Aixin Jueluo Zaiyan, the Qing Dynasty's Emperor Dezong Guangxu, was the eleventh emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He ascended the throne as emperor at the age of four, and at the beginning, the two empress dowagers Ci'an and Cixi presided over government affairs behind the scenes. After Ci'an's death, the Empress Dowager Cixi held power alone until Emperor Guangxu reached the age of eighteen and nominally began to govern herself, but in reality power remained firmly in the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Emperor Guangxu was restrained by the Empress Dowager Cixi throughout his life and failed to truly grasp real power. In 1898, Emperor Guangxu tried to implement the "Wuxu Reform Law", but encountered strong opposition from conservative forces led by the Empress Dowager Cixi. He originally planned to rely on Yuan Shikai to imprison Cixi, but he was unexpectedly betrayed by Yuan Shikai, and since then he has been imprisoned by the Empress Dowager Cixi in Yingtai, Zhongnanhai. This short-lived reform lasted only one hundred and three days, hence the name "Hundred Days Restoration".
From the imprisonment of Emperor Guangxu in Yingtai to his death, many major events took place during this period: the Boxers and the Qing army resisted the Eight-Nation Alliance, signed the Treaty of Xincho, the Empress Dowager Cixi implemented a new policy, the Russo-Japanese War broke out, and the revolutionaries launched many uprisings (such as the Pingliuli Uprising, the Qinuhu Uprising, the Anqing Uprising, the Shaoxing Uprising, the Qinlianfang Uprising, etc.). On October 21, 34 years, Emperor Guangxu died, at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve eight, was buried in the Chongling Tomb of Yongning Mountain, Hebei Province, the temple name Dezong, and the nickname "Emperor Jing of the same day Chongyun Dazhong to Zhengwen Wei Wuren filial piety, wisdom, thrift, and diligence Jing", referred to as Emperor Jing.
[Eight great misfortunes]
Emperor Guangxu's political career was undoubtedly tragic, but his family life was equally fraught with misfortunes. He had only one empress and two concubines in his lifetime, which was extremely rare among Qing emperors. We will not mention Emperor Xuantong here for the time being, because he ascended the throne at a young age and abdicated quickly, so he cannot be counted as an adult emperor. As far as adult emperors are concerned, the Qing Dynasty did not have only one queen and two concubines like Guangxu. And the only one queen and two concubines failed to bring happiness to Guangxu, and his life was full of eight misfortunes.
First, his father is Prince Yixun, and their relationship is both father and son and monarch. Unlike the relationship between Qianlong and his father Yongzheng, Guangxu and his father lacked the simple father-son relationship. His father had to kneel before him and be a vassal, which prevented them from talking openly like a normal father and son.
Second, the mother-child relationship is also fraught with tragedy. Qianlong could eat with his mother, greet her, and even accompany her to the south of the Yangtze River, but Guangxu couldn't. His mother lives in Prince Alcohol's Mansion, and Guangxu must go through special procedures and approvals to see his mother, and he can't talk casually like ordinary mothers and sons after meeting.
Third, the empress was Cixi's own niece, which made Guangxu have to be careful when dealing with her, lest she report her words and deeds to Cixi. The empress appointed by Cixi for Guangxu was not his favorite, which had a great impact on their relationship as husband and wife.
Fourth, Guangxu had a soft spot for Concubine Zhen, but Cixi and the Empress did not like her. This makes Guangxu in a dilemma on the issue of Concubine Zhen and unable to get along with her as he wants.
Fifth, Guangxu has brothers, but their relationship cannot be as close as ordinary people, and they enjoy the brotherhood between brothers.
Sixth, Cixi is not only the empress dowager of Guangxu, but also his caregiver, and can be said to be his relative and benefactor. But politically, Cixi was his enemy and enemy. This contradictory relationship brought great tragedy to Guangxu's family life.
Seventh, Guangxu has no children and no daughters, which makes his family life lack the joy and warmth of his children.
Eighth, Guangxu lived a prisoner-like life for a long time, with almost no one to interact with him, lonely and lonely, which was also a tragedy for his personal life. As emperor, he had supremacy, but as an ordinary man, he also experienced all the misfortunes and hardships of life.