Two Years in the Forbidden City
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The Princess Der Ling >> Two Years in the Forbidden City
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The day after our arrival at the Summer Palace Her Majesty said
that we had better prepare everything for the audience to receive
the lady artist (Miss Carl). She told the chief eunuch to issue
orders to all the other eunuchs not to speak to Miss Carl, but
simply be polite as occasion required. We Court ladies received
similar orders. Also, that we were not to address Her Majesty
while Miss Carl was present. The Emperor received similar
instructions. Her Majesty gave orders to have the Gardens of
Prince Chung's Palace ready. She then said to us: "I trust you
three to look after this lady artist. I have already given orders
for food to be supplied by the Wai Wu Pu. The only thing that I
have been worried about is that I have no foreign food here for
Miss Carl." She ordered us to have our stove taken over to Prince
Chung's Palace in case Miss Carl desired something cooked. She
said: "I know it will be very hard for you to take her to the
Palace each morning and return with her at night, besides having
to watch her all day long, but I know you do not mind. You are
doing all this for me." After a while she smiled, and said: "How
selfish of me. I order you to bring all your things to this place,
but what is your father going to do? The best thing will be to ask
your father to come and live in the same place. The country air
might benefit him." We kowtowed and thanked Her Majesty, as this
was a special favor, no official nor anyone else having been
allowed to live in Prince Chung's Palace previously. We all were
very pleased--I could now see my father every day. Hitherto we had
only been able to see him about once a month, and then only by
asking special leave.
The next day Her Majesty sent us to Prince Chung's Palace to make
all necessary arrangements for Miss Carl's stay.
This Palace of Prince Chung's was a magnificent place. All the
smaller dwellings were quite separate from each other, not in one
large building, as was the custom. There was a small lake in the
grounds, and lovely little paths to walk along, exactly like the
Empress Dowager's Summer Palace, but, of course, on a much smaller
scale. We selected one of these small dwellings, or summer houses,
for the use of Miss Carl during her stay, and had it fitted up
nicely, to make her as comfortable as possible. We ourselves were
to occupy the next house to Miss Carl, in order that we might
always be on hand, and at the same time keep a good eye on her. We
returned to the Summer Palace the same evening, and told Her
Majesty just how everything had been arranged. She said: "I want
you all to be very careful not to let this lady know that you are
watching her." She seemed very anxious about this, repeating these
instructions for several days prior to Miss Carl's arrival.
I felt very much relieved when the day before the audience
arrived, and everything was finally fixed to Her Majesty's
satisfaction. She ordered us to retire early that evening, as she
wanted to rest and look well the next morning. When morning came
we hurried over everything, even the usual morning audience, so
that we could be ready when Miss Carl arrived.
While I was standing behind the screen, as usual, a eunuch came
and told me that Mrs. Conger, the artist, and another lady had
arrived, and that they were now in the waiting room. By that time
the audience was about finished. The chief eunuch came in and told
Her Majesty that the foreign ladies had arrived and were waiting
in another room. Her Majesty said to us: "I think I will go to the
courtyard and meet them there." Of course, at all private
audiences Her Majesty received the people in the Throne Room, but
as Miss Carl was more of a guest, she did not think it necessary
to go through the usual formal reception.
While we were descending the steps we saw the ladies entering the
gate of the courtyard. I pointed out Miss Carl to Her Majesty, and
noticed that she eyed Miss Carl very keenly. When we arrived in
the courtyard, Mrs. Conger came forward and greeted Her Majesty
and then presented Miss Carl. Her Majesty's first impression of
Miss Carl was a good one, as Miss Carl was smiling very
pleasantly, and Her Majesty, who always liked to see a pleasant
smile, exclaimed to me in an undertone: "She seems to be a very
pleasant person," to which I replied that I was very glad she
thought so, as I was very anxious about the impression Miss Carl
would make on Her Majesty. Her Majesty watched Miss Carl and
myself as we greeted each other, and I could see that she was
satisfied. She told me afterwards that she had noticed Miss Carl
appeared very glad to see me again, and said: "We will handle her
pretty easily, I think." Her Majesty then went to her own private
Palace, and we all followed. On our arrival, Miss Carl told me
that she had brought her own canvas. This was a piece about six
feet by four feet. I had told Miss Carl a little previously that
Her Majesty refused to sit for a very small portrait and that she
would like a life-size one. When Her Majesty saw the canvas she
appeared to be very much disappointed, as in her opinion even that
was not large enough. We placed the tables ready for Miss Carl,
and Her Majesty asked her to choose the position in which she
wished to paint. I knew that Miss Carl would have great difficulty
in choosing a good position on account of the windows being built
so low, there being very little light except low down near the
ground. However, Miss Carl finally placed the canvas near the door
of the room. Her Majesty told Mrs. Conger and the rest to sit down
for a while as she wanted to change into another gown. I followed
her into her bedroom. The first question Her Majesty asked was how
old I thought Miss Carl was, as she herself could not guess her
age, her hair being extremely light, in fact almost white. I could
hardly refrain from laughing outright on hearing this, and told
Her Majesty that Miss Carl's hair was naturally of a light color.
Her Majesty said that she had often seen ladies with golden hair,
but never one with white hair, excepting old ladies. She said: "I
think that she is very nice, however, and hope she will paint a
good portrait."
Turning to one of the Court ladies, she ordered her to fetch a
yellow gown as although, as she put it, she did not like yellow,
she thought it would be the best color for a portrait. She
selected one from a number which the Court lady brought,
embroidered all over with purple wisteria. Her shoes and
handkerchiefs matched. She also wore a blue silk scarf,
embroidered with the character "Shou" (long life). Each character
had a pearl in the center. She wore a pair of jade bracelets and
also jade nail protectors. In addition she wore jade butterflies
and a tassel on one side of her headdress, and, as usual, fresh
flowers on the other side. Her Majesty certainly did look
beautiful on that occasion.
By the time she came out from her room Miss Carl had everything
prepared. When she saw how Her Majesty was dressed, she exclaimed:
"How beautiful Her Majesty looks in this dress," which remark I
interpreted to Her Majesty, and it pleased her very much.
She seated herself on her throne, ready to pose for the picture.
She just sat down in an ordinary easy position, placing one hand
on a cushion. Miss Carl explained: "That is an excellent position,
as it is so natural. Please do not move." I told Her Majesty what
Miss Carl said, and she asked me whether she looked all right, or
not. If not, she would change her position. I assured her that she
looked very grand in that position. However, she asked the opinion
of the Young Empress and some of the Court ladies, who all agreed
that she could not look better. I could see that they never looked
at Her Majesty at all, they were too much interested in what Miss
Carl was doing.
When Miss Carl commenced to make the rough sketch of Her Majesty
everyone watched with open mouth, as they had never seen anything
done so easily and so naturally. The Young Empress whispered to
me: "Although I don't know anything about portrait painting, still
I can see that she is a good artist. She has never seen any of our
clothes and headdresses, and she has copied them exactly. Just
imagine one of our Chinese artists trying to paint a foreign lady,
what a mess he would make of it."
After the sketch was finished Her Majesty was delighted and
thought it was wonderful for Miss Carl to have made it so quickly
and so accurately. I explained that this was a rough sketch and
that when Miss Carl commenced painting, she would soon see the
difference. Her Majesty told me to ask Miss Carl whether she was
tired and would like to rest; also to tell her that she was very
busy all the day, and would only be able to give her a few
minutes' sitting each day. We then took Miss Carl to luncheon,
together with Mrs. Conger, and after luncheon we accompanied Her
Majesty to the theatre.
After Mrs. Conger had departed I took Miss Carl to my room to
rest. As soon as we arrived there, Her Majesty sent a eunuch to
call me to her bedroom. Her Majesty said: "I don't want this lady
to paint during my afternoon rest. She can rest at the same time.
As soon as I am up you can bring her here to paint. I am glad that
it looks like turning out better than I had anticipated." I
therefore told Miss Carl Her Majesty's wishes in this respect and
that she could paint for a little while, if she chose to, after
Her Majesty had had her rest. Miss Carl was so interested in Her
Majesty, she told me she didn't want to rest at all, but that she
would like to go on with the painting right away. Of course, I did
not like to tell her anything the first day, as it might upset
her, and did not say that this was a command from Her Majesty.
After a lot of maneuvering I got her to give up the idea of
continuing straight off, without offending her. I took her out on
the veranda as the eunuch was preparing the table for Her
Majesty's dinner in the room we were then occupying. The Young
Empress kept Miss Carl busy talking, I acting as interpreter. Soon
one of the eunuchs came and informed us that Her Majesty had
finished dinner, and would we please come and take ours. On
entering the room I was very much surprised to see that chairs had
been placed there, as this had never been done previously,
everybody, with the exception of Her Majesty, taking their meals
standing. The Young Empress was also very much surprised and asked
me whether I knew anything about it. I said that perhaps it was on
account of Miss Carl being there. The Young Empress told me to go
over and ask Her Majesty, as she was afraid to sit down without
receiving orders to do so. Her Majesty whispered to me: "I don't
want Miss Carl to think we are barbarians, and treat the Young
Empress and the Court ladies in that manner. Of course, she does
not understand our Court etiquette and might form a wrong
impression, so you can all sit down without coming over to thank
me, but be natural, as though you were accustomed to sitting down
to dinner every day."
After Her Majesty had washed her hands she came over to our table.
Of course we all stood up. Her Majesty told me to ask Miss Carl
whether she liked the food, and was pleased when Miss Carl
answered that she liked the food better than her own kind. That
relieved Her Majesty.
After dinner was over I told Miss Carl to say good-bye to Her
Majesty. We courtesied to her, also to the Young Empress, and said
good night to the Court ladies. We then took Miss Carl to the
Palace of Prince Chung. It took us about ten minutes' ride in the
carts. We showed Miss Carl her bedroom, and were pleased to leave
her and get to our own rooms, for a good night's rest.
The next morning we took Miss Carl to the Palace, and arrived
there during the morning audience. Of course Miss Carl, being a
foreigner, could not enter the Throne Room, so we sat down on the
back veranda of the Audience Hall and waited until it was over.
This, of course, prevented my being in attendance each morning, as
usual, and was a great disappointment to me, as I was unable to
keep in touch with what was taking place. Moreover, during the
time I had been at Court, my one object had been to endeavor to
interest Her Majesty in Western customs and civilization. I
believed that to a great extent Her Majesty was becoming
interested in these things, and would refer the subjects of our
conversations to her Ministers, for their opinions. For instance,
I had shown her photographs taken of a Naval Review at which I was
present in France. Her Majesty seemed to be impressed, and said
that she would certainly like to be able to make a similar display
in China. This matter she consulted with her Ministers, but they
gave the usual evasive answer, viz.: "There is plenty of time for
that." From this you will see that Her Majesty was not able to
introduce reforms entirely alone, even though she might desire to
do so, but had to consult the Ministers, who would always agree
with Her Majesty, but would suggest that the matter be put off for
a time.
My experience while at the Palace was that everybody seemed to be
afraid to suggest anything new for fear they might get themselves
into trouble.
When Her Majesty came out from the Audience Hall, Miss Carl went
up to her and kissed Her Majesty's hand, which caused her great
surprise, although she did not show it at the time. Afterwards,
however, when we were alone, she asked me why Miss Carl had done
this, as it was not a Chinese custom. She naturally thought that
it must be a foreign custom, and therefore said nothing about it.
Her Majesty then proceeded on foot to her own Palace, to change
her dress for the portrait. It was a beautiful morning, and when
she had posed for about ten minutes, she told me that she felt too
tired to proceed, and asked if it would be all right to ask Miss
Carl to postpone it. I explained that as Miss Carl was going to be
at the Palace for some time, the postponement of one day's sitting
would not make much difference at that time, although I knew that
Miss Carl would naturally be disappointed. Still, I had to humor
Her Majesty as much as possible, otherwise she might have thrown
up the whole thing. Miss Carl said that if Her Majesty wished to
go to rest, she could be working painting the screen and the
throne, and Her Majesty could pose again later on if she felt like
it. This pleased Her Majesty, and she said that she would try to
sit again after taking her afternoon's rest. Her Majesty ordered
me to give Miss Carl her lunch in my own room at twelve o'clock
each day, my mother, my sister and myself keeping her company.
Dinner at the Palace was usually taken about six o'clock, and it
was arranged that Miss Carl should take dinner with the Young
Empress and the Court ladies at that hour, after Her Majesty had
finished dining. Her Majesty also ordered that champagne or any
other wine which Miss Carl preferred, should be served, as she
said she knew it was the custom for all foreign ladies to take
wine with their meals. Where she got hold of this idea, nobody
knew. I was sure that Her Majesty had been misinformed by
somebody, but it would have been bad policy to have tried to tell
her different at the moment. She disliked very much to be told
that she was wrong in any of these things, and it could only be
done by waiting and casually introducing the subject at some other
time.
After Miss Carl had gone to rest during the afternoon, Her Majesty
sent for me and asked the usual question, viz.: What had Miss Carl
been saying? etc., etc. She seemed particularly anxious to know
what Miss Carl thought of her, and when I told her that Miss Carl
had said that she was very beautiful and quite young looking, she
said: "Oh! well, of course Miss Carl would say that to you."
However, on my assuring her that Miss Carl had given this opinion
without being asked for it, she showed very plainly that she was
not at all displeased with the compliment.
Suddenly Her Majesty said: "I have been thinking that if Miss Carl
can paint the screen and the throne, surely she ought to be able
to paint my clothes and jewels, without it being necessary for me
to pose all the time." I told her that would be quite impossible,
as nobody could hold the things for Miss Carl to get the proper
effect. To my surprise she answered: "Well, that is easily gotten
over. You wear them in my place." I hardly knew what to say, but
thought I would get out of the difficulty by telling her that
perhaps Miss Carl would not like such an arrangement. Her Majesty,
however, could see no possible objection on Miss Carl's part, as
she herself could pose when the time came for painting her face.
So I put the matter as nicely as possible to Miss Carl, and it was
finally arranged that I should dress in Her Majesty's robes and
jewels whenever Her Majesty felt too tired to do the posing
herself. In this manner the portrait of the Empress Dowager was
painted, and with the exception of just a few hours to enable Miss
Carl to get Her Majesty's facial expression, I had to sit for two
hours each morning, and for another two hours each afternoon until
the portrait was finished.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE EMPEROR'S BIRTHDAY
MY father's four months' leave having expired, he was received in
audience by their Majesties on the first day of the sixth moon. He
was much improved in health, but his rheumatism was still very
troublesome. This was particularly noticeable when climbing the
steps to the Audience Hall, and Her Majesty ordered two of the
eunuchs to assist him.
First he thanked Her Majesty for her kindness towards my sister
and myself, and, as was the custom, took off his hat and knelt
down, bowing his head until it struck the ground. This ceremony
was always gone through by any official who had received special
favors from Their Majesties.
He then replaced his hat on his head and remained kneeling before
the throne. Her Majesty then questioned him about his life in
Paris, from time to time complimenting him on his work. Seeing
that remaining in this kneeling position appeared to be making him
tired, Her Majesty ordered one of the eunuchs to bring a cushion
for him to use, which was another great honor, as this cushion was
only used by the President of the Grand Council.
Her Majesty told him that as he was now getting to be a very old
man, she did not intend sending him away from China again, as she
wanted to keep my sister and myself at the Court, which she could
not do if she sent him to some foreign country, as he would want
to take his daughters with him. She said she was pleased, that
although we had been away from China for such a long time, we were
well acquainted with the Manchu customs. My father replied that it
had been his care that we should be brought up according to the
customs of our own country.
Her Majesty when asked the Emperor if he had anything to say, and
he replied by asking my father if he spoke French, and thought it
very strange on learning that he did not. My father explained that
he had never had the time to study it, besides which he considered
himself too old to learn a foreign language.
The Emperor next asked what was the feeling in France towards
China. My father replied that they were very friendly at that
time, but that immediately after the Boxer trouble the post of
Minister had been a very embarrassing one. Her Majesty said that
it had been an unfortunate affair, but she was glad that
everything was now settled satisfactorily. She told my father that
he was to get well again as quickly as possible, and the audience
came to an end.
Afterwards Her Majesty said that my father was looking very old
since his return from France and that he would have to be careful
and take things easy until he got stronger again. She was pleased
that he had shown appreciation of her interest in my sister and
myself.
Preparations were now commenced for celebrating the birthday of
His Majesty, the Emperor Kwang Hsu, which was to take place on the
28th of that month. The actual date of the Emperor's birthday was
the 26th of the sixth moon, but this day, being the anniversary of
the death of a previous Emperor of China, we were unable to hold
any festivities, and so it was always celebrated on the 28th day
instead. The official celebration lasted for seven days, three
days before and four days after the actual date. During that time
the whole of the Court dressed in official robes, and no business
of any kind whatever was attended to. This being the Emperor's
32nd birthday, and as the full celebrations only took place every
tenth year, i. e. On his 20th birthday, his 30th birthday, and so
on, the festivities were not carried out on a very grand scale.
However, it was quite sufficient to interfere with all business,
and the usual morning audiences did not take place during these
seven days. The Empress Dowager herself was the only person who
did not dress especially during these celebrations, and who did
not take any active part in the festivities. Another reason why
the celebrations were not carried out on a very large scale was
the fact that the Empress Dowager, being alive, she took
precedence, according to the Manchu custom, over the Emperor
himself, in fact she was the actual ruler of the country, the
Emperor being second. The Emperor was quite aware of this fact,
and when the Empress commanded that preparations be commenced for
the celebrations, the Emperor would always suggest that it was not
at all necessary to celebrate the occasion unless it happened to
be a tenth year, and would very reluctantly agree to the
festivities taking place. Of course this was more out of
politeness on the part of the Emperor and to conform to the
recognized etiquette, but the nation recognized this birthday and
naturally celebrated according to the usual custom. During this
period, therefore, the painting of the portrait was postponed.
When the morning of the 25th arrived, the Emperor dressed himself
in his official robe-yellow gown, embroidered with gold dragons
and coat of a reddish black color. Of course, being the Emperor,
in place of the usual button on the hat he wore a large pearl. I
might mention that the Emperor was the only person who could wear
this particular pearl in place of a button. He came as usual to
wish Her Majesty Chi Hsiang and then proceeded to the temple to
worship before the ancestral tablets. After this ceremony was over
he returned to the Empress Dowager and kowtowed to her. All the
Chinese adopt this rule of kowtowing to their parents on their own
birthdays, as a sign of reverence and respect. The Emperor next
proceeded to the Audience Hall, where all the Ministers were
assembled, and received their salutations and congratulations.
This ceremony very often caused amusement, for to see several
hundred people all bobbing their heads up and down, especially
when they did not all manage to do it together, was a very funny
sight. Even the Emperor himself had to laugh, it was such an
extraordinary spectacle.
The musical instruments which were used during the ceremony
deserve a little description. The principal instrument is made of
hard wood, and has a flat bottom about three feet in diameter,
with a dome-shaped top raised about three feet from the ground.
The inside is quite hollow. A long pole made of the same material
is used as a drumstick, and an official, specially appointed,
beats with all his might on the drum. The noise can be better
imagined than described. This is used as a signal to announce when
the Emperor takes his seat upon the throne. In addition to the
above, a full sized model of a tiger, also made of similar hard
wood, and having twenty-four scales on its back, is brought into
the courtyard. In this case they did not beat the instrument, but
scraped along its back over the scales, which emitted a noise
similar to the letting off simultaneously of innumerable crackers.
This noise was kept up during the whole of the ceremony, and what
with the drum and this tiger instrument it was sufficient to
deafen one. During the ceremony, an official crier used to call
out the different orders, such as when to kneel, bow, stand up,
kowtow, etc., etc., but with the noise it was quite impossible to
hear a single word of what he uttered. Another instrument was
composed of a frame made of wood, about eight feet high by three
feet broad. Across this frame were three wooden bars, from which
was suspended twelve bells, made out of pure gold. When these were
struck with a wooden stick the sound was not at all unlike the
dulcimer, only, of course, very much louder. This was placed on
the right side of the Audience Hall. On the left side a similar
instrument was placed, with the exception that the bells were
carved out of white jade. The music which could be brought out of
the instrument was very sweet.
When this ceremony of receiving the Ministers was concluded, the
Emperor proceeded to his private Palace, where the Young Empress
(his wife), the Secondary wife and all the Court ladies were
gathered, and, after kowtowing, all of the Court ladies present,
led by the Young Empress, knelt before him and presented him with
a Ru Yee. This is a kind of sceptre. Some are made out of pure
jade, while others are made out of wood inlaid with jade. This Ru
Yee is a symbol of good luck and was supposed to bring happiness
and prosperity to the person to whom it was presented. The
ceremony was gone through to the accompaniment of music played on
string instruments, which was very sweet.
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