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I had seen pictures painted by Her Majesty decorating the walls
of the palaces of several of the princes, as well as the homes of
a number of my official friends. Some of them I thought very
attractive, and they seemed to be well done. They were highly
prized by their owners, but I was anxious to know what the Lady
Miao thought of her ability as an artist, and so I asked:
"Do you consider the Empress Dowager a good painter?"
"The Empress Dowager is a great woman," she answered. "Of course,
as an artist, she is an amateur rather than a professional. Had
she devoted herself wholly to art, hers would have been one of
the great names among our artists. She wields her brush with a
power and precision which only genius added to practice can give.
She has a keen appreciation of art, and it is a pity that the
cares of state might not have been borne by others, leaving her
free to develop her instinct for art."
The Empress Dowager kept eighteen court painters, selected from
among the best artists of the country, and appointed by herself,
whose whole duty it was to paint for her. They were divided into
three groups, and each group of six persons was required to be on
duty ten days of each month. As I was deeply interested in the
study of Chinese art I became intimately" target="_blank" title="ad.密切地；熟悉地">intimately acquainted with most of
the court painters and knew the character of their work. The head
of this group was Mr. Kuan. I called on him one day, knowing that
he was not well enough to be on duty in the palace, and I found
him hard at work. Like the small boy who told his mother that he
was too sick to go to school but not sick enough to go to bed, so
he assured me that his troubles were not such as to prevent his
working, but only such as make it impossible for him to appear at
court. Incidentally I learned that the drain on his purse from
the squeezes to the eunuchs aggravated his disease.
"When Her Majesty excused me from appearing at the palace," he
explained, "she required that I paint for her a minimum of sixty
pictures a year, to be sent in about the time of the leading
feasts. These she decorates with her seals, and with appropriate
sentiments written by members of the College of Inscriptions, and
she gives them, as she gives her own, as presents during the
feasts." Mr. Kuan and I became intimate friends and he painted
three pictures which he presented to me for my collection.
One day another of the court painters came to call on me and
during the conversation told me that he was painting a picture of
the Empress Dowager as the goddess of mercy. Up to that time I
had not been accustomed to think of her as a goddess of mercy,
but he told me that she not infrequently copied the gospel of
that goddess with her own pen, had her portrait painted in the
form of the goddess which she used as a frontispiece, bound the
whole up in yellow silk or satin and gave it as a present to her
favourite officials. Of course I thought at once of my collection
of paintings, and said:
"How much I should like to have a picture of the Empress Dowager
as the goddess of mercy!"
"I'll paint one for you," said he.
All this conversation I soon discovered was only a diplomatic
preliminary to what he had really come to tell me, which was that
he had been eating fish in the palace a few days before, and had
swallowed a fish-bone which had unfortunately stuck in his
throat. He said that the court physicians had given him medicine
to dissolve the fish-bone, but it had not been effective; he
therefore wondered whether one of the physicians of my honourable
country could remove it. I took him to my friend Dr. Hopkins who
lived near by, and told him of the dilemma. The doctor set him
down in front of the window, had him open his mouth, looked into
his throat where he saw a small red spot, and with a pair of
tweezers removed the offending fish-bone. And had it not been for
this service on the part of Dr. Hopkins, I am afraid I should
never have received the promised picture, for he hesitated as to
the propriety of him, a court painter, doing pictures of Her
Majesty for his friends. However as he often thereafter found it
necessary to call Mrs. Headland to minister to his wife and
children he came to the conclusion that it was proper for him to
do so, and one day he brought me the picture.
The Empress Dowager not only loved to be painted as the goddess
of mercy, but she clothed herself in the garments suitable to
that deity, dressed certain ladies of the court as her
attendants, with the head eunuch Li Lien-ying as their protector,
of the palaces of several of the princes, as well as the homes of
a number of my official friends. Some of them I thought very
attractive, and they seemed to be well done. They were highly
prized by their owners, but I was anxious to know what the Lady
Miao thought of her ability as an artist, and so I asked:
"Do you consider the Empress Dowager a good painter?"
"The Empress Dowager is a great woman," she answered. "Of course,
as an artist, she is an amateur rather than a professional. Had
she devoted herself wholly to art, hers would have been one of
the great names among our artists. She wields her brush with a
power and precision which only genius added to practice can give.
She has a keen appreciation of art, and it is a pity that the
cares of state might not have been borne by others, leaving her
free to develop her instinct for art."
The Empress Dowager kept eighteen court painters, selected from
among the best artists of the country, and appointed by herself,
whose whole duty it was to paint for her. They were divided into
three groups, and each group of six persons was required to be on
duty ten days of each month. As I was deeply interested in the
study of Chinese art I became intimately" target="_blank" title="ad.密切地；熟悉地">intimately acquainted with most of
the court painters and knew the character of their work. The head
of this group was Mr. Kuan. I called on him one day, knowing that
he was not well enough to be on duty in the palace, and I found
him hard at work. Like the small boy who told his mother that he
was too sick to go to school but not sick enough to go to bed, so
he assured me that his troubles were not such as to prevent his
working, but only such as make it impossible for him to appear at
court. Incidentally I learned that the drain on his purse from
the squeezes to the eunuchs aggravated his disease.
"When Her Majesty excused me from appearing at the palace," he
explained, "she required that I paint for her a minimum of sixty
pictures a year, to be sent in about the time of the leading
feasts. These she decorates with her seals, and with appropriate
sentiments written by members of the College of Inscriptions, and
she gives them, as she gives her own, as presents during the
feasts." Mr. Kuan and I became intimate friends and he painted
three pictures which he presented to me for my collection.
One day another of the court painters came to call on me and
during the conversation told me that he was painting a picture of
the Empress Dowager as the goddess of mercy. Up to that time I
had not been accustomed to think of her as a goddess of mercy,
but he told me that she not infrequently copied the gospel of
that goddess with her own pen, had her portrait painted in the
form of the goddess which she used as a frontispiece, bound the
whole up in yellow silk or satin and gave it as a present to her
favourite officials. Of course I thought at once of my collection
of paintings, and said:
"How much I should like to have a picture of the Empress Dowager
as the goddess of mercy!"
"I'll paint one for you," said he.
All this conversation I soon discovered was only a diplomatic
preliminary to what he had really come to tell me, which was that
he had been eating fish in the palace a few days before, and had
swallowed a fish-bone which had unfortunately stuck in his
throat. He said that the court physicians had given him medicine
to dissolve the fish-bone, but it had not been effective; he
therefore wondered whether one of the physicians of my honourable
country could remove it. I took him to my friend Dr. Hopkins who
lived near by, and told him of the dilemma. The doctor set him
down in front of the window, had him open his mouth, looked into
his throat where he saw a small red spot, and with a pair of
tweezers removed the offending fish-bone. And had it not been for
this service on the part of Dr. Hopkins, I am afraid I should
never have received the promised picture, for he hesitated as to
the propriety of him, a court painter, doing pictures of Her
Majesty for his friends. However as he often thereafter found it
necessary to call Mrs. Headland to minister to his wife and
children he came to the conclusion that it was proper for him to
do so, and one day he brought me the picture.
The Empress Dowager not only loved to be painted as the goddess
of mercy, but she clothed herself in the garments suitable to
that deity, dressed certain ladies of the court as her
attendants, with the head eunuch Li Lien-ying as their protector,
- reform [ri´fɔ:m]
v.&n.改革；改良；革除 (初中英语单词) - shipping [´ʃipiŋ] n.船运业；船舶(总数) (初中英语单词)
- sincere [sin´siə] a.真挚的；直率的 (初中英语单词)
- domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
- decrease [di´kri:s, ´di:kri:s] v.&n.减少；减退 (初中英语单词)
- unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
- system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
- obtain [əb´tein] v.获得；买到；得到承认 (初中英语单词)
- examination [ig,zæmi´neiʃən] n.检查；考试；检验 (初中英语单词)
- western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)
- poetry [´pəuitri] n.诗；诗意 (初中英语单词)
- delicate [´delikət] a.精美的；微妙的 (初中英语单词)
- lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)
- aspect [´æspekt] n.面貌；神色；方向 (初中英语单词)
- princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- majesty [´mædʒisti] n.壮丽；崇高；尊严 (初中英语单词)
- careless [´keəlis] a.粗心的；草率的 (初中英语单词)
- approve [ə´pru:v] v.赞成；同意；批准 (初中英语单词)
- partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)
- collection [kə´lekʃən] n.收集；征收；募捐 (初中英语单词)
- talent [´tælənt] n.天才；才干；天资 (初中英语单词)
- impress [im´pres, ´impres] v.铭刻 n.印记；特征 (初中英语单词)
- anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)
- ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
- amateur [´æmətə, ,æmə´tə:] n.业余爱好者 (初中英语单词)
- professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)
- wholly [´həul-li] ad.完全，十足；统统 (初中英语单词)
- genius [´dʒi:niəs] n.天才(人物)；天赋 (初中英语单词)
- instinct [´instiŋkt] n.本能；直觉；天资 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)
- painting [´peintiŋ] n.绘画；(油)画；着色 (初中英语单词)
- goddess [´gɔdis] n.女神 (初中英语单词)
- dissolve [di´zɔlv] v.(使)溶解；解除 (初中英语单词)
- effective [i´fektiv] a.有效的；有力的 (初中英语单词)
- throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)
- painter [´peintə] n.画家；(油)漆工 (初中英语单词)
- minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)
- conclusion [kən´klu:ʒən] n.结束；结论；推论 (初中英语单词)
- suitable [´su:təbəl, ´sju:-] a.合适的，适当的 (初中英语单词)
- formation [fɔ:´meiʃən] n.形成；构成；排列 (高中英语单词)
- annually [´ænjuəli] ad.每年；按年计算 (高中英语单词)
- educational [,edju´keiʃənəl] a.教育(上)的 (高中英语单词)
- hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)
- thereafter [ðeə´rɑ:ftə] adv.此后，其后 (高中英语单词)
- beetle [´bi:tl] n.甲虫 vi.忙碌地来回 (高中英语单词)
- studied [´stʌdid] a.故意的；有计划的 (高中英语单词)
- customary [´kʌstəməri] a.通常的；惯例的 (高中英语单词)
- enthusiastic [inθju:zi´æstik] a.热情的，热心的 (高中英语单词)
- appreciation [ə,pri:ʃi´eiʃən] n.评价；感激 (高中英语单词)
- learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
- minimum [´miniməm] n.最小量 a.最小的 (高中英语单词)
- gospel [´gɔspəl] n.福音；信条；真理 (高中英语单词)
- portrait [´pɔ:trit] n.肖像；相片；雕像 (高中英语单词)
- unfortunately [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunitli] ad.不幸；不朽；可惜 (高中英语单词)
- empress [´empris] n.女皇；皇后 (英语四级单词)
- conjunction [kən´dʒʌŋkʃən] n.联合；巧合；接近 (英语四级单词)
- diversion [dai´və:ʃən] n.转移；消遣 (英语四级单词)
- dynasty [´dinəsti] n.王朝；朝代 (英语四级单词)
- devoted [di´vəutid] a.献身…的，忠实的 (英语四级单词)
- precision [pri´siʒən] n.精密(度) a.精确的 (英语四级单词)
- incidentally [,insi´dentəli] ad.顺便一提；偶然地 (英语四级单词)
- protector [prə´tektə] n.保护者；防御者 (英语四级单词)
- affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)
- diploma [di´pləumə] n.文凭，证书 (英语六级单词)
- poetic [pəu´etik] a.理想化了的 (英语六级单词)
- eunuch [´ju:nək] n.太监 (英语六级单词)
- headland [´hedlənd] n.岬 (英语六级单词)
- intimately [´intimitli] ad.密切地；熟悉地 (英语六级单词)
- assured [ə´ʃuəd] a.确实的 n.被保险人 (英语六级单词)
- propriety [prə´praiəti] n.正当；合适；礼貌 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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