Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/764

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CHINA


684


CHINA


indemnity was raised to 8,000,000 taels,and Kow-loon, opposite Hong-Kong, was ceded to England as a dependency of this island. A like indemnity was to be paid to France, and T'ien-tsin was to be opened to trade. Meanwhile a treaty had been made at T'ien- tsin with the United States (18 June, 1858), signed by William B. Reed, and one with Russia (13 June, 185S) signed by Admiral Putiatin, and another treaty was made with Russia at Peking (9-14 Nov., 1860), and signed by General Ignatiev. A still earlier treaty had been made with Russia at Aigun (16 May, 1858) and signed by Muraviev. The final result of these various treaties was a rectification of the frontier between Russia and China, the Amur and Usuri rivers forming the new boundary lines.

The wretched Hien Fung, who had replaced Tao- kwang in 1851, died 22 Aug., 1861, and was suc- ceeded by his sonT'ung-chi (b. 17 Nov., 1834), under the regency of the two dowager empresses, Tze-ngan and Tze-hi, and Prince Kung. With the help of foreigners, the American, Ward, the English general, Gordon, and the " Ever Victorious Army", the French admiral Protet, Lebrethon, and others, the T'ai- p'ing rebels, who had captured Nan-king (19 March, 1853) and made a raid on T'ien-tsin, were expelled from Su-chou (4 Dec, 1863) and Nan-king (19 July, 1864), and their power completely destroyed. Trea- ties were signed with Prussia and the German States (T'ien-tsin, 2 Sept., 1861), Portugal (T'ien-tsin, 13 Aug., 1S62\ though not ratified, Denmark (T'ien- tsin, 13 July, 1863), Spain (T'ien-tsin, 10 Oct., 1864), Holland (T'ien-tsin, 6 Oct., 1863), Belgium (Peking, 2 Nov., 1865), Italy (26 Oct., 1866), and Austria (Peking, 2 Sept., 1869). A new convention, negoti- ated by the British minister, Sir Rutherford Alcock (Peking, 23 Oct., 1869), was not ratified by the Brit- ish Government. In 1868 a special embassy headed by Anson Burlingame, formerly American Minister to Peking, was sent to the W'estern countries. They went first to the United States, and additional articles to the Treaty of 1858 were signed at Washington (28 July, 1868); thence they proceeded through Europe. Burlingame died at St. Petersburg. A few months afterwards news was received of the awful massacre of French and Russian subjects by the Chinese at T'ien-tsin, 21 June, 1870. A mission under Chung-hou was sent to Versailles to apologize for this. T'ung-chi married Oct., 1872, and being of age, received in audience the foreign envoys; Japan, France, Great Britain, Russia, the United States, and Holland were represented by their ministers, and Germany by an interpreter (29 June, 1873). Rela- tions were strained between Japan and China, owing to an attack made by the aborigines of southern For- mosa on the wrecked crew of a Luch'uan junk, and for a time war seemed inevitable. Through British intervention, however, satisfaction was obtained by Japan, and an agreement between the two Asiatic nations was signed at Peking, 31 Oct., 1874. T'ung- chi died 12 Jan., 1875.

The situation in China at this time presented many difficulties. There were grave questions to be Bettled with England, Russia, and France. On 21 I i I... L87S tin' English interpreter, A. R. Margary, was murdered a1 Manwyne (Yun-nan), and an attack was made on the British exploring party from Burma headed by Col. Horace A. Browne, which Margary had preceded. Protracted and knotty negotiations con- ducted by the British minister, Thomas I'". Wade, led to lli' conclusion of the convention signed at < 'he-fu, 13 Sept.. ISTli. According to this: regulations were to be framed for the frontier trade of Vim-nan; British officials were to be stationed at Ta-li, or some Other inialili place in Yun-nan, for a period of live years', the Viceroy of India was given per- mission to send a mission to this province; tile in- demnity was fixed at 200,000 taels; China was t"


establish missions and consulates abroad ; the ports of I-ch'ang, Wu-hu, Wen-chou, andPak-hoi were to be opened to trade; British officers might be sent to Ch'ung-k'ing, which was to be opened to trade when steamers succeeded in ascending the river. A special mission, including the Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, A. Davenport, and E. C. Baber, was sent to Yun-nan to witness the trial and the punishment of the murderers of Margary. On 28 August, 1S75, Kwo Sung-tao was appointed envoy extraordinary to the Court of St. James.

The Russians, who had signed a treaty with China,

25 July, 1851, at Kuldja, took possession of this region (4 July, 1871), during the rebellion of Yakub. When the Mohammedan rising was crushed by Tso Tsung-tang (1877-78), China claimed the territory occupied temporarily by Russia. A special Chinese mission with Ch'ung-hou as chief was sent to Russia and concluded a treaty at Livadia (Oct., 1879). The contested territory was ceded, together with the Muzart Pass, to Russia, and great inland commercial facilities were also granted to the Muscovite mer- chants. Ch'ung-hou was denounced by the censor, Chang Chi-tung, and sentenced to death; his treaty came to naught. It was a casus belli, but the inter- vention of England and France prevented the war. Tseng Ki-tze, the Chinese minister in Paris, was sent to St. Petersburg, where he signed a treaty restoring to China the greater part of the Hi and the Muzart Pass (12-24 Feb., 1881).

The third difficulty arose through the occupation of Tong-king by France. China interfered, as the suze- rain power of Annam. A treaty was signed at T'ien- tsin by Commodore Fournier (11 May, 1884), but was soon followed by the Bac-le affair (23 June, 1884), and hostilities were resumed. Admiral Cour- bet bombarded the Fu-chou arsenal (23 Aug., 1884) ; Ki-lung in northern Formosa was captured (1 Oct., 1884); the Pescadores were taken (29 March, 1885); finally the Billot-Campbell peace protocol, signed in Paris (4 April, 1SS5), was followed by a treaty signed at T'ien-tsin (9 June, 1S85) byPatenotre, minister, a commercial convention (T'ien-tsin, 25 April, 18S6) by Cogordan, minister, and an additional con- vention (26 June, 1887) under Constans, minister. France retained possession of Tong-king.

Emperor Kwang Siu became of age 7 Feb., 18S7, and took control of the government 4 March, 1889. On

26 Feb., 1889, he married Ve-ho-na-la-shi, daughter of Kwei-siang. The imperial audience took place 5 March, 1891. For a long time matters had gone from bad to worse between China and Japan, Korea being the coveted prey of both nations. The murder of the Korean Kim-ok Kyum, a friend of the Japanese, by his countryman, Hung Tjung-wu, at Shanghai (28 March, 1894), and the attack made on the steamship Kow-shing by the Japanese at the mouth of the Va-lu River (25 July, 1894) were the starting points of a war. The principal events during the course of this war were: the battle of Sei-kwan (29 July, 1894); a declaration of war (1 Aug.); a convention between Korea and Japan (26 Aug.) ; the battles of l'ing-yang (16 Sept.)] and the 1 Va-lu (17 Sept. 1 ); the capture of Port Arthur (21 Nov.) and Wei-hai-wei (30 Jan., 1S95) by the Japanese; the occupation of New-chwang by the Japanese (6 March); the landing of the Japanese at Formosa. The negotiations between Li Hung- chang, who had been wounded by a fanatic Japanese, and Ito and Mutsu, resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki (17 April, 189S). The prin- cipal articles of this treaty were the cession of I.iao- tung, Formosa, and the Pescadores to the Japanese.

an indemnity of 200,000,000 Kuping taels to be paid by china, the opening t" Japanese trade of Sha -In

or Kin-chou (Hu-pe), Chung-k'ing, Su-chou, and Ilang-chou, etc. On the interference of France, Russia and Germany, Liao-tung was retroceded to