2-995-884 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Hien-Fou, the Emperor of China, 1860. Portrait of Xianfeng Emperor, with views of '...Western Gate Peking; The Bridge of Nanking...His appearance is altogether commanding, and he devotes considerable attention to gymnastic exercises...His complexion is, perhaps, darker than that of his countrymen in general; and his noble forehead, thick arched eyebrows, and piercing eyes, give him an appearance of great distinction, which is by no means diminished by the unusual thinness of his lips, although the square and high cheekbone at once mark the descendant of the pure Tartar race...Completely violating the conservatism of the Chinese notions, of female beauty (always supposed to consist in feet small to deformity and long, slender waists), Hien-Fou formed a matrimonial alliance with the daughter of a Mongol chief - a lady remarkable alike for her physical accomplishments and the unchecked development of the means of locomotion. The Court soon became composed of women of the same race, who have entirely superseded those poor crippled beauties who formerly held sway there, and now have to retire with jealousy before a band of robust Amazons, whose amusements of riding, hunting, shooting, and even footraces, are shared by the Emperor himself'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.