Why did Emperor Xianfeng die at the age of 31 when he was so young?
Throughout history, an emperor determines the rise and fall of a dynasty. The demise of many dynasties largely depends on an emperor's ability to govern and his lifespan. Although Emperor Xianfeng was not considered a wise emperor, he did make some achievements during his reign. Since he succeeded to the throne, he has been diligent in government affairs, selected talents, devoted himself to reforms, appointed Han officials, and developed a new type of army.
It is a pity that Emperor Xianfeng died early at the age of only thirty-one. Logically speaking, the emperor's life was very good, and thirty years old was also the prime of life. So why did Emperor Xianfeng die so early? In fact, this is inseparable from Emperor Xianfeng's usual bad habits.
An emperor with poor health
In ancient times, the selection of monarchs was very strict, and disabled princes were not qualified to inherit the throne. The pursuit of power has always been a hot topic. In ancient times, after many people ascended the throne, in order to stay in power longer, they would look for various ways to prolong their lives. The most famous Qin Shihuang in history was like this. In pursuit of immortality, he sent people to refine elixirs and seek medicine in Penglai. Emperor Xianfeng, like other emperors, pursued longevity. However, what is different from other emperors is that he was born prematurely and had poor health since childhood.
In ancient times, great importance was attached to the distinction between concubines and concubines. Concubines and concubines were born one head lower than their concubines and concubines. At that time, Emperor Xianfeng's mother, Niu Colu, took folk remedies in order to give her son the status of his legitimate son, causing Xianfeng to give birth prematurely. Therefore, Emperor Xianfeng was born with deficiencies. His physical constitution was very poor since he was a child, which was very difficult to improve the day after tomorrow. Perhaps he could only stay healthy by using medicinal herbs to keep him warm.
Although Xianfeng was born into the royal family and had good food and clothing since childhood, under such an environment, he still could not make up for the harm of premature birth. Because of this, Xianfeng was frail and sickly since he was a child. I don't know where I heard the prescription. When he gets sick, deer blood must be used to treat the disease. After an illness, the deer blood was not delivered in time. After years of stubborn illness, Xianfeng eventually died of a cough. But congenital deficiency and late drinking of deer blood were not the only reasons for his death.
One of the bad habits: When opium was flowing into our country, Emperor Xianfeng became obsessed with opium smoking
The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty, and Emperor Xianfeng was the last actual ruler in the history of the Qing Dynasty. The emperor of power. Moreover, during the more than two hundred years of Qing Dynasty rule, Emperor Xianfeng was one of the few emperors who died young. This is not only related to his congenital shortcomings, but also related to his own behavior.
In the Qing Dynasty, a large amount of opium flowed into our country. Under the dumping of opium by the great powers, the people of the Qing Dynasty were quickly destroyed physically and mentally after taking opium, and eventually became slaves of opium. Later, it was discovered that opium was a very harmful thing to the body, and the anti-smoking campaign was launched. The royal family of the Qing Dynasty had a rule that the emperor was not allowed to smoke opium, but Emperor Xianfeng became addicted to opium soon after he ascended the throne. Long-term opium smoking made Emperor Xianfeng's body weaken day by day.
I have to say, "If you don't seek death, you won't die." Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, he preferred to travel to the tiger mountains. Even though he knew that opium was harmful to the body, Emperor Xianfeng still chose to smoke opium. This also laid hidden dangers for his subsequent death. Just like in modern society, people know that drugs are harmful, but there will still be some people who take drugs despite the law. It says "Smoking is harmful to health" on the cigarette box but I still buy cigarettes. Emperor Xianfeng, like such people, committed crimes knowingly and intentionally.
Bad Habits 2 and 3: Indulging in beauty and drunkenness in wine
Everyone knows that the emperor has an entire harem of women. But not every emperor had three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines. More often, there were only dozens of concubines. The same was true for Emperor Xianfeng's harem. However, Emperor Xianfeng was born with deficiencies and his body was already weak. He should have abstained from sex and not indulge in lust. But he was still lustful and had affairs with his concubines every night.
After the filial piety period, Emperor Xianfeng couldn't wait to organize a draft to enrich his harem. Cixi was also selected in Emperor Xianfeng's first draft. Sometimes the ladies in the palace could not escape the eyes of Emperor Xianfeng. Ordinary people still need to control this kind of thing, let alone a person with particularly poor physical fitness. His decayed body and excessive sexual indulgence had made his body even weaker.
Not only smoking is addictive, but alcohol is also addictive. At that time, Emperor Xianfeng liked drinking very much, but his drinking capacity was not good. He would get drunk as soon as he drank, and the more he got drunk, the more he drank. It is said that maintaining a good attitude is the secret to longevity, but Emperor Xianfeng was very angry after drinking, and his anger was very harmful to his body.
Although Emperor Xianfeng made some achievements during his reign, he could not save the Qing Dynasty from decline. How sad it is for an emperor to watch his dynasty decline. Maybe drinking and smoking could make Emperor Xianfeng temporarily forget the sorrow of reality.
Even though he knew that his body could not be so ruined, the mental pressure still forced him to fall into a state of depravity. And long-term and heavy drinking destroyed his body, induced a variety of diseases, and almost hollowed out his ruined body.
Such bad habits lingering around us are undoubtedly just a few "death reminders". How can they last forever?
The British and French forces attacked Beijing, signed a series of humiliating treaties, witnessed the destruction of the Old Summer Palace and the occupation of the imperial capital. After Emperor Xianfeng fled to his summer resort, the Rehe Palace, he could never go back. Emperor Xianfeng, who was in his prime and only thirty-one years old, died young.
He was born with deficiencies and wasted his own health. Living to be thirty-one is considered a long life
Emperor Xianfeng’s several hobbies were all natural enemies of health. It is recorded in the historical data that "the disease was severe, so the deer was taken for sacrifice, but it was not available in a hurry, and it collapsed." From this we can see that if you take good care of your body despite your congenital deficiencies, there will be many doctors with excellent medical skills in Taiyuan Hospital. Treatment under the hands of a doctor will surely prolong your life. However, Emperor Xianfeng did not cherish his body. He was addicted to women, addicted to alcohol and opium. He ruined his body so much that it is no wonder that he died in his prime. It can be said that Emperor Xianfeng lived a long life if he lived to be thirty-one years old.
Except for Emperor Xianfeng’s congenital deficiencies, several bad habits acquired were the real causes of death. Several of his bad habits are equally fatal to us. In today's fast-paced era, everyone has a lot of life pressure. Especially men today, work pressure is even heavier.
In order to escape the cruel reality, almost everyone has developed the habit of smoking and drinking. Even though I knew these things were bad for my health, I still indulged myself. When you feel stressed, you can find someone to talk to, and don't numb yourself with alcohol or other harmful substances. At the same time, I hope that people who read this article can get a warning.