Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 8 Honorable Luanyu

We have already mentioned the Empress Dowager's "Luanyu" before, but in fact it is just a rattan sedan chair, it cannot be called "Yu" at all, and the term "Luanyu" is just a habitual name.When holding a royal ceremony, or in a small guard of honor, the position of this rattan sedan chair will be very prominent.The emperors of all dynasties have inherited a habit, that is, no matter what is owned by the emperor or empress dowager, or has been used, the courtiers will respectfully salute and bow to it when they see it.The same is true for this luanyu, even if the empress dowager is not sitting in it at all, no matter who sees it, they must put on a very respectful kowtow.

This Luanyu is like the queen mother's home, so the queen mother ordered that she must take it with her on this trip.Therefore, in order to install it, an extra carriage was specially prepared.

The treatment of Luanyu is not only that, in addition to the special car, a special wooden frame is also specially made to support it, so that it will not touch the floor under its feet.The reason is very simple. These floors are walked by ordinary people. If they come into contact with such floors, the Queen Mother's Luanyu will be defiled.It would be fine if such a noble Luanyu was kept carefully, but the Queen Mother would use it more than once along the way.As long as the queen mother wants to use Luanyu, things will become extremely complicated.Every time it was used, the train had to stop, and the wooden plank that the Empress Dowager had used to get on the train had to be quickly placed at the door of her carriage, and a springboard was used to connect the wooden plank and Luanyu together.Of course, no matter which board it was, it was covered with thick felt, so that the Empress Dowager could feel soft and comfortable when she walked on it, just like walking on cotton.

This Luanyu can really be described as beautiful, its colors and decorations are so radiant.The treatment of a special car is really not too much for it.I can't describe its beauty in words!
As for the inside of Luanyu, it is not inferior to its gorgeous appearance at all.The lining of the apricot yellow satin can be changed at any time, always maintaining the vivid color.This errand is Li Lianying's. Every time the queen mother needs to use Luanyu, he will go over and check it carefully.If it is found to be dirty, it will be replaced with a new one; if it is found that something is missing, it will be ordered to be replaced immediately.

Every time the empress dowager wanted to go to this luanyu, she had to surround it with a curtain, and she could only leave after she sat down firmly in the luanyu, in order to prevent people from peeking at the empress dowager.Even the eunuchs who carried the sedan chair couldn't take a look.The shoulders of these bearers are heavy burdens of gold, and they are always lifted with great care.If you accidentally take a wrong step, throw the queen mother who is sitting inside, or scare her, the consequences will be disastrous!The heads of the sixteen bearers will have to move within half a day.

It's scary to say, but it doesn't seem like anything like this has happened since as far back as I can remember.These bearers are not simple, they are selected from thousands of bearers all over China, they are all the top masters, no matter what the situation is, they will not go wrong.These sixteen people were very proud, and felt that being the bearers of the Empress Dowager was the most honorable thing.Their clothes are all uniform and gorgeous.On the head was a handsome plain bonnet, without ornamental crown or feathers or the like.Light red waistcoat, light green trousers, and black short boots.Every time they carried the empress dowager's sedan chair up and down beautifully, they would be very careful whether they started or walked.They know very well that if they make a mistake, they will lose their heads, no matter what the situation is.

Whenever the Empress Dowager wanted to get on the sedan chair, Li Lianying would open a small door in front of the Luanyu.The queen mother walked in slowly, then turned around gently, leaned on the soft cushion behind her, faced forward, and sat down safely in this movable box.If ordinary people like us are sitting in the sedan chair, when the bearer lifts the sedan chair, he will inadvertently move his shoulders up and down, so that the people in the sedan chair will have to feel a kind of jolt.And those people in the palace who carried the sedan chair for the Empress Dowager would never dare, this is a joke with their lives!
The queen mother is very comfortable when she sits in it.There are armrests on both sides of her seat, which are specially made for the Queen Mother to rest her arms, and they are all made of yellow satin wrapped with silk floss.If the Empress Dowager wants to lean forward, it is also very convenient. Facing her is the small low door, a long wooden board is placed on it, and it is also wrapped in yellow satin and silk, which is soft to the touch. And comfortable, with iron buttons at both ends, it is absolutely comfortable and safe to lie on this door.

It is said to be a small door, but it should be said to be a rectangular flat box, so you can put some things in it.The first is the powder puff used by the queen mother, and a short jade ruler.This ruler is used by the Queen Mother to massage the face to prevent and reduce wrinkles, so it is made into a circle.In addition, there are hand towels, powder, rouge, combs, grates, etc.As long as it is something for an ordinary woman to dress up, there is everything in it, just more and no less.

This box cover can best reflect the ingenious thought of the designer. It is about five or six inches wide.To be more clear, the bottom of this board is made exactly equal to the width of Luanyu, so it serves as a short door with two birds with one stone.And its lid can be used as a storage for the queen mother at the same time.The person who designed this in the first place was really ingenious!Therefore, although the queen mother is on the way, she can dress up as much as she likes without worrying about being seen.

In addition, the yellow satin in this luanyu is not ordinary.The curtains on both sides and the stepcloths under the feet are nothing, but the yellow satin in other places is extraordinary, with extremely beautiful patterns embroidered on them.These decorations have a unique name - "Eight Treasures", because there are a total of eight patterns.The size of each pattern is about two inches square, and the number is very large, arranged in rows, just like the flower paper used for pasting walls that is popular now.Looking around, the eyes are full of criss-cross patterns.

What exactly does the "Eight Treasures" refer to?Is it eight kinds of babies?If this question was placed in the past, it would be unnecessary to repeat it, because many people know what the "Eight Treasures" are.But now, such decorations have long been outdated, and I'm afraid not many people know about them.So the following introductions are necessary.

1. Harmony.Hehe is in the shape of a small box, and it is hexagonal.It means that the box is always full and never empty.In Luanyu, they are embroidered on the yellow satin with light red silk thread, looking so peaceful and rich.

2. Drum board.In Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, there is a kind of musical instrument with two wooden boards tied by a rope, which is the drum board.In Chinese musical instruments, drum pads are used to adjust the rhythm.When the masters in the troupe teach their apprentices to sing, they cannot do without it.Of course, it also has its own meaning, which is neat and restrained.Most of the drum boards are made of red sandalwood, and the color is purple, which is close to black. However, the yellow satin of Luanyu is not suitable for purple, so light black silk thread is used to make it look more beautiful.

3. Longmen.As the saying goes, there is a "carp jumping over the dragon's gate", which is the dragon's gate referred to in the "Eight Treasures".It looks like an ancient torii, or like a goal on a football field today.Because it symbolizes something magical, the female craftsmen used almost all colors to decorate it, and the embroidery was as gorgeous as a rainbow.I always marvel at such embroiderers, I really don't know what kind of skillful hands they have!
4. Jade fish. "Jade fish" is a very simple pattern, it is two small fishes side by side, probably one male and one female.They are affectionately next to each other, which means that the husband and wife are harmonious and the children and grandchildren are prosperous. Therefore, the meaning of "jade fish" is the prosperity of the population and the beauty of life.From an embroiderer's point of view, the fish patterns are not complicated, but the fins on their backs are extremely slender, so the embroidery is of course extremely laborious.Most of the body of the fish is embroidered with gray silk threads, and the scales of the fish are made of silk threads shining with silver light, giving it a lifelike feeling.

5. Crane.It is the common white crane in the zoo.In ancient Chinese myths and legends, immortals often roamed around on cranes, and cranes became immortals because of this, so the word "immortal" was added in front of its name.In addition, cranes have a relatively long lifespan among birds, and the combination of these two meanings means immortality, which is why it was selected in the "Eight Treasures".On the yellow satin in Luanyuli, the crane is simply beautiful, with a pure white body and a little purple on the top of the head. The sharp contrast makes it even more distinctive.

6. Ganoderma lucidum.As far as I know, Ganoderma lucidum is just a kind of fungus. No one can tell what it is, maybe it is just invented by people!Anyway, in traditional Chinese culture, it symbolizes auspiciousness and authority.At that time, the Empress Dowager was still regent, almost equivalent to the emperor, and the whole of China was shrouded in her authority.In this case, it is not unreasonable to say that Ganoderma lucidum represents the authority of the Queen Mother.They are dark green in color, resembling old holly leaves.

7. Chime chime.This is also a musical instrument in ancient China.The shape is like a "human" character, but also like an incomplete triangle.When playing, a very thin wooden stick is used to strike, and a small ball is installed at one end of the wooden stick, just like the abacus beads we often see.When the musicians knocked, the strength was very light, and the sound they made was soft and clear, which sounded extraordinary.Although it is also one of the "Eight Treasures", no one can say clearly what its significance is.Therefore, on the yellow satin, the chime became the purest flower ornament, and the color of the silk thread was also the purest white jade color.

8. Loose.The so-called "songsong" is our common pine tree, with simple floral decorations, which represent stability and unity among the "eight treasures".Its color is difficult to play at will, and it cannot be embellished at will, so it is just a drop of pure green.

The above are the so-called "eight treasures". You can imagine how much labor is required to embroider these floral decorations on yellow satin.Not only is the pattern complicated, but the color of the silk thread used for each pattern is different, and the embroidery is extremely delicate, and ordinary embroidery cannot be compared with it.If you've had the chance to see it with your own eyes, you'll know I'm not exaggerating.As a result, its value is beyond comparison with ordinary embroidery. As far as I know, even if calculated according to the cheapest wage, six to seven thousand taels of silver can't beat it.But to the Queen Mother, what is sixty-seven thousand taels of silver?She has two luanyus like this, and this time the one transported to Fengtian by train is only one of them.Sixty-seven thousand taels of silver is just a decoration in Luanyu, the Queen Mother may have never paid attention to it!

In fact, those workers who embroidered for the Empress Dowager lived in the palace for a long time, so there was no need to worry about their wages.Different from ordinary workers, their working hours are difficult to fix, and they all follow orders from above. Sometimes they have to work continuously for several months, or even years, until they are finished.If the person wears out or goes blind before the work is done, someone else will immediately take over until the work is satisfactorily completed.In short, they are all workers in the palace and can be dispatched at will.Therefore, the embroidery in the Empress Dowager's Luanyu is probably only made of raw materials that cost some money.

From the outside of this Luanyu, there are special double-layer curtains hanging on the windows on both sides. The two layers of curtains are the same length. Made of silk floss.But in this way, not only people outside can't see the inside, but it's also impossible for the Queen Mother to see the outside.In order not to be too stuffy, the curtains near the outside were replaced with transparent gauze.As a result, the queen mother can see the scenery outside dimly, but people outside can't see her.If she still wants to see more clearly, she can lean forward, quietly open a little veil, and look outside.Don't worry, even if this is the case, people outside will not see her, no matter how good their eyes are, they will only see her fingers.All this is just to prevent the common people from seeing the honorable queen mother-the queen mother is very taboo about this, so as long as her husband passes by, no one will dare to stop on the street.But as I said before, the common people can’t cover their eyes no matter what. They will make a few small holes in the window paper, and secretly watch the scene of Shengjia passing by the door in the dark.Only the Queen Mother is not clear about these situations, even if someone told her, she would not believe that someone was so bold.

The main body of Luanyu is a large rattan sedan chair, which is exquisite and durable in design.Next to the sedan chair, near the middle, are two wooden poles for carrying the sedan chair.The pole is made of a very solid wood, slightly flattened on the shoulder, and rounded elsewhere.There are horizontal bars at the front and back to connect the two poles, thus forming a rectangle and enclosing Luanyu inside.In addition, probably for more stability, there are two crossbars between Luanyu and the front and rear crossbars, which are slightly longer than the others by a foot or two.In this way, when carrying the sedan chair, sixteen bearers are needed.Eight of them each carried the stick heads protruding from the four corners of the rectangle, and the four sticks protruding in the middle were carried by two bearers.

Seen from a distance, this luanyu is simply radiant and dazzling!The inside is yellow satin, and the outside is all wrapped in thin silk inlaid with gold thread. Its gorgeousness is beyond words to describe.Not only that, four flying dragons are embroidered on the sides of the sedan chair. The blue of the dragon and the golden yellow of the satin complement each other, giving it a majestic and magnificent momentum.

The style of the top of the sedan chair is simply the epitome of a palace, not only with upturned cornices, but also glittering golden on it.In the middle of the car roof, there is a yellow ball, about the size of a bunch of grapes; this ball is not solid, because it is made of pure gold, if it is solid, it will be too heavy.

Of course, Luanyu is not perfect, after all, its style is a bit outdated.However, this only flaw can't hide the brilliance it exudes. From the inside to the outside, from top to bottom, it is so impeccable-both beautiful and comfortable.I am not qualified to go in and try. In my impression, Li Lianying is the only person who has ever gone in besides the Queen Mother.Other people, no matter how courageous they are, dare not do this, let alone ride.As for Li Lianying, it was because she wanted to go inside to clean while the Queen Mother was away.Not only that, even the "Eight Treasures" pattern embroidered on the yellow satin inside the sedan chair can only be used by the Queen Mother, and it can't be seen anywhere else.

After I have said so much, you should be able to understand why Luanyu can monopolize a special carriage on this imperial train.It is a matter of course that it enjoys such preferential treatment!
(End of this chapter)