Instalment 57 (1914/15)

Scene 1: In Japan

Some members of the Chinese Revolutionary Party advise Huang Xing to set up a new Party. But Huang declines the offer. He believes that despite all, they all belong to one Party; namely, the one which Sun Yatsen leads. Despite their differences in opinion, Huang remains loyal to Sun.

Scene 2: In the gardens of the presidential residence

Yuan Shikai is talking to Xu Shichang, his former advisor, about Xu’s future post in the new government. Xu completely understands why Yuan has appointed him Secretary of State: Yuan wants to limit Duan Qirui’s power. Formerly, Duan was both commander of the Armed Forces, as well as Prime Minister of the now dissolved cabinet. Xu cautions Yuan because Xu believes that Yuan’s current subordinates may well turn his enemies one day. He reminds Yuan that this is not a monarchy, in which the subordinates of the emperor were no more than slaves. In the end, Yuan gives Xu one of his calligraphies in which Yuan welcomes Xu’s appointment in ambiguous terms: "Qing feng Xu lai" 清风徐来 (“a fresh breeze blows softly”, or, “Mr. Xu arrives in the style of the Qing”).

Scene 3: In the presidential residence

Yuan is sitting on the sofa when a maid comes in, wanting to serve him tea. She suddenly drops the tee cup and looks startled. Then she claims to have seen a dragon in front of her eyes. (Yuan interprets this as a prophecy of his future since dragons symbolise imperial power.)

Yuan Shikai has invited Yang Du and Liang Qichao to a game of billiard. During the game, Yuan asks the two about another possible change of the state system. Yuan intends to change the Republican system into a constitutional monarchy. Yang Du, who continues to be part of the faction advocating constitutional monarchy, supports Yuan’s plans. He believes that a constitutional monarchy is more apt for China than a Republic. Currently, the political situation of the Republic is chaotic and turbulent owing to the continuous power shifts and power struggles. A constitutional monarchy, Yang contends, would provide a more peaceful environment for society. He believes that the inheritance of the throne within the imperial family will be legislated by tradition and by the law. Thus, a constitutional monarchy would not serve the Yuan family in the first place, but rather benefit the stability of the Chinese society. At this point, Yang Du’s words directly conform with Yuan’s innermost thoughts, who would have argued in the same manner. But Liang Qichao holds a different opinion. He cautions Yang Du telling him that he should not recommend a way to Yuan which is clearly against the trends of history. The two argue fiercely. In the end, each leaves the billiard room on their own.

Yuan has conducted a ceremony at the Temple of Heaven. The ritual sacrifice he has performed is an acknowledgment of the highest power of Heaven as well as that of Heaven’s son, the terrestrial emperor. His assistants immediately associate the sacrifice to a possible restoration of the Manchu dynasty. Thus, the ritual is read as a sign that Yuan intends to hand over the governmental power to the emperor of the Qing dynasty again. Against this suspicion, Yuan at first explains that he is not a governor who is responsible for the preservation of the Manchu monarchy. The association with restoration, Yuan contends, is nonsense because he has not conducted this ceremony for the Heaven of the Qing dynasty. Then, his advisory, State Secretary Xu Shichang, asks Yuan if he intends to ascend to the throne himself. As evidence, Xu cites that Yang Du, Yan Fu and other proponents of a constitutional monarchy are currently preparing a change of state systems. Yuan replies that his position as President for lifetime already provides him with the most power in the Republic. Thus, he believes he is powerful enough, even if he has not ascended the throne himself.

Song Qingling tells Sun Yatsen that she does not understand the new party statute of the Chinese Revolutionary Party which regulates that every Party member has to unconditionally obey the Party Chairman, Sun Yatsen. She then shows Sun the national flag which her father sent her to the USA shortly after the establishment of the Republic – the flag which Sun personally signed. Back then, she and her fellow students were very enthusiastic about this flag and the democratic Republic of freedom and equality, which it symbolised. But now Sun’s talks and actions are in opposition to each other, although Sun is seen as the carrier of this symbolic banner. On the one hand, Sun has always striven for freedom and equality, but on the other hand, he know administers the Party through a system of absolute authority; a system which is in opposition to democracy. Sun explains to her that the new Party statute should only be seen as an emergency solution: in emergency times like this, the revolutionary has to sacrifice his or her personal freedom and equality for the freedom and equality of the masses.
Sun Yatsen then thinks of Huang Xing and wants to bid him farewell. Huang plans to leave Japan to prevent a possible split of the revolutionaries. As a farewell gift, Sun has drawn a calligraphy in which he calls Huang his companion in fate. Sun believes that they will always share happiness and sorrow, even though they are currently keeping to their different opinions. Song Qingling commissions the new Party member Wang Zhuosheng to serve as Sun’s body guard. In the meantime, a killer, who had been sent by Yuan Shikai, had attempted to kill Sun (de facto Wang Zhuosheng, who has been reformed by Sun’s views, though). [2] When Sun arrives at Huang’s residence, Huang has already departed.

Tian Mo has travelled to Japan to interview Sun Yatsen. She asks Sun about his opinion regarding the current political situation in Beijing. Yuan Shikai has only recently introduced new regulations for censure. He has also proclaimed himself dictatorial President for lifetime. The Council Assembly and the other administrative institutions now merely exist to keep up appearances. Sun believes that Yuan is behaving like the emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The emperor’s new clothes”. But this will only be temporary. Before someone can tell the truth, such as the little child in the tale who cries out “but he is not wearing any clothes”, Sun thinks that Yuan will try to “put on an old piece of clothes”, meaning, Yuan will sooner or later pronounce himself emperor. Tian also asks Sun why he believes that a constitutional monarchy is ill-suited for China. She cites examples in which Parliament and monarchy co-exist peacefully in other constitutional states. To this, Sun replies that a monarchy would immediately “call back” the soul of feudalist society, since China has a history of more than two thousand years of feudalism. Therefore it must be avoided at all cost.

Yuan Shikai has a conversation with Duan Qirui and his own son, Yuan Keding. He wants to dedicate an invigorating calligraphy to his exemplary Beiyang Army which is now led by his son Keding. The calligraphy has four characters: „Wei ming shi cong“ 惟命是从 (“orders alone have to be obeyed”). Yuan has chosen this combination out of four other possible phrases which his son Keding proposed to him. The other three were: „Cheng yi wei min“ 诚意为民 (“sincerely serve the people”), „Yan shou ji lü“ 严守纪律 (“hold onto iron discipline”), and „Jin zhong bao guo“ 尽忠报国 (“serve the motherland with utmost loyalty”). With choosing the four characters “Wei ming shi cong”, Yuan intends to warn Duan Qirui, who is standing by, still unhappy about his reduced power, to be careful.

Yuan Keding calls his father’s favourite consort, Shen Yuying, i.e. Yingzi, “mother”. This form of address is new for Shen. She asks Yuan Keding why he calls her “mother", and he explains that she is soon to be made empress, once his father is made the emperor, which is merely a matter of time. Yuan Keding then brings his father newspapers which write that the great powers such as Japan and Great Britain would support the institution of a monarchy in China. Yuan is very happy to read this.

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