Cixi and Guangxu (The Survival Game in the Chinese Court)

Author: [American] He Delan, translated by Yan Fang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The author of this book is the American Ichabod Taylor Headland (1859–1942), whose Chinese name is He Delan. He was a missionary of the American Board of Missions in China, who came to China in 1888 and served as a teacher of liberal arts and theology at Beijing Union College. He witnessed the entire final years of the Qing Dynasty with his own eyes. Having spent a long time in China and having had extensive contact with the upper class, he wrote this book based on his own observations, which provides valuable insights into that era and offers many precious historical materials. For example, while many materials have mentioned Emperor Guangxu's love for reading and Empress Dowager Cixi's interest in calligraphy and painting, the detailed details revealed in the book are previously unknown. The author also vividly describes the general social conditions of the time, such as the lack of interaction between Manchu and Han women, the spread of the chastity ideology, and the fervent enthusiasm for establishing schools. The content of the book was written for foreigners, but by today, our unfamiliarity with this topic may not be much different from that of foreigners at the time. Reading it will at least be quite interesting. The author of this book is the American Ichabod Taylor Headland (1859–1942), whose Chinese name is He Delan. He was a missionary of the American Board of Missions in China, who came to China in 1888 and served as a teacher of liberal arts and theology at Beijing Union College. He witnessed the entire final years of the Qing Dynasty with his own eyes. Having spent a long time in China and having had extensive contact with the upper class, he wrote this book based on his own observations, which provides valuable insights into that era and offers many precious historical materials. For example, while many materials have mentioned Emperor Guangxu's love for reading and Empress Dowager Cixi's interest in calligraphy and painting, the detailed details revealed in the book are previously unknown.