On November 5, 1908, Empress Dowager Yehenara (Old Cixi) died unexpectedly at the age of 74. Before dying, Cixi left this last word: "After that, women cannot predict the affairs of the country. This is contrary to the family law of this dynasty and must be strictly restricted. In particular, it is necessary to guard against eunuchs without authorization. The things of the end of the Ming Dynasty can be Yin Jian! ”
Translated into our current words: "Women cannot be involved in major state affairs, because this is not in line with our great Qing family law, so this kind of thing must not be repeated." The harm of such a thing as eunuch dictatorship is even greater, and the previous Ming Dynasty was destroyed in this way, so we have to learn a lesson even more!
As for what many respondents mentioned, Cixi appointed Prince Zaifeng as regent, and also made his son Puyi emperor, and the era name xuantong, this is not Cixi's last words at all, but the will issued by Cixi the day before his death. Strictly speaking, Cixi's last words only have the first two, and this one does not count at all.
Three articles and two articles are not important, the meaning is actually the same meaning. Cixi's last words denied what she had done in this life and completely punched herself in the face in this life. To put it bluntly, she left the things she had not done at all to her descendants to do. Because Old Cixi said one thing and did one thing, it was also a matter of course to be scolded by future generations to this day.
Cixi demanded that women should not interfere in politics, but the problem was that when the Xianfeng Emperor was in power, Cixi, as a concubine of Yi Guifei, often gave the Xianfeng Emperor a ghostwriting and reading the chapter, which had the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the dynasty. After the Tongzhi Emperor ascended the throne, the two empresses of the Eastern and Western Palaces joined forces as regents and took power together with the eight ministers of Gu Ming. At this time, Cixi had gradually entered the central area of power and began to become the holder of power.
After the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, Cixi lied the four-year-old Ai XinjueLuo Zaixiang as emperor, which was the Guangxu Emperor. How can a four-year-old govern a country? Speaking of which, it was still the empress dowager who had the final say, and Cixi just wanted to hold power for a few more days. After empress dowager Ci'an's death, Cixi designed the removal of gu ming chancellors and began a long career of monopoly of power, thus becoming the dictator of the Qing Dynasty.
Later, after the Guangxu Emperor came of age, Cixi tried to return to the Guangxu Emperor. However, after some time, Old Cixi rebelled again and regained power, making the Guangxu Emperor a puppet again. Of course, the Guangxu Emperor also had his own reasons, that is, the steps of the Penghu Reform Law were too large, which caused an indiscriminate blow to the conservative faction in the middle of the dynasty. Therefore, these old ministers could only be forced to force Cixi out again, and this could not all be blamed on Cixi. But the final fact is indisputable: Cixi became the dictator of the Qing Dynasty again until she left this world.
In any case, Cixi held power as a woman for decades. Before she died, she said that women's power is equivalent to the disaster of the government, and she knows whether she is criticizing her own extravagance and waste, and the disaster of the country and the people. This categorical comment, I wonder if she is talking about herself?
As for the fact that eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, Cixi even smoked his own face, and the Yongzheng Emperor of the former dynasty stipulated that the maximum grade of eunuchs should not exceed four pins, which was to prevent eunuchs from having too much power. Who broke this precept? Sorry, or old Cixi.
Because the grand eunuch Li Lianying was very favored, his position rose faster than anyone else. Thirteen years after Tongzhi, the 26-year-old Li Lianying became the Grand Eunuch of the Chuxiu Palace Exhibition Case. Generally speaking, only an old eunuch with particularly deep qualifications can sit on this throne. However, Li Lianying was very clever and sharp, and he was particularly favored, so he became this official position at a young age.
Of course, Li Lianying's good fortune was far from over. In the 20th year of Guangxu, the 46-year-old Li Lianying was rewarded with two pins with flower plumes, breaking through the Yongzheng Emperor's restriction that "the eunuch rank should not exceed four pins". I have to say that Empress Dowager Cixi is still relatively reliable about her favorite people. Although the slaves around Cixi have changed batch after batch, Li Lianying is not moving, and can be called "the slave of the flowing water, the li lianying of the iron".
Therefore, Cixi's last words were completely a slap in the face to her own life experience. It is also a matter of course to be scolded by posterity. Ironically, however, Emperor Xuantong inherited Cixi's admonition, expelled a large number of eunuchs from the court, and never let women interfere in political affairs again, but also buried the Qing Dynasty with his own hands. However, the stories of the past have long been sealed in the old yellow paper rolls, only waiting for posterity to slowly open them.