On the occasion of the Emperor’s marriage on the 26th ultimo the foreign
ministers were ignored except that formal notice was sent to them of the
approaching event.
Practically foreigners see and know nothing of what transpires in the
“Forbidden City” when the ceremonies are had.
The bride resided with her father in the northeastern part of the city. Upon
the announcement of her selection as Empress eunuchs took possession of the
family residence, guards were posted in the grounds, and the utmost
seclusion was maintained.
At 1 o’clock in the morning of the 26th ultimo the lady was conveyed to the
palace. There were reports that she had serious objections to [Page 103] the marriage, but the truth
thereof can not be ascertained. She is represented as being several years
older than the Emperor, and as being very intelligent.
I inclose from the North China Daily News an account of the imperial marriage
ceremony. This description was prepared especially for the News after the
ceremony was arranged at Peking. I have made inquiries of competent persons
as to the accuracy of this account, and have been assured that it is
faithful and correct.
[Inclosure in No. 841.]
the imperial marriage ceremony.
The marriage of the Emperor of China, Kuang-sü to Yeh-ho-na-la, niece of
the Empress Dowager and cousin of the Emperor, takes place to-day, and
the following account of the ceremony enjoined by precedents has been
specially sent to us from Peking.
A few days before the actual wedding the servants of the office of
equipments will carry to the imperial palaces, with all ceremony, the
hundreds of articles for the use of the Emperor and his bride that have
been prepared previously by the board of the imperial household and kept
in the Empress’s palace. These articles comprise jewelry, head-dresses,
clothes and accessories, embroideries, needlework, fine chinaware, gold
and silver work, furniture, carved and inlaid upholstery, personal
ornaments, stationery, etc.
On the 24th of February the high officers, by the Emperor’s command,
should go to worship at the temples of Heaven, Earth, and the Gods, and
announce the approaching nuptials. On the 25th of February the necessary
arrangements should be made in the palace. The officers of the office of
equipments should reverentially bring out the Empress’s sedan chair,
yellow chairs, and her chariot to which an elephant is harnessed—this
last being merely formal. The accompanying paraphernalia are:
- Two pairs of yellow silk umbrellas, embroidered with
dragons.
- One pair of crooked handled umbrellas, embroidered with
phoenixes.
- A pair of large fans.
- Ten colored umbrellas.
- Four umbrellas worked with gold thread.
- A pair of plain red umbrellas.
- Eight banners decorated with dragons and phoenixes.
- Two embroidered flags.
- Eight fans embroidered with dragons.
- Eight yellow fans shaped like a pheasant’s tail.
At the proper time the gold scepter inlaid with jade, with a dragon
character on it, should be brought out from the imperial palace and
received by the two ministers of the imperial household at the
Chien-ching palace, in order that it may be placed in the Empress’s
sedan chair. The same ministers must prepare two pavilions in the court
yard of the Chung-tsui palace, to contain the Empress’s wedding dresses.
A leading eunuch then requests the appointed princesses to put the
dresses in the pavilions, which are then carried by eunuchs to the gate
of the Shun-chen palace, and handed to the office of equipments, who
dispatch them to the Empress’s residence, attended by four princesses.
On their arrival they are handed to the eunuchs of the residence, the
princesses remaining to be ready for their next duties. On the same day
yellow tables are arranged by the chief eunuchs at the Chiao-tai palace,
on the right and left hand, and on them the marriage contract and gold
seal are placed.
The Emperor then repairs to the Tzüning palace, where he kotows nine
times to the Empress Dowager, after which he goes to the Tai-ho palace,
where the yellow tables are placed, and reads over the marriage
contract. Here two pavilions have been prepared and the chief
commissioner takes the gold scepter and puts it in one pavilion, while
the assistant commissioner puts the marriage contract and gold seal in
the other. The office of equipments then carries these pavilions in
procession from the Tai-ho palace through the middle gate of the palace,
and out at the Ta Ching gate to the Empress’s residence. On their
arrival the Empress’s sedan chair is placed temporarily in front of the
hall, with these pavilions on the right and left of it. Meantime the
board of works has arranged three yellow tables in the hall, one in the
middle, the others on either side, the chief commissioner placing the
gold scepter [Page 104] on the center
table, and the marriage contract and gold seals on the side tables. The
two commissioners then retire and leave the arrangements in charge of
the eunuchs belonging to the Empress’s residence.
On the 26th of February, all being ready, four princesses will proceed to
the Empress’s residence at 12 o’clock a. m. (sic), to assist in robing
the Empress. The robes that she will have to wear are:
- A red silk head-dress decorated with pearls, chrysophrases,
coral, rubies, carnelians, amethysts, and jasper, and blue
feathers.
- An embroidered court robe decorated with pearls, with jewels
on the overlaps.
- Two strings of coral beads.
- A necklace decorated with coral.
- A pair of jeweled earrings.
- A folded handkerchief.
The Empress will rest after being robed, and then a eunuch will come to
the hall and invite her to come out and receive the marriage contract
and gold seal. She will be attended by two princesses, while a eunuch
holds the contract in both hands and reads it to her. This done, the
Empress will retire to her hall and again rest. A eunach then takes the
gold scepter and seal and hands them to the chief commissioner, who
replaces them in their pavilions, all the proper officers and attendants
being in their places. Another eunuch will fix the auspicious time, and
then eight eunuchs will carry the Empress’s chair into the hall, the
chair containing a scepter inlaid with jade. This scepter will be taken
out by two princesses, and handed to a eunuch who will give it to the
officer of the imperial household, who will replace it in its
pavilion.
The princesses will then help the Empress to take her seat in her chair,
after giving her an apple, the chair having been fumigated with a piece
of Thibetan incense, and having been placed in the position of “Pleasing
God.” The whole procession will then escort the Empress to the imperial
palace by the main front entrance, the Ta Ching gate. Princesses and
noble ladies will enter by the back gate, the Shên Wu gate, and will
await the arrival of the procession at the palace. On its arrival at the
Chien-ching gate, the attendants must stop, and the pavilions having
been replaced here, the ministers of the board of rites will take out
the gold seal and marriage contract from these pavilions and place them
on the tables arranged at the Chiao-tai palace, where eunuchs will be in
waiting to receive them. During this time the officials of the board of
music will perform, and then eight eunuchs will carry the Empress’s
chair into the Chien-ching palace, where she will be requested to
alight, and will be transferred to another chair decorated with
peacocks’ feathers, in which she will be carried to the Chung-tsui
palace. Here a brazier of live coals will have been made ready, over
which her chair will be carried. The appointed princess will then ask
her to alight, and present her with an apple. The scepter, inlaid with
jade, will then be taken out of her chair and she will be presented with
a “precious bottle” containing pearls and gold coins.
A bow and arrow and a saddle have been previously placed on the threshold
of the bridal chamber, and the Emperor having arrived in full costume to
meet his bride, takes the bow and arrow and shoots at the saddle on the
threshold, and then removes the bride’s veil. Two princesses then
conduct the Empress to the bridal chamber where the Emperor sits on the
left hand of the bed, and the Empress on the right, face to face. The
princesses then request the imperial couple to drink by joining their
wine cups. When night comes, some of the ladies of the court offer them
the pudding called the “pudding of sons and grandsons,” and the broth
called the “broth of long life.” This having been done the princesses
will arrange the bed, scepters inlaid with jade being put at the four
corners of the bedstead.
At 3 a. m. on the 27th of February the princesses go to the bridal
chamber to help the Empress to dress. The Emperor also puts on his full
dress, and the proper instructions are given to the imperial couple as
to kneeling, kotowing, and rising. The Emperor then conducts the Empress
to worship the Gods of Heaven, Earth, and the Household, which they do
by kneeling and kotowing nine times. This done, they repair to the Hwu
Huang temple where they burn Tibetan incense and kotow nine times;
thence to the Cheng-chien palace where they kotow nine times before the
images of their grandfather, father, and brother. Thence they come to
the Chu-hsü palace, where they present scepters to the Empress Dowager
and kotow nine times. The Empress Dowager gives them her own scepter,
and they return to the palace, where the Empress kneels to present her
scepter inlaid with jade to the Emperor, and kotows nine times. The
Emperor confers his scepter inlaid with jade on the Empress, who then
takes her seat, and the two secondary empresses kneel down and kotow
nine times to the Empress.
On the 3d of March a proclamation will make known the imperial marriage
throughout the whole empire.
On the 5th of March the viceroys, governors, generals-in-chief, and
brigadier-generals of the eighteen provinces, and nobles and high
officials of the first and second [Page 105] rank in Peking, will congratulate the Emperor,
each presenting him with a scepter inlaid with jade. On the following
day the Emperor graciously gives a banquet to his ministers, and the
envoys of his vassal kingdoms, which, by the gracious permission of the
Empress Dowager is attended by the noble ladies of the court.
Note.—The Empress’s gold scepter, decorated
with pearl, signifies that the Empress guards her virtue as hard as
gold, and as pure as pearl. The Empress’s gold seal is made by the board
of works, and is engraved with hieroglyphic characters as her standard
authority.
