Directory_and_Chronicle_1906 — Page 681

CHINA

REIGNING SOVEREIGN AND FAMILY

Kuang Su, Emperor of China, is the son of Prince Ch'un, the seventh son of the Emperor Tao Kuang. He succeeded his cousin, the late Emperor Tung Chi, who died without issue on the 12th January, 1875, from sinall-pox.

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The proclamation announcing the accession of the present sovereign was as follows:- Whereas His Majesty the Emperor has ascended upon the Dragon to be a. guest on high, without offspring born to his inheritance, no course has been open but that of causing Tsai Tien, son of the Prince of Ch'un, to become adopted as the son of the Emperor Wông Tsung Hien (Hien Fung) and to enter upon the inheritance of the great dynastic line as Emperor by succession. Therefore, let Tsai Tien, son of Yih Huan,. the Prince of Ch'un, become adopted as the son of the Emperor Wên Tsung Hien, and enter upon the inheritance of the great dynastic line as Emperor by succession.

The present sovereign is the ninth Emperor of China of the Manchu dynasty of Ta-tsing (Sublime Purity), which succeeded the native dynasty of Ming in the year 1644. There exists no law of hereditary succession to the throne, but it is left to each sovereign to appoint his successor from among the members of his family. The late Emperor, dying suddenly, in the eighteenth year of his age, did not designate a successor, and it was. in consequence of palace intrigue, directed by the Empress Dowager, in concert with Prince Ch'un, that the infant son of the latter was declared Emperor. The Emperor Kuang Si was born in 1871, assumed the reins of Government in February, 1887, was married on the 26th February, 1889, to Yeh-ho-na-la, niece of the Empress Dowager, and his enthronement took place on the 4th March following. On the 21st September, 1898, a Palace revclution took place and the Empress Dowager again assumed the regency, nominally on the ground of the Emperor's ill-health, and she has since ruled in the Emperor's name.

GOVERNMENT AND REVENUE

The fundamental laws of the empire are laid down in the Ta-tsing Huei-tien, or Collected Regulations of the Great Pure Dynasty, which prescribe the government of the State as based upon the goverminent of the family. The Emperor is spiritual as well as temporal sovereign, and, as high priest of the Empire, can alone, with his immediate representatives and ministers, perform the great religious ceremonies. No ecclesiastical hierarchy is maintained at the public expense, nor any priesthood attached to the Confucian or State religion.

The administration of the empire is under the supreme direction of the Interior Council Chamber, comprising four members, two of Manchu and two of Chinese origin, besides two assistants from the Han-lin, or Great College, who have to see that nothing is done contrary to the civil and religious laws of the empire, contained in the Ta-tsing Huei-tien and in the sacred books of Confucius. These members are denominated Ta Hsio-sz, or Ministers of State. Under their orders are the Li Pu or seven boards of government, each of which is presided over by a Manchu and Chinese. They are:—(1) The Li Pu Board of Civil Appointment, which takes cognisance of the conduct and administration of all civil officers; (2) The Hu Pu

Board of Revenue, regulating all financial affairs; (3) The Li Pu Board of Rites and Ceremonies, which enforces the laws and customs to be observed by the people; (4) The Ping Pu or Military Board, superintending the administration of the army; (5) The Kung PuI B or Board of Public Works; (6) The Board of Punishments, or Hsing Pu and (7) The Board of Admiralty or Hai Pu. To these must be added the Tsung-li Yamên,the reconstructed institution, or to call it by its new name (1901) the Wai Pu. Its functions are those of a Foreign Office. Indepen- dent of the Government, and theoretically above the central administration, is the Tu-cha Yuan, or Board of Public Censors. It consists of from 40 to 50 members, under two presidents, the one of Manchu and the other of Chinese birth. By the ancient custom of the empire, all the members of this board are privileged to present any remonstrance to the sovereign. One censor must be present at the meeting of each of the six government boards.

The amount of the public revenue of China is not known, and estimates concerning. it vary greatly. The Imperial Maritime Customs receipts form the only item upon- which exact figures are obtainable, and these for the year 1903 amounted to Tls. 30,530,688. Mr. E. A. Parker, formerly of the British Consular Service, in 1896 published the following estimate of the receipts from the other principal sources:-Land tax Tls. 20,000,000, Salt Tls. 10,000,000, Lekin Tls. 15,000,000, Native Customs Tls. 3,000,000,