Former Legation Quarter , DongCheng District, Beijing
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Introduction to Former Mansion of Prince Xu Tong
Prince Su's (or Xu) Mansion was formerly situated in Dongjiaomin Lane.
Prince Xu Tong however was one of the Manchu Princes strongly in favor of the YiHoTuan (Boxer) Movement. In fact it is rumored that the Prince's Convictions were that strong that after the establishment of the Legations Quarter, he insisted on being carried out of the Western Gate of the complex, thereby avoiding have to "set foot" in the Legations Street that was "polluted" with Foreign Presence.
This last phrase can not be taken literally however, as the Prince had himself carried around in a Sedan Chair, according to his High Imperial Dignity.
Whichever way it was, the North Gate that can be seen today was the Main Gate of the complex, however Prince Xu Tong refused to pass through it any longer. Other statements of the Prince were that soon he would have a Sedan Chair furnished with
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DongjiaoMin Alley - St. Michael's Church
The St. Michael's Catholic Church stands across from the North Gate of ZiJin Guesthouse. It is the Site of the Former "French Cathedral" and an adnex of the French Legation to the West of here on East Legations Street.
Schematic Map of the 1900 AD Legation Quarter, the various Legations and current day structures.
A first glimpse of DongjiaoMin Catholic Church , the St. Michaels, is caught when moving up TaiJiChang Dajie' from the wide QianMen Dong Dajie' - the Boulevard running East from the QianMen Gate.
refusal to deal with Foreign Creations. Not only did he refuse to use his North and Front Gate after the establishment of European Buildings and Legations there. The Prince would even refuse to look at the European Buildings.
The Princes' hostile attitude was even mentioned in official Communciations of the British Empire when Sir Claude Mac Donald, the British Foreign Minister and head of the Brit Legation located at North Zheng Yi Lu, wrote
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leathered skins of Foreigners.
Not surprisingly, later, during the 1900 AD Summer he would be a moving force behind the Boxer Attacks on Foreigners and Christians.
During the Battles of the Siege, the Prince soon fell into the hands of the Foreigners he so despised. The Prince however was lucky. Due to some of the miscommunications that typified the Relations among the many Foreign Nations and their Legations, the French who were keeping the Prince captive, mistakenly released the Prince.
He there-after escaped with as much dignity in tact as he could find.
Due to his involvement in the attempt to wipe out the Foreigners in the Legations, the Foreigners personally penalized him after their Victory.
After the signing of the Treaty of 1901 AD, the area became legation property and was the site of the British Army barracks. The mansion was moved to the
northern end of Nanchuanban Lane in Beixinqiao. Internet rumours and several blog items will have you believe that somewhere in Time these buildings were the site of the Belgian Legation or Embassy in Beijing.
However, there is NO proof nor historical record that says the location has been in function as the Belgian Legations so far.
On the contrary, according to our written information, the Belgian and Austrian Legations were located somewhere in the North of the Legations, not here in the South. Further, according to our two historic maps,this is the former Palace of Prince Xu. Thirdly, local citizens identify the Zijin Guesthouse as the site of the former Swedish Legation, not the Belgian One.
A View of the peculiar buildings on the Site of the Former Residence of Prince Xu Tong from TaiJiChang Dajie'. Some of the buildings are painted red whereas other feature bare brick and a different style.
2nd View o/t peculiar buildings and the Former Residence of Prince Xu Tong from TaiJiChang Dajie'. The Highrise in the background is not part of the ZiJing Guesthouse.
The Current Day South Main Gate of Zijin Guesthouse at QianMen Dongdajie'. Today the compound is equipped with modern facilities such as a
Satellite
Dish.
Webstyle produced NavBar
ZiJin Guesthouse - QianMen DongDajie'
The Person of Prince Xu Tong
Prince Su's (or Xu) was a Manchu Banner-Man, which is the title for the Leader of one of the 8 Branches of the Loyal Manchurian Elements inside the larger Imperial Army. His Father had been the Minister of the Imperial Rites.
After undergoing a classical Confucian
schooling as a young man, Xu Tong went on to Pass the All-Important Imperial Examinations and had begotten a Clerks Job as Court Chronicler at the Court. In his early career he steadily climbed the ranks at the Imperial Court leading him later to be the Head Tutor to late stooge-Emperor Tongzhi, who had died prematurely from Syphilis in 1874 AD. This assignment guaranteed him a life-long access to- and influence on the Inner-Most Circles of the Ching Dynasty
Court.
In other words, Prince Xu was one of the leading members of the extensive Royal Family at Court in Beijing. His Mansions thus had a large surface Area and were
crafted from the finest materials available.
Prince Xu himself was a Man strongly aligned with the power-clique of Empress-Dowager Hsu-Tzi. To affirm his High Status the Title of Grand Councilor was bestowed upon him in 1896 AD.
At the Time of the Empress-Dowagers renewed Coup D'Etat of 1898 AD, the Prince was already Semi-Retired, but as is common in China even today (not very much) behind the scenes was still very active in Politics. In Fact, although aging (almost 80) and having difficulty with official duties, in 1898 - 1900 AD Prince Xu was one of the closest personal confidants of the "Old Buddha", as the Empress-Dowager had affectionally come to be known as.
As hinted in the text above, Prince Xu was one of those old Cultured Chinese who truly despised, even hated anything Foreign. The Prince became even somewhat Legendary for his outright
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The ZiJin Guesthouse still has an Old Timer type Classical Chinese Limousine from the 1950's Era. It is virtually unique in Beijing.
The ZiJin Guesthouse still has an Old Timer type Classical Chinese Limousine from the 1950's Era. It is virtually unique in Beijing.
of him: " is reported to be a hater of Foreigners. He lives in the street where most of the Foreign Legations are located, and has borne out this reputation by the consistent opposition he has offered to the macadamizing (paving) of this street and to all material reforms".
As you may imagine, The Princes' Life in his Palace must have been a torment for him for quite a while.
As one result of all this, almost unavoidably, the Prince became an enthusiastic backer of the 1900 AD Boxer Movement.
Prince Xu was one of the many plotters behind the 1898 AD Coup D'Etat by Empress-Dowager Hsu-Tzi in which the Guanxu Emperor was imprisoned in his own Palace at JingTai Island,
He was also one of the main plotters in the attempted downfall of the Foreign Presence in Beijing, which was enabled by the 1998 AD power-grab.
The Guanxu Emperor had been in reasonably good standing with the Foreigners and they had Favored him over the Empress-Dowager.
Although not inspired by Her, the Boxer War can be seen as Hsu-Tzi's payback to the
"Foreign Devils" who had dared undermine her (and her Yehonella Clans') Claims to the Dragon Throne. As was fore-told in an Ages Old Legend, the Empress-Dowagers' (Princess Yehonella or Yehonara) short-sighted occupations and the dramatic miscalculations during the Boxer War would become the Final undoing of the entire Chinese Feudal Empire.
