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Thread: Empress dowager cixi

  1. #406
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    Chapter 47

    After the Sino-Japanese war, the Japanese army didn't retreat from the Chinese territory. They stayed in the northeastern part of China. There were three provinces in that part. Russia also had its army there. Russian army had entered that part during the riot of Yihetuan and had stayed there ever since. A war between Russia and Japan seemed inevitable.
    When at last Russia and Japan both declared war against each other, all other countries that had troops in China proclaimed that they would keep neutral. Japan notified Qing government that China should also keep neutral. It sounded ridiculous that they would fight on the land of China and wanted China to remain neutral. It was like two intruders fought in someone's house and the owner shouldn't say anything about it. But Qing government was too weak then to do anything to prevent the war that happened in its own territory. But strict neutralness was impossible. Japan had bribed Prince Yikuang and so the attitude of Qing government favored Japan. They allowed Japan to recruit the horse robbers there to fight Russia. Under the secret help of Qing government Japan defeated Russia in Liaodong Peninsular.
    Russia had a fleet in the harbor of Luda. Japan sank some ships at the mouth to block the escape of Russian fleet. There was a low hill at the other side of the harbor. If Japan could occupy the low hill Japan was able to wipe out the Russian fleet. So the combat was focused on the low hill. At last Japanese army took over the hill and controlled the situation. The Russian fleet had to surrender.
    The next battle centered around Liaoyang City. Russia gathered four hundred thousand strong and Japan had three hundred thousand. Their combat front line lasted hundreds of kilometers. A Japanese detachment went a roundabout way to the back of the Russian troops. When the Russian commander found it out, his troops were already surrounded. But to surround four hundred thousand strong with only three hundred thousand soldiers was not easy. So the Russian troops broke out of the encirclement. Both sides were weakened in that battle and they had to have an unproclaimed truce.

  2. #407
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    Chapter 47

    After the Sino-Japanese war, the Japanese army didn't retreat from the Chinese territory. They stayed in the northeastern part of China. There were three provinces in that part. Russia also had its army there. Russian army had entered that part during the riot of Yihetuan and had stayed there ever since. A war between Russia and Japan seemed inevitable.
    When at last Russia and Japan both declared war against each other, all other countries that had troops in China proclaimed that they would keep neutral. Japan notified Qing government that China should also keep neutral. It sounded ridiculous that they would fight on the land of China and wanted China to remain neutral. It was like two intruders fought in someone's house and the owner shouldn't say anything about it. But Qing government was too weak then to do anything to prevent the war that happened in its own territory. But strict neutralness was impossible. Japan had bribed Prince Yikuang and so the attitude of Qing government favored Japan. They allowed Japan to recruit the horse robbers there to fight Russia. Under the secret help of Qing government Japan defeated Russia in Liaodong Peninsular.
    Russia had a fleet in the harbor of Luda. Japan sank some ships at the mouth to block the escape of Russian fleet. There was a low hill at the other side of the harbor. If Japan could occupy the low hill Japan was able to wipe out the Russian fleet. So the combat was focused on the low hill. At last Japanese army took over the hill and controlled the situation. The Russian fleet had to surrender.
    The next battle centered around Liaoyang City. Russia gathered four hundred thousand strong and Japan had three hundred thousand. Their combat front line lasted hundreds of kilometers. A Japanese detachment went a roundabout way to the back of the Russian troops. When the Russian commander found it out, his troops were already surrounded. But to surround four hundred thousand strong with only three hundred thousand soldiers was not easy. So the Russian troops broke out of the encirclement. Both sides were weakened in that battle and they had to have an unproclaimed truce.

  3. #408
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    Two Russian fleets came to the east from the Black Sea round the Cape of Good Hope. When they reached the Yellow Sea, they were ambushed by Japanese fleets and all their warships were destroyed. But Russian army got reinforcement. It seemed that no one could win the war. Through the mediation of America, Russia and Japan signed a peace treaty.
    The war between Russia and Japan was over, but their armies still remained in China. Other foreign countries insisted that both Russian and Japanese armies should be withdrawn from the domain of China. When the three provinces were returned to Qing government, there should be three governors for these provinces. Official Duan Zhigui liked to govern Heilongjiang Province. He wished to bribe Prince Yikuang, the head secretary of state, but someone advised him that it should be better to bribe the son of Prince Yikuang. It was easy because the son was a sucker for beautiful girls. To get a beautiful girl didn't need a lot of money.
    Some troupes began to train actresses. Yang Cuixi was a celebrated actress. Official Duan invited the son to watch an opera starring the actress Yang. From his look, Official Duan could conclude that he fell in love with the actress Yang at the first sight, like a fly fell unconsciously into the web of a spider. The actress Yang had been sold to the troupe by her poor parents. Official Duan found the troupe owner and paid him the double price and freed the girl from the troupe. The owner looked upon the actress Yang, a celebrity now, as the goose that lays the golden eggs, but he didn't dare to refuse the offer of an official. He had to part with the goose.
    Official Duan bought a house and let the actress Yang live there. Then he invited the son to dinner in the house. When the son arrived and settled down at the table, Official Duan excused himself that he must go to wash his hands. Actually he left the house, leaving the son and the actress Yang together. The son waited for Official Duan to return, but to his surprise he saw the actress Yang come into the room instead. She went to sit on his lap, smiling at him. He was young and good-looking, plus a nobleman. He embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. She offered a cup of wine (no glass yet at that time. A china cup was used for the wine) to him, but he said, “I like to drink wine from the fleshy cup, sweetie.” Her supple body writhed a bit on his lap, which meant that she was too shy to do it. At his persistence, she sucked the wine from the cup into her mouth and pressed her lips tightly against his lips. Then she fed the wine from her mouth into his mouth. Her mouth served as the cup made of human flesh. He swallowed the wine and sighed with satisfaction. “How sweet, honey.” He whispered into her ear. He carried her into the bedroom, which was just in the back. They stripped naked and fell on the bed in a tangled human knot, the bed groaning under their combined weight.
    Official Duan got the position of the governor of Heilongjiang Province, but the Japanese army was not withdrawn yet. He had to wait patiently.

  4. #409
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    Two Russian fleets came to the east from the Black Sea round the Cape of Good Hope. When they reached the Yellow Sea, they were ambushed by Japanese fleets and all their warships were destroyed. But Russian army got reinforcement. It seemed that no one could win the war. Through the mediation of America, Russia and Japan signed a peace treaty.
    The war between Russia and Japan was over, but their armies still remained in China. Other foreign countries insisted that both Russian and Japanese armies should be withdrawn from the domain of China. When the three provinces were returned to Qing government, there should be three governors for these provinces. Official Duan Zhigui liked to govern Heilongjiang Province. He wished to bribe Prince Yikuang, the head secretary of state, but someone advised him that it should be better to bribe the son of Prince Yikuang. It was easy because the son was a sucker for beautiful girls. To get a beautiful girl didn't need a lot of money.
    Some troupes began to train actresses. Yang Cuixi was a celebrated actress. Official Duan invited the son to watch an opera starring the actress Yang. From his look, Official Duan could conclude that he fell in love with the actress Yang at the first sight, like a fly fell unconsciously into the web of a spider. The actress Yang had been sold to the troupe by her poor parents. Official Duan found the troupe owner and paid him the double price and freed the girl from the troupe. The owner looked upon the actress Yang, a celebrity now, as the goose that lays the golden eggs, but he didn't dare to refuse the offer of an official. He had to part with the goose.
    Official Duan bought a house and let the actress Yang live there. Then he invited the son to dinner in the house. When the son arrived and settled down at the table, Official Duan excused himself that he must go to wash his hands. Actually he left the house, leaving the son and the actress Yang together. The son waited for Official Duan to return, but to his surprise he saw the actress Yang come into the room instead. She went to sit on his lap, smiling at him. He was young and good-looking, plus a nobleman. He embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. She offered a cup of wine (no glass yet at that time. A china cup was used for the wine) to him, but he said, “I like to drink wine from the fleshy cup, sweetie.” Her supple body writhed a bit on his lap, which meant that she was too shy to do it. At his persistence, she sucked the wine from the cup into her mouth and pressed her lips tightly against his lips. Then she fed the wine from her mouth into his mouth. Her mouth served as the cup made of human flesh. He swallowed the wine and sighed with satisfaction. “How sweet, honey.” He whispered into her ear. He carried her into the bedroom, which was just in the back. They stripped naked and fell on the bed in a tangled human knot, the bed groaning under their combined weight.
    Official Duan got the position of the governor of Heilongjiang Province, but the Japanese army was not withdrawn yet. He had to wait patiently.

  5. #410
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    The tradition for the celebration of the birthdays of the emperor or the empress dowager was that every year they celebrated their birthdays on a regular basis, but every ten years, especially on fiftieth birthday, they liked to have it on a larger scale. West Empress Dowager was unhappy about her birthday for every ten years. She wished to make her fiftieth birthday the happiest and most exciting day, but that year the Sino-French war had broken out. She had to stop the celebration. For her sixtieth birthday, it had been the Sino-Japanese war that had interrupted the celebration ceremony. Now it was the Russian-Japanese war in China that made her unable to celebrate her seventieth birthday. She didn't know if she could do anything for her eightieth birthday.
    West Empress Dowager was now too old, seventy-four, and the emperor was too sick, though only thirty-eight. But words leaked out secretly that the royal doctors didn't think the emperor was suffering from any serious illness. However, in 1908, West Empress Dowager was really sick. Doctors diagnosed that it was dysentery, which was not a terminal disease. But considering the medicine at that time, plus her old age of seventy-four, her case was thought hopeless.
    Some courtiers hoped that when West Empress Dowager died the emperor could literally get back the power. But some were afraid that once the emperor got the power, he would kill those he always had hated. One of those people was Yuan Shikai, who had betrayed the emperor when the emperor had given him a secret written order to kill Ronglu and bring his New Army to Peking to confine West Empress Dowager. It was said that the emperor often drew a turtle on a piece of paper, wrote Yuan's name on the back of the turtle and then tore it in bits to vent his anger. So if the emperor got back the power, the first one he wanted to kill was Yuan. But Yuan could do nothing to prevent the inevitable from happening. He lived in fear and self-pity those days. Another of those the emperor hated was Head Eunuch Li, who was West Empress Dowager's running dog, as the emperor called it. And he could do everything to prevent the inevitable.
    On November 14, 1908, the emperor suddenly died at the age of thirty-eight. Rumors had it that the emperor was poisoned by eunuch Li, or Li executed the order of West Empress Dowager, who didn't want the emperor to outlive her. However, the palace was always teemed with secrets and mysteries about the death of important individuals.
    Although lying on sick bed, West Empress Dowager decided to make Fuyi the heir and successor to the throne. Fuyi was the son of her nephew Zaifeng, who was appointed Prince Regent to help his son, because the son was only three years old when he was crowned.
    On November 15, 1908, West Empress Dowager died at the age of seventy-four.
    The son Fuyi was Emperor Xiantong, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty, and also the last emperor of China. He was the emperor only for three years. In 1911, all the new trained armies, which consisted entirely of the Han Clan and many soldiers of which were revolutionaries, rose in arms in mutiny and forced the emperor to abdicate. Qing Dynasty was at last overthrown.

    The end

    (I will post another book titled TWO REPUBLICS IN CHINA next., which is the continuance of this book. The book has a lot of generally unseen old pictures, but I can't post them online. Interested ones can get a copy on amazon.com)

  6. #411
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    The tradition for the celebration of the birthdays of the emperor or the empress dowager was that every year they celebrated their birthdays on a regular basis, but every ten years, especially on fiftieth birthday, they liked to have it on a larger scale. West Empress Dowager was unhappy about her birthday for every ten years. She wished to make her fiftieth birthday the happiest and most exciting day, but that year the Sino-French war had broken out. She had to stop the celebration. For her sixtieth birthday, it had been the Sino-Japanese war that had interrupted the celebration ceremony. Now it was the Russian-Japanese war in China that made her unable to celebrate her seventieth birthday. She didn't know if she could do anything for her eightieth birthday.
    West Empress Dowager was now too old, seventy-four, and the emperor was too sick, though only thirty-eight. But words leaked out secretly that the royal doctors didn't think the emperor was suffering from any serious illness. However, in 1908, West Empress Dowager was really sick. Doctors diagnosed that it was dysentery, which was not a terminal disease. But considering the medicine at that time, plus her old age of seventy-four, her case was thought hopeless.
    Some courtiers hoped that when West Empress Dowager died the emperor could literally get back the power. But some were afraid that once the emperor got the power, he would kill those he always had hated. One of those people was Yuan Shikai, who had betrayed the emperor when the emperor had given him a secret written order to kill Ronglu and bring his New Army to Peking to confine West Empress Dowager. It was said that the emperor often drew a turtle on a piece of paper, wrote Yuan's name on the back of the turtle and then tore it in bits to vent his anger. So if the emperor got back the power, the first one he wanted to kill was Yuan. But Yuan could do nothing to prevent the inevitable from happening. He lived in fear and self-pity those days. Another of those the emperor hated was Head Eunuch Li, who was West Empress Dowager's running dog, as the emperor called it. And he could do everything to prevent the inevitable.
    On November 14, 1908, the emperor suddenly died at the age of thirty-eight. Rumors had it that the emperor was poisoned by eunuch Li, or Li executed the order of West Empress Dowager, who didn't want the emperor to outlive her. However, the palace was always teemed with secrets and mysteries about the death of important individuals.
    Although lying on sick bed, West Empress Dowager decided to make Fuyi the heir and successor to the throne. Fuyi was the son of her nephew Zaifeng, who was appointed Prince Regent to help his son, because the son was only three years old when he was crowned.
    On November 15, 1908, West Empress Dowager died at the age of seventy-four.
    The son Fuyi was Emperor Xiantong, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty, and also the last emperor of China. He was the emperor only for three years. In 1911, all the new trained armies, which consisted entirely of the Han Clan and many soldiers of which were revolutionaries, rose in arms in mutiny and forced the emperor to abdicate. Qing Dynasty was at last overthrown.

    The end

    (I will post another book titled TWO REPUBLICS IN CHINA next., which is the continuance of this book. The book has a lot of generally unseen old pictures, but I can't post them online. Interested ones can get a copy on amazon.com)

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