Cixi experienced four dynasties in her life: Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu. During this period, she appointed the Crown Prince twice, listened to politics three times and acted arbitrarily, holding the pulse of the Great Qing Dynasty in her hand. Since she launched the "Xin You coup" at the age of 26, she became the actual supreme ruler in the late Qing Dynasty until the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908+).
In the records of several female rulers in history, most of them mentioned their Toy Boy. For example, Wu Zetian, who proclaimed himself emperor at the age of 67, has many famous faces, such as Xue Huaiyi, Shen Nan, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang, whom Wu Zetian loved, all of which left traces in official historical documents; Lv Zhi, who mastered the regime of the Western Han Dynasty at the age of 47, also had a Toy Boy named Shenshiqi. However, according to relevant historical records, the 26-year-old widowed Empress Dowager Cixi did not raise Toy Boy or hide her face during her 47-year rule. Apart from many anecdotes and unconfirmed stories in unofficial history's notes, the young Empress Dowager Cixi did not have her own Toy Boy like Wuhou and Lv Hou. What is the reason?
First, the restriction of the harem system in Qing Dynasty on Empress Dowager Cixi.
The Qing dynasty fully absorbed the experience and lessons of the previous dynasties, and managed the harem very strictly, with various ancestral rules, institutional settings and personnel arrangements to minimize the possibility of the emperor's concubines messing up the harem. A maid-in-waiting in the Qing Dynasty listed the specific reasons why Empress Dowager Cixi could not keep secrets from Toy Boy. First, the control measures for eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty were very mature and strict, so there would be no "fake eunuchs" in the harem as mentioned in unofficial history's notes. Second, Empress Dowager Cixi must be accompanied by a large group of eunuchs and maids from morning till night. This was the ancestral system that lasted for more than 200 years in the Qing Dynasty, which also ruled out the possibility of her meeting Toy Boy privately. Third, there is a clear line between the imperial palace and the harem. Even if Empress Dowager Cixi is actually in power, she can't violate the ancestral system, and people in the previous dynasties can't cross it without authorization, otherwise she will be severely punished by losing her head.
As the maid-in-waiting said in "Talking about Maids", "I don't understand Tang and Han, and I'm not allowed to say those words in the palace. But I dare say that when I was in the palace for 78 years, according to the palace system, there would be no such thing at all. " That is, due to the mature and strict harem system and control measures in Qing Dynasty, the ancestral system has absolute restrictions on Empress Dowager Cixi, which also makes her unable to do whatever she wants like Lv Hou and Wuhou.
Biography of Cixi
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Second, the Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Ci 'an's restriction on Empress Dowager Cixi.
In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (186 1), in July, the young emperor Xianfeng died and the Tongzhi emperor ascended the throne. The 25-year-old Empress Ci 'an was promoted to "Empress Dowager Cixi", that is, the Empress of the Orient, while the tongzhi biological mother Cixi was promoted to "Empress Notre Dame", also known as the Queen of the West. However, as the wife of the first emperor Xianfeng, Ci 'an has higher prestige, qualifications and influence than Cixi. Even if Cixi was a tongzhi biological mother, according to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, Ci 'an was also the orthodox Empress Dowager Cixi, and Cixi was named Empress Dowager Cixi by virtue of her son's identity after her mother was a side princess. It is said that Emperor Xianfeng once ordered his ancestor Nurhachi not to accept Ye's surname and keep it a secret, in case Cixi's mother was expensive and disturbed the court. Although I dare not say whether it is true or not, it shows that Ci 'an's status and identity are higher than Cixi's, which has a certain restrictive effect.
Empress Ci 'an has a low-key personality and rarely intervenes in state affairs. But at the critical moment, Ci 'an will still reveal her true identity as the mistress of the Qing Dynasty, and she will never be soft in the face of the "enemy's" war decision. Cixi once relied on her status as the emperor's biological mother, favoring eunuch An Dehai, running amok and intervening in state affairs. Cian immediately ordered Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong Province, to execute An Dehai on the spot, and Cixi knocked out her teeth and swallowed her stomach, afraid to say anything more. According to the "Legacy of the Qing Palace", Empress Ci 'an is "superior to virtue, and the severe punishment measures are practical", and Cixi can only be "afraid of rudeness" in front of her. Later, Guangxu was elected as the successor emperor, and Empress Dowager Cixi took the initiative to hand over custody and teaching rights to Empress Ci 'an. When it comes to major political issues, Cixi knows that Empress Ci 'an has no objection and still needs to ask for instructions first, all because the power, status and influence of Empress Ci 'an are above Cixi.
So there is such a real harem master who restricts Cixi. Empress Dowager Cixi dared not do such a thing even if she had the idea of keeping Toy Boy as her own.
Third, the current situation is turbulent and the political situation is unstable, so Cixi has no energy to think about it.
In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (186 1), Cixi began to take over the management of the affairs of the Great Qing Dynasty. Her subsequent ruling time can be said to be very restless, the situation was turbulent, and the Qing Dynasty was teetering. The constant invasion of foreign powers, the unequal treaties that were forced to be signed, the compensation for land ceded again and again, and the civil war that the Kingdom of Tian Ping and the Nian Army needed to pacify on their own land all challenged and threatened the regime in the late Qing Dynasty. At this time, the Qing dynasty was like a house full of holes, it was raining all the time, and the threats around it were wave after wave.