Behind the Palace Doors

The Qing emperors of China would probably have been pleased to know that one day the objects of their daily life, from the sublime to the ridiculous, would be venerated in the West. In the 19th century, Western powers and their demands for trade and privilege were the bane of the Qing court--and ultimately contributed to the downfall of imperial rule. Now everything from their high art to their curios, their elaborately embroidered gowns to their dishware are part of a major exhibition titled “Secret World of the Forbidden City: Splendors From China’s Imperial Palace,” opening next Sunday at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana.

It is billed as the largest exhibition ever to leave the Palace Museum in Beijing’s former imperial complex, with some 360 objects conveying the daily life, rituals and pursuits of the Qing (pronounced “Ching”) emperors, China’s rulers from 1644 to the revolution in 1911.

Weaponry and elaborate suits of armor testify to the way the dynasty rose to power, while ornate costumes, jewelry and accessories point to the emperors’ sumptuous palace life. There are also objects that illustrate their contemplative side--a scholar’s study with brushes and ink sticks, as well as objects related to Tibetan Buddhism, one of the religions of the court.

“We have many things that will be expected by the public--paintings and porcelains of the very highest quality,” says Janet Baker, the Bowers’ curator of Asian art. “But beyond that they will also see objects they have never seen and will never see again--things not found in Western museums and not even on display in China very often, like [the] arms and armor, unusual objects of daily use like the emperor’s toilet and a bathtub that was probably used by empresses and concubines.”

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Facing Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing, the Forbidden City occupies 180 acres, protected by a moat and 32-foot walls. Ming Dynasty emperor Yong Le had the palace built, calling on the effort of 100,000 artisans and 1 million workmen; it was completed in 1420. When the Manchus from the north toppled the Ming Dynasty in 1644, they took on the dynastic name of Qing and took over the Forbidden City, gradually renovating and expanding it.

The palace boasts 999 buildings and 9,999 rooms (the word for nine in Chinese, jiu, is a homonym for “long, lengthy”; thus, the number was a talisman for the emperor’s long life and rule). It was the seat of political power, a home to the emperor, his wives, concubines, children and attendants. At the end of the 18th century, 9,000 people lived within its walls.

The popular English name for the palace comes from the Chinese Zi Jin Cheng, which literally means Purple Forbidden City--purple being a reference to the star where the Celestial Emperor, granddaddy of all emperors, is supposed to live, and forbidden because the masses could never hope to set foot inside.

To give us a glimpse behind those walls, “Secret World” is arranged according to eight aspects of court life: affairs of state (represented by a re-created throne room), the arts of war, scholarly pursuits, religious practices, dining customs, imperial dress and the emperor’s private chambers.

Ten Manchu emperors reigned over a 250-year period, but the exhibition singles out four in particular.

“When we study Chinese history,” says Anne Shih, a Bowers’ board member and president of its Chinese Cultural Arts Council, “we learn that Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong were the greatest of the Qing emperors. Not only were they great leaders, they were cultivated men and promoters of the arts, so we wanted to be sure to include things from their reign.”

And in trying to find mass appeal for the show, they could hardly leave out the infamous Last Emperor, Xuantong, also known as Pu-Yi.

“We felt that many Westerners have strong impressions of Chinese history through [Bernardo] Bertolucci’s film ‘The Last Emperor,’ the film about Pu-Yi. So we deliberately tried to find some of the things specifically referred to in that film.”

The exhibition opens with a reconstructed throne room, meant to replicate official reception halls in the palace, with objects having a talismanic as well as practical function. The centerpiece is a wide-seated, carved wooden throne backed by a screen that is enameled with a design of clouds and bats. Fu in the word for bat, bian fu, is a homonym for prosperity or wealth. Auspicious paired objects sit on either side of the throne--two long-necked cranes (another symbol of longevity) and two squat mythological creatures called luduan, which are said to be able to travel prodigious distances and speak any language known to man. In short, they were the perfect diplomats to have at hand when dealing with representatives from distant provinces or foreign lands.

In fact, auspicious references recur throughout the show. A special shade of yellow, for example, was reserved for the emperor, and the five-toed dragon, the most powerful of all animals in the Chinese zodiac, was his symbol. Together they signal imperial dress. One highlight of the Bowers exhibition is the robe worn by 3-year-old Pu-Yi when he ascended to the throne in 1908. It is a vivid yellow, long-sleeved with a pleated skirt, all richly embroidered. On the chest is the central motif of a fierce dragon, with red tendrils of fire emanating from its head, cavorting above a symbolic mountain rising from the ocean. On one adult robe, the dragon figure is multiplied by eight. The ninth dragon--to achieve the lucky jiu--would be the emperor himself.

Another theme in the show is the impact of the outside world on the Forbidden City. In an 18th century portrait of Qianlong (who serves as poster boy for show), the emperor is on horseback and turned in a three-quarter pose reminiscent of portraits of European kings and princes. Indeed, the Qing court by then had not only seen copies of Western art, they also had retained Western artisans in their workshops. This portrait is credited to Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian who managed to find a position in the Forbidden City.

Several other objects in the show also reflect Chinese contact with the West. An 18th century bedroom screen made by Qing craftsmen depicts ladies in vaguely European hairdos and garb and in an imagined Europeanized setting. Still, their faces and almond-shaped eyes give away its Chinese origin. Ornate clocks and mechanical instruments were sent as tributes from abroad, and the Qing rulers loved them so much they had their own craftsmen emulate them. The show includes an ebony music box inlaid with shell from France and a gilt copper musical clock made in Guangzhou (Canton).

Throughout the exhibition, the Qing Dynasty’s penchant for dazzling surfaces and ornamentation is evident--a departure from the simplicity and restraint of classic Ming taste. Manchu taste was aided and abetted by advances in technique as well as in technology--new heights in the production of cloisonne and lacquerware were achieved during the dynasty. In the scholar’s study, there are jade brush-holders and paperweights; in the dining room and bedroom displays, the porcelain is painted in bright turquoise, orange and pinks. Even religious objects were luxuriously decorated. A standing Buddhist figurine is not only solid gold, but it is also adorned with small pearls from head to radiating aureole.

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The seed for the Bowers show was sown in 1992, when the museum’s president, Peter C. Keller, visited China seeking exhibition and exchange possibilities. Over the years, various staff members worked on the project; however, major credit for realizing the show goes to Shih.

Born in Taiwan, Shih has lived in Southern California for two decades and sees her support of the museum’s efforts as only natural--”as a Chinese person, why wouldn’t I help?”

She is proud to point out that the Bowers has had a Chinese show of some kind every year since 1992, when she started her volunteer work.

Keller credits Shih with being “our secret weapon” in dealing with the cautious and highly bureaucratic Chinese Ministry of Culture, which oversees the Palace Museum. The process of putting together the show proved so convoluted and drawn out that the Bowers’ original partners in bringing it to the U.S. dropped out. (The Bowers has since found new partners in the Oakland Museum of California and the Natural Science Museum of Houston.)

The show has been jointly curated by the Palace Museum and Bowers’ staff, and Keller and Shih were given access to the Forbidden City’s storerooms. Due to space limitations and preservation considerations, only a fraction of the palace’s holdings can be displayed at any one time in Beijing. Some of the brilliantly colored textiles on view in the Bowers show are rarely taken out of their storage drawers.

By and large, the Bowers got its wish list. As the show was finally being readied for shipment this winter, there was one last-minute glitch. A few objects had to be removed from the list because they contained ivory, which is banned from importation into the U.S., and the appropriate paperwork to override that rule had slipped through the cracks.

In all, “Secret World” has cost the Bowers $1 million to mount, and Shih proudly says that the museum has already raised $1.2 million--with the additional amount to pay for such things as educational outreach, publicity and special programs, including 10 artisans brought over from Beijing and Henan province to demonstrate such crafts as embroidery during the run of the show.

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Despite all the auspicious signs and symbols the emperors protected themselves with, the Qing Dynasty sputtered to a fitful end.

Emperor Qianlong had hoped that the Qing Dynasty would rule for 25 generations. It only lasted 10, and the final hundred years were marked by civil revolt, corruption and increasing encroachments by foreign powers. When the revolution came in 1911, Pu-Yi was forced to give up his throne, remaining in the Forbidden City, a virtual prisoner.

Guaranteed a household budget, he continued to live lavishly, dressing according to tradition and attending to rituals determined by the lunar calendar. In 1918, Englishman Reginald Johnston arrived to serve as his tutor, inspiring in the boy a love for all things Western. In 1924, with another change in government, Pu-Yi was expelled from the Forbidden City. Later, he would be imprisoned again, in not so cushy quarters, and “re-educated” by the ascendant Communists--all part of the story told by Bertolucci’s film.

In the exhibition, Pu-Yi’s pint-sized dragon robe and his cricket cage made from a gourd remind us of his status as a child emperor. Then there is his bicycle, a gift from Johnston.

“Of course, Pu-Yi wasn’t allowed to go out of the Forbidden City,” says Chen Li-hua, deputy director of antiquities for the Palace Museum, “but one of his great pleasures was riding his bicycle all over the compound.”

It is a staid, black two-wheeler that stands in poignant contrast to the rest of the glittering Qing booty. At the twilight of his dynasty, amid the wealth and riches of his ancestors, it was one of Pu-Yi’s most prized possessions.

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* “Secret World of the Forbidden City” runs next Sunday to Sept. 3 at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. $8-$14; children under 5, free. (877) 250-8999.