In the TV series "The Heavenly Firmament" released in 2010, it is "maverick" in a number of Qing Palace dramas, starting from the perspective of human beauty and brilliance, such as Madame Zhang in the play, she is kind, brave and bold. But perhaps it is precisely the expression needs of the theme of "The Heavenly Firmament", but Madame Zhang is far from her historical prototype.
In the play, the historical prototype of Madame Zhang is the last princess recorded in the "History of the Qing Dynasty", Princess Rongshou Gulun, this princess is described as very good according to historical records, whether it is her own birth or treatment of others, it is a model of a noble princess, and even Empress Dowager Cixi presents complex emotions of love and respect for Princess Rongshou Gulun.
Refer to marriage for it
Most of the titles of nobles and royals in the Qing Dynasty had a very strict distinction. The daughters of the princes were generally referred to as "Gege", while the daughters of the emperors were called "princesses", of which only the daughters born to the empress were called "Princess Gulun". But the rules are never set in stone, and are given appropriate loosening in certain circumstances, such as prince Gong's eldest daughter, Yixin. At the time of Emperor Xianfeng's illness and death, Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong jointly launched the "Xin You Coup", and in order to express their gratitude, in addition to being promoted, Empress Cixi personally ordered that Prince Gong's seven-year-old eldest daughter be added to the palace, and was promoted to "Princess Rongshou Gulun", breaking the "Law of the Ancestors".
But in the face of this Rongshou Princess, Cixi's "favor" was not only personally promoted to her, but also chose a husband for her when she was twelve.
Cixi's way is like the imperial concubine in the film and television drama, Princess Rongshou wore a gorgeous and bright dress on the day she chose her husband, and took a small step surrounded by a large number of people, walking at an unhurried pace, which seemed very dignified and generous. Under the guidance of the concubines and noblewomen in the palace and others, Princess Rongshou had previously gone to see Empress Dowager Cixi, and after receiving her affirmation, she went to a darker room next to her to wait quietly.
After a while, three slightly noble teenagers entered the room, and the three teenagers, under the guidance of the eunuchs in the palace, first asked the princess for peace in turn, and then looked down and waited for the princess. When Princess Rongshou had finished selecting, the three teenagers asked Ann to leave.
The chosen teenager was named Fucha Zhirui, who was handsome and gentle. But his identity is not simple, his father is the Manchu Qing king Fucha Jingshou, and his mother is also the princess Gulun Shouen, the relationship of "kissing and kissing" seems to indicate that the choice of marriage of Princess Rongshou is very weak. But according to this process, the princess chose at least in appearance and temperament is what she is more happy about.
When Princess Rongshou's marriage was determined, the Princess Mansion was immediately built for her. The Princess Mansion built on the wide street outside the Di'an Gate is very grand, and ordinary people stop for a moment when they see it.
Then to the palace
Life after marriage also seems to be very plain, because the Qing Dynasty has many rules for the marriage of princesses, such as performing a big gift with her own donkey when the princess is married, not allowed to be alone, and must return to her own mansion. Since then, the horse has gone to the princess house every morning and evening to ask the princess for peace, and then return to his mansion. If the princess wants to summon him, he can come to the princess house again.
Many of the rules themselves are not conducive to the two unfamiliar young people, but Princess Rongshou and her husband are still respectful. Unfortunately, five years after Princess Rongshou was married, Zhirui died of illness. At this time, Princess Rongshou did not give birth, and at the age of 17, she could not help but feel even more lonely. After the widowhood, the maid maid in the Princess Mansion often saw Princess Rongshou playing alone in the courtyard.
When Empress Dowager Cixi learned of this, she seemed to see her equally young and widowed self, and she could not bear it, so she put Princess Rongshou into the palace again.
Returning to the palace again, Princess Rongshou was finally no longer alone. Because of Empress Dowager Cixi herself, she would always bring some childless women from the prince's daughters into the palace to accompany everyone. But surprisingly, Princess Rongshou was the youngest of the bunch of women, but she was the one who most resembled an "old woman". The original somewhat old face coupled with perennial dark clothes and unadorned dressing, so that Princess Rongshou often gives people a feeling of old age in appearance.
Gradually adapt
But Princess Rongshou is not boring inside, and her calm and low-key nature has exposed her to more things. As the daughter of the prince and the titular adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Cixi, many things in the palace were gradually arranged by her, and even when a prince and a noblewoman entered the palace to meet her, she also arranged to meet Empress Cixi first, not to mention that when foreign envoys came to Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi must take Princess Rongshou with her.
As her days in the palace grew longer, Princess Rongshou also involuntarily became familiar with the people in the palace, especially when facing Empress Dowager Cixi, her state gradually changed significantly. From the very beginning, she obeyed and bluntly advised Empress Dowager Cixi, and Princess Rongshou took Daqing as her own bottom line of consideration and followed her own heart.
The most important thing to say that Princess Rongshou "nagged" Empress Dowager Cixi was Empress Dowager Cixi's dress. Empress Dowager Cixi has always liked pomp and pageantry, and whether it is hosting a banquet or dressing on her own daily life, she pays attention to luxury. When Princess Rongshou saw this, she bluntly told Empress Dowager Cixi that her dress was too extravagant, and as the empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty, she should be dignified and generous, not like a charming concubine. Over time, Empress Dowager Cixi was also "afraid" of this nagging again and again.
Every time Princess Rongshou came to find Empress Cixi, she had to change into a relatively simple dress regardless of the color or decoration, and she did not dare to wear too much jewelry on her head, for fear that Princess Rongshou would be angry when she saw it. Once, Empress Dowager Cixi secretly ordered the craftsmen in Jiangnan to make a very gorgeous dress, which cost a lot of money. She was afraid that Princess Rongshou would be angry when she saw it, so she repeatedly warned the people around her not to tell her this news.
However, Princess Rongshou finally learned of this news, and in front of Empress Dowager Cixi, she began to "complain", saying that Empress Dowager Cixi did not regard herself as a daughter, and obviously missed her everything, but she even had to repeatedly stress not to tell her when she made a dress. Empress Dowager Cixi was overwhelmed by what she said, and could only change the topic in a hurry, and only after Princess Rongshou left did she quietly complain to the people around her: "You must have had someone tell her, otherwise how could she come to sue me!" You are not allowed to talk too much! Despite this, Empress Dowager Cixi eventually relented a lot in dress, and the relationship between the two was not hurt by this, but became closer and closer.
During the long period of time that Princess Rongshou lived in the palace, not only did she get closer and closer to Empress Dowager Cixi, but she also took great care of Emperor Guangxu and Concubine Zhen, because the contradiction between Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi made Emperor Guangxu not dare to believe many people in the palace, but Princess Rongshou's private care for Emperor Guangxu was real.
After the deaths of the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi, the Manchu Qing dynasty was in a panic, and almost no one could preside over the government and funerals. When Princess Rongshou went to mourn, she found that the Manchu ministers were busy establishing heirs, and there was no one to manage the funeral, so she was furious and went directly to the regent's house to reprimand: "Now your son has become the emperor, but he is only three years old, and he cannot take on the responsibility of the emperor." It's ridiculous that you're not in a hurry at home now! The regent was very frightened when he heard this, and quickly presided over the discussion of the "Funeral Committee", and with the assistance of Princess Rongshou, the funeral finally proceeded in an orderly manner.
Princess Rongshou is a man of integrity, humble and kind-hearted. After the fall of the Manchu Qing, many people also went to Princess Rongshou, and she also did her best to help the homeless refugees. Even after the establishment of the Republic of China, her reputation at home and abroad was extremely high, and many important activities held by manchu qing widows were necessarily invited to participate in Princess Rongshou. In 1924, princess Rongshou died in Beijing at the age of 71, although it was not conspicuous in history, but Princess Rongshou also influenced the decisions of Empress Dowager Cixi, and it can be regarded as indirectly playing her role in history.