Photos

I am fascinated by photography. Maybe it is the way is which a split second is captured and nuances which might be missed by the human eye, are frozen on paper (or the electronic equivalent of papyrus sheets).

This morning I stumbled across this picture of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Traditionally, as I understand it, Chinese women did not have a lot of scope to advance as they were, like the ancient Roman women subject to a fierce patriarchal system. However, Cixi managed to become one of the most powerful women in China, ruling first through her son and after his death, through her nephew. Interesting that there were in history so many powerful women "behind the throne." 

This picture is utterly fascinating. She looks like a slip of a girl but her eyes speak of determination and ambition.

(This picture was posted on http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-rare-photographs-19th-century-chinese-women?image=10. There are several other fascinating photos on the site.)