Forbidden City Quotes

“In this eyewitness story, we meet Tzu-hsi in the twilight of her reign. Advanced in age, the Empress on the Dragon Throne is no longer the young beauty whose skill at seduction and aptitude for court intrigue saw her rise from a lowly Imperial concubine to the second most powerful place under the Hsien-feng Emperor.”
― Noel Marie Fletcher, Two Years in the Forbidden City

“Armed with her title as princess, the married name of Mrs. Thaddeus White, and the United States as a new frontier to conquer, Der Ling won many admirers.”
― Noel Marie Fletcher, Two Years in the Forbidden City

“This book is important due to the historical insights of Der Ling rather than her literary skill. Her life and works underscore a shrewd ability to adapt and make the most out of her various experiences.”
― Noel Marie Fletcher, Two Years in the Forbidden City

“While browsing through the Seattle Art Museum in 1945, a scholar discovered a 5-inch jade seal, missing from China since the Boxer Rebellion, as a priceless Imperial seal. “My spectacles fell off my nose and I started to yell,” said Hugh Alexander Matier, 62-year-old scholar and traveler.”
― Noel Marie Fletcher, Two Years in the Forbidden City