Anonymous
Circa 1905
Family Portrait Album Presented by Dai Hongci to Stanford University President David Starr Jordan
Twelve album leaves, ink and color on paper
A Study of Dai Hongci (1853-1910)’s Family Portrait Album Presented to Stanford University President David Starr Jordan
This late Qing family portrait album is not merely a finely preserved example of painted portraiture from the final years of the Qing dynasty; it is also an important historical object that can be precisely connected to Chinese travel diaries, American newspaper accounts, diplomatic history, and the early cultural exchanges between China and the United States during the age of constitutional reform.
The album is bound in red covers and consists of twelve painted leaves. Its internal structure is highly deliberate. Four portraits depict Dai Hongci himself, appearing on leaves one, three, five, and nine. Six leaves portray his wife, appearing on leaves two, four, six, eight, ten, and twelve. Two leaves depict his son, appearing on leaves seven and eleven. The album therefore constructs a carefully ordered visual representation of an elite late Qing family, with Dai Hongci occupying the central role, his wife appearing most prominently, and the younger generation incorporated as symbols of familial continuity.
Most important is the inscription on the opening leaf:
“Presented for the appreciation of President Jordan. On the twentieth day of the twelfth month of the yiyisi year of the Guangxu reign, during a visit to Stanford University at Palo Alto. Dai Hongci.”
The “President Jordan” referred to here is David Starr Jordan, president of Stanford University, while “Pa’er Ya Lu Tu” is the contemporary Chinese phonetic rendering of Palo Alto.
This inscription corresponds exactly with the account recorded in Dai Hongci’s Diary of a Mission to Nine Countries (Chushi Jiuguo Riji; Hunan: Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1982, punctuated and edited by Chen Siyi).
The diary entry for the nineteenth day records:
“At eight in the evening, Consul Zhong and the leading Chinese merchants of the port hosted a banquet at the hotel. Including attendants and accompanying staff, more than one hundred Chinese and American officials and local dignitaries were present. During the banquet, toasts and congratulatory speeches were exchanged in turn. Speeches were delivered successively by Inspector Belte, Benjamin Ide Wheeler (B. I. Wheeler), President of the University of California, Berkeley; David Starr Jordan (D. S. Jordan), President of Stanford University; the prominent lawyer Irish; and the Chinese merchant representative Wu Panzhao.” (p. 69)
This passage demonstrates that before the formal Stanford visit itself, Jordan had already participated in the reception activities honoring Dai Hongci and Duanfang.
The diary entry for the twentieth day then records:
“On the twentieth day, the weather was overcast and rainy. In the morning, together with Duanfang and accompanying attendants, we traveled by train to Palo Alto to visit Stanford University. This university was regarded as the foremost among private institutions of higher learning in the West, and was spoken of alongside Berkeley. It enrolled several thousand male and female students.”
The diary further states:
“President Jordan graciously invited us to dine. Afterwards, he accompanied us to the university chapel, where statues of Jesus and his twelve apostles were displayed within. Though left unpainted in plain stone, they appeared remarkably lifelike. The walls were entirely decorated with paintings of brilliant colors, interspersed with mosaics composed of small pieces of Italian stone.” (pp. 69–70)
This passage is particularly significant because it records not only Jordan’s formal reception of the Chinese delegation, but also his personal accompaniment of Dai Hongci through the Stanford campus and Memorial Church. Dai’s vivid description of the statues of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, together with the richly colored murals and Italian mosaics, reveals that the Stanford visit was not a casual tour, but rather a carefully orchestrated cultural exchange conducted at the highest academic level.
The precise date of the album can also be established through cross-reference with American newspaper sources. The inscription records the date as the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month of the yiyisi year, corresponding to early 1906. Meanwhile, The Daily Morning Journal and Courier (New Haven, Connecticut), in its January 25, 1906 issue (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84020358/1906-01-25/ed-1/?sp=8&q=+tuan-fang+chinese+delegate+1905&r=-0.054,1.024,0.456,0.211,0), reported the Chinese delegation’s White House audience with President Theodore Roosevelt:
“Washington, Jan. 24.—China’s imperial commission, sent to the United States to study American conditions—social, educational and industrial—was received formally by President Roosevelt to-day at the White House.”
According to Dai Hongci’s diary, January 24, 1906 corresponded to the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month. Counting backward ten days establishes that the twentieth day of the twelfth month fell on January 14, 1906. The album can therefore be securely dated to January 14, 1906, the very day of Dai Hongci’s visit to Stanford University and his presentation of this album to President Jordan.
This dating is of extraordinary importance. Only ten days later, Dai Hongci would formally appear at the White House as an imperial commissioner appointed by the Guangxu Emperor, where he represented the Qing court before President Theodore Roosevelt and personally delivered the emperor’s letter.
The January 25, 1906 newspaper account describes Dai Hongci as:
“Tai Hung Chi, one of the most eminent scholars in the Chinese empire”
while the imperial letter itself identifies him as:
“Tai Hung Chi, junior vice-president to the board of revenue”
thus confirming his status as a senior Qing official of ministerial rank.
The newspaper further makes clear that this mission was not an ordinary diplomatic tour, but part of the Qing court’s constitutional and institutional investigations abroad. The imperial letter states:
“We have appointed Tai Hung Chi, junior vice-president to the board of revenue, and Tuan Fang, governor of the province of Hunan, to be commissioners, with instructions to proceed to the United States and study the political system of your country.”
In other words, Dai Hongci and Duanfang had been officially dispatched by the Guangxu Emperor to investigate the political, educational, social, and industrial systems of the United States in preparation for late Qing constitutional reform.
Most importantly, it was Dai Hongci himself who spoke on behalf of the Qing emperor before Roosevelt. The newspaper explicitly records:
“Tai Hung Chi addressed the president and presented an autograph letter from the emperor of China.”
Dai Hongci then delivered the following address:
“We have the honor to place in your excellency’s hands the letter intrusted to us for delivery by our august sovereign, his majesty, the emperor of China. We consider ourselves fortunate in that the discharge of this agreeable duty has given us the much appreciated opportunity of paying our respects to the greatest champion of peace, who is at the same time the staunchest friend of China. In thus executing our sovereign’s command we avail ourselves of the opportunity to respectfully offer to your excellency our heartiest wishes for your excellency’s continued health and happiness and for the peace and prosperity of the people of the United States.”
Roosevelt responded personally, praising both Chinese civilization and Sino-American friendship:
“In the name of my fellow countrymen I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the United States. Entertaining, as we do, feelings of sincere amity and highest regard for your great people, whose progress in invention and discovery stretches back through the centuries to eras which to the communities of the west are prehistoric, we, who stand among the younger nations, are glad of all opportunities to bring our peoples closer together and to diffuse among each a better knowledge of mutual interests tending to mutual advantages. The kindly sympathy of this country for the eastern empire has found many opportunities of expression in late years, and I trust that the new century will bring a larger realization of our common desire for peace, prosperity and advancement of China. I appreciate the friendly sentiments thus testified by your sovereign, to whom I ask you to make known my sincere wishes for his majesty’s health and welfare.”
The newspaper also documented the distinguished participants present at the White House reception:
“The commissioners, accompanied by Sir Chentung Liang Cheng, the Chinese minister; Charles Denby, chief clerk, Prof. Jeremiah W. Jenks of Cornell University, representing the state department and ten members of the commissioners’ suite, reached the White House about 2:30 p. m.”
It further observed that:
“The Chinese members of the party were attired in figured silks of elaborate pattern and gorgeous hues.”
The formal audience itself took place in the Blue Room:
“In the blue room Secretary Root formally presented the commissioners to President Roosevelt.”
Before the delegation departed, Roosevelt presented signed deluxe editions of his presidential papers:
“Before the commissioners left the White House, the president presented to them de luxe editions, suitably autographed, of his messages and papers as president.”
The delegation subsequently visited the Navy Department, the War Department, and the Naval Academy.
The album therefore exists at the intersection of multiple major historical narratives: late Qing constitutional reform, high-level Qing diplomatic missions to the United States, Stanford University history, Theodore Roosevelt-era Sino-American relations, and the intellectual exchanges between David Starr Jordan and Chinese reform officials. Additionally, Dai Hongci left an enduring historical mark upon the Chinese community of San Francisco. The four large characters “Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association” (“Zhonghua Huiguan” 843 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108) that still hang today in San Francisco Chinatown were personally written by Dai Hongci, further demonstrating his unique stature within the history of late Qing overseas Chinese society and early Sino-American cultural exchange.
Artistically, the album is equally remarkable. Although unsigned, it was unquestionably painted by a highly skilled late Qing portrait artist deeply familiar with Western pictorial methods. The portraits move decisively beyond the flatness traditionally associated with Chinese figure painting and instead absorb visual strategies derived from nineteenth-century export painting, pith-paper portraiture, and Western academic realism.
Most striking is the artist’s treatment of volume and facial modeling. Rather than relying solely upon outline drawing, the painter used layered shading to create convincing transitions across the forehead, nose bridge, cheeks, and jawline. Faces possess carefully modulated highlights and shadows; noses are illuminated, cheeks softly flushed, and subtle shadows appear beneath the eyes, around the beard, and below the chin. Such handling demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of Western-style chiaroscuro and three-dimensional representation.
The portraits of Dai Hongci himself are particularly vivid. In seated compositions, one arm extends naturally while robes drape convincingly over the chair, creating a strong sense of gravity and physical presence. Standing portraits reveal subtle bodily movement, with garments responding naturally to shifts in posture rather than appearing as rigid linear patterns.
The female portraits display Western influence even more clearly. The faces are no longer the entirely flat “powdered faces” typical of traditional Chinese beauty painting, but instead possess rounded volume and naturalistic softness. Slight turns of the head, lowered gazes, and subtle expressions give the portraits an immediacy reminiscent of early photographic portraiture.
At the same time, the artist retained the decorative richness associated with Qing court portraiture and export painting traditions. Official insignia, embroidered garments, jewelry, borders, and textile patterns are rendered in brilliant mineral pigments of blue, green, pink, orange, and purple, producing a highly ornamental visual effect.
Spatial construction is likewise noteworthy. The tiled floors are rendered with clear linear perspective, allowing the figures to occupy believable interior space rather than floating against blank backgrounds. The relationships among chairs, footrests, and architectural surfaces further demonstrate the artist’s command of Western spatial organization.
The album is therefore not merely a family portrait collection, but an important document of late Qing visual transformation. It preserves the clothing, status, and physical appearance of a high-ranking Qing official family while simultaneously revealing the growing influence of Western realism within late Qing urban portrait practice. More importantly, these portraits were carried across the Pacific and presented to Stanford University president David Starr Jordan during one of the most significant Qing diplomatic and constitutional missions to the United States. As such, the album transcends the category of a conventional family album and emerges instead as a rare historical object linking late Qing political history, diplomatic history, educational exchange, art history, and the broader history of Sino-American cultural encounter.
This ablum and Chinese Painting Album on Manchu Women's Hairstyle of 4107 come from the McKee family. These two albums, preserved within the McKee family, offer a personal visual record of a family whose story reflects the movement of wealth, culture, and social life from the East Coast to California in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
{Album size: for each page---H 10 x W 7 1/2 inches (26.5 cm x 20 cm), 12 pages}.
《戴鸿慈 (1853-1910) 赠 Stanford University 校长 David Starr Jordan 家庭肖像册研究》
这本晚清家庭肖像册，不仅是一件保存完整的清末彩绘人物册页，更是一件能够被中美双方文献、外交记录、美国报纸与戴鸿慈本人日记精确对应的重要历史实物。它既属于晚清高层官员家庭肖像传统的一部分，同时又深刻嵌入了清末预备立宪、赴美考察与中美高层交流的历史语境之中。
册页为红皮封面，共十二开。内容构成极有秩序，也明显经过主人有意识安排：其中戴鸿慈本人肖像四开，分别位于第一、三、五、九开；其夫人肖像六开，位于第二、四、六、八、十、十二开；其子肖像两开，位于第七与第十一开。整部册页因此形成一个完整而清晰的家族视觉结构：戴鸿慈本人居于核心，其夫人占据最大篇幅，而子女则作为家族延续被纳入其中。
更关键者，在于册页扉页题记：
“乔顿总理留玩，光绪乙巳十二月廿日游士丹佛大学帕儿亚路徒，戴鸿慈。”
这里的“乔顿总理”，即 Stanford University 校长 David Starr Jordan；“帕儿亚路徒”则是当时中文对于 Palo Alto 的音译。
而这一题记，与戴鸿慈《出使九国日记》（湖南：湖南人民出版社，1982年，陈四益校点）中的记载完全吻合。
日记十九日记载：
“晚八时，钟领事及本埠商董在栈设宴，参随而外，并两国官绅凡百十余人。席次互致颂词。按察司必特（Belte）、卜忌利大学总理威罅（B. I. Wheeler）、士丹佛大学总理乔顿（D. S. Jordan）及大律士埃列枢（Irish）、华商代表伍盘照以次演说。”（页69）
其中所提到的“卜忌利大学总理威罅”，即 University of California, Berkeley 校长 Benjamin Ide Wheeler；“士丹佛大学总理乔顿”则正是 Stanford University 校长 David Starr Jordan。由此可知，在正式访问 Stanford 之前，Jordan 已经参与了欢迎戴鸿慈与端方的宴会活动。
而二十日的日记则进一步记载：
“二十日，阴雨。早，与端方带参随等乘火车往帕儿亚路徒（Palo Alto）观士丹佛（Stanford）大学。此大学为西方私立学堂之冠，与卜恩利并称，男女学生凡数千人。”
又记：
“总理乔顿君招邀用饭。旋偕往校中礼拜堂，中列耶稣及其十二门徒石像，素不施采，奕奕如生。壁皆作画，斑烂五色，间以意大利文石小块嵌成云。”（页69–70）
这段文字极为重要，因为它不仅明确说明 Jordan 校长亲自设宴接待戴鸿慈等人，更记录了 Jordan 陪同其参观 Stanford 校园与 Memorial Church 的情景。戴鸿慈尤其详细描述了教堂内部“耶稣及其十二门徒石像”，以及彩色壁画与意大利镶嵌石装饰。由此可知，此次 Stanford 访问绝非普通参观，而是一场由校长亲自主持、具有高度礼遇性质的正式文化交流。
其时间甚至可以通过中美双方文献被精确推定。
册页题记中的“光绪乙巳十二月廿日”，属于农历纪年。乙巳年即1905年。而美国报纸《The Daily Morning Journal and Courier》（New Haven, Connecticut, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84020358/1906-01-25/ed-1/?sp=8&q=+tuan-fang+chinese+delegate+1905&r=-0.054,1.024,0.456,0.211,0）关于白宫会见 Theodore Roosevelt 总统的报道，则明确标注时间为1906年1月24日：
“Washington, Jan. 24.—China’s imperial commission, sent to the United States to study American conditions—social, educational and industrial—was received formally by President Roosevelt to-day at the White House.”
而根据戴鸿慈日记，这一天对应“十二月三十日”。由此向前倒推十日，则“十二月二十日”正对应公历1906年1月14日。也就是说，这本肖像册可以被精确确定为：1906年1月14日，戴鸿慈访问 Stanford University 期间赠予 Jordan 校长之物。
这一时间节点极具意义。因为就在仅仅十天之后，戴鸿慈便作为光绪皇帝正式任命的 imperial commissioner，于白宫会见美国总统 Theodore Roosevelt，并代表光绪皇帝递交国书。
1906年1月25日的《The Daily Morning Journal and Courier》对于此次外交活动进行了极详细报道，并清楚说明了戴鸿慈的身份与历史地位。报纸称其为：
“Tai Hung Chi, one of the most eminent scholars in the Chinese empire”
即“中华帝国最杰出的学者之一”。
同时，在光绪皇帝致 Roosevelt 的国书中，又明确称其为：
“Tai Hung Chi, junior vice-president to the board of revenue”
即清廷户部右侍郎级别高官。
而此次赴美考察，并非普通旅行，而是由光绪皇帝直接授权的制度与政治考察。国书中明确写道：
“We have appointed Tai Hung Chi, junior vice-president to the board of revenue, and Tuan Fang, governor of the province of Hunan, to be commissioners, with instructions to proceed to the United States and study the political system of your country.”
即：
“朕已任命戴鸿慈与湖南巡抚端方为考察专员，赴美国研究贵国政治制度。”
可见戴鸿慈与端方此行，乃代表清廷考察美国政治、教育、社会与工业制度，以为晚清改革与预备立宪提供参考。
更重要的是，在白宫会见中，真正代表光绪皇帝发言的人，正是戴鸿慈本人。美国报纸明确记载：
“Tai Hung Chi addressed the president and presented an autograph letter from the emperor of China.”
随后，戴鸿慈以中文向 Roosevelt 致辞：
“We have the honor to place in your excellency’s hands the letter intrusted to us for delivery by our august sovereign, his majesty, the emperor of China. We consider ourselves fortunate in that the discharge of this agreeable duty has given us the much appreciated opportunity of paying our respects to the greatest champion of peace, who is at the same time the staunchest friend of China. In thus executing our sovereign’s command we avail ourselves of the opportunity to respectfully offer to your excellency our heartiest wishes for your excellency’s continued health and happiness and for the peace and prosperity of the people of the United States.”
即：
“我们荣幸地将我国皇帝陛下托付我等呈递的国书，亲手奉于阁下。我们深感幸运，因为履行这一愉快职责，使我们获得了宝贵机会，得以向世界和平最伟大的维护者、同时也是中国最坚定朋友的人表达敬意。值此奉行我国皇帝命令之际，我们谨向阁下致以最诚挚的祝愿，祝阁下身体健康、幸福安乐，并祝美利坚合众国人民和平繁荣。”
而 Roosevelt 则亲自回应，并高度评价中国文明与中美关系：
“In the name of my fellow countrymen I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the United States. Entertaining, as we do, feelings of sincere amity and highest regard for your great people, whose progress in invention and discovery stretches back through the centuries to eras which to the communities of the west are prehistoric, we, who stand among the younger nations, are glad of all opportunities to bring our peoples closer together and to diffuse among each a better knowledge of mutual interests tending to mutual advantages. The kindly sympathy of this country for the eastern empire has found many opportunities of expression in late years, and I trust that the new century will bring a larger realization of our common desire for peace, prosperity and advancement of China. I appreciate the friendly sentiments thus testified by your sovereign, to whom I ask you to make known my sincere wishes for his majesty’s health and welfare.”
即：
“我谨代表我国人民，怀着极大愉悦欢迎诸位来到美国。我们对贵国伟大人民怀有真诚友谊与崇高敬意。贵国在发明与发现上的成就，可追溯至西方社会尚属史前时代的年代。作为较年轻的国家，我们乐于借一切机会拉近两国人民关系，并增进彼此对于共同利益的理解，以达互惠。近年来，本国对于东方帝国的友好情谊已有诸多体现，我相信新的世纪将进一步实现我们对于中国和平、繁荣与进步的共同愿望。我十分感谢贵国皇帝所表达的友好情感，并请诸位代我向皇帝陛下转达最诚挚的健康与安康祝愿。”
报纸对于整个会见过程亦有详细描述：
“The commissioners, accompanied by Sir Chentung Liang Cheng, the Chinese minister; Charles Denby, chief clerk, Prof. Jeremiah W. Jenks of Cornell University, representing the state department and ten members of the commissioners’ suite, reached the White House about 2:30 p. m.”
即戴鸿慈、端方等人在中国驻美公使梁诚、国务院代表 Jeremiah W. Jenks 等陪同下，于下午两点半抵达白宫。
又记：
“The Chinese members of the party were attired in figured silks of elaborate pattern and gorgeous hues.”
即中方成员皆身着华丽丝绸官服。
接见仪式则在白宫 Blue Room 举行：
“In the blue room Secretary Root formally presented the commissioners to President Roosevelt.”
会后，Roosevelt 又亲自赠送签名豪华版总统文集：
“Before the commissioners left the White House, the president presented to them de luxe editions, suitably autographed, of his messages and papers as president.”
随后，戴鸿慈等人又继续访问美国海军部、陆军部与海军学院。
因此，这本赠予 Jordan 校长的家庭肖像册，实际上正处于晚清预备立宪、清廷高层赴美考察、Stanford University 校史、Theodore Roosevelt 时期中美外交以及 David Starr Jordan 与中国近代改革交流等多重历史脉络的交汇点。此外，戴鸿慈在旧金山华人社会中亦留下重要历史痕迹。今日旧金山唐人街“中华会馆 ( 843 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108) ”悬挂的“中华会馆”四个大字，便为戴鸿慈亲笔所书，更可见其在晚清华人社会与中美交流历史中的特殊地位与影响力。
而从艺术角度而言，这本册页同样极为重要。虽然全册并未署画家姓名，但从整体水准来看，显然出自一位极优秀、并深受西洋绘画影响的晚清职业肖像画家之手。其艺术语言已经明显超越传统中国人物画的平面模式，而吸收了十九世纪以来外销画、通草纸肖像与西洋写实绘画中的观察方法。
其中最鲜明者，便是人物面部的立体感处理。画家并非仅以墨线勾勒五官，而是通过层层晕染塑造额头、鼻梁、脸颊与下颌的起伏。人物面部存在明确光影关系：鼻梁具有亮部，双颊带有柔和红晕，眼窝、胡须周围与下巴亦可见细微阴影变化。这种对于体积与光线的理解，已经属于典型西洋肖像画语言。
尤其戴鸿慈本人几幅肖像中，其神情、胡须与身体转折都极具真实感。坐像中，一手自然伸出，披风顺椅背下垂，形成明确重力感；侧身像则表现人物行走动态，长袍随身体产生自然褶皱，而非传统人物画中完全平面化的衣纹处理。
女性肖像中的西洋绘画影响更加明显。人物脸部不再是传统仕女画那种绝对平面的“粉脸”，而具有柔和圆润的体积感。她们或低首，或侧目，神情自然，甚至带有近代摄影肖像般的瞬间感。
与此同时，画家仍保留了中国宫廷肖像与外销画传统中的装饰性色彩。人物服饰极为华丽：补子、云纹、披肩、袖缘、裙襕与首饰均以鲜艳矿物色精细描绘。蓝、绿、粉、紫、橙等颜色交错使用，形成极强视觉效果。
空间感亦值得注意。画中地砖明显采用西洋焦点透视法，斜向延伸的地面线条使人物真正“站立”于空间之中，而非悬浮于空白背景之前。椅子、脚踏与地面之间的空间关系，也说明画家对于透视结构已有明确理解。
因此，这本册页实际上不仅仅是一组家庭肖像，而是晚清视觉文化转型的重要例证。它既保存了清末官宦家庭的真实服饰与身份形象，同时也反映出西洋写实绘画在晚清中国，尤其在外交、外销画与城市职业画家体系中的深入传播。更重要的是，这些肖像并非孤立存在，而是被带往美国、赠予 Stanford University 校长 David Starr Jordan，并直接嵌入清末高层赴美考察与中美外交历史之中。也正因此，这件作品已经远远超越普通家庭相册意义，而成为一件能够同时连接晚清政治史、外交史、教育史、艺术史与跨文化交流史的重要历史实物。
这本家庭肖像册及编号4107的《满洲妇女发式图册》均出自 McKee 家族旧藏。这两部长期保存于 McKee 家族中的图册，为我们提供了一份极为私人而珍贵的视觉记录，也反映了十九世纪至二十世纪初期间，美国财富、文化与社会生活由东海岸向加州转移的发展轨迹。
{册页尺寸：每页高 10 × 宽 7 1/2 英寸（26.5 × 20 厘米）， 12页}。
For condition report, please contact the Asian Art Department.
