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In the long history of the Qing Dynasty, the Eastern Empress Dowager Ci'an and the Western Empress Dowager Cixi were listed as the empress dowagers of the two palaces, with absolute authority and influence, and the Empress Dowager Ci'an, who was born in the Niu Hulu clan, faintly suppressed the Empress Dowager Cixi. Ci'an and Cixi listened to the government twice, and were the de facto rulers of the Qing Dynasty in the Tongzhi Dynasty and the early years of Guangxu.
In March of the seventh year of Guangxu (that is, April 1881 AD), Cixi said that he was sick and rested, and Ci'an temporarily took charge of the government alone, in the face of complicated government affairs, Ci'an was under great pressure, and accidentally felt cold, unexpectedly, his condition suddenly deteriorated and passed away in just 12 hours, this sudden change was unbelievable. Therefore, the cause of Ci'an's death became a major mystery for the Qing court.
Legend has it that Emperor Xianfeng had long recognized Cixi's ambitions, and had left Ci'an a secret edict, authorizing her to execute Cixi if necessary to stabilize the dynasty. However, Ci'an destroyed the edict after being deceived by Cixi, which was undoubtedly an important means of weakening her against Cixi. Shortly thereafter, Cixi poisoned Ci'an.
As for the real reason for the sudden death of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, there are still different opinions. In addition to speculation of poisoning, there are also claims of suicide and natural death. There is a theory that Ci'an committed suicide by swallowing a snuffbox out of anger because he could not tolerate Cixi's greed and interference. The "Grand View of the History of the Qing Dynasty" puts forward another view, that is, Cixi ordered the imperial physician to give Ci'an the wrong medicine, which led to her death. However, the lack of conclusive evidence for these claims has made the cause of the death of the Empress Dowager Ci'an forever shrouded in the fog of history, and if the Empress Dowager Ci'an had not died prematurely, with her style of acting, the last years of the Qing Dynasty would have been a different situation.