Princess Der Ling

"Princess" Der Ling, also known as Elisabeth Antoinette White was a Hanjun bannerwoman, the daughter of Yü Keng and Louisa Pearson, the half-Chinese daughter of a Boston merchant working in Shanghai. Although not a member of the Qing royal family, Der Ling was given the title of Princess while serving as the first lady-in-waiting for Empress Dowager Cixi. She was a writer of several memoirs, books, and magazine articles. 

  
Der Ling's father Yü Keng was a member of the Hanjun Plain White Banner Corps (正白旗), and according to his daughter he was a Lord. This is of some doubt. After serving as Chinese minister to Japan, he was appointed minister to the French Third Republic for four years in 1899. He was known for his progressive, reformist views; for his determination to educate his children, including the girls, in western schools, which was highly unusual in their generation; and for his unvarying support of the Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1905, Yü Keng died in Shanghai. Yü Keng's story is told in the movie Dai noi kwan ying. According to Der Ling's biographer, Der Ling's mother had an American father and a Chinese mother. However, in the book, whatever her background, she is repeatedly referred to by other people as a Manchu. 

Yü Keng's daughters Der Ling and Rong Ling (1889–1973, the future Madame Dan Paochao of Beijing) received a western education, learning French and English, and studying dance in Paris with Isadora Duncan. 

Upon their return to China, Der Ling became the first lady-in-waiting to the Empress Dowager Cixi, as well as interpreting for her when she received foreign visitors. Der Ling stayed at court until March 1905. In 1907, Der Ling married Thaddeus C. White, an American. Der Ling had a brother, Xunling (ca. 1880–1943), who studied photography in France and later took the only photographs of Empress Dowager Cixi still in existence. 

Using the title of Princess, which would create controversy for her in both China and the United States in the future, Der Ling wrote of her experiences in court in her memoir Two Years in the Forbidden City, which was published in 1911. She states in her book that the status of Princess, which the Empress Dowager had given her, was valid only within the palace. As the Guangxu Emperor, who was under a form of house arrest, never confirmed the title, it was not valid in the outside world. Two Years provides unique insights into life at the Manchu court and the character of the Empress Dowager, a world that ended abruptly with the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Manchu or Qing dynasty. Der Ling continued to write and published seven more books. 

Der Ling was not a member of the Qing royal family. Although Der Ling claimed to be an ethnic Manchu, her father Yü Keng was actually a Han Chinese Bannerman and not part of the ethnic Manchu Banners. Her father was not royal but was a bannerman, just as Der Ling claimed she was a Manchu while she was actually a Chinese Bannerwoman. 

Der Ling died in Berkeley, California, as a result of being struck by a car while crossing an intersection. She had recently taught Chinese at University of California, Berkeley.