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. It expected a demonstration if not a revolution but nothing
of the kind happened. But on the other hand one of the most
difficult diplomatic problems of her history was solved in a
quiet and peaceable, if not a statesman-like way, by the aged
Dowager and her officials, and China once more had upon her
throne an emperor, though only a child, about whose succession
there was no question. And all this was done with less commotion
than is caused by the election of a mayor in New York or Chicago,
which may or may not be to the credit of an absolute monarchy
over a republican form of government.
The world has speculated a good deal as to what happened in the
Forbidden City of Peking during the early half of November. Will
the curious world ever know? Whether it will or not remains for
the future to determine. We have, however, the edicts issued to
the foreign legations at Peking and with these at the present we
must be content. From them we learn that it was the Empress
Dowager and not Kuang Hsu who appointed Prince Chun as Regent,
and that this appointment was made--or at least
announced--twenty-four hours before the death of the Emperor.
On the thirteenth of November the foreign diplomatic
representatives received the following edict from the great
Dowager through the regular channel of the Foreign Office of
which Prince Ching was the president:
"It is the excellent will of Tze-hsi-kuan-yu-k'ang-
i-chao-yu-chuang-ch'eng-shou-kung-ch'in-hsien-chung-hsi, the
great Empress Dowager that Tsai Feng, Prince of Chun, be
appointed Prince Regent (She Chang-wang)
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