But let us begin our brief description with the man who has been for more than a generation the chief ruler of Korea, the now ex-Emperor. He is a typical Korean—especially in respect of his characteristic weakness of character, his taste for and adeptness at intrigue, his readiness to deceive and corrupt others, and himself to be deceived and corrupted. For all this no specially occult reasons need to be assigned. With a weak nature, his youth spent under the pernicious influence of eunuchs and court concubines and hangers-on, his manhood dominated by an unceasing and bloody feud between his wife and his father, his brief period of “independence” one orgy of misrule, and his latest years controlled by sorceresses, soothsayers, low-born and high-born intriguers, and selfish and unwise foreign advisers: what but incurably unsound character, uncontrollable instability of conduct, and a destiny fated to be full of disaster, could be expected from such a man so placed? The father of the ex-Emperor was Yi Ha-eung, Prince of Heung Song, who was long the so-called “Regent” or “Prince-Parent,” and is best known in history as the “Tai Won Kun.” It has been said of him that “he was the grandson of a great and unfortunate crown prince, the great-grandson of a famous king, the nephew of another king, and the father of still another king.” The lineal ancestor of the Tai Won Kun was Yong-jong, who reigned from 1724 to 1776. This sovereign quarrelled with his own son and had him put to death as insane; but other issue failing, the crown descended through the murdered crown prince, and from him through three lines of monarchs. Until his son was chosen to occupy the throne, the Tai Won Kun, although he had married into the powerful Min family, does not seem to have exercised much influence in politics. But in 1864, on the death of the king, without male issue the Dowager Queen Cho, by what is reported to have been a not altogether legitimate procedure, proclaimed the second son of the Tai Won Kun, then a boy of only twelve years, as the successor to the throne. Little is exactly known as to the care or education of the boyish king during his earliest years. It is commonly reported that he was fond of outdoor sports, especially of archery, and disinclined to study. Yet he is reputed to be a fine Chinese penman and to be well acquainted with the Chinese classics. His father was a strict disciplinarian and, although he was never legally in control of affairs during his son’s minority, his influence was dominant so long as he kept on good terms with the wily Queen Dowager and the Ministers of her selection. The failure of all foreign attempts to enter into friendly relations with the Koreans, and the persecution and slaughter of foreign Christian priests and of thousands of Korean Christians during this period, are customarily attributed to the influence of the Tai Won Kun.