Throughout the ages, no matter which country's last empress in the world, her fate can almost be described by the word "miserable".
"The last generation" means the fall and overthrow, once the state and imperial power no longer exist, the taste of being dominated and wrapped in the vortex of fate is sad, but no matter how noble and revered you used to have, you can only sigh and helpless.
In the history of North Korea, there was once a tragic royal woman, The Chunjeong Hyo Empress Yoon, who was both the only living empress in Korean history to be given the honorific title and the last empress of North Korea.
She had never given birth in her life, and after the loss of the country, she lived on the streets and suffered all kinds of inhuman ravages and abuses, which can be described as a desolate scene.
The only orthodox empress in Korean history, Empress Chunjeong Hyohon
Historically, in addition to the Qing Dynasty, China's feudal dynasties, no matter which dynasty they rotated to, were all powerful and respected as the great powers of the East. Many of the smaller states that lived next to us clinged to each other and called themselves small states.
As a small Asian country bordering china, Korea is also willing to occupy the position of a vassal state and regards china as its suzerainty.
Since ancient times, the wife of a Chinese emperor should be called "Hou", so in a small country such as Korea, the wife of its monarch can only be called a "concubine".
In 1895, Empress Dowager Cixi, a representative figure of the Qing Dynasty, entrusted Li Hongzhang to sign the Treaty of Maguan with the Japanese side, one of which was that "the Qing government must recognize the independent status of the Korean state."
In 1897, under the control of Japan, Lee Hee, the 26th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, created the Korean Empire.
After Li Xi independently assumed imperial power, he also hoped to rejuvenate the country and enrich the people, so he was helpless to superficially conform to Japan and become a puppet of Japan to assist In Japan's expansion plans in Asia.
But privately, he was also plotting step by step how to safeguard the independent rights and interests of the Korean Empire so that it would no longer be played with and manipulated by Japan.
In 1905, Japan coerced Lee Hee into signing the Japan-Korea Protection Treaty for its own benefit, but Lee Hee ignored his illness. Eventually, lee-wan, a pro-Japanese member of the Korean imperial family, signed the unequal treaty on his behalf.
In 1907, Lee Hee-den, unwilling to be so humiliated, issued a statement expressing his denial of the legitimacy of Japan's possession of certain privileges by denying the Japan-Korea Protection Treaty. The Japanese side was extremely annoyed, and then the Japanese side realized that if it wanted to completely control North Korea, it must find someone to replace Li Xi.
As a result, Japanese Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi instructed the pro-Japanese factions of North Korea to write letters one after another, forcing Lee Hee to give way to Crown Prince Lee Tsui. Lee Hee abdicated helplessly, and since then, North Korea has been completely under Japanese control.
Li Tu had two wives, the first crown princess Min Shi died early, the second crown princess was named Yin Shi, whose real name was Yin Zengshun, and his father was a Korean nobleman and the prince of Haebong Province of the Korean Empire, Yin Zerong, with a noble and noble status.
After Lee Tuo ascended the throne, Yoon became the only orthodox empress in Korean history.
At the age of 13, he married into the imperial palace, but the emperor had no fertility, and although yin was an empress, he had no happiness to speak of
In early 1905, after crown prince Li Tu finished the funeral of the former crown princess Min, the courtiers began to help the new emperor find noble and pure noble women of noble blood, so as to appoint a new crown princess as soon as possible.
After some selection, the daughters of 3 ministers were shortlisted for selection, and in the end, Yin's father, Yin Zerong, co-opted the concubine Yan clan to push his daughter to the new throne, which shows that the marriage between Yin and Li Tu is full of strong political implications, and it is almost foreseeable that Yin's marriage will be full of complexity and change.
On January 24, 1907, crown prince Li Tu and the beautiful Yin clan held a grand wedding, at that time, Yin had just turned 13 years old, and Li Tu was already 33 years old.
Half a year later, Lee Hee abdicated and the crown prince Li Tu ascended the throne, and Yin naturally became the empress of the Korean Empire. However, for many years, no matter how many harem women Li Tao had never been pregnant, slowly, Yin Gradually realized that he would probably have to face the fate of being childless for life.
Because there is no normal family life, and it is impossible to enjoy the sweet and bitter happiness of having children, Yin Shi can't help but be depressed. Although she set up a female school in the palace and had to learn Japanese every day, this could not make up for the emptiness and helplessness brought about by the unhappiness of married life.
According to historical records, Empress Yin only walked in the garden of the palace twice a year, living a life similar to imprisonment.
The weak and incompetent Li Tu was arbitrarily manipulated by the Japanese side, while Empress Yin was always angry. In 1910, the Japanese side forced Li Tu to sign the "Japan-South Korea Merger Treaty", which was simply a loss of power and humiliation.
In order to resist this kind of humiliation and aggression, Empress Yin hid the national seal. Yin's uncle, Yin Derong, fearing that he would cause dissatisfaction on the Japanese side, personally went to Empress Yin's palace to search for the national seal, and the Treaty of Annexation between Japan and South Korea was finally signed as scheduled.
After Japan had substantial control of Korea under a series of unequal treaties, Li Tu was forced to submit to the throne and demoted to "King Lee", and yin became "Concubine Yin".
Li Tao was controlled by the Japanese side everywhere, and there was no freedom and dignity to speak of, and soon after, the 52-year-old Li Tao died of depression, and yin lived alone and desolate in Gyeongbokgung Palace, living a life of fear.
After World War II, Yoon, a widow of the Korean royal family, was devastated on the streets
After the beginning of World War II, the Japanese army began to invade Asian countries, Yin was nearly fifty years old at the time, although at first he was included in the Japanese imperial family, but later because of his special historical status was expelled from Gyeongbokgung Palace, living on the streets Ofe penniless, had to live hard.
Because the Yin family had no husband and children to rely on, the Japanese soldiers often harassed and even insulted and ravaged them, but the Yin family still silently endured in order to survive, and this bad life did not turn around until Japan was defeated and surrendered.
After the end of World War II, two independent emerging states emerged on the Korean Peninsula: North Korea and South Korea. Yoon's status as a former royal concubine has once again been valued by the Korean government, and she can receive 500,000 won a month in living expenses to meet basic living expenses.
After 1960, Yoon was truly taken seriously by the Korean government, and as a former royal concubine, Yoon re-entered Changdeokgung Palace. After most of his life's ups and downs and the passage of time, Yin chose to convert to Buddhism, accompanied by Buddhism and rosary beads, and finally lived a stable and peaceful life.
In February 1966, at the age of 73, Yin died in the Xingfuxuan of Changdeokgung Palace, and was buried with Li Tao, her courtesy name "Pure Zhenxiao Empress".
Looking back at the life of Empress Yin, although she was born noble, both beautiful and had a family lineage, she could not get normal family happiness because of a political marriage, and suffered from upheaval and displacement due to the turmoil of the times, the ups and downs of Yin's life's fate were really lamentable, and in the face of a restricted life, Yin's heart was also full of a lot of helplessness.
It seems that all those who are trapped in the vortex of history are like ants, and no matter how angry and struggling, they are mostly in vain.