[Rong Qin Wang]

Zunjing de China History Forum members,

Hmm, I have done some more research on this topic to find out why Emperor Guangxu did not have any children. It seems like most historians tended to focus more on the de facto ruler of China , Empress Cixi, than the powerless Emperor Guangwu. Hence, I could not really find a lot of information.

Anyway, according to this website, http://www.4dw.net/r...na/manchu16.htm, Emperor Guangxu was only married to three wives; Empress Long Yu, Jin Fei, and Zhen Fei. How was this possible? Emperor Guangxu was serving as the puppet Emperor for 34 years! It was required for the Qing Emperors to have a selection for new worthy ladies ( Xiu Nv ) every three years; hence, how could Emperor Guangxu not have that many wives? Was this practice cancelled by Empress Cixi by the time Emperor Guangxu grew up? What were the purposes of this? Was Empress Cixi so against the idea of the Emperor possibly having many heirs to the throne?

I would really appreciate any questions or comments.

Xie Xie,

[rooster]

zaitian, on Sep 14 2006, 11:11 AM, said:

For Emperor Guangxu, he was recorded as experiencing premature ejaculation ever since he was a teenager. According to his own words, this ailment happen close to 20 times per month during his younger years, and decreased during his older years. The reason he noted was not that he was recovering but instead "out of ammo".
Mental stress might have been a factor as well.

In another thread, I had pointed out that in the book Last Empress, Guangzu was detemined as impotent due to his abnormal scrotum and testicles. This knowledge was known to Cixi and her close aides before Guangzu was made emperor.
Puyi was chosen because of his his toddler age and a soft, submissive (to Cixi) father.
All that was the grand design of grand lady - and kept so many people wondering for centuries, what happened.

While no book or record is all perfect, I always buy one thing when in doubt:

Occam's principle: the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

[Rong Qin Wang]

rooster, on Jan 18 2007, 07:59 PM, said:

In another thread, I had pointed out that in the book Last Empress, Guangzu was detemined as impotent due to his abnormal scrotum and testicles. This knowledge was known to Cixi and her close aides before Guangzu was made emperor.
Puyi was chosen because of his his toddler age and a soft, submissive (to Cixi) father.
All that was the grand design of grand lady - and kept so many people wondering for centuries, what happened.

While no book or record is all perfect, I always buy one thing when in doubt:

Occam's principle: the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

Zunjing de Rooster,

Hmm, I am not really sure how historically accurate “The Last Empress” is; however, I will definitely check it out since it does seem to have offered some good information.

I surmise there are certain people, who can be determined by doctors as impotent or not right at birth or when they are just two or three years old. I initially thought it would be impossible to know something like that at such a young age, but apparently, I was wrong. Yeah, it would be most ideal for ambitious king makers to enthrone weak and ineffective rulers. There is no doubt that Empress Cixi was behind everything!

The question I am trying to ask is even though it may have been known that Emperor Guangxu was impotent, would not Empress Cixi still have to let him have a lot of concubines? How come he only had one wife, and two concubines?

I do respect your own opinion; however, I really must disagree with you regarding the simplest explanation tends to be the right one. I think one can never just look at one side of things or the simplest approach. I honestly believe the midpoint of two extreme explanations would more likely be the more accurate account.

Xie Xie,

This post has been edited by Rong Qin Wang: 24 January 2007 - 01:18 PM

[yongzheng freak]

Rong Qin Wang, on Jan 24 2007, 05:35 PM, said:

Zunjing de Rooster,

Hmm, I am not really sure how historically accurate “The Last Empress” is; however, I will definitely check it out since it does seem to have offered some good information.

I surmise there are certain people, who can be determined by doctors as impotent or not right at birth or when they are just two or three years old. I initially thought it would be impossible to know something like that at such a young age, but apparently, I was wrong. Yeah, it would be most ideal for ambitious king makers to enthrone weak and ineffective rulers. There is no doubt that Empress Cixi was behind everything!

The question I am trying to ask is even though it may have been known that Emperor Guangxu was impotent, would not Empress Cixi still have to let him have a lot of concubines? How come he only had one wife, and two concubines?

I do respect your own opinion; however, I really must disagree with you regarding the simplest explanation tends to be the right one. I think one can never just look at one side of things or the simplest approach. I honestly believe the midpoint of two extreme explanations would more likely be the more accurate account.

Xie Xie,

Perhaps it is possible to determine if a person in impotent at a young age now but it may not be possible at that time? Even if western medical advancement at that time allows tests of that nature, judging from the court's resistance to anything western, those test would not be done. When Puyi was found to be short-sighted and needed glasses, there was an uproar in court so imagine the hooha that would have been in court if someone suggested tests of such nature.....

[Rong Qin Wang]

yongzheng freak, on Jan 26 2007, 03:57 PM, said:

Perhaps it is possible to determine if a person in impotent at a young age now but it may not be possible at that time? Even if western medical advancement at that time allows tests of that nature, judging from the court's resistance to anything western, those test would not be done. When Puyi was found to be short-sighted and needed glasses, there was an uproar in court so imagine the hooha that would have been in court if someone suggested tests of such nature.....

Zunjing de China History Forum members,

YongZheng_Freak does have a very good point regarding the low technologies during the Qing Dynasty and the Imperial Family’s resistance to any Western sciences. This is one of the reasons why I believe it was impossible for others to know Emperor Guangxu was impotent when he became the next Emperor.

Empress Cixi selected Emperor Guangxu to ascend to the throne because he was not only the son of an Imperial Prince who had close ties with her, but also the son of her younger sister, which meant she could easily control him even when he reached adulthood.

Puyi was selected because his mother was the daughter of a close friend of Empress Cixi, while his father had always been submissive to the Empress. However, I have read one unofficial source stating that Empress Cixi really wanted to pass the throne to 2th Prince Chun, Puyi’s father; however, this was impossible since he was from the same generation as Emperor Guangxu. Hence, Puyi was chosen because he was the son of 2th Prince Chun, who could then rule the country as a regent for his young son. However, this plan went down the drain since Empress Lung Yu deposed 2th Prince Chun and ruled the country behind the veil. Can someone please verify if this source is reliable or not?

Also, was Puyi adopted as the son of Emperor Tong Zhi or Emperor Guang Xu? One source stated that he was adopted as the son of both of the late Emperors. Is that possible?

Xie Xie,

[Solid_Snake]

Which emperor became a zoo manager in Beijing?!?