The Fight For The Republic in China Part 10

And here ends this extraordinary collection of papers. Is fiction mixed with fact--are these only "trial" drafts, or are they real doc.u.ments signed, sealed, and delivered? The point seems unimportant. The thing of importance is the undoubted fact that a.s.sembled and treated in the way we have treated them they present a complete and arresting picture of the aims and ambitions of the ordinary j.a.panese; of their desire to push home the attack to the last gasp and so to secure the infeodation of China.

CHAPTER VIII

THE MONARCHIST PLOT

THE PAMPHLET OF YANG TU

A s.h.i.+ver of impotent rage pa.s.sed over the country when the nature and acceptance of the j.a.panese Ultimatum became generally known. The Chinese, always an emotional people, responding with quasi-feminine volubility to oppressive acts, cried aloud at the ignominy of the diplomacy which had so cruelly crucified them. One and all declared that the day of shame which had been so harshly imposed upon them would never be forgotten and that j.a.pan would indeed pay bitterly for her policy of extortion.

Two movements were started at once: one to raise a National Salvation Fund to be applied towards strengthening the nation in any way the government might decide; the other, to boycott all j.a.panese articles of commerce. Both soon attained formidable proportions. The nation became deeply and fervently interested in the double-idea; and had Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai possessed true political vision there is little doubt that by responding to this national call he might have ultimately been borne to the highest pinnacles of his ambitions without effort on his part. His oldest enemies now openly declared that henceforth he had only to work honourably and whole-heartedly in the nation's interest to find them supporting him, and to have every black mark set against his name wiped out.

In these circ.u.mstances what did he do? His actions form one of the most incredible and, let it be said, contemptible chapters of contemporary history.

In dealing with the origins of the Twenty-one Demands we have already discussed the hints the j.a.pan Representative had officially made when presenting his now famous Memorandum. Briefly Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai had been told in so many words that since he was already autocrat of all the Chinese, he had only to endorse the principle of j.a.panese guidance in his administration to find that his Throne would be as good as publicly and solidly established. Being saturated with the doleful diplomacy of Korea, and seeing in these proposals a mere trap, Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai, as we have shown, had drawn back in apparent alarm. Nevertheless the words spoken had sunk in deep, for the simple and excellent reason that ever since the _coup d'etat_ of the 4th November, 1913, the necessity of "consolidating" his position by something more permanent than a display of armed force had been a daily subject of conversation in the bosom of his family. The problem, as this misguided man saw it, was simply by means of an unrivalled display of cunning to profit by the j.a.panese suggestion, and at the same time to leave the j.a.panese in the lurch.

His eldest son, an individual of whom it has been said that he had absorbed every theory his foreign teachers had taught him without being capable of applying a single one, was the leader in this family intrigue. The unhappy victim of a brutal attempt to kill him during the Revolution, this eldest son had been for years semi-paralyzed: but brooding over his disaster had only fortified in him the resolve to succeed his father as legitimate Heir. Having saturated himself in Napoleonic literature, and being fully aware of how far a bold leader can go in times of emergency, he daily preached to his father the necessity of plucking the pear as soon as it was ripe. The older man, being more skilled and more cautious in statecraft than this youthful visionary, purposely rejected the idea so long as its execution seemed to him premature. But at last the point was reached when he was persuaded to give the monarchy advocates the free hand they solicited, being largely helped to this decision by the argument that almost anything in China could be accomplished under cover of the war,--_so long as vested foreign interests were not jeopardized_.

In accordance with this decision, very shortly after the 18th January, the dictator's lieutenants had begun to sound the leaders of public opinion regarding the feasibility of subst.i.tuting for the nominal Republic a Const.i.tutional Monarchy. Thus, in a highly characteristic way, all through the tortuous course of the j.a.panese negotiations, to which he was supposed to be devoting his sole attention in order to save his menaced fatherland, Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai was a.s.sisting his henchmen to indoctrinate Peking officialdom with the idea that the salvation of the State depended more on restoring on a modified basis the old empire than in beating off the j.a.panese a.s.sault. It was his belief that if some scholar of national repute could be found, who would openly champion these ideas and urge them with such persuasiveness and authority that they became accepted as a Categorical Imperative, the game would be as good as won, the Foreign Powers being too deeply committed abroad to pay much attention to the Far East. The one man who could have produced that result in the way Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai desired to see it, the brilliant reformer Liang Chi-chao, famous ever since 1898, however, obstinately refused to lend himself to such work; and, sooner than be involved in any way in the plot, threw up his post of Minister of Justice and retired to the neighbouring city of Tientsin from which centre he was destined to play a notable part.

This. .h.i.tch occasioned a delay in the public propaganda, though not for long. Forced to turn to a man of secondary ability, Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai now invoked the services of a scholar who had been known to be his secret agent in the Old Imperial Senate under the Manchus--a certain Yang Tu--whose constant appeals in that chamber had indeed been the means of forcing the Manchus to summon Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai back to office to their rescue on the outbreak of the Wuchang rebellion in 1911. After very little discussion everything was arranged. In the person of this ex-Senator, whose whole appearance was curiously Machiavellian and decadent, the neo-imperialists at last found their champion.

Events now moved quickly enough. In the Eastern way, very few weeks after the j.a.panese Ultimatum, a society was founded called the Society for the Preservation of Peace (_Chou An Hui_) and hundreds of affiliations opened in the provinces. Money was spent like water to secure adherents, and when the time was deemed ripe the now famous pamphlet of Yang Tu was published broadcast, being in everybody's hands during the idle summer month of August. This doc.u.ment is so remarkable as an ill.u.s.tration of the working of that type of Chinese mind which has a.s.similated some portion of the facts of the modern world and yet remains thoroughly reactionary and illogical, that special attention must be directed to it. Couched in the form of an argument between two individuals--one the inquirer, the other the expounder--it has something of the Old Testament about it both in its blind faith and in its insistence on a few simple essentials. It embodies everything essential to an understanding of the old mentality of China which has not yet been completely destroyed. From a literary standpoint it has also much that is valuable because it is so nave; and although it is concerned with such a distant region of the world as China its treatment of modern political ideas is so bizarre and yet so acute that it will repay study.

It was not, however, for some time, that the significance of this pamphlet was generally understood. It was such an amazing departure from old precedents for the Peking Government to lend itself to public propaganda as a revolutionary weapon that the mind of the people refused to credit the fatal turn things were taking. But presently when it became known that the "Society for the Preservation of Peace" was actually housed in the Imperial City and in daily relations with the President's Palace; and that furthermore the Procurator-General of Peking, in response to innumerable memorials of denunciation, having attempted to proceed against the author and publishers of the pamphlet, as well as against the Society, had been forced to leave the capital under threats against his life, the doc.u.ment was accepted at its face-value. Almost with a gasp of incredulity China at last realized that Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai had been seduced to the point of openly attempting to make himself Emperor. From those August days of 1915 until the 6th June of the succeeding year, when Fate had her own grim revenge, Peking was given up to one of the most amazing episodes that has ever been chronicled in the dramatic history of the capital. It was as if the old city walls, which had looked down on so much real drama, had determined to lend themselves to the staging of an unreal comedy. For from first to last the monarchy movement had something unreal about it, and might have been the scenario of some vast picture-play. It was acting pure and simple--acting done in the hope that the people might find it so admirable that they would acclaim it as real, and call the Dictator their King. But it is time to turn to the arguments of Yang Tu and allow a Chinese to picture the state of his country:

A DEFENCE OF THE MONARCHICAL MOVEMENT

PART I

Mr. Ko (or "the stranger"): Since the establishment of the Republic four years have pa.s.sed, and upon the President depends the preservation of order at home and the maintenance of prestige abroad. I suppose that after improving her internal administration for ten or twenty years, China will become a rich and prosperous country, and will be able to stand in the front rank with western nations.

Mr. Hu: No! No! If China does not make any change in the form of government there is no hope for her becoming strong and rich; there is even no hope for her having a const.i.tutional government. I say that China is doomed to perish.

Mr. Ko: Why so?

Mr. Hu: The republican form of government is responsible. The Chinese people are fond of good names, but they do not care much about the real welfare of the nation. No plan to save the country is possible. The formation of the Republic as a result of the first revolution has prevented that.

Mr. Ko: Why is it that there is no hope of China's becoming strong?

Mr. Hu: The people of a republic are accustomed to listen to the talk of equality and freedom which must affect the political and more especially the military administration. In normal circ.u.mstances both the military and student cla.s.ses are required to lay great emphasis upon unquestioned obedience and respect for those who hold high t.i.tles. The German and j.a.panese troops observe strict discipline and obey the orders of their chiefs. That is why they are regarded as the best soldiers in the world. France and America are in a different position. They are rich but not strong. The sole difference is that Germany and j.a.pan are ruled by monarchs while France and America are republics. Our conclusion therefore is that no republic can be strong.

But since the French and American peoples possess general education they are in a position to a.s.sume responsibility for the good government of their nations which they keep in good order. On that account, although these republics are not strong in dealing with the Powers, they can maintain peace at home. China, however, is unlike these countries, for her standard of popular education is very low.

Most of the Chinese soldiers declare as a commonplace: "We eat the imperial food and we must therefore serve the imperial master." But now the Imperial family is gone, and for it has been subst.i.tuted an impersonal republic, of which they know nothing whatsoever. These soldiers are now law-abiding because they have awe-inspiring and respectful feelings for the man at the head of the state. But as the talk of equality and freedom has gradually influenced them, it has become a more difficult task to control them. As an example of this corrupt spirit, the commanders of the Southern troops formerly had to obey their subordinate officers and the subordinate officers had to obey their soldiers. Whenever there was an important question to be discussed, the soldiers demanded a voice and a share in the solution. These soldiers were called the republican army. Although the Northern troops have not yet become so degenerate, still they never hesitate to disobey the order of their superiors whenever they are ordered to proceed to distant localities. Now we have come to the point when we are deeply satisfied if the army of the Republic does not openly mutiny! We cannot expect any more from them save to hope that they will not mutiny and that they will be able to suppress internal disturbances. In the circ.u.mstances there is no use talking about resistance of a foreign invasion by these soldiers. As China, a republic, is situated between two countries, j.a.pan and Russia, both of which have monarchical governments, how can we resist their aggression once diplomatic conversations begin? From this it is quite evident that there is nothing which can save China from destruction. Therefore I say there is no hope of China becoming strong.

Mr. Ko: But why is it that there is no hope of China ever becoming rich?

Mr. Hu: People may not believe that while France and America are rich China must remain poor. Nevertheless, the reason why France and America are rich is that they were allowed to work out their own salvation without foreign intervention for many years, and that at the same time they were free from internal disturbances. If any nation wishes to become rich, it must depend upon industries for its wealth. Now, what industries most fear is disorder and civil war.

During the last two years order has been restored and many things have returned to their former state, but our industrial condition is the same as under the Manchu Dynasty. Merchants who lost their capital during the troublous times and who are now poor have no way of retrieving their losses, while those who are rich are unwilling to invest their money in industrial undertakings, fearing that another civil war may break out at any moment, since they take the recent abortive second revolution as their warning. In future, we shall have disquietude every few years; that is whenever the president is changed. Then our industrial and commercial condition will be in a still worse condition. If our industries are not developed, how can we expect to be strong? Take Mexico as a warning.

There is very little difference between that country and China, which certainly cannot be compared with France and America.

Therefore I say there is no hope for China ever becoming rich.

Mr. Ko: Why is it that you say there is no hope for China having a Const.i.tutional Government?

Mr. Hu: A true republic must be conducted by many people possessing general education, political experience and a certain political morality. Its president is invested with power by the people to manage the general affairs of the state. Should the people desire to elect Mr. A their president to-day and Mr. B to-morrow, it does not make much difference; for the policy of the country may be changed together with the change of the president without there being any danger of disorder or chaos following such change. We have a very different problem to solve in China. The majority of our people do not know what the republic is, nor do they know anything about a Const.i.tution nor have they any true sense of equality and freedom.

Having overthrown the Empire and established in its place a republic they believe that from now on they are subservient to no one, and they think they can do as they please. Ambitious men hold that any person may be president, and if they cannot get the presidency by fair means of election they are prepared to fight for it with the a.s.sistance of troops and robbers. The second revolution is an ill.u.s.tration of this point. From the moment that the Emperor was deposed, the centralization of power in the government was destroyed; and no matter who may be at the head of the country, he cannot restore peace except by the re-establishment of the monarchy.

So at the time when the republic was formed, those who had previously advocated Const.i.tutional Government turned into monarchists. Although we have a Provisional Const.i.tution now and we have all kinds of legislative organs, which give to the country an appearance of a const.i.tutional government, China has a const.i.tutional government in name only and is a monarchy in spirit.

Had the government refrained from exercising monarchical power during the last four years, the people could not have enjoyed one day of peace. In short, China's republic must be governed by a monarchy through a const.i.tutional government. If the const.i.tutional government cannot govern the republic, the latter cannot remain. The question of const.i.tutional government is therefore very important, but it will take ten or twenty years before it can be solved.

Look at the people of China to-day! They know that something terrible is going to come sooner or later. They dare not think of the future. The corrupt official lines his pocket with unrighteous money, preparing to flee to foreign countries or at least to the Foreign Settlements for safety. The cautious work quietly and do not desire to earn merit but merely try to avoid giving offence. The scholars and politicians are grandiloquent and discourse upon their subjects in a sublime vein, but they are no better than the corrupt officials. As for our President, he can remain at the head of the State for a few years. At most he may hold office for several terms,--or perhaps for his whole life. Then questions must arise as to who shall succeed him; how to elect his successor; how many rivals will there be; whether their policies will be different from his, etc., etc. He personally has no idea regarding the solution of these questions. Even if the president is a sagacious and capable man he will not be able to make a policy for the country or fix a Const.i.tution which will last for a hundred years. Because of this he is driven merely to adopt a policy so as to maintain peace in his own country and to keep the nation intact so long as he may live. In the circ.u.mstances such a president can be considered the best executive head we can have. Those who are wors.h.i.+ppers of the const.i.tutional government cannot do more than he does. Here we find the reason for the silence of the former advocates of a const.i.tutional administration. They have realized that by the formation of the republic the fundamental problem of the country has been left unsolved. In this wise it happens that the situation is something like this. Whilst the country is governed by an able president, the people enjoy peace and prosperity. But once an incapable man a.s.sumes the presidency, chaos will become the order of the day, a state of affairs which will finally lead to the overthrow of the president himself and the destruction of the country. In such circ.u.mstances, how can you devise a general policy for the country which will last for a hundred years? I say that there is no hope for China establis.h.i.+ng a truly const.i.tutional government.

Mr. Ko: In your opinion there is no hope for China becoming strong and rich or for her acquiring a const.i.tutional government. She has no choice save ultimately to disappear. And yet is there no plan possible whereby she may be saved?

Mr. Hu: If China wishes to save herself from ultimate disappearance from the face of the earth, first of all she must get rid of the republic. Should she desire wealth and strength, she must adopt a const.i.tutional government. Should she want const.i.tutional government she must first establish a monarchy.

Mr. Ko: How is it that should China desire wealth and strength she must first adopt the const.i.tutional form of government?

Mr. Hu: Wealth and strength is the object of the country, and a const.i.tutional government is the means to realizing this object. In the past able rulers could accomplish their purpose without a const.i.tutional government. We refer to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Tai Chung of the Tang Dynasty. However, when these able rulers died their system of administration died with them. This contention can be supported by numerous historical instances; but suffice to say that in China as well as in Europe, the lack of a const.i.tutional government has been the cause of the weakness of most of the nations in ancient times. j.a.pan was never known as a strong nation until she adopted a const.i.tutional government. The reason is this: when there is no const.i.tutional government, the country cannot continue to carry out a definite policy.

Within comparatively recent times there was born in Europe the const.i.tutional form of government. European nations adopted it, and they became strong. The most dangerous fate that can confront a nation is that after the death of an able ruler the system of administration he has established disappears with him; but this the const.i.tutional form of government is able to avert. Take for instance William I. of Germany who is dead but whose country continues to this day strong and prosperous. It is because of const.i.tutional government. The same is true of j.a.pan, which has adopted const.i.tutional government and which is becoming stronger and stronger every day. The change of her executive cannot affect her progress in respect of her strength. From this it is quite clear that const.i.tutional government is a useful instrument for building up a country. It is a government with a set of fixed laws which guard the actions of both the people and the president none of whom can overstep the boundary as specified in the laws. No ruler, whether be he a good man or a bad man, can change one iota of the laws. The people reap the benefit of this in consequence. It is easy to make a country strong and rich but it is difficult to establish a const.i.tutional government. When a const.i.tutional government has been established, everything will take care of itself, prosperity following naturally enough. The adoption of a const.i.tutional government at the present moment can be compared to the problem of a derailed train. It is hard to put the train back on the track, but once on the track it is very easy to move the train. What we should worry about is not how to make the country rich and prosperous, but how to form a genuine const.i.tutional government. Therefore I say that if China desires to be strong and prosperous, she should first of all adopt the const.i.tutional form of government.

Mr. Ko: I do not understand why it is that a monarchy should be established before the const.i.tutional form of government can be formed?

Mr. Hu: Because if the present system continues there will be intermittent trouble. At every change of the president there will be riot and civil war. In order to avert the possibility of such awful times place the president in a position which is permanent. It follows that the best thing is to make him Emperor. When that bone of contention is removed, the people will settle down to business and feel peace in their hearts, and devote their whole energy and time to the pursuit of their vocations. It is logical to a.s.sume that after the adoption of the monarchy they will concentrate their attention on securing a const.i.tutional government which they know is the only salvation for their country. As for the Emperor, knowing that he derives his position from the change from a republic, and filled with the desire of pacifying the people, he cannot help sanctioning the formation of the const.i.tutional form of government which in addition, will insure to his offspring the continuation of the Throne. Should he adopt any other course, he will be exposed to great personal danger. If he is broadminded, he will further recognize the fact that if no const.i.tutional form of government is introduced, his policy will perish after his death. Therefore I say that before the adoption of the const.i.tutional form of government, a monarchy should be established. William I. of Germany and the Emperor Meiji of j.a.pan both tried the const.i.tutional form of government and found it a success.

Mr. Ko: Please summarize your discussion.

Mr. Hu: In short, the country cannot be saved except through the establishment of a const.i.tutional form of government. No const.i.tutional government can be formed except through the establishment of a monarchy. The const.i.tutional form of government has a set of fixed laws, and the monarchy has a definite head who cannot be changed, in which matters lies the source of national strength and wealth.

Mr. Ko: What you have said in regard to the adoption of the const.i.tutional monarchy as a means of saving the country from dismemberment is quite true, but I would like to have your opinion on the relative advantages and disadvantages of a republic and a monarchy, a.s.suming that China adopts the scheme of a monarchy.

Mr. Hu: I am only too glad to give you my humble opinion on this momentous question.

Mr. Ko: You have said that China would be devastated by contending armies of rival leaders trying to capture the presidency. At what precise moment will that occur?

Mr. Hu: The four hundred million people of China now rely upon the President alone for the protection of their lives and property. Upon him likewise falls the burden of preserving both peace and the balance of power in the Far East. There is no time in the history of China that the Head of the State has had to a.s.sume such a heavy responsibility for the protection of life and property and for the preservation of peace in Asia; and at no time in our history has the country been in greater danger than at the present moment. China can enjoy peace so long as His Excellency Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai remains the President, and no longer. Should anything befall the President, every business activity will at once be suspended, shops will be closed, disquietude will prevail, people will become panic-stricken, the troops uncontrollable, and foreign wars.h.i.+ps will enter our harbours. European and American newspapers will be full of special dispatches about the complicated events in China, and martial law will be declared in every part of the country. All this will be due to the uncertainty regarding the succession to the presidency.

It will be seen from the first section of this long and extraordinary pamphlet how the author develops his argument. One of his major premises is the inherent unruliness of Republican soldiery,--the armies of republics not to be compared with the armed forces of monarchies,--and consequently const.i.tuting a perpetual menace to good government. Pa.s.sing on from this, he lays down the proposition that China cannot hope to become rich so long as the fear of civil war is ever-present; and that without a proper universal education a republic is an impossibility. The exercise of monarchical power in such circ.u.mstances can only be called an inevitable development,--the one goal to be aimed at being the subst.i.tution of Const.i.tutional Government for the dictatorial rule. The author deals at great length with the background to this idea, playing on popular fears to reinforce his casuistry. For although const.i.tutional government is insisted upon as the sole solution, he speedily shows that this const.i.tutionalism will depend more on the benevolence of the dictator than on the action of the people. And should his advice be not heeded, when Fortune wills that Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai's rule shall end, chaos will ensue owing to the "uncertainty" regarding the succession.

Here the discussion reaches its climax--for the demand that salvation be sought by enthroning Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai now becomes clear and unmistakable.

Let the author speak for himself.

Mr. Ko: But it is provided in the Const.i.tutional Compact that a president must be selected from among the three candidates whose names are now kept in a golden box locked in a stone room. Do you think this provision is not sufficient to avert the terrible times which you have just described?

Mr. Hu: The provision you have mentioned is useless. Can you find any person who is able to be at the head of the state besides His Excellency Yuan s.h.i.+h-kai? The man who can succeed President Yuan must enjoy the implicit confidence of the people and must have extended his influence all over the country and be known both at home and abroad. He must be able to maintain order, and then no matter what the const.i.tution provides, he will be unanimously elected President. He must also be able to a.s.sure himself that the two other candidates for the presidency have no hope for success in the presidential campaign. The provision in the const.i.tution, as well as the golden casket in which the names of the three candidates are kept which you have mentioned, are nothing but nominal measures.