From 1861 until her death in 1908, the Empress Dowager Cixi was the de facto ruler of China. Historians, and the popular media as well, have generally portrayed her as a "dragon lady" and perhaps she was, but after spending the morning at the Sackler Gallery, I find myself wanting to know more about this mysterious woman. The Sackler Gallery has mounted a remarkable exhibit - nineteen, black-and-white photos, displayed nearly life-size, of the Empress Dowager taken in 1903.
These, and other photos, and additional information about the exhibit may be found at
http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/china/powerplay/default.asp.
The photographs will be on display at the Sackler until January. If you spend any time in Washington DC in the next few months, you won't regret devoting a few hours to getting to know the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Comments (4)
I would find this exhibit interesting.
Wow, I always wondered what the Empress of China looked like. Very interesting. Thanks, Jeff!
I love exhibitions. Being that I live in Wagga Wagga and not a big city like Melbourne or Sydney etc, the local Gallery can become slightly monotonous at times.. I did however get to the 'Tutankhamun' Expedition @ the Melbourne Museum and it was absolutely wonderful. I have always felt like I had a connection to Egypt and the young King.. Isn't it weird how places and people can do that to you? Make you feel like that.
My, long drawn out and sidetracked, point is, I think I would have really enjoyed that exhibit. Because, like my favourite King, she seems thoroughly intriguing.
She looks like a strong woman, and she would have to have been, to rule China during such a tumultuous era. I read a biography of her when I was in high school. That was a hard life,- she had to have incredible self-control and massive brain-power to calculate all the permutations of back-stabbing political games that went on in the Chinese court.