resolve and steels us to present a united front against our aggressors."
Under the state of affairs thus briefly indicated, the Boxers soon overran Shantung, spread through the adjoining provinces, and were threatening the imperial capital. In 1898 the Yellow River overflowed its banks, causing widespread misery, and in 1899 famine prevailed in the near-by province of Kiangsu, and bands of robbers and lawless men added to the general disorder. The political confusion at Peking likewise contributed to the prevailing disorganization of the country. While the mass of the people, including the ruling classes, remained fixed in their conservative views, a considerable body of intelligent men had become convinced that China must follow the example of Japan, and align itself with the Western nations in its government and social institutions. The young emperor, who had studied English and read numerous translations of Western books, including the Bible, had gathered about him a number of liberal men, who realized the deplorable condition of the empire, and believed it could be overcome only by initiating reforms in the government. The emperor at once undertook the task, and over thirty edicts were issued in quick succession, providing for most radical reforms in the administrative, financial, and educational departments.
Li Hung Chang, a devoted adherent of the empress dowager, not being in accord with these measures, was relieved from his post in the Tsung-li Yamen. His rival, Chang Chih Tung, who from a bitter foreign hater had become a strong advocate of liberal ideas,
