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Hiking Tramping in New Zealand 8th

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Hiking & Tramping in New
Zealand
Contents
PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to New Zealand


New Zealand Map
New Zealand’s Great Walks
Need to Know
If You Like...
Itineraries
Choosing Your Tramp
Outdoor Pursuits
New Zealand’s Birds
Safety in the Outdoors
Clothing, Equipment & Food
Regions at a Glance

ON THE TRACK

NORTHLAND, AUCKLAND & COROMANDEL


Te Paki Coastal Track
Cape Brett Track
Rangitoto Island Loop
Aotea Track
Coromandel Walkway
Kauaeranga Kauri Trail
Karangahake Gorge
Towns & Facilities
Auckland
Kaitaia
Russell
Whangarei
Thames

TONGARIRO, TE UREWERA & CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND


Tongariro National Park
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Tongariro Northern Circuit
Te Urewera
Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk
Towns & Facilities
Taupo
Turangi
National Park Village
Wairoa

TARANAKI & SOUTHERN NORTH ISLAND


Egmont National Park
Around the Mountain Circuit
Pouakai Circuit
Pouakai Crossing
Mt Taranaki Summit
Ruahine Forest Park
Sunrise Track
Tararua Forest Park
Mt Holdsworth–Jumbo Circuit
Cape Palliser
Putangirua Pinnacles
Towns & Facilities
New Plymouth
Napier
Palmerston North
Masterton
Wellington

QUEEN CHARLOTTE & MARLBOROUGH


Queen Charlotte & Marlborough Tramps
Queen Charlotte Track
Pelorus Track
Kaikoura Coast Track
Towns & Facilities
Picton
Kaikoura

ABEL TASMAN, KAHURANGI & NELSON LAKES


Abel Tasman National Park
Abel Tasman Coast Track
Kahurangi National Park
Heaphy Track
Tableland Circuit
Nelson Lakes National Park
Lake Angelus Track
St Arnaud Range Track
Travers-Sabine Circuit
Towns & Facilities
Nelson
Motueka
Takaka
Karamea

CANTERBURY, ARTHUR’S PASS & AORAKI/MT COOK


Banks Track
St James Walkway
Arthur’s Pass National Park
Avalanche Peak
Goat Pass Track
Harper Pass
Bealey Spur
Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park
Mueller Hut Route
Hooker Valley Track
Towns & Facilities
Christchurch
Akaroa
Hanmer Springs
Arthur’s Pass
Mt Cook Village

WEST COAST
Old Ghost Road
Paparoa National Park
Inland Pack Track
Westland Tai Poutini National Park
Welcome Flat
Towns & Facilities
Westport
Greymouth
Punakaiki
Fox Glacier
Franz Josef Glacier

MT ASPIRING NATIONAL PARK & AROUND QUEENSTOWN


Mt Aspiring National Park
Routeburn Track
Greenstone Caples Track
Rees-Dart Track
Cascade Saddle
Rob Roy Track
Gillespie Pass Circuit
Queenstown & Wanaka
Ben Lomond
Roys Peak
Diamond Lake & Rocky Mountain
Towns & Facilities
Queenstown
Wanaka
Glenorchy

FIORDLAND & STEWART ISLAND/RAKIURA


Fiordland National Park
Milford Track
Hollyford Track
Kepler Track
Gertrude Saddle
Hump Ridge Track
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Rakiura Track
Towns & Facilities
Te Anau
Invercargill

UNDERSTAND

Understand New Zealand


New Zealand Today
History
Environment

SURVIVE

Directory A-Z
Accessible Travel
Children
Climate
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Emergency & Important Numbers
Entry & Exit Formalities
Food & Drink
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
LGBT+ Travellers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Volunteering
Women Travellers

Transport
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Entering the Country/Region
Air
Land
Sea
GETTING AROUND
Air
Bicycle
Boat
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Hitching & Ride-Sharing
Local Transport
Train

Accommodation
B&Bs
Camping & Holiday Parks
Farmstays
Hostels
Pubs, Hotels & Motels
Rental Accommodation
Booking Services

Glossary
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to New Zealand
There may be no country on earth as naturally
diverse as New Zealand. Here glaciers leak through
rainforest, volcanoes form a beating heart, sun-
blazed beaches frame coastal national parks, and
ice-tipped mountains hack at the sky.

Jewels of Nature
It’s the extraordinary natural architecture that lures trampers, but NZ also
comes jewelled with one of the planet’s finest and most extensive track
networks. The natural drama all around the country is worthy of the theatre,
but the boards you’ll tread are tracks that climb through mountain passes, or
trace the lines of rivers or lakes, or disappear momentarily into the soft sand
of long beaches.

Hut Havens
Almost 1000 huts dot the trails, which are headlined by a Great Walks
system that has long been envied and mimicked by the rest of the world.
Even in the most remote reaches, huts await – often with historical tales as
engrossing as the views. DOC maintains more than 950 huts in its national
parks, conservation areas and reserves. While many were purpose-built for
trampers and climbers, others stand as a legacy to industries such as
forestry, farming, mining and deer culling. Today they form a network that
offers cheap, character-filled accommodation in the most unlikely places, a
unique and highly treasured feature of the NZ backcountry.

Easy Does It
Reward here doesn’t always require effort. Certainly, you can slog it to the
top of hard-earned alpine passes such as Cascade Saddle for mountain
views beyond excellence, but there are equally worthy prizes that can be
found in committing just a few hours to walk to points beneath the hanging
terminus of Rob Roy Glacier, or along empty and wild bays around the
northern tip of Coromandel Peninsula.

Space Invaders
Evidence of what awaits comes in the numbers. There are just 4.8 million
New Zealanders, scattered across more than 260,000 sq km: bigger than the
UK with one-fourteenth of the population. Filling in the large gaps in
between are the sublime mountains, forests, lakes, beaches and fiords that
have made NZ one of the world’s most desirable hiking destinations. Stand
on a Fiordland pass with mountains rearing above, beside a dazzling
volcanic lake in Tongariro, or on an Abel Tasman beach lined with forest,
and you’ll see why NZ tramping tracks have labels such as ‘finest walk in
the world’ and ‘best day walk in the world’. And yet those very tracks may
not even be the best in the country.
Mt Taranaki | RONNIE LI/500PX ©
By Andrew Bain, Writer
They call them Great Walks for a reason, but any time I’m on one of these
showpiece tramps, I find my eye wandering elsewhere on the map. The New
Zealand landscape reads like an open invitation to explore on foot – into that
valley, onto that pass, along that beach. Like few other places on earth, you
can wake with a hankering to hike a particular landscape – be it mountains or
beach, forest or alpine – and find that there are possibilities in quick reach of
wherever you stand in the country.
For more about our writers
New Zealand’s Great Walks
Abel Tasman Coast Track
Routinely touted as New Zealand’s most beautiful Great Walk, the
Abel Tasman Coast Track is also the most popular. Located in the
country’s smallest national park, this track brings together great
weather, granite cliffs, golden sands and a bushy backdrop. Spot
seals and birds, explore fascinating estuaries, hidden inlets and
freshwater pools, study bizarre rock formations and significant
trees…or simply laze around on that beach towel you packed. Water
taxis and kayak trips offer endless options for maximising enjoyment.

GUAXINIM/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Great Walks

Tongariro Northern Circuit


New Zealand’s oldest national park is also home to one of its most
dynamic and imposing Great Walks. The Tongariro Northern Circuit
loops among a trio of volcanoes that provided one of the most
dramatic backdrops in Lord of the Rings, and wears dazzling lakes,
steaming vents, lava bombs and craters like bling. Add in a couple of
waterfalls and the country’s only desert and you get a sense of what
makes this a truly great walk.
Taranaki Falls, Tongariro National Park | NARUEDOM YAEMPONGSA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Great Walks

Lake Waikaremoana
Remote, immense and shrouded in mist, Te Urewera encompasses
the North Island’s largest tract of virgin forest. The park’s highlight is
Lake Waikaremoana (‘Sea of Rippling Waters’), a deep crucible of
water encircled by the Lake Waikaremoana track. This tramp passes
through ancient rainforest and reedy inlets, and traverses gnarly
ridges, including the famous Panekiri Bluff, from where there are
stupendous views of the lake and endless forested peaks and
valleys.

WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES ©
Great Walks

Whanganui Journey
The Great Walk you can have when you’re not having a walk, the
Whanganui Journey is actually a canoe or kayak trip along the
Whanganui River, NZ’s longest navigable waterway. It’s a journey
through sheer gorges, where the reflections can almost induce
vertigo, and over short bouncy rapids. The forest is dense and the
views are immense. Along the way it passes the folly-like Bridge to
Nowhere, numerous bush campsites and the only DOC hut in the
country that’s also used as a marae (Māori meeting house).

JANETTEASCHE/GETTY IMAGES ©
Great Walks

Heaphy Track
This wild and wonderful historic crossing from Golden Bay to the
West Coast dishes up the most diverse scenery of any of the Great
Walks, taking in dense forest, tussock-covered downs, caves,
secluded valleys and beaches dusted in salt spray and fringed by
nikau palms. It’s a mighty wilderness, and if time’s at a premium you
can always mountain bike it (in winter and spring, at least)…

SAM LANE/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Great Walks

Kepler Track
One of three Great Walks within Fiordland National Park, the Kepler
Track was built to take pressure off the Milford and Routeburn. Many
trampers now say it rivals both of them. This high crossing takes you
from the peaceful, beech-forested shores of Lake Te Anau and Lake
Manapouri before bumping across the alpine tops of Mt Luxmore.
Expect towering limestone bluffs, razor-edged ridges, vast views and
crazy caves. The Kepler is a truly spectacular way to appreciate the
grandeur of NZ’s largest national park.

MORITZ WOLF/GETTY IMAGES ©


Great Walks

Milford Track
The finest walk in the world? Somebody once thought so, and wrote
as much in a London newspaper…and so the mythology of the
Milford Track was born. If it’s hyperbole, it’s only by degrees, for this
track is a compendium of all good mountain things: gin-clear
streams, dense rainforest, an unforgettable alpine pass and
Sutherland Falls; one of the highest waterfalls in the world.
Another random document with
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thousand Hunanese troops at Hami, and twenty thousand more
under General Liu[140] at Kashgar. One of his Generals was that
Tung Fu-hsiang who subsequently became known to the world as
the leader of the bloodthirsty Kansuh soldiery at Peking in 1900; at
the taking of Khotan he laid the foundations of his reputation for
truculent ferocity. Tso firmly believed that his Hunanese were the
finest fighting men in the world, and was most anxious to use them,
in 1879, in trying conclusions with the Russians, boasting that with
two hundred thousand of them he would easily march to St.
Petersburg and there dictate a peace which should wipe out the
humiliating concessions negotiated by Ch’ung Hou in the Treaty of
Livadia. Fortunately for him, his patriotic ambitions came to the ears
of the Empress Dowager, who, desiring no more complications,
recalled him in hot haste to Peking, where she loaded him with
honours and rewards.
His was the simple nature of the elementary fighter, inured to the
hard life of camps. He knew little of other lands, but professed the
greatest admiration for Bismarck, chiefly because of the enormous
indemnity which the German conqueror had exacted as the price of
victory, Tso’s own troops being accustomed to live almost exclusively
on the spoils of war. He despised wealth for himself, but loved
plunder for his men.
Upon his triumphant return to Peking he was informed that the
Palace authorities expected him to pay forty thousand taels as “gate-
money” before entering the capital. Tso flatly refused. “The Emperor
has sent for me,” he said, “and I have come, but I will not pay a cash.
If he wishes to see me, he must either obtain for me free entry or pay
the gate-money himself.” He waited stolidly five days and then had
his way, entering scot-free. Later, when the Empress Dowager made
him a present of ten thousand taels, he divided the money between
his soldiers and the poor.

SUN CHIA-NAI
This official, chiefly known to fame among his countrymen as one
of the tutors of His Majesty Kuang-Hsü, was a sturdy Conservative of
the orthodox type, but an honest and kindly man. His character and
opinions may be gauged from a well-known saying of his: “One
Chinese character is better than ten thousand words of the
barbarians. By knowing Chinese a man may rise to become a Grand
Secretary; by knowing the tongues of the barbarians, he can at best
aspire to become the mouth-piece of other men.”
Ceiling and Pillars of the Tai Ho Tien.

Photo, Ogawa, Tokio.

In his later years he felt and expressed great grief at the condition
of his country, and particularly in regard to the strained relations
between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. He traced the first
causes of these misfortunes to the war with Japan, and never
ceased to blame his colleague, the Imperial Tutor Weng T’ung-ho,
for persuading the Emperor to sign the Decree whereby that war was
declared, which he described as the act of a madman. Weng,
however, was by no means alone in holding the opinion that China
could easily dispose of the Japanese forces by land and by sea. It
was well-known at Court, and the Emperor must have learned it from
more than one quarter, that several foreigners holding high positions
under the Chinese Government, including the Inspector-General of
Customs (Sir Robert Hart), concurred in the view that China had
practically no alternative but to declare war in view of Japan’s high-
handed proceedings and insulting attitude. Prestige apart, it was
probable that the Emperor was by no means averse to taking this
step on his own authority, even though he knew that the Empress
Dowager was opposed to the idea of war, because of its inevitable
interference with the preparations for her sixtieth birthday; at that
moment, Tzŭ Hsi was living in quasi-retirement at the Summer
Palace. After war had been declared and China’s reverses began,
she complained to the Emperor and to others, that the fatal step had
been taken without her knowledge and consent, but this was only
“making face,” for it is certain that she had been kept fully informed
of all that was done and that, had she so desired, she could easily
have prevented the issue of the Decree, and the despatch of the
Chinese troops to Asan. Sun Chia-nai’s reputation for sagacity was
increased after the event, and upon the subsequent disgrace and
dismissal of Weng T’ung-ho he stood high in Her Majesty’s favour.
Nevertheless his loyalty to the unfortunate Emperor remained
unshaken.
In 1898, his tendencies were theoretically on the side of reform,
but he thoroughly disapproved of the methods and self-seeking
personality of K’ang Yu-wei, advising the Emperor that, while
possibly fit for an Under-Secretaryship, he was quite unfitted for any
high post of responsibility. When matters first approached a crisis, it
was by his advice that the Emperor directed K’ang to proceed to
Shanghai for the organisation of the Press Bureau scheme. Sun,
peace-loving and prudent, hoped thereby to find an outlet for K’ang
Yu-wei’s patriotic activities while leaving the Manchu dovecots
unfluttered. Later, after the coup d’état, being above all things
orthodox and a stickler for harmonious observance of precedents, he
deplored the harsh treatment and humiliation inflicted upon the
Emperor. It is reported of him that on one occasion at audience he
broke down completely, and with tears implored the Empress
Dowager not to allow her mind to be poisoned against His Majesty,
but without effect.
Upon the nomination of the Heir Apparent, in 1900, which he, like
many others, regarded as the Emperor’s death sentence, he sent in
a strongly worded Memorial against this step, and subsequently
denounced it at a meeting of the Grand Council. Thereafter, his
protests proving ineffective, he resigned all his offices, but remained
at the capital in retirement, watching events. At the commencement
of the Boxer crisis, unable to contain his feelings, he sent in a
Memorial through the Censorate denouncing the rabid reactionary
Hsü T’ung, whom he described as “the friend of traitors, who would
bring the State to ruin if further confidence were placed in him.”
Throughout his career he displayed the courage of his convictions,
which, judged by the common standard of Chinese officialdom, were
conspicuously honest. He was a man of that Spartan type of private
life which one finds not infrequently associated with the higher
branches of Chinese scholarship and Confucian philosophy; it was
his boast that he never employed a secretary, but wrote out all his
correspondence and Memorials with his own hand.
A pleasing illustration of his character is the following: He was
seated one day in his shabby old cart, and driving down the main
street to his home, when his driver collided with the vehicle of a well-
known Censor, named Chao. The police came up to make enquiries
and administer street-justice, but learning that one cart belonged to
the Grand Secretary Sun, they told his driver to proceed. The
Censor, justly indignant at such servility, wrote a note to Sun in which
he said: “The Grand Secretary enjoys, no doubt, great prestige, but
even he cannot lightly disregard the power of the Censorate.” Sun,
on receiving this note, proceeded at once on foot in full official dress
to the Censor’s house, and upon being informed that he was not at
home, prostrated himself before the servant, saying: “The nation is
indeed to be congratulated upon possessing a virtuous Censor.”
Chao, not to be outdone in generosity, proceeded in his turn to the
residence of the Grand Secretary, intending to return the
compliment, but Sun declined to allow him to apologise in any way.

TUAN FANG
In 1898, Tuan Fang was a Secretary of the Board of Works; his
rapid promotion after that date was chiefly due to the patronage of
his friend Jung Lu. For a Manchu, he is remarkably progressive and
liberal in his views.
In 1900, he was Acting-Governor of Shensi. As the Boxer
movement spread and increased in violence, and as the fears of
Jung Lu led him to take an increasingly decided line of action against
them, Tuan Fang, acting upon his advice, followed suit. In spite of
the fact that at the time of the coup d’état he had adroitly saved
himself from clear identification with the reformers and had penned a
classical composition in praise of filial piety, which was commonly
regarded as a veiled reproof to the Emperor for not yielding implicit
obedience to the Old Buddha, he had never enjoyed any special
marks of favour at the latter’s hands, nor been received into that
confidential friendliness with which she frequently honoured her
favourites.
In his private life, as in his administration, Tuan Fang has always
recognised the changing conditions of his country and endeavoured
to adapt himself to the needs of the time; he was one of the first
among the Manchus to send his sons abroad for their education. His
sympathies were at first unmistakably with K’ang Yu-wei and his
fellow reformers, but he withdrew from them because of the anti-
dynastic nature of their movement, of which he naturally
disapproved.
As Acting-Governor of Shensi, in July, 1900, he clearly realised
the serious nature of the situation and the dangers that must arise
from the success of the Boxer movement, and he therefore issued
two Proclamations to the province, in which he earnestly warned the
people to abstain from acts of violence. These documents were
undoubtedly the means of saving the lives of many missionaries and
other foreigners isolated in the interior. In the first a curious passage
occurs, wherein, after denouncing the Boxers, he said:

“The creed of the Boxers is no new thing: in the reign of


Chia-Ch’ing, followers of the same cult were beheaded in
droves. But the present-day Boxer has taken the field
ostensibly for the defence of his country against the foreigner,
so that we need not refer to the past. While accepting their
good intentions, I would merely ask, is it reasonable for us to
credit these men with supernatural powers or invulnerability?
Are we to believe that all the corpses which now strew the
country between Peking and the sea are those of spurious
Boxers and that the survivors alone represent the true faith?”

After prophesying for them the same fate which overtook the
Mahomedan rebels and those of the Taiping insurrection, he
delivered himself of advice to the people which, while calculated to
prevent the slaughter of foreigners, would preserve his reputation for
patriotism. It is well, now that Tuan Fang has fallen upon evil days, to
remember the good work he did in a very difficult position. His
Proclamation ran as follows:—

“I have never for a moment doubted that you men of Shensi


are brave and patriotic and that, should occasion offer, you
would fight nobly for your country. I know that if you joined
these Boxers, it would be from patriotic motives. I would have
you observe, however, that our enemies are the foreign
troops who have invaded the Metropolitan province and not
the foreign missionaries who reside in the interior. If the
Throne orders you to take up arms in the defence of your
country, then I, as Governor of this province, will surely share
in that glory. But if, on your own account, you set forth to slay
a handful of harmless and defenceless missionaries, you will
undoubtedly be actuated by a desire for plunder, there will be
nothing noble in your deed, and your neighbours will despise
you as surely as the law will punish you.
“At this very moment our troops are pouring in upon the
capital from every province in the Empire. Heaven’s avenging
sword is pointed against the invader. This being so, it is
absurd to suppose that there can be any need for such
services as you people could render at such a time. Your
obvious and simple duty is to remain quietly in your homes,
pursuing your usual avocations. It is the business of the
official to protect the people, and you may rely upon me to do
so. As to that Edict of Their Majesties which, last year,
ordered the organisation of trained bands, the idea was
merely to encourage self-defence for local purposes, on the
principle laid down by Mencius of watch and ward being kept
by each district.”

A little later the Governor referred to that Decree of the Empress


Dowager (her first attempt at hedging) which began by quoting the
“Spring and Autumn Classic” in reference to the sacred nature of
foreign Envoys, and used it as a text for emphasising the fact that
the members of the several missionary societies in Shensi had
always been on the best of terms with the people. He referred to the
further fact that many refugees from the famine-stricken districts of
Shansi, and numbers of disbanded soldiers, had crossed the borders
of the province, and fearing lest these lawless folk should organise
an attack upon the foreigners, he once more urged his people to
permit no violation of the sacred laws of hospitality. The province had
already commenced to feel the effects of the long drought which had
caused such suffering in Shansi, and the superstitious lower classes
were disposed to attribute this calamity to the wrath of Heaven,
brought upon them by reason of their failure to join the Boxers. Tuan
Fang proceeded to disabuse their minds of this idea.

“If the rain has not fallen upon your barren fields,” he said,
“if the demon of drought threatens to harass you, be sure that
it is because you have gone astray, led by false rumours, and
have committed deeds of violence. Repent now and return to
your peaceful ways, and the rains will assuredly fall. Behold
the ruin which has come upon the provinces of Chihli and
Shantung; it is to save you from their fate that I now warn you.
Are we not all alike subjects of the great Manchu Dynasty,
and shall we not acquit ourselves like men in the service of
the State? If there were any chance of this province being
invaded by the enemy, you would naturally sacrifice your lives
and property to repel him, as a matter of simple patriotism.
But if, in a sudden access of madness, you set forth to
butcher a few helpless foreigners, you will in no wise benefit
the Empire, but will merely be raising fresh difficulties for the
Throne. For the time being, your own consciences will accuse
you of ignoble deeds, and later you will surely pay the penalty
with your lives and the ruin of your families. Surely, you men
of Shensi, enlightened and high-principled, will not fall so low
as this? There are, I know, among you some evil men who,
professing patriotic enmity to foreigners and Christians, wax
fat on foreign plunder. But the few missionary Chapels in this
province offer but meagre booty, and it is safe to predict that
those who begin by sacking them will certainly proceed next
to loot the houses of your wealthier citizens. From the burning
of foreigners’ homes, the conflagration will spread to your
own, and many innocent persons will share the fate of the
slaughtered Christians. The plunderers will escape with their
booty, and the foolish onlookers will pay the penalty of these
crimes. Is it not a well-known fact that every anti-Christian
outbreak invariably brings misery to the stupid innocent
people of the district concerned? Is not this a lamentable
thing? As for me, I care neither for praise nor blame; my only
object in preaching peace in Shensi is to save you, my
people, from dire ruin and destruction.”

Tuan Fang was a member of the Mission to foreign countries in


1905 and has received decorations and honours at the hands of
several European sovereigns. In private life he is distinguished by
his complete absence of formality; a genial, hospitable man, given to
good living, delighting in new mechanical inventions and fond of his
joke. It is he who, as Viceroy of Nanking, organised the International
Exhibition now being held in that city. As Viceroy of Chihli, he was in
charge of the arrangements for the funeral of the Empress Dowager
in November of last year, and a week after that impressive ceremony
was denounced for alleged want of respect and decorum. It was
charged against him that he had permitted subordinate officials to
take photographs of the cortège and that he had even dared to use
certain trees in the sacred enclosure of the Mausolea as telegraph
poles, for which offences he was summarily cashiered; since then he
has lived in retirement. The charges were possibly true, but it is
matter of common knowledge that the real reason for his disgrace
was a matter of Palace politics rather than funereal etiquette, for he
was a protégé of the Regent and his removal was a triumph for the
Yehonala clan, at a time when its prestige called for a demonstration
of some sort against the growing power and influence of the
Emperor Kuang-Hsü’s brothers.
FOOTNOTES
[1] As an example of unbalanced vituperation, uttered in good
faith and with the best intentions, vide The Chinese Crisis from
Within by “Wen Ching,” republished from the Singapore Free
Press in 1901 (Grant Richards).
[2] About £120.
[3] The same euphemism was employed to describe the Court’s
flight in August 1900.
[4] Grandfather of Na T’ung, the present head of the Waiwupu.
[5] “Yi” and “Cheng” are honorific names, meaning respectively
“harmonious” and “sedate.”
[6] The expression has reference to the fact that the Empresses
Regent are supposed to be concealed from the sight of Ministers
at audience by a curtain suspended in front of the Throne.
[7] The age of the Emperor was less than six, but the solemn
farce of his alleged acts and opinions is solemnly accepted by the
Chinese as part of the eternal order of things.
[8] To allow women privily to accompany the Imperial cortège is
a crime punishable by law with the penalty of the lingering death.
[9] The Prison of the Imperial Clan Court.
[10] Poetical term for Purgatory.
[11] Hereditary titles in China usually descend in a diminishing
scale.
[12] He was the father of that Marquis Tseng who, as Minister
to England (1878), lived to be credited by the British press with
literary abilities which he did not possess and liberal opinions
which he did not share. His grandsons, educated partly in
England, have lately been distinguished for that quality of patriotic
Conservatism which prides itself on having no intercourse with
foreigners.
[13] A short biographical note on Tso Tsung-t’ang, the hero of
the Mahomedan rebellion who gained distinction under Tseng
against the Taipings, is given in the appendix.
[14] So called because they declined to plait the queue, as a
sign that they rejected Manchu rule.
[15] His younger brother, subsequently made an earl and
Viceroy of Nanking for many years.
[16] This is merely figurative, referring to an ancient and
obsolete custom.
[17] So named because, before becoming a eunuch at the age
of sixteen, he was apprenticed to a cobbler at his native place,
Ho-Chien fu, in Chihli, from which district most of the eunuchs
come.
[18] This form of argument, under similar conditions, obtains all
over the Empire. “How could I possibly squeeze my master?”
says the servant.
[19] Quotation from the Book of Changes, implying a sense of
impending danger.
[20] Chinese pamphleteers in Canton record the event with
much detail, and state that this son is alive to-day under the name
of Chiu Min.
[21] A fantastic account of this mission is contained in an
imaginative work recently published (La Vie Secrète de la Cour de
Chine, Paris, 1910), where the Chief Eunuch’s name is given as
“Siao.” This curious blunder is due to the fact that the Eunuch’s
nickname, on account of his stature, was “Hsiao An’rh” (little An),
just as Li hien-Ying’s is “P’i Hsiao” Li all over China.
[22] The Phœnix flag signified that he was sent by the
Empresses Regent.
[23] The same expression is used of a novice taking the vows
of Buddhist priesthood.
[24] Tzŭ Hsi was fond of masquerading with her favourite, till
well advanced in years. One photograph of her is on sale in
Peking, wherein she is posing as the Goddess of Mercy (Kuanyin)
with Li in attendance as one of the Boddhisatvas.
[25] A term of humility.
[26] This Kuei Ching was an uncle of Tuan Fang, recently
Viceroy of Chihli, and a man generally respected.
[27] This disease is regarded amongst the Chinese as one of
good omen, especially if the symptoms develop satisfactorily.
[28] The annual and seasonal sacrifices at the ancestral
Temple and at the Imperial tombs involve “kowtowing” before
each tablet of the sacred ancestors, and this cannot be done in
the presence of one of the same generation as the last deceased,
much less by him.
[29] Prince Kung was the sixth, Prince Ch’un the seventh, in
order of seniority.
[30] On the occasion to which the Memorialist refers, the lawful
heir to the Throne committed suicide. The allusion would be
readily understood (if not appreciated) by the Empress Dowager,
whose irregular choice of Kuang-Hsü and violation of the dynastic
laws had certainly led to the death of A-lu-te. Looked at from the
Chinese scholar’s point of view, the innuendo was in the nature of
a direct accusation.
[31] The writer refers to the united action of the Manchu Princes
and nobles who assisted in the establishment of law and order,
and the expulsion of the Chinese rebels and Pretenders, during
the troublous time of the first Regency (1644) and the minority of
the infant Emperor, Shun-Chih.
[32] The burial place was close to, but necessarily outside, the
large enclosed park which contains the Imperial mausolea.
[33] Burial clothes should all be new and clean—by cutting
away the soles, his boots would look less shabby.
[34] I.e. by causing the Empresses to have his corpse
mutilated.
[35] About £10.
[36] The point whence, according to legend, the Yellow
Emperor ascended to heaven and where his clothes were buried.
[37] A quotation from Tseng Tzu, one of the most noted
disciples of Confucius.
[38] A sort of Chinese Mr. Malaprop, known to history as one
who invariably spoke at the wrong time.
[39] It is curious to note how frequently the Imperial tombs have
been the scene of such unseemly wrangles, wherein grievances
and passions, long pent up within the Palace precincts, find
utterance. A case of this kind occurred in 1909, on the occasion
of the burial of Tzŭ Hsi, when the surviving consorts of T’ung-Chih
and Kuang-Hsü, having quarrelled with the new Empress
Dowager (Lung Yü) on a similar question of precedence, refused
to return to the City and remained in dudgeon at the tombs until a
special mission, under an Imperial Duke, was sent humbly to beg
them to come back, to the no small scandal of the orthodox.
[40] This title was originally given to an infamous eunuch of the
Court of the Ming Emperor Chu Yü-hsiao, who, because of his
influence over his dissolute master, was canonised by the latter
after his death. The same title was claimed and used by the
Eunuch An Te-hai, vide supra, page 90.
[41] See above, page 93.
[42] Tzŭ Hsi had no love for this official, for it was he who
drafted Hsien-Feng’s valedictory Decree, at the dictation of Su
Shun, in 1861. Vide page 33.
[43] Sun remained in high favour until December 1894, when
the Emperor was induced by Weng T’ung-ho to dismiss him. At
that time the Empress was taking little active part in the direction
of affairs, occupying her time with theatricals and other diversions
at the Summer Palace, and playing a watching game in politics,
so that for a while Sun’s life was in real danger.
[44] Apricot yellow is a colour reserved, strictly speaking, for the
use of the Throne.
[45] In that event it would not be the Yehonala clan alone which
would benefit, as the present Emperor’s grandmother (who was
one of Prince Ch’un’s concubines) is still alive and would
necessarily share in any honours posthumously conferred on her
husband, whilst Kuang-Hsü’s mother would be excluded.
[46] The results of the Prince’s eminent services in naval and
military reorganisation were demonstrated three years later, not
entirely to the nation’s satisfaction, in the war with Japan.
[47] From a sentence in the Book of Rites, which means “to
give rest and peace to Heaven-sent old age.”
[48] Sir Walter Hillier, appointed by Yüan Shih-k’ai to be foreign
adviser to the Grand Council in 1908. When Yuan was compelled
to flee from Seoul before the advance of the Japanese, he was
escorted to Chemulpo by a guard of blue-jackets.
[49] i.e. the Japanese (literal translation).
[50] At present Chinese Minister in London.
[51] Now known as the Empress Dowager Lung Yü.
[52] Kang Yi was a bigoted reactionary and the arch instigator
of the Boxer movement at the capital. Young China has carefully
preserved one of his sayings of that time: “The establishment of
schools and colleges has only encouraged Chinese ambitions
and developed Chinese talent to the danger of the Manchu
Dynasty: these students should therefore be exterminated without
delay.”
[53] In 1901, this official begged Tzŭ Hsi, just before her
departure from K’ai-Feng fu for Peking, not to return thither, on
the ground that her Palace had been polluted by the presence of
the foreign barbarians.
[54] The Emperor prided himself on being a great stickler in
such matters, and many of the younger officials feared him on
account of his quick temper and martinet manner in dealing with
them.
[55] K’ang’s subsequent escape under British protection, in
which one of the writers was instrumental, is graphically
described in despatch No. 401 of Blue Book No. 1 of 1899.
[56] She was thrown down a well, by Tzŭ Hsi’s orders, as the
Court prepared for flight after the entrance of the allied forces into
Peking. (Vide infra.)
[57] It is interesting to note that this Manchu Prince (Tsai Ch’u)
was released from prison by the present Regent, the Emperor’s
brother, and was appointed to the command of one of the Manchu
Banner Corps on the same day, in January 1909, that Yüan Shih-
k’ai was dismissed from the viceroyalty of Chihli. The Emperor’s
party, as opposed to the Yehonala Clan, heartily approved of his
reinstatement.
[58] Vide Blue Book China No. I. of 1899, letters Nos. 266, 401,
and 426.
[59] As an example of Chinese official methods: the Shanghai
Taotai when requesting the British Consul-General’s assistance to
arrest K’ang Yu-wei, did not hesitate to say that the Emperor was
dead, murdered by the Chief Reformer. Vide Blue Book No. I of
1899; letter No. 401.
[60] From The Times of 31st March, 1899.
[61] Chang Yin-huan, who had been created a Knight
Commander of St. Michael and St. George in connection with
Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebration, was subsequently put to
death, after banishment to Turkestan. An order given by Prince
Tuan at the commencement of the Boxer crisis was the
immediate cause of his execution.
Another reformer named Hsü Chih-ching was condemned to
imprisonment for life in the Board of Punishments under this
same Decree; he was released by the Allies in August 1900,
when he proceeded at once to T’ai-Yüan fu, and handed himself
over to justice, disdaining to accept his release at the hands of
foreigners. This incident is typical of the Chinese officials’ attitude
of mind and of their reverence for the Decrees of the head of the
State.
[62] On the occasion of her seventieth birthday (1904), the
Empress Dowager promulgated a general amnesty for all those
who had taken part in the Reform Movement of 1898, excepting
only the leaders K’ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch’i-ch’ao, who were
expressly excluded from grace, and Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was a
fugitive from justice on other counts.
[63] Li Tuan-fen returned from exile in Turkestan under the
amnesty of 1904.
[64] Weng T’ung-ho has been posthumously restored to his full
rank and titles by a Decree of the present Regent. Thus is the
Emperor tardily justified and the pale ghosts of his followers
continue to suffer, even in Hades, the chances and changes of
Chinese official life!
[65] This official was eventually decapitated by the allies, as
one of the originators of the Boxer rising.
[66] This Prefect of Hsüanhua was subsequently promoted by
the Empress Dowager, when passing through that city, at the
beginning of the flight from Peking.
[67] Hsü, to whom Jung Lu was writing, was a Cantonese by
birth, and was at this time Viceroy of Foochow.
[68] A note on the career and character of this courageous
official is given in the Appendix.
[69] The Decree is given at the end of this chapter.
[70] The victim was British, not French—viz., the Rev. Mr.
Brooks, killed on 31st December, 1899, just after Yu Hsien’s
removal had been arranged.
[71] Between January and June the entries are of no particular
interest.
[72] The Supreme Deity of the Taoists and tutelary spirit of the
Boxers.
[73] A nickname of An Te-hai, vide supra, p. 90 et seq.
[74] The Chancellor of the Japanese Legation, Mr. Sugiyama.
[75] This was a forgery.
[76] A quotation from the “Book of Odes.”
[77] This man’s subsequent arrest and execution are described
in a Censorate memorial at the end of this chapter.
[78] Mr. (later Sir Harry) Parkes.
[79] Professor James.
[80] Mentioned above under full name of Chi Shou-ch’eng. Chi
Pin was his “hao” or intimate personal name.
[81] Ching Shan’s house was just inside the Tung An Gate of
the Imperial City, about a quarter of a mile to the north of the
present Legation area boundary.
[82] This favourite companion of Tzŭ Hsi was really Jung Lu’s
secondary consort, who was only raised to the rank of la première
légitime after his first wife’s death in September, 1900. She
survived him and continued to exercise great influence with the
Old Buddha.
[83] A short biographical note on Chang Chih-tung will be found
in the Appendix.
[84] Vide under June 20th.
[85] A quotation from Mencius.
[86] Quotation from Mencius.
[87] History of events under the Chou dynasty, by Confucius;
one of the Five Classics.
[88] How well and successfully she did it, has been told in Miss
Catherine A. Carl’s book, With the Empress Dowager of China.
The painting of her portrait for the St. Louis exhibition was in itself
an example of Tzŭ Hsi’s “cardinal virtues of government,” which
she practised with conspicuous success on the simple-minded
wife of the American Minister, Mrs. Conger. (Vide Cordier,
Relations de la Chine, Vol. III., p. 423.)
[89] The second character of Prince Tuan’s name contained the
radical sign for dog, and was given him by the Emperor Hsien-
Feng, because he had been begotten during the period of
mourning for his parent Tao-Kuang; it being an offence, under
Chinese law, for a son to be begotten during the twenty-seventh
months of mourning for father or mother.
[90] A classical allusion, in common use, equivalent to “Ne
sutor ultra crepidam.”
[91] A traitor whose crime and punishment are recorded in the
Spring and Autumn Annals.
[92] A classical expression, meaning the Spirit-world.
[93] Referring to his part in the coup d’état of 1898.
[94] The expression is figurative.
[95] A species of owl—classical reference.
[96] Consort of Kuang-Hsü, now Empress Dowager, known by
the honorific title of Lung-yü.
[97] Prince Ch’un subsequently married Jung Lu’s daughter, by
special command of the Empress Dowager.
[98] This Memorial was never published officially, and Tzŭ Hsi
refrained from issuing a Rescript thereto; it was forwarded by an
official with the Court at Hsi-an to one of the vernacular papers at
Shanghai, which published it.
[99] A lane four hundred yards north of the glacis which now
surrounds the Legation quarter.
[100] Quotation from Confucius.
[101] Tzŭ Hsi was addicted to gentle sarcasm of this kind in
Decrees.
[102] Admiral Seymour’s expedition.
[103] See Dr. Smith’s “China in Convulsion,” page 361.
[104] The North Gate of the Imperial City.
[105] At that time Governor-designate of Shensi. He had come
north with troops to defend the capital.
[106] Tutor of the Heir Apparent, father-in-law of the Emperor
T’ung-Chih, his daughter, the Empress Chia-Shun (A-lu-te), had
committed suicide in 1875 (vide supra).
[107] An allusion to Kuang-Hsü’s order for Jung Lu’s summary
execution in September 1898.
[108] See biographical note, infra (Appendix).
[109] Deceased, 26th August 1910.
[110] As he had done for Tzŭ Hsi’s son, the Emperor T’ung-
Chih.
[111] Amongst Chinese officials no characteristic is more
common than their jealousy of each other and their promiscuous
habit of backbiting and slandering.
[112] It was because of Tung Fu-hsiang’s great popularity in
Kansu that Her Majesty, fearing another rebellion, hesitated to
order his execution.
[113] This sentence is equivalent to imprisonment for life.
[114] See Ching Shan’s Diary, page 258; also cf. page 324.
[115] The Empress Dowager was from the outset most anxious
to screen and protect this official, for whom she had a great
personal regard. On reviewing his case in the light of later
information and current public opinion, it would appear that most
of his actions were instigated, if not ordered, by Kang Yi, and that
the decision of the foreign Ministers to insist upon his death was
taken without any very definite information as to his share of guilt.
[116] In accordance with prescribed custom.
[117] He was directly descended from Nurhachu, the conqueror
of the Mings.
[118] This was no empty boast. Yü Hsien, cold-blooded fanatic
that he was, bore a most honourable name for absolute integrity
and contempt for wealth. He died in poverty, so miserable, that
amongst all his clothes there was not one suit new enough to be
fittingly used for his burial robes. His name is still held in high
honour by the people of Shansi, who sing the praises of his
Governorship, and who claim that his proud spirit it was which
protected their Province from being invaded by the foreigners.
They erected a shrine to his memory, but it was demolished to
appease the foreign Powers.
[119] The Chinese rendering of a German name.
[120] This is the Chinese date; the day of the audience was the
4th September.
[121] Wen T’i had been a censor in 1898, but was cashiered by
the Emperor for being reactionary. Tzŭ Hsi restored him to favour
after the coup d’état.
[122] Precisely the same quotation was used by Ch’ung Hou in
a despatch to the British Minister (Mr. Wade) in 1861, under
somewhat similar circumstances. Since that date the most
frequent criticism of foreign observers on the subject has been
“plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
[123] The literal translation of the Chinese is, “She has eaten
her meal at sunset, and worn her clothes throughout the night.”
[124] Ginseng, the specific remedy of the Chinese
pharmacopœia for debility, supposed to possess certain magical
qualities when grown in shapes resembling the human form or
parts thereof. The best kind, supplied as tribute to the Throne,
grows wild in Manchuria and Corea.
[125] This house-law was made by the Emperor Ch’ien Lung to
prevent his Court officials from intriguing for the favour of the Heir
Apparent.
[126] The chief eunuch in reality objected to the Buddhist pontiff
on his own account, for the Lama’s exactions from the
superstitious would naturally diminish his own opportunities.
[127] He had succeeded Jung Lu as custodian of the
mausolea.
[128] The Imperial Mausoleum lies about ninety miles to the
east of Peking, covering a vast enclosure of magnificent approach
and decorated with splendid specimens of the best style of
Chinese architecture. It consists of four palaces, rising one behind
the other, and at the back of the fourth and highest stands the
huge mound classically termed the “Jewelled Citadel,” under
which lies the spacious grave chamber.
[129] Vide Biographical Note in the Appendix.
[130] 2nd January, 1909.
[131] Vide the Diary of Ching Shan, page 259.
[132] Grant Richards, 1901.

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