Two women, a record of the Qing Dynasty. In the rapidly changing history of the Qing Dynasty, there are two women who have been particularly influential, one who laid the foundation of the Qing Dynasty and the other who led to the decline of the Qing Dynasty: the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Although one lived at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty and the other at the end of the Qing Dynasty, separated by a distant time and space, there is no intersection, but there are undeniable that there are many striking similarities between them.
Cixi and Xiaozhuang, who influenced the history of the Qing Dynasty and influenced their children and grandchildren, have similarities, but their descendants have completely different attitudes towards them. Xiaozhuang won the love and respect of his children and grandchildren, while Cixi was hated and spurned and became a joke of history.
Xiaozhuang was indifferent to fame and fortune all his life, selfless dedication, and was deeply loved by people; Cixi, on the other hand, was greedy for power all her life, refused to let go of power, and treated Emperor Guangxu as a puppet, and even his private life could not be decided by himself.
Emperor Guangxu had a strong ambition to strengthen the country, but he could not regain power from Cixi, so he could only be controlled by her and become her puppet. His favorite concubine was Emperor Keshun, also known as Concubine Zhen.
Her tragic fate is a cruel embodiment of Cixi's arbitrariness and control of power. Although Cixi and Xiaozhuang share many similarities, their life trajectories and destinies are very different.
With her wisdom and love, Xiaozhuang has won the love and respect of her children and grandchildren; And Cixi, with her greed and cruelty, became a historical disgrace.
Concubine Zhen was a quiet and lovely girl, good at calligraphy, chess, often accompanied the emperor, sharing food and laughter with the emperor, so she was deeply loved by Emperor Dezong.
However, Concubine Zhen failed to accompany Emperor Guangxu throughout her life. When the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, the Empress Dowager Cixi hurriedly fled to the west with the Guangxu Emperor, and before leaving, she ordered the eunuchs to throw Concubine Zhen into the well, which is now the famous Concubine Zhen Well in the Forbidden City.
However, when we look at the Zhenfei Well, we will find that the mouth of the well is so small that it can't even be stuffed into the head. So, how did Cixi push Concubine Zhen into the well?
It seems incomprehensible. As an emperor, Guangxu was supposed to enjoy glory and wealth, but this was not the case. For him, the status of emperor did not bring him glory, but brought endless depression.
Emperor Guangxu always had a dream to regain power from the Empress Dowager Cixi and make his subjects understand that the Qing Dynasty was not only the Empress Dowager, but also the real emperor.
Although Emperor Guangxu's dream was ambitious, the reality was cruel. Despite his numerous ideas, he could not escape the control of the Empress Dowager Cixi. As the monarch of the Qing Dynasty, he didn't even have the right to choose his beloved concubine, because everything had already been carefully arranged by Cixi.
Cixi's treatment of Guangxu was not bad, and she selected three queens and concubines for him: Empress Longyu, Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen. Empress Longyu was the daughter of Cixi's younger brother and was related to Guangxu.
Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen are the daughters of Manchuria's red flag, and they are the ideal candidates for Guangxu. At first, Guangxu was disgusted by these women arranged by Cixi, and he longed for freedom and dreamed of making his own choices.
However, as he spent more time together, his feelings for Concubine Zhen became deeper and deeper.
Concubine Zhen was not only kind-hearted and wise, but also understood Guangxu's thoughts, always supported him politically and advocated change, and even bravely inspired Guangxu to rebel against the power control of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
These actions of Concubine Zhen fully demonstrate that the beloved does not need to be afraid of any challenges. Therefore, Guangxu's various contributions to Concubine Zhen have not been forgotten, because the ears and eyes of the Empress Dowager Cixi are everywhere, which makes Cixi's dislike for Concubine Zhen increasing day by day, and even reaching the point of being eager to get rid of Concubine Zhen.
As the ruler of the harem, Cixi had to deal with Concubine Zhen easily. Once, Cixi found out that Concubine Zhen was wearing Guangxu's clothes, so she immediately beat Concubine Zhen.
Although Concubine Zhen was full of grievances, Guangxu was powerless to change. Eventually, the Empress Dowager Cixi surrendered power under the influence of Western powers and domestic pressure. The ecstatic Guangxu immediately launched the Wuxu Reform.
However, his good fortune did not last long. Cixi personally ended the reform and regained power. Since then, Guangxu has been placed under house arrest, and Concubine Zhen has been imprisoned in the small courtyard behind Jingqi Pavilion.
Guangxu lost all power and could only watch Concubine Zhen being imprisoned, but there was nothing he could do. This loving couple, who once envied others, is now only out of reach, which is regrettable.
In 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded, and the Qing were powerless to resist. Cixi planned to run away, but she couldn't go alone because she was afraid of leaving a power vacuum. So, she decided to take Guangxu with her to eliminate her worries.
Empress Dowager Cixi's dedication to Concubine Zhen made her choose to leave Concubine Zhen behind when she fled west. However, Jane's fear of death made her cry. Although Concubine Zhen was unwilling to accept death, the Empress Dowager Cixi had already made up her mind to let her die.
In the end, Concubine Zhen was pushed down the well by the chief eunuch, ending her young life. The truth is that the Empress Dowager Cixi salvaged and buried Concubine Zhen's body after returning to the palace, and the well has been preserved and is known as the "Concubine Zhen's Well".
Although the well where Concubine Zhen died is no longer there, its ruins are still preserved in the Forbidden City, and tourists can still see it in person. The narrowness of the mouth of the Zhenfei Well seen today, the answer is actually not difficult to find.
In fact, the current wellhead of Zhenfei's well is no longer the one where she died. But the well is still the original well, the ancients thought that this well was unlucky because people lost their lives, so a huge wellhead stone was placed at the mouth of the well.
This is why the wellhead of Zhenfei's well that we see now is the wellhead stone that was covered later, not the wellhead that pushed Zhenfei down at the beginning. And this kind of wellhead stone, the middle is drilled and an iron rod is fixed to prevent someone from accidentally falling into it next time.
This is the wellhead stone, a kind of hoop well stone to protect people's safety.
This well has survived the vicissitudes of life and is still well preserved, but the story behind it is embarrassing. The death of Concubine Zhen made Emperor Guangxu's heart like ashes, and his once lofty ambition was buried deep at the bottom of the well with the departure of Concubine Zhen.
Eight years later, Cixi died, the next day Emperor Guangxu died suddenly, and four years later, the Qing Dynasty collapsed, and all this became history. These stories can be explored from materials such as "Yingtai Weeping Blood", "Overview of the Forbidden City", and "Records of Palace Maids".