Lizzie Yu Der Ling ( zh, t=裕德齡, w=Yü Tê-ling, p=Yù Délíng; 8 June 188122 November 1944), better known as "Princess" Der Ling, and also known as Elisabeth Antoinette White after her marriage to Thaddeus C. White, was a Hanjun bannerwoman, the daughter of and Louisa Pierson, the half-Chinese daughter of a Boston merchant working in Shanghai. Although not a member of the Qing royal family, Der Ling was given the title of "" while serving as the first lady-in-waiting for

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

. She was a writer of several memoirs, books, and magazine articles.

Early life

Lizzie Yu Der Ling and Nellie Yu Roung Ling

Der Ling's father Yü Keng was a member of the Hanjun Plain White Banner Corps, and according to his daughter he was a Lord. This is of some doubt. After serving as Chinese minister to Japan, he was appointed minister to the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...

for four years in 1899. He was known for his progressive, reformist views; for his determination to educate his children, including the girls, in western schools, which was highly unusual in their generation; and for his unvarying support of the

. In 1905, Yü Keng died in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. According to Der Ling's biographer, Der Ling's mother, Louisa Pierson, was the daughter of a Boston-born American and a Chinese woman. However, in the book, whatever her background, she is repeatedly referred to by other people as a Manchu. Yü Keng's daughters Der Ling and Roung Ling (1882–1973, the future Madame Dan Pao-tchao of

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) received a western education, learning French and English, and studying dance in Paris with

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

. Der Ling was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

baptised by the French bishop

Alphonse Favier Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier-Duperron C.M.(Chinese: 樊國樑 Pinyin:''Fan Guoliang'' Wade-Giles: ''Fan Kouo-Léang'') (born 22 September 1837 at Marsannay-la-Côte, France; died 4 April 1905 in Beijing) was the Catholic (Chinese: 天主教; Pi ...

. While a young girl, she travelled with her father to Rome, and received papal blessing by the hand of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

during a private meeting.

Lady-in-waiting and later life

Upon their return to China, Der Ling became the first lady-in-waiting to the

, as well as interpreting for her when she received foreign visitors. Der Ling stayed at court until March 1905. In 1907, Der Ling married Thaddeus C. White, an American. Der Ling had a brother,

John Yu Shuinling John Yu Shuinling ( zh, t=裕勛齡, w=Yü Hsün-ling, p=Yù Xūnlíng; 18741944), often referred to as John Shuinling (also spelt Shung-Ling), was a Hanjun Plain White bannerman who served as second secretary in the Qing-dynasty Embassy in Fr ...

, who studied photography in France and later took the only photographs of Empress Dowager Cixi still in existence.Power, Play: China's Empress Dowager, exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, September 24, 2011–January 29, 2012 Using the title of Princess, which would create controversy for her in both China and the United States in the future, Der Ling wrote of her experiences in court in her memoir ''Two Years in the Forbidden City'', which was published in 1911. She states in her book that the status of Princess, which the Empress Dowager had given her, was valid only within the palace. As the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, w ...

, who was under a form of house arrest, never confirmed the title, it was not valid in the outside world. ''Two Years'' provides unique insights into life at the Manchu court and the character of the Empress Dowager, a world that ended abruptly with the 1911 Revolution that overthrew the Manchu or

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. Der Ling continued to write and published seven more books. Der Ling was not a member of the Qing royal family. Although Der Ling claimed to be an ethnic Manchu, her father Yü Keng was actually a Han Chinese Bannerman and not part of the ethnic Manchu Banners. Her father was not royal but was a bannerman, just as Der Ling claimed she was a Manchu while she was actually a Chinese Bannerwoman.

Death

Der Ling died in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, as a result of being struck by a truck while crossing an intersection. She had recently taught Chinese at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

."Princess Der Ling Dies in Berkeley of Car Injuries" (obituary). ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', November 23, 1944.

Memoirs and writings

After Cixi's death in 1908, Der Ling professed to be so angered by what she saw as false portraits of Cixi appearing in books and periodicals that she wrote her own account of serving "Old Buddha", which she called "Two Years in the Forbidden City". This book appeared in 1911, just before the fall of the Qing dynasty, and was a popular success. In this book, Cixi is not the monster of depravity depicted in the popular press and in the second and third hand accounts left by foreigners who had lived in Beijing, but an aging woman who loved beautiful things, had many regrets about the past and the way she had dealt with the many crises of her long reign, and apparently trusted Der Ling enough to share many memories and opinions with her. Der Ling would go on to write seven more books about this relatively brief period in her youth when she had been close to the heart of declining imperial Chinese power, and sharing this personal history and her habit of promoting herself and her writings caused most of her family to turn against her. All of this has made it difficult to assess Der Ling's contribution to late Qing historiography. But the fact remains that she was the first Chinese woman to live with Cixi and observe her and then write about what it was like; if many of Der Ling's recollections smack of the every day minutiae of a court that thrived on details and form, her writings are no less valuable for focusing on them, particularly as life within the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...

and the

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quarte ...

was a closed book for most people in China, let alone in the rest of the world. Her opinion was that it was misunderstanding of much of what emanated from the throne that created so many of the problems Cixi has been wholly blamed for.

Works

Books

''Two Years in the Forbidden City'' (1911)"> ''Two Years in the Forbidden City'' (1911)
*'' Old Buddha'' (1928), with preface by Arthur J. Burks *''

Kowtow A kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverenc ...

'' (1929) *'' Lotos Petals'' (1930) *'' Jades and Dragons'' (1932) *''Golden Phoenix'' (1932) *'' Imperial Incense'' (1933) *'' Son of Heaven'' (1935)

Magazine pieces

* "White Fox: A Legend of Old China," '' McCall's Magazine'', April 1929 * "The Forbidden City and Broadway," ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'', September 14, 1929 * "Aviation in China," '' Flyers'', October 1929 * "How China Went Air Minded," ''Flyers'', November 1929 * "Wings for Women," ''Flyers'', December 1929 * "Within the Golden City," ''The Saturday Evening Post'', December 21, 1929 * "A Quiet Day with a Chinese Family," ''The Mentor'', February 1930 * "Lady of the Lotus," ''The Household Magazine'', February 1930 * "Golden Bells," '' Holland's'', September 1930 * "Golden Phoenix," ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'', December 1930 * "From Convent to Court," ''

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...

'', January 1931 * "Lustrous Jade," ''Good Housekeeping'', February 1931 * "Beyond All Riches," ''Good Housekeeping'', August 1931 * "The Chu Pao Tai," ''The Household Magazine'', September 1931 * "At the Gate of Kwan Yin," ''Good Housekeeping'', November 1931 * "The Honorable Five Blessings," ''Good Housekeeping'', February 1932 * "America Sends Health to China," ''Physical Culture'', March 1932 * "Pu-yi, The Puppet Emperor of Japan," ''The Saturday Evening Post'', April 30, 1932 * "Singing Kites of Tai Shan," ''The Household Magazine'', August 1932 * "The Kingdom of the Swallows," ''Good Housekeeping'', February 1935

In popular culture

* The Yu sisters' life in the imperial court was dramatised in the 2006 Chinese television series ''

Princess Der Ling Lizzie Yu Der Ling ( zh, t=裕德齡, w=Yü Tê-ling, p=Yù Délíng; 8 June 188122 November 1944), better known as "Princess" Der Ling, and also known as Elisabeth Antoinette White after her marriage to Thaddeus C. White, was a Hanjun bannerwom ...

'', in which Der Ling was played by Zhang Jingjing. A rather romanticised depiction of Der Ling's life, especially her relationship with Kevin White (based on Thaddeus C. White, portrayed by

Jonathan Kos-Read Jonathan Kos-Read (born 1973), also known as Cao Cao (), is an American film and television actor who has worked mostly in China. While well known in China, his work is little-known in the United States. Kos-Read uses the stage name Cao Cao, whic ...

). * In the 2010 Chinese-Japanese coproduction series ', the character Princess Shou An (Madam Zhang) is partially inspired by Princess Der Ling. * Der Ling was portrayed by in the 2016 Hong Kong television drama ''

The Last Healer in Forbidden City ''The Last Healer in Forbidden City'' (; literally "The Last Imperial Physician") is a 2016 Hong Kong historical fiction television drama produced by TVB, starring Roger Kwok and Tavia Yeung as the main leads, produced by Nelson Cheung. It pre ...

''.

References

Princess Der Ling , Two Years in the Forbidden CityPrincess Der Ling web site

External links

* * * * Princess Der Ling web sit

"Imperial Masquerade: The Legend of Princess Der Ling"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Der Ling, Princess 1881 births 1944 deaths Pedestrian road incident deaths Qing dynasty historians Republic of China historians American people of Manchu descent Historians from Hubei American Roman Catholics Chinese Roman Catholics Chinese people of American descent People from Berkeley, California People from Wuhan University of California, Berkeley alumni Education in China Writers from Wuhan Chinese ladies-in-waiting Qing dynasty princesses Han Chinese Plain White Bannermen 20th-century memoirists Chinese memoirists