestowing different academic ranks onto each of them. Meanwhile, hundreds of Juren, i.e. scholars who have mastered the old style provincial level examinations, kneel in front of the Imperial Academy. They are in a hunger strike to protest against the fact that they have spent their entire life preparing for the highest official examinations which have now been replaced by the new examination system, for which they are not qualified. After the audience with the successful candidates, an argument arises between various court parties about the new examination system. Qu Hongji is of the opinion, that the traditional examination system should not be abolished at any costs, since it still provides the basis for the national recruitment of the elite, and is desired by the people. Without this system, he fears that the Qing Court would lose the people’s sympathy. Zhang Zhidong, instead of directly stating his opinion, asks Cixi to bestow a title onto a character-strong woman for her loyalty and steadfastness (the typical honour for women who, in accord with traditional moral concepts, guarded their chastity at the cost of their life). The woman, Zhang explains, studied in Japan during her youth.
She returned to China at exactly the moment when Cixi started to publicly support the creation of women’s schools. The woman followed Cixi’s call and strived to collect funds. Although she asked many people, nobody was willing to help her. Finally, when she could find no other solution, she committed suicide. Zhang therefore contends that it is difficult to carry out “new teachings” in practice, which is why the symbolic value of honours is so important. (Thus, the standards for the conferment of such awards are drastically altered!) Cixi also asks Yuan Shikai for his opinion on the examination
system. He first asks Cixi for forgiveness for what he is about to do. Then he brings in a beggar called Wu Chuan [1], a man who has been begging for money to build new schools over the past forty years. When Cixi asks Wu Chuan whether he knows the differences between the new teachings and the old teachings, Wu starts to narrate a verse-form story accompanied by a bamboo rattle (kuaiban). He illustrates the differences between the two teachings by comparing Chinese and Western things such as a match with a lamp, a horse carriage with a train! Thus, he concludes, the new teachings are better.
Scene 2: In Japan
In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War had broken out and in 1905, Japan won over Russia. This event has shaken the Chinese intellectuals at their very core. Yang Du, who was an important advocate for a Chinese constitutional monarchy and who had to escape to Japan like other reform-oriented intellectuals, watches the documentation about the Russo-Japanese War with bitterness. In this film Chinese people in Manchuria are being killed by Japanese soldiers as alleged “spies”. [2] After watching the film, Sun Yatsen and Yang Du get drunk in a pub. Both have different political views. Sun insists that there is only one way to advance China: through a republican revolution. Yang Du, however, contends that the concept of a republican revolution is in fact American and that America has very short historical roots and little cultural background. Thus, Yang Du believes that the concept is unsuitable for China with her completely different history. Moreover, he contends that the Chinese have long grown used to having an emperor. Therefore, a constitutional monarchy is the best solution. He hopes that the result of the Russo-Japanese War will highlight to the Qing Court the necessity of changing China into a constitutional monarchy for he believes that Japan’s constitutional monarchy has been the reason Japan managed to be victorious over Russia’s extremely autocratic system. Finally, though, Yang Du recommends Sun his co-provincial, Huang Xing since Huang agrees with Sun’s advocacy of a republican revolution.
Scene 3: At the Summer Palace
Cixi has invited the wives of the foreign ambassadors to a reception in the Summer Palace. She receives the wife of the British ambassador with a courteous English “welcome”. Both exchange kisses following the Western ritual. During the talk, Cixi praises the wife of the British ambassador as being as pretty as Queen Elizabeth (!) of England. She then asks her, what the English Queen does all day long. The woman answers that the Queen is very busy visiting factories, orphanages and so on. Cixi remarks that she has the impression that the Queen seems to have a lot of power, but the woman replies that it depends on how one looks at it. She explains that in England, it is the parliament that is responsible for state affairs. If there is an important task at hand, the Prime Minister first requests instructions from the Queen and later on reports back to her. Cixi is confused for she does not understand if that means that the Queen in the end has power or not.
In Wuchang, Zhang Zhidong is speaking with Yuan Shikai over the phone. Zhang is very dissatisfied with the quality of the phone since it is still a testing product. Apart from noisy rustling, he can hardly hear anything. Meanwhile, the Provincial Governor of Hunan, Duanfang, criticises some of the editors of the Xiangjiang Newspaper for being unable to describe a constitutional monarchy correctly. Duanfang orders them to publish a book written by his son who lives in the USA and has studied the constitutional monarchy. (This highlights the difficulties in the practical dealings with Western knowledge.)
Cixi has summoned Manchu officials to an audience to discuss plans for a constitutional monarchy. Duanfang believes that
a constitutional monarchy is to be preferred to a republican revolution since a constitutional monarchy would at least allow for a (Manchu-) emperor.
Moreover, he contends that the constitu-tional monarchy is also superior to an autocratic monarchy.
Zaize (the emperor’s cousin) supports him, stating that the two reasons why the Qing should institute a constitutional
monarchy, are: firstly, a constitutional monarchy is currently the people’s wish. And secondly, the institution of a
constitutional monarchy would strengthen the Qing Court against Sun Yatsen’s revolutionary movement. Enming,
son-in-law of the Qing Prince, agrees.
He believes that there are different constitutional systems, such as that
of Japan or America. Thus, he contends that one word (constitution) can hardly encompass the complexity of the
matter. Enming, however, holds that it is important to proclaim the decision of setting up a
Chinese constitutional monarchy to the people. Only then could one torpedo revolutionary movements
abroad and thus strengthen the Qing Court’s power. Cixi is very pleased and has a department for
the preparation of the constitutional monarchy set up. She intends to send five officials abroad to examine different constitutional systems.
[1] Wu Chuan 武川 is probably an error for Wu Xun 武训 (1839-1896) who became famous for living as a beggar for several years to collect funds for providing education to the poor.
[2] This alludes to the famous story of Lu Xun, the outstanding Chinese writer, who had seen war pictures in Japan, where he was studying at the time of the Russo-Japanese war. Lu Xun later took up this image of Chinese “spies” being beheaded by Japanese in a war fought over Chinese territory with a Chinese audience placidly watching the beheading, in his writings.
| previous next | back to top |