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Memoirs Of A Palace Maid

Reads 2,823
Votes 66
Parts 16
Time 43m

Reads 2,823
Votes 66
Parts 16
Time 43m

china cixi concubine empress eunuch forbiddencity historical maid memoirs nonfiction palace qingdynasty translation

This is my attempt at an English translation of the Chinese book "Memoirs Of A Palace Maid". 

"Memoirs Of A Palace Maid" 《宫女谈往录》is a book published by the Forbidden City Press in July 1992. The authors are Jin Yi and Shen Yiling. The book contains the memoirs of Rong, a palace maid who spent eight years serving Empress Dowager Cixi in the Forbidden City in the late Qing Dynasty.

Rong entered palace service when she was thirteen. At age 18, she was given to an eunuch in marriage by Empress Dowager Cixi. Her life was sad and quiet, punctuated by turmoil and suffering. In her aging years, she spoke intimately about life in the Forbidden City. Her memoirs reveal details about Empress Dowager Cixi's day-to-day routines, little known events in Emperor Guangxu's life and touches on the humiliation and anguish of the eunuchs.

I read the Chinese book a few years ago while doing research into the lives of women in the Forbidden City. Recently, I looked up the book again and noticed there was no English translation of the book. (If there is an official English translation, please let me know!) The memoir offers an intimate inside perspective of the Forbidden City that is rarely available in historical documentaries and books. I thought it was a shame that the knowledge in this book wasn't available to English readers.

This is my naive attempt to translate the book into English.(CC) Attrib. NonComm. NoDerivs

china cixi concubine empress eunuch forbiddencity historical maid memoirs nonfiction palace qingdynasty translation

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Whispers of the Blind Consort 盲妃的低语 by kittyz_wrld

In a land where celestial beings walk among mortals, **Lady Bai Lian**, once the most revered celestial warrior of the empire, loses her sight in a devastating war to protect the emperor. Stripped of her divine vision yet bound by duty, she withdraws from the mortal court, fading into obscurity. But the emperor, **Li Zhen**, cannot forget the woman who bled for his throne. Haunted by guilt and bound by fate, he seeks her out-not as a ruler seeking a warrior, but as a man drawn to the woman who once shone brighter than the heavens. As whispers of rebellion spread and dark forces rise, Bai Lian must navigate a world she can no longer see, relying on her honed instincts and a bond with the emperor that deepens beyond duty. In a realm where power dictates destiny, can a blind celestial lady and the ruler she once swore to protect defy fate and carve a new path together? A tale of **sacrifice, redemption, and an unbreakable bond that transcends the mortal and celestial realms.** This book has extremely short chapters. I simply had the thought and then decided to do something. I wrote it on my laptop and I don't have wattpad there so I transferred the file to my phone. You will see asterisk that means it's in bold and the hashtags are for titles. The book cover was generated using AI

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Whispers of the Blind Consort 盲妃的低语

In a land where celestial beings walk among mortals, Lady Bai Lian, once the most revered celestial warrior of the empire, loses her sight in a devastating war to protect the emperor. Stripped of her divine vision yet bound by duty, she withdraws from the mortal court, fading into obscurity. But the emperor, Li Zhen, cannot forget the woman who bled for his throne. Haunted by guilt and bound by fate, he seeks her out-not as a ruler seeking a warrior, but as a man drawn to the woman who once shone brighter than the heavens. As whispers of rebellion spread and dark forces rise, Bai Lian must navigate a world she can no longer see, relying on her honed instincts and a bond with the emperor that deepens beyond duty. In a realm where power dictates destiny, can a blind celestial lady and the ruler she once swore to protect defy fate and carve a new path together? A tale of sacrifice, redemption, and an unbreakable bond that transcends the mortal and celestial realms. This book has extremely short chapters. I simply had the thought and then decided to do something. I wrote it on my laptop and I don't have wattpad there so I transferred the file to my phone. You will see asterisk that means it's in bold and the hashtags are for titles. The book cover was generated using AI