|
前几天，有一位“清朝格格”上了热搜。 唔，不是当年童年神剧中的大众女神…… 也没有陷入与阿哥王爷们的爱情纠葛…… 世纪君今天要说的这位“德龄公主”(Princess Der Ling) ，是确确实实存在于历史中的真实人物，而让她上热搜的，是她说的一段英语…… 在一段上世纪30年代的演讲中，德龄公主用英语讲述了相互理解在中美关系中的重要性。而她也曾是“老佛爷”慈禧太后的御前女官、翻译。 A video of Princess Der Ling’s English speech in 1930 has hit the headline on Chinese social media. Der Ling, the first lady-in-waiting to Empress Dowager Cixi as well as her interpreter in the late Qing Dynasty, talked about the importance of mutual understanding between China and the US. Netizens were impressed by her fluent English and advanced thinking of national relations. 围观德龄公主当年的全英文演讲请戳↓↓↓ 不少网友在看完视频后，都给德龄一口流利的英文跪了，纷纷表示自己的英语还不如一个清朝人↓↓↓ 除了流利的口语外，网友们也纷纷感叹她演讲中的超前意识↓↓↓ 看完很多网友不禁问了：这位“公主”究竟是何许人也？ “德龄公主”是满族正白旗汉军旗人，其父裕庚是清朝外交官，曾官至清廷总理衙门大臣，先后出使日本、法国。裕庚思想先进，推崇改革，而他的先进思想也体现在了对子女的教育上。 Princess Der Ling is a daughter of Lord Yu Keng, a member of the Manchu White Banner Corps, and one of the most advanced and progressive Chinese officials of his generation. Lord Yu Keng entered the army when very young. Later he was Minister to Japan, which post he quitted in 1898 to become President of the Tsung-li-yamen (Chinese Foreign Office). In 1899 he was appointed Minister to France, where he remained four years. The progressive spirit of Lord Yu Keng was shown in the education of his children. 而裕庚的妻子、德龄的母亲路易莎则是中美混血，说得一口流利的英文。跟随父母在海外生活的岁月里，德龄兄妹四人都受到了良好的教育，通晓多门语言，了解西方社交礼仪。
His wife, Louisa Pearson, was the daughter of a Han Chinese mother and an American businessman, and fluent in English. While overseas, their four children learned multiple languages and Western social graces. 其中，德龄和妹妹容龄还深受现代巴黎文化影响，师从法国著名女演员莎拉·伯恩哈特和美国著名舞蹈家伊莎多拉·邓肯学习表演和舞蹈。
（右为德龄） Their daughters Der Ling (Deling) and Rong Ling (Rongling, 1882–1973) in particular were immersed in modern Parisian culture, studying acting under Sarah Bernhardt and dance with Isadora Duncan. 1903年，处于内忧外患的清廷急需通晓外语的国际人才，于是裕庚一家被召回京城，裕庚的夫人路易莎以及女儿德龄和容龄入宫成为慈禧的翻译。
（左二为德龄） Unquestionably, this was a family capable of navigating the social complexities of visits by foreign diplomats and dignitaries. In early 1903, the family was summoned back to Beijing, and Louisa and her two daughters were brought to the New Summer Palace and retained as translators, advisors, and intermediaries. 而德龄的兄长勋龄则在东京和巴黎先后学习过摄影，后来成为了慈禧的御用摄影师。慈禧甚至还准许他在颐和园乐寿堂（慈禧寝宫）的院子里建了一间摄影室。
如今在史料和报纸上流传的不少照片，其实都出自勋龄之手↓↓↓
总之，感觉这一家人都是当时的人才啊…… 在慈禧身旁侍奉两年后，德龄因父亲病重，于1905年离宫前往上海照顾父亲。后来，她在1907年与美国人撒迪厄斯·怀特结婚。
1911年，她以“德龄公主”为笔名，出版了第一部“后宫·慈禧传”，哦不，《清宫二年记》(Two Years in the Forbidden City)。
Der Ling left the palace in March 1905 to be with her father, who died in Shanghai that year. She married an American named Thaddeus White in 1907. Shortly afterwards Der Ling styled herself a 'princess' and wrote a series of books about her experiences. Two Years in the Forbidden City is the first of these unique memoirs, which was published in 1911. 在书中，德龄回忆了自己两年的宫中生活，向世人展示了不为人知的清廷深闺以及慈禧太后的真实性格，展现了即将被革命所推翻的末代皇朝。
Der Ling provided unique insights into life at the Manchu court and the character of the Empress Dowager Empress, a world that ended abruptly with the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Manchu or Qing dynasty. 在她的笔下，慈禧并不如大众媒体报道中的那样残暴可怕，而是一个喜欢美丽事物，对过去也有着诸多遗憾的老人。
Der Ling reveals the history and true story behind the character of the Empress-Dowager Cixi - not the monster of depravity depicted in the popular press， but an aging woman who loved beautiful things and had many regrets about the past. 在《清宫二年记》中，有这样一段描写她和慈禧 “吃糖” 的趣事：
|
|
|
