Hardcover, 223 pages, colour illustrations, China 2008, new
The conflagration that consumed the Qianlong-era Palace of Established Happiness (Jianfu Gong) in the Forbidden City on 26 June 1923 was the penultimate dramatic episode in the living history of China's imperial palace. Untold antiquities were said to have been lost as a result of the connivance of duplicitous eunuchs and the corrupt dealings of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwu Fu). In the aftermath, a feckless dethroned emperor, Puyi, ordered the expulsion of most of the palace servants before both he and the rump of the Qing court were themselves sent packing the following year. In this lavish and highly readable account, May Holdsworth recounts the story (and conflicting truths) of the destruction of the Palace of Established Happiness, as well as the drawn-out process involved in its recent rebuilding.
| Autor: | May Holdsworth |