The Qing Dynasty, which went through the heyday of the three generations of Kang Yongqian's ancestors and grandchildren, finally failed to escape the general law of "being rich but not three generations". After the "prosperous Kangqian era", the Qing Dynasty quickly went into decline, and the family property was squandered by several ruined families, and finally went bankrupt.
The 268 years of feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty finally came to an end in the process from the entry of Shunzhi to the abdication of Puyi. A group of wives and concubines is one of the dregs of the feudal dynasty, especially the feudal ruler himself has a group of concubines, and how many women bury their good youth in the palace walls.
So, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the concubines who once lived in the Forbidden City went to ** again?
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the small number of concubines during the reign of Tongzhi and Guangxu Emperors, coupled with the poor physical condition of Emperor Puyi when he entered the Forbidden City as a minor, and the compromise between *** and Qing**, the number of concubines in the palace was not large when the Qing Dynasty fell.
According to statistics, there were only a few former Qing concubines who were still alive when the Qing Dynasty fell, including the three widows of the Tongzhi Emperor and the two imperial concubines of the Guangxu Emperor, as well as the first concubine Wanrong and Wenxiu married by the Puyi Emperor during the ** period.
Therefore, it can be said that there were no more concubines in the harem at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Wanrong, the legendary story of the last queen, the peerless style of the last queen, the last queen's scholarly temperament, the last queen's British and American education, the last queen's sweet love grace, the last queen's poetry, calligraphy and painting, the last queen's ** literacy grace, the last queen's learning ability, the last queen's wisdom and wisdom, the last queen's poverty life, the last queen's ** talent grace, the last queen's English communication grace, the last queen's English correspondence grace, The last queen's honor life grace, the last queen's free life grace, the last queen's luxury enjoyment, the last queen's eating habits, the last queen's leisure and entertainment grace, the last queen's car travel grace, the last queen's summer palace life, the last queen's beautiful life.
On October 22, 1924, Feng Yuxiang captured Beijing in the Second Zhifeng War. On November 5, he revised the "Conditions for Preferential Treatment of the Qing Family" and sent Lu Zhonglin to lead troops into the Forbidden City to force Pu Yi to leave the palace.
Leaving the huge cage of the Forbidden City, Wanrong was refreshed. She put on a fashionable cheongsam and high heels, and permed her hair, like a modern woman in the new era.
Her favorite thing is not only fashion dressing, but also likes to shop like a modern woman, often going to major department stores to buy things. Pu Yi was rich, and when he left, he took about 6,333 catties of silver ingots.
So Wanrong went on a shopping spree without scruples, and the fancy must be bought. Wen Xiu had a different view on this, she corrected her mentality and gave advice to Pu Yi.
However, in order to regain the throne, Pu Yi did not hesitate to collude with the Japanese and lure the wolf into the house. Wen Xiu bitterly persuaded him not to do this, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable, but Pu Yi didn't care about this, but began to dislike Wen Xiu, leaving her out in the cold, not even eating, shopping, and meeting guests, and even her share of the New Year's rewards.
Wen Xiu finally stood up and opened the prelude to the 'Sword Concubine Revolution'. On August 25, 1931, she wittily left Zhang Yuan, Puyi's Tianjin residence, and then hired three lawyers to file for divorce with the court.
She accused Pu Yi of violence against her and made it clear that Pu Yi had physical problems and that she had 'spent nine years together without getting lucky'. She asked the court to grant a divorce, take back her daily clothing and utensils, and demand alimony.
This incident caused a huge sensation, newspapers in Beijing and Tianjin reported on it, and many ordinary people also stood up to support Wenxiu and campaigned for her.
In the end, Pu Yi and Wen Xiu signed a divorce agreement, which included three articles: First, after the divorce, Pu Yi paid Wen Xiu 550,000 yuan for living expenses; the second is to allow Wen Xiu to take away her clothes and daily necessities; The third is that after Wenxiu returned to live in his mother's house in Beiping, he was not allowed to remarry and did not do anything that damaged Puyi's reputation.
After the divorce, Wenxiu returned to Beiping to teach Chinese language and painting at the private Sicun Primary and Secondary School. But soon after, her identity was revealed, and she had to quit her job and change her address to live in seclusion. "
Wenxiu lived a reclusive life, but she was still blackmailed, and her living expenses were almost exhausted, and she even sold her house and lived in a rented house, relying on pasting paper boxes, selling cigarettes, and working as a bricklayer to make a living.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, she found a job in a newspaper office and married a ** major. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Zhendong was assigned as a cleaner, and Wenxiu worked in a newspaper and died of myocardial infarction at the age of 44.
She had no children, and when she died, her husband was with her, and she was buried in a public cemetery in Beijing. Wanrong was sued for divorce, and Pu Yi put the blame on Wanrong, causing her to be disliked.
Wanrong can only relieve her stress by smoking opium and cheating. She became pregnant unexpectedly, and Pu Yi threw her baby into a boiler and burned it to death. Wanrong went insane because she missed her daughter, and her body gradually deteriorated, and she was finally paralyzed in bed.
In 1945, she died in a Soviet partisan prison with no bones.
During the puppet Manchukuo period, in addition to Wanrong and Wenxiu, Pu Yi also accepted Tan Yuling and Li Yuqin, two nobles, although they were more like palace mascots due to Pu Yi's physical reasons.
However, Lucy Tan was deeply favored by Pu Yi, but died of illness in 1942, which made Pu Yi suspect that the Japanese were murdering. During the Tokyo trial, Pu Yi appeared in court to testify and seek justice for his deceased wife.
Li Yuqin was selected into the harem after Tan Yuling's death, and her relationship with Pu Yi was weak. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she was able to divorce and return to Changchun as a librarian, married an engineer surnamed Huang, and lived happily after marriage.
She also donated the palace relics given by Pu Yi to the museum free of charge, which won praise from all walks of life. She died in Changchun in 2001 and lived happily ever after.
After being pardoned by the People's Republic of China, Pu Yi became a legal citizen and married Li Shuxian, which marked his becoming a legal citizen of the People's Republic of China and his new beginning.
Concubine Yu Hesheri, a native of Manchuria with the Blue Flag, one of the four concubines of the Tongzhi Emperor, was known for her beauty and wisdom. At the beginning, she was named Concubine Yu, and later promoted to Concubine Yu, after the death of Tongzhi, she was named Concubine Yu, after the death of Guangxu, she was honored as Emperor Kao Yu's Imperial Concubine, and Emperor Xuantong Puyi was awarded the title of Imperial Concubine of Jingyi.
Concubine Yu was ambitious and tried to be promoted to the empress dowager and gain custody of the young Puyi, but failed. Later, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Concubine Yu took refuge with Princess Gulun Rongshou, the daughter of Prince Gong Yixun, until her death in 1932 at the age of seventy-seven.
After the funeral, her coffin was temporarily stored in the Berlin Temple.
Xilin Jueluo was the concubine of the Tongzhi Emperor and was born in the family of the official eunuch with the blue flag in Manchuria. He entered the palace at the age of 16 and experienced the transformation of concubines, concubines, and concubines in just two years.
At the age of 18, Emperor Tongzhi died, and she became the concubine of Emperor Ronghui again. After the death of Emperor Tongzhi, she moved to live with Concubine Yu in Princess Rongshou's mansion. In 1933, she died at the age of 78, becoming the longest-lived imperial concubine of the late Qing Dynasty.
Her funeral was the last royal funeral in Beijing, with thousands of empty alleys, congested streets, and all roadside vendors closed for business, and had to send security teams, military police, and garrisons to maintain order.
Two years later, her body was raised together with the body of Concubine Yu and buried in the Huiling Concubine Garden of the Qing Dynasty in Zunhua, Hebei Province.
Tongzhi's concubine Arut is a native of the Mongolian Zhenglan Banner, one of the four concubines of the Tongzhi Emperor, and was born in a noble family of the Mongolian Zhenglan Banner. She has been pampered since she was a child, so although she is three years younger than her niece, Empress Xiao Zheyi, she is still made a concubine.
However, when Emperor Tongzhi was critically ill, her status was promoted and she became Concubine Xun. This was due to the fact that her prayers touched the Empress Dowager Cixi, who greatly appreciated her courage and loyalty.
However, although her status has been promoted, she has never been able to surpass her niece, Empress Hyo Cheol-yi. This is due to the noble birth of Empress Xiao Zheyi, and her father Chongqi was the only Mongolian champion in the history of the Qing Dynasty, which gave her a strong family background in the imperial palace.
Despite this, Empress Xiao Zheyi was suppressed by the Empress Dowager Cixi after the death of Emperor Tongzhi and only served as empress for two years. She was eventually driven mad by the Empress Dowager Cixi and lived only seventy-five days.
In contrast, although Concubine Xun's Arut clan was not so noble, she was more resolute and brave. Although she was not sheltered by her family, she always maintained her dignity and courage.
She proved her worth with her actions, and finally won the respect and recognition of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Since Emperor Guangxu succeeded to the throne, Concubine Xun's fortune began to rise, because she had a good relationship with the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Empress Dowager Cixi named her Concubine Xun on her sixtieth birthday.
After Guangxu's death, Emperor Puyi of Xuantong honored her as the imperial concubine of Huang Kaoxun and asked her to move to the Chuxiu Palace, where her niece Empress Xiao Zheyi lived during her lifetime. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Pu Yi respected her as the imperial concubine of Zhuang He.
On April 14, 1921, Concubine Xun died of illness at the age of 65 and was nicknamed "Imperial Concubine Gongsu". In December of the same year, her body was buried in the Huiling Concubine Garden in the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty.
Another empress of the Guangxu Emperor, Empress Xiaodingjing Yehenara, was the niece of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although Guangxu didn't like her, because she was the empress chosen by Cixi, Guangxu couldn't resist.
After Pu Yi succeeded to the throne, the Yehenara clan was revered as the Empress Dowager Longyu and was responsible for raising Pu Yi. On February 12, 1912, it was the Empress Dowager Longyu who took Pu Yi, who was only 6 years old, to announce her abdication, and signed the abdication edict on behalf of Pu Yi, ending the Qing Dynasty with her own hands.
Therefore, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, although the Empress Dowager Longyu still lived in the Forbidden City, she felt very guilty because the emperors of the Qing Dynasty would not be able to receive her service.
On February 22, 1913, a year after her abdication, the Empress Dowager Longyu died of depression at the age of 46. The former Qing Dynasty court posthumously named her Empress Xiaodingjing.
Concubine Jin, a person with a red flag in Manchuria, and her father is the right attendant of the household department. In the draft of the fourteenth year of Guangxu, she and her sister Concubine Zhen were selected into the palace at the same time and became the concubines of Emperor Guangxu.
They were married in January of the following year. Originally, Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen were named Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen respectively, Concubine Jin lived in Yonghe Palace in the East Sixth Palace, and Concubine Zhen lived in Jingren Palace in the East Sixth Palace.
Because Concubine Jin was not as beautiful and clever as her sister, she was not favored by Guangxu, and was snubbed like the queen Yehenara. Later, on the sixtieth birthday of the Empress Dowager Cixi, Concubine Jin was promoted to concubine.
Soon, because Concubine Zhen offended the Empress Dowager Cixi, she was demoted to a nobleman. However, the following year she was reinstated as a concubine. In 1900, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded the capital, the Empress Dowager Cixi fled with her palace dependents, and Concubine Jin also fled with the army, but Concubine Zhen was killed by the Empress Dowager Cixi before leaving on the grounds that it was "inconvenient to take away, and she was afraid of provoking right and wrong".
With her ingenuity and frugal lifestyle, Concubine Jin bought clothes for the Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Guangxu Yehenara clan, winning the appreciation of both and the silver gifts of Cixi, thus elevating her status.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, although she tried to restore Puyi, she was ultimately unsuccessful, so she began to enjoy life, writing, painting, tinkering with bonsai, and was also a gourmet, often buying sauce elbows from the Tianfu to eat.
The chefs in the small dining room of Yonghe Palace have excellent cooking skills, attracting the princes and ministers of the small court of the former Qing Dynasty to come and taste her dishes. Concubine Jin died of illness in Yonghe Palace in 1924 at the age of 51, and was buried in the Chongling Concubine Garden in Guangxu, known as the concubine of Emperor Wenjing.
Although the last concubines of the Qing Dynasty lived in a prosperous era of the last days, swept away by the torrent of the times, and entered a completely different world, most of them had a relatively happy ending and were able to die well.