With the
Empress Dowager
of China
By
Katharine A. Carl
Illustrated by the Author
and with Photographs
[Illustration: Printer Logo]
New York
The Century Co.
1907
Copyright, 1905, by
THE CENTURY CO.
_Published November, 1905._
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
This is the portrait which was exhibited at the St. Louis
Exposition, is now owned by the United States Government,
and is in the National Museum at Washington]
TO SIR ROBERT HART
To whose helpful encouragement I owe so
much, I affectionately dedicate this account
of my experiences at the Court of the country
he has so long and faithfully served.
KATHARINE A. CARL.
_=New York, May=, 1905._
Contents
PAGE
CHAPTER I. 3
MY PRESENTATION AND FIRST DAY AT THE CHINESE COURT
Drive Out to the Summer Palace--Presentation--Beginning the
Portrait--Luncheon--The Palace Theater--My Pavilion within the
Precincts.
CHAPTER II. 18
PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF HER MAJESTY--A CHINESE REPAST--
BOATING
Second Sitting--The Siesta--Her Majesty’s Barge--A Promenade
on the Lake.
CHAPTER III. 27
THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR’S FATHER
A Chinese Palace--Gardens--The Chinese Poem--Tombstones of
Pets--The Highway from Peking to the Summer Palace--Chinese
Modes of Locomotion--The Seventh Prince.
CHAPTER IV. 34
HER MAJESTY’S THRONE-ROOM
Clocks--Third Sitting--A Promenade in the Gardens--The
Orchard--The Empress Dowager’s Love of Flowers--Customs as
to Fruits and Flowers.
CHAPTER V. 42
THE YOUNG EMPRESS AND LADIES OF THE COURT
The Young Empress--The Secondary Wife--The Princesses--
Children by Adoption--Chinese Widows--The Princess Imperial--
The Relationships of the Princesses of the Blood--The Maids
and Tiring-women--Women of the Eighth Banner--The Chinese
Woman at Court--Slaves.
CHAPTER VI. 50
CONTINUATION OF THE PORTRAIT
Advantages and Disadvantages of Painting in the Throne-room--
The Empress Dowager’s Voice--Chinese Opinion as to Portraits
of Royalty--Walks with Her Majesty--Her Dogs--Their
Pavilions--Cats--The Empress Dowager’s Gift of “Me-lah.”
CHAPTER VII. 57
FESTIVITIES AT COURT
The Celebration of His Majesty’s Birthday--Invitation from
the Empress Dowager to be Present--Birthday Plays--The
Imperial Actors--Birthday Decorations of the Palace Courts
and Buildings--Presents--First Gala Performance--Luncheon in
the Court of the Theater--The Mat-sheds at the Palace--
Visitors--Chinese Courtesy--The Imperial Theater at Summer
Palace--Actresses--Customs of Manchu Women.
CHAPTER VIII. 64
HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR
Beginning of his Reign--The Name of an Emperor--The Manchu
Dynasty--Personality of the Emperor--Appearance--His
Orientalism--His Dreams of Progress--His Edicts--Despatches--
The Emperor’s Palace and Attendants--His Studies and Talents--
Early Rising--His Meals--Conventionalities Observed--Dislike
of Public Functions.
CHAPTER IX. 73
THE EMPEROR’S BIRTHDAY
Morning Salutations--His Majesty’s Throne-room--The Imperial
Pearl-Buttons Denoting Rank of Officials--Manchu Buttons--
“Lever” of the Empress Dowager--Court Costume--Young Empress
in Court Attire--Going in State to Audience Hall--Official
Congratulation by High Officials and Princes--The Young
Empress’s Palace--Presentation of Jade Emblem (Ruyie)--Young
Empress’s Official Congratulation to the Emperor--Simplicity
of Attire of Empress Dowager--Grand Theatrical Representation
at Palace Theater--Imperial Congratulatory Poem--Splendid
Costumes--Luncheon in the Court of the Theater--Children at
Court--The Emperor’s Presents to the Manchu Nobles and High
Officials--The Finale at the Theater--Spectacular Procession--
Thanks of the Princes and Nobles--Bowing to the “Great
Ancestress”--The Procession to the Hall of Ancestral Tablets.
CHAPTER X. 87
PEKING--THE SEA PALACE
His Majesty’s Sacrifice to his Ancestors--The Empress
Dowager’s Favorite Summer-house--The Sacred Picture--The
United States Legation at Peking--Mrs. Conger’s Relations
with Chinese Ladies--The Sea Palace--The Boats of the
Lake--Our Resting-place at the Sea Palace--Promenade on the
Lake--The Eunuch Li-Wun-ti--Memory--Story-telling--The
Island--Temple Gardens--Two Temples--Cathedral within the
Precincts--Theater.
CHAPTER XI. 100
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF HER MAJESTY--SECOND VISIT TO
THE SEA PALACE
The Empress Dowager’s Magnetic Personality--Interesting
Study--Her Chinese Appellations--Hall of Mongolian Princes--
Dragon Wall--Fruits Sent to the Palace--Repast at the Sea
Palace--Promenade in the Train of Her Majesty--The Imperial
Gourds--A Promenade in the Rain--Rest in Hall of Mongolian
Princes--Archery in China--The Sunset Call.
CHAPTER XII. 111
RETURN TO THE SUMMER PALACE
The Empress Dowager as a Psychological Study--Seeing Her
Face to Face--Work on Portrait Resumed--Easels and Cases
for Materials for Work on Sacred Picture--Walks--Refreshments
for the Promenades--Imperial Tea--The Empress Dowager’s Tea
and Tea-cups--Her Deftness with her Fingers--Her
Thoughtfulness.
CHAPTER XIII. 117
THE STEAM-LAUNCH--SEMI-ANNUAL SACRIFICES TO CONFUCIUS
Chinese Tolerance in Religious Matters--Halls of Confucius--
The Odes to Peace--Burning the Offerings.
CHAPTER XIV. 123
THE PALACE EUNUCHS
Their Grades--The Chief Eunuchs--Li Lien Ying--His Power
with the Courtiers--“L’Eminence Grise” of the Court--The
Shut-in Position of Chinese Imperial Rulers--Need of an
Unofficial Messenger--Personal Appearance of Li Lien Ying--
Sui, Her Majesty’s Second Eunuch--Punishment of Eunuchs--
Pupils--Opium Smoking--Pets--Good Manners of the Eunuchs.
CHAPTER XV. 130
LITERARY TASTES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE EMPRESS
DOWAGER
The Empress of the Eastern Palace--Co-Regency--Her Majesty’s
Literary Tastes--Her Love of Heroic Poems--Her Memory--The
Chinese Joan of Arc--The Empress, Widow of Tung-Chih--The
Empress Dowager’s Reader and her Favorite Authors--Her Love
of the Theater--Her Humor--A Great Stickler for Purity of
Language--Li-Hung-Chang’s Chinese--How the Empress Dowager
Speaks It--Her Writing of the Great Characters--The Chinese
Written Character--Painting--Embroidery--Her Designs for
Floral Decorations--Cultivation of her Person--The
Empress Dowager an Epicure--Her Soaps and Perfumes--Her
Personal Magnetism as a Power over Animals--The Escaped
Bird--The Katydid.
CHAPTER XVI. 142
THE GREAT AUDIENCE HALL
Hours of the Audiences--The Audience Hall at Summer Palace--
Its Interior--Ancient and Modern Thrones and Dais--Audiences
of Heads of Departments--The Grand Council--Official
Despatches--Telegrams--The Cushions for Members of the Grand
Council--Special Audiences--The Introducing Eunuch--Amusing
Subterfuge of Officials at Audience--The Young Emperor and
Tiresome Official--Sacred Quality of the Imperial Person--
Mode of Address of Courtiers--The Kow-tow.
CHAPTER XVII. 149
THE SUMMER PALACE
The Empress Dowager’s Favorite Palace--The Marble Terrace--
The Hills of the Summer Palace--The Temple of the Ten
Thousand Buddhas--Memorial Arches--The Marble Bridge--The
Canals--Camel-back Bridges--Chinese Architecture--Utilitarian
Spirit of the Chinese--Flowers and Fields in the Park of
Summer Palace--Grand Peony Mountain--The Sacred Buddha-Temple
of the Ten Thousand Buddhas--Ruins of Old Summer Palace--
Views from the Summer Palace Belvederes--When Their Majesties
Go Abroad.
CHAPTER XVIII. 156
FESTIVAL OF THE HARVEST MOON
The Chinese Love of Festivals--The Fruit of Immortality--The
Little Handmaiden and her White Rabbit--The Play at the
Palace Theater on the Mid-Autumn Festival--Dinner in the
Imperial Loge--Procession to the Moonlit Terrace--Floral
Pai-lou to the Moon--“Bowing” to the Moon--The Poem to the
Moon--The Burnt-Offering--Return to the Palace on the Moonlit
Lake--Continuation of the Portrait--Some Disadvantages of Too
Much Pleasure--Hospitality of the Empress Dowager--Chinese
Conventions and Traditions--Wonderful Opportunities for
Picturesqueness in Painting the Empress Dowager--Restrictions
Imposed by Chinese Tradition--First Exhibition of the “Sacred
Picture”--Description of First Portrait of the Empress
Dowager--How I Should Have Liked to Paint Her.
CHAPTER XIX. 165
A GARDEN PARTY
Reception to the Diplomatic Corps and Ladies of the
Legation--The Ceremony of Reception of the Ladies--The
Empress Dowager’s Cordiality--Taking Tea in the Audience
Hall--Luncheon in the Throne-room--Promenade on the Lake--
Visit to the Palace and Temple on the Island--The Marble
Boat--Lack of Harmony among the Guests at Garden Party--
Chinese Comment on our Costumes and Appearance--Dislike of
Blonde Hair.
CHAPTER XX. 171
BEGINNING A SECOND PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
Putting the Characters Representing Her Majesty’s Titles and
her Two Seals on the Portrait--Beginning the Small Portrait--
Toilette d’Intimité--“Hailo” and “Shadza”--The Palace
Painters--Their Manner of Working--New Variety of
Chrysanthemum--The “Peafowl Feather”--The Audience Hall
Pianos--Her Majesty’s Ideas of Dancing.
CHAPTER XXI. 178
A EUROPEAN CIRCUS AT THE PALACE
The Posters--Sites for the Ring--The Turnip Field--Their
Majesties Go in State across the Lake--The Houseboats--The
Young Empress’s State Boat--The Imperial Loges at the
Circus--Invited Officials--Bands of Music--A Glimpse of the
Manchu Princes and Some High Officials--The Son of the
Imperial Princess--The Opera Glasses of Their Majesties--What
Interested Them Most.
CHAPTER XXII. 185
PALACE CUSTOMS
Early Rising--When the Empress Dowager Sleeps--Her Bedroom--
Irregular Hours except for the Audience--Domestic Duties--
Her Favorite Game--Her Luck--Her Meals--Conventions Observed
at the Empress Dowager’s Table--Her Dishes--The Hour of the
Siesta--Her Promenades--The Days of the Theater--When Their
Majesties Dine Together--Rigorous Observance of Fasts at the
Table of the Empress Dowager--Court Etiquette--The Graceful
Bow--Rigid Observance of Court Customs--Her Majesty’s Reproof
of Too Indulgent Mother.
CHAPTER XXIII. 194
HER MAJESTY’S ANXIETY--HER BIRTHDAY
Her Anxiety--Exterior and Interior Troubles--Preparations
for Her Majesty’s Birthday--Her Desire to Have Everything
as Simple as Possible and to Spare Expense--The Emperor’s
Wish to Celebrate with the Usual Pomp, and Desire to Bestow
a New Title upon the Empress Dowager--Difference of Her
Majesty’s Interest in her Own and the Emperor’s Birthday--
When She Received the Congratulations--Early Hour of
Congratulation--The Interior of the Throne-room and
Decorations for the Birthday--Winter Court Dress of the
Ladies--The Empress Dowager’s Fatigue.
CHAPTER XXIV. 200
THE WINTER PALACE
The Empress Dowager’s Love of the Summer Palace--Return to
Peking--Young Empress and Ladies Precede and Receive Her on
the Threshold of her Own Throne-room--City of Peking, the
Palace within the Forbidden City--Its many Walls within
Walls--The Guard-Houses--The Ceremony of Reception--The
Throne-room of the Winter Palace--The Interior Dome--Her
Majesty’s Sitting-room--Private Chapel--Portraits of Queen
Victoria--The Three Great Halls--The Spirit-Stairway--The
Central Hall--Presents from European Royalties--Where I was
to Paint--The Emperor’s Precincts--Tradition at the Winter
Palace.
CHAPTER XXV. 211
PEKING--BEGINNING THE PORTRAIT FOR ST. LOUIS
Legation Quarter--Morning Ride to the Palace--Splendid Walls
of the Palace and City--The Streets in the Forbidden City--A
Funeral--The Mongolians--Beggars at the Gate--
Unsatisfactoriness of Studio at Winter Palace--Her Majesty
Orders It Remodeled--Beginning Portrait for St. Louis--
Imperial Paraphernalia and Insignia of Royalty--Importance
of Propriety--The Throne--Her Majesty’s Costume for the
Portrait--Pearl Mantle--First Sketch--Stretching the Great
Canvas.
CHAPTER XXVI. 219
SOME SOCIAL CUSTOMS
Manchu Ladies of the Palace--Presentation, on Their Marriage,
of Manchu Noblewomen--Bridal Costume--Sedan Chairs--By Whom
Bride is Presented--The Young Empress’s Graciousness--A
Daughter in a Manchu Family--Comparison of Manchu and
American Girl--The Unmarried Daughter of the Manchus--Her
Position in the Family--Social Qualities--The Manchu Men--
Sports--Costume--Young Dandies--Concubinage--Early Marriages
of Men--Secondary Wives--The Family--Secondary Wives of an
Emperor--Their Rank--Position in the Palace--Title.
CHAPTER XXVII. 230
PRESENT-GIVING
The Palace as the Heart of Empire--Occasions on which
Presents are Given (Private, Official, and Festivals)--
Style of Presents Given by the Empress Dowager--Presents to
the Ladies of Legation--Birthday Presents--Some Presents
Received by Me from Her Majesty.
CHAPTER XXVIII. 237
SOME WINTER DAYS AT THE PALACE
The Portrait for America--Details and Accessories of the
Same--Days at the Palace--The Meals in Winter--Winter
Evenings--Learning Chinese--Occupations of the Ladies--The
Young Empress’s Birthday--Days of Mourning at the Palace--
Anniversary of Death of the Emperor Tung-Chih--The Empress
Dowager’s Sorrow.
CHAPTER XXIX. 245
RELIGIOUS RITES
The Three Great Religions--The Temple of Heaven--The Emperor
as High Priest--Preparations for the Sacrifice to Heaven--
Buddhism and Taoism--Confucius--Origin of Chinese Religious
Ceremonies--Vitality of China as a Nation--Its Amalgamation
of Conquering Races--The Manchus--Some Nature Worship--The
Festival of the Awakening of Spring at the Palace--Guardians
of the Cocoons.
CHAPTER XXX. 253
HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
Her Family--Presentation at Court--Fifth Wife of the Emperor
Hsien-Feng--Favorite of Empress Mother and First Wife--Birth
of a Son--Death of Emperor Hsien-Feng--Empress of Western
Palace--Co-Regents for Young Emperor Tung-Chih--Friendliness
of the Two Co-Regents--State of China at Beginning of
Regency--Intrigue--The Anti-foreign Princes--Prince Kung--
First Political Act of Young Empress of Western Palace--
Support of the Princes of the Blood--The Emperor Tung-Chih
Begins to Reign--Death of Tung-Chih--Resumption of the
Regency by the Empress Dowager--Minority of Kwang-Hsu--Death
of Empress of Eastern Palace--Policy of Empress Dowager--The
Emperor Kwang-Hsu Begins to Reign--His Policy--The War with
Japan--Change of Policy by the Emperor--The Progress Party--
The Ultra-Conservatives--Return from Retirement of the Empress
Dowager--The Emperor’s Edict--So-called Coup d’État--Rout of
Progress Party--Punishment of Ringleaders--Effect on the
Emperor--Reign of Emperor “Assisted” by Empress Dowager--The
Secret Society of the Boxers--Its Growth--Boxers in the
Capital--Boxers among the Princes of the Blood--The Outbreak
in Peking--Reported Cause of Outbreak--The Emperor and Empress
Dowager’s Attempt to Check Movement--The Imperial Military
Forces--Position of Legation Quarter in Peking--British
Legation--Return of Their Majesties to Peking--Edicts Issued--
Arrival of Allies in Peking--Flight of Her Majesty and the
Court--The Route to Singan Fu--Hardships Endured--Incidents.
CHAPTER XXXI. 270
HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS DOWAGER (CONTINUED)
Her Charities--Incident of the Boxer Rising--Widows’ Petition
to the Empress Dowager--Her Majesty’s Action thereon--Her
Extravagance--Extravagance in the Palace--Efforts of Past
Emperors for Economy--Cost of Food in the Palace--Her
Majesty’s Personal Extravagance--Her Jewels--Wardrobe--
Examples of Her Economy--Her Patriotism--Scheme of Taxation--
Her Penetration--Her Judgment--Her Prejudices--Sarcasm--Her
Determination--Tact--Social Instinct--Reception of Young
German Prince.
CHAPTER XXXII. 279
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR
Greatest Festival of the Year--Decorations of the Palace--
Imitation Money--New Year’s Presents--Work on Portrait--Some
Changes--Removal of the Court to Sea Palace--My Studio at Sea
Palace--New Year’s Audience of Ladies of the Legation--
Congratulations--Lantern Festival--The Illuminated
Procession--The Double Dragon--The Flaming Pearl--Fireworks
in the Palace--Day Rockets--Old Customs as to the Fireworks
in the Palace Grounds.
CHAPTER XXXIII. 287
CONTINUATION OF THE ST. LOUIS PORTRAIT
Propitious Date for Finishing it--Changing Ornaments--Frame
for Portrait--Spring Days--Her Majesty’s Walks--Inspecting
the New Buildings--The Jinrikisha--The Miniature Railway--Her
Majesty’s Automobiles--Kite Flying--His Majesty the Emperor
Plows and Sows the Seed of a Furrow.
CHAPTER XXXIV. 294
FINISHING AND SENDING OFF THE PORTRAIT
Nineteenth Day of April--Invitations to Ladies of the
Legation to see the Portrait--Visit of the Ladies to the
Palace--The Portrait--Princes and Nobles see the “Sacred
Picture”--Attempt to Photograph--Portrait taken to
Wai-Wu-Pu--Visit of Corps Diplomatique--Packing the Portrait--
Special Railway built from Foreign Office to Railway Station--
Departure of Picture--En route--Tientsin--Shanghai--
Embarkation for San Francisco--Reception by Prince Pu L’un
and Imperial Commission at St. Louis--Unveiling the
Portrait--Placing the Portrait in the Gallery of Fine Arts--
Arrival at Washington--Presentation to the Government.
CHAPTER XXXV. 300
RETURN TO THE SUMMER PALACE
Return to the Summer Palace--The Palace of the Emperor’s
Father in Spring--The Grounds of the Summer Palace--The
Studio--At Work Again--The Theater--His Majesty’s Theater
Program--Work of the Vermilion Pencil--His Majesty’s
Interest in the Russo-Japanese War--Spring Garden Party to
the Ladies of the Legation--Another large Portrait of Her
Majesty--Showing it to the Ladies--Her Majesty’s Desire for
Highly Finished Detail--Her Delight in her New Hobby--Final
Days.
List of Illustrations
Portrait of the Empress Dowager _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
The Empress and the Ladies of the Court in the Imperial Barge 24
Princesses of the Court 40
The Young Empress Ye-Ho-Na-Lah 44
At the American Legation, Peking 88
Chinese Architecture 104
On the Road from Peking to the Summer Palace 112
The Empress Dowager Writing a “Great Character” 136
The Empress Dowager in the Gardens of the Summer Palace 140
The Official Audience of Their Majesties 146
Old Ruins in the Summer Palace 152
The Secondary Wife of the Emperor 168
Pai-lou in the Grounds of the Summer Palace--on the Shore
of the Lake 176
Princesses of the Court 188
Court in the Winter Palace--“Her Majesty Comes” 204
Confucian Temple--“Spirit-Stairway” in Central Flight of
Steps 208
Prince Ching 216
The Author in Chinese Costume 234
Temple of Heaven--Peking 246
Altar to the Invisible Deity 250
Slave Girls 280
The Portrait of the Empress Dowager in its Frame 304
INTRODUCTORY
In April, 1903, while I was visiting in Shanghai, I received a letter
from Mrs. Conger, wife of the Minister of the United States to Peking,
in which she said there was a question of Her Majesty the Empress
Dowager’s having her portrait painted, and asking me if such a thing
should be arranged would I be willing to come to Peking and undertake
it. Mrs. Conger hoped, if the project should materialize, that Her
Majesty might later consent to send the portrait to the Exposition
at St. Louis. She thought such a portrait would be of great interest
to the American people and might prove an attractive feature to
the Exposition, in which she and Mr. Conger were, naturally, much
interested. She also felt, as she had had an opportunity of seeing a
good deal of the Empress Dowager, that if the world could see a true
likeness of her, it might modify the generally accepted idea which
prevailed as to Her Majesty’s character.
I answered Mrs. Conger’s letter, saying I should be delighted to
undertake the work, should it be decided upon, and I awaited further
developments. The idea of sitting for her portrait met with Her
Majesty’s approval, and she said she would arrange an Audience and
set a day for beginning. But the “mills of”--Chinese Officialdom
“grind slowly,” and not until July did Mrs. Conger receive an official
notification from the Wai-Wu-Pu (Chinese Foreign Office) requesting
“Her Excellency Mrs. Conger to present the American artist, Miss Carl,
to Her Imperial Majesty on the fifth day of August, for the purpose of
painting a portrait of Her Majesty.” Mrs. Conger immediately informed
me of the reception of this document, and I left Shanghai for Peking on
the 29th of July. I was cordially received, on my arrival in Peking,
by Mr. and Mrs. Conger at the American Legation, and on the fifth of
August was presented by Mrs. Conger to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager
at the Summer Palace in private Audience.
As it was a great innovation in Chinese customs and a breaking away
from long-established tradition for an Imperial portrait to be painted,
there was no precedent to follow and all arrangements were of the
vaguest kind; and when I went into the Palace for my first Audience, I
did not know whether I would have one sitting or ten, and no one else
seemed to have any more definite information. All was uncertainty.
Everything depended upon Her Majesty’s inclination, and future
developments must be awaited. I felt that I was really going into the
Palace on trial and that my reception and the work depended upon the
fantasy and whims of a great Personage from whom, according to current
reports, I had but little to expect. On the day of my first Audience,
I was told at the Foreign Office that Her Majesty was to give me but
one sitting, hence it was not in a very tranquil state of mind that
I went up to be presented to the Great Empress Dowager, Tze-Shi! But
all this was changed when I saw her. She received me kindly, was very
gracious. A Palace was set aside for me, and every facility afforded me
for my work: during my sojourn at the Chinese Court I painted not only
the portrait for the Exposition at St. Louis, but three others of Her
Majesty.
Unique as my experiences at the different Palaces of Their Celestial
Majesties were, I concluded, after I had lived at Court for a few
months, I would never make these experiences public. The Empress
Dowager received me in so friendly a manner, I met with such
consideration at her hands and such unfailing courtesy from all with
whom I came in contact, I felt I should requite this kindness by
an equal consideration, and that it was my duty to respect Chinese
prejudices and conform to their ideas of “Propriety” by refraining from
any relation of my charming experiences.
After I returned to America, I was constantly seeing in newspapers
(and hearing of) statements ascribed to me which I never made. Her
Majesty was represented as having stood over me in threatening
attitudes, forcing me to represent her as a young and beautiful woman!
It was reported that she refused to give me any compensation for the
portraits, and a number of other statements, equally false, were
daily appearing in the papers. The London “Times,” in speaking of the
Empress Dowager, said: “Some one has said ‘she has the soul of a tiger
in the body of a woman,’ and Miss Carl found the old lady shrewd and
tempestuous.” The latter statement, which I never made, seemed to me
enough to have on my shoulders, but the article was copied in American
papers and I was put down as the author of the first, as well as of
the second statement. The power of the Press has become such that it
cannot be ignored. It is of no avail to say nothing in such a case as
mine; when you do this, words are put into your mouth and sentiments
ascribed to you at the will of the newsmongers. If a correction be
made, it never seems to get the same circulation or publicity as the
first statement. These erroneous statements continue to appear, and I
have finally decided that, in justice to my August Patroness as well
as to my humbler self, it is incumbent upon me to correct them, and it
seems to me the only proper way to do so is to write a full and true
relation of my life at the Palace and my experiences while painting the
portraits of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.
I know I publish this account at the risk of offending the
sensibilities of my Chinese friends, for many of them will never
know what called it forth. I know that by so doing I may change any
favorable opinion they may have formed as to my good-breeding and
discretion. I was on sufficiently intimate terms with Her Majesty and
the Ladies of the Court to know that this account will be looked upon
by them as an “indiscretion,” to say the least of it.
In this story of my life at the Palace, I must naturally give some
description of Their Majesties and necessarily make some comment
upon their characters. In doing this, I will transgress another
long-established rule of Chinese Propriety, which makes any comment,
favorable or unfavorable, upon the Sacred Persons of Their Majesties,
a breach of etiquette. No act of theirs is ever criticized, no report
in reference to them is ever explained, no slander about them is ever
refuted by loyal Chinese, and the generality of Chinese are loyal. Thus
the falsest statements, not being refuted by those in a position to
know, gain in credence until they are reported as facts.
If my comment on Their Majesties and discussion of their acts be
favorable, this will be no palliation from the Chinese standpoint. Any
sort of comment will be looked upon as a breach of hospitality. I have
absolutely nothing to gain, should I suppress any disagreeable facts I
may have learned as to Her Majesty. Should I be willing to sacrifice
the truth, in order to please my Chinese friends, this would avail me
nothing, for should my account of Her Majesty be construed by them into
an apology for her, I would be considered most presumptuous and the
enormity of my offense aggravated. Thus I am between two fires. Those
who read my account may imagine I am trying to justify Her Majesty and
thereby gain her favor; and should the Chinese put this construction
on it, my indiscretion will become an offense. Knowing all this, and
with the memory of the charming consideration I received at the Chinese
Court, I nevertheless feel it is my duty to publish a simple and
truthful narrative of my experiences, and I hope I may be pardoned for
thus breaking Chinese conventions.
The Boxer rebellion was a frequent topic of conversation at the Palace
and I heard a great deal about it from the Ladies of the Court. It was
not considered at all indiscreet to ask questions on this subject, and
I did not hesitate to inform myself by asking about things I wished to
know. If it be true, as the philosophers say, that “the proper study
of mankind is man under his own environment,” I had an opportunity of
studying Her Majesty on the right principles. My account of her should,
therefore, have some little value, for I am the only European who has
ever had a chance to study this remarkable woman in her own milieu, or
to look upon the facts of her life from the standpoint within her own
circle.
In this simple relation of what I saw of the customs, religious
rites and ceremonies, I have also preferred to rest upon my own
personal interpretation of the same, rather than to study the learned
explanations of the many clever Sinologues, whose works abound. These
works may be consulted by those who desire to enter more deeply into
things. I had no time to make a comprehensive study of any works on
the subject, and I purposely have read nothing and consulted no books
on China, wishing to give a fresh impression. As all their curious
ceremonies were a matter of course to the Chinese, they had become so
petrified by long use and tradition, as to have, in many instances,
lost their original signification to most of those who went through
them. I could thus get very little help from the Chinese and was
forced to put my own interpretation upon things. I feel that, with my
limited capacities, and my inexperience as a writer, the only reason
for my entering this field at all lies in the interest of what I saw,
as I saw it. Notwithstanding the attitude of the Court in this matter,
I have decided to run the risk of incurring their displeasure and
reprobation, for I feel assured that what I have to say may serve to
clear up certain misapprehensions and place Her Majesty the Empress
Dowager in more favorable light. What follows is but the simple
narration, the unsophisticated interpretation, of an observant painter.
[Illustration: Ornamental Design]
WITH THE EMPRESS
DOWAGER OF CHINA
CHAPTER I
MY PRESENTATION AND FIRST DAY AT THE
CHINESE COURT
The day of my first Audience at the Chinese Court, August 5th, we were
up betimes at the American Legation, for it takes full three hours to
drive out to the Summer Palace from Peking; and punctuality is the
etiquette of Oriental as well as of Occidental potentates. Our audience
was for half-past ten o’clock, and the portrait of the Empress Dowager
was to be begun at eleven; that hour, as well as the day and the month,
having been chosen, after much deliberation and many consultations of
the almanac, as the most auspicious for beginning work on the first
likeness ever made of Her Majesty.
We left the Legation at seven A.M. in the trap of the United States
Legation Guard, that being the only vehicle available large enough to
carry the party, Mrs. Conger and her interpreter and myself and my
painting materials, which included a large canvas and a folding easel.
After leaving the City, the drive out to the Summer Palace is through
fertile fields and a fair, smiling landscape. It had rained the night
before and everything was beautifully fresh. The wet, stone-paved road
stretched ahead like a shining stream; the wheat and corn fields along
the road were of a brilliant green, with here and there the somber note
of a clump of arbor-vitæ, out of which rose the walls of a temple! The
distant hills, where lay the Summer Palace, were delicately limned
against a soft blue-gray sky, and the whole made an entrancing picture.
Soon after leaving Peking the mounted official Legation servants that
followed Mrs. Conger’s carriage were joined by a Chinese Guard of Honor
sent by the Wai-Wu-Pu (Foreign Office) to escort us to the Palace.
After an hour and a half’s drive we rattled through a busy village,
past the yellow ruins of a great lama temple, and along the park walls
of the summer homes of several Princes of the Imperial Family, and
soon came within sight of the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace
with its hills, valleys, canals, and lakes; the hills crowned with
tea-houses and temples, the waters of the canals lapping the marble
terraces of the Palaces. The red walls and glazed tiles of the yellow
and green roofs, the brilliant foliage, freshened by the rain, made a
gay picture; and the temples, arches, pagodas, and the many buildings
that constitute a Chinese palace gave it the appearance of a whole town
rather than of a single palace.
As in all Oriental palaces, upon the very threshold of the outer courts
sit the beggar, the lame, the halt, and the blind, gathering rich
harvests from the generosity of the high nobles and officials and their
myriad retainers as they pass in and out of the Foreign Office and the
outer courts of the Palace. The Foreign Office, during the residence
of the Court at the Summer Palace, sixteen miles from the Capital, has
offices on the left of the great Imperial entrance, in order that state
business may be more easily transacted while Their Majesties are in
villeggiatura.
We alighted at the Foreign Office and were met by a number of officials
with their interpreters, coming out to receive us. After readjusting
ourselves in the waiting-room, we were met, when we came out, by the
Chief Eunuch of the Palace, who conducted us to the red-covered Palace
chairs, each carried by six men. They bore us past the Imperial gateway
(used only for Their Majesties), through a door of entrance at the
left, when we were within the sacred precincts of one of the residences
of the Sons of Heaven and within the walls of the favorite Palace of
the Empress Dowager! Before we could take in our surroundings, we had
been rapidly carried through various courts and gardens, and had come
at last to a larger, quadrangular court, filled with pots of rare
blooming plants and many beautiful growing shrubs. Here the bearers put
down our chairs; we descended and walked through the court, preceded
and followed by a number of eunuchs. The great plate-glass doors of
the Palace in front of us, blazing with the huge red character “Sho”
(longevity), were swung noiselessly back, and we were at last within
the Throne-room of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager of China!
A group of Princesses and Ladies-in-waiting stood to receive us. The
Ladies Yu-Keng, wife and daughter of a former Chinese Minister to
France, stood near the Princesses; and their perfect knowledge of both
Chinese and English rendered them delightful mediums of communication
between the Princesses and ourselves. Having known these ladies in
Paris, it was almost like seeing old friends. They seemed a link
between the real, every-day world and this Arabian Nights Palace into
which we had been wafted. As we arrived at a quarter-past ten, we were
in the Throne-room a few moments before Their Majesties appeared! Their
entrance was so simply made, so unobtrusive, that the first I knew of
it, noticing a sudden lull, I looked around and saw a charming little
lady, with a brilliant smile, greeting Mrs. Conger very cordially. One
of the Ladies Yu-Keng whispered, “Her Majesty”; but even after this it
seemed almost impossible for me to realize that this kindly looking
lady, so remarkably young-looking, with so winning a smile, could be
the so-called cruel, implacable tyrant, the redoubtable “old” Empress
Dowager, whose name had been on the lips of the world since 1900! A
young man, almost boyish in appearance, entered the Throne-room with
her: this was the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of China!
After greeting Mrs. Conger, the Empress Dowager looked toward me, and
I advanced with a reverence. She met me half-way and extended her hand
with another brilliant smile which quite won me, and I spontaneously
raised her dainty fingers to my lips. This was not in the protocol
program. It was an involuntary and surprised tribute on my part to her
unexpected charm. She then turned and with graceful gesture extended
her hand toward the Emperor and murmured “The Emperor,” and watched me
closely while I made His Majesty the formal reverence. He acknowledged
the salutation by a slight bow and a stereotyped smile, but I felt that
he, too, was closely scrutinizing me as his shrewd glance swept my
person.
After a few moments’ conversation, interpreted by the Ladies Yu-Keng,
Her Majesty ordered my painting things brought in, while she retired
to be dressed in the gown she had decided upon as appropriate for the
portrait.
After she had left the Throne-room, I tried to take in the conditions
of the place for painting. The hall was large and spacious, but the
light was false, the upper parts of the windows being covered with
paper shades. The only place in the hall where there was any sort of
light for painting was in front of the great plate-glass doors, and
this was but a small space in which to begin so large a picture. To
get a light upon the portrait, as well as upon the sitter, I should
be forced to place my canvas very near the throne where she was to
sit; and, with so large a portrait as I was to paint, this would be a
great disadvantage. When I thought I must paint here, and begin at once
upon the canvas which was to be the final picture, my heart fell! Her
Majesty wished, above all, to have a large portrait, and I was told
she would not understand my beginning on a small canvas or making any
preliminary studies--that if I did not begin on the big canvas at
once she would probably not give me any more sittings; in fact we had
that morning been told at the Foreign Office that Her Majesty was to
give me but two sittings, so there was no alternative! There could be
no preliminary poses, no choice from several sketches, and only a few
moments in which to choose the pose, which must be final--and I totally
ignorant of the possibilities of my sitter or her characteristics.
Luckily, I had but a few moments to consider all these adverse
circumstances, for Her Majesty soon returned! She had been clothed in
a gown of Imperial yellow, brocaded in the wistaria vine in realistic
colors and richly embroidered in pearls. It was made, in the graceful
Manchu fashion, in one piece, reaching from the neck to the floor;
fastened from the right shoulder to the hem with jade buttons. The
stuff of the gown was of a stiff, transparent silk, and was worn over a
softer under-gown of the same color and length. At the top button, from
the right shoulder, hung a string of eighteen enormous pearls separated
by flat pieces of brilliant, transparent green jade. From the same
button was suspended a large, carved pale ruby, which had yellow silk
tassels terminating in two immense pear-shaped pearls of rare beauty!
At each side, just under the arms, hung a pale-blue, embroidered silk
handkerchief and a scent-bag with long, black silk tassels. Around her
throat was a pale-blue, two-inch-wide cravat, embroidered in gold with
large pearls. This cravat had one end tucked into the opening on the
shoulder of her gown, and the other hanging. Her jet-black hair was
parted in the middle, carried smoothly over the temples, and brought to
the top of the head in a large, flat coil.
Formerly all Manchu ladies who have marvelous hair carried the hair
itself out from this coil over a golden, jade, or tortoise-shell
sword-like pin, into a large-winged bow. The Empress Dowager and the
Ladies of the Court have substituted satin instead of the hair, for
this wing-like construction, as being more practicable and less liable
to get out of order. So satin-like and glossy is their hair that it is
difficult to tell where it ends and the satin begins. A band of pearls,
with an immense “flaming pearl” in the center, encircled the coil.
On either side of the winged bow were bunches of natural flowers and
a profusion of jewels. From the right side of the head-dress hung a
tassel of eight strings of beautiful pearls reaching to the shoulder.
She wore bracelets and rings, and on each hand had two nail-protectors,
for she wore her nails so long the protectors were necessary adjuncts.
These nail-protectors were worn on the third and fourth fingers of
either hand; those on the left being of brilliant green jade, while
those on the right hand were of gold, set with rubies and pearls.
Her Majesty advanced with animation and asked me where the Double
Dragon Throne was to be placed. After the eunuchs had put it where I
said, she took her seat. Although not more than five feet tall, as
she wears the Manchu shoes with six-inch-high, stilt-like soles, to
avoid throwing the knees up higher than the lap she must sit upon
cushions, and when she is seated she looks a much larger woman than
when standing. She took a conventional pose and told me I might make
any suggestion I wished; but I had made up my mind that the pose and
surroundings must be as typical and characteristic as possible, and as
I had had no time to study my August Sitter I thought she would know
best as to her position and accessories.
It was nearing eleven!
Beginning anything is momentous. Every artist knows how the wonderful
possibilities of the bare canvas in its virgin purity standing before
him inspires him with almost a feeling of awe; how he hesitates about
beginning, so great is the responsibility. This bare canvas may become
a masterpiece, the full expression of his thought, or it may come forth
a maimed and distorted effort. To-day in these strange surroundings,
with these unusual and unfavorable conditions, my hesitancy was greater
than usual; for upon this beginning depended my being able to go on
with the portrait.
My hands trembled! The inscrutable eyes of the wonderful woman I was
to paint, fixed piercingly upon me, were also disconcerting; but just
then the eighty-five clocks in this particular Throne-room began to
chime, play airs, and strike the hour in eighty-five different ways.
The auspicious moment had come! I raised my charcoal and put the first
stroke upon the canvas of the first portrait that had ever been painted
of the Empress Dowager of Great China, the powerful “Tze-Shi.” The
Princesses, Ladies-in-waiting, the high eunuchs and attendants, stood
in breathless silence around, intently watching my every movement, for
everything touching Her Majesty is a solemnity.
For a few moments I heard the faintest ticking of the eighty-five
clocks as if they were great Cathedral bells clanging in my ears, and
my charcoal on the canvas sounded like some mighty saw drawn back and
forth. Then, happily, I became interested, and absolutely unconscious
of anything but my sitter and my work. I worked steadily on for
what seemed to be a very short time, when Her Majesty turned to the
interpreter and said “enough work had been done for that day”; the
conditions had been fulfilled and the picture begun at the auspicious
moment. She added that she knew I must be tired from our long drive out
from Peking, as well as from my work. She said I must rest and we must
partake of some refreshments. She then descended from the throne and
came over to look at the sketch.
I had blocked in the whole figure and had drawn the head with some
accuracy. So strong and impressive is her personality, I had been able
to get enough of her character into this rough whole to make it a sort
of likeness. After looking critically at it for a few moments, she
expressed herself as well pleased with what had been done, and paid
me some compliments on my talent as an artist! I felt instinctively,
however, this was due more to her natural courtesy--her desire to put
me at ease--than to an actual expression of her opinion. After she had
looked at the portrait, she called Mrs. Conger and the Princesses to
see what had been done, and it was discussed for a few moments. Then
she turned to me and said the portrait interested her greatly, that she
should like to see it go on. She asked me, looking straight into my
eyes the while, if I would care to remain at the Palace for a few days,
that she might give me sittings at her leisure.
This invitation filled me with joy. The reports I had heard of Her
Majesty’s hatred of the foreigner had been dispelled by this first
Audience and what I had seen there. I felt that the most consummate
actress could not so belie her personality, and I accepted, without a
moment’s hesitation, the invitation so graciously tendered. I thought
thus I should be able to get a good beginning for a satisfactory
likeness of this most remarkable and interesting woman. My sanguine
heart even leaped forward to the possibility of probably finishing
the portrait entirely at the Palace. Her Majesty seemed pleased at my
acceptance and said she would try to make me happy. She then withdrew
and we were served to luncheon.
The Empress Dowager always eats alone. When she has guests the Princess
Imperial, as the first of the Ladies of the Palace, acts as hostess.
The guests of honor are placed at her right and left. The Princesses,
Ladies Yu-Keng, Mrs. Conger, and myself formed the guests on this
occasion.
The table, decorated with flowers and fruit, groaned under the many
Chinese dishes placed thereon. Foreign dishes were served _à la Russe_.
The Chinese dishes, attractive to the eye as well as to the senses of
smell and taste, appealed to me at once; though I had been told one
must cultivate a taste for them. There were foreign table waters and
wines as well as Chinese drinks. We did full justice to the viands,
tasting everything and trying to use the chop-sticks, though knives and
forks were also placed for each of the guests.
After the repast Her Majesty and the young Empress, the first wife of
the Emperor Kwang-Hsu, came in. Her Majesty presented the young Empress
with the same grace with which she had indicated the Emperor at the
morning Audience, repeating her title, “The Empress,” as she did so.
Immediately behind the young Empress was the only secondary wife of the
Emperor, who was also presented by the Empress Dowager.
Then Her Majesty told Mrs. Conger she had her Players at the Theater
that day, and she invited us to come and hear them. The Empress Dowager
and Mrs. Conger led the way and I followed with the young Empress and
Princesses. We passed through several courts, all gay with flowers,
and finally reached the largest of all, the Court of the Theater. The
Theater projects into this rectangular court and consists of a covered
rostrum, open on three sides with doors at the back for the entrance
and exit of the actors. In front of the stage and across the open,
flower-filled court, with splendid bronze ornaments here and there, is
a building which might be called the Imperial loge. This is from sixty
to eighty feet long with a pillared stone verandah and occupies one
entire side of the court. Huge panes of plate-glass, the full height of
the building, enable Her Majesty and the Emperor to see, from within,
all that passes on the stage, and they can, of course, hear everything
perfectly. The buildings which form the other sides of this court,
those which run at right angles to the Imperial loge, are divided into
small stalls, each about the size of an ordinary opera box. There are
no chairs in these boxes, the occupants sit Turkish fashion upon the
floor, for no courtier can occupy a chair when in the presence of Their
Majesties. These side rooms are for the use of the high officials and
Princes who are sometimes invited by Their Majesties to be present at
the Imperial Theatrical Representations.
On my first day at Court there were no other invited guests; the
Players had been summoned in our honor. Her Majesty sat in a
yellow-covered chair on the red-pillared verandah of the Imperial
loge. The Emperor was seated on a yellow stool at her left, the place
of honor in China. Mrs. Conger and I were on Her Majesty’s right, the
young Empresses, Princesses, and Ladies-in-waiting standing around.
After seeing two or three acts of a play of which we understood little
more than the pantomime, but which was interesting from its very
novelty, Mrs. Conger arose to take leave of Their Majesties and the
Princesses. After this was accomplished, I accompanied her to one of
the outer courts and there told her good-by.
When she left, I was alone in the Palace, the first foreigner to be
domiciled in any residence of a Son of Heaven since the time of Marco
Polo, and the only foreigner who had ever been within the Ladies’
Precincts. I had a curious feeling of having been transported into a
strange world. A sense of loneliness crept over me, and I feared the
strangeness of my position might affect my work, and that, after all,
I should not accomplish what I had remained in the Palace to do. I
stood for a few minutes pondering my position, but was soon joined by
the Ladies Yu-Keng with a message from the Empress Dowager that I need
not return to the Theater, as she had gone to rest. She sent word that
she thought it would be well for me to go to my apartments and try to
sleep a little. She hoped I would be happy in the Palace and find the
pavilion she had set aside for me comfortable. She added that I must
not hesitate to order anything I wished and must make myself perfectly
at home.
The Summer Palace, like all Chinese palaces and temples, and even
the dwelling-houses of the rich, consists of a series of verandahed
buildings, built on stone foundations which rise about eight feet
from the ground, generally of one story, around the four sides
of rectangular or square courts, connected by open verandah-like
corridors. The apartments set aside for my private use, while in the
Precincts, were to the left of the Empress Dowager’s Throne-room and
quite near it--in order that I might go and come to my painting with
ease. These apartments occupied an entire pavilion. It was charming.
Its shining marble floors and beautifully carved partitions, its
painted walls and charming outlook over flowery courts, made it a
delightful spot. These pavilions at the Palace have movable partitions
and the rooms may be made as small as closets or as large as the whole
building.
My pavilion consisted of two sitting-rooms, a dining-room, and a
charming bedroom, separated from each other by screen-like walls of
beautifully carved open woodwork, with blue silk showing through the
interstices. In the larger spaces were artistic panels of flowers
painted on white silk, alternating with poems and quotations from the
classics, in the picturesque, ideographic writing of the Chinese. On
one of the solid walls was a large water-color painting on white silk,
representing a realistically painted peafowl in a flowery field; an
immense mirror formed the other solid wall. The plate-glass lower
windows had blue silken curtains, the upper windows of white paper were
rolled down, and the rich perfume of the flowers in the court came in.
In my honor, several foreign “objets de virtu” adorned the tables and
window-shelves. The bed, a couch built into an alcove, was covered with
blue satin cushions; and the windows were shaded from the outside by
blue silken awnings, which gave a soft subdued light to the room, that
made it very cool and restful-looking. I found the couch so inviting
I was soon really resting, and the events of the day passed before my
mental vision in kaleidoscopic array. Although the cushions of the
bed were harder than I had been accustomed to, and the dozen or more
eunuchs, who had been set aside for my service, were whispering just
outside my window to be ready for any call, I soon fell asleep from
sheer exhaustion and reaction from the unusual events of the day.
At five o’clock one of the Ladies Yu-Keng knocked at my door to tell
me the Empress Dowager was awake, and had asked that I come up to
the Throne-room as soon as I was ready. When we went up she called
me to her side and said she hoped I had rested well, that I found my
apartments comfortable; she repeated again the wish that I would be
happy with her. She said we would not paint any more for that day,
but on the morrow we would have another and longer sitting for the
portrait. She begged me to let her know if there was anything I cared
for particularly, that she might order it for me.
The Empress Dowager then dined alone, after which the young Empress
and the Princesses led me into the Throne-room, and we dined at Her
Majesty’s table, her seat being left vacant. The young Empress occupied
the place at the left of this vacant seat, and had me on her left.
When we had finished dinner, at which the young Empress and the Ladies
were most considerate of me, seeming to try to make me feel at ease,
we went up to take our leave of the Empress Dowager. After this was
accomplished we left the Throne-room, and made our adieus to the young
Empress and Princesses, and left the Imperial inclosure for the Palace
of the Emperor’s Father, which Her Majesty had set aside for the use of
the Ladies Yu-Keng and myself while I was at work on the portrait.