In ancient China, while leaving people with thousands of years of feudal society, they also left the impression of male power society to the world. But whether it is a national event or a historical trace, it will leave traces of women.
Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty left traces in history with its unique deeds. The reason for her death is generally believed to be due to illness, but the sister of Li Lianying, a red person around Cixi, hid the truth and did not dare to announce it until after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and Cixi did not die of illness.
Who is Li Lianying's sister? Why would she know? Why did he die?
01 Step by step, ascend to noble concubines
Although the status of women in patriarchal societies is generally low, women rarely have the opportunity to participate in the affairs of the country.
But in history, it is still impossible to hide the women who radiate light, leaving a strong mark in this country. Therefore, their fate is fundamentally different from others, and it has become a unique style in history.
If the feudal dynasty in ancient Chinese history is compared to a big tree, then in the Cixi period, this big tree basically reached the old age.
She is not as outstanding in political talent as Wu Zetian, but she also holds a lot of power.
Cixi's path to development was not smooth, when she and Ci'an entered the palace together, unlike Ci'an, who was deeply welcomed by the Xianfeng Emperor, Cixi's road to fame was quite difficult.
Fortunately, her belly was more contentious, and she gave birth to the only son for the Xianfeng Emperor, which led to the story behind. Ci'an took the position of empress in only a few months, and although Cixi had a son, she grew up with Empress Dowager Ci'an.
In terms of roles, Cixi is just a woman who bears a son for the emperor, and Ci'an is the orthodox. It was not until the death of the Xianfeng Emperor that Cixi reached the rank of noble concubine.
In order to prevent the harem from becoming too powerful, the Xianfeng Emperor organized eight more ministers to balance with the harem empress dowager in the hope of stabilizing the situation.
Cixi was quite well grasped by the power game, and she and Ci'an formed the empress dowager camp. Cixi later pulled one faction to fight the other, and even easily moved the camp of the eight ministers, and after Ci'an's death, he became the well-deserved master of the Qing Dynasty.
02 The struggle for power and the seizure of the throne has aroused dissatisfaction
During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi established herself in the empress dowager's seat and, together with Empress Dowager Ci'an, began to grasp the power of the imperial court and deal with the things that appeared in the imperial court. Although the Tongzhi Emperor was in the position of emperor, he did not gain real power from the emperor.
After the Guangxu Emperor succeeded to the throne, Empress Dowager Cixi maintained a consistent style. After the death of Empress Dowager Ci'an, she achieved true monopoly of power and completed the centralization of power. This also makes her more unscrupulous, at the peak of her power, she is arbitrary, and although some people are not accustomed to it, they are helpless.
Li Lianying was a very valued eunuch around Cixi, serving the life of Empress Dowager Cixi and taking care of Empress Dowager Cixi, who was very considerate and thoughtful, and Empress Dowager Cixi was also very satisfied with this. Gaining the trust of her master, her position naturally rose relatively quickly, and her position was relatively high, and she also worked in the palace.
Therefore, some of the trivialities and secrets of Cixi's life were known to Li Lianying's sister, and in the face of Empress Dowager Cixi's other hidden death, there are some records in Li Lianying's memories.
Cixi has diarrhea in her life, which is a very ordinary thing for everyone. But importantly, she had diarrhea very frequently, which made her already weak body somewhat unbearable, and the damage to her body was relatively large.
Supposedly, the best harem doctor can be found to treat such a disease, but it is not cured well, which is very strange. Originally a common disease, is there something else hidden?
03 Caused public anger and was framed
Li Lianying's sister revealed that this was because someone had given Cixi a chronic poison, and although it could not be checked out normally, this chronic poison would slowly play a role. Over time, it was bound to cause greater damage to Empress Dowager Cixi's body, and her body became worse and worse than before.
Empress Dowager Cixi held great power, and many people opposed her arbitrary style of acting, but could not confront it head-on, so she came up with such a means.
Generally speaking, people of the level of Empress Dowager Cixi have to go through very strict inspections. It is conceivable that it must have mastered the people who were particularly close to Cixi's side, and only then could they successfully do such a thing around Cixi.
Li Lianying's sister has worked in the palace for many years, and coupled with her special relationship with Li Lianying, her words still have a certain credibility.
But even so, considering the strict hierarchical system and various norms in ancient times, it may be somewhat unconvincing for ordinary palace women to know such confidential events.
Li Lianying's sister also announced at the end, and she also chose to make these things public after Cixi's death, so that she could both save herself and tell the truth.
04 Afterword
Whether it is true or not, the age is too old to be verified. However, from the perspective of the historical environment at that time, various contradictions and conflicts in the late Qing Dynasty were already inevitable.
Many people were dissatisfied with the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, although the power was in their hands, but there was no way to make many courtiers satisfied, and the cohesion of a team and a court would be greatly reduced.
The end of a person is also a microcosm of that era, and the words of the people are also a side reflection of that era. Looking back at history, we must not only improve the ability of the individual, but also improve our own ability in order to develop better.