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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75210 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+                               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.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER II
+
+             PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF HER MAJESTY--A CHINESE
+                            REPAST--BOATING
+
+I was eager to be off the next morning, to have the promised long
+sitting from Her Majesty. The sitting of the day before had but whetted
+my desire for further work on the portrait. When we arrived within the
+Precincts we met the Empress Dowager and the Emperor coming out of the
+Great Audience Hall from their joint Audience. When Her Majesty saw
+us she stopped, as did the whole train of her attendant Ladies and
+eunuchs. She called me up to her side, took my hand, and asked me how
+I had rested and “whether I felt ready for work.” This question showed
+her penetration, for she had seen the day before, from my eagerness and
+the breathless haste with which I used every moment, that my work was
+my first object, and she smiled when she put the query. I walked along
+by her side from the Audience Hall to the Throne-room where I had begun
+the portrait of the day before. When we reached the Throne-room she was
+divested of her official vestments, took a cup of tea, and called one
+of her tiring-women to bring her the dress and ornaments worn the day
+before, and she prepared to sit for me the second time.
+
+At this second sitting I looked at the Empress Dowager critically. I
+feared that the agreeable impression I had formed, the day before, of
+herself and her personal appearance had probably been too hasty, the
+result of the unusual glamour in which I had begun the portrait; I
+thought perhaps the Oriental environment had dazzled me and prevented
+my seeing the Empress Dowager as she really was, and I looked forward
+to a disillusion. As she sat there, upon the throne, before she was
+quite ready for me to begin, before she had transfixed me with her
+penetrating glance, before she knew I was looking at her, I scanned her
+person and face with all the penetration I could bring to bear, and
+this is what I saw:
+
+A perfectly proportioned figure, with head well set upon her shoulders
+and a fine presence; really beautiful hands, daintily small and
+high-bred in shape; a symmetrical, well-formed head, with a good
+development above the rather large ears; jet-black hair, smoothly
+parted over a fine, broad brow; delicate, well-arched eyebrows;
+brilliant, black eyes, set perfectly straight in the head; a high nose,
+of the type the Chinese call “noble,” broad between the eyes and on
+a line with the forehead; an upper lip of great firmness, a rather
+large but beautiful mouth with mobile, red lips, which, when parted
+over her firm white teeth, gave her smile a rare charm; a strong chin,
+but not of exaggerated firmness and with no marks of obstinacy.[1]
+Had I not known she was nearing her sixty-ninth year, I should have
+thought her a well-preserved woman of forty. Being a widow, she used
+no cosmetics. Her face had the natural glow of health, and one could
+see that exquisite care and attention were bestowed upon everything
+concerning her toilet. Personal neatness and an excellent taste in
+the choice of becoming colors and ornaments enhanced this wonderfully
+youthful appearance, and a look of keen interest in her surroundings
+and remarkable intelligence crowned all these physical qualities and
+made an unusually attractive personality.
+
+[1]
+
+    In the firmament of the Son of Heaven
+    A brilliant new star has risen!--
+    Supple as the neck of the swan
+    Is the charm of her graceful form.
+
+    From the firm contour of charming chin
+    Springs the faultless oval of her fair face,
+    Crowned by the harmonious arch
+    Of a broad and noble brow.
+
+    The stately profile, chiseled clear,
+    Is dominated by the pure line of noble nose
+    Straight and slender and singularly mobile,
+    Sensitive to all the impressions of the soul.
+
+    Dewy lips with gracious curves
+    Are the portals of a dainty mouth
+    Where often blooms the sweet flower
+    Of a most alluring smile.
+
+    Her face is lit by black and sparkling eyes,
+    Whose flames, in hours of ease,
+    With oblique caress, envelop and thrill
+    That happy mortal allowed to see.
+
+    When stern circumstance demands,
+    Her graceful form an attitude of firmness takes,
+    The soft glow of her brilliant eyes
+    Grows penetrating and holds one with proud authority.
+
+    O beauty Supreme! O brilliant Star
+    Shining but for the Son of Heaven!
+    From thy glowing soul radiate
+    Love, daring, hope, intellect, ambition, power!
+
+     _From a Chinese poet--written when Her Majesty
+                         was twenty-five years old._
+
+When I was so far in my study of her appearance, the Empress Dowager
+had finished speaking to her attendants, had settled herself to her
+satisfaction on the throne, and she turned to me and asked “what part
+of the portrait I was to work on.” I had been told she would be much
+pleased if I would paint in the face. Thinking it was important to
+please her at the outset, instead of perfecting and advancing the
+drawing of the whole figure, as I should have done, I began on the
+face; first correcting the drawing as far as possible and then putting
+in a thin wash of color. During the sitting the Ladies, attendants,
+and eunuchs were coming and going; she took tea and conversed, but she
+seemed to understand that she must keep her head in the same position,
+and she would look over apologetically at me when she moved it. I did
+not wish her to be stiff, and preferred her moving a little to sitting
+like a statue. Her Majesty, like all Oriental ladies, smokes, and
+during the sitting the eunuchs or some of the Princesses brought her
+either the graceful water-pipe, of which she would take a few whiffs,
+or she would indulge in European cigarettes. She never allowed the
+latter to touch her lips, but used a long cigarette-holder. She was
+extremely graceful in her use of both the cigarette and water-pipe.
+
+After little more than an hour’s work Her Majesty decided that enough
+had been done for the morning and that we both needed rest! She came
+over to look at the face, and it was easy to see that she liked it
+much better now that the color was being put in. She stood behind me,
+discussing it for some time, and said she wished it were possible for
+some one else to pose for the face, so that she might sit and watch it
+grow. She thought it very wonderful that on the flat canvas the relief
+of the face could be represented. She then turned to me and said she
+knew I must be tired both mentally and bodily, as I stand to my work,
+advised me to go to my pavilion, have lunch, and rest, and added that
+she would try to give me another sitting in the afternoon before we
+went out for some sort of promenade.
+
+I returned to my pavilion with the Ladies Yu-Keng, whom Her Majesty had
+appointed to keep me company for the meals in my own quarters. There
+was a young Manchu girl at Court whose father had been an attaché at
+Berlin, who spoke German and English; she, also, had been ordered by
+Her Majesty to take her meals with us, so that I might have pleasant
+company and be able to converse in my own language and have proper
+relaxation during my meals. Besides, I did not know enough Chinese to
+direct the servants or make my wants known, and these Ladies were Her
+Majesty’s interpreters.
+
+The meals at the Palace were all of the most lavish description,
+twenty or thirty dishes being placed upon the table at the beginning
+of the meal, while macaroni, rice, and a few other things were served
+from a side table. The Chinese are passed masters in the culinary
+art, and the delicacies seen at good Chinese tables are fit for a
+repast of Lucullus. Sharks’ fins, deers’ sinews, birds’ tongues,
+rare fish, bird’s-nest soups, fish brains, shrimps’ eggs, and many
+other extraordinary dishes make up the every-day menu. No one can
+cook goose, duck, and in fact all fowls and game, to such perfection
+as the Chinese. Their soups are of a delicacy and flavor quite
+unequaled. Their breads and cakes seem to the foreigner, at first, the
+least delectable of their viands; their bread particularly, which is
+steamed instead of baked, is not tempting; but when you get over or
+rather through the raw-looking outside, with its five cochineal spots
+surmounting its pyramidal form, it is very sweet and wholesome. It is
+made of gray flour, as the Chinese do not believe in whitening the
+flour as we do. They make delicious creams, as to consistency; and
+these and their sweets generally are much esteemed by the foreigners.
+
+At the Palace the food is served in tall dishes of painted Chinese
+porcelain, and everything is placed upon the table at once--soups,
+roast, sweets, all except the rice and macaroni. These latter dishes
+the Chinese eat boiling hot, and they are kept on chafing-dishes
+until served. Each person has a bowl, a small saucer, and a pair of
+chop-sticks. A small square of very soft cloth is used as a napkin.
+There is never any salt upon the table. The small saucer at the side
+of each guest contains a very salty sauce; if extra salt is needed,
+this sauce is used. The Chinese consider powdered salt too coarse for
+seasoning food after it is cooked!
+
+They rarely drink at meals, and when they do, only tiny cups, about the
+size of a liqueur-glass, of heated wine. This is poured out of silver
+teapots, and is kept hot by being placed in receptacles containing
+boiling water. Their wines are more like liqueurs than ours; they
+are generally distilled with flowers and herbs and have a delightful
+“bouquet.” Some of these wines have most poetic names, such as “Dew
+from the Early Morning Rose,” and “Drops from the Hands of Buddha.” The
+Chinese never drink cold water, nor do they take tea at meals. For me,
+being a foreigner, champagne was always provided, as well as claret or
+Burgundy. The Chinese do not drink coffee. After leaving the table,
+they take tea without milk or sugar.
+
+The middle of the day is set aside for the siesta, and during the heat
+of the summer, every one goes to her apartments for two hours after
+luncheon. As I found the Chinese bed-cushions too hard to rest well
+upon, I took to my pavilion a foreign, eiderdown cushion, which I used
+for several days, until one day, on going to my room, I found two
+lovely new cushions with pale-blue silk, removable slips. On touching
+them, I found them to be soft and deliciously cool and fragrant as
+well. They were made of tea-leaves and had been sent as a present from
+the Empress Dowager. I found them a great improvement over eiderdown or
+feather cushions, especially for summer use. Though I did not care for
+this long midday rest, I was forced to go to my room and remain there,
+as there was nothing else to do.
+
+When Her Majesty awakes, the news flashes like an electric spark
+through all the Precincts and over the whole inclosure, and every one
+is on the “qui vive” in a moment. The young Empress and the Princesses
+go up to Her Majesty’s Throne-room to be present at her “lever.” When
+her afternoon toilet is made, the Empress Dowager comes out of her
+private apartments into the Throne-room and generally partakes of some
+light refreshment, or drinks a cup of tea or some fruit juice.
+
+She gave me a short sitting after her nap this second day and then
+ordered the boats for a row on the lakes. Attended by the young Empress
+and Princesses, and with the usual train of attendants and eunuchs,
+we went out into the court of the Throne-room, passed through a small
+pavilion opening directly upon the beautiful white marble terrace,
+with its quaintly carved marble balustrade, which stretches all along
+the southern side of the lake. Her Majesty’s own barge lay at the foot
+of the marble steps and numbers of other barges and boats lay around,
+forming quite a little fleet. She descended the steps and entered the
+barge. The young Empress, Princesses, and Ladies followed. Her Majesty
+sat in the yellow, throne-like chair in the middle of the raised
+platform of the barge. The young Empress, Princesses, and Ladies took
+their places as decreed by centuries-old tradition. They sat upon
+cushions placed upon the carpeted floor of the raised platform of the
+barge.
+
+          [Illustration: THE EMPRESS AND LADIES OF THE COURT
+                         IN THE IMPERIAL BARGE
+                   On the Lake of the Summer Palace]
+
+When I stepped on, Her Majesty motioned me to come near her and sit
+at her right. The young Empress was on her left. Several of the high
+eunuchs stood at the back of the Empress Dowager’s chair with her
+extra wraps, bonbons, cigarettes, water-pipes, etc. There were two
+rowers on the barge who stood with their long oars to guide it, for it
+was attached by great yellow ropes to two boats, manned by twenty-four
+rowers each, and was towed along by them. Only the eunuchs of the
+highest rank, Her Majesty’s personal attendants, went on the barge with
+her, and the two boatmen simply guided it. All the Palace boatmen stand
+to their oars, for they cannot sit in the presence of Her Majesty,
+even though not upon the Imperial barge. And it is only on the barge
+that the Empress and Ladies sit in the presence of the Empress Dowager
+without being invited by her to do so.
+
+A number of flat boats followed the Imperial barge with the army of
+eunuchs that go to make up the train of Their Majesties when they move
+about the Palace or grounds. One boat carried portable stoves and
+all the necessary arrangements for making tea, as this is taken so
+frequently by Her Majesty and the Ladies, it may be called for at any
+time.
+
+We were rowed across the lake to one of the islands; and when we looked
+back at the Palaces, the memorial arches, the temple-crowned hills, the
+curious camel-back bridges, and the beautiful white marble terraces
+jutting out into the lake with its islands, the scene was indeed
+fairy-like. We were then rowed into a field of beautiful lotus flowers,
+and Her Majesty ordered some pulled by the eunuchs to be given to the
+Ladies. She seemed delighted at my sincere admiration of this beautiful
+water-plant, so dear to the Chinese. After an hour on the lake, we
+were rowed back to our starting-point and disembarked. This time the
+Princesses and Ladies left the barge first and stood to receive the
+Empress Dowager when she landed. When she had dined she asked us to
+dine with the young Empress and Ladies at her table in her Throne-room,
+after which we made our adieus and returned to our own Palace, without
+the Precincts.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+                  THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR’S FATHER
+                  (PRINCE CH’UN, THE SEVENTH PRINCE)
+
+The Palace of the Emperor’s Father, which the Empress Dowager had set
+aside for me to live in while I was at work on her portrait, was a
+splendid demesne, with a noble park and spacious buildings. It had been
+much injured by the foreign troops in 1900 and had been unoccupied
+since, until Her Majesty decided it would be a suitable dwelling-place
+for her “Portrait Painter.” She had it hastily restored and refurnished
+for our occupation, but many of the pavilions and summer-houses in the
+grounds were in ruins, and the stables but partly rebuilt. Except the
+grounds immediately surrounding the buildings in which the Yu-Kengs
+and I lived, which were well kept and garnished, the greater part of
+the extensive park was in a fascinating state of natural wildness. The
+Palace, like all others in China, consisted of a network of verandahed
+pavilions built around spacious courts. There was a small Theater with
+the Prince’s loge and stalls for his guests, and numerous tea and
+summer houses were scattered over different parts of the grounds.
+
+I selected, as my abiding-place, a charming group of buildings in a
+walled-in garden, fronting on a lotus-covered lake, with a winding
+stream at the back, spanned by a picturesque bridge. The principal
+pavilion of this group had a lofty central hall, out of which opened,
+on one side, bedrooms and dressing-rooms, and on the other dining-room
+and dependencies. Great doors in the center of the hall, which I had
+decided to use as my living-room, opened on a wide verandah which ran
+the whole length of the building. Marble steps led from this into a
+court filled with flowering shrubs. Two sides of the charming court had
+smaller pavilions similar to the central hall, and opposite this latter
+was a quaint stone wall, the upper part of tiled lattice-work, with
+curiously shaped openings at irregular intervals. In the center of this
+wall, massive wooden doors opened out on a beautiful terrace, shaded
+by fine old elms, over the lake. It was a charming dwelling-place,
+and this group of buildings soon came to be known as the “Ker-Gunia
+Fu,” “Ker-Gunia” being “Miss Carl” rendered into Chinese, and “Fu”
+meaning “Palace,” for the Chinese are very fond of nicknames. I learned
+later that these pavilions had been the dwelling-place of the Seventh
+Prince’s son, the present Emperor Kwang-Hsu, after he had been chosen
+as Heir to the Throne and until he went to live regularly at the
+Imperial Palace.
+
+As Her Majesty gave me my morning sittings after the Audience was
+finished (which lasted from eight A.M. to ten or eleven), I had
+plenty of time, after my cup of tea, to explore the grounds of our
+Palace, and I discovered new beauties each day. The Park was inclosed
+by high walls, for the Chinese are jealous of their privacy. Parts of
+the grounds were gently undulating, and all the eminences, where views
+could be had, were surmounted by charming summer-houses and belvederes.
+In one of these, where I loved to go in the early morning to refresh
+myself by the contemplation of the calm and peaceful lake beneath,
+and drink in the faint perfume of the stately lotus flowers, which
+grew in rich profusion on its bosom, I found an inscription on a large
+flat stone at the left of the entrance. I had seen enough of Chinese
+characters to know the inscription looked like a “poem.” The Chinese
+poem is rarely more than a phrase: the expression, in elegant and
+concise form, of some dainty fancy, some bit of philosophy, and is more
+properly a “verse” than a poem.
+
+I found, later, the inscription on the stone at the entrance of the
+summer-house was really a “poem,” and had been written by no less a
+personage than the Seventh Prince himself! This had been his favorite
+place for rest and contemplation, and one day, as he reclined upon a
+cushion at the entrance, he had written this poem on the flat stone
+which lay conveniently near. The Chinese write with a brush well
+charged with liquid India ink, and their writing accommodates itself
+to almost any surface. Their characters, one for each word, take up
+less space than our combination of letters, and are infinitely more
+picturesque! Chinese gentlemen, or some attendant, generally carry
+about with them tablets of writing-ink and a brush, and they thus have
+the means at hand for jotting down a thought as it comes to them.
+
+This little poem had been written with a brush, and some of the
+Prince’s followers had afterward cut the characters in the stone,
+so that it became a permanent record of a fleeting thought. It had
+evidently been inspired by the lotus flowers growing beneath; so
+gloriously beautiful to-day, and to-morrow shorn of their splendor. It
+was a plaint on the transience of worldly glory--
+
+    ... Which to-day, like the lotus fair,
+      Lifts its head in pride;
+    But to-morrow lies low,
+      Bathed in the stagnant waters of oblivion.
+
+One day I came upon a number of small tombstones, in a beautiful
+shady corner, near the stables. I learned that these marked the last
+resting-places of the Prince’s favorite dogs and horses. Each stone had
+an inscription with the name, and extolled the virtues of the favorite,
+whose bones lay beneath it. The Prince was a great lover of animals,
+and is said to have had the best kennels and stables of any of the
+Imperial Princes.
+
+In my morning rambles, I also often came upon stones engraved with
+some character or a phrase from the classics. The ideographic Chinese
+characters, always picturesque, are doubly so when deeply engraved,
+or standing out in high relief on some rugged stone in a charming
+spot in the landscape. The picturesque form of the characters is
+sometimes heightened by being painted in vermilion or gilded; and the
+glowing color makes a delightful contrast with the cool gray of the
+stone. Even though I could not decipher the characters, nor read the
+phrases, I loved to come upon them in my morning walks. How much more
+interesting they must have been to the scholarly Chinese who understood
+them! How fine, when out for rest and contemplation, to come upon some
+thought of their great Sages cut in the living rock, or to see some
+character meaning “Peace” or “Prosperity” standing out, in bold relief
+or glowing color, from some shady nook, as if to bless him!
+
+From another of the summer-houses in the Park I could see the
+stone-paved highway leading from the Capital to the Summer Palace.
+During Their Majesties’ residence at the Summer Palace, this is a
+busy thoroughfare. When I did not care for peaceful contemplation
+or quiet rambles over the grounds, I would go to this summer-house,
+whence I could see the carts and “chairs” of the officials, with their
+outriders, going to and from the Palace; messengers galloping past,
+bearing despatches; all sorts of itinerant venders, with their wares;
+heavily laden wagons, with small yellow banners flying, which showed
+they carried supplies to the Palace. Sometimes a group of horsemen
+would dash gaily past, the retainers of some splendidly attired
+young Prince, who rode in their midst on a red-saddled, handsomely
+caparisoned horse with silver trappings. Anon, the cumbersome, red,
+fringe-bedecked cart of some Princess, preceded and followed by from
+fifteen to thirty outriders, according to her rank in the Princely
+hierarchy, the black carts of her women bringing up the rear.
+
+One can tell the rank of the Chinese from the outsides of their
+chairs or carts. Only a reigning Emperor and Empress can go abroad in
+yellow chairs. The Emperor’s secondary wives ride in orange-colored
+chairs. The relicts of an Emperor, first or secondary, go in yellow or
+orange-colored carts. Princesses go abroad in red carts. Mandarins of
+the first and second degrees ride in green chairs; those of the third
+and fourth in blue chairs; and there is still another shape and style
+of chair for the ordinary individual, who may prefer a chair to a cart.
+The rank and file go in carts. These carts, peculiar to Peking, curious
+two-wheeled vehicles with heavy, iron-studded wheels, are uniformly
+covered in blue cloth. The wealth and standing of their occupants are
+discernible from the quality of the cloth and its trimmings, and the
+richness of the harness and trappings of the mule which is always used
+in the Peking carts. The mule in North China is a magnificent animal,
+much finer than the Chinese horse, which is only a pony.
+
+The Seventh Prince (Prince Ch’un) must have been a most interesting
+personality. He was brother to the Emperor Hsien-Feng, the husband of
+the present Empress Dowager; and his wife, the mother of the present
+Emperor, was Her Majesty’s sister. This Prince was a valued friend of
+the two Empresses, the present Empress Dowager and She of the Eastern
+Palace, while they were Co-Regents during the minority of the late
+and a part of that of the present Emperor, and he remained, up to the
+time of his death, one of the most trusted advisers of the Regency.
+He was recognized by foreigners, as well as by the Chinese, to be an
+enlightened Prince as well as a man of fine character. The esteem
+in which he was held may have had something to do with the choice of
+his second son as the Successor of the late Emperor Tung-Chih, who
+died childless. The Chinese Emperors and their Council may choose the
+Successor to the Throne. If there be but one son, he is chosen as the
+next Heir; if there be a number, a selection may be made from them of
+the one seeming to be most suited for the exalted position. If there be
+no sons, the Successor is chosen from the nephews without reference to
+their age or to their being the sons of an elder or younger brother.
+The present Emperor’s Father, Prince Ch’un, was the seventh brother of
+the Emperor Hsien-Feng, hence his Chinese name of “Seventh Prince.”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IV
+
+               HER MAJESTY’S THRONE-ROOM--SOME PERSONAL
+                            CHARACTERISTICS
+
+We arrived at the Palace in good time the next morning, as Her Majesty
+and suite were coming out of the Great Audience Hall. She greeted us
+with a charming smile and made her usual inquiry for my health. We
+joined her suite and went along to the Throne-room where the portrait
+had been begun. This Throne-room is a very spacious and lofty hall;
+one side of the great room is almost entirely of glass, with only the
+wooden columns that support the roof between the windows--the lower
+half of plate-glass, the upper of lattice-work with Corean paper as
+shades. In the center of this side of windows is a huge plate-glass
+door, reaching from ceiling to floor. The other three sides of the
+hall, which separate it from the apartments at the side and back,
+are of the same beautiful, open woodwork carving I have mentioned
+as serving as partitions in my pavilion. Those in Her Majesty’s
+Throne-room were, however, of greater delicacy of workmanship and were
+more beautiful as to the painted panels. The poems, written on white
+silk, and alternating with the painted panels, were from Her Majesty’s
+favorite authors, original poems written by an Emperor or Empress, or
+laudatory verses dedicated to Her Majesty. There were satin portières
+at the doorways, and blue silk curtains over the plate-glass windows.
+Blue, being the Empress Dowager’s favorite color, is used for all the
+hangings in the Palaces which are not intended for official purposes;
+where yellow is the color.
+
+On the right of the Throne-room is a small chapel with an altar, over
+which presides a figure of the contemplative Buddha seated on the
+lotus. This altar was always sweet with offerings of fresh flowers and
+fruit. In front of the figure of Buddha stood the incense-burner, with
+perfumes constantly burning. On the left of the Throne-room are Her
+Majesty’s sleeping apartments, and behind the open-work partition at
+the back of the hall is a large ante-chamber where the attendants and
+Ladies await their turn to make their entrance into the Throne-room. In
+the rear of the hall is a magnificent five-leaved screen of teakwood,
+inlaid with lapis lazuli, chalcedony, and many other semi-precious
+stones. In front of this screen, on a dais, stood an immense,
+couch-like throne, with a large footstool. These couch-like thrones,
+where Their Celestial Majesties may recline when holding Audiences, are
+not at all favored by the Empress Dowager, who always sits extremely
+erect, without leaning upon a cushion or the back of the throne. Except
+in the Great Audience Hall, where she uses the traditional throne of
+state of the Dynasty, she prefers a much lighter and quite modern one,
+which she has introduced into the Palaces. The thrones favored by Her
+Majesty are of open carved teakwood, circular in form, with cushions
+of Imperial yellow. One of these stood in the front part of this hall,
+on which she sat for the portrait.
+
+The great throne, which I have described above, was hence relegated to
+the back of the Throne-room and kept for the sake of tradition, but
+never used by Her Majesty. On either side of it stood two immense,
+processional fans of peafowl feathers, with ebony handles placed in
+magnificent cloisonné supports. Superb cloisonné vases stood at either
+side of these ceremonial fans; and huge bowls of rare old porcelain
+held pyramids of fruits--apples, sweet-smelling quince, and the highly
+perfumed “Buddha’s hand.”
+
+And there were flowers everywhere! It was the season of the year when
+bloomed a sort of orchid, of delicious fragrance, of which Her Majesty
+is very fond. These were growing in rare porcelain jardinières, placed
+at intervals around the hall. There were also vases of lotus flowers
+and bowls of lilies. The combined odors of all these fruits and flowers
+gave a subtle, composite perfume quite indescribable and delightful,
+but not at all overpowering, for the Empress Dowager is so fond of
+fresh air that there are always windows open in the Palace, even in the
+coldest weather.
+
+Aside from the fruits and flowers, clocks were the dominant feature
+of this Throne-room, as well as of every other one I ever went into
+in any of the Chinese Palaces. The love of the Chinese for clocks
+and timepieces is well known, and there are thousands in each of
+the Palaces I visited. In this Throne-room there were, as I have
+said before, eighty-five: magnificent jeweled and gold clocks, and
+specimens of all the varieties that were ever made; some with chimes;
+some with crowing cocks and singing-birds; some with running water;
+some with musical-box attachments, and others with processions of
+figures that came out at every hour and moved around the dial; some
+rare works of art and some commonplace examples of the clockmaker’s
+trade. There are many foreign ornaments in the Palace, but, aside
+from the clocks and watches, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager does not
+seem to care much for European “objets de virtu.” Unfortunately, what
+they have at the Palaces, aside from a few presents from European
+sovereigns, are generally very poor specimens of European art, and
+compare but lamentably with the beautiful Chinese curios. They are
+principally cheap modern stuff, bought by the Chinese nobles when
+abroad and sent as presents to Their Majesties. These presents, when
+they are accepted, are placed in apartments of the Palace not in
+general use.
+
+When Her Majesty had her official garments removed (she always changed
+her dress after the morning Audience), and when the portrait had been
+placed upon the easel, she came over to look at it. After studying it
+for some time, she concluded that the nail-protectors on both hands
+were not artistic, and that she would have the gold ones (set with
+pearls and rubies) taken off, and show the uncovered nails on the
+right hand. I was delighted at this decision, for the nail-protectors
+destroyed the symmetry of the hand and hid the beautiful tips of her
+fingers. I had, of course, not presumed to make any suggestions as to
+her costume or ornaments. As the nail-shields are characteristic of the
+high-class Chinese ladies, it was well to have them on one hand.
+
+After this change had been decided upon, she went over to a great
+vase, standing near, and took from it a lotus flower, held it up, in
+a charmingly graceful way, and asked me if that would not be pretty
+in the portrait, adding that the lotus was one of her attributes. As
+the color did not harmonize with the general scheme, I did not care
+for this suggestion, but temporized by saying “I was not ready to put
+it in then.” After a little more than an hour’s work, with the usual
+interruptions, she decided that enough had been done for that morning.
+When I suggested that I might work even after Her Majesty was tired,
+she said “No,” that if she were tired sitting still, I could not fail
+to be more so doing the work and standing as I did. She said there was
+no hurry, that I had plenty of time to finish the picture, and must not
+run the risk of making myself ill.
+
+After a short sitting in the afternoon Her Majesty ordered the boats,
+and we went out to the marble terrace, beneath which lay moored the
+Palace fleet, manned by blue-gowned oarsmen. We again took the Imperial
+barge, the Empress Dowager in the center, on her yellow chair, the
+young Empress and Princesses sitting around, Turkish fashion, on
+cushions. The barge, drawn along by the two great boats, glided as
+gently as a swan over the still waters of the lake. The air was soft
+and balmy. Two of the eunuchs were ordered to sing, and the minor
+chords of a curious air mingled their rhythm with the soft swish of
+the water. Beyond us lay the hills, the beautiful Western Hills,
+unchanging in form, but ever varying in color--sometimes blurred and
+gray, or a soft, warm violet; again a clear, deep blue, as if hewn out
+of lapis lazuli, and now and then, as a cloud passed over the sun, dark
+and threatening almost. I drank in deep breaths of delight!
+
+The quaint picturesqueness of the marble-terraced banks, the
+summer-houses, the green and yellow-tiled roofs, the vermilion walls
+and lacquered columns of the buildings, the curious fleet silently
+moving along, the eunuchs singing, the Empress Dowager sitting in
+state surrounded by her Ladies, the camel-back bridges--everything was
+strange, and, stranger still, I formed a part of this curious pageant!
+Only the beautiful hills beyond seemed familiar.
+
+After drifting about for some time, we landed and went into the
+orchards and among the apple trees. The apple is a favorite fruit of
+the Chinese, and esteemed as much for its fragrance as its taste. It
+is emblematic of Peace and Prosperity, and is always placed among the
+offerings to Buddha, hence has also a sacred quality; but, though
+beautiful in form and color, the Chinese apple has very little taste,
+and the least savor of any of their fruits.
+
+Her Majesty walked about among the trees and ordered several apples
+gathered, which she ate with greater relish than I could, for she
+graciously offered me one, and then told me to pull some for myself. A
+eunuch brought a basket and took them as I gathered them, and she told
+me to have them taken to my own apartments.
+
+From the orchard she continued her walk to the flower gardens, where
+she picked some small blooms and placed them behind her ears, Spanish
+fashion, telling the Ladies to do likewise, and herself choosing some
+for me and placing them over my ears. I knew these little marks of
+favor she showed me were not due so much to regard for me as to her
+desire to make the “stranger” feel at home. She hoped by showing me
+these special favors to insure a similar treatment of me by the Ladies
+and eunuchs. I have already alluded to Her Majesty’s love of flowers.
+This was the one of her characteristics which seemed most incompatible
+with the idea I had formed of her from what I had heard, and her love
+of flowers and all nature caused me first to change that idea. It
+seemed to me no one could love flowers and nature as she did and be the
+woman she had been painted.
+
+She had flowers always about her. Her private apartments, her
+Throne-rooms, her loge at the Theater, even the Great Audience Hall
+where she only went to transact affairs of state and hold official
+Audiences, all were decorated with a profusion of flowers, cut and
+growing--never, though, of but one kind at a time. She wears natural
+flowers in her coiffure always, winter and summer, and however careworn
+or harassed she might be, she seemed to find solace in flowers! She
+would hold a flower to her face, drink in its fragrance and caress it
+as if it were a sentient thing. She would go herself among the flowers
+that filled her rooms, and place, with lingering touch, some fair bloom
+in a better light or turn a jardinière so that the growing plant might
+have a more favorable position.
+
+                [Illustration: PRINCESSES OF THE COURT
+            THE PRINCESS IMPERIAL, FIRST LADY OF THE COURT
+      A PRINCESS IN WINTER COSTUME--A PRINCESS IN SUMMER COSTUME]
+
+The Chinese do not place certain cut flowers in water, but keep them
+dry in bowls or vases, to get their full fragrance. The Empress Dowager
+had some quaint conceits about the arrangements of these. She would
+have the corollas of the lily bloom or the fragrant jasmine placed in
+shallow bowls in curious, star-like designs, beautiful to look at, as
+well as most fragrant.
+
+Her passion for flowers being generally known among the courtiers,
+Princes, and high officials, they send daily offerings to the Palace of
+all that is rare and choice in the way of plants and flowers, for they
+know this is one present Her Majesty will always accept and appreciate.
+
+There are some quaint customs in the Palace, as to flowers and fruits
+that grow within the Precincts. Though the Princesses and Ladies have
+the freedom of the gardens and may pull as many flowers and cull as
+many fruits as they wish, it is not etiquette for them to gather the
+smallest flower or to touch a fruit when in the presence of the Empress
+Dowager, unless they are especially told to do so. When Her Majesty
+tells them to pull a flower or fruit, the permission is gratefully
+accepted and that special flower or fruit religiously kept. The first
+fruits of every tree and vegetable, the first flowers of every plant
+and growing shrub in the Palace grounds, are considered sacred to Their
+Majesties, and no Princess, attendant, or eunuch would touch a flower
+or fruit until the Empress Dowager had been presented with the first
+of them. All these, apparently trivial, marks of respect to the Sacred
+Persons of Their Majesties were religiously observed!
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+               THE YOUNG EMPRESS AND LADIES OF THE COURT
+
+The young Empress, the first Lady of the Court after Her Majesty the
+Empress Dowager, was, to me, a charming character. She is the daughter
+of the Duke Chow, General of one of the Manchu Banner Corps and a
+brother of the reigning Empress Dowager. She is thus a first cousin
+of the Emperor, and is his senior by three years. Her mother, a lady
+of high birth, ancient lineage, and great distinction, brought her up
+with much care. She also had the advantage of being a great deal at the
+Court with her august Aunt, and is highly accomplished, according to
+Chinese standards. She was affianced at an early age to the Emperor,
+but, as the custom is, their marriage did not take place for several
+years later. It was celebrated with great pomp at the Winter Palace in
+February, 1889, the week before the young Emperor himself took in hand
+the reins of Government, held, up to that time, by the Empress Dowager,
+and became Emperor in reality.
+
+The young Empress has the erect carriage and light, swift walk of Her
+Majesty the Empress Dowager. She is small, not quite five feet tall,
+with exquisitely dainty hands and feet, of most patrician type. She
+has a narrow, high-bred face, with a thin, high nose. Her eyes are more
+of the Chinese type, as we conceive it, than either the Emperor’s or
+Empress Dowager’s. Her chin is long and of the type generally called
+strong. Her mouth is large and extremely sensitive. Her eyes have so
+kindly a look, her face shines with so sweet an expression, criticism
+is disarmed and she seems beautiful. She has a sweet dignity, charming
+manners, and a lovable nature, but there is sometimes a look in her
+eyes of patient resignation that is almost pathetic. I should not say
+she possessed any great executive ability, though full of tact, but
+while Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was in retirement and she was the
+first Lady at Court, she is said to have shown great capability in her
+conduct of affairs. Her dignity, perfect breeding, and natural kindness
+of heart would insure this.
+
+The next Lady, after the young Empress, is the only secondary wife
+of the Emperor. She is said to have been extremely beautiful at the
+time she was chosen as his second wife by the Empress Dowager. She
+belongs to an excellent family, being the daughter of a Viceroy, but
+though only twenty-eight years old when I knew her, she was already
+very stout, and there were few remains visible of great beauty. She
+has very large, full-orbed, brown eyes, and still has a beautifully
+clear complexion, but her nose is flat, her mouth large and weak; the
+contour of her face is marred by layers of flesh, her forehead does
+not indicate much intelligence, and she has very little distinction
+in appearance. She seems good-natured, but is neither very clever
+nor tactful. She is not a favorite among the Ladies generally, and
+is not nearly so interesting, in any way, as the young Empress. She
+is, however, treated with the most kindly consideration by the young
+Empress and has precedence over all the other Ladies, and her position
+at Court is second only to that of the young Empress. Whenever I
+mention the young Empress, it may be understood that the secondary wife
+followed immediately after her, coming before the Princesses or any
+other of the Ladies forming the Court of Her Majesty. I have often seen
+allusions made to the “Imperial Harem”; there is no such thing as an
+Imperial Harem at the Court of His Majesty the Emperor Kwang-Hsu. He
+has only these two wives.
+
+Her Majesty’s Ladies-in-waiting are principally Princesses of the Blood
+or the widows of Imperial Princes. Her first Lady, Sih-Gerga (Fourth
+Princess), daughter of Prince Ching, the Prime Minister, is a widow
+of twenty-four. She married, at the age of sixteen, a son of a high
+Manchu official, Viceroy of Tientsin, and was left a widow a few months
+later. She is a beautiful young woman, with face a perfect oval, large
+brown eyes, and a clear, magnolia-leaf complexion of exquisite texture.
+She would be called beautiful, judged by any standard. She has no
+children of her own, but, like most ladies of position who are widows
+or childless, has an adopted son. Adopted children in China are much
+closer relationships than is a child, by adoption, with us. In many
+instances their own parents are still living when they are adopted,
+and even these parents speak of their child as the son of the adopted
+mother or parents, and bow to her wishes in bringing up the child.
+
+            [Illustration: THE YOUNG EMPRESS YE-HO-NA-LAH
+                  First Wife of the Emperor of China]
+
+The next two Ladies of the Court are two Duchesses--also widows. Widows
+in China never remarry, or if they do, they lose caste and reputation.
+They are not sacrificed on the funeral pyres of their departed
+husbands, as in India; but a voluntary suicide on the part of a widow
+in China is still looked upon as a noble act. A widow who remains
+faithful to the memory of her husband during a long life is rewarded
+by the greatest respect and consideration during her life, and honored
+after death.
+
+If a girl prefers to remain unmarried, if a widow remains faithful
+to the memory of her husband, she is honored after her death with
+much pomp and ceremony! And great memorial arches are erected in her
+memory! All over China, one is constantly coming upon these arches to
+widows and virgins. If the family is not sufficiently wealthy to raise
+these monuments themselves, public subscriptions are taken, all the
+relatives contribute, and often the inhabitants of the village or the
+country where the heroine lived beg to be allowed to have their part in
+raising a monument to her memory. These arches, of stone or wood, are
+elaborately carved, sometimes with remarkable sculptures of fabulous
+animals, flowers, and thousands of birds of every kind (these latter
+showing the immortality the soul has acquired). Across the entablature
+of the arch, cut deep into the stone or wood, and gilded or painted in
+glowing vermilion, shines the name of the virgin or widow to whom it is
+erected, and on the sides of the arch is inscribed an account of her
+virtuous acts.
+
+A girl is sometimes affianced at the early age of from six to eight
+years, and the affianced is from that time spoken of as her husband.
+Should he die before they marry, which is never earlier than sixteen
+for the bride, she is considered a “widow,” and must henceforth live
+the life of a recluse. She can never marry any one else. She may adopt
+a son, who will call her “mother”; but she may never hope for the joys
+of family life of her own, without calling down upon her head the
+obloquy of all whose respect she desires. She wears deep mourning the
+first three years after his death, and then second mourning; and she
+can never again put on the festive red, joyous green, or any other
+color except blue or violet--second mourning.
+
+The Northern Chinese and the Manchu ladies use a great deal of paint
+and powder on their faces; but a widow can never add one artificial
+iota to the rose of her cheek, to the cherry of her lips, or the lily
+of her brow. She can nevermore use paint or powder. In most instances
+the Chinese ladies are but the prettier for this, for they have
+beautiful skins, and the use of powder and paint is carried to such an
+excess as to be quite unnatural.
+
+There are only eight of Her Majesty’s Ladies who live always in the
+Palace, but this number is increased about four times on festive
+occasions. The Princess Imperial, the Empress Dowager’s adopted
+daughter, is the first of the Princesses at Court, and, when she comes
+to the Palace, ranks next to the Empress and the secondary wife of the
+Emperor.
+
+One evening, at dinner, in the Throne-room, Sih-Gerga undertook to tell
+me the relationships of the different Princesses to each other and to
+the young Empress. Incidentally, this made them related to the Emperor
+and the Empress Dowager, but neither of Their Majesties’ names was
+mentioned in this connection, for such would have been a great piece
+of presumption, amounting almost to sacrilege. They might be related,
+but no Princess would dare mention such a thing. It would be against
+all the laws of Chinese proprieties. I found, after this explanation
+of Sih-Gerga’s, that the Ladies were all related by consanguinity or
+marriage to each other and to the young Empress.
+
+There are a number of tiring-women and maids in the Palace who are
+called by outsiders “slaves”; but they are not slaves, or, if they
+are so, it is but for a time, a space of ten years. Every spring, the
+daughters of the lowest of the Manchu families, the Seventh and Eighth
+Banners, are brought into the Palace to be chosen from, by the Empress
+and Empress Dowager, for maids and tiring-women. One day, on going to
+the Palace, I saw a number of ordinary carts near one of the Postern
+Gates, and I learned they had brought crowds of these girls of the
+families of the Eighth Banner. They are first passed in review by the
+Head Eunuch, and he selects from them, those he thinks may please Her
+Majesty. These pass before her, and she tells the Head Eunuch which
+ones are to remain in the Palace. They are brought to the Palace from
+the ages of ten to sixteen years. They remain in service for ten years,
+after which time they are allowed to return to their families; and in
+case they have been satisfactory and pleased Their Majesties, they
+are given a comfortable dot and are provided with a handsome marriage
+outfit, which causes them to make much better marriages than they would
+otherwise do. During their so-called ten years’ slavery in the Palace,
+they live upon the fat of the land, have beautiful clothes and many
+advantages. They wear, while in Her Majesty’s service, blue gowns,
+with their hair plainly parted at the side and braided in a single
+long braid (tied with red silk cords), which hangs down the back. They
+wear bunches of flowers over each ear. The young Empress and secondary
+wife, as well as each of the Princesses, have their own maids and
+tiring-women, who remain in the private quarters of these Ladies.
+
+Besides these young maids, there are in the Palace a number of old
+women, servants of Her Majesty, who have been married and have
+children; these overlook the younger women, direct the work of the
+lower eunuchs, and are in a position somewhat similar to housekeepers
+with us. Among these is a Chinese woman who nursed Her Majesty through
+a long illness, about twenty-five years since, and saved her life by
+giving her mother’s milk to drink. Her Majesty, who never forgets a
+favor, has always kept this woman in the Palace. Being a Chinese, she
+had bound feet. Her Majesty, who cannot bear to see them even, had her
+feet unbound and carefully treated, until now she can walk comfortably.
+Her Majesty has educated the son, who was an infant at the time of her
+illness, and whose natural nourishment she partook of. This young man
+is already a Secretary in a good yamen (Government Office).
+
+No Chinese lady of position ever dresses herself or combs her own hair,
+and she generally has three or four personal maids. These are, in many
+instances, bought outright from their parents, and might be considered
+really slaves; but they are treated with great consideration and even
+friendliness by their mistresses, and have in most instances a happy
+lot. As these maids are bought when they and their mistresses are
+children, they grow up together, and though the maid never forgets the
+respect due her mistress, they are on a much more friendly footing than
+mistress and maid could ever be in Europe in such cases.
+
+The first of a lady’s maids stands behind her at table, no matter how
+many servitors there may be; goes out with her, sits with her, and
+sleeps either in her room or at her door, and is almost her constant
+companion. When the time comes for them to marry, they are given a
+comfortable outfit by their mistresses, and are cared for to the third
+and fourth generation; but the children of the so-called slaves are
+free, unless the mother or parents decide, of their own free will, to
+sell them, as they have been sold, to some good family.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VI
+
+              CONTINUATION OF THE PORTRAIT--HER MAJESTY’S
+                                 DOGS
+
+I had daily morning sittings from Her Majesty for the portrait,
+but always surrounded by the whole Court, with eunuchs coming and
+going. The sittings were long enough, for I had an hour in the morning
+and a half-hour in the afternoon with Her Majesty, but she did not
+expect me to work except when she posed, and this was not enough to
+make any headway on the picture, as there was a great deal I might
+have done at other times. Though there was so much going and coming in
+the Throne-room, it was a great advantage working in Her Majesty’s own
+“milieu,” surrounded by her favorite furniture, flowers, and fruits.
+This was some compensation; but I saw, if Her Majesty insisted upon my
+resting when she did--if I were allowed to work only in the Throne-room
+and only when she posed--the work could not go on as it should. Sitting
+for her portrait seemed to be looked on somewhat in the light of an
+amusement by the Empress Dowager, as a time for conversation and
+relaxation. She put me many questions while she sat, and I felt she was
+studying me as closely as I was studying her during that time.
+
+My interest in the personality of this wonderful woman increased each
+day. I loved to watch the extreme mobility of her countenance when she
+was at ease and was not invested in her official expression, nor her
+Buddha-like pose. Her voice was most musical, with no indication of age
+in it. Her enunciation was clear, and I loved to hear her talk. Though
+understanding but little of what she said, the music of her voice,
+the grace of her gesticulations, and the charm of her smile made her
+conversation most delightful to watch and listen to.
+
+I was delighted that Her Majesty seemed to like me, and I appreciated
+her consideration in not wishing me to tire myself out with my work,
+and her kind hospitality which desired to make me acquainted with the
+charms of the Summer Palace and which allowed me to participate in her
+promenades and the simple amusements of her Ladies; but I felt it was
+important to advance the work on the portrait as quickly as possible. I
+knew that the “favor of kings” is uncertain, and I feared Her Majesty
+might soon tire of this new departure, of having her portrait painted!
+I feared the openly expressed opposition of the Chinese to a foreign
+lady being made a member of the Court circle, their superstition
+regarding the painting of a portrait of one of Their Majesties, which
+was against all Chinese tradition, might any day put a stop to the
+work; but, notwithstanding my fears and my desire to work, the days
+passed with little painting, and this was the only flaw in my perfect
+enjoyment of the fairy-like days and the unique experiences through
+which I was passing.
+
+The walks with Her Majesty had all the pomp and ceremony of the
+boat-rides--Her Majesty’s and the Empress’s yellow satin sedan chairs,
+with their six bearers, leading off, followed by the red chairs of
+the Princesses and Ladies-in-waiting, according to their rank, with a
+rigorous adherence to precedence, and attended by an army of eunuchs
+and chair-bearers, etc. No one ever knew what our destination was
+to be when we started out on these walks, Her Majesty directing her
+chair-bearers as she was carried along, and the others following this
+lead; but we were always taken to some interesting spot, where there
+was something quite worth seeing. When Her Majesty’s chair stopped, all
+the others were immediately put down by the bearers, and the Ladies got
+out and went up to where the Empress Dowager’s yellow camp-stool was
+placed. She had excellent taste in the choice of stopping-places, and
+the views were always picturesque. She seemed to take great pleasure
+in showing off the charming points of view, as well as the flowers,
+grounds, and buildings.
+
+On one of our walks, her dogs were brought out by their attendant
+eunuchs. Dogs are great favorites with all the Chinese, and especially
+with the Empress Dowager. She has some magnificent specimens of
+Pekingese pugs and of a sort of Skye terrier. The pugs are bred with
+great care and have reached a high state of perfection, their spots
+being perfectly symmetrical and their hair beautifully long and silky,
+and they are of wonderful intelligence. The King Charles spaniels are
+said to have been bred out of the first of these dogs ever carried
+to Europe. The Empress Dowager has dozens of these pets, but she has
+favorites among them, and two are privileged characters. One of these
+is of the Skye variety, and is most intelligent and clever at tricks.
+Among other tricks, he will lie as dead at Her Majesty’s command, and
+never move until she tells him to, no matter how many others may speak
+to him. Her other favorite she loves for his beauty. He is a splendid,
+fawn-colored Pekingese pug, with large, pale-brown, liquid eyes. He is
+devoted to her, and she is very fond of him, but as he was not easily
+taught, even as a puppy, she called him “Shadza” (fool). Her dogs all
+have most appropriate names, given by herself. They know Her Majesty’s
+voice and will obey her slightest word.
+
+The Empress Dowager does not care for the small sleeve-dog; she hates
+the thought of their being stunted by being fed only on sweets and
+wines. She says she cannot understand animals being deformed, at
+man’s pleasure. The day we first met the dogs in the garden was the
+first time I had seen them. They rushed up to Her Majesty, not paying
+the slightest attention to any one else. She patted their heads and
+caressed and spoke to her favorites. After a while they seemed to
+notice that a stranger was present, and they bounded over toward
+me. Some of them growled and showed other evidences of displeasure,
+some seemed surprised almost to fear; but as the instinct of a dog
+never deceives him as to who is his friend, this was all soon changed
+to friendly greetings. I bent down to caress them, and forgot my
+surroundings, in my pleasure at seeing and fondling these beautiful
+creatures. I glanced up, presently, never dreaming Her Majesty had been
+paying any attention to me, as I was standing at a little distance
+behind her, and I saw on her face the first sign of displeasure I had
+noticed there. It seems her dogs never noticed any one but herself, and
+she appeared not to like her pets being so friendly with a stranger
+at first sight. Noticing this, I immediately ceased fondling them,
+and they were presently sent away. It was but a momentary shadow that
+passed over her face, and I quite understood the feeling. One does not
+like to see one’s pets too friendly with strangers, and I had been
+tactless in trying to make friends with them at once.
+
+A few days later, on another of our walks, some young puppies were
+brought to be shown the Empress Dowager. She caressed the mother and
+examined critically the points of the puppies. Then she called me up to
+show them to me, asking me which I liked best. I tried not to evince
+too much interest in them this time, but she called my attention to
+their fine points and insisted upon my taking each of them up. She
+seemed to be ashamed of her slight displeasure of the day before, and
+to wish to compensate for it.
+
+The dogs at the Palace are kept in a beautiful pavilion with marble
+floors. They have silken cushions to sleep on, and special eunuchs to
+attend them. They are taken for daily outdoor exercise and given their
+baths with regularity. There are hundreds of dogs in the Palace, the
+young Empress, the Princesses and Ladies, and even the eunuchs, having
+their own. Some of the eunuchs are great fanciers and breeders of them.
+One of them still breeds the sleeve-dog. Her Majesty’s known dislike to
+these latter is probably the cause of fewer being bred in the Palace
+now than formerly; and the race is slowly dying out. All the other dogs
+in the Palace, except Her Majesty’s, are kept in the apartments and
+courts of their owners, and are not seen by her.
+
+She dislikes cats very much, but some of the eunuchs have very fine
+specimens of the felines. They keep them, however, “sub rosa” and
+within rigid bounds, on no condition allowing them to come within Her
+Majesty’s ken.
+
+The pavilion at the Summer Palace where the Empress Dowager’s dogs
+were kept was near her Throne-room, and also near the pavilion she had
+set aside for me. When the Court was taking its siesta, I used to go
+out where the dogs were basking in the sun in their court and look at
+and play with these interesting little animals. I was free to do as I
+pleased, and no one but the dogs’ guardian eunuchs saw me there.
+
+Among the younger set, of these pampered pets, was one that caught my
+fancy--one of those which had been brought for Her Majesty to look at
+in the garden. He was a beautiful white-and-amber-colored Pekingese
+pug. He soon learned to know me and would come running to me when I
+crossed the threshold of the court. Not long after I had discovered
+where the dogs were kept and had been paying them my daily visits,
+one night, when we had finished dinner at Her Majesty’s table, one of
+her eunuchs brought in this very little dog and put it in my arms,
+saying Her Majesty had presented it to me from her own kennel! She had
+evidently learned of my visits to the dogs, though none of the eunuchs
+around her person had seen me go there, at least so I thought! I was
+delighted to own this beautiful animal, and when the Empress Dowager
+came into the Throne-room from her own apartments, I went up to her and
+kissed her hand and thanked her for it. She seemed much pleased that
+I liked it, and remarked that she had heard it was my favorite of her
+dogs, that I was to call him “Me-lah” (Golden Amber), from the color
+of his spots. Her Majesty and the Princesses were all much amused at
+the way he followed me around, not leaving my side for an instant,
+nor paying any attention to their frequent efforts to attract his
+attention. From that day, he became my constant companion and faithful
+friend.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+                         FESTIVITIES AT COURT
+
+Preparations were now beginning at the Palace for the celebration of
+His Majesty the Emperor’s Birthday. This is not celebrated on the
+anniversary of the day he was born, but two days earlier. His Majesty
+must make the Autumnal Sacrifices to his Ancestors three days after
+the real date of his Birthday, and he must prepare himself for these
+sacrifices by a rigorous fast of three days. As it would be impossible
+to accomplish the ceremonial prescribed for the Imperial Birthday while
+fasting, the celebration of the Birthday was advanced, a special edict
+having been issued by the two Empresses, when Co-Regents for the young
+Emperor, ordering the Birthday celebrations to be advanced by two days,
+for the date of the sacrifices could not be changed--the sacrifice to
+one’s Ancestors being the most sacred of obligations to the Chinese,
+and most rigidly and religiously observed. Even the Chinese Emperor’s
+Birthday is not celebrated for two years after the death of his
+predecessor, so rigorous are the rules of respect to the dead and the
+rites accorded to one’s Ancestors in China.
+
+I knew no painting could be done during these festivities, and I
+expected to go back to the United States Legation. I never dreamed I
+should be invited to participate in this celebration, hitherto unseen
+by any foreigner. A week before the Birthday itself, when out for
+one of our walks with Her Majesty, she called me up to her side and
+said the Emperor’s Birthday was to be celebrated the next week, and
+invited me to remain in the Palace for these festivities. I was, of
+course, overjoyed at this gracious mark of her favor, and delighted to
+be able to see the Oriental pomp and pageantry that accompanied these
+ceremonial celebrations in China.
+
+There were to be magnificent theatrical performances, splendid
+fireworks and decorations, and all sorts of pageants. The Imperial
+company of actors had already begun rehearsing special poems and plays,
+written to celebrate the occasion. Eunuchs were constantly bringing Her
+Majesty specimens of the work of the decorators and painters who were
+carrying out her designs as to special scenes and tableaux, or coming
+to ask for further instructions. The literati, who were preparing the
+original poems, sent in their manuscripts, that she might judge of
+their merits and make suggestions. She herself overlooked every detail,
+and seemed most interested and anxious to have everything successful.
+
+The festivities began four days before the Birthday with gala
+performances at the Theater. Each day the decorations of the buildings,
+the courts, and gardens increased in beauty. In the principal courts,
+magnificent bronzes, all sorts of antique instruments of music, used
+only on these great occasions, were brought out as decorations;
+for music forms part of every ceremonial, official or religious, in
+China. Among the curious instruments were splendid bronze frames, with
+several superposed octaves of triangular musical-stones suspended
+therefrom; elaborately carved supports for different-toned bells; huge
+“triangles”; immense bronze “tam-tams,” curiously and beautifully
+wrought; big drums on splendid bronze stands; wonderfully chased bells;
+and many other quaint instruments, used only for official and state
+processions in honor of Their Celestial Majesties.
+
+The slanting and projecting, upturned roofs of the different buildings
+forming the Palaces were decorated with scarfs of vari-colored silk,
+knotted into a curious sort of fringe of rosettes, about two feet long;
+yellow, the Imperial color, and red, the festive color, predominating,
+but other colors were introduced into the color-scheme to accentuate
+these.
+
+The large Square in front of the Imperial gateway, outside the
+Precincts, was filled with huge, tent-like, yellow satin umbrellas,
+with deep curtains around the edge. These umbrellas are used for
+all great festivities in China, and are generally of red. Those for
+the Emperor’s Birthday were, of course, of the Imperial yellow, and
+were richly embroidered with emblematic designs. Presents for the
+Emperor were arriving daily from all parts of the Great Empire, and
+though everything was directed by splendid system the commotion was
+nevertheless great.
+
+Finally, there was the first gala performance at the Theater. Her
+Majesty occupied her loge nearly all day, overlooking every detail,
+sending now and then to the stage one of her eunuchs to transmit her
+Imperial commands as to the speaking of certain lines or the using
+of certain postures. On the day of this gala performance she invited
+all the Ladies of the Palace to lunch, for the first time since I had
+been there, in the court of the Theater. Her Majesty lunched in the
+Imperial loge, and then ordered our repast to be served in the court,
+where tables were laid and served with all the pomp and ceremony
+that characterized the meals at the Palace. Even this “al-fresco”
+entertainment was ceremonious.
+
+Most of the large courts of the Summer Palace have roofs of matting
+erected over them, to keep out the sun. These mat-roofs make, of
+the flower-filled courts, delightfully cool, outdoor parlors. The
+mat-sheds at the Palace are almost works of art. Tall poles, reaching
+from twenty to thirty feet above the roofs surrounding the courts to
+be protected from the sun, are painted in festive designs, and they
+support transversal beams, also gaily painted. Over these roof-beams
+are stretched strips of the beautiful matting which the Chinese excel
+in making. Matting-curtains drop from the roof of the sheds to a level
+with the Palace roofs. These side-curtains, as well as huge sections of
+the matting-roof, are movable, and may be opened and raised by means
+of cords and pulleys attached to the supporting pillars. The whole
+structure, supporting pillars and transversal beams, is tied together
+with ropes the same color of the beams, and not a nail is used. The
+mat-sheds are put up in June and taken down in September.
+
+New ladies were arriving at the Palace every day for a week before
+the Birthday--members of the Imperial Family from a distance, and the
+wives and daughters of Manchu nobles who were of sufficient rank to
+present their congratulations in person. The young Empress never failed
+to introduce me to these ladies. A foreigner in the Chinese Court is a
+much more extraordinary circumstance than a Chinese at a European Court
+would be, and this was, in most instances, the first meeting of these
+Princesses with any foreigner; but they were uniformly courteous and
+even cordial, never evincing the slightest curiosity as to my dress
+or my habits. I doubted whether a Chinese at a European Court, or at
+our White House, would have been treated with the same consideration
+by all, even to the servants. The children, of whom there were several
+at Court at this time, were as well-bred as their elders in their
+treatment of the “foreign lady.”
+
+After our first lunch in the court of the Theater, when the theatrical
+performance of the day was finished and the actors had left, I
+approached the stage of the Theater and began examining, with interest,
+its construction and appointments. The Palace Theater is raised about
+twelve feet from the ground, and its main floor is on a level with the
+Imperial loge. The building consists of three stories and a cellar. The
+latter is used for the few pieces of scenery of the scenic plays, and
+is where the simple devices used for moving it are manipulated. Like
+the Greek theater, the stage is open on three sides; and the actors
+come out and speak their parts, their entrance being to the left and
+the exit to the right of the stage.
+
+Her Majesty was within her loge while I was examining the construction
+of the Theater; but she evidently noticed my movements, for the eunuchs
+soon threw open the great plate doors and she descended the steps of
+the Imperial loge and came across the court to where I was standing.
+She asked me if I would not like to go on the stage and look over the
+building and examine things thoroughly. She added, “You probably may
+never have such a chance to see a good Chinese theater again.” She,
+herself, went up the steps leading from the court to the stage, and
+told me to follow her.
+
+The stage is about twenty-five feet square, is roofed over, and
+projects into the court, its three sides being open. The fourth side
+has doors and curtains for the entrance and exit of the actors. There
+are no actresses in China. The men perform the parts of women, and
+represent them with such success that I was much surprised when I
+learned there were no actresses. At the back of the stage sit the
+musicians, who accompany all the theatrical performances in China.
+
+Her Majesty, herself, led the way across the stage and we went behind
+the scenes. Here, I examined closely a number of “Floats” that were to
+be used, in the procession in honor of the Emperor, on the day of the
+Birthday. These floats had all been designed by the Empress Dowager.
+After we had looked at these, she suggested that I had better see the
+upper floors. These latter are not in general use in Chinese theaters.
+The theaters, even at the other Palaces, have but one stage. The steps
+which lead to the second stage, and thence to the third stage, are
+behind the scenes. The two upper stages are used for spectacular
+plays and tableaux, when certain of the players group themselves
+in pyramidal form on these superposed stages and speak their lines
+therefrom. The upper stages have also trap-doors and pulleys for use in
+the spectacular plays. Her Majesty went up, herself, to show me these
+stages. She mounted the steep and difficult steps with as much ease and
+lightness as I did, and I had on comfortable European shoes, while she
+wears the six-inch-high Manchu sole in the middle of her foot, and must
+really walk as if on stilts.
+
+Neither the Empress Dowager nor any of the Manchu ladies bind their
+feet; that custom prevailed in China before the Manchu conquest. The
+Manchus have adopted many of the manners and customs of the Chinese,
+but the Manchu women have retained their own individuality; and to-day,
+after more than two hundred and fifty years in China, they still wear
+their native costume, entirely different from the Chinese women. They
+still dress their hair in the picturesque Manchu fashion. They not only
+have never bound their feet, but they have as great a horror of it as
+Europeans have. Manchu ladies are not bound by the same rigid social
+conventions as are the Chinese women. They are less circumscribed and
+have more individual freedom than any other Oriental women. In fact,
+the Manchu woman seems to be, to other Oriental women, what the modern
+American woman is to her European sisters.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER VIII
+
+                   HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR KWANG-HSU
+
+The Emperor Kwang-Hsu was barely eighteen years old when Her Majesty
+the Empress Dowager, Regent of the Empire, handed over to him the
+reins of Government, admonishing him in a parting Imperial Decree to
+“discipline his body, develop his mind, love his People, and give
+unceasing attention to the administration of Government,” which Decree
+His Majesty responded to in fitting terms, by another Decree, begging
+“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager to continue to advise him in important
+affairs,” saying he “would not dare to be indolent,” that only after
+prayer and sacrifice “to Heaven and Earth and his Ancestors would
+he Himself begin to administer affairs of State on the 15th day of
+the First moon of the 13th year of his Reign”! He began to reign by
+our count the 25th day of February, 1889, under the appellation of
+“Kwang-Hsu” (Glorious Succession). The name under which an Emperor of
+China reigns is not his own, but one chosen for him, and has generally
+some appropriate signification or some symbolic meaning.
+
+His Majesty Kwang-Hsu is the twelfth Emperor, who has reigned over
+China, of the Dynasty of the “Great Purity,” as the Manchu Dynasty
+is called.[2] His reign began at the age of five years, under the
+Co-Regency of the Empress of the Eastern and Empress of the Western
+Palaces. The former died in 1881, and from that time on Her Majesty,
+the present Empress Dowager, ruled alone as “Regent.” His reign,
+counting the years of the Regency, has already lasted thirty years, the
+third in point of length of any of the Emperors of the Manchu Dynasty.
+
+[2] Confucius says “Purity is the Essence of Heaven.” Did the Manchus
+call theirs the “Dynasty of the Great Purity” with a knowledge of
+Confucian teaching, that the descendants of the Dynasty of the Great
+Purity (Essence of Heaven) might become literally the “Sons of Heaven,”
+the appellation borne by the Emperors of China?
+
+His Majesty the Emperor Kwang-Hsu was nearing the completion of
+his thirty-second year when I was first presented to him. I found
+him an interesting study, but not to the degree of Her Majesty the
+Empress Dowager, who has charm and is so fascinating. The Emperor
+is singularly devoid of this quality of “charm,” and has but little
+personal magnetism. He interests one, nevertheless. Her Majesty is
+Universal, the Emperor is typically Oriental. In person he is of slight
+and elegant figure, not more than five feet four in height. He has a
+well-shaped head, with the intellectual qualities well developed, a
+high brow, with large brown eyes and rather drooping lids, not at all
+Chinese in form or setting. His nose is high and, like most members of
+the Imperial Family, is of the so-called “noble” type. A rather large
+mouth with thin lips, the upper short with a proud curve, the lower
+slightly protruding, a clear-cut, thin jaw, a strong chin a little
+beyond the line of the forehead, with not an ounce of superfluous
+flesh on the whole face, give him an ascetic air and, in spite of his
+rather delicate physique, an appearance of great reserve strength. His
+complexion is not so white and clear as that of the other members
+of the Imperial Family, for the Manchus have whiter skins than the
+Chinese; but this seems more the result of delicacy than natural with
+the Emperor. His luxuriant, very long hair, a characteristic of the
+Manchus, is beautifully silky and glossy and always arranged with
+the greatest care. It is said he much dislikes being shaved, but
+tradition, immutable in China, does not allow a man under forty, even
+if he be the “Son of Heaven,” to wear a mustache or whiskers. Like all
+well-bred Chinese, he has small feet and hands, the latter long and
+thin and most expressive. The Emperor dresses with extreme neatness
+and great simplicity, wearing few ornaments and no jewels except on
+State occasions. His face is kindly in expression, but the glance from
+his rather heavy-lidded eyes is shrewd and intelligent. His manner is
+shy and retiring, but this does not seem to be so much from a lack of
+confidence in himself as from the absence of that magnetic quality,
+which gives one an appearance of assurance.
+
+He seemed to me the ideal of what one would imagine an Oriental
+potentate to be, whose title is the “Son of Heaven.” There is a
+Sphinx-like quality to his smile. In his eyes one sees the calm,
+half-contemptuous outlook upon the world, of the fatalist. There is
+an abstractness in the subtilty of his regard, an abstractness that
+embodies one’s idea of the “Spirit of the Orient.” At first it is
+difficult to tell whether this comes from a sense of power or from a
+knowledge of the lack of it, but that firm and fleshless jaw, that
+ascetic face and keen eye, show there must be reserve strength, that
+there can be no lack of power, should he wish to exert it. Over his
+whole face there is a look of self-repression, which has almost reached
+a state of passivity.
+
+Does he dream of future greatness for the Empire? Does he feel that
+though his first efforts at governing have failed, he can bide his
+time--that all things will come to him who waits? Enigma, difficult
+to divine! But it almost seems so! He appears to fully realize, now,
+that he made a mistake in the choice of his instruments and time, in
+his efforts for Progress. But the look of eternal patience in the
+half-veiled regard of those large eyes seems to show that he will
+yet try to accomplish China’s salvation--that he is but waiting his
+opportunity.
+
+There is no evidence of the Emperor’s feeling any animosity toward
+the Empress Dowager. Their relations, though rigidly formal, as is
+necessary from their exalted positions, seem to be most friendly.
+If there is any feeling on his part as to the check his Government
+received by the “coup d’état” of 1898, he does not seem to feel that
+Her Majesty is responsible for it. It was not she who put a momentary
+stop to his dreams of Progress. It was Chinese conservatism, a
+coalition of powerful ministers who put up the barriers of the “coup
+d’état” before him when His Majesty thought to drive on to Progress.
+
+The Empress Dowager returned from her retirement and took up the reins
+of Government again, at the earnest prayers of the wisest Statesmen
+of China. She was persuaded by them, and she also believed, that the
+Emperor was driving the Chariot of State too fast over the difficult
+and ill-kept roads of traditional Chinese routine. She felt that His
+Majesty, as well as the state, would soon be dashed to pieces if he
+continued as he was then going. It seems as if the Emperor realizes
+it all now. His unfathomable eye hides an infinity of possibilities,
+perchance a world of events. Is he quietly studying how to seize
+opportunity, when it next passes, and leap upon its back and lash it on
+to Progress or to--Ruin? He would meet either with that same stoical,
+Sphinx-like smile, I feel confident.
+
+He seems, now, to give but little advice. He holds Audiences, however,
+and sees many of the officials alone. He issues edicts independent
+of Her Majesty; but on all grave affairs, and at the meeting of the
+Grand Council, Her Majesty is always present, and the decisions are
+the results of their two opinions. When despatches were brought into
+Her Majesty’s Throne-room when the Emperor was present, they were
+first handed to her, and, after glancing them over, she would give
+them to him. He, after carefully reading them, handed them back to her
+with rarely a comment. One could see, though, that this was not from
+ignorance of the subject, but that he trusted, for the time being, to
+Her Majesty’s greater experience.
+
+Though the Emperor does not seem to feel that the time has come for
+him to act, he studies every event with the closest attention, and is
+well informed upon every subject connected with the welfare of the
+state. As long as the Empress Dowager sits upon the throne with him, I
+think he will not try to make any of his ideas paramount to hers. He
+knows that she also wishes Progress for China, and that her methods,
+more conservative and necessarily slower than his, may, in the end,
+accomplish just as good results. He seems to trust her thoroughly,
+and to be willing to have her take the lead. He knows, and the world
+will soon see, that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is also vowed to
+Progress for China; that she is not anti-progressive, nor against
+reform, now that she feels the time has come for Progress and Reform.
+Her late edicts show this.
+
+Whether the remodeling of China’s laws, which will bring her into line
+with the Great Nations of to-day, will come during the Emperor’s life;
+whether his power of waiting and his patience may enable him to reach
+the time when accomplishment shall crown his efforts, who can tell! In
+the meantime, he fulfils his duties as Official Head of the Empire,
+rigidly observing all public and private ceremonies incumbent upon him
+as Emperor.
+
+The Emperor occupies a Palace fronting on the Great Lake as elegant and
+luxurious as Her Majesty’s. He has his own eunuchs and attendants, and
+leads his own life, quite independent of Her Majesty and the Ladies. He
+pays his respects to his “august aunt and adopted mother” every morning
+before the Audience, and they go together to transact affairs of state,
+after which he returns to his own Palace and follows his own pursuits.
+On festivals, when the Theater is going, he comes into the Imperial
+loge during the representations, and, on these days, joins the Empress
+Dowager and the Ladies in their walks around the gardens or in boating
+on the lake. He also dines with Her Majesty on these occasions. He
+does not seem to care as much for the Theater as she does, nor to
+follow it with so much interest. He often leaves the Imperial loge in
+the middle of a play, and goes to his own Theater Throne-room, just
+behind the great Imperial loge, where he passes the time in reading or
+smoking, which he never does in the presence of Her Majesty.
+
+He occupies himself daily with his studies, among which is English. He
+is a great reader. There is a special official, at the Palace, who buys
+His Majesty’s books, and they say this is no sinecure, as he does not
+devote himself only to Chinese literature and the classics, but devours
+translations of foreign works and is constantly calling for new ones.
+They say he always reads a book a day, besides attending to his other
+duties.
+
+He is passionately fond of music, plays on a number of Chinese
+instruments, and has even tried the piano. He has a good ear for
+music, and can pick out any air he has heard upon any instrument at
+his disposal. He is very clever, also, in a mechanical way, and can
+take to pieces and put together a clock, with fair success. He has been
+known, however, to fail in getting the very complicated mechanism of
+some of the Palace clocks properly together again. The Empress Dowager
+is constantly fearing that His Majesty will take some of her favorite
+clocks to pieces and not be able to put them into working order again;
+and he will not allow any one else to finish what he has begun.
+
+He is a very early riser, often getting up as early as two A.M.
+When there was some ceremony in Peking or some sacrifice to his
+Ancestors, he would go the sixteen miles, perform the ceremony or
+sacrifice and return in time for the Audience at eight o’clock, and it
+takes two hours and a half for the Emperor’s swift runners to carry
+him the sixteen miles between the Summer Palace and Peking. He does
+not seem to care for young associates, either men or women, though
+he is very fond of children. He had but few favorites in the Palace,
+and quite ignored the pretty young girls and women of Her Majesty’s
+“entourage.” He seems to have great respect for cleverness.
+
+There are certain distinctions made with reference to Her Majesty
+and the Emperor, which are rather curious. Her Majesty, being his
+Ancestress, is first in everything. She sits upon the Throne in the
+Great Audience Hall, while His Majesty sits on a stool at her left. He
+walks beside her chair when they go out, and stands in her presence,
+but when they dine together he sits in the place of honor at the end of
+the table. When Her Majesty dines alone, her chop-sticks and spoons, as
+well as the covers of her yellow porcelain dishes, are of silver. When
+Their Majesties dine together, the covers of the dishes are of gold,
+and His Majesty’s chop-sticks and spoons are also of gold. I never
+knew what kind of covers or chop-sticks were used when the Emperor
+dined alone; for this was always in his own Palace, and I never saw his
+Palace except from the outside. It was not considered good taste, nor
+according to the “Proprieties,” even to look that way when the Ladies
+happened to pass it in their promenades.
+
+When His Majesty walked in the grounds with only his own attendants,
+without being in the train of the Empress Dowager, his walks were in
+parts of the grounds not frequented by the Ladies. On Festival days,
+when he went out in the Imperial barge, or walked with Her Majesty
+and the Ladies, as he sometimes did, he went through these promenades
+with his usual courteous demeanor, but he did not seem to enjoy them,
+and when they were finished he would return with his own attendants
+to his own Palace. He assisted Her Majesty when she was entertaining
+the Foreign Representatives, but one, who knew him, could plainly see
+that he was bored by these Audiences. He would slip away at the first
+opportunity, not because he objected to the foreigners, but that these
+state functions were not to his taste. Her Majesty would have preferred
+him to do his share in the entertainment of the Foreign Representatives
+and be more “en évidence.” Though never out of temper or disagreeable
+on these occasions, and while he seemed to wish to do his duty, he
+seemed anxious to get them over. Whether from shyness or dislike at the
+functions, I could not tell.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER IX
+
+                        THE EMPEROR’S BIRTHDAY
+
+We went to the Palace early the day of His Majesty’s Birthday, and were
+in the Empress Dowager’s Throne-room at six o’clock in the morning;
+but long before that time, the outer court was filled with the red and
+yellow chairs and carts of the visiting members of the Imperial Family,
+who had come in from Peking and from the neighboring Palaces for the
+day. The high eunuchs were in gala costume, wearing silken gowns of
+great beauty, embroidered in the Double Dragon. The eunuchs of lower
+rank were more simply gowned, as the representation of the Double
+Dragon on the Court gown is only allowed to those of a certain rank.
+Our chair-bearers were clad in the festive red, with brocaded figures,
+representing the characters for Longevity.
+
+We passed through the beautifully decorated courts, past the gaily
+decked Palaces to the Throne-room of Her Majesty, where the Emperor
+had come to receive the private congratulations of the Princesses of
+the blood and the Ladies of the Court. It would have been against the
+laws of Chinese etiquette for these Ladies to go into the Emperor’s
+Palace to congratulate him, even on such an occasion as his Birthday.
+When we entered the Throne-room, the Emperor was seated, or rather,
+reclining upon a lounge in the most informal manner. He was not averse,
+as was Her Majesty, to the reclining position when on the Throne. His
+greater Orientalism was evidenced here, for the Oriental proverb says,
+“’Tis better to be sitting than standing, to be lying than sitting,”
+etc. He sat up a little straighter on our entrance, and the Ladies made
+the formal Chinese bow, which he returned by a friendly nod and kindly
+smile. I made the European reverence as usual.
+
+His Majesty was dressed a little more elaborately than usual, in
+a yellow gown, tightly belted in around his slender waist with a
+handsome belt buckle of jade. At this morning salutation by the Ladies
+of his family, his hat lay beside him on the couch, which showed it
+was unceremonious, for ceremonies are carried on by the Emperor and
+all Chinese with their hats on. The great Imperial Pearl, one of the
+most precious of the Imperial jewels, formed the button of his hat
+on his Birthday. The seven official ranks of Mandarins are shown by
+the different colors of the buttons worn on their hats. The color of
+these buttons denotes the rank acquired by their wearers, those of the
+Manchu Princes, alone, being hereditary. The buttons of these latter
+are generally of jewels or semi-precious stones. The Emperor, the most
+simply dressed man I saw in China, wears, as a rule, a plain red silk
+button, but the Pearl, which can only be worn by a reigning Emperor, is
+used on state occasions.
+
+After we had greeted His Majesty, we moved further into the Throne-room
+to await the “lever” of the Empress Dowager. When she came out
+of her sleeping apartments, the Ladies fell upon their knees and
+simultaneously repeated the words of greeting used every morning to
+Her Majesty, “Lao-Tzu-Tzung Chee-Siang” (Great Ancestress, be happy).
+After acknowledging their salutations, she advanced and held out her
+hand to me, and I took it and, as was now my custom, raised the tips
+of her fingers to my lips. I, of course, never made any but a European
+salutation to either Her Majesty or the Emperor. She was very gracious
+and said I would be the first foreigner who had ever seen the birthday
+celebration of any of the Sons of Heaven, and she hoped I would enjoy
+it! She then commented on my dress and ornaments, examining the few
+jewels I wore. After this she turned to the Ladies and, with a quick
+glance, took in all the details of their Court costumes, calling their
+attention to the way their official beads hung and signaling any little
+deviation from traditional forms that she noticed in their attire. She
+was extremely rigid as to all the details of Court dress.
+
+The Court costume of the Ladies is magnificent. That worn at the
+Emperor’s Birthday (the summer costume) was of the stiff transparent
+silk I have described in the gown worn by Her Majesty for the portrait.
+The Court costume of the married ladies is of dark red, embroidered
+in golden dragons. The widows wear blue; the unmarried girls, bright
+red--all with the Double Dragon embroidered thereon. The married ladies
+and widows, when in Court attire, wear a magnificent court head-dress
+with jeweled crown. The young girls, even in Court dress, wear the
+ordinary Manchu coiffure, with the long red silk tassels falling to
+their shoulders. The young Empress was charming on the Birthday. Her
+head-dress was of golden filigree, thickly set with jewels. Across
+the front, nine beautifully chased golden phenix, with jeweled tails
+outspread, held in their bills strings of pearls that fell to her
+shoulders and veiled her forehead. Square, conventionalized bunches of
+flowers projected from either side of this curiously and elaborately
+wrought head-dress. Her gown was of the Imperial yellow, embroidered
+with the golden Double Dragon. She had, around her neck, a solid piece
+of chased gold, like a huge open ring, with balls at the ends; and she
+wore the official beads that are always worn in Court dress by Princes
+and Officials and their wives. The Emperor and Empress Dowager are
+the only members of the Court who wear, neither the Double Dragon on
+their Court dress, nor the official beads. Suspended from the Empress’s
+neck was a magnificently embroidered stole, about four inches wide,
+which reached to the hem of her gown. This stole is only worn by the
+wives of Emperors, during their husband’s lifetime. The young Empress
+seemed unusually happy to-day, and this was the first time I had ever
+seen her and the Emperor in conversation. Next to the young Empress
+came the only secondary wife of the Emperor. She was dressed exactly
+as the young Empress was; the same gown, the same head-dress, the same
+embroidered stole, only her jewels were not so handsome, and her dress,
+instead of being of the Imperial yellow, was of orange. Yellow can only
+be worn by the first wife of an Emperor!
+
+After the salutations to the Emperor and Empress Dowager in Her
+Majesty’s private Throne-room, Her Majesty went out into the court and
+took her place in her yellow chair of State, the Emperor following, on
+foot, as was his custom. The cymbals clashed. The flutes sounded and
+all the instruments of the Imperial Band played the curious minor air,
+with its tragic undertone of sound, its rhythm like a Gregorian chant,
+which is only played at the passing of Their Majesties for some great
+ceremony or official function, and which I soon called the “Imperial
+Hymn.” This is the only approach to a National air that I ever heard in
+China.
+
+Their Majesties went in ceremonious procession to the Great Audience
+Hall, where the Princes, Nobles, and high Officials privileged to
+enter Precincts, were to present their homage and congratulations to
+the Son of Heaven on the happy occasion of his Birthday. Besides these
+privileged visitors, there were a number of officials whose rank was
+not high enough to allow them to enter the Great Hall of Ceremonies.
+These kneel and make the prostrations in the outer courts.
+
+The young Empress and Ladies of the Court did not follow Their
+Majesties to the Great Hall, but stopped at the Palace of the young
+Empress, to await there their turn for the official congratulations,
+which were not to be made until after those of the Princes and Nobles.
+The young Empress is a charming hostess, and her eunuchs and women
+handed us tea and cigarettes while we were waiting. She also had her
+dogs brought in for me to see. Her apartments opened on a sunny court,
+full of flowering shrubs and fruit trees. Around the other three sides
+of the court were built the pavilions for the use of her attendants
+and ladies. We spent half an hour in her pavilion, waiting for the
+congratulations of the Princes and Nobles to be finished.
+
+The Emperor, for these official congratulations, was seated upon the
+Dynastic Throne, erect and stiff as an archaic figure; no longer the
+shy boy, but the Monarch clothed in all his power, and, for to-day,
+alone upon his great ancestral Throne. He was attended by his Master
+of Ceremonies, gorgeously attired, who stood in the rigid attitude
+prescribed for this ceremony.
+
+Each splendidly garbed Prince and Noble knelt and made the prostration
+prescribed by the Book of Rites, and each presented His Majesty with
+a jade emblem, called by the Chinese “ruyie,”[3] erroneously supposed
+to be a scepter by most foreigners; but the “ruyie” is simply an
+emblem of Good Luck, and may be presented on festive occasions to any
+one whom the givers wish to honor, and is not an emblem of Imperial
+authority. The Emperor held each of these “ruyie” in his hands for a
+few seconds after their presentation, bowed profoundly to the kneeling
+Prince, and then handed the emblem to an attendant eunuch, who placed
+it on a Dragon table at the left of the Emperor. When the Princes
+and Nobles had congratulated His Majesty and left the Throne-room,
+the young Empress and secondary wife, followed by the Princesses and
+Ladies, went in to make their official congratulations. The greeting
+in Her Majesty’s Throne-room in the morning had been but a friendly
+salutation, without any official signification. The young Empress knelt
+and made her bow first and presented--as did each of the Ladies--a
+“ruyie.” She made the same official salutation as did the others, but
+her “ruyie” was of a much richer style than those presented by the
+other Ladies.
+
+[3] Generally written “jui,” but pronounced as I have written it.
+
+After the ceremony of formal congratulations was over, Her Majesty,
+the Emperor, and Empress, followed by the Ladies and attendants, went
+in state to the Theater, with the same ceremonial and pomp with which
+they had gone into the Hall of Ceremonies. The Empress Dowager, who
+was always the most gorgeously attired person at Court, was, on His
+Majesty’s Birthday, dressed with an extreme simplicity that amounted
+almost to plainness, and she wore no jewels. This plainness of attire
+was not an accident, but had been arranged with her usual forethought.
+She wished the Emperor and Empress to be the central figures of this
+day’s festivities, and did not wish to vie with the Empress even in her
+attire.
+
+The Princes and Nobles, who had come to the Palace for the official
+congratulations, were invited to the theatrical performance. They
+occupied the boxes that ran at right angles to the Imperial loge, which
+I have already described as forming the other two sides of the court
+of the Theater. A huge screen of painted silk, twelve feet high, was
+stretched from the last of the boxes occupied by the Princes to the
+stage--allowing the latter to be perfectly seen by the occupants of the
+boxes, but cutting off their view of the Imperial loge, whence Their
+Majesties, the Empress, and Ladies viewed the play. These invited
+guests are thus neither seen by the Imperial party, nor can they see
+the latter.
+
+When Their Majesties and the Empress were seated in their loge, the
+principal actors came to the front of the stage, knelt, and “kow-towed”
+to the Imperial box. Then the play began. There was first a noisy
+burst of weird music, then the chief actor recited a laudatory,
+congratulatory poem in honor of the Birthday of the Emperor, wishing
+His Majesty “ten thousand years” of happiness and all the blessings
+possible. The poem was intoned like a chant by the actor, dressed in
+the gorgeous historic costume of an Imperial Herald of the time of
+Kublai Kahn. This poem was most impressive. One of the verses ran thus:
+
+    “The vast merits of His Imperial Majesty’s August Ancestors have
+    been handed down to Him from generation to generation.
+
+    “To the wisdom of His whole Dynasty we owe it, that we have lived
+    in happiness,
+
+    “Ever ready to comply with the lofty teaching of our Rulers, leading
+    us unto Good....”
+
+The poem went on to recite His Majesty’s merits as a son, his respect
+for his August Mother, his filial piety, and ended with a wish that
+Great China might flourish and prosper--grow strong outwardly and
+inwardly, through the blessings of his reign and his desire for
+Progress.
+
+After this poem had been intoned by the chief actor, with the whole
+company of players grouped around on the lower, as well as on the
+two superposed stages, all in splendid historic costumes, there was
+another noisy clash of weird music and the play itself began. The
+Chinese theater, which goes on from morning to night with a series of
+plays, generally begins with a short one, a curtain-raiser of a quarter
+to half an hour’s length. To-day it began at once, after the poem was
+intoned, with a great historic drama. The exploits and high deeds of
+former Emperors were shown, and the actors were magnificently costumed
+in superb historic gowns which had been handed down from antiquity and
+were absolutely authentic.
+
+At half-past eleven, with the Theater still in full swing, the eunuchs
+brought out tables of sweetmeats on the verandah of the Imperial loge,
+and set them before the young Empress and the Princesses and Ladies,
+and we were served to refreshments. Sweets and fruits in China are
+served between the regular meals. The sweetmeats to-day were “birthday
+food,” and were all inscribed with some character meaning “Longevity,”
+“Good Luck,” “Happiness,” “Peace,” etc. There were pyramids of the
+delicious crystallized fruits which the Chinese excel in making;
+macédoines of queer fruits, nut pastes, almond creams, and all the
+fresh fruits in season. With this preliminary repast were served, also,
+some delicious Chinese wines.
+
+Soon after the repast of sweetmeats was finished, we were served in the
+court of the Theater this time to the regular meal. It was an immense
+table to which we sat down on the Emperor’s Birthday. There were so
+many Princesses, Duchesses, and Ladies of high degree from a distance,
+that our usual number was more than quadrupled. The repast was a
+joyous one. The Chinese are very witty and gay, and though I could not
+understand all the scintillations of wit, their gaiety was contagious!
+Each gave me special delicacies that she liked, to try, and each seemed
+to vie with the other in endeavoring to make the “stranger” feel at
+ease. Some of the Ladies drank champagne in my honor, and held up their
+glasses toward me as they had seen the foreigners do. When the elders
+had finished eating, the young people sat down. These were the children
+of the Princesses and Nobles who had been invited to join their parents
+for these festivities at the Palace. No girl or boy under sixteen is
+allowed to sit down with their elders to a ceremonious dinner at the
+Palace.
+
+Soon after we had finished our gay luncheon in the court of the Theater
+the Ladies retired within their loge, next to that of Their Majesties,
+and the screen which hid the visiting Princes and Nobles from the
+Imperial party was removed by the attendant eunuchs. When it was taken
+away, there sat, Turkish fashion, the great Princes and high Nobles
+in their splendid Court dress. Those of the highest ranks occupied
+the boxes nearest the Imperial party. The Princesses pointed out to
+me, from their box, their brothers and kinsmen and others whom they
+recognized; but we saw without being seen, and were only looking from
+behind the scenes.
+
+The eunuchs then handed around refreshments to the Princes and
+gentlemen, sweetmeats and fruits, such as we had partaken of before our
+luncheon. Then there were some huge steaming silver caldrons brought
+into the court, and from these caldrons the eunuchs ladled into bowls
+some sort of white drink. As we had had nothing of this kind at our
+repast, I was curious to know what it might be. I knew it could not
+be wine, for that is served only in tiny cups, and this was served in
+the ordinary-sized eating-bowls. I was much surprised to learn that
+this drink was simply hot milk, flavored with almonds, and slightly
+sweetened, a drink of which the Manchus are very fond, and which is
+a special mark of Imperial favor, given only on great occasions. The
+gentlemen raised their bowls to their lips with both hands and drank it
+off with great ceremony, as if it were a sacred beverage, and seemed,
+in drinking it thus, to pledge the Emperor’s Health and Happiness.
+
+After the Princes had partaken of these refreshments, and while some
+eunuchs were removing the caldrons and dishes, another army of eunuchs
+came in, in pairs, each pair carrying between them trays of Imperial
+yellow, decorated with the red characters for Longevity. These trays
+contained presents from the Emperor to each of the invited guests, for
+His Majesty gives as well as receives presents on his Birthday! There
+was no difference made in the presents given, each tray being the
+exact counterpart of every other. Each contained a pair of porcelain
+vases from the Imperial Potteries, a bronze Incense-burner, a scroll
+with a quotation from the classics or an aphorism of Confucius written
+thereon. The scrolls were inclosed in silken covers, tied with the
+Imperial colors. There was also a jade “ruyie” in each tray, such
+as had been handed the Emperor at the morning ceremony, and an
+Archer’s ring. After the contents of the trays had been delivered to
+each gentleman present, and the empty trays borne away by the Palace
+eunuchs, the dividing screen was again placed between the visiting
+Princes and Their Majesties, and the young Empress and Ladies went out
+of their loge to the verandah once more, and the theatrical performance
+again went on. In fact, it had been going on throughout our luncheon
+and the subsequent entertainment of the Princes, but we had paid no
+attention to it.
+
+At four o’clock there was the grand “finale.” The three superposed
+stages were occupied by all the gorgeously attired actors, and another
+Hymn of praise to the Emperor was intoned. He was extolled as the Son
+of Heaven and representative on earth of Buddha, and other extravagant
+wishes for “ten thousand years” of happiness were made. When this
+Hymn was finished, the floats, which we had seen the day before
+behind the scenes, came out in procession. These floats represented
+mythical animals, Buddhas, fairies, and personifications of the higher
+attributes. There were gigantic fruits which opened, disclosing figures
+representing eternal beauty, perfect happiness, and serene old age.
+Prominent among the gigantic fruits was the peach, the emblem of
+Longevity. Last of all, in this curious procession, came the Imperial
+Dragon, of huge proportions. Its contortions, as it struggled for the
+Flaming Pearl, emblematic of the unattainable, were most curious. All
+these figures made their obeisances to Their Majesties and the Empress.
+They were accompanied by splendidly clothed warriors, heralds,
+princes, and many gorgeously attired attendants, bearing banners and
+escutcheons. After the procession had made the tour several times, the
+dragon stopped with his huge head in the middle of the stage, made an
+obeisance to His Majesty, then raised it with a mighty roar and spouted
+forth--a copious shower of fresh spring water, which sprinkled the
+whole flower-filled court! The Empress and Princesses were all in the
+secret and knew what was coming, but they kept it from me, and much
+enjoyed my start of surprise as some of the spray fell upon me, as I
+had advanced to the very edge of the verandah in order to miss nothing.
+
+When all was finished, the screen was again removed and the great glass
+doors of the Imperial loge were thrown open, so that Her Majesty and
+the Emperor could be seen. The visiting Princes and Nobles came forward
+from their places and knelt in a body, though still observing the laws
+of precedence as to their ranks. They knelt three times, and bowed
+their heads to the ground nine times to thank Their Majesties for the
+entertainment they had received. To receive these prostrations from
+the Princes, the Emperor and Empress Dowager assumed their Buddha-like
+poses and acknowledged the genuflexions by a formal inclination of
+their heads. When the Princes had retired, the actors, clothed in
+their usual garments, came to the front of the stage and knelt and
+“kow-towed,” but Their Majesties did not return this salutation.
+
+When the Princes and players had left and the Imperial party was alone,
+cushions were brought into the middle of the court, the Emperor
+and Empress and secondary wife knelt thereon, while their “Great
+Ancestress,” the Empress Dowager, preceded by acolytes, swinging golden
+incense-burners which gave forth azure clouds of perfumed smoke, came
+down the steps to the weird accompaniment of the flutes and cymbals
+playing the “Imperial Hymn.” The Emperor and Empress knelt to do Her
+Majesty homage, as the greatest living member of their Ancestors.
+When she reached them, they arose and followed her, and the three
+moved along in stately procession to the slow beating of the cymbals,
+followed by the Princesses and Ladies and all the attendant eunuchs.
+The subtle perfume of the incense, the stately rhythm, the splendid
+costumes, the flashing jewels and brilliant colors, made a magnificent
+picture never to be forgotten. The Imperial procession moved through
+several sunlit courts until it finally came to the entrance of the
+Sacred Hall, containing the Ancestral tablets; here the Empress Dowager
+stopped at the threshold until His Majesty and the young Empress had
+passed within, to complete the ceremonies of the day by worshiping and
+kneeling together before the tablets of their Ancestors. The music
+ceased. The ceremony was finished. His Majesty the Emperor Kwang-Hsu
+had accomplished another year.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+
+                        PEKING--THE SEA PALACE
+
+The Autumnal Sacrifices to his Ancestors and His Majesty’s consequent
+three days’ abstinence, to prepare for them, put a stop to further
+festivities after the Birthday, which would have otherwise continued
+for several days longer. The day after the Birthday was a quiet one at
+the Palace. Her Majesty was feeling tired and did not care to pose,
+after the Audience in the morning. The visiting Princesses and Ladies
+were preparing to leave the Palace; the eunuchs and Her Majesty’s maids
+were bustling around, preparing for the moving of the Court to Peking,
+for Her Majesty and the Court, as well as the Emperor, were to go into
+one of the City Palaces the following day. Her Majesty ordered luncheon
+to be served in one of the beautiful summer-houses in the gardens,
+about a mile from the Palace, for she said a change would be good for
+all.
+
+This summer-house, or rather Palace, situated on a hill overlooking
+the lake, was one of Her Majesty’s favorite resorts. She often went
+to it, after a tiring Audience, and spent the rest of the day there,
+lunching and dining, and even taking her siesta there. Whenever she
+went to any of these Palaces inside the inclosure, she always invited
+all the Ladies of the Court to accompany her. It made a change in the
+monotony of their lives. This Palace was very luxuriously fitted up,
+and contained a splendid library, with thousands of volumes of the
+classics and Her Majesty’s favorite authors. The view from its broad
+verandahs and fair marble terraces was one of the finest, even of the
+many beautiful ones, in the grounds. We lunched on the wide verandah
+and drank in the beauty of the scene. No wonder Her Majesty loved this
+spot! Beneath lay the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace, with its
+calm lake and winding streams. On an eminence beyond, the graceful
+seven-storied pagoda that forms so characteristic a feature in all
+the views of the Summer Palace, proudly reared its stately height. On
+the right lay the temple-crowned hills, the upturned roofs of their
+buildings nestling on their slopes like a flight of gigantic gaily-hued
+birds, with wings outspread. In the distance, beyond a soft gray
+undulating landscape, with fields of brilliant green here and there,
+lay Peking, with its walls and towers, enveloped in a golden haze.
+
+           [Illustration: AT THE AMERICAN LEGATION, PEKING]
+
+After luncheon and the siesta, Her Majesty called me up and said she
+was to go into Peking on the morrow, and asked whether I wished the
+portrait to be taken in for the three days the Court was to remain
+in the City. She said she would be much occupied with ceremonies and
+sacrifices, and there would be but little time for painting, but if I
+wished to work she might be able to give me a short sitting! I told
+her I did not care to have the portrait taken into the City, for I
+knew it would not be possible to get a room with the same light as that
+in which I had begun the picture. When she found I did not care to
+paint in Peking, she suggested that I go to the United States Legation
+and spend the time of the Court’s sojourn at the Sea Palace. It had
+been more than two weeks since I had seen Mrs. Conger, or been in the
+Legation quarter, and I was delighted at Her Majesty’s kind forethought
+in allowing me to spend these days at the Legation. She, however,
+suggested that, as I had not seen the Sea Palace, where the Court
+was to go, I might enjoy coming there for the day--and spending some
+of the time in seeing the Palace and grounds. She knew how I enjoyed
+seeing these beautiful Palaces, and this was another proof of her
+consideration. She said she would be much occupied with the ceremonies,
+but that she would map out a nice day for me, and would herself take
+me for a walk! She added, “This will give you a chance to study me, so
+your time will not be entirely spent in vain.” She said we would resume
+the portrait on the Court’s return to the Summer Palace.
+
+After our return to her Throne-room, and when we had finished dinner,
+she told me I had better go into the room where the portrait and my
+materials were kept, when I was not working on it, and said I had
+better overlook its being put away myself. She followed me into the
+room, and herself aided and directed the arrangement of things. She
+ordered the “sacred picture” (for this is what the Chinese call a
+likeness of a reigning Emperor or Empress) to be attached to the wall
+with yellow cords and covered with a transparent yellow silk, box-like
+screen, which had been especially made to protect it from dust. The
+portrait was treated, from its very beginning, as an almost sacred
+object, with the respect a reverent officiant accords the Holy Vessels
+of the Church. Even my painting materials seemed to be invested with
+a sort of semi-sacred quality. When Her Majesty felt fatigued, and
+indicated that the sittings were finished, my brushes and palette were
+taken by the eunuch from my hands, the portrait removed from the easel
+and reverently consigned to the room that had been set aside for it.
+
+The next morning early, I preceded the Court into Peking and went
+directly to the United States Legation, where I was warmly welcomed
+by my kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Conger. The United States Legation
+occupied, at this time, a Chinese temple near the “Water Gate.” This
+building had been given to the United States Government by the Chinese
+after the Boxer rebellion, and was occupied temporarily by the Minister
+of the United States during the construction of the new Legation on
+Legation Street. The temple had been transformed into a comfortable
+American dwelling-place--its Chinese individuality having been
+preserved wherever possible, consistent with comfort. The shaded court,
+filled with beautiful, growing flowers (many of them gifts from the
+Empress Dowager to Mrs. Conger), was a charming spot. While distinctly
+American as to its artistic comfort and furniture, the interior
+construction and decoration of the drawing-room were purely Chinese,
+which gave a touch of Oriental “couleur locale” to this pleasant haven
+of American hospitality, where Mr. and Mrs. Conger dispensed their
+kindly favors.
+
+Mrs. Conger, by her own individual initiative, has done much to bring
+about a friendly social feeling between the Chinese and foreign ladies.
+It was she who first thought of entertaining the Princesses and Ladies
+of the Court in her own home; and the United States Legation was
+the first of the Legations in Peking to issue an invitation to the
+Ladies of the Court, or to entertain them. It is the first Legation to
+entertain other Chinese ladies, wives of officials or of the gentry.
+Several other Legations have since entertained the Ladies of the Court,
+but in doing so they were only following Mrs. Conger’s initiative.
+While doing so much to bring about friendly social relations with the
+Chinese, Mr. and Mrs. Conger receive all Americans, regardless of their
+importance or social position, with a kind cordiality. I was delighted
+to be in their charming family circle once more. I found my room at the
+Legation, with its sweet touches of homeliness, a delightful haven, and
+my visits to the Legation seemed always like going home.
+
+The next morning at seven, a green official chair with its bearers
+came to take me to the Sea Palace. I was first carried to the
+Hsien-Liang-Hsu, the “Temple of the loyal and virtuous,” where
+Li-Hung-Chang formerly had his home in Peking, and a part of which the
+Yu-Kengs had arranged for their home after their return from their
+mission at Paris, their own semi-foreign house having been destroyed by
+the Boxers. At the Hsien-Liang-Hsu I was joined by the Ladies Yu-Keng,
+and we continued on to the Sea Palace. Our chairs, with their bearers,
+were preceded and followed by mounted attendants.
+
+The Sea Palace is a comparatively new Palace, most of it having
+been built within the last fifty years. Our chairs were met at the
+northern entrance by the same eunuchs who had been set aside for our
+service at the Summer Palace. They led us to the boats in waiting to
+carry us across the lake, to the buildings occupied by Her Majesty
+and the Court. These boats were of the houseboat variety, with an
+inclosed cabin forming the center, and a platform running all around,
+on which the rowers walked up and down propelling it. The interior
+was carpeted, with a cushioned lounge, tea-tables, and chairs. The
+eunuchs and attendants sat outside on the prow. It takes twenty minutes
+to row across the lake in one of these boats, but the movement is
+delightful. When we reached the other side, we landed and went through
+several courts to that of one of Her Majesty’s private chapels. She,
+herself, had just been making an offering here, and was coming out,
+preceded by acolytes swinging incense-burners, the musicians playing
+the “Imperial Hymn.” When she saw us, Her Majesty called us to her
+side, asked if I had had a good trip into Peking, and how Mrs. Conger
+was. She then ordered the eunuchs to show us our apartments. We were
+led through corridors and courts to a charming pavilion which was to
+be our resting-place while at the Sea Palace. It had exquisitely and
+elaborately carved woodwork arches with heavy satin curtains, which
+divided it into five rooms. After we had rested a few moments here, we
+returned to the Throne-room. Her Majesty told me she had arranged for
+me to go out in one of the boats, and that I was to be shown all that I
+cared to see, or at least as much as I could see in that day. A eunuch
+standing near her held a number of strips of embroidery in his hand.
+They were embroidered head-dresses, which are placed upon the heads
+of the Buddhas during the great ceremonies in the Palace temples. She
+explained their use to me and then dismissed us, and we went out to the
+landing-place on the lake.
+
+A number of boats lay at the foot of the steps--among them a charming
+open barge with blue silken awnings. As I had not been in a boat of
+this kind before, and as I was told to choose, I selected it for our
+row; and we started off, followed by several other boats carrying
+eunuchs and refreshments, with the necessary utensils for serving
+them. Our head eunuch, one of the six highest in the Palace, who had
+been appointed to look after me and the “sacred picture,” was very
+intelligent, an enlightened lover of Chinese art, and a great collector
+of old Chinese paintings and curios. He had been, in his youth, one
+of Her Majesty’s favorite players, was said to have great dramatic
+talent, and, when he was younger, had a fine voice for singing. Memory
+is among the most esteemed of the intellectual faculties by the Chinese
+and reaches a high state of cultivation with them. Many of the eunuchs
+can repeat whole pages from the classics, and some are accomplished
+literati. This eunuch had a good speaking voice, and recited poems and
+told stories in a charming way. As we were rowed along, he stood at the
+prow and recited verse after verse of classic lore and told stories
+of the heroic times. He intoned them like a recitative--the rhythm
+so perfectly observed, the intoning so musical, it was a pleasure to
+listen to him, though I could not understand.
+
+I lay back among the cushions, as we glided softly along, past
+beautiful pavilions, with splendid trees overhanging the lake and
+lovely flowers growing wherever there was a place to plant them. The
+tall figure of the splendidly attired eunuch, standing in the prow,
+repeating, with rhythmic cadence, poems and stories, gave one the
+illusion and charm of the “Arabian Nights,” which I had fed upon in my
+childhood, and which I seemed to be living through to-day.
+
+We soon came to a tiny islet in the lake, with a sort of open temple
+built over a black marble tablet which bore an incised inscription.
+I asked to land and examine it, and San-Gunia, the eldest of Lady
+Yu-Keng’s daughters, a remarkably clever girl and well posted in
+Chinese literature, translated the characters. The inscription was a
+poem, a tribute to the Great Father who had graciously placed there
+this island, which “by night was bathed in the glory of the Moon and
+Sun-kissed by day, while the crystal waters of the lake formed a
+brilliant necklace on its breast.”
+
+Beyond the island I saw a temple. There was no landing-place, and the
+temple was under repair. The head eunuch, however, seeing how much I
+wished to go up, had the boat draw near and steps brought, up which we
+clambered, as best we could.
+
+This was one of the temples so ruthlessly destroyed and unnecessarily
+desecrated by the Allies during their occupation of Peking. We passed
+through the vegetable garden of the monks--all shorn of its glory,
+but where a few vegetables and flowers still grew--and we went on
+through a beautiful grove of arbor-vitæ, with centuries-old trees,
+planted in the form of a cross, and came into the court of the temple.
+Even in its dilapidated state, with the workmen still in it, it was
+beautiful, and before it was so injured it must have been a splendid
+example of Chinese temple architecture. The cells of the lama monks
+were now unoccupied, and there were no officiating priests. Workmen
+were repairing and regilding the Great Buddha, and most of the effigies
+of the saints and images of the personified attributes were standing
+in dejected rows in the corridors awaiting the completion of their
+niches and chapels. The interior, of splendid proportions, glowed in
+beautiful somber colors. The carved wood ceilings were in pendentive
+designs, recalling those I had seen in the Alhambra; but the painting,
+in primary colors, of this elaborately carved ceiling gave it a greater
+richness of coloring and lent to the interior a warmer, deeper harmony
+than the white Moorish designs. The chapels behind the high altar were
+separated from the main temple and from each other by beautifully
+carved wooden screens, with rich brocaded silk of brilliant green (the
+color of Buddha), stretched behind the open-work and showing through
+the interstices of the carving. These chapels are for the Sacred
+writings and for the vestments of the priests, and are also used for
+robing- and retiring-rooms for the officiants. They correspond to the
+sacristies of the Catholic Churches in Europe.
+
+The space behind the altar was of apse-like form, and opened upon a
+semi-circular marble terrace, thirty feet high, with a balustrade of
+the conventionalized lotus design so dear to the Chinese architects.
+From this terrace we had a beautiful view of the Coal Hill, surmounted
+by the curious Dagoba, so well known in all views of the Imperial City,
+as well as of the belvedere that marks the spot where the last Emperor
+of the Mings committed suicide when he was conquered. At the two
+extremities of the terrace were charming octagonal summer-houses, where
+the priests could go for rest and contemplation, and, while murmuring
+their prayers, could feast their eyes upon a charming view. After a few
+moments on the terrace, enjoying the beautiful view, we passed through
+the cells of the monks, which were large and comfortable, and, finally,
+out again into the sun-flecked shade of the marble-paved court, where
+we sat under low-hanging boughs of a splendid elm, and the eunuchs
+brought out tables and served us with tea and refreshments.
+
+Then we took the boats and were rowed on further, till we came beneath
+a steep battlemented wall, surmounted by the rich green of arbor-vitæ
+trees. I was surprised to learn that this was another temple, for it
+looked more like an old feudal castle than a peaceful temple to the
+mild Buddha. We landed at the foot of the beautiful white Marble Bridge
+that spans the narrow northern portion of the lake, just under the
+stone wall on which the temple was built. We were carried up the steep,
+winding incline in our chairs. It was a most picturesque approach, and
+when we reached the top, with the beautiful temple lying peacefully on
+these martial heights, we found it well worth the climb.
+
+There was a grove of arbor-vitæ trees leading to this temple. These
+trees seem to be sacred to the temples and burial-places in China, for
+all I ever visited in China were either built in a grove of arbor-vitæ,
+or had some of these evergreens growing near. Did the Greeks get their
+idea and name of the ever-living tree from the Chinese, who regard the
+arbor-vitæ as the tree of life and emblem of Immortality? This temple
+has a great Buddha of white jade, with jeweled stole and cuffs. Its
+expression of placid contemplation and kindly thought is typically
+Chinese. When Buddhism was first brought into China from India, the
+Buddhas had an Indian type; and not until the religion had taken firm
+hold of the people, was its divinity clothed in a Chinese personality,
+and a national individuality assumed. The day of our visit, the great
+jade Buddha was decked in a mantle of Imperial yellow satin, with a
+richly embroidered Manchu hood, such as I had seen that morning in
+Her Majesty’s Throne-room, on its head. Tall, lighted candles, fresh
+offerings of fruit and flowers, and the smoking censer standing on
+the altar, showed there had been services that morning, and added
+to the religious atmosphere of the interior. The service had been
+a continuation of the commemorative celebrations in honor of the
+Emperor’s Birthday and his sacrifice to his Ancestors.
+
+The principal court of this temple is one of the most picturesque in
+the Sea Palace, shaded by magnificent cedars and stately elms. In the
+center, there was a magnificent cistern of verd-antique, splendidly
+carved in dragons. Over this cistern was a marble portico, its columns
+supporting a curious concave, copper roof. This roof had been a Palace
+“cooking utensil,” that had been used in former times to prepare food
+for the poor; hence its extraordinary size. When it was worn out in
+this capacity it was used as the interior of the dome over the temple
+well, where the poor and weary could come to rest under its shadow
+and drink of the water of the well it protected. There were cells and
+outhouses for the monks in this temple also. But as we sat in the
+shady court, looking across the sunlit lake, the sky became suddenly
+overcast, and we took our chairs and hurried down the steep, paved
+road that led from the temple to the lake. We did not take the boats
+again on reaching the lake, but were carried, in our chairs, across
+the beautiful Marble Bridge. Just beyond us, we saw the towers of the
+first Catholic Cathedral ever built in Peking. It was built on land
+given to the Catholics by the Emperor; but, when finished, its towers
+were found to overlook the Palace grounds; so the Cathedral was bought
+by the Emperor, and land was given the Mission further on, and another
+Cathedral was built. The first Cathedral is now within the Walls of the
+Sea Palace, and is visible from every part of the grounds of the two
+Peking Palaces. It seems a strange anomaly to see this Christian Church
+within the Precincts of the Palace of an Oriental potentate, who is
+one of the representatives on earth of the “Great Buddha.”
+
+It began to rain, and the chair-bearers ran along to the Palace without
+stopping again, and we were soon called to dinner in the Throne-room,
+overlooking the small Theater, for there are two Theaters in the Sea
+Palace, one for winter use and one for summer. The latter is built on
+piles over the waters of a canal. Building the stage over water is
+supposed to give a peculiar musical resonance to the voices of the
+actors, softening the sounds and making them more pleasant to the ear.
+
+After dinner in the beautiful summer Throne-room, with the rippling
+waters just beneath the windows, we made our adieus, first to Her
+Majesty and then to the young Empress and Ladies, and went out to be
+again rowed over the beautiful lake to the outside gates. The sun was
+setting! The arches of the Marble Bridge had become a beautiful, deep
+violet hue, and spanned the waters of the lake, now a gleaming mass
+of liquid gold. The sky beyond shone through the masses of foliage
+with a golden glow, and the towers of the old Cathedral were strongly
+silhouetted against this brilliant background. The scene was an ideal
+one. A beautiful silence pervaded everything, made the more rhythmic
+and intense by the regular movement of the oars in the water. When
+we reached the other side of the lake we were conducted to our green
+chairs, which were waiting without the gate, and were swiftly carried
+back to the Legation.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XI
+
+              SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF HER MAJESTY--SECOND
+                        VISIT TO THE SEA PALACE
+
+I spent the next day at the Legation, and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I
+was glad to think that I was to spend the following day at the Palace
+again. The study of Her Majesty had now become to me like a thrilling
+novel. I could not bear to lay it down; and when I was forced to do
+so, I was longing to be able to resume it. She was such a delightful
+surprise to me. I had heard and read so much of her, before I went to
+the Palace, and nothing that I had heard or read had at all prepared
+me for the reality, so charming, so unusual was her personality. Not
+charming and interesting by fits and starts, but always so! She was so
+considerate and tactful, and seemed so really kind in her relations
+with those who surrounded her. I had been now nearly a month in daily
+contact with her. I saw her, not only when she sat for the portrait; I
+was with her the greater part of the day, and I began to let myself go
+in my admiration of her. The days seemed flat and stale when I could
+not see her--so full of interest and charm I found her. She was a woman
+of such infinite variety! There was always something new and fresh to
+study in her. She was the very embodiment of the Eternal Feminine.
+She was at once a child and a woman with strong, virile qualities. She
+would go into the Audience Hall, transact weighty affairs of State
+for three hours, and then go for her walks or excursions, and take a
+childish interest in the simplest pleasures. She would be seated in one
+of her Throne-rooms in trivial conversation with her Ladies, when an
+Official Despatch, in its yellow silk case, would be brought in, and
+presented by the eunuch on bended knees. Her face would immediately
+become full of serious interest; she would bend her brows and become
+the statesman; a few moments later, when she had duly considered, and
+given orders relative to the despatch, she became again the woman, full
+of interest in her flowers, dresses, and jewels.
+
+A distinguished Frenchman once said of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager,
+“C’est le seul homme de la Chine,” and she deserves the appellation of
+“man,” if it goes to mean superior intelligence and executive ability;
+but it was not the “statesman” that I had the best opportunity of
+studying. It was the woman in her private life; and I had unusual
+advantages for this study, and the more I saw of her, the more
+remarkable I found her! Her favors to the Ladies of the Court were very
+impartially distributed. She had her favorites, but she did not allow
+them to gain any supremacy over her, nor to warp her judgment. Although
+her “entourage” never expressed an opinion contrary to hers, in her
+presence, and though she always accepted their _expressed_ views in the
+most courteous manner, one could see she was not imposed upon, and
+that she knew, perfectly well, their real opinions, so great was her
+natural penetration.
+
+I was astonished to find in what veneration the Empress Dowager was
+really held by the Ladies of the Court and her “entourage.” Her
+favorite title, and that by which she has been longest known to the
+courtiers, is, “Lao-Fo-yeh,” the “Old Buddha,” which shows that they
+invest her with sacred qualities. After her return from Hsi-An Fu,
+where the Court went when the allied troops occupied Peking, and where
+the sacred Persons of Her Majesty and the Emperor suffered so many
+hardships and endured them so bravely, the courtiers gave her another,
+a closer and more affectionate appellation, “Lao-Tzu-Tzung” (The Old
+Ancestress). This was the title by which she was called in the Palace,
+by the Emperor, Empress, and Princesses, and by which she allowed me to
+address her.
+
+On our arrival at the Sea Palace, the day of my second visit there,
+after making our bows to Her Majesty, we started, in our chairs, to
+the Hall of the Mongolian Princes. This is a magnificent hall in the
+northeastern part of the park, some distance away from Her Majesty’s
+and the Emperor’s Palaces. It is of one story, as usual, but this
+nearly forty feet high. The interior is spacious, with only a few
+dragon tables and chairs and no ornaments or other furniture. There
+is a raised dais at the back, with several steps leading up to it.
+Upon the dais stood a splendid Throne of archaic design, and over the
+Throne there are two huge tablets of black marble, with inscriptions
+in Chinese and Manchu characters. This great hall is used only for
+receiving the Mongolian Princes on their annual visit to Peking, when
+they come in state, with hundreds of followers and retainers, to pay
+homage and tribute to the Emperor of China. The rear of the hall
+opens on a court surrounded by smaller buildings, which are used as
+waiting-rooms for the retainers and followers of the Princes.
+
+From this hall we were carried in our chairs along the banks of the
+lake, beyond the Marble Bridge to a distant part of the grounds,
+where stands the famous Dragon Wall. Most of the Chinese houses have
+a sort of stone screen opposite the principal gate of entrance. This
+screen, called “A Wall of Respect,” often has some sort of painted or
+carved representation of a dragon, which is supposed to chase away
+evil spirits. This superstition does not seem to obtain as regards
+the residences of the Son of Heaven, for I never saw a dragon wall
+built in front of any of the entrances to the buildings in the Palace
+inclosures. Perhaps the Son of Heaven is immune from the visit of
+demons, or is it that the rampant Double Dragon on everything Imperial
+serves as sufficient protection to the Palace? The Dragon Wall, in the
+Sea Palace, must have formed a part of some of the outside palaces or
+temples which were brought into the sacred inclosure when the Emperor
+Hsien-Feng decided to make it a place of residence and enlarge its
+domain. Many foreigners in Peking can remember when the beautiful
+Marble Bridge, of such noble proportions, of such exquisite design, now
+within the Precincts, was used by the public. However it got there,
+the Dragon Wall is at present within the Palace inclosure, though
+in an unused part of the grounds--not in front of any “residence,”
+and hence not filling its mission as a “Wall of Respect,” to keep
+the wicked spirits from crossing the threshold. This Dragon Wall of
+beautiful white marble is of great beauty, exquisitely carved in its
+minutest details, and fine in general conception and line.
+
+                 [Illustration: CHINESE ARCHITECTURE]
+
+Her Majesty had returned from the Audience when we got back to the
+Palace from our morning promenade. She was now attending to household
+affairs. The eunuchs were bringing up, for her inspection, the baskets
+of splendid fruits, which are daily sent into the Palace. Among others,
+there was a basket of magnificent grapes. She was delighted with their
+beauty, and held up one splendid bunch against the light, before she
+tasted them, remarking that “the beautiful color lent an added zest
+to the delicious fruit.” Her Majesty then lunched, while we joined
+the Empress and Princesses on the verandah, after which we lunched
+again in this beautiful Throne-room. The meals taken with the young
+Empress and Ladies of the Court had now come to be gay reunions. Her
+Majesty would ask us every day to lunch or dine at her table, and I
+rarely took a meal in my own quarters. I had discarded the knife and
+fork and was learning to use the chop-sticks. I thought them such
+graceful implements when wielded by the beautiful hands of the Chinese
+Ladies, that I determined to learn their use. Though I never became
+an adept with them, I found these dainty implements perfectly adapted
+for eating the Chinese food. They are used both in the same hand like
+twin fairy wands, and seemed to me much more delicate and graceful
+than a knife and fork. My efforts at using them, and my desire to try
+all the new dishes, amused and pleased the Ladies. Each would give me
+special tidbits from her favorite dishes; they tried to teach me the
+Chinese names of the viands. My efforts at pronouncing these names,
+or my giving them to the wrong dishes, sometimes raised peals of
+laughter from the whole table. Her Majesty often heard the merriment,
+and would ask us, when we went into her private apartments after the
+meal, what had been the cause; and sometimes she would say, “What has
+‘Kergunia’[4] said?”
+
+[4] My Chinese name.
+
+We had scarcely finished luncheon, on this my second day at the Sea
+Palace, before the chairs were ordered for a promenade. It had begun
+to rain, and the air was chilly; but Her Majesty had made up her mind
+to have a walk at that hour, and nothing ever interfered with her
+plans, in so far as she was able to carry them out. No weather, however
+disagreeable or severe, ever kept her from an outdoor promenade that
+she had planned. The open chairs were brought, as if the day were fine.
+Her Majesty and the Empress took their seats in their yellow chairs.
+Their attendant eunuchs unfurled the huge yellow umbrellas, used only
+for Their Imperial Majesties and the young Empress; the second Empress
+took her orange-colored chair; the Princesses and the rest of us seated
+ourselves in our red chairs, and our eunuchs raised the red umbrellas
+over us. Her Majesty the Empress and Princesses, clothed in the
+brilliant colors daily worn, the eunuchs still wearing their richly
+embroidered gala costumes, the chair-bearers still clad in the festive
+red, the yellow and red chairs with the big yellow, orange, and red
+umbrellas made a quaint procession, bright with color, that started off
+through the courts into the gardens.
+
+Her Majesty loves every phase of nature and every kind of weather;
+but it seemed to me as if she particularly loved rain. She once said
+it lent such a poetic charm to the landscape, bathing it in a soft
+mystery and washing away all defects. Peking is a dry place, and rain
+is a rarity, which probably accounts for this predilection. Her Majesty
+was in great good humor, but her partiality for rain was not shared by
+the other Ladies of the Palace, and these rainy promenades were never
+indulged in by them with any great show of delight. Her Majesty likes
+moving swiftly, and the chair-bearers always run when she leads the
+procession. We sped along for about fifteen minutes, when the chairs
+suddenly stopped. I looked to see for what reason, as we were in the
+open, with no shelter anywhere near, and the rain still falling. I was
+surprised to see Her Majesty was already out of her chair and walking
+off toward a “gourd-arbor” at the side of the paved walk.
+
+The gourd is much esteemed by the Chinese. It is emblematic of
+Fruitfulness and Prosperity, and is a special favorite of Her
+Majesty’s. Those cultivated at the Palace, and known all over China as
+the “Imperial Gourd,” have long been famous; but have reached a greater
+state of perfection than ever before, under the special care and
+training given them during Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s reign.
+They are of one shape only, with a contracted neck and two equal parts
+above and below; but they are of all sizes, from one to twelve inches,
+the one-inch size being as perfect as the larger ones. They are grown
+on trellises, about seven feet high, and the vines are very carefully
+trained, so that each of the much-prized fruit may attain its best
+development and have its proper quota of light and sun.
+
+Her Majesty walked through the mud to the arbor. The white kid
+six-inch-high soles of her shoes sank deep into the soft, rain-soaked
+soil. The eunuchs made vain attempts to protect her from the rain, but
+she went imperturbably on and was soon under the gourd-arbor. Here she
+leisurely tried several of the gourds, to see if they were properly
+ripe; for they must be pulled at a certain time or they do not dry
+well. After looking at and trying a number, she had several gathered
+and went back to her chair. The young Empress and the other Ladies had,
+of course, got out of the chairs when Her Majesty stopped. Luckily, she
+did not ask us to go into the arbor with her; but etiquette obliged
+us to stand on the marble walk, which though not muddy and not so
+disagreeable as the walk to the gourd-arbor, was, however, running with
+water. When Her Majesty took her chair again, we resumed ours, with a
+sigh of relief; for, though we were unprotected even in the chairs, we
+felt the truth of the Oriental saying, “It is better to be sitting than
+standing,” etc.
+
+After another quarter of an hour, the chair-bearers stopped again. We
+had come to another gourd-arbor! Her Majesty got out of her chair
+and examined the gourds in this arbor with the same deliberation and
+interest as she had looked at those where we first stopped. The rain
+was now falling in torrents, but Her Majesty’s spirits seemed to go
+up in proportion to its coming down. The Ladies were again obliged
+to get out of their chairs! They stood in two dejected lines, with
+the eunuchs holding, as best they might, the red umbrellas over
+each, and they vainly tried to keep up an appearance of interest
+and enjoyment. The brave finery of the eunuchs, who may not carry
+umbrellas when on service, was now hanging in limp folds about them,
+and their fine feathers were much bedraggled. The Chinese Ladies had
+their two-inch-high, kid-covered cork soles to protect their feet from
+the water; but mine, in thin kid slippers, were soaking. The picture
+of the dejected Ladies, the rain-soaked eunuchs, was, however, so
+amusing, that I quite forgot my own discomfort and thoroughly enjoyed
+the situation. After another twenty minutes’ run, with the rain still
+falling, Her Majesty gave the word and the procession turned toward the
+Hall of the Mongolian Princes. The great doors were thrown open, and we
+were, at last, under shelter.
+
+A yellow chair was placed for Her Majesty in front of the dais, and she
+had some of the gourds she had gathered brought to her. She selected
+one for herself, gave one to her principal Lady-in-waiting, Sih-Gerga,
+and handed one to the Chief Eunuch Li--the Princess and the Chief
+Eunuch both being proficient in the art of scraping them. A sharpened
+piece of bamboo was brought to Her Majesty and she began to work on
+the gourd she had taken, scraping off the outer skin. She told me to
+stand near and watch her scrape it, as it was a very difficult thing
+to do well! She certainly did it well, and it was most interesting to
+watch her beautiful little hands, as they gracefully moved the piece
+of bamboo back and forth, quickly removing the outer skin, in the most
+approved way. Though apparently thoroughly interested in scraping her
+gourd, she asked me how I had enjoyed my promenade of the day before,
+and what I thought of the Sea Palace. She called my attention to the
+inscriptions on the tablets behind the Throne, saying they were in
+Manchu and Chinese characters, pointing out their difference of form
+and also speaking of the differences in the two languages. She said she
+thought Manchu would be easier for a foreigner to learn than Chinese,
+as Manchu has an alphabet and is constructed more on the lines of a
+European language. Presently Her Majesty turned to speak to some one
+else, and I immediately withdrew, as is the custom at the Palace. We
+went out and joined the Empress and Princesses, who had already retired
+from the Throne-room and were having tea and cigarettes reclining on
+the couches in one of the rooms in the rear. After an hour’s rest in
+the Mongolian Hall, the rain having ceased, we continued our promenade
+through the grounds much more pleasantly than we had begun it, and Her
+Majesty took me for a walk in the Gardens of the Sea Palace, as she had
+promised.
+
+After dinner, we were rowed over the lake to the Gates. Just beyond
+them a company of archers was practising with their bows and arrows;
+for archery is still in vogue in China, and fine marksmanship among the
+archers is rewarded by substantial advancement in the army. Archery is
+also practised as a sport by the young Manchu nobles. It is said to
+educate the eye and materially develop the chest and arms. The Chinese
+pay great attention to position in archery. They stand stiffly erect,
+the chest thrown well forward, the head held high, the bow and arrow
+at rigidly prescribed angles; and if this position be not observed,
+however true the flight of the arrow, it goes for naught. From the
+shelter of my chair, I watched the company’s practice until I heard
+the “Sunset call” resounding through the Palace grounds; echoed and
+reëchoed until it reached the outer gates, which began to move upon
+their huge hinges until they clanged together for the night.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+
+                      RETURN TO THE SUMMER PALACE
+
+The next day the Court returned to the Summer Palace. The festivities
+and sacrifices in connection with the Emperor’s Birthday being now over
+and the Court settled down to its usual routine, I hoped I might be
+allowed to go regularly to work on the portrait, and that Her Majesty
+would allow me to paint when she was not posing. There was much I could
+do between times, and she could pose but for a short time each day. Up
+to that time, Her Majesty had treated me as a guest at Court, whose
+amusement was the most important thing to be looked after. She seemed
+much interested in the work, but my painting was an incident and even
+the “Sacred Picture” a secondary consideration. All these walks, these
+delightful excursions, were perfectly charming, and, had I gone to the
+Palace to enjoy myself, or to study Her Majesty and Chinese manners and
+customs, I would have been perfectly satisfied. I had, in the Empress
+Dowager, a psychological study full of ever varying and constant
+interest. I was living through a unique experience, seeing what I could
+never hope to see again, but I was not allowed to paint on the portrait
+as much as I should have liked. Could I but have had permission to
+work more, I should have been very happy. Had I been able to speak
+Chinese well enough, I felt I would obtain what I desired; she had
+shown herself so uniformly kind. She probably felt I was enjoying
+myself more in this way than working at my painting.
+
+While I thoroughly enjoyed the promenades with Her Majesty, I loved the
+daily sittings. Every portrait painter knows the sort of intimacy that
+establishes itself between him and his sitter, however unsympathetic
+the latter may be at first sight, which was certainly not the case in
+this instance. The effort of the painter to get under the exterior and
+discover the real person of his sitter; the desire to see the best side
+and make the most of it, meets generally with a sympathetic response.
+If the “rapport” is properly established, they get to know each other
+better by the time the portrait is finished than they could otherwise
+have done, perhaps in years. Though I saw Her Majesty so intimately at
+other times, I felt I was not seeing her “face to face” (figuratively
+speaking), except at the sittings.
+
+     [Illustration: ON THE ROAD FROM PEKING TO THE SUMMER PALACE]
+
+The morning after our return to the Summer Palace, my easel was again
+placed in the Throne-room. The portrait was taken down from its
+resting-place and work resumed. Her Majesty gave me a long sitting,
+and the portrait made a step ahead. If I had only had a place to work
+alone, where I might study the picture, when she was not posing, I
+could have made so many improvements! But I was obliged to possess my
+soul in patience, and work along for the short space of an hour or so a
+day and stop the moment Her Majesty felt fatigued, when my brushes and
+palette were whisked away, as if by magic. There was no chance to study
+the portrait or to do anything, except when the Empress Dowager and the
+crowd of attendants were present.
+
+I had taken to the Palace only a small folding easel, which was not
+at all suitable for regular work on so large a portrait, but it was
+impossible to get a better one in Peking. Her Majesty, who observed
+everything, noticed that it was not convenient, and suggested that I
+draw a design for a large easel and give it to the Palace carpenters to
+copy. She thought they would be able to make me one. I did so, and they
+made me a very satisfactory working easel. When the eunuchs found that
+this Palace easel suited me, five others of different sizes were made.
+I asked for what reason, and was told that everything for Her Majesty
+was made in sixes. It would have been establishing a precedent, making
+an innovation, to have fewer than six easels for her portrait.
+
+Her Majesty also ordered some large flat boxes, with lock and key, to
+be made for my materials. These boxes were covered in yellow, for they
+were to be used for the Sacred Picture, and must be in the Imperial
+color. I forgot to say the six easels had all been stained a bright
+yellow! A table, surmounted by one of these yellow boxes, occupied a
+prominent place in the Throne-room during the whole time this portrait
+was being painted. When I finished painting each day, the Chief Eunuch,
+himself, removed the picture from the easel, and a number of others
+came and took my brushes and palette, put away the easel and closed
+the yellow box and locked it. Our head eunuch carried the key to the
+box.
+
+When the afternoon sitting was finished, we went out for another of
+those delightful promenades around the grounds. The days were now
+growing visibly shorter, and the evenings were beginning to be cool. As
+we went through the gardens, Her Majesty stopped at all her favorite
+points and looked for a few moments at the view, as if to greet it
+again, after her absence. She loved the Summer Palace and it always
+seemed a pleasure to her to return to it. We had tea in one of the
+tea-houses where there were tables and seats. She ordered the eunuchs
+to make a sort of blanc-mange of lotus-root flour, which was delicious,
+and, as she said, most wholesome. When the Empress Dowager goes for a
+walk, portable stoves and all the paraphernalia necessary for cooking a
+light repast are taken along. It seemed wonderful to me to see the way
+the Chinese could cook, with apparently so few conveniences. After this
+we had tea. The finest tea in China is sent to the Palace. The first
+leaves of the plantations all over the Great Empire are reserved for
+Their Majesties. Her Majesty, who is a great epicure, has her choice
+of these chosen leaves. She adds to the delicacy of its already fine
+flavor by putting into her tea-cup the blooms of dried honeysuckle,
+the flowers of jasmine, or other fragrant blooms. The honey from these
+flowers slightly sweetens the tea, besides giving it a delicate, subtle
+flavor, quite unique. These dried blooms are brought in a jade bowl,
+with two long cherry sticks, with which Her Majesty takes the flowers
+and places them in her cup, stirring them into the tea with these
+graceful wands. The Chinese never use a teaspoon. Her Majesty drinks
+her tea from a jade cup, which is placed in a curiously fashioned,
+cunningly wrought, open-work, silver saucer. The Chinese take their tea
+boiling hot, and the jade does not get so hot as a porcelain cup.
+
+We continued our walk through the gardens after leaving the tea-house,
+and when we were passing a bed of flowers Her Majesty spied some
+curious grass, which she ordered the eunuchs to gather. When it was
+brought to her she deftly wove several blades of it into a perfectly
+recognizable representation of a rabbit. She did it so quickly I did
+not realize she was trying to make anything until she tossed the
+finished result over to me and asked me what I thought it was. It was
+unmistakable.
+
+When we reached our objective point, one of the highest eminences in
+the grounds, with the whole panorama of the Western Hills spread out
+beneath us, and the setting sun glowing over all in brilliant splendor,
+it was a glorious scene. She called me up to her side and made a
+graceful, sweeping gesture of the hand that said, “This is all mine,
+but you may share it with me.” She had that sense of possession of
+nature’s beauties which all artistic souls feel, for their appreciation
+makes what they view their own. She felt it was hers, because she loved
+it so, and she knew I would appreciate it, which few of her “entourage”
+did, as none of them were such passionate lovers of nature as the
+Empress Dowager, and custom had dulled their perception of the beauty
+of the scene. The exquisite pleasure the contemplation of this glorious
+view gave me, made me tremble with delight. As the day was fading and
+as I was thinly clad, Her Majesty thought I was cold, and, seeing I had
+no wrap, she called to the Chief Eunuch to bring me one of hers. He
+selected one from the number that were always brought along for these
+promenades, and gave it to Her Majesty, who threw it over my shoulders.
+She asked me to keep it and to try to remember to take better care of
+myself in the future.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XIII
+
+              THE STEAM-LAUNCH--SEMI-ANNUAL SACRIFICES TO
+                               CONFUCIUS
+
+We began now to go out on the lake in the steam-launches, instead of
+the picturesque Imperial barge. The Empress Dowager is artistic and
+conservative enough to like the old-fashioned barge; but she is also
+intelligent enough to appreciate the advantages of other modes of
+locomotion, and has no prejudices; in fact, she rather likes trying
+new things. When the days were long, the air soft, and the bosom of
+the lake engirdled with its chain of blooming lotus, she preferred the
+barge; but when the shorter and cooler days came, when the lotus were
+no longer in bloom, she ordered the steam-launch for our promenades.
+She seemed now to like its swift and noisy progress as much as she had
+before enjoyed the softly gliding motion of the barge. Her Throne on
+the launch was on the prow, just outside and above the cabin, where the
+Princesses and Ladies sat. Her Majesty always wanted the fresh air and
+the view, and never went inside. The young Empress and the Ladies sat
+within the luxuriously fitted up cabin with its lounges and tables.
+
+The first day we went out in the launch the engineer seemed not to
+have it quite under control, and we soon ran aground in a field of
+water-plants near the island. There was great consternation among
+the eunuchs when it was found the launch could not advance, even by
+putting on full steam. The engineer didn’t seem to know what to do. Her
+Majesty ordered the engines reversed, and this was tried, but it was
+some time before the launch moved. The Princesses and eunuchs became
+quite excited, but Her Majesty was perfectly unconcerned, and laughed
+at their fears for her safety. She said it would be no great matter for
+her to walk over to the island. It would only mean one pair of shoes
+the less! When the launch finally moved, the Chief Eunuch, not wishing
+to run the risk of another mishap, wanted to give word to the engineer
+to return; but Her Majesty would not hear of this, and insisted upon
+completing the excursion as she had at first planned it. We had several
+other mishaps, and the launch finally ran aground; and no effort of the
+engineers, no putting on of extra steam, was able to get us off again.
+Her Majesty kept her good humor, ordered her barge brought alongside,
+and we were all “transshipped.” We finished our tour on the lake as
+she had planned it, but in the barge instead of the launch. She is too
+intelligent not to use any means at hand to attain her ends, and she
+is intelligent enough to see that these ends can be attained, by some
+means or other, before she fixes upon them.
+
+The Emperor of China, with the usual Chinese tolerance,--and the
+Chinese are the most tolerant people in the world as to religious
+faith,--is not only the head of one church, but of all the churches
+in China. He is, as Emperor, the Great High Priest of Heaven, the High
+Priest of Buddhism and Taoism, and is, of course, a Confucian; though
+this is a philosophy rather than a religion. But though a philosophy,
+there are certain rites and ceremonies observed by the Confucians.
+All the great ceremonies of the different cults are celebrated in the
+Palace temples with rigid impartiality and equal pomp. Whatever may be
+the individual leanings of the Emperor, and, of course, he must have
+his own preferences, he participates in each of these celebrations. But
+his official, public exercise of religion, is limited to the worship
+of Heaven and Earth, to which he makes annual public sacrifices in the
+Great Temple of Heaven at Peking.
+
+The afternoon of our first steam-launch excursion, finished in Her
+Majesty’s barge, there was a splendid ceremony in the chapel at
+the foot of the hill crowned with the Temple of the Ten Thousand
+Buddhas, to the memory of Confucius, the great Sage, whose philosophy
+has directed the lives and laws of the Chinese people for nearly
+twenty-five hundred years. Though a philosopher like Plato, he is
+appreciated and his teachings followed by the masses, as well as
+the classes, in China. He is not a religious leader but an ethical
+teacher, and though many temples have been erected to his memory, they
+are like Halls of Science and not temples to a divinity. There are no
+images either of Confucius or the Sages in these temples. They are
+classic halls, bare of all church-like ornamentation. Quotations from
+the “analects,” painted on scrolls, cut into wood, and carved out of
+stone, adorn the walls, not only of the interiors of the temples, but
+of the courts and verandahs of the buildings. At the place where the
+altar would be in a temple, there is a plain niche, painted in red
+with a tablet bearing an inscription in gold, “The Seat of the Perfect
+One.” On either side are similar niches, containing the tablets of four
+other great Sages, among whom was Mencius. These semi-annual sacrifices
+are in commemoration of Confucius as an ethical teacher, a wise
+philosopher, a Sage. At this service in the Palace, the participants
+and celebrants were all in full Court dress. There was an address to
+the memory of the great Sage, with music and hymns; the latter were
+rhythmic verses, containing some truth inculcated by the Sage. There
+was an altar with a dragon table in front for offerings. There were
+sacrifices, incense, and music. The altar was rich with splendid vases,
+rare old bronze bowls, and incense-burners, and sweet with flowers
+and fruit. On the dragon table, which stood in front, were offerings
+of millet, meat, and wine. Tall cressets of open iron-work containing
+huge, burning pine-knots were placed in front of the raised platform,
+on which stood the altar, which was beautifully illuminated with tall
+candles in square, silver candelabra. The court in front of this
+temple, as well as the surrounding buildings, were hung with charming
+painted lanterns.
+
+Their Majesties, with the Empress and Ladies, preceded and surrounded
+by eunuchs and officials, in full Court dress, went in ceremonious
+procession through the verandahed corridors, from Her Majesty’s
+Throne-room to the temple. Their approach was accompanied by the slow
+beating of drums. When they reached the temple, three yellow cushions
+were placed on the paved floor for Their Majesties and the Empress, and
+red cushions for the Ladies. The music was played in rhythmic strains,
+while Their Majesties knelt and prostrated themselves three times; the
+Empress and Ladies doing likewise. The officials and other participants
+knelt outside in the court. When the prostrations were finished, a
+yellow chair was brought for the Empress Dowager. She sat during the
+rest of the service, but the Emperor, the Empress, and Ladies remained
+standing during the whole celebration. This consisted of a number of
+genuflexions and prostrations by the celebrants, and a moving about
+of the offerings on the dragon table in a ceremonious and reverent
+manner. The chief officiant read the address from a long scroll. After
+finishing it, he placed it on a casket on the altar. The first part
+of the ceremony took place inside the temple, then the celebrants
+went out into the court and intoned the six hymns and made renewed
+prostrations. I was not able to understand enough of the hymns, or to
+get them sufficiently translated to make out their meaning. They were
+all of uniform length. They were in praise of Confucius and were called
+“Odes to Peace.” When all the verses were intoned, the scroll with the
+address, some of each of the offerings, were placed in the huge iron
+incense-burner, that stood in the center of the outer court, and set on
+fire by the chief celebrant, while one of the several flagons of wine
+that had made part of the offerings was poured over the blaze.
+
+I had not expected to enter the temple with Their Majesties and the
+Ladies, but when we reached the door, the Empress drew me in with her.
+They seemed to realize that I enjoyed seeing these celebrations and to
+perfectly understand my not taking any active part in them. I always
+remained standing, but I listened reverently to the intoning of the
+hymns and the reading of the address. I conducted myself as I would at
+any religious ceremony, and they seemed to appreciate it.
+
+When all was finished, Her Majesty told me to go up to the altar and
+examine the rare, old, bronze ornaments, the candelabra, etc. They
+explained to me that the address, which had been read, was burned,
+as it had filled its mission when it was read; that the ashes of a
+literary essay were a most fitting offering to the memory of Confucius,
+the great philosopher. When all was over, Their Majesties ordered the
+boats to come to the foot of the terrace, where the last part of the
+celebration had been made, and we returned to the Palace by way of the
+lake.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+
+                          THE PALACE EUNUCHS
+
+The internal affairs of the Palace are managed by eunuchs, among
+whom there are all grades, all sorts and conditions. Some are clever
+literati given to study; some have the polished, insinuating manners
+of the courtier; some have a Mandarin rank of high degree; some are
+menials. There are actors and singers, cooks and gardeners, teachers
+and pupils, writers and readers. They occupy all sorts of positions,
+from Their Majesties’ body-guard to gate-keepers. In this hierarchy,
+Their Majesties’ Chief Eunuchs held the first place. Under each of
+these there are six eunuchs of high rank, all exceptionally clever, who
+have raised themselves to the positions they occupy in the Palace by
+their own efforts or by some special qualification.
+
+Each of the hundreds of pavilions and palaces in the inclosures has a
+corps of eunuchs, presided over by a head eunuch. These act as guards
+to the premises, as well as servants, and keep things in readiness
+for a visit from Their Majesties. There is a head eunuch who directs
+the large corps of Palace gardeners; another who presides over the
+dozens of cooks in the Imperial kitchen; one is at the head of each
+of the departments, and each of these head eunuchs, chiefs of the
+different departments, is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Eunuch,
+for Her Majesty’s Chief Eunuch may be called the real Chief Eunuch
+of the Palace. He is not only older than the Emperor’s Chief Eunuch,
+but is more capable. The two Chief Eunuchs, from their position near
+the sacred persons of Their Majesties, have unusual power. They may
+make or mar the career of the eunuchs beneath them; and they not only
+have this power inside the Palace, but from their exceptionally fine
+opportunities to present petitions, to speak for or against certain
+people, they also have a great deal of power with people outside the
+Palace. Her Majesty’s Chief Eunuch has almost the power in Peking,
+among officials and courtiers, that “Son Eminence Grise” had at the
+Court of Louis XIII of France. He is courted and fawned upon, receives
+magnificent presents, and nobles of high degree wait upon his pleasure;
+but while he occupies this high position with outsiders, in the Palace
+I saw no evidence of his having any unusual power with Her Majesty,
+beyond that of one who has been in the life-long service of his master
+and who has the privileges resulting therefrom.
+
+The peculiar position of a Chinese Emperor, which shuts him in his
+Palace like a Buddha in a temple, makes some sort of confidential
+private messenger an absolute necessity. There is much business of an
+unofficial kind, which must be transacted in a private way. The Chief
+Eunuchs are naturally called upon in such cases. When the Ruler of
+the Celestial Empire is a woman, the Palace becomes more of a gilded
+prison, a shut-in shrine, than even in the case of an Emperor. She
+cannot see officials, or even members of the Imperial clan, except in
+the Audience Halls. Thus a Chief Eunuch under an Empress would have
+even greater power than under an Emperor; and in this instance, Her
+Majesty’s Chief Eunuch, Li Lien Ying, is really of exceptional ability!
+
+In person he is tall and thin. His head is, in type, like Savonarola’s.
+He has a Roman nose, a massive lean jaw, a protruding lower lip, and
+very shrewd eyes, full of intelligence, that shine out of sunken
+orbits. His face is much wrinkled and his skin like old parchment.
+Though only sixty years old, he looks seventy-five, and is the oldest
+eunuch in the Palace. He has been there since the age of ten. He has
+elegant, insinuating manners, speaks excellent Chinese--having a fine
+enunciation, a good choice of words, and a low, pleasant voice. If one
+may judge from appearances, he possesses ability in a marked degree.
+Of His Majesty’s Chief Eunuch I can say nothing. I only saw him on the
+days of the Theater, or some festival, when His Majesty passed the day
+with the Empress Dowager and the Ladies, when he was always accompanied
+by his suite.
+
+Her Majesty’s second eunuch, Sui, who is of equal rank with Li Lien
+Ying, is as unlike him as two people could possibly be, both as to
+person, character, mental and moral nature. This one has none of
+the qualities of the intriguer--no Machiavellian schemes would be
+forwarded by him. He is almost a giant in size, tall and heavy. He is
+forty-six years old, and has a round, full face, without a line--a
+typical Chinese face, as we know it from pictures, benevolent and
+kind. He, also, is a good Chinese scholar, and, of course, speaks it
+elegantly. Her Majesty will have no one around her person who does
+not speak it well. If it be true that Her Majesty, in choosing her
+ministers, tries to have them the opposites of each other, so that she
+may thus hear the different sides of a question and arrive at more just
+conclusions, her two Chief Eunuchs seem to have been chosen in the same
+way.
+
+There is a eunuch appointed to administer the punishment, ordered by
+Their Majesties for the eunuchs around their persons. For the higher
+eunuchs, this is generally the deprivation of a certain amount of their
+annual wages, or the loss of their buttons, for the buttons on the hats
+of Chinese denote their rank, and to be deprived of a button, or to
+have one of lower rank given, is considered a disgrace. I once saw Her
+Majesty very angry over the failure to carry out one of her orders, by
+two of the high eunuchs, and she ordered them to be deprived of two
+months’ pay. The head eunuchs of the different departments administer
+whatever punishment they see fit, to those over whom they are placed.
+This punishment is generally corporal. Sometimes they abuse their
+authority and are very cruel in administering this, but, as a rule,
+the eunuchs seem to be of a mild and peace-loving nature, rather than
+cruel and vindictive--inclined to condone the faults of their inferiors
+rather than punish them to the full extent of their authority. There
+seemed to be a feeling of “esprit de corps” among them--a spirit of
+mutual helpfulness.
+
+Each of the higher eunuchs has a number of pupils among the lower
+grades, who call him “Master,” and whom he trains in manners and
+teaches his own specialties. The higher eunuchs seemed to take the
+liveliest interest in the good conduct, and literary, or other,
+advancement of these pupils, and they push their interests with Their
+Majesties in every way possible--each one, of course, trying to advance
+his pupils beyond those of some other eunuch.
+
+Her Majesty has a great horror of opium smoking. If a eunuch, however
+high his position, indulged in it, the severest punishments she ever
+ordered were administered. They were not only deprived of so many
+months’ pay and loss of their buttons, but were sometimes banished
+from the Palace for a certain length of time, and even severe corporal
+punishment would be ordered. These stringent measures did not prevent
+some of them, however, from indulging surreptitiously in the narcotic,
+but they took the most extreme precautions to prevent its being found
+out. Her Majesty has unusually acute olfactories, especially for opium.
+This, it seems, can be detected by its odor, which hangs around the
+clothes, and, like the odor of the rose, one “can break the vase, it
+lingers there still.” But it seems the eunuchs have special linen
+clothes, which they put on for smoking, and these are given to be
+washed, immediately the fascinating pipe is finished. Unless one is an
+habitual smoker, the drug has very little outward effect and, except by
+the odor, it cannot be detected.
+
+The eunuchs are very fond of all sorts of pets, and have in their
+quarters dogs without number, cats and birds. While the younger eunuchs
+generally depend for their advancement upon their teachers, who report
+favorably on them to Their Majesties, they sometimes attract the
+attention of Their Majesties, and may be raised out of their places by
+Imperial favor. Among the eunuchs assigned to my service in the Palace,
+was one who was fortunate enough to attract the Emperor’s notice. His
+Majesty had happened to notice him, carrying my wraps on one of the
+promenades with Her Majesty. He liked his face and manners and took
+him into his own service. The eunuch had a “button” bestowed on him
+and promised to mount very fast in grade. This eunuch had been in the
+Palace about fifteen years; and had His Majesty not happened to notice
+him, he might have lived and died in oblivion, and never had a button,
+for his “master” was dead and he had no protector to push his interests!
+
+When one realizes that the Palaces of the Chinese Emperor are like
+towns, that their affairs are administered principally by the eunuchs,
+one can see there must be a good deal of intelligence among them, as
+well as great opportunities to add to their personal wealth.
+
+I heard, before I went into the Palace, of the great power and
+unscrupulousness of the Chief Eunuchs; that it would be necessary to be
+very conciliatory toward them and make them many handsome presents. I
+did not find it so. I never made an effort to conciliate any of them,
+nor gave any handsome presents, and I found them all respectful, and I
+had every consideration shown me by them, and found them, on the whole,
+pleasant enough to deal with. Some of them were clever and interesting
+even, and they all had very good manners. In fact, I cannot too highly
+praise the manners of the Chinese, as a race. I quite concur in the
+opinion of a clever Frenchman, who said of China, “Aujourd’hui c’est là
+où les bonnes manières se sont refugiées.”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XV
+
+            THE LITERARY TASTES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE
+                            EMPRESS DOWAGER
+
+When Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was Empress of the Western Palace,
+Co-Regent with the Empress of the Eastern Palace, who died in 1881,
+the Empress of the Eastern Palace was known as the “Literary Empress.”
+All State affairs were left to the stronger executive ability of the
+Empress of the Western Palace; while she of the Eastern Palace gave
+herself up to literary pursuits and led the life of a student. She was
+a woman of such fine literary ability that she, herself, sometimes
+examined the essays of the aspirants for the highest literary honors in
+the University of Peking. She was also a writer of distinction.
+
+During the long Co-Regency of these two remarkable women, widows of
+the Emperor Hsien-Feng, one led the life of a student; the other, the
+active, militant life of the ruler. For the present Empress Dowager
+has been the real ruler of the great Chinese Empire for the last
+forty-five years. Had the Empress of the Eastern Palace not been such
+an exceptional light as a literary woman and had not Her Majesty,
+Tze-Hsi, possessed so many other and more remarkable qualities, the
+latter’s name might also go down to history as a “literary Empress,”
+for the Empress Dowager has literary qualities of no mean kind. She
+writes a graceful poem, is able to express herself in elegant Chinese,
+as well as in the ruder, more forcible Manchu language. She can
+write in literary style, fine idiomatic Chinese, and this is a rare
+accomplishment for a woman. The written Chinese language is quite
+different from that spoken by even the most cultivated. Imagery and
+figure abound to such a degree, literary form is so important, that
+many fine scholars are unable to write the language acceptably, except
+for practical purposes. Aside from Her Majesty’s literary acquirements,
+she has an enlightened taste, is a great reader of the classics, and
+a fine critic. She also loves poems of heroic adventure. One of her
+favorite historical characters is the Chinese Jeanne d’Arc, the warlike
+Maiden, Whar-Mou-Lahn, who went forth to battle in masculine guise, had
+many heroic adventures in her twelve years’ service, and, through them
+all, remained a virgin pure.
+
+The Empress Dowager has a wonderful verbal memory. Memory, so highly
+esteemed by the Chinese, is most carefully cultivated, and is generally
+better developed with them than with us. Her Majesty’s memory is,
+however, considered exceptional, even among the Chinese. She can repeat
+pages, not only of the classics, but of her favorite authors. One of
+the widows of her son (the Emperor Tung-Chih), who came regularly every
+week to pay her respects to Her Majesty, is a very clever woman and a
+great favorite of her august mother-in-law. This lady also possesses
+a remarkable memory. On her visits to the Palace I used to hear Her
+Majesty and this Empress quoting from some of their favorite classics
+or poems. The quotations would pass from one to another, sometimes
+for a half-hour without stopping, and, at times, they would repeat in
+concert some favorite phrase. I will never forget how they looked: Her
+Majesty sitting at her Throne-table with her flowers or some light
+occupation, her daughter-in-law standing beside her, each of their
+faces lighted up with pleasure as they repeated line after line.
+
+When the Empress Dowager went to her own apartments for her “siesta,”
+her reader would come bringing volumes of her favorite authors. Some
+days I could hear his voice rising and falling in regular cadence
+during the whole time she was resting in her apartments. When she was
+particularly interested in what had been read to her she would have the
+book taken out when she went for her daily promenade and would sit and
+read as she was carried along in her open chair, or was rowed along on
+the barge. This did not often happen, however, for she took such keen
+delight in all its manifestations, she preferred to read in Nature’s
+book when out-of-doors.
+
+She is a great lover of the theater and prefers the classic, the old
+plays, to the modern Chinese drama. She had one new play staged, while
+I was in the Palace, with which she seemed to be much pleased. She
+studied the play for several days before it was given for the first
+time, and, at the first representation, she followed every line with
+intense interest. She sent her eunuchs several times to the stage
+to suggest changes in the rendering of certain parts and in the
+interpretation of certain lines. The Theater generally begins with
+a short play, which is often a light farce. She seemed sometimes to
+enjoy these very much and would laugh heartily at the good hits, which
+were often original additions by the actors, allusions to some passing
+event. Contrary to my preconceived idea as to the Chinese, they are
+witty and appreciate humor in others. The Empress Dowager has a fine
+sense of humor. She not only sees the point of a joke, but she can turn
+one very cleverly herself.
+
+She is very particular about the way Chinese is spoken, a great
+stickler for purity of expression and elegance of style. There are as
+many dialects in China as there are Provinces in the Great Empire;
+and although the literati and gentry speak, what is called Mandarin
+Chinese, some of the most highly educated of the literati from the
+Provinces speak it with an accent. Her Majesty, who has a musical ear
+and great discernment as to sounds, gets very impatient when listening
+to Chinese spoken with an accent. It is said, other things being
+not quite equal, she will give the preference, in an appointment,
+to an official who speaks perfect Chinese and who has a good voice,
+especially if his office brings him often into the Presence. However,
+particular as she is, bad Chinese in a man of merit is not a bar to
+advancement, for Li-Hung-Chang, whom she appreciated so highly, and to
+whom she gave such preferment, is said to have spoken very indifferent
+Chinese.
+
+Whether it be, that Her Majesty’s musical and exquisitely modulated
+voice, so fresh and silvery, so youthful, adds to the charm of her
+Chinese, when she speaks it, it sounds like beautiful rhythmic poetry.
+She speaks it so graphically, with such expression and graceful
+gestures, that it charms one even who does not understand the language.
+
+One day when she was out for a walk, one of the directors of the
+gardeners was brought up to explain something to her, some change in
+the laying out of new flower beds. She listened a few moments, but
+I saw her frown and begin to look impatient. After a few more words
+from the poor man, who was evidently overcome by timidity and probably
+speaking worse Chinese than usual, Her Majesty turned to the Chief
+Eunuch and said, “Let him tell you and you can translate to me; I can’t
+stand any more of that language,” and she walked away, still frowning.
+
+Another day, I heard the Empress Dowager tell one of the Ladies at
+Court (her daughter-in-law), who was also a great purist in the matter
+of language, about her own Chinese having been misunderstood by one
+of the eunuchs. There are many Chinese words almost exactly alike in
+sound, which are only differentiated by the inflection or tone. Thus
+there must be great accuracy of enunciation, and there must also be
+great accuracy of ear. Her Majesty had given an order to one of the
+eunuchs. The stupid fellow had misunderstood the inflection and had
+done the exact opposite. She was so amused and astonished, when she
+found that _her_ tone had been misunderstood, that she did not reprove
+him for his stupidity.
+
+One day, she corrected one of the Princesses for the pronunciation of
+a word, and she said (in an aside) it was not strange this Princess
+did not speak better, for her father’s Chinese was “execrable,” thus
+showing that even Princes do not always speak the language correctly.
+
+One of the most precious gifts the Empress Dowager makes, and which is
+sacredly treasured by its recipients, is a scroll with a single great
+character written upon it by Her Majesty’s own hand. This is considered
+one of the most difficult feats of a Chinese writer. These characters
+are sometimes four feet long. One day we were invited to go into the
+Throne-room to see Her Majesty make some of these characters. When
+I went into the Great Hall, Her Majesty and the Ladies were already
+there. She was stirring a great bowl of India ink, for she is very
+particular as to its consistency and fluidity. When the ink suited
+her, she took from a eunuch standing near, who held a number, a huge
+short-handled brush, which she could hardly clasp in her small hand.
+She tried two or three, before she found one that pleased her, and,
+turning to me, said, “You see I also have my choice in brushes.” I
+asked Lady Yu-Keng to tell her that I thought her large brushes were
+more suitable for my hands and that my smaller ones would have been
+more appropriate for her. She laughingly replied she preferred the
+Chinese brush, and that her hands, small as they were, were able to
+wield it very satisfactorily, which was no vain boast.
+
+When all was ready, and the huge scroll spread out before her on a
+table, she dipped her brush into the bowl of ink, held by the eunuch,
+and began the first stroke of one of these famous characters, in which
+she is said to equal the most proficient writers in China. I was amazed
+to see the firmness of her wrist and the beautiful clearness of her
+stroke, which deviated not a hair’s breadth from the line she wished
+to follow. She made six great characters on six of the scrolls. These
+characters meant “Peace,” “Prosperity,” “Longevity,” etc. When she had
+finished these, she said she feared her hand had no longer the firmness
+necessary for doing another.
+
+While she was writing, the young Empress, the Princesses, and the
+eunuchs stood around, watching her with intense interest. They seemed
+to take great pride in her firmness of touch and her accuracy of line.
+
+The Chinese written character must be made in a certain way. It must
+begin at a given part. The strokes must follow a given direction. The
+transversal strokes must be placed with mathematical precision. Nothing
+is left to the caprice or individuality of the writer. Any one, knowing
+the Chinese written characters, can tell you whether these complicated
+hieroglyphs were begun at the proper place or made in the proper way.
+They may look perfectly correct to the uninitiated observer who has a
+most accurate eye, and still not be so considered by the connoisseur.
+
+    [Illustration: THE EMPRESS DOWAGER WRITING A “GREAT CHARACTER”]
+
+The firmness of Her Majesty’s touch is also very apparent in her
+painting, for she is very artistic, and paints flowers in a charming
+way; in fact, she is remarkably clever with her fingers. She does not
+embroider now, as she formerly did, nor does she paint so much, for she
+says her eyes are not so good as they were, though she does not and has
+never worn glasses. There are a great number of artificial flowers
+made in the Palace, as no Manchu lady’s coiffure is considered complete
+without flowers. Her Majesty is very particular about the way these
+flowers are made, and when they were brought to her for inspection,
+with a deft touch she would give a defective flower the required form.
+
+She often makes new designs for the flowers, having them woven into
+quaint figures, or having a number of small blooms made into a
+representation of some large flower. She sometimes had her diadem made
+of the snowy blooms of the fragrant jasmine, set with leaves and other
+small flowers, representing jewels, and she would wear this instead of
+her real jewels.
+
+She is a great believer in one of the rules that Confucius lays down
+for the attainment of “Illustrious Virtue”; she “cultivates her
+person.” She is always immaculately neat. She designs her own dresses,
+and has her jewels set according to her own directions. She is very
+artistic in the arrangement of her flowers and jewels, and sees that
+they harmonize with her toilet. She has excellent taste in the choice
+of colors, and I never saw her with an unbecoming color on, except the
+Imperial yellow. This was not becoming, but she was obliged to wear it
+on all official occasions. She used to modify it, as much as possible,
+by the trimmings, and would sometimes have it so heavily embroidered
+that the original color was hardly visible.
+
+She is a great epicure, and often designs new and dainty dishes. She
+has perfumes and soaps for her own use, made in the Palace. Although
+there are quantities of French and German soaps and perfumes bought for
+the Palace, she prefers an almond paste that she has made and often
+uses the soap made in the Palace. The maids would make these under her
+supervision. I have frequently seen them bring the mortar in which they
+were stirring it to Her Majesty, that she might see its progress, and
+she would energetically stir it herself. She is also a great lover of
+perfumes, and herself combines the oils of different flowers so as to
+produce most subtle and delightful perfumes. The Chinese say “colors,
+odors, and perfumes are good for the soul.” The Empress Dowager’s soul
+was certainly well cared for in this respect.
+
+The Chinese are so near to nature, so simple in every way, that their
+influence over animals and birds is extraordinary, and seems to us
+almost magical. They are very fond of all animals, and especially so
+of birds. They train and teach these latter in wonderful ways. I have
+often seen a Chinese go near a singing bird’s cage and tell it to sing,
+and it would pour forth its little heart in melody. Birds never seem
+to have any fear of them. In the afternoons, in early spring, or on a
+fine day in winter, one may see hundreds of well-dressed and dignified
+men each carrying a covered bird cage, taking the birds out for the
+air. When they arrive at some open space in the city, or beautiful
+spot in the environs, they uncover the cages and hold them aloft, or
+simply sit with them on their knees, and the bird will sing as if its
+little throat would burst. They have absolutely no fear, and, though
+caged, seem to have a perfect understanding with their owners and obey
+their voices. They are often let out of the cages when taken out for
+exercise, but they will return to them at the call of their owners; and
+these birds are not hatched in cages--they are taken from the forests
+and trained.
+
+Two of the religious precepts of the Chinese--“Hurt no living thing,”
+“Protect all living things”--are carried so far, they will allow an
+animal to live in misery rather than put him out of it by a speedy
+death. They love all animals and fear none. They say if you do not
+attack an animal, however dangerous he is, he will not harm you.
+
+The Empress Dowager seemed also to possess this almost magical power
+over animals. Her dogs never paid the slightest attention but to her
+voice, and would obey her slightest gesture; but, fond as she was of
+them, she rarely caressed them; and she was so particular about her
+hands that, when she did stroke or fondle one of her pets, she would
+immediately after have a cloth wrung out of hot water brought to wipe
+her fingers. I never saw a dog in her arms but once, and this was a
+puppy which she took a fancy to when visiting her kennels one day, and
+she brought him back to the Throne-room in her arms and played with him
+for some time.
+
+On one of our promenades in the park I saw a curious instance of her
+wonderful personal magnetism and her power over animals. A bird had
+escaped from its cage, and some eunuchs were making efforts to catch
+it, when Her Majesty and suite came into that part of the grounds.
+The eunuchs had found it impossible to entice the bird back into its
+cage; nor would it come upon a long stick with a perch attached, which
+they held up near the tree where it rested. The eunuchs scattered at
+the approach of Her Majesty, and she inquired the cause of their being
+here. The Chief Eunuch explained what they were doing, and the Empress
+Dowager said, “I will call it down.” I thought this was a vain boast,
+and in my heart I pitied her. She was so accustomed to have the whole
+world bow to her, she fancied even a bird in the grounds would obey her
+mandates, and I watched to see how she would take her defeat. She had
+a long, wand-like stick, which had been cut from a sapling and freshly
+stripped of its bark. She loved the faint forest odor of these freshly
+cut sticks, and in the spring often had one when she went out. They
+were long and slender, with a crook at the top. I used to think she
+looked like the pictures of fairies when she walked with these long,
+white wands. She would use them for pointing out a flower she wished
+the eunuchs to gather, or for tracing designs on the gravel when she
+sat down. To-day she held the wand she carried aloft and made a low,
+bird-like sound with her lips, never taking her eyes off the bird. She
+had the most musical of voices, and its flute-like sound seemed like
+a magical magnet to the bird. He fluttered and began to descend from
+bough to bough until he lighted upon the crook of her wand, when she
+gently moved her other hand up nearer and nearer, until it finally
+rested on her finger!
+
+    [Illustration: THE EMPRESS DOWAGER IN THE GARDENS OF THE SUMMER
+                        PALACE--CALLING A BIRD]
+
+I had been watching with breathless attention, and so tense and
+absorbed had I become that the sudden cessation, when the bird finally
+came upon her finger, caused me a throb of almost pain. No one else,
+however, of her entourage seemed to think this anything extraordinary.
+After a few moments she handed the bird to one of the eunuchs, and we
+continued on our promenade.
+
+I saw another instance of her magnetic power, this time with a katydid.
+One of the Princesses, seeing one on a bush, tried to catch it, but in
+vain. Her Majesty held out her hand toward the beautiful insect, made a
+peculiar sound like their own cry, and advanced her outstretched finger
+until it rested upon it. She stroked it gently for a few moments, and
+then removed her fingers, and the katydid made no effort to fly until
+she put it down!
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+
+                THE GREAT AUDIENCE HALL--SOME OFFICIAL
+                                CUSTOMS
+
+When His Majesty the Emperor reigned alone, he was in the habit of
+holding his Audiences as early as three o’clock A.M. It is said,
+however, that this custom was owing as much to his personal shyness as
+to his love of early rising, for at these Audiences he would allow but
+two candles on the Throne-table in front of him, and the Great Hall
+was lighted elsewhere only by the beautiful Chinese lanterns, which
+shine with but a dim brilliancy and are not very effective as lights.
+Thus his face could not be seen if an official should so forget the
+Proprieties as to raise his eyes to the Imperial Person.
+
+Their Majesties’ Audiences are held in the Great Audience Hall, a
+detached building apart and quite distinct from all the other buildings
+of the Palace inclosure. The inscription over its great doors points
+out that it is the “Hall where Industry is to be applied to State
+Affairs.” In all the Palaces the Audience Hall is nearest the outside
+walls and entrances, so that the officials who are privileged to
+have Audiences must only pass through the outer courts to reach the
+hall--Their Majesties’ Palaces with their private apartments being at
+some distance beyond. At the Winter Palace, where there are so many
+walls within walls, each of Their Majesties’ Palaces is surrounded with
+walls, and the Audience Hall is also in a walled-in inclosure near one
+of the Great Gates, but at the Summer Palace there are no walls except
+the exterior ones!
+
+The interior of the Audience Hall, at the Summer Palace, is not by
+any means bare or austere. It is furnished in the same style as the
+Throne-rooms, with splendid ornaments, curios, tea-tables and chairs,
+and, curious anachronism, there are here three pianos! The walls are
+hung with ornamental scrolls, as well as with those bearing some
+gigantic character traced by an Emperor’s hand or some condensed bit of
+philosophy of the Sages. One of these scrolls has an admonition to the
+Emperor to remember that “he is responsible to Heaven for the happiness
+and prosperity of his people.”
+
+There is a great dais in the center of the hall, on which stands
+the Throne, with its table, behind which is the three-, five-, or
+seven-leaved screen. The ancient dais was lower than those now used,
+and the antique Throne, with its capacious size and cushions, was more
+like a lounge than the modern Throne. This seems to indicate that the
+administration of justice by the Emperor was in ancient times less
+formal and more patriarchal than to-day. In former times the Emperor
+could lounge upon his Throne at his ease when seeing his Ministers, and
+they could approach nearer the Sacred Person, as the dais was not so
+large nor so high as that in use to-day.
+
+Heads of departments and Princes with honorary official positions
+have Audiences on certain days of the month, to report upon affairs of
+their Boards or to pay their respects to His Majesty. Every day Their
+Majesties hold Audience and see the Prime Minister and Grand Secretary,
+and there are frequent meetings of the Grand Council. The Prime
+Minister, Prince Ching, has the last Audience of the day, and business
+reported on during the other Audiences is then discussed.
+
+All telegrams and despatches go to their respective Boards, and are,
+except in cases of extreme gravity, only reported to Their Majesties
+at the Audiences. After eleven all State business is supposed to be
+finished by Their Majesties. They are then free from State worries
+and cares until the following day. During the times of the rebellion
+in the Province of Kwang-Si, when the Russian evacuation of Manchuria
+was expected, and at the time of outbreak of hostilities in Manchuria
+(the three grave events occurring during my stay in the Palace),
+telegrams and despatches were constantly being sent to Her Majesty out
+of Audience hours. They were brought to her Throne-room, and sometimes
+even during her walks in the gardens they would be handed her. These
+despatches were sent over to the Palace from the Wai-Wu-Pu on their
+arrival. Of course, it was by Her Majesty’s express command that her
+privacy was thus infringed upon. No official would otherwise have
+dared transgress the prescribed rules. The despatches were received
+at the entrance of the Palace by the eunuch whose province it was. He
+placed them in the yellow-covered, silken-lined box, in which they were
+presented to Her Majesty on bended knees.
+
+In front of the Throne dais, during the hours of Audience, there are
+five cushions placed on the floor for the members of the Grand Council
+to kneel upon when they are memorializing Their Majesties. The Prime
+Minister’s cushion is nearest the Throne. A cushion to kneel upon
+is a privilege only granted members of the Grand Council. Any other
+official, when making communications to Their Majesties, must kneel
+upon the bare marble floor, and must kneel beyond the space occupied by
+these five cushions. He is thus placed at a disadvantage. The distance
+at which he is from Their Majesties may prevent his hearing some of
+their words, especially the Emperor’s, whose voice is very low and
+without any carrying quality. The official may overcome this difficulty
+and shorten the distance by paying the eunuch who conducts him to the
+Audience Hall, to remove some of the cushions, so that he may kneel
+nearer the dais. The Prime Minister’s and Grand Secretary’s cushions
+may on no condition be removed, but the other three are subject to the
+will of the introducing eunuch. If this latter be sufficiently paid,
+and there is a fixed price for each cushion, he will remove the three
+of the lower members of the Cabinet.
+
+When the official who has been granted an Audience is conducted to
+the Audience Hall by the eunuch appointed for the purpose, the latter
+throws open the great doors, falls upon his knees at the threshold,
+and announces the name and position of the official, gives the hour
+and minute of his arrival at the Palace, and, before he rises, he has
+deftly removed the cushions for which he has received the required
+sum. After his name has been announced, the official enters and kneels
+as near the dais as is consistent with his rank and the sum paid the
+eunuch. When the eunuch has introduced the official, he turns from
+the door and must run away as fast as he can. Officials and eunuchs
+stationed at some distance watch his departure. Should he linger or
+transgress this law, capital punishment is the result. This is to avoid
+eavesdropping and the possible transmission of State secrets.
+
+When the official granted an Audience hears the last echo of the
+steps of the departing eunuch, he falls upon his knees and begins the
+relation of his business. Their Majesties question him, if necessary,
+to elicit further explanations. When the Audience is finished, the
+official rises and walks out. The Chinese never back out of the
+Presence, and it is not considered a breach of etiquette to turn their
+backs upon Royalty!
+
+The officials who are obliged to go often to Audiences resort to an
+amusing subterfuge to protect their knees from the marble floor. They
+strap heavily wadded cushions around their knees before they go in, and
+they can thus kneel in comfort. The long Chinese gown worn by the men,
+of course, hides these knee cushions.
+
+       [Illustration: THE OFFICIAL AUDIENCE OF THEIR MAJESTIES]
+
+His Majesty assumed the cares of State at an early age, when he was
+still filled with boyish spirit. Many of the heads of departments are
+old men, and some of them doubtless most tiresome in reiterating facts
+and dwelling upon details. When the young Emperor first took over
+the direction of affairs and held his Audiences alone, he would get
+very impatient at hearing several of these old men go over tiresome
+details. As it is not “according to the laws of propriety” for the
+official to raise his eyes to the Sacred Person, while the old man
+rambled on, with prosy detail, the young Emperor would slip off the
+Throne and quietly descend from the dais, and when the poor official
+raised his eyes to make his obeisance to the Emperor, he would see only
+the vacant Throne! His Majesty had been in the rear of the hall behind
+the screen for perhaps five minutes smoking a cigarette or otherwise
+diverting himself!
+
+I noticed a curious fact as to the quality of the sacredness of the
+persons of Their Celestial Majesties. This sacredness seems to belong
+to them as rulers and not as individuals. In the Audience Hall when
+administering justice, they are not approached nor addressed, except
+upon bended knee. In the Palace, in their own privacy, when they give
+an order or any command touching upon official affairs, this order
+is received by the attendant, be he courtier, high official or great
+prince, on his knees. When any official communication is made to Their
+Majesties, in private or elsewhere, it is made kneeling, but when Their
+Majesties are in their private capacity and spoken to on ordinary
+affairs, they are addressed almost familiarly, and the courtier or
+simple attendant stands while speaking to them. If, however, in the
+midst of a familiar conversation an order is given, the attendant
+immediately drops upon his knees to receive it.
+
+The kow-tow (pronounced ker-toe and meaning literally to bow the head)
+is used as a form of thanks, and is not a manner of greeting. The
+actors kow-tow to Their Majesties at the beginning and end of each
+performance at the Theater, first to thank for the honor they are to
+receive in being allowed to act before them, and at the end to thank
+for the privilege granted. The officials “bow the head” to thank for
+an Audience or any favor or gift they have received or are to receive
+from Their Majesties. The kow-tow is not only made by people at the
+Palace and at Imperial Audiences: it is sometimes used by equals to
+each other as a proper manner of thanking for some great favor. To make
+the kow-tow, the person kneels three times and each time bows his head
+three times, touching the ground with it. The kow-tow could not be made
+by a foreigner without looking most awkward and appearing most servile,
+but the Chinese do it with dignity, and it is neither ungraceful nor
+degrading-looking. It is a time-honored manner of giving thanks,
+a Chinese tradition surviving from a time when the courtiers were
+perhaps like slaves, but at present it does not imply any slave-like
+inferiority on the part of him who performs it.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVII
+
+                   THE SUMMER PALACE AND ITS GROUNDS
+
+The Summer Palace, the Empress Dowager’s favorite residence, is
+really a superb domain. Its naturally picturesque situation among the
+beautiful Western Hills, sixteen miles from Peking, has been improved
+wherever possible, by the devices of art. The many buildings that
+constitute an Oriental Palace have been most picturesquely grouped on
+the banks of its great lake. The eminences and natural undulations have
+all been made the most of as sites for Palaces and temples, and the
+grounds are laid out with all the art the Chinese landscape artist has
+at his command.
+
+The buildings of the Palace proper, where Their Majesties and their
+suites live, are all massed in one great town-like group at the
+southeastern end of the lake. In this group are the Theater, with its
+courts, and the Great Audience Hall. Palaces, temples, summer-houses,
+tea-booths, dot the whole surface of the great park, and all the
+vantage-points have been utilized for constructions.
+
+A beautiful white marble terrace runs the length of the southern side
+of the lake. Pavilions at intervals vary the monotony of this line or
+give accent to the natural indentations of the banks. Picturesque
+landing-places, with their marble steps lapped by the waters of the
+lake, also lend their variety to this terrace surmounted by its
+beautiful lotus balustrade.
+
+The highest of the hills in the park of the Summer Palace is crowned
+by the Great Temple of the Ten Thousand Buddhas. This is approached
+by hundreds of steps, which lead up from the broadest part of the
+marble terrace over the lake. Beautiful Palaces are built along this
+terraced height. Picturesque pai-lou (memorial arches) are built at
+such beautiful points, that Nature herself seems to have designed these
+positions for them.
+
+A fair, verdure-clad island lies peacefully on the bosom of the lake,
+and the Palace and temple built thereon seem a part of the natural
+formation of stone out of which they rise. A graceful seventeen-arched
+bridge of white marble connects this island with the northern bank of
+the lake.
+
+The canal from Peking, which feeds the lake, winds in and out of
+the grounds in such graceful meanderings as to seem some fair
+mountain stream. The outlets to the lakes are spanned by the graceful
+camel-backed bridges that only the Chinese architects build. Nature
+and art are everywhere so blended, so harmonized, it is difficult to
+tell which is which. The simple lines and beautiful proportions and
+harmonious colors of the one-storied Chinese buildings make even these
+seem almost a part of the landscape.
+
+Chinese architecture--and one grows to admire it very much when studied
+in its own environment--is tent-building, carried to its greatest
+perfection and made enduring by the use of materials that last.
+The grouping of the Chinese buildings is on the same order as the
+congregation of tents of some roving tribe of Nomads. The downward
+curve and upturned tilt of their roofs is but the natural slope of the
+canvas and its uplifting by the tent-poles. These slender tent-poles
+have developed into the supporting pillars of the verandah, and the
+raised canvas door of the tent has grown into its buoyantly curved
+roof. The ornamental eaves are but the solidified silken fringes
+and embroidered valances of the tents of old. The curious roof
+ornamentations of the modern Chinese house replace the weights that
+held the tent-canvas steady. These weights, from rough stones, have now
+become carven images, cunningly wrought. The Chinese even erect their
+houses as their ancestors raised their tents. The builder places the
+columns and puts on the roof before the walls are built. Except the
+pagoda--and this even seems like so many superposed tents--the Chinese
+building remains to-day, in spite of its elaborate roofs, its lacquered
+pillars, and elaborate ornamentation, like some splendid tent, grown
+into greater fixity and beautified by some magician’s wand. It is
+admirably suited to the calm pastoral landscapes in which it rests, and
+seems a part of Nature itself, and is never out of keeping with its
+surroundings!
+
+Wherever available, in the grounds of the Summer Palace, flowers are
+planted, and they succeed each other almost the whole year round,
+for the Chinese are wonderful gardeners. The extensive grounds are,
+however, not given up entirely to flowers and beautiful constructions;
+there are great fields of grain. Wheat and millet, and even
+vegetables, are raised in these pleasure grounds. It was curious to
+me to see how picturesque so prosaic a thing as a field of turnips
+might become, when properly placed in a large pleasure domain. By
+the planting of these useful crops, a great deal of fertile land is
+utilized, without any detriment to the landscape, and the utilitarian
+spirit, so strong in the Chinese, is satisfied.
+
+There is one terraced hillside in the grounds of the Summer Palace,
+called the “Flowery Mountain.” In the season of the peonies, which
+the Chinese call “The King of Flowers,” this is really a flowery
+mountain--one mass of blooms of exquisitely blended colors and faint
+evanescent perfume. The China Aster is also brought to great perfection
+by the Chinese gardeners, and in the time of the chrysanthemum the
+grounds fairly blaze with this autumnal glory. The Chinese do not go
+in for the cultivation of the chrysanthemum of extraordinary size. Her
+Majesty does not care much for these; but her gardeners arrive at some
+wonderful combinations of colors and some most curious shapes. The year
+I was in the Palace, Her Majesty was delighted with a beautiful green
+variety, that the gardeners had succeeded in getting, and that year
+there was also a new variety whose petals were like threads, they were
+so thin and hair-like.
+
+            [Illustration: OLD RUINS IN THE SUMMER PALACE]
+
+The Temple of the Ten Thousand Buddhas is so-called from its being
+built in glazed yellow tiles, each representing a niche, in which is
+seated a Buddha, of which there are many more than ten thousand. The
+interior is composed of three chapels. In the central one thrones the
+Great Buddha. There was another famous Buddha in this temple, which
+was invested with peculiarly sacred qualities, but it was hurled into
+the lake below and broken into a thousand pieces when the foreign
+troops were in possession in 1900. Her Majesty seemed to feel the
+depredations to the temples, by the foreigners, more keenly than
+anything else. The Chinese are so perfectly tolerant in matters of
+religion, they cannot understand our attitude toward any other religion
+but our own, and our contempt for any other kind of worship except that
+in which we ourselves indulge.
+
+The Chinese are said to hate the foreigner. They certainly have not
+much reason to like him; nor to admire our much vaunted civilization.
+The European Christian soldier in China has burned, destroyed, and
+killed with as much barbarity as the heathen, and in many instances has
+given the latter points in cruelty.
+
+On the slope behind the terraced hill of the Ten Thousand Buddhas are
+the ruins of the old Summer Palace, destroyed by the European troops
+fifty years ago. After this, the site of the dwelling Palaces was
+changed, and they were massed on the southern side of the lake. Her
+Majesty has nearly hidden all trace of the 1900 devastations to the
+Summer Palace, but these old ruins of the former Palace still remain,
+and they are not a blot upon the landscape. On the contrary, they have
+become picturesque with time, and give the one note of somberness to
+this smiling demesne that is needed to accentuate its charm. There is
+a small lake not far from these old ruins, built around with smiling
+pavilions and a curious tower-like construction which is used as a
+private temple. There are landing-places and small boats. It looks
+like a charming bit of old Venice. We never went here, however, but
+once. There are some unhappy associations connected with this beautiful
+spot, and Her Majesty did not seem to care to visit it. The promenade
+in the direction of the old Palace also seemed to sadden her, for she
+had passed the early years of her married life in these now crumbling
+ruins.
+
+From the highest elevations in the grounds of the Summer Palace, we
+could see the road from Peking! Sometimes Her Majesty and the Ladies
+would watch from some of the summer-houses, the carts and chairs and
+vehicles as they passed along. Several times we saw the Emperor and his
+suite returning from some ceremony in Peking, over the road cleared for
+his passage. Her Majesty, herself, would be the first to descry him,
+and she would say, “The Emperor comes.” Then the Empress and Ladies
+would all look, for it was not against the Proprieties for them to look
+at His Majesty at such a distance. These views of the high road from
+the eminences of the Summer Palace were all Her Majesty and the young
+Empress ever saw of the outside world and common humanity; for neither
+at the Winter nor Sea Palaces could they get any views from a distance,
+nor was there any opportunity of seeing beyond the walls. When Their
+Chinese Majesties go abroad--and this is generally only from one Palace
+to another--quaint, triangular flags are placed along the Imperial
+route, warning the people that Their Sacred Majesties are to pass,
+and that the road will be reserved for them between certain hours. No
+vehicles or pedestrians are allowed for some time before and after
+the Imperial passage. In the City of Peking, the inhabitants, even on
+the streets where the Imperial cortège is to pass, are shut into their
+houses and not allowed to go out of their doors during the time, and
+at the intersection of the transversal streets huge curtains are hung,
+shutting them off from the Imperial way. For these progresses of Their
+Majesties, the roads are covered with yellow sand.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+
+               THE FESTIVAL OF THE HARVEST MOON--WORK ON
+                             THE PORTRAIT
+
+We think the Chinese so unemotional, so little given to pleasure or
+amusement; but there are more popular festivals in China, indulged in
+by all classes of people, than in any country in the world, except
+perhaps Japan. The people, from the highest to the lowest, enter into
+these celebrations with whole-souled earnestness and real enjoyment,
+and all the popular festivals, as well as the religious ceremonies, are
+celebrated in the Palace with apparently the same zest as among the
+people.
+
+The Mid-Autumn Festival, popularly known as the Festival of the Harvest
+Moon, which is at its full at the time of the celebration, was, of
+course, observed with due ceremony at the Palace. For these festivals
+there are always representations at the Palace Theater, and one of the
+plays on such days is the dramatization of the Legend of the Festival.
+The legend of the Harvest Moon is this: One day an Emperor received the
+visit of a fairy. When she left she gave the Emperor an herb, saying,
+should he eat it, he would be endowed with Immortality. The Emperor
+was called out, soon after the fairy’s visit, and forgot the gift
+for a time, and the herb lay upon his table. During his absence from
+the Throne-room, a young handmaiden entered and, seeing the root on
+the table, with childish curiosity, tasted it, and, finding it good,
+ate the whole of it. When the Emperor again thought of his precious
+gift from the fairy, he hastened back to the Throne-room, to remove it
+from the table where he had left it. What was his horror to find it
+gone! Learning that the little handmaid was the only person who had
+been in the Throne-room, he called her up to find out what she had
+done with it. When he found she had eaten it, he ordered her killed,
+that he might thus again obtain the herb. Before the eunuchs could
+accomplish their task, the charm began to work, and she felt the wings
+of Immortality; and borne up by them, she flew to the skies and took
+refuge in the Moon, where she still lives with the pet white rabbit she
+had in her arms at the time she flew away from the earth. She is now
+an Immortal, and in the Moon she compounds the Elixir of Immortality.
+The rabbit, also, shares her immortality, and ever watches at the lunar
+threshold.
+
+The drama, with this little maiden as heroine, was played by Her
+Majesty’s actors on the day of the Moon Festival, and the finale of
+the plays that day was one of the most beautiful spectacular tableaux
+I have ever seen. The Chinese obtain most artistic effects in their
+illuminations, and by the most simple means. The stage represented a
+lake covered with luminous lotus, with the full moon floating above.
+Throned on a gigantic lotus flower in the center of the lake sat an
+immense, golden Buddha, impassible and serene, ingeniously illuminated
+lotus flowers and luminous birds, emblems of Immortality, hovered over
+the lake, and the whole tableau was supposed to represent Nirvana, when
+the soul is absorbed into Nature and forms a part of it. It was really
+fairy-like.
+
+The Ladies dined in Her Majesty’s loge, and this beautiful, illuminated
+tableau was scarcely finished before we were obliged to hurry away to
+join Their Majesties, who had already started for the gardens where
+the ceremony was to take place. The procession, with the Emperor and
+Empress Dowager and Ladies in full dress, as usual for a ceremony, was
+accompanied by hundreds of lantern-bearing eunuchs. It wound, in and
+out, through the verandahed corridors and the paths of the garden like
+some great glow-worm, until it came to the marble terrace beneath the
+Temple of the Ten Thousand Buddhas, on the great terrace over the lake.
+
+Here, in an open space bathed in the rays of the softly glowing moon,
+with the glory of the setting sun still in the west, in front of the
+great Stone Pai-lou stood a beautifully illuminated floral pai-lou
+and an altar decorated with the usual pyramids of fruits, floral
+offerings, and flagons of wine. The pai-lou to the Moon was entirely
+of chrysanthemums, with an inscription “To the Glory of the Chaste and
+Pure Celestial Orb” in white blooms, like gleaming stars, across the
+top.
+
+Their Majesties first made the bows and prostrations to the Moon,
+and placed floral offerings on the altar. Then the young Empress and
+Ladies did likewise, while the eunuchs recited a poem in melodious
+and rhythmic cadence. The Chinese “recitative” is very musical, much
+more so, to the foreign ear, than their music. This poem to the Moon
+was recited by two voices in alternating rhythm with wonderful effect.
+When the recitation was finished, an “auto da fe” was made of the
+offerings, to which were added sticks of sweet incense and paper cut
+in curious designs. Over all was poured some of the inflammable wine
+from the flagons on the altar, and the flames leaped high above the
+huge incense-burner that stood on a great bronze tripod in the center
+of the moonlit terrace. It was a wonderfully picturesque sight--the
+brilliant circle of splendidly gowned Ladies, with the Emperor and
+Empress Dowager in their midst, around the flaming censer, whose
+leaping flames glinted and glowed upon the jewels and gold embroidery
+of their costumes. The lantern-bearing eunuchs formed a faintly glowing
+circle around this shining center; and over the whole fantastic picture
+the brilliant Harvest Moon shone with unwonted splendor, as if to
+show itself worthy of the obeisances it had just received from this
+brilliant group.
+
+When the flames no longer leaped from the censer, when only the white
+smoke of the incense curled through the interstices of its cover, Their
+Majesties turned away, and the lantern-lit procession followed them
+to the banks of the lake, where the whole Palace fleet, brilliantly
+illuminated, lay moored beneath the marble terrace. The eunuchs,
+holding aloft their gleaming lanterns, stood along the terrace and
+knelt on the steps leading into the water, while Their Majesties
+descended them. On two of the boats, at either side of the Imperial
+barge, the eunuchs held their lanterns to form the characters “Peace”
+and “Prosperity.” The waters of the lake were now glowing with the
+reflections of the myriad lanterns and dancing under their many-colored
+lights. A faint glow still illumined the western sky, while the
+reflection of the resplendent Moon gleamed like liquid diamonds across
+the lake! When we reached the Imperial landing-place, its great
+arc-lights on the two tall, painted poles sent their reflections
+shimmering, in long, wavy lines, far out into the lake, and almost
+rivaled in their splendor that of the celestial orb itself.
+
+Although I took part in all these Palace festivals, my work on the
+portrait was advancing, but I longed for more opportunity to quietly
+study it and for a little more freedom in working. I felt I needed
+more time also for my painting. I ardently desired to be able to work
+some when Her Majesty did not pose, and I finally decided to ask her
+to allow me to remain at my painting when she and the Ladies went for
+their morning walks after a short sitting. It was a deprivation for
+me to give up even one of these delightful walks, when I saw such a
+charming side of the Empress Dowager’s character, but I felt it must be
+done. She reluctantly consented to excuse me on a few occasions, but
+she seemed to feel it was not hospitable on her part to leave me alone;
+and when she did so she would remain out a shorter time than usual. She
+seemed so concerned at my working while the others enjoyed themselves,
+that I soon ceased to ask to be left at work; I could only try to make
+the best of the time I had at my disposal.
+
+My desire to have more time for my painting and more opportunity
+for studying the work was not the only cloud in the heaven of these
+delightful days. As the portrait progressed I found myself constantly
+running up against Chinese conventionalities as to the way it was done.
+They wished so much detail and no shadow. Had Her Majesty been alone to
+be considered, she was artistic and progressive enough to have, in the
+end, allowed me more liberty; but she, also, was obliged to conform to
+tradition, and no fantasy could be indulged in painting the portrait of
+a Celestial Majesty. It was necessary to conform to rigid conventions.
+
+I had such a fine opportunity to do something really picturesque in
+painting this great Empress and most interesting woman, and I found I
+was to be bound down by the iron fetters of Chinese tradition! I could
+neither choose an accessory, nor even arrange a fold according to the
+lines of the composition. I was obliged to follow, in every detail,
+centuries-old conventions. There could be no shadows and very little
+perspective, and everything must be painted in such full light as to
+lose all relief and picturesque effect. When I saw I must represent Her
+Majesty in such a conventional way as to make her unusually attractive
+personality banal, I was no longer filled with the ardent enthusiasm
+for my work with which I had begun it, and I had many a heartache and
+much inward rebellion before I settled down to the inevitable.
+
+The Empress Dowager, however, knew nothing of my discouragement, and
+seemed perfectly contented with the progress of the portrait then on
+hand--so pleased, in fact, she asked me if I would not like Mrs.
+Conger to come and see it. I, of course, replied that I would, and an
+invitation was accordingly sent, through the Foreign Office, inviting
+Mrs. Conger to come to see the portrait.
+
+As Her Majesty was to receive her in the Throne-room where I painted,
+it was decided I could not work on that day. I fully expected the
+portrait would be exhibited in the Throne-room, the only place where it
+had a proper light; but, to my disappointment, Mrs. Conger was asked to
+look at it in the small room where it was kept when I was not working
+on it. When we went in, the Chief Eunuch ceremoniously removed the
+yellow covering over the “Sacred Picture,” which hung flat against the
+wall in a very bad light, with annoying reflections. The small room was
+also uncomfortably crowded with Her Majesty and suite, so that it was
+impossible to see the whole canvas at once. Mrs. Conger was, however,
+so pleased with the likeness and lifelike expression in the eyes,
+the upper part of the picture being in a fairly good light, that the
+comment stopped here.
+
+This first portrait represented the Empress Dowager sitting on one of
+her favorite Cantonese carved Thrones. The figure was life-size. In one
+hand she held a flower, and the other lay over a yellow cushion. The
+tip of one small embroidered shoe, with its jeweled, white kid sole
+resting on a dragon footstool, showed under the hem of her gown. The
+head was a three-quarters view, with the eyes looking at the observer.
+A jardinière, with her favorite orchid, stood behind the Throne at the
+right. It was painted in full light. The canvas was four by six feet
+in size; and there was thus no place for any of the emblems or insignia
+of Her Majesty’s rank, save that she was clothed in her official
+costume of Imperial yellow.
+
+This was the conventional reality, and I had dreamed of painting Her
+Majesty in one of her Buddha-like poses, sitting erect upon an antique
+Throne of the Dynasty, with one beautifully rounded arm and exquisitely
+shaped hand resting on its high side, contrasting in their grace with
+its severe lines. I should have exaggerated her small stature by
+placing her upon the largest of these Dynastic Thrones. Her wonderfully
+magnetic personality alone should have dominated. At the left of the
+Throne, I should have placed one of those huge Palace braziers, its
+blue flames leaping into the air, their glow glinting here and there
+upon her jewels and the rich folds of her drapery; the whole enveloped
+in the soft azure smoke of incense, rising from splendid antique
+bronze censers. Across the base of the picture, under her feet, should
+have writhed and sprawled the rampant double dragon. The Eternal
+Feminine, with its eternal enigma shining from her inscrutable eyes,
+should have pierced, with almost cruel penetration, the mystery of her
+surroundings. Her face should have shone out of this dim interior, as
+her personality does above her real environment. I should have tried to
+show all the force and strength of her nature in that characteristic
+face, exaggerating every feature of it, rather than toning down one
+line.
+
+With all these possibilities that the Empress Dowager’s person and
+surroundings would suggest to the most unimaginative of artists,
+and with the conventional traditions, which I was obliged to follow,
+no wonder I became discouraged. But I had always the solace of her
+personality--the fascinating study of herself to delight and console
+me. New phases of her character and personality were constantly
+opening out before me. She dominates everything and everybody in the
+Palace, and is far and away, the most interesting personality there,
+not because she is the first figure at the Court, but because she is
+really the most interesting one, and she would be that in any position.
+No wonder that when she smiles the Court is gay--her smile is so
+entrancing. No wonder that when she frowns the Court trembles, for she
+excites sympathy in all her moods.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+
+                  A GARDEN PARTY AT THE SUMMER PALACE
+
+Not long after this, Her Majesty gave a garden party for the ladies
+and gentlemen of the Legations. These garden parties occupy two
+days, for ladies and gentlemen are not received at the same time
+by Their Majesties of China. The Corps Diplomatique and attachés
+were entertained the first day, and the ladies of the Legations the
+following day. The entertainment was the same for each. The gentlemen
+were formally received in the Great Audience Hall by Their Majesties,
+after which a repast was served them in a pavilion near. When this was
+finished, they were taken for a tour of the gardens and lakes, and they
+left the Palace about two o’clock. None of the Ladies of the Court,
+except, of course, the Empress Dowager, were present at the receptions
+of the gentlemen of the Corps Diplomatique. The ladies of the Legations
+were received the following day.
+
+I was rather embarrassed as to what I should do, at this first formal
+reception, for the ladies of the Legations, since my arrival in the
+Palace. Being a foreigner, I thought it looked incongruous for me to
+receive with the Chinese Ladies. My uneasiness seemed to be divined by
+Her Majesty (she was always wonderful for her tact); she said, as I had
+been presented first in private Audience, it would be well for me to be
+presented also in public Audience. She suggested that I should go to
+the Foreign Office, meet Mrs. Conger on her arrival, and come into the
+Throne-room with her. When the eunuchs announced that the ladies had
+arrived at the Foreign Office, Her Majesty ordered my red Palace chair
+to take me there.
+
+The Foreign Office is only a few hundred yards to the left of the
+Imperial entrance to the Palace. Mrs. Conger was one of the first
+ladies to arrive. When the other ladies came, all walked over to the
+gate of the Palace, and, after entering, went to a pavilion at the
+right of the Audience Hall, where they arranged themselves in the order
+in which they were to be presented.
+
+The verandah and large marble platform of approach to the Audience
+Hall were shaded with tent-like silken awnings and covered, for the
+day, with red carpets, the latter a concession to foreign taste; for
+Her Majesty, though having many beautiful carpets stored up, has none
+in use, and only in winter and for certain functions are the courts
+carpeted. She never uses them in the interior.
+
+A double line of Princesses, led by the Princess Imperial, descended
+the steps of the Audience Hall and met the ladies on the marble
+platform. The Princesses then turned and preceded them into the
+Audience Hall. Here they separated and stood in a picturesque group on
+either side of the Throne dais.
+
+Here, in the dim obscurity, sat the Empress Dowager on the Dynastic
+Throne, with the Emperor seated at her left. In front of Her Majesty
+stood the official table, with its cover of Imperial yellow reaching
+to the floor. To the ladies standing below the dais only the heads and
+shoulders of the Empress Dowager were visible above the table, with its
+pyramids of fruits and flowers.
+
+The ladies made three reverences on entering, and each advanced and
+went up on the dais at her presentation. Her Majesty’s interpreter, the
+elder Miss Yu, stood at her right, a little behind, and repeated the
+Chinese name and title of each lady presented. Her Majesty, who has a
+royal memory for faces, recognized each lady who had been presented
+before, but treated all with equal cordiality. This cordiality was
+sometimes construed by the ladies, on their first presentation, as
+a special mark of interest in themselves; but it was the Empress
+Dowager’s invariable position toward all the foreigners at these
+diplomatic receptions. Like all well-bred hostesses, she was most
+particular to show no difference even to those ladies she liked best.
+
+When all had been presented, the eunuchs removed the official table
+behind which the Empress Dowager received the formal presentations, and
+she descended from the dais. One of her yellow satin chairs was brought
+and she sat down at the right side of the Audience Hall. The ladies
+were then, collectively, presented by Her Majesty to the young Empress
+and the Princess Imperial, and tea was ordered. While the ladies were
+drinking tea, standing around the Empress Dowager’s chair, she said a
+few words to each, informally.
+
+When the tea was finished, the ladies, conducted by the eunuchs and
+accompanied by the Princesses, went through the court of the Theater,
+past the Palace of the young Empress, through Her Majesty’s court to
+her Throne-room, where luncheon was served. This was in alternate
+courses of foreign and Chinese food. There were foreign wines and table
+waters, as well as Chinese, and quantities of sweet champagne, without
+which, the Chinese imagine, no foreigner can eat.
+
+After luncheon, at which the Imperial Princess and Princesses acted as
+hostesses, the visiting ladies went to the marble terrace overlooking
+the lake. Here they were met by the young Empress and the secondary
+wife of the Emperor, for they were never present at the table when the
+foreign ladies were entertained, any more than Her Majesty herself.
+
+The Empress Dowager’s barge did not lead the Palace fleet that day.
+There were three big houseboats, each of which ponderous affairs had a
+large cabin with a yellow-covered seat for Her Majesty, which, though
+she never used, was never occupied by any one else. Anything covered
+with yellow is sacred to Their Majesties, and is never used except by
+them.
+
+           [Illustration: THE SECONDARY WIFE OF THE EMPEROR
+                          In Summer Coiffure]
+
+We were rowed across the lake, first to the island, where the Palace
+and small temple adjacent were visited, after which the ladies took
+the boats again and continued the tour of the lake to the Marble Boat.
+This Marble Boat was built over the lake as a summer-house for one of
+the Emperors, and is on the plan of the Palace houseboat, but with an
+upper, as well as lower deck. It is one of the things in the Summer
+Palace most talked about by foreigners, and it is a curiosity, though
+not a thing of beauty. It was never made the objective point of any
+of Her Majesty’s promenades, nor visited, except when foreigners were
+invited to the Palace. On the lower deck of the Marble Boat, where was
+the best view of the lake, light refreshments, sweets, and fruits were
+served. When the tour of the lake was finished, the ladies made their
+adieus to Their Majesties and the young Empress and Princesses, and
+left the Palace grounds for the Foreign Office, where they took their
+own chairs and carriages for Peking.
+
+In spite of Her Majesty’s cordiality and the efforts of the Princesses
+and Ladies, these garden parties were not always as pleasant as they
+might be. There seemed an absolute lack of harmony among the ladies
+of the Legation. Each seemed to watch the other with a jealous eye,
+in constant fear that some one might overstep her place. Some did not
+hesitate, even, to show their private animosities on the steps of the
+Throne, or before their hostesses at the table. They seemed to act
+on the principle that the Chinese, not understanding the language,
+would not understand anything else. It was unfortunate that this most
+punctilious of people, the Chinese, should have had this apparent lack
+of friendliness to judge the European ladies by. They received all with
+equal favor and perfect etiquette, and it was a pity that the lack of
+harmony among the foreign ladies should have led them to commit what
+seemed to be breaches of etiquette, which the Chinese could not have
+failed to observe. I was astonished to see how observant the latter
+were and how accurately they gauged our standing.
+
+Their comments on our costumes were also very interesting. Her Majesty
+seemed to like foreign dress, especially when in pretty colors, for
+she reveled in color. She said the foreign costume was very becoming
+to well-made and well-proportioned people; but she thought, while it
+showed off to advantage a good figure, it was unfortunate for any one
+who was not so blessed. She thought the Chinese costume, falling in
+straight lines from the shoulder, was more becoming to stout people,
+for it hid many defects. One universal comment, among these Chinese
+ladies, on us, was that we look old for our years. The well-bred
+Chinese repress, from early childhood, all outward evidences of
+emotion. They lead such simple, wholesome lives--“Early to bed and
+early to rise”--that there are rarely any lines visible in their faces
+until they reach an advanced age, when they seem to go suddenly from
+ripe womanhood into extreme old age.
+
+They have a particular aversion to blond hair. They did not tell me so,
+as I have blond hair; but on the stage all the demons are represented
+with blond hair, and the more blond it is, the more wicked the demon.
+One day, one of the Ladies suggested to me that there were some very
+fine vegetable hair dyes for turning the hair black without injuring
+it; in fact, the growth was increased thereby. She said if I used this,
+my hair “might in time become black; at least, it would grow much
+darker.”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XX
+
+             I BEGIN A SECOND PORTRAIT OF HER MAJESTY--THE
+                            PALACE PAINTERS
+
+I had several days of good work on the portrait after the garden
+party, when Her Majesty decided it was sufficiently advanced for the
+characters, giving her name and titles, to be placed across the top of
+the canvas. As she has sixteen appellations, represented by sixteen
+characters, and as they were all to be placed upon the picture,
+together with her two seals, official and personal, it required some
+manœuvering to get them into the space required. This lettering was
+looked upon as a very important detail; there were numbers of models
+of the characters made before the proper size and style was arrived
+at. The seals, about three inches long, had to be placed at either end
+of the sixteen characters, and there was a great deal of deliberation
+as to the color in which the characters were to be painted. Red was
+finally decided upon. The two seals were to be painted, one in red
+characters on a white ground, and the other in white characters on a
+red ground. As I had not known these appellations were to be placed
+across the top of the canvas when I began the portrait, I had not
+allowed for them, and putting them on took away from the space above
+the head and detracted from the general effect. This was another
+discouragement. I left the discussion of the lettering to Her Majesty
+and the writers, and I decided to give the canvas over entirely to the
+latter for a few days, in order that they might place the characters
+thereon, and that Her Majesty might have time to decide upon their
+color at her leisure.
+
+Her Majesty had told me, a few days before, she wished me to paint a
+“number of portraits” of her, so I decided to begin another now, and
+I hoped to be able, as this was not to be an official portrait, to
+have a little more liberty in painting it. Her Majesty decided that
+it should be painted in her ordinary dress and without the Manchu
+coiffure, which she only wears at her Audiences, as it is very heavy
+and very tiring to her head. The day I began the portrait she had
+on a gown of soft, embroidered blue. Her hair, in a coil at the top
+of her head, was beautifully dressed, with the jasmine flowers so
+quaintly arranged, a realistic butterfly poised above them; her jewels
+so discreet and picturesque, I asked her to pose and let me paint
+her as she was then. Her coiffure, without the Manchu head-dress, is
+much more becoming to her than with the huge, wing-like construction
+which made her look top-heavy; for when she wore it, being in official
+costume, she was obliged to wear a great profusion of jewels and
+ornaments. In this portrait she was seated upon her Throne, but not in
+a traditional attitude, and I began it full of hope; for, at least,
+I had more choice as to the surroundings and accessories, which were
+not obliged to be “according to tradition.” As it was only to be seen
+by her intimates, I asked her to let me paint her two favorite dogs
+lying beside her footstool, the blond “Shadza” and dusky “Hailo.” Her
+Majesty gladly consented, and “Hailo” was ordered to be decorated in
+his “gala costume.” This consisted of two huge chrysanthemums tied
+in his hair over his ears. “Shadza,” the Pekingese pug, resented any
+such accoutrement and was painted in his natural state. She took the
+liveliest interest in the painting of the dogs’ portraits, and seemed
+to think it much more wonderful to paint these little animals, so that
+they were recognizable, than to make a likeness of herself. I was
+obliged, of course, to do them very quickly. She sat behind me all the
+time I was painting them, and the rapidity with which they grew much
+astonished her.
+
+I discovered about this time I was not the only painter in the Palace.
+Her Majesty has a corps of painters always there. These painters
+decorate the thousands of lanterns used in the Palace ceremonies and
+processions. They paint the scenery for the spectacular plays at the
+Theater, and the flowers used for the decorations of the screen-like
+walls I have already alluded to. Some are very clever flower painters,
+and one even paints portraits, but they have never seen the Empress
+Dowager except from afar! Though Mandarins of the Third rank, the
+painters were obliged to withdraw from the court where they worked when
+Her Majesty and suite passed by. It was amusing to see these dignified,
+handsomely gowned officials being hurried out of the court on Her
+Majesty’s approach by the eunuchs who precede her. Their paintings
+were submitted to her by one of the eunuchs, by whom she sent her
+instructions to them.
+
+I saw these painters first, at the time of the chrysanthemums. There
+were some new varieties in one of Her Majesty’s courts that she wished
+painted. One day, on going into this court, I saw a group of bebuttoned
+officials studying the flowers. They gravely inclined their heads with
+the customary dignity of the Chinese, and I found later they were
+“confrères.”
+
+It was interesting to me to see their methods--so different from ours,
+but arriving at a very artistic result. I never spoke to them; but, as
+I was an outer barbarian, I took advantage of my position and watched
+them work from my windows, though I took care to keep myself hidden
+behind the curtains, in true Oriental style. They worked in the court
+quite near my pavilion. The chief painter selected the flower to be
+copied, and the others stood around while he painted, petal by petal,
+with most laborious and minute attention. While he worked, the others
+took notes and made studies of the same flower. When this laborious
+first study was finished, it was copied with a freer hand by one of
+the painters, and this copy was copied until they finally arrived at a
+dashing study, which seemed to be done “de premier coup.”
+
+When the chrysanthemums were in their full glory, one day when Her
+Majesty had allowed me to remain at my work while she and the Ladies
+went for their walk, she brought me, on her return, a curious new
+variety. When she handed it to me she said, “I will give you something
+nice if you guess what I have named this flower.” It was one of those
+new varieties with hair-like petals and a compact center, like the
+bald head of an old man. I told her I was afraid I couldn’t guess, but
+I thought “it looked like an old man’s head.” She was delighted, and
+said, “You have guessed. I have just given it the name of the Old Man
+of the Mountain.”
+
+We were still having daily walks in the gardens, and there was always
+some delightful little incident to make them pleasant and memorable.
+One day, when we were out and were resting, while Her Majesty was
+sitting alone before the “Peony Mountain,” the young Empress and Ladies
+stood in a group at a little distance. We were near some arbor-vitæ
+trees, and the young Empress picked a piece that looked like a
+“peacock’s feather.” She told me to kneel and let her “decorate” me.
+She stuck the curiously shaped branch in my hair so that it hung over
+the neck and looked like the “peacock feather,” which is given as a
+reward of merit to the highest officials, and is always worn upon
+their hats. When she had placed it, she told me to rise, and called me
+“Your Excellency Carl,” which is the title of those who possess the
+decoration of the peacock feather. I kept it in my hair and soon quite
+forgot my “decoration.” When we were walking on, Her Majesty noticed
+it. She had been preoccupied and sad that day, but when she saw it she
+smiled, and said, “Who decorated you with the peacock feather?” I told
+her the young Empress had done so. She said that was her prerogative,
+but she added, “If you were a man you would win it, and probably
+a yellow jacket also, for you are fearless.” Why did she think me
+fearless? Could she have heard that the foreigners in Peking seemed to
+think it was almost as much as taking my life in my own hands to go and
+live entirely alone among the Chinese at Court, and put myself in Her
+Majesty’s power, after the Boxer trouble?
+
+              [Illustration: PAI-LOU IN GROUNDS OF SUMMER
+                   PALACE--ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE]
+
+Another afternoon we went into the Great Audience Hall when we were
+passing it, and I had an opportunity of studying in detail the interior
+of this magnificent hall. I examined closely some of the rare old
+niellée bronzes and wonderful Chinese cloisonné, for here are some of
+the finest specimens in the Summer Palace. In the back of the hall were
+three pianos, two upright and a new Grand piano, which had but lately
+arrived at the Palace. Her Majesty wished us to try the Grand piano,
+and one of Lady Yu-Keng’s daughters, who had studied music in Paris,
+played a few airs. Her Majesty thought the piano a curious sort of
+instrument, but lacking in volume and tone for so large an instrument.
+She asked me to play also, and then said she would like to see how
+the foreigners danced, and suggested my playing some dance music. The
+Misses Yu-Keng waltzed, and she thought it very amusing to watch them.
+She could not, however, understand how ladies and gentlemen could
+enjoy dancing together, nor what pleasure they found in it. She said
+the Chinese pay others to dance for them, and would not think of doing
+so themselves for pleasure. It seemed to her the charm was rather in
+watching the graceful movements of the dancer than in executing those
+movements one’s self. I wondered what she would say, could she see one
+of our crowded European ball-rooms, with hundreds of couples on the
+floor at the same time, making violent efforts to steer through the
+crowd. I fancy she would not have found pleasure even in watching these
+dancers.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI
+
+                    A EUROPEAN CIRCUS AT THE PALACE
+
+Chinese ceremonies and celebrations were not all I was destined to
+enjoy while at the Summer Palace. There began to be talk of some
+“foreign entertainment” soon to be given, and when I found this
+foreign entertainment was to be a circus, a real European circus, I
+was delighted. I had been out in China two years, and had not had
+much European entertainment during that time, and--shall I confess
+it?--I dearly loved a circus if the horses and animals were fine.
+This circus was then in Tientsin, and some one had suggested to Their
+Majesties it would be an interesting thing to see. A young Manchu was
+sent to Tientsin to investigate. When he returned, flaming posters
+were submitted to Their Majesties by the Chief Eunuchs. When the
+Empress Dowager saw the vulgarly colored picture of a summarily clad
+young woman of the show, I was watching her face and I saw a look of
+contemptuous scorn pass over it. She brightened up, however, when she
+saw the pictures of the animals at their tricks, and the men on horses,
+and it was decided that the circus should be brought up from Tientsin!
+The animals and performers were to be domiciled in one of the parks
+near by, but the tent was to be stretched within the inclosure of the
+Palace.
+
+Sites for the ring were discussed, and it was finally decided to have
+the tents pitched at the extreme western end of the lake. There was a
+large open field here, planted in turnips! As the turnips were ready to
+be gathered, it was decided that the crop should be pulled up and this
+place prepared for the tents.
+
+One day we went out into the turnip field, and the Empress Dowager
+herself pulled the first turnip; then the Empress and all the
+Princesses pulled some, and when they found a curiously shaped one,
+it was given to Her Majesty. It was a strange sight to see the Great
+Empress Dowager, sitting there at the side of the field, on her yellow
+camp-stool, smiling and interested, with the turnips piled around her,
+and the gaily dressed Empress and Princesses in their silken gowns
+flitting in and out of the field, apparently enjoying, to its utmost,
+the simple task of pulling these prosaic vegetables. The eunuchs and
+attendants stood in crowds around to take the turnips when pulled. They
+were not allowed, however, to pull any themselves. When a small square
+was denuded, Her Majesty and the Ladies returned to the Palace, and an
+army of workmen came and pulled up the whole field and began to prepare
+the ground for the circus tents.
+
+As the performance of the circus was to be on the first day of the
+month, the Imperial players were at the Theater. When the morning
+Audience was finished, Their Majesties and the Empress and Ladies
+went to the Theater and listened to two or three plays. After
+luncheon, taken in the Imperial loge, Their Majesties started for
+the landing-place, followed by the young Empress and Ladies. The lake
+was gay with beautiful barges, great houseboats, and numbers of flat
+boats for the eunuchs. The barges and houseboats were picturesquely
+decorated with flying banners, pennants, and tasseled wands. Two
+steam-launches, puffing away, gave an air of modernity to this most
+Oriental fleet. One of the steam-launches was splendidly decorated with
+yellow banners, with gorgeous yellow silk scarfs festooned around the
+cabin and the Imperial flag flying above it. The Empress Dowager and
+the Emperor descended the marble steps to this gaily decked launch, and
+started off alone for the other end of the lake, the Imperial banners
+and colors flying.
+
+The Empress and Princesses went in the Empress’s State boat; the
+visiting ladies followed in another of these ponderous but picturesque
+affairs. In size they are as large as an ordinary Chinese pavilion.
+The Empress’s cabin was carpeted and splendidly upholstered in cloth
+of gold, with the usual tea-tables and lounges. It had one of those
+gallery-like prows with silken awnings, where the Princesses stood.
+The young Empress sat within, on one of the gold-covered couches. As
+she had been brought up with several of the Princesses as playmates,
+the young Empress generally waived ceremony with them; but she knew
+how, when necessary, to maintain a sweet dignity that was charming
+and perfectly in accord with her exalted position. To-day was a State
+occasion. She sat alone, and the Ladies remained outside on the prow.
+She asked me to come in and showed me the interior and some of the
+curiously inlaid tables. She knew I was interested in all these things.
+She made me sit at her side, and when I demurred she said she knew it
+was not the foreign custom to sit on cushions on the floor, as was the
+habit of the Ladies when in her presence, and that I must sit beside
+her. This was the consideration they always showed me at the Palace,
+which I fully realized was not due to any special liking for me, but
+simply to their exquisite breeding--their desire to make me feel
+comfortable and at home.
+
+When we arrived at the other side of the lake, the Empress and Ladies
+stood while Their Majesties landed. They were welcomed by a great
+burst of music from the bands. A number of Princes and Officials stood
+waiting to receive them and conduct them to the handsome loges that had
+been prepared for them.
+
+It was a picturesque procession that started from the landing-place--
+the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, under the big, embroidered,
+yellow silk, State umbrellas, preceded and surrounded by gorgeously
+attired attendants and splendidly gowned officials, the young Empress
+and Ladies, in gala attire, following after, with their eunuchs and
+attendants. The day was perfect, and glorious sunshine added to the
+brilliant effect. The side of the tent toward the Imperial loges was
+open. There was a railed platform before the pavilions that had been
+erected as “loges.” These pavilions were luxuriously fitted up: Their
+Majesties’ loges were hung with the Imperial yellow. A yellow satin
+chair (with a smaller one at its left) was placed in the center of the
+raised platform, under the silken awning, and Their Majesties could sit
+here or within as they chose. The Empress and Ladies stood in groups on
+either side of this platform.
+
+About two hundred officials had been invited to see the circus, and,
+contrary to the usual custom, there was no screen between them and the
+Imperial party. On the right were two bands of foreign music, or rather
+of Chinese musicians who played foreign music on European instruments.
+These were the bands of Yuan-Shih-Kai, Viceroy of Tientsin, and of Sir
+Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Imperial Customs. Sir Robert’s
+band was formed about eighteen years since, when, as music is his
+hobby, he decided to try to have some Chinese taught European music
+on European instruments. He has now a well-equipped band of twenty
+trained Chinese musicians under a competent European conductor. They
+play on both brass and stringed instruments. His efforts have been so
+successful that his example has lately been followed by several high
+Chinese Officials, first among whom was Yuan-Shih-Kai. The latter’s
+band is military, with fifty musicians, who play only on brass
+instruments. The two bands played alternately during the intervals of
+the performance.
+
+For the first time during my residence at the Palace, I now had an
+opportunity of seeing the Imperial Princes and many of the great
+nobles and officials. Though they were often asked to the Theater at
+the Palace, the screen between them and the Imperial loge was never
+removed, except at the end of the performance, when they bowed their
+thanks and when the Ladies retired to their own loge. The gentlemen,
+however, could be well seen at the circus; and though the Chinese
+Ladies did not glance in their direction, I took advantage of being a
+foreigner, and when I was behind the others, and could do so without
+being seen, I closely scanned their faces and attire. Several of the
+Princes of the Imperial Family came up to the platform where Their
+Majesties sat and made their bows to them, afterward slightly saluting
+their relations among the Ladies and Princesses.
+
+Among these young Princes at the circus was a son of Prince Kung and
+an adopted son of the Imperial Princess. This young man not only had
+a remarkably fine figure, tall and slender, with broad shoulders, but
+his face was very handsome. His bow, on coming up to pay his respects
+to Their Majesties, was as graceful as that of a young chevalier. His
+regard was so ingenuous, his expression so clever and withal so modest,
+his whole demeanor so gracious, I was much struck with him. His dress
+was elegant, and his jewels chosen with discretion. There was none
+of that overloading of belt ornamentation that the young dandies of
+the Imperial set were then affecting. His father was one of the great
+Princes of China, and if this young man develops and carries out the
+promise of his youth (he was then only seventeen), I fancy he will
+be heard of also. Like most of the young Manchu Princes, he held a
+position in the Imperial household, such as Master of the Horse or
+Captain of the Archers.
+
+It was not much of a circus, but none of the Imperial party had ever
+seen one before, and the setting was so gorgeous, it was unique as a
+circus performance even to me. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor
+had splendidly jeweled opera glasses, which a eunuch held ready for
+their use. The Emperor, disliking to be looked at, held his own
+glasses before his face most of the time. It seemed to me he used them
+principally for the purpose of screening himself. The animals pleased
+both Their Majesties; but aside from the dwarfs, of which there were
+two, the rest of the performers seemed to have but a mediocre interest
+for them. Her Majesty was particularly interested in the dogs and
+trained animals, and His Majesty in the horses and fancy riding. I
+was standing near him, and he looked keenly at me several times to
+see how the performance struck me; and one of his head eunuchs asked
+me in English--the Emperor would not try it--whether I thought it was
+“good or bad.” Their Majesties sat through the performance, the Empress
+Dowager only retiring to her loge once during the time, which was while
+one of the summarily clad young ladies was gyrating on a trapeze.
+There was a magnificent tigress which the circus master had trained,
+and which was his “pièce de résistance.” The Empress Dowager would not
+allow this to be taken out of its cage, and though it was brought out
+in front of the Imperial platform, it was too cat-like to interest her.
+She has a great antipathy to anything feline. When the performance was
+finished, the Imperial party left in the same state in which it had
+arrived, Their Majesties accompanied to the launch by the Princes and
+high Officials, the music of the two bands playing simultaneously. The
+Ladies of the Palace and Their Majesties, themselves, have so little
+novelty in their lives, I think, on the whole, the innovation of the
+circus was generally appreciated.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXII
+
+                            PALACE CUSTOMS
+
+The Empress Dowager is an early riser, but the joint Audiences which
+Their Majesties now hold are never at the extraordinary hours in vogue
+when His Majesty ruled alone. When there is a press of business, and
+many heads of departments to be seen, the Audiences begin very early,
+but they rarely extend past eleven o’clock--the usual hours being from
+half-past seven to eleven.
+
+When the Empress Dowager sleeps, a maid watches in her room, two
+eunuchs stand on guard in the ante-chamber to the room, four watch
+at the door of the ante-chamber, and her body-guard of eunuchs fill
+the building where her private apartments are situated. The maid and
+eunuchs who watch in the night are changed every second day. Only the
+High Eunuchs are intrusted with the duty of guarding her bed-chamber
+and Throne-room. At the Summer Palace, Her Majesty’s bedroom is not
+more than fifteen feet square; the bed, like all in North China, is
+built into an alcove in the room. Shelves run around the three inclosed
+sides of the alcove, and on these are placed Her Majesty’s favorite
+ornaments--small jade curios, books, and, of course, clocks. In this
+bedroom I counted fifteen timepieces on the bed shelves, and all
+running. Their ticking and striking, not at all simultaneous, was
+enough to run a nervous European woman wild; but Her Majesty takes so
+much outdoor exercise, she seemed to have no nerves. There were no
+flowers in her bedroom, but the ante-chamber, leading into it, was
+always full of flowers, pyramids of apples, and “Buddha’s hands.”[5]
+The bed-alcove is separated from the room by satin curtains, suspended
+from a handsomely embroidered valance, with two long embroidered bands
+to loop them back.
+
+[5] “Buddha’s hand,” a very fragrant fruit of the family of lemons,
+which is shaped like a hand, with long, curving fingers. Pyramids of
+this fruit are used for their perfume.
+
+Her Majesty is a light and irregular sleeper. When she wakes and
+finds it impossible to go to sleep again, she rises, is dressed, and
+often goes for a walk in the grounds, at what we would call the most
+unseasonable of hours. She says Nature is beautiful at every hour
+of the twenty-four, with a different charm for each moment. As she
+loves it in all its phases, she likes to see it at every hour of the
+twenty-four, at least once a year! When she wakes and goes for a walk
+at night, the eunuchs who are on duty in her Palace accompany her with
+lanterns, but she never takes these night walks, except by moonlight,
+and when the night is beautiful.
+
+Whether she has slept well or ill, she rises at six o’clock; for the
+morning is devoted to business, and she never misses an Audience. On
+rising, she takes a bowl of hot milk, or lotus-root porridge; then
+her maids and tiring-women begin her toilet for the Audience. This
+is the “grande toilette” for the day, for full dress is worn by the
+Chinese in the morning, and in the evening they wear simple gowns.
+When her toilet is finished, the young Empress and Ladies, having
+“assisted” (from without) at her “lever,” she comes out into the
+Throne-room and receives their morning greeting. The Emperor then
+comes to pay his respects to the Great Ancestress, and together they
+go in State, accompanied by all the Ladies of the Court, to the Great
+Audience Hall. The Ladies of the Court remain outside the Great Hall
+until the Audience is finished, when they accompany Her Majesty to her
+Throne-room. The business of the day is then over. Her Majesty lays
+aside her robes of State and gives herself up to duties connected with
+the Palace.
+
+While I was painting the portraits, she would pose on returning from
+the Audience; or, if the Audience had been too tiring, she would first
+go for a walk. Then would begin her various self-imposed household
+duties. She would overlook the baskets of flowers and fruits sent
+into the Palace daily, select some to be sent as presents, and send
+others to the eunuchs of the kitchen to be cooked. Then she would
+look at new rolls of silk, just arrived from the Imperial looms, or
+examine new articles of toilet, fresh from the workshops of the Palace
+tailors. Sometimes she would play a game, of which she seemed very
+fond, and of which I know no counterpart. It was played on a large
+square board, covered with white silk and painted in fantastic designs,
+representing the Earth and Fairyland. The object of the game was to get
+an ivory chessman, representing “man,” into Fairyland. The length of
+the move was decided by throwing dice. There was no box for throwing
+the dice: they were taken in the hands and thrown into a jade bowl. The
+numbers uppermost were then counted and the move made. She would play
+this game with the Princesses; and sometimes two of the High Eunuchs,
+who were proficient, would be called in to make out the number. The
+game was played for money, but, if Her Majesty won, the others did
+not pay. If, however, they won, she paid, and at once. She was ever a
+cheerful giver. She had wonderful luck, and it was a rare occurrence
+for the others to win. I only happened to see it three times. The
+Princesses were always pleased to play this game, for they had a chance
+of winning and they never lost. One day I saw her get quite angry with
+one of the Ladies playing. This Lady could not bear to lose, and would
+get sulky and cross if she did. This annoyed Her Majesty, until finally
+she reproved her sharply. She asked her why she played a game if she
+were not willing to take her chances as they came, and meet loss or
+gain with equal equanimity.
+
+                [Illustration: PRINCESSES OF THE COURT]
+
+The Empress Dowager only eats two solid meals a day--luncheon and
+dinner. These were exactly similar. The dishes, so far as I could see,
+were identical; but they were so numerous, and of such variety, one
+could make a change of menu by eating different dishes. The hours of
+these two meals were very irregular; in fact, Her Majesty had no fixed
+hour for anything except rising and attendance at the Audience Hall.
+“Early rice,” as the Chinese call luncheon, was served the Empress
+Dowager at any time between half-past ten and half-past twelve. She was
+likely to order it at any hour after she returned from the Audience.
+“Late rice,” or dinner, was ordered with the same irregularity. She was
+very fond of nuts and fruits, and ate them between meals, when she
+drank tea, hot milk, and certain fruit juices.
+
+The young Empress and Ladies of the Court were not bound to these
+irregular hours. They ordered their meals in their own pavilions at
+the hours they wished. Sometimes they had but just finished their own
+meals, when the Empress Dowager would order hers, and, when she had
+finished, invite them to eat at her table. Then it would be a matter of
+etiquette to eat with, at least apparent, relish. At this meal at Her
+Majesty’s table, her place remained vacant. When I was in the Palace
+and we were invited to eat at her table, the Ladies sat; but when I was
+not there, the Ladies stood to eat, if she were still in the building,
+thus observing a very old convention. The Empress Dowager was very
+rigid about the observance of all traditional customs, and a stickler
+for Court etiquette, but she was also very considerate of the Ladies.
+When she had eaten, she would leave her Throne-room, or would conceal
+herself behind some screen, so that they might sit and eat in peace. I
+have seen her return to the Throne-room while the Ladies were eating,
+but she would do it stealthily, not allowing the eunuchs to precede
+her, so that the Ladies might not be obliged to rise on her entrance.
+
+When the Empress Dowager dined, she sat at the head of a long table
+absolutely groaning under the many dishes placed thereon. Huge silver
+platters stood on side tables with sucking-pig, steamed goose, whole
+fowls, etc. Before serving the latter, they were brought to her to look
+at, just as the butler, in Europe, shows the pheasant and set dishes to
+the mistress of the house. Her dishes were of yellow porcelain, with
+curiously chased silver covers of pyramidal shape and quaint design.
+When she arose to go to the table, a eunuch standing near would shout,
+“Remove the covers,” the word would be repeated along the line of
+waiting eunuchs, who would spring forward and whip off the covers of
+the many dishes on the table as if by magic. At Her Majesty’s place
+were two spoons, a saucer and bowl, a pair of chop-sticks, and a small
+folded square of soft cloth, corresponding to our napkin. When she
+sat down, she attached to the front of her dress, by a quaint, golden
+pin, a large silken napkin,--for she was immaculately neat and had a
+horror of a spot on her clothes. She was an epicure and thoroughly
+appreciated any new dish the Palace cooks sent forth, and, like all
+epicures, she ate very slowly and seemed to enjoy her food. She never
+drank wine or anything else at meals. I only saw her drink wine on two
+occasions, when some new vintages had been received at the Palace,
+and then it seemed more to judge of their merits, as a connoisseur,
+than anything else. When she finished her meal and left the table, the
+eunuchs brought hot cloths for her hands and a golden “rince-bouche.”
+After this, one of the maids would bring her a silver basin, soap, and
+towels, and she would indulge in an elaborate hand-washing.
+
+After “Early rice” came the hour of her siesta. She would retire to her
+bedroom, and her reader, bringing several volumes from which to choose,
+would come to read to her. She would remain in her room for an hour and
+a half, whether sleeping or being read to. When she awoke, she would
+make another careful toilet, the Ladies would join her, and she would
+go for a long walk before taking “Late rice.”
+
+On the first and fifteenth of the month, the Imperial players were at
+the Theater. On these days, the Emperor, instead of returning to his
+own Palace, would accompany the Empress Dowager and the Ladies from the
+Audience Hall to the Theater. The Imperial Hymn was played on Their
+Majesties’ entrance into the court of the Theater, and when they had
+entered the Imperial loge, the players would come in a body on the
+stage and “kow-tow.” Then the actors, splendidly gowned, would make the
+customary wishes for the Imperial Peace, Prosperity, Longevity, after
+which there would be a posture-play in costume, and then the plays for
+the day would begin. On Theater days Their Majesties would lunch and
+dine together in the Imperial loge. They did not sit at the ends of
+the great table, but at right angles to each other--the Emperor at the
+head of the table, and the Empress Dowager at his left. His Majesty was
+not much of an epicure. He ate fast, and apparently did not care what
+it was. When he finished, he would stand up near Her Majesty, or walk
+around the Throne-room until she had finished.
+
+The Empress Dowager was very rigorous in the observance of all fasts,
+as well as feasts, prescribed by the rites. On fast-days, no meat
+nor fish was eaten at her table. The meals consisted entirely of
+vegetables, bread, and rice; but there was always a great variety of
+these dishes, and they were temptingly prepared. Meat dishes and fish
+were always prepared for me when I was invited to eat at the Imperial
+table on fast-days, until I learned that the Empress Dowager and the
+Ladies were fasting, when I asked to eat only what was prepared for
+them when I dined with them at Her Majesty’s table.
+
+On Festivals and Theater days, Princesses of the Imperial Family, wives
+of Manchu Nobles, and high Officials were invited to spend the day at
+the Palace. Sometimes their children would accompany them, little girls
+and boys under twelve. I never saw a boy over seventeen in the Palace;
+and only once, one sixteen years old. This was a son of Prince Ching.
+When these young people came to the Court, they observed the same
+rules of etiquette as their elders, and behaved with great decorum.
+Her Majesty is very fond of children, but very particular as to their
+manners. When a little girl did not make a graceful bow, Her Majesty
+would not correct her, but would ask the young Empress, an authority on
+etiquette and very graceful, to bow. Her Majesty would then tell the
+little girl to notice how the Empress bowed and try to do it in that
+manner. The child, or her parents, generally followed this suggestion,
+and the grace of the bow was improved on the next visit to Court!
+
+On one occasion, a lady of high rank, married to a kinsman of the
+Empress Dowager, was invited to the Palace with her family. She had
+two little girls, and when the family went up to bow and repeat the
+salutation to Her Majesty, the younger daughter, only five years old,
+refused either to make the bow or repeat the salutation, but sat down
+on the floor and cried! The Empress Dowager waited patiently for the
+mother to correct the little girl, for she is very fond of children
+and disposed to condone their faults. The little girl would not,
+however, listen to reason and continued to show temper. Her Majesty
+could not allow such a breach of the “Proprieties,” even in a child of
+this age, and the high rank of the family of the little girl made it
+the more imperative that she should conform to the rules of Propriety
+and observe the etiquette of the Court. When Her Majesty saw that all
+efforts at bringing her to reason were fruitless, she ordered the child
+to be taken away. Whereupon the mother began crying, and begged her
+not to be offended with the little girl. She replied, “Do you think
+a person of superior intelligence could be offended with a baby? I
+send you out of the Palace to teach you a lesson, which you must teach
+your child. I do not blame her; I blame you and pity her; but she must
+suffer as well as yourself. You must teach your child that ‘it is by
+the rules of propriety that the character is established’ (Confucius)”;
+and she was inexorable. The family left the Palace and was not invited
+again for some time.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII
+
+                  HER MAJESTY’S ANXIETY--HER BIRTHDAY
+
+Her Majesty was looking tired and anxious these days; the Audiences
+were unusually long, and despatches were arriving all during the day.
+She would often go to the Gardens immediately after her Audience for
+solitary walks, unattended by the Ladies, and when she went out for
+the walk, accompanied by the Empress and Princesses, she would sit
+distraught and abstracted before the finest views and those she loved
+most. She seemed absent-minded, and when some eunuch with the official
+message would kneel before her, awaiting her order to deliver his
+message, she would recall herself with an effort. One day when we were
+out, after days of this anxiety, and she was sitting alone in front of
+the “Peony Mountain,” the Empress and Princesses standing in a group at
+a little distance, she looked a pathetic figure. Her strong face looked
+tired and worn. Her arms hung listlessly by her sides and she seemed
+almost to have given up, and I saw her, furtively, brush a tear away.
+The days were so like each other at the Palace, the Chinese dates being
+different from ours, I lost my reckoning until I had a Tientsin paper,
+and I saw that the date on which the Russians had promised to evacuate
+Manchuria had passed and they were making no move toward doing so;
+and that there were rumors of war between Japan and Russia. This,
+then, must be what was weighing upon the mind of the Empress Dowager.
+A few days later a telegram was handed her in the Throne-room while
+she was posing, that seemed to greatly agitate her. It was from Kwang
+Hsi, and reported the ineffectual attempts of the authorities to put
+down a serious rebellion there. Thus, there were interior as well as
+exterior troubles to make her anxious. She seemed to take these State
+troubles to heart; and it was touching to see her anxiety, which she
+made but little effort to conceal when surrounded only by the Ladies.
+The Emperor, on the contrary, preserved his usual calm exterior, and
+if he was racked by anxiety, showed no evidence of it. This may have
+been because he had schooled himself to hide his feelings. Be that as
+it may, his face had always that enigmatic smile lurking around the
+corners of his mouth. I fancied, though, his eyes looked more resigned
+and sadder than usual.
+
+The date of the Empress Dowager’s Birthday (November 16) was
+approaching, and preparations to celebrate it were beginning. She
+was determined to keep this celebration very simple. She issued
+edicts prohibiting the high Officials and Viceroys from sending the
+extravagant presents which always pour in at the celebration of the
+birthday of any one of her age in China. She recommended great economy
+in expenditures for the celebration, saying it would be improper and
+unworthy at this time of National distress, when the Foreign Indemnity
+was not yet paid, to make a large outlay for her Birthday. The
+celebration of a birthday in China is a great event, almost a religious
+ceremony, and is observed with great rejoicings by all classes. The
+poorest in the land, if they are not able to keep any other festival,
+always celebrate with as much pomp as possible the birthdays of their
+parents. This is one of the duties enjoined by the Book of Rites, and,
+in spite of Her Majesty’s expressed wishes on the subject, the Emperor
+could not allow her Birthday to pass without a fitting celebration.
+
+The Emperor beseeched Her Majesty “on bended knee” to allow him to have
+her Birthday celebrated with the same pomp as usual--to permit him to
+add another honorific title to the sixteen she already possessed--but
+though she was very proud of her titles, which the Ministers and
+Emperor had conferred upon her at different times, she was inexorable
+on this point, for the adding of a new title would necessitate an
+annual grant of twelve thousand dollars in gold. She also insisted that
+everything must be on a smaller scale than usual. She was, one could
+well see, in no happy frame of mind. There was none of the enthusiasm
+she had shown over the preparations for the Emperor’s Birthday. Then
+she was in gay good humor. She then evidently fully believed that
+things were going well for the State, that China would soon obtain
+her full rights in Manchuria again; then everything seemed brighter
+for the Nation’s outlook than now. It was her duty, however, to go
+through these Birthday celebrations, which, curtail as she would, must,
+nevertheless, be very elaborate, owing to her age as well as to her
+high rank. The Empress Dowager’s wishes as to the adding of a new
+title were observed, and it was not conferred, but the preparations for
+the Birthday went on, on a magnificent scale. Presents came pouring
+into the Palace, and even more elaborate festive decorations than those
+used for the Emperor’s Birthday were being put in place.
+
+Her Majesty was to receive the prostrations of the Emperor and
+Empress,[6] Princesses, and members of the Imperial Family, on a
+Throne in the Palace, that was built half-way up the terraced hill
+crowned by the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. She did not receive
+these prostrations in the Great Audience Hall: this was set aside,
+by tradition, for the Emperor, alone. Had she been reigning for him,
+she would have received them there, but as she was reigning with him,
+she received them in the other Palace. The elevation of this Palace
+permitted all who were allowed to enter the Precincts to offer their
+congratulations, to get a glimpse of Her Majesty. As the weather was
+getting cold, the marble steps leading up to this Palace, the courts,
+and even a large part of the terrace over the lake, were covered with
+carpets of gala red.
+
+[6] It has been said by foreigners, that Her Majesty the Empress
+Dowager obliges the Emperor and Empress to make the prostrations before
+her on her Birthday as an indignity to them and to show her authority.
+The truth is, that every son in China kneels before his parents on
+their birthdays, and should the Emperor fail to do so, the whole of
+China would be horrified and cry out against his unfilial conduct. Her
+Majesty is not only the wife of his uncle, the Emperor Hsien-Feng, but
+the sister of his mother, and, more than all else, the Empress Dowager
+is the Emperor’s adopted mother. The duties of an adopted child to his
+adopted parents are the same, in China, as to his own parents. In the
+Viceroy Chang-Chih-Tung’s famous ode to the Emperor, he speaks of this
+filial piety as one of the Emperor’s greatest qualities: “Who does not
+admire the filial reverence and piety with which he waits upon his
+august mother? Setting a brilliant example to all, he inquires early
+and late after her well-being and watches over her meals in person. Let
+us now add a new ode, extolling to the skies our Emperor’s fidelity to
+his Imperial mother.”
+
+The congratulations and prostrations were to begin at 2 A.M., the
+hour of her birth. There were three pairs of huge silver candelabra
+standing at either side of the Throne to hold the enormous wax candles
+of Imperial yellow, entwined with golden dragons, which weighed fifty
+pounds each. They stood five feet high. Lanterns with the ever-present
+character “Sho” and others inscribed “Wan-Sho-Wu-Chiang” (no limit to
+Imperial longevity) stood on each step of the long flight leading up
+to the Palace. The whole terrace below, all the temples and buildings
+in the grounds, were brilliantly illuminated with splendid lanterns,
+elaborately ornamented with tassels of red silk, with the characters
+for longevity emblazoned thereon in vermilion.
+
+With the few changes necessitated by the different season of the year
+of the Empress Dowager’s Birthday, everything was carried out as for
+the Emperor’s except on a larger scale, as she was celebrating more
+years than His Majesty. The Palace was filled to overflowing with the
+many ladies invited to be present. Some came from the heart of distant
+Manchuria, the cradle of the Dynasty. The winter Court dress of the
+ladies, worn for Her Majesty’s Birthday, was of satin, lined and
+trimmed with fur, with sable collars. Like the summer Court dress, the
+winter gown was elaborately embroidered in the golden double dragon.
+The picturesque summer coiffure had also been replaced by winter hats
+of fur with jewels across the front and an elaborate crown, studded
+with precious stones. Brilliant bunches of flowers were worn on either
+side of the coiffure, in winter as in summer.
+
+The celebration of birthday festivities in China is always accompanied
+by rites and worship of the ancestral tablets, and Her Majesty was
+obliged to go into Peking several times during the celebration. The
+ceremonies, themselves, were also very tiring. All this effort to keep
+up, and to properly carry out her part of the ceremonies, added to her
+real anxiety, made the forced celebration of her sixty-ninth Birthday
+far from a happy event to the Empress Dowager of China, who found
+the Empire she was trying to guide, in so perilous a position--war
+threatening on its confines, foreign complications of all kinds to
+deal with, and rebellion within.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIV
+
+                           THE WINTER PALACE
+
+The Summer Palace was always the Empress Dowager’s favorite Palace, but
+after the Boxer rising and the subsequent occupation of Peking by the
+Allies, when foreign troops were stationed in both the Peking Palaces,
+and so much damage done them, she would have preferred to have lived
+the whole year round at the Summer Palace. As it is, she occupies it
+from eight to nine months of the year, going out to it at the first
+opportunity in the spring, and leaving it only when it is so cold as
+to make it impracticable. There is a system of heating it by furnaces
+beneath the floors, but Her Majesty never used these, and the small
+Chinese porcelain stoves, sorts of braziers, were quite insufficient
+for heating the immense halls. This, however, would not have influenced
+her, as she never minded the cold, but it was very difficult for the
+officials to take the long trip to the Summer Palace during the winter,
+and this consideration alone caused her to move into the Winter Palace
+when the weather became very cold. The members of the Cabinet and the
+Princes had summer homes in the immediate vicinity of the Palace, but
+there were thousands of officials who were obliged to come out every
+day from Peking.
+
+The time had now come for the Court to move in definitively to the
+Winter Palace, and shortly after the Birthday festivities, Their
+Majesties took up their residence in the Capital. Before I left the
+Summer Palace, the young Empress suggested that I should go to the
+Winter Palace the next day in time to assist in receiving Her Majesty
+on her arrival there, for, as usual, I left the Summer Palace the
+day before the Court, and went in to the United States Legation. At
+every change of residence of the Empress Dowager, the young Empress,
+Princesses, and Ladies of the Court precede her by a few hours, and
+stand upon the threshold of her own dwelling Palace to receive her when
+she arrives. Full Court dress is worn for this reception, and it is, as
+is everything touching Her Majesty, a ceremony!
+
+The day of the Empress Dowager’s entrance into her loyal City of Peking
+for the winter, in December, 1903, was a typical Peking winter day; the
+air was crisp and clear, the atmosphere positively sparkling, and like
+champagne. One seemed to breathe an elixir. For her “progresses” from
+one Palace to another the Empress Dowager always had, what they call in
+England, “Queen’s weather.”
+
+The City of Peking is composed of three walled towns--the Chinese,
+the Tartar, and the Imperial City. Within the Imperial City lies the
+Winter Palace, its battlemented, turreted walls surrounded by a moat.
+After passing through one of the great gates, in the wall surrounding
+the Imperial City, and crossing the stone bridge that spans “the
+Grain-bearing Canal,” we soon came in sight of the splendid walls
+and lofty gates of the Palace inclosure. The red outer walls of the
+Palace, faded by Time and weather to a charming gray-pink, with their
+beautiful corner constructions of airy-looking turrets reflected in
+the still waters of the moat beneath, were most picturesque. We were
+carried along the raised road beyond the moat until we came to a marble
+bridge (formerly a portcullis), that leads into the gate of the Palace
+in front of the Manchu Banner quarters, at the foot of the Coal Hill.
+Our chairs, by special arrangement, were allowed to enter the inclosure
+proper, of the Winter Palace; but even after entering the exterior
+gates, one winds in and out between high walls, through massive gates
+and heavy wooden doors studded with huge iron nails and ornamental
+copper balls. Against the high wall on either side of this approach,
+wooden sheds were built as sleeping-places for the guards and soldiers.
+Each shed had a front of lattice-work, with paper pasted over the
+interstices. Within was a cemented platform, which the Northern Chinese
+use as beds. These have a place underneath for building a fire, for
+they keep warm at night by sleeping on hot beds and use very little
+cover.
+
+Just beyond the last of these guard-houses, our official “green chairs”
+were put down between two high walls, with forbidding gates in front of
+us. Here we took the red Palace chairs which were awaiting us. We were
+swiftly carried through still other gates and past a very labyrinth of
+walls. The courts were all paved in large flagstones of white marble,
+and surrounded by high walls with heavy doors. We finally reached a
+charming court, where, standing under the overhanging branches of a
+beautiful cedar, we found the young Empress and Princesses, in full
+Court dress, already awaiting the coming of Her Majesty. It was a
+pretty group that stood there, gowned in their splendid Court costumes,
+the sunlight glinting upon the jeweled crowns of their fur caps, and
+giving a touch of nature to the brilliant flowers in their hair. My
+plain, foreign, tailor-made gown was the only dark spot in this bright
+group of gorgeously attired ladies.
+
+Presently the cymbals and flutes sounded the weird notes of the
+“Imperial Hymn.” The great wooden doors of the court were thrown open
+and the Imperial procession came in sight. Splendidly gowned eunuchs
+advanced in two lines, walking with rigid bodies and stately step.
+At a sign from the young Empress, a hush fell upon the chattering
+group of Princesses and each took her proper place. Then the Imperial
+chair-bearers crossed the threshold, with Her Majesty sitting erect
+in one of her “open chairs,” for as soon as she gets into the Palace
+grounds she leaves the closed palanquin, in which she is obliged to
+travel abroad and which she very much dislikes on account of its
+stuffiness. The Ladies, as if moved by one impulse, made the formal
+bow at her approach, and repeated the usual Imperial salutation
+“Lao-tzu-tzung-chee-siang,” which I repeated with the others. Her
+Majesty had her chair stopped in the center of the Court and got out,
+and I went up to salute her. She shook hands, and said she hoped I
+would be happy in the Winter Palace, but that it was a dull, depressing
+sort of a place, with too many walls and gates, after the open
+brightness, of the Summer Palace. After a few minutes’ conversation she
+went into the Throne-room, followed by the Empress and Ladies.
+
+Her Majesty’s Throne-room at the Winter Palace fronted on a court which
+was surrounded by well-built walls with curiously shaped doors and
+windows and ornamental yellow and green tiled designs at intervals. In
+the center of the wall in front was the immense gateway, with wooden
+folding-doors, which had just opened for her passage. The verandah
+of the Throne-room had two rooms projecting upon it, making of it a
+rectangular space with walls around three of its sides. This verandah
+was quite different from any at the Summer Palace, where they run the
+whole length of the buildings, back and front.
+
+Entering, I was struck by the beauty of the great central hall--the
+harmony of its proportions, the somber splendor of its color. It seemed
+to me the most satisfying, the most picturesque of all the restful,
+harmonious Chinese interiors I had seen. Its dull red walls, splendid
+coffered ceiling glowing in color and glinting in gold, its central
+dome, with elaborately carved pendentives, was painted in brilliant
+primary colors, subdued into a rich harmony by the demi-obscurity, for
+it had no “lantern” and received its light from the windows below.
+
+    [Illustration: COURT IN THE WINTER PALACE--“HER MAJESTY COMES”]
+
+The curious feature of the domes in several of the palaces in the
+Violet City, so effective from within, giving elevation and space to
+the interiors, is that they are not visible from the outside of the
+edifice. The beautiful straight line of the roof, with its upturned
+corners, remains intact in its purity and retains its restful
+simplicity.
+
+The hall was paved with great blocks of highly polished black marble,
+which dimly reflected the glowing splendor of the walls and ceiling.
+In the center of one side was a low dais, richly carpeted, on which
+stood a great antique throne and footstool of red lacquer, framed
+in ebony and inlaid with cloisonné--the three-leaved screen behind
+was of bronze, with landscapes in low relief. On each leaf a poem in
+golden characters gave the needed touch of brilliancy to the somber
+massiveness of the dull bronze.
+
+Great wooden doors, with huge gilded dragons in high relief, opened
+into apartments on the right and left of this splendid hall. These
+portals were always thrown wide, and heavily padded satin portières
+hung from the lintels. The front and rear of the hall was almost
+entirely of glass, with the pillars that supported the roof standing
+clear between the windows--the lower half of plate-glass, the upper, of
+transparent Corean paper.
+
+The apartments to the right, where, at a sign from Her Majesty, I
+followed the Ladies, were her day-rooms. Her sitting-room, projecting
+on the verandah, brilliantly lighted by two sides of windows, was in
+dazzling contrast to the somber splendor of the Throne-room. The sun
+pouring through the windows, the gay flowers and growing plants, the
+fruits piled high in great painted bowls, the divans, beneath the
+windows, with satin cushions, the touches of femininity, the subtle
+perfume, even the small shrine to Buddha--everything bespoke the
+characteristics of its august mistress, who, in her hours of ease,
+loved sunshine and flowers, and reveled in beauty and perfume.
+
+On entering, Her Majesty approached the small shrine, lighted three
+slender tapers of fragrant incense, and placed them upright in the
+perfumed ashes of the golden censer at the feet of Buddha. She
+rearranged the offerings, placed a picture of the Mother of Buddha
+behind the Image, and then stood in reverent attitude a few seconds
+before turning to her waiting tirewomen to have her outer garments
+removed.
+
+As I had now learned that my interest in her surroundings pleased her,
+I looked around the room. It was as lofty as the Great Throne-room, but
+the rear wall was divided into two stories, and a hidden stairway led
+to the upper rooms. In an alcove, under the second floor, was built
+the bed where she took her siesta in the afternoon, screened from the
+sitting-room by beautifully embroidered satin curtains. The walls of
+carved teakwood had a rare frieze of panels of flying birds and bats
+in mother-of-pearl. There were scrolls bearing quotations from the
+classics; and, of course, many beautiful and curious clocks adorned the
+dragon tables, the window-seats, and carved chests!
+
+In prominent places, each flanked by good-luck pennants, hung two
+steel-engravings: the first representing Queen Victoria in regal array;
+the second, the Queen and Prince Consort, surrounded by their children
+and grandchildren. I was surprised to see them here in Her Majesty’s
+living-room, though I had heard that the Empress Dowager had a great
+admiration for the Queen, and that she thought there were many points
+of similarity in their reigns. They had each been widows the greater
+part of their lives, and had each ruled over great empires. She said
+she noticed in the Queen’s face the same lines of longevity that she,
+herself, had. She probably dreams of as long a life as the great Queen
+of England had.
+
+The Empress Dowager was astonished that I had seen so many members of
+the English Royal family, and the Queen herself, when I had never had
+an “Audience,” and was still more so when she learned that the Great
+English Empress took her daily promenade outside her Palace Walls in
+“an open chair,” and could be seen by any one who happened to pass that
+way.
+
+Her Majesty told me I might go up the hidden stairway, leading from
+her bed-alcove to the floor above, where was her private chapel. Here,
+on special occasions, services were held by lama priests. It was a
+beautiful haven, in whose dim, religious light one might meditate or
+pray.
+
+Its high altar, with a great golden Buddha of fine design, had tall,
+golden candlesticks, shining with pearls and rubies. Richly wrought
+and enameled vases held bouquets of jeweled flowers, and censers,
+damascened with gold, sent up spirals of perfumed smoke. The floor
+was covered with a splendid silken rug of Imperial yellow, and
+small, exquisitely executed, paintings of the saints and personified
+attributes formed a dado around the walls.
+
+Curiously shaped windows, with bits of translucent shell set into the
+elaborate lattice-work, shed but a dim light, and out of mysterious
+depths shone the splendid jewels of the altar ornaments, the dull gold
+of the Great Buddha, and the gleaming dado of red-and-gold clothed
+saints! This was Her Majesty’s favorite chapel. She had followed me up
+and showed it with pride. She appreciated its perfect artistic quality
+as much, I am sure, as she loved its religious element.
+
+Here she could come, from the privacy of her bed-alcove, mount the
+hidden stairs when she willed, unnoticed and unattended, and here seek
+that peace which seemed so far away those troubled days of January,
+1904, when all looked so dark for her country.
+
+Her Majesty’s Throne-room is in the first of three large halls in
+the northeastern corner of the inclosure, which, with their courts,
+extend to the exterior walls of the Palace. The buildings are raised
+about eight feet above the marble-paved court and are approached
+by handsome, white marble steps. Leading up to the second, for the
+first time I saw a “spirit-stairway” used in secular architecture.
+This “spirit-stairway” consists of a block of marble placed in the
+center and reaching from the top to the bottom of the stairway. This
+block, instead of being cut into steps, is elaborately carved with the
+double dragon. It lies in the middle of the stairway like a beautiful
+heavy carpet thrown over it, too stiff to take the form of steps. The
+“spirit-stairway,” not to be touched by mortal feet, is used in the
+approaches to all the fine temples; and when, as in the case of the
+Temple of Heaven at Peking, the stairs are high, the effect is as
+beautiful as it is original and unique.
+
+           [Illustration: CONFUCIAN TEMPLE--SPIRIT-STAIRWAY
+                      IN CENTRAL FLIGHT OF STEPS]
+
+The hall with the “spirit-stairway” is the handsomest of the three in
+the Empress Dowager’s inclosure. Its interior, a height of fifty feet,
+has a splendid coffered ceiling, and its walls are of wonderfully
+carved wood, with cloisonné medallions, which give great richness and
+splendor. A balcony surrounds this lofty hall, with openings from it
+into rooms over the side apartments, which are of but the usual height.
+This great front hall, with a dais and throne, screen and ceremonial
+fans, showed it was for more formal receptions than the beautiful domed
+room we had first entered. Opposite the Throne dais stood a “cistern”
+of splendidly carved jade to hold water for cooling the temperature
+in summer. A handsome music-box, which had been sent as a present to
+the Dowager Empress by Queen Victoria, and several other presents from
+European Royalties, stood around. The apartments on the right were for
+His Majesty’s use when he came to the Theater, which was near. On the
+left were Her Majesty’s night apartments. Two doors led through the
+open-work screen which separated the hall from the entrance at the rear.
+Here there was another magnificent block of jade, about five feet high,
+elaborately carved in designs representing the manner in which the jade
+is mined and taken from its native mountains.
+
+From the central hall, a raised marble platform led into the third
+of the buildings. Here, again, the central hall occupied the entire
+height, while the sides were divided into two stories. This was one
+of the Emperor’s Throne-rooms, and he had graciously given it for
+my use while painting the Empress Dowager’s portraits. I had been
+told I was to have a “magnificent place for working” in the Winter
+Palace, and so far as magnificence went, I had it here. But, lofty
+and spacious as the hall was, it was very dark, and there was also a
+disagreeable reflection from the shining, yellow-tiled roof of the
+Palace in front. The court was very small, and the reflection from the
+roof was consequently unavoidable. My heart fell. It was a dreadful
+disappointment to find that my “studio,” to which I had so looked
+forward, was so unsatisfactory as to light!
+
+The Empress Dowager’s quarters at the Winter Palace are separated by
+high walls and guarded gates from the Emperor’s. The pavilions of the
+Emperor’s inclosure are on a more magnificent scale even than those of
+the Empress Dowager. The Audience Hall of the Winter Palace is in the
+Emperor’s inclosure. In Her Majesty’s inclosure, there is a Theater,
+but the Imperial “loge” is small, indeed, when compared with the
+splendid hall at the Summer Palace. Tradition seemed to be more rigidly
+observed here than at the Summer Palace, and everything seemed to be
+referred to the Emperor; whereas Her Majesty seemed to be the first
+figure at the Summer Palace, and there, traditional laws were often in
+abeyance.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV
+
+             PEKING--BEGINNING THE PORTRAIT FOR ST. LOUIS
+
+The Legation quarter of Peking lies in the Tartar City, just under
+the walls of the Imperial City. The United States Legation, in 1904,
+occupied a Chinese Temple on the canal, at the left of the “Water
+Gate,” the opening of which was exacted by the Allies in 1900. Before
+this time, there was no gate between the Chien-Mên and the Hata-Mên.
+
+It was a picturesque jaunt in the early morning that I had from
+the United States Legation to the Palace. My cart rattled down the
+road, running parallel to the canal, past the splendid inclosure of
+the English Legation to the “Glacis,” and across the Marble Bridge,
+that traverses it, to the narrow street under the great red walls of
+the Imperial City. The walls all over China are wonderful feats of
+architecture, the culminating point of the science of the Chinese
+builder. The “Great Wall,” long counted one of the wonders of the
+world, is one of many in China, and only remarkable on account of its
+size and great length. Nearly every town and city in China has massive,
+well-constructed walls, which, with their splendid gate-towers, make
+them really remarkable works of architecture. Even the palaces and
+parks of the rich have fine walls, the monotony of their line varied
+by the turreted summer-houses which surmount their angles. These walls,
+quite overtopping the cities and houses they inclose, with their
+watch-towers permitting their defenders to see at great distances,
+must, in medieval times, have been a splendid protection against the
+attacks of enemies or the inroads of barbarians.
+
+The main thoroughfares of the Tartar City are very wide, with a raised
+causeway, about two feet high, in the center. When Their Majesties go
+abroad, this is covered with yellow sand and is used as an Imperial
+roadway. Ordinarily any cart or chair, irrespective of the rank of
+the occupant, may use it. It is always kept in excellent condition,
+and seems to be a survival of the raised roads that Marco Polo speaks
+of in describing the grounds of the Palace of Kublai-Kahn. The lower
+roads on either side of this raised causeway are generally in a
+lamentable state. Itinerant cooks ply their odorous trade of frying
+grease-balls, etc.; barbers shave their clients and act as manicures
+and chiropodists, in full view of the passer-by; venders of old iron,
+clothes, vegetables, etc, spread out their wares in the middle of the
+road, in reckless disregard of the wandering fowls, dogs, and even
+pigs, which roam about. Pools of stagnant water and piles of refuse
+add their quota to the malodorous confusion. Still the streets are not
+unpicturesque. The elaborately carved fronts of the shops, the graceful
+signs, with their red pennants, the gaily colored lanterns swinging to
+and fro, the great umbrellas unfurled here and there over the itinerant
+venders, all have a certain sort of charm.
+
+After entering the gate of the Imperial City, the roads are gay with
+carts, official chairs, and handsomely caparisoned horses. We sometimes
+met attachés of the “Wai-Wu-Pu” and different Yamens hurrying to and
+fro with despatches, or caught a glimpse, in the depths of his green
+chair, of one of the great ministers, the thin white-bearded face of
+Prince Ching, or the heavy Jewish-looking physiognomy of Na-Tung,
+the new minister, who seems likely to grow in favor. Sometimes we
+passed a bridal procession, with its gay, red-embroidered chairs,
+or some splendid funeral, with the great red catafalque, covered
+with magnificent embroideries (for red is used alike for wedding
+chairs and for funeral decorations)--its massive, long poles held by
+hundreds of red-gowned bearers and accompanied by the motley crew of
+figurants, who are always hired for funeral celebrations in China; the
+catafalque, followed by white-covered carts, carrying the mourning
+white-garbed women of the family. Sometimes we passed a crowd of
+yellow-gowned lama priests and monks returning from some celebration
+in the Palace--sometimes, great droves of camels laden with coal
+from the mountains or produce from afar. During the annual visit of
+the Mongolian Princes to Peking we met them with their fur-dressed
+and leather-booted followers, their quaintly caparisoned horses, and
+splendidly bedecked camels, for they were domiciled in Palaces, within
+the Imperial City.
+
+All this we could see as we went on our way to the Great Gate of
+the Palace, itself. Within the walls and at the gate of the Empress
+Dowager’s Palace, with the usual Chinese tolerance, the consideration
+of the great for the poor, beggars are allowed to come at certain
+times each day, to receive remnants from the Imperial kitchen. The
+poor are also permitted to examine the garbage of the Palace, before
+it is carted away. There was always a motley crew of ragged beggars
+around this gate, who received, apparently, kind consideration from the
+soldiers and guards. At least, they were allowed to ply their trade and
+to follow their avocations in peace.
+
+I found the light, in the magnificent hall which had now become my
+studio, so obscure, even in front of the great plate-glass doors, that
+it was almost useless to attempt to work. After trying to do so for two
+or three days, I told the head eunuch it was impossible. I did not wish
+to trouble Her Majesty with my annoyances, for she had enough of her
+own cares, and seemed to grow daily more and more anxious and depressed
+over the constantly growing rumors of war in Manchuria; but it was
+impossible to work longer where I was, and I decided I would have one
+of the ends of the hall, which projected beyond the overhanging eaves
+of the verandah, fitted up for my work, and in order to have sufficient
+light, even here, it was necessary to have the upper paper windows
+replaced by plate-glass. The eunuchs demurred. They said this would
+necessitate great changes, with heavy expense, besides establishing a
+precedent, as no other part of the Palace had plate-glass windows at
+the top! The next time the Empress Dowager came in, I told her it was
+impossible to work as it was. She, herself, remarked how dark it was,
+and noticed the reflection from the yellow roof opposite. And when
+she heard what I wished, she ordered it to be done at once, saying she
+would “speak to the Emperor” about it. An order of Her Majesty’s was
+always promptly carried out, and two days after, to my astonishment,
+the plate-glass windows were placed as I wished. I had the divan that
+was built under the windows removed, and all the furniture taken out
+of this end of the hall. The eunuchs hesitated about removing an
+immense elephant clock of wonderful mechanism, as it had not been
+moved for a hundred and fifty years, but I finally accomplished even
+this! Even without the furniture, this end of the hall was but a small
+space in which to work; but I had a fairly good light, and a quiet
+place to paint in, for the first time since I began painting the
+Empress Dowager. Here I was sufficiently far away from Her Majesty’s
+apartments, as well as from those of the Princesses and Ladies, to
+be able to work in quiet, without interruptions. A set of European
+furniture had been placed in the great hall, when it was decided to
+give it to me, and though this did not please me, in an artistic sense,
+it being absolutely out of keeping with its environment, I found the
+well-cushioned easy-chairs a real comfort when I wanted to rest.
+
+As soon as I was comfortably settled in my new studio, the Empress
+Dowager began to talk of having another large portrait begun--large
+enough to represent her with all the paraphernalia of Royalty (the
+ceremonial fans, the three-fold screen, the nine phenix, plants of
+heavenly bamboo) and pyramids of apples--all emblematic, or symbolic.
+I told Her Majesty it would be best to make a small study for this
+picture, and that the size of the portrait could be determined on after
+this was finished. She readily assented, and I began the small study.
+There were a number of beautiful thrones in the Palace, any one of
+which would have suited the lines of the composition. I selected one
+of the superb, antique thrones of red lacquer, a magnificent work of
+art, but the Empress Dowager did not care for this throne. It was not
+a matter of whether the lines or color suited the picture, the point
+was to have everything “Ho-shih” (proper), as the Chinese say. With
+the Chinese, propriety is a religion, and a thing that is “proper”
+must conform to tradition, for tradition and propriety are synonymous.
+The question of the throne was left in abeyance for the moment, as Her
+Majesty said there was one she would like to have painted, which she
+would have found before I began the big picture.
+
+                     [Illustration: PRINCE CHING]
+
+I finally began the sketch. Her Majesty was dressed in one of her
+official winter gowns. Its fur lining rendered the already heavily
+embroidered satin stiffer than ever, and any stray folds that might
+perchance have appeared, were pulled out by a heavy fringe of pearls
+around the hem. She had on her famous pearl mantle over an official
+jacket. In her coiffure she wore her long tassel of pearls, and many
+curious ceremonial jewels. She had on fur-lined undersleeves, which
+hid half her beautiful hands. The effect of her tiny finger-tips, with
+their long curving nails and jeweled shields, the palms not being
+visible, was most unfortunate. Added to this, she held them tightly
+together in her lap, and the lines were obscured by a large, pale-blue
+handkerchief in one hand.
+
+My heart fell. Thus I would lose one of her chief beauties. I begged
+Lady Yu-Keng to ask her to pose her hands differently. She said she
+could not do such a thing; so, in my inelegant Chinese, I told Her
+Majesty I did not like her hands as they were. “But I like them like
+that,” she said, looking at me with a charming expression of amused
+astonishment, amazed that it was possible for any one not to like what
+she liked; and she kept her hands as they were, and I was obliged to
+begin the picture with the hands in that position.
+
+The first sketch was quickly made, and Her Majesty expressed herself
+as pleased with it. Then came the discussion as to the size of the
+portrait. I made my measurements, and thought five feet by eight
+was large enough, but when she saw what size it was going to be,
+she thought six feet by ten would be better. The Palace carpenters
+were accordingly called in, and I gave them as accurate directions
+as I could, for making a stretcher. The Chinese workmen are clever,
+patient, and apt at carrying out suggestions, and the stretcher was
+satisfactorily made. But the canvas was to be put on this stretcher,
+and this they seemed to have no idea of, so I was obliged to try to
+do it myself. Owing to the size of the canvas, I was compelled to
+stand on a stool six feet high (they had no ladders), with the huge
+stretcher before me. An army of eunuchs stood around to assist me,
+presided over by a head eunuch. I used the iron pincers and pulled
+the canvas, myself. It was held at the corners by eunuchs, also on
+stools; one eunuch held the tacks, another the hammer, etc. Each order
+I gave was repeated in a loud voice by the head eunuch, and at every
+failure to comprehend my directions, the working eunuchs were rebuked
+and threatened with the “bamboo.” Finally, I accomplished the difficult
+task, and the great canvas was stretched. Her Majesty was greatly
+exercised when she learned I had done it myself. She said that I should
+have made the eunuchs “stretch four or five,” until they learned to do
+one properly. But I hadn’t sufficient canvas for such experiments, and
+could get no more in China.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVI
+
+                SOME SOCIAL CUSTOMS--MANCHU AND CHINESE
+
+I met the wives and families of all the Princes, nobles, and high
+Manchu officials in Peking, for they came to the Court at stated
+intervals, besides on many special occasions, when they were invited
+by Her Majesty. The most frequent of these visitors to the Palace
+were Prince Ching’s wives and daughters, the wives of the Emperor’s
+brothers, his father’s secondary wives and their daughters, and the
+sisters of the young Empress, one of whom is the clever Princess Schun.
+The widow of the Grand Secretary Yung Lu, who lost, in one year, her
+husband and a promising son, and who was nearly crazed by grief, also
+came often. She was not very brilliant, nor the kind of woman to appeal
+to Her Majesty; but her grief seemed to touch the Empress Dowager,
+and she received special marks of favor when in the Palace, and came
+and went as she willed. A step-daughter, whom she had herself brought
+up through a very delicate childhood, was the wife of the Emperor’s
+brother, Prince C’hun. Should they have a son he will probably be the
+next heir to the Throne.
+
+On their marriage the brides of nobles of a certain rank go to
+the Palace to be presented to the Empress Dowager. This ceremony
+corresponds to the presentation, on their marriage, of ladies at
+the English Court. These brides are always magnificently dressed in
+embroidered gowns of rich colors, and wear, for the first time, the
+Court coiffure of the married ladies, the magnificent golden filigree,
+jeweled construction, which I have already described, and for this
+occasion they wear a profusion of jewels. The Manchu ladies use much
+more discretion in wearing jewels than the Chinese ladies. The latter
+will sometimes wear as many as fifteen bracelets on each arm, and the
+number of jewels they put in their coiffure seems to be limited only by
+the space they have at their disposal.
+
+The brides come to the Palace in red satin bridal chairs, accompanied
+by their husband’s mother and his married sisters, if he has any; if
+not, by his nearest women relations. On their arrival in the Precincts
+they first go to the Throne-room and make their bows and prostrations
+before the Empress Dowager, to thank her for the gifts she has sent.
+Sometimes Her Majesty would speak to them at some length, seeming to
+give them advice. After making their obeisances to her, they then make
+their salutations to the young Empress. They spend the day at the
+Palace, take luncheon with the young Empress and Princesses, and leave
+about three o’clock. These brides were generally very young girls,
+though sometimes I was surprised to see that they had well passed
+the first bloom of youth, for I had thought that all Oriental women
+were married very young. The young Empress was always charming to the
+brides, and seemed to watch over their pleasure, and try to make them
+enjoy this rather trying day, when they were the observed of all
+observers. Among these brides, the winter I was in Peking, was the wife
+of the Emperor’s youngest brother, a charming young girl with sweet
+manners, far more attractive in every way than Yung Lu’s daughter, the
+wife of Prince C’hun.
+
+The Chinese look upon a daughter, at her birth, as a misfortune, one
+of the ills that must be endured, and while loving her individually,
+a daughter is not welcomed into the family nor allowed the privileges
+of a son. It is, however, quite different with the Manchus. A daughter
+not being able to sacrifice to the ancestors, even Manchus prefer a
+son; but a daughter is a welcome member of the family, and she has
+a distinct and independent position of her own. One of the Chinese
+ministers to Washington once told me that the only unmarried woman in
+the world whose position is analogous to that of the “American Girl,”
+in her own family, is the Manchu girl.
+
+As long as the Manchu girl remains unmarried, she is a veritable power
+in the household. She ranks as high as her brother, and always takes
+precedence of her brother’s wife, even if that wife be double her age
+and married before she was born. She precedes her mother even, as she
+is of the Blood and her mother of “another family.” Not only has she
+these social privileges, but she has well-defined legal rights. Her
+father cannot make a disposition of his property without his eldest
+daughter’s consent. She can go into her brother’s house, dismiss his
+servants, and generally direct his affairs. Her word has more weight
+as to the bringing up of her brother’s children than his wife’s, as
+she is a sister, a born relation, and the wife is only an acquired
+relation. When she marries, however, she becomes a member of the
+family into which she marries; but even then, such is the ascendancy
+of the girl in the Manchu family, even after her marriage into another
+family, she often goes on dictating to her brother’s family and her
+own as before, if she does not find her own household duties and her
+own family sufficient occupation to keep her from doing so. Such is
+the force of consanguinity among the Manchus, and the position of the
+daughter in the family.
+
+The unmarried Manchu girl has not only this liberty in her family, but
+she has more liberty in the outside world than any other Oriental woman.
+
+They are not so restricted in their social intercourse as any other
+Oriental women, and while they are not so literary as the Chinese, they
+have more social qualities and are brighter conversationalists, being
+both witty and gay.
+
+They are not forced to marry against their inclinations and some remain
+single to the end of their days, or marry late in life if they so
+desire. These unmarried ladies are not only looked up to by their own
+families, but they are not regarded as being objects of commiseration
+by the world at large. On the contrary, they are rewarded with
+triumphal arches and splendid monuments if they have passed a long
+and exemplary life of maidenhood. Although the brides that came into
+the Palace were generally young, one who came to make her bow to the
+Empress Dowager, while I was there, was a lady of forty-two summers.
+She had brought up two or three families of brothers’ children and
+directed their households; but she finally succumbed to the charms of a
+wealthy official, who had lost his wife two years before and who had a
+number of children on which she could continue to practise her theories
+as to their bringing up. Had she held out longer and died a maiden, she
+might have had an arch built to her memory after death and gone down to
+posterity.
+
+Only ladies, young girls and boys under seventeen were ever guests of
+the Empress Dowager in her Palace. The Manchu nobles and high officials
+were invited on certain days to the Theater, but there was always the
+high intervening screen between them and Her Majesty’s and the Ladies’
+loges. The Princes and nobles who have official positions, see the
+Empress Dowager in the Audience Hall, and she is now over sixty. She
+has more liberty than before, but generally their Audiences are with
+the Emperor alone, and they never come into the Ladies’ Precincts. At
+the performance of the European circus in the Palace grounds I saw, for
+the first time, nearly all the Princes and Manchu officials.
+
+The Manchus are a taller race than the Chinese and more
+athletic-looking. They are fond of exercise, indulge in archery,
+riding, etc, and do not look down upon a military career, as do the
+Chinese. It is said that polo playing, which the English got from
+India, originated among the Tartars, and that it is still played
+in Manchuria. I never saw polo played by the Manchus, but I have
+seen some daring riding done by the young nobles that would seem to
+show they could play polo if they would. The Manchu nobles have an
+inherited military rank, and they also receive military advancement for
+proficiency in archery and riding. The warlike spirit that prompted
+the Manchus and their progenitors, the Nu-Chih Tartars, who not only
+conquered China, but, as “the Huns,” almost overran Europe itself,
+is no longer so militant as it was. The modern Manchu is becoming
+almost as peace-loving as the Chinese themselves, but there are still
+qualities which show their descent from a race of warriors.
+
+They wear the ordinary Chinese costume, and though it is said “the
+shaven head and wearing of the queue” were instituted as marks of
+degradation for the Chinese when they were conquered by the Manchus,
+the Emperor himself and all the Manchu nobles shave their heads and
+wear the queue! They wear satin boots with white kid soles. Their hats,
+in summer of finely woven straw, and of fur in winter, have the crown
+covered with a tassel of red silk, surmounted by the jeweled button
+denoting their ranks. From this button stands out, almost at right
+angles, a jade-mounted aigret, mixed with the peafowl feathers, if they
+have attained that rank. In winter, they wear splendid sable short
+coats. Except these sable topcoats, fur is never worn on the outside of
+a garment in China, but is used only as a lining.
+
+When I saw the Manchu nobles at the circus at the Summer Palace, they
+wore the splendid summer Court costume, embroidered in the double
+dragon, reaching below the knee. They were tightly belted in around the
+waist, and very full and ample across the shoulders, giving the men the
+appearance, at least, of broad shoulders, and enhancing their already
+fine figures. One could see that the Emperor was the “glass of fashion
+and mold of form” of the young nobles; for they all aimed, as much as
+possible, at his slenderness of figure and even imitated his carriage.
+The young dandies, however, wore a much greater profusion of ornaments
+than His Majesty ever indulged in. The belt buckle, the handsomest
+ornament worn, was of carved jade, ruby quartz, or of beautifully
+chased gold set with precious stones. They were then wearing a
+profusion of ornaments dangling from their belts--embroidered cases
+for fans, chop-sticks and knives, and many other ornaments besides the
+watch, an indispensable adjunct to every Chinese gentleman’s costume.
+This is worn hanging from the belt in a handsome, embroidered case
+with an open front, so that the elaborate case, generally studded with
+jewels, beautifully enameled, or curiously incised, could be seen.
+This case had a sort of fob attachment made of silken cord, woven into
+quaint designs and finished generally with a wonderfully carved piece
+of jade, ruby quartz, or some other curious stone.
+
+Manchu ladies wear their gowns long and loose, hanging from the
+shoulders, and never show the line of the waist, nor the outline of the
+figure; but the men belt in their gowns tightly, and are very proud of
+a small waist.
+
+Among the social customs in China, which obtain also among the
+Manchus, is “concubinage.” But it exists in such a form that in its
+actual state, it might more properly be called “plurality of wives.”
+The concubine, or secondary wife, as I will call her, is taken from
+the bosom of her family, and her position in her husband’s family
+is considered as secure as that of the first wife. Though the first
+wife only has a legal standing, custom gives the secondary wife equal
+rights, and she is no more likely to be put aside than the first wife.
+There are, I suppose, men in China who put away a secondary wife, if
+they are wealthy enough to have taken one or several, but they would be
+socially and generally ostracized.
+
+The man marries in China as soon as he reaches manhood. Some young girl
+who is of the same social standing and has the requisite qualities
+for his wife is chosen for him by his parents. This is the legitimate
+wife. She is the first and remains first always, taking precedence of
+any and all others that may be chosen. The secondary wife is often of
+the same class as the first wife. She is generally chosen by the man
+himself, and is taken from some good family who may be poor, and she is
+an honest young girl.
+
+She is received, on her entrance into the household, by the wife and
+the man’s mother, if she be alive, and her position in the family is
+assigned to her. While she must pay court and due respect to the first
+wife, she has her own servants and her own rights, and leads her own
+independent life. The first wife has entire authority, in certain
+matters, over the secondary ones, but they generally live amicably
+together. As the first wife is married several years before any second
+wife is taken, and as she is also generally their superior in age, this
+entitles her to their respect, aside from her legal standing and her
+position as first in the household. The secondary wives stand in the
+presence of the first wife until she asks them to sit. Should they have
+any children, the latter call the first wife “mother,” and though the
+mother has her part in bringing up the child, it calls her, if she be
+a secondary wife, by her first name, and, in important matters, her
+authority over the child must give way to that of the first wife. But
+the first wife rarely abuses her authority over the children any more
+than over the other wives, and does not interfere except for, what she
+thinks is, the child’s good.
+
+In theory, according to our ideas, and with American or European women,
+this would be a sad state of affairs, but practically, as it exists in
+China and with Chinese women, it seems to work well. The arrangement of
+the houses in China is also well adapted for this kind of life. There
+are a number of courts surrounded by pavilions, each court and its
+pavilions forming a unit--a separate dwelling-place--this unit being a
+part of a great whole.
+
+The wives live in harmony together, and seem like a family of sisters.
+The first wife apparently takes pride in the good conduct and handsome
+appearance of the others, and there seems to be very little jealousy
+among them.
+
+If this be the position of the secondary wife in the families of the
+gentry and nobility, one may imagine how much more exalted it is in
+the Imperial family and how the secondary wife of an Emperor would be
+considered. To have their daughter chosen as the secondary wife of an
+Emperor is looked upon as an honor in the highest Manchu families.
+Of course, they would prefer to have her the first wife, for she
+has more power, but none of them would demur at an alliance of the
+secondary kind for their daughter, for she may thus become the mother
+of an Emperor, and she does become, by this marriage, a member of the
+Imperial family, and is treated as such. She ranks higher than any of
+the Princesses or Ladies of the Court, and takes precedence of all
+except the first wife, or a secondary wife, of the Emperor, who may
+have been married before she was. Her place is at the side of the first
+wife, the Empress. In the Palace she is called by the same title as
+the first wife, a Manchu word meaning “Mistress.” She cannot wear the
+Imperial yellow, it is true, but she does wear the Imperial orange,
+which no other Lady at Court can wear.
+
+These secondary wives are not taken for some physical quality from
+among the masses; they are not in the Palace as the result of a caprice
+of the Emperor. They are from the highest families in the land. They
+are generally chosen by the Emperor’s mother, if she be alive, with
+as much care as the first wife, and her position is inferior, only
+from an official standpoint, to that of the Empress. She may even
+become Empress herself on the death of the first wife and those who
+precede her. The Emperor of China has no “harem,” but he may have
+as many wives as he wishes. His wives never live together in the
+promiscuity of a harem, where all individuality is lost. Each wife
+has her own establishment and her own position, and is not dependent
+on her physical charms for her maintenance in that position, any more
+than is the first wife. Should she be the mother of children, she
+may advance beyond the others who have none, excepting always the
+first wife; and even should she have no children, she has always her
+separate establishment and is considered a member of the family. The
+Emperor Kwang-Hsu has two wives, both designated by the same title in
+the Palace. In this account of my experiences I only allude to the
+first wife, because it would be confusing to speak of two Empresses
+where there is also an Empress Dowager, and also because the first
+wife, in this instance, is so much the stronger character and the more
+interesting personality.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVII
+
+                        PRESENT-GIVING IN CHINA
+
+Present-giving is really carried to great excess all over China,
+and whatever obtains in China obtains at the Palace. The Palace is
+spoken of in Peking as the “Inside,” that is, the heart of the Empire.
+From this “Inside,” customs and habits flow and pulse over the rest
+of China, as the blood does from the heart, by a thousand arteries
+reaching to the very confines of the Empire, and it also receives the
+impress of what passes on outside among the people. Whether it be,
+in the instance of present-giving, that the custom has grown from
+the “Inside” to the “Outside” or vice versa, I know not, but it is
+universal in China. However, it probably reaches its greatest excess in
+the Palace.
+
+Births, marriages, and deaths are all marked by presents, and there is
+a very riot of present-giving at the New Year! Every one then exchanges
+them, from the lowest to the highest. Next comes the anniversary of
+the birth. This is celebrated with an unheard-of pomp in China. The
+more exalted the rank and the greater the age, the more splendid is
+the celebration and the more magnificent the presents. The Emperor’s
+Birthday was the first I saw celebrated, and I was astonished at
+the number and elegance of the presents that flowed into the Palace
+on this occasion. But at the Empress Dowager’s Birthday all this was
+far surpassed; and her presents exceeded in number and elegance His
+Majesty’s, for she was celebrating more years than the Emperor, and the
+number and value of birthday presents increase in proportion to the
+years. Their elegance and number are also regulated by the rank. The
+presents the Grand Secretary and the Prime Minister receive on such
+occasions would quite astonish a Westerner, and, of course, far surpass
+in number and magnificence what would be offered to the president
+of a department, as his would exceed, in elegance, those offered to
+secretaries of the Board.
+
+Every festival, every ceremony, and all anniversaries are marked by
+presents, in the Palace. There is scarcely a day that presents are not
+sent into the Palace, that some are not sent out, and rarely a day when
+some presents are not exchanged by those “Inside.” The Empress Dowager
+and the Emperor receive the greatest number, and, of course, they
+give the greatest number. This seemed to me the greatest extravagance
+of the Empress Dowager. At every change of season, she presents the
+young Empress, the Princesses, and Ladies, without reference to her
+favorites, with silks, dresses, shoes, and ornaments appropriate to the
+season, and not only do the Ladies receive these articles of wearing
+apparel at the changes of the season: she gives them many presents
+at each festival. Besides this, she gives nearly all the expensive
+Court dresses that are worn at the Palace, which cost, with their
+embroideries, from three to six hundred dollars each. She presents
+the Ladies with coiffures and many jeweled ornaments as well. On
+the occasion of a wedding among the Manchu nobility, which must be
+announced to the Court before it takes place, Her Majesty presents
+the bride handsome rolls of silk, embroideries, and jewels. On the
+occasion of births among the courtiers, she sends handsome ornaments
+to be worn by the new-born child. Even on the death of certain people,
+she sends handsome presents to the family, or something to be worn by
+the departed, if it should be a widow, who had led a long and exemplary
+life of widowhood, and had devoted herself to charity and good works.
+
+When the ladies of the Legation were first received at the Palace,
+the Empress Dowager naturally followed the Chinese Imperial custom of
+giving each lady a present. This precedent having been established
+and seeming to have given pleasure, when the ladies were received
+the next time, which was after the Boxer rebellion, she gave them
+presents again. Unfortunately, this act was construed into a desire
+on her part to wheedle the foreigners, and curry favor, so that she
+might receive better treatment at the hands of the Powers. The truth
+is, she loves to play the Lady Bountiful, and she never mixes up the
+social with the political, and I am sure she had no “arrière-pensée”
+but was simply indulging her usual bent. After the first few Audiences
+(when the presents were really of value), Her Majesty gave small and
+unimportant presents at the garden parties, which were made the subject
+of ridicule. Her Majesty had heard that the ladies did not wish to
+receive such handsome presents as she had first given, and she hence
+gave inexpensive souvenirs. Finally, the Ministers asked the Chinese
+Foreign Office to request the Empress Dowager to give no more presents
+at the Audiences, and the custom was abolished; though Her Majesty
+continued to give presents in private, and she still sends, on the four
+great Chinese festivals, flowers, fruits, and confectionery to all the
+ladies of the Legation, as well as to every lady who has ever been
+received at the garden parties, and on the departure of any Minister
+from Peking, she sends his wife some parting presents.
+
+But though present-giving has been stopped at the Audiences of the
+foreign ladies, it goes on with the same excess in the Palace and among
+officials in China. At each of Their Majesties’ Birthdays, in spite of
+their protests and edicts to prevent it, presents pour into the Palace!
+Every official who has ever been presented in Audience, or who has the
+right, by his official position, to send anything, does so. Edicts
+from the Throne to prevent it will remain as ineffectual as those with
+reference to the binding of the feet of the Chinese women (which Her
+Majesty has for years been “recommending” in edicts to be abolished),
+for it has become so thoroughly a part of Chinese life as to be almost
+indispensable. Present-giving in China is one of those “unwritten
+laws” whose tyranny is hardest to break away from. Though the system
+of present-giving is a great tax on the officials, as well as their
+subordinates, in this instance the change must come from the people.
+
+As I was an inmate of the Palace for so long, of course I came in for
+my share of presents from the Empress Dowager. At every festival I was
+remembered, as well as the Princesses and Ladies of the Court, and when
+presents were sent to the ladies of the Legation, she sent similar ones
+to me. Many of the presents she made me showed a real consideration
+for my comfort and displayed much forethought. When the weather became
+cool, and the Ladies of the Court put on wadded dresses, Her Majesty
+sent one of her maids to my apartments to get one of my tailor-made
+dresses. She had the Palace tailors copy this in wadded silk. It was
+wonderful how well they did it, too, for, as I knew nothing about it,
+I could give no advice. She ordered a few changes made in the severity
+of the tailor-costume, thinking it was too hard in its lines. She had
+a long, soft sash to tie at the side, which, she decided, made it look
+more graceful. When the Princesses put on furs, Her Majesty, herself,
+designed for me a long fur-lined garment which she thought would be
+comfortable to paint in. She had some trouble in arriving at a result
+which pleased her, which would be warm enough, and which, at the same
+time, would not interfere with the freedom of movement necessary for
+me to work with ease. At the time of the Chinese New Year, she sent me
+two curiously fashioned fur-lined dresses. She had the skirts copied
+from old pictures. They were not unlike our pleated skirts, with an
+embroidered panel down the center of the front. The jackets were a sort
+of compromise between European and Chinese, and the costumes were not
+only pretty but very comfortable.[7]
+
+[7] Her Majesty said my individuality was not lost in these costumes,
+and that I was clothed in attire suitable to the Chinese interior. She
+had now devised a costume for me which was really in harmony with my
+new environment. Our rough tweeds and somber garments, outlining and
+defining the figure, looked mesquin and out of place in these great
+halls. The bright colors and simple lines of the gowns of the Chinese
+ladies are much more in keeping with their interiors. Her Majesty’s
+artistic taste had divined this, and she had made several attempts to
+devise something for me that was in harmony with the Chinese “milieu”
+and at the same time comfortable.
+
+             [Illustration: THE AUTHOR IN CHINESE COSTUME]
+
+For wearing with these she ordered a sable hat, for the Chinese ladies
+wear some sort of coiffure on the head, winter and summer. This had an
+embroidered crown of pale lavender satin, with long satin streamers
+embroidered in gold with good-luck emblems. The brim could be worn
+either turned off the face or pulled over the ears and tied under the
+chin with lavender strings. She said she had some trouble in finding
+a design which she thought would suit me. This hat she had also had
+copied from old prints. I learned later she had tried three sorts of
+sables before she got a color which she thought would be becoming to my
+unfortunate blonde hair! On the front of the brim she placed a Princess
+Button. This is worn only by Ladies of the Court, and represents the
+Flaming Pearl of the Dynasty. It was established by the founders of the
+Dynasty and is the distinguishing jewel of the members of the Imperial
+family. It consists of a large pearl, surrounded by three alternating
+rows of seed-pearls and corals, which are supposed to represent flames!
+This Flaming Pearl, symbol of the “Unattainable,” is the eternal quest
+of the double dragon!
+
+Her Majesty also presented me with a number of other charming things
+that I shall always treasure as coming from her, and as evidence of her
+consideration for “the stranger within her gates,” or as spontaneous
+offerings from her naturally generous nature--ever desirous of giving
+pleasure. I wish I might have preserved the flowers and curious grasses
+which she, herself, gathered and gave me on our many promenades around
+the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace, but which, alas! are
+withered and gone!
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+                    SOME WINTER DAYS AT THE PALACE
+
+The big, official portrait for St. Louis was advancing. I was able
+to accomplish much more now that I had a place where I could work
+uninterruptedly, and quietly study the painting when I was not working.
+Her Majesty came, with her usual retinue, to pose, but it was not at
+fixed times, and was often when I did not expect her. She was looking
+more and more anxious these days; but she came to pose whenever it
+was necessary, and was very particular as to all the details in the
+portrait. She often had the jewels and ornaments changed, and her pearl
+mantle was made over, after she saw it in the first sketch, as she did
+not like its form.
+
+The throne, about which there had been a question when I began the
+portrait, and which had been a present to Her Majesty from the late
+Emperor Tong Chih, her son, had been “lost” during the Boxer troubles,
+but Her Majesty thought it might be reproduced from descriptions and
+from sketches by the Palace painters who had seen it; but I could not
+consent to work either from memory or other painters’ sketches, and
+I was finally obliged to paint, “faute de mieux,” one of the carved
+teakwood thrones of which Her Majesty is so fond. This throne did not
+suit the straight lines of the composition so well as almost any other
+in the Palace would have done, but Her Majesty wished it.
+
+I found the representation of the nine life-size phenix, in vigorous
+colors, on a blue cloisonné screen placed almost touching the throne,
+very difficult to represent, so that they did not seem to be real birds
+flying around her head. The vases of flowers and ornaments were also
+placed at exactly equal distances on either side of the throne, but it
+was necessary to paint them this way. It would not have been “proper”
+otherwise. The figure was in the exact center of the three-fold
+screen, and so near it, it was impossible to get any atmosphere in
+the background. There was not a fold in either gown or sleeves; but
+I had now resigned myself to convention and tradition, and I copied
+mechanically what was placed before me, and made no more efforts at
+artistic arrangements, nor tried any experiments in execution. I worked
+like a good artisan, finishing so many inches a day.
+
+The weather was now too cold for anything but the short constitutional,
+and, besides, there was no place in the Winter Palace to tempt one to
+promenades--only the walled-in courts and the shut-in walks, between
+high walls. Even Her Majesty’s promenades were confined to going to the
+Audience Hall in the morning, and walking through the courts, from one
+Throne-room to another.
+
+Every day we saw the Empress Dowager for some moments in her
+Throne-room before I went to my work. On Theater days, I made her my
+morning salutation in her loge at the Theater, and when the light
+faded and I could paint no more, I would go into the young Empress’s
+and the Ladies’ loge for the last play and the spectacular finale,
+when there were always some good illuminations and pretty effects. Her
+Majesty and the young Empress seemed now to perfectly understand that
+I wanted to work, and must work, in order to finish the large portrait
+for the St. Louis Exposition. They saw I appreciated the amusements and
+ceremonies, etc, but that I did not wish them to interfere with my
+work. When there was a special festival, or some fine ceremony, I was
+always called in, but otherwise I might go or not, as I wished.
+
+I lunched generally with the Ladies, with the charming young Empress as
+gracious hostess, and dined at night at Her Majesty’s table. Two huge
+copper braziers had now been placed in the Throne-room, and though so
+picturesque with the blue flames curling above their openings in the
+top, they made but little impression upon the temperature of this lofty
+room. The curtains over the immense doors that opened on the courts
+were constantly being raised for the passage of some eunuch, and it was
+very drafty. But one could at least warm one’s hands by the braziers,
+and they were so beautiful and picturesque, I was reconciled to being a
+little cold; besides, I soon became accustomed to the temperature. The
+Chinese Ladies wear heavy fur-lined dresses in the house, and cannot
+stand the rooms very warm.
+
+At dinner, a large carpet was now placed under the table, which was an
+improvement over the cold marble floors. This was done for my comfort,
+for the Chinese Ladies wear two-inch-thick cork soles to their
+fur-lined shoes. Down the center of the table, during the winter, there
+were several silver chafing-dishes, with burning charcoal beneath their
+steaming contents. Soups, vegetables, and meat stews were thus kept
+boiling hot on the table. One night I suggested to one of the eunuchs
+to place the claret-bottle near the fire before serving it, that the
+chill might be taken off. One very cold day, soon after, the eunuch
+brought in a large teapot, and began pouring the boiling claret out
+of this! The Chinese drink their wines hot, and he thought he would
+improve on my suggestion of “taking off the chill,” and he naïvely
+remarked “it was better for me to drink it thus on such a cold day!”
+
+When there was no Theater, and it became too dark to paint, I would
+join the young Empress and Ladies in their sitting-room at the left of
+Her Majesty’s Throne-room and there await dinner. The young Empress
+would then teach me Chinese. She was very particular about my accent
+and seemed to take a real interest in my progress. The Chinese language
+is very difficult for a beginner, even for one who has a good ear,
+for the “tone” or inflection with which you pronounce the word may
+change its meaning. Sometimes one after the other of the Princesses
+would repeat the same word in different tones and make me repeat it
+and then give the meaning of each tone. They would sometimes make puns
+on words, or give me a string of difficult words for the accent and to
+improve my enunciation, as the French teach the children, “Trois gros
+rats dans trois gros trous.” When I would finally get quite tangled
+up with these words I would retaliate with “Peter Piper picked a peck
+of pickled peppers.” This would end the lesson for that day, for they
+would all try to say it and get so hilarious that there was no effort
+at further study, and dinner would be announced in the midst of the fun.
+
+Sometimes the young Empress and the Ladies would play cards in the
+evenings. Her Majesty seemed only to like her fairy game! The cards
+were narrow slips of pasteboard with curious devices on each, but
+little more than an inch wide, and there were one hundred and fifty
+in a pack. I never succeeded in getting into the merits of the game.
+Sometimes when the Ladies felt industriously inclined, they would weave
+a kind of braid. The threads, gold, silver, or silk, were attached to
+the center of a wooden table and were weighted at the ends. They would
+weave these in and out into cunningly fashioned braids and ribbons. The
+Princesses did a great deal of beautiful embroidery, making their own
+shoes, which are of exquisitely embroidered satin, but they could not
+do this at night, for only candles are used in the two Peking Palaces,
+the Summer Palace being the only one in China lighted by electricity.
+
+One night at dinner the young Empress asked me to come earlier than
+usual the next morning, as there was something she wished me to see.
+Several eunuchs were waiting at the gate of the Palace to conduct us
+to the young Empress when we arrived at nine o’clock the next morning,
+and I then learned this was her Birthday. I hurried in and found the
+Imperial Princess and all the Ladies of the Palace, besides a number
+of visitors, standing in front of the young Empress’s pavilion. They
+told me she had asked them to wait to present their congratulations
+until I came, and said that I was to go in first. I did so, and there,
+on a throne, sat the young Empress in full Court dress, wearing the
+Court coiffure, with its veil of pearls, which was most becoming to her
+narrow patrician face. She was looking very sweet and gracious and held
+out her tiny hand to me on my entrance. I bowed low over it and kissed
+it, and wished her from the bottom of my heart “ten thousand” years
+of happiness and all kinds of “felicitous omens.” I then started to
+move out, but she told me to remain in the room at one side and watch
+the Princesses and Ladies as they came in. Each made the prostrations
+before her and presented a jade “ruyie,”[8] which she received with due
+ceremony--the same ceremony as for the Emperor’s and Empress Dowager’s
+Birthday!
+
+[8] Also spelled jiu.
+
+But these winter days were not all given up to the Theater and
+festivals. There were some days of sadder import. Days of mourning
+were often celebrated at the Palace. The anniversary of the deaths
+of some Emperor or Ancestor was of frequent occurrence. It seemed to
+me they celebrated the anniversary of the death of every Emperor of
+the Dynasty! On these days there would be sacrifices at the ancestral
+tablets and religious ceremonies early in the mornings. The Empress
+Dowager and the whole Court would wear mourning for the day and there
+was never any sort of amusement. White, which is full mourning, is
+not worn on these anniversaries after the third, but violet and blue
+(second mourning) is put on. The flowers worn in the coiffure were
+also in violet, white or blue, the mourning colors. One night at dinner
+the young Empress, who acts as Mistress of Ceremonies in the Palace,
+told me the following was a day of mourning. She asked me if I would
+wear one of the mourning colors, as it was the anniversary of the death
+of the Emperor Tung-Chih (the Empress Dowager’s son).
+
+The next day I put on a black dress, our mourning, and wore violet
+flowers in my hair. When we entered, Her Majesty was sacrificing at
+the small shrine in her sitting-room. She was dressed in dark violet,
+heavily trimmed with black, and had not a flower of any kind in her
+hair--only a few pearls. She looked very sad and was more earnest and
+reverent at the sacrifice than usual, but when she had finished her
+sacrifice, she bade us “Good morning” and inquired after our health,
+with her usual consideration. We soon left the Throne-room for my
+working-hall, and I did not see her again until after our dinner with
+the Empress and Ladies, when we went into the Throne-room to make our
+adieus. As I had not been wearing black for some time (as Her Majesty
+said she didn’t like it), she now noticed that I had it on and she
+asked Lady Yu-Keng, in an aside, “why.” She was told that when I knew
+what anniversary it was, I had put it on on that account. She seemed
+much touched, took my hand in both hers, and said, “You have a good
+heart to think of my grief and to have wished to sympathize,” and tears
+fell from her eyes on my hand, which she held in hers.
+
+Poor lady! Private sorrows and sad memories were not all she had to
+grieve her now. I had noticed her growing anxiety for many days! She
+seemed to feel all the gravity of the political situation of China. As
+the rumors of war between Russia and Japan grew, her anxiety increased
+and she was looking sad and careworn. She seemed to be full of doubt
+and fear, and quite unlike her usual self. I fancy she thought of the
+unprepared state of her country and feared that it might be drawn into
+this struggle. She seemed to be in doubt as to the course that was best
+to be taken. Even should the Empire not be drawn into the conflict,
+two hostile nations were to meet within its borders. The struggle was
+to take place in Manchuria, the cradle of the Dynasty. That beautiful,
+smiling country would be ravished by war, and the awful possibility
+of the ancestral tombs being desecrated, loomed up before her. The
+desecration of the tombs of one’s ancestors in China is supposed to
+bring dire consequences upon the family, and a pious Chinaman would
+face any material loss rather than run the risk of these tombs being
+desecrated. She felt it all, and was sad indeed.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIX
+
+                       RELIGIOUS RITES IN CHINA
+
+There are three great religions in China--Buddhism, Taoism, and the
+worship of Nature. The worship of Nature, in which is embodied their
+highest idea of an Invisible Deity, is the purest form of religion in
+China. Its Temples are situated in a magnificent Park in the Chinese
+City of Peking. The Temple of Heaven, the most imposing of the group,
+spherical and triple-domed, rears its proud height here and is visible
+from afar. Its triple dome tiled, without, in the sacred green of
+Nature and vaulted within in Heaven’s own blue, is surrounded by groves
+of century-old arbor-vitæ. In other parts of the great Park are the
+scarcely less splendid Temples to the Earth, to the Sun and Moon and to
+Agriculture, and grandest, most unique of these Temples, is that to the
+Invisible Deity. Its foundations are the Earth, its walls are limitless
+Ether, its dome Heaven’s own vault! On its great open altar this
+Nature worship has its culmination and reaches its highest fulfilment.
+This altar is the Holy of Holies, the tabernacle of the group of
+Temples consecrated to the worship of Nature.
+
+It is built in the center of a great marble-paved space with the
+secular arbor-vitæ radiating therefrom in long concentric avenues. It
+is of pure white marble, round as is the Earth. The Trinity in Nature
+and its Infinity are symbolized in its three superposed circles. Each
+of the circular platforms is surrounded by an exquisitely carved
+balustrade and approached by flights of nine steps each, to the north,
+south, east, and west. The central point of the great upper circle thus
+represents the center of the Universe, accessible from every point of
+the compass.
+
+Here in this symbolic center of the world, in this great Temple, whose
+walls are Space, whose towers are Infinity, on this great triple altar,
+canopied with Heaven itself, the Emperor of China, “Son of Heaven,”
+glorifies the Invisible Deity and sacrifices for the prosperity of “the
+Great, Pure Kingdom” and his people. This worship of the Invisible
+Deity has no Priestly Hierarchy. The Emperor of China is its one High
+Priest. He alone is worthy, as the Son of Heaven, to perform its unique
+ceremonies, on its one great Altar, in its single great Temple of China.
+
+The Emperor prepares himself for the great ceremony of the semi-annual
+celebration on this altar by a rigorous fast of three days, spending
+the final night before the celebration in a vigil in the Great Park of
+the Nature Temples, where there is a Purifying Palace set aside for
+his use. This glorification of the Invisible Deity at the summer and
+winter solstices is the most solemn act performed by the Emperor in his
+quality of Son of Heaven.
+
+               [Illustration: TEMPLE OF HEAVEN--PEKING]
+
+The Emperor is not only the one High Priest worthy to sacrifice on the
+great altars to the Invisible Deity, the Priestly Hierarchy of the
+whole of this Cult of Nature is vested in his Sacred Person. He alone
+offers sacrifices in the Temples of Heaven and the other Great Temples,
+at times set aside in the Book of Rites, and on special occasions. When
+famine devastates the land, when drought or any other National Calamity
+is visited upon the Empire, the Emperor prays in these Temples for its
+cessation, for he is not only the High Priest, but as “Son of Heaven”
+is the expiator for the afflictions visited upon his people by Heaven,
+and he publicly holds himself responsible for the misfortunes of the
+Empire. According to the Book of Rites, he says in time of trouble, “I
+will purify myself by sacrifice that these calamities may be lifted
+from the Empire and the people. I alone am responsible.”
+
+The great semi-annual celebration to the Invisible Deity is not only
+the most solemn of the religious rites the Emperor performs; it is at
+the same time the most formal of his official acts as ruler of the
+Great Empire. He prepares himself, by fasting and subduing the body,
+for the religious rite; for the official ceremony as Emperor of China,
+he is accompanied by all his ministers and the highest nobles of the
+land and surrounded by splendid pomp and Imperial pageantry.
+
+Though in his triple quality of Emperor, High Priest, and Expiator,
+he personally sacrifices only in the great Temples to Nature the
+Emperor has all the religions of his Empire under his protection and
+is their nominal Head. He assists indiscriminately at Buddhist or
+Taoist ceremonies, and encourages with impartiality both cults. But
+these religions have priestly hierarchies, and complicated Rituals,
+and the Emperor is only the “Ex-officio” Head and High Priest. All the
+festivals and fasts of both are celebrated in the Palace.
+
+The Chinese are not a religious people, though so moral a race. They
+are rather followers of a philosophy than members of religious bodies.
+The two most popular religions of China, Buddhism and Taoism, have
+become more or less outward forms. They are empty shells which may
+once have contained the Spirit, but have now become mere conventional
+representations of ancient rites. The Chinese people are really
+Confucians, and Confucianism is a system of ethics, a philosophy
+rather than a religion. Whether they be Buddhists or Taoists, they are
+all followers of Confucius, and live by the rules the Great Sage has
+laid down for them. The doctrines of Buddha and Laotze have become so
+incrusted with error in China as to afford no moral or ideal help to
+their followers. The Chinese participate indiscriminately in either
+of these religious rites, many of which have become mere outward
+spectacular ceremonies, where there is a great deal of display and much
+form, but very little real worship. They get all their moral support
+from the writings of Confucius and all their ideals from communion with
+Nature. They are really philosophers and worshipers of Nature, and the
+Emperor’s semi-annual sacrifice on the altar of Heaven and those at the
+Temples of Nature typify the real worship of the people.
+
+All the religious rites in China have their origin in, or are in
+celebration of, some natural phenomenon or some periodical event in
+Nature. They celebrate the summer and winter solstices, the equinoxes,
+the New Year, the awakening of spring, when the sap (life-giving
+element) begins to mount. The Harvest Moon is the time of the going to
+rest of this life-giving element. Their complicated ceremonial is but
+the crystallization of some simple observance of Nature’s fundamental
+laws. This ceremonial has been kept alive all these centuries, because
+of the vivifying spark of Nature which enkindled them. These rites
+are now observed without a thought of their origin, but Nature still
+remains their creative force. In spite of their conventions, the
+Chinese have kept very near to Nature, and I believe this is the secret
+of their wonderful vitality. They have been overrun and conquered by
+many different races, and their assimilation of these conquerors is one
+of the most astonishing things in the ethnic study of this wonderful
+race.
+
+No conquering race has ever changed the Chinese. Tartars, Mongols,
+Manchus have all passed and become amalgamated with them. Their
+conquerors have adopted the Chinese philosophy and religion, their
+customs and habits, and even their system of government. And they have
+never been able to impose any really new system of government upon the
+Chinese.
+
+These founders of Dynasties in China have all been “warriors bold” and
+reckless marauders with little philosophy and no literature to speak
+of. When the Manchus, the last of these conquerors, founders of the
+present Dynasty, established themselves in Peking, in 1646, they were
+a wild and warlike race. They, like all the other conquerors of China,
+conciliated their vanquished foes by all sorts of concessions, and
+they now rule by Chinese laws, and to-day are hardly distinguishable
+from the Chinese. They have never made, any more than the other
+conquerors, the slightest impress upon this calm and passive race; and
+they have become Chinese. “To-day the Emperor Kwang-Hsu is recognized
+as one of the best Chinamen in China.” The Manchu men to-day wear
+Chinese dress. The Emperor, himself, shaves his head and wears the
+queue, the one visible sign of degradation that is said to have been
+imposed upon the Chinese at the time of the conquest. Oh! Irony of fate!
+
+The Manchus are now as quiet and peaceful a race as the Chinese
+themselves. They dread war. They live by the laws of Confucius. Though
+not a race of thinkers or philosophers, they have come to have the
+same ideals as the Chinese, and this, without the natural amalgamation
+brought about by inter-marriage, for it is only within the last few
+years that the Throne has issued an edict, allowing inter-marriage
+between the Chinese and Manchu, and even, with this edict, up to this
+time there has been very little mixture, by marriage, of the races. The
+Chinese seem easily led and conquered, but their national vitality is
+very vigorous, and has kept them pure in racial characteristics after
+their thousands of years of national existence.
+
+             [Illustration: ALTAR TO THE INVISIBLE DEITY
+                  In the Park of the Temple of Heaven]
+
+The Festival of the Harvest Moon, which typifies the season when the
+life-giving element in Nature goes to rest for the Winter, I have
+already described. It is intermixed with legends and practices that
+destroy its original meaning; but the ceremony to the awakening of
+Spring has not departed from its original intention, and is simpler
+and nearer Nature. The awakening of Spring, the day when the sap is
+supposed to stir from its long sleep and to feel the first throes of
+renewed life, is commemorated in a pretty, homely ceremony at the
+Palace. The radish and young shoots of lettuce, the first vegetables
+to receive the benefit of the rising sap, are presented on a silver
+salver to Her Majesty by a kneeling eunuch. She partakes of them, and
+then gives them to the young Empress and Ladies to taste of. When
+Her Majesty raises the first radish to her lips, the young Empress,
+Princesses, and Ladies assembled in her Throne-room, repeat the wish
+for Imperial happiness, synonymous with “National prosperity.” This
+wish is echoed by the high attendants in the ante-chamber, and reëchoed
+by the eunuchs kneeling in the courts without, and still echoed and
+reëchoed by every inmate of the Palace, until the waves of sound reach
+to the outer walls. Then Her Majesty makes a wish that the sap may rise
+in such abundance as to produce a fruitful season, that all the people
+of the Great Empire may enjoy peace and plenty.
+
+Thus are these first fruits of the awakening Spring partaken of with
+a simple ceremony of praise and thanksgiving. Thus are these homely
+plants consecrated with wishes made for the good of the country and the
+happiness of its rulers. It was to me a beautiful ceremony, so simple
+that it brought these people with all their conventions and all their
+forms very near the heart itself of Nature.
+
+The annual plowing of a furrow and sowing of the first seeds of the
+year by the Emperor, the planting of a mulberry tree (to nourish the
+silkworms) by the Empress, are other touches of Nature which show
+how near the Chinese are to the heart of things. One of the honorary
+offices which is considered a great mark of Imperial favor, and which
+the highest ladies of the land receive with reverent gratitude, is to
+be appointed “Guardian of the Cocoons”; for the silk industry is one
+of the great sources of National prosperity in China. These ladies
+of high degree, guardians of the cocoons, go in annual pilgrimage to
+the mulberry groves, where the cocoons flourish, to make sacrifices
+and prayers for the health and growth of the cocoon. Being so near
+to Nature, the Chinese are naturally a pastoral people, a race of
+agriculturists; and agriculture, being thus honored by the Sacred
+Persons of Their Majesties, becomes a lofty ideal. Labor, which
+the Emperor publicly performs, loses all taint and grows into an
+Inspiration.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXX
+
+                    HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS DOWAGER
+
+The current story that the Empress Dowager was a slave-girl and is
+of low origin is absolutely false. Her Majesty is the daughter of a
+Lieutenant-General of the Manchu forces, a position only attainable by
+members of the highest Manchu nobility. She belongs to the family of
+the White Banner, second only to that of the Yellow Banner, of which
+the Emperor of China, himself, is the head. At the time of the conquest
+of China by the Manchus, there was a fierce struggle between these two
+powerful families for the supremacy, and the Yellow Banner finally
+carried the day. The Empress Dowager was brought up with great care and
+highly educated by her father, a noble of great acquirements.
+
+Like all young Manchu ladies of rank, she went to the Palace for
+presentation to the then Empress and Empress Dowager between the
+ages of seventeen and twenty. She immediately attracted them by her
+cleverness and wit, as well as by her charm and beauty, and, being
+of an honorable and high Manchu family, was at once considered as a
+possible wife for the Emperor. On presentation to the Emperor, she met
+also with his approval and was then chosen as one of the wives and
+given her establishment at Court. She was the fifth chosen, and hence
+ranked fifth on her marriage and was taken precedence of by the four
+others who were married before she was.
+
+She became at once a favorite, both with the Dowager Empress and
+Empress, the first wife, as well as with the Emperor. She soon took
+precedence over the wife just over her and became fourth wife,
+for secondary wives can mount in degree. A brilliant woman, with
+exceptional qualities, takes her place in a Chinese family, as in the
+world, above that of her less endowed sister, unless this latter should
+be the first wife. Her place can never be taken, except in case of
+her death. The first wife of the Emperor Hsien-Feng died two months
+before he came to the Throne and was never Empress. There were two
+years of mourning, prescribed by the rites, during which time there was
+no official Empress. Then the first of his secondary wives was made
+Empress, and she it was who was the first wife when the present Empress
+Dowager went into the Palace as fifth wife.
+
+Two years after her marriage, she gave birth to a son, and five
+years later, on the death of his father, this son became the Emperor
+Tung-Chih; the young mother, together with the Empress, the first wife,
+who had adopted him, were given the title of “Dowager Empress.” They
+were appointed Co-Regents for the boy Emperor, and bore, respectively,
+the titles of Empress of the Eastern Palace and Empress of the Western
+Palace, with equal rank and power. She of the Eastern Palace was a
+woman of quiet tastes, given to literary pursuits, with none of the
+remarkable executive ability of her Co-Regent, the Empress of the
+Western Palace, the great Tze-Hsi, who still rules the destiny of
+China. Though so different, they lived amicably together, thoroughly
+appreciated each other’s qualities, and are said to have had a sincere
+affection for each other, which never weakened during the whole of
+their long association, first as wives of the Emperor Hsien-Feng,
+then as Regents for his son, and afterward as Regents for the present
+Emperor Kwang-Hsu. The amicable relations of these two Empresses were
+only severed by the death of the Empress of the Eastern Palace in 1881,
+when posthumous honors were lavished upon her by the present Empress
+Dowager.
+
+China was passing through troublous times when the young Tung-Chih, son
+of the Empress Dowager, came to the Throne. His father, the Emperor
+Hsien-Feng died at Jehol, far from Peking, where the Court had gone at
+the approach of the foreigners, who were aiding in quelling the Taiping
+rebellion. The times were critical. The integrity of China, the future,
+even, of the Empire, depended upon the action of its ministers and
+its rulers at this crisis. In the absence of the Court from Peking,
+some reactionary ministers, strongly anti-foreign, claimed they had
+been appointed by the late Emperor as Regents for young Tung-Chih.
+Had his mother and adopted mother, the two Empress Dowagers, joined
+them, anarchy might have followed; and, at least, there would have
+been serious foreign complications, for this anti-foreign party would
+never have come to terms with the foreigners, who were then in Peking.
+It was most important for the ruling Power, that is, the party which
+should become Regents, to have the support of the Empresses who held
+the Sacred Person of the young Emperor, under their care. They were
+approached by both parties. The young Empress of the Western Palace,
+absolutely unversed in Statecraft, and, up to that time, ignorant
+of all that was passing outside the Palace walls, showed wonderful
+perspicacity and rare judgment in her keen grasp of the situation at
+this time. She repudiated the anti-foreign party and joined forces
+with Prince Kung, whose name was then synonymous with Progress in
+China--an enlightened Prince and the most pro-foreign of all the
+Imperial Family--and she and the first Empress were appointed Regents
+for the young Emperor. Prince Kung was the Minister who, thanks to
+this coöperation of the Empress of the Western Palace, carried the
+negotiations with France and England to a successful conclusion.
+
+This first political act of the young Empress of the Western Palace
+brought her into immediate notice, and showed the progressive statesmen
+of China that they had an intelligent aid in her. The Grand Council
+and the Princes of the Imperial Family at once recognized her superior
+ability and they have always stanchly supported her throughout her
+career and remained true to her in all vicissitudes. In fact, she has
+known how to inspire loyalty and great devotion in all by whom she has
+been surrounded.
+
+It was through her wonderful grasp of the situation at this time and
+the great executive ability she showed later, that the two Empresses
+brought the Emperor Tung-Chih through his minority, and when he began
+to reign in his eighteenth year, internal troubles had been quelled and
+foreign complications avoided, and China was in a much more settled
+and prosperous condition than when he came to the Throne, twelve years
+before.
+
+There was an interval of but two years in their long Regency for the
+two Emperors, when the Emperor Tung-Chih, having reached his majority,
+reigned. The death of her son, the Emperor, at the early age of twenty,
+after only two years of actual reigning, was a dreadful blow to the
+Empress of the Western Palace. She had, however, but a short time for
+grief. With heart bleeding and sore, she was obliged almost immediately
+to again assume the duties of Co-Regent with the Empress of the Eastern
+Palace, for her nephew and adopted son, the young Emperor Kwang-Hsu.
+The two Empresses had then another boy Emperor only five years old, to
+protect, prepare for reigning, and to govern for.
+
+One has only to be cognizant of events in China since the Dowager
+Empress Tze-Hsi has ruled, to know the facts of her government. When
+she took up the Regency, China was seething with rebellion and there
+were foreign complications, requiring great tact and keen intelligence.
+She has steered the ship of State between the two extremes, though she
+has sometimes run it against the rocks of Scylla in trying to avoid the
+whirlpool of Charybdis, and she has always been a “moderate” in her
+political course. China having, for so many centuries, had no relations
+with foreign powers, her statesmen being so absolutely unversed in
+modern methods of diplomacy, has not made a brilliant record in her
+foreign relations, and she has so frequently been made the dupe of
+European diplomacy, it is not wonderful China has tried to defend
+herself by duplicity: using what she thought the same methods she saw
+were so efficacious in the hands of Europeans.
+
+When the Empress Dowager gave up the reins of government to the Emperor
+Kwang-Hsu, in the year 1889, after twenty-eight years of Regency, the
+Great Empire was at that time in a prosperous condition. Its ports had
+been opened to foreign trade, a fine Customs organization had been
+established upon a firm basis, and China was at peace with the world.
+
+The first part of the young Emperor’s reign was uneventful. He was
+directed in most things by his ministers, and followed the moderate
+policy laid down by the Empress Dowager. He seemed to have no special
+views of his own and no designs of progress for China. Until the war
+with Japan with reference to the suzerainty of Corea, in 1894, he
+was a passive figurehead. The Japanese victories changed all this.
+Their victory gave China one of her most humiliating lessons; for the
+Chinese, who had given Japan the nucleus of its literature, its art
+and architecture, looked down upon the Japanese as a race of imitators
+and had a deep-seated contempt for them as a nation. This victory
+almost awoke the passive leviathan--that is, China--from its long
+sleep of national self-content. The young Emperor, smarting under this
+galling defeat, felt that China had only been conquered by Japan’s
+use of modern methods of warfare and determined on sweeping reforms
+in the government. Full of youthful enthusiasm, he felt he could
+put the Great Empire on the road to progress and wished to institute
+sweeping reforms in all departments. He immediately abandoned the
+moderate policy of the Regency and surrounded himself by a number of
+hot-headed, self-seeking reformers, each pushing some new method of
+reform. The reformers wished, at one fell swoop, to change the system
+of education, the system of government--in fact to make such sweeping
+changes that this conservative nation would have risen in a mass had
+they been carried out. Besides the Radicals, who were the reform party,
+there were also a number of discontents among the ultra-Conservatives,
+who, seeing the Emperor’s anxiety and desire for change, began to push
+forward certain schemes of their own. Finally, the ultra-conservatives
+and reactionaries decided they would join forces with the Radicals,
+hoping by so doing to change the National policy and the then existing
+state of government. In the turmoil that would follow this upheaval,
+each hoped to carry out his own designs, quite different in scope. Each
+party made the Emperor believe that progress was its aim. The coalition
+of these two diametrically opposed parties was for the purpose of
+persuading the Emperor to depart from the moderate opportunist policy
+which had been the motive power of the Empress Dowager’s régime. The
+adherents of the Reform party were opposed to this moderate policy
+because it was too conservative. Those of the Reactionaries objected to
+it because it was too progressive. The power of the central government
+vested in the young Emperor seemed likely to be crushed between these
+two self-seeking factions. China’s wisest statesmen saw the peril,
+sought the Empress Dowager, beseeched her to return from her retirement
+and, for the salvation of China, to give the Empire again the benefit
+of her wise counsels. When she realized the danger she returned. Such
+is the ascendancy of the “ancestor” in China, the Emperor could not
+refuse to accept the counsel of his August Ancestress, thus forced upon
+him. He issued an edict in which he recalled “that Her Majesty the
+Empress Dowager has on two occasions taken the reins of government,
+with great success, at most critical times. In all she has done, Her
+Majesty has been moved by a deep regard for the welfare of the Empire.
+I have implored Her Majesty to be graciously pleased to advise me in
+government, and I have received her assent.” The Emperor’s authority
+was not wrested from him--he was not deposed. He still remained the
+Emperor of China; but the Empress Dowager’s counsels were forced upon
+him, he could not but accept them, and she became once more the real
+Ruler of China. This was what foreigners call the “coup d’état” of 1898.
+
+Her Majesty’s keenness of insight and fine judgment (as far as Chinese
+questions are concerned), served her well again in this crisis. She
+dismissed not only the self-seeking Radicals, but the self-seeking
+ultra-Conservatives. Such of the Reformers as were caught were tried,
+convicted of treason, summarily and cruelly punished. Those who
+escaped, among them Kang-Yu-Wei, the ringleader of the Reformers,
+were outlawed. The leader of the ultra-Conservatives, the Emperor’s
+tutor, was not beheaded, but was sent into exile; for a tutor in
+China occupies almost the position of a parent to his pupil, and
+this position exempted him from more cruel punishment. These summary
+proceedings on the part of the Moderates, led by Her Majesty, were
+considered by the foreigners, who were altogether in sympathy with
+the Reformers, as a reversion to anti-progress ideas, and hence were
+considered anti-foreign. It certainly was an “anti-reform” movement
+that caused the “coup d’état” of 1898, but had the adherents of the
+so-called reformer Kang-Yu-Wei, whose subsequent career has proven how
+self-seeking he was, carried the day; had his sweeping measures been
+inaugurated, it might have brought China into a state of anarchy and
+would certainly have been most pernicious to the Nation, for she was
+not ready for the drastic measures the Reformers advocated, and the
+great mass of the people would have rebelled against them.
+
+The “coup d’état” and the consequent check upon the Emperor’s dreams
+of progress was a great blow to him. He was not only chagrined at
+the failure of his efforts for reform, by which he hoped to show the
+world that China still counted as a power and to retaliate upon Japan,
+but he was also profoundly discouraged when he discovered the real
+nature and designs of his chosen instruments. He saw that he had been
+over-sanguine in hoping to realize at once his enthusiastic dreams
+for the immediate rehabilitation of China’s prestige; he saw that his
+ardent desire for progress was not enough, and that to hope to reform
+in a few years the century-old traditions of his most conservative
+people was but the wild irrealizable dream of youth, and absolutely
+impracticable. Though he knew he had been led away by his wishes for
+reform to expect the impossible, the disappointment was none the less
+severe and was most depressing to his sensitive nature. The reaction
+took place. His never-too-strong constitution broke down under the
+strain, and this breaking down of his health lent color to the reports,
+which were immediately circulated among Her Majesty’s enemies as well
+as among the foreigners, that the Empress Dowager was trying to kill
+the Emperor! She was reported to have imprisoned him, was said to
+be trying to poison him at one time and at another to starve him to
+death--the nephew she had brought up through a delicate boyhood and
+whom she cherished as her own son! Time has shown the truth of these
+reports, for, had she so desired, she would have had no difficulty in
+accomplishing his death. She had any number of instruments at her hand,
+fanatically loyal to her and ready to carry out any of her wishes.
+
+She still “assists” the Emperor in ruling; and, according to Chinese
+tradition, she, being his “ancestor,” must always take the first
+place. She sits upon the Throne, he upon a chair at her side. It would
+be improper, according to all Chinese law, were it otherwise. The
+foreigners speak of the Empress Dowager forcing the Emperor to stand
+in her presence and to sit upon a stool while she occupies the Throne.
+It is not Her Majesty who forces him to do this, it is an immutable
+thousand-year-old tradition in China that a son must take a lower place
+than his parent in his presence, be he Emperor or peasant. The Empress
+Dowager still reigns. The times are still too troublous for her to
+withdraw her experience from the councils of State, and though longing
+for the quiet and rest so necessary to a woman of her age, and though
+really anxious to retire, she feels the time has not yet come.
+
+The Empress Dowager, having crushed the Reformers, and reseated herself
+upon the Throne, was, from the time of the “coup d’état,” considered
+to be anti-foreign and responsible for all the attacks upon foreigners
+by ignorant Chinese that took place after that event. When, only
+two years after the “coup d’état,” the secret society of the Boxers
+began their sanguinary attacks upon the foreigners, Her Majesty was
+considered responsible for them, was looked upon as aiding and abetting
+the Boxers; and, by the foreigners at least, she was considered to
+be the high priestess if not the originator of the order. But the
+Boxer movement had no such high origin. It started among the people,
+the humble people, in the Northern provinces of China, far from the
+Capital, and had been in existence for a number of years before the
+attack upon the Legations in 1900.
+
+The open contempt of many of the foreigners living in China, not
+only for the Chinese as a race, but for their most cherished customs
+and traditions; the fact that the Chinese converts of the foreign
+missionaries may break Chinese laws and still not be amenable to
+Chinese punishment; the constantly renewed demands of the foreign
+powers for territory, for the punishment of high Chinese officials and
+hundreds of other acts that no body of foreigners in any country but
+China would dare to try to force upon the people, finally aroused
+even this peaceable, long-suffering Nation.[9] The worm turned. The
+secret society of the Boxers took “China for the Chinese” as its motto,
+and to “drive out the foreigner,” or, at least, curtail his rapidly
+growing power, became its object. This society gained in force and
+grew in volume until it reached the Capital. Here, from the obscure
+classes among which it had its origin, it spread to the upper stratum
+of society and had followers among the highest in the land. Certain
+Princes of the Imperial Family even joined the ranks--among these
+latter the father of the next heir to the Throne, the Prince Tuan.
+These gave the movement an added force and made of it a patriotic
+effort.
+
+[9] Since the above was in type I find the following in F. Laur’s
+“Siège de Péking.” In speaking of the cause of the Boxer rising, he
+quotes Dr. Matignon as saying:
+
+  “C’est l’Europe tout entière qu’il faut mettre en cause. C’est parce
+  qu’elle n’a pas compris les Chinois, c’est parce qu’elle a cru que ce
+  peuple doux, somnolent, passif, pouvait, sans regimber, accepter toutes
+  les innovations, toutes les humiliations, que l’Europe s’est laissée
+  entrainer, et par ses missionnaires, et par ses ingénieurs....
+
+  Voilà pourquoi le mouvement Boxeur s’est produit. Ce mouvement, c’est
+  l’éveil du patriotisme chinois, avec toute l’intransigeance d’un
+  _nationalisme_ aveugle, ignorant, mais légitime.”
+
+Then from smoldering discontent, it burst into open acts of violence
+against the foreigners. The final spark which caused the outbreak in
+the Capital and the attack upon the Legations is said to have been
+the report, which gained immediate credence among the discontents,
+that the Foreign Ministers were going to interfere with the Government
+itself, and ask for a change in it; that they were to insist upon the
+Empress Dowager’s retiring from the management of State affairs. This
+interference, by the foreigners, with the sacred prerogatives of China,
+as a Nation; this attempt at the removal of the Person of one of its
+Sacred Rulers, aroused the people to a wild fury. Without waiting
+to find out the truth of this report, and thinking, in their blind
+ignorance, that by getting rid of the representatives of the Foreign
+Powers, they might then be left in peace, the mob first attacked and
+killed the German Minister, the Baron von Ketteler, as he was on his
+way to the Tsung Li Yamen, which the Wai-Wu-Pu now replaces. Then
+followed the general attack on the Legations.
+
+The movement then became a veritable torrent, rushing madly along,
+dashing aside all opposition and overwhelming right and reason.
+
+The Emperor and Empress Dowager, powerful and autocratic as they are,
+could not stem the current, and only by going with it could they ever
+hope to bring judgment and reason to the surface again. No ruler in the
+world can or ever has been able to stop an uprising of his people when
+the latter felt they had right on their side or had been downtrodden
+or oppressed. Their Celestial Majesties were obliged to wait until
+the popular fury had somewhat abated before they could even attempt
+it. No sane person could believe that the Empress Dowager, with her
+natural intelligence and after thirty years of government and knowledge
+of foreign methods, did not know that this attack on the foreign
+representatives by the Chinese people would bring on severe reprisals.
+But she was powerless to do more than she did at the time. Their
+Majesties could not go against the people in their maddened state of
+mind. They hoped by joining the Imperial forces to the wild insurgents
+that these seething masses might be brought to reason. The mob was
+given a semblance of right by a declaration of war on the part of the
+government after the forts of Taku were taken by the foreign war-ships
+(which was really the first act of war of this unfortunate episode).
+
+When I saw the position of the Legation quarter and especially
+that of the British Legation, where all the foreigners finally
+congregated--open to attack on every side, lying under the very walls
+of the Palace and the Imperial City--I felt convinced that had there
+not been some restraining force within their own ranks, the Chinese
+could have wiped out the foreigners in less than a week. Bad firing on
+their part could only have averted, for a short space, the inevitable
+result to the Legations. Had there not been some power that was acting
+as a check upon the Chinese, no European would have been left to tell
+the tale; and this restraining force I feel confident came from the
+Emperor and the Empress Dowager themselves.
+
+The Empress Dowager (with the Emperor) was at the Summer Palace, as
+usual, during the summer of 1900. Though urged by her ministers and
+the Princes to remain there, where she was out of danger or could
+easily escape at its approach, she insisted on returning to the Capital
+and went into the Winter Palace a week before the Allies reached the
+city. She hoped as a “dernier resort” that the presence of the Sacred
+Persons, Their Majesties, in the city might serve as a check upon the
+soldiers and people, now maddened by their own fury; for the Imperial
+troops, instead of checking the insurgents and leavening the masses
+by their right and reason, had, instead, become imbued with the same
+spirit as the Boxers themselves! But the Empress Dowager, on this
+occasion, counted too strongly on her popularity and upon the respect
+that the people felt for the “Sacred Persons,” for even after their
+return to the Capital, even Their Majesties’ presence--even the issuing
+of Imperial edicts posted all over the city for the people to protect,
+or at least cease their attacks on the Legations--were powerless to do
+more than intermittently check the attacks.
+
+Finally the Allies reached and entered the city! The Empress Dowager,
+discouraged and finding herself powerless, finally succumbed to the
+fears of her entourage for her Person. She, herself, became almost
+panic-stricken at the thought of falling into the hands of the
+foreigners, whose depredations and cruelty to the Chinese on that
+memorable march from Tientsin had all been reported to her with the
+usual exaggerations. Her indomitable spirit was broken. She consented,
+in an agony of womanly fear, to fly. She was disguised as a common
+woman, her long finger nails, which would have revealed her exalted
+rank, were cut off, and, in a common cart, she made her escape from
+the city. As she had refused to go until the last moment, everything
+at the Palace was left in the wildest confusion. Neither her jewelry,
+nor hardly sufficient clothing, was taken. She did not leave the Palace
+until several hours after the foreign troops had passed the Water Gate
+and were already within the walls of the English Legation. She had held
+out as long as possible.
+
+The memorable flight to Singan Fu began that night. The Court was
+accompanied by a regiment of Imperial troops, but such was their
+demoralized condition, so many Boxers were among the soldiers, that
+rank insubordination prevailed. Neither the officers, nor even the
+presence in their midst of the Sacred Persons, served as any check
+upon the soldiers. The greatest confusion prevailed. The maddest of
+the insurgents had begun to look forward to retribution and to realize
+that punishment would be inevitably visited upon them either by the
+foreigners or by the Chinese Government when things calmed down, and
+this thought seemed but to madden them further.
+
+As the flight led the Imperial party through the section of country
+where the society of Boxers had the greatest number of adherents, the
+people, in many instances, refused food and shelter to the Imperial
+fugitives. They felt the Court had been against them and for the
+foreigners. Prince Su, in his account of the journey to Singan Fu,
+relates that neither Her Majesty nor the Emperor had enough to eat;
+that the soldiers stole the food that was prepared for Their Majesties.
+I heard at the Palace that it was only His Majesty who suffered the
+pangs of hunger. He, as well as all in the great company that formed
+the Court party, deprived himself rather than see the Empress Dowager
+suffer. I heard Her Majesty say that the Emperor’s food was stolen,
+and she did not know for several days that he was depriving himself
+for her. She thought all the Imperial party had her own, meager enough
+allowance.
+
+The Empress Dowager saw and heard many new and strange things on that
+memorable journey, but she bore it all bravely. After the first panic
+of fear, her indomitable spirit resumed its natural poise. Her capacity
+for seeing the humorous side of things also helped her to bear it,
+and furnished her with a fund of witty anecdotes later, though she
+once remarked that, at the time, she did not appreciate the humorous
+side to its full extent. Their experiences at this time were often the
+theme of conversation among the Ladies at the Palace. While I was there
+they were constantly referred to by the Princesses and even by the
+eunuchs of the Court. These pampered individuals had then their first
+experience with the hardships of the outer world, though, to do them
+justice, they rarely referred to their own hardships, which must have
+been severe, only speaking of what Their Majesties and the Ladies had
+to endure. This flight from Peking to Singan Fu marks an epoch in the
+Palace. Everything is dated as before or after that time. After Her
+Majesty had accomplished this perilous journey and borne it so bravely,
+she was given a new title, a dearer, higher one. She was called
+Lao-Tzu-Tzung (the Great Ancestress) by her enthusiastic admirers.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXI
+
+          THE EMPRESS DOWAGER’S CHARITIES, SENSE OF JUSTICE,
+              EXTRAVAGANCE, AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.
+
+The Empress Dowager’s charities are extensive; she feeds the poor and
+succors the unfortunate. When her sympathies are aroused, she gives
+freely and generously. Her edicts are constantly ordering sacks of rice
+and food to be distributed among the poor and sent to districts where
+famine reigns. There is a great refuge in Peking, which she supports,
+where ten thousand poor are succored and fed during the year. During
+the winter, edicts are constantly appearing similar to this--commanding
+“The distribution from the Imperial granaries of fifteen hundred piculs
+(133-1/3 pounds to the picul) of rice for refuges and gruel stations
+for the poor in North Tung Chow.” Edict of November 6, 1904.
+
+She also sympathizes with misfortune, tries to right the wrongs she
+knows of, and correct the abuses that come to her ears. From the “North
+China Herald” of November 19, 1904, I copy the following, and this
+paper cannot be accused of viewing any of Her Majesty’s acts with a
+partial spirit (much to the contrary):
+
+  “During the Boxer troubles a bad character, by the name of Wang, owed
+  money to a certain Chinese Mohammedan. Wang had been frequently
+  dunned, and was finally condemned by the courts to pay the debt; he
+  was, besides, ordered to be beaten, as he had been insolent to the
+  Mandarin trying the case. This incensed Wang, and he swore vengeance.
+  When the Boxer troubles were in full swing in Peking, he became the
+  leader of a band of insurgents and led his band to the house of the
+  Mohammedan whom he had been forced by the courts to pay. Wang and
+  his band massacred not only his old enemy, but eleven members of his
+  family; leaving only a young daughter-in-law who had hidden in a loft
+  and saw the whole tragedy; she also saw them march off, carrying, on
+  spears, the heads of the old man and four of his sons.
+
+  The poor daughter-in-law escaped from Peking soon after, and was not
+  able to return there until a few months since, in 1904. She discovered
+  the dwelling of the murderer of her husband’s family, and had a
+  petition drawn up on the subject.
+
+  One day when Her Majesty was proceeding from one Palace to another,
+  the young widow threw herself before the Empress Dowager’s cortège.
+  Her Majesty saw the prostrate girl (only nineteen years of age), and
+  commanded her guards to ask what she wanted. The girl, dressed in
+  deep mourning, held above her head her petition, calling for justice
+  against her husband’s murderers. Her Majesty read the petition, and
+  her brow became black as night. She called to a eunuch in her train
+  and commanded him to take the young petitioner and her petition to the
+  ‘Board of Punishments,’ and deliver the Imperial Commands that no time
+  be lost in arresting the murderers; that they should be tried, and the
+  result reported to Her Majesty. This was done, and on the first of
+  November, 1904, the chief murderer Wang, his two sons and a nephew
+  were decapitated to expiate their cruel crimes.”
+
+The Empress Dowager is said to be recklessly extravagant in her
+own habits as well as in the management of Palace affairs. As for
+extravagance in the Palace, bad management doubtless exists, and
+extravagance does prevail. Abuses always creep in where the management
+of great establishments is intrusted to money-seeking officials, and
+to eunuchs, as is the case in the Palace at Peking.
+
+Extravagance in the Palace has been the theme of Chinese economists
+for many generations, for hundreds of years before the Manchu Dynasty
+came to the Throne. Several of the Emperors have themselves attempted
+to stem this extravagance by personal efforts and private economy, but
+to no avail. It is related of one Emperor that the sleeve of his State
+robe being a little worn, he called up his Master of the Household
+to ask what a new robe would cost. He found that it would cost three
+thousand taels, and as only the right sleeve of this gown was worn (as
+he used his arm a great deal in writing), he decided, in order that
+he might himself show a good example, and inaugurate economy, to have
+a new sleeve made, instead of ordering an entire gown. He gave his
+commands, in consequence, and the gown was taken out of the Palace and
+remained several months. When it was returned, what was His Majesty’s
+astonishment and chagrin to find that the cost of the new sleeve had
+exceeded that of a new gown!
+
+In his walks outside of the Palace, another Emperor bought an article
+of food for a few pence. The next time he had it in the Palace he
+asked what the dish cost and was told it was “four taels.” When he
+remonstrated, saying what he had paid for it outside of the Palace, his
+Master of the Household told him it was impossible to have it “inside”
+the Palace or on His Majesty’s table at any less than the sum of four
+taels. If His Majesty wished it for a few pence, His Majesty might buy
+it outside the Palace and bring it in himself for that sum, but no one
+else could bring it inside for the price it could be bought outside,
+as it had to go through so many official hands before it reached His
+Majesty’s table, that it actually cost the sum of four taels.
+
+After several efforts of this kind at reducing the Palace expenses,
+even these wise and economical Emperors were obliged to give it up. If
+these Emperors of ancient times, when the Palace was conducted on more
+simple lines than it is to-day, were powerless to check extravagance
+in the Imperial household, how much more difficult must it be to do so
+now that the system has become petrified with age--especially for the
+Empress Dowager, who can never go outside and see things for herself!
+It is said that each egg at Their Majesties’ table costs three taels,
+but Palace reform, necessary as it is, must come from without, from the
+officials, and no private effort of Their Majesties can change things.
+
+As for the Empress Dowager’s personal extravagance, aside from
+present-giving, I saw no evidence of it. Her wardrobe, in point of
+actual cost, aside from her jewels, would not be superior in price to
+that of the wives of some of our American millionaires; for the styles
+do not change in China, and furs and embroideries are handed down from
+generation to generation. Her jewels, even, are not more gorgeous or
+more numerous, though they are more unique, than those of any of the
+European sovereigns. She has an immense number of pearls--for the
+pearl is her favorite precious stone, besides being the jewel of the
+Dynasty--but she has no diamonds, no emeralds, and very few European
+precious stones. She has a quantity of fine jade jewels, but these, as
+well as pearls, are cheaper in China than elsewhere.
+
+I saw several incidents which seemed to point rather to personal
+economy on Her Majesty’s part than to extravagance. While I was
+painting one of the portraits, she decided that the trimming on the
+gown must be changed. She had bolts of different kinds of ribbon
+brought in to select from and finally decided upon a certain piece.
+She called a maid to sew some around the neck. When I wanted to have
+this piece cut off, so that some might be sewed around the hem where
+it was also visible, she said the ribbon had better not be cut, for
+it was a “handsome piece,” and, if cut, it might spoil it for use in
+“trimming another gown.” These pieces of ribbon and embroidery come in
+lengths for one dress only. One day when she was drinking some fruit
+juice, her hand slipped on the polished jade bowl and some of it fell
+upon the front of her jacket. She was most annoyed, and after several
+ineffectual attempts of her own and the attendants to remove the spot,
+she said she had heard that the foreigners had some wonderful processes
+of cleaning and she must have them investigated, for it was too bad to
+have a thing spoiled by an accident of that kind when a good garment
+was rendered useless for any one!
+
+She had the good of China at heart and was really a patriot; in fact,
+I observed more patriotism, more National pride among the people I saw
+at Court, than I ever noticed elsewhere in China. I feel convinced
+the Empress Dowager has strong National feeling and really loves her
+country, and is as patriotic a Chinese as there is in China. When there
+were internal troubles, or exterior complications, she seemed to be
+really worried and to grieve, as if it were a personal thing. She made
+mistakes, of course, and grave ones, but when it is remembered that
+her knowledge of what takes place “outside,” comes entirely from the
+reports made to her, that she has no opportunity of seeing things for
+herself, it seems wonderful she does not make more.
+
+Last winter a new scheme of taxation, by which the revenue would
+be largely increased and which taxation would be scarcely felt by
+the people, was presented to Their Majesties for consideration. Her
+Majesty soon grasped the entire scope of the scheme and thought it good
+and feasible; but though the payment of the foreign indemnity made
+it imperative to increase the revenue by every means possible, she
+hesitated over the inauguration of this new scheme, fearing it might
+give the officials a new opportunity to oppress the common people,
+for it is not the laws that oppress the people in China. This is done
+by the officials who enforce them. She evidently realized this power
+that the officials have of “squeezing” the people, and she wished to
+be assured of the manner in which this taxation would be enforced
+before she gave her consent to the scheme. At the first presentation to
+her of this plan of taxation, she repeated several times, “I fear it
+may harass the people; we cannot harass the people; they have enough
+burdens to bear.” She was not so particular about not harassing the
+Officials, for they were called upon all over China to make great
+contributions to the Imperial Treasury for the purpose of assisting in
+paying the foreign indemnity.
+
+Notwithstanding her penetration of character, her naturally good
+judgment, she made mistakes in her appreciation of those who surrounded
+her; but this was not strange, for she had almost no opportunity of
+seeing them in their true light. She was a good physiognomist, but one
+cannot always trust to physiognomy. She was in the habit of giving all
+who surrounded her a certain amount of latitude, until they came to
+rely on her favor and revealed themselves in their true light to her.
+Then she would quickly suppress them or cast them aside. This often
+seemed cruel and heartless. She sometimes would take another’s estimate
+of a character which she had favorably judged, for, of course, there
+is a great deal of jealousy and intrigue among her entourage, and she
+was influenced by reports that she heard; for she was obliged, in order
+to form an opinion, to listen to the gossip of the Palace. Her own
+penetration, however, would generally come to her aid and, in the end,
+her judgment would right itself.
+
+She had strong prejudices, and often allowed herself to be deceived
+by the favorites to whom she had given her confidence. After several
+preliminary trials of their character, and when she thought she had
+arrived at a proper estimate of it, she was an easy victim. These
+favorites could then act with impunity, and she was sometimes made
+the dupe of their schemes. Thus Ministers, courtiers, friends, and
+attendants, who had once thoroughly established their positions with
+her, could often get the advantage of her and impose upon her natural
+acumen.
+
+She could be most sarcastic, sometimes cruelly so, but I generally
+found there was some reason for her sarcasm. She was very impulsive and
+had her share of temper, but there was never any unladylike display of
+it. When she was angry her voice was never raised; it simply lost its
+silvery sweetness and took the quality of some ordinary metal, and she
+was always quiet and well-bred.
+
+From what I saw of the Empress Dowager, it seemed to me she would not
+brook interference in the accomplishment of a design she had set her
+heart upon--that she would not hesitate even at crushing an individual
+who stood in the way of the realization of some plan she had fixed
+upon. But her judgment was so good, she did not decide upon a thing
+unless she felt it was absolutely imperative to carry it out.
+
+As for tact and social savoir, she is remarkable. I never knew any one
+to possess these qualities to a greater degree. At her first Audience
+to foreigners, Sir Claude MacDonald, in reporting it, spoke of the
+Empress Dowager as “a kind and courteous hostess, who displayed both
+the tact and softness of a womanly disposition.” Lady Susan Townley
+says of her: “Where has she learned the ease and dignity with which
+she receives her European guests?” These opinions of her social tact,
+so far as I could learn, are held by all the members of the Foreign
+Legations in Peking.
+
+When the young Prince Adalbert of Prussia was received in special
+Audience by Their Majesties, on his visit to Peking, he was accompanied
+not only by the German Minister and his staff, but by a number of
+officers as his personal escort. This made an unusually large number
+of presentations necessary. I have been told that at the Audiences of
+the Diplomatic Corps, where only gentlemen were present, the Empress
+Dowager had a sort of shyness and did not show the same ease of manner
+as when she received the ladies. But at this Audience of the young
+Prince she became interested in talking with him, and I heard one of
+the gentlemen who was present say it was the first time he had seen Her
+Majesty thoroughly at ease at one of the Audiences to the Diplomatic
+Corps, and that on that day she was perfectly charming, seeming to take
+the liveliest interest in questioning the young Prince and conversing
+with him in a motherly way, and that he then realized to its full
+extent her wonderful charm and her great social instinct.
+
+I have heard it said that the Empress Dowager puts all this charm on
+for these occasions; that she is a consummate actress, but during
+the whole time I was in the Palace I never saw her other than the
+charming hostess, considerate of the comfort of those who surround her
+and readily sympathizing with sorrow, and I have seen her under all
+circumstances, at Audiences and in private, in anxiety and sorrow and
+in joy. She was too great a lover of Nature in all its phases to be
+cruel and heartless, and I am convinced she is really genuinely kind.
+She apparently greatly admired intelligence, and goodness always seemed
+to appeal to her. She was ever a fascinating study, and her magnetic
+personality full of charm. I found her thoroughly human and perfectly
+womanly.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXII
+
+                THE CHINESE NEW YEAR--OFFICIAL AUDIENCE
+
+The Chinese New Year, the greatest of the popular festivals, is,
+of course, celebrated with much pomp and enthusiasm at the Palace.
+Splendid decorations, hundreds of beautiful horn lanterns, with their
+long, red silk tassels, the great red “Sho” emblazoned on their
+sides, made the courts and verandahs gay with color. Painted figures
+of red-clothed gods regarded one at every turn. Hideous monsters
+with vermilion faces, painted on the outside doors, brandished
+spears to frighten away the bad spirits. There were the usual gala
+representations at the Theater; and the Palace, as at all festivals,
+was filled with visitors.
+
+The Chinese pay all their debts at the New Year. If they have not the
+ready money to do so, they will dispose of anything valuable they
+have, in order to begin the New Year free from debt. It is considered
+tempting Heaven to begin it otherwise. A great deal of silver imitation
+money is exchanged at this season. This is an old custom and supposed
+to bring abundance during the year. At the New Year, present-giving
+reaches its culminating point in China. Every one, rich and poor, high
+and low, gives presents then.
+
+Their Majesties not only gave to all the Ladies and Princesses, but
+to every inmate of the Palace, and even the beggar at the gate was
+not forgotten; but the presents exchanged at the New Year are never
+so handsome as those given for a birthday. The presents the Empress
+Dowager received on this occasion were principally flowers (her
+Throne-room was full of them, as well as her private apartments)--dwarf
+fruit trees twisted into fantastic shapes, laden with fragrant blossoms
+and splendid plants of peonies in full flower, and countless vases of
+the Chinese Lily, as they call the Narcissus in China. The Empress
+Dowager tried to be cheerful and not dampen the gaiety of the Festival
+by her alarm, but the long-looked-for and much-dreaded war between
+Russia and Japan had then actually begun, and she was mortally anxious!
+The Japanese were already in Manchuria, and no one knew how it might
+affect China!
+
+                      [Illustration: SLAVE GIRLS]
+
+Though I did not work on the portrait during the New Year’s
+festivities, it was now really advancing. When Her Majesty saw how
+the hands looked when they were drawn in, with the palms of the hands
+hidden by the long fur undersleeves, in the position I had dared to
+find fault with at the first sitting, she at once suggested having the
+fur undersleeves taken off, but she still said nothing about changing
+the position of the hands, though I saw she had her doubts about them,
+and I felt confident her good taste would finally prevail and she would
+want them changed. I painted them in with a thin wash of color, knowing
+they would be changed later. A few days after this, she remarked that
+my “idea about the position of the hands was not bad,” and suggested
+that the left hand “would look well on a cushion.” I made this change
+in the small study, much to her satisfaction, and then did the hands
+likewise in the large portrait.
+
+The New Year festivities were hardly over before the Empress Dowager
+decided to move the Court to the Sea Palace. This Palace, though not
+so much a favorite with her as the Summer Palace, she liked better
+than the Winter Palace; the latter’s small, shut-in courts, walled-in
+walks, and rigid traditions seemed to depress her. At the Sea Palace
+she had gardens for her promenades and there was a lake. It was not so
+beautiful as the Summer Palace, but was an improvement over the Winter
+Palace.
+
+This move to the Sea Palace necessitated another change of studio for
+me, just as I was comfortably installed in my quarters in the Winter
+Palace, and had begun to progress with my work. I knew I should be
+obliged to have the new place arranged with upper glass windows and
+that I would again lose time, and the date of the opening of the St.
+Louis Exposition was approaching! But there was no help for it; I
+must go with the Court to the Sea Palace. I was told that there I was
+to have a magnificent pavilion on the lake, with a perfect light for
+painting. As to the pavilion’s being magnificent, I had no doubt, but I
+did doubt, from past experiences, whether the light would be all that
+could be desired.
+
+One morning our chairs carried us to the Sea Palace instead of to the
+Winter Palace. All my painting things, materials, canvases, as well
+as Her Majesty’s Throne, on which she was seated for the portrait,
+had been moved. Not the smallest piece of paper, nor even a bit of
+charcoal was missing. I had painted until the last moment at the Winter
+Palace, the day before; and early the next morning my things were in
+perfect order--the portrait on the easel, and the Throne in the proper
+position in my quarters at the Sea Palace. It was an “Aladdin’s-Lamp”
+move.
+
+The group of buildings that had been set aside for my painting fronted
+on the lake, and were really charming, but the overhanging verandahs to
+each pavilion forced me again to have the upper windows put in. After
+this was accomplished, it was the best working-room I had ever had at
+any of the Palaces. The days were getting longer and the light better,
+and I hoped now to soon finish the portrait.
+
+A few days after the Court moved to the Sea Palace, the members of
+the Corps Diplomatique were received in Audience to present their
+congratulations to the Emperor and Empress Dowager on the occasion
+of the Chinese New Year. They were received in the Great Audience
+Hall; but the ladies of the Legation, whose reception took place the
+following day, were received in Her Majesty’s Throne-room opening on
+the Court of the large Theater at the Sea Palace. As it was cold, the
+Theater and its court were entirely inclosed and roofed over in glass,
+in panes of about a foot and a half square. On each pane was painted,
+in red, the ever-present character “Sho” (longevity), surrounded by
+five bats. The marble pavement of the court and the steps leading up
+to the Throne-room were carpeted in red; and when the great doors were
+thrown wide, there was a good effect of size given, although this
+Throne-room was one of the smallest in the Sea Palace.
+
+As this was to be a formal reception, several members of the Wai-Wu-Pu
+were present as interpreters. The ladies of the Legation were presented
+by the Baron Czikan, the Austrian Minister, Doyen of the Corps. He
+made a graceful address in French, wishing Their Majesties a Happy New
+Year, and China much prosperity. This was translated into Chinese by
+one of the Secretaries of the Wai-Wu-Pu. The Empress Dowager replied
+for herself and the Emperor, in Chinese. Her Majesty’s words were
+interpreted by His Excellency Liang Fang, a good French scholar. Then
+the Doyen presented the ladies individually, and the usual order of
+ceremonies followed. When the presentations were over, the Doyen,
+foreign attachés and interpreters, with the Chinese officials, repaired
+to the hall which had been set aside for their luncheon, while the
+ladies, accompanied by the Princesses, went to their repast in another
+part of the Palace!
+
+Only a few days after this, came the lantern festival; but this was not
+an interruption to my work, for I painted all day, and only went to the
+Theater for the final piece and the spectacular tableau. We dined in
+the Imperial loge, and after dinner there were beautiful lantern and
+torch-light processions. In the court opposite the Throne-room where
+we dined, there was a beautiful pai-lou of transparent gauze, painted
+in charming designs, illuminated from within, and hung with luminous
+flowers and quaint lanterns. Tall eunuchs, in gala red, stood around
+the courts, holding great lanterns aloft, like huge caryatides with
+luminous burdens. Others with fanciful vermilion lanterns wound in and
+out through corridors and courts. When they reached the court of the
+softly glowing pai-lou, they manœuvered and made intricate designs and
+luminous tableaux, holding aloft their red-globed lanterns to form
+characters and phrases of “felicitous omen.” These huge, luminous
+characters were wonderfully accurate.
+
+After the torch- and lantern-lit processions, and the glowing tableaux,
+a pair of illuminated dragons writhed into the court and struggled
+for the “flaming pearl,” which flitted around with elusive fantastic
+movements, ever beyond their grasp. I was not able to find out the
+origin of the Imperial legend of the Double Dragon and the Flaming
+Pearl, representations of which appear everywhere at the Palace on
+whatever is meant for Imperial use, or for any official function over
+which the Emperor is supposed to preside. It is on all the Thrones of
+the Dynasty; it adorns the Imperial pennant; it is cut into stone,
+carved into wood, and painted in pictures. It decorates the gowns of
+the higher officials, and is embroidered upon the Court dresses of the
+Ladies of the Palace. At the Birthdays of the Emperor and Empress,
+and at all Dynastic celebrations there are realistic representations
+of the immortal struggle where the Double Dragon strives to absorb
+the “flaming pearl.” The significance of the legend seems to be: The
+Double Dragon represents the Powers of Earth or Evil which try ever to
+absorb the Flaming Pearl, Emblem of the Dynasty, symbol of Heaven or
+Perfection. The Flaming Pearl, the Unattainable, keeps ever beyond and
+above their grasp, seeming to serve always as an incentive for further
+effort.
+
+For a fortnight after the lantern festival, there were fireworks every
+night on the banks of the lake. We would dine in the Throne-room,
+and then Her Majesty and the Emperor, accompanied by the Ladies, and
+attended by the usual number of eunuchs (each bearing transparent horn
+lanterns), would go through the courts and paths of the garden to the
+lake, on the banks of which the fireworks were sent up. Here, in full
+view of the set pieces, stood four large, roomy sleds. When the lake
+was frozen, these sleds were used to push Their Majesties and the
+ladies over its glassy surface. They had not been used as sleds this
+winter, for the ice had not been sufficiently firm, the winter having
+been comparatively mild. But when the lake was well frozen, as is usual
+at this season in Peking, Their Majesties viewed the fireworks from
+these sleds as they skimmed along over its smooth surface. There was a
+sled for each of them--one for the Empress and second wife, and one for
+the Princesses. They were cloth-covered, lined with fur, and had great
+fur rugs. There were seats around the three sides; the wadded curtain,
+with its large square of plate-glass that hung down over the front, was
+taken off for the fireworks. Their Majesties occupied each of theirs
+alone, but the Empress had several of the Ladies in hers.
+
+The fireworks were superb. There were beautiful set pieces, pagodas,
+with ladies on balconies, pavilions with grapevines, wistaria arbors,
+and beds of flowers so lifelike they seemed to grow at the side of the
+luminous cascades, and many other effects I had never seen before in
+fireworks. One day, during the time of the lantern festival, we had
+fireworks in the brilliant sunshine. When these day rockets exploded,
+all sorts of curious paper devices fell to the ground--fish dragons
+and animals, as well as flags and baskets. When anything interesting
+was revealed, Her Majesty would send the eunuchs to pick it up as it
+fell and bring it to her that she might examine it. Many fell outside
+the Palace walls, and she said these would give pleasure to the “poor
+people outside.”
+
+Formerly, at these fireworks in the Palace to celebrate the lantern
+festival, the public was admitted into the Inclosure, but this practice
+stopped when the two Empresses were Co-Regents for the first boy
+Emperor, Tung-Chih. As this was coincident with the establishment of
+the first Foreign Legations in Peking, the latter fact may have had
+some influence in changing the custom. The Chinese people were shut
+out because it was feared that the foreigners might also come into
+the Precincts. These beautiful fireworks I could enjoy without any
+qualms of conscience, for I could not paint at night, and they were
+consequently no interruption to my work.
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+            CONTINUATION OF THE ST. LOUIS PORTRAIT--SPRING
+                        DAYS AT THE SEA PALACE
+
+There began now to be some discussion as to what would be the most
+propitious date for finishing the portrait. I had thought I might
+finish when I could, but this was not to be the case. The almanacs
+were consulted, and it was decided that the nineteenth day of April
+would be an auspicious time to finish and before four o’clock! The
+Empress Dowager informed me of the “happy augury” of this date and
+asked me if I thought it possible to finish then. Not only had the
+date for beginning the portrait been carefully chosen, but there was
+much deliberation as to the proper time for finishing! Her Majesty
+seemed very anxious until she received my reply as to whether it would
+be possible to finish at this happy date, for I could not say at
+first, as I had never thought of finishing at any particular moment!
+When I finally told her I could finish it before four o’clock, April
+19th, she was delighted. She said “How good” and asked me to please
+“not disappoint her.” As the portrait neared completion she came
+very often to the studio and watched over the painting-in of all the
+accessories, which she seemed to consider quite as important as the
+likeness itself. As she was tired after the Audiences, she gave me two
+or three sittings at this time before she went to the Audience Hall,
+and I painted from half-past six to eight A.M. for two or three days.
+The jewels in the head-dress, all official, were the subject of much
+deliberation. After a jewel was painted in, she would decide she didn’t
+like it and that something else would be better. She seemed to think
+it was as easy to take it from the picture as to remove it from her
+person. All these requests for changes were so graciously made, I never
+complained. She would sometimes say, “I am giving you a great deal of
+trouble, and you are very kind.” I didn’t mind the trouble, only these
+changes took away the freshness of the painting and did not add to the
+artistic effect of the picture.
+
+Her Majesty ordered a magnificent frame for the portrait. She,
+herself, made the design. The Double Dragon at the top struggled for
+the “flaming pearl” with the character “Sho” on it. The sides were
+elaborately carved in designs representing the symbol of “ten thousand”
+years with the characters for longevity. The frame was to be set in
+a superbly carved stand, as the Chinese do their mirrors. The whole,
+of rare camphor-wood, was made by Her Majesty’s own artisans at the
+Palace--the most expert workmen in China.
+
+The days were lengthening now, the trees beginning to bud and the
+flowers in the courts to bloom. The icy fetters that had locked the
+lake were broken; the boats again glided over its bosom. In the
+mornings we no longer had to take the winter “chairs” and be carried
+the long distance from the gates to the Throne-room. The comfortable
+boats once more lay moored at the foot of the landing-steps, just
+within the gates, and we enjoyed again those ideal trips across the
+lake.
+
+The Empress Dowager began to take long promenades now and was much
+out-of-doors. Sometimes in the mornings, on our arrival, she would
+already be in the gardens. One day we met her on the banks of the
+lake and made our morning salutations there. Another day, she and the
+Emperor were inspecting the new buildings which were being erected to
+replace those burned during the occupation of Peking by the Allies,
+when Count von Waldersee had his headquarters in the Sea Palace.
+Splendid buildings were being erected on the site of those burned. The
+Emperor and Empress Dowager, each with his own suite, carefully visited
+every part of these new constructions and seemed much interested in
+their progress. Of course, the workmen were banished during the visit
+of Their Majesties. One of these new halls was to be used for the
+entertainment of foreigners, when they are invited to the Palace, and
+many concessions had been made to foreign ideas in its construction.
+Let us hope it may not lose its Chinese character! I am sure the
+foreigners will regret this innovation and would prefer the typical
+Chinese interior, even though it be less suited to the exigencies of a
+modern reception.
+
+Sometimes we would see the Empress Dowager in her Japanese
+“jinricksha.” This was a beautiful, gold-lacquered affair in dragon
+form, the two dragons’ heads in front. It had splendid gold-lacquered
+shafts and wheels--the latter with rubber tires. It was pulled by one
+eunuch and pushed by another, and Her Majesty seemed greatly to enjoy
+this novelty for a while, but she said she preferred to walk or to be
+carried in her open chair, as a usual thing.
+
+Two other modern and novel methods of locomotion had been installed in
+the grounds of the Sea Palace. There was a small railway, which ran
+from the outer gates to the dwelling Palaces, which had its engine and
+complete running outfit. This had been constructed by some progressive
+Mandarins, who wished to get the Empress Dowager’s support for some
+railway scheme, but though she often spoke of how much she had enjoyed
+her one trip on a real railway, her spirit was too utilitarian to care
+for toy pleasures. She couldn’t stand the puffing of the engine, the
+tiny cars, and all this trouble for so short and useless a jaunt.
+
+There was also in the Sea Palace, as well as at the Summer Palace, a
+number of automobiles, which had been presented to Their Majesties
+by Chinese nobles and officials who had been abroad, as examples of
+the curiosities of European civilization. One of these was gorgeously
+fitted up in the Imperial yellow and gold lacquer, with the Double
+Dragon. The body was inclosed in glass and there was a throne-like
+seat within for the Empress Dowager. The question of how the chauffeur
+should run the machine standing, as he would be obliged to do if Her
+Majesty were inside, had not then been solved. She was, however,
+willing to throw tradition to the winds in this instance, and was most
+anxious to try one of these motor-cars. Her entourage was, however,
+bitterly opposed to it, even for a short distance in the grounds. They
+were afraid of an accident. She never tried one while I was there, but
+I am confident that her venturesome spirit will not rest content until
+she has had a ride in one of these modern carriages.
+
+In April, kite-flying time begins in China. High Officials and
+dignified literati indulge in the pastime as well as children and young
+people. The popular pastimes of the people, as well as their serious
+occupations, being always honored in the Palace, kites were, of course,
+sent off by the Empress Dowager and the Ladies. The first day the kites
+were to be flown Her Majesty sent for me to come into the garden, where
+the kite-flying was to take place. The kites were of paper, wonderfully
+fashioned, representing birds, fish, bats, and even personages. The
+strings were wound on curiously shaped reels and the cleverness with
+which Her Majesty let out the string and manipulated the kites was
+wonderful. After she had let one go, she graciously handed me her own
+reel and told me she would teach me to fly a kite. I was hard at work
+at my painting when I was called out into the garden and I wished to
+return to it as soon as possible; and as I knew I would not be very
+clever at kite-flying, I begged her to allow me to watch her instead.
+The young Empress and Princesses were also very proficient in flying
+them, and Her Majesty flew hers as she did everything else, with
+unusual grace.
+
+One of these beautiful spring mornings as we were softly gliding
+across the lake, propelled by the graceful Palace boatmen, I lay back
+on my cushions reveling in the scene of quiet loveliness before me
+and drinking in the ineffable perfume of the spring, when my glance,
+roaming lazily around in perfect content, caught sight of a group of
+gentlemen on the bank of the lake beyond. The rays of the morning sun,
+glinting upon the gold of their embroidered costumes and touching, with
+iridescent rays, the peacock’s feathers upon their hats, revealed their
+rank and official standing.
+
+As it was a most unusual thing to see gentlemen in the Palace
+Inclosure, I was at once all attention, knowing there must be some
+important event on hand, especially as, on looking closer, I saw one
+small figure in their midst more plainly dressed than the others,
+whom I at once recognized as His Majesty the Emperor. As we slowly
+approached I saw the Emperor go over to a plow to which was hitched
+an ox, and which stood at a little distance off in the field. Fortune
+favored me! I was to see the Emperor plow the first furrow of the year!
+For it was only on the morrow that the official public ceremony was to
+take place at the Temple of Agriculture, near the great triple altar of
+Heaven. I was to see the private plowing, done in the Palace grounds
+and viewed only by the Princes of the Imperial Family and the highest
+Manchu nobles.
+
+When all was ready the Emperor took the handles of the plow and guided
+it down a furrow marked off the ground, and when the furrow was
+upturned, the seed was dropped in. The ox for this ceremony, which I
+had heard was white, was (at the Palace function) of a soft doe color.
+He seemed to have been trained for the purpose and performed his part
+with a dignity in harmony with the attitude of all the assistants and
+in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion.
+
+I was rejoiced to have an opportunity of seeing this interesting
+ceremony and to learn that even this great rite, which I had thought,
+like the sacrifice to the Invisible Deity on the triple altar, was only
+performed in the grounds of the Temple to Heaven; and to learn that
+every custom dear to the people, or incorporated in the National life,
+is observed in the Palace by the Emperor and Empress--that His Majesty
+really plants the first furrow of the year and gathers the first
+sheaves of ripened wheat, and that the Ladies of the Palace really spin
+the first silk and pull the first fruits.
+
+The slow movement of the Palace boats was never so appreciated by me
+as on this morning, for I was thus enabled to see well this curious
+National ceremony, which I would never have seen but for the accident
+of the hour of my crossing the lake and the time it took to do so; for,
+as at all ceremonies where men are present, there were, of course,
+no members of Her Majesty’s entourage, and none of the Ladies or
+Princesses had ever seen this ceremony!
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+                FINISHING AND SENDING OFF THE PORTRAIT
+
+The nineteenth day of April was approaching, and the portrait steadily
+advancing. As it neared completion Her Majesty’s interest in it seemed
+to grow. She spent a great deal of time in my pavilion watching its
+progress, and expressed herself as much delighted with it. A few days
+before the nineteenth, I asked Her Majesty to allow Mrs. Conger to come
+and see it on that day. She immediately consented, and invitations were
+sent through the Foreign Office, not only to Mrs. Conger, but to the
+wives of the Ministers and First Secretaries of Legations to come to
+the Palace on the nineteenth day of April, for the purpose of “seeing
+the portrait of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Dowager, painted by
+the American artist.”
+
+The ladies of the Legation, of course, responded to the invitation,
+and on the morning of the nineteenth the portrait was placed in the
+splendid frame. Her Majesty decided she would receive the ladies first
+in her Throne-room, after which they were to come to my studio to
+see the portrait. As I was still working until the “fateful hour,”
+I did not go up to the Throne-room but awaited the ladies in my own
+place. Her Majesty did not accompany the ladies when they came to
+see the portrait, but she sent the young Empress and Princesses to my
+pavilion to assist me in receiving and to lend a proper dignity to the
+occasion. The portrait, in a Chinese milieu, and seen in the light in
+which it was painted, made a better effect than it could in any other
+surroundings. The ladies were, of course, much interested in seeing
+this long-talked-of picture--the first ever painted of Her Majesty--and
+the novelty of the precedent, as well as the interest of a visit
+to the Palace, favorably predisposed them, and they expressed themselves
+as most interested in the work, finding it a good likeness. The
+admiration it received from the young Empress and the Ladies of the
+Court was almost embarrassing, and the eunuchs said it was so lifelike
+when they passed the windows that it inspired the same awe Her Majesty’s
+own presence did.
+
+After the ladies had duly looked at and commented upon the portrait,
+they repaired to one of the halls in connection with my studio, where
+a repast had been prepared by the orders of Her Majesty. Here, for the
+first and only time, while I was in the Palace, the young Empress sat
+down at the table with the foreign ladies, and acted as hostess, and
+very gracefully she filled her rôle.
+
+After the visit of the ladies of the Legation, Her Majesty informed
+me that the Princes and nobles, whose rank entitled them to enter the
+Palace Inclosure, were to come to see it the following day. As it would
+not have been “according to the Proprieties” for gentlemen to enter the
+quarters reserved for ladies, or the buildings where even a foreign
+lady worked, the portrait was, for their visit, carried out into the
+open court of my pavilion.
+
+To place the portrait in its carved pedestal, it was necessary to erect
+a scaffolding by which the framed picture was raised into the air,
+and then lowered into its stand. When all was finally arranged, the
+scaffolding was removed, the debris cleared away, and the Princes and
+nobles, in full dress, came into the court to see the portrait. Each
+one approached the picture and closely examined it, even touching the
+canvas. Unfortunately, I could not hear their comments, as I only saw
+the ceremony discreetly ensconced behind a curtain, but I could watch
+their faces and study their expressions, though I must confess that
+they revealed very little.
+
+A young Manchu, who had been attached to a Legation abroad and had
+learned photography in an amateur way, had been ordered by Her Majesty
+to make a photograph of the portrait. This was done while the Princes
+and nobles were still in the court. When it was photographed, and the
+Princes had retired, the scaffolding was again put up, the picture was
+raised out of its carved wood pedestal and was replaced in my studio.
+All this took the greater part of the day.
+
+Her Majesty was so pleased with the comments she heard upon the
+portrait (of course no unfavorable ones were made to her), that she
+decided to accede to the prayers of several of the high officials,
+and allow the Sacred Picture to be viewed by a number of other high
+functionaries. For this purpose, the portrait was removed to the
+Wai-Wu-Pu (Foreign Office); for many of the highest Officials are not
+permitted to enter the Palace Inclosure.
+
+At the Foreign Office, not only the high Chinese Officials, but the
+foreign Ministers and their staffs were invited to see it. Many of the
+foreigners went in full dress uniform for this visit, in deference to
+Chinese prejudices. After it had been duly viewed by all in Peking of
+sufficient rank to have that honor, it was inclosed in a satin-lined
+camphor-wood box, covered with satin of Imperial yellow, and the box
+was closed with great solemnity. The pedestal was placed in a similar
+box. Each had splendid bronze handles and huge circular locks. These
+boxes were inclosed in others, also lined with the Imperial color, and
+were finally ready for shipment. The packing-cases, containing the
+framed picture and its carved pedestal, were placed upon a flat freight
+car, which had been elaborately decorated with red and yellow festoons
+of silk. The boxes were covered with yellow cloth, painted with the
+Double Dragon. A special railway had been laid from the Wai-Wu-Pu to
+the station outside the Chien-Mên, for it was not considered fitting
+that ordinary bearers transport the picture of Her Majesty.
+
+The Officials of the Wai-Wu-Pu, as well as many other of the high
+Officials in Peking, dressed in full dress, accompanied it to the
+station, and stood to watch the Sacred Picture start off on its long
+journey to St. Louis. The special train carrying it was met at Tientsin
+by the Viceroy of the Province, surrounded by all his official staff.
+It was there placed with great ceremony upon the steamer on which it
+was to make the journey to Shanghai, and was accompanied from Peking to
+Shanghai by an official specially appointed for the purpose.
+
+At Shanghai it was received in the same formal state and with the same
+official pomp as at Tientsin. It was met at the steamer by the Governor
+of the Province and all his staff and transhipped with great ceremony
+to one of the Pacific Mail Steamers for San Francisco. The Sacred
+Picture was accompanied on its journey from Shanghai to St. Louis by
+a high Official and his suite. A special car conveyed it from San
+Francisco to St. Louis.
+
+His Imperial Highness Prince Pu L’un, Imperial Commissioner and
+personal representative of Their Majesties at the Exposition of
+St. Louis, awaited the arrival of the portrait there, delaying his
+departure for several days in order to be able himself to assist at the
+reception and placing of the portrait. At four o’clock on the afternoon
+of the 19th of June, His Imperial Highness and the Imperial Chinese
+Commission repaired to the Art Gallery, where the cases containing the
+portrait and pedestal were awaiting their presence to be opened. The
+Director of the Art Gallery, the Assistant Director, and several other
+members of the Board of Fine Arts, were also present.
+
+The cases containing the portrait, one within the other, were opened,
+and finally within the last, lined with yellow silk, lay the “Sacred
+Picture,” covered with a screen of brocaded satin of Imperial hue. This
+satin cover was ceremoniously removed, and the picture was “unveiled.”
+The Prince proposed the health of Her Majesty and the Prosperity of
+China, which the assistants drank in sparkling champagne. This opening
+of the cases and unveiling of the picture lasted from four o’clock to
+nine P.M. A few days later, when the Gallery where it was placed was
+opened to the public, it lost, for the first time since its inception,
+its semi-sacred qualities. Only then did it stand upon its own merits
+and become as other portraits. Then, for the first time, it could be
+seen by the ordinary individual--then only it became the subject of
+comment as any other picture at the Fair. Then it was open to the gaze
+of the vulgar and the comment of the scoffer.
+
+At the close of the Exposition, a delegate was sent from the Chinese
+Legation in Washington to arrange for the transportation of the
+picture to the latter place. The portrait and its carved support were
+again placed in their satin-lined cases, and it began the journey to
+Washington. Her Majesty had decided when the portrait was completed to
+her satisfaction that it would be a suitable present for her to make to
+the United States. She thought this would be particularly appropriate,
+as the painting of the portrait for the St. Louis Exposition had been
+thought of by the wife of the American Minister to Peking, and as
+it had been executed by an American artist. Thus the United States
+received the gift of the first portrait ever painted of a Chinese Ruler.
+
+When the portrait arrived in Washington, His Excellency Sir Chentung
+Liang Cheng, the Chinese Minister to Washington, attended by his
+Secretaries, made a formal presentation of the portrait to the
+President, which Mr. Roosevelt received on behalf of the United States
+Government.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXV
+
+                      RETURN TO THE SUMMER PALACE
+
+Sending off the picture to St. Louis did not sever my connection with
+the Palace, for I had still other work to finish! At the end of April,
+a month later than usual, the Court moved out to the Summer Palace for
+the rest of the year. The country was beautiful, the trees were almost
+in full leaf, and lilacs, blue and white, bloomed everywhere. My garden
+in the Park of the Palace of the Emperor’s Father was full of them,
+and over my entrance gate clambered a beautiful yellow rose-bush laden
+with masses of blooms. Wild flowers were springing up at every turn,
+and my dog “Me-lah” in his wild races through the park, when we were out
+for our walks, would often start up coveys of birds; or rabbits would
+scurry away at his approach. I went back to my favorite haunts in the
+park, to the summer-house, where upon the threshold, cut in stone, lay
+the plaint of the Seventh Prince! It was a delightful change to be in
+this beautiful spot after the four months in Peking, and to see Nature
+everywhere budding into perfection. The grounds of the Summer Palace
+were one maze of delight. The peonies in all their royal splendor, the
+fragrant lilac, the stately magnolia, and the budding elms, each added
+their charm to this beautiful spot, where everything was lovely. I
+could not wonder at the Empress Dowager’s desire to come back again to
+all this beauty.
+
+A charming studio was fitted up for me at the Summer Palace on our
+return. Her Majesty saw how much more satisfactory it was for me to
+have a proper place to work in, where I would be undisturbed, and
+even had she not seen the utility of a studio, I think she would have
+granted my request for one, for she was always kind and considerate.
+Upper windows of plate-glass were put into the north side of one of
+His Majesty’s Throne-rooms, behind the Imperial loge. It looked over
+a charming terrace of the garden. The days were long, and it was a
+delight to live and breathe, and the quiet of the studio, where I could
+work at leisure, made me resume my work with renewed vigor.
+
+I began at once to finish up the small sketch of the St. Louis
+portrait, which Her Majesty wished to keep, and then to put the
+final touches on the two portraits begun at the Summer Palace. The
+Throne-room that was now my studio had only one disadvantage. It was so
+near the Theater that on theater days I could hear the music and the
+voices of the actors. And on those days, the court outside my windows
+was filled all day with eunuchs and Their Majesties’ attendants, moving
+to and fro. I decided if it was necessary for me to go into Peking at
+any time, to take a “Theater day” to do so.
+
+One Theater day I did go into Peking, and on my return to the Summer
+Palace the next day I found that His Majesty the Emperor had taken
+advantage of my absence to occupy his Throne-room the day before, for I
+found his Theater program, distinguishable by being written on Imperial
+yellow paper, and he had also left a few papers scattered around with
+characters and phrases written with the “Vermilion Pencil,” which may
+only be used by His Majesty. On one paper he had evidently been trying
+to draw a plan of the part of Manchuria where the war operations were
+then being carried on. He had also drawn a part of the Great Wall of
+China, and the dividing line between China and Manchuria.
+
+So the Emperor, notwithstanding his stoical smile, his apparent
+unconcern, was not indifferent to affairs in Manchuria. He was watching
+the course of events there, and he probably worried and grieved as much
+as even the Empress Dowager, about what might be the result for China.
+He had probably schooled himself to appear indifferent. The ceremonies
+and festivals at the Palace had been going on as usual, but the two
+central figures of all these functions had their own secret anxieties
+and cares. The Emperor was following the campaign in Manchuria, and the
+Empress Dowager was probably planning and thinking of the best course
+for China to follow.
+
+In May, the Empress Dowager had another Garden Party for the ladies of
+the Legation, at which she, as usual, asked me to assist. When I went
+into the Audience Hall for this reception, a few moments before the
+ladies were to arrive, Her Majesty, after greeting me and scanning my
+toilet, which was all in gray without any color, took a pink peony from
+a vase at hand, and pinned it on my dress, saying I needed a little
+color. I had just finished the largest of the other three portraits I
+had painted at the Summer Palace, and Her Majesty told me she liked it
+so much that she had decided to show it to the foreign ladies at this
+Garden Party. As I had heard nothing of this plan before leaving my
+studio that morning, I had made no preparations for it. The picture was
+on my easel, unframed, and I told her I would prefer it to be placed
+in its frame, before it was shown. This frame, designed also by the
+Empress Dowager, and made by the Palace workmen, was a magnificent
+piece of work, elaborately carved and beautiful in form. It was in the
+natural color of teakwood, and this quiet tone admirably set off the
+vivid color of the gown and accessories, and was a great improvement
+to the picture. When she heard what were my wishes on the subject, Her
+Majesty said she would see that the picture was placed in the frame,
+and it was arranged that as soon as I had finished my luncheon, I
+would return to the studio and overlook things myself, and arrange the
+portrait as I wished.
+
+The Audience passed off as usual. Immediately after luncheon the ladies
+were invited to go to the studio to see the portrait. The Empress
+Dowager had evidently forgotten about my wish to go there first, and as
+she herself, contrary to all precedent, led the way, followed by the
+ladies, I could not, of course, precede her. I had not thought that
+she would make such an innovation as to, herself, accompany the ladies
+to the studio. I felt greatly honored, but I feared the eunuchs had
+not arranged things as they should be, and knew I could do nothing
+with Her Majesty present, and what was my chagrin on reaching the
+hall in the wake of the Empress Dowager and the ladies, to find that
+the portrait, though placed in the frame as I had desired, was in the
+center of the narrow hall, and every window on both sides had been
+opened to its widest extent, and the light came in from all sides! I
+had shut off all the lights of this hall, except the double windows to
+the north, where I had the upper glasses put in, and this is where the
+picture should have been placed, but as Her Majesty’s Throne always
+occupies the center of the Throne-rooms, the eunuchs evidently thought
+that was the proper place for her portrait when on exhibition. As
+the halls are narrow in proportion to their length, no one could get
+further off than four feet from this life-size portrait. This, added
+to the cross-lights, was heartrending. I was in despair. Her Majesty’s
+presence prevented my ordering the eunuchs to change the position
+of the portrait, and, besides, every one had already seen it! The
+ladies, who could not do otherwise than express their admiration in the
+presence of both the August Subject and the artist, duly praised the
+portrait. Her Majesty, who knew how it looked in its proper light, and
+who only glanced at it here, did not realize at what a disadvantage it
+appeared, and was perfectly satisfied with the effect.
+
+   [Illustration: THE PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS DOWAGER IN ITS FRAME
+   This Frame is Made of Camphor-wood Carved in the Palace after the
+             Empress’s own Designs and under Her Direction]
+
+An amusing little incident took place while the ladies were looking
+at it. The Empress Dowager, in her cursory examination in this light,
+noticed a part of the trimming of the gown where the design was not
+well worked out. She came up to me, as I stood in a group of ladies,
+and pointed out the defect. She took my hand in hers, and said in an
+almost pleading way, “There is a bit of trimming that is not well
+finished. You will arrange it for me, will you not, Ker-Gunia?” She did
+not believe in leaving anything to the imagination, and wished every
+detail fully worked out!
+
+This portrait was very successfully photographed, and Her Majesty
+concluded she liked it much better than the one which had been sent
+to St. Louis. She said it would make me “famous.” But when I thought
+of how I might have painted this wonderfully interesting woman in the
+unique setting in which she was placed, I realized that “it might have
+been” are really the “saddest words of tongue or pen.”
+
+The precedent having been established, the idea of a representation of
+the Sacred Person of a Chinese Majesty being seen by the world having
+been accepted, the painting of Her Majesty’s first portrait not having
+been followed by the dire results that the Chinese had prophesied, the
+traditional prejudice was overcome, and when she saw how quickly the
+photograph was made of the portrait, and how satisfactory it was, she
+decided she would have the photographer try one of herself, and she was
+not one to stop at a single trial. After waiting sixty-eight years to
+see a counterfeit presentment of herself, I know she will now indulge
+this new fantasy of hers to its fullest extent, and perhaps some other
+artist may at some time paint her according to western ideas, and
+represent her attractive personality in its best setting. But there
+must always be a pioneer, and he it is who suffers the hardships and
+makes the way clear for others, which must be my solace and consolation
+for not being able to paint her as I should have liked. The Empress
+Dowager “consented” to have a portrait of herself painted. Before I
+finished the first one she told me she wanted “many,” and suggested my
+passing the rest of my life out in Peking. I painted four. Who will do
+the others?
+
+I felt I could not go on forever painting portraits, according to
+Chinese traditions, of the Empress Dowager. I could not spend my life
+in this dalliance with Oriental splendor. The world beyond the Palace
+gates called me. I hurried to finish my task. The last portrait was
+nearing completion. My sojourn at the Palace was drawing to a close.
+Though I longed to be where I might paint in a freer way, I looked
+forward with real regret to leaving the Palace, and especially to
+leaving the Empress Dowager and the young Empress, for I had come to
+really love them. I found Her Majesty by far the most fascinating
+personality it had ever been my good fortune to study at such close
+range. The young Empress was a sweet, kind nature, full of dignity
+and pathos, for whom I prayed there might be greater happiness in
+store than had yet fallen to her lot. My sojourn at the Palaces of Her
+Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager of China, my association with
+herself and the Ladies of her Court, I shall always remember as one of
+the most charming experiences of my life.
+
+
+                          TRANSCRIBERS’ NOTES
+
+The following changes have been applied to the text:
+
+  Page 30: “transcience” changed to “transience”: _It was a plaint on
+    the transience of worldly glory_
+
+  Page 94: a period was added to the end of: _reaches a high state of
+    cultivation with them._
+
+  Page 95: “pendative” changed to “pendentive”: _The carved wood ceilings
+    were in pendentive designs_
+
+  Page 125: “Macchiavellian” changed to “Machiavellian”: _no Machiavellian
+    schemes would be forwarded_
+
+  Page 204: “pendatives” changed to “pendentives”: _dome, with elaborately
+    carved pendentives, was painted in_
+
+  Page 238: “ge” changed to “get”: _it was impossible to get any
+    atmosphere in the background_
+
+  Page 247: “Hierachy” changed to “Hierarchy”: _the Priestly Hierarchy of
+    the whole_
+
+The following markings were added to the plain text to indicate the
+original text styles: “=” for bold and “_” for italics. In addition,
+all small-caps have been replaced with capital letters.
+
+All inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words and the spelling of
+names have been standardized.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75210 ***