Nellie Yu Roung Ling

Nellie Yu Roung Ling was a Chinese dancer and lady-in-waiting for Empress Dowager Cixi. She was born in 1882 in Tianjin, Qing Empire, to a Chinese father and a Chinese-American mother. She was the younger sister of Lizzie Yu Der Ling, who also served as a lady-in-waiting and wrote memoirs about the imperial court. Nellie received a Western education and was fluent in English, French, and Japanese. She accompanied her father, Yu Keng, who was a diplomat, to Japan and France. She developed a passion for dance and performed in various occasions, such as the Paris Exposition of 1900 and the coronation of King Edward VII of England. She was given the title of "commandery princess" by Empress Dowager Cixi, who admired her talent and beauty. She married General Dan Pao Tchao, who was a military leader and a reformist. She also wrote a historical novella about the Fragrant Concubine, a Uyghur woman who became a consort of Emperor Qianlong. She died in 1973 at the age of 91 in Beijing. She is considered "the first modern dancer of China" and a pioneer of cultural exchange between China and the West.