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Court Life in China-Part9_Issac Taylor Headland(1859-1942)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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"After an instant's hesitation she turned to a eunuch and said:



" 'We cannot give her one bowl [the Chinese custom being always

to give things in pairs]; go and prepare her two.'



"Then, turning to her guests, she continued apologetically:

" 'I should be glad to give bowls to each of you, but the Foreign



Office has requested me not to give presents at this audience.'

It had been her custom to give each of her guests some small gift



with her own hands and afterwards to send presents by her eunuchs

to their homes.



"On another occasion the lady referred to above took an ornament

from a cabinet and was carrying it away when the person in charge



of these things requested that it be restored, saying that she

was responsible for everything in the room and would be punished



if anything were missing.

"The above incidents do not stand alone. It was not uncommon for



some of the Continental guests, in the presence of the court

ladies, to make uncomplimentary remarks about the food, which was



Chinese, and often not very palatable to the foreigner. These

remarks, of course, were not supposed to be understood, though



the Empress Dowager always had her own interpreter at table. One

often felt that some of these ladies, in their efforts to see all



and get all, forgot what was due their own country as well as

their imperialhostess.



"One can understand the enormity of such an offense in a court

the etiquette of which is so exacting that none of her own



subjects ever dared appear in her presence until they had been

properly instructed in court etiquette in the 'Board of Rites,' a



course of instruction which may extend over a period of from a

week to six months. These breaches of politeness on the part of



these foreign ladies may have been overlooked by Her Majesty and

the princesses, but, if so, it was on the old belief that all



outside of China were barbarians.

"All the ladies who attended these audiences, however, were not



of this character. There were those who realized the importance

of those occasions in the opening up of China, and were



scrupulous in their efforts to conform to the most exacting

customs of the court. And who can doubt that the warm friendship



which the Empress Dowager conceived for Mrs. Conger, the wife of

our American minister, who did more than any other person ever



did, or ever can do, towards the opening up of the Chinese court

to the people of the West, was because of her appreciation of the



fact that Mrs. Conger was anxious to show the Empress Dowager the

honour due to her position.



"It was in her private audiences that this great woman's tact,

womanliness, fascination and charm as a hostess appeared. Taking



her guest by the hand, she would ask in the most solicitous way

whether we were not tired with our journey to the palace; she



would deplore the heat in summer or the cold in winter; she would

express her anxiety lest the refreshments might not have been to



our taste; she would tell us in the sincerest accents that it was

a propitious fate that had made our paths meet; and she would



charm each of her guests, even though they had been formerly

prejudiced against her, with little separate attentions, which



exhibited her complete power as a hostess.

"When opportunity offered, she was always anxious to learn of



foreign ways and institutions. On one occasion while in the

theatre, she called me to her side, and, giving me a chair,



inquired at length into the system of female education in

America.



" 'I have heard,' she said, 'that in your honourable country all

the girls are taught to read.'



" 'Quite so, Your Majesty.'

" 'And are they taught the same branches of study as the boys?'



" 'In the public schools they are.'

" 'I wish very much that the girls in China might also be taught,



but the people have great difficulty in educating their boys.'

"I then explained in a few words our public-school system, to



which she replied:

" 'The taxes in China are so heavy at present that it would be



impossible to add another expense such as this would be.'

"It was not long thereafter, however, before an edict was issued



commending female education, and at the present time hundreds of

girls' schools have been established by private persons both in






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