What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Ci'an's maiden name is not known, but it is known to be "Niu Hulu Clan, Guangxi Youjiang Dao Muyang A-daughter". In the Qing Dynasty, the Niuhulu clan was a large surname, and her father Mu Yang'a, as a right river province, was an official of the imperial court Zhengsipin. Therefore, although Ci'an belongs to a famous and prestigious family, he can also be regarded as a showgirl.
In February of the second year of Xianfeng (1852), Ci'an was drafted into the palace, on April 27, he entered the inner edict to be a concubine, in May he was promoted to a noble concubine, in June he was already proposed to be an empress, and his concubine canonization ceremony was not held, and in October he was made empress, at the age of sixteen, six years younger than Xianfeng. She had no heirs before her death, but relying on the trust and favor of her husband, The Xianfeng Emperor, she rose from concubine to empress of the fourth rank, which took only six months, which was the fastest empress in the Qing Dynasty.
On July 17, the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Xianfeng collapsed. Before his death, he did three things: First, he made the emperor's eldest son Zaichun crown prince. 2. Zaiyuan, Duanhua, and Jingshou, the former ministers of the imperial court, Sushun, a university scholar, and Mu Yin, Kuang Yuan, Du Han, and Jiao Youying, ministers of military aircraft, were appointed as ministers of state for Praise. 3. Grant empress dowager the "imperial reward" seal to represent the power of the mother's world, grant the crown prince Zaichun the seal of "Tongdaotang" to represent the power to unify the world, and issue an edict "sending Zaiyuan and other eight ministers to praise all government affairs".
At that time, the twenty-five-year-old Ci'an became the empress dowager, "when the two palaces of filial piety and filial piety were honored at the same time", filial piety was Ci'an, and filial piety was Cixi. Because during the Xianfeng Dynasty, Cixi was only a "Concubine Yi Guifei", and after her parent-in-law ascended the throne, she was enshrined as "Empress Dowager Empress Dowager", with the title of Cixi; while empress Dowager Ci'an, who was originally one rank higher than her, was honored as "Empress Dowager Empress Dowager", and the emblem was Ci'an, so posterity was also accustomed to calling her "Ci'an".
Two of the most prominent things that the history books record ci'an did:
The first is to kill the eunuch An Dehai. Eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty system were not allowed to leave the capital, and the offenders were killed without mercy. An Dehai was Cixi's confidant eunuch, and in August of the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), he asked Cixi to send him to Jiangnan to buy dragon clothes and obtain permission. However, he did not know how to restrain himself, and when he passed through the territory of Shandong, he was captured by Ding Baozhen, the inspector of Shandong. Ding Baozhen quickly brought the matter to the imperial court. Cixi intended to protect her, and Ci'an "established her destiny to condemn it." As a result, Anderhay was corrected on the spot.
The second was to make the Arut clan empress. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), at the age of 17, Tongzhi reached the age of marriage after the establishment. Ci'an took a fancy to the Alute clan, the daughter of Chongqi, who was very good at Shujing Duanhui and Rongde, while Cixi took a fancy to the young and beautiful and sensitive daughter of Fengxiu, Fu cha. The two men disagreed, and in the end Tongzhi adopted Ci'an's opinion and agreed to make Arut empress.
Two months after Xianfeng's death, a coup d'état of Xin You occurred in the Qing Palace. This power struggle within the imperial court was between the empress dowager of the two palaces and the imperial family headed by Prince Gong Yixin on one side, and the eight ministers appointed by the Xianfeng Emperor on his deathbed. The organizer, planner and leader of this coup was Cixi, and the backbone of the coup was Yixin, but ci'an's role in it should never be overlooked.
Why did Ci'an side with Cixi?
Ci'an was coerced by Cixi and Prince Gong—unlikely. At that time, Cixi and Yi Bi were still jealous and relied on using Ci'an's position of power as "Empress Zhenggong of the Former Emperor". Later, when the curtains of the two palaces were hanging, Ci'an and Cixi had a good relationship, and Ci'an did something that made Cixi very satisfied, even a little moved—invited Cixi to live with her in the Yangxin Hall. In the ancestral system of the harem of the Qing Dynasty, the children of concubines were all children of the empress of the Middle Palace, so Ci'an was the concubine of Tongzhi and had absolute custody of Tongzhi. After Tongzhi ascended the throne, as emperor, he was to live in the Yangxin Hall. As a six-year-old child, his mother-in-law naturally had to be raised and cared for in the Yangxin Temple. As a concubine, Cixi could only live in the empress's palace according to the rules of the palace, and was not qualified to enter the Yangxin Hall to live with her son day and night. If Ci'an had been coerced by Cixi during the Coup d'état of Xin You, the two would definitely not have had such a harmonious and prosperous relationship.
In fact, the reason why Ci'an was able to unite with Cixi was because she made what she thought was the right choice based on the "woman's opinion." In this incident, Ci'an had her selfish intentions—of course, not to usurp the throne, but to maintain the dignity of the imperial power. In Ci'an's eyes, she did not choose Cixi and Prince Gong, but supported and guarded the young Xianfeng and the rule of the former emperor.
In the record of October of the year of Xin You, it is mentioned that these ministers of the Xiang Dynasty were "disobedient" and "rebellious and absurd" in their daily lives, and even more so " to sit on the throne "without permission", it can be seen that their eight people regard themselves as high in power, and the throne is dedicated to orphans and widows- little children and young women in their twenties, so they act recklessly and provoke the imperial power of the palace. Such bumps and conflicts are probably already angular soon after Xianfeng's death, and Ci'an cannot tolerate this kind of behavior of breaking rules and trampling on imperial power, and the suspicion in his heart may have already existed.
In essence, in the previous Holy Decree of September of the Year of Xin You, the reprimand of the Emperor (in essence, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces) also laid the groundwork for punishing the eight ministers: "Zaiyuan and others were unable to make peace with their hearts, and in vain they tried to lure the British envoys to cover their own responsibilities, so that they lost faith in various countries, and dianyuan (that is, the Yuanmingyuan) was disturbed, and our emperor inspected the fortunate Hot River, and the true sacred heart could not be bitter with it." This can be said to be the meaning of Cixi, but the seal of "royal reward" also clearly indicates that this is also a value that Ci'an agrees with.
Ci'an attaches great importance to a sense of stability and peace, and seeks peace and tranquility between the Qing Dynasty and overseas countries at a time when the country is in turmoil and the situation is turbulent. The repeated defeats and the signing of treaties made her afraid of war, made her no longer have the confidence to defeat, and she only hoped that after meeting the demands of the countries, the countries could talk about some "benevolence, righteousness, wisdom and faith" and restore the peaceful years of the Qing Dynasty. In Ci'an's eyes, the Anglo-French coalition army burned the Yuanmingyuan and fled with Xianfeng to Rehe, and the source of all the disturbances and humiliations was Zaiyuan (one of the ministers of the King of Zanxiang) and others who "could not make peace with their hearts", and it was they who pushed the emperor and the Great Qing into the abyss.