Two Years in the Forbidden City

T >> The Princess Der Ling >> Two Years in the Forbidden City

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After we had finished, Her Majesty started to tell us what to wear
for the ladies' audience. She said to me: "You need not come to
the throne to-morrow, there will only be gentlemen. I will get one
of the Ministers from Wai-Wu-Pu (Bureau of Foreign Affairs). I
don't want you to talk to so many strange men. It is not the
Manchu custom. These people are all strangers. They might go back
to America and tell everybody what you look like." At the same
time Her Majesty gave orders for the Imperial Yellow Gown to be
brought in next day, for the gentleman's audience. She said that
she must dress in her official robe for this occasion. This robe
was made of yellow satin, embroidered with gold dragons. She wore
a necklace composed of one hundred and eight pearls, which formed
part of this official dress. She said: "I don't like to wear this
official robe. It is not pretty, but I am afraid I will have to."
She said to all of us: "You need not dress especially."

The next morning Her Majesty got up early, and was busier than
ever. It seemed to me that whenever we had an audience we always
had so much trouble. Something was sure to go wrong and make Her
Majesty angry. She said: "I want to look nice, and be amiable, but
these people always make me angry. I know the American Admiral
will go home and tell his people about me, and I don't want him to
have a wrong impression." It took her almost two hours to dress
her hair, and by that time it was too late for her usual morning
audience, so she proposed holding that after the foreigners had
gone away. She looked at herself in the looking-glass, with her
Imperial robe on, and told me that she did not like it, and asked
me whether I thought the foreigners would know that it was an
official robe. "I look too ugly in yellow. It makes my face look
the same color as my robe," she said. I suggested that as it was
only a private audience, if she wished to dress differently, it
would not matter at all. She seemed delighted, and I was afraid
lest I had not made a proper suggestion, but anyway I was too busy
to worry. Her Majesty ordered that her different gowns should be
brought in, and after looking them over she selected one
embroidered all over with the character "Shou" (long life),
covered with precious stones and pearls, on pale green satin. She
tried it on, and said that it was becoming to her, so she ordered
me to go to the jewel-room and get flowers to match for her hair.
On one side of the headdress was the character (shou) and on the
other side was a bat (the bat in China is considered to be lucky).
Of course her shoes, handkerchiefs and everything else were
embroidered in the same way. After she was dressed, she smiled and
said: "I look all right now. We had better go to the audience hall
and wait for them, and at the same time we can play a game of
dice." Then to us all she said: "All of you will stay at the back
of the screen during the audience. You can see all right, but I
don't wish that you should be seen." The eunuchs had laid the map
down on the table and were just going to commence playing dice,
when one of the high rank eunuchs came into the Hall and, kneeling
down, said that the American Admiral had arrived at the Palace
Gate, together with the American Minister--ten or twelve people
altogether. Her Majesty smiled and said to me: "I thought it was
just going to be the American Minister and the Admiral, and one or
two of his staff. Who can the rest of the people be? However,
never mind, I will receive them anyway." We helped her to mount
her throne upon the dais, fixed her clothes, and handed her the
paper containing the speech she was to give. Then we went back of
the screen, with the Young Empress. It was so very quiet, not a
sound anywhere, that we could hear the boots of the visitors as
they walked over the stones in the courtyard. We were peeping from
behind the screen, and could see several of the Princes mounting
the steps, conducting these people to the Hall. The Admiral and
the American Minister came in, and stood in a line. They bowed
three times to the Empress Dowager. The Emperor was also on his
throne, sitting at her left hand. His throne was very small, just
like an ordinary chair. Her Majesty's speech was simply to welcome
the Admiral to China. They then came up to the dais and shook
hands with their Majesties, ascending on one side, and retiring
down the other. Prince Ching took them into another Palace
building, where they had lunch, and the audience was over. It was
very simple and formal.

After the audience was over Her Majesty said that she could hear
us laughing behind the screen, and that maybe the people would
talk about it, and did not like it at all. I told her that it was
not myself who laughed. She said: "The next time when I have men
in audience you need not come into the Audience Hall at all. Of
course it is different when I have my own people at the morning
audiences."

Her Majesty did not go to her bedroom that afternoon. She said she
wanted to wait until these people had gone and hear what they had
to say. After a couple of hours Prince Ching came in and reported
that they had lunched, and that they were very pleased to have
seen Her Majesty, and had gone away. I must here explain that the
Admiral had entered by the left gate of the Palace. The middle
gate was only used for Their Majesties, with one exception, viz.:
in the case of anyone presenting credentials. Then they entered by
the center gate. The Admiral left by the same gate he had entered.
Her Majesty asked Prince Ching whether he had showed them around
the Palace buildings or not (this was in the Summer Palace), and
what they had thought about it. Did they say anything, and were
they pleased or not. She said to Prince Ching: "You can go now,
and make the necessary preparations for the ladies' audience next
day." That same evening Her Majesty said to us: "You must all
dress alike to-morrow, and wear your prettiest clothes. These
foreign ladies who are coming to the Palace may never see us
again, and if we don't show them what we have now, we will not
have another opportunity." She ordered us all, including the Young
Empress, to wear pale blue, also the Secondary wife of the
Emperor. She said to me: "If the ladies ask who the Secondary wife
is, you can tell them; but if they don't ask, I don't want you to
introduce her to them at all. I have to be very careful. These
people at the Palace here are not used to seeing so many people
and they might not have nice manners, and the foreigners will
laugh at them." Then she said to us again: "I always give presents
when ladies come to the Court, but don't know whether I will give
this time or not, for at the last audience I did not give anything
at all." Addressing me, she said: "You can prepare some pieces of
jade, in case I need them. Put them in a nice box and have them
all ready. Don't bring them to me until I ask for them." She said:
"We have talked enough now, and you can all go to rest." We
courtesied good night. I was only too glad to go to my own room.

The next morning everything went on very nicely and there was no
trouble at all. Her Majesty was well satisfied, for we had all
taken great care in fixing ourselves up. She said to me: "You
never put enough paint on your face. People might take you for a
widow. You will have to paint your lips, as that is the custom. I
don't need you yet, so go back and put some more paint on." So I
went back to my room and painted myself just like the rest of
them, but I could not help laughing at seeing myself so changed.
By the time I got to her room again, she said: "Now you look all
right. If you think that powder is expensive, I will buy some for
you." She said that with a laugh, for she always liked to tease
me.

By the time Her Majesty had finished her toilet, one of the ladies
brought a number of gowns for her to select one from. She said she
would wear pale blue that day. She looked over twenty or thirty
gowns, but found nothing which suited her, so she gave orders for
some more to be brought in. Finally she chose a blue gown
embroidered with one hundred butterflies, and wore a purple
sleeveless jacket, which was also embroidered with butterflies. At
the bottom of this gown were pearl tassels. She wore her largest
pearls, one of which was almost as large as an egg, and was her
favorite jewel. She only wore this on special occasions. She wore
two jade butterflies on each side of her headdress. Her bracelets
and rings were also all designed in butterflies, in fact
everything matched. Among her beautiful jewels, she always wore
some kind of fresh flowers. White jessamine was her favorite
flower. The Young Empress and the Court ladies were not allowed to
wear fresh flowers at all unless given to them by Her Majesty as a
special favor. We could wear pearls and jade, etc., but she said
that the fresh flowers were for her, her idea being that we were
too young, and might spoil fresh flowers if we wore them. After
she was dressed we went into the Audience Hall. She ordered her
cards to be brought in as she wanted to play solitaire. She talked
all the time she was playing, and said that we must all be very
nice and polite to the American ladies, and show them everywhere.
She said: "It doesn't matter now, for we have everything changed."
She said: "I want to laugh myself. What is the use of changing
everything? They will imagine we are always like this. By and bye,
if they question you about anything, just tell them that it is not
so, and that we change everything at each audience, just to give
them a bit of surprise. You must tell it some day, otherwise no
one will know it at all, and the trouble would not be worth the
while." It was a private audience for ladies, and Her Majesty did
not use the big throne, but was sitting on her little throne at
the left side of the Audience Hall, where she received her own
Ministers every morning; the Emperor was standing. A eunuch came
in, the same as the day before, and announced that the ladies had
arrived at the Palace Gate, nine in all. Her Majesty sent some of
the Court ladies to meet them in the courtyard, and bring them to
the Audience Hall, which they did. I was standing at the right
side of Her Majesty's chair, and could see them mounting the
steps. Her Majesty whispered to me, and asked: "Which one is Mrs.
Evans?" As I had never seen the lady, I answered that I could not
tell, but when they got nearer I saw a lady walking with the
American Minister's wife, and concluded that she must be Mrs.
Evans, and told Her Majesty. As they got nearer, Her Majesty said:
"Again that missionary lady with Mrs. Conger. I think she must
like to see me. She comes every time. I will tell her I am very
glad to see her always, and see if she understands what I mean."

Mrs. Conger shook hands with Her Majesty and presented Mrs. Evans
and also the wives of the American officers. I was watching Her
Majesty and saw that she was very nice and amiable, with such a
pleasant smile--so different from her everyday manner. She told
them she was delighted to see them. Her Majesty ordered the
eunuchs to have chairs brought in for the ladies, and at the same
time other eunuchs brought in tea. Her Majesty asked Mrs. Evans
whether she liked China; what she thought of Peking; how long she
had been there; how long she was going to stay, and where she was
staying. I was so accustomed to Her Majesty's questions that I
knew exactly what she would ask. Mrs. Conger told her interpreter
to tell Her Majesty that she had not seen her for such a long
time, and enquired about Her Majesty's health. Her Majesty said to
me: "You tell Mrs. Conger that I am in good health and that I am
delighted to see her. It is a pity that I cannot hold an audience
more frequently, otherwise I could see more of her." She
continued: "The Imperial Princess (her adopted daughter-daughter
of Prince Kung) will accompany them to lunch." This ended the
audience.

Lunch was served at the back of her own Palace building (Yang Yuen
Hsuen--the place where the clouds gather to rest). This room was
specially furnished as a banqueting room where refreshments could
be served. All the Court ladies went to the lunch, except Her
Majesty, the Young Empress and the Secondary wife. It had taken me
two hours to fix the table for the luncheon. Her Majesty ordered
that a white foreign tablecloth should be used, as it looked
cleaner. The eunuch gardeners had decorated the table with fresh
flowers, and Her Majesty gave instructions as to how the seats
were to be placed. She said: "Mrs. Evans is the guest of honor.
Although Mrs. Conger is the wife of the American Minister, she is
more of a resident, so Mrs. Evans must have the principal seat."
She also told me to arrange to seat everybody according to their
respective ranks. The Imperial Princess and Princess Shun (Her
Majesty's niece, sister of the Young Empress) were hostesses, and
were to sit opposite each other. We placed golden menu holders and
little gold plates for almonds and watermelon seeds; the rest all
silver ware, including chopsticks. Her Majesty ordered that
foreign knives and forks should be provided also. The food was
served in Manchu style, and was composed of twenty-four courses,
besides sweetmeats--candies and fruits. Her Majesty instructed us
that only the best champagne was to be served. She said: "I know
that foreign ladies love to drink."

I think I was the only one who was really happy to meet these
ladies, more so than the rest of the Court ladies, the reason
being that Her Majesty lectured them too severely, telling them
how to behave, so that they had grown to hate the very mention of
a foreign audience. While we were eating, a eunuch came in and
told me that Her Majesty was waiting at her private Palace, and
that I should bring these ladies there after the lunch was over.
So when we had finished we entered her own Palace and found her
waiting there for us. She got up and told me to ask Mrs. Evans
whether she had had anything to eat--that the food was not very
good. (This is a custom with the Chinese when entertaining, always
to underrate the food.) She said that she would like to show Mrs.
Evans her private apartments, so that she could form some idea of
the way we lived, so she took Mrs. Evans to one of her bedrooms.
She invited Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Conger to sit down, and the
eunuchs brought in tea, as usual. Her Majesty asked Mrs. Evans to
stay a little while in Peking, and to visit the different temples.
She said: "Our country, although very old, has not such fine
buildings as there are in America. I suppose you will find
everything very strange. I am rather too old now, otherwise I
would like to travel around the world. I have read much about
different countries, but of course there is nothing like visiting
the different places and seeing them yourself. However, one cannot
tell. I may be able to go after all, by and bye, but I am afraid
to leave my own country. By the time I returned I should not know
the place any more, I'm afraid. Here everything seems to depend on
me. Our Emperor is quite young."

She then turned and ordered us to take these ladies to visit the
different buildings of the Palace, also the famous temple of the
King of Dragons. This is on a little island in the center of the
lake of the Summer Palace. Mrs. Conger said that she had something
to ask Her Majesty, and told the Missionary lady to proceed. While
Mrs. Conger was speaking to this lady Her Majesty became rather
impatient as she wanted to know what they were talking about, so
she asked me. It was very hard for me to listen to both of the
ladies and to Her Majesty at the same time. The only words I heard
were: "The portrait," so I guessed the rest. Before I had a chance
to tell Her Majesty this Missionary lady said: "Mrs. Conger has
come with the special object of asking permission to have Her
Majesty's portrait painted by an American lady artist, Miss Carl,
as she is desirous of sending it to the St. Louis Exhibition, in
order that the American people may form some idea of what a
beautiful lady the Empress Dowager of China is." Miss Carl is the
sister of Mr. F. Carl who was for so many years Commissioner of
Customs in Chefoo.

Her Majesty looked surprised, for she had been listening very
carefully whilst this lady was talking. She did not like to say
that she did not quite understand, so she turned to me, as had
been previously arranged,--a sign for me to interpret. I did not,
however, do so immediately, so Mrs. Conger told her missionary
friend to repeat the request in case Her Majesty had not quite
understood it. Her Majesty then said to me: "I cannot quite
understand what this lady says. I think perhaps you can tell me
better." So I explained everything, but I knew that Her Majesty
did not know what a portrait was like, as, up to that time she had
never even had a photograph taken of herself.

I must here explain that in China a portrait is only painted after
death, in memorium of the deceased, in order that the following
generations may worship the deceased. I noticed that Her Majesty
was somewhat shocked when the request was made known to her. I did
not want Her Majesty to appear ignorant before these foreign
ladies, so I pulled her sleeve and told her that I would explain
everything to her later. She replied: "Explain a little to me
now." This was spoken in the Court language, which the visitors
were unable to understand, it being somewhat different from the
ordinary Chinese language. This enabled Her Majesty to form some
idea of the conversation, so she thanked Mrs. Conger for her kind
thought, and promised to give her answer later. She said to me:
"Tell Mrs. Conger that I cannot decide anything alone, as she is
probably aware that I have to consult with my Ministers before
deciding anything of an important character. Tell her that I have
to be very careful not to do anything which would give my people
an opportunity to criticize my actions. I have to adhere to the
rules and customs of my ancestors." I noticed that Her Majesty did
not seem inclined to discuss the subject further at the moment.

Just then the head eunuch came in and, kneeling down, informed Her
Majesty that the boats for the ladies were ready to take them
across the lake, to see the temple. This action on the part of the
eunuch was owing to his having received a signal from one of the
Court ladies, which implied that Her Majesty was getting tired of
the conversation, and wished to change the subject. I must explain
that on every occasion when a foreign audience was taking place,
one of the Court ladies was always told off to watch Her Majesty,
and whenever she appeared to be displeased or tired of any
particular subject under discussion, she, the Court lady, would
give the signal to the head eunuch, who would break in upon the
conversation in the above manner, and thus save the situation from
becoming embarrassing. So Her Majesty said good-bye to the ladies,
as she thought it would be too late for them to have to return to
say good-bye, besides which it would give them more time to see
the various sights.

The ladies then proceeded to the island in the Empress Dowager's
pleasure boat known as the Imperial barge, previously described,
and visited the temple. This temple is built on top of a small
rock, in the center of which is a natural cave, and it was
generally supposed that no human being had ever been inside of
this cave. The Empress Dowager believed the popular superstition
that this hole was the home of the King of Dragons--from which the
temple derives its name.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE EMPRESS'S PORTRAIT

AFTER staying a little while at the temple, we returned to the
Palace, and the ladies said goodbye and took chairs to the Palace
gate, where their own chairs were waiting for them. I then went to
report to Her Majesty in the usual way what had been said by the
visitors; whether they had expressed themselves as being pleased
with the reception they had received. Her Majesty said: "I like
Mrs. Evans. I think she is a very good woman. It seems to me that
her manners are quite different from those of the other American
ladies whom I have met. I like to meet people who are polite."
Then, referring to the subject of the portrait Her Majesty said:
"I wonder why Mrs. Conger has this idea. Now please explain to me
what painting a portrait really is." When I explained that it
would be necessary for her to sit for several hours each day she
was excited, and afraid she would never have the patience to see
it through. She asked me what she must do during the sitting, so I
explained that she would simply have to pose for the portrait,
sitting in one position all the time She said: "I shall be an old
woman by the time the portrait is finished." I told her that I had
had my own portrait painted during my stay in Paris, by the same
artist Mrs. Conger had proposed should paint her own portrait
(Miss Carl). She immediately told me to fetch the portrait of
myself so that she could examine it and see what it was like, so I
gave the order right away to a eunuch who was standing by to go to
my house and bring it. Her Majesty said: "I do not understand why
I must sit for the portrait Couldn't someone else do it for me." I
explained to her that as it was her own portrait, and not that of
somebody else, they wished to paint, it would be necessary for her
to sit herself. She then enquired whether it would be necessary
for her to wear the same dress at each sitting, also the same
jewels and ornaments. I replied that it would be necessary to do
so on each occasion. Her Majesty then explained that in China it
was only necessary for an artist to see his subject once, after
which he could start right away and finish the portrait in a very
short time, and thought that a really first-class foreign artist
should be able to do the same. Of course I explained the
difference between foreign portrait painting and Chinese, and told
her that when she had seen it she would see the difference and
understand the reason for so many sittings. She said: "I wonder
what kind of a person this lady artist is. Does she speak
Chinese?" I said that I knew Miss Carl very well, and that she was
a very nice lady, but that she didn't speak Chinese. She said: "If
her brother has been in the Customs service for so long, how is it
that she doesn't speak Chinese also?" I told her that Miss Carl
had been away from China for a long time; that in fact she had
only been in China for a very short time altogether, most of her
work being in Europe and America. Her Majesty said: "I am glad she
doesn't understand Chinese. The only objection about this portrait
painting is that I have to have a foreigner at the Palace all the
time. With my own people gossiping they might tell her things
which I don't want anyone to know." I told her that would be
impossible as Miss Carl did not understand Chinese at all, neither
did any of the people at Court understand English, with the
exception of ourselves (my mother, sister and myself). Her Majesty
answered: "You must not rely too much on that, as after spending a
short time at the Court they will soon learn to understand each
other." Continuing, she said: "By the way, how long will it take
before this portrait is finished?" I told her that it depended
entirely upon how often she sat, and how long each time. I didn't
like to tell her exactly how long it would take, as I was afraid
she might consider it too much bother, so I said that when the
artist arrived I would tell her to get along and finish the
portrait as quickly as possible.

Her Majesty said: "I don't see how I can very well refuse Mrs.
Conger's request. Of course I told her, as you know, that I would
have to consult with my Ministers, just to give me time to think
the matter over. If you know all about this artist lady, and think
she is quite all right to come here to the Palace, of course she
may come, and I will tell Prince Ching to reply to Mrs. Conger to
that effect. First of all we must talk over what we are going to
do, for to have a foreign lady staying in the Palace is out of the
question altogether. As a rule I always spend the summer at my
Summer Palace, and it is so far from the city that I don't think
she will be able to go to and from the Palace every day, on
account of the distance. Now, where can we put her? Someone will
have to watch her all the time. This is such a difficult matter
that I hardly know what to decide upon. How would you like to look
after her? Do you think you could manage it in such a way that no
one at the Palace will have a chance to talk with her during the
daytime, but who is going to stay and watch her during the night?"
Her Majesty walked up and down the room thinking it over for quite
a while. Finally she smiled and said: "I have it. We can treat her
as a prisoner without her knowing it, but it will all depend on
your mother, your sister and yourself to act for me in this
matter. Each of you will have to play your part very carefully,
and I mine also. I will give orders to have the Palace Garden of
Prince Chung (the Emperor Kwang Hsu's father) fixed up for Miss
Carl during her stay here."

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