On the twentieth day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Guangxu (February 19, 1889), the 19-year-old Guangxu Emperor held a grand wedding ceremony. He married a total of 3 wives in his lifetime, namely Empress Longyu, Concubine Jin, and Concubine Zhen, all of whom were the masters of Cixi. On the surface, it seems that Cixi, as the empress dowager, bears the obligations and responsibilities to the emperor's heirs, but in fact, she monitors the Guangxu Emperor out of the political needs of her autocratic rule. However, she may have forgotten one thing, that is, in terms of human emotions, others cannot really control them, and even we ourselves sometimes cannot control them. The Guangxu Emperor was no exception, but why did he only like Zhenfei and hate the empress?
From left, the picture is Concubine Jin, Empress Longyu, and Concubine Zhen
What is the reason for appearance?
In feudal society, the marriage of the ancients was generally decided by the parents or elders in the family, and the emperor was even more so, according to scholars, if the emperor of the Qing Dynasty married a better-looking woman, he would also be considered to be greedy for women and misguided the country, so he would be particularly cautious in the selection of empresses and concubines. However, everyone has a heart for beauty, and Guangxu especially hopes that he can have a wife who is understanding and considerate of himself. Contrary to his wishes, his "mother queen" Cixi chose a woman with extremely ugly appearance, extremely arrogant personality and no one in sight to be his empress, that is, the later Empress Longyu. Some people commented that she looked like a man, with a high horse face, a thin hunchback, and protruding eyes and teeth. Guangxu was extremely dissatisfied, but also helpless.
Some people commented that Longyu looked like a man
Guangxu's two concubines were Concubine Jin and Concubine Zhen, who were sisters, but their appearance was very different. Princess Jin's appearance was average, far inferior to Zhenfei's. Princess Zhen's entry into the palace was like a stone thrown into a pool of stagnant water, which made Guangxu's eyes bright, and at the same time aroused his yearning for life and the future.
Statue of Princess Jane
Why do you have a passion?
Modern marriages are open, and divorce has become almost the norm, except for doing some unforgivable things, most of them should be personality incompatibilities, too difficult to get along with, and so on. Empress Longyu came with Cixi's mission to get along with Guangxu, and in order to complete the task of monitoring the emperor's every move, she actually did not care about Guangxu's feelings. According to the "Pen Multiplier", in the midsummer of the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892), one day, Guangxu and Empress Longyu quarreled over a trivial matter, and Longyu ran to Cixi to cry and complain. Cixi was furious and said to the people around her: "The emperor was established by me, it is really an act of ungratefulness, Longyu is my nephew, and insulting the empress is the greatest disrespect to me, which is really unbearable." For several consecutive days after that, Guangxu entered the palace to ask for peace, and Cixi did not say a word, after which the gap between Guangxu and Cixi was formed.
Empress Longyu, who was always watching the emperor
Princess Jin's personality is relatively fragile, very ordinary to obscurity. And her sister Zhenfei, with a cheerful personality, beautiful and dignified, is more lively and agile, and is also quite insightful about some current affairs and government affairs, which is deeply pleasing to Guangxu and also impresses him. At the same time, Princess Zhen also recommended her teacher Wentingshi to Guangxu, a well-known Qingliu person who had always commented on current politics and worried about state affairs, who was very talented and also quite politically insightful, and after he was reused by Guangxu, he had a great influence on Guangxu, and also triggered the Guangxu Emperor's desire to reform politics and get rid of the shackles and make another difference.
Therefore, from this point of view, Zhenfei was considered to have completely defeated the other women around the Guangxu Emperor.
Guangxu and Zhenfei
Interesting perspective history believes that as an emperor, Guangxu's life was sad and miserable, and he was also a victim of Cixi's desire for imperial power. Guangxu also knew that if he favored Concubine Zhen, he would offend the empress, and if he did not agree with the empress, it would be equivalent to exonerating Cixi. However, Cixi could force Guangxu into submission in anything, but in love and affection she could not do what she wanted, nor could she impose on Guangxu. In this regard, readers who have read this article, if you make a choice between power and feelings, will you not bow your head and be loyal to love like Guangxu? Please let me know in the comment area!