Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/16

xvi sketch of the last seven years of Tsêng's life. This includes chiefly his preparations for the suppression of the Men rebels, which made possible Li Hung-chang's rapid conquest of the troublesome horde, and the service as viceroy in Nanking and Chihli. From the superabundant materials found in his letters I have gathered together what seem to he the most significant principles by which his life was inspired. It seemed desirable also to insert the chapter on the government of China under the Manchu Dynasty, so that the rise of such a movement as the Taiping Rebellion from such small beginnings might be more intelligible. In order to make these changes possible, much detail regarding the different campaigns has been omitted.

Chinese names of persons and places are hard to romanise. There are several systems by which this is done. For places I have tried as far as possible to follow the post office lists. For other names I have taken the Wade system. But there are some exceptions in each group. Some names are so generally written in one manner that it would seem pure pedantry to change them.

If in some way this study will serve to bring before Westerners a fair understanding of the great rebellion, and of the man to whose devotion and loyal services its suppression is due, the writer will feel amply rewarded. It is only a beginning, however, and there is need for more careful study from Chinese materials of the whole period covered here when foreign relations were becoming constantly more important in Chinese history. We have seen far too much of the period through Western eyes alone, and it is not thus that history can be properly understood.

May I record my profound gratitude to Professor F. W. Williams of Yale University under whose direction the study was made, whose suggestions have guided