Instalment 59 (1916/17)
Szene 1: Yuan Shikai in einem verdunkelten Raum, Yingzi, seine Lieblingskonkubine, kommt herein
Yuan Shikai is sitting in a darkened room on the dragon throne. His favourite consort Yingzi enters and they reaffirm their love to each other. Yuan asks Yingzi to put on the empress robe to see how she would have looked like. He feels very bad that she will not be empress now. But Yingzi consoles him. She still has the scarf which Yuan once gave to her in the brothel as a pledge that he would later find her and take her with him. And he has kept his word. Yuan, though, is utterly despaired by the idea that he might have made mistakes. Yingzi reaffirms that he did nothing wrong. In any case, Yuan claims, their lives were not in vain. (They both originated from poor simple backgrounds and came as far as almost being made emperor and empress of China!) However, Yuan cannot understand why the people hate him and love Sun Yatsen. After all, he always wanted the best for the people and gave them food, clothes and money.
Scene 2: At Yuan Shikai’s residence
Xu Shichang, Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui, one after another, read Yuan Shikai’s „Order to abolish the monarchy“. Yuan wishes the republican cabinet system to be reinstalled. Yuan Keding, Yuan’s eldest son, is standing next to his father who is lying on the sofa. Yuan is on a drip. He frees himself of the drip and has Duan sign the resolution and seal it. Keding is supposed to send it around. After this burden has been taken from Yuan’s shoulders, he is merely worried about his own reputation. Duan is supposed to concern himself with keeping the Beiyang Army together, but he replies sharply, that he is not Prime Minister anymore and therefore not empowered to do so. Then he demands a clear statement from Yuan concerning the future power relations. At Xu Shi-chang’s expense, Duan finally receives all the power. Yuan grants him again the post of the new Prime Minister and also says that in the future, all high military and civil servants have to follow Duan’s orders. Immediately after Yuan has said this, Duan gets up and triumphantly leaves the room. Yuan curses him a “dog” (traitor) and is so enraged that he spits blood.
Scene 3: At the Shibao editorial office (1)
Military police search and devastate the editorial office of the daily newspaper Shibao. The journalists try to defend themselves, and the editor-in-chief, followed by Tian Mo, storms into the office. The police attack the editor-in-chief and leave him severely wounded. Tian thus has him transferred to a hospital.
Luo Wen arrives at the abandoned and utterly devastated editorial office. He picks up a few items: a picture, a telephone and (Tian Mo’s) little pig (a stuffed animal).
A foreign doctor is speaking with Yingzi. They have to insert a catheter in order to surgically remove Yuan Shikai’s nephroliths. Keding arrives with important news for Yuan. Although Yuan can hardly move, he is very agitated and his hand tightly grips the sheets while listening to the news: 1. Cai E has occupied Sichuan, 2. Duan Qirui has left his office for good; 3. Feng Guozhang has been asked to send out his troops. But Feng demands that Yuan step down from office in return for a guarantee that the Yuan family is allowed to keep their property and living. 4. Zhang Xun and Cao Kun are not moving their troops and waiting. 5. Xu Shichang believes that the situation is hopeless; he has no solution. Yuan, weakened, does not give any orders. The doctor meanwhile insists on carrying out the surgery. Yingzi is supposed to be present at Yuan’s request. The surgery is very painful and Yingzi has to hold Yuan tightly.
Sun Yatsen and Song Qingling are celebrating their marriage in Japan. When everyone sits down at the tables for the banquet, Sun Yatsen quietly apologises to Song Qingling for not having had enough money to buy her a ring. But she replies that he already gave her a ring a long time ago; she refers to the little ring from the fountain pen. Yang Du arrives and Sun greets him happily. Yang carries the news that Li Yuanhong is now the new President and invites Sun to return to China. (Indirectly, this indicates that Yuan has not survived the surgery and the Vice President Li Yuanhong has taken over office).
When Tian Mo and the editor-in-chief, who now has a bandage around his head, step out of the hospital, Luo Wen meets them, holding the little stuffed pig in his hand. Tian does not wish to see Luo, but Luo starts to talk to the editor-in-chief. Luo asks him about his opinion on Li Yuanhong’s inivitation to Sun Yatsen to return to China. The editor believes that Li is not a member of the Beiyang faction. Thus, Sun would probably be of help to Li. Tian, however, believes that Sun would under no circumstances help Li. The editor continues to say that Yuan made Li President under the revised provisional constitution. But according to the original provisional constitution, Li does not have any claim to the Presidency, since he never won any election. Tian believes that if the editor is right, then she (if she were Luo) would immediately try to influence the representatives and persuade them to vote for Sun. Now, finally, the atmosphere is fitting for Luo to speak to Tian alone. He gives her the little pig, which he found in the devastated Shibao editorial office, and which alluded to Tian’s criticism of Luo’s actions, i.e. telling him that he is a “pig” which is being fattened by Yuan Shikai. She is so moved that she starts to cry. But then she gives it to Luo as a present. She explains Luo that he should not misunderstand her trip to Japan to see Sun Yatsen: She did not intend to become intimate with Sun.
Duan Qirui and Li Yuanhong are standing looking at an unfinished game of chess on a board: it is Yuan Shikai’s and Xu Shichang’s game which they never completed. Li takes over Yuan’s part, and Duan continues where Xu left off. A soldier enters and reports something to Duan; Duan thereupon orders that Sun should first be halted at the train station. From his document folder, Duan pulls out a warrant for Sun’s arrest and asks Li to have Sun arrested. But Li has personally invited Sun to Beijing. Duan now tries to force Li to decide between Sun and the Beiyang Army and threatens Li by reminding him that he is not lawfully elected and that he had therefore better fear Sun. A power struggle emerges in which each of the two tries to question the other’s power. Li replies by questioning who the Commander-in-Chief of the military really is: Duan or Zhang Xun? Finally, Duan beats Li on the chess board and turns around wanting to leave. Li remarks that Duan never managed to beat Yuan over a game of chess. But Duan replies that this will change with a new president!
The President of the re-established Parliament requests silence: he opens the second Parliamentary session (in the sixth year of the Republic). After the first regular parliamentary session, which took place in the second year of the Republic and in which the official presidential elections took place, this is now the second regular session. All other sessions which were held between the two sessions are declared to have been unlawful. Now, the drafting of a constitution is demanded. Suddenly, the fire alarm goes off and everyone hastily leaves the building. Luo Wen is the last person to leave. It is clear that this is yet another attempt at sabotage.
At the train station, military police proclaim Duan Qirui’s orders to those people getting off the train which has just arrived: Sun Yatsen is not allowed to enter the capital. The soldiers therefore ask Sun to board the train again. But Sun sits down and waits at the platform while the soldiers are dividing him from the crowd. Sun starts to speak to the soldiers and asks them whether they are from the countryside and if they had profited from Yuan Shikai’s and his land distribution measures some years ago. Their reply: if they owned land, then they would not be military police! Sun tells them that instead of defending the Beiyang Army, they should represent the people whose food they eat. Under no circumstances, he continues to explain, should the Beiyang Army be considered the army of a single person – Duan Qirui. Sun tries to encourage the soldiers to think and act for themselves; they are supposed to follow orders, yet also decide which orders they wish to follow.
Meanwhile, Tian Mo and Luo Wen are trying to get through to Sun but they are constantly pushed back by the military police. A military commander arrives and wants to arrest Sun as a “rebel” on Duan Qirui’s orders. But the military police do not react. Finally, the Commander personally takes Sun under arrest. Sun confirms that he is a “rebel”; however, he claims that he is not a rebel against the Republic, but rather a rebel against the feudal system. In the middle of the jostle, Sun approaches the representative Luo Wen with a request in his status as a citizen of the Republic: he explains that he is being accused of being a “rebel” and therefore demands a public trial. Sun wants to show who the real “rebel” against the Republic is. In the same moment, another military policeman arrives with new orders by Duan Qirui which state that Sun Yatsen is to be immediately banished from town. Duan fears any anger and hype Sun’s presence might incite. The soldiers apologise to Sun and push him back onto the train. Sun, however, resists saying that he is still a “rebel”. He had in fact hoped to use the trial to take actions against Duan.
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