Two Years in the Forbidden City

In Short

This memoir records the two years Princess Der Ling spent as First Lady-in-Waiting to Empress Dowager Cixi between 1903 and 1905. Blending western fluency with Manchu lineage, Der Ling acts as interpreter, cultural bridge, and intimate observer within the Summer Palace and Forbidden City. The narrative captures the daily routines, diplomatic receptions, internal rivalries, and volatile moods of Cixi during the final years of imperial rule. It endures as a rare, highly detailed insider portrait of a legendary ruler stripped of western caricature, revealing the human machinery operating behind China’s ancient throne.

The Story

The narrative opens with Der Ling's return to China after years abroad. Her father, Lord Yu Keng, a progressive Manchu official who served as Minister to Japan and France, raised his daughters with a modern, international education. When Cixi summons Yu Keng’s daughters to court, Der Ling is plunged into a world defined by strict protocol, intricate hierarchy, and perpetual surveillance.

Given the role of First Lady-in-Waiting and primary interpreter, Der Ling assists Cixi during audiences with foreign diplomats, official wives, and visiting dignitaries. She navigates diplomatic encounters with skill, helping the court manage delicate international relations following the Boxer Rebellion. Behind the formal receptions, Der Ling witnesses the routine rhythm of imperial life: Cixi’s meticulous morning dress routines, private garden walks, theatrical performances staged by palace eunuchs, and seasonal religious rituals like the spring pea-eating festival and annual sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven.

As months pass, Der Ling manages the complex political terrain of the court. She observes the tension surrounding the power dynamic between the formidable Cixi and the isolated Emperor Guangxu. She also contends with jealousy among other court ladies and navigates the quiet influence exerted by chief eunuch Li Lien Ying. When an American artist, Miss Carl, arrives to paint Cixi’s official portrait, Der Ling sits for hours wearing the Empress Dowager’s heavy, jeweled robes to save the aging sovereign from exhaustion.

The story transitions when Lord Yu Keng’s health declines, forcing Der Ling to take temporary leave to care for him in Shanghai. She returns briefly to court duty, but without her family members present, the atmosphere feels altered, and the rigid walls of the palace begin to weigh on her. In March 1905, a telegram reports her father’s condition has turned critical, and Cixi permits her to depart. Her father passes away later that year, requiring a mandatory hundred-day period of mourning. During her time in Shanghai, surrounded by modern society, Der Ling realizes that her European education and international outlook have permanently shifted her identity. She chooses not to return to court, marries an American diplomat, and steps away from imperial life, preserving her time in the Forbidden City as a vivid memory of her youth.

How It Unfolds

Entering the imperial court Der Ling arrives at the palace alongside her family, stepping into an intricate web of ceremonial rules, heavy brocades, and constant scrutiny. She quickly realizes that surviving court life requires watching every action closely and remaining silent among gossiping attendants.

Bridging two worlds Acting as court interpreter, Der Ling guides foreign visitors and diplomats' wives through audiences with Cixi, translating speeches and managing delicate social interactions. She shields the court from misunderstandings while fielding naive questions about foreign customs from curious palace ladies.

Navigating palace intrigue Der Ling learns to maneuver around palace jealousies, strict servants, and the influential chief eunuch Li Lien Ying. She maintains Cixi’s favor by carrying out her tasks quietly and attending directly to the Empress Dowager rather than relying on internal factions.

Posing for the sovereign When an American artist arrives to paint Cixi’s official portrait, the Empress Dowager tires of the long sittings. Der Ling is assigned to wear Cixi’s heavy imperial gowns and jewelry, sitting for four hours a day so the portrait can proceed without exhausting the ruler.

Leaving the Forbidden City A urgent telegram reporting her father’s declining health calls Der Ling away to Shanghai. After his death and the required period of mourning, she realizes her western education has fundamentally changed her perspective, leading her to choose a private life over court service.

The People

• Princess Der Ling: The narrator and author. Educated in France, she desires to serve her sovereign dutifully while retaining her modern, independent mind. She learns to navigate palace politics by staying silent, working carefully, and remaining directly loyal to Cixi, eventually choosing a life outside the imperial court.
• Empress Dowager Cixi (Lao Tsu Tsung): The supreme ruler of China. She wants absolute obedience, domestic tranquility, and accurate intelligence about foreign powers. She balances extreme generosity toward her favorites with sudden outbursts of harsh discipline against servants and eunuchs who displease her.
• Emperor Guangxu: The quiet, constrained monarch who sits at Cixi’s side during state audiences. He appears resigned to his diminished authority, acting with polite restraint toward foreign guests while living under the constant oversight of the Empress Dowager and her loyal eunuchs.
• Li Lien Ying: The court's chief eunuch. He seeks to maintain his supreme influence over palace affairs behind Cixi’s back. Feared by court ladies and servants alike, he sways disciplinary decisions and guards his position with subtle political maneuvers.
• The Young Empress: The wife of Emperor Guangxu. Intelligent and well-read in translated foreign histories, she acts as a stabilizing presence among the court ladies, protecting Der Ling from palace jealousy while strictly adhering to Manchu traditional laws.

In Its Own Voice

"I soon found that these women were the same as others the world over in point of curiosity and love of gossip."

Der Ling reflects on her initial conversations with the isolated court ladies inside the palace walls.

"To tell the truth, I felt miserable that day. At the beginning I thought all the eunuchs were faithful servants, but seeing them every day, I got to know them."

Der Ling observes the tense mood within the palace after Cixi orders punishments for domestic errors.

"At heart I was a foreigner, educated in a foreign country, and, having already met my husband the matter was soon settled and I became an American citizen."

Der Ling describes her final decision to leave imperial service after her father's death in Shanghai.

What It's Really About

The memoir explores the tension between ancient imperial tradition and the inescapable arrival of global modernity. Through her unique position, Der Ling demystifies the Chinese court, revealing that the inner sanctum of an empire is driven by ordinary human behavior—jealousy, boredom, vanity, affection, and fear. Beneath the silk robes and gold nail protectors lies a system maintained by strict control, where even the supreme ruler is preoccupied with personal comfort and social standing. On an individual level, the book examines the challenge of dual identity, detailing how a young woman raised with western freedoms navigates a rigid, traditional world, ultimately choosing personal autonomy over the prestige of imperial favor.

Why Read It Today

Two Years in the Forbidden City offers a rare, clear-eyed look inside the late Qing court from someone who walked its halls every day. Readers who enjoy historical memoirs, cultural history, and intimate portraits of power will find it compelling. Der Ling’s writing is unpretentious, direct, and observational, free from sensationalism or exoticism.

The book moves along smoothly, though modern readers should be prepared for detailed descriptions of palace protocol, seasonal festivals, wardrobe changes, and court etiquette that reflect the deliberate pace of imperial life. The narrative presents Cixi not as a foreign caricature, but as a complex human figure who could be genuinely warm one moment and ruthlessly stern the next. What stays with you long after reading is the contrast between the grand, fragile majesty of the Qing dynasty's final years and the quiet, practical choices of the young woman who documented its decline.