less and was succeeded by his
infant nephew Pu-Yi (born on the 8th of February 1906), a son of Prince
Chun, who was appointed regent. Prince Chun--himself then only
twenty-six years old--had exercised considerable influence at court
since his mission to Germany in 1901, and was one of the most
enlightened of the Manchu princes. The death of the dowager empress
removed a powerful obstacle to a reformed regime, and with her passed
away the last prominent representative of the old era in China.

Accession of Hsuan Tung.

The accession to the throne of Pu-Yi, who was given as reigning title
Hsuan Tung ("promulgating universally"), was unaccompanied by
disturbances, save for an outbreak at Ngan-king, easily suppressed.
Prince Chun had the support of Yuan Shih-kai and Chang Chih-tung,[74]
the two most prominent Chinese members of the government at Peking--and
thus a division between the Manchus and Chinese was avoided. On the 2nd
of December 1908 the young emperor was enthroned with the usual rites.
On the day following another edict, which, it was stated, had had the
approval of the late dowager empress, was issued, reaffirming that of
the 27th of August regarding the grant of a parliamentary constitution
in nine years' time, and urging the people to prepare themselves for the
change. Other edicts sought to strengthen the position of the regent as
_de facto_ emperor. Yuan Shih-kai and Chang Chih-tung received the title
of Grand Guardians of the Heir, and the year 1908 closed with the chief
Chinese members of the government working, apparently, in complete
harmony with the regent.

Dismissal of Yuan Shih-kai.

Agreement with Japan.

On the 1st of January 1909, however, the political situation was rudely
disturbed by the dismissal from office of Yuan Shih-kai. This step led
to representations by the British and American ministers to Prince
Ching, the head of the foreign office, by whom assurances were given
that no change of policy was contemplated by China, while the regent in
a letter to President Taft reiterated the determination of his
government to carry through its reform policy. The dismissal of Yuan
Shih-kai was believed by the Chinese to be due to his "betrayal" of the
emperor Kwang-su in the 1898 reform movement. He had nevertheless
refused to go to extremes on the reactionary side, and in 1900, as
governor of Shan-tung, he preserved a neutrality which greatly
facilitated the relief of the Peking lega