Instalment 36 (1906)
Scene 1: A walk through the Summer Palace; it is night-time and the corridors are lit by lanterns
Cixi is taking her habitual evening walk while Li Lianying is counting her steps. Female servants are carrying more lanterns. Cixi is discussing the opera „Bawang bieji“ (The hegemonic ruler bids farewell to his concubine), which they have just heard, with Qu Hongji. Qu believes that the hegemonic ruler Xiang Yu has to separate from his concubine because he has lost the battle against Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty. However, Qu contends that the opera is not actually about the battle at Gaixia (in today’s Anhui province), but rather about Liu Bang’s general Han Xin who managed to be victorious over Xiang Yu because of a clever trick he played. Although Han Xin’s accomplishments are great, he nonetheless poses also a great military threat to Liu Bang. Cixi replies that she assumes Qu is trying to speak of Yuan Shikai. But Qu denies this saying that Yuan is very loyal. Moreover, Cixi insists on knowing why Qu has not commented on the new reforms of the system of the bureaucracy for which Yuan has been heavily criticised. Qu carefully remarks that China only has traditionally educated literati officials and no strong economic power. Moreover, the ideas for the establishment of a constitution have not been thoroughly spread and publicised among the population. He therefore asserts that the most important aspect remains stability; for with stability there will be no threat of rebellions. Qu thus expresses his belief that the reforms of bureaucracy should not be carried out hastily.
Scene 2: In front of the Qing Prince’s bed chambers; night-time
The Vice Minister of Revenue, Tang Qingchang, has requested an audience with the prince to inquire about his new assignment. But the servant replies that the prince is not at home. Once more, Tang knocks at the door in anger, but again the door is not opened. Finally, Tang decides to sit down on a stone plinth outside of the house and wait. He then draws an enormous set of keys out of his pocket. A carriage drives up and the young Prince Zaizhen gets out. Tang attempts to bribe Zaizhen to be admitted to see his father, the Qing Prince. But Zaizhen only remarks: Who would want your money? – and enters the house. Because Tang starts banging at the door and screaming in rage, two guards remove him and throw him to the ground. It seems as if he ponders for an instant and then he suddenly throws his arms into the air and starts screaming. He is playing insane for it seems to be his only chance to escape the unfortunate situations since his claims will not be heard – even though he has already given the Qing Prince a stately sum of money.
Scene 3: In Qu Hongji’s working quarters / in front of the Summer Palace entrance
Wu Yuding, Qu Hongji’s student, reports to his teacher that many officials are very upset. All of them have offered petitions against Yuan Shikai and his advocacy of a reform of the bureaucracy. Qu commissions Wu to tell the officials that the constitution is labelled “important” and that getting rid of Yuan Shikai is therefore “unimportant” at the moment; he warns that this should not be forgotten. As a respond to the remark that the problem of Yuan equals the problem of the new bureaucracy, Qu merely says: „Do not oppose, do not cooperate”. This means that even though the officials are against Yuan Shikai and his reforms, they should refrain from voicing their opinions publicly. However, in the meantime several officials are already seated outside of the entrance of the Summer Palace in a circle on the floor. They hold up a banner with the slogan: “Execute Yuan Shikai and promulgate a constitution”. Tang Qingchang is hopping around insanely, laughing, screaming, and publicly begging for Cixi’s help. He says he does not want to give up his keys under any circumstances. (The keys symbolise his official position and thereby power).
Meanwhile, Cixi is painting drawings with ink. Qu Hongji is reading the petitions out loud. Each of the
petitions is an official’s request for a leave. Yuan Shikai and the Qing Prince Yikuang are also present. Finally, Qu contends that
without all these officials the assembly to adopt the reforms of the bureaucracy cannot be held. Cixi seems absent-minded: she continues
to paint and then carefully rinses her brush. Finally, she is finished. She has painted a poem. It says that she does not have a clear view;
the mountainsides are covered with clouds. Which road should be taken? The road of the bureaucracy and Qu Hongji? Or the road of reforms of
Yuan Shikai and Yikuang? She calls on Yuan to take a stand and voice his opinion regarding the petitions. He reads them out loud and declares that they are all asking for his death. Cixi orders him to say how he would decide in her position. He says that the bureaucracy reforms are drastic and permanent, but most of the petitions have been handed in by petty people and their followers.
He thus proposes that one or two leaders of the protest movement should be executed as a warning. Cixi actually agrees with him, but keeps him on tenterhooks by asking another question: Would it be better to have thousands killed and the constitution adopted, or rather to kill one person and have the constitution promulgated nevertheless? Finally, she asks ironically: even if Yuan was to have his six Beiyang garrisons transferred to the capital and have all the capital officials executed, then have his men go to the countryside and have more officials executed, what would be then? She then dispossesses him of the order to draft a constitution and has him demoted to the second rank (also as a measure of his own protection). In this way she takes the military (and thus dangerous)
power away from him, but also protects him from his official adversaries. Yuan is to leave the Summer Palace via the backdoor in order to avoid running
into the protesting officials.
Upon his departure, Yuan Shikai passes by Qu Hongji and calls him a “nasty piece” to show that he, Yuan, has understood very well who is behind all this.
Li Lianying accompanies Yuan to the exit. But when Yuan attempts to persuade Li to provide him with information about Cixi in the future,
Li rejects him brusquely. Then Li goes to the main entrance and tells the protesting officials to go home, telling them
that Cixi had left already and that any further protest was pointless.
Cixi’s train, which is to bring her to Yuan Shikai in Tianjin, is obstructed by the protesting officials. Cixi continues her needle work while she talks to one of the protesting officials who is in fact a rather simple man from the countryside. First, he holds that the constitution is not the problem; it is merely that the officials are frightened to lose their positions (he is the first one to call a spade a spade) which Yuan was planning to abolish. But later he gets enmeshed in his own statements. From outside, one occasionally hears the crazy Vice Minister of Revenue. Cixi gets off the train; Li Liangying, Qu Hongji and Yikuang are all present. She reads the banner against Yuan Shikai and his constitution and sharply remarks that she and Yuan jointly planned the constitution. Thus, the banner should actually read “Execute Cixi”! Then Cixi sends Yikuang, who is the second person in charge of the reform plans, back into the train. She says that Yikuang is “fatigued” – meaning that she has him step back to the rear for the moment as well. Qu Hongji now is to take over the surveillance of the reforms of the bureaucracy. Thus, Qu has been given the intricate task of carrying out reforms and drawing up a constitution, as well as keeping the civil service officials, whose representative he was until now, at peace.
The six garrisons have aligned in front of Yuan Shikai and the generals of each garrison present themselves to the roll call. Yuan and the six generals talk about what has happened. It is feared that Cixi could accuse Yuan of plotting a rebellion. Zhang Xun, one of the generals, contends that if Cixi was to really accuse them of plotting a rebellion, they should maybe consider really planning one! Yuan plays with Li Hongzhang’s golden pistol. He seems to be thinking of playing “Russian Roulette”. Finally, there is a shot (which could mean: anything is possible). Meanwhile, Cixi’s train has started moving again.
Cixi is driven up in a car to Yuan Shikai’s main garrison. Yuan is riding next to her on a horse. The six garrisons have aligned and canons are positioned. Cixi mentions to Yuan the story of Li Zicheng, a rebel who caused the downfall of the Ming dynasty. She further hints to the fact that the officials are the skeletal structure of the dynasty; moreover, Yuan probably is not going to survive for long once she is dead, if left in a high position. Thus, it is much better, she states, that he should take a less prominent position already now. Cixi has Yuan officially hand over the army to her as well as the plans for the constitution and the plans for the reforms of the bureaucracy. But she states that she unfortunately has nothing to hand him in return. However, by making her way to meet him and by being present at the parade, she has signalised that she continues to support him and that she wishes to personally protect him. Finally, she shakes hands with him as a farewell and also to symbolise new times and an end of the old rituals and customs.
Qu Hongji and his student Wu Yuding are sitting aside an open fire. Meanwhile, sheep are being propelled forwards. Qu states that in terms of the revision and promulgation of the bureaucracy reforms, he now plans to exclude Yuan Shikai’s followers, since they do not possess any power anymore. Moreover, he also wants to disempower the Qing Prince, who seems weakened already as well.
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