Why does Cixi love taking pictures all her life?

Cixi pursued power and enjoyment all her life, and her life was extravagant and wasteful. Everything she enjoys in the world, such as delicious food, exquisite clothes, card games and playing with dogs in the mountains, is not bad for her. In her later years, she became interested in photography.

Cixi likes to paint portraits for herself in her later years, and once hired foreign painters to serve in the palace with thick money. In the 28th year of Guangxu (1902), Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his empress presented an eight-inch color family portrait to Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu. When she saw that photography was faster and more convenient than portraits, it looked cooler and the effect was more real, her eagerness to try became stronger and stronger, and she became interested in photography and wanted to appreciate its mystery for herself.

In order to take pictures, Cixi purposely ordered that a mat shed be set up in front of the Le Shou Hall, the bedroom of the Summer Palace, with the scenery screen as the lining and the luxurious furnishings arranged in the hall. At that time, although the Summer Palace had electric lights, there was no lighting equipment for photography. In order to highlight the three-dimensional image of the main characters, without violating the yin and yang faces taboo by Cixi, and improve the clarity of the image, we can only use the natural scattered light to achieve the best effect. Before taking pictures, Cixi should read the almanac herself and choose an auspicious day. When taking pictures, I often order the royal photographer Xun Ling to take several court portraits with different postures in succession. I can't wait to order a large number of each portrait, and I also want to show the unpolished water samples to the royal family as soon as possible.