When it comes to the history of Chinese feudal dynasties, Empress Dowager Cixi is probably not a strange name. According to historical records, she ruled for 47 years and controlled the fate of the country at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Lavish lifestyle
Empress Dowager Cixi was born in 1835 and entered the palace as a concubine of Emperor Xianfeng at the age of 17. She was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort for giving birth to Emperor Xianfeng's only son, Zai Chun, later Emperor Tongzhi.
Empress Dowager Cixi was the de facto power holder of the Qing Dynasty for more than 40 years. As empress dowager, she seized power and committed many crimes.
She was also famous for her extravagant lifestyle. The historical records of her life have amazed later generations. Not only did Cixi have countless gold and silver jewelry and wear luxurious silk and velvet clothes, but she also had very high demands on the quality of life. She once spent huge sums of money on parties when the imperial treasury was exhausted.
She once spent more than 400 taels of gold to host a banquet for a delegation from the West. The menu that day included 140 dishes served by 1,750 waiters, chefs selected from all over the country, and lasted for a week.
Portrait of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Empress Dowager Cixi was famous for her love of dressing up and taking pictures. The Palace Museum in Beijing still holds more than 100 photos of her wearing more than 30 gorgeous dresses made of high-quality silk and pearls. She wore jewelry and jade. She had 25 hair tools, used to curl and style her hair in many different ways. She often wore flowers and gold hairpins.
Empress Dowager Cixi built her own kitchen in the Forbidden City, called the Western Kitchen. According to the book Empress Dowager Cixi by author Xu Zhe, a scholar and expert in Qing Dynasty research, Empress Dowager Cixi was served 120 different dishes per meal. However, she only ate a few dishes, one or two bites of each dish, for fear of being poisoned. Some historical records say that she even smelled 400 apples a day instead of eating them. When the fruit lost its scent, she would throw it away and serve new fruit.
Another special eating habit of Empress Dowager Cixi was that she only drank pure spring water because it was rich in minerals. However, the spring water offered to the Empress Dowager had to be boiled with rose-scented tea. She requested that the flowers be freshly picked and mixed with dried tea to ensure that when brewed, the tea would have the fragrance of the flowers.
In addition, every morning when she woke up, Empress Dowager Cixi had to use morning dew to rinse her mouth. That was why the palace maids often had to wake up in the middle of the night to collect the purest drops of dew for the Empress Dowager to rinse her mouth, otherwise they would be punished.
Even after her death, Empress Dowager Cixi was buried with 1.2 million taels of silver worth of jewelry and luxury items. In 1928, her tomb was looted by warlord Sun Dianying and his army. The empress dowager’s coffin was destroyed, and all her wealth, gold, silver, and precious stones were taken. Sun Dianying even used Empress Dowager Cixi’s mouth to steal a pearl worth trillions of dong.
The terrible mystery hidden in the armor
According to historical records, the empress dowager also had the habit of growing her fingernails, but each hand only had three nails, on the thumb, little finger, and ring finger. Each of her fingernails had a separate maid in charge of taking care of them. To protect her nails, Cixi also used armor consisting of small tubes like pen towers covering the tips of her fingers. These tubes were changed frequently, sometimes made of marble, sometimes made of gold inlaid with precious stones.
In addition to protecting her nails from dirt, this armor also hid poison for self-defense. Any officials who plotted to harm her would be poisoned by her.
Inside the coffin of Empress Dowager Cixi were many treasures.
The image of Empress Dowager Cixi is clearly portrayed in the film.
As the woman holding the highest power in the Chinese empire and an important historical figure, Empress Dowager Cixi is therefore the subject of exploitation by filmmakers. It is easy to see the image of the powerful Empress Dowager Cixi on the small screen through historical films. Among them, many roles have left a deep impression on the audience.
Many beauties of Chinese cinema have successfully transformed into Empress Dowager Cixi, such as Mi Xue, Liu Xiaoqing, Liang Xiaobing, Ci Jin Ca Oa, Yuan Li...
Liu Xiaoqing as Empress Dowager Cixi.
In Burning the Yuanmingyuan , Liu Xiaoqing played the role of Imperial Concubine Yi, who later became Empress Dowager Cixi. In addition, in the film Thuy Lien Thanh Chinh, the actress successfully portrayed the entire life of a powerful woman. Industry insiders commented that Liu Xiaoqing was born with an authoritative aura, quite suitable for the image of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Or like in the movie Young Lady Tu Hi, which explores the period when the empress dowager was young, from when she was a young lady who had just entered the palace. Actress Liu Xue Hua successfully portrayed the image of Tu Hi, from a beautiful and weak lady, then stubbornly standing up to gain status.
In addition, among the versions of Empress Dowager Cixi on screen, actress He Meijuan is considered to not only have good acting skills but also possess an appearance very similar to the infamous empress dowager in the TV series The Year Flowers Bloom, The Moon Is Full . Right from the time the film aired, despite playing a supporting role, He Meijuan made a big impression on the audience.
Fans commented that the actress's gestures, actions and facial expressions were very similar to the portrait of Tu Hi in her old age.
The character of Empress Dowager Cixi by He Meijuan.
In addition, the infamous tomb robbery of Empress Dowager Cixi was also portrayed in the 2008 film Treasures of the Eastern Tombs . The film was based on the history of famous tomb robberies in China by the character Sun Dianying, played by actor Zhang Yaoyang. The film also quickly became a big hit.
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