History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 43 Death of the Emperor 8
The Mystery of the Cause of Guangxu's Death
On November 1908, 11 AD, Emperor Guangxu "died" suddenly in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, at the age of only 14 when he died. On November 38, Empress Dowager Cixi, who controlled the late Qing regime for half a century, also died in the Yiluan Hall in Zhongnanhai at the age of 11.The emperor and the queen mother died one after the other, less than 15 hours apart, causing a sensation in Beijing and shaking China.

The death of Emperor Guangxu was very unusual. He was only 38 years old and was in his prime. Although he was weak since childhood, he had no worries about his life.What confuses people the most is that Guangxu died just the day before Cixi's death. This amazing coincidence makes people suspect that Cixi was behind it.

The royalists who fled overseas because of the "[-] Reform Movement" mourned Guangxu's funeral while denouncing the Empress Dowager Cixi and Yuan Shikai, accusing them of being the main culprits of Guangxu's murder;The death of Emperor Guangxu aroused many speculations and left many unsolved mysteries.

Regarding the cause of Emperor Guangxu's death, there are many different theories in history, but most of them are related to Empress Dowager Cixi:

One of the sayings: Cixi knew that she would die soon, and she was afraid that Emperor Guangxu would regain power after her death and overthrow her own history, so she sent someone to poison Emperor Guangxu to death.This is the most common and most recognized statement by later generations.It is said that Qu Guiting, a famous doctor in the late Qing Dynasty, treated Emperor Guangxu many times. He said in his memoirs: "Three days before his death, Guangxu kept rolling on the bed and yelling, 'My stomach hurts very much.'" His tongue was yellow and black, obviously symptoms of poisoning.’” According to this theory, Guangxu was poisoned to death, and the biggest suspect was the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was in control of the political power and tightly controlled Emperor Guangxu. Possibly poisoned.

The second argument: Yuan Shikai once betrayed Emperor Guangxu during the Reform Movement of [-]. He was afraid that after Cixi's death, Guangxu would retaliate against himself, so he killed Emperor Guangxu with highly poisonous drugs through eunuchs.According to the memory of the last emperor Puyi: "I heard an old eunuch who served Emperor Guangxu say: 'The day before Emperor Guangxu died, he only took a dose of medicine before it went bad. I later found out that this dose of medicine was given by Yuan Shikai. .'"

The third argument: The eunuch Li Lianying acted recklessly and committed a heinous crime. After learning that Emperor Guangxu's diary contained the news that the Empress Dowager Xi would punish Yuan Shikai and him after her death, she poisoned Guangxu together with Cixi.

The fourth argument: Emperor Guangxu was physically weak. According to the medical records of Emperor Guangxu before his death, combined with the historical background and modern Chinese medicine theory at that time, it is inferred that Emperor Guangxu died of severe tuberculosis and other complications.

The fifth argument: Emperor Guangxu was weak since he was a child, and had severe kidney deficiency. He was oppressed by Cixi since he was a few years old. A series of respiratory tract, digestive tract, and other concurrent diseases, and finally died of illness.

However, suspicion is suspicion, and rumors are rumors. No one can provide conclusive evidence of Guangxu's murder. Which statement is closer to the truth?What is the exact cause of Emperor Guangxu's death?The debate on the cause of Guangxu's death has never stopped in the historian circles. The suspected murder theory and the normal death theory have been confronted several times, but they have not been able to form an academic conclusion.Therefore, the cause of Guangxu's death seems to be an unsolvable mystery in history.

Time has entered the 21st century. With the development of science and technology and the progress of archaeological work, the cause of Emperor Guangxu's death was finally solved a hundred years after his death.Scientists refined the content of elements in Emperor Guangxu's hair, and after scientific calculations, found that the total amount of arsenic he ingested in his body was significantly greater than the lethal dose.

Later, in accordance with the standard forensic examination requirements and methods, samples of Guangxu's remains and clothing samples were extracted for testing. The results showed that the arsenic content in the shoulder blades, spine, stomach area, lace and collar shoulders of each piece of clothing was very high; Clothing has significantly higher levels of arsenic than outer layers.Then, comparative experiments were carried out on the inside and outside of Guangxu's coffin, the items in the tomb, and the water and soil in the mausoleum. The results showed that the high concentration of arsenic on Guangxu's hair did not come from environmental pollution.Finally, they concluded that the high content of arsenic in Guangxu's hair was not produced by natural metabolism of chronic poisoning, but from external contamination; a large amount of arsenic compounds had remained in the stomach and abdomen of Guangxu's corpse, and the corpse's decay process was redistributed, eroding the Bones, hair and clothing.Arsenic compounds are highly toxic arsenic.Therefore, experts believe that Emperor Guangxu died of arsenic poisoning.

What is certain is that Emperor Guangxu was poisoned and murdered, so the biggest suspect in his murder was Cixi.The grievances between Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi have been accumulated for too long, and the hatred is too deep. It has already reached the point where there is no balance between them.Cixi tried to kill Emperor Guangxu many times, and Cixi was extremely afraid that after her death, Guangxu would retaliate against her, making her restless and restless after death, so she may have designed to poison Guangxu in advance.

The day before his death, Emperor Guangxu issued an edict to the whole country, ordering the governors and governors to find famous doctors and prescriptions, and recommend them to Beijing to treat the emperor.This incident shows at least two points. One is that the emperor was very sober at this time, unlike a person who was confused and about to ascend to heaven; the other is that the emperor was full of confidence in curing his illness.But the emperor died suddenly the next day, which was strange.

What is even more strange is that on the same day, the Qing court issued two edicts in the name of Emperor Guangxu.The first way: Puyi, the son of Prince Mingchun, was educated in the palace and studied in the Shangshu room.The second way: Zaifeng, Puyi's father, was appointed regent.Emperor Guangxu had no power for a long time, and it was impossible to appoint his successor, so the person who was most likely to issue this order was Cixi.Cixi must want Emperor Guangxu to die before her.Sure enough, Guangxu died the next day after the edict was issued.On the third day, Cixi also drove west of Hexi.

Of course, this is only the greatest possibility of Guangxu being poisoned, and the person who poisoned him may never be sure, because all key figures are no longer alive, but one thing is certain, that is, the plot to murder Emperor Guangxu must have something to do with Cixi , the biggest suspect is also Cixi.

(End of this chapter)