biography
Guangxu, named Aisin-Gioro Zaitian (A.D. 187 1 ~ 1908), was the nephew (elder sister's son) of Empress Dowager Cixi. After the death of the young Tongzhi emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi let Guangxu, who was only four years old at that time, inherit the throne in order to continue to hold power, and she once again "listened to politics". It was not until Guangxu 19 years old that Empress Dowager Cixi had to declare that "the curtain was removed and the government was restored", but she still controlled the real power. Guangxu was actually a puppet emperor.
Later, Empress Dowager Cixi and Guangxu clashed politically. Empress Dowager Cixi holds real power on behalf of conservatives. Guangxu, under the impetus of reformists Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and Tan Sitong, wanted to seize military and political power with the help of reformers. Secondly, I also want to reform the bureaucracy through the Reform Movement and save the corrupt rule of the Qing Dynasty. So in A.D. 1898 (the 24th year of Guangxu), I carried out the reform, which is called the Reform Movement of 1898. However, the reform was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi only after 103 days. Empress Dowager Cixi killed Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui and He Kang, and Kang and Liang were forced to flee abroad, while Guangxu was tightly imprisoned. Guangxu was imprisoned in two places: Yulantang (summer) and Yingtai (winter). Guangxu was imprisoned for ten years. The day before the death of Empress Dowager Cixi in 1908, she viciously killed Guangxu in Yingtai. At the age of 38, she was buried in chongling of Qing Xiling, with the temple number Dezong.
When Guangxu was placed under house arrest in Yulantang of the Summer Palace, all the doors and windows were blocked and he lost his freedom completely. The brick wall built in those years is still preserved in the East-West Annex Hall, which is a witness of history.