Page 74 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

RULING FROM BEHIND
THE SILK SCREEN
THE TWO DOWAGER EMPRESSES
御簾遺芳
慈安與慈禧
uring the turbulent twenty years between 1861 and
1881, China witnessed the ascent of two emperors
D to the imperial throne, the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861-
1875) and the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875-1908). Critically, the
country also saw two Dowager Empresses, Ci’an (1837-1881)
and Cixi (1835-1908), working in conjunction as co-regents
for the young emperors. In a sense, these two women ruled
over China and had to navigate the turbulent course of
political unrest in the country during this time. This was truly
unprecedented as traditionally women in the imperial family
were not allowed to intervene in the country’s politics nor be
seen during imperial court sessions. These two co-regents
had to educate themselves in politics and imperial customs,
bearing the weight of the empire on their shoulders.
Wife and Empress Consort of the Xianfeng Emperor as well
as nominal mother to the Tongzhi Emperor, Ci’an, also known
as Empress Xiaozhenxian, was conferred the title ‘Mother
Empress, Empress Dowager’ once Tongzhi ascended the
throne in 1861. Although never empress to the Xianfeng
Emperor, Tongzhi’s birth mother, Cixi, also known as Empress
Xiaoqinxian, was honored as ‘Holy Mother, Empress Dowager’
at the same time. In principle, Ci’an wielded legal authority
and precedence over Cixi, yet she appeared to take little
interest in politics and instead was the decision-maker
within the inner court while Cixi focused her efforts on state
affairs. Indeed, in Artful Subversion: Empress Dowager Cixi’s
Image Making, New Haven, 2023, pp 20-23, Ying-Chen Peng
notes the different undertones of the imperial portraits for
the two Dowager Empresses painted during the reign of the
Tongzhi Emperor (figs 1-2). Peng argues that whilst Cixi is
portrayed sitting upright next to a table with a half-opened
book, recalling similar scenes of past emperor portraits
depicted in similar ways, Ci’an’s portrait shows the sitter
leisurely resting within a garden scene of blooming flowers,
signaling domesticity. Ci’an’s painting is further accompanied
Fig. 1 Empress Dowager Ci’an in a Garden with Rocks, Bamboo, and Peonies,
circa 1865, ink and color on paper © The Palace Museum, Beijing by a colophon by Tongzhi, reading cizhu yanqing (May
圖一 慈安坐像，約1865年，設色紙本 © 故宮博物院，北京 the mother’s benevolence be as lasting as the evengreen
bamboos), signaling his emotional closeness to the loving
Empress Dowager.
144 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275
Yet, despite Ci’an’s seldom intervention in politics during
the twenty years she was co-regent, she was still required to
approve all stately decrees. According to Duansu yishi mizha,
before Xianfeng’s death in 1861, he gifted both Ci’an and the
young Emperor a seal, ‘Yushang’ for Ci’an and ‘Tongdaotang’
for the Emperor, the latter was passed onto his mother, Cixi,
given the young age of Tongzhi at that time, and required both
seals to be impressed on any imperial decree before they can
be implemented. Thus, the two women were required to agree
on all affairs, presenting a united front to the empire.
The co-regency of the Dowager Empress Ci’an and Cixi only
came to an end after twenty years when Ci’an passed away
in 1881. Cixi would then continue her regency on and off until
her death in 1908, leaving behind a controversial legacy and a
divided state. Nonetheless, the twenty years shared by the two
Dowager Empresses represents a historically important and
significant union of the two most powerful women in China, who
decided the fate of the vast Qing empire from behind silk screens.
1861至1881，二十載間中國風雨飄搖，同治、光緒兩朝皇帝先後踐祚。
二帝身後，慈安、慈禧兩宮太后同登歷史舞台，為幼皇攝政。山河動盪
中，兩宮太后手握帝國沉浮，此局面可謂史無前例；封建帝制下，皇室
女性本不得干政，亦不能顯身朝堂，慈安、慈禧為勢所迫，須自學國
是，帝業之重盡負其肩。
慈安（孝貞顯皇后）乃咸豐帝正妻皇后，故為同治嫡母，同治1861年登
基後尊慈安為母后皇太后；慈禧（孝欽顯皇后）為咸豐帝貴妃，雖不曾
封后，但因是同治生母，亦尊為聖母皇太后。嫡庶有尊卑，慈安權位高
於慈禧，然慈安志不在國政，僅決策后宮諸事，慈禧則更傾力臨朝。彭
盈真論及同治時期兩宮太后畫像（圖一、二）似各有影射——慈禧肅然
端坐，身側案頭書卷半開，場景恰如歷朝帝王畫像，慈安則泰然安坐，
身後芳草滿園，喻指內廷，見《巧妙的顛覆：慈禧太后的形象塑造》
，紐黑文，2023年，頁20-23。慈安畫像引首有同治御筆，題「慈竹延
清」，可見慈安溫藹，更得同治親近。
兩宮垂簾二十載，慈安少問政事，然旨令施行仍需慈安核准。據《端肅
遺事密札》，1861年，咸豐於駕崩前賜慈安及幼年同治各一印，慈安得
「御賞」為印起，同治得「同道堂」為印訖，因同治年幼，「同道堂」
印由慈禧掌執；一切旨令，須同時加蓋兩印方可頒行，故大小奏議均經 Fig. 2 Empress Dowager Cixi in a Garden with Rocks and Bamboo, circa
兩宮太后一同定奪，兩宮同治之局面由此展開。 1865, ink and color on paper, © The Palace Museum, Beijing
圖二 慈禧坐像，約1865年，設色紙本 © 故宮博物院，北京
1881年慈安崩逝，兩宮同治結束。此後，慈禧繼續把持朝政，直至1908
年壽終，留下山河支離破碎，為後人詬病。持政二十載，兩位女性權勢
熏天，隨御簾低垂，大清帝國亦落下帷幕。
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