The Tragic Life of Guangxu Emperor---Part I. From Prince to Emperor

Guangxu Emperor's calligraphic writing

The young Guangxu Emperor riding a horse, accompanied by eunuchs

Guangxu Emperor (1871.8.14~1908.11.14) was the second to last Chinese emperor. He was a handsome, intelligent and open-minded man who selflessly loved his people throughout his reign and embraced western ideologies such as that of constitutional monarchy. However, such a man was doomed to become one of the most tragic rulers in Chinese history.

Born as the eldest living son to the 1st Prince Chun and Lady Yehenara the younger , and being given the birth name Zai'tian in 1871, it seemed that the little boy would spend all his life in the quiet prince manor and devote all his heart to family affections, as his father Prince Chun never meant to pursue an ambitious political career. However, the death of the 19-year-old Tongzhi Emperor who was Zai'tian's cousin in 1875 changed the whole destiny of the 4-year-old boy. As Tongzhi Emperor died without any issue and had no brothers, the question of who would be the heir to the throne was immediately raised. Tongzhi's mother, Lady Yehenara the elder, the then Empress Dowager Cixi decided to adopt Zai'tian, son of her sister and her brother-in-law as her own son and thus make him the new emperor , by intent of her gripping the supreme power still, despite the fact that Zai'tian was not next in line of succession according to Qing rules. But as real power had always been in Cixi's hand, no one could oppose her decision effectively. It is said that when Prince Chun received the imperial edict that his son would succeed as Emperor of China, he wept so bitterly that he fainted on the floor.

That was the beginning of all tragedy. When the carriage came to the prince manor to take Zai'tian to the Forbidden City that night, the boy was sound asleep in his sweet dreams, unaware of the glory and misfortune awaiting him, of which the glory would be but a shell while the misfortune be the substantial fruit. As soon as Zai'tian arrived at the imperial palace, Empress Dowager Cixi proclaimed him to be the Guangxu Emperor (which means 'the Glorious Succession'.In fact, Cixi only meant to make him the continuation rather than the successor of her own dead son, as she ordered Guangxu Emperor to succeed the reign of her husband instead of that of her son, thus the heir to throne after Guangxu would succeed her son). Cixi also forbade Zai'tian from visiting his birth parents except on official occasions when he could see his father, but only as emperor and minister. In order to tame Guangxu and to make him obey her even after he grew up, Cixi made every effort to make herself an authoritarian father figure in front of the child emperor. She ordered Guangxu to call her 'biological father' while he would call Empress Dowager Ci'an (Empress consort of Xian'feng Emperor, to whom Cixi was only a high-rank concubine) 'mother'. Cixi treated the young emperor with harsh words and severe countenance, even whipping him on several occasions for his 'misconduct'. Guangxu would fear her throughout his life and would always submit to this 'father' in front of her, but on the other hand, a strong will of resistence and rebel to Cixi grew from the bottom of his heart. The emperor's double personality layed down the pebbles of path towards his own doom.

The young Guangxu Emperor was a sickly child, often unfit for any study or entertainment. In addition, he was afraid of the thunders and often stuttered when speaking. Yet, such a sensitive child by no means received the care he needed. The eunuchs in court often made better of him due to his youth. The food served to him was neither rotten or cold, and if the young emperor asked the imperial cooks to remake one, the eunuchs would report this to Cixi, who would in return reproach the emperor for his 'not being frugal'.

Guangxu Emperor began to receive formal education when he reached 5. The famous scholar and calligraphor Weng Tonghe was appointed as his tutor. Weng made up his mind to cultivate Guangxu into a sage and benevolent ruler who could hopefully save China from being humiliated and pillaged. He not only taught the boy Confucian classics, but also provided him with new books introducing basic knowledge about the Western world. After a difficult start, Guangxu Emperor gradually grew an

enduring interest in learning. He became proficient in calligraphy as well as in writing poems and essays. He especially enjoyed reading books about the Western way of living and thinking. Under Weng's guidance, Guangxu also formed the conception of loving his people at an early age, which can be reflected in his juvenile writings. He once pointed the character of 'wealth' to Weng, saying that he prefered 'frugality' to the former.

Without the love of parents and companionship of friends, Guangxu regarded the caring Weng Tonghe as his mentor, protector and even a loving father. During a holiday period for Weng, the young emperor stayed depressed all day long.Once Weng returned, Guangxu grabbed both of his hands and exclaimed delightfully, 'I have been missing you for such a long time!' Then the emperor returned to his study and began to work more diligently than ever before.

Another loving figure in Guangxu's childhood was Empress Dowager Ci'an, whom Guangxu addressed as 'Mother'. Affectionate, generous and benevolent, Ci'an was an entirely different woman from Cixi. She should have been a model of good mother, the only pity was that she had no child of her own. However, when Cixi's son was alive, he preferred Ci'an to his own mother, which irritated Cixi. And again, Cixi's own nephew, Guangxu, would feel closer to Ci'an than to his aunt. Unfortunately, Empress Ci'an died suddenly in 1881( many attributed her death to poisoning by Cixi, but no strong proof has been found). The sentimental emperor would weep for her even one month after her death. Indeed, Guangxu Emperor should be sad: he might only know by that time that he had lost a motherly figure, however, he might not be aware that the strongest political balance against Cixi also extinguished in the meantime. Since then, Cixi would become the absolute authoritarian ruler of the Empire without constraint.

Bound by sophiscated court rituals and courtesies, Guangxu Emperor had to attend the levee of Empress Dowager Cixi every morning and do 'Kowtow' to her. Cixi sometimes also took care of the young emperor's education. However, her focus of teaching was on the notion of being obedient to the superior and the elder, which referred to herself in front of Guangxu. Her instruction proved to be effective, Guangxu Emperor would indeed become a very filial 'son' to her and would actually remain filial to the end. However, later on, Cixi wouldn't choose to believe so.