In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Johnston’s proposed appointment as imperial tutor caused a flurry of activity in British diplomatic circles in both Beijing and London. The British Colonial Office vacillated as to whether or not the posting was a good idea, whereas the Foreign Office was enthusiastic from the outset. They believed there was every chance the emperor would eventually be fully restored to the throne, in which case it would be ‘of the greatest advantage’ for a British official to be so close to him.1 The long struggle to defeat Germany had used up a large part of Britain’s resources; in the process, influence had been lost to other Western powers in China. Johnston’s appointment was seen as one way of redressing that balance. So keen was the Foreign Office that Johnston be given the post that they were even prepared to have him seconded from the service to take up the post. This arrangement, which gave the Colonial Office a degree of influence, was enough to stop their own wavering on the matter.2 What is extraordinary in all the diplomatic activity is that no one questioned how or why Johnston had been selected. President Xu Shichang, who took ‘a special interest in the boy-emperor’ and regarded ‘himself as his guardian’, had been the primary instigator in the creation of the post.3 President Xu had himself been an imperial tutor and made moves to bring a European teacher into the court almost as soon as he was elected president in the autumn of 1918. Johnston had not been, it appears, the first choice. One observer related how ‘the prestige of the United States in Chinese academic circles ensured that the first approach should be made to an American educationalist’, who refused the offer.4 Li Jingmai, a confidant of President Xu, then suggested Johnston. Johnston and Li Jingmai had known each other for several years. Li was a highly educated nobleman who had been Chinese minister to Austria from 1904 to 1907; he had a good grasp of a number of European languages as a result. In 1911, at the start of the revolution, he had fled Beijing for Weihai, where he and his wife had lived for a few weeks as guests of Johnston.5 He then lived in a number of foreign Chapter 9 The Forbidden City (1919–1920) 146 Scottish Mandarin settlements before settling in the Burlington Hotel in Shanghai in 1914. He remained there, refusing all offers of a post in the republican government , even when his pro-monarchist friend, Xu Shichang, became president. When Johnston had been in Shanghai celebrating the end of the war, Li had met him at a dinner party. On that evening of 26 November 1918, he asked Johnston to come to his rooms the next day, ‘as there was a matter of importance which he wished to discuss’. Johnston arrived at Li’s hotel the following day and over lunch Li Jingmai gently made his approach. The conversation began with Li Jingmai talking about how political abuses by the revolutionaries in China were beginning to work in favour of the monarchists, and that ‘the monarchist party was much stronger than it was commonly supposed to be’.6 So strong was the feeling, even within the government, Li maintained, that the president himself as well as a number of highly placed government officials were now secretly favouring the monarchist party ‘and were only awaiting a favourable opportunity to make a public declaration’ of their sympathies. The proposal was that China should gradually move towards a constitutional monarchy ‘similar to that of Great Britain’, and that the emperor’s education in this area should therefore be started as quickly as possible.7 Li Jingmai and his supporters knew that any move to introduce a foreign tutor into the emperor’s circle had to be done with great care. A foreign tutor would have to have ‘a sympathetic and appreciative interest in Chinese cultural traditions’ and at the same time be able to teach the emperor not only the English language but also politics and constitutional history.8 Li Jingmai made it clear that he had enquired into Johnston’s previous experience and, in the process, had decided that he would be an excellent choice for tutor. The incentives offered were considerable in return for only two or three hours of work each day: a good salary, two months’ annual holiday, accommodation, and board. Johnston would also be given the...

Share