Guangxu – Wikipedia Wikipedia

Guangxu (Beijing, August 14, 1871 – Beijing, November 14, 1908) He was the tenth emperor of China belonging to the Qing dynasty.

His kingdom lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, without the influence of the empress Cixi, from 1889 until 1898. he undertook the One hundred days reforms , but was stopped by Cixi through a coup d’état in 1898 and put at the arrest in his home until his death.

The rise to the throne [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Yixuan, Guangxu’s father, married Rong, younger sister of the imperial concubine Cixi. In January 1875 the emperor Tongzi died without heirs and the imperator Ci’an suggested Yixin’s son as his successor under the protection of Cixi. On the contrary, breaking the imperial convention according to which the next emperor had to be of the second generation after the emperor, Cixi preferred Zaitian’s son.

Guangxu ascene to the throne at the age of four and was adopted by the empress Cixi as her son by definitively assuming the name of “Madre Empress”. During his youth, Guangxu had a teacher Weng Tonghe, with whom he had a profound understanding.

The ascent to power [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Even when Guangxu officially became emperor, Cixi continued to influence the government decisions and the actions of his nephew, despite Cixi, he resided in the imperial summer palace of Yiheyuan. After taking power, Guangxu showed up much more open and innovative than the traditional and conservative Cixi. Guangxu believed that there was a lot to learn from constitutional monarchies such as Japan, which would bring greater power and greater wealth for China. In June 1898, Guangxu began the reform of one hundred days by focusing on a series of political, legal and social changes. It used this, from the momentary removal of the empress Cixi, and the help of the progressive mandarins Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. Guangxu founded the modern University of Beijing, built the Lu-Han railway and a commercial exchange system and a financial stock exchange, similar to the European one.

Reforms [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The reforms, however, presented themselves too innovative for a country still strongly impregnated with a traditionalist aura such as China, and above all they came into conflict with Cixi’s ideas that still remained in the shadow. Many civil and military officers replaced by Guangxu joined Cixi, asking her for help and support. On the other hand, Cixi herself could not expose itself excessively to block the reforms of the one hundred days, preferring to head a military body, for a possible coup. In 1898 the troops of Cixi surrounded the forbidden city while the emperor celebrated the daily religious rites. Guangxu was then taken and brought to a small building that was located on the island in the middle of the lake connected to the garden of the forbidden city and Cixi herself emanated an edict who proclaimed the fall of Guangxu’s unfortunate and the end, in fact, of his own independent kingdom.

House arrest [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

From the moment of his arrest, his whole Court was strategically reformed by Cixi, who only supported him people in his confidence. To avoid a national crisis, in any case, Cixi never forced Guangxu to abdicate, even if these lost all the honors, respect, power and privileges given to a Chinese emperor. Much of Guangxu supporters were exiled and some of them, like Tan Sitong, were sentenced to death with public executions personally called by the empress. The diplomatic problem, however, posted from the beginning as a large part of the world powers were in favor of the western opening of Emperor Guangxu and refused to recognize the political figure of the empress Cixi in China.

To this situation, the only solution seemed to be the deposition of both rulers and the appointment of a new successor in the person of Pujun, son of the conservative Zaiyi, Prince Duan, which in any case did not happen and the government of the two continued until the 1908. In 1900 the alliance of the eight nations, made up of western powers plus Japan, invaded China: on August 14, 1900 they occupied Beijing, after China’s declaration of war to those who supported Emperor Guangxu. The emperor was forced to move to Xi’an together with Cixi in an escape to civil clothes, to avoid being recognized by the invaders. After the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the European powers, the emperor returned to the forbidden city, but was confined again to an imperial building of the large garden, surrounded by watches that from the child were his great passion and hobby, remaining to you to the Death of Cixi.

Death and theories about it [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Guangxu died on November 14, 1908, one day before the empress Cixi, at the age of 37. For a long time there were many theories about Guangxu’s death, but none of these were completely proven by historians. Some were prone to think that Cixi, precisely because it is very sick, and to prevent the emperor from resuming his power after his death, had ordered to poison him. Others suppose that the great eunuch lien ying and Prime Minister Yuan Shikai, who feared that with Cixi’s death, backed by them during the coup against Guangxu, would have poisoned him, the latter would resume power and would have them Make execution.

The official documents, as will be the descendant and successor Pu Yi in his autobiography, will report causes of natural death even if it is known that the emperor was not in health already several days before his death. But this same disease could have been caused by a poisoning administered in small doses for a long period of time. On November 4, 2008 studies on Guangxu’s mortal remains were completed and it was noted that the level of arsenic in his body was 2,000 times higher than normal and this has definitively demonstrated not only his poisoning, but the presence of one Large quantity of arsenic at one time. ^{[first] [2]}

Emperor Guangxu had in total three wives. His main wife was the Long Yu impertex, while his concubines were Jin and Zhen.

Chinese honors [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Foreign honors ^[3] [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]