Show r CHINESE SQUEEZES official promotions go hand la in haud hand with enormous bribes prior to each promotion the official has to be received in audience by the emperor but this is a very costly affair for no ones presence in the capital city is recognized until he has bribed the gatekeeper to register his name as having passed into the city and duly report his advent that li hung chang had bad to pay an enormous sum in tips and bribes over on oil his is last ast visit to 0 peking 2 is s a matter of common knowledge but the narration of two instances that have come directly under my notice may perhaps serve to make the english reader realize even more vividly how bow inexorable and how bow shamelessly open is the systematic cn m eption the gove governor of kiang su sn province who was an intimate friend of prince kung eung thou thought gLit to take advantage of his great influence by coming into the city without bribing the gatekeeper when he called upon his royal friend prince kung exclaimed when did you yon come I 1 cannot possibly recognize your presence for I 1 have not seen your name in the chung wen men report and he had to return and pay double the usual bribe to the gatekeeper before prince rung kung would receive him even more remarkable is the case of tso tachung tong ono one of the greatest of our generals Is who having suppressed the ineman rebellion in turkestan Turk estan had bad ao ac quiren for the celestial empire territory about half as largo large as china itself the emperor who held him in high esteem wished to see him and sent a summons calling him to an audience at peking when on his coming to the city the chung wen aeu men or gatekeeper demanded he refused to pay anything but even be was not officially reported and after he be had remained several months in pekin waiting walting for an audience the emperor issued another edict asling asking ing why he be had bad never come tso tachung tong responded by telling the whole story adding that having pent all hia own and his famil i ey on the support of soldiers dur the war he had bad no means with whit to pay such a bribe ho he appealed to tho emperor graciously to relieve him of the imposition in reply the emperor said this the feeding feeing of the gatekeeper is a general and ancient usage and the viceroy and generalissimo must submit to it like another and as teo tachung tong really had not the money his hia friends raised a subscription the dowager empress herself contributing half the iho required sum fortnightly review |