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Chapter 372 Cixi’s Extravagance

"The historical logic of historians has always been that the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy, and women are certainly no exception."

"Any political reform in history is, to put it bluntly, a major adjustment of existing interests."

"The reforms of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty have gained consensus from all parties at the top of the country, and their goals are highly consistent, which is to save the nation from extinction. The results and impact are also worthy of recognition."

“From a non-subjective perspective, Cixi’s efforts and contributions should be attributed to modernization.”

"The national conditions in the late Qing Dynasty were also very complicated. The success rate of bourgeois reforms was almost zero. It was not easy to control capable ministers like Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan, and Zhang Zhidong. The situation in the late Qing Dynasty was characterized by internal and external troubles. It will be difficult to survive for decades."

"If the historical responsibility for the failure of the late Qing Dynasty's internal affairs and diplomacy is entirely attributed to a palace widow, then what can we say about the men of that era?"

"Who is to blame for Cixi being in power for so long? But this person's ambition for power, extravagance, and extravagance have to be criticized."

"Although she cannot be entirely blamed for the Qing Dynasty, she signed a series of unequal treaties with foreign powers during her more than 40 years in power, which resulted in the cessation of territory and compensation, and the people's suffering gradually deepened."

"It has brought severe suffering to the Chinese nation! There is no doubt about this."

"It can be said that the Qing Dynasty prospered because of women, and also died because of women."

"In the history of the Qing Dynasty's rule, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in the early period and the Empress Dowager Cixi in the late period were both great politicians."

"Cixi connected the three dynasties of Xianfeng, Tongzhi and Guangxu. She was truly the supreme ruler and accompanied the Qing Dynasty to its decline."

"Let's talk about some other topics about Empress Dowager Cixi."

"First of all, Cixi doesn't like to use incense, but her palace needs to have an elegant fragrance all year round, so what should we do?"

"Just use fresh fruits to fumigate the palace all year round. It is said that there are several large vats in the palace all year round, each vat contains dozens of kilograms of fruits, and these fruits are only used to smell, not to eat. In this way, At least tens of thousands of kilograms of fruit will be used in a year."

"As for food, 400 people in the imperial kitchen are responsible for the daily meals of the Empress Dowager Cixi. According to the specifications, 120 dishes are served for each meal every day, and they are all rare seafood. After the main meal, there are also two snacks, pastries and snacks. More than 20 channels.”

"There is also a rule among these 100 dishes, which is not to serve a dish a third time."

"Calculated in this way, Cixi spent more than 4 taels of silver on meals in a single day. She was really extravagant. It was like the Qing Dynasty on the tip of your tongue."

"Cixi loves beauty and exquisite life. Like all women, Cixi is first of all a woman. Her youth is fleeting and her beauty is no longer beautiful. Especially when she faces the ever-changing imperial politics, she looks even more worried and exhausted."

"Cixi attaches great importance to image and bearing, and is especially demanding about the beauty of hair accessories and hairstyles."

"According to the palace eunuch Xin Xiu Ming's "Memories of the Old Eunuch", "Cixi's hair and face are not easy to comb. After the age of forty, her hair has fallen off, leaving only the sideburns and short hair on the back of her head. "

"Otherwise, she will look like a bald old lady."

"The Queen Mother is very solemn. She wears a bunch of fake green hair on the top of her head. It is made of red clay. There are hair pieces on both sides. She has two big buns. She is the official Manchu attire. She is most afraid of being knocked off, so she needs to be careful."

"The eunuch Li Lianying became the "general manager" by combing Cixi's hair.

"Li Lianying's hair combing technique is very skillful and smooth. Not only can he create many new and varied hairstyles for Cixi, but he can also do it without breaking or losing her hair." "This eunuch will do Cixi's hair every day. Comb your hair three times, each time, comb it carefully, comb it frequently, and comb it carefully, and use different force according to the thickness of your hair."

"He also chose combs of different materials, mainly ivory combs and boxwood combs. Li Lianying was able to succeed An Dehai as the eunuch in charge of the Queen Mother's case, and then became the second-level manager, all because of the importance of Cixi's hair and his "magic comb" "Irreplaceable."

"After middle age, Cixi suffered from a variety of secretory system diseases due to physical reasons. Coupled with internal and external troubles, she was also under great pressure, which resulted in a long-term sub-health state. Her hair began to fall out in large quantities, so Cixi finally had to rely on Li Lianying and some The wig was modified so that future generations could see the complete and exquisite Cixi headdress.”

"There is also facial care. Cixi takes pearl powder and ginseng and bird's nest every day as internal tonics. The facial powder is specially picked by eunuchs in the rose garden and made with precious Chinese medicinal materials and spices."

"The rouge box is made of enamel jade, and the facial mask is made of royal egg white and cinnabar. Cixi also has a special facial massager. It is a massage stick made of precious materials such as agate, Hetian jade and gold. It is rolled back and forth on the acupuncture points on the face. It can promote facial blood circulation.”

"The mirror I use is an ivory carved mirror, and I wear gold-chiseled antique coin-patterned nail polish every day."

"This life is so exquisite and luxurious."

"Now that we are talking about the clothes of the Empress Dowager Cixi, let us hear how luxurious the clothes of the Empress Dowager Cixi are."

"The Empress Dowager Cixi had a huge wardrobe and her clothes were made of the best materials."

"It is said that the clothes of Empress Dowager Cixi can exceed the size of a train carriage. When she took the train to Fengtian, there was a special carriage to carry her clothes."

"The clothes are all inlaid with gold threads, and the shoes are inlaid with various pearls and agates. There are probably more than 2,000 pieces of clothes and nearly a hundred pairs of shoes. These are just the clothes I brought with me after I stayed in Fengtian for about five days."

"And she's wearing a dragon robe."

"Her dragon robe was hand-woven from intricately detailed gold threads and studded with precious stones and jewels."

"Her headdress and hair accessories were also made of precious materials such as ivory, pearls, gold and silver, etc."

"Empress Dowager Cixi's clothes are very expensive, and the price of some of the dragon robes even exceeds an official's lifetime income."

"Secondly, the residence of Empress Dowager Cixi is also very luxurious."

"Her palace was lavishly decorated, with expensive artwork on the walls and heavy carpets on the floors."

"Her bed was also made from the finest materials, with sheets, quilts and pillows made from the finest silks."

"The Empress Dowager Cixi also had a huge gem-encrusted screen in her bedroom, and they were also very expensive."

"And she had a special palace band who would play the best music for her."

"She also has a special dance troupe who will perform their best dances for her."

"The Empress Dowager Cixi also enjoyed playing mahjong, which she would play with her 'friends' in her private room."

"Besides taking a shower, that's even more important!"

(End of this chapter)