In this episode we will begin a 3-part series covering the life of Sir Edmund Trelawny Backhouse, 2nd Baronet. He lived from 1873 to 1944, spending more than half his life in Beijing.  Backhouse is best known for the various frauds he committed over the period of his life.  In his last year of life he was urged by Dr. Reinhard Hoeppli to commit his fantastic stories of his life to paper.  The result were two memoirs, "The Dead Past", about his days in Europe before 1898 and Décadence Mandchoue, Backhouse's racy and pornographic account of his years in China, mixing with all the Manchu royals and carrying on sexual relationships with the Empress Dowager Cixi and her eunuchs.  NOTE TO THIS EPISODE, THANKS TO MATT, A LOCAL TO COUNTY DURHAM I WISH TO CORRECT BACKHOUSE'S BIRTHPLACE TO DARLINGTON, COUNTY DURHAM (NOT RICHMOND,  IN NORTH YORKSHIRE).  SORRY! TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE baijiu 白酒 Chinese fiery clear alcoholic beverage, between 40-60% ABV Jing Shan 景善 a.k.a. Ching Shan, The court official whose diary Backhouse faked laowai 老外 foreigner Cixi 慈禧 The Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi Li Lianying 李蓮英 Grand Eunuch during the reign of the Dowager Empress Rong Lu 荣禄 Also known as Jung-lu, Cixi's most trusted official, a major power in China. Kang Youwei 康有为 Controversial figure in late 19th century China politics, closely associated with the Hundred Days of Reform under the Tongzhi Emperor. Daoguang 道光 The Daoguang Emperor Prince Chun 醇亲王 Father of the Guangxu Emperor, grandfather of Puyi, half brother of the Xianfeng emperor. Puyi 溥仪 The Last Emperor Liang Shiyi 梁士诒 Yuan Shikai's finance minister, a high-up guy in the Beiyang Government Xu Shichang 徐世昌 President of the ROC from 1918-1922...YUan Shikai's closest advisor and ally.