Page 34 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS
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that document the empress dowager’s life survive in the writings of individuals who
entered the Forbidden City during her reign, including Sarah Pike Conger, Der Ling, and
Katherine Carl. Early texts on Cixi describe her in a negative light, paying specific
attention to her role in rebellions and vilifying her reign. In more recent years, scholars
have begun to reevaluate the empress dowager. Works by Jung Chang, Sue Chang,
Ying-chen Peng, Marina Warner, and Sterling Seagrave have created a new perspective
on Cixi, arguing that she maintained a feminist and modern attitude during her reign.
This shift in thought has resulted in numerous exhibitions evaluating Cixi’s rule including
the Bowers Museum’s “Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections from the Summer Palace”
running from November 2017 to March 2018 and the Peabody Essex’s “Empresses of
China’s Forbidden City” running from August 2018 to February 2019. While Cixi served
as a focal point, only a few porcelain works of art were included within either exhibition.
Works on Yuan Shikai rarely focus exclusively on his brief Hongxian reign;
instead, they analyze the entirety of his life. These texts also often focus on other
political figures that Yuan interacted with during his career. Recently, research on Yuan
Shikai has become more prevalent, with works like Power and Politics in Late Imperial
China: Yüan Shih-kai in Beijing and Tianjin by Stephen R. MacKinnon focusing on Yuan
5
exclusively. The majority of references that provide insight into the Hongxian period,
and more specifically the porcelain commissioned during that period, can be found in
6
records from Jingdezhen, including the Jingdezhen Taoci Shigao. Kiln supervisor Guo
5 Stephen R. MacKinnon, Power and Politics in Late Imperial China: Yüan Shih-kai in Beijing
and Tianjin, 1901-1908, Center for Chinese Studies, UC Berkeley, No 24 (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1980).
6 Jiangxi Light Industry Department, Ceramics Institue, Jingdezhen Taoci Shigao 景德鎮陶瓷史
稿 (Draft History of Jingdezhen) (Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 1959).
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