31. Flashman may not have persuaded General Sir John Michel to part immediately with Dr Thorne, the new best-seller by Anthony Trollope, since it is known that Lord Elgin was reading it some months later. It and Darwin's Origin of Species, published the previous year, were his lordship's relaxation during his China mission.
32. Flashman was remembering the murder in 1841, in similar circumstances, of Sir William McNaghten, British Envoy to Kabul, at the hands of the followers of Akbar Khan. (See Flashman.)
33. The events of September 18, when the Chinese tried to ambush the allied force at Five-li Point, and took several prisoners in violation of the truce, are corroborated by the authorities cited in Note 29, especially Loch, who with Parkes was captured by Sang-kol-in-sen himself. Loch, like Flashman, paints a most unpleasant picture of the warlord, who worked himself into a fury, storming and yelling abuse at his prisoners while his guards beat them, forced them to kneel, and rubbed Loch's face in the dirt; he called Parkes a liar, accused him of trying to humiliate the Emperor and of preparing a treacherous attack on the Chinese forces, and added "that he would teach us what it was to speak to high officers of the Celestial Empire in the manner in which they had been addressed yesterday" (i.e. at the Tang-chao meeting with Prince I). It was after this that Loch and the others were taken to the Board of Punishments. (See Loch.) Screaming at barbarians seems to have been common among the mandarins when their superiority was in question; Sang flew into a passion at the suggestion that Queen Victoria was the equal of the Emperor. Incidentally, Flashman is the only authority that Sang was responsible for Private Moyes' murder, but it is interesting that the tirade directed at the Tang-ku prisoners is identical with one delivered by Sang on another occasion.
"Sam Collinson" was something of a mascot to the British troops, probably because of his name. He was certainly a resolute if unskilful opponent. Physically, he was powerful, with a face described as "broad, humorous, savage, strong, and crafty." (See the portrait by Beato, Illustrated London News, vol. xxxviii, p.357).
34. Flashman's account of events at Pah-li-chao Bridge might seem incredible if it did not conform so closely to known facts. The mandarin commanding the bridge was twice wounded during the battle, and ordered the execution of Brabazon and the Abbe de Luc in revenge; both were beheaded on the parapet of the bridge, although there is no record, outside Flashman, of the death of Nolan. The Chinese authorities later said that the two had died from natural causes, but unofficial Chinese sources agreed that the mandarin beheaded them in reprisal; this was confirmed by the Russian Mission, whose intelligence service was excellent. Months later, the graves were identified by Chinese, and two headless skeletons were found, along with scraps of cloth from artillery trousers and a piece of silk consistent with French ecclesiastical clothing. (See Loch.)
The battle, in which the French suffered the heavier casualties among the allies, followed the course briefly described by Flashman: the Chinese forces were routed, and driven to within six miles of Pekin. It was the last action of the campaign. Montauban, the French commander, was ennobled as Count Palikao.
35. Shaw's only "Western", The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, was first staged in 1909.
36. Such is the power of propaganda, that at Sinho the Imperial troops thought the British infantry were kow-towing when their front rank assumed the kneeling firing position.
37. The Emperor Hsien Feng, Son of Heaven, Complete Abundance, Solitary Prince, Celestial Emperor, Lord of the Middle Kingdom, etc., was 29 at this time, and dying of dropsy and debauchery. As with many other oriental princes, care had been taken to deprave him early in life; his tutor in vice had been his assistant secretary Sushun, and he appears to have been completely in thrall to his favourite concubine, Yehonala. At one time he had been a fine gymnast, and even when his health was breaking down he retained a stately, dignified bearing. He was "simple of face", with a small mouth, and wore a little moustache.
Flashman's observation of the Imperial throne room in the Forbidden City is accurate, as are his later descriptions of the Emperor's private apartments in the Summer Palace.
It was customary to address his majesty with the words: "Your slave, kneeling …" His decrees, written in vermilion ink, began: "Swaying the wide world, we …" Protocol demanded that he should always face south, and nobles invariably stood in his presence, even when eating. (See Appendix II.)
38. Many travellers visited the old Summer Palace and marvelled; it has been described by several of Flashman's army comrades, although none of them had the opportunity to study it as closely as he did, but it was obviously a place that had to be seen to be believed. It was a wonder on two counts: for the priceless treasures it contained, and as the supreme example of landscape gardening—for every inch of its extensive grounds, its lakes, and woods, and hills, was said to have been built by craftsmen to the most careful design, some of it over centuries. (See McGhee, Wolseley, Loch, Swinhoe, and volumes xxxvii and xxxviii, Illustrated London News, 1860, 1861.)
39. One of Yehonala's six-inch block shoes, fringed with pearls, is said to have fetched £25,000 after being looted in the Boxer Rising.
40. Flashman is clear about the date of Yehonala's departure: the night of October 6-7. At first sight there is an inconsistency here, since other records established that the Emperor and his suite, including Yehonala, left for Jehol on September 22, the day after Flashman's audience with the Emperor. The explanation is provided in Flashman's narrative: Yehonala did leave on the 22nd, and returned two days later (Flashman states that he did not see her for two days after their first meeting, and writes elsewhere that she made a flying visit to Jehol "early in my captivity"). Others of the court also remained at Pekin until the last minute; the Empress Dowager and Prince Kung narrowly escaped the French advance on the Ewen-ming-ewen.
41. About twenty badly-armed eunuchs made a valiant effort to stop the French vanguard, and were shot down. (See Wolseley.)
42. The looting of the Ewen-ming-ewen by the French, the subsequent visit by Elgin (whose reaction Flashman reports correctly), the generals' conference about dividing the spoil, the participation of British troops and Chinese villagers, the wanton destruction of anything too big to carry, etc., are all confirmed in other accounts; most of the eye-witnesses express sadness, disgust, or horror, but (with the exception of a few, notably Elgin and Grant) seem to have taken their share. Wolseley, who watched the proceedings with an artist's eye, has interesting reflections on the psychology of looting—which, incidentally, is not a subject to be pronounced on by those who have never had the opportunity. (See Wolseley, Swinhoe, Wrong, McGhee.)
Flashman's black jade chess set may well have been a priceless rarity, even if it was probably a black variety of jadeite rather than nephrite. The very existence of "black jade" has been denied (see Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition), but there are references to it in Chinese literature, and some black jade carvings are said to be extant, including a knife of the Early Chou Dynasty (1122-722 B.C.) illustrated in S. C. Nott's Chinese Jade (1936).