Marketing Peonies, Zhao Zhiqian’s Flower Album

Zhao Zhiqian, Flowers Album, 1862 (Qing dynasty), album leaves, China (Shanghai Museum, China) A conversation between Dr. Kristen Loring Brennan and Dr. Steven Zucker.

Two Years in the Forbidden City (10)-The Young Empress

I THOUGHT of so many things while I was riding in my chair. It was a glorious day. I felt sorry for Her Majesty, for she was very quiet that day. Generally she was happy, and made everyone laugh with her. I thought about the branches of willow, too, but could not understand the meaning. […]

Terracotta Army: The Greatest Archaeological Find of the 20th Century

In March 1974, Chinese farmers digging a well unearthed the greatest archaeological find of the century – the buried Terracotta Army. After coming across a life-sized human head made of clay in Xi’an, China, archaeologists were called in to investigate. What they found was extraordinary. Thousands of life-like terracotta figures from the Qin dynasty, fashioned […]

Qing Dynasty, 1644–1911

The Qing dynasty (1644–1911) was founded by a northeast Asian people who called themselves Manchus. Their history, language, culture, and identity was distinct from the Chinese population, whom they conquered in 1644 when China was weakened by internal rebellions. The Manchus forged alliances with certain Chinese and Mongol groups that aided their conquest of China. […]

Klaus Mühlhahn Examines China’s Evolving International Position

Moving beyond the standard framework of Cold War competition and national resurgence, Klaus Mühlhahn’s new book situates twenty-first-century China in the nation’s long history of creative adaptation. About the Book: A panoramic survey of China’s rise and resilience through war and rebellion, disease and famine, that rewrites China’s history for a new generation. It is […]

Two Years in the Forbidden City (9)-The Emperor Kwang Hsu

THE next day I arose earlier than usual and dressed in a great hurry, as I feared I might be late. When I got to Her Majesty’s Palace there were a few Court ladies there sitting on the veranda. They smiled and asked me to sit down with them as it was still too early, […]

Two Years in the Forbidden City (8)- The Court Ladies

WE retired from her room, but I noticed that two of the Court ladies did not come out with us. One of them said to me: “I am glad that I can rest a bit to-day, for I have been sitting three afternoons in succession.” At first I did not know what she meant. Then […]

Portrait of the Imperial Guard Zhan Yinbao

Under the Manchu emperors of the Qing dynasty, portraiture again became an important court-sponsored art. This full-length depiction of an imperial bodyguard of the first rank is from a set of one hundred portraits of loyal officials and valiant warriors commissioned by the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95) that originally hung in the Hall of Imperial […]

Qing Dynasty, Reviving Antiquities and Inventing New Styles

The Qing dynasty (1644–1911) was founded by a northeast Asian people who called themselves Manchus. Their history, language, culture, and identity was distinct from the Chinese population, whom they conquered in 1644 when China was weakened by internal rebellions. The Manchus forged alliances with certain Chinese and Mongol groups that aided their conquest of China. […]

Princess Der Ling, A Life Between Worlds

  When she was mortally injured by a hit and run driver outside the University of California, Berkeley in November, 1944, the police report gave her name as Mrs. Elizabeth Antoinette White. But on her death certificate, her husband insisted on adding: “Also known as Princess Der Ling.” She died virtually forgotten – we may […]