《紫禁城的黄昏》，一书是帝师庄士教对清朝两百多年统治的“黄昏时期”的记述。作者将其在华经历放到当时中国政活文化的大背景中，从一个外国人的特殊视角：怀着对中国和中国人民的诚挚情感详细描述了“清廷”内部的明争暗斗、自己的随机应变、居中调解以及他与溥仪之间的深厚交谊。

As for that troublesome and half-witted young man who had shown her such base ingratitude for his elevation to the throne．1et him continue to reflect in solitude on his misdeeds．and be thankful to her for having spared his life when he so richly deserved to die．
Such may have been some of the thoughts that passed through the mind of the''Venerable Buddha”as she was bome in her sedan-chair day after day and week after week on her“tour of inspection''to those parts of the empire to which the foreign devils were least likely to follow her．She knew that some things would have to be mended and ended，that nothing would be again precisely as it had been before the rude awakening of 1 900，but she never seems to have realized，to the day of her death，what a narrow escape from destruction the dynasty had had in that year，and what a strenuous uphill task 1av before her and her successors if its prestige and power were to be restored．In spite of all the information which she undoubtedly possessed regarding the activities to revolutionary societies at home and abroad，and the anti-dynastic propaganda traceable to men like Sun Yat-sen，she was never told，and she had not the keen vision to see for herself，how dangerously near to the throne was creeping the spectre of revolution．
This is no place to describe the long and tedious negotiations between the allies and the Chinese government which resulted in the empressdowager’s return to Peking in 1 90 1 and in her resumption of power．The settlement arrived at was far from sarisfactory，whether it be viewed from the side of China or from that of the allies．A few of the ringleaders of the Boxer movement and perpetrators of anti-foreign outrages，such as governor Yn-Hsien，were executed．and some，like Kang-Yi，would have sufiered the same fate had they not died of disease or by their own hands．Hsn ’ung．Chung Ch’i and others were banished to Turkestan．Several members of the imperial clan(prince Chuang．pr
…… 北京是伟大祖国的首都，是名震中外的历史文化名城。‘她有着三千多年的建城史和八百多年的定都史，自元朝迄今，北京作为全国的政治、经济、文化**，积淀了丰厚的历史文化遗存，承载着中华文明的精华，是我国灿烂辉煌的历史文化的伟大象征。在这里，优美秀丽的风景名胜、巍峨厚重的宫殿城阙、布局齐整的街巷胡同、京腔京调的语言文化、五方杂厝的社会习俗，以及源远流长的神话传说，使这座千年古都显得神秘而博大。北京宛若一座盛藏着丰富古董的历史博物馆，堪称东方历史、文化、艺术的璀璨宝库，令人目不暇接、回味无穷。
自元代以来，世界各地的人们从四方八面来到北京，或旅行游览，或讲经传教，或从事经贸，或供职朝廷，北京开始成为世界人民向往的名都。元代的“汗八里”城即是一座享誉世界的国际性大都市，是中西文化交流的枢纽。元朝时有马可·波罗、孟特·科维诺、热拉德、安德鲁、帕烈格利诺、托马斯、彼得、马黎诺里等西方人士先后来到北京，他们大多将自己的经历写成游记，增进了欧洲人民对遥远的中国的了解。其中意大利人马可·波罗在元大都游历并被任命官职，回国后留下的《马可·波罗游记》详述了大都城的壮丽景象，令西方读者惊羡不已，成为近代西方对外殖民拓展的一大动力。明末清初一批西方传教士，如利玛窦、庞迪我、熊三拨、龙华民、邓玉涵、汤若望等，奉命来到北京，他们任职朝廷，融入京城士大夫群中，将西方的宗教、数学、天文学、建筑工艺带人中国，开西学传播之先河，形成历史上中西文化交流的**次高潮。

Preface
Translation of Preface
Introduction
Chapter I The Reform Movement of 1898
Chapter II The Collapse of the Reform Movement
Chapter III Reaction and the Boxer Movement．1898—1901
Chapter IV The Last Years of Kuang—Hsti．1901—1908
Chapter V The Empress·Dowager，T’zu一Hsi
Chapter VI The Revolution，1911
Chapter VII The“Articles of Favourable Treatment”
of the Manchu Imperial House
Chapter VIH The Ta Ch’ing and the Hung Hsien Emperors
Chapter IX Chang Hstin and the Restoration of 1917
Chapter X Autobiography of the Old Man of the Pinetreef Translated from the Chinese)
Chapter XI The Forbidden City．1919—1924
Chapter XII The Imperial Tutors
Chapter XIII The Manchu Court in Twilight
Chapter XIV The Imperial Household Department(Nei Wu Fu)
Chapter XV The Dragon Unfledged
Chapter XVI Monarchist Hopes and Dreams
Chapter XVII The Dragon Restless
Chapter XVlII The Dragon Flaps His Wings
Chapter XIX Dragon and Phoenix
Chapter XX Plots and Stratagems
Chapter XXI The Imperial Garden
Chapter XXII The Summer Palace
Chapter XXIII The Fifth of November
Chapter XXIV The Dragon Caged
Chapter XXV The Flight of the Dragon
Epilogue：the Dragon Goes Home
The Pedigree of the Manchu Emperors
……

《紫禁城的黄昏》与一般来华的西方_人士的著述不同，庄氏通过他的作品。表达了对中国文化的酷爱和中国应该保护儒家思，想传统以及与它相适应的社会结构的保守观点，对某些西劣人企图破变中国人生活方式的傲法提出“抗议”。这是庄氏特立独行之处。