The author recounts her months at the Chinese imperial court while painting an official portrait of the Empress Dowager, narrating portrait sittings and the logistics of working in throne rooms and pavilions. She describes the Empress's appearance and manner, the Emperor and princesses, attendants, adopted children, and court hierarchies; scenes include banquets, garden promenades, boating on the palace lake, theatrical performances and birthday festivities. Interwoven are observations of palaces, architecture, modes of travel, domestic customs, pets, and ceremonial protocol, together with practical challenges of representation and the social etiquette governing access and intimacy within the imperial household.
