Korea & Her Neighbours/Chapter XVII

THE weeks which I spent in Mukden were full of rumors and excitement. A few words on the origin of the war with Japan may make the situation intelligible.

The Tong-haks, as was mentioned in chapter xiii., had on several occasions defeated the Royal Korean troops, and after much hesitation the Korean King invoked the help of China. China replied promptly by giving Japan notice of her inten- tion to send troops to Korea on 7th June, 1894, both coun- tries, under the treaty of Tientsin, having equal rights to do so under such circumstances as had then arisen. On the same day Japan announced to China a similar intention. The Chinese General, Yi, landed at A-san with 3,000 men, and the Japanese occupied Chemulpo and Seoul in force.

In the Chinese despatch Korea was twice referred to as “ our tributary state." Japan replied that the Imperial Government had never recognized Korea as a tributary state of China.

Then came three proposals from Japan for the administra- tion of Korea, to be carried out jointly by herself and China. These were — (1) Examination of the financial administration ; (2) Selection of the central and local officials ; (3) The es- tablishment of a disciplined army for national defence and the preservation of the peace of the land.

To these proposals China replied that Korea must be left to reform herself, and that the withdrawal of the Japanese troops must precede any negotiations, a suggestion rejected by Japan, wlio informed China on 14th July, that she should regard the dispatch of any more troops to Japan as a belligerent act. On 20th July Japan demanded that the King of Korea should order the Chinese troops to leave the country, threatening " decisive measures " if this course were not adopted.

Meanwhile, at the request of the King, the representatives of the Treaty Powers were endeavoring to maintain peace, suggesting the simultaneous withdrawal of the troops of both countries. To this China agreed, but Japan demanded delay, and on 23rd July took the “decisive measure” she had threatened, assaulted and captured the Palace, and practically made the King a prisoner, his father, the Tai-Won-Kun, at his request, but undoubtedly at Japanese instigation, taking nominally the helm of affairs.

After this events marched with great rapidity. On 25th July the transport Kowshing, flying the British flag and carry- ing 1,200 Chinese troops, was sunk with great loss of life by the Japanese cruiser Nankua, and four days later the Japanese won the battle of A-san and dispersed the Chinese army. Before 30th July Korea gave notice of the renunciation of the Conventions between herself and China, which was equivalent to renouncing Chinese sovereignty. On ist August war was declared. Of the sequence of these events, and even of the events themselves, we knew little or nothing, and up to the middle of July Mukden kept “ the even tenor of its way.”

Manchuria is far less hostile to foreigners than the rest of China, and the name “devil” may even be used as a polite address with the prefix of "honorable " ! No European women had previously passed through the gate of the inner wall and through the city on foot, but I not only was able to do so with- out molestation, though several times only attended by my serv- ant, but actually was able to photograph in the quieter streets, the curiosity of the crowd being quite friendly. The Scotch missionaries had then been established in Mukden for twenty- two years, were on very friendly terms with the people, there was much social intercourse, and altogether their relations with the Chinese were unique.

Before the end of July, however, the many wild rumors which were afloat, and the continual passage of troops on their way to Korea (war being a foregone conclusion before it was declared), produced a general ferment. I had to abandon peregrinations in the city, and also photography, a hostile crowd having mobbed me as I was “ taking ” the Gate of Vic- tory, in the belief that I kept a black devil in the camera, with such a baleful Cyclopean eye that whatever living thing it looked on would die within a year, and any building or wall would crumble away !

After war was declared on ist August, 1894, things grew worse rapidly. As Japan had full command of the sea, all Chinese troops sent to Korea were compelled to march through Manchuria, and undisciplined hordes of Manchu soldiers from Kirin, Tsitsihar, and othern northern cities poured through Mukden at the rate of 1,000 a day, having distinguished them- selves on the southern march by seizing on whatever they could get hold of, riotously occupying inns without payment, beat- ing the innkeepers, and wrecking Christian chapels, not from anti-Christian but from anti foreign feeling. Their hatred of foreigners culminated at Liau-yang, 40 miles from Mukden, when Manchu soldiers, after wrecking the Christian chapel, beat Mr. Wylie, a Scotch missionary, to death, and attacked the chief magistrate for his friendliness to the “ foreign devils.”

Anti-foreign feeling rose rapidly in Mukden. The servants of foreigners, and even the hospital assistants, were insulted in the town, and the wildest rumors concerning foreigners were spread and believed. The friendly authorities, who took the safety of the three mission families into serious consideration, requested them to give up their usual journeys into the interior, and to avoid going into the city or outside the walls. Next the “street chapels” were closed, the native Christians, a large body, being very apprehensive for their own safety, being re- garded as “ one with the foreigners,” who, unfortunately, were generally supposed to be “ the same as the Japanese.”

The perils of the roads increased. Not a cart or animal was to be seen near them. The great inns were closed or had their shutters wrecked, and the villages and farms were deserted. All tracks converging on Mukden were thronged with troops, not marching, but straggling along anyhow, every tenth man carrying a great silk banner, but few were armed with modern weapons. I saw several regiments of fine physique without a rifle among them ! In some, gingalls were carried by two men each, others were armed with antique muzzle-loading muskets, very rusty, or with long matchlocks, and some carried only spears, or bayonets fixed on red poles. All were equipped with such umbrellas and fans as I saw some time later in the ditches of the bloody field of Phyong-yang. It was nothing but mur- der to send thousands of men so armed to meet the Japanese with their deadly Murata rifles, and the men knew it, for when they happened to see a foreigner they made such remarks as, " This is one of the devils for whom we are going to be shot," and when a large party of them, in attempting to make a for- cible entry into the Governor-General's palace, were threat- ened by the guard with being shot, the reply was, “ We are going to be shot in Korea, we may as well be shot here.”

The nominal pay of soldiers is higher than that of laborers, and it was only after the defeat and the great slaughter at A-san that there was any unwillingness to enter the ranks. The uni- form is easy, but unfit for hard wear, and very stagey — a short, loose, sleeved red cloak, bordered wnth black velvet, loose blue, black, or apricot trousers, and long boots of black cotton cloth with thick soles of quilted rag. The discipline may be inferred from the fact that some regiments of fine physique straggled through Mukden for the seat of war carrying rusty muskets in one hand, and in the other poles with perches, on which singing birds were loosely tethered ! The men fell out of the ranks as they pleased, to buy fruit or tobacco or to speak to friends. Yet they made a goodly scenic display in their brilliant coloring, with their countless long banners of crimson silk undulating in the breezy sunshine, and their offi- cers with sable-tailed hats and yellow jackets riding beside them.

Those who had rifles and modern weapons at all had them of all makes ; so cartridges of twenty different sorts and sizes were huddled together without any attempt at classification, and in one open space all sorts were heaped on the ground, and the soldiers were fitting them to their arms, sometimes trying eight or ten before finding one to suit the weapon, and throwing them back on the heap ! There were neither medi- cal arrangements nor an ambulance corps, Chinese custom being to strip the wounded and leave them, “wounded men being of no use.” The commissariat was not only totally in- efficient but grossly dishonest, and where stores had accumu- lated the contractors sold them for their own benefit. Thus there was little provision of food or fodder in advance, and in a very short time the soldiers were robbing at large, and eat- ing the horses and transport mules. The Chinese soldiers, bad as their drill and discipline are, are regarded by European offi- cers as “excellent material,” but the Manchus of the North (Tartars) are a shambling, disorderly, insubordinate horde, dreaded by peaceable citizens, presuming on their Imperial relationship, and in disturbed times little better than licensed brigands.

Among the first troops to leave the city was the Fengtien Chinese brigade of cavalry 5,000 strong, under General Tso, a brave and experienced officer, who was at once feared and trusted, so that when he fell with his face to the foe at Phyong- yang, his loss demoralized the army, and the Japanese showed their appreciation of him by erecting an obelisk to his mem- ory. His brigade was in a state of strict discipline, admirably drilled, and on the whole well armed. The troopers were mounted on active, well-built ponies, a little over 13 hands high, up to great weight. After leaving Mukden they were entangled in a quagmire which extended for 100 miles, and the telegrams of disaster were ominous. On the first day their commander beheaded six men for taking melons without pay- ment, and on the second fourteen were decapitated for deser- tion.

After General Tso's departure with his disciplined force the disorder increased, and the high officials, being left with few reliable soldiers, became alarmed for their own positions, the hatred and jealousy between the Chinese and Manchu troops not only constituting one of the great difficulties of the war, but threatening official safety.

Rumors of disaster soon began to circulate, and with each one the ferment increased, and an Imperial proclamation sent by courier from Peking in the interests of foreigners, declar- ing that the Emperor was only at war with the " rebel wojeii " (dwarfs), and was at peace with all other nations, did little to allay it. The able-bodied beggars and unemployed coolies in the city were swept into the army, and were sent off after three weeks' drill. The mule-carts of Mukden and the neighborhood were requisitioned for transport, paralyzing much of the trade of the city. Later, many of these carts were burned as fuel to cook the mules for the starving troops. As Manchu soldiers continued to pour in, the shops were closed and the streets deserted at their approach, and many of the merchants fled to the hills. A Japanese occupation, ensuring security and order, came to be hoped for by many sufferers. The price of pro- visions rose, because the country people had either been robbed of all or did not dare to bring them in, and even the hospital and dispensary for the same reason began to be scantily at- tended. After Mr. Wylie's murder, things became increas- ingly serious, and by the end of August it became apparent to the authorities that the safety of foreigners would be jeopard- ized by remaining much longer in Mukden. Somewhat later they left, Dr. Ross and Dr. Christie remaining behind for a short time at the special request of the Governor. I left on 20th August, and though my friends were very anxious about my safety, I reached Newchwang five days later, having en- countered no worse risk than that of an attack by pirates, who captured some junks with some loss of life, after I had eluded them by travelling at night.