Empress Dowager Cixi
| Her Imperial Majesty Empress Xiao Qin Xian | |
|---|---|
| Yehenala, the Ci Xi Dowager Empress of China | |
 | |
| Predecessor | Niuhuru, the Empress Xiao Quan Cheng |
| Successor | Alute, the Empress Xiao Zhe Yi |
General Information
The Ci Xi Dowager Empress (Chinese: 慈禧皇太后; pinyin: Cíxǐ Tàihòu; Wade–Giles: Tz'u-Hsi Huang T'ai-hou) (November 29 1835 – November 15 1908), popularly known in China as the West Dowager Empress (西太后), and officially known posthumously as Empress Xiao Qin Xian (孝钦显皇后), was a powerful and charismatic figure who was the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, ruling over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908. She once claimed to be the most powerful and richest sovereign on earth.
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. |
Cixi's origin
Most biographies of Cixi state that she was the daughter of a low-ranking Manchu official, Huizheng 惠征, who belonged to the Yehe Nara clan and the Bordered Blue Banner in the Eight Banners. He reportedly served in Shanxi province and then in Anhui province. Her mother, the principal wife of Huizheng, belonged to the Fucha 富察 clan. Received biographies are unable to decide where exactly Cixi was born. She is supposed to have spent most of her early life in Anhui (after a brief period in Shanxi), and then moved to Beijing at an unknown age between her third and her fifteenth birthday. According to biographers, her father was sacked from civil service in 1853 (Cixi was already a concubine inside the Forbidden City at that time), allegedly for not resisting the Taiping Rebellion in Anhui province and deserting his post. Some biographers even state that her father was beheaded for his desertion.
Road to power
In September 1851, Lady Yehenala volunteered at the Imperial Palace with other Manchu girls to undergo a selection process, in order to provide concubines for the new Xianfeng Emperor (咸丰帝). Under the supervision of Imperial Dowager Concubine Kang-Ci (康慈皇贵太妃), Yehenala was one of the few girls selected by Kang-Ci on that occasion.
Yehenala was first given the title "Xiu Nu" (秀女), meaning "Pleasant Lady", which was a preparative concubine. She was granted a job inside the Emperor's Imperial Summer Palace Complex (圆明园). She lived next to the Garden Boulevard (林荫大道), and her job was to clean the boulevard and take care of the flowers and plants beside the boulevard. Soon, she was granted the title "Lan Gui Ren" (兰贵人), meaning "Noble Orchid Person", which was concubine of the lowest rank. However, Yehenala took the opportunity to bribe several palace eunuchs close to the Xianfeng Emperor, and called them moral fathers. Her goal was that when the Emperor visited the Imperial Summer Palace Complex, he change his traditional routes and walk through the Garden Boulevard. One day, the plan worked. The eunuchs told Yehenala to get ready, because the Emperor was planning to visit the Imperial Summer Palace Complex soon. Also, the eunuchs told Yehenala that they were going to lead the Emperor past the Garden Boulevard.
On the morning of the Emperor's visit, Yehenala carefully decorated herself with elegant flowers and beautiful clothes. She cleared her throat, and hid behind a small artificial mountain. When she saw the Emperor's procession, she sang as skillfully and beautifully as she could. Yehenala was an excellent singer. Her ringing voice was graceful and charming, and the Emperor ordered her to come kneeling before him. Yehenala pretended that she was surprised and did not know that the Emperor was coming. When she raised her head, the Emperor was stunned at her beauty. On that day, Yehenala was granted the title Yi-Pin (懿嫔) (Concubine of the fourth rank). Soon, Lady Yehenala was pregnant and gave birth to a boy -- the only male heir the Emperor had throughout his life. On the day Yehenala gave birth to the male baby, she was elevated to Yi-Fei (懿妃) (Concubine of the third rank), and when her son healthily reached his birthday, Yehenala was elevated to Yi-Gui-Fei (懿贵妃) (meaning "Noble Imperial-Concubine Yi). Her status was only behind the Empress Consort (later known as Empress Dowager Ci'an).
Yehenala was highly intelligent. During the period when she was an imperial concubine, she had read a large number of books. She was quick at reading historical stories of the past, and possessed a superior memory. The portrait above shows Yehenala (Yi-Pin at the time) holding a book.
Enmity with Su Shun
Once, Emperor Xianfeng's most powerful minister Su Shun said to Yehenala: "You became His Majesty's most prestigious concubine because you gave him his only son. It was not because of your background, and nor was it because of your cultivation. You should have a clear understanding of what you really are." Su Shun and other ministers were long aware of Yehenala's ambition, because on several occasions, she helped Emperor Xianfeng to read over official papers when he was sick. Su Shun and other ministers urged Emperor Xianfeng to order Yehenala to commit suicide, and prevent future chaos. However, Xianfeng did not take their advice throughout the years.
In 1861, when the Franco-British army occupied Beijing, the imperial family was forced to flee to the city of Rehe. Su Shun, resentful of Yehenala's natures and ambition, planned to assassinate her on the way. However, Yehenala predicted that Su Shun would do so, and had her son ride with her in the same sedan chair. She then ordered heavy guards to surround and protect their sedan chair, in the name of protecting the nation's future heir. Su Shun's assassins got no opportunity to get near Yehenala's sedan throughout the journey, and did not succeed.
Death of the Xian Feng Emperor
Soon, under the command of Lord Elgin, the British and French soldiers burned the Emperor's exquisite Imperial Summer Palace Complex to the ground in retaliation of the murder of their foreign ambassador. As large as the forbidden city, the Old Summer Palace is considered the largest imperial garden and most valuable architecture of the world even today. It was built by China's top artisans in the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and was enormously expanded and perfected during the reigns of the next five emperors. It contained uncountable treasures of invaluable artistic, technological, historical and cultural importance. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Xianfeng vomited blood, and fell seriously ill.
On August 22, 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor died at the Rehe Palace in the City of Rehe (now Chengde). His heir, the son of Yehenala, was only 5 years old. On his deathbed, Emperor Xianfeng summoned his Empress and Yehenala (Concubine Yi), and gave each of them a stamp. He hoped that when his son ascended the throne, his Empress and Yehenala (Concubine Yi) would cooperate in harmony and, together, help the young emperor to grow and mature. Later, Emperor Xianfeng summoned eight of his most prestigious ministers, and named them as the "Eight Regent Ministers" to direct and support the future emperor. Upon the death of Emperor Xianfeng, his empress, aged 25, was made the Dowager Empress Ci'an (popularly known as the Eastern Dowager Empress because she lived in the Eastern Zhong-Cui Palace), and Yehenala, aged 27, was made the Dowager Empress Cixi (popularly known as the Western Dowager Empress because she lived inside the Western Chu-Xiu Palace).
Palace coup
Still at Rehe, the "Eight Regent Ministers", headed by Su Shun (肃顺), became the most powerful men in China. They did not like Cixi's interference in polical matters, and often disagreed with her at court audiences. Su Shun once said that: "Letting you two dowagers to read the daily political papers is already too much." Frequently, the ministers would burst into rages and shout in front of the two Dowager Empresses in protest. Once, the verbal battle between Cixi and the 8 ministers was so terrifying, the child emperor was so scared that he relieved himself on Ci'an's knees. This incident became famous, and was known as "Urinating the Phoenix Robe".
Soon, the Dowager Empress Ci'an was so angry that she refused to come to court audiences, leaving Cixi alone to deal with the eight regent ministers. Secretly, Cixi began collecting the support of talented ministers, soldiers, and men who were ignored or hated by the eight regent ministers. Among them is Prince Gong, who had great ambitions and was at that time excluded from the power circle. Secretly, Prince Gong would visit Cixi disguised as an old nanny, and discuss their strategies against the 8 regent ministers. Prince Gong successfully drew over the support of the military, and planned a palace coup.
A traditional Chinese regulation helped Cixi to succeed. This regulation stated that the widows and close relatives of a recently deceased emperor should come back to the Imperial Palace the earliest, if the Emperor died outside the capital. As Xianfeng's widow, Cixi, along with Ci'an, the young Tongzhi Emperor, and Prince Gong, came back from Rehe to Beijing within 5 days. Upon their arrival, Cixi, Ci'an, and Prince Gong summoned the ministers and soldiers who supported the two Dowager Empresses, and Cixi told the stories of Su Shun and the eight "Regent Ministers' unruly and bullying natures in tears. She publicly denounced the Eight Regent Ministers, and questioned their authority. Her stories were so moving, and all the people present were so enraged that they called Su Shun's people thieves of power, and swore to bring down the Eight Regent Ministers.
Soon, Duan Hua (端华), one of the Eight Regent Ministers, also arrived early. Upon seeing that Cixi was again summoning his enemies, he shouted at her. This behaviour confirmed what Cixi told the rest of the people, and the Duan-Hua was arrested on the spot.
The other seven regent ministers were hunted down and arrested one by one. Cixi and Prince Gong produced a document called the "Eight Guilts of Regent Ministers", including altering the late Emperor Xianfeng's wills, causing his death, and stealing power from the two Dowager Empresses. The most interesting arrest scene was that of Su Shun. Late in the night, Su Shun went to bed with two of his concubines. The soldiers kicked his door open and caught him right on the spot making love with his concubines. So, a ninth guilt was added: "Seeking pleasure during great mourning period". Realizing that only death awaited, Su Shun exclaimed: "I only regret that I hadn't managed that cheap bitch earlier! (referring to Cixi)" “悔不早治此婢”.
To show the world that she had high moral standards, Cixi only executed three of the eight regent ministers. She also relieved the pain Prince Gong had originally planned for them. Prince Gong had suggested that Su-Shun and others be executed by the most painful method called Ling-Chi (凌迟) (or "Death by 1000 cuts"), but Cixi decided that Su-Shun be beheaded, while the other two be given white silks to commit suicide themselves. Cixi feared that Prince Gong, having helped her to win and became very powerful himself, would become the "Second Su-Shun". This palace coup was later given an official name "Xin You Coup" (辛酉政变).
Relationship with the Dowager Empress Ci'an
During her co-regency with Dowager Empress Ci'an, Empress Cixi did most of the ordinary work and made most of the insignificant decisions. When confronted by something serious, Empress Cixi would rarely decide on her own without the consent from Ci'an. When Emperor Xianfeng was alive, Ci'an was his principal wife and Empress Consort while Cixi was a major concubine. Before the late emperor Xianfeng died, he gave his Empress Consort (Ci'an) a secret document, granting her the power to execute Cixi if she oversteps her boundary. Prince Gong told this to Cixi, and at times, Cixi often felt nervous and bounded. She dared not to have big conflicts with Ci'an, and most of the time, Cixi tolerated her actions and words.
Cixi had sought various ways of pleasing Ci'an and gaining her trust. For instance, Ci'an was a Buddhist, and kind in nature. Ci'an ate no meat, and thus Cixi ordered the palace cooks to produce delicious and exquisite dishes out of ordinary wild vegetables. When she presented these foods to Ci'an, Ci'an was so pleased and moved so that she could not stop laughing. At some point, Ci'an caught a cold. She swallowed many medicines produced by the imperial doctors, but still saw no signs of cure. Cixi seized this opportunity to grab Ci'an's heart. She read in a Chinese herb book that human flesh could cure colds effectively. Finally, Cixi decided to take a piece of flesh from her own arm, and boil it along with the medicines. As expected, Ci'an's illness was soon cured. When Ci'an came to visit her, Cixi gave Ci'an a mysterious smile. Ci'an asked her what she was thinking, and Cixi bursted into tears. Slowly, she removed her sleeve, and revealed the scar where she removed the piece of flesh. Sincerely, she told Ci'an that she would do anything for the health of Ci'an. She would not hesitate if it had required her to boil her eyes into medicines.
Deeply moved, Ci'an wept. She said that she does not understand why the late emperor Xianfeng had to be so vigilant toward a woman so loyal and kind. She went into her room, took out the secret document Xianfeng left her, and revealed it to Cixi. Frightened and pretending to be surprised, Cixi sweated all over her forehead. Then, Ci'an ordered her maid to have the document burnt in front of them, to demonstrate her trust over Cixi.
The East Dowager Empress Ci'an died suddenly in 1881, and the cause of her death is uncertain. Therefore, it is speculated that Ci'an was poisoned by Cixi.
Relationship with Empress Alute and Death of the Tong Zhi Emperor
In 1872, Cixi's son, Emperor Tong Zhi, was married. Under suggestion of Dowager Empress Ci'an and the decision of Emperor Tongzhi, the new empress was Lady Alute. Alute's grandfather, a brother of the late emperor Dao Guang, had been an enemy of Cixi during the Rehe Coup. From the beginning, the relationship between Cixi and Empress Alute was tense. Moreover, Empress Alute was unwilling to please Cixi and quite often irritated Cixi. For instance, Cixi liked Peking Opera with a few erotic lines. When watching these opera performances with Cixi, Empress Alute would turn her head away while the performers were flirting with one another. Cixi thus regarded Alute's behaviour as disrespectful.
After his marriage, Emperor Tongzhi clearly favoured Empress Alute, and ignored his four imperial concubines. They spent every night together, while the concubines spent weeks and months waiting for the Emperor. Cixi, who grew more and more angry about the unfair treatment of the Emperor on his wives, became very hostile to Alute. She warned Alute that an empress should allow an emperor to share his favour equally among his wives and not to monopolise him. She also told Alute that both Tongzhi and her were still young and they should spend more time studying the management of a country. When she still saw no signs of change in the attitude of Tongzhi, Cixi finally ordered the Emperor and the Empress to separate and to continue single-heartedly on their studies and preparation of becoming ruling sovereigns.
However, Emperor Tongzhi, who could no longer cope with his grievance and loneliness, grew more and more ill-tempered. He began to treat his servants badly and beat them for minor causes. Eventually, a palace eunuch secretly urged the Emperor to go out of the Forbidden City and enjoy himself in a prostitute house. Tongzhi agreed, and for several evenings, the Emperor disguised himself as a commoner, and secretly spent the nights in the prostitute house under the guidance of the eunuch.
Finally, Emperor Tongzhi caught Syphillis 花柳病 (STD). Red pimples grew all over his face and body. Cixi regarded this as a humiliating scandal and warned the imperial doctors to have their mouths sealed. The doctors produced a lie that the Emperor caught smallpox, and gave medicines and treatments according to smallpox. Within a few weeks, the Emperor died.
Within a hundred days of the death of Tongzhi Emperor, Cixi pushed all the blame of his death onto Alute. She ordered her food supply to be cut and Empress Alute was starved to death. Later, Cixi granted Alute the name Xiao Zhe Yi (Philosophical and Courageous), and announced to the public that Empress Alute commited suicide out of the love and memory of her husband.
Regency under the Guang Xu Emperor
After the death of Cixi's son, Emperor Tongzhi, Cixi violated the normal succession and had her 3-year-old nephew named the new heir. The new emperor was then named Emperor Guangxu, meaning "Glorious Succession". Until age nineteen, Guangxu was "aided" in his rule by Cixi. Even after he began formal rule, Cixi continued to influence his decisions and actions, despite residing for a period of time at the Imperial Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) which she had ordered Guangxu's father, the Prince Chun, to construct, with the official intention not to intervene in politics.
After taking power, Guangxu was obviously more reform-minded than the conservative-leaning Cixi. He believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies like Japan, China would become more powerful politically and economically. In June 1898, Guangxu began the Hundred Days' Reform, aimed at a series of sweeping changes politically, legally, and socially. For a brief time, after the supposed retirement of Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu issued edicts for a massive number of far-reaching modernizing reforms with the help of more progressive Qing mandarins like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.
Changes ranged from infrastructure to industry and the civil examination system. Guangxu issued decrees allowing the establishment of a modern university in Beijing; the construction of the Lu-Han railway; and a system of budgets similar to that of the west. The initial goal was to make China a modern, constitutional empire, but still within the traditional framework, as with Japan's Meiji Restoration.
The reforms, however, were not only too sudden for a China still under significant neo-Confucian influence and other elements of traditional culture, but also came into conflict with Cixi, who held real power. Many officials deemed useless and dismissed by Guangxu were begging Cixi for help. Although Cixi did nothing to stop the Hundred Day's Reform from taking place, she knew the only way to secure her power base was to stage a military coup. Guangxu was made aware of such a plan, and asked Kang Youwei and his reformist allies to think of a way to rescue him. They decided to use the help of Yuan Shikai, who had a very modernized army, albeit only 6,000-strong. Cixi relied on Ronglu's army in Tianjin.
Yuan Shikai, however, was beginning to show his skill in politics. The day before the staged coup was supposed to take place, Yuan chose his best political route and revealed all the plans to Ronglu, exposing the Emperor's plans. This undoubtedly raised Cixi's trust in Yuan, who thereby became a lifetime enemy of Guangxu. In September 1898, Ronglu's troops took all positions surrounding the Forbidden City, and surrounded the Emperor when he was about to perform rituals. Guangxu was then taken to Ocean Terrace, a small palace on an island in the middle of a lake linked to the rest of the Forbidden City with only a controlled causeway. Cixi would follow with an edict dictating Guangxu's total disgrace and "not being fit to be Emperor". Guangxu's reign had effectively come to an end.
Cixi had Guangxu placed under house arrest in an environment of total isolation, to the point where even court Eunuchs were chosen to strategically serve this purpose. Although Cixi never forced Guangxu to abdicate, and his era had in name continued until 1908, Guangxu lost all honours, respect, power, and privileges given to the Emperor of the Great Qing other than its name. Most of his supporters were exiled, and some were executed in public by Cixi. Kang Youwei continued to work for a more progressive Qing Empire while in exile, remaining loyal to Guangxu and hoping to eventually restore him to power. Western governments, too, were in favour of Guangxu as the only power figure in China, replacing Cixi. A joint official document issued by western governments stated that only the name Guangxu was to be recognized as the legal authoritative figure, over all others. This only angered Cixi more.
There was dispute, for a period of time, over whether Guangxu should continue to reign, even if only in name, as Emperor, or simply be removed altogether. Most court officials seemed to agree with the latter choice, but loyal Manchus such as Ronglu pleaded otherwise.
In 1900, Cixi's support of the self-strengthening movement was again called into question when the Boxer Rebellion broke out in northern China. Eager to preserve traditional Chinese values, Cixi threw in her lot with the rebels, making an official announcement of her support for the movement. When the Westerners responded by dispatching the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Chinese military, badly underdeveloped due to Cixi's habit of filching military funds, was unable to prevent the technologically-advanced Allied army from marching on Peking and seizing the Forbidden City. Determined to prevent another Chinese rebellion, the Western powers inposed a humiliating treaty on China, and Cixi, with no military forces capable of protecting even her own palace, was forced to sign. The treaty demanded the presence of an international military force in China and the payment of £67 million (almost $333 million) in reparations.
Relationship with the Zhen Concubine
Lady Tatala was the favourite concubine of Emperor Guangxu. She entered the Forbidden City in 1888. Soon after that, she married the Emperor on February 25, 1889 and was granted the title of Zhen Fei (Pearl Concubine).
At the beginning, Cixi very much appreciated Concubine Zhen's talents, and hired China's top artisans to teach her painting and playing musical instruments. However, Concubine Zhen urged Emperor Guangxu to be "strong and independent", and encouraged his attempts to reform and learn foreign languages. It was also said that the Zhen Concubine liked photography, and invited European people into the Forbidden City to learn more about it. Cixi's niece, Empress Long Yu (隆裕皇后), whom Cixi chose to be the Empress Consort of Guangxu, was extremely detested and ignored by Guangxu. Empress Long Yu used to report Concubine Zhen's rebellious behaviours to Cixi, and at times exaggerated them. Cixi's vigilance towards Concubine Zhen grew. Zhen's association with foreign customs, in addition to her peculiar habit of dressing in men's clothes, inspired even more disdain from Cixi. Once, in response to her arrogant attitude, Cixi teased Concubine Zhen by calling her "Grandma Zhen" "珍奶奶". However, after her cooperation with Emperor Guangxu to stage a military coup attempting to force Cixi giving up her power, Concubine Zhen was imprisoned.
During the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900, the Imperial Court fled from the Forbidden City to Xi'an. Cixi ordered Concubine Zhen to be taken out of the prison and brought in front of her. Cixi said: "I originally planned to bring you along with us. But you are young and pretty, and are likely be raped by the foreign soldiers on the way. I trust you know what you should do." Realizing Cixi meant to order her commit suicide, Concubine Zhen begged the Dowager Empress Cixi to let the Emperor stay in Beijing to negotiate with the foreign powers. The Empress Dowager was infuriated with her, and ordered Zhen to be thrown in a well behind the Ning-Shiu Palace in the northeastern part of the Forbidden City.
Historical opinions
The traditional view is that Cixi was a devious despot who maintained a deathgrip on what little power she had until that power faded out completely. Three years after her death, the Qing dynasty was itself overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. However, some authors, such as Sterling Seagrave in his biography The Dragon Lady maintain a far more positive view of Cixi, arguing that she has been unfairly maligned and when seen more closely, her actions were reasonable responses to the difficulties that China faced.
Seagrave argues that most of the more sensational stories of Cixi's life can be traced to the boasting, self-important "Wild Fox" Kang Youwei and his cronies, who having never having met Cixi, concocted stories of plots and poisonings and passed them on to the Western press. Many other "details" of the life of Cixi are based on accounts by J.O.P. Bland and known forger and pornographer Edmund Backhouse. As life in the Forbidden City remained a mystery for most Westerners, these stories created by Kang and Backhouse (some up to 30 years after the supposed events) have been used by many historians of the last century to paint a misleading picture of Cixi. Seagrave paints Cixi as a woman stuck between the xenophobic Ironhats faction, made up of Manchu nobility wanting to maintain Manchu dominance and remove Western influences from China at all cost, and more moderate influences trying to cope with China's problems on a more realistic footing, such as Prince Gong in Cixi's earlier days. Cixi, Seagrave argues, did not crave power but simply acted to balance these influences and protect the Dynasty as best she could.
Another sympathetic account can be found in Anchee Min's historical novel Empress Orchid (2004). The China Central Television production Towards the Republic (走向共和) portrayed Cixi as a capable ruler, albeit not entirely positive -- for the first time in the history of Mainland Chinese television, although it also clearly demonstrated her political views as very conservative. While assessing Cixi one must not confuse the traditional Confucian idea widely held in her day (that influential women, caused trouble and were not to be trusted) with her frequent portrayal as a despot. While other powerful women of Chinese history, e.g. Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty, are generally positively reassessed by modern historians, the negative views on Cixi largely remains. It is also worth noting that while very few Chinese sources reflect Cixi positively, the reverse is true for Western Sources. When considering Western sources one must bear in mind that Cixi's luxurious lifestyle, ineffective foreign policies, her conservative political views and her lack of concern on the well being of the Chinese people allowed Western powers to further their exploitation of China, gaining enormous profits at the expense of the Chinese people.
Pearl S. Buck's novel Imperial Woman chronicles the life of the Empress Dowager from the time of her selection as a concubine until near to her death. Cixi is portrayed as a stern, motivated woman who stands to the old ways of life and government and resists the changes brought by westerners. Cixi's actions on behalf of the two Emperors that she raised and her own actions are all accounted for and rationalized as being for the good of her people and her country.
Katherine Carl, a painter who spent some ten months with the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1903 to paint Cixi's portrait for the St. Louis Exposition, wrote a book about her experience, With the Empress Dowager, published in 1905. In the book's introduction, Carl says she wrote the book because "After I returned to America, I was constantly seeing in the newspapers (and hearing of) statements ascribed to me which I never made."
In her book, Carl describes the Empress Dowager Cixi as a kind and considerate woman for her station. Cixi, though shrewd, had great presence, charm, and graceful movements resulting in "an unusually attractive personality". Cixi loved dogs and had a kennel maintained by eunuchs at the Summer Palace where she had "some magnificent specimens of Pekingese pugs and of a sort of Skye terrier." She did not like cats and some of the eunuchs who had cats made sure to keep them "within rigid bounds, on no condition allowing them to come within Her Majesty's ken." Cixi enjoyed flowers and the staff of the Summer Palace ensured the rooms and courtyards were kept properly dressed with cut flowers.
The Empress Dowager understood loyalty and practiced it with her retinue. Carl while describing the Palace staff says: "Among these is a Chinese woman who nursed Her Majesty through a long illness, about twenty-five years since, and saved her life by giving her mother's milk to drink. Her Majesty, who never forgets a favor, has always kept this woman in the Palace. Being a Chinese, she had bound feet. Her Majesty, who cannot bear to see them even, had her feet unbound and carefully treated, until now she can walk comfortably. Her Majesty has educated the son, who was an infant at the time of her illness, and whose natural nourishment she partook of. This young man is already a Secretary in a good yamen (government office)."
Cixi enjoyed boating on the lake at the Summer Palace, walks through the gardens and grounds of the Palace (actually the Imperial family rode in sedan chairs so the eunuchs did the majority of the walking), and presentations of Chinese opera in the Summer Palace Opera house. Cixi smoked Chinese water pipes as well as European cigarettes through a cigarette holder. At an age of 69, Cixi was in sufficiently good physical shape that when providing a tour of the Summer Palace Opera House to Carl, Cixi "mounted the steep and difficult steps with as much ease and lightness as I did, and I had on comfortable European shoes, while she wears the six-inch-high Manchu sole in the middle of her foot, and must really walk as if on stilts."
She is said to have invented the board game Eight Fairies Travel Across The Sea, which is still popular today as "Eight Fairies Chess".
Overview of politics
While seeking China's "self-strengthening" through weak and regionalized industrial and military growth, she opposed attempts at political modernization, staging a coup d'etat September 21, 1898 against the political influence of the Guangxu Emperor to end the Hundred Days' Reform. She opposed the creation of a national army or navy. Cixi's contribution to the self-strengthening movement, though, could be frustratingly two-sided. Whilst she supported economic and military modernization, approving the construction of railways and factories and encouraging use of Western weapons and tactics, she was capable of holding back the programme through relatively simple acts. For her 60th birthday in 1895, Cixi relocated the astronomical sum of 30 million taels of silver, which had been earmarked for the construction of ten new warships, to pay for the refinement of Summer Palace. The Chinese Navy had recently lost most of its modern warships in the 1894 First Sino-Japanese War, and urgently needed the money to rebuild a high-tech fleet. However, instead of using the money to safeguard China's military security, Cixi instead chose to use the money for her own pleasure.
Cixi explained her decision saying that even if the Chinese Navy have won the battle against the Japanese fleet, more fleets from Britain, France, and many other powerful nations awaited. China's victory would only draw more retaliations and there was no hope to win after all. Instead, she used the money to demonstrate the wealth and dignity of the Chinese culture and the imperial power, and prevent Western powers from bullying China out of disdain.
Cixi died in the Hall of "Zhong Hai Yi Luan Dian" 中海仪鸾殿 on November 15, 1908, after having installed Puyi as the new emperor of the Qing Dynasty on November 14.
Attitude towards servants
Cixi was notorious for the way she treated her servants, regularly beating and threatening them for minor offenses. For instance, one story details the death of an old eunuch. When the eunuch, who served Cixi for many years, was playing Chinese Chess with her, he was pleased at winning the game and said, "The humble servant will now kill the Old Buddha's horse." Suddenly, Cixi burst into a rage, smacked the table top, and exclaimed, "I will kill your whole family!" (The punishment due to Cixi's long-time regulation that, within the palace, no-one should use the words "death" or "kill"). Consequently, Cixi ordered the old eunuch to be beaten to death with bats. Fortunately for the eunuch, Cixi recanted her decision to execute his entire family.
One possible reason for Cixi's cruel treatment on her servants is that when the Eight Regent Ministers were in power, some of Cixi's servants and maids joined in with the Regent Ministers and treated Cixi with disdain. Cixi doubted whether there was any real loyalty among her ordinary servants.
The film "Sunset of the Forbidden City" 《日落紫禁城》 portrays such a scene: "When the Imperial Zhen Concubine was newly imprisoned, Cixi summoned Zhen's former servants and maids to a courtyard, and asked them who would like to go to Zhen's "Cold Palace" and serve her in prison. Knowing that Zhen was already an enermy of Cixi, and fearing to displease Cixi, none of the servants volunteered. Cixi asked them again, and after a long time, only one maid volunteered. Then, Cixi left the courtyard bringing the maid with her, and ordered all of Zhen's servants and maids be beaten to death with the maid spared, because she demonstrated loyalty to her old mistress the Concubine Zhen."
Names of Cixi
Cixi had many different names at different period of her life, which can be quite confusing. Moreover, most of her Western biographers, who in general do not read Chinese, frequently confuse these names, and biographies on Cixi written in English are flawed with errors. Here is an accurate account of all her names, as drawn from the most serious Chinese sources (i.e. the archives of the Forbidden City and several serious historical works in Chinese).
The original name of Cixi at her birth is still an unresolved issue (see Youth section). At her entrance in the Forbidden City, she was recorded as "the Lady Yehenara, daughter of Huizheng" (惠征). Thus, she was called by her clan's name, the Yehe-Nara clan, as was customary for Manchu girls. Cixi was quite a secretive person, and she seldom talked about her childhood. While she was on the throne, the subject of her life before entering the Forbidden City was taboo, and people avoided talking about it. So it is no surprise that the record of her original name as well as the history of her youth were lost.
When she entered the Forbidden City in September 1851, Cixi was made a Xiu Nu 秀女, a preparative concubine. After her encounter with Emperor Xianfeng, Yehenala was made concubine of the fifth rank 贵人, and she was given the name Lan (兰，meaning "Orchid"). Her name was thus "Noble Person of Orchid" 兰贵人. At the end of December 1854 or the beginning of January 1855, she was promoted to concubine of the fourth rank 嫔. Her name was changed, and the new name given to her was Yi 懿, meaning "good", "exemplary", "virtuous"), so that her new name was "Yi Pin" 懿嫔. On April 27, 1856, she gave birth to a son, the only son of Emperor Xianfeng (the Empress Consort had been unsuccessful in producing an heir), and was immediately made "Concubine Yi" 懿妃. Finally, in February 1857 she was again elevated and made "Noble Concubine Yi" 懿贵妃.
In the end of August 1861, following the death of Emperor Xianfeng, her 5-year-old son became the new emperor (known as Emperor Tongzhi starting in 1862). Cixi was officially made "Holy Mother Imperial Dowager Empress" 圣母皇太后, a high privilege considering that she had never been Empress Consort while Emperor Xianfeng was alive. She was privileged to become Dowager Empress only because she was the biological mother of the new emperor. She was also given a honorific name which was Cixi 慈禧， meaning "Motherly and Auspicious". As for the Empress Consort, she was made "Mother Empress Imperial Dowager Empress" 母后皇太后, a title giving her precedence over Cixi, and she was given the honorific name Ci'an 慈安， meaning "Motherly and Calming".
On 7 occasions after 1861, Cixi was given additional honorific names (two Chinese characters at a time), as was customary for emperors and empresses, until by the end of her reign her name was a long string of 16 characters starting with Cixi (as empress dowager she had the right to nine additions, giving a total of 20 characters, had she lived long enough for it). At the end of her reign, her official name was
大清国当今慈禧端佑康颐昭豫庄诚寿恭钦献崇熙圣母皇太后
which reads "The Current Holy Mother Imperial Dowager Empress Ci-Xi Duan-You Kang-Yi Zhao-Yu Zhuang-Cheng Shou-Gong Qin-Xian Chong-Xi of the Empire of the Great Qing".
The short form was The Current Holy Mother Imperial Dowager Empress of the Empire of the Great Qing
大清国当今圣母皇太后
At the time, she was addressed as "Venerable Buddha" （老佛爷），literally "Master Old Buddha". This was not a term of address created or reserved for her, as is wrongly stated by her Western biographers. This was actually the official form of address used for all the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, who were devoted Buddhists. It reveals a lot about Cixi that she asked people to address her with a term of address reserved for men, and what is more for emperors. She liked to be treated like a man, and insisted on people using Chinese words reserved for men when addressing her. As the de facto power figure in China, having actual power over the Emperor himself, the phrase Long Live the Empress Dowager for ten thousand years (大清国当今圣母皇太后万岁万岁万万岁), which is by convention, only used by Emperors, was used at official and ceremonial occasions. The convention for Empress Dowagers of imperial China was usually Long live for a thousand years.
At her death in 1908, she was given a posthumous name which combines the honorific names that she gained during her lifetime with new names added just after her death. This posthumous name is 孝钦慈禧端佑康颐昭豫庄诚寿恭钦献崇熙配天兴圣显皇太后 which reads: Empress Xiao-Qin Ci-Xi Duan-You Kang-Yi Zhao-Yu Zhuang-Cheng Shou-Gong Qin-Xian Chong-Xi Pei-Tian Xing-Sheng-Xian. This long name is still the one that can be seen on Cixi's tomb today. The short form of her posthumous name is: Empress Xiao Qin Xian (孝钦显皇后).
Final resting place
Cixi was interred amidst the Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵), 125 kilometers/75 miles east of Beijing, in the Dingdongling (定东陵) tomb complex (literally: the "Tombs East of the Dingling Tomb"), along with Empress Dowager Ci'an. More precisely, Ci'an lies in the Pu Xiang Yu Ding Dong Ling (普祥峪定东陵) (literally: the "Tomb East of the Ding Ling Tomb in the Vale of Wide Good Omen"), while Cixi built herself the much larger Pu Tuo Yu Ding Dong Ling (菩陀峪定东陵) (literally: the "Tomb East of the Ding Ling Tomb in the Vale of Putuo"). The Dingling tomb (literally: the "Tomb of quietude") is the tomb of Emperor Xianfeng, the emperor of Ci'an and Cixi, which is located indeed west of the Ding Dong Ling. The Vale of Pu Tuo owes its name to Mount. Pu Tuo (literally: the "Mountain of the Dharani of the Site of the Buddha's Enlightenment"), at the foot of which the Dingdongling is located.
Cixi, unsatisfied with her tomb, ordered its destruction and reconstruction in 1895. The new tomb was a lavish grandiose complex of temples, gates, and pavilions, covered with gold leaves, and with gold and gilded-bronze ornaments hanging from the beams and the eaves. In July 1928, Cixi's tomb was occupied by warlord and Kuomintang general Suen Dian Ying 孫殿英 and his army who methodically stripped the complex of its precious ornaments, then dynamited the entrance to the burial chamber, opened Cixi's coffin, threw her corpse (said to have been found intact) on the floor, and stole all the jewels contained in the coffin, as well as the massive pearl that had been placed in Cixi's mouth to protect her corpse from decomposing (in accordance with Chinese tradition). The large pearl on Cixi's crown was offered by Suen Dian Ying to Guo Min Dang (Kuomintang) leader Chiang Kai-shek and ended up as an ornament on the gala shoes of Chiang's wife, the famous Song May-ling.
After 1949, the complex of Cixi's tomb was restored by the People's Republic of China, and it is still today one of the most impressive imperial tombs of China.
Cixi's Artworks and Objects
See also
- The Xian Feng Emperor
- The Tong Zhi Emperor
- The Guang Xu Emperor
- The Ci An Dowager Empress
- The Jia Shun Empress Alute
- The Long Yu Empress
- Imperial Zhen Concubine
External links
- http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_cixi.htm?terms=cixi
- http://www.royalty.nu/Asia/China/TzuHsi.html
- http://www.kings.edu/womens_history/tzuhsi.html
- http://www.tydao.com/suwu/lishi/cxss.htm - Article about the book "Cracking the Mystery of Cixi's Youth" (Chinese)
- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/headland-courtlife.html