It is true that when the young emperor had reached the age of sixteen, and had been married about four months, the empresses, no longer able to present excuses for not doing so, issued a decree bestowing upon Chiseang, now called Tungche, the right to assume the management of the affairs of state. But his reign was brief, for after about three years, as it is said, he "ascended upon the Dragon to be a guest on high." Many suspected foul play, but certain it is that the outcome inured to the advantage of the two empresses. That which was more ugly still was the treatment of the young Empress Ahluta, wife of the late ruler. On the death of her husband she was about to give birth to a child. The empresses, however, saw their opportunity as well as their danger. For if Ahluta's child should be a son, not only would he be the legal ruler, but the mother herself would at once assume a prominent place in the government. Ahluta must be set aside. Soon she sickened--some said because of her grief for her husband, while others knew of the determination of the empresses to retain power at all hazards. Who then should be chosen heir to the throne? The empresses selected Tsai Tien, a son of Prince Chun, brother of the powerful Kung. The latter was again in complete control, by the grace of the two astute and ambitious women whose minds were firmly set upon retaining rule at whatever cost. The fortunate, or unfortunate, young man who had been made nominal emperor, not by inheritance, but by selection, was given the style of Kwang-su, or "Illustrious Succession." The way in which Tszu-Hszi, empress dowager, has been able to be the controlling factor in Chinese national life, crushing rivals, winning the support of politicians, and carrying out policies, is one of the wonders of modern political history. This seems the more remarkable in a country where women are generally forced to the background, and in an age in which tumultuous scenes and grave upheavals have been many. The head of the army of the United States was not far from the truth when he pronounced the Empress-dowager of China, not even excepting the great and good Victoria, as altogether the ablest woman of the century. Contiguous in territory and closely related in manners and customs to the Chinese are the Coreans. The Corean ruler, though in his own country an absolute monarch, was for several centuries a vassal of the Chinese Empire, and the educated class continue to employ the Chinese language in literary and social intercourse. In 1894, Corea having repudiated the suzerainty of China, war ensued between Japan and China, and as a result Corea has since been largely under Japanese influence.