Empresses of China’s Forbidden City, 1644–1912

This book definitely had me from the cover, though inside it's just one unbelievably gorgeous image after another. I read that little is actually known about the lives of the Chinese empresses, except perhaps for the next-to-last one, Cixi, who was smart and savvy enough to use her position to achieve real political power. They certainly look mysterious enough in their portraits, their faces expressionless, posed stiffly in gold embroidered silk robes embellished with phoenixes and dragons. Now our only connection with them is through the clothes they wore and the objects they used. The exhibited art works and imperial possessions, mostly on loan from the Beijing Palace Museum,, traveling to this country for the first time, give the clearest picture we're ever likely to get of lives which otherwise we could scarcely even imagine.Not so very many individuals in the history of the world have had their personal possessions saved to be treasured and admired by people everywhere long after their deaths. That in itself makes this collection remarkable. The objects themselves are of breathtaking beauty, and would seem to have originated on some yet undiscovered planet instead of plain old Earth. When these women were alive, they obviously fulfilled important roles as patronesses of the arts and religious institutions, paragons of virtue, and unforgettable inspirations to anyone fortunate enough to glimpse them. All this in addition to their defining function as mothers of emperors.In the mid 1700's an emperor wrote a heart-breakingly romantic poem mourning the death of his beloved wife, ending: "The romance of the spring breeze and autumn moon All ends here. Summer days and winter nights spent with her Will never come again."A unique, imaginative, gorgeous, and enlightening exhibition. Enjoy it in book form even if you can't see it in person. It may be viewed at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., until Feb. 10, 2019, and after that at the Freer/Sackler in Washington. Go more than once if you can, as some exhibits will return to Beijing to be replaced by others.In addition to the 200 or so photos and extensive historical background information, this catalog includes seven scholarly and informative essays by various authors on specific aspects: "Qing Empresses and their Place in History," "Qing Empresses and Grand Imperial Weddings," "Tracing the Lives of Qing Court Women," "Empress Dowager Chongqing and the Palace of Longevity and Health," "Deciphering Portraits of Qing Empresses," "Qing Empresses as Religious Patrons and Practitioners," and "Empresses and Qing Court Politics."

Wonderful detailed book about a long gone era! Makes a great gift for interested persons!

Saw the exhibition in Salem, MA. Amazing part of history we know nothing about.

Beautiful book with lots of historical facts about China’s Empresses

loving the book but was sad to see one of the book's corners was so dented that the subsequent pages showed faint marks of indentation, disappointed as I paid extra to get a new version.

Went along with museum visit

Absolutely gorgeous book on a really interesting subject