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ISAAC TAYLOR HEADLAND'S THREE BOOKS THAT "LINK EAST AND WEST"
Atec Февраль 16 2008 20:05:56
Книга только для ознакомления
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There was at this time a third-class secretary of the Board of
Rites named Wang Chao who sent in a memorial in which he
advocated:
1. The abolition of the queue.
2. The changing of the Chinese style of dress to that of the
West.
3. The adoption of Christianity as a state religion.
4. A prospective national parliament.
5. A journey to Japan by the Emperor and Empress Dowager.
The Board of Rites opened and read this memorial, and, astounded
at its boldness, they summoned the offender before them, and
ordered him to withdraw his paper. This he refused to do and the
two presidents and four vice-presidents of the Board accompanied
it with a counter memorial denouncing him to the Emperor as a man
who was making narrow-minded and wild suggestions to His Majesty.
Partly because they had opened and read the memorial and partly
because of their effort to prevent freedom of speech, Kuang Hsu
issued another edict explaining why he had invited sealed
memorials, and censuring them for explaining to him what was
narrow-minded and wild, as if he lacked the intelligence to grasp
that feature of the paper. He then turned them all over to the
Board of Civil Office ordering that body to decide upon a
suitable punishment for their offense, and assuring them that if
they made it too mild, his righteous wrath would fall upon them.
The latter decided that they be degraded three steps and removed
to posts befitting their lowered rank, but the Emperor revised
the sentence and dismissed them all from office, and this was the
beginning of his downfall
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