In the deep palace of the Forbidden City, there is a mysterious secret room that only Cixi can enter. Every afternoon, she would go in alone for several hours. The eunuchs in the palace can only speculate about this, but no one knows the truth about the secret room. It wasn't until after Cixi's death that the mystery was finally revealed. What shocking secrets are hidden in that secret room, and why is Cixi so obsessed with it? Let's find out.
Cixi was obsessed with beauty
In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, a young girl from humble origin, Ci Chui, was elected as a concubine in the Forbidden City. She was originally just a nobody, but with her extraordinary wisdom and skill, she finally stole the favor of the emperor of the current dynasty. After several years of palace conspiracy and struggle, Ci Chui supported his cronies step by step, completely controlled the power in his own hands, and was respected as the "Empress Dowager Cixi".
Once in power, Cixi began to live a life of extravagance. She spends a lot of money, has three exquisite meals of delicacies from the mountains and seas, and her clothes are even more brilliant. Traces of her profligacy can be seen everywhere in the Forbidden City, and even the toiletries are carved from the finest precious jade.
However, for Cixi, these luxuries were only part of the symbols of power, and she was most obsessed with beauty. She believes that only by maintaining a youthful face can she have imperial power forever. To this end, she did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to buy a magical "deodorant" from the West.
Legend has it that this deodorant is made from several rare herbs and has the miraculous effect of nourishing the skin and prolonging life. Cixi was so impressed with it that she would apply a deodorant in the secret room every day and meditate there for hours, hoping to use the power of the deodorant to maintain her youthful complexion forever.
However, the formula of deodorant is very scarce and requires the use of some extremely rare materials. In order to obtain these materials, Cixi did not hesitate to take risks, even regardless of the harm to nature. She selected a dozen of the most beautiful virgins from all over the country, imprisoned them in the palace, and collected their milk and virgin blood every day as the main raw material for the deodorant.
These poor maidens were imprisoned in dark and damp dungeons, subjected to inhuman abuse. Their blood is hollowed out little by little, just to satisfy a crazy woman's obsession with beauty. What's more, Cixi even ordered the corpses of these young girls to be made into specimens and kept forever in the secret room, becoming a "living fossil" of her eternal youth.
In addition to deodorant, Cixi's obsession with beauty is also reflected in another quirk. Believing that the smell of fresh apples makes people younger, she fills every dwelling with apples, smelling the "apple scent" for several hours every day. To satisfy this strange idea, the national treasury wastes hundreds of thousands of fine apples every year, which could have been used to provide relief for natural disasters.
From these details, we can see how obsessed Cixi has become. She did not hesitate to hurt nature and reason, and took risks, just to maintain her youthful appearance. And at the root of all this is her insane thirst for power. She believes that only by being young and beautiful forever can she control the imperial power forever. Therefore, she pursues beauty at all costs, even at the expense of the lives of innocent girls.
Cixi was superstitious and strange
In addition to being obsessed with beauty, Cixi is also convinced of all mysterious and strange powers. She firmly believes that as long as she passes certain mysterious rituals, she can gain the ability to live forever and be young and beautiful.
The roots of this superstition can be traced back to the origins of Cixi. She was originally a little girl from a humble background, and after being elected to the palace, she began to accept the influence of Taoism. At that time, there was a superstitious idea of "immortality" in the royal family, believing that as long as the cultivation was successful, one could obtain eternal life.
Cixi was convinced of this, believing that as long as she had enough power and wealth, she would be able to realize her dream of eternal life with the help of mystical powers. Therefore, after she took power, a series of superstitious activities began.
The most mysterious of them is the ritual she performs in the secret room. According to the palace eunuchs, whenever Cixi entered the secret room, she was accompanied by several "mages" dressed in strange costumes. They held ritual weapons in their hands and chanted ancient incantations in their mouths, and the ritual process was extremely mysterious.
What is even more shocking is that in a stone chamber deep in the secret room, a large number of gold and silver jewels were found. It seems that all this wealth was reserved by Cixi for some purpose. It is speculated that she believed that with enough wealth, she could gain immortality through certain mystical rituals.
In addition to the wealth, some strange artifacts were also found in the stone chamber, such as some kind of ritual vessel or sacrifice. Judging by their shape, it is likely that they are related to some Taoist rituals. It can be seen that Cixi's performance in the secret room should be a kind of immortality ritual originating from Taoism.
In order to be able to carry out this ceremony successfully, Cixi can be said to have worked a lot. She not only hired a group of knowledgeable "mages" from all over the country, but also specially collected a large number of sacrifices and ritual weapons from the people. On one occasion, she even ordered an ancient tomb to be excavated in Shanxi just to obtain a treasure in the tomb.
This behavior was undoubtedly destroying cultural relics, but Cixi did not care about it. In her eyes, as long as it can help her gain eternal life, even if it is to destroy an ancient tomb. It can be seen that her desire for eternal life has reached the point of madness.
Ironically, however, despite her efforts to pursue eternal life, Cixi ultimately failed to do so. After her death, the secret room was opened, and there were broken ritual objects and sacrifices everywhere, and even the gold, silver, and jewelry, which she regarded as the most precious treasure, were rusted.
It seems that those so-called "rites of eternal life" are simply a hoax and simply cannot fulfill Cixi's wishes. The reason why she is so superstitious is largely because of her ignorance and ignorance. As a ruler, she should have understood that the pursuit of immortality was an unrealistic fantasy, but she was blinded by this fantasy and ended up paying a heavy price.
Cixi was ruthless
However, in stark contrast to Cixi's obsession with beauty and eternal life, she was indifferent to state affairs and ruthless to the people. She spends her days immersed in the fantasy of pursuing beauty and eternal life, but she leaves behind the future of her country.
In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, it was a time of crisis for the invasion of foreign powers. At that time, both the government and the opposition were anxious about the future of the country. People of insight wrote one after another, suggesting that the imperial court strengthen its national strength and expand its armaments to resist the invasion of foreign enemies.
However, Cixi ignored this. She thinks it's all "idle things" and it's not worth her to worry about at all. In contrast, she is more concerned with how to obtain the formula of the deodorant and how to perform the immortality ceremony.
Once, when a scholar was instructed to report to Cixi on state affairs, she replied confidently: "It is my duty to love beauty and maintain it, and this is a state affair." From these words, it can be seen that she has put her personal desires above the future of the country and the nation.
What's even more distressing is that in order to satisfy her obsession with beauty, Cixi brutally tortured and killed countless innocent girls. She selected a dozen of the most beautiful virgins from all over the country, imprisoned them in the palace, and collected their milk and virgin blood every day as raw materials for deodorant.
These poor maidens were imprisoned in dark and damp dungeons, subjected to inhuman abuse. Their blood is hollowed out little by little, just to satisfy a crazy woman's obsession with beauty. What's more, Cixi even ordered the corpses of these girls to be made into specimens and kept in the secret room forever.
When the common people learned of this shocking news, they all hated Cixi. They likened her to a demon and hoped that she would soon pay for her crimes.
In the eyes of the common people, Cixi is more like a legendary monster than a normal human being. There was an old man in the village, and his granddaughter was originally a talented and beautiful girl, but she was taken away by Cixi's people. Some people say that she went to do hard labor for the Queen Mother, but the more terrifying rumor is that the girl was emptied of blood juice alive.
"My granddaughter, the Queen Mother is a banshee who bullies men and women like this!" the old man said angrily. He felt that his granddaughter was like a bird in a cage that could be killed by her at any time.
There is also a mother in the village, her son was a warrior of the Qing Forbidden Army, but he was killed in the Russian war of aggression against China. But Cixi was still eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and she didn't care about life and death on the border. "My son sacrificed his life for the country, and the ruthless demon of the Queen Mother deserves death!" She felt that her son's life had been sacrificed in vain by this mediocre ruler.
It can be said that Cixi completely left the future of the country and the nation behind, and she only focused on her own selfish desires. And in order to satisfy this selfish desire, she does not hesitate to hurt nature and reason, and even disregards the lives of her siblings. It is this ruthlessness that dooms her to be spurned by history.
Villagers commented that Cixi was not human
Cixi's various atrocities and mediocre rule naturally aroused strong dissatisfaction among the common people. In their eyes, Cixi was more of a legendary monster than a normal human ruler.
At that time, many rumors and folk tales about Cixi were circulating throughout the country. Without exception, these stories portray her as a cold, brutal, and unconscionable monster.
In a small village in Shanxi, there is such a story. There was an old man in the village, and his granddaughter was originally a talented and beautiful girl, but unfortunately she was taken away by Cixi's people.
Some people say that he went to do hard labor for the Queen Mother. But the more terrifying rumor is that the girl was emptied of blood juice alive just to make the deodorant that Cixi was obsessed with.
"My granddaughter, the Queen Mother is a banshee who bullies men and women like this!" the old man said angrily. He felt that his granddaughter was like a bird in a cage that could be killed by her at any time.
In another village, there is also a harrowing story. There was a mother in the village, her son was a warrior of the Qing Forbidden Army, but he was killed in the Russian war of aggression against China. However, when she learned of this bad news, Cixi was still eating, drinking and having fun in the Forbidden City, not caring about life and death on the border.
"My son sacrificed his life for the country, and the ruthless demon of the Queen Mother deserves death!" said the mother. She felt that her son's life had been sacrificed in vain by this mediocre ruler.
In the eyes of the common people, Cixi is such a monster with great crimes. She not only tortured and killed innocent people, but also disregarded the safety of the country and only pursued selfish desires. It was this kind of behavior that made her completely lose her humanity and moral bottom line as a ruler.
As these rumors and stories spread among the people, Cixi's image in the hearts of the common people became more and more negative. Some people compare her to a monster that sucks human spirit, while others compare her to a bloodthirsty demon.
Some even began to believe that Cixi was not a human at all, but a monster in human skin. Because how could a normal human being commit such a heinous atrocity?
This rumor became more and more crazy among the people, and eventually evolved into a myth about Cixi's "inhuman" identity. It is said that she was actually a monster sealed underground, and later returned to the world with mysterious powers, incarnating as a human to control the Qing Dynasty.
The reason why she is so obsessed with beauty and immortality is because she is not mortal in the first place. And she tortured and killed the people and disregarded the safety of the country, also because she had no humanity at all.
Although these rumors may sound absurd, they reflect the extent to which the common people hate Cixi. In their eyes, Cixi was simply a monster with a heinous crime and a loss of conscience, and she was not worthy of being called the ruler of mankind at all.
It was precisely because of this strong opposition of public opinion that eventually led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. How can a country allow such a demon who is regarded as "inhuman" to rule? What she has done is destined to be spurned and punished by history.