Forbidden City Sunset (Upper and Lower)

Author: Hui Yishen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This is a historical novel set in the late Qing Dynasty, consisting of two volumes. The author's grandfather, Qi Ling, was a high-ranking official during the late Qing period, serving as the Chief Minister of the Imperial Household Department for many years under Empress Dowager Cixi and the Emperors Guangxu and Xuantong. The favored concubine Zhen Fei of Emperor Guangxu was the author's great-aunt. The author's father, Hui Xiaotong, was a renowned painter and an uncle-in-law to the last emperor, Puyi (Hui Xiaotong's mother and Puyi's mother were first cousins). The author's family's multiple connections with the imperial family gave them access to rich family-held historical materials from the Qing Dynasty. Based on the diaries, writings, memorials, letters, and photographs left by his grandfather, Qi Ling, the author incorporates many previously unknown behind-the-scenes accounts of his grandfather's personal experiences into the historical narrative. The story begins with Emperor Guangxu's wedding and accession to the throne and ends with the simultaneous deaths of Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi, covering less than two decades of tense, thrilling, and captivating stories surrounding Emperor Guangxu in the Forbidden City. The author's grandfather, Qi Ling, was a high-ranking official during the late Qing period, serving as the Chief Minister of the Imperial Household Department for many years under Empress Dowager Cixi and the Emperors Guangxu and Xuantong. The favored concubines Zhen and Jin of Emperor Guangxu were the author's great-aunts. The author's family's multiple connections with the imperial family gave them access to rich family-held historical materials from the Qing Dynasty. It took the author six years to research and incorporate the previously unknown behind-the-scenes accounts of his grandfather's personal experiences into the historical narrative, based on the diaries, writings, memorials, letters, and photographs left by his grandfather, Qi Ling. The story begins with Emperor Guangxu's wedding and accession to the throne and ends with the simultaneous deaths of Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi, covering less than two decades of tense, thrilling, and captivating stories surrounding Emperor Guangxu in the Forbidden City, reconstructing those difficult-to-explain historical fragments.