How was Guangxu's character distorted by Empress Dowager Cixi?

1875 65438+1October 12, the Forbidden City was extremely cold and desolate, and 19-year-old Tongzhi Emperor died in hall of mental cultivation Dongnuange. Empress dowager cixi endured the pain of losing her son, and together with Empress Ci 'an, she convened a group of ministers in Sinuge to study the issue of the heir to the throne.

After deliberation, Zai Tian, the 4-year-old son of Yi Xuan, the Prince of Alcohol, entered the palace and proclaimed himself emperor, namely Guangxu, the ninth emperor after the Qing army entered the customs.

Cixi took great pains to educate Emperor Guangxu. First of all, she cut off the daily contact between Guangxu and her biological parents, and ordered that "all attendants should be mature and simple, and young and frivolous people should not serve."

Portraits of Cixi and Guangxu.

From then on, young Zai Tian grew up in a deformed environment and had no affection for the court.

At the age of six, under the arrangement of Cixi, Emperor Guangxu began to accept the teaching of Weng Tonghe. Emperor Guangxu is a good student. Weng Tonghe recorded in his diary that he "studied hard" and "read well without stopping before eating". Not only that, Xiao Guangxu has deep feelings for this master. Without parents and classmates, the master became his only support.

1877, Weng Tonghe returned to Changshu to repair the tomb. Guangxu seems to be a different person, unwilling to learn and taciturn. The master came back and said affectionately, "I've missed you for a long time!" " Then read aloud over and over again. Even the eunuch sighed and said, "I haven't heard this for a long time."

Pictures of Cixi.

Weng Tonghe also made up his mind to try his best to cultivate Emperor Guangxu into a "wise emperor and a wise king", asking him to follow Yao Shun's example, be diligent and love the people, and "restore the teachings of his saints and cure the chaos of ancient and modern times". At the same time, Weng remonstrated with the emperor on civil sufferings and foreign affairs.

One day, Guangxu pointed to the word "rich" in the book and said to the master, "I don't love this, I like frugality." Weng Tonghe was greatly moved and said in his diary, "This is really a blessing on earth".

Although he grew up in the deep palace, Emperor Guangxu was very concerned about the outside world and knew "loving the people" everywhere. This is clearly reflected in his poems, such as: "Ji people are tired, food is difficult, and there should be sleepless people in the spring house." "That afternoon, He Zhong was carrying a hoe. Who ever tasted the hardships of Wang?"

Photo of Weng Tonghe.

Cixi certainly cares about Guangxu's studies, but she is more concerned about how to train him to be a filial emperor. To this end, "(Cixi) specially taught people to preach Weng Tonghe repeatedly, asking him to pay special attention to the education of filial piety. In addition to constantly explaining the' twenty-four filial piety' he read during the enlightenment period, the most important thing is the Book of Filial Piety." He should always recognize the Queen Mother as his mother, and there will be no other mother except this one.

At the same time, Cixi is also a rare warmth to Guangxu, demanding everywhere and scolding and kneeling at every turn. "(Guangxu) went to visit the Queen Mother every day. If he gets up before he dies, he dare not get up. If he is not satisfied, order him to kneel for a long time. "

Guangxu portrait

Guangxu was once reprimanded by Cixi as "depression" and "mental depression". Cixi's hegemony and control had a very bad influence on the young Guangxu's thought and character. It should be noted that children need love, intimacy and encouragement.

Weng Tonghe's diary records many facts about Guangxu's temper. The weak, delicate and elegant emperor has another side that is little known: grumpy, arrogant and paranoid. 1In the first half of 883, 12-year-old Guangxu lost his temper six times, one of which was "patting the glass" and was stabbed to death by debris. After a while, he got angry with the "middle official" and broke the eunuch's face.

Seeing that Emperor Guangxu always threw things at people, Weng Tonghe wrote in his diary: "Sacredness is so frightening".

It should be said that Cixi was mainly responsible for the formation of the negative character of Emperor Guangxu.

References:

Weng Tonghe's Diary of Weng Wengong Gong Gong, Wang Wusheng's Secret Records of the Temple, and De Ling's Blood and Tears of Yingtai.