A direct descendant of the imperial Manchu Yehonala clan, Empress Longyu was the niece of Cixi (1835-1908), the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty. She was personally selected by Cixi to be the wife of the Guangxu emperor (1871-1908). Like Cixi, Empress Longyu could paint and write reasonably well and often gave away her works as gifts to foreign diplomats. This piece of calligraphy may or may not have been actually written by Empress Longyu, as the practice of employing court artists to write or paint in the imperial family’s stead is fairly common and acceptable.
