Chinese Nobility Under the Manchu
The ancient titles of Chinese aristocracy carried with them no official place nor legislative power, and may always be revoked at the emperor's pleasure. By the late 19th Century under the Manchu there were only two Chinese Kung, or dukes, not of the imperial blood. These were the Yen-sheng Kung, the "Duke Transmitter of the Sage," [or the Holy Duke of Yen] the representative of Confucius; and the Hai-cheng Kung, "Purifier of the Seas," the descendant of Huang, conqueror of Formosa for the Manchus. The latter title was some two centuries old, the former was instituted in 1235. Certain Chinese [as opposed to Manchu] families enjoyed hereditary titles of nobility, who also included Marquis Tseng (from Tseng Kwo-fan), Marquis Li (from Li Hung-chang).
"The Confucian Duke," as he was commonly styled by foreigners, enjoyed a prestige which no change of dynasty affected; yet perhaps a Chinese essayist took too audacious advantage of this fact. He had noticed that the ostensible unity of the Roman Catholics gave them an amount of power which he, as a Confucianist, could not but deprecate; he urged, therefore, that there be established throughout China a Confucian hierarchy (with Confucian bishops in partibus), and at the head of that hierarchy be placed the Transmitter of the Sage, as an orthodox Chinese Pope.
It was obligatory on every Chinese noble to serve in some military capacity, unless he had reached a certain rank in the civil service, or was content to forego his allowance. That would be no great hardship, as these allowances, like all Chinese official salaries, were cut down in the troublous times of Hsien-feng, when the Taipings held Nanking and the Allies were bombarding Taku; but they were to be paid in full from and after New Year's Day (Feb. 3) 1886. They were provided out of the provincial funds, and the consequence was a rooted objection on the part of provincial treasurers to the creation of new peers. In 1884 the Governor of Kiangsi petitioned the throne on the subject. "Already," he wrote, "there is an annual call of over 50,000 crowns to meet the salaries of the hereditary nobles, and unless some means are adopted of reducing the expenditure under this head, it will be impossible to continue to meet the call.
Other provinces, and prefectures in those provinces, had limitations laid down as to the number of holders of hereditary nobility. In Hunan, for instance, the number was limited to 400 ; in Nanking to 348 ; in Soochow to 150 ; in Anhni to 176. In Kiangsi there were 483, which was more than anywhere else. What is the total number of nobles in China does not, in the absence of a Chinese Burke, appear: but from the memorials it may be taken it to be between two and three thousand for the eighteen provinces. This abaence of a Burke, by the way, was sometimes felt even by Peking. When Tso Tsnng-t'ang was engaged in the recovery of Kashgar he recommended one of his generals for promotion in the peerage. The Court, in a very good humor at the signal success of the Chinese arms, had already made Tso a marquis, and his right-hand man and future successor in the governorship of the reconquered country, Liu Chin-t'ang, a Baron. They acceded promptly to Tso's request and created his general a "mounted city warden." Then Tso wrote again and respectfully pointed out that the general was already - had, in fact, for some time been - a "mounted city-warden". Matters were finally arranged by making him a "light chariot warden" instead; but there really seemed to have been bad management somewhere.
Peers of the United Kingdom could be deprived of their titles by anything less forcible than an Act of Parliament, but in China simpler processes sufficed. The reasons for the deprivation are exceedingly varied. Most of the sufferers are deprived provisionally of their honor "in order to trial," which, as trial means beating, showed that a title did not serve, like a literary degree, to protect from indiscriminate bambooings. Liu Ming-chuan, till lately the Governor of Formosa, was in his younger days stripped of his baronetcy, because, as commander-in-chief in Chihli, he had been guilly of "tricky behavior." His successor had complained that "the number of invalids and persons on furlough still drawing pay was enormous." That battalion, it should be explained, had just been ordered off to the north-west to fight the Mohammedans, and neither Liu nor his tioops wanted to go.
The next noble to lose his rank was described succinctly as a "local bully." His offence was " kicking open a nunnery door and carrying off a young and comely novice." A lieutenant was deprived of his wardenship, because, when sent on service, he "dared to beat the soldiers in the batteries, and demanded an excessive supply of sheep," which the court characterized, very justly, as "a most outrageous and improper proceeding." Another was sentenced to lose his title, because, in spite of the remonstrances of the aggrieved husband, he "persisted in his attempts at seduction." Breaches of the seventh commandment appear, indeed, to always involve loss of rank. One such offender in 1885, taken in flagrante, whose "explanations were unsatisfactory," was condemned besides to a hundred blows with the heavy bamboo, without the option of a fine.
Sometimes the Chinese peer was fined and not attainted. The notorious Yang Yu-k'o, who knew more of the murder of poor Margary than the Chinese Government cared to admit, was in 1880 deprived of one half of his salary as a baron for the next nine years, because he had "opened a money shop." A few months later the Emperor forgave him. A still graver offender against foreigners - for there can be no doubt of his complicity in the Tientsin Massacre - the scoundrel Chen Kuo-jui, was also forgiven, but not till after his death. His rank was allowed, in 1883, to devolve upon his nephew, whom he had adopted before the boy's birth.
Chinese titles rarely suffered from "corruption of blood" for eren when a peccant peer has been attainted and dies unforgiven, his title is frequently passed on to his next heir. This may, indeed generally docs, take place in his lifetime. Thus in 1886 a young yun ck'i-yu is denounced by his colonel as "a disgrace to the service," because his conduct, particularly in the maiter of drills, was far from correct, while he "refused to amend his ways in spite of repeated reprimands and cautions." He lost his title, but the Board was directed to find him a successor. A much harder case occurred two years later. Another yun ch'i yu was in charge of an outpost, and in his judicial capacity administered twenty blows to a refractory soldier who had bullied a shop-keeper. The soldier died, and the "cloud-warden" was indicted for manslaughter. The court held that the soldier deserved a flogging, that the flogging was administered on a proper part of the person, and that the number of blows was moderate. Nevertheless as the man had died, the officer "was deprived of his hereditary post, to which another member of his family will succeed."
A fellow "cloud-warden" in 1878 had slightly better fortune. He had outstayed his leave - he was in the Foochow garrison - by six months, and for this offence was sentenced in his absence to the loss of his title. He returned at last and reported that he had gone with his wife to see her parents. There a son had been born to him, and two months afterward he started to rejoin his corps. His wife, however, fell seriously ill, and when she at last recovered he himself caught an infection, and became delirious. His funds were by this time exhausted, and he had to borrow money to return when he did. In consideration of all these circumstances might not his forfeited title be bestowed on the baby?. One is very glad to find from the rescript that his Majesty, who was not very far advanced from babyhood himself then, was pleased to grant this prayer and ennoble Master Baby - surely a strange creation in the strange peerage of China.
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