Secret History of the Qing Palace: The Mystery of the Early Death of Emperor Xianfeng, the Romantic Emperor
It is often said in historical records that Emperor Xianfeng died of vomiting blood due to excessive dissipation. But what I didn’t expect was that the Qing emperor, who was a noble man, died in the pomegranate skirt of a beautiful little-footed widow. Down. According to the "Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty", a widow surnamed Cao from Shanxi was "quite beautiful" and her feet were particularly small, "only three inches in length". She was truly a three-inch golden lotus. Her shoes are "made with vegetable jade as the sole and lined with fragrant shavings", which makes them even more unique. "Emperor Xianfeng was especially fond of them."
In fact, when Emperor Xianfeng ascended the throne, like many emperors who had just ascended the throne, he had the political ambition to work hard and revive his ancestral business. However, Emperor Xianfeng did not have the talent and valor of his ancestor Emperor Kangxi, nor did Emperor Qianlong have the blessing of enjoying the achievements of his predecessor. From the day he ascended the throne, he faced dual crises of internal and external troubles, and could not find stability for a day. The domestic uprising represented by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Second Opium War launched by the foreign troops of the British and French allied forces, and the increasingly bad official style of government soon wiped out the spirit of Emperor Xianfeng to strive for strength and revitalize the Qing Dynasty, and began to live in poverty. Extremely extravagant and lustful, he is obsessed with a life of indulgence, drunkenness and dreams, and "the woman kills herself with alcohol".
Emperor Xianfeng indulged in wine and sex, and neither the virtuous and generous empress nor the jealous concubine Yi, who later became Cixi, would feel happy. Concubine Yi, in particular, repeatedly encouraged the queen to persuade Emperor Xianfeng on the grounds that protecting the emperor's body was the most important thing and state affairs were the most important thing. Emperor Xianfeng always respected the queen who was in the middle palace, and initially accepted the queen's "tactful advice". Whenever military reports from other provinces or memorials from court ministers arrived, as long as the queen gave a little reminder and persuasion, he would immediately respond. Review processing.
But not long after, Emperor Xianfeng returned to his old ways and still went his own way. The reasons are: first, everyone is inert, and Emperor Xianfeng's nature of pursuing sensuality is even more difficult to change; second, the domestic and international situation and government affairs have not only not improved, but have become worse and worse, almost hopeless. There is really no hope of curing ZTE with medicine. In this case, it is more realistic to take advantage of the situation and enjoy the moment.
Emperor Xianfeng's "sound and appearance were much better than those of the previous dynasties", and there were many beautiful concubines around him. The only concubines whose archives are available include the original concubine Sakda, the later queens Niu Hulu, Yi Guifei Nala, Li Fei Tataras, and concubines Wan, Mei and Qi. , Jiguiren, fūguiren, Xiguiren, Qingguiren, Rongguiren, Yuguiren, Shuguiren and other concubines. Emperor Xianfeng probably had "visual fatigue" and "aesthetic paralysis" after watching them for a long time and being exposed to them too much. The Manchu concubines had dulled his interest and it was difficult to arouse his interest in sensuality.
It seems normal for the Manchu emperor to have a great interest in Han women, but his great interest in Han women with bound feet, especially foot-bound widows, does not seem to be "fashionable" or "fashionable". What "kitsch" can explain seems to be a sexually perverted mentality. The beautiful widow surnamed Cao from Shanxi recorded in "The Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty" was the woman Emperor Xianfeng liked most.
As early as the beginning of the Qing Dynasty's takeover of the Central Plains, the willful Emperor Shunzhi once accepted Han women from the Shi, Chen, Tang, and Yang families. His mother, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, was worried that Emperor Shunzhi, who was underage and would be infatuated with women too early, would be seriously injured. But more importantly, she wanted to ensure that the prince and his grandson were all of pure Manchu and Mongolian descent. An edict was hung: "Any woman who enters the palace with bound feet will be killed." Wu Shijian once wrote a poem about this in the Qing Dynasty:
The delicate and delicate bundles of the Chinese style are twined, and they dance beautifully to praise the lotuses that cling to the ground.
Why is the Pearl Palace strictly prohibited, and the precautions are as early as the year of entering the customs.
Since the imperial palace is strictly forbidden and it is difficult to approach Han women, then live in the Old Summer Palace permanently! Anyway, it is the ancestral tradition for the emperor to stay in the Old Summer Palace. Xu Zhiyan pointed out the true meaning of Emperor Xianfeng's permanent residence in the Old Summer Palace in "Ten Ye Yewen": "Wenzong was disgusted with the strict adherence to the ancestral system of the palace, and was not allowed to indulge in sexual pleasure. He used excuses to take care of himself due to illness, and extended his stay in the garden longer. "
At the beginning of the fifth year of Xianfeng's reign, the Qing Dynasty completely suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Northern Expedition. In the spring of the same year, Emperor Xianfeng wanted to go to the Old Summer Palace for recreation, and Xue Minggao, the censor of Fujian Province, came up with a warning. Emperor Xianfeng became so angry that he not only refused to remonstrate, but also ordered Xue Minggao to be handed over to the Ministry for discussion. He also issued an edict specifically for this purpose: The emperor of the Qing Dynasty served in the Old Summer Palace. This is an ancestral system. In recent years, due to the incomplete military affairs, I have never been lucky enough In the garden, "My dedicated heart is best described by my subjects at home and abroad." In addition, Emperor Xianfeng also argued somewhat arrogantly that if he was seeking comfort, he could enjoy himself even in the palace of Yan Chu. Why should he come up with the idea of idleness when he was lucky enough to be in the imperial garden? No matter whether he was in the palace, Still in the Old Summer Palace, there is "the same reverence, the same worry and diligence."
At that time, some treacherous officials discovered that Emperor Xianfeng was so keen on Han women, so they spent a lot of money to buy dozens of young beauties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang and presented them to Emperor Xianfeng. Some ministers even said flatteringly: There is a lot of chaos in the world now, and the Old Summer Palace is located in the suburbs. The vigilance should be strengthened. These women can be arranged in groups of three to patrol around the emperor's palace every night.
Emperor Xianfeng naturally understood the mystery, and with this convenient condition, he could summon these beauties on "duty alert" into the palace at any time and summon them at will.
Later, Emperor Xianfeng simply "hidden the beauties in the golden house" and gave titles to four particularly beautiful women. They were called the "Four Spring", namely Peony Spring, Xinghua Spring, Wuling Spring, Begonia spring. These four spring beauties live in the "Moon Opening Cloud", "Xinghua Spring Pavilion", "Wuling Spring Color" and "Qiyin Hall" in the Old Summer Palace respectively. Wu Shijian's "Four Spring in the Old Summer Palace" says:
The golden lotus steps on the ridge, and the colors of the four springs are fragrant.
When the people in the harem were present during the Yuanming tribulation, who could sing Xiangqi's poems with gray hair?
The "Four Spring Festivals" in the Old Summer Palace are all beauties with small feet, "Slim Steps with Golden Lotuses", which shows Emperor Xianfeng's love for women with small feet. From roughly the fifth to tenth year of Xianfeng's reign, Emperor Xianfeng could be described as "showing all his charm". There is a Qing Dynasty palace poem that describes the drunken life of Emperor Xianfeng at this time:
It is dusk when the sheep cart is gone, and I am too lazy to take off my new makeup and hide the garden gate.
The wind makes me happy and sings joyfully, but I don’t know who has accepted the favor.
However, Concubine Yi couldn't help but be jealous of Emperor Xianfeng's greed and indulgence in other women, especially the women with small feet in the Spring Festival of Yuanmingyuan and the Han nationality. However, she did not dare to directly advise Emperor Xianfeng, so she had to constantly Tell the Queen about this situation. However, at this time, the queen had also lost confidence in Emperor Xianfeng's persuasion, and instead had no choice but to persuade Nala to accept this reality.
Faced with so many charming women, Emperor Xianfeng had no restraint in his sexual life. "Every day of the war, his body was weak for a long time." He suffered from dizziness, waist pain, weak legs, and general weakness. He began to enter the romantic life. The dangerous path of ghosts. Whenever there were major sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Earth, the Altar of Sheji or the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Emperor Xianfeng often feared that his legs and feet would be weak and he would fall while lifting the chariot or going up and down the steps. He would not dare to come in person, so he could only send Prince Gong to do it for him. Later, internal and external troubles came together, and his body became worse and worse, and he suffered from vomiting blood.
"The sound of Yuyang's flying rhinoceros stirs the earth, shocking the song of colorful clothes and feathers." The sound of guns and artillery by the British and French forces finally awakened Emperor Xianfeng from a "spring dream" in his gentle hometown.
Although it is said that "a monk rings a bell every day", at this time Emperor Xianfeng only wanted to be a monk and had no intention of ringing a bell. After arriving in Rehe, he was depressed, bored and upset all day long, so he wrote a banner "Qie Le Taoist" in his own handwriting and ordered it to be hung in the palace. This may be out of self-mockery for inaction, but it also shows the decadence and decadence of his spirit. Queen Niu Hulu believed that this would greatly harm the emperor's virtue. While admonishing him, she personally urged the servants to remove the banners.
After Emperor Xianfeng led his ministers to flee to Rehe, he soon entered the cold winter. Although Su Shun and other officials greeted him with smiles, his mood was as cold as the weather.
In March of the eleventh year of Xianfeng, Emperor Xianfeng was coughing more and more, with red phlegm appearing frequently, and his body was getting worse day by day. Although Emperor Xianfeng continued to pass on operas from time to time, and even two days before his death, he still preached "Ruyizhou flowers will sing as usual", but he obviously felt that his century-old deadline was approaching.