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Empress Dowager Cixi, a legendary and complex historical figure. She has been at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for decades, and it is difficult to comment on the merits and demerits, but she has become a microcosm of an era.
In the late Qing Dynasty under her rule, internal and external troubles were frequent, uprisings continued, and the people were struggling to make a living. And she herself was also in turmoil, leaning towards the government and the opposition, and finally fled in a hurry in the war.
The scene was recorded by a Japanese man with a camera and became a witness to the destruction of the Forbidden City. The story of the Empress Dowager Cixi is like a vast epic, which is embarrassing.
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At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the people's livelihood withered, and the Empress Dowager Cixi lived a luxurious life
When the Empress Dowager Cixi took power into her hands, she only cared about whether her life could be guaranteed, and in her eyes, her power and interests were more important than anything else, and she did not fulfill her responsibilities as a ruler.
Under her rule, the people of the late Qing Dynasty were struggling to make a living, and many people were doing their best to survive. Specifically, in order to fill their stomachs, people had to live a life of picking up garbage and begging to survive. Some people are even forced to sell their children in exchange for a little food to survive.
In stark contrast to the poverty of ordinary people, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived in the Forbidden City, lived a luxurious life of fine clothes and food, and turned a blind eye to the suffering of the people. It really smells of Zhumen's wine and meat, and there are frozen bones on the road.
This situation of coexistence of internal and external troubles finally broke out in 1900. In that year, the internal troubles represented by the Boxers and the external troubles represented by the Eight-Nation Alliance struck at the same time, and the Boxers initially claimed to help clear the Qing and destroy the foreigners, but the result was an even greater disaster.
On August 14, the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, killing and plundering women, looting property, and breaking through the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City the next day. Faced with the situation of soldiers approaching the city, the Empress Dowager Cixi quickly fled with the emperor and took refuge in Xi'an.
At this critical moment, the Empress Dowager Cixi's first reaction was to protect her own life and ignore the lives of the people. When she fled, she even put all the blame on the Boxers, completely without reflecting on the responsibilities that she should bear as a ruler.
This fully exposed her incompetence and ruthlessness as a ruler, and after the Empress Dowager Cixi's hasty escape, the Eight-Nation Alliance soon invaded the Forbidden City, and the true face of the Forbidden City was thus seen by outsiders.
After the invasion of the Forbidden City by the Eight-Nation Alliance, it has been transformed from a sacrosanct place into a place for them to plunder at will.
They smashed porcelain, plundered gold and silver treasures, left bullet marks everywhere in the palace, and some soldiers even scribbled on the walls of the palace and carved their names on ancient buildings, these foreigners fully exposed their disregard and trampling on Chinese culture.
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The real Forbidden City as seen through the lens
In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Coalition occupied Beijing, the Forbidden City opened its gates to foreigners, and the eunuchs and officials who were supposed to guard the palace had already fled in all directions, and had no intention of protecting the palace relics. Unlike the heavily guarded cities of the past, such a Forbidden City seems to be more reflective of the true portrayal of the twilight of the dynasty at that time.
At this critical moment in history, a Japanese photographer Kazuma Ogawa entered the Forbidden City by chance and recorded another aspect of this timeless imperial palace with his camera. He went on a field trip with Tadashi Ito, an expert on Japanese architectural history, and captured a large number of rare images.
Ogawa's photographs show a decaying, desolate, dilapidated Forbidden City. For example, the royal road in front of the Taihe Palace, in the past, it was brilliant and brilliant, highlighting the authority of the emperor, but now the grass and trees are full of life, and it is difficult to step, and the "Twenty-five Treasure Seals" inscribed by Qianlong himself are also placed at will at this time, and they are no longer carefully cared for.
The outside of the Zhonghe Hall is crawling with weeds, the walls are peeling, and the area of the Nourishment Hall is small and simple, which is very different from the luxurious dormitory in the TV series. These photographs reveal a different Forbidden City, no longer the former capital of the emperor with absolute and formidable imperial power, but more like a relic abandoned by the times, containing vicissitudes and sorrows.
Ogawa's photographs also capture some lesser-known landscapes in the depths of the Forbidden City. For example, the interior of Kunning Palace is unmaintained, overgrown with weeds and garbage, and these secret realms of the deep palace that were difficult to enter in the past are also revealed under the camera.
While other buildings were only photographed on the outside, Ogawa Kazuma also conducted a more systematic investigation and photography of the interior of the palace. For example, the throne of the Qianqing Palace is carved with dragons and phoenixes, and the gorgeous ornaments in the Yikun Palace are clearly in the mirror, which has unique value for future generations to understand the internal structure and decoration of the Forbidden City.
It can be said that Ogawa Kazuma, as a photographer, recorded the true portrayal of this ancient palace from its heyday to its decline.
His photographs are not only precious, but also authentic, preserving a faithful historical testimony for posterity, giving us a glimpse of what China's feudal dynasty was really like in its final period. This unique and important historical image has been preserved intact by his photographic skills.
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The true appearance of the Forbidden City - the scene of rebirth after the catastrophe
Kazuma Ogawa's photos give us a glimpse of the Forbidden City that we haven't seen for a long time. Once upon a time, this glorious palace symbolized the supreme authority of the emperor and was smoky and like a fairyland. However, the wheel of history has left indelible scars here, and all glory remains only the wreckage of ruins.
When Kazuma Ogawa picked up the camera, the Forbidden City was in its last years. He successively came to the Taihe Hall and the Qianqing Palace, these once splendid palaces, the walls were peeling off and overgrown with weeds. The harem is even more depressed, and Chuxiu Palace and Yikun Palace are filled with desolation. There was a thick layer of paper on the palace wall, but it still couldn't stop the gloom in the cold wind.
The interior of the Taihe Hall was originally elegantly decorated, but now it is full of devastation. In the photo, you can see that the pillars are covered with green moss, and the paintings have fallen off. The carvings on the arches and beams were dusty, and spiders were covered with cobwebs. Many of the tiles on the corner tower have broken and fallen off, revealing the masonry structure inside. The floor of the Qianqing Palace was also littered with broken furniture, and the floor was in shambles.
The harem is even more deserted, and the palace maids who served the queen in the past have long been missing. The doors and windows of the palace were closed, and the surroundings were quiet, only the sound of the wind echoed in the corridors. Once upon a time, these palaces were bustling with laughter from the concubines, but now the desertion is bleak.
The objects in Yikun Palace are covered with thick gray, the color is no longer real, and there are still spider webs hanging on the eaves of Chuxiu Palace, which can be seen how long no one has been cleaning. In the photo, these palaces are like long-abandoned empty houses, and the grandeur of the past can no longer be seen.
However, even if the years are ruthless, they cannot hide the edge of these buildings. The decoration of the Taihe Hall is complex and elegant, the layout of the Qianqing Palace is rigorous and atmospheric, the palace eaves are warped, and the Rui beasts stand, all of which reveal the breathtaking craftsmanship.
This pavilion certainly records the decline of a dynasty, but also carries the painstaking efforts and wisdom of the builders.
When we gaze at these photographs, we will see that despite all the turmoil, the Forbidden City has remained as it has remained for a long time, and the palace has been dilapidated but still retains its former glory. Perhaps it is this contrast that gives people the hope of being reborn from the ruins, which is not only a memory of the past, but also a hope for the future.
The Forbidden City has gone through too many ups and downs, but its unique charm has endured. In the Ming Dynasty, the design of the palace condensed countless painstaking efforts, and according to legend, this masterpiece was made by the master craftsman Kuaixiang of the Ming Dynasty.
The craftsman not only mastered the art of architecture, but also had a high level of aesthetics, and his clever use of wooden structures made the buildings both sophisticated and distinctive.
The layout of the palace is rigorous and innovative, which conforms to the hierarchical order and is rich in variety. These unique design vocabulary have made the Forbidden City extraordinary.
In particular, the graceful cornices have always been a major feature of the Forbidden City, and the decorations on the eaves vary according to the height, some are decorated with stormy waves, and some are embellished with unicorns and phoenixes. These decorations are not only beautiful, but also auspicious, and the suspended corner tower adds a bit of flying posture, which contains the architect's unique concept.
Today, although the glory is gone, the ingenuity of these designs is still faintly visible. This is the charm of the Forbidden City, which leads people's eyes to explore the true meaning of the rise and fall of glory and disgrace across time and space.
The palace has been sublimated in the vicissitudes of life and insists on inheriting the imprint of history. It will continue to inspire infinite reverie with its unique style.
This series of photographs captures the true state of the Forbidden City in the late Qing Dynasty, giving us a glimpse into the rise and fall of this ancient palace.
However, after all, photographs can only freeze a certain moment, and cannot show the whole picture of history. We can't just make conclusions based on these static images, and we shouldn't read too much subjective emotion in the photos.
As an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese architectural art, the Forbidden City's historical value far exceeds our imagination and deserves to be understood and cherished from a broader perspective. No matter how the fortunes of the country change, this microcosm of Chinese civilization still stands, waiting for us to discover the wisdom hidden in it.