I first heard about Der Ling when a friend mentioned that there was a Manchu “princess” who spoke English, Chinese/Manchu, and French. She was given the title “Princess” when she served as Lady-in-Waiting to Empress Dowager Cixi, and she also lived overseas for a significant period of time before and after entering the palace.

Her life is probably much more complex than the quick introduction I just gave, but it will suffice for this review. Two Years in the Forbidden Palace is a memoir by Der Ling about her time in the royal compounds and while there is cause to doubt the accuracy of all that she wrote, it’s still a fascinating look into the last royal family of China.

Two Years in the Forbidden Palace starts as Der Ling and her family arrive back in China from France, where her father had served as the Minister to France. As soon as their back, Der Ling, her mother, and her sister are quickly brought to Cixi and ‘hired’ as Lady-in-Waiting, and to hear Der Ling tell it, she soon becomes a favourite with the ruler of China.

Given how compressed the time frame for this book is, it’s no surprise that there’s not much covered in terms of history. Instead, the book largely focuses on:

• Life in the palace
• Gossip/tidbits about Cixi (like her favourite dog, her love of flowers, her habit of judging all the foreign ladies)
• Manchu culture and customs

According to Der Ling, she was soon a favourite of Cixi’s and in fact helped to stand-in for the Dowager Empress when she was tired for sitting for her portrait (by the painter Katherine Carl). By her own account, Der Ling is a loyal lady-in-waiting, unwilling to lie to Cixi. At the same time, she’s also a surprisingly independent woman, rejecting an arranged marriage that Cixi herself recommended.

While I have no idea how accurate the book is, I found it very entertaining. Cixi is given a rather sympathetic portrayal here; while she does do some rather odd stuff like preventing the emperor and his wife from communicating directly, when it comes to state affairs, it’s her ministers that call the shots. Likewise, the Emperor is ineffective; while he enjoys practising English with Der Ling, he knows that he is just a puppet in the hands of his ministers and that Cixi holds more power than him.

Cooming to the blog on Friday: my review of Imperial Masquerade, a biography of Der Ling’s life, where we’ll fact-check her (a little) and think about the questions that she poses.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva