Is this the face of Beijing’s oldest sexpat?

Life in Beijing offers temptations galore for many young expats, not least of which is its sizeable and hormonally charged gene pool. But far be it from a new phenomenon, it seems that foreigners have been getting it on (and off) in the Capital since well before the advent of Sanlitun bars, online personals and “language partners.”

The Telegraph reports on Decadence Mandchoue, a newly published memoir (Earnshaw Books, edited by Tales of Old Peking author Derek Sandhaus and translated by Wang Xiaoge) by the aptly named turn-of-the-20th-century British sinologist Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse that paints a most decadent portrait of the Qing imperial court:

“Among Backhouse's more outrageous claims is that he conducted a six-year sexual liaison with the Empress Dowager Cixi which he relates in graphic detail, telling how he was ushered into the 69-year-old's bedchamber and ordered to perform a variety of sexual services for her.”

Critics have called into question many of Backhouse’s claims (including his alleged affair with Cixi), but few doubt that his accounts were too far removed from the sordid reality of the decaying Qing dynasty, which apparently had a bit of mixed record when it came to legislating sexual morality.

Editor Derek Sandhaus is scheduled to give a talk about the book down in Shanghai on April 23rd, with no word yet on a possible Beijing appearance. Watch this space for forthcoming details.