The Grand Invitation to the Imperial Court
In the twilight years of the Qing Dynasty, as Western influence increasingly penetrated China’s ancient capital, I found myself among the privileged few foreigners granted access to the innermost sanctums of imperial power. The invitation to enter the Forbidden City and meet the legendary Empress Dowager Cixi arrived almost immediately after my arrival in Beijing, an honor that would provide unprecedented insight into the waning days of China’s imperial tradition.
The carefully orchestrated visit was scheduled to take place in Cixi’s winter residence within the sprawling palace complex. As my sedan chair passed through successive gates and courtyards, I marveled at the intricate dragon motifs and exquisite artifacts whose names and purposes remained mysterious to my Western eyes. Towering pine trees shaded vermilion-painted buildings with their distinctive yellow glazed tile roofs, while small bridges connected the various courtyards like threads weaving through an elaborate tapestry of imperial life.
The Imperial Protocol of Entry
Approaching the Empress Dowager’s residence, protocol demanded we abandon our own conveyances for palace-carried palanquins. The transition marked our passage into the most sacred spaces of Chinese power. Cixi’s palace stood majestically on a white marble platform, where a royal family member waited to greet us, surrounded by ministers, court ladies, and servants forming a living tableau of Qing hierarchy.
Stepping from the bright sunlight into the great hall brought immediate relief from the summer heat, thanks to an enormous porcelain basin filled with ice serving as an ancient air conditioner. There, facing the entrance on a backless, armless sofa-like seat upholstered in egg-yellow silk, sat the formidable woman who had ruled China from behind the throne for decades.
The Empress Dowager in Person
Cixi presented a striking figure – her voluminous robe embroidered with grapevines heavy with fruit, a blue satin collar studded with pearls, and the traditional Manchu headdress that gathered her remarkably black hair (defying her 68 years) into an elaborate coiffure adorned with a green jade “paper knife” and artificial flowers. Her famously long nails, protected by golden sheaths, extended an astonishing three to four inches from her slender fingers. Though observing mourning customs that limited her use of cosmetics, Cixi’s piercing gaze conveyed an intelligence and authority that belied her age.
Before her stood a table draped in imperial yellow silk, displaying two vases of fresh chrysanthemums flanking a glass vessel containing a priceless coral tree. With a slight adjustment of this centerpiece to better see her guests, Cixi demonstrated an unexpected familiarity with Western customs by extending her hand to each of us in turn – a gesture whose origins in her experience puzzled me greatly.
The Emperor’s Silent Presence
To Cixi’s left, on a slightly lower seat as protocol demanded, sat the Guangxu Emperor, whose very name remained largely unspoken in accordance with Chinese etiquette. At 36, he appeared much younger, his handsome face marked by melancholy eyes that rarely met others’ gazes. Dressed in deep blue silk with circular insignia (reserved for the emperor alone) and the distinctive hat with red tassel and peacock feather, Guangxu maintained perfect silence throughout the audience, his subordinate position to his aunt-by-marriage painfully evident.
The imperial accoutrements surrounding him spoke volumes about his theoretical power – the exclusive use of bright yellow porcelain, the five-clawed dragon motifs forbidden to others, the empty throne rooms maintained throughout the empire where officials performed the kowtow on his birthday. Yet in Cixi’s presence, this Son of Heaven became nearly invisible, his symbolic meals consisting of leftovers from the Empress Dowager’s plate, consumed without comment.
The Imperial Women’s World
Surrounding the imperial pair stood court ladies forming a colorful human tapestry, chief among them the young Empress Xiaodingjing of the Yehenara clan, who blushed slightly under foreign scrutiny. These Manchu women, unbound by Han foot-binding traditions, moved gracefully in their embroidered robes, accompanied by numerous attendants. The exclusively female nature of this inner court space extended even to Cixi’s translator, with only the emperor permitted entry into this feminine domain.
As we toured the private quarters, the contrast between Guangxu’s dark, sparsely furnished rooms and Cixi’s more vibrant chambers became apparent. Western gifts – including a photograph of Queen Victoria – mingled with traditional Chinese furnishings, while a royal library stood filled with yellow-bound volumes, hinting at the intellectual currents flowing through these rarefied spaces.
The Curious Banquet of East and West
The banquet hall presented a striking cultural hybrid – a magnificently carved Chinese interior furnished with Western-style tables and chairs for our comfort. Black American oilcloths with floral prints protected the table linens from Chinese dishes served with Western cutlery (alongside silver-tipped ebony chopsticks for the adventurous). The beverage service proved equally eclectic – beer mistakenly poured into wine glasses, champagne in liqueur cups – while Cixi moved between tables, consuming several bowls of rice with dishes and milk, her personal servant bearing the imperial yellow tableware.
The meal concluded with another cultural compromise: as mementos, we received our used napkins, utensils, and menus – a Chinese custom adapted to foreign guests. Notably, the emperor broke his silence only to enjoy several Western cigarettes, his wife following suit with evident pleasure.
The Imperial Performance
Post-banquet entertainment took the form of traditional Chinese opera, which our hosts found enthralling but which tested foreign endurance. The lengthy performance allowed the male diplomats, previously segregated in accordance with palace protocol, to join the imperial party, suggesting they had undergone similar hospitality elsewhere in the complex. As night fell, we returned to our original sedan chairs, bearing vivid memories of a world that would soon vanish forever.
Subsequent Encounters with Imperial Majesty
My second audience occurred in Baoding, where Cixi and Guangxu stopped during their return from ancestral rites at the Western Tombs. The imperial train, its engine adorned with dragon flags, pulled into the station to military bands and rifle-bearing guards. Through the large windows of specially-built blue carriages, I glimpsed Cixi smiling at the crowds – a rare public appearance that electrified the local population.
The procession through Baoding revealed the intricate choreography of imperial movement: Guangxu’s swift palanquin preceding sword-bearing guards, followed by Cixi’s yellow sedan chair that prompted even the honor guard to kowtow. The empress’s elaborate carriage, with its yellow silk canopy and specially-decorated wheels, trailed behind, followed by lesser nobility in simpler conveyances and baggage carts shrouded in imperial yellow.
A private audience in the temporary palace allowed more intimate conversation, with Cixi serving tea sweetened with sugar from a jade container and flavored with plum blossoms. Her assumption that we had come specifically to pay homage revealed both her worldview and the isolation of imperial life. The subsequent garden tour demonstrated her pride in Chinese landscaping – artificial hills, rare birds, and a picturesque lake with bridges – all screened by yellow silk curtains and guarded by eunuchs.
New Year’s Revelations
My final audience during Lunar New Year celebrations provided further glimpses into court life. Cixi’s private quarters contained the surprising sight of Western clocks she kept together “to correct each other,” while nighttime arrangements revealed two ladies-in-waiting sleeping on the floor beside her bed. The informal seating on her kang (heated platform), where I found myself sandwiched between empress and emperor, demonstrated unexpected physical intimacy between rulers and foreign guests.
The empress dowager’s fascination with my muffler led her to place both hands inside it, while her robe’s hem deliberately covering my lap signaled imperial favor. The gift exchange – flowers symbolizing happiness and longevity, tea for health, and Cixi’s favorite pastries – underscored the cultural significance of such courtesies.
A Day in the Summer Palace
My most memorable experience came during a full day’s informal visit to the Summer Palace, Cixi’s reconstructed retreat northwest of Beijing. Strolling arm-in-arm through the magnificent grounds, the empress dowager pointed out scenic vistas like any proud hostess showing off her garden. The famous marble boat served as her summer tea house, while the landscaped hills revealed both the beauty and occasional lack of planning in Chinese garden design – splendid but scattered peonies, magnificent wind-breaking trees.
The damage inflicted by Italian troops on the yellow-tiled Buddhist temples – particularly the deliberate mutilation of countless small Buddha figures – stood as a sad testament to cultural vandalism. Yet the overall splendor remained undiminished: the vast Kunming Lake with its marble bridges, the colorful mythological scenes painted on beams, the protective roof figurines placed according to feng shui principles.
Our day concluded beneath a giant pine tree where Cixi held court on a canopied dais while I, seated nearby on an ordinary chair, contemplated the extraordinary privilege of witnessing China’s ancient imperial tradition in its final years. The silent figure of Guangxu trailing behind his aunt, surrounded by chattering courtiers but never speaking himself, seemed to embody the paradox of imperial power – magnificent yet constrained, revered yet powerless.
These remarkable encounters, preserved through careful observation and detailed recording, offer invaluable insights into the twilight of China’s imperial era, when East and West met in the hallowed halls of the Forbidden City, often misunderstanding each other but occasionally finding common ground in shared human experiences of hospitality, curiosity, and the desire for connection across cultural divides.