It is said that Consort Zhen was pushed into this well...The two years between 1898 and 1900 in China can be defined as a period of the ‘reign of terror’. For not only did Cixi staged several purges which executed, imprisoned and expelled nearly all the reform-minded officials in China, but that she and her supporters also plotted to force Guangxu Emperor abdicate the throne, and then probably, simply make him ‘perish’ in the palace. For some time, the outside world did not know whether the Emperor was still alive, for some, including several foreign embassies to China, believed that he had already died, either from disease or from assassination.
Fearing that the Empress Dowager would implement anti-foreign measures, foreign embassies in China urged the Chinese government to publish an authentic report on Guangxu Emperor. When this failed, they demanded to do a physical examination on the Emperor to see how sick he really was. Cixi had to acquiesce this time. Physicians from several foreign countries, including a French doctor, were permitted to check the physical condition of Guangxu Emperor. The results were both within and out of expectation: Not only was the Emperor alive, but that he had no serious illness (though not totally healthy either, as the Emperor had always had a weak constitution since childhood). Several foreign powers, especially Japan and Britain, began to urge that Guangxu Emperor should come back to the throne.
But Cixi had made up her mind this time that she would no longer put up with her nephew. Some Manchu imperial members had been persuading her to replace Guangxu Emperor for some time. The most vicious among them was Prince Duan, who managed to win Cixi’s heart by flattery and made his own son Pujuan, a playboy much like Prince Harry, the successor to the throne after Guangxu’s abdication. (Another convenience for Cixi to appoint a new Emperor was that Guangxu had produced no issues). However, this announcement aroused not only domestic, but also international resentment. Many entrepreneurs and intellectuals appealed that the current Emperor should not be deposed and that they were willing to die with the Emperor. These appeals, though useless, showed the popularity of Guangxu Emperor to Cixi, which not only irritated her but also made her aware that Guangxu was indeed a threat to her authority that should be eliminated.
However, Cixi could not ignore foreign resistance against her decision, thus she found herself not able to depose Guangxu Emperor immediately as she wanted. While she was wondering how to solve this problem, Prince Duan presented her with a devastating idea: sponsor the Boxers’ Rebellion to get rid of the ‘foreign devils’ once and for all.
I have mentioned in the earlier stage that Empress Dowager Cixi, though a shrewd woman in Machiavellian politics, was by no means intelligent or apprehensive. She was so drunk with power that she would sacrifice everything else to grip on to it. This time, she acted like a desperate political gambler, though already had experienced the foreign power herself in 1860 when the Anglo-French allies sacked Beijing, she was still determined to gamble at all costs. Thus she approved of the suggestion by Prince Duan and ‘The Boxers’, which was originally an anti-foreign and anti-government rebellion, turned into an anti-foreign but pro-government one overnight.
Based on extreme nationalism and dim superstitions, and used by malicious politicians, the Boxers sought to destroy whatever was foreign and modern. Their premier target was western missionaries, however, they ended up killing far more Chinese Christians than foreigners. They also set other standards for the so-called ‘foreign devils’ friends’: the Chinese who could speak foreign languages, who owned foreign appliances and who did chores for foreigners. They also denounced the Hundred Days’ Reform and condemned Kang Youwei as the enemy of the whole Chinese nation. On one occasion, Prince Duan even led a mob of Boxers to surround the house occupied by Guangxu Emperor, with an intention to assassinate him, declaring the Guangxu was ‘foreign devil’s friend’ and the head of Christianity in China. (of which scene I’ve found strikingly similar with the scene of Marie-Antoinette being surrounded by a mob led by Duke of Orleans during the French Revolution. Mobs and political opportunists are more or less the same anytime and anywhere).
The most ferocious wave of the Rebellion came when the Boxers set fire on the Belgian, Austrian, Dutch and Italian embassies, supported by the Empress Dowager. Foreign powers were irritated and began to dispatch troops to China. Again, Cixi had to gamble. However, in order to show that she really had no other way, she opened a conference to discuss this urgent issue. Surprisingly, Guangxu was allowed to participate in the conference.
Several Manchu nobles led by Prince Duan urged Cixi to declare war on the foreign powers. In order to let her make up her mind, Prince Duan even forged a foreign report in which it said that the foreign troops would force Cixi off her throne and return power to Guangxu. Cixi became immediately in favor of war after knowing this. However, Guangxu Emperor, unaware of his own dangerous position, spoke indignantly against war with the foreign powers, he addressed that his own life didn’t matter, but once the battle were on, millions of innocent Chinese people would lose their lives as the Boxers were no adversaries against the well-equipped foreign troops. He stated his own opinion that it would be best to first negotiate, and if that didn’t work, they could remove the centre government from Beijing. Though having nothing to say against Guangxu, Cixi certainly could not approve him. Guangxu Emperor felt desperate, though being in the real status of a prisoner, he made every hopeless effort to restore peace in China. He would write letters to several foreign heads of states, including the Japanese Emperor Meiji and US President McKinley, to beg them not to wage war on China. At most times, those foreign leaders would only reply that China should retreat its troops first and stop being hostile to foreigners, as Guangxu had no power, he certainly could not realize the conditions required.
Empress Dowager Cixi would soon pay her price for waging war on 11 foreign countries simultaneously. The Eight-Allied Forces, led by Britain and Germany, sacked Tianjin in July, 1900 and were approaching Beijing on Aug. 14th. Cixi could do nothing else but flee. Guangxu Emperor intended to stay in Beijing to negotiate with the foreign powers, but Cixi insisted on that he flee with her, fearing that he would regain power with support of foreigners. Before running away from Beijing, Cixi didn’t forget to execute Consort Zhen by ordering to push her into a well in the Forbidden City, after two years of her confinement in a cold palace, without seeing the Emperor but on some occasions when Guangxu fled Yintai at night to see her. (However, the death of Consort Zhen was controversial, for the official record was ambiguous while some believed that Consort Zhen jumped into the well herself. But what makes the above version believable was that before dying, Consort Zhen protested against Cixi that the Emperor should remain in Beijing to negotiate with foreign powers, corresponding to what the Emperor thought himself).
It was only some time after, perhaps on their way west to Xi’an, when Guangxu Emperor learnt of the death of the love of his life. The terrible news broke his heart, nearly crushed his mind, but didn’t shatter his faith. Until the very last moment of his life, despite his ‘forced confessions’ in the presence of Cixi, he would sincerely believe what he had done was right and beneficial to his country and people.
Fearing that the Empress Dowager would implement anti-foreign measures, foreign embassies in China urged the Chinese government to publish an authentic report on Guangxu Emperor. When this failed, they demanded to do a physical examination on the Emperor to see how sick he really was. Cixi had to acquiesce this time. Physicians from several foreign countries, including a French doctor, were permitted to check the physical condition of Guangxu Emperor. The results were both within and out of expectation: Not only was the Emperor alive, but that he had no serious illness (though not totally healthy either, as the Emperor had always had a weak constitution since childhood). Several foreign powers, especially Japan and Britain, began to urge that Guangxu Emperor should come back to the throne.
But Cixi had made up her mind this time that she would no longer put up with her nephew. Some Manchu imperial members had been persuading her to replace Guangxu Emperor for some time. The most vicious among them was Prince Duan, who managed to win Cixi’s heart by flattery and made his own son Pujuan, a playboy much like Prince Harry, the successor to the throne after Guangxu’s abdication. (Another convenience for Cixi to appoint a new Emperor was that Guangxu had produced no issues). However, this announcement aroused not only domestic, but also international resentment. Many entrepreneurs and intellectuals appealed that the current Emperor should not be deposed and that they were willing to die with the Emperor. These appeals, though useless, showed the popularity of Guangxu Emperor to Cixi, which not only irritated her but also made her aware that Guangxu was indeed a threat to her authority that should be eliminated.
However, Cixi could not ignore foreign resistance against her decision, thus she found herself not able to depose Guangxu Emperor immediately as she wanted. While she was wondering how to solve this problem, Prince Duan presented her with a devastating idea: sponsor the Boxers’ Rebellion to get rid of the ‘foreign devils’ once and for all.
I have mentioned in the earlier stage that Empress Dowager Cixi, though a shrewd woman in Machiavellian politics, was by no means intelligent or apprehensive. She was so drunk with power that she would sacrifice everything else to grip on to it. This time, she acted like a desperate political gambler, though already had experienced the foreign power herself in 1860 when the Anglo-French allies sacked Beijing, she was still determined to gamble at all costs. Thus she approved of the suggestion by Prince Duan and ‘The Boxers’, which was originally an anti-foreign and anti-government rebellion, turned into an anti-foreign but pro-government one overnight.
Based on extreme nationalism and dim superstitions, and used by malicious politicians, the Boxers sought to destroy whatever was foreign and modern. Their premier target was western missionaries, however, they ended up killing far more Chinese Christians than foreigners. They also set other standards for the so-called ‘foreign devils’ friends’: the Chinese who could speak foreign languages, who owned foreign appliances and who did chores for foreigners. They also denounced the Hundred Days’ Reform and condemned Kang Youwei as the enemy of the whole Chinese nation. On one occasion, Prince Duan even led a mob of Boxers to surround the house occupied by Guangxu Emperor, with an intention to assassinate him, declaring the Guangxu was ‘foreign devil’s friend’ and the head of Christianity in China. (of which scene I’ve found strikingly similar with the scene of Marie-Antoinette being surrounded by a mob led by Duke of Orleans during the French Revolution. Mobs and political opportunists are more or less the same anytime and anywhere).
The most ferocious wave of the Rebellion came when the Boxers set fire on the Belgian, Austrian, Dutch and Italian embassies, supported by the Empress Dowager. Foreign powers were irritated and began to dispatch troops to China. Again, Cixi had to gamble. However, in order to show that she really had no other way, she opened a conference to discuss this urgent issue. Surprisingly, Guangxu was allowed to participate in the conference.
Several Manchu nobles led by Prince Duan urged Cixi to declare war on the foreign powers. In order to let her make up her mind, Prince Duan even forged a foreign report in which it said that the foreign troops would force Cixi off her throne and return power to Guangxu. Cixi became immediately in favor of war after knowing this. However, Guangxu Emperor, unaware of his own dangerous position, spoke indignantly against war with the foreign powers, he addressed that his own life didn’t matter, but once the battle were on, millions of innocent Chinese people would lose their lives as the Boxers were no adversaries against the well-equipped foreign troops. He stated his own opinion that it would be best to first negotiate, and if that didn’t work, they could remove the centre government from Beijing. Though having nothing to say against Guangxu, Cixi certainly could not approve him. Guangxu Emperor felt desperate, though being in the real status of a prisoner, he made every hopeless effort to restore peace in China. He would write letters to several foreign heads of states, including the Japanese Emperor Meiji and US President McKinley, to beg them not to wage war on China. At most times, those foreign leaders would only reply that China should retreat its troops first and stop being hostile to foreigners, as Guangxu had no power, he certainly could not realize the conditions required.
Empress Dowager Cixi would soon pay her price for waging war on 11 foreign countries simultaneously. The Eight-Allied Forces, led by Britain and Germany, sacked Tianjin in July, 1900 and were approaching Beijing on Aug. 14th. Cixi could do nothing else but flee. Guangxu Emperor intended to stay in Beijing to negotiate with the foreign powers, but Cixi insisted on that he flee with her, fearing that he would regain power with support of foreigners. Before running away from Beijing, Cixi didn’t forget to execute Consort Zhen by ordering to push her into a well in the Forbidden City, after two years of her confinement in a cold palace, without seeing the Emperor but on some occasions when Guangxu fled Yintai at night to see her. (However, the death of Consort Zhen was controversial, for the official record was ambiguous while some believed that Consort Zhen jumped into the well herself. But what makes the above version believable was that before dying, Consort Zhen protested against Cixi that the Emperor should remain in Beijing to negotiate with foreign powers, corresponding to what the Emperor thought himself).
It was only some time after, perhaps on their way west to Xi’an, when Guangxu Emperor learnt of the death of the love of his life. The terrible news broke his heart, nearly crushed his mind, but didn’t shatter his faith. Until the very last moment of his life, despite his ‘forced confessions’ in the presence of Cixi, he would sincerely believe what he had done was right and beneficial to his country and people.
"...The terrible news broke his heart, nearly crushed his mind, but didn’t shatter his faith... "
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P.S.: McKinley was the president of the US in 1900.
Thank you, June, for reading so long an essay and pointing out my mistake! I have less and less time day by day. However, I'm keeping up.
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