Cixi can be said to be one of the more familiar women in China's feudal history, and she is also the empress, Cixi's "political achievements" can be compared with Lü Hou and others, not the emperor but monopolizing the power of the dynasty for nearly half a century, and its "prestige" is not inferior to Wu Zetian. It's just that cixi's deeds have always been criticized by the world, and unequal treaties such as "Gengzi Reparations" pushed the Qing Dynasty to a place of no return, and many people thought she was a sinner.
Since a sinner must have an abominable face, in fact, from the old photos left by Cixi did not disappoint us, from Cixi's eagle eyes can see her fierceness, the appearance can also see her lofty aura, only in the American Archives, there is still a real "old photo" of Cixi, after reading it, I know that the original Lafayette really looks like this?
Magnolia flowers, get the grace
Cixi's origin is still a mystery, some people say that she is the daughter of Huizheng of the Yehenara clan, and some people say that she is the daughter of the Han people, who was sold into the prefect Huizheng family as a slave, and later entered the palace as a nobleman as a daughter. No matter what kind of statement, cixi entering the palace as Lan Guiren is an unchangeable fact, and the reason why she is called Lan Guiren is because the Xianfeng Emperor loves magnolia flowers, and the woman who can make the emperor name himself with his beloved things shows that Cixi was also very fond of Xianfeng when she was young.
The harem has never lacked beautiful women, Xianfeng such a sick straw is naturally indispensable, counting his harem concubines up to 18, obviously Cixi is extremely unlikely to win with appearance, from her later old photos, it can be seen that she is not dominant, she can be promoted to the title of "Yi Concubine" within two years and without anywhere, indicating that Cixi is a very intelligent person, she knows how to please the Xianfeng Emperor, not to please people with posture.
Don't think that Cixi is a proficient person in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, when she first became a Lan Gui, she didn't know a few big characters, or the Xianfeng Emperor taught her to read and write by hand, in front of the emperor, she showed her daughter's weakness and tenderness, aroused the emperor's desire to protect, how could such a special thing Xianfeng not like? Cixi relied on this to obtain the favor of the Xianfeng Emperor, and when she gave birth to Xianfeng's only heir, she was directly promoted to Yi Guifei, and after many years of careful management, she sat on the position of empress dowager as she wished.
Moving qi, nourishing and moving the body
Cixi is a wise person, don't look at her without culture, but she has a clever mind, more proficient in the art of imperial power, otherwise she would not have successfully overthrown the eight ministers of Gu Ming with Prince Gong Yixuan after Xianfeng had just died, and the eight ministers of Gu Ming left by the previous emperor died three times and five times, and Cixi, who had just taken power, revealed her fierce means and sharpness. If cixi in the early days was out of self-preservation and had to do it, then later competing with the Tongzhi and Guangxu emperors for power was her deliberate move.
Cixi has no ability to govern the country, and the struggle for power with her son is very set, perennial harem immersion, long years of control of power, she is no longer the illiterate Lan Gui, full of power desire at work. As the saying goes, the face of Cixi is also changing, and when we see the photos of her in her later years, it is the fierce eagle-eyed, solemn appearance, and the beauty is not at all compatible.
People with such a heart and mind, even if they dress up as bodhisattvas, can hardly hide the fierceness and fierceness emanating from her body, so when we see the old photos of Cixi dressed as Cixi, we will have a deep sense of violation, but she is the highest power controller, no one dares to tell the truth, and Cixi lost herself in a burst of praise, as if she regarded herself as a beautiful woman.
Female painter, painting Cixi
Cixi was a representative of the diehard faction in the late Qing Dynasty, and its purpose was to grasp the power in his hands and not give up, ostensibly to return the government to the Guangxu Emperor, but in fact, he finally changed his identity as a "training government" to continue to control the government. Stubborn thinking does not mean that Cixi can not accept new things, there are not a few foreign things in the harem, the world's earliest cabinet phonograph Cixi has one, but also keen to take pictures, which is why she later left many photos of her later years.
Cixi received many Western noblewomen, including a woman named Carl, she is a well-known female painter in the United States, the two get along very happily, Carl lived in the palace for eight months, during which he painted a portrait of Cixi, in which Cixi was dressed in a golden flag suit, holding a string of beads in one hand, holding a copper mirror in the other, and the bronze mirror reflected Cixi's appearance, according to Karl's text description: "She looks very beautiful, thinking that she is more than forty years old, in fact, Empress Dowager Cixi is more than seventy years old."
It can be seen from the portrait that Cixi is indeed a "beauty", exuding a noble atmosphere, and what is reflected in the mirror is graceful and elegant, not to mention the superior posture, it can also be said that she is beautiful, after all, it is not easy to have such a look at the age of seventy years old. Therefore, Cixi is a beauty in the eyes of Westerners, even Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom is ashamed of herself, and this real "old photo" of Cixi is still treasured in the archives of the United States.
Good at health, jealous of beauty
There is no harm without contrast, the "old photos" of American female painters and the real photos of Cixi form a sharp contrast, it is undeniable that the photographic technology at that time was poor, the Cixi in the photos lacked a sense of freshness and agility, and Karl integrated his impression of Cixi into the pen, showing the world another real Lafayette, just like our modern photographs, sometimes people take very ugly, sometimes very eye-catching, Karl's works have similarities.
Cixi's proficiency in health maintenance is well known, and it is said that her face in her seventies is not wrinkled, but her old dragon clock still cannot be hidden in the real photos. It is said that people rely on clothes and horses to rely on saddles, and a costume is enough to cover up Cixi's deficiencies, and Karl is impressed by Cixi's luxurious atmosphere, so her Cixi reflects her admiration for Cixi, and it is inevitable that she will "look superior".
Another point, careful people will see that there is no beauty in Cixi's photo, and the palace maids, concubines, etc. who are waiting for her around her are ugly one by one, so as to highlight Cixi's "beauty", when there is a real beauty, it will be deeply disliked by Cixi, such as Zhenfei, the ending of Zhenfei is the best example, Cixi can not tolerate anyone more beautiful than her.
Cixi is like a flower against the background of many green leaves, which is the first impression in the painter Karl, and there is also a certain connection with the general environment at that time. Although the Eight-Power Alliance invaded Beijing, but the United States was good friends with the Qing court, the United States at that time was not as strong as the British, like the Qing court such a giant crocodile naturally had to come and go more, which is also something that Cixi was very willing to see, so there was Karl's behavior of living in the palace for eight months, so it is not excluded that Carl's Cixi has the meaning of "please".
brief summary
It can be seen that the female painter Carl's Cixi incorporates a lot of subjective colors, she shows the world another face of Cixi, perhaps Cixi is majestic and gentle in the harem, but it is not shown in the photos, after all, the photographic technology of that period is limited, and the real "old photos" of Cixi painted by Carl are more humane.
Whether it is the "old photos" treasured in the American Archives or the photos of Cixi's palace, they all show the different real appearances of Cixi, lafayette, but one stands on the perspective of art and the other from the perspective of realism.
Reference: The Mystery of Cixi's Life