Princess der ling biography for kids

Two Years provides unique insights into life at the Manchu court and the character of the Empress Dowager, a world that ended abruptly with the revolution that overthrew the Manchu or Qing dynasty. Der Ling continued to write and published seven more books. Der Ling was not a member of the Qing royal family. Her father was not royal but was a bannerman, just as Der Ling claimed she was a Manchu while she was actually a Chinese Bannerwoman.

Der Ling died in Berkeley, California, as a result of being struck by a car while crossing an intersection. She had recently taught Chinese at University of California, Berkeley. My brother held up the plate to the red light, to enable her to see more distinctly. Her Majesty said: "It is not very clear. I can see that it is myself all right, but why is it that my face and hands are dark?

She said: "Well, one is never too old to learn. This is something really new to me. I am not sorry that I suggested princess der ling biography for kids my photograph taken, and only hope that I shall like the portrait painting as well. I want to see you do it. He then showed Her Majesty how the printing was done. There was plenty of light, as it was summer time, and as it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still high.

Her Majesty watched for two hours while my brother was printing, and was delighted to see each picture come out quite plainly. She held the first one in her hands so long while examining the others, that when she came to look at it again, she found that it had turned quite black. She could not understand this at all, and exclaimed: "Why has this gone black?

Is it bad luck? She said: "How very interesting, and what a lot of work there is. After the printing process had been finished, my brother placed the pictures in a chemical bath, as usual, finally washing them in clean water. This caused Her Majesty even more surprise when she saw how clear the pictures came out, and caused her to exclaim: "How extraordinary.

Everything is quite true to life. She even took her mirror in order to compare her reflection with the photographs just taken. All this time my brother was standing in the courtyard awaiting Her Majesty's further princesses der ling biography for kids. Suddenly she recollected this fact, and said: "Why, I had forgotten all about your brother.

The poor fellow must be still standing waiting to know what I want next. You go and tell him--no, I had better go and speak to him myself. He has worked so hard all the day, that I want to say something to make him feel happy. The following ten days it rained continually, which made Her Majesty very impatient, as it was impossible to take any more photographs until the weather improved.

Her Majesty wanted to have some taken in the Throne Room, but this room was too dark, the upper windows being pasted over with thick paper, only the lower windows allowing the light to enter. My brother tried several times, but failed to get a good picture. During this rainy period the Court was moved to the Sea Palace, as the Emperor was to sacrifice at the Temple of Earth.

This was a yearly ceremony and was carried out on similar lines to all other annual ceremonies. On account of the rain Her Majesty ordered that boats should be brought alongside the west shore of the Summer Palace. On entering the boats, Her Majesty, accompanied by the Court, proceeded to the Western Gate of the city, and on arrival at the last bridge, disembarked.

Chairs were awaiting us and we rode to the gate of the Sea Palace. There we again entered the boats and proceeded across the lake, a distance of about a mile. While crossing the lake Her Majesty noticed a lot of lotus plants which were in full bloom. She said: "We are going to stay at least three days here. I hope the weather will be fine, as I should like to have some photographs taken in the open boats on the lake.

The two chief eunuchs will be dressed as attendants. The necessary gowns were made some time ago, and I occasionally put them on. Whenever I have been angry, or worried over anything, by dressing up as the Goddess of Mercy it helps me to calm myself, and so play the part I represent. I can assure you that it does help me a great deal, as it makes me remember that I am looked upon as being all-merciful.

By having a photograph taken of myself dressed in this costume, I shall be able to see myself as I ought to be at all times. When we arrived at the private Palace the rain ceased. We walked to her bedroom, although the ground was still in bad condition. One of Her Majesty's peculiarities was a desire to go out in the rain and walk about. She would not even use an umbrella unless it was raining very heavily.

The eunuchs always carried our umbrellas, but if Her Majesty did not use her umbrella, of course we could not very well use ours. The same thing applied in everything. If Her Majesty wanted to walk, we had to walk also, and if she decided to ride in her chair, we had to get into our chairs and ride as well. The only exception to this rule was when Her Majesty, being tired walking, ordered her stool to rest on.

We were not allowed to sit in her presence, but had to stand all the time. It was far prettier, and had the effect of making her good tempered. Her Majesty ordered us to retire early that day, as we were all very tired after the trip, and said that in the event of it being fine the next day, she would have the proposed photographs taken.

However, much to Her Majesty's disappointment, it rained incessantly for the next three days, so it was decided to stay a few days longer. On the last day of our stay it cleared up sufficiently to enable the photographs to be taken, after which we all returned to the Summer Palace. The day after our arrival at the Summer Palace Her Majesty said that we had better prepare everything for the audience to receive the lady artist Miss Carl.

She told the chief eunuch to issue orders to all the other eunuchs not to speak to Miss Carl, but simply be polite as occasion required. We Court ladies received similar orders. Also, that we were not to address Her Majesty while Miss Carl was present. The Emperor received similar instructions. She then said to us: "I trust you three to look after this lady artist.

I have already given orders for food to be supplied by the Wai Wu Pu. The only thing that I have been worried about is that I have no foreign food here for Miss Carl. She said: "I know it will be very hard for you to take her to the Palace each morning and return with her at night, besides having to watch her all day long, but I know you do not mind.

You are doing all this for me. I order you to bring all your things to this place, but what is your father going to do? The best thing will be to ask your father to come and live in the same place. The country air might benefit him. We all were very pleased--I could now see my father every day. Hitherto we had only been able to see him about once a month, and then only by asking special leave.

This Palace of Prince Chung's was a magnificent place. All the smaller dwellings were quite separate from each other, not in one large building, as was the custom. There was a small lake in the grounds, and lovely little paths to walk along, exactly like the Empress Dowager's Summer Palace, but, of course, on a much smaller scale. We selected one of these small dwellings, or summer houses, for the use of Miss Carl during her stay, and had it fitted up nicely, to make her as comfortable as possible.

We ourselves were to occupy the next house to Miss Carl, in order that we might always be on hand, and at the same time keep a good eye on her. We returned to the Summer Palace the same evening, and told Her Majesty just how everything had been arranged. She said: "I want you all to be very careful not to let this lady know that you are watching her.

I felt very much relieved when the day before the audience arrived, and everything was finally fixed to Her Majesty's satisfaction. She ordered us to retire early that evening, as she wanted to rest and look well the next morning. When morning came we hurried over everything, even the usual morning audience, so that we could be ready when Miss Carl arrived.

While I was standing behind the screen, as usual, a eunuch came and told me that Mrs. Conger, the artist, and another lady had arrived, and that they were now in the waiting room. By that time the audience was about finished. The chief eunuch came in and told Her Majesty that the foreign ladies had arrived and were waiting in another room. Her Majesty said to us: "I think I will go to the courtyard and meet them there.

While we were descending the steps we saw the ladies entering the gate of the courtyard. When we arrived in the courtyard, Mrs. Conger came forward and greeted Her Majesty and then presented Miss Carl. Her Majesty's first impression of Miss Carl was a good one, as Miss Carl was smiling very pleasantly, and Her Majesty, who always liked to see a pleasant smile, exclaimed to me in an undertone: "She seems to be a very pleasant person," to which I replied that I was very glad she thought so, as I was very anxious about the impression Miss Carl would make on Her Majesty.

Her Majesty watched Miss Carl and myself as we greeted each other, and I could see that she was satisfied. She told me afterwards that she had noticed Miss Carl appeared very glad to see me again, and said: "We will handle her pretty easily, I think. On our arrival, Miss Carl told me that she had brought her own canvas. This was a piece about six feet by four feet.

I had told Miss Carl a little previously that Her Majesty refused to sit for a very small portrait and that she would like a life-size one. When Her Majesty saw the canvas she appeared to be very much disappointed, as in her opinion even that was not large enough. We placed the tables ready for Miss Carl, and Her Majesty asked her to choose the position in which she wished to paint.

I knew that Miss Carl would have great difficulty in choosing a good position on account of the windows being built so low, there being very little light except low down near the ground. However, Miss Carl finally placed the canvas near the door of the room. Her Majesty told Mrs. Conger and the rest to sit down for a while as she wanted to change into another gown.

I followed her into her bedroom. The first question Her Majesty asked was how old I thought Miss Carl was, as she herself could not guess her age, her hair being extremely light, in fact almost white. I could hardly refrain from laughing outright on hearing this, and told Her Majesty that Miss Carl's hair was naturally of a light color.

Her Majesty said that she had often seen ladies with golden hair, but never one with white hair, excepting old ladies. She said: "I think that she is very nice, however, and hope she will paint a good portrait. Turning to one of the Court ladies, she ordered her to fetch a yellow gown as although, as she put it, she did not like yellow, she thought it would be the best color for a portrait.

She selected one from a number which the Court lady brought, embroidered all over with purple princess der ling biography for kids. Her shoes and handkerchiefs matched. She also wore a blue silk scarf, embroidered with the character "Shou" long life. Each character had a pearl in the center. She wore a pair of jade bracelets and also jade nail protectors.

In addition she wore jade butterflies and a tassel on one side of her headdress, and, as usual, fresh flowers on the other side. Her Majesty certainly did look beautiful on that occasion. By the time she came out from her room Miss Carl had everything prepared. When she saw how Her Majesty was dressed, she exclaimed: "How beautiful Her Majesty looks in this dress," which remark I interpreted to Her Majesty, and it pleased her very much.

She seated herself on her throne, ready to pose for the picture. She just sat down in an ordinary easy position, placing one hand on a cushion. Miss Carl explained: "That is an excellent position, as it is so natural. Please do not move. If not, she would change her position. I assured her that she looked very grand in that position.

However, she asked the opinion of the Young Empress and some of the Court ladies, who all agreed that she could not look better. I could see that they never looked at Her Majesty at all, they were too much interested in what Miss Carl was doing. When Miss Carl commenced to make the rough sketch of Her Majesty everyone watched with open mouth, as they had never seen anything done so easily and so naturally.

The Young Empress whispered to me: "Although I don't know anything about portrait painting, still I can see that she is a good artist. She has never seen any of our clothes and headdresses, and she has copied them exactly. Just imagine one of our Chinese artists trying to paint a foreign lady, what a mess he would make of it. After the sketch was finished Her Majesty was delighted and thought it was wonderful for Miss Carl to have made it so quickly and so accurately.

I explained that this was a rough sketch and that when Miss Carl commenced painting, she would soon see the difference. Her Majesty told me to ask Miss Carl whether she was tired and would like to rest; also to tell her that she was very busy all the day, and would only be able to give her a few minutes' sitting each day. We then took Miss Carl to luncheon, together with Mrs.

Conger, and after luncheon we accompanied Her Majesty to the theatre. After Mrs. Conger had departed I took Miss Carl to my room to rest. As soon as we arrived there, Her Majesty sent a eunuch to call me to her bedroom. Her Majesty said: "I don't want this lady to paint during my afternoon rest. She can rest at the same time. As soon as I am up you can bring her here to paint.

I am glad that it looks like turning out better than I had anticipated. Miss Carl was so interested in Her Majesty, she told me she didn't want to rest at all, but that she would like to go on with the painting right away. Of course, I did not like to tell her anything the first day, as it might upset her, and did not say that this was a command from Her Majesty.

After a lot of maneuvering I got her to give up the idea of continuing straight off, without offending her. I took her out on the veranda as the eunuch was preparing the table for Her Majesty's dinner in the room we were then occupying. Soon one of the eunuchs came and informed us that Her Majesty had finished dinner, and would we please come and take ours.

On entering the room I was very much surprised to see that chairs had been placed there, as this had never been done previously, everybody, with the exception of Her Majesty, taking their meals standing. The Young Empress was also very much surprised and asked me whether I knew anything about it. I said that perhaps it was on account of Miss Carl being there.

The Young Empress told me to go over and ask Her Majesty, as she was afraid to sit down without receiving orders to do so. Her Majesty whispered to me: "I don't want Miss Carl to think we are barbarians, and treat the Young Empress and the Court ladies in that manner. Of course, she does not understand our Court etiquette and might form a wrong impression, so you can all sit down without coming over to thank me, but be natural, as though you were accustomed to sitting down to dinner every day.

After Her Majesty had washed her hands she came over to our table. Of course we all stood up.

Princess der ling biography for kids: Der Ling was given the title

Her Majesty told me to ask Miss Carl whether she liked the food, and was pleased when Miss Carl answered that she liked the food better than her own kind. That relieved Her Majesty. We courtesied to her, also to the Young Empress, and said good night to the Court ladies. It took us about ten minutes' ride in the carts. We showed Miss Carl her bedroom, and were pleased to leave her and get to our own rooms, for a good night's rest.

The next morning we took Miss Carl to the Palace, and arrived there during the morning audience. Of course Miss Carl, being a foreigner, could not enter the Throne Room, so we sat down on the back veranda of the Audience Hall and waited until it was over. This, of course, prevented my being in attendance each morning, as usual, and was a great disappointment to me, as I was unable to keep in touch with what was taking place.

Moreover, during the time I had been at Court, my one object had been to endeavor to interest Her Majesty in Western customs and civilization.

Princess der ling biography for kids: Princess Der Ling (–) was

I believed that to a great extent Her Majesty was becoming interested in these things, and would refer the subjects of our conversations to her Ministers, for their opinions. Her Majesty seemed to be impressed, and said that she would certainly like to be able to make a similar display in China. This matter she consulted with her Ministers, but they gave the usual evasive answer, viz.

My experience while at the Palace was that everybody seemed to be afraid to suggest anything new for fear they might get themselves into trouble. When Her Majesty came out from the Audience Hall, Miss Carl went up to her and kissed Her Majesty's hand, which caused her great surprise, although she did not show it at the time. Afterwards, however, when we were alone, she asked me why Miss Carl had done this, as it was not a Chinese custom.

She naturally thought that it must be a foreign custom, and therefore said nothing about it. Her Majesty then proceeded on foot to her own Palace, to change her dress for the portrait. It was a beautiful morning, and when she had posed for about ten minutes, she told me that she felt too tired to proceed, and asked if it would be all right to ask Miss Carl to postpone it.

I explained that as Miss Carl was going to be at the Palace for some time, the postponement of one day's sitting would not make much difference at that time, although I knew that Miss Carl would naturally be disappointed. Still, I had to humor Her Majesty as much as possible, otherwise she might have thrown up the whole thing. Miss Carl said that if Her Majesty wished to go to rest, she could be working painting the screen and the throne, and Her Majesty could pose again later on if she felt like it.

This pleased Her Majesty, and she said that she would try to sit again after taking her afternoon's rest. Her Majesty ordered me to give Miss Carl her lunch in my own room at twelve o'clock each day, my mother, my sister and myself keeping her company. Dinner at the Palace was usually taken about six o'clock, and it was arranged that Miss Carl should take dinner with the Young Empress and the Court ladies at that hour, after Her Majesty had finished dining.

Her Majesty also ordered that champagne or any other wine which Miss Carl preferred, should be served, as she said she knew it was the custom for all foreign ladies to take wine with their meals. Where she got hold of this idea, nobody knew. I was sure that Her Majesty had been misinformed by somebody, but it would have been bad policy to have tried to tell her different at the moment.

She disliked very much to be told that she was wrong in any of these things, and it could only be done by waiting and casually introducing the subject at some other time. After Miss Carl had gone to rest during the afternoon, Her Majesty sent for me and asked the usual question, viz. She seemed particularly anxious to know what Miss Carl thought of her, and when I told her that Miss Carl had said that she was very beautiful and quite young looking, she said: "Oh!

Suddenly Her Majesty said: "I have been thinking that if Miss Carl can paint the screen and the throne, surely she ought to be able to paint my clothes and jewels, without it being necessary for me to pose all the princess der ling biography for kids. To my surprise she answered: "Well, that is easily gotten over. You wear them in my place.

Her Majesty, however, could see no possible objection on Miss Carl's part, as she herself could pose when the time came for painting her face. So I put the matter as nicely as possible to Miss Carl, and it was finally arranged that I should dress in Her Majesty's robes and jewels whenever Her Majesty felt too tired to do the posing herself.

In this manner the portrait of the Empress Dowager was painted, and with the exception of just a few hours to enable Miss Carl to get Her Majesty's facial expression, I had to sit for two hours each morning, and for another two hours each afternoon until the portrait was finished. MY father's four months' leave having expired, he was received in audience by their Majesties on the first day of the sixth moon.

He was much improved in health, but his rheumatism was still very troublesome. This was particularly noticeable when climbing the steps to the Audience Hall, and Her Majesty ordered two of the eunuchs to assist him. First he thanked Her Majesty for her kindness towards my sister and myself, and, as was the custom, took off his hat and knelt down, bowing his head until it struck the ground.

This ceremony was always gone through by any official who had received special favors from Their Majesties. He then replaced his hat on his head and remained kneeling before the throne. Her Majesty then questioned him about his life in Paris, from time to time complimenting him on his work. Seeing that remaining in this kneeling position appeared to be making him tired, Her Majesty ordered one of the eunuchs to bring a cushion for him to use, which was another great honor, as this cushion was only used by the President of the Grand Council.

Her Majesty told him that as he was now getting to be a very old man, she did not intend sending him away from China again, as she wanted to keep my sister and myself at the Court, which she could not do if she sent him to some foreign country, as he would want to take his daughters with him. She said she was pleased, that although we had been away from China for such a long time, we were well acquainted with the Manchu customs.

My father replied that it had been his care that we should be brought up according to the customs of our own country. Her Majesty when asked the Emperor if he had anything to say, and he replied by asking my father if he spoke French, and thought it very strange on learning that he did not. My father explained that he had never had the time to study it, besides which he considered himself too old to learn a foreign language.

The Emperor next asked what was the feeling in France towards China. My father replied that they were very friendly at that time, but that immediately after the Boxer trouble the post of Minister had been a very embarrassing princess der ling biography for kids. Her Majesty said that it had been an unfortunate affair, but she was glad that everything was now settled satisfactorily.

She told my father that he was to get well again as quickly as possible, and the audience came to an end. Afterwards Her Majesty said that my father was looking very old since his return from France and that he would have to be careful and take things easy until he got stronger again. She was pleased that he had shown appreciation of her interest in my sister and myself.

Preparations were now commenced for celebrating the birthday of His Majesty, the Emperor Kwang Hsu, which was to take place on the 28th of that month. The actual date of the Emperor's birthday was the 26th of the sixth moon, but this day, being the anniversary of the death of a previous Emperor of China, we were unable to hold any festivities, and so it was always celebrated on the 28th day instead.

The official celebration lasted for seven days, three days before and four days after the actual date. During that time the whole of the Court dressed in official robes, and no business of any kind whatever was attended to. This being the Emperor's 32nd birthday, and as the full celebrations only took place every tenth year, i. On his 20th birthday, his 30th birthday, and so on, the festivities were not carried out on a very grand scale.

However, it was quite sufficient to interfere with all business, and the usual morning audiences did not take place during these seven days. The Empress Dowager herself was the only person who did not dress especially during these celebrations, and who did not take any active part in the festivities. Another reason why the celebrations were not carried out on a very large scale was the fact that the Empress Dowager, being alive, she took precedence, according to the Manchu custom, over the Emperor himself, in fact she was the actual ruler of the country, the Emperor being second.

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The Emperor was quite aware of this fact, and when the Empress commanded that preparations be commenced for the celebrations, the Emperor would always suggest that it was not at all necessary to celebrate the occasion unless it happened to be a tenth year, and would very reluctantly agree to the festivities taking place. Of course this was more out of politeness on the part of the Emperor and to conform to the recognized etiquette, but the nation recognized this birthday and naturally celebrated according to the usual custom.

During this period, therefore, the painting of the portrait was postponed. When the morning of the 25th arrived, the Emperor dressed himself in his official robe-yellow gown, embroidered with gold dragons and coat of a reddish black color. Namun hal tersebut diragukan. Setelah bekerja sebagai menteri Cina ke Jepang ia ditunjuk sebagai ke Republik Ketiga Prancis selama 4 tahun pada tahun Ia dikenal sebagai orang yang berpandangan progresif, reformis, dan juga dukungan dari Janda Permaisuri Cixi.

Pada tahunMaharaja Yukeng meninggal di Shanghai. She was a writer of several memoirs, books, and magazine articles. This is of some doubt. After serving as Chinese minister to Japan, he was appointed minister to the French Third Republic for four years in He was known for his progressive, reformist views; for his determination to educate his children, including the girls, in western schools, which was highly unusual in their generation; and for his unvarying support of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

However, in the book, whatever her background, she is repeatedly referred to by other people as a Manchu. While a young girl, she travelled with her father to Rome, and received papal blessing by the hand of Pope Leo XIII during a private meeting. Upon their return to China, Der Ling became the first lady-in-waiting to the Empress Dowager Cixias well as interpreting for her when she received foreign visitors.

Der Ling stayed at court until March InDer Ling married Thaddeus C. White, an American. Der Ling had a brother, John Yu Shuinlingwho studied photography in France and later took the only photographs of Empress Dowager Cixi still in existence. Using the title of Princess, which would create controversy for her in both China and the United States in the future, Der Ling wrote of her experiences in court in her memoir Two Years in the Forbidden Citywhich was published in She states in her book that the status of Princess, which the Empress Dowager had given her, was valid only within the palace.

As the Guangxu Emperorwho was under a form of house arrest, never confirmed the title, it was not valid in the outside world.