These secondary wives are not taken for some physical quality from among the masses; they are not in the Palace as the result of a caprice of the Emperor. They are from the highest families in the land. They are generally chosen by the Emperor’s mother, if she be alive, with as much care as the first wife, and her position is inferior, only from an official standpoint, to that of the Empress. She may even become Empress herself on the death of the first wife and those who precede her. The Emperor of China has no “harem,” but he may have as many wives as he wishes. His wives never live together in the promiscuity of a harem, where all individuality is lost. Each wife has her own establishment and her own position, and is not dependent on her physical charms for her maintenance in that position, any more than is the first wife. Should she be the mother of children, she may advance beyond the others who have none, excepting always the first wife; and even should she have no children, she has always her separate establishment and is considered a member of the family. The Emperor Kwang-Hsu has two wives, both designated by the same title in the Palace. In this account of my experiences I only allude to the first wife, because it would be confusing to speak of two Empresses where there is also an Empress Dowager, and also because the first wife, in this instance, is so much the stronger character and the more interesting personality.
XXVII
Present-Giving in China
Present-giving is really carried to great excess all over China, and whatever obtains in China obtains at the Palace. The Palace is spoken of in Peking as the “Inside,” that is, the heart of the Empire. From this “Inside,” customs and habits flow and pulse over the rest of China, as the blood does from the heart, by a thousand arteries reaching to the very confines of the Empire, and it also receives the impress of what passes on outside among the people. Whether it be, in the instance of present-giving, that the custom has grown from the “Inside” to the “Outside” or vice versa, I know not, but it is universal in China. However, it probably reaches its greatest excess in the Palace.
Births, marriages, and deaths are all marked by presents, and there is a very riot of present-giving at the New Year! Everyone then exchanges them, from the lowest to the highest. Next comes the anniversary of the birth. This is celebrated with an unheard-of pomp in China. The more exalted the rank and the greater the age, the more splendid is the celebration and the more magnificent the presents. The Emperor’s Birthday was the first I saw celebrated, and I was astonished at the number and elegance of the presents that flowed into the Palace on this occasion. But at the Empress Dowager’s Birthday all this was far surpassed; and her presents exceeded in number and elegance His Majesty’s, for she was celebrating more years than the Emperor, and the number and value of birthday presents increase in proportion to the years. Their elegance and number are also regulated by the rank. The presents the Grand Secretary and the Prime Minister receive on such occasions would quite astonish a Westerner, and, of course, far surpass in number and magnificence what would be offered to the president of a department, as his would exceed, in elegance, those offered to secretaries of the Board.
Every festival, every ceremony, and all anniversaries are marked by presents, in the Palace. There is scarcely a day that presents are not sent into the Palace, that some are not sent out, and rarely a day when some presents are not exchanged by those “Inside.” The Empress Dowager and the Emperor receive the greatest number, and, of course, they give the greatest number. This seemed to me the greatest extravagance of the Empress Dowager. At every change of season, she presents the young Empress, the Princesses, and Ladies, without reference to her favorites, with silks, dresses, shoes, and ornaments appropriate to the season, and not only do the Ladies receive these articles of wearing apparel at the changes of the season: she gives them many presents at each festival. Besides this, she gives nearly all the expensive Court dresses that are worn at the Palace, which cost, with their embroideries, from three to six hundred dollars each. She presents the Ladies with coiffures and many jeweled ornaments as well. On the occasion of a wedding among the Manchu nobility, which must be announced to the Court before it takes place, Her Majesty presents the bride handsome rolls of silk, embroideries, and jewels. On the occasion of births among the courtiers, she sends handsome ornaments to be worn by the newborn child. Even on the death of certain people, she sends handsome presents to the family, or something to
