There was a luthier named Zhang Chunpu in Liulichang, Beijing, who made a living playing the qin. He was straightforward and unpretentious, and his piano skills were superb. He had a good reputation among the scholar-bureaucrats. Cixi had nothing to do and wanted to learn the piano. When she heard about Zhang Chunpu's reputation, she summoned him to the palace to play the piano. It is said that the place where the piano is played is in the west wing of the dormitory. There are seven rooms in the main room. Cixi sat in the westernmost room, which is very close to the west wing. Zhang Chunpu made an appointment with the eunuch when he was called, not to kneel down and play, but to sit down to play well. The eunuch made a promise, so he was not allowed to face Cixi.
There are seven or eight harps in the west wing, all with gold strings and jade shafts. They are so luxurious that even when Zhang Chunpu tried to play them, they were all out of tune. Then I heard Cixi say: "You can bring me the piano I usually use and let him play it." The eunuch was ordered to bring it to Zhang Chunpu. As soon as Zhang Chunpu dropped his fingers, he felt that the sound was very clear and clear, and he repeatedly praised: "Good piano, good piano." Zhang Chunpu played a piece and took a short rest. Suddenly I saw several people wearing wet nurses' clothes coming with a child of about ten years old. The clothes were very gorgeous. When young children see the piano, they play with it with their fingers. Zhang Chunpu stopped him and said: "This is Lafayette's thing, don't touch it." The child stared at him. A woman next to him immediately scolded Zhang Chunpu: "You know who he is. Lafayette relies on him in everything. If you dare to stop him, you don't want to lose your head!" Zhang Chunpu stopped talking.
After Zhang Chunpu left the palace that day, Cixi later called him again, and he would rather die than dare to go. Zhang Chunpu was a man of high moral standards and worked as a servant in a factory due to poverty, but his piano skills were well-known among the officials. On that day, Cixi ordered the eunuch to pass on the message: "If you worship with all your heart, I will get an official for you in the future and be dispatched by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You will not be afraid of wealth." But Zhang Chunpu never entered the palace after seeing the young boy. When his peers asked him, Zhang Chunpu said: "I don't envy such filthy wealth."
King Su heard of Zhang Chunpu's reputation and summoned him to his residence to play the piano. He gave him a monthly salary of thirty gold. It was customary for him to come early and come home late. . Zhang Chunpu felt that he was not free from restraint and wanted to get rid of it, but there was no good way. One evening when it rained, King Su said, "Don't go back, just stay here." Zhang Chunpu refused, and King Su tried to persuade him to stay. Zhang Chunpu said, "The owner of the shop didn't know I was staying here, and he thought I was a prostitute." King Su was furious, expelled him, and never called him into the palace again. Zhang Chunpu happily thought he had a plan.
A young lady from an aristocratic family once asked Zhang Chunpu to teach her piano. Zhang Chunpu came in the afternoon and left after playing a piece of music without even touching her lips. Later, Zhang Chunpu died of poverty due to the war.
In fact, the late Qing Dynasty accommodated many eccentric people. Zhang Chunpu did not suffer death because he did not obey Cixi's edict or angered King Su. This would be unimaginable in other dynasties.
After the middle period of Guangxu, Cixi suddenly became interested in calligraphy, learned to paint flowers, and also learned to write calligraphy. She often wrote words such as "Fushou and Longevity" as gifts to her favored ministers. But my handwriting was not very good, so I wanted to find a ghostwriter, so I ordered the governors of all provinces to look for her. There was an official in Sichuan, Miao Jiahui, whose husband died in office while serving as an official in Shu. Miao was a flower and bird worker, could play the piano, and could write clearly and elegantly in small regular script, so he was sent to the capital. Cixi was overjoyed after summoning her for an interview, and asked her to stay with him day and night, and prevented her from kneeling down. She received a monthly salary of two hundred gold and donated the position of Secretary of the Cabinet for her son. Miao sometimes made social pens and ink and sold them in factories, and his calligraphy and painting were quite charming. From then on, all the flowers, fans and scrolls that Cixi admired in the homes of ministers were all written by Miao.
A few days before Cixi's sixtieth birthday, she suddenly asked Miao: "You have seen the wedding makeup of Manchu women, but I have never seen what you Han women wear when they get married? Miao said, "It's a phoenix crown." Cixi said, "On the day of the celebration, you must wear a phoenix crown and be my guest." The next day, Miao bought a phoenix crown and wore it. Cixi laughed uncontrollably and said, "It looks like this." Someone in a drama. On the day of Cixi's birthday, all the Manchu women entered the palace and laughed out loud when they saw Miao's clothes. Cixi was very happy that day, but Miao was tied up and stood in Fengguan Xiapei for a whole day, suffering unspeakably. It is estimated that she will never want to wear the unlucky Fengguan Xiapei again in her next life.
It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi had a male favorite, just like Wu Zetian, Xue Huaiyi and Zhang Changzong. The Qing Dynasty Wen Tingshi's "Wen Chen Ou Ji" says: In the spring of the eighth year of Guangxu's reign, there was an antique dealer named Bai in Liulichang who was introduced to Cixi by Li Lianying. Cixi was forty-six years old at the time. Bai was released after living in the palace for more than a month. Soon, Cixi was pregnant. Empress Dowager Ci'an was furious when she learned that she was pregnant. She summoned the ministers of the Ministry of Rites to ask about the abolition of the empress' rites. The Minister of Rites said: "This matter cannot be done. I hope that my Queen Mother will be wise and protect herself." Ci'an died suddenly that night.
There are also unofficial records: Cixi loved Tangwoguo. Every morning she sent people to the palace gate to buy four Tangwoguos, which were delivered by the waiters at Jinhua Restaurant. There is a young waiter named Shi in Jinhua Restaurant. He is tall and handsome. Shi became familiar with Li Lianying and was often taken to the palace to play by Li Lianying. One day, Cixi suddenly found a handsome young man standing next to Li Lianying, and asked Li Lianying who he was. Li Lianying was very scared because bringing outsiders into the palace seriously violated the palace prohibition, but she did not dare to lie, so she had to report the truth. Cixi did not show anger, but was a little excited. She kept Shi in the palace to "promote prostitution day and night", and gave birth to Guangxu a year later. Cixi did not dare to raise her in the palace, so she ordered Prince Chun to raise her on her behalf, and then silenced Shi. Guangxu was a generation younger than Tongzhi, and Cixi violated the convention of establishing a son rather than a brother, perhaps because Guangxu was her biological son.
There are no sufficient evidences found in history books about the rumors that Cixi had an affair with the eunuchs An Dehai and Li Lianying. Before Li Lianying entered the palace, because of his poor life, he smuggled saltpeter and sulfur, nicknamed Pi Nitli. Later, he was imprisoned for selling saltpetre and sulfur. After he was released from prison, he made a living by mending shoes. His friend Shen Lanyu saw that he was pitiful and introduced him to the palace as a eunuch. Li Lianying was known as "Little Li" and was appreciated by the Nala family for her beautiful hair combing skills. His duty room was not far from the residence of the Queen Mother. Sometimes the Queen Mother would come to his room to take a look, and Li would wrap all eight chairs where Cixi sat in yellow cloth. The Queen Mother indeed praised him for his loyalty and carefulness, and she trusted him even more.
In the last years of Kangxi's reign, it was stipulated that the highest rank of eunuchs should be five ranks, and the lowest rank could be eight ranks. In the seventh year of Qianlong's reign, it was changed to "no more than four ranks, and it will always be a rule." When Cixi came to power, she broke the ancestral system and rewarded Li Lianying with the second rank. Over the years, Cixi's love for Li Lianying never faded. The two often sat together and listened to operas. Cixi often left out for Li Lianying in his meals whatever Li Lianying liked to eat. Li Lianying was extremely smart, considerate, and kind to others. She was not as arrogant as Ande Hai, so she was able to die a good death.
But even if there is ambiguity between Andehai, Li Lianying and Cixi, it is impossible to have a real sexual relationship. Because if they are not clean, they are fake eunuchs, and this matter cannot be hidden from everyone. In the Qing Dynasty, the inspection of eunuchs was particularly strict. After becoming a eunuch, they had to undergo a physical examination by the Department of Punishment the next year