Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 1 Translator's Preface
In July 1928, the warlord Sun Dianying led engineers to blow up the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi and enter the tomb to steal treasures.The bottom of Cixi's golden coffin is covered with a 7-inch-thick mattress made of gold silk. It is decorated with more than 7 pearls, 10000 rubies, and more than 85 white jade. There is a layer of pearls on it, totaling 200.The body was covered with a quilt woven with gold silk and brocade, woven with 2400 words of Dharani scriptures in Chinese characters, and adorned with more than 25000 pearls.The phoenix crown on the corpse's head was studded with precious stones, and one of the pearls weighed 800 taels and was as big as an egg.The most amazing thing is the luminous pearl in the mouth of the corpse. When it is separated, it is two transparent and dull pearls. When they are combined, they will emit a green cold light, which can illuminate a hundred steps in a radius.

Empress Dowager Cixi ruled China for 48 years, accounting for one-fifth of the entire Qing Dynasty, second only to Kangxi and Qianlong.Whether alive or after death, Cixi's extravagance and corruption are unimaginable; at the same time, as the ruler of the Qing Empire, her incompetence is also obvious to all.

In 1894, Cixi's [-]th birthday was planned to be celebrated in the Summer Palace.Just at this time, Japan invaded China.Chinese and foreign public opinion believes that China will surely win.Empress Dowager Cixi took the lead in the battle, "no weak words are allowed."However, when someone proposed to fully support the front line and advocated that the celebration expenses be transferred to military expenses, Cixi was furious and said viciously: "Whoever makes me unhappy today, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life!"

In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing.Soon, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued the "Negotiating Outline", declaring: "Measure the material resources of China, and unite with the country." Later, the "Xin Chou Treaty" was signed, which not only ceded the land, but also paid huge sums of money. The total principal and interest was 9.8 million taels of silver, which means This means that each Chinese person has to spend two taels of silver on average.The amount was so high that the United States, as the victorious country, felt ashamed and voluntarily returned half of its own share, helping the Qing government to establish the Tsinghua Preparatory School for Studying in the United States (the predecessor of Tsinghua University).

In 1906, Japan and Russia fought fiercely on Chinese land in order to seize the northeast of China. The Qing government actually issued an imperial edict, expressing "neutrality from outside the situation."

It can be said that the Empress Dowager Cixi was the most corrupt ruler in the Qing Dynasty and even in the entire history of China.But from some perspectives, Empress Dowager Cixi is a powerful queen.There are too many capable people under her, Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Luo Bingzhang, any one of them is a famous figure, even Yuan Shikai is not an ordinary hero in troubled times.Such a large number of capable people are willing to be at the mercy of Cixi, which shows her skill.

Isaac Taylor Headland (Isaac Taylor Headland), an American missionary who experienced court life in the late Qing Dynasty, said: "There is no second Empress Dowager Cixi in Chinese history, and she is also unique in world history.... In terms of strength of character and ability , she is not bad compared to anyone.  … She ruled China for almost half a century - and all this in a country where women had no rights whatsoever. Said she was the most amazing woman of the second half of the nineteenth century , isn't that an exaggeration?"

American scholar Sterling Seagrave concluded: "The Empress Dowager Cixi is not a demon, but a charming woman. Of course, she has many eccentricities. In an empire where women are treated like spittoons Here, she just wants to keep her position."

Westerners' evaluation of Cixi is often too "detached". After all, they have not experienced the miserable life of the Chinese people under Cixi's rule.In comparison, Puyi’s English teacher, Reginald F. Johnston, made a more fair evaluation. He said: “In the eyes of sober Chinese, Empress Dowager Cixi is mainly responsible for the demise of the Qing Dynasty and is the chief culprit for China’s growing decline. The culprit. I generally agree with this view, but I would like to add one more point: Cixi is just an ignorant woman, and it is impossible to be responsible for all bad things. The constraints of the system, and these systems are not original to her, but are passed down from her ancestors. Her evil deeds are partly due to corrupt traditions, not all her own problems..."

In any case, this woman at the pinnacle of power has indeed committed many evil deeds; at the same time, we have to admit that the Empress Dowager Cixi must have her helplessness and difficulties, and there must be another side that is unknown.

As for this unknown side, the one who narrates the most truthful, detailed and vivid is probably De Ling, a Chinese-American.De Ling, a Manchu, was the chief female official of the Empress Dowager Cixi in her later years. She served the Empress Dowager personally for two years and lived in the court for longer.Because of this convenient condition, De Ling's understanding of Cixi is much more real than ordinary people.In De Ling's works, Empress Dowager Cixi is a woman who has tasted the ups and downs of life and power. She is domineering, ruthless, sentimental, and has a rich inner world.

The original book is in English, first published in the United States in early 1933. From April 1934, the Chinese translation was serialized daily in the supplement of Shanghai Shenbao.Soon after the serialization was completed, the newspaper printed a booklet, which was reprinted eight times from 4 to the eve of liberation.

(End of this chapter)