II

THE LOSS OF DEPENDENCIES (1860-1895)

THE second period of the diplomatic history of China dates from the close of the war with Great Britain and France (1857-1860) to the end of the war with Japan (1894-1895), covering a span of thirty-five years. It continues the first period in that it carries on the process of the opening up of China, which, as we have seen, was the chief feature of the first peroid. It, however, has its own distinctive feature which differentiates it from the first period.

This distinctive feature is the gradual loss of China's dependencies. As if Western aggression worked from outside, the opening of China was followed by the loss of her dependencies; the integrity of her own soil was not threatened until the period ensuing. During this period China l'ost no less than nine dependencies,-the Liuchiu Islands to Japan in 1881, the Western parts of Ili to Russia in 1881, Tongkin and Annam to France in 1885, Northern Burma to Great Britain in 1886, and Sikkim to the same in 1890, and Korea, Formosa, and the Pescadores, to Japan in 1895.

As I have said, this period continues the first period in that it carries on the process of the opening up of China. During this period other Western nations came into treaty relations with China. To the list of the Treaty powers, which hitherto was limited only to Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Norway and Sweden, were added the newcomers which signed their treaties of friendship, commerce and navigation.

Italy, October 26, 1866."

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Austria-Hungary, September 2, 1869.8
Japan, 1872.

Peru, June 26, 1874.10

Brazil, October 3, 1881.11

Portugal, December 1, 1887.12 +

These treaties of friendship, commerce and navigation were, in general, virtually the same as the Treaty of June 26, 1858, signed at Tientsin between China and Great Britain, which had served as model for subsequent commercial treaties.

Diplomatic relations between China and the Treaty powers were, and remained, for the first half of this period most unsatisfactory. The Tsungli Yamen, supposed to be the Foreign Office, was not organized as were the other departments of the government, but composed of the leading ministers or Grand Secretaries of the Imperial Court. It was really not a department, but the Cabinet itself. What is worse, it did not attend to the most important diplomatic affairs. It often referred them to Li Hung-chang, the viceroy of Chili, who dominated the foreign relations of China throughout the period. It was he that negotiated most of the treaties and conventions of this period, while the Tsungli Yamen was merely the office of record.

Diplomatic intercourse was again hampered by the With a supplementary commercial convention of March 31, 1880, and an exchange of notes on the same date regarding tonnage dues.

With a subsequent convention of Nov. 17, 1877 5 regulating Chinese emigration to Cuba.

With a supplementary convention of the same date respecting the opium trade of Macao 13 and a separate agreement of the same date respecting the collection of duties on opium.14

persistent refusal of the Imperial Court to grant an audience with the Emperor, whose minority was offered as the excuse. Thus, the foreign ministers remained at Peking with their credentials undelivered. And it was not until June 29, 1873, when the Emperor had reached his majority, that an Imperial audience was granted for the first time.

Diplomatic intercourse was further rendered inadequate by the absence of any Chinese ministers resident abroad. While the foreign ministers were pounding on the doors of the Tsungli Yamen for proper and satisfactory relations and for an Imperial audience, the Chinese Government remained ignorant of the necessity of despatching ministers abroad. Thus, China was deprived of adequate means of diplomatic intercourse with other states, except through the foreign embassies that had made their residence in Peking. And the situation was not corrected until late in 1877 when the first Chinese envoy, Kuo Sung-tao, was sent to London. A year later resident ministers were established in most of the capitals of Europe and America.

In addition, the popular feeling of the Chinese toward foreigners was yet hostile. They felt that their glorious isolation was annulled, and their superiority challenged by the Western nations. They resented the enforced Occidental intercourse, and therefore their feeling was anything but friendly toward foreigners. In fact, the hostile feeling enhanced as Western aggression increased. The culmination occurred in the Boxer Uprising of 1900, when the Chinese of North China made a fanatical endeavor to drive "foreign devils" into the sea.

During this period one notable manifestation of this hostile feeling occurred, namely, the Tientsin Massacre of 1870. The French Catholic missionaries established an orphanage in Tientsin and adopted the practice of paying any one who delivered to the asylum

children found or rescued from lack of parental care. As a consequence, some evil-minded Chinese kidnaped well-to-do children and brought them to the orphanage in return for monetary rewards. Thus rumors became current that the French missionaries were sending out agents to kidnap Chinese children.

These rumors so infuriated the Chinese of Tientsin that on June 21, 1870, they assembled before the French Cathedral and demanded redress. The French Consul rushed out from his consulate with two pistols in his hands and fired at the magistrate who was trying his best to control the mob, hitting one of the magistrate's servants. This made the mob furious. The French Consul was surrounded and killed. They then set fire to the Cathedral and the mission and killed the Sisters of Mercy within the asylum.15

The French immediately demanded redress, but because of pre-occupation with the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, they did not resort to force as they had done in 1858-1860. The settlement was finally arranged, by which the Chinese Government was to pay an indemnity of 250,000 taels, to banish the prefect and magistrate to Amur for life, to put to death some twenty culprits and to send a mission of apology to Paris.16

Another instance during this period of hostile manifestation toward the foreigner was the murder of Margary in 1875. Margary was a British consul detailed to assist the British mission of investigation that was to travel from British India to Yunnan through Bhamo. While on his way to meet the mission, and on the border between Yunnan and Burma, he and his Chinese associates were set upon by the untamed tribes of the þorderland under the jurisdiction of China. The affair was finally amicably settled by the Chefoo convention,17 September 13, 1876, signed by Li Hung-chang for the part of China and Mr. Thomas F. Wade for the part of Great Britain. The convention was divided into three

sections. The first section dealt with the Yunnan case. The right of a second mission from India to Yunnan was granted (Article 4). An indemnity of 200,000 taels was to be paid on demand (Article 5). An Imperial letter of regret was to be despatched (Article 6). The second section treated of official intercourse and consular jurisdiction. The British Supreme Court for China and the Chinese Mixed Court at Shanghai were recognized. Judicial proceedings in criminal and mixed cases were defined. The third section dealt with trade. Foreign concessions were exempted from likin. Ichang, Wuhu, Wenchow and Pakhoi were to be opened to trade. Six ports of call were to be opened on the Yangtze River, Tatung, Nganking, Hukou, Wusueh, Luchikou and Shashih.18*

The one redeeming feature, however, of this period of unsatisfactory relation was the Anson Burlingame mission to the Powers. He was the American Minister in Peking, 1862-1867. When he was about to retire from office in November, 1867, he was asked to head the Chinese Mission. Urged by Sir Robert Hart, who was the sponsor of the Mission,20 he accepted the appointment and went abroad on behalf of China. On arrival in the United States he toured throughout the country with his magnetic oratory, depicting China as about to reform and take on the new garb of Western civilization. At Washington, on July 28, 1858, he signed the Treaty of Washington," as forming additional articles to the Treaty of Commerce between the United States and China, June 18, 1858. Free emigration into either country was declared to be "the inherent and inalienable right of man." 22 The most favored nation treatment with respect to travel, residence and education, except the privilege of naturalization, was reciprocally accorded.23 From the United States he proceeded to Eu

In a separate article, the right of the British Mission to Tibet was granted.19