Reconfiguring Patriarchal Space: Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908) and the Reconstruction of the Gardens of Nurtured Harmony (Chapter 6)

Empress Dowager Cixi redefined patriarchal spaces by transforming the Gardens of Nurtured Harmony into an arena of female agency, challenging traditional gender norms. The study reveals how she leveraged architectural reconstruction to assert her authority as a ruler and matron of art, hosting significant events like a formal reception for Prince Henry of Prussia in 1897. Cixi's patronage extended to pioneering photographic and oil portrait experiments, culminating in an unprecedented opening of imperial domestic space to international scrutiny when American painter Katharine Carl documented her stay in a widely circulated memoir (1905). The research scrutinizes these strategies, arguing that the garden became a symbol of Cixi’s influence and female empowerment within Qing imperial culture.

Peng, Y.-c. (2017). 6 Reconfiguring Patriarchal Space: Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908) and the Reconstruction of the Gardens of Nurtured Harmony. Gender, Continuity, and the Shaping of Modernity in the Arts of East Asia, 16th–20th Centuries, 191–223. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004348950_008