BEIJING — She entered the world of an ancient empire as a teenage concubine, chosen by the emperor to share his bed for her good looks, immaculate comportment and, above all, her ability to sing.

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. The National Museum of Asian Art, ...

Her original first name was considered too inconsequential to enter in the court registry, yet she became the most powerful woman in 19th-century China. Born in 1835 to a prominent Manchu family, Cixi ...

“The Grand Imperial Wedding of the Guangxu Emperor,” by Qing Kuan and other court painters in China, Beijing, Guangxu period (1875-1908), circa 1889. (The Palace Museum/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery) ...