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THE
RETIRING CHINESE MINISTER |
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Harpers
Weekly, April 17, 1886, page 250 (Illustrated
Article) |
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The picture of Cheng Tsao Ju, the Chinese Minister,
is engraved from a photograph given to me by that excellent gentleman, with whom
I have been on friendly terms for many years, and whom I have constantly seen
while he has been in this country.
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The
Retiring Chinese Minister
April 17, 1886, page 250
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The Minister is a "red-button" Mandarin, i.e., a Mandarin of
the second class. He is a native of the Kwang-Tung Province, and sixty-two years
old. Like many of his countrymen of the better class, he devoted himself in
early life to arduous study, and in due time received his degree, and entered
the public service. I well remember the founding by the Chinese of the great
arsenal at Shanghai—Kaou Chung-Maou they called it. It was established
in a peach orchard on the shore of the Wong-Poo River, four or five miles above
the native city, and has grown from small beginnings to be a splendid
establishment, worthy to belong to any government in the world. Mr. Cheng Tsao
Ju was one of the two government Commissioners in charge of this arsenal for the
fourteen years from 1864 to 1878. I doubt not that, in the evil times upon which
he has fallen in this country, he looks back longingly to the pleasant and
successful epoch in his life. I knew him well at Shanghai, and can speak from
personal knowledge of his efficient and brilliant services.
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From 1878 to
1881 he was Taoutae (Governor) of Tien-tsin, and in the
latter year he was sent as Minister to this country. His wife
accompanied him, and he had a daughter born in Washington in the
summer of 1883. Apropos of this event, and as illustrating the
Minister’s nice sense of humor, I may mention a little incident,
some account of which I believe has already found its way into
print. As I was probably the only American in Washington whom he had
known in China, he remembered that I had a little daughter born in
that country; and when in my house one evening he asked through the
interpreter if there were not a Chinese subject in that house. I
replied in the affirmative, and sent for my little girl for him to
see, saying at the same time that I would bespeak his protection for
her. He replied, with great courtesy, "She shall certainly have
it, and you will bear in mind that while you have in your family a
Chinese subject, I have in mine an American citizen."
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I wish it were
possible to say that this amiable and accomplished gentleman, who
has made friends of all with whom he has come in contact, would be
able on his approaching departure to think of his sojourn in
American as prosperous and pleasant; but such is far from being the
case. For the first three years he had to contend only with the
comparatively moderate development then existing of anti-Chinese
feeling. Late in 1884, and after the return of his wife to China, he
went to Peru, where his countrymen are treated more savagely, if
possible, than in our own favored land, and while on his return was
stricken with paralysis, from which he has only partially recovered.
While thus suffering, and enfeebled by disease, he has been
compelled to bear the affliction of the late attacks upon his
countrymen; and that this affliction has been grievous no one can
doubt; yet in the midst of his troubles he has continued to
dispense, at "Stewart Castle," in Dupont Circle, the
graceful and generous hospitality for which the Legation has been
justly celebrated.
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In our ignorance we are very apt to misjudge and
underrate Oriental statesmen. The late Charles Sumner told me that he once asked
Sir Frederick Bruce (who was transferred as British Minister from Pekin to
Washington) what he thought of the statesmen of the Chinese Foreign Office, and
Sir Frederick replied, and repeated when pressed, that they were "unequalled
for character and ability."
A worthy associate of such distinguished
diplomatists is the gentle and courteous friend to whom I have taken the liberty
of paying this brief tribute of respect and esteem; and if my countrymen knew
him as I do, they would all join I hearty good wishes for his health, happiness,
and prosperity. A.A. Hayes.
Washington, D.C., March 31, 1886
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Harpers
Weekly, April 17, 1886, page 250 (Illustrated
Article) |
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