Hello, Miss Ancestor

Sitting at the computer, I stared at the photo of a young lady for a long time.

Where did she come from? How old was she in that photo? Had she married? Would she feel nervous about standing in front of a camera? I had so many questions and wanted to ask her face to face, but I couldn’t do so; for she was a woman who lived in Qing Dynasty.

Referring to the introduction, I knew that she was a Xiulu, that is to say, she would be chosen by emperor and might become an imperial concubine. Was she beautiful? I was not sure even though I had looked at her photo for nearly ten minutes. In this black-and-white photo which was taken more than one hundred year ago, everything is not clear including her face. I was only sure that she had no facial expression. So what was she look like in her real world? Maybe she had an angle’s face, smiled like the sunshine in May; maybe she had a killer body shape, born with the magic to attract all kinds of men; maybe she was an ordinary looking girl with a kind heart which could warm the people around her. Then, what is her future track? Was she smart enough to survive the fierce battle of the palace women, or she was totally failed and became a lonely woman who lived with tears? I knew nothing about this woman. She just stood in the photo silently, like a mystery which attracts me to discover and imagine.

Deeply and magically, the woman living a hundred year ago impressed me and urged me to unfold the cover of her marvelous history. Thus, I smiled and whispered, “ hello, Miss Ancestor!”