This eBook has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Two Years in the Forbidden City is the memoir by Princess Der Ling about her life in the service of Empress Dowager Cixi, where she was the First lady-in-waiting, as well as interpreter for her when she received foreign visitors. The book provides unique insights into life at the Manchu court and the character of the Empress, a world that ended abruptly with the 1911 revolution that overthrew the Manchu or Qing dynasty.