'Then, following the normal course of @ young Chinese gentleman under the Manchu regime, he sat for the Civil Sorviée examinations, the stepping-stone to official life, and passed with honours, By that' time, he had already gained a reputation a poet of distinction.
After serving as minor oMteial in various capacities for ten years, There, he acquired a knowledge of Japanese and "English, Two years later, he was promoted Consul-General at Kobe, where he showed great discretion and tact in the dimeult situations which eventually resulted, in 1604, in the outbreak. of war between China and Japan and his return to China, Reformist Endeavours 'There he turned his attention to internal reform taking a great in~ terest in the activities of the reformers Kang Vu-wel and Liang Chi-chao, who were' agitating for a limited monarchy In place of the despotic yule of the Dowager Empress, better known as "the Old Buddh Kang Vu-wel and Liang Chicchao gained great influence over the Emperor Kwang Hsu, whose famous reform decrees of 1008 were inspired by Kwang Vu-wel, but "the Old Buddha" carried out a coup d'etat, threw the Emperor into captivity und ordered the decapitation Kwang and Liang. They succeeded escaping, however, the former to Aierica and the latter to Japan.
'Mr. Cheng Hsiao-hsu, was not suMigiontly involved to come under the ban, his activities having been directed' more towards the necessity of modernizing China's defence forces, for the disastrous defeats inflicted by Japan in 1804 had vineed him of the perils of national unpreparedness, He had an excellent opportunity to carry out his views as he had just been appointed Frontier Defence Commissioner at Langehow, on the border of Kwangsi and French Indo-China, Recall to Manchu Court 'The Manchu Court apparently approved his eficieney and methods, for In 1899, he was recalled to Peking and appointed Director of the Peking-Hankow Railway, a post which he held for the next five years, through the Boxer Rebellion anid. the' troub-
Yous tines which followed.
From 1005 to 1007, he was Defence Commissioner in Anhwei and Kwantung where {taining order in' {ace of, the revolu Uionary activities of the Tung Meng-Mul ahd its successor, the Kuomin-tung. Hig rule was noteworthy for the fact that he pursued a policy of persuasion rather than force in deal-ug. with recalcitrants, but was merei-Jess In his suppression of banditry. In recognition" of the success he had eehieved the Regent invested him with the Star of the Order of the Double Draggn.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.