ANTI-FOREIGN RIOTS IN WESTERN CHINA

華西反外暴動

Reason of riot — Placard put out — Suspicion of foreigners — Doctors first attacked — Trying to escape — Watching compound burning — Canadians hidden in a bed — Disguised as a dying man — Americans hidden in a loft — French Bishop struck with an axe — Viceroy calling out to mob — All in yamen — Outrages — Taotai Cheo's proclamation — Governor General's proclamation — Martial law — Escorted away — Attack at Kwanhsien — Man with knife — Destruction at Kiating — Escaping from Yacheo — Coming upon friends at Suifu — Recalled from Luchow — Priests driven from twenty stations .199

暴亂原因 — 張貼告示 — 對外國人的懷疑 — 醫生首先遭到襲擊 — 試圖逃脫 — 目睹院落焚燒 — 加拿大人藏身床中 — 喬裝成垂死之人 — 美國人藏身閣樓 — 法國主教遭斧頭襲擊 — 總督向暴民喊話 — 全部躲進衙門 — 暴行 — 道台周的告示 — 總督的告示 — 戒嚴令 — 護送離開 — 灌縣遭襲 — 持刀之人 — 嘉定遭破壞 — 從雅州逃脫 — 在敘府遇到友人 — 從瀘州召回 — 神父從二十個傳教站被驅逐 .199

It is a question whether the true story of the Szechuan riots of 1895 will ever be known. No inquiry has ever been made into any of the previous riots on the Yangtze — for to a Chinese inquiry no one who has resided in China would attach any importance. It invariably results in the beheading of a few needy coolies, a condemnation of the behavior of the foreigners, especially if they have been killed and cannot speak for themselves, the persecution of all those who have stood their friends, and the removal — i.e., promotion — of the local officials. Ordinary Chinese — that is, the man in the street and his like — said these riots were neither anti-Christian nor anti-foreign, but all to “let the Emperor know and Japan man know,” but especially the Emperor, “that China man, he no likee — too muchee cross.” Well-informed foreigners said much the same — that it was all a bit of party politics, the Hunan men, represented to us in England by the late Marquis Tseng, who were then out of power, wanting to turn out the Anhui men, Li Hongzhang and his gang, and adopt these means of getting them into difficulties. The Hunan men, who may be called the patriotic party, are naturally anti-foreign. It may be remembered the late Marquis Tseng could never return to Hunan after his friendliness with English people in England.

關於1895年四川（Szechuan）暴動的真實故事，是否能夠為人所知，依然是一個問題。從未對長江（Yangtze）上發生的任何先前暴動進行過調查——因為對中國人來說，沒有在中國生活過的人不會對任何調查予以重視。這樣的調查通常結果只是砍掉幾個貧困的苦力（coolies）的頭，譴責外國人的行為，尤其是那些已經被殺害、無法為自己辯解的外國人，同時還會迫害所有曾經站在他們一邊的朋友，並將地方官員免職——即實際上是升遷。普通的中國人——也就是街頭巷尾的市井小民——認為這些暴動既非反基督教、也非反外國人，只是為了「讓皇帝（Emperor）知道，也讓日本人（Japan man）知道」，但特別是讓皇帝知道，「中國人（China man），他不喜歡——太多的壓迫（too muchee cross）」。消息靈通的外國人也說了差不多的話——這不過是一些政黨鬥爭的小伎倆，代表我們在英國認識的已故曾侯（Marquis Tseng）的湖南人（Hunan men）當時不在權力之中，想要趕走安徽（Anhui）人李鴻章（Li Hongzhang）及其黨羽，並採取這種方式來讓他們陷入困境。湖南人，或可稱為愛國派，天生反對外國人。據說已故曾侯在英國與英國人友好往來後，便無法再回到湖南（Hunan）。

Whatever was the cause, somebody put out placards towards the end of May, 1895, and the walls of Chengdu all over the city bore this legend: ** Notice is hereby given that at the present ’ foreign barbarians ’ are hiring evil characters to steal small children that they may extract oil from them for their use. I have a female servant named Li who has personally seen this done. I therefore exhort you good people not to allow your children to go out. I hope you will act in accordance with this.”

Now in judging of after events it must be remembered that to a Chinaman there is nothing incredible about this anonymous placard. Even the most enlightened Chinese, educated in America, and at the head of large industrial concerns, will maintain stoutly, “The Roman Catholics do not have such high walls and closed doors for nothing”; whilst a manservant of a most superior kind, who had spent all his life in English (chiefly Consular) employ, on being asked by his mistress, apropos of similar reports on another occasion, “ Surely you do not believe them; you know master and me; you can’t believe master would take out small children’s eyes?” drew a long breath, and then honestly replied, “My no savee.” All through China it is generally believed foreigners take out children’s eyes, and extract oil for photographs and worse purposes.

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On the afternoon of May 28, the Canadian Methodist Mission premises at Chengdu were attacked. They happened to be nearest the throwing of the plums, a yearly ceremony, that in Chengdu takes the place of the dragon-boat festival elsewhere. A member of the Church Mission had come in from his outlying station, a five days’ journey, to have his teeth attended to, and both he and the doctor were weary after the operation when they found themselves suddenly confronted by an angry Chinese mob. Canadians, like Americans, always have firearms handy, whilst most English missionaries, brought up from childhood in highly-policed England and unaccustomed, think it wrong to have recourse to them. The two doctors drove the crowd back once; then, having put the ladies into comparative safety in the hospital compound next door, they once more kept the gate for nearly two hours, with their arms visible but not used, whilst they sent to the officials for help. Then a few yamen runners and unarmed soldiers stepped out and said they would disperse the mob, on which the doctors went to join their wives and children, and at once the mob swept past the yamen runners and began destroying everything. The missionaries next tried to hide under some timber, but a Chinaman warned them they would thus be burned to death. Then, finding the back gate besieged, they fired a shot over the people's heads, through the top of the gateway. This was a most fortunate idea, for it not only dispersed the people for a while, but also gave a means of exit.

無論原因為何，1895年5月底有人在成都（Chengdu）全城張貼了告示，內容如下：「特此通知，現時『洋夷』（foreign barbarians）正在僱用惡棍偷走小孩，以便從他們身上提取油脂供其使用。我有一名叫李（Li）的女僕，她親眼目睹此事。因此，我勸善良的百姓們不要讓你們的孩子外出。希望你們能遵守這一勸告。」

在評價隨後的事件時，必須記住，對於中國人來說，這張匿名的告示並沒有什麼不可思議之處。即便是受過美國教育、在大型工業公司擔任高層的最開明的中國人，仍堅持認為：「羅馬天主教徒（Roman Catholics）修建那麼高的牆、關閉大門並非毫無道理。」而一位非常優秀的男僕，他一生主要在英國領事館工作過，當他的女主人針對另一個類似的傳聞問他：「你肯定不相信吧？你認識我和老爺；你總不會相信老爺會把小孩子的眼睛挖出來吧？」他深吸一口氣，老實回答說：「我不懂（My no savee）。」在整個中國，普遍流傳著外國人會取出孩子的眼睛，並提取油脂供拍照和其他更為惡劣的用途的說法。

5月28日下午，加拿大衛理公會傳教團（Canadian Methodist Mission）位於成都的傳教會所遭到了襲擊。該地恰巧靠近「拋梅」活動的地點，這是一年一度的儀式，在成都取代了其他地區的端午龍舟節。當時，有一名教會傳教士從偏遠的傳教站趕來，歷經五天的路程，是為了接受牙醫治療。他和醫生都因為這次治療感到疲憊，這時他們突然面對了一群憤怒的中國暴民。像加拿大人和美國人一樣，他們通常會備有武器，而大多數英國傳教士，從小在高度治安的英國長大，不習慣使用武器，甚至認為這是不正當的行為。兩名醫生曾驅散過一次暴徒；隨後，他們將婦女安置在隔壁醫院的安全區域，再次守住大門，將武器展示出來，但沒有使用，並向官員求助。隨後，一些衙門差役（yamen runners）和未武裝的士兵出來，表示他們會驅散暴徒，醫生便離開去和家人團聚。結果，暴徒立即衝破衙門差役的防線，開始肆意破壞。接著，傳教士試圖躲在木材堆下，但一位中國人警告他們這樣做會被活活燒死。當他們發現後門也被圍困時，他們向空中開了一槍，正好越過門頂。這個主意非常幸運，既分散了暴徒，也為他們的逃生提供了機會。

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For now the missionaries found they must leave the premises, and through the hole made in the gate crept out four adults and four very small children. They sought refuge, but no one would give it to them, and they went down the street amid cries of " Beat them to death." But these cries are common in China ; we in the interior are mostly hardened to them. The fugitives then tried to get into some barracks, but the soldiers drove them away, one of them kicking one of the ladies ; then they made their way to the city wall, all but the Church missionary, who, taking a wrong turning in the dark, got separated from the others and eventually reached the China Inland premises, and one of the children, who was also lost for a time. The others were on a city wall till about midnight, and from there, shoeless, and not knowing what might not happen next^ they watched their compound burning. In the small hours of the morning chairs were sent to them and took them to the China Inland Mission, where they rejoined Mr Jackson, having also regained the missing child, brought back to them by a servant from another part of the city. There also they were joined by the Rev. G. Hartwell and the ladies of the China Inland, both of whose houses were already destroyed. The people in the street said to the members of the China Inland, " You have been here over ten years and have done good; no one will touch you here." The mob, however, began to collect, and one of the number went to the yamen to give notice. One of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission had already, at 3 a.m. on the 29th, taken a box round to the magistrate's yamen, asking him at least to take care of their things for them, but had had to take it away again, being assured they were quite safe. This did not, however, prevent all the foreigners in Chungkingfrom meeting there the next morning, with everything destroyed but what they stood up in. Again the unfortunate Canadians, now accompanied by the China Inland, had to escape by the back, whilst the mob surged in at the front over the barricaded doors. This time they got over the back wall by ladders into a small house, and by giving thirty taels (about four pounds) to three brothers of the household, obtained a hiding-place within the mosquito curtains of a bed in a back room. The party consisted of some six adults and several children. All the foreign children in Chentu were under three years old; and the great difficulty was to keep these children quiet. For three hours in the terrible heat of a very early Chinese summer, they were thus all hidden together, not daring to speak above a whisper, whilst their premises were being looted and destroyed within a few feet of them. The man of the house drew his bed in front of the door and lay on it, smoking opium, and the women of the house went on with their usual work, as though nothing had happened, till at last it was dark enough for the whole party to be taken in chairs to the yamen, except one man, again missing.

當時傳教士們意識到必須離開住所，於是四名成人和四名幼童透過門上開的洞口爬了出去。他們尋求庇護，但無人願意收留，於是沿著街道行走，耳邊響起「打死他們」的呼聲。然而，這些呼聲在中國是常見的，我們在內地生活久了，已經對此習以為常。逃亡者試圖進入一些營房，但士兵將他們趕走，其中一名士兵還踢了其中一位女士。接著，他們試圖前往城牆，然而其中一名來自教會的傳教士在黑暗中走錯了路，與其他人分散開來，最終到達了內地會（China Inland Mission）的住處，還有一名孩子也在過程中走失了一段時間。其他人則在城牆上待到了午夜左右，無鞋可穿，不知道接下來會發生什麼事，只能眼睜睜看著自己的房子在不遠處燃燒。凌晨時分，椅子被送來接他們前往內地會的住處，他們在那裡與傑克遜先生（Mr. Jackson）會合，走失的孩子也由一名來自城市另一部分的僕人帶回。隨後，他們與哈特韋爾牧師（Rev. G. Hartwell）以及內地會的幾位女士匯合，兩位女士的住所已經被毀。街上的人對內地會的成員說：「你們在這裡已經十多年，做了很多好事，沒人會在這裡傷害你們。」然而，暴徒們開始聚集，其中一名成員前往衙門通知官員。

美國衛理公會（American Methodist Episcopal Mission）的一名成員已於29日凌晨3點將一個箱子送到了縣衙，請求官員至少幫忙保管物品，但官員保證物品「十分安全」，他只得將箱子帶回。然而，這並未能阻止所有重慶的外國人於次日上午齊聚縣衙，當時他們除了身上的衣服外，其他一切都已被摧毀。不幸的加拿大人（Canadian missionaries），此時已與內地會的成員一道，再次從後方逃走，而暴徒們則從前方闖入，推翻了已被封鎖的大門。這次，他們用梯子翻過後牆進入一戶小房子，並以三十兩銀（約四英鎊）的價格賄賂了這戶人家的三兄弟，從而在後房的蚊帳內找到了一處藏身之地。這個隊伍包括六名成人和幾名孩子。當時，所有在成都的外國孩子都未滿三歲，最大的挑戰就是如何讓這些孩子保持安靜。在酷熱的初夏，他們在極度恐懼中躲藏了三個小時，不敢大聲說話，外面就是暴徒正在劫掠和毀壞他們的住所。房主將自己的床移到門前，躺在上面吸鴉片，而這家的女人則若無其事地繼續日常工作，直到天黑得夠深，所有人被悄悄送往縣衙，除了再度失蹤的一名男子。

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The latter had found his way into a Chinese doctor's house, and there the bright idea was conceived of passing him off as a patient. He was muffled up in a red and blue Chinese hood, then with large Chinese glasses, and leaning on the shoulders of two men, he was supported to the door, and there, in the very midst of the destroying mob, put into a chain The chair coolies were warned that he was a man so sick he must die within the year, and therefore the curtains must be kept closely drawn that not a breath of air might touch him before they delivered him in the magistrate's yamen. Thus he too got safe away.

The Americans, only about three hours after their return from the yamen, having been refused protection for their valuables, had to escape over their side boundary wall. Had they gone over their back wall they would have found themselves in the hands of naked robbers, as did their native helper, who had to pay ten taels, or over a pound, to get away. Hidden in a loft, they all actually watched the destroying, carrying off, and burning of their property — one a bride only eleven days arrived — ^until at last the dreadful day was over, and half the night ; for not until i a.m. did the authorities think it safe to take them to the yamen.