Guangxu Emperor's reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, without his aunt Empress Dowager Cixi's influence, only from 1889 to 1898.
29 Facts About Guangxu Emperor
2.
Guangxu Emperor initiated the Hundred Days' Reform, but was abruptly stopped when the empress dowager launched a coup in 1898, after which he became powerless and was held under house arrest until his death by poisoning.
3.
The Guangxu Emperor had the fewest consorts out of all Qing emperors: just his empress and the sisters Consort Jin and Consort Zhen, all of whom he married in 1889.
4.
On 12 January 1875, Zaitian's cousin, the Tongzhi Guangxu Emperor, died without a son to succeed him.
5.
Guangxu Emperor ascended to the throne at the age of four and adopted "Guangxu" as his regnal name, therefore he is known as the "Guangxu Emperor".
6.
Guangxu Emperor was adopted by Empress Dowager Cixi and Ci'an.
7.
In 1881, when the Guangxu Emperor was nine, Empress Dowager Ci'an died unexpectedly, leaving Empress Dowager Cixi as sole regent for the boy.
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In Weng's diaries during those days, Guangxu Emperor was reportedly seen with swollen eyes, had poor concentration and was seeking consolation from Weng.
9.
The Guangxu Emperor had reportedly begun to hold some audiences on his own as an act of necessity.
10.
In 1887, the Guangxu Emperor was old enough to begin to rule in his own right, but the previous year, several courtiers, including Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, had petitioned Empress Dowager Cixi to postpone her retirement from the regency.
11.
Guangxu Emperor selected a pair of sisters, who became Consorts Jin and Zhen, to be the emperor's concubines.
12.
In March 1891, the Guangxu Emperor received the foreign ministers to China at an audience in the "Pavilion of Purple Light", in what is part of Zhongnanhai, something that had been done by the Tongzhi Emperor in 1873.
13.
The Guangxu Emperor, while growing up, apparently had been instilled with the importance of frugality.
14.
The Guangxu Emperor issued decrees allowing the establishment of a modern university in Beijing, the construction of the Lu-Han railway, and a system of budgets similar to that of Western governments.
15.
Many officials, deemed useless and dismissed by the Guangxu Emperor, begged her for help.
16.
The Guangxu Emperor became aware of such a plan, so he asked Kang Youwei and his reformist allies to plan his rescue.
17.
Lei Chia-sheng, a Taiwanese history professor, proposes an alternative view: that the Guangxu Emperor might have been led into a trap by the reformists led by Kang Youwei, who in turn was in Lei's opinion tricked by British missionary Timothy Richard and former Japanese prime minister Ito Hirobumi into agreeing to appoint Ito as one of many foreign advisors.
18.
Guangxu Emperor discharged his ceremonial duties, such as offering sacrifices during ceremonies, but never ruled alone again.
19.
In 1898, shortly after the collapse of the Hundred Days' Reform, the Guangxu Emperor's health began to decline, prompting Cixi to name Pujun, a son of the emperor's cousin, the reactionary Prince Duan, as heir presumptive.
20.
Guangxu Emperor was examined by a physician at the French Legation and diagnosed with chronic nephritis; he was discovered to be impotent at the time.
21.
Guangxu Emperor read widely and spent time learning English from Cixi's Western-educated lady-in-waiting, Yu Deling.
22.
The Guangxu Emperor died on 14 November 1908, a day before Cixi's death, at the age of 37.
23.
China Daily quoted a historian, Dai Yi, who speculated that Cixi might have known of her imminent death and worried that the Guangxu Emperor would continue his reforms after her death.
24.
The medical records kept by the Guangxu Emperor's physician show the emperor suffered from "spells of violent stomachaches" and that his face had turned blue, typical symptoms of arsenic poisoning.
25.
The Guangxu Emperor was succeeded by Cixi's choice as heir, his nephew Puyi, who took the regnal name "Xuantong".
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Some historians believe that the Guangxu Emperor was the first Chinese leader to implement modernizing reforms and capitalism.
27.
The Guangxu Emperor had one empress and two consorts in total.
28.
However, the Guangxu Emperor detested Empress Longyu, and spent most of his time with his favorite concubine, Consort Zhen,.
29.
Rumors allege that in 1900, Consort Zhen was drowned by being thrown into a well on Cixi's order after Consort Zhen begged Empress Dowager Cixi to let the Guangxu Emperor stay in Beijing for negotiations with the foreign powers.