In 1903 the American artist Katharine Carl was invited to paint the portrait of the Empress Dowager Cixi for the St. Louis Exposition, and she lived for months among the court. She describes Cixi’s appearance and habits, her throne-room, her dogs, the young Empress and the court ladies, palace meals and ceremonies, and the etiquette of kneeling and kowtow.
A rare, sympathetic insider’s view of the last years of imperial China. Download the free EPUB.