"The historical logic of historians has always been to win and lose, and women are of course no exception."

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

"The reform of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty has won the consensus of all parties at the top of the country, and the goal is also highly consistent, that is, to save the country and survive, and the results and impact are also worthy of recognition."

"Without subjective bias, modernization should have a share of Cixi's efforts and contributions."

"The national conditions of the late Qing Dynasty were also very complicated, the success rate of engaging in bourgeois reform was almost zero, and the humerus capable ministers such as Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan, and Zhang Zhidong were not very easy to control, and it was difficult for the late Qing Dynasty to survive for decades under the situation of internal and external troubles."

"If the historical responsibility for the failure of domestic and foreign affairs in the late Qing Dynasty is entirely attributed to a widow in the deep palace, then it can only be said that what did the men of that era do?"

"Then who is to blame for Cixi being in power for so long, but this person's power ambition, extravagance, and extravagance have to be said."

"Although it is said that the Qing Dynasty cannot be blamed on her, but during the more than 40 years she was in power, she signed a series of unequal treaties with foreign powers, which led to the cession of land and the payment of reparations, and the people's suffering deepened step by step."

"It has brought great suffering to the Chinese nation! There is no doubt about that. ”

"The Qing Dynasty can be said to be a woman in the prosper, and a woman in death."

"In the history of the reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in the early period and the Empress Dowager Cixi in the late period were both great statesmen."

"Cixi connected the Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu dynasties, and was a veritable supreme ruler who accompanied the Qing Dynasty to its decline."

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

"First of all, Cixi doesn't like to use incense, but its palace has a delicate fragrance all year round, so what should I do?"

"It is said that there are several large vats in the palace all year round, and a vat contains dozens of catties of fruit, and these fruits are only used to smell some tastes, not to eat, so that tens of thousands of catties of fruits are used up a year."

"Let's just say that in terms of eating, the 400 people in the imperial dining room are responsible for the daily meals of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and there are 120 dishes per meal every day according to the specifications, and they are all rare seafood, and after the main meal, two snacks and pastries are added, and there are more than 20 dishes each time."

"There is also a rule for these 100 dishes, that is, one dish is not sandwiched a third time."

"In this way, Cixi spent more than 40,000 taels of silver on a single day just for dinner, which is really extravagant, and it is simply the Qing Dynasty on the tip of the tongue."

"Cixi loves beauty and delicate life, and like all women, Cixi is first and foremost a woman, her youth is fleeting, her face is no longer beautiful, especially the ever-changing imperial politics she faces, she seems even more worried and tired."

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

According to the palace eunuch Xin Xiuming said in "Memories of the Old Eunuch": "Cixi's head is not easy to comb, and after the age of forty, her hair has fallen out, and only the sideburns and the short hair on the back of the head remain, and she has only the skills of a cane. ”

"Otherwise, it's like a bald old lady."

"The Queen Mother is happy and solemn, with a bunch of fake green hair in her heart, which is sticky with red glue, and the hair pieces are pasted on both sides, with two large heads, which are the official clothes of Manchuria, and she is most afraid of taking it off, so she needs to be very careful."

The great eunuch Li Lianying only combed Cixi's hair to comb out a "big internal manager".

"Li Lianying's combing technique is very skillful and smooth, he can not only create a variety of new and varied hairstyles for Cixi, but also do not comb or comb out her hair."

"This great eunuch would comb Cixi's hair three times a day, each time combing her hair, finely, frequently, and finely, depending on the thickness of the hair, the force is also different."

Li Lianying was able to replace An Dehai as the empress dowager's eunuch, and then became the head of the second grade, all because of the importance of Cixi's hair and the irreplaceability of his "divine comb". ”

"After middle age, Cixi had a variety of secretion system diseases due to physical reasons, coupled with internal and external troubles, and the pressure was also very great, which led to a long-term sub-health state, and her hair began to fall out in large quantities, so that Cixi finally had to rely on Li Lianying and some wigs to modify it, so that future generations could see the complete and exquisite Cixi headdress."

"There is also facial care, Cixi takes pearl powder and ginseng bird's nest every day as an internal tone, and the facial fat powder is specially picked by the eunuchs in the rose garden and then made with precious Chinese medicinal herbs and spices."

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

"The mirror used is an ivory carved mirror, and I have to wear a gold chisel and ancient money pattern nail cover every day."

"It's so delicate and extravagant."

"Let's talk about the Empress Dowager Cixi's clothes, let's hear how extravagant the Empress Dowager Cixi's clothes are."

"The Empress Dowager Cixi has a huge wardrobe, and her clothes are made of the best materials."

"It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi's clothes can exceed a train car, and when she travels to Mukden by train, there is a special carriage to carry her clothes."

"The clothes are still inlaid with gold threads, and the shoes are inlaid with various pearls and agate, there are about more than 2,000 pieces of clothes, and nearly 100 pairs of shoes, which are only the clothes I brought after staying in Mukden for about five days."

"And she's wearing a dragon robe."

"Her dragon robe is hand-woven from intricately detailed gold threads and inlaid with precious gems and jewels."

"Her headdress and hair ornaments are also made of precious materials such as ivory, pearls, gold and silver, and many more."

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

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

"Her palace was richly decorated, with valuable art on the walls and heavy carpets on the floors."

"Her beds are also made of the finest materials, with sheets, quilts and pillows made of the finest silks."

"The Empress Dowager Cixi's bedroom also has a huge jewel-encrusted screen, and they are also very expensive."

"And she has a dedicated court band and they play the best music for her."

"She also has a special dance troupe and they perform the best dances for her."

Empress Dowager Cixi also enjoyed playing mahjong, playing games with her "friends" in her private room. ”

"Let's talk about bathing, that's even more that!"

(End of chapter)