The Diary was found by the translator in the private study of Ching
Shan's house on August 18th and saved, in the nick of time, from being
burnt by a party of Sikhs. Many of the entries, which cover the period
from January to August 1900, refer to trivial and uninteresting matters.
The following passages are selected chiefly because of the light they throw
on the part played by the Empress Dowager in that tragedy of midsummer
madness--on the strong hand and statecraft of the woman, and on the
unfathomable ignorance which characterises to-day the degenerate de-
scendants of Nurhachu. It should be explained that Ching Shan

Ching Shan, though of similarly high rank, was personally quite unknown
to foreigners, but a short note on his career (and another on that of Ching
Hsin) will be found in the "List of the Higher Metropolitan and provincial
officials" periodically compiled by the Chinese Secretariat of the British
Legation; Edition of 1902, Kelly and Walsh, Shanghai.]

25th Year of Kuang Hsü, 12th Moon, 25th Day ( 25th
January, 1900).--DukeTsai Lan came to see me, his old
tutor, to-day. He has much to tell me concerning the
"Patriotic Harmony" train-bands (I Ho Tuan) which have
been raised in Shantung by Yü Hsien, the Governor. Later,
he described yesterday's audience at the Palace; in addition
to the Grand Secretaries, the Presidents of Boards and the
Ministers of the Household, the "Sacred Mother" received
Prince Kung, his uncles Tsai Ying and Tsai Lien and
Prince Tuan. The Old Buddha announced her intention of
selecting a new Emperor. She said: "The nation has
shown resentment and reproached me for putting Kuang
Hsüon the Throne, he being of the wrong generation;
furthermore, he himself has shown great lack of filial duty to
me notwithstanding the debt of gratitude he owed me for
my kindness in thus elevating him. Has he not plotted
against me with traitors from the south? I now propose
therefore to depose him and to place a new Emperor on the

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