Memoirs Of A Palace Maid

Preface I

It was more than 40 years ago. At the time, I was still a student living on the east-west side of Beijing's Ma Shen Temple* (now Jing Dong East Street). Across the street, the road running southwards has a narrow alley that forms a T-shape parallel to the south road. It is called the Middle Old Alley. The old lady I want to speak about lives in the west room of a small courtyard in this alley.

It was an era of hardship. During the day, military vehicles kick up flying dust and the pavilions, footpaths and streets are dark in the afternoons.** Nobody was willing to loiter on the streets in case something unfortunate happened to them.

The siren alarm for Japanese troops was set on the top of Jing Shan Mountain. The anti-aircraft guns swivelled at the sky continuously day and night. Soldiers patrolled with live ammunition loaded in their guns. This area was right under the enemy's eyes. 

At night, when the police siren sounds, the blackout begins. The streets and alleys were in total darkness. When the autumn rain falls, the ancient city appeared particularly wretched.

Frequently, in this kind of conditions, I would put two bags of tea leaf shreds*** in my pocket, pull together a blue cloth that is half filled with dried peanuts and quietly go to the elderly person's home to ask her to chat about the Qing court. The person talking will speak ramblingly. The listener will listen to the meandering talk.  The windows were covered tightly with black cloth. The lamp light was faint in the corner of the walls. The ceiling reflected the firelight of the coal briquettes. It was really a case of "remnant light casting shadows on the wall, the sound of dark rain hitting the windows."****

I listened to the elderly lady pour forth her past grudgingly, as if I was listening to the legacies of Tian Bao.*****

Translator's Notes:

*The literal name of the temple translates to Horse God Temple. It was a temple built to commemorate the war horse of a Ming dynasty military general Zhu Da Shou.

** This is an allusion to a Tang dynasty poem by Li Bai "The Carts Kick Up Flying Dust" 《大车扬飞尘》. It is a poem about the corrupt government officials of his time. The first line of the poem reads "The carts kick up flying dust, the pavilions and footpaths and streets are dark in the afternoons." The line is about richly decorated carts of the elite flying past the commoners on the street and kicking up clouds of dust that darkened the air. 

*** This refers to the shreds of tea leaves that are sieved out by the tea shops. The tea shreds are considered useless in other places . But in old Beijing, it was a favourite material for tea brewing among the poor. 

**** This is a line from a Tang dynasty poem "White Haired People In Shang Yang" by poet Bai Juyi. The poem is about the tragic fate of palace harem women. The poem is told through the eyes of an elderly palace concubine who was confined in the Shang Yang palace for over forty years since she was sixteen, without ever meeting the Emperor. This line illustrates the woman's loneliness as she sits in her dimly lit room, listening to the rain lashing her windows.

***** This is a reference to an ancient book "Legacies Of The Tian Bao Period"《开元天宝遗事》written by a Tang dynasty judge called Wang Renyu. The book is a compilation of notes regarding the customs and trivia of the Tang dynasty inside and outside of the palace. The book covers a wide range of topics, from festivals, meats and cockfighting to strange relics, legends and music.