Cixi wrote only one poem in her life, but it was compiled into primary school textbooks, and now everyone is familiar with it. What is unique about this poem that it can stand out and be so admired by posterity? Cixi, the controversial empress, what kind of talent and attainments does she have in artistic creation? In addition to reflecting the unique feminine feelings of women, does her poem also contain a deeper connotation? As the empress who ruled the Qing Dynasty for 48 years, how twists and turns did Cixi's mental journey finally make her write such an affectionate masterpiece? Is there some mysterious causal connection between her experience and the poem? Let's explore the untold story behind this little poem.
Tracing the origin of Cixi's childhood
If you want to talk about the origin of Cixi's life experience, you have to mention that she was born in Yunyang Prefecture in the 42nd year of Kangxi and during the reign of Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty. This Yunyang is a place where the Manchu people live in Huguang, and the Manchus have moved to this place from the mainland since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the Cixi line is the descendants of the Manchurian banner people who have taken root in the local area for a long time. Her ancestors were hereditary editors of the Mongolian Prince's Palace, and although they were not prominent families, they were also famous.
When Cixi was born, her original name was Yehenara, and she was a small character in her childhood, and when she was fifteen years old, she changed her name to a show girl, and was honored as "Yehenala Fotanna", so she began to have the nickname Cixi that everyone knows today. She was born beautiful and small since she was a child, with picturesque eyebrows, which can be called natural beauty. Coupled with the family history, her grandmother once personally taught her poetry and lyrics, so that she has some talents.
However, Cixi's girlhood was not peaceful, and her family was harassed by the local green battalion soldiers from time to time. In the second year of the Republic of China, she wrote in a letter to her mother: "Yang Wei is benevolent, compassion is not bad, every time Lu Wei is disturbed, only his wife and children die." It can be seen that the family was in deep difficulties at that time, there was no tile on it, and the people were not able to make a living. Cixi had to work hard to support her family. Fortunately, he was finally elected to the Fujin Palace of the Eastern Empress Dowager Niu Xiang's family, and then he turned around, jumped into the inner court of the Forbidden City as a concubine.
This entry into the palace is a new starting point for Cixi's life. She lived up to expectations, with outstanding qualifications and mental wisdom, and soon achieved a small success in the harem and was favored. Especially after the death of Emperor Xianfeng, coupled with her courage to control the government, she gradually embarked on the road of no return. In this way, history opened the door to the core of imperial power for her, and a different kind of legendary story began.
A ray of dark clouds from the glorious period of the Qing Dynasty
In the thirteenth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, Cixi entered the Forbidden City as a concubine. This year, the red sun is shining in Beijing, and thousands of flowers are blooming. It seems to be a sign of prosperity, but there are already faint signs that the Qing Dynasty will usher in decline.
At that time, although the Qing Empire was still victorious in the Tongzhi and Guangxu years, the territory was vast, and it occupied half of the world map. However, it was harassed by foreign powers, and the British and French troops had personally arrived in Beijing, and the imperial city was almost opened; The maritime frontier was repeatedly encroached upon by the people, Taiwan was cut off, and the land of Northeast China fell for a time. Even at the height of her power, Cixi controlled the Qing dynasty and the opposition, nominally extremely luxurious and glorious, but in fact she was also deeply troubled.
At that time, the Qing court was worried about internal and external troubles, and there were many difficulties: the northwest was about to be chaotic, the Beiyang maritime frontier was entangled by external forces, and the Westernization Movement was abandoned halfway and needed to be cheered up; The system of absolute monarchy and the imperial examination system became increasingly corrupt, the people's resistance intensified, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was about to boil. The internal worries are the most serious, the palace battles are fierce, and the concubines are fighting for favor, power, and profit.
Cixi sat on a cold bench in this turbulent wave, destined to be uneasy. After the death of Xianfeng, although she was named the Queen Mother, she was actually suppressed by Concubine De and others, and it was always difficult to move an inch. Even if there is a desire for power, there is no opportunity to take advantage of it. Until the death of Emperor Tongzhi, she was able to regain power, but the battle behind her also intensified.
However, Cixi was not hindered by these resistances, but instead took them as motivation. She has the courage to get rid of her involvement, abandon her old status as a concubine, turn the tide, reverse the decline, and monopolize power. She did not hesitate to purge dissidents, execute the ministers who admonished her, and put her brothers Ji Guogong and Jin Guogong under house arrest. She walked on thin ice, acted cautiously, and gradually cut off all the emperor's relatives and unified the dynasty.
In this way, Cixi gradually strengthened herself in the dark struggle. Her obsessive desire for power prevailed, and her coveting of imperial power pierced her heart, and her ambition gradually spread. After nearly ten years of competition, she finally climbed to the throne of supreme power step by step, monopolized the emperor's authority, and became the veritable supreme ruler of the Qing Empire. And the supreme authority in her hands is the prelude to a bloody storm.
The crazy determination to get involved in the government for the first time
Once in power, Cixi was like a surging river, rushing hard. She did not hesitate to take risks, blindly sought power and usurped the throne, and did everything she could.
After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Cixi and Concubine De and others took charge of the state politics together. But she is not satisfied with just being in power in the harem, but in fact secretly plotting to steal the imperial power. For a time, there was a conspiracy in the palace and a secret fight, swords and swords, and bloody rain. In the end, Cixi won, forcing Concubine De and others to abdicate and monopolize power.
However, this was not enough, and Cixi's ambitions became more and more difficult to quench. When Emperor Tongzhi was young, she did not hesitate to hold the power of the country hostage and was domineering. So killing henchmen and emphasizing her henchmen has become her consistent style. Most of the old ministers in the palace were cut off by her, and the relatives led by Prince Xie were placed under house arrest for decades.
What is even more outrageous is that Cixi did not hesitate to condone and even instigate people to make a difference, triggering the tragic Tongzhi catastrophe. That year, after Cixi took power alone, she faced many internal and external troubles, and in order to demonstrate her authority, she deliberately created a catastrophe. In order to clean up the corruption of the government and the opposition, she did not hesitate to kill innocents and kill, and even countless descendants of a country and clan were implicated and slaughtered.
Until the reign of Emperor Tongzhi, his extreme dictatorial style aroused widespread resentment among the government and the opposition. The civil and military officials of the Beijing Division finally couldn't bear it anymore and collectively impeached Cixi and demanded that she step down. Although Cixi was forced to abdicate, she still controlled the state affairs behind the scenes, and after the death of Emperor Tongzhi, she returned to power and supported Guangxu to ascend the throne. It can be seen that her attachment to power has reached the point of madness.
In general, when Cixi first got involved in court politics, she had already shown her scheming and unscrupulous side. In order to achieve her goal, she did not hesitate to hold the state power hostage, kill party henchmen, and even connived and even instigated people to bring disaster to the country and the people. What she did can be described as crazy and mean, and she has completely deviated from the talent and ethics that a generation of empresses should have.
Cixi's internal motivation for writing this poem
The sky is not afraid of the earth, but I am afraid that I will meet an infatuated species when the official luck is prosperous. Cixi, an infatuated species, has been in power for decades in her life, but when she created this poem, she showed unprecedented family affection and family love.
This poem was written in the 25th year of Guangxu, that is, in 1899. That year, Cixi was too old and old. But she is still in power and has a good control over the government. However, as she grew older, her enthusiasm for power gradually faded, and her attachment to her hometown and relatives grew stronger.
When Cixi was elected to the palace, she was forced to part with her family, and since then, she has hardly had the opportunity to return to her hometown. Now that she is old, she is beginning to miss the happy life in her hometown even more. The past is like smoke, and scenes emerge in her mind: the warm embrace of her mother, the poetry and songs taught by her grandmother, and the verdant mountains and rivers of her hometown...... These fond memories all made her feel guilty and sincerely remorseful for all the pain and hatred of the past.
It is this deep remorse and homesickness that turns into this unpretentious but affectionate poem. In this poem, Cixi depicts the scenery of her hometown in the most simple words, revealing her deep attachment to her relatives. It was shocking to read and almost brought tears to your eyes.
At the same time, this poem contains Cixi's deep reflection on the various states of the world and the vanity of power. As a generation of empresses, she has been seduced and seduced by power several times, and has done many heinous things. But in her twilight years, she finally realized that those ethereal powers are not as valuable as family affection, and the value of life does not lie in glory and wealth.
So, in this simple little poem, Cixi wrote down her sincere heart, pouring out her attachment to her family, her sentimentality and remorse for the past, and her reflection on power and the meaning of life. This sincere expression of emotion undoubtedly makes this little poem unique and of great literary value. It is no wonder that it will be so loved and recited by future generations, so that this once hated and feared empress also exudes a warm and touching side.
The glory and sorrow of Cixi's life
Throughout Cixi's life, it can be said that glory and sorrow coexist. From an inconspicuous palace maid, she climbed step by step to the top of the highest power of the Qing Dynasty and became a pivotal empress. However, this process was accompanied by her various faults and crimes.
At the beginning of her reign, in order to seize and consolidate her own dominance, Cixi did not hesitate to kill her henchmen, put her cronies under house arrest, and did all kinds of despicable deeds. The Tongzhi catastrophe even affected the innocent, shocking the government and the public. It can be said that power was abused in her hands to a heinous level.
Some commentators have even pointed out that it was Cixi's domineering, coupled with her prejudice and blind arrogance towards the Western powers, that led to the gradual decline of the Qing Dynasty and its eventual demise. The Eight-Nation Alliance, the Wuxu Reform, and the Xinhai Revolution were all closely related to some major policy decisions made during her administration.
For example, in 1900, in the year of Gengzi, in order to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, Cixi recklessly ordered an attack on the embassy, which provoked a punitive attack by the foreign powers. This was undoubtedly the biggest mistake in her life, and it also sounded the death knell for the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
However, this does not deny that Cixi's life is useless. Although she is brutal and decisive, she also has the courage and resourcefulness of a leader. Under her rule, the Qing court remained prosperous, and its national power did not decline completely.
What is even more commendable is that when Cixi was dying, she finally realized the vanity of power and the preciousness of family affection. In the last few years of her life, she was humble and low-key, and even left a popular masterpiece that poured out homesickness. Reading it makes people almost cry, and can't help but give people a new understanding and perspective on this controversial empress.
It can be seen that Cixi's life can be called a masterpiece of fate, and glory and sorrow are intertwined, and finally present an unforgettable picture. As the last generation of heroines of the Qing Dynasty, her desire for power and personal destiny have undoubtedly become an important footnote to the rise and fall of the Qing Empire. Her twists and turns in life deeply reflect and show the decline and fall of a dynasty.