Forbidden City - Portrait of an Empress
Just came back from the musical Forbidden City - Portrait of an Empress with Seong. Like what my friend had said, it was a stunning performance! We thoroughly enjoyed it. More so when it's a sponsored program with dinner threw in. "P
synopsis
A historical retelling of the story of China's Empress Dowager, the story is seen from the eyes of an American painter, Kate Carl, who is commissioned to paint the Empress's portrait. The Empress recounts her amazing journey from a young imperial concubine to become the Empress of China and the pressures she faced. The musical explores the myths surrounding her reign, from the controversial death of her only son to her ambitious tussle for power.
I thought the two record keepers in the play are hilarous. Their job is to record down all the happenings at the royal household. :P I wonder will they be blogging instead of writing down in their journal if technology then permits. :P Music is beautiful and I agree that Kit Chan is simply awesome!
Anyway, still hyped up from the play, I did a search and find out more about this formidable figure.
So this is how 慈禧太后 or Empress Cixi (1835-1908) looks like, kinda cold I thought. She was the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, ruling over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908. Her son 同治 became an emperor at the age of five when his father, the Xianfeng Emperor(咸丰帝) died. Empress Cixi (慈禧太后), wielded the real power and ruled behind the scene. 同治 subsequently contracted STD (花柳病). Some said that Empress Cixi (慈禧太后)regarded this as humilating and warned the imperial doctors to have their mouths sealed. The doctors produced a lie that the Emperor caught smallpox, and gave medicines and treatments according to smallpox. Within a few weeks, the Emperor died. As Empress Cixi was on bad terms with her daughter-in-law (同治's wife), she blamed the death of her son on the daughter-in-law and starved her to death. Talk about mean MIL! Empress Cixi(慈禧太后) then had her 3-year-old nephew named the new heir - Emperor GuangXu.
So now at least, I knew a little more about this infamous Empress. But, what's really nice is to have a night out with Seong knowing that the girls are in good hands of my MIL. :P
synopsis
A historical retelling of the story of China's Empress Dowager, the story is seen from the eyes of an American painter, Kate Carl, who is commissioned to paint the Empress's portrait. The Empress recounts her amazing journey from a young imperial concubine to become the Empress of China and the pressures she faced. The musical explores the myths surrounding her reign, from the controversial death of her only son to her ambitious tussle for power.
I thought the two record keepers in the play are hilarous. Their job is to record down all the happenings at the royal household. :P I wonder will they be blogging instead of writing down in their journal if technology then permits. :P Music is beautiful and I agree that Kit Chan is simply awesome!
Anyway, still hyped up from the play, I did a search and find out more about this formidable figure.
So this is how 慈禧太后 or Empress Cixi (1835-1908) looks like, kinda cold I thought. She was the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, ruling over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908. Her son 同治 became an emperor at the age of five when his father, the Xianfeng Emperor(咸丰帝) died. Empress Cixi (慈禧太后), wielded the real power and ruled behind the scene. 同治 subsequently contracted STD (花柳病). Some said that Empress Cixi (慈禧太后)regarded this as humilating and warned the imperial doctors to have their mouths sealed. The doctors produced a lie that the Emperor caught smallpox, and gave medicines and treatments according to smallpox. Within a few weeks, the Emperor died. As Empress Cixi was on bad terms with her daughter-in-law (同治's wife), she blamed the death of her son on the daughter-in-law and starved her to death. Talk about mean MIL! Empress Cixi(慈禧太后) then had her 3-year-old nephew named the new heir - Emperor GuangXu.
So now at least, I knew a little more about this infamous Empress. But, what's really nice is to have a night out with Seong knowing that the girls are in good hands of my MIL. :P