Page:Tseng Kuo Fan and the Taiping Rebellion.djvu/382

359 beheading of the surrendered wangs at Soochow, which so aroused the wrath of Gordon that he tried to shoot Li Hung-chang, secure from Tsêng more than the passing comment already recorded above: "Li Shao-ch'üan, when he killed the eight wangs who surrendered at Soochow, showed that his eye was clear and his hand heavy." Such callousness to suffering, such approbation of slaughter as we find recorded in the cases quoted (and many others might be mentioned) are not, I believe, due to unusual cruelty on Tsêng's part. They may more fittingly be regarded as a Chinese counterpart to the spirit of the Spaniards in the Inquisition, or the French in the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, or the burning of witches in Salem. These rebels were more than enemies; they added to their rebellion against the Throne blasphemy against the sacred writings of the ancients and disdain for the orthodox faith of the fathers; they were outside the pale of humanity, they were a poison in the body politic that must be utterly eradicated.

Of Tsêng's attitude towards foreign relations we have made mention from time to time in previous chapters. In the days of his service in Peking, before he had any contact with them or knowledge of them, he felt that if they could be kept out of China it would be a benefit to the country. In 1849, when the question of foreign entry into the city of Canton was being considered, Tsêng writes home: "The English barbarians have renewed their request but viceroy Hsü has been correct in his management. If the foreign barbarians would only decide to submit and ultimately not enter the city there would never be any foreign menace and the emperor's heart would be gratified to the utmost." When his day came to lead troops we have already seen how eager he was