Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 40 The Craftsman in the Palace (1)
There are many entertainers in the palace, they master the highest level of skills in this country, because of their existence, the palace can almost become a small society.Compared with the ordinary workers outside, the craftsmen inside the palace all have unique skills, and the gap between the craftsmen outside and them is obvious.Her Majesty was convinced that the craftsmen she had found were the best, so she felt very proud every time she mentioned these things.When government affairs are free, the queen mother likes to visit everywhere, and when people make some fine utensils, she looks at them with great interest.After I came to the Queen Mother, because I often accompanied the Queen Mother to meet those artists, I gradually learned a lot of stories about various crafts, and my interest in them was also increasing day by day, even to the point where I wanted to write something for them.It is impossible to record the living conditions of those technicians in detail and exactly. In the Summer Palace, every industry is enough to write a book.Take the sewing industry as an example, if you want a comprehensive introduction, you must write at least one thick volume. As for other industries in the palace, when you write about it, the information is more abundant, and it cannot be completed in one or two volumes.Even so, the desire to write something for the artisans never faded from my mind, and I finally decided to write something more succinct.First, let’s start with the silk reeling industry.In the previous chapter, I have introduced in detail the entire process and results of silkworm rearing, but I have not explained in detail how to deal with the reeled silk.One day, the queen mother said to me: "You haven't seen the various methods of making silk, have you? Come with us, and I will show you something new today. The silk that spring silkworms spend their lives spit out is not just imagined. It can be dealt with, but you can only find out after going to the scene to see it." After so long, I can't remember the exact words of the Queen Mother, but this is roughly what she meant.The Queen Mother's words have a kind of magical power, which can make people follow her unconsciously. This is not something ordinary people can do. The words I reconstructed by myself have lost the essence inside and can only convey the general meaning.I have never been very interested in activities such as silkworm raising and silk reeling, but the Queen Mother's words gave me an urge to go and see.Besides me, there are naturally other people who go with the queen mother, so that we can take care of each other when we are bored.

When we are free, the queen mother always likes to wander around with a lot of people. Today she took us to the silk-making palace.It is quite far from the Empress Dowager's bedroom. Most of the palaces in the Summer Palace are on the front of Longevity Hill, but this palace is on the back of Longevity Hill. If you want to go there, you have to climb over Longevity Hill.The people who make the silk are often the daughters of the bannermen, and most of them have spent many years here, almost exhausting their youth.The good news is that they are absolutely free in the Summer Palace. If they want to get married, they can go out and get married, but they must abide by one condition, that is, they can never return to the Summer Palace after going out.Many of these people are unwilling to go out. After all, they stay in the Summer Palace. They don’t need to worry about food, clothing, housing, and use. They just need to do their own things well. If they go out to marry, they may live in the garden for the rest of their lives. under the shadow of poverty.Living in the palace, it can be said that everything is good, but there is one thing that is not easy to do, and that is to win the Queen Mother's favor.For these craftsmen, there is only one way to win the Queen Mother's favor, and that is to show good results at work.Humans are not gods after all, so how could it be possible to complete every job beautifully?There will always be mistakes, and at that time, let alone a reward, being able to go unpunished is considered a grace.In addition, there is another thing that makes these craftsmen feel a headache, that is, the queen mother is proficient in all these crafts, and it is absolutely impossible to hide the truth.It was for these reasons that the craftsmen in the palace felt that it was too difficult to win the Queen Mother's favor.

After a while, we arrived at the silk-making palace, which occupies a very large area, and such a spacious workshop is really rare in the world.The workshop is composed of a main hall in the center and two side halls on both sides. There are not a few carved beams and painted buildings, flying pavilions and flowing pills that the royal family should have.These silk-making girls work in the main hall during the day and rest in the side hall at night.There are only a few people living in such a spacious place, so it's no wonder that these girls are reluctant to go out of the palace.

It is not easy to dye silk.Reeled silk cannot be directly used for dyeing, but must go through a process-rinsing.After rinsing the twisted silk that has been reeled, it can be dyed after being dried in the sun.Dyeing can not be done in one go, it takes two to three times to be successful.After the color is dyed, it must be taken out to dry in the sun, which is called drying silk.Next to the side halls where the girls live, there is a large stone flat, which is the place where the silk is dried.Some tripods are also needed when drying the silk. These tripods are not too high for the convenience of the girls. If they are too high, they cannot easily take the silk on and off.Put a bamboo pole between two tripods and hang the dyed silk on it.When the silk is drying, a person needs to watch it specially. This person has to keep moving the silk according to the range of sunlight, so that the dyed silk will not be darker or lighter after drying.If only half of the silk is exposed to the sun, and you don't actively turn it after drying for a period of time, the colors on the silk will be messy after it dries.

The queen mother was very excited every time she mentioned dyeing. She collected almost all the colors in the world and asked those girls to help her dye them on silk.There are many kinds of colors, even one color can be divided into many kinds, for example, green, if the first skein is dyed dark green, then grass green, tender green, lake green... gradually fades until it is almost white at the end.Don't look at what I said simply. In fact, this project is not so easy to complete. The girls in charge of dyeing almost have to do their best to ensure that there are no mistakes.Although it is very laborious to dye, it is really a wonderful enjoyment to see all kinds of silk fluttering in the air.Under the bright sunshine, the scenery is really beautiful. I can guarantee that no matter who it is, it will definitely feel dizzy after watching it for a while.Until now, I still remember the first time I went to visit, and I don't think I will easily forget this beautiful scenery in many years.

When we went, many dyed silks had already been placed on the stone ping. The Queen Mother greeted those people for a while and then walked to the stone ping.The Queen Mother walked to a blue silk thread, looked from the deepest skein, and then looked backwards in turn.When the Empress Dowager looked at the silk thread, the girls in charge of dyeing were all kneeling on the ground. From their point of view, this was the most important moment, although Lafayette might not think so.In my impression, no matter where she goes, the queen mother always expresses her own unique opinions, and she is certainly no exception here.Sure enough, while watching, the Empress Dowager said that this was not dyed well, that was too long in the sun, and she babbled a lot.Later, the Queen Mother stopped beside a skein of silk.She looked at the skein carefully, compared it with the other one, and said sternly: "You must have missed a color. You can see that the color of this skein is so dark, while the color of the other skein is so light." , it’s obvious that you missed it carelessly, and you’ll make up for it later, or you’ll lose your sense of coordination.” Curiously, I leaned forward and followed the Empress Dowager’s guidance to see that the two skeins had different colors. It must be bigger.I have always wondered why the Queen Mother has such good eyesight that she can see such details clearly at such an old age.

In order to prove her correctness, the queen mother asked all the entourage around her to come and see.Even a layman like me can feel that there is a lack of color in it, let alone those who stay in the garden and do their own business.After reading it, everyone agreed that one color was missing, and it must be added immediately, otherwise it would not be possible to make these dozens of skeins look harmonious.Among the dozens of colors, the Empress Dowager only needs to use her eyes to see where one color is missing, and the sharpness of her eyes can be imagined.Usually, I don't feel bored walking around with the Queen Mother. No matter where I go, the Queen Mother only needs to scan her eyes, and she can immediately point out where there is something wrong.At this time, the person who manages those things must correct it immediately. If it is the same next time, this person must be unlucky.For a layman, it is very difficult to distinguish the color and tan of these silks.In such a large stone flat, there are flying silk threads everywhere, blue, yellow, green... mixed together, it looks like a rainbow in the sky from a distance.The little girl in charge of drying the silk keeps walking through it, so as not to tan a certain color unevenly.If a momentary negligence causes one part to be exposed to light for too long and another part to be exposed to insufficient light, then the skein can no longer be used, and previous efforts will be in vain.No matter how well tanned silk is, it is not easy for us laymen to see it, but the Queen Mother can immediately distinguish good from bad. Her eyesight is indeed beyond ordinary people.

Sometimes the sunlight is not too strong. At night, some dyed silks have not been dried. At this time, they need to be moved into the house to prevent them from being infected by night moisture.There are no tripods in the house, but special equipment instead. They are some special wooden frames, and the girls only need to twist and twist the silk that has not been dried and put them on it.The wooden frame is very exquisite, and the surface is painted with bright paint, which makes people feel very comfortable.On some days, the girls will move out the entire wooden racks to dry, so as to save the trouble of taking the silk on and off.For those of us who have to wear uniforms, it is impossible to carry such a heavy wooden frame, but it is not a difficult thing for those girls.During silk making, those girls can wear anything.During the year, these people have nothing to do most of the time, so they have enough time to spend on dressing up.Since they are surrounded by people of the same age, and there is competition among them, the speed of renovating their clothes is much faster.After the dyed silk is finished drying, they can be taken off the rack one by one.The removed silk needs to be wrapped with a spindle, roughly one spindle for one color.These processed silks are not used for weaving silk, but are only used in bits and pieces as materials for embroidery or sewing.If you use it piecemeal like this, you can only consume a small part every year, and put away the unused parts first, and use them when you need them.

Having said that, the craft of silk making is basically over. Next, I would like to introduce the shoemaking industry in the palace.There is only one reason why there are so many craftsmen in the palace, and that is to take care of Lafayette.Although it is said that the shoes of many high-ranking women in the palace are made by professionals, the shoes of the Queen Mother are not so easily made by one or two people. Below we will focus on the phoenix shoes worn by the Queen Mother.

The queen mother's phoenix shoes are quite different from ordinary people's shoes, and there are many things involved.Not to mention anything else, the management of these phoenix shoes alone requires a special palace and some special personnel.In the palace, there are two eunuchs who are in charge of managing the phoenix shoes. They don't do anything, they only have one task from morning till night, and that is to take care of these phoenix shoes carefully.Don't think that this is an easy task. It takes a lot of energy to do this job well. They never slack off, as if they are taking care of treasures.In fact, the queen mother's phoenix shoes can indeed be regarded as valuables, because each phoenix shoe is inlaid with valuable jewels or emeralds, which are definitely not ordinary things.Inside the palace where these shoes are kept, there are numbered small boxes everywhere, and each small box contains a pair of phoenix shoes, and the number is pasted on the outside of the box.The eunuch in charge of managing these phoenix shoes held a thick book, which was also numbered in sequence, and the style, color and pattern of the pair of phoenix shoes were written under each number.A copy of this book was also copied, and it was usually deposited in the hands of a female official.If one day the queen mother wants to change a pair of phoenix shoes, the female official will present the book and let the queen mother choose slowly.When the queen mother saw her favorite phoenix shoes, she only needed to say the number, and someone would immediately fetch the shoes.Although this management method is old, it is still scientific when I think about it now.

The eunuchs responsible for guarding the phoenix shoes are not counted among the technicians, they are just ordinary deacons in the palace.There are other people who are actually in charge of sewing the phoenix shoes, and as usual, they are also a group of girls. These girls, like those who are in charge of making silk, cannot be counted among the ranks of palace maids.Unlike the girls who made silk, they could not choose to go out to marry, because the jobs they were engaged in were not replaceable by ordinary people, and the queen mother absolutely wanted them, so their youth was buried.At that time, there were eight girls who were in charge of sewing the phoenix shoes. In addition, there were two old girls in their 50s who were responsible for guarding and teaching the eight girls.These two old craftsmen in their 50s have been in the palace for decades, and they are favored by the Queen Mother. They also know the Queen Mother's requirements in detail, so the Queen Mother is even more reluctant to let them go. He is going to die of old age in the palace.Although those girls have buried their youth, their labor is not heavy, and in my opinion it is very interesting.

If you want to make a good pair of phoenix shoes, you must first learn to make samples.Proofing is to draw the general outline of the phoenix shoes on the cardboard in advance. This kind of work is not very laborious for girls from ordinary families, but it is different in the palace. Those girls have to spend a lot of money. It takes a lot of energy to do a good job.Their proofing is very detailed, and no mistakes are allowed. After the drawing is completed, it is necessary to use a very thin line to cross the boundaries on the paper. This is a delicate job, and it cannot be done quickly anyway.The most tiring part of this work is the eyes. Because the palace is too high, the light inside is not enough, and the girls don’t pay much attention to it. Generally, after two or three years, they have to wear a pair of glasses. This is where I regret the most.

The Empress Dowager is not as interested in the shoe-making process as silkworm rearing, but this does not mean that the Empress Dowager does not care about shoe-making. On average, she always goes to watch the shoe-making once or twice a month.Every time the queen mother said she wanted to go, before she left the throne, an eunuch rushed out to inform the shoemakers, telling them to clean up the house and start working, waiting for the queen mother to arrive.To some extent, this is also a kind of cheating, but the Queen Mother doesn't think so, but she thinks it's very appropriate to do so.Because of this, every time the queen mother looked at some false illusions, the queen mother indulged in this false illusion and was complacent, dreaming of her own imperial dream.The shoemaking place also occupies a large courtyard, including a main hall and two side halls. As usual, the main hall is the place for work, while the side halls are reserved for rest at night.Since the courtyard is under a large platform, the light is not very good, but the environment is very quiet.When working, the two leading old girls kept walking around, and immediately corrected when they saw something wrong, and sometimes they even helped to correct mistakes by themselves.The four eyes of these two people were always staring at the hands of the eight girls, lest they make mistakes, and they seemed very solemn.These are all what I saw when I followed the Queen Mother to inspect. I don't know if these people will still be so serious after we leave.

(End of this chapter)