With the Empress Dowager of China · Chapter
XIX: A Garden Party at the Summer Palace explained
The Empress Dowager hosts a garden party for the foreign Legations, with separate days for gentlemen and ladies.
What happens
The Empress Dowager hosts a garden party for the foreign Legations, with separate days for gentlemen and ladies. Katherine A. Carl, as a foreigner, is asked by Her Majesty to receive the ladies with Mrs. Conger. The ladies are formally presented in the Throne-room, then enjoy tea, a luncheon with mixed foreign and Chinese dishes, and a boat tour of the lake, including the Marble Boat. Despite the Empress Dowager's cordiality, the foreign ladies display a lack of harmony and breaches of etiquette, which the observant Chinese court notices. The Empress Dowager comments on foreign dress and the Chinese preference for black hair, noting that blond hair is associated with demons.
Themes in this chapter
East-West Encounter
The garden party highlights the interaction between Chinese court customs and foreign diplomatic expectations, including the reception of foreign ladies and the Empress Dowager's observations on foreign dress and hair.
Observation and Interpretation
The chapter details how the Chinese court observed the foreign ladies' behavior and costumes, and how Katherine Carl interprets these observations, including the Chinese aversion to blond hair.
Gender and Women's Roles
The separate receptions for men and women, the role of the Princesses as hostesses, and the Empress Dowager's position as the primary hostess highlight gendered roles within the court and diplomatic society.
Characters to notice
- Empress Dowager Tze-Hsi
Hosts the garden party, receives the ladies with great tact and cordiality, comments on foreign dress and hair color.
- Katherine A. Carl
Embarrassed about her role at the reception, follows the Empress Dowager's suggestion to meet Mrs. Conger and enter the Throne-room with her.
- Mrs. Conger
One of the first ladies to arrive at the Foreign Office for the garden party.
- Emperor Kwang-Hsu
Seated at the Empress Dowager's left during the formal reception of the ladies.
- Lady Yu-Keng
The elder Miss Yu acts as the Empress Dowager's interpreter during the presentations.
Key passages
“Being a foreigner, I thought it looked incongruous for me to receive with the Chinese Ladies.”
As a foreigner, Katherine felt it would be inappropriate for her to stand with the Chinese ladies during the reception.
Highlights Katherine's initial discomfort with her role in the formal ceremony.
“In spite of Her Majesty’s cordiality and the efforts of the Princesses and Ladies, these garden parties were not always as pleasant as they might be.”
Even though the Empress Dowager was gracious and the court ladies tried their best, these garden parties were not always enjoyable.
Introduces the theme of discord among the foreign ladies.
“They have a particular aversion to blond hair. They did not tell me so, as I have blond hair; but on the stage all the demons are represented with blond hair, and the more blond it is, the more wicked the demon.”
The Chinese dislike blond hair, but they didn't say this to Katherine because she has blond hair. In their theater, demons are always shown with blond hair, and the blonder the hair, the more evil the demon.
Explains a cultural prejudice that Katherine learns about indirectly.