🐉 In 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor passed away. The six-year-old Tongzhi Emperor ascended the throne. Empress Dowager Ci'an (Empress of the East) and Empress Dowager Cixi (Empress of the West), who was a concubine, initially did not gain the power of regency. Before his death, the Xianfeng Emperor had left a will appointing eight ministers to assist the young emperor. However, Cixi immediately staged a coup (the Xinyou Coup). The eight ministers were purged, beheaded, or ordered to commit suicide. Power passed into the hands of the two Empresses Dowager. After Xianfeng's death, the Qing Dynasty launched the 'Self-Strengthening Movement' to learn from the West and build a wealthy nation with a strong army. However, Cixi, the real power holder, was more interested in maintaining power than in true reform.
The Tongzhi Emperor died young at the age of 19. He had no son. To maintain her power, Cixi designated her four-year-old nephew, the Guangxu Emperor, as the new emperor. The ministers opposed this, but she pushed it through. Cixi's regency behind the curtain continued. In the Sino-French War, Qing lost its suzerainty over Vietnam. In the First Sino-Japanese War, it lost its suzerainty over Joseon (Korea). Even during the war when the country was tilting, Cixi diverted the naval budget to rebuild her lavish Summer Palace (Yiheyuan).
When the Guangxu Emperor came of age, he declared his direct rule and attempted reform (the Hundred Days' Reform). He tried to fix the civil service exam, establish modern schools, and modernize the military. However, it ended as a '103-day reign'. Cixi staged another coup and imprisoned the Guangxu Emperor. Reformers were ordered to be executed or commit suicide, and others went into exile.
Cixi wanted to kill the living emperor. She ordered the imperial physician to spread rumors that "the Emperor is seriously ill." The French Minister sent a French doctor directly to diagnose the Emperor. He received a diagnosis that the Emperor was healthy. The plan to usurp the throne hit a snag.
To Cixi, foreigners were a thorn in her side. However, she had no power to stand against the guns and cannons of foreign armies. She decided to liquidate the 'Western devils' and called the armed group 'Boxers (Yihetuan)' to Beijing. They claimed to have mysterious magical powers, saying that a single incantation could block Western guns and cannons. She believed them. Backed by Cixi, the Boxers and Cixi's army besieged and attacked the Legation Quarter in Beijing. The German Minister was killed. Cixi declared war on the entire world, including the US, UK, and France. The Eight-Nation Alliance immediately entered Beijing. Cixi took the Emperor and fled. During the escape, she threw the Emperor's beloved concubine into a well, killing her.
The Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing, massacred, and looted. The Forbidden City was damaged. Russia invaded and occupied the territory of Manchuria. Cixi hastily begged the Eight-Nation Alliance for peace. Huge indemnities and the stationing of foreign troops were permitted (the Boxer Protocol).
Suddenly, the Guangxu Emperor also died. Rumors of poisoning were raised. Cixi designated the even younger two-year-old Puyi as emperor. And then she died. It was 20 hours after Guangxu's death. She left a will: "Hereafter, let no woman interfere in state affairs." She had not just interfered but ruled for 48 years.
In 1908, the two-year-old Puyi ascended the throne. He burst into tears at the coronation ceremony. His father comforted him, saying, "Don't cry, it will be over soon." All of China was covered in uprisings and revolution. Provinces declared independence. The Republic of China was established in Nanjing. There was no government. There were too many governments.
On this day, February 12, 1912, Puyi, who had stopped crying at the words "It will be over soon," stamped the imperial seal on the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor. And so, the Qing Dynasty ended 'soon'. Imperial rule, which began with Qin Shi Huang, ended after 2,133 years.
Source: Baek Yang's History of China and Nam Gyeong-tae's History of the East
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