Cixi's imperial seal
All the princes and ministers who get the portrait of Mo Bao from Cixi will frame it and hang it in the hall to show off to visitors, because they think it is a great honor to get the calligraphy and painting of Empress Dowager Cixi. In fact, the second most valuable and dazzling content in calligraphy and painting is the seal of "the treasure of Empress Dowager Cixi".
In fact, most of Cixi's calligraphy and painting were not written by Cixi, but by Miao Jiahui, a female painter. She won the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi, no less than Li. If Li is compared to a handy housekeeper, then Miao Jiahui can be said to be a close friend of Cixi.
At first, Cixi's leisure time in the palace was also very boring. After all, a woman who is immersed in the political power struggle every day will inevitably feel tired, so she falls in love with writing and painting, which is a calming elegance. In order to serve her paintings, Cixi ordered Jiangnan Weaving General Administration to select some women who are good at painting to enter the palace. At that time, two wives of official families were elected to the palace. One is Miao Jiahui, Su Yun, a native of Yunnan. One is Wang Shao, named Holly, from Zhejiang.
Wang Shao is good at drawing women workers, but he is not good at catering to them, and he is quite rigid and wooden. Cixi admired her paintings, but she was cold to her. Miao Jiahui not only works in flowers and birds, but also plays the piano and has good calligraphy. She is clever, good at catering and can win the sacred will. As attendants, the two entered the palace at the same time and entered the value at the same time, but their experiences were diametrically opposite.
? After several years in the palace, Wang Shao left the palace and returned to Zhejiang with a depressed mood because he could not adapt to the life in the palace. Soon after, he committed suicide by taking poison. It is said that he is unable to repay because of too much debt. At the same time, Miao Jiahui, who entered the palace at the same time, won the favor of Cixi. She accompanied her all the time, avoiding the ceremony of bowing down, and became a follower of Cixi, a female painter who served Cixi all her life.
Miao Jiahui's works
? On one occasion, when Cixi was painting in "Listening to Lanting", the left and right attendants knelt by and waited on her with painting tools and pigments, while Miao Jiahui stood by and "pointed out" the Queen Mother, and the way of "pointing out" was also very tactfully clever. On one occasion, Cixi was drawing a crane, and the crane legs were not well drawn, so she complained. This crane's legs are really annoying, and you can't draw well. Miao Jiahui, who stood by, immediately pulled out a crane leg and offered it respectfully. Cixi was very happy to copy after seeing it.
Goldfish painted by Miao Jiahui
Miao Jiahui's popularity in the court is very good, which is different from that of the general painting academy. She was very close to Fei Jin and eunuchs, and they all called her "Mrs Miao" or "Master Miao". In the Forbidden City, which is full of darkness and intrigue, it is good for everyone to like it, which shows how high Miao Jiahui's emotional intelligence is and how sophisticated he is in dealing with people.
? She once painted a portrait of Wu Zetian, "The Golden Wheel and the Crown", dedicated to Cixi, which won her love and appreciation. From then on, all the flower fans that Cixi gave to princes and ministers had imperial seals, most of which were written by Miao Jiahui.
Cixi lingering sound
? Since then, Miao Jiahui's fame has increased day by day. Besides drawing for Cixi, she often draws some calligraphy and painting. Many literati and officials who came here to buy her calligraphy and painting. When there are more buyers, she opens a factory to sell calligraphy and painting, and often sells her own calligraphy and painting. In addition to the monthly salary of 220 silver, the calligraphy and painting she sells has also increased a lot of income. In a trade of titles and titles, she bought her son a cabinet book and a house next to Houhaichun Wangfu.