Some Social Customs—Manchu and Chinese
I met the wives and families of all the Princes, nobles, and high Manchu officials in Peking, for they came to the Court at stated intervals, besides on many special occasions, when they were invited by Her Majesty. The most frequent of these visitors to the Palace were Prince Ching’s wives and daughters, the wives of the Emperor’s brothers, his father’s secondary wives and their daughters, and the sisters of the young Empress, one of whom is the clever Princess Schun. The widow of the Grand Secretary Yung Lu, who lost, in one year, her husband and a promising son, and who was nearly crazed by grief, also came often. She was not very brilliant, nor the kind of woman to appeal to Her Majesty; but her grief seemed to touch the Empress Dowager, and she received special marks of favor when in the Palace, and came and went as she willed. A stepdaughter, whom she had herself brought up through a very delicate childhood, was the wife of the Emperor’s brother, Prince C’hun. Should they have a son he will probably be the next heir to the Throne.
On their marriage the brides of nobles of a certain rank go to the Palace to be presented to the Empress Dowager. This ceremony corresponds to the presentation, on their marriage, of ladies at the English Court. These brides are always magnificently dressed in embroidered gowns of rich colors, and wear, for the first time, the Court coiffure of the married ladies, the magnificent golden filigree, jeweled construction, which I have already described, and for this occasion they wear a profusion of jewels. The Manchu ladies use much more discretion in wearing jewels than the Chinese ladies. The latter will sometimes wear as many as fifteen bracelets on each arm, and the number of jewels they put in their coiffure seems to be limited only by the space they have at their disposal.