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The End of the Empire （1）
Puyi Ascended the Throne |
| CCTV.COM 2002-08-01 15:08:42 |
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 In the night of November 13, 1908, that is, the 20th day of the 10th month of the 34th year of the Guangxu reign, a group of unusual people hurried out of the Forbidden City and headed for the residence of Prince Chun. They brought Empress Dowager Cixi's decree that Prince Chun's eldest son was to succeed the throne. The news threw the entire household into tumult. Prince Chun was well familiar with the temperaments of the empress dowager. His feelings were extremely complicated. Although sorry for his 3－year－old son, he didn't dare to disobey the dowager. Little Puyi howled and cried. The eunuch could do nothing but took his wet－nurse Mrs. Wang into the palace too. Puyi never saw his own mother again in the next 6 years.
Half a century later, now an ordinary citizen, Puyi described his entrance into the palace in his autobiography "From Emperor to Citizen": "I was suddenly surrounded by strangers. Behind doleful drapes I saw a very ugly thin face. That was Cixi." Puyi shuddered with fear and broke out crying at the sight of her.
Emperor Guangxu had even better experience with Cixi's awe－inspiring dignity. Having been brought to the palace at 3, he had always been under her control since he became an emperor.
One event clearly explained the relationship between Cixi and Guangxu. When Guangxu was watching Beijing opera "Beating the Dragon Robe" with Cixi, she commented that an emperor should be punished in person if he made a mistake. There was no need to beat a dragon robe. Guangxu agreed readily.
Since the coup d'etat of 1898, Guangxu was detained for a whole 10 years at Sea Terrace Islet in Zhongnanhai. In the age of turmoil, the power of the Great Qing Empire was increasingly on the wane. Disturbances of the Year Geng Zi, discussion of a "new administration", efforts of Save－the－Emperor Society and resistance of reformists, nothing could help Emperor Guangxu.
The second day after Puyi came to the palace, Guangxu's life went out like a flicker of an oil lamp. It could be Heaven's will, it could also be coincidence, Cixi died the following day too.
 A lavishing funeral was held for Cixi. When there was a state funeral, weddings were prohibited for a month, music was banned for a hundred days. But the Great Qing Empire was losing its hold. The funeral saw not only sadness.
Two months later, Puyi ascended the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. His reign was Xuantong. Longyu replaced Cixi as the empress dowager. Another woman sat behind the emperor.
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Editor: Liu Baoyin CCTV.com
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