Cixi's true photo in the American Museum, revealing her true face
In the long history of China, although the status of women is relatively low, due to the large population base and long history, there are still many dynasties in which women hold great power.
Among them, the most representative is the first generation of empress Wu Zetian. However, many of these women who did not claim their own emperor actually held supreme power, making the ostensible emperor their puppet.
Jia Nanfeng is one of the representatives, she was the empress of the Western Jin Dynasty, when Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty was born stupid and could not handle the government. Jia Nanfeng took the opportunity to use the emperor's mouth to seek her own benefits, she killed the ministers who opposed her, arranged for her family members to hold important positions, and controlled the government.
Jia Nanfeng's fate was tragic, but not all women involved in politics did not get a good death. Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty even surpassed Jia Nanfeng in power, but Cixi's true appearance has always been a mystery.
It wasn't until the American Museum's collection of Cixi **was ** that she was known to the world.
When the clan was slaughtered by Nurhachi's troops, he left a curse - the Aixinjue Luo clan would be destroyed by the Yehenala women. Therefore, Cixi's status was regarded as ominous, and she was not eligible to enter the palace.
However, this curse is very old, so it can be accommodated through bribery. With the help of money, Cixi successfully entered the palace. Because she has an orchid character in her name, she was named Lan Guiren.
Emperor Xianfeng at that time quickly fell in love with Cixi because of her outstanding looks and wit, which laid the foundation for her later power. However, Cixi understood that favor was only temporary, and giving birth to a dragon son was an important guarantee.
After unremitting efforts, she finally conceived the emperor's child and gave birth to a boy. The boy became the only son of Emperor Xianfeng, which naturally made the emperor ecstatic.
Cixi was thus made a concubine, and her son became the only candidate for the next emperor. Even if Emperor Xianfeng died, Cixi's status would not be affected, but would go to the next level.
With a child of his own, Emperor Xianfeng's trust in Cixi deepened. Because he found that Cixi's handwriting was very good, he occasionally dictated it and asked Cixi to write and review it.
There were many twists and turns in the review, and Cixi began to have her own political opinions. After several conversations, Emperor Xianfeng found that Cixi's level was very high, so he asked her to make the decision on his behalf, and completely handed over the work of reviewing the recitals to her.
As a result, Cixi completely took over the work of reviewing and revising, and her political position became more and more important. It can be said that giving birth to the crown prince was the beginning of her stable position, and the criticism was the starting point for her to get involved in politics.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, China had fallen into a situation that was difficult to reverse. Even if there is a virtuous emperor, it is difficult to easily reverse the situation, not to mention that Emperor Xianfeng is a person who is content with pleasure.
However, at this time, the Western countries were in a period of prosperity due to the impact of the Industrial Revolution. The invaders, represented by Britain and France, coveted China's fertile land.
Soon after, the Anglo-French army launched a war for a random reason, and the Qing army was defeated all the way, and even Emperor Xianfeng had to flee to the summer resort with Cixi and others.
Xianfeng, who was already in poor health, coupled with the bumps in the journey, was terminally ill after arriving in Chengde, and passed away soon after. In fact, before Xianfeng's death, Cixi's power in the imperial court was already quite strong, and even aroused the vigilance of many traditional nobles.
Before Xianfeng died, they proposed to get rid of Cixi to avoid the possibility of women causing trouble in the government in the future.
When Emperor Xianfeng died, Emperor Tongzhi ascended the throne, and after that, the Empress Dowager Cixi became the real person in charge behind the emperor.
However, this touched the interests of the minister, and although Emperor Xianfeng had vetoed the proposal to kill Cixi, the idea persisted. Cixi knew this, and decided to strike first, and she formed an alliance with the new strength of Yi and other nobles, and in turn liquidated the eight ministers who took care of their lives.
Xinyou's change"In a coup d'état triggered by a struggle for power, Cixi and Yixun succeeded in getting rid of the old aristocracy and their henchmen, and eliminated most of the opposition in the imperial court.
From then on, Cixi was in complete control of the Qing court, and neither the emperor nor other ministers dared to challenge her rule easily. In the early years of Cixi's reign, she did make some positive reforms, learned the lessons of the invasion of Western powers, and began reforms to modernize her military.
However, as she grew older and her power became stronger, Cixi's aggressiveness gradually wore out and she became extravagant and conservative. Not only did she stop her own reforms, but she also strongly opposed the ideas of others.
This unsolvable cycle of "dragon slayers eventually turning into evil dragons" may be unavoidable. After Guangxu ascended the throne, Cixi tried to control him as she did with Tongzhi, but was met with his resolute resistance.
Although Guangxu's reform ended in failure, Guangxu died in deep grief. However, due to the exhaustion of the coup, Cixi also died soon after.
It was only after Cixi's death that people dared to openly discuss her life, and many were curious about how such an elderly woman could control the emperor, and even the entire empire.
From the ** preserved in the American Museum, we can get a glimpse of the state of Cixi's later years. She is gorgeously dressed and has an elegant temperament, although she is over the age of six, she is still fair-skinned, and her sharp eyes highlight her image as a person in a high position.
At that time, although Cixi was a woman, her kingly spirit was obvious, and perhaps this was an important reason why she was able to get to this point. Interestingly, Yehenara's prophecy seems to have come true, and the Empress Dowager Cixi really became the last person to end the Manchu regime.
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