| consort |
A wife of the emperor. The emperor could have an unlimited number of consorts, but only one was called the empress. All, including the empress, ranked below the emperor. (This exhibition uses the terms “wife” and “consort” interchangeably. It does not use the term “concubine,” which implies a lack of legitimacy. All consorts were legitimate wives.)
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| dynasty |
A succession of rulers of the same line of descent. This exhibition deals with the Qing (ching) dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1911. Ethnically Manchu, the Qing dynasty had been preceded by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), which was ethnically Han Chinese. The Qing dynasty’s collapse in the early twentieth century ended almost 4,000 years of dynastic rule in China.
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| eunuch |
A castrated male. Eunuchs served as palace servants, usually assigned menial jobs in Qianlong’s time (though in previous dynasties they had great power and influence in the court). To ensure the purity of the dynastic line, they were the only grown men allowed to spend the night within the women’s sections of the Forbidden City.
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| Forbidden City |
The walled palace complex in Beijing, home of the emperor and his family, which also contained ceremonial halls, government offices, workshops, and so on. Today it houses The Palace Museum.
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| Guanyin |
(goowahn-in) In Chinese tradition, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.
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| Han |
(hahn) Today, as in Qianlong’s time, the majority ethnic group in China (as distinguished from Manchu, Mongolian, and many other ethnic groups living there). The name comes from the Han dynasty, about 2000 years ago.
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| Hexiao |
(huh-sheeyow) Qianlong’s tenth and favorite daughter.
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| Kangxi |
(kahng-shee) Qianlong’s much-loved grandfather, emperor from 1662 to 1722, an era of economic and cultural growth and prosperity for China.
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| Manchu |
An ethnic group descended from the Jurchen people, a group of nomadic tribes from the northeast of China (Manchuria). They conquered China in 1644 and, under the emperor Qianlong, brought the empire to its greatest expansion.
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| Qianlong |
(cheeyen-loong) Born 1711, died 1799. The fourth of ten Qing emperors to rule China, he reigned from 1736 to 1795.
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| qin |
(chin) A seven-stringed Chinese musical instrument. Much loved by Chinese scholars, and long a part of Chinese culture, the qin is traditionally said to date back to the time of Confucius, more than 2,500 years ago.
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| stupa |
(stoo-pa) A spire-like Buddhist monument, derived from burial mounds in ancient India, designed to hold relics or mark ancient sites.
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| tangka |
(tahng-ka) A painted or embroidered banner, often depicting religious symbols and deities, used in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, temples, and shrines.
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| Xiaoxian |
(sheeyow-sheeyen) Qianlong’s first wife and empress; born 1712, died 1748.
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| Yamantaka |
A wrathful, protective Buddhist deity, usually represented with a bull’s head, 34 arms, and 16 legs. The name means “slayer of Yama, the lord of death.”
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| Yongzheng |
(yoong-juhng) Father of Qianlong, he ruled from 1723 to 1735.
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| Yuanming Yuan |
(yoowahn-ming yoowahn) One of the summer residences of the Qing emperors, a few miles outside Beijing.
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