The pages of world history are full of atrocities of bloodthirsty despots. Nero, Borgia, Louis XIV, Vlad Tepes, Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin, Hitler - this is just a small list of tyrants that the whole world knows about. In this row, not the last place is occupied by the Chinese empress Cixi (Ci Xi). Despite belonging to the female sex, this lady became famous for such cruelty and treachery that the "exploits" of male satraps simply pale in comparison to her.
Cixi has set a kind of record: never in China has a single woman ruled a country for almost 50 years. This is all the more surprising that Cixi did not belong to the royal family - she was born into the family of a Manchu mandarin (official). In 1852, at the age of 16, she successfully passed the competition for concubines at the court of the emperor and was enrolled in the state of mistresses of the lowest, fifth class.
Having replenished the staff of 3,000 concubines, young Cixi was among those who had a low chance of meeting her master: the emperor rarely visited the chambers of the fifth-class confidants, some of them never received this honor in their entire life at court.
Cixi has become a grain of sand in the sea. And yet she managed not only to win the heart of the emperor, but also to take the throne. However, in pursuit of power, Cixi managed to destroy an entire empire - the Chinese monarchy briefly outlived the empress.
How did an ordinary girl get to the very top? Cunning as a fox, Cixi quickly realized that she needed to stand out from the crowd. The girl began to eagerly read books from the imperial library and persuaded the courtiers to hire teachers for her. As she gained mind-reason, her manners became more and more subtle and virtuoso.
The concubine spent a lot of effort studying the rules of etiquette that operated within the walls of the Forbidden City - the world's largest palace complex.
Forbidden City
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Having mastered this "Chinese literacy", the concubine immediately rose above her rivals. Cixi prudently made friends with the monarch's wife, who was 15 years older than her and, moreover, barren. Cixi picked up the key to her heart, and this decided her fate: promoted, she became a fourth-class concubine.
Emperor Yizhu grew old, weakened, and the thought of an heir came to him more and more often. When he turned to the faithful with a request to choose a girl suitable for this purpose, she pointed to Cixi. So one of the 3,000 concubines was lucky, and the nimble Cixi tried to do everything not to let go of her.
In April 1856, Cixi gave birth to a boy, heir to the Chinese throne, which strengthened her influence at court. The emperor gave her more and more powers, thanks to which she became the de facto ruler of China. There were, however, rumors that in fact the boy was born by a young servant Chuin, who was killed immediately after giving birth.
The status of the mother of the heir made it possible to transfer Cixi to the rank of "precious concubines" - the second, next to the empress. But the quick-witted mistress did not stay on the sidelines for long. In 1861, before his death, the seriously ill emperor gathered eight high dignitaries and, in their presence, appointed his six-year-old son Zaichun heir to the throne, and Cixi - regent until his majority.
The highest officials opposed and demanded that the emperor appoint them as members of the regency council after his death. One of the courtiers even tried to persuade the emperor to persuade his mistress to commit suicide. Say, in the next world, she will serve the spirit of the deceased master. But Cixi twisted everyone around her finger: she appropriated the imperial seal, without which no law could come out. This allowed her to bargain with the conspirators.
And after the death of Yizhu, two decrees appeared: the first declared her son Zaichun the heir, the second empowered two women at once - Cixi and the Dowager Empress Cian. Soon the most active dignitary was executed in the main market of Beijing, and the rest were "granted" execution by suicide.
Ts'an also did not last long - she died from food poisoning. A few hours before her death, Cixi sent her rice cakes. They say that the day before, the empress unexpectedly visited the chambers of her beloved friend and found a newborn child there (for several months Cixi did not appear in public due to a strange illness).
The path to unlimited power for Cixi was not covered with roses. She had to constantly fight with competitors, ill-wishers, and in this fight she knew no pity. But that was not so bad. China in the second half of the 19th century was a patriarchal state closed to foreigners, but the wind of change was slowly changing the way of life of its inhabitants. The French and British came here to trade and brought new ideas.
The isolation in which the country lived for centuries was a thing of the past. Cixi with all the fibers of her soul resisted the changes, because she saw them as a threat to her safety. The Empress was determined to preserve the ancient traditions of feudal China and drive the foreigners away. "Foreign devils" were intimidated, their shops were burned. The local population took the side of the newcomers, as the Chinese merchants were eager to trade with the Europeans.
Empress Cixi with the wives of European diplomats, 1903
Cixi mercilessly dealt with unwanted subjects - they were hanged, their heads were chopped off. In the Forbidden City, those dissatisfied with her arbitrariness staged a conspiracy, but Cixi responded quickly and harshly: on her order, about 500 people were killed, including high-ranking officials. For her cruelty, the Chinese called her Dragon.
Carried away by the political struggle, Cixi paid little attention to raising her son, the guy grew up on his own. His favorite pastime was visiting brothels and the lowest-quality taverns. When Zaichun came of age, Cixi admitted that her regency was over and the reign of her son was beginning, but soon it was very convenient for the possessed mistress that the heir fell ill.
In December 1874, he published a message: "I was lucky this month to be infected with smallpox." The emperor passed away two weeks later. The body, weakened by sexually transmitted diseases, could not resist the disease. It was rumored that Cixi also had a hand in the death of her own son.
Eunuchs of Empress Cixi
In China, members of the imperial family would wipe their faces with steam-treated wet wipes before dinner. This is more hygienic than using dry table napkins.
And if you run a hot towel over the patient's face, covered with an infectious rash, and then apply it to the face of the intended victim, then the consequences will not be long in coming. This servile procedure was always performed by a helpful eunuch. Here it is - a simple and reliable way to get an extra person out of the way.
The ruler herself chose a successor - her four-year-old nephew Guangxu became him. Ten dignitaries protested and paid with their lives.
Empress Cixi. Beijing, 1903-1905
Time passed, and the future emperor grew up. It turned out that the young man had his own opinion on everything, moreover, it often did not coincide with the opinion of Cixi, but progressive courtiers shared him. But Cixi was still very strong. On the eve of the Japanese invasion of China, officials allocated money to her from the treasury to build ships for the navy.
The woman disposed of them in a peculiar way - in the vicinity of Beijing she rebuilt the Yiheyuan summer imperial palace, which was destroyed by the interventionists in 1860. There were legends about its splendor, the Chinese said: "Although it was created by man, its beauty is like Heaven."
Yiheyuan Park & mdash; summer residence of the Qing dynasty emperors
The Empress adored her brainchild and spent the whole summer leaving for her country residence. And when the officials asked her to show the built ships, Cixi pointed to the marble ship for entertainment and said, "This is my fleet." The Chinese were left without a fleet, the country's defenses fell, and the war with the Japanese was lost. But one attraction in Iheyuan has become more.
Marble ship
Cixi's discontent at court grew. Her loyal man told her that Guangxu, along with her supporters, was hatching plans to capture Cixi and put her to death. Revenge was not long in coming: the empress's men rushed to the Forbidden City and captured Guangxu.
Only the intercession of the Europeans saved the emperor from certain death, but he spent the rest of his short life under house arrest in the Forbidden City. But his beloved concubine paid with her life when she stood up for Guangxu.
Emperor Guangxu
Today, guides like to show tourists the well in which the poor woman was drowned. Other members of the conspiracy were also arrested and executed. Cixi watched the execution while drinking jasmine tea. The foreigners who supported Guangxu also had a hard time - they were all expelled from the country.
But times changed, and foreign powers began to exert strong pressure on Cixi, she had to humble her pride and cunning. In the summer of 1907, the Empress suffered a stroke.
And from November 14 to 15, 1908, three important events happened in the Forbidden City at once. Guangxu, 37, passed away unexpectedly. They say he was poisoned. Cixi appointed the young emperor Pu Yi as heir, and she herself died of dysentery the next day.
Funeral procession of Empress Cixi
The Chinese greeted the latest news with undisguised pleasure. In 1912, the last Chinese emperor was overthrown in a revolution and the Qing dynasty fell.
Vladimir Stroganov