human nature?these days i've been reading up on chinese history on wikipedia.
and i found out that most of the concubines or women in the palace, as long as they were in favour, they would have tragic fates.
and to say it bluntly, the ugly ones learn to live their jealousy but i wonder if they knew tht would've made them even uglier.
because Empress Dowager Cixi was not fond of the idea of reformation.
so she didnt want to give much power to those who wanted to reform.
and also felt that as a threat.
other than trying to keep all the power she could.
she was candid.
as she knew that exactly was happening in the palace.
with all the jealousy and desperation of getting more power.
esp. b/w the women, trying to get the favour of the Emperor, or perhaps even Empress Dowager Cixi.
and so, she would sometimes even mock the court ladies, for being so selfish.
but she says that in a very intelligent manner.
but when the Imperial Concubine Zhen that Emperor Guangxu so favoured supported Emperor Guangxu for the reformation, Empress Dowager Cixi got angry. the Imperial Concubine Zhen was sent to jail with her attempts at helping Emperor Guangxu reform and when the eight-nation alliance invaded the Forbidden City, she was hinted to commit suicide before Empress Dowager Cixi, she was even rumoured to be thrown into the well after she begged Empress Dowager Cixi to let the Emperor Guangxu negotiate with foreign powers.
and the other Empress Xiao Zhe Yi, (Jia Shun Empress), where the Emperor Tongzhi favored her and they spent all the time together that Empress Dowager Cixi was unhappy the Emperor Tongzhi didnt care about the other wives and she even hinted that they were young and shud care more about the empire. but the Empress Jia Shun didnt seem to listen and so she stopped the Emperor and Empress from seeing each other that caused the emperor to get really lonely that he went to vist the brothels. which they rumoured caused his death cos he got some disease. and the Empress Dowager Cixi cut the Empress's food supply and her father couldnt even help her and she committed suicide. and the tragedy didnt end just here.
the Empress's father was asked by Empress Dowager Cixi to stay in Beijing to settle state affairs, and her mother (granddaugther of Emperor Jia Qing) and sisters were escorted by force to the temple of heaven where they were gang raped by the several dozens of foreign soldiers. and upon return, the whole family comitted suicide.
or perhaps,
some just wanted power,
some wanted to show they were in power,
flaunted as though they were the only ones right.
like the Imperial Concubine Jin, which the Emperor Guangxu didnt favour, but when Empress Long Yu died and she become the highest ranking woman in the imperial palace, she scolded Emperor Puyi's mother at a public audience for the misconduct of the young Emperor Puyi. this caused Emperor Puyi's mother to commit suicide by swallowing opium. when Emperor Puyi was of age to marry, she even said the other lady of choice was not pretty enough to be the empress and with that she managed to get puyi to marry her choice of the empress.
seriously, i feel that the good people sometimes just dont survive.
perhaps esp. when u are good and pretty.
because you have to be bad and ugly.
and have the ugly heart too.
because u're in a power struggle.
u have to find all ways and means just to get power and favour.
ok. this feels sick.
thank goodness there isnt such stuff happening in the forbidden city anymore.
or dynasties or whatsoever.
but it definitely is still happening in the world.
power struggle? jealousy?
Labels: rambles
