Source: Jin Manlou's blog
Lu Xun once said that eunuchs, opium and concubines are the "national quintessence" of China. As a national quintessence, it has a long history, such as eunuchs, which have a history of at least 2,000 years in China. Eunuch politics and even eunuch disasters are common in history books, even affecting the rise and fall of a dynasty at some special time points, such as the "Ten Servants" in the Eastern Han Dynasty and Wei Zhongxian in the late Ming Dynasty.
There were several famous eunuchs in the late Qing Dynasty, such as An Dehai, Cui Yugui and Xiao, but the most famous one was Li. Of course, its reputation is not good. Li Sheng was in Daoguang for twenty-eight years. Originally from Li Jiacun, Dacheng County, Hejian Prefecture, Zhili. Unofficial history often said that he was a born scoundrel. He once sold sodium sulfate privately and was almost put in prison. Later, I muddled through and switched to repairing shoes. So his nickname is "Kumei", and people often castrate his palace to be a eunuch. Fortunately, they really made a fortune and their families got support. As for Li, because he was bullied at home, he went to the palace to find a way out for himself and his family.
At that time, there was a eunuch named Shen in the palace, who was Li's hometown. When he saw Li just entering the palace, he didn't know anyone. He is very pitiful. Just then, he received a message. Empress Dowager Cixi heard that a new bun was popular outside, and the eunuch in the palace couldn't comb it well. Empress Dowager Cixi was very unhappy about this. Later, Shen told Li the news and asked Li to ponder the combing method of the new hairstyle. When Li practiced almost, Shen recommended him to Empress Dowager Cixi, and Li showed his talents, which was the beginning of Li's popularity.
Empress Dowager Cixi attached great importance to combing her hair, and even suspected of having a hair fetish. Since Li was born, Empress Dowager Cixi has appointed Li to make her own bun. Otherwise, she will be uncomfortable all day. According to unofficial history, Li, a slave, loved Li very much. Li Can even sat with Cixi at the theatre. If there are snacks that Li likes to eat in the palace for Empress Dowager Cixi, Empress Dowager Cixi will often eat less or let eunuchs take them away and leave them to Li.
In addition to combing her hair, Li has a special performance, that is, she is good at catering to and speculating the thoughts of Empress Dowager Cixi. Li is witty and likes telling jokes. Although he didn't read much when he was a child, his jokes were exquisite and round, not vulgar, and quite attractive. When Empress Dowager Cixi is free, she often asks Li to tell some jokes to amuse everyone. At such times, Li Can always makes everyone happy. Even if he tells some political jokes that satirize the government in the street, he can be witty and humorous, so that people can't hear the contradictory irony.
As the head of the palace, Li won't come for nothing. He is also proficient in the management of the palace. For example, Li knows all about the furnishings and etiquette procedures of palace objects, and eunuchs often ask him for instructions when they encounter problems. There are festive events in the palace, and Li is best at arranging them.
After the fall of the Qing court, the maid-in-waiting left the palace, and then a maid-in-waiting dictated a book, in which Li was compared to "Buddha sees good fortune." "Buddha sees good fortune" is a pear produced in Malanyu, Dongling. Its skin is black and its appearance is not beautiful. It doesn't look attractive, but it tastes sweet, crisp and tender. Cixi. Li got this nickname because his appearance is hard to impress people, but he thinks of others everywhere in his work. "The jargon in the palace is' watertight', which makes the old lady feel very comfortable and won the favor of the Queen Mother." There are many posthumous title in the palace, such as Chen Quanfu, Ronaldinho Cui Yugui and Zhang Defu, the land god. No matter who is looking for or using anything in the palace, just ask Zhang Defu. He knows everything, so he got the nickname. This' Buddha sees a blessing' is the star Dai Yue, who gets up early to meet the darkness, is not busy, and is orderly. Things like swimming in the lake are well arranged and harmonious. Without his careful consideration, it is difficult to make the old lady feel comfortable. "
However, Li's stay in the palace was not smooth sailing. When An Dehai, who entered the palace with him at the same time, was already a red man around Empress Dowager Cixi, Li was still in the lower class. It was not until An Dehai was killed that Li was able to make a name for himself. An Dehai made great contributions to the neutrality of Xinyou coup, but he was arrogant and didn't know how to leave room for himself. As a result, he took the blame once. An Dehai wanted to go to the palace to enjoy the scenery, and Empress Dowager Cixi sent him to the south to buy the emperor's robes. Unexpectedly, An Dehai marched all the way and demanded bribes from local officials. As a result, Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong Province, caught him and put him to death on the grounds that the Qing court had taught his ancestors that "eunuchs were not allowed to leave the palace". It is said that Ding Baozhen was inspired by Empress Ci 'an and Prince Gong, and Empress Dowager Cixi dared not tell anyone. Only blame An Dehai for being too ostentatious. In this regard, Li Yuan is much more intelligent and low-key than An Dehai.
1886, Beiyang navy began to take shape, and Li Hongzhang asked the court to send officials to inspect the military parade. Empress dowager cixi intended to send Yi Kun, the prince of alcohol, but Yi Kun was Guangxu's biological father. Afraid of the suspicion of Empress Dowager Cixi, he volunteered to invite Li Man in red around Empress Dowager Cixi to show that he had no second thoughts. Empress Dowager Cixi also wanted to take this opportunity to let Li go out to see the world, so Prince Chun went to inspect Beiyang Navy with an imperial envoy and Li as his deputy envoys. It is not surprising that eunuchs from other dynasties made tours as imperial envoys, but this is the first time in history of qing dynasty.
If it was An Dehai, its tail would have gone up in the sky, but it wasn't Lee. In order to avoid others gossiping, before leaving, Li specially changed the second hat given to him by Empress Dowager Cixi into the fourth hat, and then set off with Prince Chun in dignity. Along the way, Li did not have the style of an imperial envoy, and always followed the alcohol prince and served him well. People who don't know thought that Li was specially sent to serve Prince Chun. Even when the prince washes his feet at night, Li personally sends him hot water. He also said that he had no chance to serve the monarch before. This time, he must try his best to show filial piety. He impressed Prince Chun many times, and naturally praised Li's loyalty in front of Cixi after returning home.
During the inspection, he should have been one of the subjects, but Li deliberately kept his distance from Prince Alcohol and Li Hongzhang. He took Prince Chun's big pipe, stepped back half a step, lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes, as if waiting for Prince Chun. Along the way, Li didn't make friends with local officials like An Dehai did. He hardly goes out. Those who have prepared expensive gifts and want to please can't get in at all. As far as this business trip is concerned, Li earned face for Empress Dowager Cixi and blocked the mouths of ministers. Empress Dowager Cixi also crossed the line and said, "It didn't hurt him in vain."
Li was not always favored by the political twists and turns in the palace. Especially after Guangxu came of age, due to the constant friction between the empress dowager and the emperor, Li, as the head of the palace, inevitably walked a tightrope. On the one hand, he has been favored by Empress Dowager Cixi for many years and should be loyal to Empress Dowager Cixi; On the other hand, when Empress Dowager Cixi is old, Emperor Guangxu will take power sooner or later. If he offends either side, he may be killed. Li swayed from side to side, and later Empress Dowager Cixi saw it. 1898 After the coup, she gradually lost the trust of Empress Dowager Cixi, and another eunuch, Cui Yugui, took the opportunity to seize power. For example, Cui Yugui did the dirty work of going to Yingtai to monitor Guangxu and even throwing Zhenfei into the well.
It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi fled to the west with Guangxu in the year of Gengzi, and did not return to Beijing until Dezong's last wish was signed. When they arrived in Baoding, a group of people stopped to have a rest. At that time, the bedroom of Empress Dowager Cixi was beautifully decorated and lasted for several weeks. When Li waited on Cixi to sleep, the eunuchs and the people in the internal affairs office also dispersed, or drank, gambled or rested. Later, Li went to Guangxu's bedroom and found that there were no eunuchs inside. Guangxu was the only one sitting in front of the oil lamp. Li knelt down and asked, "Why isn't Master sleeping at this time?" Guangxu said, "Look at this room and teach me how to sleep?" Li found at a glance that there was no quilt in Guangxu's room except a mattress and several chairs.
Seeing this, Li immediately knelt down, hugged Guangxu's leg and cried, "Damn minions!" Then he quickly brought the bedding and said, "It's too late to pass it on to them tonight. This is the bedding they prepared for their minions. Please use it by experts. I can't increase the sin of my minions. "
After Guangxu returned to Beijing, he often recited this matter and said, "If it weren't for Li Anda, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive today." At the end of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi was often embarrassed. Li didn't hit anyone when he was down and out, and sometimes he gave Guangxu a little care within his power. Compared with other snobbish eunuchs, Li is kind.
1908, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi passed away one after another. After mourning for Empress Dowager Cixi 100 days, Li Yuyuan asked the Empress to abdicate at the end of 2000, and the Empress allowed her to "abdicate". In this way, Li left the palace where he had lived for 52 years.
Since ancient times, China has been a courtier. Li knew that when Empress Dowager Cixi died, his backstage collapsed. It is better to leave early than to be kicked away, so as to avoid any unexpected disaster. It is said that before leaving the palace, Li did a clever thing, that is, he gave all the treasures enjoyed by Empress Dowager Cixi over the years to the queen, and said, "This belongs to the royal family and should not flow into the people. I have kept it carefully for the royal family for decades, and now I am old and weak, begging to leave the palace. These treasures should be returned to my master. " This made the empress dowager very satisfied, so after Li's death, the empress dowager also gave her 2000 taels of funeral expenses according to the minister's generous gift.
Li has been in charge of the real power in the palace for many years, and it is inevitable to abuse power for personal gain, so many people want to play tricks on him. I'm afraid he was prepared for it. Seven boxes of treasures are reserved for escape. Therefore, Li's correct mind is very clear.
He Gangde, former Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said in the "shame and ugliness treaty": "Each of the 48 directors in the palace is crazy to guess the birth and death of idioms. They are all haggard and blue, just like poor widows. The general manager waited for the survey project and opened the door to welcome guests, respectfully. Although the number of people serving the command was not as high as this, the number was very limited, and they were isolated from the courtiers and could not contact each other. When I was summoned many times, I sat in the director's room of your Majesty Dan. The eunuch offered tea and lit a cigarette, which was extremely respectful. He looked overjoyed when he was awarded a plane ticket of 4000 yuan to Beijing. After leaving Beijing, there was an atmosphere of abusing power for personal gain and accepting bribes, but I was not convinced. That is, I went to Beijing for the second time after twelve years, and that's all I can see. I am ashamed of my leftovers. I'm afraid I can't hide from them, and I'm not afraid. "
Although there are many eunuchs in the palace, most of them are helpless and miserable, "like poor widows." Only a person like Li who can talk to Cixi and actually take charge of the palace can be flattered and even accepted bribes. However, Chunming commented: "Li's kindness is that he never skimps ordinary servants, so few people below hate Li with their teeth clenched." Accordingly, Li's handling of family property is also appropriate. Before the Reform Movement of 1898, he divided his property into seven parts: mu of land was divided equally by five brothers, about 370 hectares; The money is divided into seven parts, and the two sisters share it equally. The number is unknown. According to hearsay, his two sisters each got172,000 yuan, and they each got about 7 boxes of jewelry. Of course, there are elements of spreading false information, but it should be true that Li has accumulated a lot of property.
After leaving the palace, Li was cautious, did not show his face easily, and did not associate with people in society, because there were rumors that his family was rich and he was afraid that someone would tie his ticket. During his seclusion, Li repeatedly warned his nephews that "financial disasters are also great" and he should always be vigilant. However, his nephews didn't take his words to heart, so they split up their family and ran away. This is another story.
Coincidentally, Li Yisheng worked in the Qing Dynasty, and the year of his death happened to be 19 1 1 year. According to his family, Li suffers from "throat-locked dysentery" and his condition is very serious. Li month came on the 29th and died on February 4th at the age of sixty-three. After Li's death, the heavenly queen gave a piece of land and was buried in the village. Enjizhuang is outside Fuchengmen. Since the Yongzheng dynasty, this is the cemetery where eunuchs are buried.
It is also a cemetery, but the treatment behind eunuchs is quite different. For example, the cemetery in the south is full of barren and desolate places, which is the last place for ordinary eunuchs to live. The north is very different, only to see that "the short trees are lush and the brick houses are green, which suddenly makes people feel the disparity between prosperity and glory." Because Li was a eunuch and the Queen Mother was buried by grace, a stone archway was built in the village with the words "the tomb of the manager" engraved on it.
Liu Tizhi said in "A Talk with Maids" that in those days, after An Dehai, Li "was not stronger than others in the power of the office supervisor, but although the Queen Mother's family law was strict, members of the office still had to deal with each other frequently. At that time, the current was very high. Fortunately, Ci was invited as soon as possible, and the traffic palace was banned, but I still knew. It is better to meet the foreign minister than to meet him. Lotus is never pale, but seldom knows its own face. In the first month of Xian Yan's fourth year, he moved the Temple of Fire to Xiangchang. Suddenly, a tourist whispered, "This is Li. "Look, he is a dark and ugly man, just a strong man in the north."
If this record is true, then what Liu Tizhi saw one month before the onset was Li. This "black ugly man" statement is quite accurate. According to different dictionaries, there is a full-length sitting statue of Li in the west hall of Guandi Temple in Enjizhuang, which is two feet high. "Looking down from the top, you can see that the red top of the second product is wearing a yellow dress to protect the dragon heart, a purple auspicious suit, and a bead on the chest. High-heeled boots, with legs spread out on the footstool, hands naturally hang down on legs. Look at the face: a yellow ochre face with high cheekbones, slightly longer cheeks, swollen eyes, slightly closed nose, thick lips and long chin. It's really Lee, but his eyes are poorly drawn. He is a pepper eye, although small, but sharp and lifeless. It seems that he deliberately left the solemn and simple form to future generations. "
Judging from the historical pictures, Li's appearance is indeed blessed by the Buddha, with a yellow face, high cheekbones, long face, swollen eyes, small eyes, big nose, thick lips and long chin. However, as a historical witness who spanned more than half a century in the late Qing Dynasty, why did he succeed in the dangerous and cunning court politics? It is said that Li once summed up his life in eight words, that is, the constellation of "respecting things and being lenient" is a truth in life. Practically speaking, it is not easy for a eunuch to do this, and it seems that there is no need to be too harsh.