The long river of history is running endlessly, there are calm waves, there are also waves, let Xiaobian take you into history and understand history.
Bathing is something we all do, and some people take a bath once a day in the winter and three or four times in the summer. People take a bath to clean up the dirty things accumulated on the body in a day, and we will use shower gel to wash when we take a bath, so that the skin can be more refreshing and clean. So how did people bathe in ancient times? Generally, women bathe more than men, they all use water to wash with rice, and they only take a bath every few days, not every day like us. In the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi, her bathing procedures were very exquisite.
Empress Dowager Cixi, a concubine of emperor Xianfeng in the Qing dynasty and the biological mother of Emperor Tongzhi, launched a coup d'état with Empress Dowager Ci'an and Prince Gong after Emperor Xianfeng's illness and death, killing gu ming's ministers and seizing power in the court. Shortly after the Guangxu Emperor ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Ci'an died, at which point Empress Dowager Cixi deposed Prince Gong and took power alone, becoming the ruler of the late Qing Dynasty. After this, the Qing Dynasty was dominated by Cixi and was the most honored person in the imperial palace. Cixi likes to dress up and bathe, and she is very particular about the bathing procedures, taking a bath every day in the summer and every two or three days in the winter.
Empress Dowager Cixi's bathing time was the busiest time for eunuchs and palace ladies, and the eunuchs first had to prepare the bathing tools that Cixi would use, including a washbasin for bathing, warm water, clean towels, and imported perfume. After the eunuchs had prepared these items, they placed them in the bedroom of Empress Dowager Cixi and brought them into the palace by the palace maids. When she began to bathe Cixi, there were four palace ladies around her, wrung out with a soaked towel, and then wiped the back of Cixi's chest, arms, and sides for Cixi, first wiping her body 6-7 times, then plastering rose soap and wiping it with a wet and soft towel for Cixi.
After that, I soaked the towel with clean water again, wiped the foam off Cixi's body, and finally applied perfume to her, and in the summer when there were many mosquitoes, I applied winter dew, and in the colder winter, I applied rose dew. When it was painted, it was made of pure silk cotton, dripped with perfume, and gently hit Cixi's body, and when these steps were done, it was necessary to use a dry towel to flick her whole body up and down again, and then put on clothes for her. After washing the upper body, wash the lower body, and then the towel and other supplies have to be reused with a new set, which is the case every day.
Every time Empress Dowager Cixi took a bath, she had to use at least a hundred towels, and after the towels were fished out of the water, they could not be put into the water to be used again, only the old ones could be discarded and the new towels were used. And after each bath, the water in the bathtub is still very clean and clear. This shows how luxurious Empress Dowager Cixi's bathing procedures are, even our current 6-star hotel does not have such a service, at that time there were many people who were worried about not being able to eat, but her life was so enjoyable, it was really infuriating.
At that time in the Qing Dynasty, the only person who would take such a luxurious bath should be Empress Dowager Cixi, in addition to bathing, there were morning washing, dressing, etc., plus three luxurious lunches a day, which was completely squandered with the hard money of the people. And Cixi, who lived so luxuriously in life, became very corrupt under her rule in the late Qing Dynasty, which indirectly led to our China lagging behind for decades.
Well, today's sharing ends here, and we'll see you next time