Empress Dowager Cixi was extremely luxurious in her life, and before she died, she held the real power of the Qing Dynasty, and the rare treasures around her were inexhaustible and inexhaustible, and the degree of eating and wearing should be the best. At a time when the foundation of the Qing Dynasty was weak and the wind and rain were fluctuating, Empress Dowager Cixi still hid in the Forbidden City to enjoy her glory and wealth, regardless of the sufferings of the people and the imminent death of the country. By the time Empress Dowager Cixi died, the qing government's rule had long since ceased in name, and a Dutch journalist filmed Cixi's funeral process, and then sighed: How can the Qing Dynasty not die?
Ancient royal families pay attention to the glory of death, so they attach great importance to their tombs, funeral specifications and the number of funerary items, and ancient royals were buried according to certain specifications after death. The emperor has the highest specifications belonging to the emperor, and the etiquette law also makes relevant provisions for the funeral specifications of the empress, concubines, and princes, and the specifications of the funeral must be handled in accordance with the identity of the person, except for special reasons. However, the funeral specifications of Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty were much higher than the funeral specifications for empress dowagers stipulated in the legislation, and the level of luxury of her funeral was only comparable to that of the emperors of previous dynasties.
More than 7,000 people carried coffins for Empress Dowager Cixi alone, and the entire funeral procession was paved with a huge street. At that time, the paper tying people were all handmade, the process was more complicated, and there were tens of thousands of papier-mâché people who sent funerals to Cixi, of which many manpower, material resources and financial resources were consumed. The funerary items buried with Cixi include a variety of rare treasures, and the number and variety are breathtaking.
It is said that empress dowager Cixi's Xu Pavilion was paved with a seven-inch thick gold silk woven jewelry brocade mattress, which is not simple, and is inlaid with more than 10,000 Zhenzhou, 85 rubies, and more than 200 top white jade. The brocade mattress is also topped with a silk mattress inlaid with 2,400 pearls. The most precious is the night pearl held in the mouth of Empress Dowager Xu, which is said to protect her body from decay, which can be said to be extremely valuable.