The Two Faces of Empress Dowager Cixi

Summer Palace · Shin Dong-hyuk · Graduate School of International Studies, Sogang University

First Impressions of Empress Dowager Cixi

Even a century after her death, a credible and verified assessment of Empress Dowager Cixi remains elusive. Dichotomous evaluations prevail, with most readers choosing to believe the narratives that appeal to them, akin to voting in a popularity contest, rather than scrutinizing the sources. Many international students first encounter Empress Dowager Cixi as an evil, power-hungry villain, while Chinese students learn of her as a traitor or the cause of the Qing Dynasty's downfall. Yet, she was a complex figure with both significant achievements and failures. While preparing for the Summer Palace field trip, I read various accounts of Empress Dowager Cixi and realized that her voice in historical records has been transmitted very differently from her actual words. Although new research based on newly discovered materials is emerging, I learned that objective information about her role and accomplishments is still scarce. Therefore, this report, "The Two Faces of Empress Dowager Cixi: A Summer Palace Field Trip Report," focuses more on how her story has been distorted. To find the truth, we first had to remove the demonstrably false testimonies, which are relatively easier to disprove. This report highlights Backhouse, who provided false testimony about our image of Empress Dowager Cixi, explains how his fabrications were exposed, and then introduces writings that offer a more complex and revised portrayal of Empress Dowager Cixi, an image that has been solidified for nearly a century. We hope that the Beijing field trip, postponed due to the coronavirus, can proceed soon, and that the 14th cohort of Sarangbang can experience Empress Dowager Cixi's achievements, failures, and injustices simultaneously during their visit to the Summer Palace.

Who is Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse?

Backhouse, who resided in China during the late Qing Dynasty, gained considerable respect in the West as a China expert by fabricating his experiences in China, including accounts of Empress Dowager Cixi. This led Western interpretations of Empress Dowager Cixi to be based on his narratives. In 1977, Trevor-Roper obtained Backhouse's unpublished manuscript, "Decadence Mandchoue," and revealed its fabricated nature. In 1992, led by Seagrave, efforts to re-examine Empress Dowager Cixi beyond Backhouse's influence began, and scholars like Jung Chang started offering positive assessments of her in the 21st century. Although Jung Chang's writings still defend Empress Dowager Cixi without significant criticism, most people today still rely on Backhouse's accounts. Backhouse was known as a British expert in Chinese history and the Chinese language. His writings, presented as authoritative on the Qing Dynasty, have significantly influenced Western perspectives on China over the past few decades. In 1898, Backhouse left for Beijing without completing his undergraduate studies at Oxford University. Possessing excellent language skills, he began assisting George Ernest Morrison, the Beijing correspondent for The Times, with Chinese-English translation in 1899, thus establishing himself in China. Morrison, who did not speak Chinese at all, relied heavily on Backhouse for news about China published in The Times (Trevor-Roper 19). However, Backhouse's sources were always unclear, and there is no evidence of any connection he had with the imperial court. He also performed various other unofficial duties but never stayed in one place for long.

1 The World of Chinese. (2012, July 10) Doran, Joe. The Infamous Sir Edmund Backhouse.

2 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Bickers, Robert. (2008, January 4) ‘Backhouse, Sir Edmund Trelawny, second baronet (1874-1944)’. 3. The Two Faces of Empress Dowager Cixi_Summer Palace Field Trip Report

Following the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Backhouse became a leading Western scholar of China. This was a result of his translation of Ching-shan's diary, found in the ruins of his home after the rebellion, which provided Western audiences with accounts of the Chinese imperial court. Proficient in languages, he could easily read and translate Chinese, Manchu, and Mongolian, and his translation of Ching-shan's diary led him to write about the Qing imperial court. He gained fame through his two books, "China Under the Empress Dowager" (1910) and "Annals and Memoirs of the Court of Peking" (1914). By the 1920s, any historian interested in the Qing Dynasty would have read these two books by Backhouse and J.O.P. Bland. Much of what we know about Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Tongzhi, and Emperor Guangxu comes from Backhouse's "China Under the Empress Dowager." Through these books, Western historians viewed China through his lens, and he was highly respected as a China expert. Before the publication of these books, he struggled to establish himself in Britain and China, even filing for bankruptcy in Britain. However, after their release, he achieved both wealth and fame, acquiring a large house near the Forbidden City and living a comfortable life (Trevor-Roper 269).

Between 1913 and 1923, he sent over eight tons of Chinese books to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University in an attempt to secure a professorship. While not all the books received by the library were authentic or valuable, some were an exceptionally significant collection. He aspired to become the chair of Chinese Studies at Oxford but was not accepted by the university. He proclaimed himself the foremost living authority on Chinese literature and history, and indeed, many at the time agreed. Although not a professor, people began referring to him as one (Trevor-Roper 254). However, Backhouse's name is not remembered today for his academic achievements, as most of the sources in his writings have been proven to be forgeries. Nevertheless, his writings were highly persuasive, leading most readers to accept their content without question, and scholars even based their research on his materials. In 1936, Lewisohn officially criticized the inconsistencies in Ching-shan's diary, which Backhouse claimed to have translated, asserting it was a forgery. However, this did not convince many scholars at the time (Trevor-Roper 6). Subsequently, through the persistent efforts of China experts such as Morrison, Duyvendak, and Lo Hui-min, the academic community definitively proved Backhouse's fabrications in the late 1920s.4 Interestingly, there are still those who defend the value of his writings, 3 Weston Library. Chinese Manuscript & Rare Books.

4 Lo, Hui-min. The Ching-shan Diary: A Clue to its Forgery. East Asian History, 1, 98–124. 3. The Two Faces of Empress Dowager Cixi_Summer Palace Field Trip Report. Backhouse's influence continues to exert a stronger pull than newly proven facts, even after his writings have been confirmed as false.

The Exposure of Backhouse's Fabrications

There are two main accusations regarding Backhouse's academic integrity. The first concerns the authenticity of Ching-shan's diary, which he claimed to have found shortly after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Backhouse asserted that he discovered Ching-shan's diary in the ruins of the official's home after the Boxer Rebellion, during which Ching-shan, a high-ranking Qing official, died. Backhouse's fabricated diary is comprehensively and meticulously proven false through the work of Lo Hui-min. Research on the real Ching-shan revealed that Backhouse's forged diary distorted his position, family, and genealogy (Lo 118). Backhouse appropriated Ching-shan's credentials to portray Empress Dowager Cixi as violent, childlike, and lewd, but the truth eventually came to light. Another accusation emerged with the publication of Trevor-Roper's biography of Backhouse, "The Hermit of Peking: The Hidden Life of Sir Edmond Backhouse," which revealed his fraudulent life and fabrications to the world. This book meticulously details how much of the content in Backhouse's "China Under the Empress Dowager" was fictional. Backhouse sustained himself by deceiving various Western governments and companies, living on the run, and eventually sought refuge at the Austrian embassy. Encouraged by a Swiss consul impressed by his fabricated adventures, he began writing his autobiography. His autobiography, "Decadence Mandchoue" and "The Dead Past," was not published at the time, but Trevor-Roper, while researching Backhouse, discovered the unpublished "Decadence Mandchoue" and revealed that its key sources were fabricated and exposed his habitual fraudulent activities. Trevor-Roper concluded that Backhouse's achievements were more akin to fiction and an unreliable fraud. According to Trevor-Roper, beyond fabricating the content and sources of his books, Backhouse was a habitual con artist. Backhouse was skilled in Chinese calligraphy, and his linguistic and calligraphic abilities may have enabled him to deceive diplomats and high-ranking Qing officials, but there were limits. 5 He fabricated relationships with high-ranking Qing court officials to sell non-existent goods and even entered into a contract to sell warships to the Chinese navy, but no tangible results materialized. The sexual relationship with Empress Dowager Cixi described in his autobiography is unlikely to be true and is merely sensationalized sexual fantasy (Trevor-Roper 297).

More recently, in 2011, Derek Sandhaus published a new biography of Backhouse, challenging Trevor-Roper's claims. Sandhaus argues that despite some forgeries, Backhouse's writings hold historical value. He contends that Trevor-Roper, in writing "Hermit of Peking," did not consult sufficiently with China experts and therefore only focused on sensational passages, failing to identify the true value. 6 Sandhaus suggests that Backhouse might have served as an interpreter during meetings between Empress Dowager Cixi and foreign legations, given her close involvement in the Boxer Rebellion. Citing contemporary rumors of Empress Dowager Cixi having affairs with French and German men, Sandhaus argues that even if Backhouse's writings lack academic rigor, they retain sufficient value for their depiction of Beijing in the 20th century. He posits that the unclear sources and novelistic style of Backhouse's writings were due to his adherence to a certain ethical code of protecting "sources" within the closed environment of the Qing imperial court.

6 Sandhaus, Derek. Décadence Mandchoue the China Memoirs of Edmund Trelawny Backhouse (Chicago: Earnshaw Books, 2011), Introduction, xv-xxiv.

Who is Jung Chang?

Although the public still prefers the portrayal of Empress Dowager Cixi presented by the demonstrably fraudulent Backhouse, her assessment was re-examined by experts in 2013 with the publication of Jung Chang's book. Jung Chang, a Chinese-born British author, emigrated to London with her family in 1978. She gained fame for her family memoir "Wild Swans" (Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China), but the book is banned in China for its anti-communist content. In 1982, she earned a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of York, becoming the first Chinese national to officially receive a doctorate in the UK. In an interview with The Diplomat, she stated that her interest in Empress Dowager Cixi began while writing "Wild Swans." When she first started her research, she was surprised to learn that foot-binding, which she believed the Communist Party had banned, was actually ended by Empress Dowager Cixi's policies. This contradicted her understanding of Empress Dowager Cixi as a conservative and cruel figure. Consequently, she felt a need to re-establish a more accurate perspective on Empress Dowager Cixi. After six years of research, she acknowledged that Empress Dowager Cixi was indeed strong and sometimes ruthless, but also discovered her immense contributions to China's modernization. 7 Chang wanted to correct the unfair assessment of Empress Dowager Cixi's achievements over the past century, which led her to write a new biography. Before Chang's biography, Empress Dowager Cixi's accomplishments were largely unrecognized and forgotten, making her new narrative highly influential.

Jung Chang's Empress Dowager Cixi

For Jung Chang, Empress Dowager Cixi emerges as a ruler who laid the foundation for modern China, as suggested by the subtitle of her book, "The Concubine Who Launched Modern China." The core of Chang's argument is that Empress Dowager Cixi made significant contributions to China's modernization, which have yet to receive adequate attention. Chang describes Empress Dowager Cixi as the most important woman in Chinese history. She was the first effective Qing ruler to conclude that friendly relations with the West were possible (Orville 119). She determined that opening trade and diplomatic relations with Western powers could benefit China and made the decision to end the Qing Dynasty's century-long isolationist policy. Under Empress Dowager Cixi's leadership, systematic trade with Western nations was planned, and through customs duties, Qing's annual revenue temporarily doubled, allowing for large-scale food imports. Chang 116. Empress Dowager Cixi was also a pioneer in modernizing the Chinese navy. There are claims that she embezzled a significant portion of the funds allocated for naval modernization to rebuild the Summer Palace, leading to the unpreparedness of the Chinese navy and its defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. However, according to Chang's findings, the amount she allegedly embezzled is greatly exaggerated (Chang 343, 386). Tongwenguan, China's first modern school and the precursor to Peking University, was also established during her reign, and she showed interest in women's education (Chang 530). She was also heavily involved in establishing a constitution. Modern laws were enacted for commercial, civil, and criminal matters, and a law school was founded (Chang 801). Furthermore, currency reform led to the introduction of the Yuan, which is still in use today (Chang 776). She also attempted to introduce an electoral system, aspiring for China to become a constitutional monarchy and emulate Queen Victoria of England, whom she admired (Chang 795). However, these reforms she initiated may not have been deeply discussed after her death due to her passing or the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, these achievements of Empress Dowager Cixi are not highlighted in Western scholarship prior to Jung Chang. A century after her death, her life and character remain a mystery. Empress Dowager Cixi also employed defensive measures to counter her detractors. To improve her image, she had her photographs taken and distributed them throughout the country, and she engaged with Western women to project an image of reform and openness. Figures like Conger and President Roosevelt's granddaughter found no trace of a villain in Empress Dowager Cixi. 8 However, even these photographs were used by her detractors, and today, explanations by Backhouse or those who learned about Empress Dowager Cixi from his writings are often displayed next to her photographs in Western exhibitions. Chang's writings face similar criticisms to those leveled against Trevor-Roper's work, which exposed Backhouse's duplicity through his biography of Backhouse: the analysis is weak due to insufficient consultation with China experts and overly simplistic writing. 9 However, these weaknesses can be seen as a deliberate choice to make extensive historical sources accessible to a broad readership, thereby creating a narrative that effectively counters Backhouse's negative influence. Some critics argue that the sources cited by Chang are disorganized and difficult to review, but this can also be seen as a testament to Chang's skill in presenting hard-to-find sources in an easily readable format. 10

8 Conger, Sarah. 1909. Letters from China, with particular reference to the empress dowager and the women of China. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. 9 The Diplomat. (2015, March 9) Stuenkel, Oliver. Book Review: Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China.

10 The New York Review of Books. (2013, December 5) Mirsky, Jonathan. The Surprising Empress. Jung Chang's biography of Empress Dowager Cixi holds significant value for two reasons. Firstly, its extensive use of sources makes it difficult to easily refute. In the introduction to her book, Chang states that most of the materials she found were not known or cited outside the Chinese-speaking world. In a speech at the Hong Kong Press Club, she mentioned having the unexpected opportunity to access Chinese government archival documents. 11 Conversely, Mark C. Elliott, Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University, argues that the sources in Chang's work are not entirely new or groundbreaking. 12 While it is true that few scholars can access Chinese-language materials, and thus few have directly consulted the primary documents from the First Historical Archives of China cited by Chang, these materials are also available at the Harvard-Yenching Library. Furthermore, most other sources used in Chang's book are universally accessible to anyone proficient in Chinese. Even if Elliott's assertion is correct, it seems that few authors before Chang effectively utilized such information.

Secondly, she wrote a new interpretation, positioning Empress Dowager Cixi as the leader who spearheaded China's modernization. Chang's interpretation is influential because she boldly attributed modernization as the motive behind Empress Dowager Cixi's actions, shedding the preconceptions created by Backhouse's fraudulent slanders. In fact, the assessment of Empress Dowager Cixi took a turn with Sterling Seagrave's "Dragon Lady" in 1992. Seagrave questioned the assumption that Empress Dowager Cixi was behind the assassination of the last Qing emperor, suggesting that other rivals might have been responsible. Chang interprets Empress Dowager Cixi's actions as an attempt to prevent the emperor from being controlled by Japan, and it has been scientifically proven with current advancements in technology that Emperor Guangxu was poisoned (Chang 853). While Seagrave viewed Empress Dowager Cixi as a victim and defended her cruelty, which was taken for granted, interpreting it as not guilty due to insufficient evidence, Chang takes a different approach by acknowledging Empress Dowager Cixi's political ruthlessness while providing rational motives for her actions. In traditional Chinese Confucian culture, women could not hold positions of leadership. Empress Dowager Cixi had to rule indirectly from behind the young emperor's throne. Chang explains that despite her political weaknesses and limitations, she acted as a strategic reformer. 13 Chinese historians have been reluctant to portray women as major reformers, which has led to an overemphasis on Empress Dowager Cixi's negative aspects. Similarly, Western scholars have been passive in attributing reformist credit to Empress Dowager Cixi. Fairbank briefly mentioned her reformist tendencies in his 1960 East Asia textbook. However, "The Cambridge History of China Vol. 10" (1978) attributed her long reign's success to reform-minded officials like Li Hongzhang, and "The Cambridge History of China Vol. 11" (1980) completely omits any mention of Empress Dowager Cixi's significance. If the credit for strategic compromises made by Empress Dowager Cixi as a reformer is taken away, only her failures and selfish compromises remain. For example, she too was angered by the arrogant actions of the West, but she recognized that Western-style modernization could strengthen China and was willing to compromise. Like historical figures worldwide and in Korea who have both merits and demerits, Empress Dowager Cixi deserves a complex and fair evaluation of her achievements and failures.

Conclusion

Jung Chang's interpretation may not offer a strictly objective and penetrating view of Empress Dowager Cixi's true nature. An overly positive assessment is also risky. Considering the chaos of the Boxer Rebellion, where the historically problematic Ching-shan diary was forged, Empress Dowager Cixi's opportunistic pursuit of power by aligning with the anti-Christian, anti-foreign Boxer movement, the most conservative faction, is evident. Her indiscriminate attacks on missionaries and diplomats ultimately led to a further loss of Beijing's sovereignty. Clearly, Empress Dowager Cixi was not a saint. However, a more complex analysis of her is needed. For the past century, assessments of Empress Dowager Cixi have been overwhelmingly negative, with little effort to find historical significance beyond assigning blame. Unless more objective research on the Qing Dynasty is conducted within China, it is likely that, as in her time, few people will truly understand Empress Dowager Cixi, who wielded power unseen from behind the throne or within the Summer Palace. Therefore, finding a complex portrayal of her in the near future will be difficult. However, if we can imagine a more complex Empress Dowager Cixi during our visit to the Summer Palace, perhaps she will be less unjustly judged.

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