Why was Empress Dowager Cixi’s royal photographer so popular in history?

Thanks to the development of science and technology, the emergence of photography allows people today to see more truly what the palace of the late Qing Dynasty looked like; for example, the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu were simply different from the previous ones. A portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang is incomparable. If there had been a camera, it would have been clear whether Zhu Yuanzhang was handsome or ugly.

Who was it that took pictures of the Empress Dowager Cixi and the concubines, maids, and eunuchs in the harem that night in the Qing Dynasty? If it were an ordinary man or a foreign photographer, it would be impossible for him to just go in and out of the palace and take so many private photos; then who is this photographer?

This man is the second son of Yu Deling, the third-rank minister of the Qing Dynasty in Japan and France, Yu Xunling, the elder brother of Yu Deling; because his father Yu Geng often served as ambassador to advanced countries abroad, this Yu Geng I would also take Yu Xunling with me, so Yu Xunling accepted Western things at a very young age, and Yu Xunling was very interested in photography.

After returning to China, he was selected into the palace to become Cixi's royal photographer with his good education background, family background, elegant and handsome temperament. Many of Cixi's handed down photos were taken by him. He can also be called the first photographer of the Qing Imperial Palace.

According to Qin Shoou's article published in the journal "Forbidden City" in 1982, it was a coincidence that Xun Ling became Cixi's royal photographer. In 1895, his father Yugeng went on a diplomatic mission to Japan and other European countries. Yuxunling and his two sisters Deling and Rongling accompanied him and studied in Paris, France.

In 1903, the three of them returned to China with their father, and De Ling and Roong Ling were named imperial female officials by Cixi. Although the Qing Dynasty was in danger at that time, it still took various feudal systems and the so-called ancestral family "laws" very seriously and refused to break them easily. It was impossible for ordinary people to enter and leave the palace at will, let alone take pictures of emperors and concubines. .

Xunling was born in a feudal bureaucratic family. His father Yugeng was a third-rank official, and his mother and two younger sisters often went to the palace. The situation was naturally different. However, he was never bold enough to take photos of the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was revered as "Lafayette" at first, and he repeatedly avoided doing so.

Later, it was Rong Ling who came up with the idea and asked him to take a batch of photos of his two sisters and other palace family members and send them to Cixi for review to test her reaction. Unexpectedly, Cixi was very happy when she saw it, and issued a pardon in advance. Even if Xunling was not satisfied with the photos she took, she would not be held guilty, so that Xunling could take many photos of Cixi, Guangxu and other royal family members in the Qing Palace.

At that time, Yu Xunling was less than thirty years old when he took pictures of Cixi, but his eyesight was very poor. His appearance and temperament definitely belonged to the handsome men in the court at that time. For Cixi, who was picky about appearance, the reason why she chose him as her photographer could not be ruled out because she admired Yu Xunling's temperament.

The most noteworthy thing is that the series of photos of "Western Paradise" taken by Xun Ling for Cixi ushered in the early "art photography (or cosplay)" in China. In these photos, Cixi herself is dressed as the "Master Guanyin on Mount Putuo", and the eunuchs Li Lianying and Cui Yugui are dressed as the guardians beside Guanyin.

In this regard, the royal archives record: "On July 16th, we took pictures in the sea. We took a flat-bottomed boat without lotus. Wearing four grids to pretend to be a good fortune, wearing lotus clothes, and wearing a robe under the roof. Lianying acted as Wei Tuo, I want to wear Veda helmets and other clothes. The third girl and the fifth girl are dressed as boat fairies, wearing fishermen's masks and plain white snake clothes. They want to wear red and green clothes, and they need two oars on the boat, and they are ready in the garden. There are dozens of bamboo poles with bamboo leaves, and they are prepared in three directions." This description is quite like the early stage plan of a modern film and television director, which is detailed and comprehensive.

Xun Ling’s sister De Ling later married an American, lived overseas, and wrote many books about life in the Forbidden City, which became a sensation at the time. The photos Xun Ling took of Cixi were widely cited in the book, making Xun Ling famous and recognized as Ci Xi's royal photographer. These photos have become precious historical archives, allowing the world to finally see the royal faces and their lives that have ruled them for more than two thousand years.

But there are very few photos about Yu Xunling himself. After all, at that time, very few people in China knew how to do photography, understood photography, and could afford photography. Nowadays, there is a saying about people who do photography: "Photography will destroy three generations, and photography will ruin a lifetime." What's more, photography, which was just emerging at that time, was extremely expensive in terms of equipment and learning fees.