The Mysterious Chinese Diplomat Who Stole the Show
As I’m working on my romantic fantasy novel series (Fae of the Crystal Palace) set around the Great Exhibition, I wanted to share some interesting stories I’ve uncovered during my research. Here is the story of a fascinating uninvited guest.
The Great Exhibition of 1851 was, in no uncertain terms, the biggest event of the year – the century perhaps – and its grand opening, like any great party, attracted at least one uninvited guest. This guest is captured in Henry Courtney Selous’s official portrait of the event: an enigmatic figure, dressed in magnificent Chinese robes, standing alongside Queen Victoria, the royal party and members of the peerage. By all appearances he was an official Chinese diplomat but he was in fact nothing of the sort.
Interestingly, no official Chinese delegation attended the opening (thanks to strained relations between Britain and China following the first Opium War), making his presence even more mystifying.
The story goes that at the grand opening, a Chinese man in splendid robes suddenly emerged from the crowd and prostrated himself before Queen Victoria. His grand entrance and dignified manner, coupled with his elaborate costume, gave organisers the impression that he was someone of significant note. Consequently, they placed him between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Wellington, cementing his presence in history through numerous portraits of the event.
Some historical accounts identify the man as Hee Sing (also referred to as Hesing or Mr. Xisheng), who happened to be present at the time, and was in fact a sailor or a performer from the Chinese junk, the Keying – the ship having arrived in England in 1848. The Keying was a popular attraction at the time enticing paying visitors with promises of an encounter with “a Mandarin of rank” and Chinese artists who may have been actors or simply members of the Chinese crew recruited to add some authenticity to the attraction.
The Chinese visitor’s identity and the reason for his attendance at the opening still remains a matter of debate among historians, but he is by all standards a fascinating figure. Hee Sing inspired my junk ship captain character, Harry Seng, in The Entangled.
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Image credit: The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851
Henry Courtney Selous. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
