When I opened Cixi's coffin, I saw that her face was like life, as if she was sleeping.
Because she has a big pearl of the night in her mouth.
The beads are separated into two pieces, and when they are closed, a cold green light shines through the hair, and the hair can be seen within a hundred steps at night.
The robbers pried open Cixi's mouth with a bayonet and took the Pearl of the Night.
Since then, the Empress Dowager Cixi has no fate with the priceless pearl of the night.
Sun Dianying, the leader of the tomb robbery gang, gave the night pearl in Cixi's mouth to Song Meiling, and Song Meiling embellished the night pearl on the embroidered shoes. Since then, he has been at large when he should have been punished by the law.
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The extravagant Empress Dowager Cixi
The name of the Empress Dowager Cixi does not need to be introduced too much, and no one should know such a classic character.
But when it comes to him, it's more associated with greed and tyranny.
In fact, Cixi is the lord of a country, enjoying the popularity of more than 10,000 people, and living a life of luxury.
Take the people who are on errands next to her, they are also following the oil and water.
Serving the Empress Dowager Cixi to, doesn't it sound disgusting?
But did you know that this is actually a big fat difference in the palace!
The cloth used by Cixi to wipe her buttocks was all high-quality silk or cotton cloth, and she threw it away directly after wiping it once.
Those clever eunuchs and palace maids will quietly wash these cloths, and then find a way to sell them outside, which can make a lot of money!
Let's talk about the eating and drinking of Cixi and the emperor, the three major tables are full.
How many bites can they take? Those dishes that are placed far away, sometimes the emperor and the queen mother can't even see them, which gives those clever eunuchs a chance.
These people will greet the restaurant outside in advance and ask the restaurant to report to them the menu that the guests have ordered each day.
Then when the eunuch was serving, he deliberately kept these dishes far away, and when Cixi and the emperor finished eating, they immediately sent someone to send the rest of the dishes out to the restaurant.
In this way, the restaurant can also make a difference, and the eunuchs can also get some benefits.
And Cixi's whole life seems to be in pursuit of endless wealth and power, even in the last moments of her life, she still does not forget to leave endless wealth for her posterity.
According to historical records, during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Empress Dowager Cixi actually diverted funds that should have been used for naval construction for personal use, and this kind of disregard for the safety of the country is outrageous.
And after her death, she put a lot of wealth into the mausoleum, trying to continue to enjoy the glory and wealth of her life underground.
Among these many treasures, the most talked about is the pearl of the night.
This pearl of the night, it is said that within 100 steps at night, it is enough to illuminate every hair.
It is not only a priceless treasure, but also a symbol of the power of the Empress Dowager Cixi during her lifetime.
And according to the time of the time, this pearl of the night was able to bless her body from decomposing.
So, after her death, this night pearl was put into her mouth and became her permanent funeral object.
This pearl of the night is not only a symbol of power and wealth, but also the best footnote to the greed of the Empress Dowager Cixi during her lifetime and her delusion of eternal wealth after death.
Soon after the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the rule of the Qing Dynasty was like a candle in the wind, crumbling.
And that pearl of the night also began its legendary journey with the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
A tomb robbery incident that shocked China and the rest of the world
In 1928, warlord Sun Dianying, a general who had fought in troubled times, defected to the Kuomintang and served as the commander of the 12th Army of the Sixth Army.
His troops were stationed at Mashenqiao in Jixian County, which was only a mountain away from the Qing Dynasty's Eastern Tombs.
For Sun Dianying, this mausoleum is not only a witness to history, but also an endless wealth in his eyes.
On a sweltering July day, Sun Dianying ordered his army to drive out all the mausoleum guards, seal off the passes, and impose strict martial law.
Subsequently, he personally led his subordinates to carry out a frenzied ransack of Qianlong's Yuling and Cixi's Putuo Yuding Dongling.
Those solemn mausoleums in the past became undignified in front of Sun Dianying's army, and precious cultural relics and jewels were moved out one by one and became the spoils of their greed.
Source:2016-07-08 16:47 People's Daily Online The mystery of the loss of the pearl of Cixi's night The corpse of the insurable person is not decomposed
After the news broke, the whole country was in an uproar and people were furious.
This once noble Empress Dowager Cixi, her mausoleum was trampled on so much, and her treasures were plundered so much.
People have demanded that the government arrest the murderers and punish them severely.
Sun Dianying also realized the seriousness of the situation, and he understood that he could not be scolded by the people of the whole country like this.
So, he began a well-planned "PR operation".
Sun Dianying selected a batch of the most precious "treasures" from the stolen goods of Tanglin and prepared to use them to bribe those powerful people.
Among these treasures, the most striking is the night pearl in the mouth of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
This pearl of the night, it is said that within 100 steps at night, it is enough to illuminate every hair, and its value is immeasurable.
Sun Dianying knew the preciousness of this night pearl, so he specially gave it to Song Meiling, a popular figure in the Kuomintang at that time.
When Song Meiling received this night pearl, her heart was also full of shock and emotion.
She didn't expect that this treasure, which once belonged to the Empress Dowager Cixi, would appear in front of her in such a way.
Song Meiling deliberately nailed this night pearl to her shoes.
And Sun Dianying also successfully calmed down domestic anger and condemnation through this "public relations action".
Not only was he not held accountable, but he was given more power and status as a result.
Information source: Red Culture Network 2024-04-07 Wang Zhongxin: Song Meiling, a thief of the country
The night pearl that once belonged to the Empress Dowager Cixi continues to circulate in the torrent of history.
It bears witness to the decline of the Qing Dynasty and the turmoil of the Republic of China, as well as the greed and lust of human nature.
In 2003, Song Meiling died of illness in the United States
With the death of Song Meiling, this pearl of the night has also disappeared.
Some people speculate that Song Meiling may have sold the beads to the Rockefeller family in the United States in her later years.
After all, Song Meiling was old at that time, and there was no one around to take care of her, so she might need some money to live.
The Rockefellers are so rich, it shouldn't be a problem for them to buy a night pearl.
But in the end, we don't know where the pearl of the night is now, and what its true value is.
This bead has witnessed hundreds of years of ups and downs, and now its origin is still a mystery, as if it is covered by a veil of mystery.
Everyone can only guess, and then leave it to future generations to reveal the answer.
Chinese cultural relics from the past and present
It's not just that this Night Pearl has no whereabouts, if there was no such bold tomb robbers, then this Night Pearl might still be in the mouth of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
But in the face of the facts, although under this kind of mistake, this priceless night pearl was rediscovered, but in the end it was difficult to escape the fate of being unknown, which is inevitably embarrassing.
When it comes to the unaccounted for Chinese cultural relics, the first thing that comes to mind is the inhumane invasion and destruction of the invaders during the reign of the Qing Dynasty.
It is precisely for this reason that countless national-level treasures were lost overseas, and their fate is still unknown.
On March 4, 2015, an exhibition in Budapest, Hungary, featured a seated Buddha in the flesh.
When the photo of this Buddha statue was transmitted to our China, some sharp-eyed netizens began to compare.
They felt that this Buddha statue was very similar to a very precious cultural relic that we lost 20 years ago - the Buddha statue known as "Zhang Gong Liuquan Patriarch".
As soon as this incident came out, the entire Chinese cultural and religious circle was in an uproar, and many netizens and scholars asked the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to find the Buddha statue back.
In early May 2015, China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage contacted the Buddha statue's collector, a Dutch architect named Oskar van Owellim.
After consulting with him, he expressed his willingness to return the statue.
Eventually, the statue was successfully returned to a large Buddhist monastery in Datian County, Sanming City, Fujian Province.
Source: Southeast Express 2015-12-04 16:46 Yangchun Village People's "Seeking Buddha" Road: Fighting Transnational Lawsuits and Recovering "Zhang Gong Patriarch"
Everyone was relieved to see that this seated Buddha was recovered, and they were very happy that such a baby could return to his hometown.
But in fact, in addition to this Buddha statue, there are more than 10 million Chinese cultural relics that are still in circulation overseas.
No Chinese can walk out of the British Museum with a smile
When it comes to Chinese cultural relics in exile, we have to think of the British Museum.
I have come across the ocean, and I am in ruins,
Curled up in the cage of glass, it is difficult to visit the hometown.
Walk into the British Museum and you'll be amazed by the sheer array of exhibits in front of you.
This is not just a museum, but also like a thick historical scroll, recording the bits and pieces of human civilization. However, every Chinese comes here and feels quite uncomfortable.
You see the pharaoh statues of ancient Egypt, the pottery of ancient Greece, and our Chinese porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, they are all treasures of various cultures, but they have been lost here for various reasons.
In particular, the Chinese cultural relics are displayed in glass windows, and there are no protection measures for those tourists from all over the country to touch at will.
These are all from our country, and they have drifted here for historical reasons, but China is their real hometown.
Every time I see this, I can't help but think that they should be lying in the museum of their own country safely, showing the cultural heritage of their own nation to the world, instead of wandering in a foreign country like this.
Visitors stop in front of these exhibits, either in amazement or in contemplation.
It's almost impossible to see anyone walking out of the British Museum smiling.
Perhaps touched by the heaviness of history, or infected by these displaced cultural heritages, there is always a hint of solemnity on everyone's faces.
Who doesn't want their cultural heritage to be treated with the respect and value it deserves?
However, our motherland is getting stronger and stronger, and today is even more different from the past, and I believe that those national treasures that have been displaced abroad will return to the embrace of the motherland as soon as possible.
Text/Editor: Xiaoyang Baa Baa