"After that, women could not predict the affairs of the state. This is contrary to the family law of this dynasty and must be strictly restricted. In particular, it is necessary to guard against eunuchs without authorization. The things of the end of the Ming Dynasty can be Yin Jian! --Cixi
When it comes to Empress Dowager Cixi, many people will think of China under the rule of the late Qing Dynasty, when the people were starving, but Cixi enjoyed an unimaginable luxury life in the palace.
Coupled with the ugliness of some literary works, many people think that Cixi is very ugly, but what many people don't know is that the American Museum once collected "real photos" of Empress Dowager Cixi, which has not been removed to this day.
Below, we may wish to briefly understand the life of Cixi, through her "real photos" to see what the true appearance of this late Qing Empress looked like.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Cixi</h1>
It is reported that Empress Dowager Cixi was born in 1835 and was a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor. She entered the palace at the age of 17 and was given the title lan guiren.
In the following year, she was given the title of Yi Concubine by jin, and three years later, because she gave birth to the emperor's eldest son, Ai Xinjue luo Zaichun, she was given the title of Yi Guifei by the Xianfeng Emperor.
In 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor died, after which Cixi and Empress Xiaozhenxian were honored together, and they were called the Empress Dowager, with the title of Cixi. Later, she joined forces with Empress Dowager Ci'an and Prince Gong Yixuan to launch a coup d'état against Xin You.
After Cixi successfully seized power, the Qing court appeared in a situation where "the second palace was hanging curtains, and the prince was deliberating on the government". At this stage, the Qing government temporarily entered a period of calm, but after the death of the Tongzhi Emperor, the Qing court began to be turbulent.
Since the Tongzhi Emperor did not leave any children, Cixi chose her nephew, Ai Xin Jueluo Zai Xiang to succeed the Xianfeng Grand Commandery, with the era name Guangxu, and as for the imperial government, it continued to be in the hands of her and The Princes of Ci'an and Gong.
After Ci'an's death, Cixi launched the "Jiashen Yishu" to depose Prince Gong and then take all the government into his own hands.
In 1889, although she returned to Guangxu, nine years later she launched the Wushu coup and took power into her own hands.
After the death of the Guangxu Emperor, Cixi again chose Puyi, who was only 3 years old, as emperor, and she continued to control the government, and on November 15, 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi's life finally came to an end and she left this life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Cixi's appearance</h1>
Although there are many pictures about Cixi circulating on the Internet, in fact, most of them are not the true face of Cixi, and it is precisely because of this that many people are curious about what Cixi looks like.
After consulting domestic sources, everyone only found some modest or seriously exaggerated descriptions, so people decided to understand how foreigners described Cixi.
In the eyes of many foreigners, Cixi is a very good-looking woman, because of proper maintenance, Cixi does not look like an elderly person at all.
The American painter Who once painted a portrait of Cixi, Washi Hu Bo, thought that Cixi was better than the photo. In 1904, the Portrait of the American Female Painter Catherine for Empress Dowager Cixi:
Cixi herself does look very temperamental because of proper maintenance, it is no wonder that Cixi's portrait will be exhibited and collected by foreign people, it is reported that Cixi still has "photos" in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
And when many foreigners visit, they can't help but sigh, is this really a woman in her sixties and seventies? From this, we can probably understand why Cixi once carried out "photo diplomacy" with great confidence.