Instalment 37 (1906/07)
Scene 1: At Yuan Shikai’s residence: a brotherhood ceremony
During a brotherhood ceremony, several roosters are killed, their blood is added to wine and Yuan Shikai and his generals drink the mixture. By this, they make an oath to mutual loyalty and form a sworn brotherhood.
Scene 2: At the Summer Palace; an audience
Qu Hongji is reading out in front of Cixi the list of names of all the officials who have been appointed into the new bureaucracy. All present are listening eagerly. The result: everyone is appointed to the position hoped for. Even Tang Qing-chang has been re-appointed. Zaizhen is made Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade. Evidently, a real reform of the bureaucracy has failed.
Scene 3: At Yuan Shikai’s residence; a press conference is being held
Yuan Shikai seems to have fallen ill. Half reclining, he welcomes the foreign journalists and speaks to them about the reform of the bureaucracy. Even though the reforms have failed, he still does not utter a single bad word against Cixi. He believes that every reform must simply be carried out step by step. And after all, Cixi at least made a first step. But the Western journalists argue that Yuan had to quit his job in the course of these “reforms”. Now he is neither head of the six Beiyang troops any more, nor is he responsible for the new industries. They hold that the only thing he has received was his flu! Thus, the journalists contend, the reforms have been a Waterloo for him, as it had been for Napoleon. Whether Yuan actually understands the implications of the word “Waterloo” (which is called Huatielu in Chinese: lu is a homophone for a stove, in Chinese: luzi)is unclear. In any case, he asks back what kind of a “stove” Huatielu is. The journalist Morrison explains that this likens Yuan to Napoleon. But Yuan replies that Napoleon was an emperor, while he himself is not! Then the journalist asks him (somehow prophetically) what the results would have been had he been emperor during the reforms. Yuan evades the question through a sudden sneeze attack.
Jiang Shixing, a censor, accuses the Qing Prince Yikuang of corruption. At first, Yikuang is not worried since he believes that Jiang cannot harm him. But then Zaizhen returns and informs his father that the censorate official who is in charge of investigating for the accusation, has made a visit to the foreign bank HSBC (Yingguo Huifeng Yinhang) in Tianjin, the very bank in which Yikuang has deposited all his money. But since he arrived on a Sunday, everything was closed and he could not do any harm. Enming, Yikuang’s son-in-law, immediately sees through the matter. He believes that Jiang Shixing sent the official to Tianjin on a Sunday on purpose in order to give Yikuang some time to bribe him with money. But the times are precarious, and Yikuang has to take great care. Qu Hongji is trying to purge the prince and since Qu has been made the superintendent of the bureaucracy reforms, he has become a great danger for the prince. Yikuang therefore gives Enming his bank-book and asks him to clear the matter.
Enming is calling on the censorate official who went to Tianjin, at the latter’s home. He has seen through Jiang and the official. They wanted to force Yikuang to invest the two million Liang silver (which are deposited at the bank in Tianjin) into keeping his own official post. Jiang had schemed on keeping one million of those two million Liang silver for himself in case that Yikuang, being one of the most influential people at Court, should demote him after the deal. The censorate official, though, would emerge as the only one not in danger of losing anything – he would only win the money. Enming has therefore decided to intimidate the man by showing him gruesome torture depictions. He tells him that he personally invented some of these torture methods. Thus, he indirectly threatens the man’s life. Finally, the man promises Enming that he will not cooperate with Jiang any further in the matter of the accusation and Enming is able to take Yikuang’s bank-books back with him.
Xu Xilin and many other Chinese are attending a class in Japan. During the biology lesson, the Japanese teacher takes a flower, shows it to his students and tells them that the number of bacteria in this flower equals China’s population: 450 million (“hua” can both denote a flower and “China”)! Xu angrily replies that the teacher has miscalculated: the number of bacteria must be fifty million, for Japan has fifty million inhabitants! Then he angrily leaves the classroom.
Xu Xilin and some other Chinese students wish to return to China since the Qing have claimed that they will institute a constitution. In Liang Qichao’s opinion, the constitutionalists should try and influence the powerful Manchus. Then, he believes, China will have a greater chance to introduce the constitution successfully. Since Xu Xulin and his family have good connections to Enming, Liang tells Xu to take up the offer of a position made by Enming. Liang sees a good opportunity in this offer, but Sun Yatsen, with whom Xu is also in contact, does not agree with what Liang has told Xu. When Xu bids Sun farewell, the latter tries to convince Xu not to work for the Qing Court. Sun believes that Liang is doing nothing less than sending Xu to his death. He contends that the Qing Court is not trustworthy and actually does not want to introduce a constitution. Instead, Sun claims, all the calls for reforms are only a façade. But Xu believes strongly in his mission. Sun is very sad that many believe in the constitutional system of the Qing Court, instead of believing in Sun’s vision of a republic. For him, a constitution is not at all a solution for China under the current feudal conditions.
Xu Xilin has arrived at Enming’s residence in Anhui. An edict is proclaimed, appointing Xu the Superintendent of the Police Academy of Anhui Province. This is an official post of the second rank. Enming seems to support Xu’s appointment for two reasons: firstly, he does it out of his close ties with Xu’s great uncle; secondly – with an eye to critics of the Qing – Enming seems to hope that he will sooner or later be able to profit politically from Xu’s (a constitutionalist’s), appointment.
The Daotai of Tianjin, Duan Zhigui,is enjoying a performance of his lover and opera star (Yang) Cuixi. A man sitting next to him says something negative about Cuixi. Duan is upset and has the man beaten up immediately. Cuixi, however, is displeased because the performance is halted by this.
Yuan is waiting for the imperial emissaries Zaizhen and Xu Shichang. The two have orders to tour the three most north-eastern provinces, i.e. Manchuria, in order to audit the officials there. Cixi is worried about these provinces (the home of the Manchus), since Russia, Germany and Japan have laid an eye on this area as well. She hopes to have a new Governor General appointed and a new Governor for each of the three provinces (which before were administered differently than the “normal” Chinese provinces). Yuan thinks that he may finally get the chance to retaliate his defeat during the reforms of the bureaucracy and hopes to have some of his men from Xiaozhan appointed to the positions in each of the three provinces.
Duan Zhigui is again enjoying a performance of his lover, the opera star. This time, Zaizhen is also present. But Zaizhen only has eyes for Cuixi and does not pay attention to the performance. After the show, Cuixi is introduced to Zaizhen. It seems that he has taken quite a liking to her. Duan fears that Cuixi may leave him for Zaizhen. But the clever Cuixi manages to wind her way from the deli-cate situation in a very diplomatic manner.
Xu Shichang and Zaizhen who have been to Manchuria in the meantime, have now returned. Yuan Shikai has already prepared the list of names for the new officials of the three provinces. Xu, Yuan’s old companion, states, however, that it all depends on Zaizhen. Meanwhile, Zaizhen is visiting Cuixi. He enters the room with a pistol in his hand, a fact that greatly frightens her. But then he lays the pistol aside and de-mands that she either shoot him or come with him. Thus, Zaizhen manages to convince Duan Zhigui’s lover to follow him.
Zaizhen and Cuixi are going to return to Beijing together. Yang Shiqi, who works for Yuan Shikai, wants Zaizhen to help him meet the court eunuch Xiao Dezi. (The reason for this only becomes clear at a later stage in the TV drama: They are trying to pull Cixi’s closest intimate, Li Lianying, back onto Yuan’s side, and Xiao Dezi is to be instrumentalised in the process of achieving this goal). Of course this is no problem for Zaizhen. When he wants to leave with Cuixi, the editor-in-chief of the “Shenbao” newspaper suddenly turns up at the train station. He had actually come to report on a criminal case, but instead he catches sight of Zaizhen and Cuixi. The fact that Zaizhen, a Manchu aristocrat, has started an affair with a Chinese singer and lover of a Han official, is in violation of Qing law. Despite Yang Shiqi’s threats, the editor insists on publishing the story. He holds that since the Qing is planning on introducing a constitution, freedom of press will also be instituted all over China!
Three officials are appointed governors in Manchuria. Among them is Duan Zhigui. Duan would like to know whether he was appointed to the position as a “compensation” for Cuixi who has accompanied Zaizhen to Beijing. But Xu Shichang refuses to answer his question. Xu himself has been appointed Governor General of Manchuria. Yuan Shikai enters and wants to celebrate with them (since he has indirectly managed to get his way with the appointments.)
| previous next | back to top |