As we all know, the essence of feudal society is a patriarchal society with the patriarchal system as the core, in ancient times, the status of women has always been lower than that of men, and in most dynasties, it is the exclusive right of men to slaughter officials.
However, even in such an environment, there are still many outstanding political women who occupy a place in the history books of successive dynasties, and Empress Xiaozhuangwen of the Qing Dynasty is one of them.
Empress Xiaozhuangwen went through four emperors in her lifetime, and her political talent was not questioned, and on her deathbed, she left a last word, the Kangxi Emperor could not come up with a solution until his death, and finally 38 years later was easily resolved by the Yongzheng Emperor, so what did this last word say?
Xiao Zhuang's last words, Kangxi was embarrassed
In December of the 26th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the news came from the inner palace of the Qing Court that Empress Dowager Zhaosheng was critically ill.
Upon hearing this news, the Kangxi Emperor rushed to his grandmother's side at the first time, and accompanied the attendant day and night, personally serving the soup medicine.
The Kangxi Emperor grew up around Xiaozhuang since childhood, and the feelings between his grandchildren were extremely deep, so after Xiaozhuang fell ill, Kangxi personally led the princes and ministers to walk to the Temple of Heaven in the hope that his filial piety and sincerity could move the heavens and let his grandmother live longer.
To this end, the Kangxi Emperor was even willing to sacrifice his own life in exchange for his grandmother's life, "remembering his weak age, losing his shame early, tending to inherit his grandmother's knees, for more than thirty years, bowing to the teachings, and even achieving success." If there is no grandmother, the empress dowager, it will not be established today, and the grace of the same pole will be difficult to repay in a lifetime... If you are big or poor, you are willing to reduce the age of your subjects and increase the life expectancy of the empress dowager for several years."
All these things, it is not difficult to see the important position of Filial Piety in the heart of the Kangxi Emperor.
However, although the ancient emperors claimed to be ordained by heaven, they were not really "sons of heaven", and how could the order of man be changed because of manpower.
What's more, at that time, Empress Xiaozhuang was already over the age of Hua Jia, and she had gone through four grassland kings, which was enough to be called an advanced age in the eyes of the people of the time.
No matter how sincere the Kangxi Emperor was, Empress Xiaozhuang's body continued to decline day by day.
In the days before his death, whenever Kangxi was accompanied by him, Empress Xiaozhuang repeatedly urged him to put Jiangshan Sheji as the most important, and posterity speculated that perhaps because the Shunzhi Emperor was too affectionate, which made Empress Xiaozhuang always have a knot in her heart, so when she was educating the Kangxi Emperor, she always hoped that he could put the Great Qing Jiangshan in the first place.
On December 25, 26, the seventy-five-year-old Empress Xiaozhuang completed her life quietly and peacefully.
The legend that belonged to her should have been sealed, but because of her last words, she gave the next two emperors a problem.
Before Empress Xiaozhuang was dying, she instructed Kangxi: "Emperor Taizong's mountain tomb has been enshrined for a long time, and you must not move lightly for me, and I am reluctant to let your father and son in my heart, so let me choose a place near your father's tomb to be buried." ”
Before Empress Xiaozhuang died, she looked back on her life and expressed her affirmation for Kangxi, the grandson who was raised by her, and her dying words were almost all around the Jiangshan Sheji of the Qing Dynasty, leaving only such a commandment for her own posthumous affairs.
Perhaps Empress Xiaozhuang herself did not think that this last words of death had almost plagued her most beloved grandson for a lifetime.
As we all know, the ancients were born and died in the same cave, and the royal family was even more so, and even, in the feudal society of three wives and four concubines, being able to bury a cave with the husband was a symbol of each wife's own status.
After the death of the empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty, she will be buried in the mausoleum of the former emperor and buried with him, called the same cave of the empress dowager, the constant of the state.
However, Xiaozhuang's last words made other arrangements for his own cemetery, so that Kangxi was embarrassed, on the one hand, the ancestral rules, on the other hand, the grandmother's last words, no matter which one to follow, which one to turn against, it was not a two-pronged approach.
Therefore, after the Kangxi Emperor thought about it left and right, he could only take the compromise method first.
He gave his grandmother a very honorable title- Empress Xiaozhuang Ren Xuancheng Xian Gong Yi Yi Tianqi Shengwen, referred to as Empress Xiaozhuangwen for short.
And according to her last wishes, the coffin was not transported to Shengjing to be buried with the Emperor Taiji, but was temporarily placed in the Eastern Tomb of the Qing Dynasty in Jingdong, and the five rooms of the East King Hall of the Cining Palace where Xiaozhuang lived before his death were demolished and built under the Changrui Mountain, called the "Temporary An Feng Hall" and stopped in it.
However, as we all know, this is only a stopgap measure, and how it is possible to live here temporarily for a lifetime after a country is only a temporary measure when the Kangxi Emperor wanted to satisfy his grandmother's wishes and did not think of a suitable opportunity.
However, even the Kangxi Emperor himself did not expect that this matter had been difficult for him for 38 years, until his son Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, and it was not resolved.
After the death of Empress Xiaozhuang, the Kangxi Emperor repeatedly tried to follow his grandmother's wishes and build another mausoleum for her, but was resisted by the Qing Dynasty's Wang clan relatives.
The Kangxi Emperor was unwilling to disobey his grandmother's last wishes, nor was he able to resist all his clan relatives, so he could only place empress dowager Xiaozhuang's coffin in the Temporary An Fengdian Hall, because this place was also the most popular place for Empress Xiaozhuang's life.
I just didn't expect that this embarrassing matter could not be properly resolved until the death of the Kangxi Emperor.
The Yongzheng Emperor decreed
In the third year of Yongzheng, that is, in 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor aimed to build a cemetery on the spot in the original place of the Yongzheng Temple, and bury the coffin of Empress Xiaozhuangwen in her underground palace.
As soon as this move came out, it was opposed by many royal relatives and Manchu ministers, after all, if the matter was so easy to solve, the Kangxi Emperor would not hesitate to let his grandmother settle for 38 years.
However, the Yongzheng Emperor had an idea as early as the beginning of the edict, because Empress Xiaozhuangwen's mausoleum was west of the Taiji Zhao Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Shengjing, and he decreed that it be called "Zhaoxi Mausoleum".
Geographically, the Zhaoxi Tomb and the Zhaoling Tomb echo each other, it is actually one and two, two and one, if it is circled into the Feng Shui Wall of the Tanglin Tomb, it will form a barrier, so that Xiaozhuang is buried in the underground palace, which not only satisfies the rules of burying a cave with the Emperor Taiji, but also realizes her last wish before her death, which is the best of both worlds.
Although there were still many voices of opposition from the royal family at that time, after all, it had been thirty-eight years since the death of Empress Xiaozhuangwen at this time, and the ancients paid attention to the safety of the earth, not to mention the empress dowager of a country, so although there were still many opposition voices among the royal family, they were no longer as resolute as when the Kangxi Emperor was alive.
In addition, after the Yongzheng Emperor came to power, he once again strengthened the centralization of power and imperial power, which further enhanced the power of the emperor, and the Yongzheng Emperor had already come up with a good argument for this matter, so many clan elders also opened one eye and closed one eye.
At this point, this difficult matter that had been entangled in the heart of the Kangxi Emperor for many years was finally solved, and Empress Xiaozhuangwen's last words were finally realized.
Why did Xiaozhuang say such a last word
Empress Xiaozhuangwen's last words not only plagued the Kangxi Emperor for many years, but also made later historians speculate.
To this day, historians have three speculations about the reasons for this.
First of all, according to Empress Xiaozhuangwen's dying words, she believed that Huang Taiji had been dead for many years, and if she wanted to be buried with him, she would have to build a lot of civil engineering, which would undoubtedly disturb The Spirit of Emperor Taiji in heaven, and Empress Xiaozhuangwen did not want to be buried with him out of respect.
The second statement is a layer of love.
It is said that Empress Xiaozhuangwen had a friendship with Dorgon, and she was not favored by Emperor Taiji after she entered the palace, and even after Emperor Taiji's death, she was able to support her son all the way to the throne, all because of Dorgon's support, so in her heart, she may not be willing to die with other men, even if this man is her righteous husband.
Of course, although this view is the most widely circulated, it is not supported by sufficient historical data.
The third view is related to the cremation custom that was just emerging at that time, it is said that at that time, if it was to be buried with the emperor Taiji, it was also necessary to be cremated, and then the ashes could be buried in Zhaoling, but Empress Xiaozhuangwen was not willing, so she left such a last word before her death.
These three views are some of the views that are widely circulated in the field of historians today, of course, there are many other speculations in the historians about Empress Xiaozhuangwen's last words, but there is no more support.
There have been four overlords and three emperors
In her lifetime, Empress Xiaozhuangwen not only experienced four steppe overlords and assisted three emperors, but also personally cultivated the prosperous lord of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi, who was both a virtuous palace concubine and an excellent female politician.
She was originally from the Mongolian noble tribe of Korqin, and later married Emperor Taiji as a side Fujin, and after Emperor Taiji ascended the throne as emperor, she was crowned as a Zhuang concubine, ranking last among the four concubines.
Although later generations praised this strange woman, according to historical records, before Emperor Taiji's death, Empress Xiaozhuangwen was not very favored, and even if she gave birth to the later Shunzhi Emperor, she still failed to become the favorite concubine of Emperor Taiji.
It was not until the death of Emperor Taiji, empress Xiaozhuangwen, who assisted her young son to ascend the throne and join the regent Dorgon, that her legendary life really began.
However, posterity focused more on the love-hate relationship between her and Dorgon, and ignored her contributions to the Qing Dynasty before the Shunzhi Emperor came to power.
During the lifetime of Emperor Taiji, although Empress Xiaozhuangwen was not very favored, her name of wisdom had already spread to the Mongolian tribes, and although she was born into the Mongolian nobility, she knew the importance of uniting the Han people, so when Emperor Taiji first ascended the throne, she also gave Huang Taiji a lot of meaningful advice.
Later, in 1643, after the death of Emperor Taiji, Shunzhi succeeded to the throne, nominally Dorgon as the regent, but he spent most of his time outside the country to unify the country, and the real emperor was Empress Xiaozhuangwen.
During this period, the imperial court made one effort to conquer all the ministries externally, collect land, lightly favor the internal endowment, and stabilize the court, so it can be said that the political clarity of the early Qing Dynasty was inseparable from Empress Xiaozhuangwen's visit to the government.
Some historians even said that Empress Xiaozhuangwen at that time had the opportunity and strength to become the second Wu Zetian, but she chose another path.
However, after the Shunzhi Emperor took over the government, he first stripped the late Dolgun of his title, then reused Han Chen, and became close to the Han concubines, but also because the sole favorite Concubine Dong E repeatedly collided with Xiaozhuang, which finally led to the mother and son's inexplicable heart.
Perhaps, as the empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Xiaozhuangwen was already worthy of the Qing dynasty royal family, but as a woman, she was not favored by her husband and was separated from her son, which was also a great tragedy.
Raise Kangxi and cultivate Mingjun
Although Empress Xiaozhuangwen was not very close to her son Emperor Shunzhi, the later Qing Emperor Kangxi had a deep affection for this grandmother.
The Kangxi Emperor's birth mother, Concubine Tong, was born in the Han Eight Banners and was also favored for a period of time at first, but after Princess Dong entered the palace, she gradually became no longer favored, and she had a son, the later Kangxi Emperor.
As the third son of Shunzhi, the Kangxi Emperor was not a concubine or a long-term concubine, and the Shunzhi Emperor was the only one who favored Concubine Dong at that time, so he did not care very much about him.
Although Empress Xiaozhuangwen did not like the Han concubines, she was very fond of her grandson.
Later, Kangxi was infected with smallpox, and after treatment, he successfully escaped from danger, which made Empress Xiaozhuangwen believe that this son was responsible for the great creation, so she paid more attention to him.
In 1661, the 24-year-old Shunzhi Emperor suddenly died, and before his death, he made a testament to pass the throne to Huang's third son Xuan Ye, and then died.
Kangxi was only eight years old when he succeeded to the throne, and Shunzhi was worried about the suspicion of the lord and the country, so he specially assigned four auxiliary ministers to him, namely Soni, Suksaha, Shubilong, and Aobai, hoping that before the Kangxi Emperor took the throne, the four of them would jointly assist and balance each other.
Since then, the eight-year-old Kangxi Emperor, in addition to studying and reading every day, spent most of his time under the personal instruction of Empress Xiaozhuangwen.
The Kangxi Emperor was not loved by his father when he was a teenager, and his mother Tong Jiashi was seriously ill when he was ten years old, so it can be said that Empress Xiaozhuangwen was the elder who gave him the most love when he was young, which is one of the reasons why the Kangxi Emperor was so sad and unwilling before Empress Xiaozhuangwen died later.
Kangxi later captured Aobai at the age of fourteen, and his courage and courage were not born, including many of empress Xiaozhuangwen's patient teachings day and night, and even, in the pro-government career after Kangxi, whether it was the style of government or the way of doing things, in many ways similar to Empress Xiaozhuangwen, it can be said that Empress Xiaozhuangwen's influence on Kangxi was huge, even far beyond her father, The Shunzhi Emperor.
Qing Zhao Xi Mausoleum
The Kangxi Emperor ruled the country with filial piety, and when he was ten years old, his mother Tong Jiashi was seriously ill, and he did not give up day and night to personally serve soup medicine, winning praise from all over the court.
Empress Xiaozhuangwen was seriously ill, and this was even more so, and the Kangxi Emperor not only prayed for his grandmother for many days, but also was willing to exchange his life for her grandmother's well-being, which showed her filial piety.
However, a last word of Empress Xiaozhuangwen before her death made the Kangxi Emperor difficult for thirty-eight years, and from a private point of view, there is no doubt that the Kangxi Emperor wanted to fulfill his grandmother's dying wish, but as an emperor, he also had too much powerlessness, so he could only take a compromise.
Even until his death, he could not come up with a solution, which was also a major regret for him.
Fortunately, after the Yongzheng Emperor succeeded to the throne, he understood the location of his father's heart knot, and after much thought, he finally came up with a two-pronged strategy, buried Empress Xiaozhuangwen in the underground palace on the spot, and built a mausoleum in the same place, calling it zhaoxi mausoleum.
In the third year of Yongzheng, that is, in 1725, it was also the 100th anniversary of the marriage between Emperor Taiji and Xiaozhuang, and the Yongzheng Emperor specially chose to revisit the old things at this special time, and he thought that the place was quite auspicious on the grounds that Empress Xiaozhuang Wen had been temporarily prosperous since the country was temporarily safe, and the holy ancestors had a long reign and descendants, so he changed the temporary an fengdian hall to Zhaoxi Mausoleum.
Construction began on the third day of the first month of February in the third year of the Yongzheng Dynasty, and on the tenth day of the first month of December of the same year, Empress Xiaozhuangwen was buried in the underground palace.
As the second empress mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty, Zhaoxi Mausoleum is grand in scale and is also the highest-ranking empress mausoleum in the Qing Dynasty, which not only symbolizes the contribution made by Empress Xiaozhuangwen to the imperial court in the early Qing Dynasty, but also represents the recognition of his political talent by several emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
Among them, many structures of the Zhaoxi Mausoleum are different from the specifications of the Empress Mausoleum.
Among the many mausoleums of the Qing Dynasty, whether it is the Empress Mausoleum or the Concubine Garden Bed, the main hall of its tomb is the top of the mountain, and the difference is only the difference between single eaves and heavy eaves, but only the Zhaoxi Tomb Hall is the top of the temple, and the top of the hall is the most noble and advanced form in ancient architecture, which also reflects the status of the tomb owner from here.
In addition, only one wall was built around all the mausoleums in the Qing Dynasty, but the Zhaoxi Mausoleum had two internal and external walls, which became the only special case in the Qing Tombs.
bibliography:
The Mystery of the Qing Zhao Mausoleum