The Archives of the Free Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler gallery contain 36 original glass-plate negatives taken between 1903-1905 of the inner Qing court. These portraits of the Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太后) were taken by photographer Xunling (1874-1943) between 1903-1905 are more Western than Eastern in style. Cixi was the dominant figure in the Qing court for more than 45 years until her death in 1908. To counter her reputation for cruelty and treachery in the West, to control her image, and to reach out to foreign nations through personal diplomacy, her advisors suggested appointing Manchus with overseas experience to assist Cixi in social contact with Westerners. As one of these foreign-raised Manchus, Xunling (c.1880-1943), the son of the former ambassador to Tokyo and Paris, was engaged in taking a series of individual portraits and elaborate group tableaux depicting Cixi and her attendants. The Empress Dowager often used the portraits as gifts for visiting dignitaries such as Theodore Roosevelt, distributed to ministers and hung in the palace.
Image 1: Empress Dowager Cixi, 1903-1905.
Image 2: Empress Dowager Cixi with foreign envoys' wives in Leshoutang, Summer Palace, Beijing, China, Qing dynasty, 1903-1904. The woman to the right of Cixi is Sarah Pike Conger (born c.1843-?), wife of Edwin Hurd Conger, American Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to Beijing. The young girl, Lily, is the daughter of the photographer.
Image 3: Empress Dowager Cixi seated and holding a fan, 1903-1905.
Image 4: The Empress Dowager Cixi in the guise of Avalokitesvara, China, 1903. Left of her is the Fourth Princess (fourth daughter of Prince Qing). To her right is First Chief Eunuch, Li Lianying.
Image 5: The Empress Dowager Cixi in snow accompanied by attendants. From left to right: Second Chief Eunuch Cui Yugui, Princes Der Ling (Deling), Cixi.
Image 6: Exmpress Dowager Cixi and attendants on the imperial barge on Zhonghai Lake, Beijing, 1903-1905. Cixi with unidentified eunuchs, Rongling and Fourth Princess.
Image 7: Empress Dowager Cixi surrounded by attendants in front of Renshoudian, Summer Palace, Beijing, 1903-1905. Left front: Second Chief Eunuch Cui Yugui. Right front: First Chief Eunuch Li Lianying. Left of Cixi: Empress Longyu. Far left of Cixi: Jinfei. Right of Cixi: Fourth Princess (daughter of Prince Qing). The dog named "Sea Otter" in front of Cixi is her favourite.
Image 8: Empress Dowager Cixi in the guise of Avalokitesvara, 1903. Fromt left to right: Second Chief Eunuch Cui Yugui, Cixi, First Chief Eunuch Li Lianying.
More info: Smithsonian Magazine, Trans-Asia Photography Review, Smithsonian Institution Archives,
Source: Freer and Sackler Galleries- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
