"'That is a long story. This thing was expected long ago. Of course a lot of people in Peking didn't know anything about it, but we did--our family. My father did, at least, since the China-Japanese war. He said: "Within ten or fifteen years there is going to be a revolution in China, and that will be the end of the Manchus. In case they reform the country right away, it may be all right. But otherwise they will be finished by that time." At that time they didn't want it. We tried our best to reform the Court in lots of things. The Empress-Dowager--at that time she ruled--hated reform. She was very conservative. She wouldn't have reform as long as she lived, but, of course, we hoped that in case of her death the Emperor Kwang Hsu would reign. He would have been for reform; but we knew he probably wouldn't live through; he would die before her. That Court is so mysterious in every way--it takes too long to tell. "'China has been an old, conservative country for so many years. They kept up the old style and of course the old generations like it because it is to their advantage. Just now the young people who have been abroad and educated want the Western civilisation and freedom. If they did not see anything better they would not know. But they begin to see how nice it is in America and how hard life is in their {292} country, and I do not blame them for causing the Revolution. I would myself. I hate the old customs. But our family was one of the first progressive families. In fact, I should say probably there are very few like us among the Manchu families. "'My father wanted reform. I remember hearing him talk about it ever since I was four or five years old. The first thing he wanted us to study was English. We were living at Shasi on the Yangtze River, and afterwards at Hankow, and he sent us to the missionary school. All his friends protested against it and said he was progressive, and wanted to sell his country to the foreign people, that was why he wanted his children to have a foreign education. The people called him at that time "a rebel." He was very progressive. It didn't bother him a bit. He wanted us to study and we did.