The Mystery of Zhen Fei's Appearance: How beautiful is the favorite concubine of Emperor Guangxu?

How beautiful is Emperor Guangxu's favorite imperial concubine? Zhen Fei was the favorite concubine of Emperor Guangxu, and was chosen as the concubine in the 14th year of Guangxu (1888). In the twentieth year of Guangxu, she was promoted as a princess. Zhen Fei was killed in the 26th year of Guangxu (1900). In August of that year, Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Beijing under the pretext of the Boxer Rebellion. Empress Dowager Cixi held Emperor Guangxu hostage and fled to xi 'an. Before leaving, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered eunuchs to call out Zhen Fei, who was imprisoned in Beisanshou Pharmacy, push her into Cining Palace and drown her in a well in Shunzhenmen. At that time, Zhenfei was only 25 years old. In the second year after Zhen Fei was killed, Emperor Guangxu returned to Beijing, and Zhen Fei's body was salvaged, and posthumous title made her a princess.

Zhenfei (1876-1900), Taras, is from Zhenghongqi, Manchuria. The concubine of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, who was also the most favored concubine, later committed suicide by being convicted by Cixi. In fact, I have heard a lot about Zhen Fei, because Zhen Fei is very close to us. During Guangxu period, technology has begun to develop. Especially Zhen Fei, she is fashionable and beautiful. Deeply loved by Emperor Guangxu. However, in the records of empresses of Qing emperors, two women were awarded the title of "Zhen Fei". One is Zhen Feihe Sairihala of Daoguang Emperor, and the other is Tara, the well-known concubine of Guangxu Emperor.

After Guangxu's wedding, the queen gradually fell out of favor, and Princess Jin and Guangxu got along well. However, Zhen Feicong was considerate and waited on Emperor Guangxu every day. But Zhen Fei loves beauty and dressing up. Therefore, it caused strong dissatisfaction from Cixi. Cixi knew that Princess Zhen was the favorite of Emperor Guangxu, and even if she was not satisfied, she dared not say so. Therefore, when Eight-Nation Alliance marched into the Forbidden City, he sent a general manager to push Zhenfei down the well and cause her death.

The Mystery of Zhen Fei's Appearance When Zhen Fei entered the palace, photography technology had been introduced to China. But at that time, the camera was considered as a filthy thing, which would take away people's souls and lead to people's loss of life. Zhen Fei, on the other hand, was able to accept photography and became the earliest concubine in the Qing Dynasty. However, judging from the large number of photos and negatives collected by the Palace Museum and the First Historical Archives of China, the largest number is Empress Dowager Cixi, followed by Empress Guangxu and Princess Guangxu, as well as photos of Puyi's childhood and abdication, but there are no photos of Guangxu and Princess Zhen.

Not long ago, due to the need of work, the author searched a group of photos of historical figures in the late Qing Dynasty for a unit and looked through a large number of pictures preserved in the Beijing Archives. In one of the materials, I accidentally saw a picture called Zhen Fei. The woman in the picture is tall and thin, with high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes. She is wearing a "double-headed" comb full of flowers, a robe with big edges and a wide-brimmed vest. She has a coffee table in her left hand and a handkerchief in her right. The portrait of Zhen Fei published in this information is quite different from a bust photo I saw a few years ago with the title of "Portrait of Zhen Fei". The woman in Zhen Guifei's portrait has a round face and big eyes. It's hard to tell true from false.

To this end, the author consulted a large number of documents. After investigation, this photo hidden in the Beijing Archives was published in the Palace Weekly as early as May 3, 930/kloc-0, with the title of Portrait of Princess Zhen and the annotation of My Daughter's Words Taken in. When the photo was published, the maid-in-waiting was 75 years old. After seeing the photo, she was confirmed to be a princess, and the colors and styles of clothes worn by the characters in the film were compared. Since then, the photo has been reprinted many times, widely circulated and accepted by people. However, in the second issue of the Journal of the Palace Museum published by 1960, Mr. Shan Shiyuan published an article about female tutors and maids in the Qing Dynasty, and the attached portrait of Zhen Fei was the author's work in the Imperial History. See Portrait of Zhen Guifei. After Shan Lao wrote an article, at the beginning of the construction of the Palace Museum, Tang Hechen, the eunuch of the Qing Dynasty, was hired as a consultant to appraise the cultural relics. According to these two people, the portrait of Zhen Fei published by 1930 is not the Zhen Fei of Emperor Guangxu, but the princess of a palace. Mr. Zhu Jiayu once wrote that this portrait of the consort Zhen was not the consort of Emperor Guangxu, but the graceful mother of the last emperor Puyi, and was shot in Rongyuan House of Maoer Hutong.

Since the character in Portrait of Princess Zhen is not Princess Zhen, why is "Zhen" used instead of "Zhen" in Portrait of Princess Zhen?

To solve this mystery, let's first look at several consorts and consorts in the Qing Dynasty. The first is Dong Eshi, the emperor shunzhi's ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, who was born in Zhengbaiqi, Manchuria. In the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, the emperor shunzhi died, and Dong Eshi was martyred and made him the imperial concubine. The second is the filial piety of Emperor Xianfeng (that is, Ci 'an). In the second year of Xianfeng, Zhen was named a concubine, and in May, Zhen Guifei was named. At that time, there was no photography technology in China, and the emperors, queens and concubines were all painted by court painters. When Empress Ci 'an died, photography had been introduced to China, but at that time, she was 45 years old, which was inconsistent with the age of the characters in Zhen Guifei's portrait. In the Qing Dynasty, two concubines were also made consorts. One is Herseri Hala of Daoguang, who was promoted from a noble to a concubine in April of five years, and was made a concubine in August of the same year. At that time, there was no photography in China, so spouses could not leave photos. The second is the concubine of Emperor Guangxu.

In the second year after Zhenfei was killed, Cixi and Emperor Guangxu returned to Beijing from xi 'an, and ordered Zhenfei's body to be salvaged and sealed as a precious princess, and Enjizhuang was buried first. In the archives of the Qing Palace preserved in the First Historical Archives of China, there is such a record: "On the fourth day of July in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu, Princess Zhen was buried in Enjizhuang, passing through the first battalion". In the imperial edict to make Zhen Fei a concubine, there is a saying, "I changed my capital last year, so I was in a hurry, so I died in the palace, which is a commendable book, so I thank posthumous title." Writing "truth" as "truth" probably means to show reverence. Judging from the dress of Zhen Guifei's portrait, it should be the dress of the late Qing Dynasty, and the age is also consistent with Zhen Guifei. Jin Fei and Zhen Fei are half sisters. Compared with the photos of Jin Fei when he was young, their looks and faces are quite similar. It can be concluded that The Portrait of Zhen Guifei is a real portrait of Zhen Guifei, but the portrait of Zhen Guifei published by Beijing Archives is wrong. "