Empress Dowager Cixi took many photos. Why does she never laugh?

Speaking of the woman who was most satisfied with her appearance in the Qing Dynasty, it was none other than Cixi Lafayette. No matter what she said or recorded in various historical books, there are many descriptions of her beauty. Nowadays, women will take a lot of photos to keep their beautiful faces, and Cixi is no exception. She left hundreds of photos in her life, but no one found them. None of these photos left her with a smile. Why is this?

At that time, Cixi's photography technology was different from ours, and her exposure technology was very backward. The camera shutter opens for a long time, and the film exposure time is also long. The slight movement of characters will lead to blurred photos. We assume that Empress Dowager Cixi smiled at first, but over time, it is not easy to keep an expression all the time, and it is impossible to know whether her face will cramp after a long time.

How long was the exposure time of the camera film at that time? It takes about ten to fifteen minutes from pressing the shutter to exposing the film. Imagine, in this case, is it easier to smile or to have no expression?

And at that time, the way Cixi recorded her appearance changed from portrait to taking pictures with a camera. Then we must understand what portrait painting means to a person in Qing Dynasty. We see that in the Qing palace, a concubine may never have a chance to draw once or twice in her life. Therefore, this occasion is cautious, and it is precisely because of its rarity that portrait has become a very serious matter.

This serious attitude of recording a person's appearance continued until the camera was introduced into the Qing palace. Therefore, in Cixi's deep-rooted thoughts, she still feels that this is something that needs to be taken seriously and should not be sloppy. Let's see, when Cixi took photos, she poured out her chest and armed almost all the exquisite jewelry and beautiful clothes.

Furthermore, the last point, which every woman will feel, will wrinkle when she smiles! Think about it, when the camera enters the Qing Palace, Cixi has already entered old age. Cixi is very concerned about the traces of her appearance brought by years. When a painter painted her portrait before, she repeatedly stressed that she didn't want wrinkles and shadows because she looked old.

The same is true for taking pictures, so Cixi's requirements for light, position and makeup have reached a very demanding level. And at that time, there was no powerful PS technology now, so keeping your face expressionless is the easiest way not to wrinkle. Even so, after the photo is taken, there must be professionals to polish the photos of Cixi.